Pizza Rollio bringing its skinny slices to 9th Street

[Photo via Steven]

Pizza Rollio is opening an outpost on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, where it will sell its super-thin, arugula-topped pizza served in long strips that patrons can roll up.

The pizzeria is owned by Miyuki Talwar and her family, who run similar establishments in the Philippines.

This will be the third Pizza Rollio in the city, joining the Plaza Hotel Food Hall and on West 18th Street.

Here's more about their pizza from the Daily News in 2016:

In a city with pizzerias on almost every corner, Pizza Rollio serves the seemingly impossible: a totally unique pie. Its rectangular creations are light and delicate — built on paper-thin sheets of dough that are baked and sliced into wide ribbons perfect for wrapping around peppery bites of alfalfa sprouts and arugula, the salad-y condiment served with every order.

(God)mother knows best! Try "The Godmother" today, made with fresh figs, blue cheese, and mozzarella. Double tap if you'd like to try a roll! #pizza #nycpizza #theplazafoodhall #theplazahotel #igfood #pizzarollio #🍕

A post shared by Pizza Rollio (@pizzarollio) on Aug 23, 2015 at 10:02am PDT

And via DNAinfo when Pizza Rollio opened an outpost on West 18th Street early this year:

In addition to its classic margherita pie, Pizza Rollio serves specials like “The Godmother" topped with fig, gorgonzola and mozzarella; the “Eggs Benedict” topped with Canadian bacon, fresh egg, chives and hollandaise sauce; and the “Mushroom Truffle Madness,” with mushrooms, truffle oil and mozzarella.

This storefront on Ninth Street was previously the longtime home of the salon Crops for Girls.

Malcriada morphing into Bar Taco on Avenue C

Malcriada, a self-described "Latino Gastropub," is closed for now at 185 Avenue C near 12th Street.

There's signage up for a new venture called Bar Taco. Not sure if the same operators are behind the next iteration of this space.

Malcriada opened on Super Bowl Sunday, replacing Kaz, which closed after nearly seven months in December 2016. Before that, Cafecito operated for 14 years. The Cuban-specialty restaurant closed at the end of January 2016.

Report: The SBS15 has the worst on-time arrival in the MTA fleet

[Old EVG photo]

Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office released details back on Friday on the city's slowest and most chronically late bus routes.

A familiar route is atop one of the lists. As the Post reported, the analysis tagged the SBS15, which goes between East Harlem and South Ferry via First or Second Avenue, with the worst on-time performance: 34 percent.

You can read Stringer's full report here.

Former Wall 88 space for rent on 2nd Avenue

The for lease sign arrived late last week at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street, where Wall 88 last conducted bar-restaurant business.

This officially brings an end to Wall 88, whose gates closed for good in late October. However, there was never any official closing announcement ... and the agency Wall 88's owners hired to do their social media apparently never got the news... generic happy hour and brunch messages continue to populate Wall 88's Facebook...



The restaurant serving pub fare opened back in March. There was a quick turnaround here after Lions BeerStore closed following 16 months in operation.

P.S.

Bring back Bamboo House to this corner (because someone always brings this up)!


[Photo via Jeremiah Moss]

Window watch at 32 E. 1st St.

Here's an end of the year look at 32 E. First St. (aka 24 Second Ave.), the 10-story 31-unit condoplex at the site of a former BP station... the windows are (mostly) all in... soon enough, we'll see that advertised limestone exoskeleton ...



Sales started in September, with homes ranging from $1.175 million to $8.7 million. There will be ground-floor retail too.


[Via CityReality]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Check out the new 10-story building for the former 2nd Avenue BP station

2nd Avenue residential complex now complete with renderings on the plywood

Out East remains closed on 6th Street

As noted back on Thursday, Out East has been dark in recent nights during announced business hours here on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The closure continued through the weekend ... and still without any note to patrons on the door or the restaurant's website and social media platforms. Meanwhile, OpenTable shows that reservations aren't available at Out East until Jan. 13.

As Eater noted: "It hasn’t been the easiest eight months for the restaurant, with at least two head chef shuffles already occurring."

