Continuing the effort to preserve Most Holy Redeemer

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

A small group gathered outside Most Holy Redeemer Church on Monday evening to call for the preservation and reopening of the historic parish at 173 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The low-key vigil, held on the eve of the first anniversary of the suspension of regular services, included neighbors, former parishioners and preservation advocates. No candles were lit as in previous vigils, though two attendees wore custom shirts in support of the church.

Several people expressed concern about the church’s finances and future. One attendee, who was married at Most Holy Redeemer, said it broke his heart to see what had become of the parish. Another declined to be photographed because she still works for the Catholic Church and feared possible repercussions. 

Organizers have said that recent actions by the Archdiocese of New York suggest the property could remain permanently closed and eventually be sold.

Parishioners, neighbors and preservationists have urged the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider the 1851 structure for landmark designation. 

Church leadership previously cited a shortage of priests and concerns about the building’s condition as reasons for moving services to St. Brigid on Avenue B. 

In January, the Department of Buildings issued a "failure to maintain" violation after an inspector observed detached ceiling plaster inside the sanctuary. 

Most Holy Redeemer has reopened only once since regular services ended — for a special Mass in January.

Find the petition about landmarking here. (And write a letter here.) You can follow the Facebook group Save Most Holy Redeemer Historical Church here.

Double Zero closes after 12 years on 2nd Avenue

A note posted to the front window of Double Zero announces that the plant-based pizza and wine bar at 65 Second Ave. at Fourth Street has permanently closed. (Thanks to the EVG reader for the photo and tip!)

The posted sign reads: 

Dear Valued Patrons, 

After 12 years in the East Village, we have made the difficult decision to close Double Zero. 

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us over the years. It has been a pleasure serving you, and we truly appreciate your loyalty, your visits, and the many memories we've shared. The restaurant industry has become increasingly challenging, with rising food and operating costs, the realities of our lease, and a broader slowdown in the plant-based dining trend making it increasingly difficult to operate sustainably. After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision that continuing Double Zero is no longer financially sustainable. 

Thank you for being part of the Double Zero family. We are grateful for every one of you and for the support you have shown us throughout these 12 years. 

Citing strong customer demand, a representative told EVG in May that Double Zero had returned under its original name. Consultant chef Matthew Kenney had also rejoined the operation. 

Double Zero and Bar Verde merged in early 2025 to form Plant Made, which served vegan pizzas and Mexican fare. Double Zero later reopened in the storefront next to its original space. 

The vegan pizzeria debuted in 2016 as 00 + Co., part of Kenney's plant-based hospitality portfolio.

Salumeria Rosi sets reopening dates on Avenue B

Photo from August by Stacie Joy 

Salumeria Rosi will reopen its cafe on Tuesday, Sept. 8, followed by the restaurant on Friday, Sept. 11.

The Northern Italian restaurant at 222 Avenue B between 13th and 14th Streets has been closed since early July following severe weather and flooding. 

As previously reported, owner Andrew Loscalzo said the building sustained damage that required structural repairs.

Later this month, Salumeria Rosi, which debuted in January, plans to remain open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with music and a late-night menu.

In search of a monk parakeet

Photos by Steven 

Several local birdwatchers received a tip earlier last week about a monk parakeet in Tompkins Square Park. 

The search party found the bird late in the afternoon near the chess tables. It later perched on a light pole at Avenue A and Sixth Street, where this photo was taken.

This isn't believed to be an escaped pet. Monk parakeets have established wild colonies around New York City, including a well-known group living in the Gothic Arch at Green-Wood Cemetery.

Mayor Mamdani joins Lower East Side tribute to Chino Garcia at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A packed St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery hosted a memorial service Saturday afternoon for longtime Lower East Side activist Carlos “Chino” Garcia. 

Before the service, Mayor Zohran Mamdani met privately with Garcia's family, the Revs. Anne-Marie Witchger and Amanda Hambrick, and David Soto. 

He later addressed the gathering, speaking about Garcia's life, family and decades of community work — and the responsibility of carrying that legacy forward.

After his remarks, Mamdani spent time greeting and comforting Garcia's loved ones and other attendees.

The afternoon also included remarks from elected officials and community members, along with a slideshow, music, food and fellowship. 

Among those attending here on Second Avenue and 10th Street were actor and LES native Luis Guzmán, former City Councilmember Margarita López, Councilmember Harvey Epstein and many longtime residents.

Garcia, who died on July 24 at age 80, co-founded CHARAS and was a pioneering neighborhood organizer. 

His decades of work included housing advocacy, sweat-equity rehabilitation, community gardens, environmental initiatives, the arts and the continuing campaign to preserve the former P.S. 64 for use as a community center.

