Next steps in the plan to rebuild East River Park

On Wednesday night, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer hosted a public hearing at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, and the city's updated (as of last fall) plans to stormproof East River Park from Montgomery Street to 13th Street.

Under the current plan, now on tour through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), East River Park will close from March 2020 to (fingers crossed) summer 2023.

Aside from what city officials say will reduce flooding from coastal storms and the rise of sea level on the East Side, the all-new East River Park — elevated by eight feet — would include new amenities.



You can read about what transpired at the meeting via Gothamist ... and Curbed.

An excerpt from Gothamist:

“Whatever the park is giving us, you’re going to take it all away,” said Yvette Mercedes, a Baruch Houses resident, whose children play in the park. “We need fixing, but why do it all at once?”

Over 25 people testified at the hearing, and expressed their anger at how City agencies — the Department of Design and Construction, and the Department of Parks and Recreation — are handling the project.

The complete park closure, and health hazards brought on by the dumping of landfill are the two most contentious points among residents and city officials. Residents have also pled with city officials for a “greener” plan that is not only flood-safe, but environmentally friendly.

And Curbed:

Though Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer called for a two-month delay on the project’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) first deputy commissioner Jamie Torres Springer said at the hearing that only the DEIS comment period will be extended for two weeks.

Ian Michaels, a spokesperson for the DDC said that the comment period for the DEIS, which has been open since April, will now be extended until Aug. 30.

Next up: The City Planning Commission hearing on July 31 at 10 a.m., at 120 Broadway. The final vote via City Council is expected in late September.

Meanwhile, City Limits took a deep dive on the issue leading up to Tuesday's meeting. It's a good primer for what has happened to date. Read that here.

An excerpt:

Charles Krezell, the co-founder and president of LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens), was in disbelief last fall when he heard about the city’s new plan. “No one was prepared for it,” he says.

He is unsure that this project can be completed in just three years and worried that it will stretch beyond the current terms of elected officials who will approve it, diffusing accountability. “No one else [in city office now] is going to be in office at that point, so it’s going to be very difficult, the city can walk away, the city can run out of money, anything can happen,” he says. “We can have a flood tomorrow, there’s no barrier to protect us from anything.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
At East River Park

RIP East River Park

We're having a heat wave

[Cooling center at St. Stanislaus on 7th Street]

As you're likely well aware by now, the city is in for a heat wave — featuring oppressive heat and humidity and unbearable "Baked Apple" puns — through the weekend.

As always in situations like this, I cut-n-paste from The Wall Street Journal:

The National Weather Service said it predicts temperatures of up to 101 degrees in some parts of the city on Saturday. It is the first time since 2012 that temperatures in the city have been more than 100 degrees, according to the weather service.

In New York City, a heat wave is declared when the heat index is 95 degrees or higher for two or more consecutive days.

The heat situation here is bad enough that Mayor de Blasio canceled a weekend trip to Iowa and other early primary states as part of his presidential campaign, per the Journal.

Cooling centers are opening citywide. You can find an interactive map here to find one near you...



Nearby options include...

• Campos Plaza
611 E. 13th St.
Open: M - F 8a-11p; Sa - Su 3p-11p

• John Paul II Friendship NSC
103 E. Seventh. St.
Open: M - F 8a-4p

• Jacob Riis Community Center
80 Avenue D
Open: M - F 8a-11p; Sa - Su 3p-11p

• Sirovich Center
331 E. 12th St.
Open: M - F 8a-8p; Sa 9a-3p

• Lillian Wald Houses Senior Center
12 Avenue D
Open: M - F 8a-4p

• Ottendorfer Library
135 Second Ave.
Open: M - Th 11a-7p; F - Sa 10a-5p

In addition, outdoor pool hours are extended to 8 p.m. at all of the city's Olympic- and intermediate-sized outdoor pools today through Sunday. (Around here, that means the Dry Dock Pool on 10th Street and Hamilton Fish Park on Pitt.)


Find the city's heat tips here. Watch a fan video for "Heat Wave" from Bronski Beat's 1984 excellent debut The Age of Consent here.

Report: Red-tailed chick in Tompkins Square Park died from rodenticide poisoning

Rodenticide poisoning was cited as the cause of death for Amelia and Christo's chick, the one who was found unresponsive in early June. The result came from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as Goggla reported.

Here's Goggla with more:

Secondary rodenticide poisoning happens when the chicks are fed poisoned rats, mice or any other prey that has ingested rodenticide. The parents, Christo and Amelia, likely didn't eat the same food, or not as much of it, so didn't die. However, they are exposed to the same danger every time they eat.

The NYC Parks Department does not use rodenticide in Tompkins Square Park. However, it is used throughout the city and the hawks do not restrict their hunting to the park, so they can pick it up anywhere.

And...

