Friday, March 6, 2026
Friday's parting shot
A band playing New Colossus Festival: Welcome Strawberry
The 2026 edition of the New Colossus Festival is entering the weekend stretch at local music venues. Details here.
In recent weeks, our Fridays at 5 video clip features a band playing at the festival. (And there are more than 190 in total!)
Here are the Oakland, Calif.-based dream popsters Welcome Strawberry with "Desperate Flower."
Catch them at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow at Arlene's Grocery or Francis Kite Club at 7 p.m.
HBD Flower Power
Photos by William Klayer
A happy 32nd birthday to Flower Power, 406 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ...
EV Grieve among 3 finalists for ‘Outstanding NYC Website’
The GANYC has nominated EVG for a 2026 GANYC Apple Award in the "Outstanding NYC Website." We're honored to be included in the mix.
The other nominees are Little Kid Big City ... and the awesome OLDNYC. (WARNING: Only click on the OLDNYC link if you want to spend the entire weekend looking at historical photos of NYC by street. So addictive!)
The awards ceremony is on Monday evening.
Scenes from night 3 of the New Colossus Festival
Photos by Stacie Joy
Above: Suburban Speed at Ki Smith Gallery
The New Colossus Festival, the six-day celebration of independent music from around the world, is now underway across 10-plus venues in the East Village and Lower East Side.
We fanned out last night to catch a handful of bands, including ... the '90s alt-punk of the Brooklyn-based Dutch Kills at Niagara...
...the Jump Cuts from West Palm Beach, Fla., at Berlin Under A...
Then it was off to see EVG faves Suburban Speed on the small stage at Ki Smith Gallery...
Yes, the idea is to discover new music among the festival's 190 bands. However, we're still partial to the cinematic atmospherics of Suburban Speed, who have added a cornet, kazoo and empty Smirnoff bottle to their instrumental lineup. (They're playing Pianos at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Yes, p.m.)
... and we ended the evening at the Parkside Lounge ... first with Chicago weirdos Heet Deth...
... and also from Chicago, Bussy Kween Power Trip...
Back at it today/tonight.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Friday's opening shot
Or something else (behold the fake photo wonders of Gemini AI... with apologies to the cast of "The Thing")...
Thursday, March 5, 2026
LPC OKs church-to-residential conversion on 7th Street
As previously reported here, the proposal called for converting the existing structure into a mixed-use building with eight residential units (presumably condos), along with a two-story vertical enlargement above the current roofline and nearly 2,400 square feet of community facility space.
According to New York YIMBY, who first reported on the LPC decision, the redesign includes modifications to the entrance and windows, stepped gables along the roofline, and restoration work on the masonry façade, including the bell tower.
The property is within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District and requires LPC approval.
The building has a long history, per Daytonian in Manhattan. No. 121 began as a house in 1843. In 1902, the Hungarian Reformed Church purchased the property and hired architect Frederick Ebeling to convert it into a church, adding a central bell tower characteristic of a Hungarian country church. The building was consecrated in 1903.
In 1961, when St. Mary's American Orthodox Greek Catholic Church purchased the property, the congregation modernized the structure by encasing the original stone façade in "Naturestone," an artificial material — a change that preservationists have long lamented.
Here's what it looked like in 1910, nine years after people first declared the neighborhood "dead."
The church was most recently used by CityLight Church.
The Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese sold the building for $2.8 million last June to an LLC, per city records.
Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices officially reopening for the season tomorrow (Friday!) on Avenue A
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Ralph's Famous Italian Ices and Ice Cream on Avenue A at Ninth Street will open for the season tomorrow (March 6).
Yesterday, we spotted Rich, the franchise owner, stocking the shop and getting the space ready for opening day.
Two passersby stopped, hoping for an early taste — and Rich obliged, handing out a few raspberry scoops on the house.
"When Ralph's opens, it's a sign spring is around the corner," Rich said.
Yes, please. Team EVG is more than ready to move on from the snow and cold.
Comings and goings on this block of 1st Avenue (and wither Tropic Berry)
The gate has been down at Tropic Berry, the cafe serving smoothies, acai bowls and coffee, for the past few weeks (H/T Nat!).
There's no word of a closure, temporary or otherwise, on the cafe's website or social media. Google still lists them as open during hours in which the gate remains down.
However, there was a "short-notice" online auction here last month, where much of the shop's appliances and supplies were sold.
A few storefronts away, New Mott Cleaners is now open (first mentioned here) ...
And finally, there's paper on the windows of that long-closed convenience store.
