Monday, February 16, 2026
Monday's parting shots
ICYMI: Underground Railroad safe house found at the Merchant’s House Museum
The Merchant's House Museum is at 29 E. Fourth St. between the Bowery and Lafayette.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Watching the East Village in 'Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette'
The nine-part series from executive producer Ryan Murphy follows the couple from their early-1990s courtship to their deaths in 1999.
As scenes were filmed in the East Village, we watched the first episode, in which the two are shown on a date at Panna II, the longtime Indian restaurant at 93 First Ave. at Sixth Street.
The scene was actually filmed inside the familiar glow of the dining room. (Panna II, meanwhile, continues its real-life run as one of the surviving restaurants at the address once shared with Royal Bangladesh and Milon.)
Whether that dinner actually happened there is unclear. Biographers place their first meeting in 1992 at Calvin Klein, where Bessette worked, and their early outings elsewhere before officially dating in 1994. An AI search tells us, "The scene of them dining at the string-light-adorned Indian restaurant Panna II is a depicted, and likely dramatized, moment." (And they were known to eat at more stylish places.)
There are a few other creative liberties around here (though Panna II has long been part of the city's restaurant lore).
Also in the first episode, 48 Stuyvesant St., the photogenic seven-story building at 10th Street, stands in for Bessette's actual East Village apartment building around the corner on Second Avenue. (She started living in the EV in 1989.)
We'll see more of the neighborhood in upcoming episodes.
Readers may recall the production filming around the East Village last summer (here, here and here), spotting cast members Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon as Kennedy and Bessette. (Pics below in Tompkins Square Park by Stacie Joy.)
The project has drawn criticism from within the Kennedy family. John Kennedy Jr.'s nephew, Jack Schlossberg, said last year that the series profits off his family "in a grotesque way."
Early reviews have been solid — the series currently holds an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Our viewing experience involved saying "this is really awful" to no one in particular roughly every three minutes through Episode 1.
And yes, we'll watch the next eight episodes. Guilty pleasure rules apply.
Avenue B market reopens as Miami Convenience
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
It's not your imagination: Saba Candy & Groceries is back open at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
The market recently opened and closed after just a few months.
Saif, the manager (below), told us that there is new ownership...
With that comes a new name: Miami Convenience — though there's no obvious South Florida connection (yet). They are just waiting for the new sign to arrive.
Daily hours: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
It's a Small Village Deli after all
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
We went inside for an updated look at the interior, but the owner told us to leave.
Once open, the deli will sell a variety of sandwiches, wraps and smoothies.
No. 76 was last home to the art gallery gratin, which relocated to the Lower East Side. Previously, Oda House, which served Georgian cuisine and other Mediterranean staples, closed here in August 2020 after more than seven years in service. Caffe Buon Gusto was here for a bit after the corner market, Zips.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Noted
Photo by Derek Berg
Someone discarded the "Same Penis Forever" Just Married bouquet in the trash on Seventh Street...
Yeah, well, forever got a lot shorter suddenly, didn't it? as Kevin Dolenz says in "St. Elmo's Fire."
More Pride at the Stonewall National Monument
Photos by Stacie Joy
We were in the Village yesterday and stopped by the Stonewall National Monument in Christopher Park.
As widely reported on Thursday, local elected officials and activists raised a rainbow flag at the site, days after the Trump Administration removed one from the National Park Service-run site.
The park service has said it was complying with federal guidance on flags.
Said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal: "If you can't fly a Pride flag steps from the Stonewall monument, at the National monument for LGBTQ liberation, where can you fly it?"
For their part, a spokesperson for the Interior Department dismissed the flag raising as a "political stunt" and described the city's Democratic leadership as "utterly incompetent and misaligned," per the Associated Press.
The Stonewall Inn is across from the park monument at 53 Christopher St.
Week in Grieview
Posts this past week include (with a photo along 1st Avenue last night, where the snow banks persist)
Never miss an EVG post with the weekly EVG newsletter. Free right here.
