At the Heap of Ruins Garden Party

On Friday night, performance artist Monty Cantsin (aka Istvan Kantor, a founder of the Neoism movement) hosted a garden party in Lot6C — aka that long-vacant lot on the northeast corner of Avenue C and Sixth Street...



EVG correspondent Stacie Joy stopped by the space, described as an experimental trash-art garden ...




















[Cantsin]











The evening included Cantsin opening up a vein in his arm to create some of his trademarked blood art (you can read about his 40-year-history of his blood work here) ...









There were promises of future events here... but for how long is unknown. There are now approved plans with the city for a 6-floor residential building for this lot.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About the Heap of Ruins Garden Party tomorrow night on 6th Street and Avenue C

City Planning Commission will hold its hearing on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project tomorrow

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

The next public meeting on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) takes place tomorrow (July 31) morning at 10.

The City Planning Commission along with the Office of Management and Budget and the Parks & Recreation Department are next the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) public review tour. The meeting is at 120 Broadway, Concourse Level. Page 42 (!) of this document has more details.

By now you likely now the story behind the ESCR project, a coastal protection initiative jointly funded by the City of New York and the federal government, aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea-level rise. ESCR is the first element of the city’s "Big U" plan to protect Lower Manhattan from surges like those seen during Superstorm Sandy.

As part of the project, city officials, starting next spring, plan to close East River Park for three-plus years, elevating it with 8- to 10-feet of soil and chopping down trees, etc., from Montgomery Street to East 13th Street.

Some residents, referring to it as the Kill Our Park Plan, have asked for the demolition and reconstruction of East River Park to take part in phases so that they continue to enjoy some of the amenities that the public space provides. (The revised plan, unveiled last fall, dramatically changed course over what had been discussed the previous four years.)

For more background:

• The official East Side Coastal Resiliency Project page is at this link.

• "A Beginner’s Guide to the NYC Environmental Impact Statement for the East River Park" via East River Park Action is here.

• A primer on the East River Park's past and future by the Village Preservation is at Off the Grid.

Also, this Gothamist piece has a nice background of what has transpired to date.

The city is now accepting public comments through Aug. 30. This link has details on how — and where — to comment.

You may also breeze through the mostly unreadable Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project here. There are hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents with footnotes and collateral materials (the table of contents alone is a unwieldy 32 pages).

The final vote via City Council is expected in late September.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: The reality of storm-proofing East River Park in 2020

Storm center: Questions linger over updated plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency project

At East River Park

2 Boots Pizza celebrating 32 years tonight on Avenue A

Two Boots Pizza is marking its 32nd year in business this evening with a bash in the outpost on Avenue A at Third Street.

From 6-8 you'll find live music as well as samples of two new pizzas...



If you've walked by the space in recent days then you may have seen Jim Power working on his mosaic planters (the ones featuring sculptures by Melissa White) ...





The first Two Boots opened on June 24, 1987 at 37 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street.

The McDonald's on 1st Avenue is closed for a gut renovation

The McDonald's on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street closed yesterday as workers quickly gutted the space for an McUpgrade...



EVG reader Samir Randeria, who shared these photos, spoke with a supervisor on the scene. This McDonald's should be back open in about three weeks. (This location received an updated facade in July 2017.) It was not immediately known if the upside down box of fries on the marquee will be moved to a different position, like, say, sideways.

Last summer, the McDonald's on 14th Street at First Avenue also closed for a three-week upgrade, which included the arrival of digital self-order kiosks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
1st Avenue McDonald's replaces $1 menu signage; new emphasis placed on the Big Mac, large fries

Final closing sale at the Art on A Gallery & Shop

The Art on A Gallery & Shop at 24 Avenue A at Second Street closes tomorrow (July 31) after seven years.

The last exhibit concluded a few weeks ago, but the owners — Wendigo Productions — have a few items remaining for sale, including clothing and jewelry. There are also art and office supplies, such as 3-foot tubes to store posters ($1 each!), a space heater ($15) and a desk with drawers ($25). Expect to find a few snow shovels and a ladder up for grabs as well. The storefront is open until 5 p.m.

