Friday's parting shot

The changing of the St. Marks Pl signage today at First Avenue... thanks to EVG reader David Leeds for

the photo! 

(Click on the pic for a bigger view!)

Articles to read: The man who bet on St. Mark’s (in 1959)

The New York Times via writer Alessandra Schade takes a deep dive into Charles FitzGerald, the longtime St. Mark's Place landlord credited with helping shape the block's countercultural identity. 

FitzGerald arrived in 1959, when St. Mark's between Second and Third Avenue was largely boarded up and dirt cheap. What began as a $28-a-month studio-and-storefront deal turned into a decades-long experiment in retail, risk-taking and reinvention. 

He opened Bowl & Board in 1961, followed by a string of eclectic shops — from crushed velvet and vintage Levi's to imported goods and raccoon coats — eventually assembling multiple buildings and seven storefronts along the block. 

Over the years, as the street evolved from an immigrant enclave to a bohemian hub to a global curiosity, FitzGerald focused less on profit and more on "vibe," often subsidizing tenants he believed added to the character of St. Mark's. 

Tenants say he acts more like a curator than a conventional landlord. During the pandemic, he paused rent for some commercial tenants to help them survive. He also planted the oak trees that now line the block (the first in 1974), donated $2 million from building sales to a Maine conservancy and most recently backed Village Works, the late-night bookstore devoted to New York culture. 

Now 91, FitzGerald says he's not sentimental about the street’s changes — from the Gap's arrival in 1988 to the coming Sephora — viewing St. Mark's instead as "an evolving thing." 

Read the article here.

 

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Wednesday's parting corner shot

If you've walked by the SW corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue in the past week, you likely noticed that the sidewalk work wrapped up... (which we meant to note last week — photo below from Thursday night).

Not sure exactly what the crew was doing here in recent months, other than replacing the sidewalk outside and around Poetica Coffee and Paul's... work that dragged on and made it challenging to enter the businesses. 

Backing up a bit... last July, workers demolished the building extension on the St. Mark's side. (New owners bought the three buildings on this SW corner in 2024.) 

The longtime vendors here left earlier in 2025. For decades, vendors sold items such as sunglasses, floppy hats, wigs, umbrellas, and novelty holiday merchandise from outside the corner mainstay Gem Spa. (These items are still available outside Funky Town, mid-block, and at the kiosks closer to Third Avenue.) 

Before the vendors, the wall housed a bank of payphones — a location for New York Dolls photo shoots, among other phone-related activities.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Jacob Ford

St. Mark's Place snowbank beautification project...

Thursday's parting Instagram post

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Looking at St. Mark's Place while crossing from the NW corner of Third Avenue... the original location of Trash & Vaudville is visble in the background...

Friday's parting shots

Photos by William Klayer 

On St. Mark's Place between A and First tonight...

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Along St. Mark's Place this evening...

St. Mark’s Place corner vendor hub demolished

Workers have finished demolishing the building extension on the southwest corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue...

We haven't received any updates on the plans for the newly created space. (Perhaps sidewalk cafe space for tenant Poetica Coffee?) 

As we first reported on June 9, the longtime vendors here left earlier in the year... as the building's new-ish landlord planned for removal.

For decades, vendors sold items such as sunglasses, floppy hats, wigs, umbrellas, and novelty holiday merchandise from outside the corner mainstay Gem Spa. (These items are still available outside Funky Town, mid-block, and at the kiosks closer to Third Avenue.)

Prior to the vendors, the wall housed a bank of payphones (which we also miss!) — a location for New York Dolls photo shoots. 

Here's a bonus mid-demolition shot, courtesy of Steven...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A belated farewell to a familiar fixture of St. Mark's Place

Demoliton awaits the longtime sidewalk vendor space on St. Mark’s Place

Workers yesterday erected plywood around the building extension on the southwest corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue, ahead of the demolition of the structure. (H/T Steven!) 

As we reported on June 9, the longtime vendors here left earlier in the year... as the building's new-ish landlord planned for removal. 

For decades, vendors sold items like (cheaply made) sunglasses, floppy hats, wigs, (cheaply made) umbrellas, and novelty holiday fare from the kiosks. They were a familiar and welcome presence here. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A belated farewell to a familiar fixture of St. Mark's Place

A belated farewell to a familiar fixture of St. Mark’s Place

For years, the southwest corner at Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place buzzed with several sidewalk vendors selling everything from cheap sunglasses and floppy hats to wigs, umbrellas, and novelty holiday fare — items that were more functional than fashionable but always there when you might need them. 

