[Updated] Neighbors ask Con Ed to water this tree 'dying of thirst'

Someone has placed a homemade sign in this dusty tree pit outside the Con Ed substation on Sixth Street at Avenue A...

"Dear Con Ed,

I am dying of thirst

Please... when you get a chance"

Updated 11:39 am

@evgrieve Hello. It might be a good idea to reach out to either the Parks Department or 311. ~RO

— Con Edison (@ConEdison) June 24, 2016

Confessional closes on East 6th Street ahead of a relocation

Confessional, featuring a Latin-Influenced tapas menu, has closed at 308 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

An announcement on the Confessional Facebook page notes that they will be moving to an undisclosed "fabulous new location"...

Posted by Confessional on Thursday, March 17, 2016

The bar-restaurant opened in June 2014. The cocktail menu includes drinks with biblical references, such as the Last Supper (vodka, elderflower liqueur, homemade strawberry puree). And a centerpiece of the space, per Zagat: "A 60-foot art wall lets visitors jot down their thoughts and — yes — secret confessions."

Thank you to Vinny & O for the photo and tip!

On East Sixth Street, TonkatsuYa is in soft-open mode (and Awash has a new awning)

After just a few months in operation at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the Sri Lankan restaurant Banana Leaf closed. Its replacement, the Japanese restaurant TonkatsuYa, is now in soft-opening mode, per the sign outside ...

They are serving a limited menu for now...



And further toward First Avenue, Awash Ethiopian Restaurant has unveiled a new awning...



The old red-and-white one was looking awfully worn after the ongoing gut renovations in the apartments above.


[Undated photo via the Village Voice]

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!

Time for barber pole dancing on East 6th Street

Yesterday, the folks at Ace of Cuts on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B unveiled a Disco-esque barber pole outside their shop, perhaps as a way to overtake the bear outside Josie's as the block's top attraction... (Or perhaps to test before taking this to Time's Square tomorrow night?)

EVG reader Laura Gurfein, who took above photo, also shared this video... showing the barber pole in all its glory...

Indian-speciality movie rental shop closes on East 6th Street

[EVG file photo]

The rental shop that specialized in Indian music and Bollywood cinema has closed at 343 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

EVG reader Michael Hirsch hears that the 12-year-old shop was unable to remain open after a rent increase. (Neighbor Gandhi also closed due to a reported rent hike.)

This is also the last retail space that rented films in the East Village.

Reader report: Con Ed enjoys digging up East 6th Street

From the EVG inbox this past weekend...

So, this is at least the fourth time since January that Con Ed has torn up East Sixth Street between Avenue A and B in front of our building. Jackhammers, heavy machinery, later tar and mechanical stompers. CRAZY NOISE! They obviously can’t find the problem.

My issue is they invariably show up at 6 p.m. on Friday to start the work. Start jackhammering about my son’s bedtime at 8. Now it’s a holiday weekend so its probably triple time. I think its a kind of boondoggle. There is no reason that this work always starts at 6 on Friday.

It makes the apartment uninhabitable. Of course, if there is a leak then they are simply incompetent. They were here two weeks ago and ripped the sidewalk in front of our building. I don’t know what’s worse, the noise or the fear they are incompetent.

Is there anything to do about it?

Hanjoo owners bringing Korean food to former Jewel of India space on East 6th Street

Well, Jewel of India lasted less than a year at at 324 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue…



The space won't be empty for long, though. The owners of the recently closed Hanjoo on St. Mark's Place are opening a Korean restaurant here, according to documents (PDF!) on file at the Community Board 3 website. This is one of the items on tonight's CB3/SLA committee docket. (This application for a beer-wine license is not subject to a board vote.)

There isn't any other information about the new restaurant … other than that they will serve Korean food. Hanjoo quietly closed at the beginning of the month after two-plus years at 12 St. Mark's Place.

Thanks to Vinny and O for the photos!

Exploring 2 like-minded small shops on East 6th Street

As the holiday shopping season gets underway... EVG contributor Stacey Joy takes a look at two women-owned, side-by-side boutiques on East Sixth Street near Cooper Square ...

Handcrafted Mosaic Lamps (208 E. Sixth St.), with the tagline “Make the Sun Jealous,” features Turkish mosaic-style lamps, lights and candleholders. It is owned and operated by Melissa Benovic, who makes certain that each lamp is run on LED lights and that prices remain affordable.



I spied a beautiful rainbow-colored candleholder made for tea lights at $60 as well as a crave-worthy blue hanging glass lamp at $110. This shop is tiny, maybe 325 square feet, with a beautiful layout and Melissa could not have been warmer or more accommodating. Amazingly knowledgeable about all things lamp-related, I didn’t want to leave the shop! It is especially welcoming in the dark, early winter cold.







Hours are flexible, but traditionally open Monday through Saturday, from 1 to 8 pm.

--

Nomad Vintage, also at 208 E. Sixth St., is owned and operated by Katie McDonnell, and is a small shop crammed full of her hand-selected vintage treasures.



Textiles, shoes, fabrics, dresses and all manner of vintage jewelry and accessories can be found here. Katie was kind enough to show me some of her favorites ... and I was excited to see a sweet velvet cape perfect for early winter walks, some Vivienne Westwood heels that I could never walk in but would love to own, and batik shirt that looked vaguely Moroccan.







