Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Anniversaries: 15 years ago today

The very first post arrived on this site on Dec. 21, 2007. It was an item from Page Six (!!!???) about the possible sale of Sophie's and Mona's, two longtime favorite East Village bars.

The site went by — not joking! — Sophie's Bar Blog for a brief period. (And why not Mona's Bar Blog?) After a few weeks of handwringing, it turned out that the bars would stay in the family and remain pretty much the same to this day 15 years later. (I explain the site's evolution from Sophie's Bar Blog to EVG here.)

Anyway, taking this moment to thank you for reading the site for however long it has been these past 15 years and 38,546 posts, and for sharing in the adventures of living in this neighborhood — for better or worse. And thank you for sharing tips, photos, anecdotes, observations, complaints, and perspectives on day-to-day life here, past and present.

Couldn't do any of this without all of you. 

I'm incredibly grateful to Derek Berg and Steven for their daily contributions... and to Stacie Joy for lending her photography and reporting talents in covering happenings around the neighborhood.

And now, a happy and healthy holiday season to you. (If you have a Christmas tree and need to discard it before leaving town, please place it where we can get a good photo of it!)

 Photoshopped photo from the archives courtesy of EVPinhead. And I give that business six weeks!

68 comments:

Neighbor said...

Thanks for the great reporting and dealing with reviewing every single comment on here. I'm sure you have a love/hate relationship with that responsibility!

Sarah said...

Happy anniversary, Grieve! Grateful for your role in keeping this neighborhood a neighborhood.

Greg Masters said...

And thank you, EVG, for your devotion to keeping us informed of all the good and crummy stuff going on in our neighborhood.

Laura Goggin said...

Happy 15th anniversary!

The traditional 15-year anniversary gift is crystal, so I think a consultation with Zoltar and his crystal ball is in order. Have a happy, healthy and fortuitous new year!

John Penley said...

Most people would have sold this blog or added advertising by now. You have not and are now a legendary East Village news source. The amount of work you and your contributors put into this every day does not go unnoticed. Thank you. Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Nuevo.

Anonymous said...

Thank YOU, EV Grieve, for keeping all of us EVillagers informed. Yours is a fun blog, an interesting blog and a community-enhancing necessity. You and your contributors are so very appreciated.

EVQP said...

Happy anniversary, Grieve!!! We couldn't/wouldn't want to do without these daily doses (multiple times a day!) of knowledge that you share, for better or for worse, as you say. (Thank goodness Sophie's, Mona's, and Josie's are all still around, too!)

Wishing you and yours all the very best for the holidays, 2023, and always!

Anonymous said...

Grieve, you are the backbone of this neighborhood. Happy holidays, happy anniversary, and here’s to many more years (and discarded Christmas trees) to come!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mr. EV Grieve. You are an invaluable and civic minded neighborhood resource. A younger friend asked why so many EVer's love and recommend the site so much. Told her how back when the EV started really getting decimated by the predatory capitalist real estate investors EVG helped keep many of us, those who were being harassed and driven out of our homes by thugs and all the other rarely reported actions, sane and informed. EVG was a great source of information and really rallied to support residents and document the massive changes forced on the neighborhood by capitalism gone wild. Will always appreciate you Mr. EVG, Derek, Stacy and all who contribute. Sending all the appreciation and big love.

EV Signage + Font Troll said...

Totally enjoying the unexpected punchy colors of this storefront, the very-end-of-awning WOO! is an especially nice touch, but I cannot sign off on Stuffed Animal Abuse. D+ due to 2007-era edgelording

ps congrats Grieve ;)

Donald Joseph said...

The site is a real community, fantastic to check daily. And it's not merely for news: I attended something last Sunday I'd read about here, and I'm now planning to visit a store this week I read about on here. The site plays a great role in our lives.
Gracias.

Anonymous said...

Thank YOU Ev Grieve!
I read you every day. You make me laugh. You keep me informed and Id be lost without you!

DuchessofNYC said...

You published your first entry on the Winter Solstice? How appropos... from darkness into light. Thank you, EV Grieve!

MrNiceGuy said...

Happy Grieviversary!!!

Here's to another 15 years (and more) of the best hyper-local blog in the world! Thanks for all that you and the contributors do year round, the East Village would not be the same without you!!

Jose Garcia said...

In your honor we intend to have "EV Grieve Forever" tatooed on our backside(s). Thank you very much for all you do for all of us all year. Happy holidays, Jose Garcia + Familia.

Anonymous said...

Legendary! Big thanks EVG! Essential part of the community spirit. Essential for a thriving public sphere and a vibrant civil society. Live on!

Anonymous said...

thank you evg!

Anonymous said...

Happy 15th! Your devotion to all things EV-related is much appreciated, esp when so many other local blogs have folded. Thank you.

