Monday, October 31, 2022
6 posts from October
• A look at Thayer, a new cafe-bookstore opening soon on Avenue B (Oct. 27)
• Unveiling Donald Suggs Jr. Way on 6th Street and Avenue B (Oct. 18)
• About those fireworks last night on the East River (Oct. 13)
• Remembering Manny the Peddler (Oct. 12)
• Long-vacant P.S. 64 now being pitched for medical use, educational purposes (Oct. 5)
• Exclusive: This is the new tenant for the former Gem Spa space (Oct. 3)
[Updated] At the last night of the Pyramid Club on Avenue A
Photos by Stacie Joy
Updated 11/28
On Nov. 22, Nick Bodor (the Library, Cake Shop, etc.) shared with us his plans for Baker Falls at 101 Avenue A. The old Pyramid will also feature a collaboration with the Knitting Factory.
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The Pyramid Club ended its decades-long run on Saturday night with a Halloween Dance Party Spooktacular.
On Oct. 19, management announced via Instagram that the iconic venue at 101 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street would be closing at the end of this month.
The club had been dark since March 7, 2020, at the onset of the pandemic. In the spring of 2021, the Pyramid announced that it would not be reopening ... before making a comeback at the end of July 2021, opening on weekend nights in subsequent months.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the two-level space early on Saturday as revelers were starting to arrive and choosing between the 80s Night Dance Party on the main floor or an industrial Halloween with Defcon downstairs.
... by 10:30, the line for entry was a block long...
Overall, the mood was pretty upbeat for the last night at the Pyramid. People were alternately crying and laughing/dancing.
Meanwhile, there are ample rumors that this won't be the end of the address as an entertainment venue.
Opening in 1979, the Pyramid ushered in an era of "socially-conscious drag performance, led by the likes of the Lady Bunny, Lypsinka and RuPaul," as Village Preservation once put it. In an oral history of the space, Tricia Romano noted: "[The Pyramid] served as a safe haven for freaks, geeks, weirdos, queers, and dreamers to come together and create. Sometimes it was bad; sometimes it was beautiful. But it was never boring."
Key Food is back to 24/7
Photos by Stacie Joy
The new hours went into effect yesterday...
During the worst days of the pandemic in 2020, the store reduced its hours... and later kept a modified schedule due to challenges in hiring enough employees to fill the shifts ... as well as security (shoplifting) issues. 
No word yet on what to expect from the overnight playlist.
A busy week for milling in the East Village
According to the city schedule here (H/T Peter Feld!):
On Monday (Happy Halloween!) and Tuesday, there's nighttime milling scheduled for Ninth Street between Avenue A and Fourth Avenue.
Then Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the milling happens on Sixth Street from Cooper Square to Avenue A ... and on Fifth Street from Cooper Square to First Avenue.
And Wednesday-Thursday: Fourth Street from Avenue A to Avenue D; Second Street from Bond Street to First Avenue.
Sources say that "power and heavy-duty construction make the RX-900 the tool to own for high-productivity, half-lane, or full-lane milling."
SantaCon 2022 is now on the clock
SantaCon returns for in-person binging and bar crawling on Saturday, Dec. 10.
No word yet on the route, participating bars, etc. — all that will arrive in the days leading up to Dec. 10. So you have time to make plans to be far, far away.
H/T Steven!
Double-decker plywood report
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Week in Grieview
Posts this past week included (with an ad for "Halloween Ends" at the 2nd Avenue F stop) ...
• Deadly shooting reported at Campos Plaza (Thursday)
• El Rinconcito closer to opening on Avenue C (Tuesday)
• A look at Thayer, a new cafe-bookstore opening soon on Avenue B (Thursday)
• At the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Festival (Monday)
• An early morning robbery at Desi Galli (Friday)
• The city removes the curbside structure from outside Pinky's Space on 1st Street (Friday)
• The East Village Mermaid Inn is now closed until the spring (Friday)
• Pruning day for the great wisteria of Stuyvesant Street (Monday)
• After nearly 30 years, Meg has left the East Village (Monday)
• Memphis Seoul coming to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• Looking at the past, present and future of curbside dining (Wednesday)
• Village Grannies is closing on 9th Street (Thursday)
• Plywood arrives ahead of Gen Korean BBQ House on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue (Monday)
• Kōbo by Nai watch on Avenue A (Thursday)
• Mealz debuts on 14th Street (Monday)
• Openings: Sushi Mumi on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)
• About Brix Wine Bar, coming soon to Clinton Street (Wednesday)
... and thanks to Richard Megna for sharing this photo from Sara D. Roosevelt Park... where the bench is either very uncomfortable or someone has really tight hamstrings...
Skeleton crew at work on 7th Street
Photo by Derek Berg
Set up is underway for the 3rd annual Halloween Mask-Querade today on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.
East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality group is once again hosting a Trick-or-Treat Halloween festival for children ages 12 and under from 1-3 p.m.
More details here.
An appreciation: J. Kathleen White's dioramas at Ninth Street Community Garden & Park
East Village artist J. Kathleen White's 2022 collection is titled "Spheres" ...
In order below are Hawk, Cat, Dragon and Corn...
They'll only be up until early in November (we usually post these much sooner in the season).
Noted
It happened this past Thursday night around 9:30 outside One and One on First Avenue and First Street. Twitter user @layajospe wrote: "Just witnessed a lovely couple fucking in an outdoor dining hut on 1st ave."
The clip, now viewed more than 4.5 million times, shows some pedestrians passing by not paying any attention... while a few others seem to be aware of what's happening here at the nexus of the universe.
You can watch the clip here.
Sunday's opening shot
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Carving out some quality time for Halloween at the Parkside
Photos by Stacie Joy
The Parkside Lounge was the scene of a recent bring-your-own-pumpkin (BYOP) carving competition ... and as EVG contributor Stacie Joy witnessed, it was a spirited affair here at the bar on Houston and Attorney ... with competitors taking the proceedings quite seriously...
... we don't actually who took home the trophies... but they all look pretty good...
The 2nd annual LES Halloween Book Crawl is tomorrow (Sunday!)
Six local merchants are taking parting tomorrow (Sunday!) in the second annual LES Halloween Book Crawl from noon to 7 p.m.
The participants (the above flyer lists the discounts/freebies at each stop):
• Bluestockings, 116 Suffolk St.
• Book Club, 197 E. Third St.
• McNally Jackson, 52 Prince St.
• Pillow-Cat Books, 328 E. Ninth St.
• Sweet Pickle Books, 47 Orchard St.
• Yu and Me Books, 44 Mulberry St.
Celebrating the dead at Campos Community Garden
The annual celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) takes place Sunday at the Campos Community Garden on 12th Street.
From 2-6 p.m., you can find arts and crafts ... as well as ceremonial dancing at 3 p.m.
The altar will also be open for residents to leave objects in memory of a loved one who has died.
Campos Community Garden is at 640 E. 12th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.
A pop-up thrift market today at El Sol Brillante
You can find vendors selling clothing and assorted housewares from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is a plant sale as well (plus live DJs).
A portion of proceeds to benefit El Sol Brillante Community Garden.