Brenda H.The Architects Newspaper sits down with Adam Lubinsky, a managing partner of WXY Architecture + Urban Design who is charged with designing the East River Blueway. It’s no easy task. Aside from overcoming the barrier of FDR Drive, there’s the “ADA-inaccessible overpasses; narrow, collision-inducing bike lanes; and combined sewage overflows [that] have also been identified as key issues.” And then there’s just the simple fact that a lot of people don’t look toward the river for recreation: “The challenge is to get residents to turn around, to realize the river is there,” Mr. Lubinsky said.
The Lo-Down reports that landlord Ben Shaoul now must submit a detailed timeline about replacement of a staircase in his building at 435 East 12th Street, following complaints by a resident who was at one point literally stranded in her apartment. “After the plan for each day has been approved, residents must be notified by certified mail when the work will be done, so that they can make arrangements to be away from their apartments,” the site reports. Typically, developers do not face such a high level of supervision.
Gothamist notes that Cake Shop has accomplished its fundraising goal, and will stay put on Ludlow Street.
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Mohammed Rahman, the Bangladeshi man clocked in the face and threatened by a pair of troublemakers, was back at work today at Astor Place serving lamb gyros, chicken over rice and the like. So, did the police get that guy who threw the punch? “It’s foolishness,” Mr. Rahman said. “I told the police, ‘He’s right there!’ One block away. They’re slow. They said call 911 if he comes back.” Since the incident on Thursday, which was followed by a threat to burn his food cart to the ground, Mr. Rahman has seen his attacker around. Fortunately, it seemed the man had cooled off.
A 2008 cold case involving an East Village woman sexually assaulted in her apartment resulted in the conviction of a man already behind bars for a similar attack, the Manhattan District Attorney announced today.
George Poirier, 39, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually motivated burglary and sexual abuse in the first degree. In April of 2008 the 28-year-old victim was entering her apartment on East Seventh Street near Avenue B when the Bronx resident pushed her inside, locked the door, and sexually assaulted her. During the attack the victim bit Mr. Poirier’s arm, drawing blood that was subsequently entered into a state DNA database. At the time, the DNA did not yield any matches, and the case went dormant.
But one year later Mr. Poirier’s DNA was entered into the database as part of his conviction for a charge of sexual abuse tied to a string of groping attacks on four different women on a single day in May, according to a criminal complaint. He was then tied to the 2008 attack. Read more…
Saturday and Sunday, bands and neighborhood activists, including local legend David Peel, took to the park to commemorate the 1988 Tompkins Square riot (not to be confused with the May Day riot of 1990). The Local’s cameras rolled as slamdancing and calls of “Die yuppie scum!” ensued.
Among those clubbed by police officers during the curfew and gentrification protest of Aug. 6, 1988 was New York Times photographer Angel Franco. Funny that: 24 years later, a headline in today’s paper reads: “Times Photographer Is Arrested on Assignment.”
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Another one bites the dust. WNYC reports that Big City Records NYC on East 12th Street will close at the end of the month due to rising rent. Owner Jared Boxx told the blog that he’d cultivated a diverse clientele looking for old jazz, Latin music and hip hop, and counted Q-Tip and Dr. Dre among his customers. The news follows the recent closings of Rockit Scientist Records. Bleecker Bob’s and Norman’s Sound & Vision are expected to depart its current location soon.
DNAInfo chatted up Grace Weaver, a vegan who sings the praises of the dietary restriction as she walks her dogs around East First Street. “Vegans have better sex, better health, cleaner conscience,” she sings in her original ditty. And if that doesn’t get through, she passes out flyers, too. (Perhaps she should get her commitment to veganism immortalized with a vegan tattoo from White Rabbit.)
Speaking of a meatless lifestyle, The Wall Street Journal gives a shout-out to the brunch at Caravan of Dreams. The vegan restaurant on East Sixth Street that has been avoiding delicious steaks since 1991.
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The police arrested an East Houston Street man yesterday and charged him with four counts of robbery related to the string of 16 stick-ups near the East River since May. Dion Whitehead, a 38-year-old resident of the Lillian Wald Houses, had previously been arrested for attempted murder, according to The Post. In the robberies the suspect would brandish a weapon or pretend he had one, then grab his victims’ belongings, the police said. None of the victims were hurt. The Daily News reported that investigators were led to Mr. Whitehead after a tipster recognized him in subway surveillance images.
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
The Post reports that stop and frisks were down 34 percent during the second quarter of the year: “A city official with access to the data said 133,934 people were stopped by police between April 1 and June 30, compared to 203,500 from January 1 to March 31.” Those stopped were “66 percent black; 26 percent Hispanic; 6 percent white; and 2 percent Asian.”