886 has closed on St. Mark's Place

886 closed last night (Aug. 31) after eight years at 26 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

Owners Eric Sze and Andy Chuang announced the closure in an Instagram post. No official reason was given. 

The lively Taiwanese restaurant debuted in 2018 with a mix of traditional dishes and playful creations, including the sausage party — pork sausage wrapped in sticky rice — and a fried chicken sandwich inspired by the McDonald's version Sze ate while growing up in Taiwan. 

The owners' Greenpoint restaurant, Wenwen, remains open.

Monday's parting shots

Sometimes we have answers. Other times, we just take photos.

As seen today on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

6 posts from August

A mini month in review... with an obvious dog days of summer look via Stacie Joy... 

• For Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, a family story comes to the East Village (Aug. 26) 

• Long-vacant 2nd Avenue site is under contract for $57M (Aug. 25) 

• An East Village swimmer completes open-water swimming's Triple Crown (Aug. 20) 

• "A Dream Task": Inside Nico Lou's new Mutt Library at Hancock Cafe (Aug. 19) 

• Roadway dining gets a year-round seat at the table (Aug. 18) 

• NY Copy Print & Ship Center has closed after 34 years on 7th Street (Aug. 3)

Rally this evening to preserve and reopen Most Holy Redeemer Church

Neighbors are coming together this (Monday) evening to rally and call for the preservation and reopening of Most Holy Redeemer Church, 173 E. Third St., between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The rally begins at 6 p.m. on the eve of the first anniversary of the church's suspension of regular services. 

Organizers say recent moves by the Archdiocese of New York suggest the property may be permanently closed and eventually sold, raising concerns about the future of the 1851 structure. 

As previously reported, parishioners, neighbors and preservationists have urged the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider the church for landmark designation. 

Church leadership previously cited a shortage of priests and concerns about the building's condition as reasons for shifting services to St. Brigid on Avenue B. 

In January, the Department of Buildings issued a “failure to maintain” violation after an inspector observed a section of detached plaster ceiling inside the sanctuary. 

Most Holy Redeemer has reopened only once since services ended last year, for a special Mass in January.

Find the petition about landmarking here. (And write a letter here.) You can follow the Facebook group Save Most Holy Redeemer Historical Church here.

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• At what may be the final Mass at Most Holy Redeemer

• At the prayer vigil for Most Holy Redeemer 

• Push continues to landmark East Village's historic Most Holy Redeemer 

• Most Holy Redeemer to halt regular masses this fall amid uncertainty about its future

• Grassroots effort to preserve Most Holy Redeemer grows with weekly vigils

Elected officials push to keep AMC Kips Bay 15 open

Here's an update on the pending closure of the AMC Kips Bay 15 at 31st Street and Second Avenue.

Assemblymember Keith Powers said his office confirmed that NYU Langone purchased the parcel that includes the movie theater and Fairway Market about a year ago, PIX11 reported.

NYU Langone has not publicly disclosed its plans for the property. The future of Fairway is also unclear. 

This last Thursday, Powers and six other local elected officials sent a letter asking NYU Langone to meet with them and discuss ways to keep the theater open. The group includes Rep. Jerry Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, City Councilmember Harvey Epstein, and other city and state representatives.

The officials criticized NYU Langone for keeping residents in the dark and called on it to disclose its development plans. They also urged the health system to preserve AMC and Fairway, limit its expansion into commercial corridors and allow public review of any land-use or rezoning proposals.
 

Kips Bay update; We have confirmed that NYU Langone now owns the site at 570 Second Avenue in Kips Bay and has for about a year.

Along with my partners in government, I have written to NYU Langone requesting a dialogue with our offices and the community. pic.twitter.com/wFCALN2YfI

— Keith Powers (@KeithPowersNYC) August 27, 2026

As previously reported, AMC said the 15-screen theater, which opened in 1999 under the Loews umbrella, will operate through the end of the year before closing because the property owner exercised its contractual right to terminate the lease early. 

A formal closing date has not been announced.

The site's movie-theater history dates to 1962. According to Cinema Treasures, the original one-screen Kips Bay Theatre opened that October with "Requiem for a Heavyweight." 

Known for its large screen, 70mm presentations and curtains that opened and closed before each film, the theater shut down in January 1994. The surrounding strip mall was later demolished to make way for the current multiplex and adjacent storefronts.

A resident-led Save Kips Bay campaign and petition are also calling for the theater — the only AMC with an IMAX screen on Manhattan's East Side — to remain open. 

Petition link here.

Sunday's parting shots

As seen during the move-out weekend on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

EVG reader Eve Smith shared these photos, and showed admirable restraint in NOT opening the lid... which seems like it could be the beginning of the next film by Kane Parsons...