The vendors disappeared earlier this year. (Photo below by Steven from 2020.)

We haven't seen the vendors since late February or early March here in the spaces outside the current tenant, Poetica Coffee.

A reliable source informs us that the newish landlord plans to demolish the structure that housed these vendors. 

In a sale announced last July, Ryco Capital purchased the three buildings at 127-129 Second Ave. and 36 St. Mark's Place from Jonis Realty (which is run by Citi Urban Management, also owned by the Helegua family) for $29 million. 

For decades, until 2020, the corner housed Gem Spa, the candy shop-newsstand. The wall was lined with payphones in the 1970s and 1980s... (and well-known for New York Dolls photo shoots)...

 

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We attempted to establish a more precise timeline of how the corner space evolved but only came up with fragments. 

Ray Patel bought Gem Spa in 1986, and he eventually removed a wall, replaced it with glass, and began selling goods such as T-shirts and hats outside. The adjacent kiosk was said to have arrived about the same time. (Photo below from 2019 by Stacie Joy.)

Buying something here was a bit of a rite of passage — mostly touristy, the kind of stop longtime residents might scoff at or avoid altogether. But in a sudden downpour or after a few drinks, it was often where you found yourself. And you knew that you could get the $20 asking price in half by starting to walk away. 

You can still find sidewalk hats and scarves from the kiosks that remain on the southeast corner of St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue (as well as outside Funky Town mid-block). 

Still, for those who remember the cluttered charm of that southwest corner, its absence leaves the block feeling just a little less alive — and familiar. 

Saturday's opening shot

Street sweeping St. Mark's Place this morning...

A place in the Sun: An installation series on St. Mark's Place celebrates the daylight

Starting tomorrow for the fall equinox, The Flint Collective NYC unveils a temporary installation series titled "Suncast" that maps "memory and daylight moments" along St Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Here's more via the EVG inbox: 

Six artists from the Collective responded to the challenge of creating works that 1) transform our perception of the street; 2) "catch" light rather than produce light and 3) use minimal material to allow the light effect to take center stage. 

The experimental format was devised as an inversion of the electric light art festivals common to other major cities. In contrast to the spectacle of the typical light festivals that extend the night culture, the daylight interventions presented an opportunity to celebrate small moments in our Everyday and contribute to the character of streets before sundown.

The opening festivities start tomorrow at 11 a.m. at 97 St. Mark's Place... followed by an artist walk at noon. 

The work will be up through Sept. 29. This link details the different installations and timing on events.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg

Along St. Mark's Place today...

A Vintage Block Party on St. Mark's Place today

Funny Pretty Nice and Romeo's are presenting A Vintage Block party on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue today from 2-7 p.m. 

Funny Pretty Nice, a vintage and second-hand boutique with outposts on MacDougal and University Place, co-hosted a block party with Romeo's in April.

Take in the vintage action outside 118 St. Mark's Place, near Romeo's, the cocktail lounge that opened this past December. 

This block of St. Mark's Place takes part in the city's seasonal Open Streets program ... and is closed to through traffic Friday from 4:30 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

St. Mark's Place fashion watch

The well-worn sleeveless hoodie with latex-coated string knit gloves as shoulder pads. 

Thanks to Jacob Ford for the photo between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

We'll always have St. Mark's Place

As we noted this past Tuesday, workers removed the roof and walls of the entryway to the empty storefront at 22 St. Mark's Place, which briefly housed Mr. Kim, the tattoo and piercing studio between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

In the above recent photo, Ed Yoo captured a mosh-pit moment at the previous crash pad spot...

Early summer on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

At the short-lived Mr. Kim tattoo and piercing studio at 22 St. Mark's Place, the covered entryway to the empty storefront became an inviting place to hang out in recent weeks ...

... until the landlord (presumably) had workers remove the roof and walls...

... sending the traveling crew to a different spot on the block here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Saturday's opening shot

This morning on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

A Feast (and some chalk) on St. Mark's Place

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We were unaware that today is the Feast of St. Mark's Place between Third Avenue and Second Avenue... sponsored by the Village Alliance ... and running until 8 p.m. 

EVG reader Jacob Ford shared a few photos from the block...

There is artfully arranged chalk too...

... and people are putting it to use...

Saturday's parting shot

A view along St. Mark's Place late this afternoon between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

This block is again part of the Open Streets program for the following days/hours: 

• Fridays: 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

• Saturdays: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

• Sundays: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.