'I smell dead things': The plot thins on Avenue A

The mucky tree well on Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street along the Con Ed substation is once again a bare plot of earth and pigeon feed.

The plants or crops — or whatever was managing to grow there — were removed by an unknown source last week, returning this particular patch of Avenue A to its more familiar state. 

Some readers may recall that the tree well enjoyed a brief horticultural renaissance in the spring of 2024, when a resident cleaned out the muck and added a collection of plants. 

However, it didn't last, as this tree well seems to be connected to an underground life force bubbling up from the earth's core. (Fact check, please.) 

The smell, however, remains. We once described it as "dead vampires" and were quickly called out for it: "Have you ever smelled a dead vampire?" 

Dammit. Anyway. 

Nature is healing?

Previously on EV Grieve:

• This spring, new life for the mucky tree well that smells like dead things on Avenue A

‘A Dream Task’: Inside Nico Lou’s new Mutt Library at Hancock Cafe

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Interview by EVG 

East Village native Nico Lou Monheim Carrasquillo has a new home for some of the books, writers and literary discoveries that have shaped her reading life. 

The founder and curator of the monthly MUTT Readings just launched the Mutt Library at Hancock Cafe on Rivington at Attorney on the Lower East Side — a handpicked selection of secondhand books available to browse and purchase.

The shelves mix influential favorites with work by writers who have taken part in MUTT Readings, alongside chapbooks, small-press titles and other finds sourced largely from friends and independent booksellers around the city. 

Hancock Cafe opened earlier this summer here on the Lower East Side, an outgrowth of the Hancock Foundation, the arts and event space tucked inside a 19th-century Bed-Stuy mansion. Elene Makharashvili, Nini Nebieridze and Jack Doyle Smith are behind both projects. 

We talked with Nico Lou about how Mutt Library came together, what makes a book worthy of the shelves and what's next on her own reading list.

How did the collab with Hancock come about?

I met Elene, Jack (both below), and Nini, who run the Hancock Cafe together, through my dad many years ago — before anything "Hancock" existed. 

Their first project was the Hancock Foundation, which is an event space in Bed-Stuy that hosts music and art shows, food pop-ups, film screenings, etc. They do lots of different things. 

This summer, they expanded and opened up the Hancock Cafe on Rivington Street. It's actually just down the street from where I grew up. Elene reached out to me about a month after they'd opened to see if I might be interested in curating the book selection at the cafe, which is my dream task. 

After that, it came together really quickly. I sourced books from my own personal collection, as well as from bookstores and from my friend Joshua, who runs JRS Books and sets up his book table at Tompkins on Sundays. I did buy a few things online, but I mostly want to find things in person and support my friends who are booksellers, like Joshua or Thirteen at Trains and Tom Ianelli at Peter Books. 

It feels much more exciting and personal to find things that way when I can. 

What can people expect from your curated selection of books ... typically what catches your eye?

The curation is a mix of things that were very influential to me — books like "Baise-Moi," the "High Risk" anthologies, or Richard Brautigan — as well as titles by people who have been directly involved in Mutt Readings, the monthly reading series I host. 

I have a book of poetry by my friend India Rose Timpani, which she self-published in June; Bud Smith's recently reprinted book "Work"; Will Mountain Cox's anthology "The Relegation Reader"; and chapbooks by Blush Bullseye, Lucas Restivo, and Montana James Thomas. 

Sarah Schulman, Darcey Steinke, Nicole Treska and Courtney Bush are all writers who have read at MUTT before, so having their books available here is another nice way to platform their work.

What's next on your personal reading list?

I just finished "City of Rats" by Copi, which was insane and amazing. Now I'm reading "The Bell Jar," somewhat randomly. Next, I think I'm gonna read "Dark Rides," which my friend (and amazing writer!) Oisín Roberts gave me as a gift this past March. I also want to read "Luna" by Delacorta, which I got for the library because the cover is so good and camp, but the storyline also sounds bizarre. It seems like it could be a good end-of-the-summer beach read.

And Mutt Library seems particularly at home at Hancock, a laptop-free cafe designed to encourage conversation, readings and other gatherings.

The launch afternoon this past Saturday also included a cake made by Dusty Rose Ryan (below left).

Books, cake and no laptops. We could get used to this. 

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Hankcock Cafe, 176 Rivington St., is open daily... from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a 6 p.m. close on Saturdays and Sundays. Follow them on Instagram here.

