Former El Maguey y La Tuna space for rent on East Houston

As we first noted, El Maguey y La Tuna, the 15-year-old Mexican restaurant on East Houston between Attorney and Ridge, closed at the end of February. The landlord reportedly upped the monthly rent from $7,000 to $14,000.

A "for lease" banner recently arrived on the storefront. We didn't spot a listing just yet at the Oxford Property Group website. However, a Loop Net listing from late March shows an ask of $125 per square foot.

Meanwhile, in the building next door, the 24/7 East Village Deli & Grill has been closed the past three-four times that we've walked by... the phone number is also no longer in service...

Sugar Sketch closes storefront to focus on catering and special orders

Sugar Sketch, the bakery-cake shop on Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, has changed its method of operation starting this week. Owner-baker Martina Nardo explains in this letter posted on the shop's social media accounts (and front door):



So, as you can see, for now Sugar Sketch will focus on the catering end of the business. You can contact the shop via their website here.

The small bakery opened here in the fall of 2016. You can read our Q&A with Nardo here.

Monday's parting shot

A look at the early evening downtown skyline via Bobby Williams...

The 9th Precinct's monthly Community Council Meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday!) night

The 9th Precinct's Community Council meetings take place on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. ... at the 9th Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

This is an opportunity for residents to address any concerns and ask 9th Precinct officials for their input on recent crime statistics ... and more.

7th Precinct hosting Women's Empowerment Night at Hamilton Fish Park

On Wednesday, the 7th Precinct’s Neighborhood Coordination Officers, Toni Burke and Erica Rivera (pictured below), are hosting a night dedicated to women’s empowerment at the Hamilton Fish Recreation Center.

The evening (from 5 to 7) includes several guest speakers and self-defense tips from Hamilton Fish Recreation Center trainer Dana Brown.

The Center is at 128 Pitt. St. just east of Houston.


[From left: Toni Burke, Dana Brown and Erica Rivera]

H/T Stacie Joy!

Champion Coffee opens Wednesday on 14th Street

[Photo from Sunday]

Champion Coffee debuts Wednesday morning at 319 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... this is one of three new Manhattan locations for Champion Coffee, which started in 2006 in Greenpoint.

Per their website:

All of our beans are blended to be representative of classic, delicious coffee without hype or trendiness.

We currently roast our beans in Maspeth, Queens.

They will be open daily here from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Champion took over the space from Madman Espresso, which has three other NYC locations, including on University Place.

Post updated to reflect change in grand opening from today to Wednesday.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Champion Coffee taking over the Madman Espresso space on 14th Street

Bakeri closing at the end of the month on 6th Street

[Image via Instagram]

With the opening of one Brooklyn-based coffee shop in the East Village ... comes news of another like-minded establishment closing.

The owners of Bakeri NYC announced yesterday that they are closing their cafe-bakery at the end of the month at 627 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

They didn't provide a reason for the closure, saying on Instagram: "We are so grateful to have been part of such a lovely neighborhood! Thank you all for all the love and support."

Bakeri, with locations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, opened in October 2016 and sells homemade bread and pastries as well as Counter Culture Coffee.

It is a good place... foot traffic is tough on the block, though. There's also construction on both ends of the block (here and here).

Previously on EV Grieve:
Brooklyn-based Bakeri now serving bread, croissants and coffee on East 6th Street

The past and future of the Merchant's House Museum

The Wall Street Journal's real-estate section (Mansion!) checked in with a feature on The Merchant's House Museum on Fourth Street, NYC's only 19th-century family home preserved intact.

The story is behind the paper's paywall. Here's an excerpt:

For nearly 100 years it was the residence of hardware merchant Seabury Tredwell and his family. Equally significant, it is the only such building to have intact servants’ quarters, giving a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of the Irish immigrant girls. The late Federal/Greek Revival residence was among the first 20 buildings to be landmarked under the city’s new landmarks law in 1965.

And...

The story of the house begins in 1831. Hatter and real-estate speculator Joseph Brewster bought two adjacent lots for $3,550 and $3,000 in the booming Bond Street area to build two townhouses. He sold one home and moved into the other at 29 E. Fourth St. in 1832. Three years later he sold his townhouse for $18,000 to Seabury Tredwell — about the time Mr. Tredwell was leaving the hardware business for other ventures at age 55. He moved in with his wife, Eliza, and seven children. Their eighth child, Gertrude, born in 1840, was the last occupant. She lived there until she died impoverished at 93. The other townhouse was demolished in 1988.

The Journal asked asked broker Peter Sommer to estimate the listing price if the home were to go on the market today as a single-family residence with six bedrooms, one full bathroom and three half-baths. The answer: $6 million, maybe $9 million with a renovation.

