Joann Jovinelly

Good morning, East Village.

“Four months after Hurricane Sandy flooded the streets of lower Manhattan, 94 businesses in the area are still lacking phone and Internet service, according to a new report by the Alliance for Downtown New York.” Businesses in Alphabet City are among those affected. [Huffington Post NY]

“Two Stuyvesant Town residents have asked a judge to toss the $68.7 million planned settlement that tenants reached last fall with the owners of the massive apartment complex over inflated rents.” [NY Post]

A roundup of vinyl spots still in the Village. [Off the Grid]

Speaking of vinyl, Brindle Room is throwing a Monday night vinyl party: “9-midnight $15 bottomless PBR and passed apps. Bring your old vinyl and come dance!” [Twitter]

“The East Village’s bounty of bento boxes, sushi and ramen will soon be the focus of Japanese Restaurant Week, which returns to the city on Monday.” [DNA Info]

“Officers from the 7th Precinct visited 151 Bar on Rivington Street last night to deliver a restraining order to owner Francine Marchese. The city has filed a civil suit accusing the divey nightlife spot of selling liquor to underage auxiliary police officers.” [The Lo-Down]

“El Sombrero (The Hat) is on the verge of extinction,” says Clayton Patterson, “simply because the ever-increasing cost of living on the Lower East Side has purged the community of local long-term residents, and the tourists, students and trendy visitors do not seem to have a taste for an authentic L.E.S. Hispanic restaurant.” [The Villager]

Comedian Sara Schaefer on brunching: “My boyfriend and our friends scoped out a place using Yelp. Time for my farm-to-table brunch! We pull up, however, and it’s overrun with people. Being in a strange town with few options, we make a split decision. A decision that is necessary given the circumstances. A decision I will have to live with for the rest of my life. No, we didn’t decide to eat each other. We went to IHOP. [Grub Street]

Roni Jacobson

Supporters of tenants displaced by the construction of the Wyndham Garden rallied in front of the hotel at 93 Bowery today to demand compensation.

“It’s been over three years and we want this resolved,” said Peter Gee, director of housing at Asian Americans for Equality, which organized the rally to call attention to the plight of the former residents of 128 Hester Street. “The owner continues to make a profit and the tenants have not been given one penny.”

Approximately 30 people attended the protest, holding signs reading phrases like “Responsible Development” and “Shame on You, William Su,” while protest chants in English and Chinese played from a loudspeaker.

As The Local reported yesterday, a tenement at 128 Hester Street was demolished in 2009 due to structural damages resulting from the construction of the hotel. The New York Division of Homes and Community Renewal ordered building owner William Su to reimburse his former tenants for their losses. The agency has since decided to reconsider its initial judgment and Mr. Su has not produced any compensation.
Read more…

Courtesy Pride and Joy A 5,000-pound smoker is lowered into the space.

From tiki to honky tonk: the space that once housed Waikiki Wally’s, adjacent Lucky Cheng’s, will become a “rock-n’-roll honky tonk bar” when Pride and Joy BBQ opens in late April or May, according to an employee. And that’s not all: the barbecue joint also aims to have a rooftop beer garden.

After Lucky Cheng’s moved to midtown last year, its three-story home on First Avenue was snatched up by Myron Mixon, a highly decorated competition-barbecue champ and star of the show “BBQ Pitmasters.”

Last month, team Mixon crane-lifted a pair of 5,000-pound custom smokers into the barbecue joint’s “show kitchen,” in what will be the main-level dining room.

“They’re created to smoke 400 pounds of meat each,” said Executive Coordinator Gabriela Stanciu of the gigantic boxes.
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Heather Dubin The Wayland on Avenue C

Four months after Sandy struck, a church that was flooded during the storm continues to offer financial aid to hobbled businesses, as well as counseling to locals still coping with stress and aggravation.

Since January, Graffiti Community Ministries, a Baptist church on East Seventh Street, has given out grants of about $500 each to 16 recipients. Nine more are currently in process, and there’s more where that came from.

“We still have about 50 percent of our grant available for distribution,” said Christy Dyer, an administrator of the church’s flood recovery committee.

John Johnson, a coordinator, said residents or business owners should bring receipts into the church at 205 East Seventh Street to see if they qualify for one of the reimbursement grants. “We have limited funds to help people out,” he said. “There’s money for space heaters, money for sheet rock to replace what they ripped out, and money for lost work.” Additionally, teams of volunteers are readily available for any necessary cleanup. Read more…

LES Visitors Center

Williamsburg After Hours

If you’ve been meaning to catch up on the Lower East Side and Williamsburg gallery scenes, here’s two not-to-be-missed opportunities.

