XOXO 2nd Avenue

Last Sunday, we marked the 10th anniversary of the closing of Mars Bar on Second Avenue's southwest corner at First Street. 

On this occasion, Julius Klein shared the two photos below of what the northwest corner of Second Avenue and First Street looked like for a time in the 1990s ... when he ran XOXO, a performance space and gallery.

This first shot is from 1997, three months before workers demolished the building to make way for part of the Avalon Bowery Place luxury complex...

And this next photo — circa 1992 — is looking to the northwest from Houston and Second Avenue... Roy, a handyman at Mars Bar, attends to owner Hank Penza's car...

Here's a current-day view of the NW corner of Second Avenue and First Street (thanks to Steven for the pic)...

A multi-vehicle collision with injuries reported on 2nd Avenue at 14th Street

Photojournalist Jefferson Siegel shared this photo from this evening around 7 at Second Avenue and 14th Street ... where there was a multiple-car collision. A cyclist was also struck.

A Lyft driver appeared to be unconscious and was trapped in his car for several minutes until firefighters were able to free him. He was removed to the hospital. The bicyclist appeared shaken. The condition of the other two drivers was unknown. Police stopped southbound traffic on 2nd Avenue at 15th Street.

The above photo shows firefighters working to remove the Lyft driver after placing a neck brace on him.

No word at the moment about the cause of the collision.

Report: Collision on 2nd Avenue at 9th Street leaves 69-year-old man in critical condition

Driver hits 69-year-old man who was crossing East Village street, leaving him in critical condition https://t.co/nDgOneJqow pic.twitter.com/vzhxSpynfz

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 21, 2018

There were several reader reports last night about a car striking a pedestrian last evening on Second Avenue and Ninth Street.

According to the Daily News, a 69-year-old man was crossing west on Second Avenue when a Honda Accord making a left turn from Ninth Street struck the pedestrian around 8 p.m.

Per the News:

A bicyclist riding down Second Ave. said the driver had the green light but was turning too fast to stop for the victim who was in the crosswalk.

The victim was taken to Bellevue and is reportedly in critical condition.

No charges were immediately filed against the 35-year-old motorist, according to the News.

TBT: Breaker, breaker: The Bandit spotted on Second Avenue

First posted on Sept. 5, 2011... RIP Burt Reynolds...





Perhaps dining at a nearby "choke and puke"? (And if you really want to watch the trailer for this cinematic milestone ... go here.)

Photos by Bobby Williams.

E-Nail has closed on 2nd Avenue

That's it for the 10-year-old salon at 125 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street.

One of the owners told EVG reader Carol from East Fifth Street that they had "lost a lot of business," though the owner didn't specify if that was the result of the deadly gas explosion on March 26 or the recent citywide crackdown on nail salons.

E-Nail was closed for nearly six weeks following the blast two storefronts away ... reopening on May 3.

Reminders: The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl on 2nd Avenue is tonight

Reposting from last week ... Via the EVG inbox...

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Rosie Mendez today announced the Council will host a “Follow Me Friday” tour of the East Village with local business owners, community members and elected officials on Friday, May 29.

The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl will help highlight and promote East Village businesses recovering from the aftermath of the March 26 building explosion ... and will begin with a moment of silence at the site of the explosion on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. The small business tour will begin at 5:30 PM and will include the following stops:

• Moment of silence for victims of recent explosion (Northwest Corner of 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street)
• Tour of Moishe’s Bake Shop (115 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of New Yorker Market (107-113 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Café Mocha (116 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Bar Virage (118 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Himalayan Vision (127 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Enz’s (125 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Jimmy’s No. 43 (23 East 7th Street)

Those wishing to join the event should RSVP by sending an e-mail here

Next week: The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl on 2nd Avenue

Via the EVG inbox...

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Rosie Mendez today announced the Council will host a “Follow Me Friday” tour of the East Village with local business owners, community members and elected officials on Friday, May 29.

The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl will help highlight and promote East Village businesses recovering from the aftermath of the March 26 building explosion ... and will begin with a moment of silence at the site of the explosion on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. The small business tour will begin at 5:30 PM and will include the following stops:

• Moment of silence for victims of recent explosion (Northwest Corner of 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street)
• Tour of Moishe’s Bake Shop (115 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of New Yorker Market (550 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Café Mocha (116 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Bar Virage (118 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Himalayan Vision (127 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Enz’s (125 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Jimmy’s No. 43 (23 East 7th Street)

Those wishing to join the event should RSVP by sending an e-mail here

A sign that 2nd Avenue is trying to get back to normal

Photo on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place today by Peter Shapiro...

'Small Biz Crawl' this Saturday on 2nd Avenue

From the EVG inbox...

#SaveNYC is a grassroots, crowd-sourced, D.I.Y. movement to protect and preserve the diversity and uniqueness of the urban fabric in New York City. As our vibrant streetscapes and neighborhoods are turned into bland, suburban-style shopping malls, filled with chain stores and glossy luxury retail, #SaveNYC is fighting for small businesses and cultural institutions to remain in place.