The article doesn't address the pending development next door — an 8-story hotel. Museum officials and preservationists worry that the construction may cause damage to the historical home here between the Bowery and Lafayette.

The developers have promised to take extensive measures to ensure that the neighboring structure will not be harmed during the hotel construction.

As previously reported, CB2 held a public meeting (standing-room only, apparently) last Wednesday evening to discuss the proposed construction. The Board will make its decision on May 9. (Will update time and place later.) You can read the Merchant’s House call to action here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern again for Merchant's House Museum as developer moves forward with hotel next door

Image from 2008 via Wikipedia Commons

New restaurant plans for 304 E. 6th St. and 117 Avenue A

Restauranteur Huey Cheng, who currently operates Raku on Sixth Street and Kura on St. Mark's Place, is the applicant of record for two proposed establishments seeking new liquor licenses in front of CB3's SLA committee this month.

Here's a look:

• Entity to be formed by H Cheng, 117 Ave. A (pictured above)

There's not too much information about the unnamed project here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website (PDF here), the establishment will serve "New Age American food."

The proposed hours: noon to 2 a.m. daily. The seating chart shows 14 tables to accommodate 62 guests as well as a 14-seat bar.

The previous occupant, the Black Rose, closed last April after nearly two years in business. No. 117 was the longtime home, until August 2013, of the Odessa Cafe & Bar.

• Entity to be formed by Huey Cheng, 304 E 6th St

Cheng's name is also attached to an application at 304 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Again, not much information on the questionnaire for view at the CB3 website. (PDF here.)

The food is described as "New Age American/Pan-Asian." The proposed hours are daily from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This address is currently Mayahuel Mariposa, which was Mayahuel. There was some reported conflict over rent and naming rights after Ravi DeRossi and Co. departed and building owner Keith Siilats reopened the space under the same name. (Eater has a recap here.) Now it appears Siilats has a new team taking over the operation.

The CB3-SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton. Other applicants this month include Bubbleology Tea and the team behind Entwine eyeing the former Golden Market.

By the way, this is the second of the CB3-SLA committee meetings this month. Last Monday's meeting at the Perseverance House Community Room on Fifth Street included the license upgrade for Club Cumming.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Black Rose, 'a neighborhood rock and roll bar,' opening in the former Odessa Cafe and Bar space (73 comments)

Suffolk Arms now closed for renovations and 'mechanical upgrades'

[Photo by Vinny & O]

Last Monday we first noted that Suffolk Arms, the cocktail lounge on Houston at Suffolk, has been closed of late.

There's now signage on the front door noting the temporary closure for "renovation and mechanical upgrades." The bar's social media accounts have disappeared, though the website is still operational.

Neat Pour reported that Suffolk Arms "would reopen at a later date with a new concept, but the same staff." Neat Pour also had that co-owners Ruben Rodriguez and Giuseppe González are "at odds with one another."

The upscale bar, lined with portraits of famous New Yorkers, opened in February 2016.

April 15

EVG reader Emily Mauney spotted this rather sprightly tree discarded on Avenue B and Second Street earlier today ... and sooo close to Earth Day... and Memorial Day...

Week in Grieview

[Photo on 4th and B via Vinny & O]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Anthony Pisano (Wednesday)

New-look Alphabet Scoop reopens (Friday)

CB3 to hear request of support for low-income housing at former 2nd Avenue church site (Monday)

Concern again for Merchant's House Museum as developer moves forward with hotel next door (Tuesday)

Paradiso has closed on Avenue B (Wednesday)

Construction watch: 298 E. 2nd St. (Thursday)

A call to help preserve Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Scumbags & Superstars closing this month on Clinton Street (Monday)

Beijing-based hot pot chain taking over the former Dunkin' Donuts storefront on 14th Street (Monday)

A look at the other OTHER hawk in Christo's life (Tuesday)

Soft openings on 12th and 2nd: Lumos Kitchen and Dunhuang East Village (Monday)

Karma Books now open on 3rd Street (Wednesday)

Suffolk Arms has not been open lately (Monday)

First Avenue fruit vendors return (Friday)

Team behind West Village wine bar Entwine eyeing former Golden Market space (Thursday)

A warning about off-leash dogs in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday, 28 comments)

More about Bubbleology Tea, possibly coming soon to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

New locations for OddFellows and Morgenstern's (Wednesday)

On the David Bowery (Thursday)

... and this past week, someone placed this memorial outside the now-closed Webster Hall on 11th Street in honor of DJ Jess (aka Jess Marquis aka Jesse Immler), a house DJ and party promoter at the venue... he died on April 9, 2015. (The cause of death was not made public.)





