The story behind one of the original CBGB awnings that's now up for auction

[Photo by Rainer Turim last winter outside the John Varvatos store on the Bowery]

According to research by Gothamist, there were three awnings during the life of CBGB at 315 Bowery. One was up from 1973 to 1987, another from 1987 to 2000 and the last until the club closed in 2006.

And where are they now? The most recent awning is at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland. The original awning was allegedly in the possession of JFA (Jodie Foster's Army), who may have borrowed it after a show in the mid 1980s. And the third awning has been with East Village resident Drew Bushong since 2004.

Now Bushong is selling the awning at an auction at Sotheby's on Dec. 10, where it could potentially fetch between $25,000 and $35,000.

I asked Bushong, a former CBGB employee, about the awning and how it came to live in a box under his bed... and why he's selling it now.

How did you come into possession of the awning?

Totally randomly. I was walking home from Mars Bar on a sweaty night in 2004 and saw a cardboard box that was very familiar. It had sat above my desk for a year. I heard later it was just waiting for postage stamps to get to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but was tossed out with a bunch of other crap in a cleaning rage.

So I saw it sticking half out of the trash in front of the club, and just threw it over my shoulder. I didn't really lose my shit about it until the next day when I woke up in bed next to it, torn open with the awning peeking out of it. Was quite an exciting hangover.

How do you know that it’s the real deal?

There's no doubt it's real. In my research, it's one of only three awnings that hung there. It went up as a replacement after punk rockers JFA are rumored to have stolen the first one.

It's a bit of a mess with paint splotches over some tags and it stinks a bit. It's been under my bed mostly since I found it.

Why are you selling it?

I had a beautiful baby girl, Thorn, 3-and-a-half-weeks ago and could use the space and money in better ways now. Dad ways now. Life's pretty exciting.

How long did you work at CBGB?

I worked as a door guy/security starting in late 2000 and was just working a couple shifts a week here and there. I had been there a few months and was getting pretty good at it. One boring night I ended up stopping a fight from happening and got stabbed in the neck in the process. I held the knifer down, under this awning actually, and called [owner] Hilly [Kristal] before calling the cops. I guess I handled the fight pretty well as I was promoted to management pretty soon after.

I have to say it was the best job I'll ever have. Best crew of people and employees and some of the most exciting shows I'll ever see in my life. Really got to be a part of something real special by working there.


[The middle awning is the one up for auction on Dec. 10]

Artichoke appears to be moving into a new space on 14th Street

An EVG tipster shares the following from 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue:

"At the end of October, I noticed construction guys at 321 E. 14th St. It has always been a vacant storefront. (I think there was a statue of a Virgin Mary in the window for awhile.) Anyway, imagine my surprise and glee when I read a pizza place was coming!"

Indeed, the work permits do show a "pizza restaurant" in the making...



Furthermore, the tipster said that the space will house Artichoke Basille's Pizza, the growing pizzeria empire that opened its first location nearly directly across 14th Street in 2008. Per the tipster, there's a "rent-hike scenario" brewing at the original location.



Approved work permits list the name of Francis Garcia, who founded Artichoke with his cousin Sal Basille, as the owner. (Public records lists an LLC with a Flushing address as the owner.)

The permits, approved in September, show the estimated build-out cost for the pizzeria at $72,750.

There are currently nine Artichoke locations, eight in NYC and one in Berkeley, Calif.

The 13th South Asian International Film Fest is this week at Village East Cinema (and an offer for EVG readers)

[A scene from "Gardaab," playing Friday night]

The 13th annual South Asian International Film Fest takes place this year from Wednesday (tomorrow!) through Sunday at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue at 12th Street.

Here's more about the fest:

The South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) is the largest film premiere destination for South Asian/Indian filmmakers in the United States. SAIFF was founded in New York City due to the lack of support for many emerging filmmakers and the overall underrepresentation of Indian cinema in a capital that is recognized by the world as the birthplace of independent filmmaking! The Festival is committed to exhibiting films from South Asia (i.e India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal) and within the Indian Diaspora.

