Saturday, October 24, 2026
Report: Landlord of 1st Avenue building with Michael Jackson murals faces foreclosure
An East Village landlord is facing foreclosure on his building at 180 First Ave... on the SE corner of 11th Street. (On the far left above.) According to Crain's New York Business, investors in a $7.1 million mortgage allege that owner Moshe Khoshkheraman has not made a loan payment since May.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court seeks to force an auction of the five-story building with the Michael Jackson murals on the north-facing wall, which arrived here in 2018.
The lawsuit also alleges that Khoshkheraman refused to allow an investor-appointed inspector into the building in September, another condition of default under the loan agreement.
Crain's reports that state housing records show none of the building's apartments are rent-stabilized. A renovated one-bedroom apartment last rented for approximately $3,600 a month in June.
Khoshkheraman has acquired several properties in recent years, including 51 E. Houston St., home to Milano's, the 146-year-old bar near Mott Street.
The foreclosure action concerns only 180 First Ave. The report indicates no indication that Milano's or its building is affected.
How you can get a copy of the latest East Village Vintage Clothing Map
The owners of East Village Vintage Collective, located at 545 E. 12th St., between Avenue A and Avenue B, started the map more than 10 years ago.
You can pick up a free map at the shop... or online here... and support your local vintage shops!
Something wicked this way books: The LES Halloween Bookstore Crawl returns today
Organizers are promising (in no particular order): Prizes! Costume contests! Giveaways! Scary good discounts!
• Afterword Bookshop, 216 E. Sixth St., between Second Avenue and Cooper Square
• Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, 28 E. Second St., between First and Second Avenue
• Book Club Bar, 197 E. Third St., between Avenue A and B
• Pillow-Cat Books, 328 E. Ninth St., between First and Second Avenue
• Sweet Pickle Books, 47 Orchard St., between Grand and Hester
• Village Works, 12 St. Mark's Place, between Second and Third Avenue
• Yu & Me Books, 44 Mulberry St., between Bayard and Worth
Check with the individual shops for hours and participating specials.
'LAND BACK in Cities' exhibition continues on 6th Street
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The 10-day exhibition "LAND BACK in Cities" continues on Sixth Street, featuring projects focused on Indigenous sovereignty and the return of ancestral lands in urban settings.
The exhibition brings together Indigenous and settler activists, architects, designers, artists and community organizations from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Through maps, films, visual art, oral histories and community-led projects, the exhibition explores efforts to restore Indigenous self-determination and environmental stewardship.
The show continues at 238 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square through Tuesday (Oct. 27). Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and noon to 7 p.m. Friday through Monday.
Find more information and related programming at the exhibition website.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Forever now
Here's a great new single from Nabihah Iqbal, a musician, writer and DJ from London who also lives in the East Village.
As she explained, "It's a song about the happiness of friendship, and it really is about all my best friends and all the good times now and forever!"
Catch her live next Saturday night (Oct. 31!) at Night Club 101 on Avenue A.
And keep an eye out for more new music as she recently signed with a new label, Ghostly.
The Earth School hosts its Fall Fair on Saturday (tomorrow!)
The community event will feature games, crafts, a bounce house, food, music and a rummage sale.
"We're excited to have a fun-filled day with our community and are hoping to have lots of neighbors stop by," a parent told us.
The fair is open to everyone in the neighborhood.
Remembering Rose Friedman, East Village resident and NPR editor
Friedman, an accomplished labor historian and arts and culture editor for NPR, fought for and won a major increase in paid parental leave for her co-workers in the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Rose worked on dozens of stories with an abiding interest in food, books and workers' struggles. She also covered the Harvey Weinstein trial in Lower Manhattan for the network.
Rose is survived by her partner, Andrew, and her children, Pepi and Lotte.
She was a partisan of the neighborhood's eclectic food and drink culture and was often found out along Avenue C, especially at ABC Beer Co., where an informal gathering will celebrate her life on Sunday (Oct. 25) at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests tipping your bartenders double.
ABC Beer Co. is at 96 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
Repairs planned for Tompkins Square Park's pothole-filled paths
During Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee meeting last Thursday evening (Oct. 15), Steve Simon, chief of staff for the Manhattan borough office of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, said funding is available for several pathway projects.
Simon said money secured through Councilmember Harvey Epstein will support repairs to the park's paths, with work likely beginning on the west side.
He also confirmed that funding is already in the budget to redo the Ninth Street transverse, the east-west pathway through the park.
The project had been planned several years ago but was postponed while the Parks Department prioritized construction of the new field house, completed in April 2025.
Simon also mentioned plans to install synthetic turf in the park's large dog run.
No exact timeline was provided for the pathway improvements or the dog run project.
A slide provided during the meeting shows the paths "completed by 2028"... and the dog run next year.
La Plaza Cultural celebrates 50 years on Saturday
The festivities include opening remarks from 2 to 3 p.m. by Ross Martin, the garden's landscape coordinator and former executive director, Alejandro Torres of Loisaida Inc. and Charles King of LUNGS.
Food and music will continue throughout the afternoon.
Admission is free, with donations welcome.
At 8:30 p.m., the garden will screen a documentary currently in production about La Plaza Cultural's evolution over the decades. The film covers the garden's recovery from Hurricane Sandy, the construction of its solar pavilion and pond, and other chapters in its history.
Find more details on the La Plaza Cultural website.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black takes over Tompkins Square Park Saturday
The show runs from 2-6 p.m.
On Sunday afternoon, there's a Punk in the Park extravaganza...
Halloween at Key
Photos by Stacie Joy
If you've ventured into Key Food on Avenue A and Fourth Street lately, you’ve likely noticed management has gone full throttle this Halloween season.
Skeletons, ghastly specters (our fave!), and assorted plastic horrors are currently dangling above the checkout lanes and aisles.