The Parks Department has been using dry ice to control rats in Tompkins Square. I think it's very effective and is not toxic to other animals, plants or people. However, if you look around the park or the streets of the East Village on any given day, there is trash and food everywhere. Until we, as a community, stop feeding the rats, nothing will change.

Find more details about alternative pest control options at her site.

Both of Christo and Amelia's offspring died this year, the first at the end of May. (The body of the first chick was never found.) Both chicks presumably died from rodenticide poisoning.

In the past two years, Amelia and Christo have lost three of their four offspring. In 2018, the chick died from a combination of rodenticide and West Nile virus.

Thursday's parting shot

Tompkins Square Park today via Derek Berg...

Noted

Reported this afternoon via the Citizen app...

H/T @SCOOTERCASTER

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

A visit to Metropolis Vintage on Broadway

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Meeting Richard Colligan at the new location — as of late May — of Metropolis at 803 Broadway (between 11th Street and 12th Street) was a trip down memory lane.

Richard’s vintage shop was my neighbor on Avenue B back in the 1990s and I still have a t-shirt I bought there 20-plus years ago.

We played the “do you remember game” for a while reminiscing about the old days when he paid $1,000 a month for rent on the store, had Hells Angels shopping there for denim and bought from MTV VJs who lived in the area.



Here's what else he had to say...

You first opened the store in 1990 at 96 Avenue B between Sixth and Seventh Streets. Did you envision that nearly 30 years later you’d not only still be doing well in business, but also in a large retail space on Broadway?

Well, I really loved a store called Canal Jean Co. They always had a mix of new and vintage clothing and I wanted to be like Canal Jean. I wanted to open a big space for a long time so I guess, yes — it is a dream come true.

As for 30 years — WOW — I always wanted to make it to 65 and then think about quitting but the question was could I keep up with the younger dealers in vintage as per styles and sourcing?


[Avenue B photo via Richard Colligan]

How long had you been looking for a larger space? Was staying in the neighborhood important to you?

It took about a year between looking and negotiating to get the space. [Metropolis left Avenue B for 43 Third Ave. before heading to Broadway.] Yes, it was very important to stay in the neighborhood. I mean, I did think about Brooklyn or Harlem but my roots are in the East Village.

Your concert/band t-shirts always seem to be popular, accounting for approximately 50 percent of your sales. What are people coming into the store looking for these days?

Besides t-shirts? Definitely 1990s-style clothing. Like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Cross Colours, JNCO jeans, lots of color. Denim is selling good to women, especially smaller-size jeans or high-waisted ones. In t-shirts, classic rock is big, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, the Grateful Dead.









Who is your typical customer? Are your in-store shoppers different than your online Etsy shoppers?

In store, the customer age range is 15 to 35, with lots of college students at the old Third Avenue location. But now that I am on Broadway, we get LOTS of tourist. Online Etsy customers sometimes come in but they’re looking for specific items. Inside the store customers can explore and find stuff but still it’s the same basic vintage customer.





How have you seen the neighborhood continue to evolve — at least from a retail perspective?

Well, Avenue B days it was very local, young high school kids from the neighbor and college age or older people who just moved in. The Hells Angels would come in buy denim. It was very very local years ago. The Third Avenue space had lots of college and high school kids from all over the NYC area and some tourists. About 15 years ago we started to get people who had the means to drop a lot of money starting to come in.

What do you think has made Metropolis a survivor here for nearly 30 years?

Very simple: focus on the customer. Go out every week and shop for new items and put things out every week. Don’t keep the best stuff for yourself, offer it to the customer first, let them have that experience of finding that special item. Keep your overhead low and look to new styles and vintage trends. It’s very easy to dismiss new vintage trends as you grow older. Exercise your eyes and train them to look forward and slowly give up on what the past good sellers were.


[Manager Stephen Voland]


[Sales associate Larry Gonzalez]


[Sales associate Skeleton Boy]


[Sales associate Skunk]

What’s next for you and the shop?

Keep doing the same thing but refine it to make our formula better. Try to do more with TV and movie productions.

---



The shop is open every day, noon until 8 p.m.

'Summer and Smoke ' at 72 Gallery

A new exhibit titled "Summer and Smoke" — featuring "punk photography royalty" curated by East Village resident Roberta Bayley — debuts tonight (Thursday!) at the The Great Frog, 72 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand.

The opening reception is from 6-9. After tonight, you can check out the exhibit from noon to 8 p.m Tuesday through Sunday

Here's a list of the photographers with work on display...