More Than Usual has a photo of a flyer that went up at the site of the notorious “private” bike rack. It appears that the owner of the bike that was stolen from the rack has not given up his search.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the city has declined to defend Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna in a civil suit. Inspector Bologna is accused of pepper spraying protestors during an Occupy Wall Street rally near Union Square in September. The move means that the police officer “could be personally liable for financial damages that may arise out of the suit,” according to the paper. His lawyer is fighting the decision by the city. Read more…
Just when we had Mary Jane on the mind (the other day, as we were leaving Tom and Jerry’s, someone handed us the business card you see here), The Villager has a buzz-worthy story about a pot activist who is offering free examinations of your ganja. The man, Kenny Toglia, says a lot of the weed on the street harbors a cancer-causing fungus, so he uses a $20 microscope, from Radio Shack, to perform inspections at University of the Streets every Thursday at 6 p.m. This isn’t the expert’s first encounter with publicity, either. Mr. Toglia “insists he’s not setting up another marijuana club like the one in 1999 — in the same location — that had 600 members and was raided by police,” the paper reports.
Stephen Rex Brown Mohammed Rahman, moments after being punched.It was a hellacious start to the day for Mohammed Rahman, a Bangladeshi man who serves gyros, lamb over rice and the like from his cart at Astor Place.
At around 12:15 p.m. a shoeless woman flipped out at him, yelling that Mr. Rahman was “making me wait so long for my damn food.” She then tossed a handful of the cart’s water bottles behind her, nearly striking a man in a suit walking by the Chase Bank. “Whoa! Take it easy!” he said.
The woman, who looked to be in her early 20s, walked off toward St. Marks Place. But the trouble was only beginning.
Three other men, who were apparently with the woman, were still lingering around the food cart, berating Mr. Rahman. The vendor, who has been in the U.S. for two and a half years, stepped out of his cart to call the police. While he spoke on the phone, one of the men, wearing all black and carrying a backpack, clocked Mr. Rahman in the jaw. Read more…
The Creative Little Garden on East Sixth Street is back to looking for a new administrator, according to departing director Steve Rose. A volunteer who had agreed to take over the garden has taken his name out of the running. The Local previously reported that some garden members had volunteered to open and close its gates after an announcement that it might close without help, but Mr. Rose felt the need for a logistical coordinator could pose problems once he left in the fall.
Matthew Kraus On East Second Street.Good morning, East Village.
Maribel Araujo, the Venezuelan restaurateur behind Caracas, has found inspiration in the Rockaways, where she has opened a new outpost on the boardwalk. “I don’t find the East Village and Williamsburg interesting anymore,” she tells The Daily News. “The people here are for real. They’re all characters.”
East Ninth Street jewelry shop Verameat just opened an outpost in Willamsburg (just like every other business, it seems), according to Racked.
EV Grieve has a thorough roundup of all the new developments and openings and closings on Avenue B. Read more…
It’s a lament almost as common in the neighborhood as complaints about bar noise — property taxes are way too high. Just two days ago, the owner of Mama’s Food Shop said that his property taxes had nearly quadrupled since he took over the business around 2007. Now, District Attorney Cyrus Vance is urging reform of the assessment system for the taxes, which a grand jury found is rife with abuse. “Some unscrupulous individuals and entities routinely try to cheat the City out of this valuable revenue stream by filing false information with City agencies,” he said in a press release. In one case cited by the grand jury, “60 percent of property owners surveyed who derived income from signs posted on their property failed to report that income to the Tax Commission when they sought to reduce their taxes,” the statement noted.
Stephen Rex Brown The suspect in a long string of robberies.The police are on the hunt for a suspect in a string of at least 16 robberies, half of which were in the East Village.
In all the cases, which take place near the East River, the perpetrator either flashed a knife or gun, or simulated one. He then attempted to take his victims’ property — common items include cellphones and wallets — and usually succeeded. None of the victims were hurt.
In the first four incidents in early May the suspect robbed victims in elevators in Campos Plaza and the Lillian Wald Houses, the police said. Only in the last incident on May 15 did he actually flash a weapon — a knife — before grabbing the victims Sony PSP, cash and a watch. Read more…
Stephen Rex Brown Yesterday at Cooper Square.Good morning, East Village.
An executive with a background in digital technology has purchased a bundle of downtown papers that includes The Villager, the paper announced yesterday. Jennifer Goodstein, a former exec at MetLife, bought Community Media LLC, which also includes Gay City News, Downtown Express, the East Villager and Chelsea Now for an undisclosed amount. Ms. Goodsetin told The Post she has no plans to shut down any of the papers. The papers were previously owned by John Sutter, who bought them in 1999. “[I’m] delighted to have found someone like Jennifer Goodstein who understands and believes in the community newspaper space and has the digital skills, ideas and ambitions for the newspapers and their websites,” Mr. Sutter said in a statement to Crain’s. Ms. Goodstein’s husband is News Corp. Senior Vice President Les Goodstein, who runs the Community Newspaper Group. (This reporter landed his first job at The Brooklyn Paper, which is part of C.N.G.)
