Big storm ⛈ coming this way. #eastvillage @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/4KsZZOzaED
— Evan Kapitansky (@evan_kapitansky) August 9, 2019
6 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Buses and trucks only between Ninth Avenue and Third Avenue. All other vehicles may make local trips, but must turn at the next available right.
10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: All vehicles may make through trips along the corridor.
The location provides unparalleled foot traffic and eyeballs from affluent professionals, millennial students, artists, and tourists. The building’s modern, glassy design and double-height facade will allow retailers to maximize their branding and visibility, and make a strong impression on the local population.
The retail component consists of approximately 13,000 sf, which is divisible into 3 or 4 stores. These stores sit at the base of 20 floors of residential units, providing immediate access to this upscale population. The retail spaces feature 17 ft ceilings, and striking glass storefronts.
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."
City records show that a limited liability company, 287 East 10th LLC, named for the address of the Boys’ Club building, purchased it. A woman named Carey Thorpe is listed as the authorized signatory for the LLC. Thorpe, according to public records, is the spouse of Benjamin Pierson, the chief operating officer and general counsel for Sosnick’s A.R.T. Advisors.
Ray’s joins New York City’s roster of iconic dive bars, delivering to the Lower East Side an artfully simple watering hole reminiscent of 1950s Americana.
Ray’s hopes to be a tribute to the concept of the local watering hole, where your bartender knows your drink and is your confidante.
“The vibe of Ray’s fits squarely into what I believe makes a downtown bar great,” said collaborator Justin Theroux. “Not fussy. Quick drinks. A place you can carve your initials into the table. The kind of downtown bars I used to work behind for years.”
[T]he place teems with buttoned-up bros and Soho scenesters, with eye-popping prices (a shot of Evan Williams and a PBR is $12), fake-looking decor (even the Townes Van Zandt posters look brand-new) and clean, red leather bar stools (OK, they’re pretty comfortable).
Ray’s has the cringe-inducing air of a brand desperate for cool points — think Target’s re-creation of CBGB ...
Dives are as defined by their regulars as they are by their owners. Ray’s hasn’t had time to grow any barflies, obviously. The patrons the night I went were young and appeared to be gainfully employed. That some of them ordered buckets of KFC [ed note: wut?] from 14th Street and were eating it at the bar lent the joint an appealingly low-rent air, however. While there, I ran into a couple bartenders I know, and we ended up discussing who stood the best chance in the NFL central division this fall. I rarely talk about sports in bars. That got me to wonder if, in this, too, Ray’s was working its counterfeit dive-bar magic on me. Is there something about wood paneling and Dale Earnhardt posters that sucks all pretension and pose out a person? Possibly.
Still, Ray’s is not a dive. It’s just theoretically impossible. But it may be a good lo-fi bar. No one is going to feel uncomfortable or underdressed when they walk in. And, given a decade or two, with minimal housekeeping, it may even start to look genuinely lived-in. For the time being, it’s got heart and chill and good intentions.
According to Rakower, the Department of Transportation "went to great lengths to describe the consideration that went into the analysis, considering pedestrian deaths, dangerous intersections and not just the speed of the bus that is going to traverse 14th Street."
“Today’s court decision is a huge victory for New York’s two million daily bus riders,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director for the Riders Alliance. “The 14th Street busway will provide faster and more reliable bus trips, saving precious time for tens of thousands of people who badly need it. The judge’s ruling also sets the stage for future victories and better bus service citywide.”
They kept the public out of their press conference for the groundbreaking, but we got our message across this morning as we protested @NYCMayor’s corrupt deal for 14th St Tech Hub + @CarlinaRivera breaking her promise to demand neighborhood protections: https://t.co/IyY1aflo8f pic.twitter.com/Wxbt664dyc
— GVSHP (@GVSHP) August 5, 2019