Free scarves along the East River Promenade

EVG reader Bill Buchen spotted these today along the East River Promenade (in the high teens)... there are Ziplock bags filled with scarves made by students at the United Nations International School... a note on the bags say that the scarves are free for "people in need" ...



Per Bill: "A wonderful seasonal thought ..."

The remains of the Union Square Holiday Market

The Union Square Holiday Market ended its 6-week run last night at 8 ... and as these photos by EVG reader Harry Weiner show, the place was quickly torn apart for the season ...

Sunday's parting shot

Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

From the archives: Giuseppi Logan in Tompkins Square Park

This photo of Giuseppi Logan is from December 2013.

I have not seen (or heard) him play his saxophone in Tompkins Square Park in more than three years. (You can read more about the jazz artist in this feature at the Times.)

Back in the fall, I learned via Facebook that Logan, now 82, is living in a senior residence in Far Rockaway. Matt Lavelle, a jazz musician, has been to visit Logan ... he also bought Logan a new flute.

Week in Grieview

[Someone tossed a P from Stomp on St. Mark’s Place]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

AG's office: Steve Croman agrees to pay $8 million to the tenants he harassed (Thursday)

Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave. (Wednesday)

Paquito's Restaurant closing after 25 years on 1st Avenue; take out and delivery will remain (Tuesday)

Neighbor: East Village Cheese, closed now for 2 weeks, is starting to smell (Thursday) ... and a co-owner spotted clearing out the space (Friday)

Santa delivers sacks of coal to Madison Realty Capital, Rafael Toledano's lenders (Friday)

Hotel Tortuga, now with morning espresso service on 14th Street (Wednesday)

Partial vacate order and violations for sidewalk-collapse building on 4th Street (Monday)

Presenting Mercury East Presents, which brings together several local music venues (Tuesday)

How many East Village properties do the Kushner Cos. actually own? (Wednesday)

Pinky's Space bringing quick-serve food options to 1st Street (Monday)

Opossum action (Friday ... Wednesday)

GG's closes on Fifth Street (Friday)

The Ainsworth East Village debuts on 3rd Avenue (Tuesday)

Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million (Tuesday)

Out East has not been open the last few days (Thursday)

Viking Waffles signage arrives on Avenue C (Monday)

Reader report: Beware the Amazon Fire TV Stick (Monday)

Westside Market opening in the former Met Foods space on 3rd Avenue and 17th Street (Tuesday)

Some Steiner East Village retail speculation (Monday)

... and several readers noted this bike-lock job on 10th Street and Third Avenue...


[Photo via EVG reader Doug]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

Saturday's parting shot

Avenue A today via Derek Berg...

From the archives (again): 'Blast of Silence' for the holidays

Reposting this repost this from Dec. 23, 2011…

I've written about "Blast of Silence," Alan Baron's New York (slightly hokey) indie noir from 1961.

Will repeat some of it now... the movie is about a contract killer in New York for a job during the Dec. 25 holiday season ...



Of interest hereabouts... the main character, "Baby Boy" Frankie Bono, stays at the Valencia on St. Mark's Place... which is the St. Mark's Hotel today...


[Via]

In the background, you can see the former Saint Marks Russian and Turkish Baths ... which became the New St. Marks Baths ... then Mondo Kim's ... and eventually BarCade.

DOH temporarily closes Papa John's

Several EVG readers pointed out that the DOH closed the Papa John's outpost on First Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street after a failed inspection on Tuesday.

During a follow-up on Thursday, public records show that inspectors found at least one critical area to keep the shop closed. (That being "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.")

Immaculate Conception flea market will return on Jan. 13

In case you had plans for last-minute holiday shopping at the Church of the Immaculate Conception flea market ... no flea marketing again here on 14th Street at First Avenue until Jan. 13...



The flea market moved here from Mary Help of Christians in the fall of 2012.

Report of a manhole explosion on 2nd Avenue

Manhole explodes and catches fire in the East Village https://t.co/M3VX42WmdZ pic.twitter.com/nyQVaSkiBI

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) December 22, 2017

It reportedly happened around 8 p.m. on Second Avenue just below Third Street.

