I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant

East Village resident Susan Schiffman has been photographing the apartments of rent-stabilized tenants living in the East Village for her Instagram account, I Am a Rent Stabilized Tenant. Starting today, she is sharing some of the photos here for a new EVG feature.





Tenants: Drew (since 1997) and Mia

Why did you move to the East Village?
Drew had been coming to the city for many years to attend the Halloween parade and visit his brother. He moved here from Colorado. One year he dressed up as Prince. His first roommate in the apartment's birthday was Oct. 31.

How did you get your apartment?
Drew was interested in the apartment but lost it to two NYU students. The first night the students moved in they went out for the night. When they came back all of their stuff had been stolen. They decided they didn't want to live there and Drew got the apartment.

What is your favorite thing about where you live?
The stoop. Drew said he met practically everyone he knows on his block on the night of a blackout. He brought out his grill and started grilling all the food in his fridge before it went bad. Neighbors brought out chicken wings. A nearby restaurant brought over some sushi tuna to grill.







If you're interested in inviting Susan in to photograph your apartment for an upcoming post, then you may contact her via this email.

More about Boris and Horton, the dog-friendly cafe coming to Avenue A

[The same photo I posted on Monday]

Back on Monday, I reported that Boris and Horton, billed as "New York's first dog friendly coffee shop and community space," was in the works for the former Ost Cafe and Raclette spaces on Avenue A at 12th Street.

The applicants, Coppy Holzman and his daughter, Logan Holzman, appeared before CB3's SLA committee meeting that night for a new beer-wine license.

Allegra Hobbs at DNAinfo was at the meeting, and has more details in this article:

Boris and Horton, named for owners Coppy and Logan Holzman's respective pooches, will be divided by a glass wall into two sections per Department of Health rules — a cafe side will offer up beverages alongside pastries and sandwiches, while the pet-friendly side will provide a lounging space for folks with dogs, plus a photo booth and pet supplies.

"It's like basically going to someone's nice living room with your dog, and it's adjacent to a place where you can get all your food and coffee," said Coppy Holzman.

And!

Patrons are free to move between the spaces as long as their dogs stay on the designated dog side, explained the Holzmans — and staff will be on hand to momentarily watch dogs if an owner has to dash to grab a coffee.

And dog-less New Yorkers who just want to hang out with a bunch of dogs are welcome throughout, they said.

The CB3-SLA committee approved the application with some stipulations, "including installing soundproofing and monitoring noise from canine visitors."

Boris and Horton is expected to be open this winter.

Café Floral Delight now open on 10th Street

Café Floral Delight opened earlier this month at 380 E. 10th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Here's more about the operation via the cafe's Facebook page:

Café Floral Delight offers delicious coffee from Devoción, pastries from the wonderful Balthazar, and beautiful custom designed buttercream cupcakes by Jiahn, the owner herself.

EVG reader EVJackie, who shared these photos, stopped by yesterday and wrote in:

I went in this morning and got a cold brew and a sugar cookie that was decorated with edible flowers. They have other goodies too, like cupcakes and various breakfast-type pastries. They were also promoting their yogurt/compote parfait today by giving away free samples. It was pretty good, so I'll probably go back.

The cafe's hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday...


[EVG photo]

Meanwhile, next door, I Salon is coming soon... it appears to be their second NYC location...



The I Salon space was previously home to a pawn shop, which moved to a new storefront a block away between Avenue C and Avenue D.

N'eat is currently closed

N'eat, which serves "New Nordic fare," has not been open this past week (and perhaps longer) here at 58 Second Ave. The sign on the door between Third Street and Fourth Street says: "Due to unforeseen building issues, we have to close temporarily for maintenance work."



There isn't any mention of the closure on the restaurant's website or social media properties. A call to the restaurant reveals that the number is no longer in service. N'eat is not accepting reservations, and OpenTable notes that the restaurant is "permanently closed." Lastly, there aren't any new work permits, which might indicate work on the building, on file for the address at the DOB.

The restaurant opened in early November.

La Newyorkina joins Astor Plate on Astor Place

As previously noted, Astor Plate, the food-and-drink kiosk serving Mud Coffee, opened back on Saturday.

And yesterday, a second food vendor debuted for the season on Astor Place, adjacent to the uptown 6 stop.

