EV Grieve

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Openings and closings on this block of 2nd Avenue

ZaabVer Thai remains closed at 75 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street... a sign on the front door notes a renovation...

... but all other signs (disconnected phone, Google notice, etc.) point to a permanent closure. (Several people who didn't care for the food here referred to it as "ZaabwhateVer.")

In more positive news next door, Hot Box is now open at 77 Second Ave. (as of May 20) ...

Hot Box combines East Asian broth, noodles and meats and vegetables in their "signature burner system."

A post shared by Hot Box Restaurants (@hotboxnyc) on Jun 11, 2018 at 4:45pm PDT

Head to the restaurant's website for the menu.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Hot Box looking ready to debut on 2nd Avenue

Noted

[One Manhattan Square]

An analysis by The Real Deal published yesterday shows that the Lower East Side and the East Village have the second-highest number of condos on the market or in the pipeline when compared to all Manhattan neighborhoods.

In total, that makes 1,004 new units.

The is a big HOWEVER however.

It should be noted ... that its inventory count is significantly bolstered by one massive project: Extell Development’s 815-unit One Manhattan Square — the biggest condo development in Manhattan by unit count.

But some argued that sweeping the glassy condo project, which sits at 252 South Street in the Two Bridges section, in with Lower East Side inventory doesn’t make sense. They argued that the tower — which is shooting for a $1.9 billion sellout — is simply not in competition with the other inventory there.

As The Real Deal noted, Extell reported that it has sold 15 percent of its units. "And it’s going after a mostly Chinese clientele."

The published results of the analysis did not mention who was No. 1 on the list of condos on the market or in the pipeline.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Tuesday's parting shot

EVG reader Helaine Sorgen shared this photo from this morning along First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street... another in a series...

[Updated] Final vote tonight for the Rent Guidelines Board

After multiple public meetings, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) makes its final vote tonight at Cooper Union on adjustments for the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments for the coming year. (The public meeting starts at 7 in the Great Hall at 7 E. Seventh St.)

Curbed has an explainer with background and what residents might expect this evening.

As The Wall Street Journal reported today, the board’s five public members signed off on a resolution that would put a range of increases – from 0.75 percent to 2.75 percent – on the table for one-year leases and allow owners to add another 1 percent for two-year leases.

In June 2017, the RGB voted to allow rent increases, 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.

Updated 6/27

According to published reports, the RGB approved increases of 1.5 percent on one-year leases and 2.5 percent on two-year leases starting on Oct. 1.

In Tompkins Square Park, we lost a piano but gained, for now, a wicker vanity table

As expected, workers have removed the Sing for Hope piano from Tompkins Square Park, en route to a permanent home in a public school.

Meanwhile, that wicker vanity table is still there... and it makes for a nice addition to this area...

Photos by Steven!

9th Street's Zucker Bakery closing on Sunday after 7 years in business

Owner Zohar Zohar has announced that Zucker Bakery on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue is closing its doors on Sunday after nearly seven years in business.

Here's the message on the Zucker website:

Dear all, to continue our journey, explore and expand, we have decided to close our family bakery after seven amazing years. We are grateful for all the love, the support and the experiences that we shared with all of you.

The Mediterranean- and Eastern European-inspired bakery opened in September 2011, and quickly found a loyal following using ingredients such as dates, cardamom and cloves for its cookies and pastries.

The Times once noted that their cookies "make you feel like you have left New York, incorporating flavors and spices that hint of other lands: date cookies spiced with cinnamon, dulce de leche-filled alfajores with coconut..."

Zohar, an East Village resident, worked in high-end kitchens such as Daniel and Bouley before taking time off to raise her family. Zucker was her first business.

Cars to give way to a bus-only corridor most hours on 14th Street during the L-train shutdown

The fate of 14th Street during the L-train shutdown starting next April has apparently been decided.

As the Daily News first reported, the city will limit car traffic on 14th Street from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

The changes affect 14th Street from Ninth Avenue to Third Avenue eastbound and Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue westbound.

A few other details:

The city Department of Transportation ... will also change its plans for a bike lane. There will now be two one-way bike paths on 12th and 13th Sts., instead of a single two-way path on 13th St., officials said, so fewer parking spots on 13th St. will be eliminated. A DOT official said that the new design with two bike lanes would handle the higher cyclist traffic better, with easier pick up and drop-offs on the south curbs.

And...

Manhattan residents will also be able to use 14th St. for pickups and dropoffs only.

You can read more about this at Gothamist.

On Wednesday afternoon, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez will co-host a public oversight hearing to evaluate the latest mitigation plans for L-mageddon.

The shutdown of the L — between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue to repair the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel — is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019.

B&H Dairy has new-look menus

B&H debuted the new diner-appropriate menus yesterday here at 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...

The menus feature illustrations by Alexandra Woolsey.

Menu photos via Facebook

The Neighbors move out early at First Street Green Art Park

The Neighbors exhibit along the southern perimeter of First Street Green Art Park along Houston between First Avenue and Second Avenue was expected to be up through July 7.

However, the 86, four-by-five portraits that lined the fence were removed this past weekend...

The Daily News reported last week that 52 out of 86 of the portraits had been tagged/vandalized since they arrived on April 28...

Neighbors, a traveling exhibit, featured Americans representing all 50 states taken by photographer John Raymond Mireles.

"I expected some vandalism though admittedly not on this scale," Mireles told the Daily News. He admitted that his "heart sinks" from the tagging.

In case you missed it, here's a video of the portraits...

On Wednesday, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez will be co-hosting a public oversight hearing to evaluate the latest mitigation plans for the 2019 L train tunnel closure.

If you're one of the hundreds of thousands New Yorkers who will be impacted when the MTA shuts down the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 15 months for repairs beginning in April 2019, we invite you to attend this important hearing.

The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. in the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Brookdale Center, located at 55 Fifth Avenue (at 12th Street). We expect it to go into the early evening depending on the number of people who show up to testify.

If you plan on attending, we encourage you to RSVP [here] to help us know how many people we should anticipate.

Public testimony will begin immediately following the testimony of any invited experts and will generally be limited to two minutes per person to allow as many residents as possible to present their views.

For those planning to testify in person, please be sure to register with the sergeant-at-arms at the Center as soon as you arrive at the hearing.

If you can't make it to the hearing but would still like to make your voice heard, you can also submit written testimony to the City Council by emailing correspondence@council.nyc.gov with the subject line: L TRAIN SHUTDOWN TESTIMONY. Written testimony will be accepted until the close of business (6 p.m.) on Friday, June 29.