A 'cleanup only' operation on 11th Street and 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

What's happening at 11th Street and First Avenue? "Cleanup" is the word of the day.

Unlike the last cleanup — held at noon on one of the hottest days of the year — this one took place yesterday morning (Jan. 16) at 9 on one of the frostiest. It was 24 degrees, with a real-feel in the teens.

The new Mayor has been vocal about a shift at City Hall away from "sweeps." And unlike previous actions in the area, Friday's operation was being described as a cleanup at 11th Street and First Avenue — with no enforcement behind it, according to the NYPD.

Vincent Gragnani, press secretary for the NYC Department of Sanitation's Bureau of Public Affairs, described it as routine street and sidewalk cleaning.

"This was a standard street and sidewalk cleaning operation, at the request of NYPD, not a more involved joint operation," he said. "We were asked to clean litter in the area, as we routinely do at the request of agencies, elected officials, community complaints, etc, and that is exactly what we did."

As we've been reporting, the actions here follow a surge in community complaints about noise, congestion and food waste tied to the block's unofficial use as a waiting and staging area for e-bike delivery workers (aka deliveristas). The quality-of-life concerns have also come up regularly at recent 9th Precinct Community Council meetings.

"This is a cleanup on 11th Street based upon community complaints," a police source said. "We're not doing enforcement at this time."

The source said the plan was for deliveristas to move their bicycles to allow for the cleanup.

The NYPD said they would not be taking any bikes or bags, unlike previous actions in this area. 

"The goal is not to take anything. We're using outreach to spread the word." 

Will summonses be issued?

"Not unless we observe someone breaking the law," the source said. 

On-site Sanitation 

Sanitation workers on site said they were told the NYPD likely wouldn't be part of the morning's cleanup, citing "a change in plans."

A supervisor said the department was there to clean the area in response to complaints, using mechanical brooms, a motorized truck, and backpack blowers. Sanitation can typically reach the curbline, but the bike corral makes the area difficult to access.

"It's up to the NYPD if we take anything," the supervisor said. "We don't even have the tools to remove bike locks and chains. But if there's abandoned property that no one claims, we remove it."

Community Board 3 

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer said she made the cleanup signs and had them translated into multiple languages.

She was on site Friday morning, along with Tyler Hefferon, executive director of EV Loves NYC, several community members, and a representative from Councilmember Harvey Epstein's office.

Hefferon states he was given additional copies of the notice and asked to assist with outreach. 

"I was told this was a Department of Sanitation-led cleanup and that there would be no bike seizures like last time, but I encouraged people to treat this like alternate-side street parking, Hefferon said. "It did not seem as urgent as the last time, but local mutual aid groups plus Los Deliveristas Unidos helped me get the word out." 

Meanwhile, Stetzer struck a mix of optimism and frustration. She said the cleanup effort was discussed at the Community Board's monthly District Service Cabinet meeting, which she noted is required under the City Charter and brings together multiple city agencies focused on service delivery issues in the district.

When the proposed cleanup came up, she said Sanitation, the NYPD, the City Council, and DOT were in attendance and "participated in plans," adding, "This is why these meetings are so valuable and productive." She also noted that community construction liaisons for ongoing projects attend and provide status reports.

Stetzer said the Board is "very excited to work with the new mayor's office," but has "very frustratingly… not been able to do so at this time." She added that the city's Community Assistance Unit (CAU) "appears to have been disbanded but not replaced." 

She said she hopes the Mayor's office reaches out to community boards soon, "so that as city agencies we can work with them and request information and support."

As for the operation itself, Stetzer said she felt "the cleanup went well," emphasizing that "it was a cleanup, not a punitive action." She said the larger issue remains unresolved: "Parking a hundred bikes on this block is not sustainable," and simply adding more bike corrals — which she said can take a year to install — "is not a solution." 

She called it "a failure of government to plan and provide infrastructure," and said the community is hopeful the new administration will help resolve the situation.

Stetzer pointed to the role of delivery app companies, saying they are "making money on the work of the delivery workers without providing accommodation or benefits." She said the City needs both an infrastructure plan and legislation "that will hold companies responsible for bike storage and necessary accommodation for the workers." 

Without that, she said, complaints from residents can lead to enforcement actions where "punitive actions fall on the workers who have no means to comply."

She also noted that many delivery workers are "new Americans" and said that past bike confiscations required court appearances to retrieve the bikes — something that can put some workers at risk. Stetzer said the goal is a plan that supports delivery, improves working conditions, holds app companies accountable, and gives workers a realistic way to comply.

