Photo by Stacie Joy
As seen at Spooksvilla + Friends, the cool gift shop at 309 E. Ninth St. between First and Second Avenues... here's Mazyar, owner Shahrzad Ghadjar's son, who comes with a warning sign and a toothy grin.
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Noted
Thanks to EVG reader Annabelle for the pic!
About 'Gin Joint,' the Apple+ series that filmed in the East Village yesterday
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
We fielded a lot of questions about the filming in Tompkins Square Park yesterday...
Film notices pointed to a TV series called "Gin Joint." However, crew members were tight-lipped about what exactly this was.
A little digging via Deadline turned up an Apple+ series with the working title "Gin Joint" — an "upcoming untitled thriller
series created by Alex ("Homeland") Cary and starring Dakota Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård."
And!
Plot: An undercover Treasury agent (Fanning) infiltrates a massive international conglomerate and grows conflicted about her target, the corrupt corporate heir. Cast: Features Dakota Fanning, Stellan Skarsgård, Daryl McCormack and Grace Gummer.
Other working code names for the show include "Ella" and "Foxglove."
Filming yesterday took place on the closed-off multipurpose courts/TF...
The casting call for Park extras went like this:
Seeking NON-UNION to portray various park goer roles such as: Shaved Ice Vendor, Park Goers w. Dogs, People Smoking Pot, Moms, Men Playing Ping Pong, Sunbathers, Basketball players, Etc. Some of these roles will change over into diner patron/bartender/waiter roles as well later in the day.
Being very method-y, we spent the day smoking pot to prepare for the call... but fell asleep and missed the whole thing.
Also, the cast cooled their heels in some nice production trailers on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...
Above shot by EVG
Another location of the Bean closes, leaving 1 East Village outpost
Photos by Stacie Joy
And then there was one.
The Broadway location of the Bean at Ninth Street has closed, following the May shuttering of the café's Third Avenue outpost.
A 14-day eviction notice is on the front window over the closure notice...
This closure leaves just one remaining East Village location: 54 Second Ave. at Third Street.
At one point, the brand had five NYC locations.
Reminders: 'Irregular,' filmed at Sophie's, make its world premiere on Sunday
The first screening at 6 p.m. is sold out... and so organizers added a second at 8 p.m.
Directed and co-written by Sophie's bartender (and photographer and filmmaker) Kyle de Vre, the 80-minute film unfolds through a series of barroom vignettes set over random Tuesdays, populated by quirky regulars, curious newcomers and the occasional unexplained smell. (Trailer here.)
As we noted in our January Q&A with de Vre, who also plays The Bartender, "Irregular" is a love letter to both Sophie's and the East Village.
Find the screening details at this link. The Chain Theatre is at 312 W. 36th S., between Eighth and Ninth Streets.
You can revisit our January conversation with de Vre here.
Champions Martial Arts taps out on 11th and C
Photos by Stacie Joy
A recent closure to note: The Champions Martial Arts outpost on the SW corner of Avenue C and 11th Street shut down earlier last month...
The business also offered Little Tigers, a program for kids.
EVG regular Jose Garcia first told us about the closure, noting: "What was most lovely about it over these last years was the parents who would bring lawn chairs and sit on the sidewalk on the 11th Street side to watch their kids inside. They brought their dogs, too."
There are more than a dozen other locations for the brand in the metropolitan area... 80-plus in the US.
Champions Martial Arts arrived here in 2019... taking over from the New York Health Choice (aka Eastside Market): RIP 2017.
As for what is next, a reader said: "I hope it doesn't become a bar."
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Sunday in the Park
Photos by Stacie Joy
People of all ages gathered in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday afternoon as the annual Tompkins Square Riot Reunion unfolded. Here's a look at some faces in the crowd...
Buyer found for long-vacant Second Avenue development site
Photo from March by Stacie Joy
The long-vacant development site on the east side of Second Avenue between Second Street and Third Street appears to have found a buyer.
The listing from brokerage BKREA is now marked SOLD, though the transaction has not yet appeared in public property records.
As previously reported, the 14,019-square-foot parcel, which hit the market in March, offers more than 100,000 buildable square feet and has been at the center of years of stalled development plans, litigation and neighborhood concern. (See this post.)
The site was assembled by Gemini Rosemont in 2020 through the purchase of several properties, including the former Church of the Nativity.
Plans for an 11-story mixed-use development were later derailed after the Department of Buildings revoked permits following an audit prompted by complaints from neighboring property owner Robert Proto.
Gemini ultimately decided to market the assemblage for sale.
