June's opening shot

First Park... first day of June... happy June... Happy Pride Month...

The Lazy Llama has closed in First Park; no new vendor in the pipeline

ICYMI: The Lazy Llama is no longer running the snack bar in First Park here between First Street and Houston adjacent to the First Avenue F stop...

The coffee shop, which has a cafe across the way at 72 E. First St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, had operated from the kiosk since July 2021.

The Parks Department issued a Request for Proposal last July for "the renovation, operation, and maintenance" of the snack bar. The lease for the space expires in April.

However, don't expect a new tenant anytime soon. A Parks spokesperson told us this yesterday: "We did not receive any proposals for First Park in the East Village. Parks is exploring all options for the kiosk, including reissuing the RFP."

Previous local businesses at the kiosk include S'MAC and Mudspot Café.

In other Lazy Llama-related news, their sister business, Gemina Coffee Shop, opened this past November at 424 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. EVG readers have said nice things about the place. 

City issues RFP for the renovation and operation of the snack bar at First Park

The Parks Department has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for "the renovation, operation and maintenance" of the snack bar at First Park. 

The Lazy Llama currently holds the lease, which is up in April 2024, here in the space between First Street and Houston adjacent to the First Avenue F stop. 

The coffee shop, which has a cafe across the way at 72 E. First St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has been operating from the kiosk since July 2021. (They can apply for the new lease/agreement as well.) 

Here's some info from the RFP: 

The snack bar kiosk is an octagonal, 10-foot by 15-foot structure featuring a brick exterior, a pass-through counter and window, and a unique, wildlife-inspired roof. The interior includes a service area and storage. The kiosk sits just above the 2nd Avenue F train and is a prime location for commuters and park patrons to stop and enjoy the offerings of the snack bar. 

And!

The concessionaire will be required to renovate, operate, and maintain a café at a high standard of quality. The café should make a significant improvement to the ambiance of the park and surrounding area while providing a convenient service to the public. Proposers should submit a menu and price list in their proposals that demonstrate quality, variety, and affordability. Proposers should include some low-cost items on their menus. Parks will favorably view proposals that incorporate ethnically diverse and/or healthy food choices, such as salads, fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, granola... 

A "recommended" remote prospect meeting is tomorrow (Wednesday, July 26) at 11 a.m. The meeting link via Teams is here. 

You can find a copy of the RFP via this site. (Click on the "Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link.) Proposals are due on Aug. 25 by 3 p.m. 

Previous local businesses at the kiosk include S'MAC and Mudspot Café.

The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar opens cafe in the First Park kiosk

The Lazy Llama Coffee Bar debuted an outpost in the First Park kiosk late last week. 

Llama@thePark is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ... (and directly across the street from its coffee shop at 72 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue). 

Aside from coffee drinks, the kiosk here outside the F stop is serving a variety of sandwiches, wraps, burgers, fried chicken, salads and more...

Mud Coffee had been in this space since the fall of 2013. However, Mud closed up here early last fall.

Monday's parting shots

According to the Citizen app yesterday, there was "a report of a swarm of bees in a tree and swarming around people" at First Park on First Street and First Avenue. 

And today, a member of the NYPD beekeepers was spotted doing some follow-up work on the scene... thanks to @aceacekin for the photos...

The bee unit reportedly formed in 2010 when NYC legalized urban beekeeping.

The Neighbors move out early at First Street Green Art Park

The Neighbors exhibit along the southern perimeter of First Street Green Art Park along Houston between First Avenue and Second Avenue was expected to be up through July 7.

However, the 86, four-by-five portraits that lined the fence were removed this past weekend...



The Daily News reported last week that 52 out of 86 of the portraits had been tagged/vandalized since they arrived on April 28...



Neighbors, a traveling exhibit, featured Americans representing all 50 states taken by photographer John Raymond Mireles.

"I expected some vandalism though admittedly not on this scale," Mireles told the Daily News. He admitted that his "heart sinks" from the tagging.

In case you missed it, here's a video of the portraits...

Bad 'Neighbors' at First Street Green Art Park?

The Daily News reports that 52 out of 86 of the four-by-five-feet portraits in the Neighbors exhibit along East Houston Street have been tagged in recent weeks.

Neighbors features Americans representing all 50 states taken by photographer John Raymond Mireles ... the portraits went up on April 28 from First Avenue to Second Avenue at First Street Green Art Park.

"I expected some vandalism though admittedly not on this scale," Mireles told the Daily News. He admitted that his "heart sinks" from the tagging.

"It’s not what I hoped for, but it’s part of this artistic experiment.

"I could have done this show in a gallery,” he added. "Being outside, the exhibit invites and allows engagement. As an artist, my goal is to provoke thought and jump-start conversations that lead to action. That my artwork is altered in service of stimulating dialogue is a small price to pay."

And of the 52 tagged portraits, only one of them features a red penis...

Neighbors at First Street Green Art Park

The Neighbors project is a series of portraits of Americans taken across all 50 states by photographer John Raymond Mireles ... the portraits went up yesterday along East Houston Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue at First Street Green Art Park.

