A demonstration tomorrow to keep the neighborhood from becoming Midtown South

The Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation is hosting a rally tomorrow (Saturday) at noon. Here are details via the EVG inbox...

Please join us on Saturday at 11th and Broadway, in front of the old St. Denis Hotel, for a demonstration to save our neighborhood. The historic former hotel, built in 1853, is to be demolished for a large glassy office tower.

This is part of a broader trend of demolitions and completely inappropriate new development in this area south of Union Square, fueled by a lack of zoning and landmark protections, the expanding tech industry in the area, and the commercial upzoning for the Tech Hub recently approved nearby on 14th Street. That deal, passed by the City Council and local Councilmember Rivera, failed to include any of the promised meaningful protections for the affected adjacent Greenwich Village and East Village neighborhoods.

Developers now increasingly see this area of our neighborhood as an extension of the ‘Midtown South’ office district and of the tech industry’s “Silicon Alley” ... we are continuing to push for landmark protections that will preserve this and other buildings in the area.

Find more info on the rally here.

Marshalls, now with more Marshalls signage on Houston; and so long sidewalk bridge

Workers yesterday removed the sidewalk bridge from outside 197 E. Houston/196 Orchard between Ludlow and Orchard... providing a better view of the incoming Marshalls ... well, at least the Marshalls signage...



The off-price department store chain is expected to debut on Oct. 4 at 8 a.m. here next door to Katz's...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Making way for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston

Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard

Marshalls opening next month in Ben Shaoul's luxury condoplex on East Houston Street

The Grand Opening for Marshalls on East Houston is now Oct. 4

Here's your Marshalls signage on East Houston

All's Fair on Avenue C: Fine Fare is now a Shop Fair

Two weeks ago, an EVG reader reported that the Fine Fare on Avenue C at Fourth Street was under new ownership... this afternoon, workers have installed the awning for the new supermarket — Shop Fair. (Thanks Stacie Joy for the photo!)

The grocery has several NYC locations, including in Washington Heights, Jamaica and Far Rockaway.

Noted

A Santa with two modes of transportation today on Fourth Street at Second Avenue ... photo by Derek Berg.

Grant Shaffer's NY See

[Click to go big]

Here's this week's NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

Concern for Dojo, which has now been closed for 2 weeks

Dojo Restaurant on West Fourth Street at Mercer has been closed since a visit by the Department of Health on Sept. 13...



The DOH closure notice has remained in full view on the front door without any accompanying note. There's no mention of a closure on Dojo's website or social media.

And now few regulars are starting to worry that Dojo won't be coming back at all. (An email to Dojo was not returned; the phone goes to a message about a Time Warner Cable phone customer that hasn't set up a voice mailbox.)

According to the DOH website, Dojo's received 62 violation points during the visit on Sept. 13, including for:

1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
4) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

So the Dojo faithful remain hopeful that ownership just hasn't thrown in the towel. (In May 2013 there were reports that Dojo was shutting down due to a rent hike.)

Dojo, of course, got its start in the East Village... beginning with the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Dojo's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. And via the Dojo website:

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Then in 1991, Dojo in the West Village was created – both Dojo East and Dojo West were favorite local gems. Unfortunately in 2007, Dojo East was closed down due to high rent. BUT Dojo West is still going strong!

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones headline benefit show in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday

Ska-punk favorites The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are playing a free show in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday afternoon as part of a benefit concert for Jimmy G., the frontman of NYHC veterans Murphy’s Law.

Jimmy G. — aka James Drescher — was hospitalized in July and subsequently needed several surgeries. (Read the GoFundMe page for more.)

Aside from the other announced bands on the bill, Sheer Terror, Killing Time and Combust, the afternoon will include a raffle overseen by Mark Yoshitomi of Generation Records.

For fans of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who are currently on tour with a new record, there's a meet-and-greet with the band before the show at the Continental (23 Third Ave. at St. Mark's Place) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Facebook event page has the latest info. (Here too.)

There's also a post-concert show at Coney Island Baby at 169 Avenue A starting at 7:30 ...

Help plan a park at the DEP shaft site on 4th Street

That long-vacant lot on Fourth Street between 2 Cooper Square and the Merchant's House Museum has always been a bit of a mystery ... seems like prime space just waiting for a, say, hotel!

Since the 1990s, the Department of Environmental Preservation (DEP) has used this city-owned space to work on shafts connected to the underground network of tunnels that supply the city's drinking water.

Now, as promised some years ago, this lot will be turned into a city park — or rather "passive recreation space."

On Monday night, reps from the city will host a meeting to discuss usage for the site...



Per the invite:

Please join us to discuss creating a passive recreation space at the DEP shaft site on East Fourth Street

Monday, Oct. 1:

6:30 p.m. — Meet first to see the DEP shaft site

7 p.m. — Scope meeting at JASA Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery

This project was funded by Mayor de Blasio and former Council Member Rosie Mendez, and is supported by Council Member Carlina Rivera.

NYC Parks is starting the design process for this project by holding a scope meeting, in which local residents and stakeholders to learn about the opportunities at the site and provide feedback. With this input, we will develop a design to be presented to Community Board 2 for public review.

The park space here will measure 9,750 square feet. This DNAinfo article from 2016 has more background.

Countdown to grilled pizza on 5th Street

An EVG reader on Fifth Street has been keeping tabs on No. 511 here between Avenue A and Avenue B... where the owners of Emmy Squared are in the process of renovating the space for a grilled pizzeria (background here). Updates include an exterior paint job (above) this past weekend ... and the the delivery of kitchen equipment on Monday ...



