75 1st Ave. now in bendy thing phase

[Photo by Goggla]

There's more activity now to note at 75 First Ave., where the bendy thing arrived yesterday morning for some cement-pumping action here next to the Rite Aid on Fifth Street.

Meanwhile, as previously reported earlier this month, sales are underway at the 8-floor, 22-unit condoplex. The three units on the market are asking between $1.79 million and $2.25 million.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Developer: A shorter building in the works now for 75 First Avenue

High-rise for 75 First Avenue back in play

Long-stalled First Avenue site now has a brand-new rendering

Report: Long-dormant 1st Avenue development site changes hands

Plywood report and the future of 75 1st Ave. (Spoiler: condos)

Sales underway for Rite Aid-adjacent condoplex on 1st Avenue

Dec. 1 date set for Boris & Horton, Avenue A's new dog cafe

As we first reported last month, Boris & Horton, billed as "New York's first dog friendly coffee shop and community space," is coming to the former Ost Cafe and Raclette spaces on Avenue A at 12th Street.

The cafe made New York magazine's fall-opening listings. (The tentative opening date is Dec. 1, per New York.)

Here's what the magazine had to say in the preview: "Logan Holzman and her father, Coppy, the founder of Charity Buzz, will open this dog café in late fall, where canines can play while their humans hang out and sip wine or coffee. Logan has an animal-rescue background, so she also hopes Boris & Horton (named for the Holzmans’ dogs) will host adoption events."

Boris & Horton has a teaser site up with a little more info about the owners.


[Screengrab from the Boris & Horton website]

DNAinfo reported that the space will be divided by a glass wall into two sections per Department of Health rules. There's a cafe side with food and drinks ... with a dog-friendly side that will sell pet supplies.

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.

It's 1958 (still) on St. Mark's Place — not to mention Christmas

It's like Santa's Workshop on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue... where crews have been busy prepping for shooting the Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" ... the dramedy is set in 1958. And apparently around Christmas, as these photos via Scuba Diva show...







Some of the storefronts have been redressed to look like old-timey businesses...


[You in the Iron Maiden shirt — move to another decade!]

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Meanwhile!

The block is full of some old-timey automobiles as well, as Derek Berg discovered...









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Looks like a big shoot... as of early this morning, there wasn't any parking allowed on parts of Avenue A from St. Mark's Place to Sixth Street, and on a few of the side streets...



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Updated 8 p.m.



Here's a look at Physical Graffitea on St. Mark's Place this evening... dressed up as Quality Shoe Repair for the shoot, but open for business right now...



Photos by Steven...

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: Felix Velazquez
Occupation: Social Worker
Location: 6th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A
Time: 3:50 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I came here when I was 13 years old — I’m going to be 70. I came to this neighborhood right after I got out of the Navy. I’d been in Vietnam and I came back to this neighborhood around 1969 or 1970. This was free love, drop out, lots of upheaval throughout the United States against the Vietnam War.

This was a neighborhood where my first rent was $73 a month. Basically when I came here, this was a slum. The demarcation line was Avenue A. There was a lot of abandonment in the early 1970s. The other side of First Avenue was, not very expensive, but the difference was major. Even the other side of First Avenue on St. Mark's was pretty much abandoned. Second Avenue was blithe.

This was a marginal community, but there was also a community of immigrants. You had a lot of Polish, Russian, Latinos, Puerto Ricans. There were hardly any Dominicans at that time – they came later. Since it was an immigrant neighborhood, you had lots and lots of churches, and you still have a lot of churches. The city was pretty rough, and I think the only places that didn’t change were probably Park Avenue, 5th Avenue, but most of the other neighborhoods went through some heavy-duty stuff.

I’ve been working in the neighborhood for a long time. I graduated from social work school in 1979, and most of my social work has been in this neighborhood. There was a lot of organizing in this neighborhood. I did some organizing for housing, because of the gentrification going on. I became a member of the Community Board for awhile – I was vice chairman and I was chairman of the Housing Committee for Community Board 3 for a long time. This was a fighting community; it still is a fighting community, but it had been slowly changing with gentrification. Organizing is still going on. There are still a lot of people doing it. It’s always been kind of a leftist community.

On a day-to-day basis, I lived in the neighborhood and I survived. It was fun, and it’s always been a neighborhood where you have lots of live music, art, poetry. The Nuyorican Poets Café was formed at that time in the 1970s. In the Latino community, in the Puerto Rican community, you had El Teatro, El CoCo que Habla, which was a group of young kids who were involved in theater, and Miguel Piñero came out of there. So there was a lot of activity and a lot of fun. You were young.

