Affordable housing lottery underway at 79-89 Avenue D

The affordable housing lottery is now open for 79-89 Avenue D (aka 751 E. Sixth St.).

The 12-story retail-residential building via L+M Development Partners here between Seventh Street and Sixth Street features 28 permanently affordable units (out of 110 total).

The mixed-income units are available to those earning 40, 60 and 130 percent of the area median income. These units range from $596 a month for studios to $2,519 a month for two bedrooms.



Amenities here will include a fitness center, landscaped roof deck and an outdoor terrace.

The address was previously one-level storefronts that included a Rite Aid, which relocated one block north to the ground floor of the Arabella 101 building. Rite Aid signed a lease to return to the retail space at No. 79.

Residents who qualify for the housing have until June 26 to apply for one of the units. Find the details here.

The other units in the building have not yet hit the rental market.

H/T 6sft!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked

Two weeks ago, officers from the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP!) came to Tompkins Square Park to warn dog owners about letting their pets roam off-leash.

Park regulars said that there were complaints about more and more people letting their dogs run loose in sections of Tompkins, especially in the West Lawn near the entrance on St. Mark's Place... and not clean up after their dogs... in this area right here!



Parkgoers said some dog owners continued to ignore the various warnings and homemade signs... especially early mornings and on weekends...

Now someone (presumably from the Park office) has padlocked the entrance to the West Lawn in an attempt to thwart the dog owners from using this area ...


[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A warning about off-leash dogs in Tompkins Square Park (29 comments)

Ace Hardware closes on 4th Avenue

EVG reader Sheila shared this photo from yesterday... showing an auction sign at the now-closed Ace Hardware outpost at 130 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street...

City Council member Carlina Rivera hosting community resource fair Saturday

Via the EVG inbox...

Carlina Rivera is holding her first Community Resource Fair of her City Council term, giving residents of Council District 2 the opportunity to access a number of programs and informational booths. Attendees will be able to access free-blood pressure screenings, information about affordable housing applications, information about volunteer opportunities, and more.

The event takes place from 1-4 p.m. at Grand Street Settlement’s main building, 80 Pitt St. (between Rivington and Stanton). You can RSVP by emailing District2@council.nyc.gov, or by calling 212-677-1077, ext. 107.

Today in discarded paintings on 5th Street

Near Avenue B...

Activities at the the Tompkins Square Park library branch

[Via NYPL]

As previously mentioned, the Tompkins Square Park library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B has a lot of free activities daily... poetry readings... jewelry making... film screenings ... find their schedule of events here.

The library is hosting another free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park on Friday, May 4. Details here.

And a highlight to note happening tonight...

East Village writer/memoirist Alan Kaufman of book “Jew Boy” and performer/playwright Robert Galinsky of play “The Bench” will be here this Thursday at 6pm, being interviewed live by local podcast @pernyc. Please join us for the first of this limited live series! Link in bio. #pernyc #alankaufman #robertgalinsky #tompkinssquare #eastvillage #lowereastside #libraries #books #reading

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Apr 24, 2018 at 10:57am PDT

And there are buttons and magnets for $1 that help support the library...

Our buttons are back, with a new design! Pick one up at the circulation desk. And, we now have magnets too! ❤️ #libraries #tompkinssquare #eastvillage #buttons

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Apr 23, 2018 at 6:41am PDT

New era for Gothamist begins today

Back in action here. Some back story here. Some thoughts on the revival here.

A red-tailed hawk and egg situation

[Photo of Christo, left, and Amelia atop St. Brigid's by Steven]

Christo and his new lady hawk friend Amelia have at least one egg in their nest in Tompkins Square Park, Goggla reports.

Here's what she says to expect:

It takes around 28-35 days for eggs to hatch, so if we count April 20 as Day 1, that puts hatching at May 17-24. Since no one can see into the nest, we will not be able to see the eggs hatch, but we will know something is up when Christo starts delivering food to the nest.

The hawks will continue mating until all the eggs are laid, and then maybe for some time after that.

Amelia conveniently came out of nowhere on April 4, the very day that Christo's longtime partner Dora went off to wing rehab.

Christo and Dora have raised 10 hawklets these past few years. So expect at least one hawklet again this summer. (Like here in 2017.)

[Updated] Preliminary vote on increases for rent-stabilized apartments set for tonight at Cooper Union

The city's Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is holding its preliminary vote tonight to decide whether to seek increases for 1-million rent-controlled units in the city.

Members of the Rent Justice Coalition — including tenants, advocates and community organizers — as well as some elected officials will rally in front of the Municipal Building before heading to where the vote will take place — the Great Hall at Cooper Union.

The group will demand that the RGB freeze rents on rent-stabilized units to address the affordable housing crisis in the city. The Coalition released this statement yesterday:

While the Rent Justice Coalition counts past rent freezes as successes, data show landlords have been overcompensated for decades with high rent increases, including an 8.5 percent increase at the height of the recession in 2009. In fact, rent-stabilized tenants are rent burdened, with half of them paying about a third of their income for rent. At the same time, many low-income families pay as much as 60-70 percent of their income in rent.

A new report (PDF here) released by the RGB — showing that operating costs for landlords have gone up again this year — makes it seem unlikely that they will approve a rent freeze this year, per Curbed on April 18.

Last June, the RGB voted to allow rent increases on the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, with one-year leases subject to 1.25 percent raises, and two-year leases subject to 2 percent hikes — this after two consecutive years of rent freezes.

The RGB's final vote is June 26 at Cooper Union. Find the schedule, including all public hearings, right here.

Updated 10 a.m.

Per the Post:

The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords, says it will request an increase of 4 percent for new one-year leases and 7 percent for two years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rent freeze fight underway for 2018

Y7 Studio bringing the hip-hop yoga to 250 E. Houston St.

[Rendering of the all-new 250 E. Houston St.]

The retail strip at 250 E. Houston St., the former Red Square here between Avenue A and Avenue B, has its first new tenant since the 13-floor building changed ownership in the fall of 2016.

Y7 signed a 10-year, 2,000-square-foot ground-floor lease at the base of the residential building for the growing yoga chainlet's eighth location in Manhattan, the Commercial Observer reported. The asking rent was $200 per square foot.

Here's more about Y7:

At Y7 we do things differently. We give you 60 minutes of intensity combined with heat and strength complemented by deep breathing and a calming of the mind. We ask you to step outside the chaos and embrace the fire inside. You’ll flow along to the latest beats. There are no mirrors in the candle-lit studios. The darkness, the sounds, and the heat will take you to a place you’ve never before been. Join us for the best hour of your day. Leave here feeling strong, clear and ready to take on whatever the city has in store for you. Take a class and never look back.

And a video feature from a few years back...



Not sure exactly which retail space Y7 is taking. There are four vacancies total in this strip of shops, which feature an H&R Block, Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin-Robbins combo, Subway (sandwich shop), Sleepy's/Mattress Firm, China Town Chinese restaurant and a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center. (There's also a dry cleaners, a doctor's office and East Houston Wine & Liquor.)



And we're really behind on updating the gym options post.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Red Square has been sold

New ownership makes it official at the former Red Square on East Houston

Apartment listings at 250 E. Houston look to offer glimpse of former Red Square's future

Long-vacant retail space hits the rental market at 250 E. Houston St.

Former Red Square lobby gets the plywood treatment on East Houston