One of the Festival's producers is an EVG reader, and he's making this offer to other readers: A 50% discount on all SAIFF tickets. Please enter this code at checkout: ZAZZY2016 (it must be all caps).

You can find the list of films playing right here.

Monday's parting shot

Photo from earlier today... the Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street at Avenue A... dressed for the holiday season.

Report: Attacker repeatedly punches man dining at B Bar and Grill

Surveillance video published by NBC 4 New York this evening shows a man run up to a diner sitting in the covered patio at B Bar and Grill and repeatedly punch the victim.

The incident occurred last Wednesday night at the restaurant on Fourth Street at the Bowery.

Per NBC 4:

The footage ... shows the assailant run up from out of the frame as the patron sits and stares at a fireplace. The attacker throws one haymaker after another until several others rush to help the victim.

The 29-year-old victim, who asked not to be identified because the attacker is still on the loose, told NBC 4 New York that his head still hurts several days after the attack.

And...

The victim said there was no warning that he was about to be attacked and that he didn't remember saying anything to the man beforehand. He said over the weekend that he thought he may have been targeted because he was gay.

Police could not confirm whether the incident was being investigated as a hate crime, according to DNAinfo.

Patch reported that the attack took place around 11 p.m.

None of the media reports had any description of the suspect. An earlier post at NBC 4 included this photo of the alleged suspect...



You can watch the video over at NBC 4.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Another court date for Steve Croman tomorrow morning

Steve Croman, who is charged with 20 felonies and a civil suit accusing him of forcing tenants from their rent-controlled apartments, is due back in court tomorrow morning.

Croman tenants are holding a rally outside Manhattan Criminal Court at 100 Centre St. Afterwards, tenants are going to room 1322 on the 13th floor...

Here's the flyer that arrived via the EVG email...



Croman's real-estate empire includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village. As previously noted, Croman owns more buildings in the East Village than any other landlord.

Morning watch on Avenue A

The scene on Avenue A at Ninth Street this morning... with Dora the red-tailed hawk keeping watch a block away atop St. Nicholas on 10th Street...





Thanks to Steven for the photos

The past, present and future of 264 E. 7th St.

[264 E. 7th St.]

The New York Times checks in with a piece on 264. E. Seventh St., the circa-1843 townhouse between Avenue C and Avenue D awaiting possible demolition.

In late October, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced that they will not consider a row of five pastel-colored residences here for landmarking. As previously reported, preservationists hoped to have the buildings landmarked ... in part to spare the demolition of No. 264 for some unspecified new development. (In early September, a permit was filed with the DOB to demolish the 3-level house.)

Per the Times:

The fate of the rowhouse is now in the hands of its owner, Elaine Hsu, the president of GlobalServ Property One, with offices on Lexington Avenue.

Barbara Sloan, the operations manager at Manhattan Renovations, a general contractor representing GlobalServ, said the owner was planning an information session for neighbors “to discuss details surrounding potential asbestos abatement and demolition.” She declined to comment on what might replace the building.

And...

“We recognize that people feel very passionate about their neighborhoods,” said Sarah Carroll, the executive director of Landmarks. But “in some cases, Landmarks designation is not actually the right tool.”

[Photo at rally outside No. 264 on Nov. 4 by Peter Brownscombe]

For more history on these buildings in the former Dry Dock District, head over to Ephemeral New York.

As residents of the Dry Dock District gained power and ran for office, the houses acquired a new distinction: “Political Row.”

Political Row “has furnished many office-holders, and there were more office-holders and patriots who are willing to serve the city and county, the State or the country at large, living on that thoroughfare now than on any similar stretch of highway in New York,” stated the Evening World in 1892.

The beginning of Political Row’s end came at the turn of the century, when many of the original houses went down and tenements built in their place.

Newspapers wrote descriptive eulogies, mourning a neighborhood that was “an American District” now colonized by a second wave of immigrants.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City says no to landmarking row of 7th Street homes, clearing way for demolition of No. 264

Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen now open on 1st Avenue

A new outpost of Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen has opened at 57 First Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The quick-serve restaurant apparently serves a variety of traditional Mexican items though with a healthy twist.