Trixie said...

We love you, and appreciate what you do so much! And when we see anything interesting out on the street we wonder if you are there seeing it too, should we tell you about it, or are you already way ahead of us and hard at work on the story that will we see sooner rather than later in your blog? You are like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, wonderful and mysterious, and we will believe in you forever!

Happy Holidays Always!

Edmund J Dunn said...

Kudos to you and your blog, the best NYC blog ever. So proud to be listed as a contributor here.

Anonymous said...

Happy 15th Anniversary EV Grieve ! Thanks again for your efforts and the efforts of your pals for keeping us updated on our beloved neighborhood. Since moving away in 2020, I appreciate y'all keeping me (and everyone else) in the loop! CHEERS!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for keeping this going over the past 15 years. It's one of my first stops very morning. Here's to another 15 years!!! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Small correction if I may.
(If you have a Christmas tree and need to discard it before leaving town, please place it in your building basement until end of November 2023. Then place it where we can get a good photo of it!)

Happy 15

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reporting! Happy anniversary!!! Cheers!

OlympiasEpiriot said...

Happy Anniversary!!

Annie said...

I don't go a week without reading EV Grieve. I feel fortunate to have this coverage of my neighborhood unlike any other. Thank you!!

Giovanni said...

This blog will be history in 3 months, 6 months tops. Their service is slow, the articles are overrated, and the waiters are all rude to me. I went by their store and there was brown paper in the window, and the sign said Peelin’ Potatoes. Plus I really don't like the architecture of the new building. The old Brutalist design was much more historically relevant. And what’s with all the coverage of those hawks eating rats all the time? Hawks are for the birds! Plus you have all the EV Grumps complaining about everything, especially all the nice new shiny buildings like Zero Irving, which more than a trophy-class office building, it’s an ecosystem ideally engineered to foster growth, flexibility, productivity, and the evolution of new ideas in Manhattan’s ultimate live/work neighborhood. If the grumps don't like it they should move back to Ohio. Also, I’m pretty sure Joe Strummer never ate at Dallas BBQ, so what’s the big deal about them closing? Anyways, my Christmas tree is five years old and it still looks pretty good to me. So Happy Anniversary since this is probably the last one ever. At least that’s what Zoltar told me, and he is never wrong.

Exterminator said...

love this website. glad you never got exterminated

XTC said...

Many happy returns. The Future IS Unwritten. And the peanut gallery will comment upon it with all the impotent rage and impotent anger it can muster. Posts on New Buildings, Rats, Dining sheds, Bros, Santacon and Social Justice Demands will continue to inflict its vile psychic damage on 51.3 % of the readers and deep thinkers of the esteemed Site.

Helen Pfeffer said...

Happy Anniversary! Here's to another (at least) 15 years.

Choresh Wald said...

Thank you thank you thank you. Every morning.

Anonymous said...

Fifteen years, your Quinceanera! Next year, it'll be Sweet Sixteen! Soon after that, you'll be old enough to VOTE! How quickly the years fly by!

Seriously, though, I hope you know how much you're appreciated in this community, Grieve! We're grateful that you & your faithful band of peeps keep on keepin' on. I hope to be reading this blog for many years to come!

Pinch said...

In addition to the excellent, detailed reporting, your humor and sarcasm are what do it for me. Congratulations once again, Grieve!

elyse said...

Thank you so much for this unbelievable and wonderful space for EV residents. I say unbelievable because in this day and age, everything about it is just too good to be true. AND I can't believe there's no advertising!!! Thanks for all of your work, your time, and your creativity. This blog is EPIC and you are a GEM xo

Anonymous said...

Woohoo - one of the great sites on the internet. Can't believe it's still ad-free and going strong. An epic showing of consistency and passion.

drew said...

XXOO

Carol said...

I don’t have anything to add to the perceptive and grateful comments already, except my own admiration and appreciation for all you do to keep us a community. Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Congrat!s & Thanks! Grieve appreciate all the efforts can only imagine what it takes to do what you do here, you've built a vital and important news site a daily read for anyone who loves our neighborhood Keep on Keeping On!

Anonymous said...

congrats! and thanks for all you do!

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't hurt to go a tiny bit easier on the censorship. Lively respectful debates, conflict of options without name calling, and correction of incorrect facts, are not inflaming by any means.

Scuba Diva said...

Time flies, don't it?

Anonymous said...

Only 15? Wow. I remember reading the blog from the beginning. My friends said they thought I was EV grieve. Thank you for everything. It’s been a crazy decade and a half. I don’t always agree with you but I love you regardless. I can’t remember how I found you . I’m still mad at the NYU kid who outed your identity. It was more fun anonymously. Remember super dry? Jeez, we’ve gone through a lot these years.

