Plywood treatment for the former Foot Gear Plus on 1st Avenue as storefront renovation looms

Last Wednesday, workers surrounded 131 First Ave. with plywood...


[Top photos by Steven]

We received several queries about what was happening to this single-level storefront at St. Mark's Place that was home to Foot Gear Plus for 40-plus years until July 2018.

According to the work permit on file with the city, in the DOB's ALL-CAP STYLE: "THIS JOB IS IN HUB SELF-SERVICE AND CANNOT BE VIEWED UNTIL ACCEPTED." (Boo!)


[Reader-submitted photo from last Wednesday]

The property had been on the sales market, with a pitch mentioning 4,150 square feet of air rights.

According to a filing that hit public records in November, the property changed hands for $3.85 million. The new owner is an LLC that shares an address with HUBB NYC Properties LLC, a real-estate operating company.

Late last November, the retail-for-rent signage went up on the corner space.

The listing with Meridian Capital shows that the storefront can be divided up into three smaller spaces ... with a "brand new build out."





Presumably the plywood represents the start of this new build out for retail use... and not a demolition for use as a residential spot.

Meanwhile, as EVG reader Elissa notes, the plywood has been tagged and wheatpasted...



Previously on EV Grieve:
After nearly 40 years, Foot Gear Plus is closing on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place

What's next for 131 1st Ave., the former Foot Gear Plus space?

Jebon Sushi & Noodle has closed on St. Mark's Place

That's all for Jebon Sushi & Noodle at 15 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the restaurant wrapped up 10 years in business at the beginning of the month, as these photos via EVG correspondent Steven show.



Workers have (mostly) emptied the space...



This closing doesn't come as a complete surprise. Owner Wayne Yip recently opened Wara, a Japanese izakaya restaurant, at 67 First Ave. and Fourth Street. The Batsu theater, a Japanese-style variety show, moved there from Jebron in early February.

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And 15 St. Mark's Place was previously home to Coney Island High, the live music venue that closed back in 1999... the building was demolished to make way for the current condoplex now minus a retail tenant.

The Starbucks on 2nd Avenue at 9th Street has closed (a day early)

[Photo yesterday by Steven]

As previously reported, the Starbucks outpost on Second Avenue at Ninth Street was set to close yesterday.

However, the closing came a day early... the April 15 was changed to an April 14...



There wasn't any official word why this location closed.

This retail space remains on the rental market — the rent is "negotiable."

At Milk Bar, a new name for the Crack Pie

[Image via Milk Bar]

The East Village-based dessert spot Milk Bar has changed the name of its most-popular item.

Founder Christina Tosi made the announcement yesterday:

We’ve made the decision to stop using the name Crack Pie. Starting today, it will be known as Milk Bar Pie. Below, I’m sharing the note I sent to the Milk Bar team. The fact of the matter is, anyone who visits this website or our stores or our social media is our family too, and we listen to what you have to say.

While change is never easy, we feel this is the right decision. Not everything will happen at once - the next few weeks and months will be a transition period. Your support means everything to us and if you have feelings or questions about it, we’re always here.

The name switcheroo comes less than a month after Boston Globe food scribe Devra First wrote a column titled "There’s nothing cute about crack pie" following the opening of a Milk Bar in Cambridge, Mass.

As she wrote about the tone-deaf name:

If it seemed funny a decade ago to name a dessert after an addictive drug, the joke was one of privilege. The crack epidemic of the 1980s hurt largely poor, largely black communities, not the people who were heading to the East Village to spend $5 on a slice of pie (the price has since gone up to $6).

Chris Crowley at Grub Street made a similar case back in December about the use of "crack" to describe foods.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Food for thought: Milk Bar's Crack Pie is not a cute name, critic says

Monday's parting rainbow shots

Five views from early this evening... top shot from 14th Street near Avenue C by Durk Snowden.

Derek Berg shared this from Second Avenue and Fifth Street...



... Deborah Auer, devoted St. Mark's Place resident, took this on Third Avenue at the entrance to St. Mark's Place...



... Carol from East Fifth Street caught the rainbow on Astor Place...



...and Caz Lulu captured the double-rainbow action on Second Street...

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the new 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.

Lift off: Jay-Z will headline the first show at the all-new Webster Hall

There have been rumors that a big-name act (the National! the Strokes! the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!) would christen the all-new Webster Hall when it reopened this month.

Webster Hall made the big announcement this morning...

JAY-Z is opening Webster Hall with ‘B-Sides 2’ on Friday, April 26 for Day 1 fans. AMEX Card Members can get tickets on 4/18 at 10am ET before the public onsale on 4/19 at 11am ET. pic.twitter.com/WFU9FNkD7B

— Webster Hall (@WebsterHall) April 15, 2019

Per a Webster Hall press release:

JAY-Z will officially re-open the iconic Webster Hall on Friday, April 26m following the completion of a comprehensive renovation to modernize the historic concert venue. The ‘B-Sides 2’ show is billed for Day 1 fans and will be JAY-Z’s first time playing the legendary venue ...