As for what comes next, both NYPD and Sanitation officials said they expect to continue responding to community complaints in the area, while everyone waits for a longer-term solution.

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Deliveristas confront new hurdles after 11th Street bike sweep 

• Mass e-bike seizure sparks tensions and debate on 11th Street 

• Deliveristas face new enforcement in the East Village

Saturday's opening shot

Photo by Cecil Scheib 

Click on the pic for more detail

A slice of sun on Midtown to start the day... before the — uh-oh! — wintry mix settles in over the area. (NYC, not just Midtown.) 

How AccuWeather is calling it for NYC: "Rain and snow showers this morning followed by a bit of snow and rain at times this afternoon; streets mainly wet."

Start me up

 

Local band Gogol Bordello has a new album, titled We Mean It, Man!, due out on Feb. 13. 

Ahead of that is "Ignition" (with a video featuring Liev Schreiber), which adds some electronic layers to the band's usual gypsy punk sound.

Friday's opening shots

Early morning views today from Tompkins Square Park... and along Avenue A...

It will remain mostly sunny and cold today with highs in the mid-30s, though the wind chill will make it feel more like 15, give or take a few degrees. 

A wintry mix of rain-sleet-snow is expected overnight into your Saturday. High alert for slippery spots on the street and sidewalks.

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Brooklyn Bridge views from Seventh Street...

ICYMI: Tom Verlaine’s Downtown legacy enters the New York Public Library

Image via NYPL 

On Jan. 9, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts announced that it has acquired the archive of Tom Verlaine, the musician, poet and longtime New York presence best known as the frontman of Television. 

The collection spans roughly six decades of Verlaine's working life and fills about 40 linear feet. It includes lyric drafts, short stories, abandoned songs, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and hundreds of hours of released and unreleased recordings — demos, rehearsals, and live material from the Neon Boys, Television, and Verlaine's solo years. 

Among the highlights: early 1970s handwritten lyric drafts for Marquee Moon and 145 personal notebooks and journals. 

Verlaine, a longtime East Villager who died in 2023 at age 73, emerged in the early 1970s as a central figure in the downtown scene orbiting CBGB. Television's 1977 debut, Marquee Moon, is widely regarded as one of the most influential rock albums ever released. Though commercial success largely eluded him, Verlaine's angular guitar style and literary sensibility left a deep mark on generations of artists. 

In a letter to the library, Patti Smith reflected on Verlaine's lifelong love of books and their shared hours in used bookstores, calling the New York Public Library "a more fitting place" for his papers. Library officials say the archive will help spark long-overdue scholarship on Verlaine's work and legacy. 

The collection now joins holdings connected to figures such as Lou Reed, John Cage and Arthur Russell at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza ... within the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex.

Signage alert: Drāvida Indian Diaspora by Chef Aarthi Sampath

Photo by Choresh Wald 

There's a lot of activity these days at 211 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Signage is up for Drāvida Indian Diaspora, a new concept from Aarthi Sampath, a consultant and chef known for her multiple TV appearances on "Guy's Grocery Games," "Chopped" and "Beat Bobby Flay."

We don't know too much about the new project... the restaurant received CB3 approval for a liquor license last September. (Questionnaire here.) 

It's a smallish dining room with four tables that seat 20 people. (We're assuming there will be a to-go component as well, as Sampath is involved with CookUnity, which delivers prepared meals weekly.) Proposed hours on the CB3 application were daily from 3 p.m. to midnight.

The space has been vacant since Luzzo's closed here in 2022.

Saba Candy & Groceries comes and goes on Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy

After an Oct. 31 debut, Saba Candy & Groceries has apparently closed at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

The shop hasn't been open lately, and as our correspondent put it, Saba is looking "mighty closed," with empty shelves and no signs of activity.

Turns out there wasn't much of a market for a midblock candy-and-grocery stop selling Haribo Mini Rainbow Frogs, Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies and Wish-Bone Creamy French Dressing. 

This is one of the two recently renovated storefronts in this building at No. 106.

Signage alert: Mag New York City on Avenue A

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Signage is up at 66 Avenue A for Mag New York City, a vintage streetwear shop in the works for this retail space between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (There's an Instagram placeholder here.) 

The spot was previously the vintage shop Angels on A ... and housewares specialists Lancelotti before that. 

The retail spaces are filling up in this block-long building, which the newish owners dubbed Untitled... Barryville General and B&H Barber Shop are recent arrivals ... and a matcha-coffee shop is also on the way.