Per their Facebook page: "Al Horno is Spanish for 'On the oven.' Enjoy the full flavored taste of Mexico with none of the fat. Many Vegan options to compliment our delicious menu."

You can check out their menu here. (Kale burrito!) They are also open for breakfast and offer a variety of juices. (And they are also very close to one of our favorite places, Downtown Bakery II, 69 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.)

Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen also has locations on Second Avenue near 57th Street, Lexington Avenue at 24th Street and West 47th Street between Ninth Avenue and 10th Avenue.

No. 57 was last home to Red Koi Organic Sushi Lounge, which closed this past summer. And, of course, No. 57 housed the unforgettable Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo during a few glory months of 2012.

Something to think about (aka, Hello darkness my old friend)

Not much seems to be happening over at 118 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue... As previously noted, the existing structure is being demolished to make room for a 9-story residential building.

In total, there are seven units divided over 12,500 square feet of residential space, as NY Yimby first reported. (Given the size — about 1,800 square feet, NYY figures these will be condos.) There will also be about 250 square feet for retail.

The city approved the plans in November 2015.

In the meantime, this note appeared the other day on one of the windows...

"Please think about the darkness you are going to create with your development."

Freyer Architects are designing the building. We haven't seen any renderings yet (other than those zoning diagrams from our last post on this address).

Previously on EV Grieve:
118 E. 1st St. arrives on the market with so many possibilities, and air rights

118 E. 1st. St. will yield to a new 9-floor residential building

Demolition of 118 E. 1st St. begins to make way for 9-story residential building

About Southern Cross Coffee, opening on East 5th Street

Back in July, a tipster told us that a coffee shop was taking the middle of the three new storefronts at the Shops of East Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

This sign arrived earlier this month for Southern Cross Coffee...



We were waiting to learn a little more about the operation. Here are details via the Southern Cross Coffee Facebook page:

The name Southern Cross Coffee is in honor of the Southern Cross constellation, which is visible primarily in the southern hemisphere and sometimes as far up as 20 degrees north latitude. Our founders were both born in the southern hemisphere, where the constellation is very much a part of our cultures.

And...

Grab a great cup of locally roasted coffee and quick bite at Southern Cross Coffee. Natural foods and espresso made the traditional Italian way.

Jamie the check-cashing guy previously worked from this storefront before the renovations. The other two spaces are still on the rental market.

A new era for scalies?

An addition to the rendering at the incoming condos at 75 First Ave. ... a new-look scalie (per Curbed, "the proud inhabitants of the architectural rendering world") ...



The stick-figure scalie! An improvement over the usual models we see...

Openings: Squish Marshmallows on St. Mark's Place

Squish had its (heh) soft opening last week at 120 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Owner Katherine Sprung has created a following selling her marshmallow-based creations online (and at Abigail's Bake Shop in Brooklyn). You can read more about the business at the Squish website. This is her first retail outlet, where she sells a variety of marshmallows as well as coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

A photo posted by squish marshmallows® (@squishmarsh) on Nov 25, 2016 at 1:27pm PST

Previously on EV Grieve:
Squish Marshmallows signage arrives at 120 St. Mark's Place

Sunday's parting shot

Photo late this afternoon via Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview

[1st Avenue love seats via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

A Raphael Toledano-style turkey dinner on 12th Street for residents without cooking gas (Wednesday)

The Sock Man opens in new location on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Mayor de Blasio calls for unity during anti-hate rally at Cooper Union (Monday)

The Second Avenue Tompkins Square Bagels makes its debut (Tuesday)

Barnyard Cheese and Brix Wine Shop moving from Avenue C to Avenue B (Monday)

Thanksgiving Week at the Bowery Mission (Wednesday)

Out and About Part 2 with Eric Paulin (Wednesday)

Report: Mike Pence supporter arrested for alleged racist tirade, pepper-spray attack at 14th Street diner (Tuesday)

Healthfully has closed on Fourth Street (Monday)

Former East Village Tavern space for rent (Friday)

American Deli & Grocery closes after a few months on First Avenue (Friday)

Holiday trees (and stands) arrive (Wednesday)

Shu Han Ju II takes over for Mulan East on Third Avenue (Monday)

Storefronts at 110 E. Seventh St. for rent (Tuesday)

Honeybrains opens on Lafayette (Wednesday)

Village Grannies bringing water pipes and smoking accessories to Ninth Street (Tuesday)

Hot Pot Central sets up shop on Second Avenue and 12th Street (Monday)

Former Grand Sichuan space for rent on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

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Sunday morning

Along Avenue A and in Tompkins Square Park. (Not to make it look nice out or anything.)

