Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Icon Realty shaves $4 million off of its 9th Street townhouse ask


[Image via Streeteasy]

Icon Realty's 7-level townhouse at 327 E. Ninth St. has been on the market these last six months as both a $30,000 rental and a $17-million whole-building buy.

Icon recently dropped the ask from $17 million to $13 million.

And to refresh your memory about the design and amenities... here's Streeteasy:

Designed by Isaac & Stern Architects with interiors by Paris Forino, this brand-new building was designed with a traditional limestone facade that stands as a new classic. Utilizing modern finishes that establish a new contemporary elegance, this home raises the benchmark for luxury living in the East Village.

Each sunlit floor offers open layouts and a transitional aesthetic featuring a light color palette which has been highlighted by White Appalachian Oak Floors with radiant heating and Christopher Peacock Kitchens with luxurious Italian Arabescato Marble countertops and backsplashes.

Bathrooms feature Dornbracht fixtures adorned with Zebrino Marble.

The building features outstanding private outdoor experiences with private balconies on each floor, an expansive roof deck and multiple landscaped private patio spaces with copper trimmed LED perimeter lighting and full outdoor kitchens.

The townhouse — nearly five years in the making — is at the site of a former parking lot here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Icon's 9th Street townhouse now available for $17 million

The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

A look at Icon Realty's 9th Street building where the rentals are $30k a month

Monday, May 21, 2018

Monday's parting shot



Extras from "The Deuce" shoot today on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery...photo by Derek Berg

A St. Mark's sinkhole



This morning around 8:30, a city garbage truck got stuck when a wheel-sized section of St. Mark's Place collapsed between Avenue A and First Avenue... EVG reader Cassondra Bazelow shared these photos...





The truck was eventually freed from sinkhole captivity ... for the time being, you may want to avoid driving over this section in any type of truck...

A (familiar) new owner for the 11th Street Bar



There's understandably cause for concern when your favorite bar-restaurant shows up on a CB3-SLA meeting agenda with a new ownership team. (The Grassroots Tavern is one recent example.)

However, in the case of the 11th Street Bar, new ownership is expected to pretty much mean business as usual.

Dan Sweeney, a bartender at the pub between Avenue A and Avenue B these past seven-plus years, is one of the principals buying the 11th Street Bar. (One of the original 11th Street Bar owners is deceased and the other moved to Texas.)

Last week, CB3's SLA committee approved the new liquor-license application from Sweeney and his partners, Diarmuid and Meghan Joye, who own two Lower East Side Bars (Donnybrook and Lucky Jack's) as well as Blue Haven on West Houston Street. (Meghan Joye is also a member of CB3, where she is economic development chair.)

Sweeney told EVG correspondent Steven that they weren't planning on many changes, aside from a new awning as well as an expanded food/snacks menu.

In addition, the 11th Street Bar will continue on with its music nights, such as the Irish sessions on Sundays and jazz on Mondays.

Sweeney, a Long Island native, was employed as a financial analyst after college. He was in 7 World Trade Center on 9/11. That experience prompted him to take a different career path. Before starting at the 11th Street Bar, he worked for 10 years at the Saint Mark's Ale House.



The 11th Street Bar opened in January 1997.

H/T Gary!

Mikey Likes It was back open this past weekend

After a three-plus-week closure, Mikey Likes It reopened on Friday evening at 199 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

On Friday afternoon, Mikey's posted the following message to Facebook: "After a few minor technical difficulties, our East Village location is back."

And by Saturday...


[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

Owner Michael "Mikey" Cole told EVG reader Brucie on Saturday that the machine they use to make the ice cream broke down, and it took weeks to get the right parts ordered and delivered — and to get the proper repair. (Mikey also said that they're looking into buying spare parts or another machine as a backup so this doesn't happen again.)


[Photo Saturday night at close by Brucie]

Saturday also marked the four-year anniversary for the shop.

Dian Kitchen now serving rice noodles on 9th Street



Dian Kitchen is now in soft-open mode at 435 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ...