And yes — we still miss Ink on A.

A look inside the sidewalk stations that test the East Village’s drinking water

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, while walking with a visiting relative of a friend, I was asked about a series of sidewalk-based metal structures on lower First Avenue. 

I knew they were municipal water-quality testing stations, but I had no idea how they worked. 

Needing to know more, I contacted the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Public Affairs and started asking for information — and a peek at the sampling process. 

First Deputy Director of Water Quality Salome Freud and press secretary Rob Wolejsza shared the date and time of the next scheduled sampling at that station, and they agreed to allow photos and questions about the process. 

We met at station number 30150 on First Avenue near Third Street on a cold, wet, and windy early-winter morning, complete with atmospheric fog, and to the curiosity of passersby, many of whom stopped to watch for a bit. 

We were joined by water ecology scientist Amy Murphy, who conducted the tests and was endlessly patient with my requests for clarification and results.

After the sampling was done, a NYC DEP spokesperson signed off on the interview and provided the test results for the neighborhood's water. 

How many sampling stations are there in the city, and in the East Village/Lower East Side? 

There are approximately 1,000 drinking water sampling stations located throughout New York City. There are 15 stations located in the East Village/Lower East Side neighborhoods. 

There are three sampling stations in close proximity on First Avenue between Houston and Fourth Streets. Why are there three grouped together, and why did you select the (middle) one you sampled from today? 

The purpose of having three sampling stations is to meet the requirements of the Revised Total Coliform Rule, which states that when an initial sample is positive for coliform bacteria, we must go back and resample within 24 hours from the original location, as well as at sites within five service connections upstream and downstream. Having more than one station at a site also gives us options when the REG (regular station)/middle station is inaccessible for any reason. 

You mentioned these sampling stations have been here for many years. How long have they been on the streets, and how are they made and maintained? What happens if they are damaged? 

The stations were installed back in 1996. The shells of the stations are cast iron with interior plumbing components and are maintained by DEP personnel. When we receive reports from the public through 311 that a sampling station is damaged, we coordinate with DEP plumbers to perform repairs. 

We also coordinate to get them painted and have used DEP and DOT personnel to accomplish that. [Reporter's note — there was some discussion about how the stickered and street-art decorated sampling stations here are uniquely East Village-y.] 

OK, to the good stuff: Can you walk us through the stages of sampling, from arrival to departure? And discuss what, specifically, you are testing for? 

Once an inspector arrives at a sampling station, they inspect that it is operational by opening it up and running the water. Initial observations of color and clarity are performed, and readings are taken for pH and specific conductance, and then the water is turned off, and the tap is disinfected for a minute or two. 

The water is then turned back on, and the tap is flushed before we take additional field readings and collect samples. Specifically, we test the drinking water for the following parameters in the field: pH, temperature, specific conductance and chlorine.

The collected samples are brought back to our distribution water-quality laboratory, where additional testing is performed, including coliform bacteria and basic chemistry, as well as metals and organics analyses.

Can you share the results from today's sampling? How does the East Village's water supply look?

The results of the samples collected from this site were:

 

pH 7.11 

Specific conductance 348 

Temperature 6.7 C 

Chlorine 0.41 ppm 

Coliform bacteria/E /E. coli: negative 

The readings from this site were what we normally expect and in keeping with the high-quality drinking water that we see throughout the distribution system. 

We'd been told our water comes from the Ashokan Reservoir/the (mighty) Esopus Creek upstate. Is that correct? 

This is partially correct as the drinking water supply for NYC actually consists of three watersheds: Catskill, Delaware and Croton. And those watersheds are made up of 19 reservoirs, one being the Ashokan. The water at the sample station we visited was a mix of all three watersheds. 

Where can people learn more about water quality, testing, and supply? 

 For more information about NYC's drinking water, refer to our website and our NYC Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report.

H/t to Ellen and a thank-you to H. for helping set this up.

Petition seeks to rename Tompkins Square Park skate area for Harold Hunter

There's an effort underway to rename the skate area at Tompkins Square Park in honor of the late Harold Hunter. 

The Skatepark Project, which Tony Hawk founded, and the Harold Hunter Foundation have launched a petition to rename the multi-use/skate section of the park Harold Hunter Park. 

Hunter — a charismatic and influential skateboarder and actor — was born and raised at Campos Plaza on 13th Street. He died in 2006 at age 31. 