Coming soon: The 8th annual St. Nicholas Cookie Walk

In case you didn't see the signage up at St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church on Avenue A at 10th Street ... for your holiday planning purposes, the 8th annual Cookie Walk is happening this year on Dec. 10-11.

Sale hours are Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Dec. 11 from noon to 3 p.m. However! Per the St. Nicholas website:

Come early Saturday for the best selection of cookies. Please understand that WE CAN SELL OUT and close before the Sunday times listed above. Please check here for Sunday opening updates! (if at all possible, try to come on Saturday)

In total, there will be more than 75 varieties totaling 50,000 cookies for sale, per the St. Nicholas website.

Also for planning purposes: Dec. 10 is the announced date for this year's SantaCon, though the neighborhood(s) involved are still under wraps.

Tree Riders on 2nd Avenue

One more Christmas/holiday tree note... the Tree Riders NYC set up their tree shop yesterday outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street... this is their 6th year here... and they always have the tallest/largest trees available in case you need one for an office lobby or outdoor plaza...



Previously on EV Grieve:
So you want to buy a tree for the holidays in the East Village

Another holiday season with Jonathan, the cheery Christmas-tree salesman of 1st Avenue

This charming man

Here's a single from Brooklyn's Overlord from last year titled "I Want To Die With You, Morrissey."

They're on a bill tomorrow night at the Cake Shop with My Favorite, Kew and Kevin of The Hairs.

The Sock Man opens in new location on St. Mark's Place today

[Photo the other day by Derek Berg]

The new location of the Sock Man opens today at 99 1/2 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. (Hours are noon to 10 p.m.)

A rent increase forced the Sock Man (aka Marty Rosen) to close his longtime shop at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue back in January. Rosen had been peddling socks, tights, lingerie and other accessories in this space since 1983. (Landlord Raphael Toledano, who took possession in September 2015, is now flipping the building.)

Very good to see the Sock Man back in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Sock Man is closing on St. Mark's Place

The Sock Man says thank you; store closes on Saturday

Closing portraits at The Sock Man

The scoop on the former Sock Man space on St. Mark's Place

The Sock Man is returning to St. Mark's Place

Former East Village Tavern space for rent

As we first reported, East Village Tavern closed after service on Sunday evening.

Management of the corner bar on 10th Street and Avenue C left this message on Facebook last Saturday: "It is with a heavy heart that we regret to announce that do to a disagreement with our landlord, the East Village Tavern will be closing..."

Steve Croman, who was arrested back in May on 20 felony counts, is the building's landlord. Eviction proceedings happened here earlier this week when the Marshal came calling...



A rep for Croman's 9300 Realty told this to The Real Deal:

"We are sad to see a long standing tenant close its doors, but unfortunately the business has been unable to consistently pay its rent in the last 12 months. We have made several attempts to strike a deal to settle the debt however given there has been no effort to make payment on the more than $78,000 that is owed, we were forced to part ways with our tenant."

The bar opened in May 2008.

American Deli & Grocery closes after a few months on 1st Avenue

The deli has been dark here at 139 First Ave. for the past week (h/t Steven) ... and now a for rent sign hangs in the window of the American Deli & Grocery between St. Mark's and Ninth Street. The deli opened back in June. (Perhaps businesses with a variation of America in the title aren't such great ideas at the moment.)

The space was previously home to the hookah joint Scarab Lounge.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope that you are enjoying the day cooking, eating, thanking, visiting, avoiding, etc.

Here come the wooden display racks for the Christmas tree of your dreams

The usual Christmas/holiday stand is going up now on East Houston and Essex... haven't walked around all the usual spots just yet (such as outside Rite Aid on First Avenue at Fifth Street, 14th Street and First Avenue, St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue) ...