Anonymous said...

It did seem a lot lighter back then , now everything seems so much heavier. Or are we just older? Joking about the guy that owned the bar on 13 th- Mason blah blah who was a childhood actor and the bros that opened a ridiculous bar on A. Now everything seems depressing. We need a time warp, damnit, Janet.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! And thank you for being an essential part of the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

Happy 15 years + 1 day! Like so nany others, EVG is my first read every morning. Thank you for lovingly curating the news, the photos, the music videos and the comments. Long may the EVG arrows point the way!

Older Historian said...

Grieve - Congratulations! I couldn't imagine starting the day without reading your blog! You are akways honest, accurate, humorous and unlike certain vanishing bloggers - your ego never gets in the way - old fashioned reporting at its best - truly appreciated by an older east village lifer! Many more years to you!

creature said...

Thanks to all for keeping this place going and best wishes for the new year.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for everything. I love you and all that you and the team give to us every day, rain or shine. Happy Anniversary!!!!!

Anonymous said...

We love you!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! Your blog has been part of my morning news routine for the past eight years - So grateful for all that you and your contributors do.

Anonymous said...

A vital neighborhood resource, with great comment threads. But I agree with Anon. 12:45AM, "Wouldn't hurt to go a tiny bit easier on the censorship" - I used to post regularly under a certain name but kept seeing that my far-from-incendiary comments were not put up, while other, much more inflammatory ones, were. So I stopped posting and now just read and keep my opinions to myself. (But I'm making a posting exception in this case because of the occasion.)

Regardless, a great read, a great neighborhood resource. Thanks, and happy anniversary.

VH McKenzie said...

Congratulations and many thanks to you, EVG, and your intrepid crew of contributors! I grew up in a small town with a small town paper, The Shoreline Times, and Ev Grieve has become that substitute for me here in the EV. Been reading you since the start (I think!) and am so grateful for your reporting!

Anonymous said...

I check out your site first thing....and I enjoy both the detailed reporting and, of course, your witty commentary. And yes, all the photos!

Happy anniversary EVGrieve and thank you for keeping it up every day w/o fail! Best holiday wishes to you and yours!

Lola Sáenz said...

EV Grieve Feliz 15th Birthday! Thank You So Much For You're Never Ending Kindness! Keeping us informed and Amused!! Woo Woo
Love You!!

Anonymous said...

except for Giovanni, ditto to all above - wonderful, essential work!

Emily said...

Thanks for everything you do! I love this blog so much.

Anonymous said...

There is no other state, city or neighborhood I'd rather live in;
no other blog that manages to inform, involve and celebrate it's "denizens" better than you folks at EVGrieve.
Many thanks!
Happy 15th!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the years of coverage EVG, your work is indispensable and appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Grieve! Awesome site and one I look forward to everyday.

@Gio - you forgot free car parking. It's always a knee slapper.

Anonymous said...

And along side all the neighborhoody items, I like Grieve's tongue in cheek jokes and wordy play silliness along with 90s era Gen X music posts. All my favorite things in one blog!

Michele said...

Congratulations on this milestone! It has been so refreshing knowing I have such a great resource at my fingertips. May you continue to flourish!

Anonymous said...

Life in the EV is much better thanks to EVG! Happy 15th!

LPIFLY said...

Moved to the hood when you started and you've been a lifeline with a clear view of our community. Thanks for ALL

Unknown said...

Yours is a tireless public service that I don't take for granted. Thank you for the continuity amidst so much change. You're the best.

Cait said...

Happy Anniversary and Happy Holidays to you and all your readers!

editrrix said...

What else can be said when you're so late to the party other than raising a glass to toast this wonderful blog and its clear-eyed, passionate host? Thanks for all that you do to keep us introverts in the know. I learn as much about the 'hood as I would going out and observing it myself and all without the much-hated ads. You should add a tip jar for us to really help support REAL, HYPERLOCAL JOURNALISM. Count me in. Every morning. Merry Christmas, Grieve.

Unknown said...

Congratulations! The blog has outlived many an EV business :)

After 30 years in the EV, we moved up to Westchester in 2019... but still read EV Grieve religiously to see what's up in the 'hood.

Best to you and yours now and in the coming year.

Giovanni said...

And about the parking: has anyone noticed that there are fewer parking spaces now than when this bog was started? And what replaced them? Citibike. And now abandoned sidewalk sheds. And Open Streets whatever that means. Is that some kind of a coincidence or is there a deep state plot at work around here? According to E-Anon everything that happens in the East Village is part of a much bigger conspiracy which will someday be revealed, but only after it comes true. SO Happy 16th Anniversary in advance, EV Grieve, when the there will probably be no street parking at all, dollar pizza will cost $100, and SantaCon will be a daily event.