Why we won’t have coverage of today’s Charlie Parker Jazz Festival

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival takes place this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. 

Although EVG applied for press credentials for backstage access, as we have in previous years, organizers declined our request, saying they had reached capacity. 

Given the festival’s location on our home turf — and our past coverage of the event — the decision is disappointing and a little puzzling. 

As a result, we will not have coverage from today’s festival — save for these set-up pics — and will reassess our coverage in future years.

EV Grieve's East Village Week in Review

Posts this past week included (with a marquee pic from Webster Hall on 11th Street by Stacie Joy) ...

• Long-vacant 2nd Avenue site is under contract for $57M (Aug. 25) 

• Closing credits for AMC Kips Bay 15 (Aug. 25) 

• For Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, a family story comes to the East Village (Aug. 26) 

• Post postpones closure — "going to outlive all of you!!" (Aug. 24) 

• Sidewalk sheds may be getting a little less permanent (Aug. 24) 

• Indie rock trio pops up in Tompkins Square Park! (Aug. 29) 

• Ravi Coltrane headlines the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 28) 

• From parking to housing: NoHo lot clears major hurdle for 210 new apartments (Aug. 24) 

• Remembering Tim Curry (Aug. 26)

• Special guest correspondent Ali Royals files this report on a Citi Bike pursuit and a fistfight in the middle of Avenue A (Aug. 28) 

• Signs of the Bike Boulevard on Avenue B (Aug. 26) 

• Ankara ends its run on Houston and Orchard (Aug. 27) 

• East Village Queer Film Festival marks 10 years (Aug. 25) 

• A summer afternoon on Avenues for Justice Way (Aug. 25) 

• Mimi Cheng's wraps up 12 years in the East Village next month (Aug. 26) 

• Brazilian restaurant iara bringing Amazon-inspired menu to Allen Street (Aug. 27) 

• Why you'll be seeing a lot of Harry Styles fans in the East Village over the next few months (Aug. 26) 

• We'll always have 14th Street (Aug. 26) 

• Last call for Chopt on Astor Place (Aug. 24) 

• TerraCut to open reformer Pilates studio on East Houston Street (Aug. 27) 

And on Tuesday night, the Empire State Building was lit up in a bright pink sparkle at 9:25 p.m. to honor Dolly Parton... here's a view from Union Square courtesy of EVG reader Deborah Kadetsky...

Cold comfort at Le Petit Versailles

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

We stopped by Le Petit Versailles yesterday afternoon for "Melt Ice Melt," an all-day program at the community garden on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

The centerpiece was Robert Ladislas Derr's "All That Is Solid Melts Into Air" — an ice bench that visitors were invited to sit on as it slowly melted.

Participants were asked to describe the experience on camera and see how long they could remain seated. The record stood at just over three minutes when we were there.

We asked two participants how it felt. Both offered the same understandable assessment: "It's cold." 

Derr joined the event by live video, and the afternoon included a Know Your Rights training focused on protections against ICE. 

The program concluded with a screening of Katherine Liberovskaya's "Ice-Out SP," accompanied by David Watson on live electric guitar.

Check out the garden venue's website for more cool events.

Tow story

Photo by Stacie Joy

We spotted this tow truck on First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue the other day, with the back end devoted to scenes from the 1993 film "A Bronx Tale." 

Which naturally got us thinking about what we'd (hypothetically) put on our own tow truck. (We do not own a tow truck.) 

We landed on 1957's "Sweet Smell of Success," with a pic of J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) and Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis)... with the quote, "I love this dirty town."

Feel free to share what you would want detailed on the back of your tow truck. (You don't need to own one either.)

Saturday's parting shot

Annual screening of "Desperately Seeking Susan"... 

 • Previously on EV Grieve: 

Q-&-A with Susan Seidelman, director of 'Smithereens' and 'Desperately Seeking Susan'

A special pop up in Tompkins Square Park yesterday

Photos by Stacie Joy 

To celebrate the release of their 13th studio album, There Near (released yesterday), Dinosaur Jr. have been playing a series of smaller venues and pop-up shows around the city. 

After a Thursday evening appearance at Lucinda's on Avenue A, the trio turned up in Tompkins Square Park yesterday afternoon for a free surprise show presented by Show Brain and Fender. 

The concert was first announced on Instagram around 10 a.m. 

Despite some later rumors that it wasn’t going to happen, J Mascis, Murph and Lou Barlow took their places (no stage!) and delivered a short, tight set.

The band will move on to larger venues for its 2027 tour. 

And now, J Mascis and friends, as they were announced...

After the set, Mascis quickly left Tompkins... but we did find a happy Lou Barlow and longtime drummer Murph...