Get your Vitamin D production assist while you can... as the April showers arrive tomorrow, along with temps in the 50s.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, April 17, 2026
New from Lukka: 'Tombol'
Local psych-pop trio Lukka, led by East Village-based singer-songwriter Franzi Szymkowiak, has a new single out... check out the video above for "Tombol," featuring her bandmates Ashley Gonzalez on bass and Simon Fishburn on drums.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Ugh, Uggs: Pop-up ‘newsstand’ and a no-photos moment during a photoshoot on Avenue A
Top photo by Stacie Joy
A production crew set up a prop newsstand this afternoon on the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A — one of the busier corridors in the East Village, at the entrance to Tompkins Square Park.
The setup drew plenty of attention from passersby, given the steady foot traffic through the intersection.
Per a crew member: "It's a prop — the newsstand isn't real [Editor's note: Duh] and will be taken down the minute this shoot ends … soon. It's a commercial shoot for Uggs. You know, Uggs? You can see the models wearing them."
Less clear: the reaction to people doing what people do on a crowded corner on a nice spring day — stopping to look and take photos.
When we snapped a few pictures, someone from the production scolded: "Miss! You can't take pictures! Put down your camera! You are not allowed to photograph this."
Another crew member offered to "call the cops to take her camera."
For a temporary set planted in plain view at a high-traffic intersection, the no-photos stance seemed… ambitious.
[UPDATED] For-lease sign arrives at longtime home of Two Boots Pizza on Avenue A — surprising owner, staff
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
For-lease signs went up today outside Two Boots Pizza on Avenue A and Third Street — catching owner Phil Hartman and staff by surprise.
Hartman said they did not see the sign being installed.
The timing is less than ideal: Hartman is hosting a private after-party at the pizzeria tonight tied to long-awaited screenings of his 1986 film "No Picnic" opening at the Film Forum.
As previously reported, the longtime home of Two Boots — at 42 Avenue A — was recently listed for rent for the first time in decades amid ongoing lease negotiations.
Hartman has said he's "cautiously optimistic" about staying in the space, though the listing — and now the arrival of signage — adds a new layer of urgency to the situation.
Two Boots has been on Avenue A since the 1980s.
Hartman previously told us he'd find a home elsewhere in the East Village if necessary. He has no plans to leave the neighborhood he loves.
Whatever comes next, tonight belongs to Hartman.
Updated 4:18 p.m.
A tipster told us the sign has been removed... and we confirmed.
While Hartman said he had a cordial relationship with the landlord, he was upset when he learned the for-lease banner had been put up without his knowledge.
"I will get them to take it down," he told us.
Signed, sealed… not delivered? Warning posted on Avenue B mailbox
Photos by Stacie Joy
There's a notice taped to a USPS mailbox on Avenue B at Eighth Street.
The sign reads in part:
WARNING DO NOT MAIL YOUR TAXES HERE!!!!! Last night at 2:30 in the morning I saw a man fishing out mail from the mail box ...
The person who posted the warning says they plan to report the incident to USPS. (In case you do, too: 212-673-3771.)
Someone also glued the box shut for good measure... ditto for another mailbox on Avenue B and Third Street.
And now an EVG PSA: Use common sense when mailing anything important — and consider bringing sensitive mail directly to a post office... especially your "10 records or tapes for $1" postcard to Columbia House.
The end of 'Liberty' on 9th and A?
Will they paint around the "Liberty" mural by the UK street artist STIK? (Suuure!)
The mural arrived in September 2013... a gift from the long-closed Dorian Grey Gallery on Ninth Street... the work was to honor the history of Tompkins Square Park.
Also, what does the paint job mean for Chico's "Tombstone" mural outside Doc Holliday's? It is pretty nicked up...
Updated:
The crew packed it up by 4:30 with the north-facing wall left to do... or not to do?
Friday's opening shot
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Thursday's opening and parting shots
Avenue A's Key Food 1980s playlist, explained (sort of)
Interview by Stacie Joy
EVG photo on loan from Fotomuseum Winterthur
Following our post yesterday about the 1980s-heavy playlist at Key Food on Avenue A (and the introduction on the EVG Key Food Playlist on Spotify), an anonymous (and highly placed) Key source agreed to talk, with one caveat:
"This is some proprietary information that is highly sensitive and could be commercially very damaging should it be disclosed…"
With that, right to the Q&A.
Who is the Key '80s music lover who selects the deep-cut hits?
It's genuinely a mystery. There are a few options with this service, but we decided not to mess with a good thing.
Are you paying for a service for these amazing music selections? You mentioned they used to be on CDs, but now it's a system, correct?
It's a satellite radio service — there's a satellite on our roof. We used to get a new CD sent to the store once a month.
The Paso Muzak Series 3000 Integrated Professional Amplifier T3130BGM
Do you ever veto a song choice?
We do not and cannot interfere with the song selection process — it is sacred.
Aside from the December holiday season, are there ever non-1980s (or early) hits at The Key?