However, there's a stand coming to a different location this season — Second Avenue at Seventh Street...



...outside the empty lot that housed the three buildings that were destroyed during the deadly gas explosion in March 2015. Perhaps this is an effort to make the corner more festive ... or just bad judgement.

Updated 6:30 p.m.

Lola Sáenz shares a pic of a snowperson going up the pole...



Updated 11/24

Thanks to the commenter who pointed out the arrival of the Santa RV on 14th Street and First Avenue...



Updated 11/28

There's also a tree stand on East Houston near Avenue C...

Out and About in the East Village (part 2)

In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Eric Paulin
Occupation: Musician
Location: Tompkins Square Park
Time: Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m.

In part 1, Paulin, a native New Yorker, discussed coming to the East Village starting in the summer of 1968 to see shows at the Fillmore East.

I’ve been in my building since May of 1979, so I’m coming up on 38 years. I’ve had some bad experiences with a couple of bad landlords in this neighborhood who owned my building. When I moved in, there was a great and extremely interesting person who owned the building named Kent Cooper. He was an East Village hero in my opinion. He was a writer, and he owned a small record company. They recorded jazz, blues, avant-garde jazz and blues-rock. He ran the record company out of his apartment.

Everybody on the block respected Kent. He did a lot of people favors. Kent bought the building for an extremely good price in the early 1970s, and he was actually struggling at the time. It was a lot of money for him; he had to take out a bank loan, and he worked tooth and nail to keep that building going. He would do repairs himself, and he did whatever he could.

If tenants were late on rent, he would give them a break. He would let me work off rent sometimes by doing superintendent duties, or by helping him and a couple contractors do work. He had a big heart, especially for creative people who were struggling or having a hard time — who weren’t using drugs, weren’t drinking ... who were just basically trying to fight the good fight with their creative pursuits.

Unfortunately, Kent sold the building in February 1987 to an extremely bad landlord. They started a renovation process in the building that should have taken six months or less. It was basically a gut renovation of 10 units and there was myself and another older gentlemen in the building. The renovation ended up taking 13 or 14 months, and the owners and contractors put myself and the older tenant through a living hell.

I was in housing court with them from mid-summer of 1988 until late fall of 1991. Because I was a freelance musician, I would do a gig, get home sometimes at 2 or 3 in the morning, sleep for a few hours, and then put on a shirt and tie and go to housing court with my documents, my HPD reports and my photographs. I was very organized. The whole thing was an excruciating process.

We were able to withhold our rent and put it in an escrow account, which the judge approved. In the end, I ended up winning the case, and I got what they called a landmark decision against my landlord, which was a decision in a court of law where that combination of elements had never come together to form that kind of case, therefore getting a certain decision on that case. Because it was a pretty cut-and-dry matter, it should have been solved in a few months, but because the landlord was dragging out and was not showing up to court and was constantly lying and trying to deceive the court and even their own lawyer about what happened.

In the spring of 1991, the building went into receivership because they weren’t paying the bank. So they weren’t paying their bank; they weren’t paying their lawyer; and they also weren’t paying their contractors who worked in the building.

So I won my court case, but about a year and a half later, I was in court with the next landlord, who actually turned out to be a very decent landlord, and a much better landlord than some others. We resolved that case out of mutual consent, and we were able to work it out between us without any problems. They offered me money to leave. It seemed like a lot of money at the time, and it especially would have been to a lot of lower income or struggling people, who might have taken the buyout. But I didn’t do it, because I thought to myself, I love New York, and if I leave, there’s no way I’ll be able to come back and be able to afford to live here.

My first experiences playing music in Tompkins Square Park go back to 1981. The park was dangerous and there was a lot of crime. I would walk through here because I knew how to handle myself in the neighborhood, and because people knew me, but the drug dealers were using a lot of homeless people to help them sell drugs or whatever. We used to play different places in the park, me and three or four of my jazz buddies. I think people appreciate that there’s jazz in Tompkins Square Park, where all these great jazz musicians lived in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

In those days, we actually used to do very well busking. We used to busk in Washington Square Park in the late 1970s with a jazz quartet and jazz quintet. We were one of the first groups to do it. In those days, I could just go on forever busking, and you could actually make very decent money busking in the late 1970s and early 1980s, because you didn’t have a lot of laws.