The decorations are so extensive that the self-checkout area has somehow become less terrifying... (we kid, because we love)...
... and a view from the office...
Here’s hoping the store soundtrack keeps pace with the decor. Leading up to Oct. 31, we're hoping for a rotation of "Thriller," "Ghostbusters," and Rockwell’s "(I Always Feel Like) Somebody's Watching Me," with a little Ministry or Siouxsie and the Banshees tossed in... maybe even Mötley Crüe's "Shout at the Devil"?
City-funded pet food program comes to 3 East Village pantries
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The Father's Heart Ministries on 11th Street between Avenues A and B has added something new to its food pantry: free food for dogs and cats.
We recently visited the longtime organization at 543-545 E. 11th St., between Avenue A and Avenue B, where executive director Marian Hutchins showed us around the pantry and explained how their pantry program works.
Instead of handing out prepacked bags of groceries, the pantry lets visitors choose the food they want and take what they need. Information is available in English, Spanish and Chinese.
The organization also prepares breakfast on-site, with a space for visitors to sit and eat.
The new pet food offering includes dry food for dogs and cats, but no wet food ... available every Saturday from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
The pet food is part of a new citywide initiative that began on Monday, making free dog and cat food available at 22 city-funded food pantries across the five boroughs.
The city has allocated $500,000 for the program to help New Yorkers struggling to feed their pets.
Three participating pantries are in the East Village:
• The Father's Heart Ministries: 543-545 E. 11th St.
• The Lower Eastside Girls Club: 402 E. Eighth St., between Avenues C and D
• Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH): 602 E. Ninth St. at Avenue B
While the Father's Heart has already begun distributing pet food, Trinity is still awaiting its first delivery.
"I just talked with our executive director Alex Lawrence, and he said that our delivery is coming later in the month," Pastor Will told EVG. "It's an exciting program and we're happy to be a part of it, especially with our proximity to the dog run and the dog community."
The initiative is part of the city's broader expansion of food assistance. The Mamdani administration and City Council have allocated $78 million for food distribution in fiscal year 2027 through the Community Food Connection program, which supports more than 700 food pantries citywide.
The additional $500,000 for pet food is intended to help residents care for their animals without having to give them up because of financial hardship.
Soup for a good cause on Sunday
Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy
Hearth and Brodo are hosting "Soup for Good," a walk-around soup tasting event on Sunday, with proceeds benefiting Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH).
The event will feature soups from chefs and restaurants across downtown Manhattan, allowing attendees to sample a variety of offerings while supporting a neighborhood organization.
SAFH operates a soup kitchen and food pantry at 602 E. Ninth St. at Avenue B.
Tickets are $55 per person, with entry times at noon and 2 p.m. All proceeds will benefit SAFH.
Hearth is at 403 E. 12th St. and First Avenue.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
A finishing touch for the 6-story Basquiat mural on the Bowery
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The six-story Jean-Michel Basquiat mural at the Bowery and Great Jones Street is now complete.
Artist Owen Dippie signed the work yesterday, marking the end of a project that began in mid-September.
The mural pays tribute to Basquiat, who lived and worked nearby at 57 Great Jones St.
Both Dippie and his wife, Erin, who helped bring the project together, described the day as an emotional one, marking the culmination of years of work. The two paid for the project out of their own pocket.
Previously on EV Grieve:
CB3 committee backs major overhaul of Tompkins Square Park recreation area
Photos by Stacie Joy
Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee voted Thursday evening to support the most extensive of three proposals to renovate the recreation area in Tompkins Square Park.
The committee backed Option 1, which calls for a new in-ground pool to replace the current mini-pool, renovated basketball courts, replacement of the existing fitness equipment, and a resurfaced recreation area.
The committee also requested that the existing half basketball court near the fitness area along Avenue B be preserved.
The overall project has a $9.93 million budget, including $6.1 million from Gov. Kathy Hochul's NY SWIMS grant program and $3.83 million in city funding. (The new pool funding was announced in August 2024.)
Construction for Option 1 is expected to take approximately 18 months. The second option had a two-year timeline with a phased-in work approach. The third option was to leave the current fitness area as is.
The Oct. 15 vote followed Parks' presentation of three renovation options and a public discussion dominated by concerns from members of the park's calisthenics community.
Longtime users have pushed to preserve the decades-old pull-up bars, parallel bars, and other fitness equipment, questioning whether replacements would offer the same functionality and durability. (Read more about that here.)
Parks officials said they have adjusted the plans in response to those concerns. The department plans to use a 3D scan of the existing fitness area to help recreate its layout. The revised design would also include more pull-up and parallel bars than originally proposed, along with equipment intended to meet accessibility standards.
Those changes have not resolved all the objections.
The committee's vote is a recommendation, not a final decision. The proposal now goes before the full Community Board 3 on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at P.S. 20, 166 Essex St.
Meanwhile, opposition continues ahead of the full board vote. Flyers went up around the park this week objecting to the proposed changes ...
The group asks the board to reject all three renovation options and have Parks develop a less disruptive plan that emphasizes repairs and maintenance.
Flyers posted around Tompkins Square Park this week direct residents to a new website, Save Tompkins Square Park, organized by park users and neighbors.
Under the heading "Repair, don't demolish," the group argues that the existing fitness equipment and basketball courts should be repaired rather than replaced. The organizers support upgrading the pool, improving accessibility and repairing the courts and fitness-area surfaces, but oppose a lengthy closure of the entire recreation area.
The website also raises concerns about the proposed changes to a shaded courtyard used by delivery workers and questions whether the planned reconstruction is necessary.
Organizers are urging residents to contact elected officials, sign a petition that they say has more than 2,600 signatures and attend the Oct. 27 full CB3 meeting.
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