Looking up: A partial solar eclipse for NYC today

Not the partial solar eclipse, but where a telescope will be on St. Mark's.

Photo by Kelley Ryan 

New Yorkers may get a glimpse of a partial eclipse this afternoon as the moon passes between Earth and the sun. 

According to NASA, the Aug. 12 event is a total solar eclipse, with the path of totality sweeping across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain and a small corner of Portugal. 

NYC is — duh — well outside that path but will experience a partial eclipse (maybe 9%?), along with other parts of the northern United States. 

Closer to home, a telescope viewing station will be set up at 99 St. Mark's Place between the tall sunflowers and the East Village Books poetry window ... between Avenue A and First Avenue. (Info courtesy of Doanlad Davis, owner of East Village Books.)

Mark Maretsky, a math instructor at Fordham University and amateur astronomer, will be on hand with a 3-inch-diameter refractor telescope. It is expected to begin at 1:07 and officially end at 3:38 p.m. 

A reminder: Always use certified solar-viewing or eclipse glasses when looking at the sun. Regular sunglasses aren't sufficient. If you don't have eclipse glasses, use an indirect viewing method such as a pinhole projector. 

NASA will also livestream the eclipse starting at 1:15 p.m. ET. 

Meanwhile, a Total Eclipse of the Heart is always available via YouTube.

Openings: Bellanova on 9th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Bellanova recently opened at 331 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

The licensed cannabis dispensary has a noticeably different look and feel from some of the neighborhood's other shops. There are no guards at the entrance or mandatory checks before entering. 

The narrow, brightly lit space features blond wood throughout, with a focus on higher-end products.

Below, Yasmine Bernard, shift lead...

Owner Matthew Hennessy (below) said the idea was to create something more relaxed.

"We want people to feel welcome," he said. "The space is warm, inviting and natural, true to the roots of nature."

Hennessy also has longtime neighborhood ties. He grew up on 10th Street and skateboarded at the Tompkins Square Park TF under the auspices of the late Harold Hunter. He still lives nearby. 

Elizabeth McGrath of Corner Bistro is a co-owner of Bellanova. 

And perhaps not surprisingly, given McGrath's well-known affection for dogs, the shop is canine-friendly.

"We love dogs," Hennessy said. "Bring all the dogs!" 

Bellanova is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

One of the young red-tailed hawks flexes today in Tompkins Square Park...

Sunday afternoon with the booyah! kids in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

This past weekend saw the free two-day Show Brain Festival in Tompkins Square Park, featuring a lineup of 10 emerging bands. 

Here, we're focusing on the booyah! kids, a trio of NYC natives featuring Emma Lee...

...Aidan Ludlam...

... and Julian Kaufman...

The three take turns on lead vocals, with an intimate, DIY sound that pairs indie-pop sensibilities with lounge-y synth textures. (Their music has been described as "bedroom pop.") 

The band formed in 2018 and continued while the three attended college in different states. They have since released a full-length LP and several EPs, with a set of covers coming next. (A highlight Sunday was their take on Nelly's "Ride Wit Me" — the first time they played it live.) 

Between songs, Emma, an East Village native, talked about making another memory in Tompkins Square Park on this day. She recalled spending a lot of time there growing up — swimming in the mini pool with her brother and grabbing a slice at Nino's (RIP) on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place. She also gave shout-outs to her old East Village schools, the Neighborhood School and Tompkins Square Middle School.

You have a chance to catch the booyah! kids when they headline Night Club 101 on Avenue A on Sept. 26 as part of a five-city tour.

And a few faces in the crowd from their set ...

For lease: the former Francis Kite Club space on Avenue C

Photo by Stacie Joy 

A "for lease" sign is now hanging outside the former Francis Kite Club at 40 Avenue C between Third and Fourth streets. The hybrid bar, social club and arts venue closed after service on Aug. 1. 