Pieces here tend to be slightly more high-end, with accompanying price tags. The patchwork denim and flannel cape I liked was tagged at $225. Hours here are also flexible (and some days by appointment only) so please contact Katie to make sure the shop is open before heading out that way.

Always happy to see small local businesses succeed, Melissa and Katie both spoke about their love for the neighborhood and the people in the area.

New for East 6th Street: barber shop, dry cleaners with cafe

Several readers have told us that Ace of Cuts barber shop (with an actual barber pole!) opened last Wednesday mid-block at No. 518 here between Avenue A and Avenue B ...

The proprietor, we're told, is an industrious 20 year old named Alex ...



Meanwhile, right next door ...



... a cleaners and cafe is officially opening this week ...



We don't know too much about this concept yet (paper was still up on the windows when we went by yesterday). Unlike the Wash House over on East First Street, this place will not be serving beer and wine. Not sure about grilled cheese.

Spice Cove moving a storefront away on East 6th Street

Some news on East Sixth Street via Goggla … Spice Cove at No. 326 has closed … and, as the sign above explains, the Indian restaurant will be moving over an address to No. 328 …



And, as we previously mentioned, Jewel of India is opening soon at No. 324 in the former Red Pepper space …

Actual Indian restaurant opening in Little India

[EVG file photo from March 30]

Over on East Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, we have a taker for Red Pepper, which closed in March after six months.

EVG reader Morten sends along the following photo of the former Sichuan restaurant …



Morten reports that the new restaurant is called Pearl of India, with an opening expected as soon as next week.

The most recent additions to (the dwindling) Little India include The Eddy, the Italian-influenced restaurant from Brendan McHale, a former chef at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar, and Figaro Villaggio, the Italian wine bar-restaurant in the former Banjara space.

Apparently a rough winter for the Tree Chair of East Sixth Street

[Photo from July by Robert Miner]

Got a look at the Tree Chair of East Sixth Street the other day… hmm, well, looks as if it needs some repairs here between Avenue A and Avenue B ahead of the spring season…





Previously on EV Grieve:
What happened to the tree chair on East Sixth Street?

The tree chair of East Sixth Street is... back!

The Tree Chair of East Sixth Street is in full bloom

Photo by Robert Miner. Previously.

East 6th Street embracing Christmas in June

Last Friday, EVG reader OlympiasEpiriot spotted a holiday Christmas Tree plopped by the trash ... waiting to spend eternity next to a Papa John's box.

However! EVG reader Phil notes that someone plucked the tree from the trash between Avenue A and Avenue B ...



...where it will compete with the Tree Chair and the bear outside Josie's as the block's top attraction...

The tree chair of East Sixth sports new amenities

[From February via Bobby Williams]

After briefly going missing, the tree chair of East Sixth Street recently returned... and now there are several new features, as this photo via EVG reader Daniel Root shows...



The chair's caretaker was also captured in this photo... we understand that he seems pleased that so many people like his creation...

Previously on EV Grieve:
What happened to the tree chair on East Sixth Street?

The tree chair of East Sixth Street is... back!

What happened to the tree chair on East Sixth Street?

[From February via Bobby Williams]

I'd been meaning to write a post about the great tree chair of East Sixth Street ... located a little east of Avenue A.

However, I noticed during the weekend that the chair part is gone...



Anyone know what happened? Maybe in for repairs?

A neighbor here told me that a longtime resident created this... and that he was a little bashful about attention for this...

Reader mailbag: Is it legal to park next to a docking station before the Citi Bikes arrive?

This weekend, several readers sent us photos of vehicles parked next to the new docking station on East Sixth Street at Avenue B...


[EVG reader Mark]


[Dave on 7th]


[EVG reader John]

The actual Citi Bikes will likely arrive on or just before the expected May 27 launch date... Once the bikes arrive, parking next to a docking station won't be possible. (Well, we'll see.)

Anyway, a reader, who wanted to be clear that he wasn't complaining about Citi Bikes, simply asked if it is legal to park next to an unoccupied docking station. Because he has a car, temporarily, and it can be tough to find a place to park around here. (And why would he have a car? To make it easier to visit his mother who's in a nursing home in a place not convenient to public transportation.)

There aren't street signs pointing to any offense by parking next to the docking station ... Along here, there's just the alternate side parking sign ...



Anyone know? Is this a parking offense that deserves a ticket?

First Citi Bikes docking station casualty*

An EVG reader noted early last evening that someone (or something) broke/smashed (accidentally or otherwise) the glass on the Citi Bikes docking station that arrived a day earlier on East Sixth Street at Avenue B...



A worker in an unmarked van was on the scene replacing what needed to be, uh, replaced, per the reader.

---

* As far as we know. We heard that a truck ran into a docking station on East 11th Street, but never saw any photographic evidence to support this claim.

Noted

Anyone see/hear what happened here on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue? Photo by Chelsea "Flower Child" Hill.

Falling debris reported on East Sixth Street

A reader notes the following:

I was walking ... on East Sixth Street near Avenue A when this debris hit the sidewalk right it front of me. Could easily cause injury to pedestrians. It's rotted wood from the facade of the building. It fell from 443 E. 6th St. Pedestrians beware.

We heard this from a few other people as well. Apparently the NYPD stopped by for a look ... no one was reported injured.