---

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Noted

Alexi is a well-known portrait photographer, and photographed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle last year at Frogmore House, Windsor, to mark the news of their engagement. pic.twitter.com/p42g8QRjmY

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 13, 2018

The photographer, Alexi Lubomirski, lives in the East Village — reportedly in Molly Ringwald's old place. This article at Town & Country has more on him, if it's of interest.

Spring in Tompkins Square Park

As a follow-up to the previous post on the overflowing Big Bellies... I appreciate Debbie the gardener’s dedication to keeping the grounds in Tompkins Square Park looking like this...

Warm weather aftermath in Tompkins Square Park

[Yesterday morning]

Several residents have pointed out the over-flowing Big Belly trash cans in and around Tompkins Square Park after two days of warm weather...











The new solar-powered trash cans arrived last July as part of the mayor's $32-million plan to combat vermin in rat-popular neighborhoods, like this one. The Daily News reported at the time that each can costs $7,000.

The city delivered eight more Big Bellies to the Park last fall, and they don't seem to be helping with the overflow of trash, especially during nice days.

H/T Vinny & O and JG!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the Big Belly 1.0 and 2.0 in and around Tompkins Square Park

The Post once again chronicles Christo's 'fowl lust'

The New York Post checks in (again!) with a feature on Christo... and the various hawks in his life — Dora, Barucha/Nora/Not-Dora and Amelia.

Here are three passages:

• Tompkins Square Park’s claw-sanova is now servicing not two, but three chicks at the same time.

• The red-tailed stud named Christo made the front page of The Post in March for dipping his, um, beak in the nests of two different female hawks.

• Bird lovers — who have watched Christo and Dora rear 10 chicks and rule the roost at Tompkins for the last five years — are broken up by Christo’s fowl lust.

The piece includes several quotes (and photos) from Goggla.

Updated:

The story appears on Page 3...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at the other OTHER hawk in Christo's life

Post explores the complicated relationship of Dora, Christo and Nora/Not-Dora

Friday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Lola Sáenz....

'Concrete' jungle

Shame, the UK-based post-punk band, is playing two shows this October out at the Williamsburg Hall of Music. Tickets went on sale today. The above video is for "Concrete," off the band's debut release from January titled Songs of Praise.

EVG Etc.: Sizing up the red-tailed hawks; mapping NYC thrift-vintage clothing shops

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

NYCHA chair resigns amid scandals (Curbed)

More drama for tenants at 85 Bowery (The Lo-Down)

A visual comparison of the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawks (Laura Goggin Photography)

Girl Scout Troop 6000 — whose members live in city homeless shelters — are selling cookies today and tomorrow from 4-6 p.m. at the Kellogg's Cafe on Union Square (amNewYork)

New website displays neighborhood data that listings leave out (Curbed)

Initial schedule for Coney Island Baby, opening later this month on Avenue A (Brooklyn Vegan ... previously)

MTA testing ‘MYmta’ real-time commuting app (amNewYork)

This podcast tells the story of the Lenin statue's journey from post-Soviet Russia to the Lower East Side (She’s In Russia ... previously)

Balaboosta closing on Mulberry (Eater)

Mapping every NYC thrift-vintage clothing shop (NYC Vintage Map)

The return of "Liquid Sky" — "the Heroin-Fueled New Wave Alien Invasion Time Forgot" (Vulture ... and playing at the Quad)

Italian film series featuring great composers who aren't Ennio Morricone (Anthology Film Archives)

Organic Grill on First Avenue debuting the OGomelette this weekend (Instagram)

Screenings this weekend of "Distant Sky — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Live in Copenhagen" (Metrograph)

Through the years on Fourth Avenue and 12th Street (Off the Grid)

History of the circa-1830 house at 143 Allen St. (Ephemeral New York)

When Rob Halford of Judas Priest met Andy Warhol in 1979 (Dangerous Minds)

... and on the community garden front... LUNGS is hosting a costume- and poster-making workshop tomorrow (Saturday) at the Green Oasis Garden on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...



This activity leads up to the annual Spring Awakening event on Earth Day. (Details TK.)



Meanwhile, the 6BC Botanical Garden [pictured above!] on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C is hosting orientation dates for residents interested in joining ... Upcoming dates: April 15, April 29, May 6 and May 19. For details go to www.6bcgarden.org.

Viewing information for Anthony Pisano

Friends and family will be gathering tomorrow at Peter Jarema Funeral Home to remember Anthony Pisano, who died last Friday. He was 86.

