St. Mark’s Place branching out with 3 new trees

Photos by Jacob Ford 

Workers today are planting three new trees on St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue, adjacent to the new 9-story office building...

Several trees were cut down here during construction (we covered this here). 

Workers also removed a tree from outside 5 St. Mark's Place. No sign of a replacement here just yet...

The East Village is now home to Manhattan's first 2D restaurant

Shirokuro has debuted at 103 Second Ave. at Sixth Street. 

The omakase spot also marks the neighborhood's (and Manhattan's!) first two-dimensional restaurant, courtesy of the owners of the now-closed Boka (RIP late 2024) at 9 St. Mark's Place and Noflex at 286 Fifth Ave. 

The interior design combines white walls and backgrounds with black-rimmed detailing. 

Two-dimensional restaurants have been a thing dating back to Seoul's Greem Cafe in 2017. Kravings Kafe was the first 2D cafe in Brooklyn (and the five boroughs).

And to no surprise, Shirokuro is going big on Instagram...

 

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Per Secret NYC: 

The entire space will transport you into the pages of a storybook with the illusion of a two-dimensional world, from the tables to walls and beyond. The 2D effect comes to life with hand-painted details, causing even the very real flower pots to appear flat. The trip downstairs to the bathroom remains a two-dimensional experience too. 

And maybe you meet the hunky motorcycle sidecar racer of your dreams here!

   

Shirokuro is open daily from noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. 

The space was previously the very three-dimensional Mighty Quinn's BBQ.

Night and day

A springtime look inside the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Letter perfect

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We spotted Kash updating the film titles at Village East by Angelika yesterday on Second Avenue at 12th Street ... the theater's south-facing signage features their special and classic screenings...

It's one of NYC's last analog marquees.

Openings: Pavlo Mochi on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Pavlo Mochi debuted at 199 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street this week. 

I met owner Pavlo Servetnyk ...

The colorful cafe specializes in fresh mochi, distinct from the traditional Japanese frozen variety. This version has a soft, mousse-like center with a cream and cream cheese blend.

So far, the top-sellers have been the pistachio-raspberry and mango-passion fruit/vanilla combos.

Coffee drinks and soft-serve ice cream are also on the menu.

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can follow the shop on Instagram here.

Signage alert: Maza on 7th Street

Photo by Stacie Joy 

At 102 E. Seventh St., a coming-soon sign is up for Maza Artisanal Mexican Food on the south side of the block between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

We don't know anything about who's behind the business. 

Maza replaces Vintage Cafe, which later morphed into a ghost kitchen of some sort.

Openings: Kawa Omakase, 12 Matcha, Shaji BBQ, El Camino

• Kawa Omakase, 37 First Ave. between First Avenue and Second Avenue 

Kawa features a 14-course menu for $88 in the smallish space with 13 counter seats and several tables "for a more private setting."

Reservations here. Instagram here.

• 12, 54 Bond St. at the Bowery 

The lines have arrived while this two-story matcha cafe is still in soft-open mode. 

Per Grub Street: 

In addition to in-store tastings, an iced matcha latte will likely be the main attraction at 12. The tea is whisked under a spotlight and poured over milk — Battenkill for dairy, Califia Barista Blend for oat — for a drink that is grassy, creamy, and spring-pea-like in its savoriness. 

Current hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Website here. Insta here.

• Shaji BBQ, 11 E. Seventh St. just east of Cooper Square 

This one came in via the EVG tipline... and we don't know much about it, including if it's related to the Shaji BBQ in Flushing. (The light said OPEN, but the place was empty, with staff included, the other night.)

Recent concepts here include Four Four South Village and Le Sia. The space was home to Surma Books & Music for 98 years until June 2016.

• El Camino, 135 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street 

The bar via Will Wyatt (Mister Paradise) and Edie Ugot from Electric Burrito is up and running here next door to their recently opened HighLife. 

There's a small cocktail and wine list, as well as snacks. And Guinness on draft.

It opens at 4 p.m. during the week and 2 p.m. on weekends, with a midnight close. No reservations. Instagram here.

Wednesday's parting shot

Thanks to EVG reader Bruce for this photo from Fourth Street and Avenue B...

Whole Foods Market signage going up now in Stuy Town

Photo by Diane Randall 

On Monday, we mentioned that the Whole Foods Market is shaping up at 409 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

This afternoon, workers are hanging the signage. The Whole thing (sorry) is not up yet. 

The smaller-format store will offer more grab-pay-and-go items and the usual WF merch. 

Updated:

Asphalt jungle: New pathways for the Tompkins Square Park field house

Photos by Steven 

While the reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park field house is complete (100% complete, per the Parks website)... there is still work to be done around the structure. 