Per ABC 7:

Con Edison responded to the scene and they say that no one was injured and there are no outages as a result of the explosion.

They are now making repairs.

So far, it's not yet known what led to the explosion.

EdenB has some video here.

'Foo' fighting

This is "Yuk Foo" from Visions Of A Life, the second record from the UK's Wolf Alice.

The opossum has pretty much made Tompkins Square Park her/his home now

Nicodemus Punch Sugarpop (OK — that's not really working as a name), the opossum of Tompkins Square Park, is apparently feeling more comfortable now roaming around.

EVG reader Mark Cyr shared these photos from today... showing Parachute ChingChing Yanoonoo enjoying some discarded takeout (where is the mayor with the opossum-proof trash cans????).

Mark also noted that the squirrels would run away from Rasta Jenny Ju...









Per Mark: "We better name him soon — he looks like he is moving in."

[Updated] Someone is inside East Village Cheese

EVG reader Steph shared this photo from around 1:15 this afternoon... you can't quite tell from the photo, but the front door is open at the East Village Cheese shop, 80 Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

There's an unconfirmed report from a tipster on the block that the landlord (or landlord rep) is inside the storefront assessing the situation.

As reported yesterday, the shop has been closed for two weeks — and the electricity has been shut off during that time. No one has seen any member of the Cheese staff these past two weeks.

Meanwhile, the aroma of ripe cheese is now noticeable in adjacent spaces. (A commenter on the Fox News story on the EV Cheese suggested that "the smell is the filthy, disgusting liberals living on the sidewalk and alley.")

One reader is particularly concerned about any unpasteurized and raw-milk cheese products that might have been left unrefrigerated and in the open air. (You can read the FDA's statement on this here.)

Updated


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Co-owner Lobsang Tsultrim was spotted at the storefront later in the afternoon... there was also a Remove All My Junk truck parked in front of the store.

Not sure what the next steps are. For now, Yelp is listing the shop as Permanently Closed.

Santa delivers sacks of coal to Madison Realty Capital, Rafael Toledano's lenders

The following is from the EVG inbox via Tenants Taking Control ...

A festive group of holiday carolers from the TTC (Tenants Taking Control, formerly the Toledano Tenants Coalition) visited the Midtown offices of Madison Realty Capital on Monday morning. But the songs they sang were much more ironic than celebratory.

"Madison is Coming to Town" was sung to a familiar tune, but featured such lyrical enhancements as "♫ They’re making a loan ♪ They’re raising the price ♪. They’re funding a landlord who’s not very nice ♫ Madison is coming to town ♪"



In 2015, Madison Realty loaned $124 million to Rafael Toledano, a 25 year old with no track record as a landlord and a conviction for aggravated assault, so that he could buy a "portfolio" of 15 buildings in Manhattan, mostly in the East Village.

Through demolition that generated lead dust, outright neglect of the properties, aggressive buyout offers and threatened lawsuits, Toledano removed about a third of the 450+ rent-regulated tenants from those buildings before defaulting on Madison's loan and then facing foreclosure in February 2017.

On Monday, the group of remaining tenants also sang "I Had a Little Landlord" (to the tune of "I Have a Little Dreidel"). One verse went: "♪ I had a little landlord ♫ He bought the place one day ♪ He got a check from Madison ♫ And then he couldn’t pay! ♪"

The LLCs once controlled by Toledano staved off the foreclosure in March 2017 by each declaring bankruptcy. Through bankruptcy court, control of the buildings was given over in April to Silverstone Properties, the property management arm of... Madison Realty Capital. If you think that sounds kind of circular, you're not alone. It's a bit like singing a round.

In May 2017, the New York State Attorney General's office filed a massive objection (PDF here) and declaration, accusing Madison Realty Capital of practices “Consistent with a Predatory ‘Loan to Own’ Business Model.” The filings dissected the striking irregularities of the deal. Among other oddities, it references...

