Renovations and a 3-day rent demand at Bait & Hook

Bait & Hook, the sports bar on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue, has been closed the past 10-plus days for renovations. (H/T Pinch for first sharing this.)



Meanwhile, as EVG regular Laura notes, a 3-day rent demand has arrived next to the Closed for Renovations signage...





According to the notice, the owners here owe $104,000 (and change) in back rent (and various fees) dating to October.

Bait & Hook opened in September 2012. The press materials noted at the time: "Bait & Hook offers a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere where seafood is the star. Diners can enjoy a reasonably priced meal without compromising high-end, quality cuisine and service."

View this post on Instagram

Come join us tomorrow for Santacon 🎅🏼at Bait & Hook 14th St and 2nd Ave. Live Dj, No Cover Charge and Enjoy our all day Specials.

A post shared by Bait & Hook (@baitandhook) on Dec 7, 2018 at 5:27pm PST

Police looking for barrier-tossing tag suspect on Bleecker Street

Wanted for an ASSAULT that occurred on Bleecker St & Elizabeth St #Manhattan @NYPD9Pct. Have you seen them? Do you know these individuals?☎️Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us!📞Calls are anonymous.💰You may receive up to a $2500 REWARD! #YourCityYourCall @ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/UtFi3ZzRj2

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) February 26, 2019

Earlier today, the NYPD released details of an attempted assault with a metal barrier on Jan. 20.

The incident occurred just before noon on a Sunday on Bleecker near Elizabeth.

Jaclyn Doherty, 26, told this to the Daily News:

"I thought he was maybe saving a parking spot," she remembered. "He didn't look crazy or anything."

A moment later, the suspect flung the barrier in their direction. Her friend managed to dodge it. Doherty wasn’t so lucky.

"I was just in shock," she said, adding that what happened next creeped her out even more. “He said, 'Tag, you're it.' and kind of ran off.”

"It seemed like he wanted us to follow him," she remembered, shrugging off her experience to life in the big city. "It's New York City, people do weird things."

Doherty reportedly suffered a few cuts and bruises, though medical treatment wasn't required.

According to the News, the suspect was described as black, about 20, 5-feet-5 and 140 pounds. He was wearing a black track suit with white stripes, plus a gray hoodie, gray Champion sweatpants and black sneakers, cops said.Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

FDNY responds to report of 'unstable wall' at 301 E. 10th St.

Emergency responders are on the scene at 301 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... where there's a report of an "unstable wall" in the building...

Manhattan *All Hands* Box 0452. 301 E 10th St, . Bn-6 using All Hands for an unstable wall in a 5 story 25x50. Buildings Dept & OEM requested.

— NYCFireWire (@NYCFireWire) February 26, 2019

It's the building here with the sidewalk bridge...



Currently, 10th Street is closed off between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Will update when there's more to report. And thanks to Steven for these photos!

Updated 5:42 p.m.

Per NBC 4...

A number of buildings in the East Village were evacuated after a wall inside a townhouse partially collapsed, the FDNY said.

The department received a call reporting a partial wall collapse inside of 301 E. 10th St., across from Tompkins Square Park, at 3:36 p.m. Tuesday, it said.

Updated 9 p.m.

Public records show that No. 301, built in the late 19th Century by architect Joseph Trench, sold for $8 million in December 2016.

The buyer, listed as Kamo Associates LLC, were in the process of renovation the building. There are approved plans on file with the city for a "horizontal rear extension."

No. 301 is currently occupant free during the gut renovations.

Oh oh it's magic — at the Earth School this Friday evening

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We hope you had a great February break! Believe or not, the Annual Earth School magic show is coming THIS FRIDAY! Don’t miss Cardone the Magician aka @cardonemagic, Friday, March 1 in the Earth School Auditorium, enter at Ave B and 5th St. Doors open at 5pm, show starts at 6pm. Spooky, eerie, odd, and so much fun! He always amazes us with his mystifying ways and magic that keeps us wondering for days! Fun for ALL ages. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and 3 & under are free. Food and drink will be available for purchase in the lobby—from an AMAZING lineup of delicious and oh-so-generous sponsors including @katzsdeli, @croissanteria, @gelartonyc, @peterpandonut, @eatsolopizza, and more. This event is open to all—bring your friends and neighbors. Funds support our wonderful school. #cardonepresents #cardonemagic #cardonethemagician #earthschoolnyc #magicshow #familyevent #supportpubliceducation #eastvillage #alphabetcity #fridaynightmagic #katzdelicatessen #croissanteria #gelartonyc #peterpandonuts #solopizzanyc @evgrieve @timeoutnykids

A post shared by The Earth School (@ilovetheearthschool) on Feb 25, 2019 at 2:31am PST

Find the magic Friday at the Earth School — enter on Avenue B at Fifth Street. Find more details here.