This morning, workers arrived to replace the pavement surrounding the field house, a project that one of the crew members said would take two weeks to complete. (And a task made more manageable without the construction trailer in the way.) 

During this time, lobs might be more challenging to maneuver at the ping-pong table...

Also... at some point, the city should consider repaving all the pathways in the Park...

Man sentenced for 2 March 2024 shootings in Tompkins Square Park

Photo from March 16, 2024, by Stacie Joy 

A man who terrorized parkgoers during two daylight shootings in Tompkins Square Park over five days in March 2024 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. 

The sentence for Waldemar Alverio handed down yesterday in New York Supreme Criminal Court includes five years of post-release supervision, according to Manhattan D.A. Bragg's office. Alverio faced multiple charges, including three counts of An Attempt to Commit the Crime of Murder in the Second Degree and two counts of Assault in the First Degree. 

On March 16, 2024, at 12:45 p.m., two men allegedly chased, punched and kicked Alverio. As they ran off, Alverio unzipped his bag and pulled out a gun, firing at them five times, per court documents. 

Alverio struck one of the two men in the buttocks, fracturing his pelvis and lodging a bullet in his hip. Alverio also shot a bystander, a 53-year-old tourist, fracturing her right hip, which had to be surgically replaced. The D.A.'s office last year said that she would need "months of physical therapy as she learns how to walk again." 

Five days later, on March 21, Alverio returned to Tompkins Square Park just after noon, approached a group in the park, and shot at them five times. While Alverio did not strike anyone on that day, one bullet smashed through a window and into a bedroom in an apartment building across Seventh Street, and another bullet smashed through a window and lodged in a stairwell in a second building on Seventh Street.

Officers from the 7th Precinct recognized Alverio from a wanted flyer and arrested him on Delancey Street on March 26, 2024. 

"Waldemar Alverio is facing accountability for a pair of shootings in Tompkins Square Park that injured two and threatened the safety of many other bystanders. Parks must be safe havens for Manhattanites to gather and spend time with their friends and family, and nobody should have to worry they will be struck by a bullet in the middle of the day," Bragg said in a statement. "Combatting gun violence remains my top priority, and we will continue to prosecute those who use illegal firearms, while also making investments in our communities to address the root causes of shootings." 

On 3rd Avenue, the East Village’s slimmest storefront is up for rent

A sliver of a storefront — just a door’s width — at 99 Third Ave. is now for rent. 

The listing at Meridian Capital Group says this about the 300-square-foot space: 

... perfect for any to-go/takeout concepts 

Great frontage opportunity 

High ceilings 

Steps from Union Square with 24/7 foot traffic 

Asking rent: $3,995.

A cafe called Stella Breeze was here for several months, closing up earlier this year. 

In 2023, a short-lived smoke shop was the first retail tenant here between 12th Street and 13th Street.

As far as we can recall (and a look at Google Street View confirms), this was previously an entrance to the residential building.

Where can you buy magazines now in the East Village?

2023 photo at Ink on A by Stacie Joy 

From the EVG inbox... 

I went mad today looking for an old-school East Village magazine shop or newsstand. Not even a fancy one. Anything. Where can one buy even a simple magazine in the East Village area? I miss Ink. 

We miss Ink, too. The shop at 66 Avenue A, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, boasted one of the largest magazine selections in the area. Owner Ben "Benny" Dahud had been in a legal tussle with the building's (Untitled!) new landlord and decided to retire. 

The storefront has remained vacant since closing in July 2023. 

There aren't really any EV options. Nearby, there's Bouwerie Iconic Magazines on the Bowery at Rivington (the other Iconic shops have bigger selections) ... Barnes & Noble on Union Square ... Dashwood Books on Bond has some great art and photography titles. (We're unsure about the magazine-zine selection these days at Bluestockings Cooperative on Suffolk.) 

A little further away, there's Casa Magazines in the West Village, Iconic Magazines down on Mulberry Street and one on Lafayette, and Soho News International on Prince Street in Soho. 

There are others... perhaps you have a favorite. 

As for the former Ink space, there has been gut-renovation activity lately. The workers on the scene didn't know anything about a new tenant, though.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Jose Garcia 

Springtime along Ninth Street (and outside vintage shop Spark Pretty).

Wisteria watch underway for spring 2025

Our first reader dispatch of the spring about the world-famous wisteria outside 35 Stuyvesant St. at 10th Street: 

We have our first bloom on the block! Despite the cold! Much relief, as that vine has looked a little rough all winter. It’s the little purple fluff on the black window trim...

And the lovely townhouse there is still on the sales market.

No April fool's

Photo by Robert Miner

As seen on 11th Street this April 1 ...

