ABC No Rio returns to Tompkins Square Park with a free afternoon of music

Photos by Stacie Joy 

ABC No Rio hosted a free afternoon of music in Tompkins Square Park on Saturday as a fundraiser for its long-awaited new home on Rivington Street... part of a weekend that included the annual Riot Reunion show.

Five bands performed during the event. We caught sets by headliners, indie vets Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, and Crush Fund. Organizers also passed the bucket to help fund a new PA system for the new ABC No Rio building, expected to open later this year. 

From the day...starting with NYC's Crush Fund, who released a debut record on Friday...

... and Ted Leo, who played in the OG ABC No Rio space in the early 1990s...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Inside the new ABC No Rio

Flamingos Vintage Pound to open another East Village shop

Flamingos Vintage Pound is returning to First Avenue, according to its Instagram account. 

The retailer's latest location will be 199 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street, a former smoke shop-convenience store.

An opening date has not been announced. 

The shop sells secondhand clothing by the pound — currently priced at $17.99 per pound — and frequently offers discounts on larger purchases. 

This will be Flamingos' second East Village location. The company opened a shop at 4 St. Mark's Place in May 2025. 

The opening also marks a return to First Avenue for Flamingos. Before the pandemic, the retailer operated stores near Ninth Street and on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, as well as a location on Stanton Street. All three eventually closed, with the First Avenue shop being the last to shutter in the fall of 2021. 

Flamingos now operates more than 40 locations in the United States and abroad. 

The expansion comes as thrift and resale shopping continues to grow in popularity, with more shoppers seeking affordable clothing and one-of-a-kind vintage finds while extending the life of existing garments.

NY Copy Print & Ship Center has closed after 34 years on 7th Street

The lights are out at NY Copy Print & Ship Center, marking the end of a 34-year run at 13 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square.

As we reported in June, owner Mousume Sarker said the family-owned business was preparing to close after unsuccessful lease renewal negotiations with the landlord. The shop had originally planned to close last summer but stayed open for one more year before ultimately deciding to call it a day. 

The business, which opened in 1992, served generations of neighborhood residents with copying, printing, shipping, passport photos and other office services. 

At the time, Sarker told us, "Thirty-four years in business — it's a milestone for me."

It was one of those neighborhood businesses that quietly helped people get things done for decades.

9 Bleecker St. returns to market with a $6.5 million ask

EVG photo from March 2025 

Less than a year after changing hands, the historic townhouse at 9 Bleecker St., just west of the Bowery, is back on the market. 

According to listing information, the three-story building is now asking $6.5 million after selling last summer for $5.7 million. 

Per the listing, which went live on July 23: 

With 2,743 square feet of unused FAR (subject to Landmarks approval), the property offers substantial expansion potential. Create a spectacular single-family residence or maximize its mixed-use zoning with flagship retail or gallery space at street level and residential or office space above. 

As we've reported, an undisclosed buyer purchased the 1884 building last summer. Earlier this year,  signage appeared on the facade, which became a near-constant canvas for flyers and ads, stating: "I have an owner who loves me very much!" and "I'm a HISTORICAL building, NOT your CANVAS!" 

The address has a storied history. Best known as the longtime home of the Yippies, the building served as the movement's headquarters for more than four decades before its departure in 2014 following a lengthy legal battle. 

More recently, it was home to Overthrow Boxing Club, which closed in late 2024 as the building was being marketed for sale. Past lives also include stints as a cigar factory and publishing house before becoming associated with New York's activist and countercultural movements. 

Mansion Global was first to report on the return to market for No. 9. 

The townhouse next door at No. 7 recently sold for $6.2 million after four months on the market. (The transaction hasn't hit public records yet.) No. 7 was the longtime home of photographer Robert Frank and artist June Leaf.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

OG curbside dining on Avenue A...

EV Grieve's East Village Week in Review

Posts this past week included (with a start of a fish tale on Third Avenue via Derek Berg). Never miss a post with the weekly EVG newsletter. Free right here. 

• RIP Carlos ‘Chino’ Garcia, co-founder of CHARAS and longtime Lower East Side activist (July 28) 

• Haven Plaza residents rally over response to Legionella concerns (July 31) 

• Shelter intake operations begin on Aug. 1 at two East Village locations (July 31) 

• Petition to preserve Tompkins Square Park fitness area tops 2,000 signatures (July 28) 

• 2 local residents appear in new documentary about Flaco (July 30) 

• A quieter generator arrives at the 9th Precinct (July 29)

 
• Post announces an August close (July 29) 

• Signage alert: Barnes & Noble on Avenue A (July 28) 

• Rush hour on 2nd Street (Aug. 2) 

• Vending machines arrive at the 1st Avenue F station (July 29) 

• A handmade anniversary gift, one chess piece at a time (July 28) 

• Pippy and Star’s Revenge at Tompkins Square Park (July 28) 

• New trash enclosures arrive in Tompkins Square Park (July 27) 

• Openings: Lerivez Coffee on 12th Street (July 27) … Skinny Louie on 2nd Avenue (July 27) 

• Temakase Hand Roll Bar has left 2nd Avenue (July 29) 

• 6 posts from July (July 31) 

And King Geronimo in a retro Ken Griffey Jr./Mariners jersey Friday evening on Avenue A and Sixth Street (pic by Stacie Joy)

Scenes from the 46th annual Festival Calle 6

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The annual Festival Calle 6 returned yesterday, celebrating its 46th anniversary with an afternoon of live music, dancing and community on Sixth Street between Avenue D and the FDR Drive. 

Hosted by the Lower East Side Hispanic Committee, the festival also featured information tables from local community organizations... here's a look...

Rush hour on 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

During Rush's 50th anniversary four-night residency at Madison Square Garden, fans can also pick up merchandise at a temporary pop-up shop at 20 E. Second St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the former Karma gallery space. 

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday. 

We stopped by this morning to check out the fans ... and found a line stretching back (and across) the Bowery...

Many already had tickets for one (or more) of the band's Garden shows but still wanted to stop by the pop-up to browse the merch and soak up the atmosphere. 

The crowd reflected Rush's broad appeal across generations. One mother-daughter pair complimented us for including "multigenerational female Rush fans" ...

Fans were eager to show off their purchases, which ranged from T-shirts, hats and books to baby onesies. A zip-up hoodie drew admiring looks — and some sticker shock — with a $100 price tag.

The mood throughout the day was upbeat, with plenty of conversations about favorite albums, past tours and plans for the weekend shows. 

The line may have stretched to the Bowery, but judging by the smiles — and the Rush T-shirts already being worn out the door — no one seemed to mind the wait.

Noted

Photo from yesterday by Stacie Joy

The new trash bins in the center of Tompkins Square Park are designed to keep garbage out of sight while helping reduce odors and limit access for rats and other pests.

For now, though, the bins remain locked (and empty), so much of the trash is doing what trash has always done ... piling up and open to the elements.

The bins are part of the city's broader containerization effort, which replaces exposed trash bags with enclosed waste storage. That part apparently comes after the bins are unlocked.

Sunday's opening shot

Photo of Scotty Skitzo by Stacie Joy 

The 38th annual Tompkins Square Riot Reunion show takes place TODAY from 3 to 7 p.m. ... in the Park. 

The free concert, commemorating the Tompkins Square Park police riot of Aug. 6, 1988, includes several bands, Kartel, Drunken Rampage, and Citizens Arrest, among others, and several speakers.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Avenue A street style...