Wise Men closes on the Bowery

After a 5-year-run at 355 Bowery, Wise Men has closed here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The cocktail lounge wrapped it up after service on Friday, as BoweryBoogie first noted. There wasn't any reason given for the closure. (The space had been on the market.)

Photographer Danielle Levitt, S magazine creative director Christina Chin and hospitality vet Caroleyn Ng were behind this venture. It was modeled after the steakhouse that Chin's parents opened on Mulberry and Bayard in Chinatown after they arrived to the States from Hong Kong in the late 1960s.

Before Wise Men, the space was home to Osaka Vibe/Orange Valve — aka, that kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation of sorts: That kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery

Former kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery is now home to the Wise Men


[Photo from 2011]

A quick look at the incoming Joe and Pat's

Work continues inside 168 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street, where the Staten Island pizzeria Joe & Pat's is opening a location...

EVG regular Lola Sāenz shared these photos the other day showing how the interior is shaping up...



At the moment, it looks as if some of those antique murals from Lanza's, the previous tenant, will be part of the refurbished dining room...



Find previous posts on this topic here.

The Ainsworth neon arrives on 3rd Avenue

The rather retro-y neon signage arrived on Third Avenue at 11th Street for The Ainsworth, the chainlet of upscale sports bars ...



Oh, and there's the Ainsworth awning on the 11th Street side...



No word on an opening date. But when they do throw open the doors, their hours will be:

Sunday-Wednesday: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Village Pourhouse closed here in April.

Previously

Sunday's parting shot

This evening in Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview

[14th Street yesterday morning]

Memorial for Elizabeth Lee on Cooper Square (Saturday ... Wednesday ... Thursday)

Malik Campbell shot and killed on Avenue D (Friday)

Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building (Friday)

RIP Richard Hambleton (Wednesday)

Joe Ricketts shuts down Gothamist and DNAinfo (Thursday)

HiFi’s last stand (Tuesday)

Out and About part 2 with Siobhan Meow (Thursday)

1st Avenue fruit vendors pack up for the season (Wednesday)

On Monday, a rally for the former P.S. 64 at City Hall (Friday)

Graffiti space giving way to Greek restaurant on 10th Street (Monday)

Ho Foods coming to 7th Street (Thursday)

Happy No. 50 to the cube of Astor Place (Wednesday)

Landmark Bicycles closes on Avenue A (Thursday)

East Village subs for the Forest Moon of Endor in Halloween speeder video (Monday)

Everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market (Friday)

Mama Fina's signage arrives on Avenue A (Monday)

Look at the old BP station on 2nd Avenue now (Monday)

An early start on the holidays on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

4 East Village restaurants earn Michelin stars (Tuesday)

Cabaret law repealed; they'll be swinging, swaying, records playing (Tuesday)

Reader report: Driver crashes into Town & Village Synagogue on 14th Street (Monday)

... and at Mikey Likes It at 199 Avenue A... this month's 1980s-inspired mural is Daniel from "The Karate Kid" ... (goes with this flavor) ...


[I’m Daniel…with a “D”]

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John Wilcock's history of The East Village Other

Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall have been sharing an ongoing comic book history at BoingBoing of underground publisher-Warhol biographer John Wilcock's years in New York.

On Friday, they did a segment on The East Village Other, the underground paper Wilcock helped launch in 1965. You can check it out here.

A reminder about time

As a reminder, we're marking the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. on Nov. 5 ... so set those clocks-watches back an hour (and wonder, if you're at a bar at that time, whether they will stay open an extra hour)...

To illustrate Fall Back, let's look at the clock tower at the Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity church on Third Street where it is either 5:15 or 2:25. Tomorrow at this time, it will be 4:15 or 1:25.

Anyway, here's advice from the FDNY...

When you change your clocks for #DaylightSaving, test your smoke/CO alarm & replace batteries. It could save your life. pic.twitter.com/vJFKKB1U6f

— FDNY (@FDNY) November 4, 2017

Memorial for Elizabeth Lee on Cooper Square

Friends and loved ones have placed flowers on Cooper Square where Elizabeth Lee was reportedly gunned down on Wednesday morning by a onetime boyfriend who had been stalking her.

Lee, who was 56, lived on the Upper East Side and worked at Grace Church School on Cooper Square. According to published reports, she had just docked a Citi Bike when Vincent Verdi approached her and shot her twice. He then reportedly shot himself in the head. Verdi, 62, is in critical condition at Bellevue.

The Daily News delves into his past.

He reportedly worked for the CIA and the Defense Department in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, for years.

The person close to him said Verdi suffered from severe depression from his years in the combat theater, and that may have contributed to his shocking crime.

“I think it has to do with him dealing with suicidal depression since he came back from Afghanistan,” the person said. “He was never the same person. And he had told the military that he needed to get help and they just ignored it.”

“That does not make up for his actions. I’m totally horrified by his actions. I can’t even express how sad I am for his family.”