The viewing is from 2-9 p.m. at 129 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue — the same block that Pisano lived on for 40 years and raised his two children.

New-look Alphabet Scoop reopens tomorrow (Saturday!) on 11th Street

Alphabet Scoop, which hires and trains at-risk teens from the neighborhood and provides them with mentoring, reopens for the season tomorrow morning at 11.

And the shop at 543 E. 11th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B will feature a new look and feel.

Last fall, a group of volunteers came together and raised funds to help give Alphabet Scoop a refresh, including new branding, an updated website and an interior makeover.



In 2002, the Father’s Heart Ministries launched Alphabet Scoop adjacent to its church on 11th Street. You can read more about them here.

Want to know what motivates us at Alphabet Scoop? Our mission statement is posted on the wall inside our shop: As no ordinary ice cream lover, you probably noticed we are no ordinary ice cream parlor. We are a job training program whose mission, like our ice cream, is sweet and simple: invest in the futures of local youth through training and mentorship and invest in our city by funding other Father's Heart Ministries programs with our profits. Each scoop gives our trainees an opportunity to develop their gifts in an encouraging community that believes all people (like all flavors) are created equal. Everyone needs people who have faith in them. Everyone also needs ice cream. And here at Alphabet Scoop, your frozen treat is one more step toward justice and sprinkles for all. 🍦❤️🍦 4 days to go...we can’t wait to welcome everyone at our Grand Reopening this Saturday, April 14th. #IceCreamOnAMission #AlphabetScoopNY #IceCream #AlphabetCity #NYCeats #IceCreamTime

A post shared by Alphabet Scoop NY Ice Cream (@alphabetscoopny) on Apr 10, 2018 at 12:27pm PDT

Their hours:

Sunday: 1-11 p.m.
Monday - Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday - Friday: 2-11 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Volunteers on a mission to help reinvigorate Alphabet Scoop on 11th Street

1st Avenue and 6th Street bearing fruit once again

The vendor(s) have returned for the season yesterday here on First Avenue and Sixth Street outside Village View...



They've been away since Oct. 31.

Thanks to EVG reader Riley McCormick for the photos yesterday!

A call to help preserve Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place

members of the staff at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help keep the enterprise alive.

Here's part of the appeal via GoFundMe:

From prohibition speakeasy to beloved Off Broadway playhouse, Theatre 80 St Marks is a beacon of historical and cultural significance in the East Village.

But maintaining, restoring and preserving the historic site with ever-escalating costs in a gentrifying neighborhood is challenging and expensive.

Theatre 80 is one of the last surviving family owned and operated Off Broadway theaters, occupying two beautiful and historic 1830s townhouses, which along with a 199-seat theater includes The William Barnacle Tavern, Sidewalk Of The Stars and The Museum of The American Gangster.

Theatre 80 has relied on generous contributions from patrons and friends to help bridge the gap in the past, and once again we are reaching out to the community for help.

Theatre 80 is dedicated to making performing arts more accessible to both audience members and artists and a huge variety of performers and production companies have made Theatre 80 their artistic home.

You can find more info on the campaign here.

Thursday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

The last Rhinoceros on this earth

Made from metal by clever craftsmen

Impervious to new cruel bullets

Three taking the noble stance of one

Grand beasts cleverly combined yoga

By making themselves greatly smaller

They may go unnoticed for a while

Dispelling fears of being no more

Vanished, no trace, of living before

Melted as plowshares into weapons

No more to traipse the great savanna

The Chinese with non a firming loss

This deed being but a double cross

Our love shown to the Rhinoceros.

•

peter radley

Previously on EV Grieve:
Goodbye Sudan

A warning about off-leash dogs in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo from January by by Bobby Williams]

There have been an increasing number of complaints in recent months about people letting their dogs run loose in areas of Tompkins Square Park ... areas outside the Dog Run.

Now, someone has called in the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP!).



PEP officers were in the Park yesterday talking to dog owners who had their pets off-leash... one of the officers told EVG Off-Leash Dog Correspondent Steven that PEP will be a more constant presence now in the Park... no word if they were handing out tickets or just issuing warnings...

On the David Bowery

The David addition arrived at this Bowery street sign at Bleecker yesterday afternoon...



Not sure at this moment who's taking credit for this... There was a similar David Bowery tribute on the Bowery and East Houston in January 2016 after Bowie's death...

Team behind West Village wine bar Entwine eyeing former Golden Market space

As mentioned back on March 26, notices for a new full liquor license arrived on the door at 118 First Ave. at Seventh Street — the former Golden Market.

The applicant's questionnaire is now online at the CB3 website ahead of Monday evening's SLA committee meeting.