Here's more about La Newyorkina via the EVG inbox...

Founded in 2010, La Newyorkina features an amazing array of sweets and treats from Chef Fany Gerson’s native Mexico. The La Newyorkina story started with paletas (hand-made, seasonal ice pops) using traditional Mexican flavors like tamarind, chocolate and dried chiles. The paletas were sold out of carts at local food festivals and built a loyal following at Smorgasburg, Jacob Riis Park and the High Line. La Newyorkina’s Astor Place kiosk will showcase a broader menu, including a variety of Mexican confections and pastries (paletas, ice cream and chamoyadas) as well as Dough doughnuts for breakfast.

In other Astor Place news, Jim Power and Julie Powell will be hosting Mosaic Making Workshops and giving three guided walking tours of the Astor Place Mosaic Poles on Saturday. Find the details here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
La Newyorkina softly opening on Astor Place place today; first of 2 new food vendors

What's happening with the former Edge space?

The Edge, the neighborhood bar on Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, closed last September after 29 years in business.

The space had been on the rental market... of late, though, the for lease sign hasn't been visible.

An EVG tipster says there has been some activity in the space, and points to clues in the front window of a possible new tenant...



However, there aren't any work permits on file for the storefront that might provide any details, such as if workers are venting the space for cooking.

Updated

This sign is now on the front door... Reso Box...

Noted

Someone added a little detail to the new anti-rat, Big Belly trash can that the city placed here on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street last Thursday. Big Belly watchers believe the addition arrived Monday night.

Out and About in the East Village

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: Brian Breger (and Molly)
Occupation: Writer/TV Producer
Location: 3rd Street between 1st and A
Date: 3:45 pm on Sunday, July 16

I’m originally from Brooklyn. I moved to the neighborhood when I was in college. It was a place where I could get a cheap apartment, and they weren’t very particular about who rented ... I don’t know if it was actually the worst neighborhood in New York in terms of the crime, but it was one of the few.

So I moved here in 1970, and I lived on 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue right near the Hells Angels. The buildings on either side of me were abandoned. One of the things we did that first summer was rush out of the building when the fire engines came because there were inevitably fires there. A lot of homeless people lived in the buildings – we didn’t call them homeless people then, we called them street people.

I was a college student and a young writer, and there were lots of other young writers, painters, dancers, and theater people. As students we had no money, and as bohemians we continued to have no money. It was filled with people who wanted to have the opportunity to make art and live cheaply.

I graduated from City College, and many of us stayed in the neighborhood because we could live here and work a couple days a week and make art. A friend of mine ... had a tiny gallery on 5th Street, and then more and more galleries started to come – and there was a very active scene in the 1980s into the 1990s.

But at the same time also things like the Nuyorican Poets Café first opened in the 1970s, so it wasn’t just a white scene, it was a multicultural scene. There was a genuine mix of people. I used to say that everybody in the neighborhood hated each other, but everybody got along because they had to. I’m not saying that the Latin families in my building across from me were particularly friendly to me, but they weren’t unfriendly. There was no hostility. Everybody was basically poor – so that was a great leveler.

I was primarily a poet. I ran readings in various places with a couple of friends, Chuck Wachtel and Harry Lewis, also poets. Chuck is a distinguished novelist as well. I eventually started to work in documentary and was a screenwriter, and then I came back to documentary. It was independent, it still is, but I also make films for places like National Geographic, Discovery, A&E — all sorts of documentary channels. So that’s what I’m doing now.

There was a great energy here. There had been people here in the mid and late 1960s before us who had been the original bohemians in this neighborhood, and that just grew, and it continued to grow through the 1970s. There was a very active jazz scene in this neighborhood. I was a bartender at a jazz club called the Tin Palace, which was a central place where young musicians came and played, and I also ran a reading series there.

The Tin Palace was on the Bowery and 2nd Street, so it was bad outside. That was when the Bowery was a place that you wouldn’t go to after dark unless you had a place to go to. This was an extremely dangerous neighborhood. There were places that you wouldn’t walk at night. You wouldn’t even go to Avenue A unless you were going to a specific spot, but you wouldn’t be strolling along Avenue A.

There were two blocks in the neighborhood that were actually safe – one was 5th Street between 1st and 2nd because of the police precinct, and the other was 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd because it was the Hells Angels block, and the Hells Angels would actually ask people if they lived on the block if they were strangers.