Headline H/T

EVG Etc.: Curbing broker fees; celebrating Alan Vega and Suicide

[Avenue B plywood antics via Brucie]

The latest on the epidemic of NYC store closings, plus signs that some landlords are relenting and lowering rents (NYCitywoman)

City Council members Carlina Rivera and Keith Powers introduce legislation to limit brokerage fees for apartment rentals (CBS New York)

Celebrating the music of Alan Vega and Suicide at Bowery Electric tomorrow night (Dangerous Minds ... official site)

Politicos joins NYCHA tenants in calling for more federal funding (amNY)

"Russian Doll" and the late-night deli vibes (Eater)

Man with boxcutter keeps destroying the Phoebe artwork around the East Village (Instagram)

Workshops for the ECOLOGICAL CITY: A Cultural & Climate Solutions Action Project start on Saturday (Official site)

The hits and misses at Violet on Fifth Street (The New Yorker ... previously)

Tompkins Square Park through the years (Off the Grid)

The No Bar opening at the Standard East Village: "Can New York's Queer Nightlife Scene Feel at Home in a Hotel Chain?"
(Bon Appetit ... previously)

More about the Indian cuisine at Dhamaka, one of two full-service restaurants opening at Essex Street Market later this year (Eater)

A new restoration of comedy classic "Some Like It Hot" starts Friday (Metrograph)

Who's buying vinyl these days? (CNET)

...and the store under that Optimo Cigars signage on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street is currently gutted...



Might be a good time to revisit the glorious summer of 2012... when the awning belonged to the unforgettable Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo ...


[Photo from 2012 by Bobby Williams]

[Updated] More mystery over those mysterious concrete barriers on 10th Street; our Stonehenge?

[Photo Sunday by Steven Hirsch]

As noted on Sunday, residents are mystified over the arrival of these six concrete blocks on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

CBS2 is now on the case. "Residents, sanitation crews and even the police are confused as to why the blocks are there," the station reports.

Without saying why, a Department of Transportation spokesperson told CBS2 reporter Scott Rapoport to contact Con Ed about the chunks of concrete.

An EVG tipster confirmed that Con Ed is behind the behemoth barriers (OK, they're not that behemoth). The usual orange barrels are too easy to move and blow away too easily... so the contractor in charge wanted something sturdier, per the tipster.

Updated 11:30 a.m.

And someone has removed the barriers, as TXNYCgirl noted in the comments...


[Photo by Steven]

Updated 9 p.m.

Per CBS 2:

Con Ed had its subcontractor – Triumph Construction – remove the blocks. Spokesperson Michael Clendenin claimed the plan was to “block” off space to install gas service to a neighborhood building.

“We’ve had trouble before where cones and tape and the normal things you do to mark off the site,” Michael Clendenin alleged.

“This time they used the blocks so it could not be moved to make sure when other workers got there they’d be able to do it. Obviously this is something we apologize for it shouldn’t have been done that way...”

While the construction company had a permit to work at the site, the city issued them a summons and a $1,200 fine for taking up parking with no workers on site.

The vote for NYC public advocate is today

Updated 2/27: City Councilmember Jumaane Williams a Democrat, won the election with 32 percent of the vote.

The special election for public advocate is today in NYC. (Letitia James, the previous public advocate, was elected as state attorney general back in November.)

Why should we care about this election? What difference will my 2-3 votes make? Per Town & Village:

While this is a role with little governing power, it’s widely seen as a stepping stone for individuals looking to become mayor or to gain other prominent positions.

As to why New Yorkers should bother with this race, there is also the fact that the office exists to be a watchdog, a check on the mayor.

Meanwhile, the public advocate is also the first in line to assume the title of mayor if something were to happen to the mayor. The public advocate can also introduce and sponsor legislation.