After a disaster like the deadly Second Avenue explosion and fire, impacted small businesses struggle to survive. #SaveNYC is holding a Small Biz Crawl along Second Avenue to bring customers, cash and attention to those mom-and-pops in need. This weekend, we’ll do the western side of Second Avenue; next time, the eastern side.

Meet #SaveNYC on Saturday, April 11, at noon. We’re starting at Gem Spa on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark’s Place. Buy your magazines, newspapers and egg creams at this first stop. From there, we’ll head down toward 7th Street. Do some gift shopping at Himalayan Visions. Then it’s lunch at the B&H Dairy or Paul’s Da Burger Joint. Your choice. After lunch, we’ll weave our way across the barricades of 7th Street to stock up on groceries at the New Yorkers Foodmarket. Please bring your #SaveNYC sign to let everyone know who we are and why we’re there. Click here to print out signs — and to find out more about #SaveNYC.

In a tweet to us yesterday, Paul's said that their business was down 75 percent since the explosion.

Other food choices on the west side of Second Avenue are Taqueria Diana and Ramen Misoya.

As for B&H, they are hopeful to be back open tomorrow.

2nd Avenue this morning

[Looking south from East 14th Street]

Second Avenue remains closed below East 14th Street while crews continue to work at the site of the fallen buildings at East Seventh Street. Cross streets are open (except for St. Mark's and Seventh Street).


[Photo at East 6th Street by Vinny and O]

As of 8:15 a.m., or so, the usual Second Avenue businesses were open, such as Veselka, Starbucks, Fresco Gelateria, East Village Meats and Stage. Gem Spa is open, though you need to enter from St. Mark's Place.

It appears that the 13th Step just north of East Ninth Street will be open today. They were getting a Budweiser delivery…



We also hear that the New Yorkers Market (ex Met Foods) at 107 Second Ave. between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street will be open.


[Looking north from East Houston]

Blown cover on 2nd Avenue

This dumpster load is no longer secure outside 128 Second Ave., where the building is undergoing a gut renovation just south of St. Mark's Place…

Missing the light

EVG contributor Derek Berg came across this minor collision early this afternoon on Second Avenue at East Fourth Street ... the NYPD was on the scene to sort out who did what ...

Hampton Jitney drop-off service proposed for 2nd Avenue

[Via image the CB3 website]

Tonight's CB3 Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee meeting includes a proposal for a Hampton Jitney stop at 177 Second Ave. near East 11th Street.

According to the proposal (PDF!), there will be three drop offs during the summer: 7:34 a.m. on Monday, 3:19 p.m. on Friday and 9:04 p.m. on Sunday. (Depending on the traffic, add up to three hours to these times.)

While we haven't heard anything about this application (hey, when are we getting a heliport anyway?), there is opposition to other items on tonight's committee agenda — specifically with new permits for Chinatown bus companies, as The Lo-Down reports here.

The meeting starts at 6:30 in the University Settlement at Houston Street Center, 273 Bowery.

More bike racks for Second Avenue and East 9th Street

A few weeks after the city installed new bike racks on (and around!) Second Avenue and East Ninth Street, EVG Second Avenue and East Ninth Street Bike Rack Correspondent Terry Howell notes the arrive of several more (bike racks).



And here's a bonus photo of trucks double-parking near the other new bike racks yesterday morning... (not that the bike racks caused this, of course...)

Report: 2nd Avenue bike lane will extend from 14th to 23rd streets

Cyclists (and maybe parkers!) take note. The Department of Transportation plans to remove a lane of traffic on Second Avenue between 14th Street and 23rd Street to make room for about 35 parking spaces, which will provide a buffer for cyclists using the bike lane along this busy stretch, DNAinfo is reporting.

"It would create a continuous protected path on the avenue...and makes a shorter pedestrian path for those crossing Second Avenue who might need to walk a little slower," DOT spokesperson Patrick Kennedy said last night during a CB6 committee meeting.

The full CB6 Board will vote on the proposed plan next week, per DNAinfo. Read the article here.

3 ConEd barricades and 1 trash can later, city fills Second Avenue sinkhole

[Earlier]

Looking good here now in the middle of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street...



... where a sinkhole was threatening the integrity of [___________].

A scene on Second Avenue this morning

Two readers described this scene this morning on Second Avenue by the steps of the Ottendorfer Library. Two older men are passed out on the sidewalk. Two other men come by and try to rouse them. Or so it seems.

A passerby on the other side of the street starts screaming at the men standing. Residents in an apartment across the way also yell at the men. There's shouting back and forth.

From the witnesses, it appears that one of the men took money from the two on the ground. The man in the red shirt declares his innocence. He walks into Second Avenue yelling. He comes back to the men on the sidewalk and explains he was actually helping by hiding the money on their bodies. He says that it was too easy to take.

There's more standing and the two finally walk away, still declaring their innocence. They placed the money into the crack of the man's ass.

Someone else walking by promises to call an ambulance. Others pass by walking on the Avenue.

[Updated] Car smashes into East Village Farm & Grocery on Second Avenue; 6 reported injured

[Fox News]

A car crashed into East Village Farm & Grocery on Second Avenue and East Fourth Street this morning around 7, according to published reports. Readers have said that there is a large emergency response on the scene.