Why mess with a good thing?
Do you/does the '80s music lover have a selection of favorite Key hits?
Here is a non-exhaustive list:
• "Waiting for a Star to Fall" — Boy Meets Girl
• "Call Me" — Blondie
• "Hold On Loosely" — 38 Special
• "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" — Cutting Crew
• "Surrender" — Cheap Trick
• "Rock the Casbah" — The Clash
• And any Dire Straits song
When did the 1980s playlist start in Key history? Was it the actual 1980s, and nothing ever changed?
We took over the store in 1993, and that's when it became a Key Food, so it had to be after that.
Do you get feedback from customers and/or staffers about the music selection?
Aside from EV Grieve, not frequently. [Editor's note: AHHAHAHAHA.]
Do you ever turn a song up really loud and dance down the produce aisle singing along?
Only when no one is watching. The volume is connected to the intercom, so it would blast the intercom announcements if we did.
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So the source of the playlist remains unclear ... but the 1980s hits continue, uninterrupted.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Singapore Social is opening in the former Foul Witch space on Avenue A
Photo yesterday by Stacie Joy
Singapore Social, a Southeast Asian restaurant from the Singapore-based team behind Roberta's Pizza expansion in Asia and Europe, is coming to 15 Avenue A between Houston and Second Street.
Signage arrived this week.
Per the job-opening post, the concept will focus on dishes rooted in Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cooking, including Hainanese chicken rice, nasi lemak, and laksa.
The food will be "served in a vibrant, social, neighborhood-driven space built for New York's young, curious, and culture-forward crowd," per the listing.
The space was previously home to Roberta's spin-off Foul Witch, which closed after service on Nov. 30 after nearly three years.
Roberta's co-founders, Brandon Hoy and chef Carlo Mirarchi, opened Foul Witch here in January 2023.
Openings: Whits brings the sliders to St. Mark's Place
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Whits had its grand opening last week at 34 St. Mark's Place between Second and Third Avenues.
The quick-serve venture is the work of Larry Kramer (above), who also operates Whitmans on Ninth Street (plus Hudson Yards) and Cello's Pizzeria next door here on SMP.
On the menu: sliders, hot dogs, fries and onion rings — hitting most of the core food groups. (Even more once the beer license comes through. Also, no vegan-veggie options yet, but those are in the works.)
When we stopped by, two couples dining here were quite enthusiastic about their meals...
Hours: Closed Monday; 4–11 p.m. Tuesday–Wednesday; noon–midnight Thursday; noon–2 a.m. Friday–Saturday; noon–11 p.m. Sunday.
First sign of Pizza PST on St. Mark's Place
In recent days, workers have added a black-and-white awning... along with a Pizza PST sign.
As previously reported, the Moody Tongue space here between Avenue A and First Avenue will soon be serving Pizza Studio Tamaki's pies, an acclaimed Tokyo-based pizzeria led by Tsubasa Tamaki.
The owners of Moody Tongue Pizza, Jeremy Cohn and Jared Rouben, are still the tenants and operating partners of this Pizza Studio Tamaki location.
In February, the team hosted a pop-up, which marked Pizza Studio Tamaki's first appearance in the United States.
Tamaki dough is fermented for roughly 30 hours, made with a proprietary blend of Japanese and American flours, then baked at high temperatures in a custom oven. (Pete Wells had a long read on Tamaki at the Times here.)
Moody Tongue opened here in late 2024, billed as serving NYC's first Tokyo-Neapolitan pizzeria.
You can follow the Pizza PST Instagram account for opening updates.
H/T Steven!
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Wednesday's parting shot
[Updated] SantaCon president arrested; prosecutors allege misuse of funds
Photo from 20924 by Stacie Joy
See update below.
First posted on 4/15
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Is this the "con" in SantaCon?
The president of SantaCon was arrested today on federal charges accusing him of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for charity to personal expenses, according to CNBC.
Prosecutors allege that Stefan Pildes used funds from the ticketed holiday bar crawl, which claims to raise money for charity, for a range of purchases, including home renovations, luxury vacations, and a Manhattan apartment.
According to the indictment, only a small portion of the roughly $2.7 million raised through SantaCon was donated to charity.
A Gothamist analysis from 2023 found that "the organization raised $1.4 million through SantaCon programming from late 2014 through the end of 2022, and that less than a fifth of that money has gone to registered nonprofits."
Updated 4/17
The FBI released a bulletin saying they are "seeking victim information in SantaCon investigation."
Per the bulletin:
The FBI's New York Division is seeking to identify potential victims of Stefan Pildes, who organized and operated the annual SantaCon event in New York City, from at least 2019 to present. Pildes was recently charged with wire fraud. The FBI believes Pildes primarily targeted SantaCon attendees who purchased tickets to the event, as well as bars that participated in the event, between the timeframe of October 2019 to present.
Find more info here.