There were various legal notices on the front door last fall... and someone apparently did a number on the interior, which was visible from the sidewalk for several months... (photos by Steven)...
Previously on EV Grieve: 
Signage alert: Molly's Coffee House on St. Mark's Place
We mentioned this pending arrival in December after Chocolate DIP shuttered.
Anyway, we still haven't found out any more info on the space, which looks quite nice TBH.
This will be the latest coffee option along the SMP corridor... Square Coffee just debuted a block to the east at 81 St. Mark's Place. And you know all the other shops around.
Another UPS Store for the neighborhood
This will be the third one in the immediate area, joining 108 First Ave. (b/t Sixth and Seventh) and 32 Third Ave. (b/t Ninth and 10th).
No word on an opening, though the location is now on the UPS site...
Good news for anyone who lives nearby with a growing pile of return labels.
H/T Vinny & O
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Paying tribute to the founder of Tokio7 on 7th Street
In a message posted on Tokio7's Instagram account, staff reflected on Watanabe's decades-long presence in the store he opened in 1996 on the south side of the block. (They moved to this side of Seventh in 2010.)
"From that day on, he rarely stepped away," the post reads. "Year after year, he was here, unlocking the door, straightening the racks, watching over the floor, speaking quietly with customers. He didn't just run this store. He carried it."
The shop became a fixture of the East Village fashion scene and a workplace for many people starting out in New York.
"For many of us, as immigrants trying to find our place in New York, this store became our home," the post continues. "It was where we found stability when everything else felt uncertain. Where we learned how to stand on our own."
Staff said they plan to carry on Watanabe's legacy at the shop.
"Makoto created more than a business. He created a place where people could begin again."
Read the full post below...
[Updated] Comings and goings on this block of 2nd Avenue
As we noted, this will be the first Manhattan outpost from the market, which has two outposts in Brooklyn and one in Astoria. They offer a variety of Japanese snacks, as well as in-house-made sushi.
Posted hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (All sushi is 50% off after 8 p.m.)
Meanwhile, a few storefronts to the south, the 16 Handlies location has closed. We mentioned this on Jan. 12. The froyo brand is expected to open a few blocks to the south.
And in the other storefront in the 6-floor residential building, the Cooper Still closed after service on Saturday... black trash bags now adorn the front windows... (photo by Steven)...
There's no mention of a closure, temporary or otherwise, on the door... or the tavern's website. Google still shows them as being open — even when they are not.
According to a sign on the front door of 16 Handles, ownership was unable to reach a renewal agreement with the newish landlord here.
Updated 5 p.m.
Thanks to Gar and others... Cooper Still today posted an Instagram Story today about a temporary closure for some painting and upgrades...
Soft openings: Square Coffee on St. Mark's Place
This is the second outpost for Square, which opened in Borough Park a few years back. You can read more about the shop here.
Their current hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, with an 8 a.m. start on Saturday and Sunday.
Kuppi Coffee Company was the last tenant here at 131 First Ave. (aka 82 St. Mark's Place)... closing in August 2024 after a year in business.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Tuesday's parting shot
Noted
Photo by Robert Miner
As seen today on the SE corner of First Avenue and 11th Street... and, coincidentally, one block to the south of this alleged incident that made the rounds on Citizen yesterday...
The New Colossus Festival returns this week for its biggest year yet
Photos and interview by Stacie Joy
What began in 2019 as a modest indie-rock showcase has evolved into a sprawling, nearly weeklong, multi-venue celebration of 190 bands from around the world.
Ahead of Tuesday's kick-off, we asked the three founders about the festival's growth, identity, and future. (Find band, ticket and venue info here.)
Mike Bell...
Lio Kanine ...
Steven Matrick...
New Colossus has expanded to six days this year, with more venues taking part. What's driving that growth?
Lio Kanine: The simple answer is that the demand is there. People are excited to come to NYC and spend a full week here seeing cool new/up-and-coming bands. It just proves to us that live music is still valued and an important part of life. And there are so many amazing new bands that we needed more days to give them room to perform.
How would you describe the festival's identity to someone who's never been?
Steven Matrick: The New Colossus Festival is the most meticulously curated of all the showcase festivals. Simply put, we don't book bands as favors to people, and we insist on using our ears to figure out who plays. We also like to keep it to Indie Rock bands. Indie Rock as a genre is actually pretty wide open, as you can hear when you put on the festival playlist. So yeah, I would tell them you can see 100 bands and love them all. That's a pretty incredible thing.
