Price Hikes at 12 East 13th St. Condos

It looks like shuttered Indian restaurant Babu Ji may be rising from its wage theft lawsuit ashes into the old All’onda space at 22 East 13th Street. A neighbor happened upon the space at an opportune moment, when a garbage bag hanging over a brand-new sign at the address fell down, revealing the words “Babu Ji” for all to see. It’s an unexpected changeover for the space — up until very recently, Red Farm restaurateur Ed Schoenfeld was planning to take the space for a new restaurant called The Mess. The restaurant with chef Zod Arifai was completely built out and had even hired staff and hosted friends and family in February when all work came to a halt in March. Schoenfeld previously told Eater the hold-up was initially a result of issues with the Community Board, who recommended a denial of the space’s liquor license. Schoenfeld did not immediately respond to inquiries, and Babu Ji owners Jennifer and Jessi Singh declined to comment.

Replacing City Tavern at 22 East 13th St. will be All’Onda, which appears to be a high-end Italian spot focusing on seafood. The Chef is a veteran of both Morimoto and Ai Fiori.

Next week (May 14 to May 18), Superstructure work will continue at the 18th floor level. The superstructure concrete work will be completed on the building buy the end of the month. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.

The following week (May 21 to May 25), we will be working on the machine room levels on the 18th floor. Deliveries for the internal systems of the building have been ongoing and will continue, although they should not greatly affect the flow of pedestrian and road traffic.

This weekend the site will be open on Saturday, May 12th for superstructure related activities between the work hours of 7AM and 5PM as permitted by the City. To control noise levels within the site, work activities will be limited to the placement of formwork and concrete, plumbing and electrical work, rebar for concrete placement, using the crane and equipment to support all activities. Safety horns are used, and required by law, to coordinate lifting with the crane and to alert the workers of the danger overhead. We have directed the operators to limit the use of horns to one short sounding and to use the crane later in the day so as to avoid any excess noise. There will be steel work being done on the 5th Ave. side of the building. As a result there will be another crane on site to lift the pieces into place but it will sit in the site and will not affect pedestrian or motor traffic in the area.

Additionally, Con Ed will be doing street connections on 14th street.

Lots of new tech neighbors, listed here.

By now we all know that the Bowlmor Lanes building on University Place is scheduled for demolition and will be replaced by condos. Goodbye, Stromboli Pizza, Japonica, and Vive La Crepe. Luckily, the newsstand is relocating across the street. Changes….

Simo Pizza is scheduled to arrive on University Place in the former home of Argo Tea (and before that, good ol’ Dean and DeLuca) sometime in the fall. They already have a branch in the Meatpacking District, and the pizza looks good…and affordable.