Dian Kitchen serves rice noodles and other small dishes from China's Yunnan province, where the owner is from... You can check out the Dian Kitchen Instagram account for some food pics.

The restaurant is open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dian Kitchen bringing food from the Yunnan Province to 9th Street

Beer and wine notice for Fire & Water on 7th Street



The CB3 meeting notice is up at 111 E. Seventh St., where East Village-based restaurateur Ravi DeRossi plans to expand his vegan empire with the opening of Fire & Water.

DeRossi's team will be seeking a beer-wine license for the address at, presumably, the June CB3-SLA meeting. (CB3 hasn't released the June schedule just yet.)



Eater first reported that DeRossi will "veganize two cuisines at once — sushi and dim sum" with Fire & Water. The restaurant, next door to his Lady Bird tapas cafe, will feature a Japanese sushi counter with 16 seats as well as a Chinese dim sum cart service in a 36-seat section.

This address has been a retail space in recent years — a showroom for furniture designer Todd Hase for one year and the Village Style Vintage Shop before that.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Ravi DeRossi bringing Fire & Water to 7th Street

Suffolk Arms signage stripped away; Suffolk Arms V2 on the way?



Suffolk Arms, the cocktail lounge on Houston at Suffolk, went dark in early April, as first reported here.

Neat Pour reported on April 9 that Suffolk Arms "would reopen at a later date with a new concept, but the same staff." Neat Pour also said that co-owners Ruben Rodriguez and Giuseppe González are "at odds with one another."

By April 16, there was a sign on the front door noting a temporary closure for "renovation and mechanical upgrades." A week later, González, a "Star Wars" fan, left a cryptic, Yoda-esque message on social media: "Closed, Suffolk Arms now is. See you again, we will."

The Suffolk Arms sign was removed from the corner space last week. The bar's website now features this message: "Suffolk Arms V2.0 Coming Soon."

No idea if this will be from Team González or Team Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, the "renovation and mechanical upgrades" sign remains on the door...



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

Previously on EV Grieve:
Suffolk Arms now closed for renovations and 'mechanical upgrades'

The force is apparently no longer with Suffolk Arms

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Care to dance?



Here are a few photos from yesterday's rather soggy Dance Parade and DanceFest... where a little rain didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the participants... organizers said that some 10,000 dancers from 150-plus organizations took part in the 12th annual event ...


[Top 2 photos by Steven]

This year's theme, "The Cabaret of Life," celebrated the repeal last fall of NYC's Cabaret Law that dated to 1926.

EVG contributor Derek Berg shared these photos from along St. Mark's Place and in Tompkins Square Park for the DanceFest...























Week in Grieview


[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Glenn Branca (Monday) ... Beverly Bronson (Thursday) ... and Mikey Evans (Friday)

Target sets July 21 opening date on 14th Street and Avenue A (Thursday)

Report: Steve Croman's post-jail plans include welcome-home party in the Greek Islands (Monday)

LPC OKs 3-story addition to 827-831 Broadway (Wednesday)

CSA sign-up time at the 14th Street Y (Thursday)

A home for sale in this pastel-colored townhouse on 7th Street (Tuesday)

The latest on the city's rat-curbing initiatives (Monday)

Boutique health studio shaping up on 6th Street (Friday)

Hunan Slurp Shop now in soft-open mode (Thursday)

Tree down on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Dan and John's new dining room expected to open this week (Wednesday)

Wendigo Productions closing its retail-consignment shop on Avenue A (Tuesday)

BarBacon signage arrives on 4th Avenue (Monday)

Yuan Noodle may be yielding to a Mexican restaurant on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

New owner: 'My goal is to keep Eisenberg’s the way that it has been' (Tuesday)

Double Chicken Please vying for former Shoolbred's space on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

So long East Village Cheese (Thursday)

Santatorum has not been open lately on Avenue C (Monday)

... and this Twiggy in a telephone box arrived this past week on Second Street at First Avenue — wheatpaste courtesy of @d7606art ...