The thing that has always made it special is the remarkable mix of people that live here, and still live here despite the gentrification. I raised two daughters here, and I chose to raise two daughters here along with my wife because it was a place where you had every imaginable kind of person, every income, from people with fancy apartments to people who could barely meet their rent. There were people who were interested in everything — in art, in politics, in every imaginable activity that the city had. They congregated here, and not to the same degree as they did, but they still do.

I think the fact that this neighborhood always had that incredible mix of artists and real people, and people from different backgrounds and different cultures – it’s always been a very alive neighborhood — and that’s what I wanted my children to experience, and I think it made them good people. They accept difference in every aspect of things.

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

An update on Steiner East Village, 'Usherer of Alphabet City Gentrification'

[Photo from Saturday]

CityReality provides an update on developer Douglas Steiner's luxury condoplex, Steiner East Village, in a piece titled "Usherer of Alphabet City Gentrification More than 50% Sold."

As the headline suggests, 44 of the building's 82 units along Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street have been spoken for.

The building, which features an indoor pool and 5,000-square-foot "rooftop park," also holds the distinction of having an East Village record-breaking sell-out of $225 million.

A passage from the post:

As of mid-July, much of the building’s exterior is complete. Closings are expected to begin this fall with occupancy likely following soon after. A recent episode of Million Dollar Listing featured the building, where celebrity broker Fredrik Ecklund just so happens to be leading sales. Reflecting on the social impact Steiner East Village may have on the community, Ecklund and others commit thousands of dollars to fund a cooking program for kids at a local park.

The CityRealty piece doesn't mention anything about the 11,000 square feet of retail space that will apparently be available along Avenue A. (The last listing we saw is from 2014.) For people concerned about the increase in chain stores here (joining the incoming Trader Joe's and Target around the corner), you can likely count on one or two more in this space.

Steiner bought the former Mary Help of Christians property in 2012 from the Archdiocese of New York for $41 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Developer Douglas Steiner lands $130 million loan for EV condo construction

Douglas Steiner's church-replacing condos emerge from the pit; plus new renderings

Developer Douglas Steiner presents Steiner East Village


[The church property in August 2012 via Bobby Williams]

More about Martina, Danny Meyer's 'fine-casual pizzeria' coming to 11th Street

Martina, the Roman-inspired pizzeria from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, is opening next month on 11th Street at Third Avenue ... in the former lobby of Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building here.

Esquire profiles the executive chef, Nick Anderer, and provides a few more details on Martina — "a fine-casual pizzeria with a paired-down, cheaper menu, as well as service at a counter instead of table side."

To an excerpt:

With Martina, Anderer will experiment with hospitality — he wants to figure out how to toe the line between serving customers food quickly, but not making them feel like he made their meal before they walked in the door. That means snacks and drinks ready right after you order and take your buzzer.
Meatballs, Martina Mista salad, seasonal vegetable dishes (starting with zucchini), potato croquettes, etcetera.

For booze, Anderer wants to offer the same quality of craft wines and champagne as his recent spots. "So if somebody does want to go high-brow, low-brow and have a seven-dollar pizza with some awesome champagne they can do it without breaking the bank," he says. Not to mention that gelato machine, serving a basic vanilla flavor that he'll use to make desserts like affogato.

#capricciosa

A post shared by Martina (@martinapizzeria) on Jul 14, 2017 at 7:34am PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

Former S'MAC space for lease on 12th Street

Earlier this month, S'MAC (aka Sarita's Mac & Cheese) moved from their 11-year-old home on 12th Street several storefronts away to the northwest corner at First Avenue.

And now that former 12th Street storefront is on the rental market. The listing hasn't made its way online yet. Per the signage, the landlord is looking for a restaurant tenant.

The other restaurants right along here are Pata Negra, Motorino, Thai Terminal, Ducks Eatery and, soon, Saltwater NYC, an Australian coffee shop.

Previously on EV Grieve:
S'MAC is open in new home on 1st Avenue and 12th Street

Ladybird about a month away from opening on 7th Street

The exterior is shaping up over at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, where Ravi DeRossi has relocated his vegan tapas bar Ladybird ... the signage arrived this week...



Despite the progress from the outside, DeRossi said in an email that they're still a month out from opening.