View this post on Instagram

Dee Dee getting ready for the summer by Danny Fields #dannyfields The upcoming Summer and Smoke show curated by @bayley1950 is a celebration of all things sweaty and summer related Opening July 18th and featuring work by: Amy Arbus Janette Beckman @janettephoto Bruce Carlton Danny Fields Godlis @godlis Keith Green @keithphotog Bobby Grossman @bobby__grossman Bob Gruen @bob_gruen John Holmstrom @thepunkmagazine Kate Simon @_katesimon Chris Stein @christein Joe Stevens Lisa Jane Persky @lisajanepersky Dustin Pittman @dustinpop Paul Zone Roberta Bayley @bayley1950 #surf #beach #robertabayley #blondie #debbieharry #ramones #punk #nycpunk #newyorkpunk #punks #punkrock #punkrockmusic #punklegends #historyofpunk #punksnotdead #cbgb #lowereastsidenyc #nyc #newyork #photooftheday #music #style #fashion #art #artexhibition #artnyc #artnewyork

A post shared by 72 Gallery (@72gallery) on Jul 8, 2019 at 3:53pm PDT

The folks behind The Great Frog created the gallery space in their rock 'n' roll ring shop and boutique. This marks their third exhibit since the spring.

A bendy thing moment at 11 Avenue C as new development passes the halfway mark

The work has really progressed here at 11 Avenue C at Second Street... where the new 10-story residential building has been in the bendy-thing phase this summer...



You can see how far it has progressed...



That was after the foundation work started in December 2016 on this triangular lot that housed the neighborhood's last gas station. (Real-estate sites always incorrectly name the BP on Second Avenue at First Street.)

Rotwein + Blake are the architects of record. Here's more about 11 Avenue C/350 E. Houston St. via their website:

The narrow triangular site, presented numerous challenges from its odd shape to zoning constraints, Rotwein+Blake crafted a well thought-out solution to maximize potential development opportunity for the client. At ten stories, the building will have 4,600 SF of ground level retail, 46 residential apartments and a landscaped roof terrace.

The buildings retail component engages the more lively Houston Street side on a pedestrian level, with an abundance of storefront glass, awnings and stone details, while the residential entrance on 2nd Street, creates a more private and embracing gesture. The brick and zinc façade blend a modern twist to a historic warehouse style, reminiscent of the now, chic residential adaptive reuse projects of Soho and Tribeca.

The plywood rendering states the project's completion date as March 2018.



Previously on EV Grieve:
You have a little longer to get gas on Avenue C

Plans filed for new 9-story building at site of Mobil station on East Houston and Avenue C

State seizes Mobil station on Avenue C and Houston for nonpayment of taxes

New residential building for former Mobil station lot will be 10 floors with 0 zero affordable units

A look inside the last East Village gas station

Pile driving for new building on Avenue C prompts arrival of crack monitors next door

Report: retail portion of Ben Shaoul's luxury condoplex on Houston and Orchard sells for a whopping $88 million

Developer Ben Shaoul and company have reportedly sold the retail space of its gold-dusted condoplex at 196 Orchard St. — whoa, brace! — for $88.75 million.

That's three retail tenants in total — the Marshalls, the coming-soon CVS and the Equinox on the upper two floors here along Houston between Ludlow and Orchard.

The Real Deal has the story:

The developers behind 196 Orchard Street, Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Management and Michael Miller’s Real Estate Equities Corp., sold the retail portion of the building to the AR Global affiliate New York City REIT, sources told The Real Deal. The sale price is $88.75 million, which makes it the most expensive deal for a retail condo in more than two years.

The price works out to more than $1,475 per square foot.

Back to TRD:

The deal is the most expensive sale of a retail condo since Savanna sold the retail portion of 10 Madison Square west for $97.5 million in the spring of 2017 to TH Real Estate (now Nuveen Real Estate).

This property here previously housed a single row of storefronts, including Ray's Pizza, Bereket and Lobster Joint. As Shaoul told the Times back in 2017, the small businesses that closed were "part of evolution ... You call it gentrification, I call it 'cleaning it up.'"

Shaoul and REEC bought the air rights from Katz's next door to help make this condoplex a reality.

Green Garden Buffet coming to 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Awning signage is up now for Green Garden Buffet on 332 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... not sure what this is (other than some kind of buffet!) at the moment.

This space was previously home for 22 years to Gallery Vercon, who wasn't offered a lease in 2016 after Raphael Toledano bought the building. (The property is now owned by Renaissance Realty Group in Brooklyn.)

'Wealthy, anonymous individual' buys Boys' Club building; will remain in use for a nonprofit

As we reported last week, multiple sources told us that the Boys' Club have sold their Harriman Clubhouse to a "nonprofit arts organization and will be a theater and house various arts-related entities." In addition, the Boys' Club would rent part of the space for one more year while searching for a new space in the area.

However, a Boys' Club rep told us that building has not been sold, and "the process is continuing."

And one week later: Crain's reports that the building on Avenue A and 10th Street was sold for $32 million to "a wealthy, anonymous individual."