A jury recommended that the sergeant facing charges related to the suicide of Private Danny Chin serve 30 days behind bars. Supporters of Mr. Chin told The Times the sentence was too lenient.
P.S. 63 William McKinley was the first stop for the “Recyclarium,” a mobile lab meant to teach students the importance of recycling. Schoolbook reports that the school received the honor because it “has reduced its trash by 85 percent in two months by composting food waste.” Read more…
Sarah Darville Water main construction at Cooper Square.The steel beams of 51 Astor Place now loom over the entrance to the 6 train. High school students will soon be attending class at Cooper Square. And city contractors are still tearing up asphalt to repair a vital water main.
Here’s a roundup of the latest news on four projects that will transform the gateway to the neighborhood.
Courtesy of Sciame Construction Corp A rendering of 51 Astor.51 Astor Place
In May, Commercial Observer reported that Hult International Business School was negotiating to take the second floor at the black-glass tower being built at the corner of St. Marks Place and Fourth Avenue. But William Lyman, Vice President of Global Development at the school says it is no longer pursuing the space. That deal would have satisfied a requirement that the building host at least one educational institution. Who will occupy the rest of the space remains a mystery. Microsoft and IBM have previously been rumored to be interested in moving in. Read more…
Melvin Felix 505 LaGuardiaNew York University has reached an agreement with the co-op board at 505 LaGuardia that will prevent dramatic rent hikes at the building. The new agreement extends the current lease in perpetuity, as long as the building remains part of the Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program.
The building’s previous lease was due to expire in 2014 after standing for 50 years. Terms of the new lease became a sticking point in the negotiations surrounding the university’s expansion, even though the building itself would not be affected. Politicians including Borough President Scott Stringer, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and State Senator Thomas Duane had repeatedly called for the university to come to an agreement with 505 LaGuardia that would avoid rent hikes at the 30-story towers designed by James Freed and I.M. Pei.
Today, N.Y.U. described the agreement, the specific terms of which were not released, as a reflection of the university’s commitment to affordable housing. Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba Sidewalk CafeGood morning, East Village.
The shockwaves from the closure of Mama’s Food Shop continue on The Local’s Facebook page, where the majority of commenters expressed dismay that another longtime business had bit the dust. “The East Village continues to go upscale. I bet some overpriced ‘new American’ restaurant will open up in its place…or else a ‘speakeasy’ that charges $15 a cocktail. I don’t mind change….but when EVERYTHING changes, it’s too much!” wrote Elise Herbruger.
The Lo-Down reports that a building owned by Benjamin Shaoul was slapped with a partial stop work order yesterday after ripping out a staircase and not providing a tenant on the fourth floor with “an unobstructed exit.” In April the same tenant in the East 12th Street building was left stranded on her floor after the staircase was completely demolished.
PcvstBee spotted a Craigslist ad seeking job applicants for the new Burlington Coat Factory in Union Square. Read more…
Scott Lynch At the “Mystery Lot,” which isn’t so mysterious anymore.Good morning, East Village.
The Times reports on the New York Marble Cemetery’s decision to open itself up to events. The trustees see the parties, weddings and film shoots as a way to “make the cemetery pay for itself.”
The gents at Big Gay Ice Cream tweeted on Friday that two of their employees were asked to identify a suspect who allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $100 bill at the ice cream joint, as well as Porchetta and Luke’s Lobster. “We don’t play!” the owners joked.
An owner of Northern Spy tells USA Today that FourSquare has been a boon for business. “On one level, it’s like a digital maitre d’.” Read more…
New York Police Department The suspect.
Stephen Rex Brown The scene at Emigrant Savings Bank around 45 minutes after the attempted robbery last month.The police are on the hunt for a man in his 30s who made a failed attempt to rob an Emigrant Savings Bank on June 4.
The suspect, who is thought to be around 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, passed a note to the teller of the bank on Second Avenue at around 3:10 p.m. demanding cash. The teller refused, and the suspect took off, the police said.
Suzanne Rozdeba Good morning, East Village.
Our contributor Suzanne Rozdeba sent us the above shot of last night’s storm shortly before it rolled over the East Village. Gothamist rounded up some more shots.
The Times reports that concerns about the storm moved Governor Cuomo to meet with Con Ed executives and union higher-ups; the two parties were able to come to a tentative agreement on a four-year contract yesterday.
But protests continued near Union Square: Gothamist spotted members of the Community/Farmworker Alliance and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers demanding that Chipotle sign on to a Fair Food Program that insures a raise for Florida tomato pickers. (Chipotle says that although it hasn’t signed the agreement, it only works with workers who’ve done so.) Read more…