For a quick recap: This space was home to DeRossi's Bourgeois Pig, which relocated to the West Village after 10 years due to an increase in rent. He changed the name to Ladybird last summer as his restaurants started going meat free. (Ladybird sends part of its profits to DeRossi's BEAST Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending animal cruelty.) And now Ladybird has migrated to the east, as we first reported in April.

The previous No. 111 tenant, the wine bar Virgola, closed last October after 10 months in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ravi DeRossi moving Ladybird to the East Village; taking residence at former Bourgeois Pig space

Midday skyline break

Photo today by Bobby Williams

The real story behind the so-called Lower East Side hoarder

On Sunday night, we posted the video that a contractor working at an undisclosed building created showing the cockroach-filled apartment that he and his crew had to clean following the eviction of the resident.

"Whatever you've seen, you've never seen nothing like this," the contractor, Martin Fernandez, says in the video that was posted on multiple news sites. Fernandez never mentioned the actual address, saying only that the building was on the Lower East Side. However, the First Avenue location of the Bean is visible in one of the scenes, causing several readers who shared this video to think this building was in the East Village.

An EVG reader, who lives in the building where this took place, shared the following letter to provide more background on what transpired ...

I live in the building in which this now-former tenant’s apartment is located. First, I can confirm that the apartment was definitely not staged, and that it is, indeed, in the East Village.

I must admit, as awful as it has been over the past couple of years living in the building where this person lived (though I and that tenant have each lived there for about 15 years), it’s a bit painful to see this described simply as the situation of a “hoarder.” That’s not at all to criticize EV Grieve, because I’m sure that is the only context in which it was presented to him. I just hope to add a little context before too many people comment without, understandably, knowing more about the situation.

As Martin, the contractor, noted, the tenant was not always living this way. We are a pretty closely knit bunch in this building, due to our occasional battles with our landlord ... and while most of us weren’t close friends with the tenant, we knew him for many years as maybe a bit eccentric (as most of us living here could probably be described as well), but as a good neighbor and not someone anyone would imagine ending up in this kind of situation.

Sadly, over the past two years, we all witnessed his mental and physical health decline for reasons that should remain private. We tried, individually and as a group, to intervene, but it quickly became clear here was not willing or able to accept our offers to help, which was frustrating both because of the declining conditions in the building, and because it is painful to watch someone go through what he was going through.

Let me be clear: it’s been pretty hellish living here for the last couple of years. While none of us had seen the full extent of the decay in his apartment until now, we have all been dealing with the effects. Those roaches invaded every apartment in the building and, while not nearly as numerous as they were in his, it’s been nearly impossible for any of us to cook or keep food for over a year now, and it’s a very defeating feeling to know that no matter how much one cleans, there will always be more roaches arriving from the source. Living in an old tenement building, we’ve certainly learned to expect the occasional rodent or critter of some sort, but this was clearly on a scale that made the building next to unlivable.

As I mentioned, we’ve been through battles with our landlord over the past couple of years (and came out on top thus far, thankfully), and he was well aware of the situation. While I’d love to blame him for not addressing the issue, I do know that he attempted to do so, sending multiple exterminators upon our request over the past couple years, all of whom left when the tenant cursed at them and would not let them into his apartment.

As I understand it, the landlord bought out his lease nearly a year ago, but he did not leave after accepting the buyout. Eviction proceedings followed.

It was a difficult situation for everyone, because clearly the tenant’s living situation was a threat to his own health and that of everyone in the building, and we certainly knew this couldn’t continue. On the other hand, we were conscious of his poor health and limited resources, and I don’t believe anyone wanted him end up living on the street. The courts apparently agreed, as they stayed his eviction for many months due to his health. And so, at something of a stalemate with our desire for a decent place to live and our consciences, the situation dragged on.

Last week, he was finally evicted and, as I understand it, he has moved into another building in the neighborhood, where I can’t imagine he or his new neighbors will be any better off than we were.

As for our building, as you can see, contractors immediately moved in to attempt to clean out his apartment, and clearly it is not a pleasant task. And it will surely be some time before we can fully eradicate the roaches from the building – though we will certainly hold our landlord to doing so as quickly as possible.