• End of an Avenue B era for Gruppo as it will relocate to the Bowery in March (Feb. 10)
• New 9-story development proposal raises alarms next to Merchant's House (Feb. 10)
• 25-story residential building in the works for the NW corner of the Bowery and Great Jones (Feb. 11)
• Financing secured for major upgrades at Campos Plaza II (Feb. 12)
• RIP Fred Smith (Feb. 8)
• Earth School community march calls for protection of immigrant families (Feb. 10)
• Soft openings: Much Obliged on Avenue B (Feb. 12)
• New signs up as Metro Acres Market nears opening on 1st Avenue and 5th Street (Feb. 9)
• Sephora announces itself on the gateway to the East Village (Feb. 14)
• Former Chris French Cleaners space wrapped for demolition (Feb. 11)
• What's going on with Chomp Chomp? (Feb. 13)
• A band playing New Colossus Festival: Loveletter (Feb. 13)
• Closures: Village Cafe & Grill on 4th Street (Feb. 10)
• Signage alert: Stackie Doughnuts on Avenue A (Feb. 9)
• Brooklyn Dumpling Shop closes flagship East Village location (Feb. 12)
... and something we hadn't noticed atop the First Park kiosk — a Christmas rat. God Bless Us, everyone! (Thanks to EVG reader Taz Urnov for the photo!)
This East Village 'Bunny' is now streaming on Netflix
It had a limited theatrical release back in the late fall and is also available on various VOD platforms.
The film received some positive notices following its SXSW premiere in 2025. Per The Hollywood Reporter:
"Bunny" successfully channels a downtown vibe that seems to be on the verge of extinction — one where neighbors of all types, shapes and sizes live on top of one another in cluttered apartments, forging a camaraderie that could only exist in that part of New York.
The screenwriters, Ben Jacobson, Mo Stark, and Stefan Marolachakis (aka Trio Bravo) signed a deal this past week with TFC Management, per Deadline. So expect to see more from them in the future. (Stark plays Bunny while Jacobson directed and has a starring role.)
Good news: Chomp Chomp is open again
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
We were happy to see that Chomp Chomp Thai Kitchen was back in action yesterday at 78 E. First St., just east of First Avenue.
A burst pipe in the space knocked them out of commission for a few days this past week.
The staff said they appreciated the good wishes while the restaurant was temporarily closed.
Chomp Chomp is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Feb. 14's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
For Valentine's Day today, Bloom Bloom floral design studio once again set up inside Book Club Bar on Third Street near Avenue B...
Sephora announces itself on the gateway to the East Village
The Paris-based multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products will have 7,800-square feet of space here...
As previously reported, the mall-friendly Sephora signed a lease here at the base of the 9-story office building this past September. (TRD had the news first.)
P.S.
Meanwhile, there haven't been any updates about any tenants leasing the office space, which was reportedly built on spec.
Crews and equipment were assembled here in the summer of 2020 to start on the foundation — a process that ultimately didn't get underway until 2022.
H/T Andy Reynolds!
The sign has already been tagged...
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, February 13, 2026
Friday's parting shot
Photo by Cynthia Reynolds
The all-day line this Feb. 13 at Sunny's Florist on the SE corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street...
A band playing New Colossus Festival: Loveletter
The 2026 edition of the New Colossus Festival takes place in the East Village and on the LES from March 3-8. Details here.
Until then, as we noted last week, our Fridays at 5 video clip will feature a band playing at the festival. (And there are more than 180 in total!)
Today, we have the local trio Loveletter with the track "Follow Me."
They'll be playing Friday, March 6, at Nublu Classic, 62 Avenue C.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues (Link from March 2025)
[UPDATED: BACK OPEN] What’s going on with Chomp Chomp?
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
UPDATED 2/14: CHOMP CHOMP IS BACK OPEN. REPEAT, CHOMP CHOMP IS BACK OPEN.