Nothing 'Irregular' about the 2 festival awards for this Sophie's-set film

A nice festival finish for "Irregular."

The independent feature, filmed largely inside Sophie's on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, won Best Comedy and Best Ensemble Cast at the Chain Film Festival, director and co-writer Kyle de Vre (below) tells us. 

The Festival announced its awards on Sunday.

"Irregular" made its world premiere at the NYC festival on Aug. 9. The first screening sold out, prompting organizers to add a second. 

Directed and co-written by de Vre, a Sophie's bartender (and photographer and filmmaker), the 80-minute film unfolds through a series of barroom vignettes set over random Tuesdays, populated by quirky regulars, curious newcomers and the occasional unexplained smell. 

As we noted in our January Q&A with de Vre, who also plays The Bartender, "Irregular" is a love letter to both Sophie's and the East Village. 

We'll keep you posted on where "Irregular" turns up next.

Openings: Recente on 2nd Avenue

Photo courtesy of Alex Staniloff 

Recente, a coastal Italian restaurant and aperitivo bar, debuted last week at 182 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.

The restaurant is the first independent venture from managing partners Willem Hock and Lukas Canan, who met while working at Dante in 2017. Hock later worked at the Surf Lodge and Golden Age Hospitality, while Canan went on to Amor y Amargo and other bar projects. 

Australian chef Monty Koludrovic, the former executive chef of Icebergs Dining Room & Bar in Sydney, is serving as culinary consultant. On the drinks side, there's a selection of spritzes, martinis and Italian and natural wines. 

The space includes a 60-seat dining room and bar, a 30-seat rear courtyard and 16 sidewalk seats. 

Dinner hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 5-11 p.m., with late-night service until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Weekend brunch is expected to start in September. Recente is closed on Mondays. 

The space previously housed the 22-year-old Italian restaurant Cacio e Pepe. 

A Tompkins Square Park trash can has a warning

Photos by Steven 

An unusual warning appeared early this evening just inside the Seventh Street and Avenue A entrance to Tompkins Square Park. 

Members of the FDNY spray-painted "Look up!" with an arrow on a trash can.

And up? 

A branch looking like, say, an upside-down broccoli floret was dangling from a tree...

The FDNY then taped off the area. 

We're told the Parks Department will need to bring in a cherry picker to remove the wayward-vegetable branch.

Until then: Look up!

Free film tomorrow night in Tompkins Square Park: 'Beast of the Southern Wild'

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ICYMI: Roadway dining gets a year-round seat at the table

EVG file photo

New York City's roadway dining season will no longer have to end when November does. 

City Council voted last week to allow restaurants to operate roadway dining setups year-round, changing the rules of the city's permanent Dining Out NYC program. 

Under the current system, sidewalk cafes may operate year-round. At the same time, roadway setups are permitted from April 1 through Nov. 29. Restaurants must dismantle and store the roadway structures during the winter months. 

The legislation approved on Aug. 13 eliminates that seasonal restriction and creates a year-round roadway dining license. It also allows restaurants to use approved weatherproofing and winterizing materials. 

According to the Department of Transportation, applications for year-round roadway dining will open in early September. New applicants can select either a seasonal or year-round roadway license, with the year-round option carrying additional fees. 

Restaurants already participating in the program will be able to upgrade their licenses or pending applications by paying an additional fee. 

Officials say the change does not bring back the largely unregulated outdoor dining structures that proliferated during the pandemic. Roadway cafes will continue to be subject to the design, siting and licensing requirements of Dining Out NYC, as well as an 11 p.m. closing time.

City Council said 1,649 restaurants currently hold fully issued outdoor dining licenses citywide. 

Supporters of year-round roadway dining have argued that requiring restaurants to dismantle and store their structures every winter adds costs and discourages participation in the program. Critics of roadway dining have raised concerns about the loss of parking and curb space, sanitation, noise and the proliferation of structures on city streets. 

DOT says more information about the year-round program and the application process will be available ahead of the September launch.

Never mind the bollards: Clinton Street has a traffic problem

Photos by Salim 

Early yesterday morning, a semi turning from Clinton Street onto westbound Houston Street rode over a bollard on the divider, blocking traffic — including buses — and sending some drivers into the new separated bike lane. (Vehicles are making a habit of turning onto bollards at Clinton and Houston.) 

No injuries were reported, though the mishap snarled traffic for much of the morning.