-----

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Noted



Spotted at Queen Vic on Second Avenue at Fourth Street... for those of you making plans for the coming week.

LES History Month exhibit offers a snapshot of 'Photographing Downtown 1977-1987'



As part of Lower East Side History Month, the Living Gallery Outpost at 246 E. Fourth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C is hosting a series of events and a pop-up exhibition that delves into the downtown scene of 1977-1987.

Here are details via the EVG inbox...

"ENTHRALL & SQUALOR: Photographing Downtown 1977-1987" brings together the photographic work of four New York originals who captured the essence of a time indelibly etched in the City’s consciousness.

Alexis Adler will show photos of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat and the East Village apartment they squatted together in 1979 after he dropped out of high school while transitioning from graffiti artist to icon.

Arlene Gottfried (1951-2017) "...chronicled life the way she saw it, thriving on the energy ofthe streets, roaming and recording everything she felt through a deeply empathetic and loving lens." — Paul Moakley, TIME magazine.

• Meryl Meisler will exhibit classic images of CBGB and Infinity Disco from her books "A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick" and "Purgatory & Paradise: SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City."

Ken Schles will deconstruct and install 168 prints from his downtown books, "Invisible City" and "Night Walk," creating an immersive chronicle of his life downtown ...

The opening reception is tonight from 6-8.

And here are more details on a few event associated with the exhibit, including...

• Special event: Night Walk Tour
Join us Monday from 7 to 9 for a special Night Walk. Alexis Adler, Meryl Meisler and Ken Schles will take you on tour of downtown sites documented in their books. The tour will culminate with refreshments at The Storefront Project, 70 Orchard St. where Meisler’s Lower East Side photos of the 1970s and 1980s are on exhibit. Tickets are available through Eventbright for $10.

• Wednesday, May 23: Artist talks and book signings. Hear the artists in their own words. Karen Gottfried will tell Arlene's story. 7-9 p.m. Gallery opens at 6 p.m.

• Thursday, May 24: Share your downtown stories (and closing party), 6-9 p.m.

Let's try that plant and bake sale at the 6 & B Garden again



The rain washed out the annual plan and bake sale at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden‎ last Sunday ... so garden members are trying again today from noon to 5 p.m.

Via the EVG inbox...

This is a fundraiser and proceeds from any sale goes to fund the 6&B Events Program that brings you FREE Events — Music, workshops, poetry, screenings and much more throughout the summer months! Help support us — buy a plant, a yummy home-made baked good, a T-shirt and more!



The community garden is on the southwest corner of Avenue B and Sixth Street.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Dance up a storm today in Tompkins Square Park

[DanceFest photo from 2017 by Stacie Joy]

The Dance Parade heads into Tompkins Square Park today, where the annual DanceFest is happening — even in the rain — from 3 to 7.

During that time, you'll find...

Five stages and site specific work throughout the park offer something for everybody including performances by culturally diverse participants from the parade and an opportunity to learn dance from the city's best dance teachers!



Here are highlights from last year ... primarily featuring the Pirate Ship ...



Find more details here.

About the 6BC Botanical Garden orientation day


[Image via Facebook]

In case you had an interest in becoming a member of the 6BC Botanical Garden ... their (possibly) last orientation and workday is now Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (It was originally scheduled today; moved due to the rain.) A garden member shared this...



Find more details here. The garden is on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Last night's parting shot



A kiss before the L on First Avenue and 14th Street ... photo by Dan Efram

Friday, May 18, 2018

'Eye' opener



Here's Philadelphia's Empath with "The Eye," a track from their recently released cassette "Liberating Guilt and Fear."

Empath opened for Iceage Wedesday night at Bowery Ballroom and will be at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 9 as part of the Northside Festival.

Mikey Likes It back in scooping action this evening

After a three-plus-week closure, Mikey Likes It is back in action ... 199 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street...