Don't Disturb This Groove: We made a 13-hour Key Food playlist on Spotify
By EVG and Stacie Joy
Read part 2 here: Avenue A's Key Food 1980s playlist, explained (sort of)
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If you've spent any time in the Key Food on Avenue A and Fourth Street, then you already know: the grocery's soundtrack — emanating from the ceiling speakers — leans heavily toward pop and alternative songs from the 1980s, with some early 1990s to break things up.
Not just a few familiar tracks in rotation — we're talking a steady stream of synths, power ballads and the occasional deep cut that has you lingering in the aisles longer than planned.
After a few reader notes (and several in-store listening sessions through the years), we decided to take this more seriously.
So… we made a playlist.
The EVG Loves Key Food playlist on Spotify is now live, currently 183 songs strong (about 13 hours) — all inspired by what's been playing over the store's speakers.
A quick note: just because a song made the playlist doesn't necessarily mean we like it. (In fact, many of these songs kinda suck, but we don't discriminate when it comes to the soundtrack of our shopping lives.)
You can find everything from the expected to the "wait, really?" — the kind of mix that makes a routine grocery run feel like a slightly surreal trip through, say, 1987.
Just ask Brooks Headley, owner of Superiority Burger and a Key Food soundtrack superfan.
Headley, who creates epic, Shazam-defying playlists for his vegetarian diner at 119 Avenue A, is always running to Key Food to grab things like three out-of-season tomatoes, ripe bananas, every pack of Arnold potato buns, and a case of broccoli. ("It's an integral part of R&D for new dishes," he says.)
Brooks, the floor is yours:
I have always been struck by the music! It’s so special. I am even apprehensive to be quoted about it. I love it so much! And don’t want to ever change. It's this pastiche of 80s music with an emphasis on deep cuts. I have been known to extend my shopping to finish out, say, "Talk of the Town" by Pretenders, or more recently, "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand, which had me belting out the words.I feel the best place for shazaming is near the tofu and tempeh at the end of aisle 1 near all the weirdo probiotic drinks (fuck Erewhon coming to NYC! All hail Key!) The crowd rules, neighborhood folks. Grocery stores are quiet despite being full of people. No one's talking, just silently cruising through. I swear to God I once heard the version of "Our Lips Are Sealed" by Fun Boy Three, but I didn’t take a video for proof, so did it even happen?
And now, 13 hours of the Key Food soundtrack ...
We'll keep adding to the playlist as new-to-Key tracks surface, as we did the other evening with "I'll Be You" by the Replacements, the lead single from the band's sixth studio album, Don't Tell a Soul, in 1989.
Coming tomorrow: A long-awaited revelation — just who is programming this music for Key? Answer HERE.
UPDATED: Small-dog run in Tompkins Square Park closed over tree safety concerns
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Updated: The small dog run is back open... crews were there trimming this morning. Looks like the tree is good to stay!
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The small-dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been closed in recent days due to a tree limb that Parks says could potentially endanger both dogs and the public.
A Parks Department source said crews initially arrived with a bucket to make some cuts but found more extensive damage than expected, prompting Forestry to take over.
Staff noted falling bark, cracking limbs and a deeper, less visible crack in the tree.
A service request has been submitted, and Parks is awaiting repairs. (Hopefully it is a repair and not a removal.)
There is no set timeline yet for when the run will reopen.
Openings: Sweeties Candy NYC on 1st Avenue
Photos by Stacie Joy
Sweeties Candy NYC recently debuted in the lower level at 93 First Ave., just south of Sixth Street.
The shop leans into two current trends: pick-and-mix candies (#candiesTikTok and #SwedishCandyTikTok) and photo booths.
Sweeties offers 160 varieties of candy from around the world... (and yes, they have Bubs, the skull-shaped candy gummies — #BubsTikTok.)
When we stopped by, the photo booths hadn't been set up yet...
You can follow Sweetie's on Instagram or TikTok.
Posted hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Many readers-residents know this space as the longtime home of Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant, which ran from 1978 to 2022... and as one of the three restaurants at the address with Milon and Panna II, which still enjoys viral moments of its own.
This basement space was previously home for a minute or two to the apostrophe-free Smokers Basement, a smoke shop-exotic snack joint.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Tuesday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
In the low 80s, it was the most summer-like day of the year, and you could tell in Tompkins Square Park...
Camp classics: Catch rare screenings of 'The Brenda and Glennda Show' on Saturday
The event features two rare screenings of Belverio's 1990s public-access program "The Brenda and Glennda Show," which blended drag, political action and camp humor in downtown NYC.
The screenings include an early 1990 episode, "Takeover of the Empire State Building," featuring a guerrilla-style rooftop talk show staged by drag performers and ACT UP activists, as well as "Target Bush/Wigstock 1991," which documents the march on President George Bush's summer house in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Brenda and Glennda rallying for National Health Care at Wigstock in Union Square.
Belverio will be interviewed onstage by author and New Yorker writer John Colapinto, followed by an audience Q&A and live performances by Brooklyn-based drag artists Nancy Nogood, Reina NoBuena and Oliver Herface.
Find ticket info here.
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