• "fatal flaws" in the underwriting of the loan, as evaluated by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. • clear evidence that Signature Bank (an investor in the loan) foresaw that Toledano would default, and that Madison was well positioned to take over the properties.
• floor plans for the apartments that show newly-added, windowless bedrooms, which are illegal in NYC.

Bankruptcy court hearings regarding the case have been repeatedly postponed by Madison since the AG and the DHCR's Tenant Protection Unit publicized through its filings that the ongoing investigation of Toledano had been expanded to include Madison.



On Monday morning in Midtown, Santa Claus himself made an appearance. He had a special gift for the principals of Madison: Gift-wrapped little sacks of coal. Bellowing loud enough to (possibly) be heard on the 37th floor, he pronounced that the company had been naughty.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Amid claims of being a rent-stabilized tenant, Raphael Toledano faces eviction from his home
Foreclosure notice arrives on Raphael Toledano-owned building on 12th Street

Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Cleaning up 444 E. 13th St.

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Foreclosure notice arrives on Raphael Toledano-owned building on 12th Street

Report: Raphael Toledano files for Chapter 11; $145 million deal for EV portfolio is off the table

Raphael Toledano tenants take to Midtown streets to speak out against their landlord and his lenders

East Village tenants pay landlord Raphael Toledano a visit at his Upper West Side home

GG's closes tomorrow

As previously reported, GG's ends its three-year run tomorrow on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Owner Nick Morgenstern told Eater that business is good at GG's, but he and his partners want to focus on new projects, such as a restaurant for the Ace Hotel on the Bowery.

Here's the message GG's left on their social media....

Customers, Neighbors, and Friends,

For the past three years, GG’s has proudly served the East Village with the highest quality of pizza, drinks and service possible. We are grateful for the many meals and memories that you have shared with us.

After much consideration, we have decided to hand over the keys to 511 East 5th St to a new owner and operator.

This means that GG’s will close its doors permanently on Saturday, December 23rd.

We are proud of the success that GG's has seen over the years, and we're excited for what our individual futures hold.

It has been a joy to serve our friends and neighbors every day...

Something relatively similar will be taking over — Emmy Squared. The Williamsburg pizzeria serves Detroit-style pizza via the wife-and-husband team behind Emily on Downing Street.

No word on when they might be open for business here.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before GG's, there was Goat Town, Seymour Burton and Butcher Bay.

Previously on EV Grieve:
GG's looks to be yielding to Emmy Squared on 5th Street

A reminder not to bother Christo when he's eating

A scene from Tompkins Square park today via Steven...



Although it sorta looks like it from the photos, Christo was NOT eating a rack of ribs.

Neighbor: East Village Cheese, closed now for 2 weeks, is starting to smell

[EVG reader photo from Dec. 8]

Two weeks have passed, and there hasn't been any sign of life inside East Village Cheese at 80 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (See the previous posts here and here.)

The shop was last seen open on Dec. 7. And the gate has been down ever since, without any notice indicating a temporary or permanent closure. The telephone has been disconnected ... and worse, the power has been shut off inside the shop these past two weeks, neighbors say.

All this is particularly troubling to Julia Knox, who owns East Village Hats next door.

"The smell of cheese is seeping into my hat shop, and I am looking for ideas for how to get the place emptied before it rots," she said. "My biggest concern is that the smell is going to be unbearable pretty soon, and a potential rat problem."

Here's a photo via EVG reader Jeremy Block looking inside the space from Dec. 14. That bread and cheese is still there...


[Via @jeremyblock]

As I understand it, the landlord (76-80 East 7th Street Limited Partnership) is aware of the situation, though apparently there are legal concerns about entering the storefront.

East Village Cheese moved here from Third Avenue in September 2015. By April 2016, regulars started worrying about the shop's longterm financial health. "These guys never really got on their feet after the move," Knox said.

As previously noted, the place wasn't always a very patron-friendly shop on Seventh Street, with a cash-only policy and an early close that prevented way-home-from-work shopping, among other things ... including the lack of ambiance and suspect expiration dates, according to regulars.

Past news article on the shop list Lobsang Tsultrim and Thupten Tenphel, immigrants from Tibet, as the owners. They reportedly took over from its founder, Alvin Kaufman, in 2005.