As we reported last month, the owners initially cited a rent increase for making the operation unsustainable, later clarifying that rising costs for liability insurance, permits and rent all contributed to the decision. 

Francis Kite Club debuted in early 2024 and became known for its mix of live music, performances, art events and community gatherings.

The owners have said they're considering relocating and hope to reopen elsewhere. The club's website currently notes that they "hope to see you in a new iteration in the near future." 

Ownership did not respond to a previous query for more information. 

As for the Avenue C space, the current listing has the 2,400-square-foot storefront at $11,000 per month, marketed as a turnkey bar-restaurant.

One last go-go for White Trash

White Trash is having a closing party this Friday evening (Aug. 14) at 304 E. Fifth St. between First and Second avenues. 

The farewell is set for 7-10 p.m., with go-go dancers, music, drinks and snacks. 

As we reported last month, the vintage furniture and home furnishings shop is closing after 31 years in business. 

Owner Stuart Zamsky, 65, who co-founded White Trash in 1995 with his wife Kim Wurster, told us that a combination of increased rent and the condition of the storefront, and the prospect of having to work even harder to keep the business profitable, led him to decide that this was a good time to retire. 

The invite bills Friday's gathering as a toast to "the end of an era." Indeed!

A Petite Maison pop-up on Avenue B

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Petite Maison, a pop-up featuring secondhand, upcycled and reimagined clothing and objects, is open through Sunday (Aug. 16) at 167 Avenue B between 10th and 11th streets. 

The shop is an offshoot of La Vie Après L’Amour, whose home base in Kingston, N.Y., includes a cafe, boutique and atelier. 

According to signage at the storefront, the collection focuses on secondhand items that have been "upcycled, mended, reimagined, and given a new life." 

Hours are noon-7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 

There's also a closing reception on Sunday, with Kingston-based singer-songwriter Ginger Winn playing a set at 3:30 p.m.

The brand got its start in a Brooklyn apartment back in 2018.

The Avenue B space was previously home to Hekate Cafe & Elixir Lounge.

Monday's parting shot (and 47-year-old classic film trailer)

You can catch one more screening of NYC classic "The Warriors" down at the Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St., just above Canal. 

The 1979 film plays this Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. as part of the "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" series. 

It was fun to see it again on a big screen in a nearly sold-out theater. (We last saw it in Tompkins Square Park in 2011.) 

There was some snickering in the audience during scenes that don't play as well 47 years later... including those menacing Punks in Union Square in denim overalls and striped rugby shirts who looked like they were on their way to spike the punch at a Sadie Hawkins dance. 

Can you dig it?

 

Tompkins Square Library branch books a temporary closure

Photos by Stacie Joy

The Tompkins Square Library is checking out a two-week late-summer break. 

The New York Public Library branch at 331 E. 10th St., between Avenue A and Avenue B, will be temporarily closed from today through Aug. 22 for "needed building work ahead of next year's major renovation," per door signage for patrons.

During the closure, patrons are encouraged to use the Ottendorfer Library, Seward Park Library or Epiphany Library. Hold requests made during the closure can be picked up at Ottendorfer, 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

The temporary closure comes ahead of a $30.2 million comprehensive renovation of the 122-year-old Carnegie branch, as we first reported here. The project, now in the design phase, will reconfigure the library to create dedicated spaces for children, teens and adults.

Plans also call for ADA upgrades to the entrance, bathrooms and elevator, along with new furniture, upgraded technology and modernized building systems. 

Construction on the major renovation is currently projected to be completed in December 2028. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Community input wanted for the $30.2 million renovation of the Tompkins Square Library

St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery looks to the air for its future

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery received city approval for a plan to sell some of its unused development rights to a proposed residential project on Third Avenue.

As The Living Church magazine first reported, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved the transfer on July 21, allowing the historic church at 131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue to sell air rights (aka transferable development rights).