Mike Bell: The festival is a highly curated "sampler" of live music from around the world. The emerging artists we book are based on whose sound we love. The festival exists for the artists first and foremost. This is a showcase event, and its purpose is to help artists grow their careers by being seen and heard by the music industry and new fans. Secondly, the festival is for fans and centered on the live-music discovery experience. For both artists and fans, we aim to create a sense of community by keeping things close and accessible.
Kanine: I view TNC Festival as a music-discovery platform. The people who come to TNC are huge music nerds who love seeing and hearing about new bands. It is exciting to be able to see something incredible in a small room with like-minded people.
When you come to TNC, you not only see great live bands but also get the opportunity to make new friends, as the majority of people who come will have similar tastes as you. And that is a rare thing to find in this day and age.
Why is the Lower East/East Village the right home for this festival?
Kanine: Great pizza on every corner.
Plus, it's just exciting to be able to walk around the streets of LES and know that is where The Strokes, Television, Ramones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Walkmen, New York Dolls, Interpol, etc. all hung out and played.
Matrick: The Lower East Side and East Village are so important to the history of music in NYC and the history of music in general. The music scene seems to keep moving east over the years, from the East Village to the Lower East Side to Williamsburg, to Bushwick, to Bed Stuy, to Ridgewood.
It is super important for us to have a week of music back on the Lower East Side and welcome 190 bands from all over the world to play at these historic venues where many legendary bands got their start. It's also geographically awesome how close all the venues are to one another.
Bell: For nearly 200 years, the Lower East Side not only welcomed immigrants from all over the world but also served as the cradle of numerous music genres and greats in the pop, jazz, folk, and indie scenes.
Kanine: The Shoegaze party is my favorite event of the year. I have dreams about it year-round. It's a magical all-day event that only happens once a year. [March 7 at Arlene's Grocery.]
Matrick: Lio and I both throw awesome label parties (Kanine and Dedstrange). I spend the year finding punk rock bands to come and play the Dedstrange day party at Pianos on Saturday, March 7.
We've also begun presenting stages around the world in Berlin at the 8MM Festival, Rotterdam at Left of the Dial, and in Reykjavik at Iceland Airwaves. All three of those festivals are presenting stages and artists at this year's festival, which is certainly a great way for us to expand.
Bell: It's hard to say! My tastes tend to lean toward music that makes me want to move my body. There are many of those on the playlist, and they are the artists I'm most excited to see. There is a shift in the panel programming that I am especially excited about. We are focusing on communities within cities. Building community is more important these days.
Has the mission shifted at all since the first edition?
Kanine: To keep it indie and fun was my mission from the start, and it is still my mission.
Matrick: Absolutely. We were originally thinking of being an add-on to SXSW, and now we're really our own thing. We only have 20 out of 190 bands playing both, and I think people probably prefer coming to NYC to going to Texas, where things are pretty politically dodgy, even if Austin is kind of the exception to that. The mission itself, though, is to give exposure to artists from all over the world in Manhattan, and that has remained remarkably consistent.
Bell: No. The mission has always been to support emerging artists from around the world and expose them to the U.S. market.
Matrick: Hmmm. We really love what we're doing and presenting. I think the thing I'm most happy about is that we're adding partnerships every year. We have 31 partners out of about 60 shows.
I'd love it if, in five years, we had, say, 100 partners on 100 shows, and that tons of labels, agencies, and PR companies were actually competing to host stages with us.
We are getting there. This year we have more labels throwing parties: Crafted Sounds, Ernest Jenning and À La Carte Records as well as the festivals I mentioned earlier, international showcase presenters like FOCUS Wales, The Spanish Wave, and Nordic Next, media partners like Exclaim!, Bands do BK, Opposite Marco, God Is In The TV, Radio Free Brooklyn, and more.
Kanine: As long as people still appreciate and love live music, we'll be here. I'd love to see our new Mayor at some of our showcases, watching the international bands and making friends with people from all over the world, sharing tacos and beers.
Here's when the East Village's newest grocery store opens
The soft opening takes place on March 13, with the official debut on March 14.
Day 1 activities include samples, giveaways, and entertainment for kids.
According to the Metro Acres Instagram account, the store will feature a "state-of-the-art" deli counter, a salad bar, and a "chef-driven" hot buffet with what they describe as unique, high-quality ingredients. A "Fresh to Go" section will offer handmade and gourmet grab-and-go options, all prepared daily on-site.
The space is also expected to include a full-service meat department and additional grocery offerings.
Also, the heavily tagged outdoor scene that arrived in 2013 on the building's exterior was painted over...
Previously on EV Grieve:
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