I suppose this is all a very long way of saying that it’s been a very rough couple of years, and it would sure be convenient if there was was one person to hold to blame, or to simply call the tenant a hoarder and put him on a reality show, or just call the landlord an asshole, or even to say that we (or his closer friends/family) should have done more, but maybe the lesson in the end is just that illness – mental and physical — really fucking sucks. And while none of us were able to help him address what he was going through, and maybe no one could, I just wish there were better options than watching this happen or getting him kicked out onto the street.

This video and the images of the apartment are out there now, and as we all know there’s no way of retracting them. And I don’t blame people for sharing them now that they’ve become public – I understand there’s a natural fascination with these kinds of graphic images, particularly in a city where we all may wonder from time to time what lies behind our neighbors’ doors. But wonder as we may, we do not generally step through those doors uninvited.

Our former neighbor never gave consent for his very private struggle to be held up to public view and inevitable ridicule, and it’s disappointing and saddening to me that Martin felt the need to offer them to the press. What purpose could it serve? The fact that he has left comments on the article at several news outlets asking people to subscribe to his YouTube channel and promising additional videos may provide the answer. Or perhaps he genuinely felt the need share an experience that he found traumatic as his own way of coping.

Whatever the case, I sincerely hope that he will reconsider posting whatever additional videos/photos he may have. And if he cannot resist doing so, I hope that this backstory will at least allow those who read it to view those images through the lens that we, his neighbors, have viewed them: certainly with disgust at the conditions, but also with an understanding that what we are witnessing is a glimpse into the very personal struggles of a person who, just a few years ago, was laughing with us at parties and showing off, with great pride, the furniture he custom built in his apartment.

For now, I can hope for nothing more than that he gets the help he needs and deserves, that we get to return to the decent living conditions we deserve, and that his new neighbors somehow avoid experiencing what we have endured over these past couple of years. And I hope that if our old neighbor is reading this, he knows that despite our frustrations with him over the years, we know his life is more than the images coming out of his apartment, and we wish him health and happier days ahead.

Basketball courts at Open Road Park getting refurbished thanks to NBA star Kevin Durant

Work is at roughly the halfway point at Open Road Park adjacent to the East Side Community School on 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

As the signs note, the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation (KDCF) is funding the refurbishment of the basketball courts.



Here's more about the program:

In 2015, NIKE, Inc., Kevin Durant, and the KDCF partnered to create the BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL Courts Renovation Initiative to increase the number of high quality basketball courts accessible to underprivileged youth across the United States and internationally. BUILD IT AND THEY WILL BALL will propel the mission of the KDCF to enrich the lives of youth from low-income backgrounds through various educational and athletic programs.

The refurbishment includes a KDCF mural by Bronx-based artist André Trenier (who does the monthly murals on the gate at Mikey Likes It on Avenue A)...





Perhaps this will entice Durant to come play for the Knicks. #Heh

Mayahuel closing on 6th Street; new restaurant in the works for the space

Mayahuel, the Mexican-themed cocktail bar on Sixth Street from the Death & Co. team (Ravi DeRossi), has announced that it will be shutting its doors on Aug. 8.

They made the announcement yesterday via Instagram... "Our lease has come to an end, and renewing wasn't an option."

To our Family, Friends & Fellow Agave Lovers, • It is with great sadness that we inform you Mayahuel will be closing her doors for good on August 8th, 2017. • Our lease has come to an end, and renewing wasn't an option. • There will never be a greater honor than having been able to welcome you into our home, share our passion for agave with you, and create and share so many incredible memories. • Between now and August 8th, we hope to welcome you into our home a few more times to celebrate all that is Mayahuel. • With the utmost appreciation and love, The Mayahuel Family • PARA TODO MAL MEZCAL, Y PARA TODO BIEN, TAMBIEN. 📩 E-mail our General Manager at Justin@mayahuelny.com if you have any questions or reservation inquiries.

A post shared by Mayahuel (@mayahuelny) on Jul 17, 2017 at 2:09pm PDT

The bar here on between First Avenue and Second Avenue opened in May 2009.

The space doesn't appear to be empty for long. An applicant was on last night's CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license here. The application posted on the CB3 website is short on specifics, other than the proposed hours — 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The applicant, a founder of an e-commerce company for financial-service firms, also owns the building.

H/T Vinny & O!

Going up and going down on 14th Street

Just noting a milestone of sorts at 432-438 E. 14th St., where an 8-story retail-residential building is on the ascent at the former site of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office between Avenue A and First Avenue...