Fox reports that there are several injuries, and that at least two cars were involved in the accident. WABC 7 reports that "five people were being treated inside the vehicle."

We'll pass along more information as it comes in...

Updated 7:56

NBC 4 reports that eight people have been taken to the hospital, "including three in serious condition." It still isn't clear if the injured were passengers in the two cars that collided or pedestrians or grocery employees.


[Photo via @Xeus]

Updated 8:04


[Photo via @JanSichermann]

Updated 8:29

Witnesses say fire hydrant, trees, bikes, store front taken out when car jumps curb. Updates: http://t.co/Sfr8iuiflH pic.twitter.com/LFNtt3MPhu

— MyFoxNY.com (@MyFoxNY) June 19, 2013

‏
Updated 8:33


[Photo via @kiwi1978]

DNAinfo reports that the injured include pedestrians... a reader hears that at least one of the injured worked at the grocery.

Updated 8:57

#BreakingNews horrific accident in #East Village. Car jumps curb. Injures 8 @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/RVUtAurWhx

— Lisa Colagrossi (@LColagrossi7) June 19, 2013

Updated 9:45

The Post reports that the car, a white Nissan Altima, hit four people. The most seriously hurt is a East Village Farm & Grocery worker who had been setting up the flower stand. He is in critical condition at Bellevue. A bicyclist was also struck, and was listed in stable condition.


Updated 11:06

MANHATTAN: U/D - DRIVER OF CAR THAT STRUCK 8 PEDESTRIANS EARLY THIS MORNING AT 2ND AVE & 4TH STREET ARRESTED FOR DWI! @DNAinfo #911BUFF

— 911 Operator (@911BUFF) June 19, 2013

Aside from the reported arrest of the drive... NBC 4 says that only six people were injured, not eight as originally reported. An employee from the market reportedly has life-threatening injuries; the other five are expected to be OK.

Updated 11:50 a.m.

East Village car wreck scene on 2nd Ave/4th St as of 11:45am pic.twitter.com/ydyLTZmSbt

— JwalkinNYC (@JwalkinNYC) June 19, 2013

Metro reports that the driver of the car is Shaun Martin, 32, from Queens. The 37-year-old man cyclist was riding a Citi Bike, Metro noted.

DNAinfo reports that Martin had priors for drunken driving and cocaine possession. Police took him to Bellevue, where they reported found a marijuana stash in his sock.

Updated noon

From the Daily News:

"They were racing each other - that's what happened," Alvraro Alban, 38, told the Daily News. "I saw them race right past me. This stupid thing of who's going to take the next 10 blocks faster."

Witnesses say the driver was going 80 mph and weaving in and out of traffic minutes before the crash.

The Altima was "weaving in and out of traffic," said Alban, who estimated the two cars were flying at about 80 mph. "That's probably how he lost control. They weren't driving straight."

The Daily News also has some horrorfic aerial shots from the accident scene.

Updated 12:25



Updated 3:12

A commenter points us to NY1's updated coverage...

Neighbors in the area tell NY1 they were particularly concerned for the three workers injured at the corner store which they describe as being a neighborhood institution.

"The whole neighborhood is out here wanting to know how people are," said one East Village resident.

"I know the guy too, the flower guy who has been working there for about 20 years, so I hope he's alright," noted a second East Village resident.

One worker was seriously injured. Some positive news. According to Metro: "The 62-year-old victim’s condition has been upgraded and he is no longer considered likely to die."

Second Avenue, before the 'giant fraternity party'

Christopher Gray at The New York Times has a piece on the history of Second Avenue in today's paper ...

Second Avenue opened after the adoption of the grid plan in 1811, and wealthy families put up comfortable brick Greek Revival houses, like the Isaac Hopper house at 110 Second Avenue (above), nearly intact from the 1830s.

[Early 2012]

And you may not notice the beauty of No. 149 ... with the distraction of the kegs and stench of chicken wings from the 13th Step...


[Yesterday]

But, at one time...

Another town house from the 1840s is 149 Second Avenue; it still has its stoop and is comparatively little altered, although there’s a big skylight on the roof that must give some apartment plenty of sun. The 1870 census records the occupants as Edward Jaffray, a socially prominent dry goods importer, his family of five and nine servants.

And what about today's Second Avenue?

There is still some of the old egg-cream-ethnic left on Second Avenue, but now the chief cultural group is 20-something singles, who spill onto the sidewalks like a giant fraternity party, more ebullient than disorderly, even with plenty of beer.

Read the whole article here.

Early-morning accident leaves truck overturned on Second Avenue

EVG reader MP provides the photos and narrative from this early-morning accident on Second Avenue at East Ninth Street.

"Was awoken at exactly 4.30 am by what sounded like an explosion... But no, just a truck rolling down 2nd Avenue, which apparently had swerved trying to avoid hitting a car that ran the light going west on 9th st."

Per MP, no one was injured. Here's a look at the scene.





The overturned truck belongs to Baldor Specialty Foods...