Wendigo announced the pending closure back in March:

"One of the reasons, of course, is that like everywhere else in NYC the rent is too high, But beyond that we are ready to place more focus on the music end of the business, Wendigo Productions, LLC. To that end we will be moving to a smaller office space in the neighborhood and there will be no more regular art shows, maybe just pop ups here and there if inspiration hits.

Wendigo, which produces live events, concerts and tours, and represents and promotes local artists, closed its retail-consignment next door last summer. That freshly renovated space is now on the market for $4,995 a month. The Gallery space has an ask of $7,495. (Listing at this link.)

The closure also coincides with the sale of 24 Avenue A in February. The Sabet Group bought the building for $15.8 million, according to public records.

Previously on EV Grieve:
'Sayonara, Bitches' — about the last show at Art on A Gallery

Report: New legislation aims to track vacant storefronts, monitor health of small businesses

[For rent along 2nd Avenue]

In case you missed this news from last week... City Council passed legislation (totaling five bills) — the first of its kind in the country — that will require landlords to register storefronts with the city. This database will offer a snapshot of retail spaces in the five boroughs and their vacancy status.

As Bloomberg put it:

The effort, aimed at creating a more comprehensive data set to monitor the health of the city’s small businesses, seeks to replace the existing patchwork of available information, which doesn’t paint a complete picture of the state of the market.

The “Storefront Tracker” bill, introduced by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council member Helen Rosenthal and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, requires the Department of Finance to gather data on storefronts that will be bundled into an online resource to better understand the woes of the small-business sector.

Some details via amNY's report:

At the start of each year, building owners with storefront and second-floor commercial spaces, as well as commercial spaces in residential buildings, will be required to register with the city Department of Finance as part of their annual income and expense filings. The size, location, occupancy status, monthly rent, lease status and owner contact information will be required for each space.

Owners who fail to register or who provide inaccurate data will face fines. They will also be required to update the database if the occupancy status or ownership of the building changes within the first six months of the year.

The public will be able to see a commercial building’s occupancy status via the online Storefront Tracker database. More detailed data, such as the median time vacant spaces have remained empty, will be made available online via the census tract or council district.

Small-business advocates were generally supportive of the Storefront Tracker, calling it a useful tool.

“But it is perplexing why a bill counting vacant storefronts was fast-tracked and passed in just four short months,” Kirsten Theodos, co-founder of TakeBackNYC, told The Villager, “while the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, a bill that would actually stop the closings by addressing the unfair lease-renewal process, had a hearing eight months ago and since then there has been zero movement toward a vote.”

Said Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation: "[I]t is not by itself nearly sufficient to address the challenges facing small store owners in New York City right now."

The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development had a more celebratory take on the legislation.

"These wins come at a time when neighborhoods across the five boroughs have seen steep upticks in vacant commercial space. Landlords may be prompted to warehouse their storefronts in anticipation of rising rents or with the intent of holding out for the highest bidding tenant."

According to a count done by the East Village Community Coalition last summer and fall, there are over 200 vacant storefronts in the East Village.

As we've seen in the East Village, storefronts can sit empty for up to five years. For instance, two spaces in the retail base of NYU's Alumni Hall on Third Avenue at Ninth Street were vacant from the summer of 2014 until H-Mart opened early last month.

H/T MJB!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Raising awareness of the vacant storefronts in the East Village

Eiyo Bowl confirmed for part of the former Foot Gear Plus space on 1st Avenue at St. Mark's Place

[EVG photo from June]

Eiyo Bowl, a vegan quick-serve restaurant specializing in acai and rice bowls, will be the first tenant at 131 First Ave. (now going by 82 St. Mark's Place).

Here's more via news release (h/t Upper West Sider!):

The restaurant capitalizes on the quick-serving of foods from multi-cooking pressure crockpots and a streamlined supply of frozen vegetables, fruits, and other ingredients, that allows a low overhead in food acquisition, preparation, and serving. A specialty of Eiyō Bowl includes “Matcha Acai”, an originally conceived item that blends acai, matcha powder, coconut milk and banana.