A limited number of tickets will be made available for purchase to American Express® Card Members beginning Thursday, April 18 at 10 a.m. through 10 p.m. The general public on sale begins Friday, April 19 at 11 a.m. and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.

As previously reported, Webster Hall is now owned by BSE Global and The Bowery Presents, who's booking the acts at the venue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More details emerge about the revamped Webster Hall, returning this spring with Patti Smith, Sharon Van Etten and Royal Trux

Making the case for 2-way bike lanes on Avenue B

A movement is underway to secure two-way bike lanes on Avenue B, an increasingly congested 14-block corridor currently without any marked paths for cyclists such as on Avenue A and Avenue C.

The awareness campaign commenced along the Avenue this past Friday...

Big day today! We’re kicking off our campaign for a protected #bikeNYC lane on Avenue B! Can’t wait to make this street safer for all the schools and commuters in the East Village! @TransAlt pic.twitter.com/5RiyA4XQLD

— Sam Bleiberg (@SamBleiberg) April 12, 2019

The idea came about via parents who bike their children to area schools — including the East Village Community School, the Children's Workshop School, Tompkins Square Middle School, the Earth School and East Side Community High School.

After presenting the idea to, and receiving support from, the East Village Community School Parent Association, East Village resident and parent Choresh Wald approached Transportation Alternatives, who has endorsed the proposal and is helping spread the word via #BikeAveB on social media.

East Village knows that #bikeNYC is here, and lanes are coming! 🌸 #BikeAveB kickoff this morning was a huge success. Thanks @TransAlt volunteers @TA_Ambassadors for promoting our May 20th #bikemonth ride-to-school ✏️ 👨🏾‍🏫🚲 on Ave B! Sign the petition: https://t.co/QDwhiv6G2X pic.twitter.com/7Uvdi3Wwub

— Chelsea Skye (@pekochel) April 12, 2019

There's now a petition in circulation, which you can find here.

Per the petition, which is signed by Wald:

A historical source of Alphabet City's fight for tenants rights and neighborhood empowerment, Avenue B today is a vibrant 14-block stretch in the East Village that is lined with schools, cultural institutions and community gardens. Tompkins Square Park, the adjacent libraries and burgeoning night life combine to make Avenue B an increasingly busy corridor for people on foot and on two wheels.

Despite being a narrow avenue, Avenue B allows two-way travel for cars, but has no dedicated lanes for anybody who wants to ride a bicycle. Yet parents and neighbors alike are already choosing to ride down this unsafe corridor.

To make the problem worse, trucks and commercial vehicles have no curbside loading zones. Every day we see them double-parking in order to make deliveries to the dozens of small businesses along Avenue B.


[EVG photo]

We need a safe, two-way protected bike lane on Avenue B, complete with pedestrian safety improvements!

The closure of the East River bike path as part of the upcoming East River Coastal Resiliency plan adds real urgency to the situation. The loss of the East River Greenway park facilities for several years will increase demand to transform Avenue B into a street that can be safer for all users.

By local law, our youngest New Yorkers are allowed to ride on the sidewalk until they are 14 years old. But some of us can't afford to allow them to bike independently given the current conditions of our streets. Community Board 3, we need your help! When our daughters and sons turn 14 years old they will need a safe place to bike on Avenue B.

We've heard from several residents in recent months about an increase in traffic from commercial vehicles in part due to the arrival of Target last summer on 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B (at least one other big-box store is expected in the retail space below the newish residential building EVGB) ...


[EVG photo from February]

... and the ongoing presence of the private trash-truck operators making the early-morning rounds...





Wald and other parents plan to meet with City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office in the next few weeks to share their proposal. Wald also hopes to present the plan to Community Board 3 early this summer.

Survey: There's a lower rate of retail vacancies in landmarked areas of the East Village

[Click to go big]

The percentage of retail vacancies in landmarked areas of the East Village were less than half the rate in non-landmarked areas – 7% vs. 15%, according to a survey released late last week by Village Preservation (GVSHP).

Here's more from the survey:

This was consistent throughout the neighborhood – non-landmarked streets had consistently higher retail vacancy rates than landmarked ones, sometimes as high as 31%. By contrast, the East Village’s three landmarked districts encompassing about 400 buildings had 242 retail spaces with 17 vacancies and a fairly consistent retail vacancy rate of about 7%. The East Village overall has about 2,200 buildings with 1649 retail spaces and 250 vacancies, or a 15% retail vacancy rate.

The findings of this new apples-to-apples survey undercuts claims by the Real Estate Board of New York in a study it released last year indicating that landmarking led to higher rates of retail vacancies. That study was based upon inaccurate data and assumptions, using a very limited comparison of one street in Hell’s Kitchen vs. a few cherry-picked streets in the West Village.