Today, we have a permit with the MTA, the Music Under New York Program, and when we don’t have a gig, we can been seen playing in the subway once or twice a week, where I also play with my jazz quartet. We play usually either on Friday or Saturday night, usually at 34th Street and 6th Avenue or Times Square.

My wife is also in the group, which is named The Meetles. We started from a meet-up group where we would talk about the Beatles. We specialize in classic rock ... and it’s nice to bring that to the East Village, because a lot of that was born and developed because of the Fillmore East and all of these great clubs all up and down St. Mark's Place.

In the end, I hope that the East Village and all neighborhoods like the East Village retain their original character and identity. I love walking up and down the streets in New York and seeing the old buildings that have been up for 120 years. I love Tompkins Square Park. I love the old architecture. I love the old timers who have interesting stories to tell. I love the creative people and the interesting people.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Thanksgiving Week at the Bowery Mission

[Image via @BoweryMission]

The Bowery Mission is celebrating its 137th Thanksgiving Week. Yesterday, James Winans, the Bowery Mission's chief development officer, shared a few details about the around-the-clock preparations ...

During its 137th annual Thanksgiving Week celebration, The Bowery Mission will serve more than 11,000 meals — 7,000 on Thanksgiving Day alone — to men, women and children in all five boroughs of New York City and in Newark, N.J.

On Thanksgiving day at the Mission’s flagship location (227 Bowery between Prince and Rivington Streets), more than 650 volunteers will prepare traditional turkey dinners and serve 1,800 guests in the Mission’s century-old chapel filled with music and festive decorations for the holiday.

Meals will be served at 227 Bowery every hour on the hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition to a turkey dinner, each guest will receive a brand new coat and a “blessing bag” including socks, a winter hat, gloves, and hygiene items.

The food and gifts, as well as financial support, have been donated over several weeks by a diverse array of generous donors. We appreciate the support from the following partners:

• Major Partner: The Hain Celestial Group, Inc
• Partners: Bombas, Buzzfeed
• Supporters: Bloomberg, Con Edison, Deutsche Bank, Kenneth Cole Productions, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Frozen: A Raphael Toledano-style turkey dinner on 12th Street for residents without cooking gas

[Image via Facebook]

Residents at the Raphael Toledano-owned 325 E. 12th St. say they have been without gas for cooking for more than six months now. Yesterday morning, some of the tenants, along with other members of the Toledano Tenant Coalition, held a protest and "Toledano-Style Turkey Dinner" — featuring Banquet frozen turkey dinners — here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A handful of tenants announced that they are taking the under-investigation landlord to court. Here's more via an advisory from the Cooper Square Committee:

Now eight of the tenants are fighting Raphael Toledano in court for an order to restore the gas — one that his lawyers are vehemently resisting. While Mr. Toledano and his agents are likely enjoying warm and cozy kitchens filled with the aroma of holiday cooking, the kitchens of 325 East 12th Street will be cold & empty… except, perhaps, for the echo of Mr. Toledano, spouting empty promises of gas restoration and better relations with his tenants. Mr. Toledano has refused to meet face to face with tenants and elected officials on two occasions and opted to send his legal team (Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP) instead.

And a statement:

"The Toledano Tenant Coalition believes that Mr. Toledano continues to harass tenants by unreasonable non-renewal of leases and through slow, poorly managed building construction designed to make tenant’s homes unlivable. The coalition also asserts that Mr. Toledano has irresponsibly forced both stabilized and market rate tenants to live for months without cooking gas in buildings overrun with vermin. The coalition remains committed to ending what they see as Mr. Toledano’s campaign against the tenants that call his buildings home."

Sen. Brad Hoylman also attended yesterday's protest...

Tenants at 325 E 12th St won't have cooked meals this #Thanksgiving because landlord has denied them gas for 7 mos. This is unacceptable! pic.twitter.com/fVfKABxg8z

— Senator Brad Hoylman (@bradhoylman) November 22, 2016

Bedford + Bowery has more on yesterday's Toledano-turkey gathering here.