So if you want a quickie refresher on the 17 (!!!!!) candidates before heading to the polls, here are some sources for you:

• Public advocate race cheat sheet (Town & Village)

• Everything you need to know about NYC’s public advocate special election (Curbed)

• Meet the NYC public advocate candidates (amNY)

• The race for public advocate: 10 candidates address street safety, transit (Streetsblog)

• How the public advocate candidates have tried to define themselves (Gotham Gazette)

• Some public advocate candidates won’t give up real estate cash (The Real Deal)

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. today.

Construction watch: 3 E. 3rd St.

Checking on on the progress at 3 E. Third St., the six-floor, five-unit condoplex in progress steps off of the Bowery and in the shadows of 347 Bowery...



Inspiron, the project's construction manager, has more details on their website:

The Building is a concrete design that will be roughly 13,400 square feet. The space will be split between residential spaces on the upper floors with luxurious rooftop access and commercial space on the lower floors.

The project originally started out as a 7-floor building. There hasn't been any information released yet on pricing for these units.



Alex Barrett’s Barrett Design and Development paid $11.5 million in 2016 for the property, a building that served as short-term rentals for students and interns.


[3 E. 3rd St. in April 2015]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Development site available on East 3rd Street at the Bowery

Demolition watch: 3 E. 3rd St.

Last week for Puppy Love & Kitty Kat on 9th Street

Multiple EVG readers have shared the news that Puppy Love & Kitty Kat, the 10-year-old pet supplies and grooming shop at 420 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, is closing this week.

No word what's behind this closure at the moment. (Thanks William Klayer, Steven and Barley...)

Monday's parting shot

Not a Citi Bike either... photo on Fourth Avenue by Derek Berg...

Yet another reminder that February is nearly over

Workers removed the holiday lights today on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, as these photos by EVG Ninth Street Holiday Lights Correspondent Steven show... the lights had been up since Dec. 5 ...

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest installment of 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 — and NYC. (And recently featured on the #ArtOnLink campaign via LinkNYC.)

Last call at Sidewalk and St. Mark's Comics, now closed after a combined 70 years in business

[Photo early Sunday by Day Clancy]

The Sidewalk closed after service on Saturday night... ending 34 years on Avenue A and Sixth Street. New owners are taking over the restaurant and live-music venue.

And there were many thank yous and goodbyes on social media from musicians who have played here through the years... just one example ...

View this post on Instagram

Thank you SideWalk for the memories! It has been a journey - And an absolutely incredible one at that. The only place in my book that welcomed me as a musician. Love you all, misfits, creatives, and Antifolks. 🖤❤️ #longlive @sidewalknyc #rocknroll #stairwaytoheaven #highwaytohell #Antifolk

A post shared by Natalie Asport (@natalieasportmusic) on Feb 23, 2019 at 7:24pm PST

Meanwhile, on St. Mark's Place, St. Mark's Comics closed its doors after 36 years in business last evening. Owner Mitch Cutler cited a variety of factors behind the closure. "I have been working 90 hours a week for 36 years, and I no longer have the wherewithal to fight them — all of these various reasons," he told me last month. The storefront at 11 St. Mark's Place is currently for rent.

amNY stopped by yesterday for a final report. You can read that piece here.

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A post shared by amNewYork (@amnewyork) on Feb 24, 2019 at 12:30pm PST

100 Gates project coming for East Village gates

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A post shared by EVIMA (@evimanyc) on Feb 22, 2019 at 8:05am PST

The Lower East Side Partnership is bringing the 100 Gates Project to the East Village.

Here's the pitch:

Interested artists will be paired up with like-minded businesses for these site-specific mural collaborations that will be installed on exterior roll-down security gates. Artists are paid a supply and artist stipend of $400 for each gate installation and the project comes at zero cost to merchants.

EV merchants can email this account to apply for a gate revamp. (And artists can apply to work on a gate at this link.)

The 100 Gates project started on the Lower East Side in 2014 ... and eventually expanded to Harlem and Staten Island.

The 100th gate was completed (by LAmour Supreme) on the LES in September 2016... over at Katz's (this photo is from last year)...

New playground equipment alert in Tompkins Square Park

[Photos Friday by Steven]

New playground equipment is arriving in the under-renovation playground on the Avenue B side of Tompkins Square Park (H/T @dens!) ...