Here are just a few of the images...











The opening reception is May 12.

Head trip

A look at one of the new murals in the First Street Green Art Park ... Kathy Griffin (as Bat Woman) holding the head of Harvey Weinstein, courtesy of SacSix ...

Mudspot Café now open in First Park

Mudspot Café is now open for coffee business in the kiosk off of East Houston and East First Street.

As we first reported on Oct. 10, the East Ninth Street-based café was taking over the food and beverage service from S'MAC, which left the space back in July.

EVG reader Jennifer Spero, who took the above photo, notes that they had muffins and other breakfast items as well as a full coffee/espresso menu.

Updated 12:30 pm

Sorry! Not First Park! But Mud Park!


[Photo via @shmnyc]

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about S'MAC's decision to leave First Park

Mudspot Café opening at the First Park kiosk next month

Mudspot Café prepping kiosk for service in First Park

Mudspot Café prepping kiosk for service in First Park

As we first reported on Oct. 10, Mudspot Café was taking over the food and beverage service from S'MAC in the kiosk off of East Houston and East First Street.

As you can see, there's a lot of progress to report here in First Park ... or, perhaps, Mud Park...



Updated 9:45 a.m.
Mudspot General Manager Yasmina Palumbo told us that they hoped to be open in November. From the looks of things, it's possible that it could happen sooner rather than later... said that Mud Park will be ready to serve in just a couple more weeks.

"We must look more ready than we realized because we've had a lot of people try to order coffee in the last few days!"

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about S'MAC's decision to leave First Park

Mudspot Café opening at the First Park kiosk next month

More about S'MAC's decision to leave First Park

[January 2012]

News came down last week that S'MAC had closed its satellite operation at First Park after nearly 18 months at the location off of East Houston and East First Street. S'MAC took over for Veselka at the kiosk in January 2012.

We reached out to Caesar Ekya, who owns and operates S'MAC with his wife Sarita, for more details about the decision and the future at First Park.

On running the kiosk:

"We had high hopes for it. It is such a lovely park and neighborhood, and we felt that it would be great to be part of it and help develop it into something better.

But the sales didn't materialize and we ended up losing money there every week that we were open. We tried different formats, timings, product mix, even started delivering, but were not able to raise sales to a break-even number.

We still have more ideas for it and more things on our list to try but then, in the past few months, two things happened that made us decide to give it up. One was the opening of the Murray Hill location and the other was the Health Department mandated closure of the East Village original.

With those two events we realized that we needed to bring our focus back to the two locations that we know work and are profitable, and so the decision to close became inevitable."

On the future at First Park:

"We still feel very sad having to close the kiosk. We feel it has a lot of potential for the right vendor and are working with the Parks Department to find someone who can turn into the neighbor it can be.

If we terminate our lease and walk away, then it will go back to a bidding process and will remain closed for the next 6-9 months. So our preference is to try and find someone to assign the lease to. We have talked to a lot of the neighborhood businesses already, especially coffee shops, and there are some potentials in the pipeline. Hopefully, we will know for sure in the next 2-3 weeks."

The S'MAC locations on East 12th Street and in Murray Hill remain open.

Wedding crashers

An EVG reader shared these photos from Saturday ... when a wedding party briefly descended upon First Park on East 12th Street near First Avenue...

"Kind of funny ... they all ran onto the active park to the confusion of the skaters there, took about 10 minutes of photos, and then ran off before posing with some of the skate kids."

...and we nearly had a heelflip... Impressive!

'Urban Exquis,' a cinematic installation at First Park tonight

[Bobby Williams]

Tonight from 8-9 in First Park, 33 E. First St. near Second Avenue ... via Facebook...

Urban Exquis is inspired both by the cadavre exquis method of poetry, in which a collection of writers blindly contribute isolated words that together compose a poem, and by Gordon Matta-Clark’s 1976 film City Slivers, in which the artist depicts New York City through a collection of masked views that fill only a portion of the film frame. Urban Exquis consists of twenty-four short videos that depict various urban environments.

And a scene from last night's viewing...

[Via Facebook]

At First Park Green's Earth Day

Despite the dreary weather, the show went on today at First Park Green ... Earth Day (today!) marked the grand opening of the Park's first season of cultural programming ... including the unveiling of a sculpture by Robert Sestok ...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Previously.

[Updated] Tomorrow: First Park Earth Day

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Join our April 22nd Earth Day grand opening of our first season of cultural programming in First Park at 33 East First Street from 2:30 – 6:30 p.m. We will unveil a sculpture by Robert Sestok, listen to guitar wizard, Gary Lucas, and Sunday New York Times columnist Rosie Schapp. There will be dance, collaborative painting, and children's events. The day will provide a sample of the season to come.

This is the first event here since the BMW/Guggenheim Labbers left last fall.

Also, in case of crap weather... the organizers hope to do this rain or shine... Per one of the organizers on Facebook: "if weather is bad, we have a small pavilion to put up, and a large tarp, and if need be we can take shelter in #35, next door to the park, starting the after party early."