Late Breaking DestructoWire: Isabella's Oven Drama Reaches New Level of Absurdity

Lower East Side: A brief review for those of you just joining us. Two weeks ago, LES pizza spot Isabella's Oven shuttered after an eviction. Soon after, the owner publicly accused the Seward Park Co-Op Board of outright extortion. Later, rumors spread on message boards that the owner took to the restaurant with a sledgehammer, as a means to get back at the board.

Now we learn it wasn't just a sledgehammer. In addition to smashing all counters and fixtures, someone also took to the walls with some spray paint (note: most of the graffiti is NSFW).

A memo (in the gallery above), from the board's lawyer to the board, runs down the history of the restaurant, the amount of debt owed, and the eviction proceedings. And, of course, the vandalism:

"Finally, when management was given access, the space Isabella's vacated was determined to be structurally damaged and vandalized. The restaurant's interior had been substantially demolished including fittings, plumbing, ductwork, plus partial demolition of the patio, and threatening and derogatory graffiti was sprayed onto interior walls. The Board of Directors, of course, will take all necessary actions to obtain lawful financial reimbursements on behalf of SPHC in this matter."

"The owners are the son and daughter in law of a current board member, which is how they got the sweetheart lease in the first place, and were able to be in arrears for so long. Best part is, this board member is so popular with the 'old school' shareholders, that she'll probably be elected again, even though she is worse than useless and clearly corrupt. It'll take another few years before the 'new shareholders' - i.e. ones who actually care about property values and improvements, and don't still view their apartments as government cheese, constitute more than 50% (they are at about 40% now.) Until then, frightful seniors who think that anyone who's for capital improvements is secretly trying to boot them from their apartments will keep voting in these ridiculous relics of an earlier era."