Per Crain's:

Paul Wolf, a real estate broker and adviser who specializes in working with nonprofits and who represented the foundation, said the buyer wanted to remain anonymous. Wolf said the buyer was planning to sell the property, potentially at a substantial loss, to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

"The goal is to keep this as a community facility," said Wolf, who is co-president of the firm Denham Wolf. "The intent is to sell it to a nonprofit at a lower price than the purchase price."

Hot take!

"This is a remarkable turn of events," said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, who last year was one among several elected officials to criticize the club's decision to sell. "Certainly this is a very valuable property in a highly desirable neighborhood right next to a park. But instead of a private developer that wants to build condos, we're getting a foundation that wants to invest in the local community."

Executive Director Stephen Tosh said the Boys' Club will remain at 287 E. 10th St. for the next year while it searches for new space.

As I first reported in June 2018, Tosh told alumni about the BCNY's plan to sell its Harriman Clubhouse, which opened in 1901. The BCNY would continue to use the space through June 2019. A listing for the 7-story building arrived on the Cushman & Wakefield website last October with a $32 million asking price.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

During noon rally today, local elected officials will seek postponement of Boys' Club building sale

[Updated] Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million

Boys' Club fast tracks sale of East Village clubhouse as final bids are due Oct. 30

RUMOR: The Boys' Club building on 10th and A has a new owner; will remain in use as a nonprofit

Budding sinkhole of the day

EVG regular MP points out this sinkhole in progress on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue outside Mudspot...



A traffic cone marks the spot... or else it was provided as a sacrifice. We hear that the sinkhole's inner core has a temperature of 5505 °C, though that hasn't been confirmed.

Collapsing Scenery and Bush Tetras playing free benefit show Friday in Tompkins Square Park

Collapsing Scenery is headlining a free show in Tompkins Square Park on Friday afternoon.

The duo, Don Devore and Reggie Debris, released their latest album, Stress Positions, on June 28. As Brooklyn Vegan described the LP: "It’s quite the gonzo record that mixes post-punk, shoegaze, hip hop, dance music and more into one heady cocktail."

Also on the bill: LES no-wave legends Bush Tetras (who are releasing a new 7-inch single this month) as well as ZAH and Nymph. The show is scheduled from 2-6 p.m.

The show is also a benefit for Avenues For Justice, formerly the Andrew Glover Youth Program, around the corner from the Park on Avenue B. As amNY recently put it, Avenues for Justice is "a court advocacy program dedicated to rescuing New Yorkers in their teens and early 20s from the soul-crushing spiral of incarceration."

[Updated] A look at La Plaza's new fence

Updated 2 p.m. See below!

La Plaza Cultural, the community garden/green space on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C, has been closed to the public since the spring for an installation of a new fence.

As you can see from these photos from the other day, the fence is up and around the garden, though work remains. (OK, there are technically two fences up ...)

Per the most recent La Plaza e-newsletter dated July 12: "Much of it’s in, but the work has not yet been completed. We’re waiting to hear what the hold-up is. Either way, it’s close! And it's a really beautiful, well-crafted fence that should stand a good long time."











No word just yet on an official reopening date for La Plaza, which local residents and activists founded in 1976.

Updated

The construction fence is gone... thanks to Eddie for the pic...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A fall day to remove the Winter Flowers from La Plaza Cultural

A wake for the last willow trees at La Plaza Cultural

At the Weeping Willow Wake

Gone green: 12th Street bike lane returns

EVG regular Greg Masters reports that the city repainted the 12th Street bike lane yesterday ...



The city milled and paved the street in early May, and finally got around to putting down a fresh coat of green paint.

This eastbound bike lane arrived last November ahead of the anticipated L-train shutdown to help alleviate anticipated commute congestion.

However, after the shutdown became the slowdown, the city announced in April that the bike lanes on 12th Street and 13th Street would remain permanent.

July 16

An EVG reader shared this photo today from Fourth Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street... guess this heat is making people do crazy things like discard their perfectly good Christmas tree from last year (or maybe the year before). This one just needs a little water and should be good as new. Likely best for an apartment that doesn't have any smokers.

The tradition continues

Photo today on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C via Sylvia G.

Previously:

July 10 via Jill...



July 13 via Dave on 7th...

Scoop: Mikey Likes It back in action on Avenue A

Mikey Likes It is back open this afternoon on Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street, per EVG regular Lola Saénz, who took this photo of founder Michael "Mikey" Cole at the ice cream parlor.

In late June, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance seized the shop for nonpayment of taxes. Apparently all that has been worked out...

Noted, Bonobos edition

Crews will be shooting a commercial tomorrow for Bonobos on Ninth Street... the south side of the street between Avenue A and First Avenue is now blocked off for filming ....



EVG regular Carol from East 5th Street, who shared these photos, asks why all these spots were blocked off today at 9 a.m. for a shoot that starts the following morning...