Also:

Verdi has five sealed arrests in Florida for battery, domestic violence, lewd and lascivious behavior and fraud stretching over the past 30 years, police sources said.

Collegaues at Grace Church School remembered Lee as someone who really cared about the students.

Olivia Nunez, 34, met Lee-Herman a decade ago when they worked at Go Project, a nonprofit organization.

“She was really kind,” she said. “Welcoming. Always had a smile on her face. She was just the sweetest, sweetest person.”

We are deeply saddened to say we have lost an irreplaceable member of our community, Elizabeth Lee, a Grace parent as well as assistant to the assistant head of school. These difficult times remind us how important staying together and supporting one another is. Acts of kindness can go a long way. As Rev. Hummel expressed in this morning's chapel, Ms. Lee can be remembered for her kindness and care for her family and GCS. Updates on funeral arrangements will be posted on the school's website.

A post shared by The High School @ GCS (@gcshighschool) on Nov 2, 2017 at 1:47pm PDT

It's the 'End of the World' as we know it

Here's the East Village's own Jesse Malin with a new video for his song "Meet Me at the End of the World," which features some well-known faces and places.

Malin and band will be at the Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 18 for a special benefit show. Details here.

Report: NYPD searching for suspect after man gunned down on Avenue D

DEVELOPING: Man shot in East Village, police search for shooter: NYPD https://t.co/hR5Xlj5vUZ

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) November 3, 2017

There are reports that a man was shot at 108 Avenue D at Eighth Street around 4:15.

CBS 2 reports that the victim, 23, was shot in the head in the Jacob Riis Houses.

The victim is in critical condition, and police are looking for the suspect, per PIX 11.

Will update when more information on the shooting becomes available.

Updated 11/4

According to the Daily News, Malik Campbell died at Bellevue from the gunshot.

Per the News: "Cops are trying to determine if the violence was connected to an earlier stabbing, according to sources."

Oh, but the adventures that we had!

The concrete horse head bust has had such a busy week! And now the "phantom horse" is "under restoration" on Seventh Street outside its stable the Shape of Lies.

Photo by Derek Berg

Report: NE corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building

Plans are in the works to redevelop the three-building assemblage on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

According to The Real Deal:

[Real Estate Equities Corporation REEC], led by Brandon Miller and Mark Siegel, is planning to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue to make way for one new property. Plans call for a seven-story, 66,000-square-foot office building, including 6,000 square feet of corner retail.

That will mean the end of the businesses along here, including the Continental, Korilla BBQ, E Smoke Shop and Papaya King. (The former McDonald's structure is also part of the new development.)



REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties for a little more than $150 million, per The Real Deal.

In June 2015, The Real Deal reported that real-estate investor Arthur Shapolsky was in contract to buy the corner buildings for roughly $50 million.

However, Joseph Gabay, whose family owns the properties, told me this past June that they had not been sold despite the continued rumors.

That situation has apparently changed. Gabay did not respond to an email to confirm this deal.

As of last evening, there weren't any new permits on file with the Department of Buildings indicating any new work on the properties. There isn't any word just yet on a timeline for the businesses to close.

The development will likely fuel more talk of the Midtown Southification of this part of the neighborhood with 51 Astor Place/IBM Watson Building/Death Star right across the Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

On Monday, a rally for the former P.S. 64 at City Hall

[Photo from October]

Community activists, preservationists and local elected officials remain cautiously optimistic over Mayor de Blasio's recent statement that his administration would take steps to reacquire the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

On that note... via a Facebook invite:

Join Us As We Mark the Anniversary of the late Community Leader and CHARAS Co-Founder Armando Perez’s birthday and Celebrate the Mayor’s Announcement of His Intent to Reacquire CHARAS!

RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE
CITY HALL STEPS
Monday, Nov. 6
Noon

With speakers Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Carlina Rivera, Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assembly member Brian Kavanaugh, Senator Brad Hoylman, Carlos ‘Chino Garcia, CHARAS, Inc., Andrew Berman, GVSHP, Laura Sewell, EVCC and others!

Find more details here.

A spokesperson for owner Gregg Singer, who bought the property from the city in 1998, responded that he has no plans to sell the building. The spokesperson, who said that the city is being a bully, told DNAinfo the appraised value of the property is $60 million, and that Singer "has already poured $80 million into upkeep."

Singer, who wants to turn the landmarked property into a dorm called University Square, continues in a holding pattern while the DOB has a Stop Work Order on the building.

Previously on EV Grieve:
During Town Hall, Mayor announces city's interest in re-acquiring former P.S. 64

At the rally for the former PS 64 today at City Hall

Car fire on 14th Street

Don't have much, if any, info about this... a car caught fire early this morning/late last night in the westbound side of 14th Street at Second Avenue ... the FDNY quickly extinguished the blaze (and there is a firehouse on the block...)



Thanks to @jcastro_nyc for the photos!