And there were a lot of drugs — a lot of easy access to just about any kind of drug you wanted, so it was always a struggle to not get caught up in that kind of thing. As a social worker I helped a lot of people get out of drugs. I worked for St. Mark's Place Institute for Metal Health for many years.

I love New York and I love this neighborhood. It’s a 24-hour neighborhood — 24-hour supermarkets, delis. If you like witchcraft, you can find it down here. If you like stand-up comedy, you find it down here ... live music, rock and roll, salsa, whatever you like, you got it. You’ve got lots and lots of clubs with live music. If you’re into music, this is the place – outdoor concerts, jazz festivals. It’s a great neighborhood – I love it.

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

Capturing lightning on a building

EVG reader Eben Hall shared this photo from last night ... a composite of the lightning strikes on One World Trade Center, as viewed from Avenue C. Captured between 11 p.m and midnight.

[Updated] Woman pushed onto F train tracks at 2nd Avenue in unprovoked attack; victim in stable condition

A 49-year-old woman was pushed onto the northbound F train tracks at Second Avenue during an unprovoked attack last night around 9, according to published reports.

There wasn't a train approaching the station at the time. Several people jumped onto the tracks and helped the woman back up to the platform. Police said that she left the station under her own power and was taken to Bellevue, where she is in stable condition with a head injury.

Per NBC 4: "Police [said] that the suspect told the woman 'I'm going to push you' and the suspect then shoved the woman."

Police described the suspect as a black male in his 20s wearing dark clothing. He remained at large this morning.

Here's a video clip of the NYPD statement via Andy Mai of the Daily News...

Capt. Hsiao Loo of Manhattan South Detective Bureau briefing reporters on a 49 yo female push on tracks at 2nd Ave F train station #NYC pic.twitter.com/gQ2Xt271sZ

— Andy Mai (@MaiAndy) August 23, 2017

Updated 11:30 a.m.

The Daily News spoke with the shove victim, Kamala Shrestha, a mother of three, at Bellevue.

“He said something I don’t understand, he said ‘Do you want to die with me?’” or something. I didn’t understand what it was.”

He was skinny but strong and he shoved her hard, she said.

“I didn’t want to die. I yelled for someone, and somebody came, two guys,” she explained. They pulled her up, but the man escaped.

There's a free screening of 'Florence Foster Jenkins' in Tompkins Square Park Friday night

The city's "Movies Under the Stars" series comes to Tompkins Square Park Friday evening for a free screening of "Florence Foster Jenkins," the 2015 biopic that saw Meryl Streep earn her 20th Oscar nomination.

Here's the consensus via Rotten Tomatoes: "'Florence Foster Jenkins' makes poignant, crowd-pleasing dramedy out of its stranger-than-fiction tale — and does its subject justice with a reliably terrific turn from star Meryl Streep."



A few details via the NYC Parks website:

You should arrive by 7:30 p.m. to get your spot. Feel free to bring a blanket to sit on; there will be a limited supply of chairs available. Bottled water is OK, but no glass. Reservations are not taken; space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. All are welcome!

The movie starts at dusk (8 p.m.-ish) at the multi-purpose fields off of Avenue A and 10th Street.

Space Mabi sets Sept. 19 opening date on 1st Avenue

Several readers have noted the opening-soon sign at 67 First Avenue at Fourth Street ... where Space Mabi has set a Sept. 19 opening date...



Here's more about the concept from the questionnaire for a liquor license here (CB3 approved this last month):

Our team is planning on making the space ... an intimate but stylish restaurant/bar which seeks to gather people of all backgrounds to share in a Korean dining experience with tapas influences. Exploring traditional flavors and dishes while utilizing modern cooking techniques and ingredients, artful plating and portion sizes, we hope that the authenticity of the food and the enjoyment of the dining experience will invite patrons for generations to come. It is our goal to realize something appropriate that addresses our aspirations and priorities.

We also want to provide the space to the community in the mornings and afternoons so that they can have utilize the space for working, studying, having group discussions, catching up with others, etc.

Dishes on the sample menu include a fried tofu ball, avocado salad and soy rice cake to start, and a variety of kimchi dishes, among others.

The proprietors were previously behind a similar venture on Fifth Avenue at 30th Street called Space Nabi, which closed in the spring. (It was a cafe in the morning hours, with food and drinks later in the day.)

The previous tenant, the Venezuelan restaurant Guayoyo, never reopened after an early-morning basement fire on Jan. 13, 2015.

H/T Vinny & O!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

An updated look at that Moxy hotel for 11th Street

On Monday, we noted the foundation work was underway for the Moxy hotel coming to 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

To date, only one preliminary rendering had been making the rounds.

Now, though, New York Yimby got the first full one via Stonehill & Taylor Architects...