Back in August, Toledano’s Brookhill Properties held a poorly received ice cream social for its residents, including the 12th Street tenants without gas for cooking. At the time, a Toledano spokesperson told The Real Deal that it was up to Con Ed and the city to address the situation. However, a Con Ed rep said that the shutdown at No. 325 "was prompted by an internal gas leak at the 12th Street building and that the company can’t restore service until Toledano makes necessary repairs."

Toledano, who told a reporter for The Real Deal in June that he's "worth a fuckload of money, bro," has been accused of a variety of predatory practices. In addition, 20 of his buildings were tested for toxic levels of dust. In May, Toledano agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged that he harassed rent-regulated residents at 444 E. 13th St.

He is currently selling several buildings from his East Village portfolio.

Get smart at this new cafe on Lafayette

Back in July, we noted that a café/coffee shop was in the works for 372 Lafayette St. called Honeybrains. At the time, there wasn't much info available about the concept.

Here's more about Honeybrains, opening this week here between Bond and Great Jones, via their website:

Honeybrains was sparked by a conversation between three siblings, which evolved into a deeper exploration of the relationship between ingredients, health, and flavor. One of the siblings is a neurologist who has spent years studying how nutrition and lifestyle affect brain function. His research became a focal point of their discussion.

Ultimately, this conversation led to the creation of new recipes, and a new experience, with the well-being of people at their core. Together, they started Honeybrains to translate the most reliable, collective scientific knowledge about brain health – which is intimately related to body health – into enjoyable foods, drinks, and experiences.

Dr. Alon Seifan, who co-owns the café with siblings Galit and Tomer, worked as an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine’s neurology facility, according to a Honeybrains feature in the Post yesterday.

Per the Post: "Honeybrains, which the threesome claim is the first café dedicated to brain wellness, is in part dedicated to fighting diseases like Alzheimer’s."

Among other things, the 35-seat grab-and-go-style café features a HoneyBar (raw honey) as well as breakfast offerings such as
power oatmeal with quinoa, spiced coconut milk and manuka honey and a variety of toasts, including kale crunch and avocado smash.

You can find the rest of the menu here.

Report: Mike Pence supporter arrested for alleged racist tirade, pepper-spray attack at 14th Street diner

Two women, who are Chinese-American, were eating early Sunday morning at the Lower East Side Coffee Shop on 14th Street near Avenue A. One of the women, Sally Wen Mao, a Brooklyn-based poet, shared details of the ugly scene that transpired at the diner via Twitter and Facebook on Sunday. (Several EVG readers shared her Facebook post with us.)

Sadly, I am not surprised about what happened — it was only a matter of time before I would experience this shit personally.

Last night around 2AM I was eating in a 14th Street diner, Lower East Side Coffee Shop, with a friend. Just as we were eating, a loud angry man came in, sat in the booth behind ours, and started complaining about Hamilton, how disgusting and "racist" they were to Pence.

Right behind me, he started rambling loudly, complaining about "so-called minorities." It was really hard to be physically near and intolerable to hear that kind of racist bile, so at some point, I said lower your voice, we are just trying to eat. Then we switched seats to the corner.

Inevitably the Trump supporter got aggressive and told us to go back to Tokyo (!), then called us c**** and whores. At which point I wasn't having it with his racism and misogyny — I splashed my water across his face.
He escalated, called the police and said he would have me arrested all the while calling us derogatory slurs. The guy who was working at the diner (presumably the owner) said and did nothing as we couldn't believe the venom we were getting from this angry dangerous man.

The Trump supporter then blockaded the door to prevent us from leaving the diner, trapping us inside for over an hour. We were physically afraid to go near the door for fear of what he would do to us. He was describing me to the police on his phone, saying that he was for sure pressing charges, sickeningly staring at me and making comments about my appearance. We sat with other women who witnessed the whole thing and were horrified (they showed solidarity to us and said that they would support us if the police asked for the story). More racist sexist shit poured out of him, "c*** whores," he wasn't very creative. So I splashed another glass of water on his face.