The original plans for 432-438 E. 14th St. call for 114 residential unit with 20 percent affordable housing. A Trader Joe's is signed on for the retail space.

Meanwhile!

Directly across the street, work is now underway for the Avenue A entrances to the L train...





YouTube user Brian Camacho took the video last Tuesday ... showing the prep work at the First Avenue station ... along with a look along 14th Street that shows the scope of the work to come...



As previously reported, the MTA is building the new entrances to help relieve congestion at the stop, which sees an average of 23,000-plus riders per weekday. The entrances at First Avenue and Avenue A will be made ADA compliant.

The work along 14th Street includes a new power substation at Avenue B to give the MTA the juice to operate more L trains.

The MTA did not provide a timeline on when all this will be complete. The shutdown of the L is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019. Read more about that project here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished

The former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office will yield to an 8-story residential building

New residential building at former 14th Street PO will feature a quiet lounge, private dining room

A look at the new building coming to the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office property

Looking at the Allegro Coffee Roasters, now open at Whole Foods Market® Bowery

The Allegro Coffee Roasters debuted on July 10 at Whole Foods Market® Bowery ... at the corner space on Chrystie and East Houston (where the Beer Store was).


[Top photos from July 10 by Steven]

The Colorado-based, Whole Foods-owned Allegro also has an outpost at the Whole Foods Market® Third & 3rd in Gowanus.

An EVG regular stopped by the other day... and noted the offerings...



Per the Allegro website:

The bright, welcoming interior is a mix of modern and nostalgic features that reflect the classic architecture of the Bowery and Lower East Side. We’ve outfitted the large, open bar with a sleek, custom Nuova Simonelli Black Eagle Espresso machine that is quite the conversation piece, and six nitro taps – three cold brews, two nitro teas and kombucha. Our baristas will be hand brewing and batch brewing small microlot coffees from all over the world.

The reader stood in line a few minutes and left before ordering after the person in front of her asked the barista to describe the hand brews.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the Allegro Coffee Roasters coming to Whole Foods Market® Bowery

Montauk Salt Cave coming to 10th Street

The signage is up for Montauk Salt Cave, opening soon on the upper level at 90 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

Here's more about what they offer via their Facebook page:

Salt therapy is a natural way of healing ailments related to respiratory disease, skin conditions and inflammatory symptoms. You will be surrounded with tons-literally tons of Himalayan salt that is both anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. The cave is a beautiful setting for you to come and simply feel better. If you suffer from allergies, asthma, cystic fibrosis, COPD or any respiratory illness...you have found the right place.

[Montauk Salt Cave image via Facebook]

The spa has locations in (duh) Montauk as well as Huntington. You can learn more about their business here. Ikinari Steak, where patrons mostly have to eat standing up, is right downstairs. The upstairs space was last leased to Miron Properties.

On tonight's CB3-SLA docket: Boris & Horton, New York's first dog friendly coffee shop

We've looked at a few of the applicants on this month's CB3-SLA docket, including Joe and Pat's ... and the Ainsworth East Village.

Here are two more items of possible interest on the schedule tonight.

---



A "contemporary American" restaurant is being planned for 105 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

The applicants, who have experience at the Blind Barber and Drexler's on Avenue A, are behind this venture. The paperwork (PDF here) on file ahead of tonight's meeting shows seating for 44 via 14 tables as well as one bar with 10 seats. The proposed hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Thursday; Friday until 3 a.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The questionnaire did not include a sample menu.

Empellón Cocina closed here in May after five years in service.

---



Boris & Horton, billed as "New York's first dog friendly coffee shop and community space," is the concept for the former Ost Cafe and Raclette spaces on Avenue A at 12th Street.

The questionnaire at the CB3 website (PDF here) shows proposed hours of 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. The operators are seeking a beer-wine license to go alongside menu items such as sandwiches and paninis.

A help wanted ad on Craigslist offers more information about the business:

In cooperation with the Department of Health, Boris & Horton will serve coffee and snacks in a dog friendly environment. The coffee bar will be glassed in with double doors leading to the dog side, which will feature café style seating and upscale pet products. We have a lifelong passion for animal rescue so Boris & Horton will be a hub for adoption events and fundraisers.

