Photo by Stacie Joy
From an 80+ degree day on the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park...
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Today in free, weird circus-y things
As seen on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street:
FREE
Wierd [sic] circus-y thing
Please take
Noted
At the annual Dance Parade and DanceFest
Photos by Stacie Joy
Let's head back to Saturday for some highlights from the 18th annual Dance Parade ... and post-parade DanceFest in Tompkins Square Park.
Per organizers, there were some 10,000 participants and 100-plus styles of dance represented. (Side note: We did NOT see anyone doing The Aqua Velva or The Shugaloo.)
EVG's Stacie Joy was stationed on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place as the parade came to a conclusion...
... and she was in and around Tompkins Square Park for the DanceFest that followed ...
The 37th edition of the Loisaida Festival takes place on May 26
Poster by Juan Carlos Pinto
The 37th annual Loisaida Festival is happening on Sunday, May 26.
This year's theme is "A Cultural Mosaic," which organizers say "beautifully encapsulates the diverse heritage and vibrant spirit of New York City's Lower East Side."
The event, which unfolds along Avenue C-Loisaida Avenue between Fifth Street and 12th Street, includes more than 50 artisans and 10 food vendors.
There's also a slate of bands and musicians on the main stage and elsewhere on the festival grounds. Visit this link for details.
Get ready for 3 days of the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts
TNC has scheduled more than 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and filmmakers for its 29th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Indoor performances will occur daily from 6 p.m. to midnight, using two of TNC's four theaters. Meanwhile, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will set up on the closed-off block of Tenth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue during another series of performances.
You can find the complete list of activities (and times) at this link.
Admission is free, though TNC will gladly accept donations.
TNC is at 155 First Ave. at 10th Street.
A quick visit to Gnocchi on 9th
Photos by Stacie Joy
Gnocchi on 9th opened on April 13 at 315 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Since then, we've heard mostly positive comments about the quick-serve offerings, priced at $10 or less.
The pasta and sauce are brought in from elsewhere and heated inside the small space...
... and served up to go (there's no inside dining) ...
The shop is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday, May 20, 2024
These East Village residents are still cooking up a unique book of recipes
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Like a good meal, The East Village Community Cookbook is taking longer to prepare.
As we reported last August, three East Villagers who bonded during the pandemic — Will Kroeze, pastor at Trinity Lower East Side, Dan Hyatt, a middle school teacher, and Will Horowitz, a chef and author who co-founded Ducks Eatery and Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. — decided to create an old-school neighborhood cookbook.
And they were able to secure more than 100 recipes from an array of local restaurants (C&B Café, Katz's, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Russ & Daughters, SMØR, Superiority Burger, and Veselka, among many others) and residents (Alan Cumming and Richard Hell, to name two).
We haven't heard much about the project since the end of 2023, and some residents who pre-ordered a copy wonder what's happening.
"We've also gotten people asking about the cookbook, which is taking quite a bit longer than we had expected," Pastor Will told me the other day. "What originally was going to be a DIY project is turning into a real design masterpiece and is going through several rounds of edits .... it’s really going to be something so special for our community."
Regarding design, East Village-based artist and illustrator Marcellus Hall (whose New Yorker covers are among our favorites) is lending his talents to the cookbook.
Pastor Will and Horowitz shared some pages with me during a recent production meeting...
"I've been telling people that it's a volunteer-driven labor of love, and like any community project, it's taking time to get right," Pastor Will said. "But it will be so great that it will be worth the wait."
The organizers said they hope to get the work to the publisher shortly and print it toward the end of the summer.
Donations for the East Village Community Cookbook started at $30. Proceeds benefit Trinity Lower East Side Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH) on Ninth Street and Avenue B.
While I was talking with the organizers, workers were busy preparing meals at Trinity Lower East Side...
The present and future of the NW corner of 1st Avenue and 2nd Street
According to DOB paperwork, the proposed building — using the address 88 E. Second St. — will be 19,278 square feet, with 2,994 square feet designated for commercial space. Plans call for 22 residential units, likely rentals, given the square footage.
We haven't seen a rendering for the project yet... though we did spot this schematic for the address...
The filings list Manny Ashourzadeh of Romah Management Corp. as the owner.
Openings: Sunflower Cafe on 2nd Avenue
Photo by Stacie Joy
Sunflower debuted last week at 88 Second Ave. at Fifth Street.
This is a sibling to the cafe of the same name on Third Avenue in Gramercy Park with the Instagram slogan "Let’s Brunch baby!"
They serve some breakfast staples, lunch, and various coffee and drinks (menu here).
Daily hours for now: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunflower is owned and operated by the same folks as the previous tenant here, Eros, the Greek restaurant that quietly closed in August 2022. Eros took over for their diner concept, The Kitchen Sink, in September 2021.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
The duck stopped here
Thanks to EVG reader Kris Divney for the photo!
Week in Grieview
• After a fire upstairs, a gutted TabeTomo hopes to reopen on Avenue A in August (Friday)
• Don Juan's Barber Shop closing after 25 Years following rent hike (Monday)
• A look at Carnitas Ramirez, opening soon on 3rd Street in the East Village (Thursday)
• Angels Boutique gets its wings on Avenue A (Tuesday)
• Coming together in Tompkins Square Park to remember Al 'Hammerbrain' Landess (Sunday)
• At the first Show Brain show of 2024 in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)
• Xi’an Famous Foods opens an outpost on 4th Avenue (Monday)
• Planet Taco exits East Village orbit (Tuesday)
• After 17 years of not being open on Mondays, Abraço is now open on Mondays (Monday)
• Former Walgreens space on Union Square to be home to a Times Square-friendly business (Monday)
• 'Stayin' True' with Toofly at CLLCTV NYC (Saturday)
• After a short break, Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery is back open on Avenue A (Friday)
• Some Cool pizza street art (Monday)
• Citi Bike dock swap along Avenue A (Tuesday)
• Wonder debuts its new kind of food hall on Stuyvesant Street (Thursday)
• At the annual Ukrainian Festival (Sunday)
... and another moment from the Ukrainian Festival yesterday afternoon via Adriana Leshko ...
At the annual Ukrainian Festival
Photos by Stacie Joy
The St. George Ukrainian Festival continues today on Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.
Here are a few scenes from yesterday... when the intermittent drizzle didn't dampen the festivities...
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