Workers have been gutting the single-level structure ... and dividing the storefront into three retail spaces. No word yet on who the other two tenants might be for this corner space.

The previous tenant, Foot Gear Plus, closed last year at this time after nearly 40 years in business.

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?

A look at 131 1st Ave., currently being divided into 3 retail spaces

A 'quick reboot' for Coney Island Baby on Avenue A

[EVG photo from July 13]

We heard from a lot of people over the weekend about Coney Island Baby, the 15-month-old live music venue at 169 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.

For starters, the name is no longer on the recently renovated exterior...


[Photo Friday by Shawn Chittle]

And the show scheduled for Saturday night had been moved to Berlin at 25 Avenue A while Wednesday night's EP release show is now at Bowery Electric.



A co-owner described the temporary closure to me as "a quick reboot," with more details coming soon. Another tipster with knowledge of the club offered that "they’ve decided to do a different concept in that space" with more events and fewer bands.


[Reader-submitted photo from Saturday]

Coney Island Baby debuted on April 26, 2018, with a show by hardcore legends Murphy's Law, HR of Bad Brains and Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. Recent highlights include a sorta secret Sunday matinee featuring arena band The Raconteurs.

The venue's partners are reportedly Laura McCarthy, former owner of indie-rock club Brownies (in this space from 1989-2002), Jesse Malin of Avenue A's Niagara, Berlin and Bowery Electric as well as Tom Baker and Don DiLego of Velvet Elk Records.

Ho, ho, ho now there's a SantaCon lawsuit

[Photo from 2018 by Derek Berg]

There’s no place like a courtroom for the holidays.

A pub crawl promoter, named as Eddie Miller in public documents and published reports, filed suit Friday in a Manhattan Federal Court seeking control over the SantaCon.org internet domain and its trademark registration.

Law360 has the details:

Miller's suit targets a business called Participatory Safety Inc., claiming its "SantaCon" mark is invalid and seeking an order that it may not assert control over domain names such as santacon.com and santacon.net.

"SantaCon is a descriptive, if not generic, term," the suit says. Miller also claims for damages, saying his business interests have been unlawfully disrupted.

According to Miller's suit, the defendant registered the domain name santacon.nyc in 2015, then applied for the SantaCon mark the following year, for use at "charitable fundraising" events.

Not long after that, persons unknown to Miller begin telling city pub owners that they were the "official SantaCon," says the suit, which presumably will attempt to name additional defendants.

"Whoever spoke to the bars told them not to do business with plaintiffs," according to the suit. In late 2016, persons unknown to Miller then emailed pubs, falsely calling him an impostor, according to the suit.

That year, a person going by the alias Kristopher Kringle attempted to force bar owners to pay him $400 per bar to allow SantaCon crawlers to enter their establishments, the suit says. That person, the suit says, is part of the defendant company's "smear campaign."

"Defendants' malicious acts have caused and continue to injure plaintiffs' ability to sell tickets to their SantaCon events all over the United States," the complaint says.

The suit also sheds light on the driving forces behind SantaCon, which Ben Yakas at Gothamist describes as the "city's stupidest annual event, a cultural void that provides an excuse for binge drinkers and obnoxious bros to let their alcoholism fly in public, all under the thin veneer of charity."

The Daily News listed the plaintiffs as Miller, Digital Marketing & Events, USMarketing.com and Damon's List.

For future reference: The case is Miller et al. v. Participatory Safety Inc. et al., case number 1:19-cv-06994, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Meanwhile, here's the NYC date for SantaCon 2019...



H/T Carol from East 5th Street!

'Continuing adjustments' at Tree Bistro

Tree Bistro returned to service in mid-June ... nearly eight months after the six-alarm fire tore through neighboring 188 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.

That fire wiped out Tree Bistro's garden dining area ... and caused other damage inside the restaurant.

Despite the recent re-opening, there's still fire-related work that needs attention. A sign on the gate for patrons this past weekend notes that "continuing adjustments" are necessary. Tree Bistro will be back in action on Aug. 7.