On March 10, fifty Lower East Side galleries will host receptions, openings and other events during a “Sunday FunDay” — an offshoot of the Amory Arts Show.

Eleven of the galleries will serve up brunch from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (just RSVP to galleriesinLES@gmail.com). The brunch bunch includes james fuentes, brennan&griffin, LMAK, Callicoon, Essex Gallery, Simon Preston, Toomer-Labzda, Nicelle Beachene, P!, and Jack Hanley.

For a list of participating galleries, check out the Lower East Side Visitor Center’s page (the center will be giving out a free gallery guide during the event, from noon to 6 p.m.) and for more information, visit the Armory Arts Week site.

There’s also a gallery crawl in Williamsburg that week: at least 23 galleries will host video installations, receptions, and meet-and-greets during Williamsburg After Hours, on March 9 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. For the full run-down, visit the event’s Website.

Daniel Maurer

Bad Burger was closed by the health department late last night.

Unlike Maharlika and Yaffa Café, which were forced to shutter earlier this month and have since reopened, the restaurant did pretty well during its recent inspections. In fact, it scored an A just last month.

So what happened? “Pee Wee” Masco, an owner, told The Local, “It’s nothing in terms of the code or anything, or any conditions in the restaurant; it’s in regards to a past due balance that fell through a crack and we were unaware. We’ll be taking care of that this afternoon and the restaurant will be back open in a few hours.”

A sticker on the door cites the restaurant for “operating without a permit.”

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

A number of blocks in the East Village have been added to FEMA’s flood maps. “The maps are preliminary, but FEMA officials said they will be useful in rebuilding and fortifying flooded areas. Official versions of the maps will be rolled out this spring and finalized over the next year or two. Those maps will be used to set premium rates for flood insurance and play a role in building codes and other regulations.” [Crain’s]

Community Board 3 has released its calendar of meetings for March. By the looks of it, the new restaurant going into the Mama’s Food Shop space may be called Hearth N Soul and the controversial General is aiming for a sidewalk cafe. [The Lo-Down]

Speaking of The General, Ryan Sutton thinks the restaurant offers “diluted flavors that never reach beyond pan-Asian party fare begging to be paired with $16 Scotch cocktails.” [Bloomberg]
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Daniel Maurer

Japadog is doling out free dogs again, this time to celebrate its first anniversary: you can score a freebie until 10 p.m. tonight and then again from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow. There were about six people in line when we passed by the store at 30 St. Marks Place earlier this evening.

Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant will be closed until March 4, according to a sign posted on its shutter. Of course, the BYOB spot on First Avenue and East Sixth Street shares an address with two other Indian restaurants that have been battling for over 20 years. When The Local stopped by earlier today, the ground-floor space was stripped of its trademark Christmas lights and there wasn’t a sidewalk barker in sight.

An electrician confirmed that the restaurant is undergoing renovations. Maybe so it can better compete with the light shows upstairs? Heck, maybe it has finally caught on to the filament bulb trend…

Mel BaileyAn empty lot at 89 Bowery may soon get a commercial condo building.

Tenants of a Hester Street building that was leveled as a result of the new Wyndham Garden‘s construction will demand compensation during a rally Thursday. Meanwhile, another building that was razed as the 18-story hotel went up is finally being replaced.

The tenement at 128 Hester Street was demolished in 2009 after it was destabilized by construction of the hotel next door. A lawsuit brought by the tenants of the building late last year alleges that the owner allowed building violations to pile up and ignored an “enormous volume of evidence of grossly substandard and hazardous conditions.” The building’s walls were damaged in part because of construction of the Wyndham Garden at 93 Bowery, Department of Buildings records indicate. The tenants were ordered to vacate the building in August of 2009 and it was demolished in November.

The tenants allege that William Su, an owner of both the hotel and of 128 Hester Street, intentionally allowed the tenement’s condition to decline. “It’s my belief, and my clients’ belief that [Mr. Su and his partners] acquired 128 Hester knowing that there were some serious violations, structurally,” said John Gorman, their lawyer. “This group acquired 128 Hester, not to re-inhabit, not to maintain it, but to avoid any interference with the construction of the hotel.”

In the years since the vacate order, a non-profit organization, Asian Americans for Equality, helped tenants file a petition with the New York Division of Homes and Community Renewal, which in 2010 ordered the building owner to pay his former tenants a stipend as well as moving expenses.