Return of the Mack... Daddy

A post shared by Mikey Likes It Ice Cream (@mikeylikesiticecream) on


Updated 5/19

They are open this Saturday afternoon... and there's a crowd... photo by Lola Sáenz...



Updated 5/21

Find more on the situation here.

Dance • Dance • Dance



Dance • Dance • Dance

Drums are drumming
Speakers speaking
Rhythms to the crowd

Costumes costuming
Prism colors
Moving right around

Bodies gyrating
Arms a-waving
Feet a rhythmic blur

This the most fun
That is happening
People will concur

Once a year
Just not enough
Then again not everyday

We need to
Catch our breath
To dance in other ways

When we are lonely
Perhaps sad and blue
Dancing is the thing to do

Find a corner
Put on some sounds
Then dance around and around

Now feeling better
Because we know a way
Of being happy everyday

Who says
We need to wait to dance
Till the next dance day

Dance • Dance • Dance.


peter radley


The 42nd annual Saint George Ukrainian Festival is this weekend



The festival officially begins this evening at 6:30 on Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

You can find the full schedule of events here.

High times tomorrow with John Holmstrom's 'Stoned Aged' at Metropolis



East Village resident John Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor and illustrator of Punk Magazine, will be at vintage-clothing outpost Metropolis tomorrow signing copies of his new publication (zine!), Stoned Age.

Stoned Age "intends to bring back the fun of 20th century marijuana culture, when it was the choice of hipsters, beatniks, jazz musicians, hippies, and other misfits," per tomorrow's invite.

Holmstrom, who illustrated the covers of the Ramones albums "Rocket to Russia" and "Road to Ruin," will be in the store from 1-3 p.m., though there are activities happening all day at Metropolis, including DJ Drew Redmond "spinning old-school punk."

Metropolis is at 43 Third Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

RIP Mikey Evans



Mikey Evans, who spent his whole life as a resident of 190-192 E. Second St., died on Wednesday night.

I don't have a lot of background information at the moment. Evans had been in declining health in recent months.

Julio Pena and Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta, the husband-wife owners of Il Posto Accanto at 190 Second St. between Avenue A and Avenue B since 1995, shared the news in a series of Instagram posts yesterday:

With heavy hearts we are wishing our good friend & brother Michael Evans a loving farewell. The Lifeguard of 2nd Street will now be our Guardian Angel ... Those of us that had the pleasure of watching Mikey from sunup to sundown will forever remember his beautiful energy as he entertained and elevated our small community.

Those of us at Il Posto Accanto and Il Bagatto don't know a 2nd Street without Mikey because Mikey was here first.

He was one of a kind, and lived and died on his own terms. We would like to celebrate his life with everybody.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Get well soon, Mikey

Happening tomorrow (Saturday): The Dance Parade and DanceFest



You may have seen the police barricades in place along St. Mark's Place and parts of Tompkins Square Park... all ahead of the 12th annual Dance Parade and DanceFest.

The Parade kicks off at 1 p.m. at 21st and Broadway, and heads down to Eighth Street/St. Mark's Place ... and eventually into Tompkins Square Park for the DanceFest...



Organizers say that 10,000 (or so) dancers from 150-plus organizations will be taking part in the parade. This year's theme: "The Cabaret of Life," which celebrates the repeal of NYC's 1926 Cabaret Law last fall.

Here's the official website with more info.

And in case you were wondering if the whole thing will be called off because of the rainy forecast... No!

Boutique health studio shaping up on 6th Street



Fit Ritual is a new boutique health studio opening tomorrow evening at 543 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy got a look inside the other day as workers were continuing to build-out the space...



Their Instagram account notes that Fit Ritual will offer fitness trainings, diet and nutrition, and massages. (The Fit Ritual website isn't active just yet.)

The studio's grand opening is tomorrow evening from 5-7 p.m.



The owners have been East Village residents since 1988, and previously operated Team Wellness & Massage Center in North Bergen, N.J.

This storefront was last home Love Shines, the boutique that closed in March 2017 after 20 years. Love Shines still operates as an online-only business.