A new Indian restaurant for 11th and B

[Photo from Friday]

A new Indian restaurant is prepping to open on the northeast corner of Avenue B and 11th Street.

Khiladi will serve "South Indian tapas," according to their application on the CB3 website. (CB3 recently OK'd a beer-wine license for Khiladi.) Their hours of operation are listed as 11 a.m. to midnight daily.

Meanwhile, work continues inside and outside the space (175 Avenue B). Over the weekend, workers painted a red strip around the restaurant ...



... and EVG regular Gojira shared this photo of the in-progress mural inside the dining room...



Old Monk, from prolific restaurateur Sushil Malhotra, closed here at the beginning of the year after 18 months in service. Previous restaurants at this address have included Babu Ji, Spina, Uovo and Panificio.

Plywood report: A big Dig renovation on 4th Avenue

Some serious plywood action on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue at 13th Street...



... where, as previously reported here, a Dig Inn is in the works.

The health-conscious fast-casual chain, founded in 2011, recently dropped the Inn from the Dig name ahead of a multi-city expansion.

And a recap of the activity in this storefront: This has been a challenging corner for businesses since the longtime deli was rent-hiked out of here in November 2012. The space has been home to Fresh & Co. and Pie Face and, most recently, Sandwicherie in the past five years.

Sunday's parting shot

Hydrant rainbow today on 13th Street at Avenue B via Lola Saénz...

Noted

Apparently Fresh Direct has expanded its delivery service to include squirrels in Tompkins Square Park... photos via EVG Squirrels-Doing-Cute-Things Correspondent Steven...

Week in Grieview

[Thursday evening in Tompkins Square Park]

Posts this past week included...

Mount Sinai Beth Israel offers more details on new East Village hospital, plans for the former Rivington House (Tuesday)

Report: Mayor unleashes the "Green Wave Bicycle Plan" to address increase in cycling fatalities, make streets safer (Friday)

Bartender files federal complaint against Bar None for harassment (Thursday)

NYPD looking for suspect who forced his way into woman's apartment near 12th and A (Saturday)

Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street (Monday)

The new fence at La Plaza is officially complete (Friday)

RIP Paul Krassner (Monday)

Curiosity about the anonymous buyer behind the sale of the Boys' Club Harriman Clubhouse (Wednesday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

The M14A tops the slow-bus charts (Tuesday)

You may now book a room for October at the Moxy East Village (Wednesday)

787 Coffee and Calexico now open on 2nd Avenue (Saturday)

1st of 2 Flamingos Vintage Pound shops has opened in the East Village (Monday)

The Village East screening Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood" in 70mm (Wednesday)

Old Fashioned Pizza coming to 13th Street (Thursday)

Soft opening for Craft+Carry on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

Pizza Rollio has closed on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Sorbet Cray Cray debuts on Avenue A (Thursday)

Nolita Pizza now serving up slices on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

That's all for Bruno Pizza, which has been closed fire upstairs last November (Monday)

Chinese Graffiti has not been open lately on Avenue A (Tuesday)

14th St. Candy & Grocery has not been open lately on 14th Street (Monday)

... and thanks to the readers (h/t @Jason_Chatfield!) who pointed out the freshly pained awning at the newish cafe Bin 141 on Avenue A and Third Street...



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Recent ghost signage on Avenue B

A reader pointed out signage on Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street for the Little Bird Bakery and Coffeehouse. This is actually not the new tenant moving into the space, but the name of the business that had the space from June 2010 to January 2011.

Y Cafe eventually moved into the storefront at 182 Avenue B ... closing in March after nearly eight years of service.

Little Bird, a vegan cafe, was a nice spot but it only lasted those six months. Before that there was the short-lived Panache Cafe and Cafe de Nova.

The reader noted activity inside the space in recent weeks. The for-rent sign has also been removed.

EVG Etc.: Puerto Rican cultural history in the East Village; the unknown future of East River Park

[Early morning on 7th and A]

A few headlines of interest from the past week...