Renovation work started last Oct. 1 on the Avenue B children’s playgrounds.



According to the Parks Department website: "This project will reconstruct two playgrounds with new play equipment, safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing."

The project has a 12-month timeline for completion. Construction here is listed as 37 percent complete, per the Parks Department website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Playground renovations underway in Tompkins Square Park

Heavy-duty fencing arrives as playground renovations continue in Tompkins Square Park

Ravagh Persian Grill is back in action on 1st Avenue

Ravagh Persian Grill has returned after a months-long interior renovation here at 125 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

This is one of five outposts for Ravagh (three in Manhattan and two on Long Island).

People seem to like this place. Eater gave it high marks in a roundup of Persian restaurants ... while the reader comments were positive, with one noting on our last post: "I eat here all the time! The ghormeh sabzi is the best I've ever had in a restaurant. Very much hoping they open up again soon."

BeetleBug sits empty now on 9th Street

Several EVG readers have noted that BeetleBug, the floral design shop, has been emptied at 441 E. Ninth St. at Avenue A.

There's no message on the site's website or social-media properties about any type of closure. (They do have operate a small-scale market and flower farm in the Hudson Valley.)

BeetleBug opened in early 2017, and they were the first tenant in Icon Realty's renovated retail spaces here at 441 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A).

According to one previous retail tenant here in 2015, Icon either wasn't renewing leases or offering new terms with unmanageable rent increases. (Icon bought the building for $10.1 million in April 2014.)

The last previous tenant to leave — in February 2016 — was the Upper Rust, who found a new space in Chelsea for their antiques.

Another new business along here, Mahalo New York Bakery, which served Hawaiian-inspired desserts, closed back in fall after seven months in business. That 300-square-foot space is now for rent with an ask of $4,500 monthly, per the Icon website.

Report: Discussions on a mixed-income community for former St. Emeric property

[EVG file photo]

There is some development news to report about the former Church of Saint Emeric, which has sat empty since merging with St. Brigid's in early 2013.

St. Emeric's, built in 1950, is on a lonely stretch of 13th Street near Avenue D. The church sits next to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's Manhattan Pumping Station and across the street from the Con Ed power plant ...


[EVG file photo]

As Curbed reported late last week, the Archdiocese of New York is considering a proposal to turn the 300,000-square-foot property, which includes a former school, over to a land trust for 400 units of below-market-rate housing.

Per Curbed...

The Cooper Square Community Land Trust has offered to partner with developer Jonathan Rose Companies to create a mixed-income community ...

The Archdiocese has already committed to devoting 100,000 square feet of the property toward affordable housing — though they have yet to define tenant income requirements — on land that houses the former Church of St. Emeric. But housing advocates say the church should further its charitable mission by devoting the entire lot to low- to middle-income housing.

And...

[I]f the trust’s proposal to develop St. Emeric's is accepted, the project would also include community space, as well as services for mental and physical health, senior services, and educational programming. The group would fine tune the plan based off of community feedback.

And if all this goes through, given the proximity to Con Ed, the land would require environmental remediation from contaminated soil.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese doesn't seem so keen to convert the former Church of Nativity on Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street into similar housing.

The Church closed after a service on July 31, 2015, merging with Most Holy Redeemer on Third Street. In the summer of 2017, the archdiocese desacralized the former church, clearing the way for a potential sale of the desirable property.

Back to Curbed:

The Cooper Square Community Land Trust ... offered to buy Church of the Nativity for $18.5 million (with $5 million in closing costs) over a 30-year period, but the Archdiocese has instead expressed interest in seeking market value for the land and using the funds to address needs at the Most Holy Redeemer and parishes across the city.

The Cooper Square Community Land Trust is currently organizing a town hall this spring with Community Board 3 to discuss "how decommissioned churches can be best utilized by the Archdiocese and the communities they once served." Something other than demolishing them to make way for ultra-luxury condos.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the Church of Saint Emeric on East 13th Street

From St. Emeric's to St. Brigid's

Educator: Turning the former Church of the Nativity into luxury housing would be a 'sordid use' of the property

Week in Grieview

[Christo hunting in the Park Friday via Bobby Williams]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

The untold tale of East Village shopkeeper Santo Mollica's comic-book past (Thursday)

After 50 years on the block, the Hells Angels appear to be selling their 3rd Street clubhouse (Friday)