This survey, by contrast, is the first neighborhood-wide survey of retail vacancies in New York City looking at comparable landmarked and non-landmarked areas.

"While no study like this is conclusive, it certainly shows that historic districts and landmarked areas not only can but do thrive, even in this tough climate for retail in New York City," GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman said in a statement.

The survey was conducted by the East Village Community Coalition, the Cooper Square Committee and GVSHP.

Crepes ‘n Things joins the Bowery Market

[Image via @thebowerymarket]

Crepes ‘n Things debuts today (after a friends and family event yesterday) in the Bowery Market, the year-round open-air food court at 348 Bowery and Great Jones.

Expect to find crepes, coffee (from the Brooklyn Roasting Company) and smoothies in their kiosk.

Crepes ‘n Things joins Cheska's pizza, Pinks Cantina and Sushi on Jones inside the Market, which is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; with a 10 a.m. start time on weekends.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q&A: How Cheska Mauban came to open her namesake pizzeria in the Bowery Market

Atelier Sucré bringing pastry-making workshops and tastings to 7th Street

Signage is up on Seventh Street for Atelier Sucré, which offers a studio kitchen for cooking classes, catering, and pastry and wine tastings.

Pastry chef Simon Herfray, who trained in his native France, is behind Atelier Sucré. In an email, Herfray confirmed that he's moving to the East Village from his current kitchen space in East Harlem. He expects to be fully moved in here between Avenue A and First Avenue by the end of the month.

The previous tenant in this spot (No. 104) was the cafe Rose and Basil, which closed in June 2018.

Wagamama clears out of the East Village

As reported back on Friday, Wagamama was shutting down its East Village location after service that day...

On Saturday, workers were cleaning out this outpost of the British-Asian fusion chain...





Wagamama didn't provide a reason behind the closure here on Third Avenue at 11th Street. The restaurant opened in this freshly renovated space (ex M2M) in October 2017.



In the comments Friday, several EVG readers cited poor service from a disinterested staff at this location. One reader referred to Wagamama as a "Pan-Asian Houlihan's."

Wagamama launched in London in 1992 ... and there are now nearly 200 locations in 27 countries.

Previously on EV Grieve:
55 Third Ave. sells for $57 million — AGAIN

Someone actually paid $57 million for this East Village building

Reimagining this 12-story East Village building, now on the market

NY Copy & Printing forced out of longtime E. 11th St. home, opening second location on E. 7th St.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group planning Martina for 55 3rd Ave.

A few details about the Wagamama coming to 3rd Avenue

The New Stand announces its arrival on the Bowery

The coming-soon signage has arrived for the New Stand at 306 Bowery between Bleecker and Houston.

It has seemingly been a long coming soon for this outpost of the New Stand's tech-driven take on the convenience store. The news about an outpost in Patricia Field's former shop was first announced in June 2017.

Anyway, as to what the New Stand is all about, according to its website: "Half store, half app, New Stand shops carry a rotating mix of coffee, new media, fancy snacks ... green juice, cheap art, high fashion, amusing GIFS, weird toys ... and tons of other interesting things depending on the day."

More background via a November 2018 Bisnow article:

New Stand is different from the traditional convenience store and newsstand in that it uses technology to increase convenience for customers. Each location comes fit with a hyperlocal app that allows users to conduct self-checkouts and collect points. It comes with an embedded wallet.

And a quote from New Stand CEO Andrew Deitchman:

"We also use that app as a way to distribute content. We have a great curation that includes everything from a great music playlist, to things happening around the city to articles about business or science, technology, etc.," Deitchman said. "We're also able to make those feeds hyperlocal and target them based on a building, company or geolocation so that the content in the app is that much more relevant to the people interacting with that particular newsstand."

View this post on Instagram

You know I keep that thang on me. #haveanewday #thenewstand via @vanessamckeown

A post shared by New Stand (@thenewstand) on Apr 12, 2019 at 4:05pm PDT

The company, which got its start in several highly trafficked NYC subway stations in 2015, has expanded into other cities across the country.

Post fire, Fat Buddha remains closed on Avenue A

[Photo from Friday]

On March 29, the FDNY responded to a report of a fire in an apartment on the third floor of 505 E. 13th St. at Avenue A.

While the FDNY had the fire under control in 30 minutes, there was extensive damage.

Fat Buddha, the bar that shares part of the building's retail space, remains closed (the fire was in an apartment two floors about Fat Buddha) ...



The bar posted this interior shot on Instagram...



EVG reader Barley also shared this "evidence" notice posted on the Avenue A gate...

Sunday's parting shot

Spring really is in full bloom everywhere.... an EVG reader shared this photo from Bleecker and Elizabeth today...

