EV Grieve

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Week In Grieview

Post this past week included (with an FDNY lunch break in Tompkins by Jose Garcia)...

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• 'He looked out for absolutely everyone here': Friends and neighbors discuss slain deli worker Abdul Saleh (April 28) … Candlelight vigil on 13th and B honors Abdul Saleh (May 1)

• A 3rd Street staple, Rossy's Bakery & Café, closes after 16 years (April 27)

• Report: Rushed shelter shift tied to death, raises questions about East Village Intake plan (April 29)

• Former St. Brigid School on 7th and B hits the market as a development site (April 28)

• One spring day (April 30)

• Former Chris French Cleaners lot awaits its condoplex (April 29)

• Remembering Wayne, who made friends on every walk (April 27)

• Opening night of the Lower East Side Film Festival (May 2)

• Coming attractions (aka, signage alert): The East Village is getting a Regina's Grocery & Deli (April 30)

• Lower East Side History Month returns with a full slate of events (May 1)

• Ramones at 50 (April 24)

• Café Chrystie expands next door with new bar space (May 1)

• Blank Street is leaving 149 Avenue A (April 27)

• Fire Escape debuts on Avenue A (April 30)

• Reader mail: What is that smell in Tompkins Square Park? (April 30)

• People went nuts for the Nuts Factory opening on 3rd Avenue (April 30)

• Table Mercato bringing "Boston's best sandwich" to 10th Street (April 29)

• Step right up: A game show experience is coming to the Bowery (April 29)

• That Maybach moment on 11th Street, explained (May 2)

• Signage alert: Olio e Più on 3rd Avenue (April 27) … Art Laboratory Wine Bar at 40 Avenue B (April 27)

• 6 posts from April (April 30)

... and CJ Tattoo has decamped from Fourth and C for a new space in Greenpoint ... gone, too, is the Love Zakka Mini Mart that shared the storefront ... (photo by Stacie Joy)...

We'll always have the Gap on St. Mark's Place

This past week, EVG reader Jacob Ford noted that workers removed the anti-tagging defense system from outside the incoming Sephora on St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue.

And, lickety split, someone slapped another Gap logo out front.

Meanwhile, a few weeks back, reporter Tom Ryan (a longtime EV resident) wrote a piece for RetailWire titled, "Is Sephora a Threat to the East Village?"

Read the piece here. (Oh, and EVG is quoted.)

An East Village 'Then and Now' conversation tonight at Book Club Bar

As we recently mentioned, longtime East Village photographer Daniel Root has a new book out this month: "The East Village Then and Now: Capturing the Changing Streets" (Abbeville Press).

The book pairs Root's photos of the Lower East Side and East Village from the early/mid-1980s with images of the same (or similar) locations today.

Tonight at 7 is the last event for the book, taking place at Book Club Bar, 197 E. Third St., between Avenues A and B. It will be a slideshow and chat with musician Eric Ambel, who owned the Lakeside Lounge (RIP 2012) on Avenue B.

Reserve a free spot here.

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy

Artist Butterfly Mush at the Flower Shop show at Art Bodega/CLLCT space on Third Street and Avenue B...

‘April Showers Bring May Flowers’ pop-up art show this weekend on 8th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

There's a pop-up group art show ~~just this weekend~~ now through Thursday at 304 E. Eighth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C titled "April Showers Bring May Flowers."

The show features work by Tajo McBurnie, Allan Majano, Rory Hayatgheybi, Connor O'Neill and Liam Snyder.

Below is Snyder...

... and Hayatgheybi...

The show is open until 8 tonight... and 11 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. every day until and including May 7.

May Day with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra

Photos by Stacie Joy

From May Day yesterday... a set by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra in Tompkins Square Park, followed by a through-the-streets march to Sara D. Roosevelt Park on the LES...

Opening night of the Lower East Side Film Festival

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The 16th edition of the Lower East Side Film Festival is underway.

The film action kicked off Thursday evening at Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue and 12th Street... where we saw (from left) LESFF director Shannon Walker, LESFF director Tony Castle, Village East marquee guru KASH and LESFF director Roxy Hunt.

This year's fest opened with "Run Amok," an invigorating drama from Brooklyn-based director NB Mager (in the middle below), her feature-length debut.

The ensemble cast includes Molly Ringwald (who lived around the corner on 10th Street for years) and Patrick Wilson...

The theater also hosted the opening-night party...

The fest runs through Monday. Find screening details here.

That Maybach moment on 11th Street, explained

Photos by Stacie Joy

We received several reader queries throughout the day about the few million dollars' worth of luxury cars being removed from semis on 11th Street and Avenue B.

