Yesterday Stage Restaurant, which shuttered nearly a year ago after its landlord accused it of an illegal gas hookup, announced that it was closing for good after 35 years in the East Village: “Over the past year, we have resolved our dispute with the landlord and Icon Realty Management,” owner Roman Diakun wrote on Facebook. “Stage Restaurant never engaged in any wrongdoing; however, after our prolonged closure and because of the cost to make the repairs and expenses of reopening, we are sad to say that the Stage cannot reopen.” Now, “gentrification in progress” tape has gone up on the diner’s storefront near the corner St. Marks and Second Avenue. 
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