But Mr. Su hasn’t produced the money. Instead, the agency decided to reconsider its initial judgment for reasons that remain unclear, according to Mr. Gorman. “I do not understand why after two levels of review the D.H.C.R. decides hey, maybe lets take another look at this; meanwhile my clients are dislodged without a penny of relocation benefits,” said the tenants’ lawyer, who estimated that they were owed around $800,000. “It bothers me to no end.”

According to Mr. Su’s attorney, Stuart Klein, the agency realized it had erred and withdrew the claim.

Meanwhile, Asian Americans for Equality has continued to facilitate conferences between the owners and tenants. The organization’s director, Peter Gee, said that Mr. Su has only attended one of the four meetings. Mr. Su’s lawyer said he was only invited to one. This Thursday, A.A.F.E. will host a rally in hopes of finally winning tenants the compensation to which they feel they’re entitled.
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Daniel Maurer

The imminent opening of Block Vision Care couldn’t be timelier: a couple of blocks up on Second Avenue, Cohen’s Fashion Optical has closed. An employee told us the shop moved to 106 East 23rd Street (between Park Avenue South and Lexington Avenue) about a week ago.

The “retro chic” outpost of the Cohen’s chain was across the way from Anthony Alden Opticians at 42 St. Marks Place, which also used to be a chain: it was an outpost of Myopics until it broke away and then changed its name in 2009. On its Website, Anthony Alden encourages customers to “shop locally” and notes that “glasses are easy to try on and doesn’t require removing your clothes!”

Courtesy Jennifer’s Way Jennifer Esposito baking.

Brooklyn-born actress Jennifer Esposito is no stranger to the East Village: the crime drama she starred in, “Blue Bloods,” has filmed in the neighborhood before. But she’ll become invested in a much bigger way when she opens Jennifer’s Way Bakery on East 10th Street this Friday. Ms. Esposito, who was diagnosed with celiac disease five years ago, plans to serve organic baked goods that are free of gluten, dairy, refined sugar, soy, and peanuts. Aside from offering gluten-free bagels on weekends, she’ll occasionally bring in a doctor to talk about celiac disease — “sort of like a support group for adults and kids,” said Ms. Esposito. “Because there are so many social elements that come along with this disease that having like-minded people come in and talk.”

We met Ms. Esposito at the bakery for a chat.

What made you choose the East Village to open Jennifer Way’s Bakery?

It seems to me the area is very health conscious. As you can see there are a lot of organic places around. I think being around like-minded individuals is important for this, so I thought this was a great area…it’s a great location. I have a lot of friends in the area, and a lot of friends who own restaurants in the area — and have been here for years. And my first apartment was over here on 11th Street, when I was 18 years old, so I really do like this area.  Read more…

Samantha Balaban

After 128 years Block Drug Stores will finally get a much-younger sibling when Block Vision Care opens right next door. Carmine Palermo says he expects to open in the former Jack’s Luxury Oyster space by mid-April.

Mr. Palermo’s father, Carmine Palermo, Sr., purchased the iconic drug store in 1962. Mr. Palermo began working at the shop in 1975 and eventually bought it from his father in 1994. When Jack’s closed last year, Mr. Palermo decided to sign a lease at 101 Second Avenue and expand his beloved neighborhood business horizontally. Read more…

Samantha Balaban

The Anarchist Book Fair, which last year ended in smashed windows and scuffles with police, is back for a seventh year. And this time it’ll be a two-day extravaganza.

Last night, six members of the collective that organizes the fair met at ABC Beer Co. for a planning session.

Elias, who declined to give his last name, insisted that the book fair doesn’t promote violence. The collective contends that undercover cops incited last year’s incidents.

Elias said he was attending a workshop at the Sixth Street Community Center last April when “out of nowhere the police came and started beating people up. They just like bum-rushed them.”

This year, the National Lawyers Guild will be on hand to help ward off any trouble.

“We’re going to have people observing constantly,” said Chuck Reinhardt, who facilitated the meeting.

This year’s fair will take place April 6 and 7 at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center rather than the usual Judson Memorial Church. Read more…

Michelle Matson

“That’s a beautiful meat Popsicle,” says Dave Graw of the cooking show “Solid Dudes Kitchen.” As he speaks off-screen, two men from Detroit’s Porktown Sausage squeeze fresh sausage out of a Play-Doh Fun Factory-esque machine. “That was my nickname in high school,” says Derek Swanson, the other “Dude.”