The scene offers a timely reason to revisit an opinion piece that Lower East Side resident and Community Board 3 member Tal Roded wrote for Streetsblog last month about Clinton Street's traffic problems. 

Roded notes that the stretch of Clinton between Delancey and Houston handles roughly 16,000 vehicles a day — four to six times the traffic of neighboring streets — much of it coming from the Williamsburg Bridge off-ramp. More than 100 crashes have occurred along the corridor over the past decade. 

His proposed fix: Create a "Low Traffic Neighborhood" by eliminating the Williamsburg Bridge off-ramp onto Clinton and directing uptown-bound drivers to Essex and Allen streets. Clinton would remain accessible to residents and delivery vehicles while eliminating much of the cut-through traffic. 

You can find the DOT's rules and regulations for commercial trucks here.

Monday's parting shot

A photo of the Monday sunset courtesy of EVG reader Jim Mullins...

A final Friday night at White Trash

Photos by Stacie Joy 

White Trash, the vintage furniture and home furnishings shop at 304 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, had a memorable sendoff on Friday evening. 

Friends, customers and neighbors stopped by for music, drinks and snacks — and a pair of go-go dancers performing in the storefront windows...

The party marked the end of a 31-year run for the shop, which Stuart Zamsky and his wife, Kim Wurster, opened in 1995.

As we reported last month, Zamsky, 65, said a combination of increased rent, the condition of the storefront and the prospect of working even harder to keep the business profitable led him to decide that this was a good time to retire. 

On Friday night, though, the focus was on celebrating White Trash and its three decades on Fifth Street. 

A few scenes from the farewell... starting with Stuart and Kim's sons, Owen and Zach...

Chobani House remains quiet on the Bowery

What's going on with Chobani House at 360 Bowery? 

The food and beverage company announced in October 2024 that it would make the new 22-story office building at the southwest corner of Fourth Street its global headquarters, taking all 121,000 square feet of office space. 

At the time, Chobani said its new home — dubbed Chobani House — was expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2025. (Press release here.) 

That date has passed, and there doesn't appear to be much activity at the site. 

An EVG reader who lives across the street recently asked us about the project's status. 

"As far as I can tell, no construction work has happened at all in probably two years," the reader said. 

While the exterior appears finished, the reader said that from across the street, most of the interior still looks like "concrete and sheetrock."

One upper floor appears finished and possibly furnished as an office, along with a landscaped terrace, though the reader said they haven't seen anyone using the space. A security guard can be seen inside the lobby.

When announcing the headquarters, Chobani described it as a new model for the urban workplace, with collaborative workspaces, a test kitchen and an "innovation lab" for developing new products.

The company also said Chobani House would include a ground-floor community kitchen offering food and beverages as well as consumer research and innovation experiences. 

Chobani moved out of its previous HQ on Lafayette Street late last year. 

We contacted the company's media reps last week to ask whether Chobani House is still moving forward as planned and whether there's a new opening timeline. The company did not respond to our request for comment. 

This development replaced the single-level B Bar & Grill (1994-2020) on the property that was previously a gas station.

Former house of worship-turned-condos hit the market on 4th Street

The luxury residences at the recently completed condoplex at 256 E. Fourth St., between Avenue B and Avenue C, are now on the sales market. 

There are six units here, and the listing copy is in full flex mode: 

The striking contemporary facade commands immediate attention — a sculptural composition of rich brick with bold vertical pilasters, oversized windows, and lush planted balconies that soften the architecture with year-round greenery, crowned by a landscaped rooftop terrace. 

Each residence is appointed with a bespoke Italian kitchen outfitted with Wolf and Subzero appliances — Wolf oven and stove, built-in Wolf microwave, and Subzero refrigerator and dishwasher — finished with Calacatta honed marble countertops. Select units feature a built-in Subzero wine fridge, perfect for the discerning collector. 

The bathrooms showcase curated Kohler and Duravit fixtures in Vibrant Titanium with radiant heated floors, creating spa-like sanctuaries. All bathrooms feature soaking tubs, while primary bathrooms include spacious showers designed for two. 

Units range from $1.195 to $5.5 million. Find renderings and more here... the sales site that notes "At the heart of America ... the pulse of Downtown Manhattan..." 

As previously reported, the property housed the Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel, which itself occupied a building that began life in 1925 as the Lemberger Congregation Anshei Ashkenaz, one of the East Village's many "tenement synagogues." 