Tompkins Square Park was one of Hunter's favorite places to skate, and in the 1990s, he helped shape it into a creative hub where skaters, artists, and musicians crossed paths. That era helped cement the park's global reputation as a destination for skate culture. 

The proposal was scheduled to be heard tomorrow by Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee, but the item was withdrawn and is expected to return at a later date. 

You can read more and view the petition here.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Skatepark Project (@theskateparkproject)

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• At the Harold Hunter Skate Jam in Tompkins Square Park

D.A.'s office announces indictment in fatal hit-and-run last month on Clinton and Stanton

Photo from last month by Stacie Joy 

Yesterday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the indictment of the driver involved in a hit-and-run that killed a woman in the Lower East Side last month. 

As previously reported, the incident occurred on Dec. 18 around 7 p.m. at Clinton and Stanton streets. According to the NYPD, a woman was crossing Stanton Street in the crosswalk when she was struck by an SUV making a right turn from Clinton Street. The vehicle fled the scene. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was later identified as 76-year-old Yong Li. 

Per court documents, Julio Cachago, 53, of Queens, was driving a 2020 Ford Edge with a passenger. Prosecutors say he allowed one pedestrian to cross at the intersection, then struck Li as she entered the crosswalk with the walk signal — allegedly driving over her before briefly stopping and then continuing on. 

Charges include one count of Criminally Negligent Homicide. 

Authorities say Cachago later stopped to inspect his vehicle for damage before driving to the Bronx. The NYPD located and towed the SUV that evening. The following day, prosecutors say Cachago contacted 311 and 911 to report his vehicle missing and was directed to the 7th Precinct, where he was arrested on Dec. 22. 

"Julio Cachago allegedly left an elderly New Yorker to die in the street after he hit her with his car and drove off without even checking on her condition," Bragg said in a statement. "Instead of notifying emergency services immediately, he allegedly only called the police the next day when he discovered his vehicle had been towed." 

Charges, per the D.A.'s office: 

• Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, Death, a class D felony, one count 
• Criminally Negligent Homicide, a class E felony, one count 
• The right of Way to Pedestrians and Bicyclists, Physical Injury, one count 
• License Restriction Violation, one count 
• Failure of a Driver to Exercise Due Care, Serious Physical Injury, one count 
• Unlicensed Driving, one count

Tuesday's parting crime report

From the Citizen app today... we'll always have 14th Street and First Avenue. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Where is the $1 million NYPD mobile command unit that Mayor Adams promised for the troubled 14th Street and 1st Avenue corridor? (Oct. 28, 2024)

Community gathers at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery for a 'Vigil of Lament and Hope'

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Last night, faith leaders and community members gathered at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on 10th Street and Second Avenue for a Vigil of Lament and Hope, honoring the life of Renee Nicole Good and mourning lives lost or harmed through immigration enforcement. 

The vigil included prayers, spoken reflections, music, and moments of silence, bringing together clergy and neighbors from multiple faith communities across the city. 

A memorial wall was displayed on the gate outside the church, filled with photos, prayers, flowers and candles in tribute to Good and others who have died in ICE custody or as a result of immigration enforcement.

Organizers described the gathering as a communal act of witness, emphasizing the importance of truth-telling, human dignity and shared grief at a time when such deaths are often met with silence or distortion.

Participating faith leaders represented St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, Middle Collegiate Church, Judson Memorial Church, and Trinity Lutheran Church on the Lower East Side, as well as community organizations including the New York Immigration Coalition and the Lower East Side Care Coalition.

Inside the film 'Irregular,' a love letter to Sophie’s

Poster and film stills courtesy of Kyle de Vre. 

In 2017, East Village–based photographer Kyle de Vre began photographing Sophie's regulars during his Tuesday afternoon bartending shifts, capturing familiar faces at the longtime neighborhood bar on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

That long-running portrait project, released in 2022 as the photo book "See You Next Tuesday," has now found a second life on screen with "Irregular," a 80-minute film composed of barroom vignettes from random Tuesdays.

Populated by quirky regulars, suspicious patrons, and the occasional unexplained smell, "Irregular" leans into the rhythms of bar life. More than anything, the film is a love letter to the decades-old Sophie's, with the camera lingering on the bar itself, including artwork by longtime regulars, the late Eddie Boros and Markand Thakar, among others.

 

In this Q&A, de Vre (above), who directed and co-wrote the film (he also plays the lead role — the bartender), discusses turning still portraits into motion, honoring Sophie's regulars past and present, and why no one at the bar is ever truly anonymous. 

