Sunday's opening shot

Summer Streets, early Sunday morning on First Avenue edition...

Wednesday's parting shot

Summer Streets, early Wednesday morning edition... thanks to Vinny & O for the photo...

When is the fruit vendor on 1st Avenue and 6th Street closing down for the winter?

By this time of year, the fruit-vegetable vendors here on First Avenue and Sixth Street outside Village View usually pack it up for the season... with a spring-time return.

However, as the photo above via Riley McCormick from last night shows, the vendors are still on the scene ... and will be here through the winter. Riley double-confirmed the news with the sellers last evening. So there's a good daily produce option here to ease the winter doldrums...

[Updating] Post fire, 1 lane of northbound traffic returns to 1st Avenue

After the overnight 6-alarm fire at 188 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street... one northbound traffic lane has been reopened for vehicular traffic, per the NYPD.

• The MTA reports that the M15 bus won't make any local stops on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and 13th Street.

• There are now a reported 17 injuries, which includes 14 firefighters. None of the injuries were deemed life-threatening.

As for No. 188 and surrounding buildings...

Update from inter agency meeting with @nycoem
Northbound traffic on 1 Ave will remain closed until further notice, please avoid the are is possible.

3 Buildings have been evacuated and will remain empty until @NYCDOB checks the structure’s integrity. #EastVillage #NYC pic.twitter.com/W1jJwemVbg

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) October 3, 2018

Updated 2:45 p.m.

EVG reader dog shares this photo... apparently there has been a flare up, in the words of the NYPD, in the rear of No. 188...



And per the 9th Precinct....

There has been a small flare up in the rear of 188 1 Ave causing northbound vehicular traffic to once again be closed.@FDNY is still on scene https://t.co/niiL9TEbYY

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) October 3, 2018

An estimated 20 FDNY trucks remain at the scene, per dwg.

1st Avenue back to being 1st Avenue-y

All lanes of traffic are back open today on First Avenue at Seventh Street ... this after five days of repairs for the sinkhole/swallow hole/collapse due to a broken pipe... which backed up traffic all the way south to ____ during that time...



... there appeared to be a sinkhole setback last evening, as this photo via EVG regular Raquel Shapira showed...



Anyway, all good now.

A change in food vendors on 1st Avenue and 6th Street

Just noting the arrival this past weekend of a gyro-falafel cart on First Avenue at Sixth Street... this prompted several readers to ask what happened to the fruit-vegetable vendor who's usually here. I last saw him on Saturday afternoon...


[Photo not from Saturday afternoon]

[Updated] How much for this new-to-market home on 1st Avenue?

This arrived on the market this morning on First Avenue at East 12th Street...



Details are scarce. However, as you can tell, this coveted location offers easy access to public crosstown/uptown transportation and the First Avenue bike lane. Close to some of the neighborhood's best restaurants, shops, schools and bone broth.

What are you willing to pay for the chance to live here? (And don't be put off by the small size!)



1 p.m.

This is a project called #smokersnyc via photographer Mark Reigelman II ... taking this around the city and putting it over manhole covers to make it look like the chimney is in use...


[Via our friends at @academyrecords]

Get ready for some overnight milling of the streets

The city has posted these advisory notices around... noting work starting "on/about" today through Friday (from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

Per the flyers: "Work scheduled on this project includes the milling of streets in preparation for resurfacing by the NYC Department of Transportation Roadway Repair & Maintenance (RRM) division." (Those early RRM records were pretty good.)



Looks like Avenue C will be taking the brunt of this project, from East Houston to East 20th... and First Avenue just between East 14th Street and East 15th Street. Keep an eye out for the No Parking notices along Avenue C too.

There goes the Mecca of Hair

Workers have gutted the former Lugo Hair Center at 209 First Ave. between East 12th Street and East 13th Street…



Not sure exactly when they closed (with that cinderblock storefront, they never looked all that open).

But the place had fans. The Village Voice named them "Best Place to Get Hair Extensions" in 2013, noting: "The East Village's Lugo's Hair Center, which specializes in extensions and wigs, provides beautiful … manes made specifically for you. The process is long and taxing, but well worth it (they don't call themselves the 'mecca of hair' for nothing)."