Al fresco comeback: City’s outdoor dining program returns

This is no April Fool's — roadway dining season officially kicks off today, April 1. 

Restaurants and bars participating in the Dining Out NYC program may now start serving in their roadway dining structures. The city allowed approved establishments to begin setting up last Tuesday, before today's official start.

This is the first year of the new program. Per 2023 City Council legislation that Mayor Adams later approved, establishments can operate sidewalk setups year-round, while roadway dining operates seasonally, from April 1 to Nov. 29. (Sidewalk cafes are allowed year-round.)

The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle. 

According to a city press release, 2,600 establishments have approval to operate on roadways or sidewalks. "By April 1, NYC DOT estimates 600 roadway dining applicants and another roughly 2,000 sidewalk applicants will be able to operate." 

However, the Post noted Sunday: "Only seven restaurants out of 3,000 hoping to set up al fresco have received outdoor liquor licenses from the State Liquor Authority, meaning thousands may not be able to legally serve alcohol outside." 

We haven't seen much curbside-dining construction in the East Village, but we spotted several in the works on the Lower East Side over the weekend, including outside hotspots like Le Dive and Dudley's.

On Saturday evening, as the temperatures started dropping from the 80s to the 50s, we saw several restaurants and cafes with chairs and tables on Broome Street.

Regardless, based on the number of applications, there will be far fewer establishments with outdoor setups compared to 2020 and 2021. According to NYC Comptroller Brad Lander's office, an estimated 12,500 restaurants offered outdoor dining at the height of the pandemic. 

Also, Streetsblog reported that most curbside dining will be in wealthier neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Enjoy a coffee outdoors

Mudspot Café (top photo) has a compact curbside space ready for today. ("Smaller and cuter" than post years, they noted on Instagram.) 

Meanwhile, last week, EVG's Stacie Joy spotted C&B Cafe starting work on the coffee shop's outdoor space.

Owner Ali Sahin said there will be six tables with 12 seats total — and no roof, though perhaps a few umbrellas at some point in the future. The floor panels will be removable for ease of cleaning.

"We are approved for the roadside dining structure, and we are doing the absolute minimum of what the city requires because they will change their minds and the rules," Sahin said. 

He continued: "We want to spend as little money as possible; this is already pretty expensive. And at the end of the season, we'll toss it, as it's too expensive to store and we have no room or space to store it."

Several restaurateurs said they opted out of curbside dining this time due to the new, complex, and costly process, spanning over 30 pages of rules and regulations.

Pasta de Pasta making return engagement in larger 1st Avenue home

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

An all-new Pasta de Pasta is set to debut today at 165 First Ave. just north of 10th Street.

Three of the four business partners were on-site yesterday (from left): Fatih Cimic, Eda Kabil and Tugay Ese. (Not pictured: Serap Oyal, who runs the Pasta de Pasta outpost in Turkey.)

Pasta de Pasta debuted at 192 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street last June. 

The quick-serve pasta-bowl concept went viral on TikTok, partly thanks to its video-friendly fettuccine tossing in a large Parmesan wheel by the front window.

However, Pasta de Pasta later morphed into the like-minded Pastasole at 192 First Ave. According to Ese, while traveling in Turkey, his partner allegedly cut him out of the business, including its social media platforms. Ese said he owns the Pasta de Pasta name, and the case is now in the court system.

The new Pasta de Pasta will have all the original hits with various ingredients and add-ons.

Here's a look inside the space yesterday as staff geared up for the grand opening. The team was preparing arancini; elsewhere, a worker loaded Tiramisu into the dessert case.

We also met the chef, Bahadir Kiliq...

Pasta de Pasta plans to be open from noon to midnight. There isn't any alcohol service for now, though ownership may consider that for in-person dining down the road. You can follow them on Instagram for updates.

The health-food market Commodities was at 165 First Ave. under various ownership for 30 years, eventually closing in late 2022

The 2 retail spaces at 106 Avenue B are for lease

The two storefronts at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street recently arrived on the leasing market. 

Per Meridian Capital Group, each 800-square-foot storefront has a $7,500 monthly ask. Both will be delivered in white-box condition, the listing states. 

The northern storefront has been off-market for about 20 years... with Anwar/Akter Grocery in the shop, which sold wide-ranging items including sodas, snacks, religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies and hardcore adult DVDs with titles like "Anal Pleasures." The grocery suffered an unceremonious ending in July 2022. 

Fabano Florals used the southern space for pop-ups.

Monday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Capturing a few portraits at Superiority Burger, 119 Avenue A.

First (above) with SB regular Cáit O’Riordan. 

Owner Brooks Headley ...

... and Fowzy, who was recently promoted from bar manager to a GM...