According to the paperwork (PDF here), the applicants also operate Entwine, a wine bar over on Washington Street (at West 12th) that serves Mediterranean-style menu items. (They were the subject of one of those annoying Boîte features at the Times in 2012.)

The bar-restaurant, which doesn't have a name just yet (TBD!), has proposed daily hours of 11 a.m. to midnight during the week and until 2 a.m. on weekends. The configuration shows 12 tables seating 38 guests and a bar with 14 stools.

There's also a proposed menu, showing a variety of sandwiches and tartines, and entrees that include grass-fed lamb chops, free-range oven-baked chicken thigh and grilled branzino.

The CB3-SLA meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Monday in the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.

Golden Food Market closed last July after 35 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Restaurant in the works for former Golden Food Market on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Golden Food Market closes on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Construction watch: 298 E. 2nd St. (aka Houston House)

Checking in on 298 E. Second St., where East Village-based Starleeng Equities is putting up an eight-story, seven-unit residential building here between Avenue C and Avenue D along East Houston ... workers recently reached the top...



As New York Yimby reported back in 2016, the residential units should average 1,967 square feet apiece — most likely condos. There will be a duplex apartment on the ground and second floors, with full-floor apartments on the third through eighth floors.

The condoplex, going by Houston House, is environmentally friendly, with the design via Passive House specialists Zakrzewski + Hyde Architects and featuring cross-laminated timber (CLT).

City Realty had more details on this last week:

While Houston House won’t go for Passive House certification, it will still have several green features. CLT requires little energy to produce and will provide extra insulation in the building. Oversized, triple-glazed windows will help cut down on electricity and control heat loss/gain. Houston House’s commitment to the environment even extends to its amenities: The building will have a bike room.

Here's a look at the plywood rendering...



Nest Seekers International’s Ryan Serhant will be doing the condo selling here. Sales have not yet been announced.

According to public records, the building that housed the Houston Street Beer Distributors sold for a little more than $7 million in the fall of 2015.


[Photo from August 2016]

Previously on EV Grieve:
298 E. 2nd St. latest development site up for grabs

East Village now minus 2 beverage distributors

Something brewing (demolition) for former beer distributor on East 2nd Street

Greetings from 1983

Last week Alex at Flaming Pablum shared his discovery of the East Village Walking Tour video from 1985... he's back with another find — a documentary from 1983 titled "Greetings From New York."

Here's the brief YouTube description for the 28-minute video: "Obscure documentary from 1983 with segments on downtown fashion designers, graffiti artists, and the hardcore scene."

RIP Anthony Pisano

[Photo by Marty Wombacher]

Anthony Pisano, a longtime East Village resident who lived in a converted storefront full of antiques and whimsical curiosities on Seventh Street, died last Friday. Pisano had cancer, according to a nephew. He was 86. (We don't have all the biographical information at the moment.)

Pisano lived here between Avenue A and First Avenue for nearly 40 years. You probably saw him sitting outside, the sounds of Sinatra coming from inside the apartment that people often mistook as some kind of store. When that happened, he often invited people inside for a look around.

From a 2010 New York Times feature:

One recent evening, two women strolling by stopped and stepped inside.

“Come in; satisfy your curiosity,” he said. Later Mr. Pisano explained that he gets many such visits every day. And each time, he says, he gets the same reaction. As the curious step into the recesses of the space, they’re startled to come upon a bed, a kitchen and a piano. It becomes apparent that this is no shop. It’s Mr. Pisano’s home.

“What is privacy?” he said. “Privacy prevents me from meeting people.”

He leaves the front door ajar ... Passers-by peer at a collection of unusual items — like a Bill Clinton doll on an antique model boat. Nothing is for sale, though he estimates he gives away 10 to 12 trinkets every day.

Pisano moved into the space in 1978. At the time, Pisano, a musician and former merchant marine, rented three spaces: the storefront, the apartment above it and the store next door, where he opened a cafe. He paid $150 a month for each, per the Times.

He also raised his two children, Anthony Jr. and Antoinette, here.

Marty Wombacher paid a visit to Pisano's home for this blog post in 2012. As Marty wrote: "He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet."


[A scene from "This Is My Home"]

Pisano's nephew launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for funeral expenses.

Per the GoFundMe page:

Everyone who knew him called him “Tony.” But for me it was “uncle Tony.” He lived his life simply and didn’t gather much monetary savings. His wealth came from love and compassion for his fellow human beings and sharing conversation.

As his remaining family is trying to pull together to fulfill Anthony’s final wishes. It is a very difficult task to afford a proper burial and memorial for him.

Updated 4/13

Here is viewing information...