The business, which apparently opened in 1976, still has a Brooklyn outpost.

Well blow me down

For some reason there is a tent on the roof of the building housing Tarallucci E Vino on the northwest corner of 10th Street and First Avenue.

Anyway, the tent is now on the sidewalk below this afternoon thanks to a nice gust of wind...



Steven Hirsch, who took this photo, says that no one was injured… Police are on the scene.

Holiday lights make you momentarily forget how horrible the intersection of 14th and 1st is

Hey, alright — the holiday lights are up now along East 14th Street west of First Avenue … getting into the spirit yet?

[Updated] City goes all out to warn people about this 1st Avenue pothole/sinkhole

At East Fourth Street … let's see — we have a cone, a barrel, a barricade thing, a trashcan … as well newsboxes for the Voice and L Magazine.

What else should we drag out here?

Thanks to @admhttn for the photo this morning.

Updated 1:16 P.M.

Some intrepid residents went in for a closer look!


[Photo by Marjorie Ingall]


[Photo by Derek Berg]

A big improvement for (maybe) the worst East Village corner

Whoa. Shocker. That sidewalk bridge that had been on the corner of First Avenue and East 14th Street is finally gone... Oh! So this is what all these businesses look like...



As for this being maybe the worst corner in the neighborhood for general congestion, stupidity, annoyances ... that's subjective... but it really sucks. You may have other least-favorite corners.

Neighbors complaining about the trash at newly opened Taverna Kyclades

The East Village outpost of Astoria favorite Taverna Kyclades opened for business last week at 228 First Ave. By most accounts, people are very happy to have the chance to eat their Greek fare in the neighborhood.

However, some neighbors here between East 13th Street and East 14th Street are already grumbling about the restaurant's trash.

Here is one claim by an affected party, who sent along the photos:

"They dump really stinky fish trash not in front of their restaurant but outside of neighboring business properties and next door to the local street fruit market seller ... causing horrible stenches."



Neighbors have called 311 to complain, though it is not clear if they have reached out directly to restaurant management to resolve the issue.

First Avenue, 8:41 a.m., May 4

Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery closes on First Avenue

Well. This morning, EVG reader @david_fitz sent along the above photo, showing a "for rent" sign on the Birdbath Bakery location on First Avenue between East 13th Street and East 14th Street... everything was cleared out yesterday, he noted.

The eco-friendly Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery is the little sister of City Bakery, as they put it on their website.

They had five locations, including the one that opened in May 2011 on Third Avenue and East Ninth Street.

Anyway, can we blame the new Starbucks on First Avenue and East 13th Street for his closure?

FDNY responds to abandoned truck on First Avenue

The FDNY is on the scene now on First Avenue and East 10th Street... there's an abandoned pickup truck on the west side of First Avenue ... witnesses say that the gas tank is dangling from under the truck, or something like that. The firefighters are currently trying to move the truck. Thanks to Christopher Pugliese for the above video...

I can't stop taking photos of this steam vent on First Avenue

At East 12th Street.

Sorry. I can't help myself... Anyway, this will do. (But I have more photos!)

And you can buy one here "for that gritty NY feel."

A look at the incoming 2 Bros. Pizza on First Avenue

As you may recall, a 2 Bros. Pizza is opening at the short-lived BaoBQ space (and Select Burger!) on First Avenue near East 14th Street... EVG reader Joe got a look inside...

Do you think all this $1 (or .99-cent pizza) around here (Joey Pepperoni, Papa John's, 7-Eleven, et al) can make it...? All of which is making local favorite Vinny Vincenz reduce its prices...

The first 2 Bros. opened on St. Mark's Place in 2008.

Publicity campaign continues for the tree house living room

Been a few weeks since we checked in on the tree house living room. So! Back in late November, the tree house living room over here on First Avenue near East 14th Street received a mention in New York magazine's "Neighborhood News" feature...

... a fact that the tree house's new publicity team stealthily has noted at the scene...

Meanwhile, we understand that the tree house living room is carefully weighing several TV cameos as well as a feature spread in Dwell ...

Previously.