The police arrived, asking what happened. They took down my ID, said splashing water is not something they can arrest me for. The sad thing is this white man believed so much in the racism of his fellow white man and the system — a system that has already been broken, and he understands this system benefits him without being informed of what he can or cannot charge someone for. He was trying to engage with other white men and the police officers in a "us" versus "them" way. And sadly, playing the role of demure harmless Asian woman worked in getting the cops to dismiss it, and I recognize my privilege. Eventually after over an hour, the cops had to palliate him, he grew more and more angry over why they weren't arresting me, ranting about "men's rights."

UPDATED: A woman who was there with me and witnessed the whole thing told me that after my friend and I left, there was an incident. A Latino man came in with two of his friends as we were waiting for the police to hand us back my ID and sat in the booth we sat in. As we were exiting, he asked us if we were okay, and I told him a very, very brief version of the story ...

What happened next was also extremely upsetting. The woman told me that the man who asked us if we were okay, told the Trump supporter that he would not tolerate racism. Then the Trump guy took out pepper spray and sprayed it directly into the man's face. That man had to go to the emergency room. At that point, the woman was definitely trying to leave, and the Trump supporter pushed her, and the pepper spray got into one of her friend's eyes too.
The Trump supporter was arrested as the police saw what happened.

But a person who demonstrated empathy, who stood up against racism and said he would not tolerate it, had to go to the emergency room. That person was hurt. We are not safe.

Gothamist has an account of the incident here. The woman at the diner who witnessed what happened is a Mic News reporter, and she shared her version of the events here.

Gothamist also has more details about the man's arrest:

Police arrested Frank Camino, 56, at 2:52 a.m. on Sunday. He's since been charged with assault in the second degree and possession of a weapon, specifically pepper spray. According to a criminal complaint, Camino sprayed a man in the face and eyes with a can of pepper spray, causing swelling, redness and pain.

A spokesman for the NYPD confirmed that Camino was also the man who called 911 to report being splashed with water. Prosecutors and police did not provide details on the arguments that promoted both interactions. Camino's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment; Camino himself could not be reached.

As for why the diner's staff didn't come to assist the women, a manager there told Gothamist that he "had no idea."

The 2nd Avenue location of Tompkins Square Bagels is now open

[Photo of Garrett the manager yesterday by Lola Sáenz]

After a test run yesterday, the new location of Tompkins Square Bagels officially opens today at 184 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. Owner Christopher Pugliese said that their hours for now will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (and possibly 5 p.m.).

There have been several delays with the renovations here. Pugliese's build out got bogged down, in part, by city bureaucracy. As he said last December: "The killer is, the DOB approved all of our major alterations very quickly. They came back to us with a list of about 12 minor objections and asked us to make adjustments. Little things like 'move this staircase six inches to the right,' or 'put the skylight here instead of there.' That has been dragging on for months."

And most recently there was an electrical problem with the main line to the building.

The original Tompkins Square Bagels, which debuted in December 2011, remains open at 165 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Pugliese previously said that there will be several items only available at the Second Avenue outpost, such as knishes from Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery and bialys. [Bialys not here yet!]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A 2nd Tompkins Square Bagels confirmed for former Open Pantry space on 2nd Avenue

Tompkins Square Bagels makes it official on 2nd Avenue

The new Tompkins Square Bagels will arrive before the 2nd Avenue subway

Video: An in-progress look at Tompkins Square Bagels, opening this month on 2nd Avenue

Storefronts at 110 E. 7th St. for rent

The for rent sign showed up this past Friday at 110 E. Seventh St., the former home of Porchetta.

The 8-year-old, quick-serve restaurant, which specialized in Italian-style roast pork sandwiches and platters, closed several weeks ago here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Co-owner Matt Lindemulder told me that he was exploring several options and was looking forward to getting Porchetta up and running as soon as possible in a new location.

And it appears that both retail spaces at the address are available, according to the listing. (The rent is available upon request.) The other space housed Salon Seven. I do not know their status at the moment.

Neither here nor there but the Winick listing has a rundown of the neighboring businesses, four of which have closed or relocated.

The landlord is listed as Jakobson Properties.