The still-unnamed grilled pizzeria, which is expected to open in November, per New York, will also offer non-pizza dishes such as housemade pastas and grilled fish.

Next update will be when the new awning arrives. Or the mail.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Emmy Squared's owners are bringing grilled pizza to the former GG's space on 5th Street

Getting 511 E. 5th St. ready for new grilled pizza venture from Emmy Squared's owners

Maybe you'll have a Whalebone of a good time at this pop-up bar on Avenue B

On Monday afternoon, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted signage going up at 25 Avenue B for something called The Boneyard... which the signage makers described as a coming-soon pop-up bar in the basement space at Avenida Cantina here between Second Street and Third Street...



Bedford + Bowery had more on the establishment: Whalebone Magazine — a Montauk-based publication and lifestyle brand — is behind the project. Per B+B: "On the heels of its dive-bar issue, the outlet ... teamed up with Seagram’s 7 to really celebrate the grunge and grease of America’s favorite hole-in-the-walls."

The Boneyard will be open until Oct. 6.

That basement space was once Save the Robots... and much more recently Idle Hands and The Mockingbird. Upstairs at No. 25 has seen the likes of Billy Hurricane's and Matty's come and go in the last few years.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo on 14th Street near Avenue A by Christine Champagne...

Today in docking station relocation news

After two-plus months at the southwest corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue... workers today removed the Citi Bike docking station and are returning it to its previous location at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg.

Posthuman league: Fall season getting underway at Performance Space New York

The fall season at Performance Space New York starts tomorrow (Thursday!) night with the Posthuman Series.

First up is Annie Dorsen’s "meditation on deadpan comedy and melancholy in a virtual sex chat room, and Mette Ingvartsen’s tireless quest to reconcile thinking, dancing, and feeling."

Performers during the Posthuman Series the next three months include:

American Artist, Caitlin Cherry, Nora N. Khan, and Sondra Perry.
Underground Resistance
Che Gossett
Carolee Schneemann
keyon gaskin and sidony o'neal
Donna Haraway
Ron Athey

Find more details and ticket info at the Performance Space New York website.

The venue is at 150 First Ave. and Ninth Street.

Get the lead out: Tenants call for protections from lead dust during renovations

[Photo via the Cooper Square Committee]

City Council is taking up new legislation regarding lead and is holding a joint oversight and legislative hearing tomorrow morning.

Ahead of that, the Cooper Square Committee, working with local residents and elected officials, released a statement as well as a series of photos that "tell a story of lead contamination."



Per Cooper Square:

Tenants from the Lead Dust Free NYC (LDFNYC) coalition are releasing a series of photos showing the faces of lead dust contamination. As elected officials focus more on the issue of lead in NYC housing, LDFNYC urges them to crack down on landlords who contaminate buildings with lead during construction.

Lead contamination arising from unchecked construction dust has hit Lower East Side (LES) tenants hard over the last five years. Landlords like Samy Mahfar, Steve Croman, Raphael Toledano, and Icon Realty have all exposed tenants to lead through this form of contamination. In response, LES tenants have formed this campaign and assembled these photos of themselves to highlight the extreme lead exposure they have faced through construction dust in their buildings.

While tenants applaud new legislative efforts to stop lead poisoning, they want to also bring attention to the lax enforcement of existing laws. NYC’s predominant lead law is Local Law One of 2004. It was enacted fourteen years ago and many aspects of the law, which would help protect tenants from lead laden construction dust, are simply not being enforced.

"We have had multiple lead violations at 514 E. 12th St. The last violation placed found lead dust at four times the EPA standard. I do not believe Local Law One is enforced," said Holly Slayton, a longtime East Village resident whose doctor advised her and her daughter to wear face masks in their own home during renovations in their building (pictured above). "I had to call city agencies continually to get the dust tested and the landlord to follow the proper Local Law One protocol."

The statement from the Cooper Square Committee also includes comments from local elected officials, including City Council member Carlina Rivera and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein.

Back in May, City Council member Margaret S. Chin introduced legislation to empower city agencies "to stop dangerous and dirty construction before it sickens tenants and their families."

Here's more background from Chin's office:

In 1960, New York City was one of the first municipalities to ban the use of lead paint. In 2004, Local Law 1 set a goal for the City to eliminate lead in all residential buildings by 2010. Eight years past that deadline, it is clear that there is still more work to be done.

Under current law, landlords must perform annual checks for lead-based paint hazards in multiple dwellings built before 1960 with units that house children under 6 years old. Landlords must also perform a check whenever an apartment becomes vacant. To remediate the problem, landlords often paint over the lead paint surface. Because paint is susceptible to chipping or fading, this only creates a temporary solution to the presence of lead.

Intro 873 pushes for a permanent solution by requiring landlords to permanently remove or encapsulate any lead paint once a unit becomes vacant.

Intro 874 would increase inter-agency coordination when construction work blows lead particles into residential units and common areas, and also allow the City to issue a stop work order if a unit has received a notice of a lead-based paint hazard.

These two bills, sponsored by Chin, were introduced as part of a legislative package of 23 bills to expand the City’s oversight over lead paint, decrease the threshold for elevated blood lead levels that trigger investigation, improve inter-agency coordination and call for reporting to assess the impact and effectiveness of the City’s lead prevention measures.

Meanwhile, according to a new report by the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, city officials have never brought a case against a landlord for failing to inspect their apartments for lead since the law was enacted requiring such inspections. Read more at the Post.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Ongoing concerns about demolition work and elevated lead levels in Toledano-owned buildings