Per Yimby: "[T]he building will be substantially more attractive than most new hotels in Manhattan, with industrial-style casement windows that lack the PTAC units that proliferate across so many low-budget developments."

The hotel geared toward millennial travelers will feature 311 rooms and a variety of eating-drinking options with an optimistic opening date of late 2018.

...and after the party, IT'S THE AFTER PARTY. #atthemoxy

A post shared by Moxy Hotels (@moxyhotels) on Aug 9, 2017 at 4:45am PDT

Previously.

Meanwhile, on the most humid day of summer, Christmas comes to St. Mark's Place

Film crews for the Amazon series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" beat the Astor Place Kmart to setting up a Christmas display... crews are on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue prepping for scenes for the dramedy set in 1958.

The scene provided a WTF moment for EVG regular Jose Garcia, who shared these photos...

Report: The Village Voice is ending its print edition

After more than 60 years, The Village Voice is ending its print edition.

Said publisher Peter Barbey, who bought the weekly in 2015, via The Hollywood Reporter:

"For more than 60 years, The Village Voice brand has played an outsized role in American journalism, politics, and culture," Barbey said in a prepared statement. "It has been a beacon for progress and a literal voice for thousands of people whose identities, opinions, and ideas might otherwise have been unheard. I expect it to continue to be that and much, much more.”

The paper left Cooper Square, its home since 1991, in 2013 for a move to Maiden Lane in the Financial District.

More tributes TK...

The Village Voice is ending its weekly print edition. End of a journalism era in New York City.

— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) August 22, 2017

Here's more via Poynter, which called the announcement "a symbolic blow for alternative weeklies across the United States, which have endured successive cuts and closures in recent years as print advertising revenue has dried up."

Updated

Here are thoughts via the Columbia Journalism Review.

EVG Etc.: Commercial rent tax battle; wedding on an M14D

[At the former Golden Market on 1st Avenue at 7th Street]

Police have arrested the Uber driver accused of raping an East Village resident after she fell asleep in his car (New York Post)

The East Village Queer Film Festival is underway at the Wild Project on Third Street (Official site)

A proposal to declaw Manhattan’s commercial rent tax has pitted de Blasio against his own party (The Real Deal)

Couple gets married on a 14D bus (B+B)

East Village man arrested, accused of taking peeping-Tom photos of neighbor (Daily News)

City Hall reported 70 pedestrians and cyclists killed by city motorists through July, and 8,074 injured, compared to 80 deaths and 8,502 injuries in the first seven months of 2016. (Streetsblog)

Pier 36 becomes party boat, cruise ship destination (The Lo-Down)

Celebrating the longstanding and ongoing ties between boxing and cinema (Anthology Film Archives)

Invasion of the outlet malls in NYC? (Gothamist)

Diversions: Andy Kauffman's 1979 show at Carnegie Hall (Dangerous Minds)

On Target for a summer 2018 opening on 14th Street and Avenue A

Last week, workers removed the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding at 500 E. 14th St. at Avenue A... providing a good look at the storefront that will house the Target small-format store...



According to the Target news room, the store in the base of Extell's 7-floor residential complex will open next summer. A few details via Target:

Approx. 27,000 sq. ft. over two levels.
Merchandise includes men’s and women’s apparel and accessories, home, food (with grab-and-go selection spanning sandwiches, salads, beverages and more), health and beauty and electronics assortment.
Services offered: Target Mobile and Order Pickup.

Checking in on the former Other Music space, soon to be a health-focused restaurant

Renovations continue behind the papered-over storefront at 15 E. Fourth St. between Lafayette and Broadway, the former home of Other Music.

The incoming establishment is called Broken Coconut, a quick-serve healthy restaurant serving items such as quinoa parfaits and coconut chia.

BoweryBoogie first reported on this last month, with Eater getting further details, including that the venture is via Scott Sartiano, the nightlife impresario who was one of the founders of both 1Oak and Butter.

You can see the progress from a gap in the papered windows...



Broken Coconut is currently hiring. The Craigslist ad doesn't have many details about the venture: "Full and part time jobs available for new quick service concept serving healthy, delicious meals on the go. We value hard working employees with a great attitude over experience. Competitive hourly wage plus tips."

Other Music closed in June 2016 after 20-plus years in business. The store's owners cited rising rents and the changing face of the music industry as reasons behind the closure.

The filmmakers behind the documentary on Other Music successfully raised the necessary funds last month to complete the project.

We made our goal! Thanks to our backers & to @mollydneuman & everyone at @kickstarter. We're so humbled & can't wait to show you the film. #othermusicforever

A post shared by Other Music Documentary (@othermusicdoc) on Jul 27, 2017 at 12:14am PDT