• The legacy of Puerto Rican cultural history in the East Village (6sgft)

• LES community groups trying to revive rezoning that de Blasio's administration rejected (City Limits)

• Here are the organizers behind the "Occupy NYCHA" rally at City Hall (Gothamist)

• The past and future of East River Park (Off the Grid)

• It smells like sewage in the Baruch Houses lobby on the LES (PIX11)

• Praise for the crispy rice at Clay Pot on St. Mark's Place (The New York Times)

• A talk with the chefs at Luthun, which just opened on 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue (Eater ... previously on EVG) And a look at their menu (Grub Street)

• The Blackstone Group, owner of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, has stopped renovating vacant apartments for the time being (Town & Village)

• Lydia Lynch discusses her new book of essays, "So Real It Hurts" (i-D)

• From 1930 to 1970, a librarian at the Hamilton Fish Park branch on East Houston Street kept a scrapbook of library life. Now it's for sale for $975. (FineBooks & Collections)

• Adidas and the Beastie Boys are marking the 30th anniversary of "Paul’s Boutique" with a new (vegan) skate shoe (UPROXX)

• Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong on creating "Nightclubbing," their cable access show (Document Journal)

• And from The Cut, go inside the home of artist Izhar Patkin ...

[Updated] NYPD looking for suspect who forced his way into woman's apartment near 12th and A

🚨WANTED🚨for a Burglary in vicinity of Avenue A and East 12. @NYPD9Pct #EastVillage #Manhattan on 7/29/19 @ 1:45 AM 💰Reward up to $2500👓Seen Him? Know who he is?☎️Call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM us!📞Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! #YourCityYourCall @NYPDDetectives @ny1desk pic.twitter.com/E0kbXNmksM

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) July 27, 2019

The NYPD is searching for a suspect, shown in the above clip, who reportedly followed a 21-year-old woman into her building early Friday morning before forcing his way into her apartment located near Avenue A and East 12th Street.

--

Updated 8/2: Police ID'd the suspect as Tyler Lockett.

--

Per the Post:

He continued behind her as she went to her apartment door — where he forced his way inside and pushed the woman to the ground.

“Shut up,” he told her as he tried to cover her mouth, cops said.

He ran off shortly thereafter when he saw the victim’s roommate.

Here's more via the NYPD alert:

He was last seen fleeing on foot in the vicinity of 11 street and 1 Avenue. There were no reported injuries or property taken as a result of the incident.

The individual is described as an adult male Black, slim build, brown eyes, beard and short black afro-hair. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweat jacket, black pants, a white t-shirt, black sneakers and carrying a black backpack.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Updated 8/5

The NYPD made an arrest...

Thanks to the work of @NYPDDetectives in @NYPDSVU and sharp-eyed officers of the @NYPD90Pct, TYLER LOCKETT was apprehended! Thanks too to the community for its help sharing this! #NYPDConnecting #NYPDProtecting pic.twitter.com/M6xByGGT7y

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) August 4, 2019

787 Coffee and Calexico now open on 2nd Avenue

As a follow up to Tuesday's post... both the Calexico outpost and 787 Coffee cafe have opened on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. (The previous post has more background detail.)

And thanks to everyone who passed the news about the openings here!

Hot wax

Some vinyl up for grabs in Tompkins Square Park... inside the entrance on Seventh Street and Avenue A.

Dibs on the Ray Price...



Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos.

Automatic for the people

The Los Angeles-based trio Automatic has a new record out in September. This audio clip is for the track "Too Much Money." Inspired by Suicide, Kleenex and Neu.

[Updated] The Starbucks on Astor Place is closed for the moment

[Photos by Steven]

Multiple readers have pointed out that the Starbucks outpost on Astor Place is currently closed...



Several workers were spotted inside... Per EVG correspondent Steven: "There is plastic over the coffee machines. They are moving inventory to the side."

Another reader said that there was some sort of leak.

In any event, the official "store closed" sign is a lot more boring than the ones used during the brief closure at the Avenue A/St. Mark's Place location.

Updated 7/28 — This location is back open.