-----
Chomp Chomp Thai Kitchen, 78 E. First St., just east of First Avenue, has been closed for the past two days, raising concern among fans of the well-liked spot.
Plastic bags currently cover most of the front windows. Through a side window, plants and lights are still visible inside. The door is locked, calls to the restaurant go unanswered, and there are no notices for patrons on the door or messages on social media.
A worker at neighboring Cafe Himalaya said the space appeared closed on Wednesday as well and that they hadn't been told what happened.
Several people stopped by while we were outside, surprised to find the restaurant shuttered. One passerby summed up the mood: "WHAT?! Chomp Chomp is closed? You can quote me, I love Chomp Chomp."
Mail is beginning to pile up outside the entrance, and a red-tagged commercial oven was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the building earlier yesterday.
Updated: See the comments ... several EVG readers said a broken pipe is to blame for the temporary closure.
Friday's opening shot
Pretty powdery snow on 14th Street
The Great Thaw is underway ... as temperatures will be above 40 for the next week... of course, we still MAY see some snow late tonight and likely Sunday night, per Accuweather, though nothing too dramatic that would overwhelm Citi Bike docking stations for the next two weeks.
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Soft openings: Much Obliged on Avenue B
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
A new small-plates cocktail bar called Much Obliged soft opens today at 42 Avenue B from husband-and-wife team Marcos Fernandez and Allyx Seemann, who also own Gator in Greenpoint.
When the pair decided to expand into Manhattan, Seemann said returning to the East Village felt personal.
"After living many years of my 20s in the East Village, it felt like coming home. There really isn't any other neighborhood compared to the East Village in terms of the delicate balance of nightlife, community, diversity, and artistry," she told us. "To be able to share our vision and passion with a community so enthralled in art is so exciting for us as artists ourselves. Everyone that we've met so far has been incredibly welcoming, and we're hoping that our excitement to serve this community is well received!"
We stopped by on Monday evening during a friends-and-family event... dishes included a yellowfin crudo and a hake fillet sandwich...
Despite the small space between Third Street and Fourth Street, Much Obliged is designed for lingering.
"Whether you just want a snack or a full meal, we have created an atmosphere to sit and slow down," Seemann said.
Opening hours:
• Wednesday/Thursday/Sunday: 5:30 p.m. to midnight
• Friday/Saturday: 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.
You can follow Much Obliged on Instagram.
Financing secured for major upgrades at Campos Plaza II
Image via the NYCHA
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has closed on financing for a $92.5 million renovation project at Campos Plaza II — a key step toward overhauling 224 apartments across two buildings that house more than 450 residents on Avenue C between 12th Street and 13th Street.
The work is part of NYCHA's PACT program, which brings in outside partners to fund long-needed repairs while keeping rents affordable. The project team — L+M Development Partners and Type A Projects — will begin a full rehab of apartments, shared spaces and building systems.
Planned upgrades include façade and roof repairs, new windows, elevator overhauls, ventilation improvements, and a new security system. Building lobbies will be expanded and renovated, and apartments will receive kitchen and bathroom upgrades, new appliances, lighting, flooring, and fresh paint.
Outdoor improvements will include upgraded landscaping, seating areas, a children's play space and a sidewalk art installation in the 13th Street courtyard. Safety upgrades include new lighting, cameras, traffic barriers and a gate along 14th Street.
According to press materials, one of the biggest changes is that the buildings will shift from steam heat to electric heat pumps as part of the city's Clean Heat for All program. The new system will provide more consistent heating and cooling year-round while lowering energy use. The existing steam system will still supply hot water.
Financing for this PACT modernization of Campos Plaza II is made possible in part by the approximately $19.5 million sale of air rights in 2024 to Madison Realty Capital, the owner of 644 E. 14th St., to build a 196-unit 421-a building with a 25 percent preference for NYCHA residents.
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