The rights would be transferred to a development site at 50-64 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. Kinsmen Property Group, a joint venture between State Building Group and Madison Group, is planning a residential building of up to 160,000 square feet at the site, as we've been reporting. 

The deal is notable because the receiving property isn't directly adjacent to St. Mark's. Changes enacted under the city's City of Yes zoning overhaul expanded where landmarked properties can transfer their unused development rights. 

The process came before Community Board 3 in June, when members approved a continuing maintenance plan required for the transfer. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects conducted a conditions survey of the church and developed a plan that prioritizes critical repairs, with additional maintenance taking place over several years. 

The sale is expected to close by year’s end. Until then, details of the agreement, including the sale price, remain confidential.

According to The Living Church, the sale will provide greater financial stability for maintaining the landmark while allowing operating income. 

"We don't have to worry about these vital repairs anymore…instead, we can say, we 'have these things covered.' We can keep our building in sound repair, and we can continue to do the vital mission work and ministry work that we've been doing for so long," the Rev. Anne Marie Witchger, rector of the church, told the publication.

The current St. Mark's Church building was completed in 1799 on a site with a history of worship dating to the 17th century. It is one of the oldest church buildings in Manhattan. 

On tonight's CB3-SLA docket: Tompkins Social Club on 6th Street

A new bar-restaurant concept called Tompkins Social Club is in the works for 503 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The applicants are on tonight's Community Board 3 SLA committee docket for a new liquor license. The principals aren't new to the bar-restaurant business: They have previously been licensed for the now-closed Figaro on Bleecker Street. 

According to the application materials, the space would have 50 seats — 14 at the bar, 24 in four booths and another 12 at a banquette — as well as a small stage. 

The proposed food menu — described as "modern American" — leans into New York comfort and street food, with sections dubbed "The Deli," "The Bodega," "The Cart" and "The Slice Shop." 

Offerings include pastrami on rye, chopped cheese, bacon-egg-and-cheese, dirty-water dog, chicken over rice and a "dollar slice." There are also bánh mì bao buns, pork soup dumplings, steak frites, fish and chips, several varieties of fries and black-and-white cookies. 

On the drinks side, the proposed menu includes martinis, Negronis, margaritas, Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, along with wine and beers, plus a "Nada List" of nonalcoholic cocktails. 

No. 503 has sat empty since the cocktail-oyster bar Down and Out went dark in late 2024.

----- 

CB3's SLA meeting is tonight at 6:30. The Zoom link is here. This is a hybrid meeting, and limited public seating is available. The first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery, will be accommodated.

Behold! Ecce is bringing square slices to 2nd Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Ecce, a new pizza shop at 77 Second Ave. between Fourth and Fifth Streets, is set to open today. 

Owner Kyle Downey said the shop will specialize in square slices — aka grandma slices — along with desserts such as cinnamon knots and chocolate chip cookies. 

His goal: "an easily accessible and excellent slice shop."

Slices will be around $5, with a few non-meat vegetarian options on the menu. There won't be any vegan or gluten-free offerings to start. Ecce also isn't planning table service or beer and wine.

Downey expects the initial hours to be roughly noon to 9 p.m., though those are still flexible. Eventually, he'd like to stay open until midnight on weekends as the business "matures." 

And about that name: Ecce isn't Italian, as we initially assumed. It's Latin for "behold." 

Downey said he simply liked the word — and thought it sounded "powerful." 

So, behold: pizza.

EV Grieve's East Village Week in Review

Posts this past week included (with a photo of St. Brigid-St Emeric on Eighth and B)... 