Village East presents 'The Searchers' in 35mm tomorrow (Monday!) night

The monthly Monday night 35mm series continues over at City Cinemas Village East, Second Avenue and 12th Street.

Tomorrow (Monday!) night, the theater is screening John Ford's classic Western "The Searchers" with John Wayne, Vera Miles, Jeffrey Hunter and Natalie Wood.

Upcoming Monday night 35mm films include "Enter the Dragon" in May and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in June. Details here.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, there's a 40th anniversary screening of "Life of Brian" at 7 p.m.

Week in Grieview

[Avenue A camp out]

Posts on EVG this past week included...

Review documents are now available for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project (Wednesday)

A visit to the Pyramid Club on Avenue A (Friday)

Wax on: Stranded Records debuts on 5th Street (Monday)

Report: Archdiocese of New York announces affordable-housing projects; fate of 2 East Village churches unknown (Tuesday)

In the L-Zone: The Little Tree That Could (Tuesday)

The Starbucks on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street closes on April 15 (Thursday)

Boulder patrol: Granite blocks now surround Astor Place (Friday)

Grant Shaffer's NY See (Monday)

City reportedly winning the rat race; the return of rat-friendly trash cans to Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Workers on the clock at 250 E. Houston St. (Thursday)

The Kati Roll Company says goodbye to the East Village; 2nd Avenue outpost is now closed (Friday)


[Eric Paulin and company in Tompkins yesterday via Michael Rosenthal]

Report: Landmark Theatres now booking films at the Quad on 13th Street (Wednesday)

La Plaza Cultural closed until the summer for fence replacement; RIP Krusty (Monday)

Timna is now closed on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

"Spiritus Mundi" at the 292 Theatre/Gallery (Thursday)

Reader mailbag: "Ever hear sirens and wonder?" (Thursday)

Wagamama is closing its East Village location (Friday)

New storefront reveal at 300 E. 5th St. (Monday)

Landmarks Preservation Commission hears air-rights transfer proposal for 3 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

A look inside the former Sidewalk (Thursday)

Shiina closes on 3rd Avenue (Tuesday)

Audrey Hepburn canvas still needs a home (Sunday)

Beijing Express went quickly (Monday)

... and from the Citizen app this past week...



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The spectacular now

Goggla shares this photo from the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... the magnolia tree is looking pretty spectacular. As she writes: "Catch it now as I think the flowers will be gone in a couple of days."

Reminders: Spring awakening is today!

As previously noted, Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens (LUNGS) is hosting its sixth Spring Awakening today in honor of the neighborhood's community gardens.

The day of garden-related activities begins at 11:30 a.m. at El Sol Brilliante on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. Follow the map...



Per the LUNGS website: "Join us as we are close down Avenue C for FREE Pony rides, music, a pop up community garden, free raffle prizes, a wellness circle, puppet show, Easter egg dyeing and much more."

Fog over

The early-morning fog as seen at the Con Ed plant, 14th Street at Avenue C...

Saturday's parting shot

Eden shared this from Tompkins Square Park today.

And what happened next...

Record Store Day 2019

Good morning (or afternoon or evening). Today is Record Store Day 2019 ... here's a look at what some local shops will have happening...

• Limited to One Records
221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue

View this post on Instagram

Available on Record Store Day tomorrow Saturday April 13th at 10am. #vinylnerd #vinylporn #nowplaying #nowspinning #eastvillage #limitedtoonenyc #morethings

A post shared by Limited to One (@limitedtoonenyc) on Apr 12, 2019 at 9:22am PDT

• A-1 Record Shop
439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue

View this post on Instagram

📤

A post shared by A-1 Record Shop (@a1recordshop) on Apr 12, 2019 at 1:10pm PDT

• Academy Records
415 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue

View this post on Instagram

As usual we will open at a humane hour so you don't have to suffer to score your RSD goodies. We are also putting out TONS of quality used titles from the numerous collections we have picked up recently. Also, donuts. If you are wondering about certain titles please check back tonight, we will be posting videos of what we got

A post shared by Academy Records NYC (@academyrecords) on Apr 12, 2019 at 8:15am PDT

• Stranded Records
218 E. Fifth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square

View this post on Instagram

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating Record Store Day on both coasts! Please join us in San Francisco / Oakland or at our new shop in the East Village. Stranded NYC will only be 1-week old. All three stores open early at 9am on Saturday.

A post shared by Stranded (@strandedrecords) on Apr 12, 2019 at 3:22pm PDT

• Turntable Labs
84 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue

View this post on Instagram

#TTLRSD2019: Lots going on this year, but at the core of it will still be efficient operations and good vibrations. Details above, full DJ lineup coming soon, browse the selection at turntablelab.com/RSD2019.

A post shared by turntablelabnyc (@turntablelabnyc) on Apr 8, 2019 at 3:31pm PDT