Thursday, April 8, 2021
Thursday's parting shot
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 and NYC ...
City tries again with release of a Value Engineering Study for East River Park
Five days after East River Park Action (ERPA) filed a lawsuit against Mayor de Blasio and the Office of Management and Budget for the entire Value Engineering Study without redactions ... the city released a (mostly) unredacted version yesterday.
You can find a copy of the 300-plus-page report here. We haven't had a chance to comb through it just yet to learn what it was the city didn't want people to see. Concerned residents are curious why the city denied the existence of the report before releasing a mostly redacted version. We'll see how they did on the third try. (Blacked-out sections now are said to be for security purposes.)
Some background. About the lawsuit (BoweryBoogie was first to report on it):
A lawsuit filed April 2 asks for full disclosure of the much-discussed but largely unseen Value Engineering Study. Joining the lawsuit brought by East River Park Action attorney Jack Lester are Manhattan Borough President candidate Lindsey Boylan; and City Council candidates Christopher Marte, Erin Hussein, and Allie Ryan. The political club Grand Street Democrats also joined along with community activists.
They seek transparency, accountability and a re-examination of the massive flood control project to find alternatives that will preserve parkland.
On Monday, Justin Brannan, the chair of the City Council Committee on Resiliency and Waterfronts, also called for the release of the report without redactions. On Tuesday, local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera tweeted that the report was being released "thanks to advocacy from my office & the Community Advisory Group."
As previously reported, ERPA's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and an appeal finally unearthed the three-year-old Value Engineering Study. (This after the city denied there was such a report.)City Hall will be releasing more materials from its ESCR value engineering review today thanks to advocacy from my office & the Community Advisory Group.
— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) April 6, 2021
We'll review these materials carefully and support the CAG in efforts they make around this needed resiliency project. pic.twitter.com/BkyEqbjmGQ
However, following the appeal, a heavily redacted version of the study — the oft-cited factor behind the city's change of plans in September 2018 to bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet — was released in February.
On March 2, the group's attorney, Jack Lester, appealed to the Department of Design and Construction, the Office of Management and Budget and NYC Parks to see the entire study, not the mostly blacked-out version.
The city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, will raze the 57.5-acre East River Park, bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise. Work is expected to begin later in the spring, though the first round of estimates doesn't look promising.
In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reports, the city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be completed in 2025.
Meanwhile, on April 18, ERPA is hosting a march that starts in Tompkins Square Park at noon...
Packing up the last of The Pyramid Club
Text and photos by Stacie Joy
Tuesday marked the final loadout at the now-shuttered Pyramid Club at 101 Avenue A.
After a year-long closure during the pandemic, the owners of the iconic East Village venue decided that they would not reopen the two-level space.
I was there to see manager Maria Narciso, her fiancé, general manager and house DJ TM.8 (aka Quirino Perez), and filmmaker Rob Barriales, who often shot at the club, remove the famed window mannequin, the party sandwich boards, velvet rope stanchions as well as monitors, speakers and supplies (plus the 1980s electronic game Simon!).
"If it wasn't for the community love and support, the Pyramid Club would not have lasted 41 years," Quirino said. "We're moving on, taking that spirit with us to our new homes. Together, we can keep the Pyramid Spirit alive forever."
Of note is the fact that the club was recently listed on Loopnet for rent as a retail space here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. That listing, first posted on March 6, has subsequently been removed, but you can view the cached version here.
This past Friday, someone affiliated with the building removed The Pyramid Sign from the doorway.
45-47 2nd Ave. has a new owner
There's a new owner for 45-47 Second Ave., a 6-unit building that dates to 1867 here between Second Street and Third Street.
A tipster notes that house flippers David Luttway and Dana Lowey Luttway (via HOLLISWOOD2AVE LLC) are now the owners.
Several of the residences are currently vacant, and two other remaining tenants are in rent-stabilized units without leases, per the real-estate listing.
As the Westside Rag has noted, Dana Lowey Luttway "is known for her skill at flipping upscale townhouses." It's not known what their plans are for this building. There was an original $9.9 million asking price.
There are currently two commercial spaces (one vacant) and one with a lease until December 2022. That would be Timbuktu, a tranquil shop that specializes in items from Morocco.
H/T Upper West Sider!
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Wednesday's parting shot
Gotta get up, gotta get out: 'Russian Doll' returns for Thursday filming
Crews will be back tomorrow... with notices pointing to the east side of Avenue A from Fifth Street to 10th Street, the north side of Seventh Street from Avenue A to Avenue C and the north side of Eighth Street from Avenue B and Avenue C...
Thanks to Steven for the photos...
Reopenings: Indochine, Kindred and Van Da
Recent additions to the list include Indochine, Tarallucci e Vino, Van Da and Kindred, which reopens today with a new chef and expanded selection of housemade pasta dishes, per Eater.
The recent reopenings include:
• Ace Bar, 531 E. Fifth St.
• The Ainsworth, 64 Third Ave.
• Amor y Amargo, 445 E. Sixth St.
• Avant Garden, 130 E. Seventh St.
• Barcade, 6 St. Mark's Place
• Cherry Tavern, 441 E. Sixth St.
• Empellón Al Pastor, 132 St. Mark's Place at Avenue A
• Good Night Sonny, 134 First Ave.