The structure was eventually gutted for the condoplex.

Preservationists voiced concern about losing one of the neighborhood's remaining historic synagogue buildings, part of a broader wave of redevelopment reshaping the East Village and surrounding neighborhoods.

'All uses considered' for this prime East Village corner

Photos by Steven 

A large "for lease" banner arrived last week at 130 Second Ave. on the southeast corner of St. Mark's Place, the former home of the Swiss Institute. 

As previously reported, the nonprofit contemporary art institution closed its East Village space on July 5 after eight years, ahead of a move to a new home on the Bowery.

Icon Realty Management is now marketing the entire commercial property as "flagship corner retail," with all uses considered, including restaurants and bars, offices and fitness centers. 

The offering (PDF!) totals 8,980 square feet: 2,360 square feet each on the ground floor, second floor and basement, plus a 1,900-square-foot landscaped private roof deck. 

As always, the asking rent is available upon request.

The space was previously a Chase branch. In February 2016, Icon filed demolition permits for the building after they didn't find any rental takers ... though the Swiss Institute eventually emerged as a tenant. 

We'll see if the corner gets as lucky with its next tenant.

Marc Rebillet was 'Outside' today in Tompkins Square Park

As you may have heard/seen... musician-YouTuber Marc Rebillet performed today on Ninth Street and Avenue A inside Tompkins Square Park...

... thanks to EVG reader David for the above pic... and many others for the YouTube link... part of his "We Outside" broadcast series...

EV Grieve's Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included... (with a meet-cute in Tompkins)...

• Remembering Chet Mazur (Aug. 12) 

• Tompkins Square Library branch books a temporary closure (Aug. 10) 

• St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery looks to the air for its future (Aug. 10) 

• A come-to-Jesus moment on the TF at Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 13) ... Holy Ride meets its maker in Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 14) 

• Rabbit Books and Bar ready for its grand opening on Avenue A (Aug. 14) 

• At Ecce, come for the pizza, stay for the Herman Melville tribute (Aug. 13) 

• The wisteria house sells for $3.65 million on Stuyvesant Street (Aug. 13) 

• Art and ecology meet in this East Village community garden (Aug. 14) 

• Partial solar eclipse! (Aug. 12) 

• Openings: Bellanova on 9th Street (Aug. 12) 

• For lease: the former Francis Kite Club space on Avenue C (Aug. 11) 

• At the National Night Out Against Crime, 5th Street edition (Aug. 9) 

• A Petite Maison pop-up on Avenue B (Aug. 11) 

• Sunday afternoon with the booyah! kids in Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 11) 

.. And new signage up at Carnitas Ramirez on Third Street near Avenue B (pic by Stacie Joy)

Two Lower East Side jazz legends revisit their first collaboration

Longtime Lower East Side neighbors Matthew Shipp and William Parker — pianist and bassist, respectively — are revisiting the first album they recorded together. 

Zo, the duo's 1993 debut, is being reissued in November by longtime indie label ESP-Disk'. It also marks the album's first-ever vinyl release. (The reissue will also be available on CD, as well as for download and streaming.)

Ahead of the release, ESP-Disk' recently shared the duo's interpretation of George Gershwin's "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, available on Bandcamp. 

Meanwhile, Shipp also appears on "Let's Make a Memory," a track on Goin' Local, the first solo album by another Lower East Side music fixture, Lenny Kaye. The album was released on July 17. (Read this NPR interview with Kaye.)

Listen to "Summertime" here.

 

Sunday's opening shot

East River Park via the Delancey Street pedestrian bridge yesterday, when we had near-perfect weather ... and today — more humid, with a mix of sun and clouds. High 83 or so.

A couple of showers are possible later in the day, according to the pain in my joints.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As seen on the Lower East Side today...

A Katinka sidewalk sale today on 9th Street

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A post shared by Katinka - by Jane Williams (@katinka_ny)

You'll see some familiar faces today outside 303 E. Ninth St., just east of Second Avenue. 

Katinka is hosting a sidewalk sale today outside their former closet-sized storefront from 4-8 p.m.

Jane Williams and Billy Lyles opened the space in 1979, which specialized in handmade clothing and textiles imported from India, including shirts, vests, quilts, and rugs ... before retiring two summers ago...

Saturday's opening shot

After nearly three years, there's new work up on the Bowery Mural Wall at Houston... a collab between FumeroIsm and Free Humanity... "Free Humanity" with Biggie...