New innovation hub opens at Jacob Riis Houses
Photos by Stacie Joy
A new innovation hub officially opened this past Saturday at the Jacob Riis Houses, featuring computer and podcast labs designed to provide residents with educational and career opportunities.
The space includes desktop computers, Chromebooks, printers, podcast recording equipment, desks, chairs and conference tables.
The project was funded through a donation from Amazon to the Public Housing Community Fund. According to organizers, the Jacob Riis Houses hub is part of a $500,000 initiative to create up to 50 learning labs at NYCHA developments across the five boroughs.
Representatives from the Public Housing Community Fund, Thrive Collective, Amazon, NYCHA and the Jacob Riis Houses Resident Association joined residents for Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The 13-building Jacob Riis Houses complex spans from Sixth Street to 13th Street between Avenue D and the FDR Drive.
Signage alert: RedWhite Boneless Ramen on Allen Street
Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy
A new vegan ramen spot is preparing to open on Allen Street just south of Houston.
RedWhite Boneless Ramen specializes in vegan ramen and sushi rolls, with an all-electric kitchen (though it also has a functioning gas line).
The concept started in Japan before expanding to Boston, where it has built a following, and now makes its New York debut. (VegNews has more about the biz here.)
Chef Kei (above left) and restaurant manager Ikuma said they're aiming for a soft opening as early as Friday, with a grand opening planned for Aug. 20.
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Update: Repairs continue after water main break at 14th Street and 1st Avenue
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Work continued today at the site of yesterday afternoon's water main break at First Avenue and 14th Street, where crews have expanded the excavation area as repairs move forward.
Traffic remains restricted in the surrounding area, and the Department of Environmental Protection has set up a mobile "Water on the Go" station on 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A for residents and businesses affected by the water shutdown.
According to a DEP spokesperson:
DEP crews remain on the scene and are working with Con Edison to assess the infrastructure to make way for repairs. At this time the water is shut off for some consumers in the area, so DEP crews have set up a mobile water fountain on 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.
DEP officials said the break prompted a temporary shutdown of water service to some buildings on the east side of First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street.
The cause of the break remains under investigation.
12 injured in early-morning subway work train fire at Astor Place station
The following info comes via the @FDNY X account...At approximately 2:15 a.m. Tuesday, the FDNY responded to reports of a fire involving a four-car MTA work train at the Astor Place subway station in Manhattan.
— FDNY (@FDNY) August 4, 2026
Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke at both street and station level from the fully involved vacuum… pic.twitter.com/NxxG3I0KOG
Twelve people were injured early this morning after a fire involving a four-car MTA work train at the Astor Place station, according to the FDNY.
The FDNY said firefighters responded to the station at about 2:15 a.m., where they encountered heavy smoke from a fully involved vacuum train operating below ground.
A northbound passenger train entered the station during the fire... and was evacuated as crews battled what the FDNY described as a stubborn fire inside one of the vacuum train's filter compartments.
Officials said, 12 people were injured, including five firefighters and seven civilians.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The 4, 5 and 6 trains are now running without delays, per the MTA.
Salumeria Rosi eyes Labor Day reopening following building-related damage
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
"We had some damage from the building and we're fixing it," he said. "In fact, we're doing some nice updates to the space."
Loscalzo said the restaurant is targeting a reopening around Labor Day.
"We're not going anywhere," he said. "Everything's great with the business."
He added that Salumeria Rosi is working with the building's ownership and its insurance carrier to complete the repairs.
"We just want to be open," Loscalzo said. "We didn't want to close."
He also expressed gratitude for the neighborhood's response since the restaurant opened here in January.
"We've had such a good reception," he said. "We're really just so happy with how the project has been going so far with everybody in the neighborhood coming in for their coffee or lunch or dinner. I want people to remember us, and I want people to be excited for when we reopen."
This is the second Salumeria Rosi outpost, joining the one that opened on the UWS in 2008.
Across the Pond bringing European bakery and market to 7th Street
Photos by Derek Berg
Signage recently arrived for Across the Pond, a "European grocery store and bakery," in a lower retail space at 59 E. Seventh St. between First and Second Avenues...
The shop will serve, per its website: "Sausage rolls. Proper teas. British meal deals. Real imported European groceries."
No word on an opening date.
An Instagram post from June 22 noted:
Still a few weeks away from the full renovation, but we're working hard behind the scenes to bring the front entrance and shop to life. Every shelf, sign, and small detail is getting us one step closer. Can't wait to welcome everyone to a little taste of Europe right here in the East Village.
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