The principals are listed as Coppy Holzman and his daughter, Logan Holzman.

Ost Cafe closed in February after nine years in business. Their owners said that it had "become too expensive to stay open any longer." The Grand Street location is still in service. Raclette moved from its 14-seat space on A around the corner to the former Northern Spy on 12th Street last fall.

---

The July CB3-SLA committee meeting is tonight at 6:30 at Ian Schrager's Public Hotel, 215 Chrystie St. just below Houston.

Yuan Noodle in soft-open mode on 2nd Avenue

Yuan Noodle is getting ready for its grand opening at 157 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

The restaurant is in soft-open mode for now...



Eater had more on the owners and concept back in May:

Former financier Jacob Ding is using family recipes to open a Guilin boiled rice noodle and dim sum parlor, after his wife told him she wished that type of restaurant existed.

Ding grew up in Guilin, China, where rice noodles reign. They’re thick and come with various topping such as roasted peanuts, scallions, chiles, and assorted pickles. Ding will serve his dry, as opposed to with soup, alongside a condensed gravy-like sauce and with options like roast pork and braised beef.

Yuan Noodle will also offer classic dim sum dishes, such as shumai, har gow, and vegetable dumplings.

Here's a look at the menu posted on the front window...





The address previously housed Biang!, the sit-down Chinese restaurant via Xi'an Famous Foods owner Jason Wang, and Alder, Wylie Dufresne's bistro.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Yuan Noodle in the works for the former Biang! space on 2nd Avenue

Traveling and panhandling

[Photo on 2nd Avenue last Tuesday by Derek Berg]

Back on Friday evening, CBS 2 filed a report on the summer travelers titled "'They’re Traveling And Doing This Purposely,' Some City Panhandlers May Be In It For Fun."

The not-so-newsy report attempted to cover a lot in 1:50: a) noting the annual warm-weather migration of the travelers (or crusties, as some prefer) b) theorizing that some of the travelers or panhandlers in general are actually not in need of money c) piggybacking onto Mayor de Blasio's recent comments about his frustration with panhandlers.

To CBS 2:

When spring and summer come to New York City, so do homeless travelers from far away suburbs and cities.

They gather in Tompkins Square Park.

Police said some of the disheveled newcomers hopped freight trains from as far away as Seattle.

The park is their central gathering place, and they fan out to the surrounding East Village streets to panhandle.

The report has an on-camera interview with Angelo, aka Gypsy, a regular along Avenue A.

“I’m homeless myself,” he said, “A lot of these guys believe it or not, their parents are rich. They’re traveling and doing this purposely.”

Without quoting anyone directly, the piece notes: "Residents and merchants said the trend is harming their quality of life, and they want the city to do something about it."

CBS 2 also quotes Mayor de Blasio from his quality-of-life press conference last Wednesday, in which he implied some panhandlers are doing it for fun.

“There are people who are in desperate need and maybe don’t know there’s other options. But there are also people who are doing it purely out of choice. This is a fact — who somehow think it’s fun, or think it’s a way to make easy money. And I resent that, I really do.”

Per the Daily News: "He’s especially annoyed about so-called 'crusties' who come into the city from out of town to beg, and women who panhandle with children."

“I’m very upset at the notion of anyone who in effect gives people the impression they’re homeless to make money. That’s what I think is going on. And I don’t like it one bit,” he said, acknowledging there’s little cops can do unless the panhandlers commit a crime. “As frustrating as it is, and this bothers me to say this, but panhandling per se is not illegal.”

Astor Plate now open on Astor Place

The food-and-drink kiosk made its debut on Saturday. As previously reported, the kiosk offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, wraps, smoothies ... as well as Mud Coffee (to make up for the loss of the Mud Truck). You can find the menu here.

Will update with hours when that info is available.

Updated

Mud is giving away free coffee on Wednesday morning ...

We have astornomical news!! @astor_plate is OPEN!! That also means @mudcoffeenyc is back at Astor Place!! Celebrate this Wednesday morning when Astor Plate will be giving away free Mud Coffee between 8am and 10am!! #AstorPlace #AstorPlate #MudNYC #MudPeople

A post shared by Astor Place NYC (@astorplacenyc) on Jul 17, 2017 at 12:21pm PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Mudtruck hits the road ahead of renovations at Astor Place