• Buyer found for long-vacant Second Avenue development site (Aug. 5) 

• Another location of the Bean closes, leaving 1 East Village outpost (Aug. 6) 

• Repairs continue after water main break at 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Aug. 4) … Water main break floods section of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Aug. 3) … update (Aug. 8)

• 12 injured in early-morning subway work train fire at Astor Place station (Aug. 4) 

• NY Copy Print & Ship Center has closed after 34 years on 7th Street (Aug. 3) 

• 9 Bleecker St. returns to market with a $6.5 million ask (Aug. 3) 

• At Night Club 101 with Pop Music Fever Dream (Aug. 7)

• Photos: Sunday in Tompkins (Aug. 5)

• ABC No Rio returns to Tompkins Square Park with a free afternoon of music (Aug. 3) 

• Show Brain Fest returns to Tompkins Square Park this weekend (Aug. 7) 

• Flamingos Vintage Pound to open another East Village shop (Aug. 3) 

• Salumeria Rosi eyes Labor Day reopening following building-related damage (Aug. 4) 

• At the Rush pop-up shop on Second Street (Aug. 2) 

• About "Gin Joint," the Apple+ series that filmed in the East Village yesterday (Aug. 6) 

• Scenes from the 46th annual Festival Calle 6 on Avenue D and Sixth Street (Aug. 2) 

• Reminders: "Irregular," filmed at Sophie's, makes its world premiere on Aug. 9 (Aug. 6)

• New innovation hub opens at Jacob Riis Houses (Aug. 5) 

• Signage alert: RedWhite Boneless Ramen on Allen Street (Aug. 5) 

• Across the Pond bringing European bakery and market to 7th Street (Aug. 4) 

• Champions Martial Arts taps out on 11th and C (Aug. 6) 

... and on Avenue A, someone thinks this tag is rather buns ... although we disagree, we do appreciate its usage in this case...

At the National Night Out Against Crime, 5th Street edition

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A few scenes from outside the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue during Tuesday evening's National Night Out Against Crime. 

The annual event took place at more than 70 locations around the city, with precincts hosting activities for neighborhood residents.

On Fifth Street, that included food, a bounce house, face painting and other activities, with members of the 9th Precinct and local residents taking part... (and we still miss the officer on stilts!)...

Taking possession of 'the hole' at 14th Street and 1st Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A look yesterday afternoon at "the hole" at 14th Street and First Avenue, nearly a week after the water-main break flooded the intersection. 

The Department of Environmental Protection has completed its water-main repairs and restored service to affected customers. 

With that work finished, Con Edison has now "taken possession of the hole," per the DEP, to begin repairs to its infrastructure. 

Traffic remains limited around the intersection, although some vehicles, including delivery trucks, are now being allowed through...

Previously

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As seen on Fourth Street today...

When asked about her attire, she offered a perfectly reasonable explanation: "It's hot out!"

And tomorrow: sunny and hot, though thankfully less humid.

Water-main repairs complete at 14th Street and 1st Avenue; partial reopening expected soon

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

There is progress to report at 14th Street and First Avenue following Monday afternoon's water-main break. 

A Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson told EVG that repairs to the water main are complete and water service was restored to all affected customers earlier this week.

"DEP is currently preparing the work site for Con Ed to take over [this] evening to make repairs to their infrastructure," the spokesperson said. 

At that point, the roadway is expected to partially reopen, and MTA service through the intersection will be restored. 

The intersection has remained closed to traffic while crews worked at the site following the break, which flooded the intersection and nearby streets Monday afternoon. 

As previously reported, DEP crews had excavated a large section of the intersection while assessing the damage and coordinating with Con Edison on repairs to its infrastructure.

Saturday's opening shots

EVG reader riachung00 shared these photos from yesterday afternoon in a lush-looking Tompkins Square Park... and a few hours before the downpour swept through...

Friday's parting shot(s?)

Photo by Stacie Joy 

From a visit to Cherry Tavern on Sixth Street, just west of Avenue A... (the shots and PBR belonged to someone else!)...

Along for the ride

 

NYC's the booyah! kids are on the Sunday afternoon schedule for this weekend's Show Brain Fest in Tompkins Square Park. 

The trio just released this video today for "rwm," from their upcoming covers EP. (This is a cover of Nelly's "Ride Wit Me.")