Stacie Joy, EVG's high-performance luxury vehicle correspondent, went to check it out.

Turns out the fleet was part of a wing-ding (or whatever these things are called now) for the all-new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class sedan released for the premiere of "The Devil Wears Prada 2."

It took place at event venue Bathhouse Studios, 538 E. 11th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Read some bathhouse history here.)

Anyway, the car features rose gold accents, an illuminated grille and a bespoke interior with "RUNWAY" details. Puts the "atious" in ostentatious.

Starting price: $207,150 for the S 580 (V8)... $207,199 with the cassette deck.

Friday, May 1, 2026

Friday's parting shots

The car-free Open Streets of St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue is now ... open on the recently milled roadway.

We asked several city official-type folks about when the program was starting up this year, what the hours would be, etc., and we didn't get any concrete answers.

No one seemed to know what was going on...

We'll try to get some more answers in the days ahead...

These are the 'Daze'

We have another new video from local psych-pop trio Lukka, led by East Village-based singer-songwriter Franzi Szymkowiak.

The clip here is for "StarDazer."

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Heady psychedelia: A conversation with East Village musician Franzi Szymkowiak of Lukka

Organizers revive Cannabis March with Saturday rally and concert

The annual Cannabis March & Rally is returning tomorrow — with organizers looking to reclaim the long-running event's roots.

Per the invite, the 54th edition traces back to the early 1970s, when the Yippies staged smoke-ins starting in Washington Square Park before heading up Fifth Avenue.

This year's gathering begins at noon at the Washington Square Park arch, followed by a march to Union Square Park. A rally and concert are set there from 2-6 p.m., featuring political speakers and live music. Bands on the bill include Rebelmatic, Ricanstruction and Butter Brain.

Organizers say they are reviving the event independently after recent years when the city took over programming under its Cannabis NYC umbrella.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Dana Beal, longtime marijuana activist, serving months-long prison sentence in Idaho

May 1

DAILY DOUBLE. A discarded Christmas tree and today's Post nearby for verication purposes... all on Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Candlelight vigil on 13th and B honors slain deli worker Abdul Saleh

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Community members and local elected officials gathered last night on 13th Street and Avenue B for a candlelight vigil honoring Abdulrahman Saleh — known to many as Abdul — the 28-year-old father of two who was fatally shot late Saturday outside Sal's Deli & Grocery, where he worked in the family-run business.

The vigil followed a week of mourning and calls for action.

On Wednesday, advocates and leaders held a press conference urging accountability and stronger protections for bodega workers. Saleh's funeral, closed to the media, was held yesterday in Sunset Park, where Mayor Mamdani attended.

"Tonight, we light a candle in the darkness. But at the same time, as we celebrate his life, we all have a responsibility to address gun violence because we've been here before," New York State Attorney General Letitia James told the crowd.

Police have charged Kavone Horton, 28, who lives nearby and had allegedly been a menacing presence in the store, in connection with the shooting.

According to law enforcement and media accounts, an argument over unpaid food that began inside the deli spilled out onto the street, where Saleh was shot.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• 'He looked out for absolutely everyone here': Friends and neighbors discuss slain deli worker Abdul Saleh

Lower East Side History Month returns with a full slate of events

Lower East Side History Month is back, officially starting today... and bringing a packed calendar of events across the neighborhood.

More than 70 local cultural and community organizations, small businesses, and residents are hosting exhibits, walking tours, talks, and festivals throughout the month.

You can find the full lineup of (mostly free) events here.

The annual celebration launched in 2014 to highlight the neighborhood's history and foster stronger connections among those who live and work here, per organizers.

Café Chrystie expands next door with new bar space

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Café Chrystie is expanding into the adjoining space — adding a new bar component that debuts today at 5 p.m. (There was a friends-and-family preview last night. See below.)

The daytime café, which opened in the summer of 2023, will continue operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the new bar taking over from 5 p.m. to midnight (Tuesday through Saturday, for now).

"This is a bar. No laptops, no wifi. I want human interaction," owner Pep Kim told us.

The kitchen is still being finalized, but the plan is to introduce a Korean food program. In the meantime: bar snacks and finger foods alongside beer, wine and soju-based cocktails — including spins on a negroni and highball.

Kim said a brunch service with Korean dishes could arrive this summer, along with expanded hours.

The space — largely built out by Kim himself — features warm, dark wood, brass accents and dark green tones, with eclectic details like bag hooks, mix-and-match seating and framed artwork (including Harold Hunter skating contact sheets).

Check out the space here...