• Huertas, 107 First Ave.
• Indochine, 430 Lafayette
• Josie's, 520 E. Sixth St.
• KGB Bar, 85 E. Fourth St.
• Kindred, 342 E. Sixth St.
• Ladybird, 111 E. Seventh St.
• Lucky, 168 Avenue B
• Lucy's, 135 Avenue A (photo of Lucy below by Lola Saénz)
• Van Da, 234 E. Fourth St.
• Mary O's, 32 Avenue A
• Mister Paradise, 105 First Ave.
• Mona's, 224 Avenue B
• The Penny Farthing, 103 Third Ave.
• Phebe's, 361 Bowery at Fourth Street
• Proletariat, 102 St. Mark's Place
• Ruffian, 125 E. Seventh St.
• San Marzano, 117 Second Ave.
• Saramsam, 111 E. Seventh St.
• Sophie's, 507 E. Fifth St.
• Superiority Burger, 430 E. Ninth St.
• Tarallucci e Vino, 163 First Ave.
• Tile Bar, 115 First Ave.
• The Wayland, 700 E. Ninth St.
Rendering watch: 650 E. 6th St.
The previous building on the lot, a four-story apartment building, was previously demolished here just west of Avenue C to make way for a 6-story structure that will apparently house five residences.
A rendering of the new condoplex is now on the plywood... 
As New York Yimby noted in January 2016: "The 8,491-square-foot project will include 7,761 square feet of residential space, which means units will average 1,552 square feet apiece, indicative of condominiums."
Public records show that this building changed hands for $2.8 million in August 2013. The new owner is named East Village LLC in the filing.
This comes more than five years after the building's new owners filed plans for the project. (The DOB OK'd the new building permit in December 2017.) The completion date on the rendering is fall 2022.
As New York Yimby noted in January 2016: "The 8,491-square-foot project will include 7,761 square feet of residential space, which means units will average 1,552 square feet apiece, indicative of condominiums."
Public records show that this building changed hands for $2.8 million in August 2013. The new owner is named East Village LLC in the filing.
This will be the second new building in the corridor ... joining the one just starting on the northeast corner of Sixth Street and Avenue C.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Report: Plans in the works to convert 650 E. 6th St. to condos
• Report: Plans in the works to convert 650 E. 6th St. to condos
A Penny Arcade 'History' lesson this Saturday via the Tompkins Square Library branch
Per the Library:
We are very excited to host a performance of Penny Arcade, New York's undisputed queen of the underground, and the grande dame of downtown performance art.This bespoke segment created specifically for the Tompkins Square library will focus on a survey of Penny's 50-plus year residency in the East Village and her larger-than-life mentors.
The session, titled "My Life As History," is from 3-4 p.m. this Saturday. You can register here to receive the online meeting link (Zoom).
The performance is designed and directed by Steve Zehentner and Arcade, and co-hosted by the Hudson Park Library.
Doc Holliday's turns 27 while closed during the pandemic; 'We will be back'
The bar has been closed since the PAUSE in March 2020.
A few people have asked if Doc Holliday's will reopen... they are one of several bars that has remained closed, and without an official closing announcement or the arrival of a for rent sign outside (see also: The Library, d.b.a., Blue & Gold, Milano's and Tom and Jerry's).
In an Instagram Story from yesterday, the bar said that they will be back...
In a post from March 20, the bar wrote:
... 50% or even 100% capacity means nothing to us without bar seating, with the 11 p.m. imposed curfew, no standing & drinking and about fifty gazillion other reasons. BUT, don’t worry we will be back. We just can’t predict the future. When we know, you will know. Miss you much!
EVG file photo
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Spring break
At the first East Village Flea of 2021
Fresco will not be reopening at 138 2nd Ave.
Siblings Ilias, Vanessa and Anna Iliopoulos have decided to give up their Fresco space at 138 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
A for-rent sign arrived on the storefront late last week. (The sign disappeared over the weekend.)
As you may recall, the family — citing a decline in business during the pandemic — temporarily shut down their 8-year-old gelateria-cafe and returned to their native Greece last October.
They had hoped to reopen in January, but those plans didn't materialize with the surge in COVID cases and continued limits on indoor service.
However, Ilias will be back in New York City next month to hunt for a new home for Fresco. In an email, he told EVG correspondent Steven that they will be looking exclusively at spaces downtown. Hopefully, they will land back in the East Village.
Photo by Steven
This photogenic East Village wisteria now has its own jigsaw puzzle
The real-life wisteria — a favorite on Instagram – should be starting to bloom in a few more weeks.
EVG photo from May 2020
Corner report: 14th and A
As noted previously, some of the gang from the old Stuyvesant Market on the southeast corner of 14th Street and Avenue A (RIP May 2010) will be behind the counter here.
The market takes over from Dion Cleaners, which closed in November after 35 years in business.
A look at Full Tank Moto Cafe, now open on Monroe Street
The cafe portion of the business serves bread and pastries from C&B Cafe on Seventh Street. (C&B owner Ali Sahin was also said to give Full Tank an espresso machine.)
Group Sex is on view through April 18 at 49 Monroe St. (roughly across the street from Coleman Skatepark under the Manhattan Bridge). Full Tank Moto Cafe is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the gallery will remain open until 6 p.m.
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