"Irregular" feels like a natural extension of your photo book — the same bar energy, but now in motion. At what point did you realize these moments needed to be filmed, not just photographed? 

Being a direct extension of the photo book was always my intention. I had always wanted to make a movie about Sophie's, and the book was an outlet because I didn't need a full cast and crew to create it. 

Having a single subject and a camera was much more accessible to me than a production, and luckily, over the years, and a lot of it through the bars in the East Village, I met friends willing to take on the project with me.

The film includes characters playing longtime regulars who are no longer with us — Freddy Corea and John the Architect (John Crellin). Other characters feel inspired by regulars or one-time encounters. How much of what we see comes directly from barroom reality? 

A lot of the movie is taken from real stories or situations, or an amalgam of situations I have found myself in. Some stories colleagues experienced and told me, for example, the "toilet teas." [This involves a sketchy patron who brings in his own beverages.]

Freddy and John were two of my closest regulars, and I spent a lot of time with them. They used to be considered part of the furniture at some of the locals, so I figured it would only be right to dedicate a vignette to each of them, but trust me, there are many more stories that I would like to tell.

Film still: Kirk Marcoe as John Crellin

As a bartender, you're used to observing people while also being part of the scene. How did that dual role shape the way you approached filming and directing these characters? 

I always prefer to be behind the camera, but for scheduling and authenticity purposes, I chose to play the bartender. The directing part was simpler than the acting, in my opinion, because I had a very clear idea in my mind what I wanted it to look like. Can't say the same about my acting. 

My cast, made up of friends, made it really easy for me to direct them. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to have worked amongst people who are so dear to my heart and make out as well as I did, especially my cinematographer, Andrew Poland. 

What was the reaction when you approached ownership about shooting a movie at Sophie's? Co-owners Kirk Marcoe (as John the Architect) and Richie Corton (the narrator) play key roles in the film.  

Kirk and Richie have been so incredibly supportive of me throughout my nearly 12 years working at the bars, no matter what stupid ideas I got cooking in my head. Without their help, this project could not have happened. 

We shot each vignette in single-day shoots, over the course of three years, from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the bar is closed. And as long as we left no trace and didn't affect the hours, I got the green light. 

I started EV Grieve in 2007 because of rumors that Sophie's and Mona's were for sale. (Long story.) To me, Sophie's is — and always has been — one of the greatest places in the neighborhood and NYC. "Irregular" often feels like a love letter to the bar, and to the idea of the neighborhood bar itself. Was that intentional from the start?

It was my goal to include [Kirk and Richie] in this project because it truly is yet another love letter to Sophie's and the neighborhood, and my biggest goal was that it was authentic for all of our sakes. I can't stand seeing a bar in a film that isn't done well. Like, get your drinks off the goddamn pool table.

 

What's next for "Irregular"? Are you planning to submit the film to festivals? Are there other screenings on the horizon? 

I have been submitting to festivals, and fingers crossed. I'd prefer to screen it at a festival rather than independently, but I will most likely screen it independently when I get denied from all of them. 

What do you hope Sophie's regulars (and maybe even the occasional patron) — especially those who may see themselves reflected on screen — take away from "Irregular"? 

I want them to know that no one is safe. Especially my regulars. If you give me a reason to tell a story about you, I will.

-----

Learn more about the film:

• IMDb

• Instagram

• Letterboxd

Paulie Gee’s appears headed for former Dunkin’ space on 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Pizzeria sleuths have ID'd the former Dunkin' outpost on the NE corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street as the first Manhattan outpost of Paulie Gee's. 

Yesterday on Instagram, the Greenpoint-based pizzeria posted a Photoshopped preview of a new location with wraparound signage — which several sharp-eyed observers quickly pegged as the East Village.

The post didn't mention this neighborhood, just, "Can you guess where this is?"
 

We've popped our head inside the under-renovation space in recent months, and workers told us it would become a slice shop. (Photo below from Dec. 23.)

Paulie Gee's was previously exploring opening an outpost at 107 First Ave., the former Huertas space between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. Reps for Paulie Gee's appeared before Community Board 3 in December 2023 for a liquor license. CB3 approved their application for the space, but Paulie Gee's chose not to move forward. (Adda later opened at the address.) 

Paulie Gee's also has shops in Baltimore, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia. Paul Giannone opened the first location in Greenpoint in 2010, and the lines followed. Dunkin' closed here last May.

A slice from Paulie Gee's and a drink next door at the International sounds good to us. 

H/T @Vegan.NYC