Updated Dec. 22

NBC 4, ABC 7 and PIX 11 all picked up the story, though they didn't offer any new developments.

AG's office: Steve Croman agrees to pay $8 million to the tenants he harassed

Today, we are forcing notorious NYC landlord Steve Croman to pay $8 million in restitution to his tenants—the largest-ever settlement with an individual landlord. https://t.co/p7zQSdEfa0 pic.twitter.com/gViuoiMFg8

— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) December 20, 2017

Steve Croman's civil case came to an end yesterday as he agreed to pay $8 million to the tenants he was accused of bullying out of their rent-regulated apartments.

Here's the official release from the Attorney General's office:

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced an unprecedented settlement with Steven Croman ... for engaging in illegal conduct, including harassment, coercion, and fraud, to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments and convert their apartments into highly profitable market-rate units.

The consent decree requires Croman to pay $8 million into a Tenant Restitution Fund – the largest-ever monetary settlement with an individual landlord. The settlement also requires over 100 Croman residential properties to be run by a new, independent management company with no ties to Croman, for five years – the longest-ever term for independent management in OAG history. Moreover, the settlement requires seven years of a monitor who will oversee compliance with the terms of the consent decree and provide regular reporting to the Attorney General – the longest-ever monitorship required in any tenant harassment case.

Croman is currently serving one year in jail and paid a separate $5 million settlement as a result of criminal charges brought by Attorney General Schneiderman.

Eligible tenants will be able to apply for restitution; the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will announce details of a claims process early next year. Tenants will be eligible for restitution if they are or were a tenant in a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment owned by Croman between July 1, 2011 and the date of the agreement (Dec. 20, 2017); they received a buyout of less than $20,000, not including any amount that purported to cover rent or arrears; and no other tenant in their apartment received money from the restitution fund.

The Attorney General’s office will approve both the independent management company and the monitor. The independent management company will oversee operations and institute new policies at the Croman properties to ensure full compliance with the law and correction of all past violations. It will also post a comprehensive set of Tenants Rights in every building it manages.

The monitor will provide quarterly reports to the Attorney General, which will include at minimum any complaints received from tenants and actions taken; the total number of rent-regulated apartments that became deregulated during the reporting period, the reason for deregulation, and all supporting documents; and the monitor’s assessment as to whether Croman has complied with the consent decree.

The consent decree also ensures that Anthony Falconite – another defendant in the Attorney General’s lawsuit whom Croman allegedly referred to as his “secret weapon” in intimidating rent-regulated tenants – will have no interaction with any Croman tenants.

Croman is currently in jail (though not at Rikers as originally billed via the AG's office) for mortgage fraud. Back in June, he pleaded guilty to three felonies for fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud and will serve up to a year in prison and pay a $5 million tax settlement. Public records show that Croman (in the system as Steven Crowman) is currently at the Manhattan Detention Center (aka the Tombs).

Croman's real-estate portfolio via 9300 Realty includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village.

Meanwhile, a Croman tenant shared the holiday card that 9300 Realty sent out last week...

Out East has not been open the last few days

Out East has been dark the last two nights during announced business hours here on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, a curious development given that this is traditionally a busy holiday period for restaurants.

There's nothing to note a temporary closure on the front door or on their website or social media properties.

The Out East Facebook page posted this yesterday ... even though the restaurant wasn't open ...



Out East opened back in the spring. The operators of the two-level, 124-seat seafood-centric restaurant here have been involved with hotspots such as Beauty & Essex and Stanton Social.

OpenTable shows that reservations aren't available at Out East until Jan. 13.

Opossum where art thou?

The (an?) opossum was spotted traipsing around Tompkins Square Park again today... (this time without a plastic bag) ... Steven shared these photos...









... while EVG regular Cheyenne passed along these shots...







To date, the opossum doesn't have a name/branding/Instagram presence. Found a website that generates opossum names...



Other favorites so far from the generator have been Rasta Jenny Ju, Nicodemus Punch Sugarpop and Parachute ChingChing Yanoonoo.