Monday's parting shots

Time again for the Tribeca Festival, which starts Wednesday (and runs through June 15). 

Once again, the Village East by Angelika, located on Second Avenue at 12th Street, will be a festival theater...

You can find the Festival guide here. 

Note that Village East by Angelika will resume regular movie screenings on June 17.

Thanks to the readers for the photos: 

Top: Louise and Danny 

2nd: Aron Ranen

June 2

Photo by Robert Miner 

Hope everyone is enjoying their June so far... as seen on 11th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue on this June 2...

About 'Kii – A Night to Unite,' an evening celebrating culture, resilience and community

The owners of Evil Katsu, the restaurant offering Japanese comfort food at 435 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, shared this information with us: 

Join us at The Monroe for "Kii – A Night to Unite," a special evening celebrating culture, resilience, and community. Evil Katsu is proud to partner with The Monroe and Emma's Torch to raise awareness for the ongoing Myanmar crisis and to connect the people and organizations working to make a difference. 

Our very own line cook, Kii, a refugee from Myanmar and a graduate of Emma's Torch, will curate an intimate three-course meal inspired by the rich flavors of her homeland. Kii's journey from seeking refuge to becoming a vital part of the Evil Katsu family is a testament to strength, hope, and the power of food to bring people together. 

The event takes place this Wednesday evening at 7 at The Monroe, 49 Monroe St., located across from Coleman Park in Two Bridges. 

Find tickets about the menu and tickets here.

City issues RFP for affordable housing development on 5th Street

On Thursday, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop the parking lot at 324 E. Fifth St. into "100% affordable housing."

The 9th Precinct uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles. 

Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement in the City Council's December 2021 vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning. 

According to HPD officials, nearly 400 residents completed the site questionnaire or attended the public workshop in February to share their visions and ideas for the lot. 

Per officials: "The feedback that HPD received has shaped the RFP that HPD is releasing ... will shape the eventual housing when it is built." 

HPD heard the community's ask for deeply affordable housing and a community center, childcare, or senior center on the ground floor. There was also a strong preference that the future building incorporate green space. 

The HPD also released the 324 East Fifth Street Community Visioning Report (PDF here) if you want more background on the input to date. 

You can find the RFP, which is due on Aug. 22, at this link. 

This will be a years-long project. Many phases remain before construction even starts...

Back to the HPD: 

After a proposal is selected, HPD and the development team will continue to provide regular updates to local stakeholders as the selected plan makes its way through the city's public approvals process. Once the plan receives final approval through the New York City Council, it will move forward to financing and construction.

Above credit: NYC Housing

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• More discussion on the future of the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. 5th St. 

• City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot 

Signage alert: Eim Khao Mun Kai on 2nd Avenue

Photo by Steven 

Signage went up Saturday for Eim Khao Mun Kai, a celebrated Thai-style chicken-and-rice specialist in Elmhurst, at 129 Second Ave. 

Here's an Eater take on the 11-year-old restaurant: 

Hainan, the island of China's southernmost province, is famous for its chickens, which are poached in a gingery broth and served with soy sauce. This cafe specializes in the Thai take on the birds. The leftover broth is used to cook the rice that's served with the sliced chicken ... along with some cucumber slices for contrast. A fortifying meal costs around $10.

No word on an EV opening date. 

This is the second outpost for the restaurant, with more in the works. You can follow them on Instagram here. 

Misoya closed here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place in April.

88 Coffee debuts at the Bowery Market

88 Coffee is the latest tenant to open at the Bowery Market... debuting in soft-open mode last week at the yellow and blue stand inspired by the Vietnamese city of Hội An. 

This is the first outpost for the business selling Vietnamese Coffee and bánh mì.

The brand has been a regular on Fridays at Smorgasburg Williamsburg and has done pop-ups in other locations. 

Open here on the Bowery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can follow them on Instagram here. (Photo below from @88coffeecompany.)

The Alchemist's Kitchen is another new tenant here on the Bowery and Great Jones ... joining Kettl Tea and Twig'm, purveyors of Korean street food.

Openings and closing on these 2 blocks of 1st Avenue

Acro Coffee recently debuted at 213 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

We don't know too much about them yet (their Instagram account has this slogan: "Rooted in hospitality, designed for discovery.") 

Meanwhile, next door, Sweet Cake is officially closed. A small for-rent sign is now on the storefront that has been dark for months...

This was the second outpost for the Flushing-based bakery and cafe, which serves coffee, matcha drinks, and Asian-style desserts.

The EV shop debuted last June. We last saw anyone in here in the fall, around the time an Instagram post called for investors. 

And up the block, grand-opening signage hangs at Fat Boys Burgers, 231 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.

This is the second location for the burger joint, first launched by two brothers and a cousin on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. (All three were born and raised in that neighborhood, helping out at the family-owned A&A Deli, now Healthy Market.) 

Fat Boys offers a variety of burgers (including a meatless version), fries, chopped chicken fries and shakes. Find a menu here.

Sunday's parting shot

Here's a look at the new Pride Month mural outside the Second Avenue F stop. Once again, the Dusty Rebel curated the work, a collaboration between Jason Haaf and Scooter LaForge.

On Tuesday, a District 2 City Council Candidates Forum on housing

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cooper Square Committee (@coopersquare)

Three local organizations, Cooper Square Committee, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), and This Land is Ours CLT, are co-sponsoring a District 2 City Council Candidates Forum. 

Per organizers: Find out where the candidates stand on housing issues, including rent-stabilized housing, NYCHA housing, and homelessness. Candidates will also discuss the need for more funding to preserve and develop deeply affordable housing as well as housing counseling and legal services to protect tenants' rights.

The forum is from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. Please RSVP here.

The NYC primary voting day is June 24 ... with early voting beginning on June 14. 

Questions? Visit the NYC Board of Elections website.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg)...

• Checking out the newly reopened area of East River Park (Thursday)

• Rossy's Bakery & Café to close after 15 years on 3rd Street (Tuesday) 

• Neighborhood invited to help shape the future of ABC Playground (Tuesday) 

• Packing up Sixth Street Specials (Wednesday) 

• ICYMI: In Tompkins Square Park, Amelia and her new mate welcome first brood together (Monday) 

• Here's Johnny on the Bowery (Friday) 

• Where you can get a copy of the Ray's Candy Store photo book (Sunday) 

• Flock this way: Flamingos Vintage Pound debuts on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

• Key Food new self-checkouts month in review (plus a first look at the new dessert signage) (Friday) 

• Wash Rite Laundromat has closed on 4th Street (Tuesday) 

• Upperz Cafe and Bar announces closing date on 14th Street (Wednesday) 

• Plywood up at Theatre 80 (Wednesday) 

• 'Parent Trap' parody 'Ginger Twinsies' up next at the Orpheum Theatre (Saturday) 

... and from our walk-through of the newly opened area of East River Park on Monday: A message near the Delancey Street pedestrian bridge reading "Next stop, Art Basel."

Sweep the leg, Johnny! Take in a screening of 'The Karate Kid' at First Park

The city's Movies Under the Stars series begins this week in city parks.

Around here, the only film on the summer slate is the original  "Karate Kid" (1984) — the one that proved leaving New Jersey for L.A. might not be such a great idea after all.

The classic that spawned sequels, remakes and a TV series plays at First Park, First Street at Houston, on Thursday, June 12. Movies begin at dusk or 8:30 p.m., whichever comes first. 

And there will NOT be a special section for anyone rooting for the Cobra Kai dojo. 

The Movies Under the Stars series is presented by the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and NYC Parks. Find the complete list of the mostly family-friendly summer films here.