The birds and the bees: Mating season commences in Tompkins Square Park for red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo (Wednesday)

The final days of Sidewalk (Tuesday)

An evening honoring extraordinary women at Middle Collegiate Church (Saturday)

Crooked Tree closes after 20 years on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

More details emerge about the revamped Webster Hall, returning this spring with Patti Smith, Sharon Van Etten and Royal Trux (Friday)

The foot race to beat the M14 along 14th Street (Thursday)

A "new wave gay bar" for the Standard East Village (Wednesday)

C&B Cafe now part of new venture taking over the former Cafe Orlin space on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Under St. Marks won't be available for the Frigid Festival (Monday)

Plywood report: 101E2, aka 101 E. 2nd St. (Thursday)

Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices coming to 2nd Avenue in Gramercy Park (Tuesday)

Kikoo bringing all-you-can-eat sushi to the former Papa John's outpost on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

An anniversary for McSorley's (Monday)

Report: Danny Meyer is closing Martina on 11th Street (Tuesday)

... and on Fourth Avenue, another children's kitchen closure to report...


[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

---

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Those random concrete blocks on 10th Street

EVG reader Steven Hirsch shared this photo from 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ...where these concrete blocks arrived earlier in the week "with no signs or permits."

That's one way to prevent people from parking here.

Updated 2/26

Mystery solved here.

Today in (random) NYC music history

[EVG photo from December]

Led Zeppelin released Physical Graffiti on this date in 1975 (Happy No. 44!) ... with the double album cover shot at 96-98 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue (Yes — the Stones used the stoop a few years later).

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44 years ago today, @ledzeppelin released “Physical Graffiti.” Make ours a double. #ledzeppelin #physicalgraffiti

A post shared by MAGNET Magazine (@magnetmagazine) on Feb 24, 2019 at 5:02am PST

Find some album-cover history at this Gothamist post from 2014... ditto for this Off the Grid post.

Saturday's parting shot

Zoltar with a tag outside Gem Spa on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place this morning...

An evening honoring extraordinary women at Middle Collegiate Church

Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue is hosting the following event on Tuesday night... "Rage, Rejoice & RISE: An Evening of Celebration, Inspiration and Solidarity."


Here's more via the EVG inbox...

Eve Ensler, Tony-Award-winning playwright and founder of V-Day and One Billion Rising, hosts an evening featuring best-selling author Naomi Klein; "Westworld" star and domestic violence survivor/advocate Evan Rachel Wood; and Rhanda Dormeus, mother of Korryn Gaines, a young woman shot and killed by Baltimore police in 2016.

The evening includes the Rev. Jacqueline J. Lewis, Ph.D.; musicians, activists, and the gospel choir of Middle Church. The evening honors the extraordinary women who are rising in unprecedented ways across New York City, the country and the world.

Tickets are $10 and available here.

The event starts at 7 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.) Middle Collegiate Church is at 112 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. Find more info here.

A Public lawsuit

ICYMI from The New York Times yesterday...The Public Theater on Lafayette filed a lawsuit against Ian Schrager's swank-o Public hotel, which opened in 2017 just below East Houston on Chrystie.

The Public Theater (officially known as the New York Shakespeare Festival) asserts that Schrager and Co. "violated its trademarks by using the name 'Public' — as well a strikingly similar logo — to advertise theater and musical performances."

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues that the hotel’s use of "Public" in marketing entertainment events is likely to confuse customers and cause some to assume that the performances are associated with the famed nonprofit theater on Lafayette Street. The Public Theater, which opened its first show in the 1960s, claims that the Public hotel is essentially siphoning off its business by riding on its theatrical coattails.

Public Theater officials told the Times that they didn't have any problem with Schrager using the name in association with the hotel. The issue comes with the hotel's performance space, called Public Arts.

And Schrager's response?

Mr. Schrager said in a statement through his spokeswoman that when his company registered its trademarks for the hotel, the Public Theater did not have any of its own. "We would not have gotten our trademarks if they did," he said.

And...

"After being in the business for 40 years with scores of projects having been completed, I think I know a little about registering trademarks to protect our brands and good will."

This is the second high-profile trademark lawsuit on the LES. Last year, MoMA took legal action against the MoMaCha tea room on the Bowery.

Random P.I.L. album art via Wikipedia Commons.