A garbage-strewn, weed-choked Lower East Side back alley is being transformed into a quaint, cobblestone pedestrian mall with cafes and boutiques – and boy, are the locals mad.
The decrepit little cul-de-sac only a punk rocker could love – called “Extra Place” on East First Street – was once the back yard of the now-defunct club CBGB on the Bowery.
The alley – where the Ramones hung out and had a photo shoot in December 1976 – is getting dragged into the 21st century with a makeover that would make Martha Stewart proud.
Developers at Avalon Bay – who created the generally loathed luxury rental complex that houses the Whole Foods on Houston Street – are planning to put in six to eight small retailers in the former alley.
Leasing agent Michael Ewing, of Williams Jackson Ewing, said no one has signed a lease yet for the new spaces, which average about 200 to 600 square feet.
But don’t expect any big-name chains.
“It’ll be much like SoHo used to be,” he said.
Danny Fields, a former CBGB habitue who managed the Ramones, said nothing can beat the old alley.
“I am sentimental about that alley. It was picturesque, it was wonderful,” he said. “Everyone talks about the awful ’70s. I didn’t remember that it was so bad. What, some stockbrokers were reduced from making a billion to $20 million a year?”
The planned development is the latest in a long line of recent changes to the area, where flop houses and single-room-occupancy buildings have given way to luxury hotels and $1,200-per-square-foot condos.
The Bowery Wine Co. is opening this week on East First Street, between the Bowery and Second Avenue, right across the street from Extra Place. Bruce Willis, one of the restaurant’s partners, was at its launch party last week.
And across the way, Veselka is opening a southern outpost to its Ukrainian eatery on Second Avenue.
Hamptons staple Blue & Cream – where a cropped black leather jacket is selling for $1,950 – opened on East First Street and the Bowery four months ago.
The once-venerated CBGB, at 315 Bowery, where the last riff was played in 2006, is slated to become a John Varvatos boutique.
Morrison Hotel Gallery, a photo gallery, announced last week that it’s opening at 313 Bowery.
The suits at Avalon Bay are hailing the newly spruced area as “a slice of the Left Bank” right here in Manhattan.
But aging punks who watched music legends and Bowery bums alike pee, puke and pass out in that alley see the new changes as further proof New York is losing its edge.
Cheetah Chrome, former guitarist with CGBG staple The Dead Boys, said he’s sickened at the prospect of the city turning into a suburban mall.
“If that alley could talk, it’s seen it all,” said Cheetah Chrome. “All of Manhattan has lost its soul to money lords.”
New residents also bemoaned the influx of yuppie shops, chain banks and sleek high rises.
“This whole block feels like a hospital complex,” said Austin Brey, 25.
Additional reporting by Michelle Kaske and Liz Kelley