On a recent Sunday night, the unique Detroit-ness of the cooking show delighted nearly 80 people who watched it at the pleasantly divey bar and performance space, Brooklyn Fire Proof, in Bushwick. The event was brought to Brooklyn by Paulina Petkoski and Samantha Banks Schefman, the co-founders of Playground Detroit, a New York-based non-profit that connects Detroit artists to “exposure and collaboration opportunities in New York City.”

New York is no stranger to the Motor City: last April, Detroit artist Robert Sestok installed a sculpture at First Street Green that paid tribute to his time in New York.

That’s exactly the kind of cross-pollination Ms. Petkoski and Ms. Banks, a pair of 26-year-old suburban Detroit ex-pats who now live in Williamsburg and Bushwick, want to encourage.

The two see a similarity between NYC and the D. “Look back at that film ‘Blank City’ and the Lower East Side in the ‘60s,” said Ms. Schefman, “and what a mess it seemed to be and hopeless and extremely dangerous. Part of what rebuilt [the Lower East Side] was the artist communities that decided to stay and find inspiration in the dilapidation and in what other people fear.”
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Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

The city has put out a Request For Proposals for the Seward Park Urban Renewal area and “interest among developers has been frenzied, city officials said. Since the announcement, bidding information has been downloaded from the city’s Web site 750 times by parties… More than 200 people turned up at a city information session this month, including representatives from the Related Companies, Forest City Ratner, Edward J. Minskoff Equities and AvalonBay Communities, a developer based in Arlington, Va.” [NY Times]

“The long-neglected Pier 42 on the southern end of East River Park will open to the public for the first time this spring, officials announced Tuesday.” [DNA Info]

“Four years into his 154-year prison sentence, a violent sex fiend — dubbed the ‘Crackhead Casanova’ by Manhattan prosecutors — is trying to overturn his conviction for a pair of 2006 attacks in an East Village apartment building.” [NY Post]
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Nina Robinson Sick indeed.

Young & Sick – an art, music and fashion project out of L.A. – just finished the above mural on the walls of Rag & Bone’s Nolita outpost.

Each month Rag & Bone features a new mural on the store’s Elizabeth Street facade. The so-called Houston Project (not to be confused with the wall at Bowery and Houston, across the street) was started in 2010 because the fashion brand was “tired of bad graffiti,” according to its blog. They’re open to design submissions and will “provide the paint, if you provide the art.”

Before the latest mural, a sign painted on the space stated, “This is a designated graffiti area,” and opened the wall up to passing street artists. Quite a few people obliged with tags and “throw-ups.” But as of last week, Young & Sick has officially staked claim. Read more…

Samantha Balaban

Opponents of N.Y.U.’s expansion in Greenwich Village, including actor Matthew Broderick, scored a small victory in a packed courtroom today.

As you’ll recall, 11 groups — including the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the East Village Community Coalition, and N.Y.U. Faculty Against the Sexton Plan — are fighting the City Planning Commission’s and the City Council’s decision to approve N.Y.U.’s plan to build just under 1.9 million square feet across two blocks. Opponents argue, in a suit filed in September, that the city violated a law preventing the transferal of parkland without prior approval from the state legislature.

Today, Randy Mastro, counsel for the petitioners, argued that the city improperly transferred four parcels of land to N.Y.U. The parcels include Mercer Playground, Mercer-Houston Dog Run, LaGuardia Park and LaGuardia Corner Gardens.

According to a letter submitted to the court by Mr. Mastro (reproduced below), the city is withholding evidence that it has long treated the property as parkland, even if the land was never officially mapped as such and never formally transferred to the Parks Department.

The plaintiffs in the case want the city to produce documents regarding the matter before a hearing in April that will determine the merits of the lawsuit. The judge granted them permission to argue for discovery in mid-March.

According to Mr. Mastro, Henry Stern, a former parks commissioner, has submitted an affidavit stating that “all four of these Superblocks sites have been dedicated as public parks, either expressly or impliedly,” and that they would have been mapped as such in the 1990s if not for “N.Y.U.’s obstructionist tactics and steadfast opposition.” Read more…

Paul-Benjamin Dousset

One of the city’s most celebrated slices is coming to East 14th Street — possibly by the end of the week.

Joe’s Pizza, the slice joint at 7 Carmine Street, has renovated the space that briefly held Naked Pizza and is aiming to open there by Friday.

“Everything is going to be the same. Same sauce, same memorabilia; nothing is going to change,” said owner Pino Pozzuoli.

Don’t expect Joe’s to join the $1 pizza wars: Mr. Pozzuoli hasn’t even thought about changing his prices. “Everything will be the same, so we’ll still have the same prices over on 14th Street that we do here on Carmine Street.” Read more…