Tuesday's parting shots

Spotted on First Avenue at Second Street... part of a date-night scene via Adrian Wilson (it looked like this before the rain/wind)...

The 2nd Annual SlimaFest is tomorrow night at Max Fish

[File photo of Count Slima by Walter Wlodarczyk]

Max Fish down on Orchard Street plays host tomorrow night (7-9) to the 2nd Annual SlimaFest ... in honor of local legend Joseph "Count Slima" Williams, who worked for the Two Boots family for 30-plus years, starting with helping build the original location at 37 Avenue A in 1987.

Slima, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, is also an artist... his work will be for sale at Max Fish, where a suggested $10 donation gets you free pizza from Two Boots as well as some live entertainment ... and the chance to see some of his art...



Max Fish is at 120 Orchard St. between Rivington and Delancey.

Tuesday so far

Rainy day pic on Seventh Street via Derek Berg...

More signs of the 14th Street SBS lanes

The city continues to prep 14th Street for its expanded role during the L-train closure next spring. Last week the markings went down for the eastbound Select Bus Service (SBS) lane between First Avenue and Third Avenue...







The westbound lanes are already in place (as noted here).

Here are more details, per the MTA:

The M14 SBS will supplement existing M14A and M14D local bus service on 14th Street, making five stops in each direction between First and Tenth Avenues ... Just before the L train tunnel reconstruction project begins, the M14 SBS route will be extended east to the planned Stuyvesant Cove ferry terminal on the East River to accommodate ferry customers from Brooklyn. Once M14 SBS is implemented, combined with the existing 14th Street local bus service and daily high-occupancy vehicle restrictions on most of 14th Street from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., crosstown buses will be scheduled no more than two minutes apart during peak hours.

This SBS service launches on Sunday, April 21.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

Prepping for the new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th streets

Bike lane line work continues on 12th Street

1st signs of the 14th Street SBS lane

20 Avenue A is now 3 storefronts

As noted a few weeks back, Alphabet Pizza and Deli will be the first post-Chase-branch tenant at 20 Avenue A.

Since then, workers have been busy dividing up the rest of the space here at Second Street, an exciting development for 20 Avenue A watchers (there are two of us in the group)...



There are now three storefronts here... the arrows will guide you to the respective doors...



It's not known who the other two tenants might be. Some possibilities COULD be: Another pizza and deli place.

Chase vacated this storefront in November 2015. There have been six or seven different brokers for the space in these past three years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The retail-wine bar possibilities for the former Chase space on Avenue A and East 2nd Street

The retail space at 20 Avenue A no longer looks like a bank branch

Another broker for the former Chase branch on Avenue A

Pizza for 20 Avenue A

Coming soon: Mi Casa Latina on 14th Street

The coming-soon signage is up in the window at 250 E. 14th St. at Second Avenue. (Thanks @jcastro_nyc for the tip!)

As you can see, Mi Casa Latina will be serving salads, açaí bowls, coffee, juice, etc.

There was an applicant on this month's CB3-SLA committee docket for the address. According to the preliminary questionnaire on file at CB3, applicants were looking to open a "cocktail lounge with craft beer to go component." However, the applicants withdrew from the agenda and, based on the new Mi Casa signage, this concept is not happening at this address.

No. 250 previously housed PokéVillage, which closed in March after 16 months in business.

A full First Lamb Shabu reveal

First Lamb Shabu has emerged from behind the plywood at 218 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

As previously reported, this will be the first Manhattan outpost for the Beijing-based hot pot chain with more than 300 locations in China.

No official word on an opening date just yet.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street Dunkin' Donuts shuffle complete

The Dunkin' Donuts space on East 14th Street is for rent

Beijing-based hot pot chain taking over the former Dunkin' Donuts storefront on 14th Street

Empire Gyro announces itself on Allen and Houston

The sign crew arrived on Sunday (top pic!) here on the southeast corner of Allen and Houston to install the new tenant's marquee... and here's Empire Gyro...



The Times reported last month that the 24/7 restaurant will serve a menu that includes soups, salads, kebabs and shawarma. (And no relation to Empire Biscuit!)



The Sugar Cafe closed here in February 2017 after 10-plus years in business. A rent increase — perhaps as much as double the previous ask — was reportedly behind the closing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
'Mediterranean fusion' for the former Sugar Cafe on Houston and Allen

Monday's parting shot

The Joe Strummer mural outside Niagara on Seventh Street and Avenue A got its holiday cheer on today (nine days earlier than last year!)... thanks to Robert Miner for the photo.

Jump drama on 9th Street

There was a large police presence late this afternoon on Ninth Street/Stuyvesant Street and Third Avenue... EVG reader DPinEV shared these top two photos...



The unofficial word here was that a young man was threatening to jump out the window (hence the inflatable) ... there was talk that the man claimed to have been assaulted, but then he refused to come out when the NYPD arrived.

And here are a few shots via EVG regular Lola Sáenz showing how the NYPD responded and created a perimeter...







DPinEV reports that the young man was eventually led out in handcuffs.

Ray gets to see Ray's Candy Store on 'Parts Unknown'

CNN aired the series finale of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" last night, as you might know. The episode, which arrived five months after the TV host and writer's death, was set in the East Village and Lower East Side. "This is a show about a very special place, a special time, and some very special people," Bourdain announced in the intro, the only voice-over during the 75-minute show.

Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A was among the stops (this listicle has all the places he visited) that Bourdain made with a variety of artists, musicians and filmmakers.

Ray was working and didn't get to watch any of the episode. However, afterwards, he was able to see his appearance — in which he serves Bourdain and Harley Flanagan egg creams — courtesy of Eden's smartphone. (EVG contributor Stacie Joy was among the people who stopped by Ray's last night.)

Meanwhile, over at Eater, Greg Morabito complied his best moments-quotes from the episode, including:

Bourdain asking Jim Jarmusch and Amos Poe about the neighborhood: “What do you think now when you walk around the neighborhood? You paid some dues to walk down back in the day, now it’s projectile vomiting frat boys with their baseball caps on backwards. Does this give you a sinking feeling or make you angry?”

Jarmusch, responding: “The thing that I always tell myself is: Look at the history of New York City, and it’s always about hustling and change. And if you want it to stay the same, man, you’ve got the wrong historical spot, because there used to be a Native American trading post on the tip of Manhattan. It’s now Wall Street.”

False alarms: A moment of panic yesterday afternoon on 3rd Avenue

Fireworks? Gunfire? Anybody know what that was in the #eastvillage NYC a minute ago?

— Tom Cunniff (@tomcunniff) November 11, 2018

An EVG reader writes in about an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon on Third Avenue shortly before 4.

The reader was on the northwest corner at Ninth Street "when we heard a series of pops, that sounded like gunshots, from a block or two south. We couldn’t see down that way, because of the angle, and because there’s scaffolding up there. People started running north, trying to scatter."

Several people, including the reader, took refuge in a nearby shop, where the employee locked the front door. After a few minutes: "We peeked out, and everything was back to normal, almost immediately. People were walking, and it was like nothing ever happened. After a couple of minutes, we came out. There were a couple of cop cars around, a block or two south, but clearly it hadn’t been a shooting."

The Citizen app had the following sequence...




People who experienced this are curious to learn more about what happened. Was it a bunch of dumb kids with some fireworks? Part of some kind of student art show? Disgruntled Jets fans? Or did someone have a more malicious intent?

Per the reader: "The rapidity of it – the moments of panic, followed by the swift return ... to normalcy, as if nothing had transpired – was surreal, out of a Wallace Shawn play."