Another late-night break in, this time at East Village Finest Deli on Avenue B

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

Early Tuesday — 3:08 a.m. to be exact — a thief bashed in the front door of the East Village Finest Deli on the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Avenue B. 

Manager Anwar Shahbain reports that the perp got away with five tablets, several cartons of cigarettes and some small bills for change in the cash register.

The surveillance videos that the Deli shared show the moment of the break in — the thief, who appears to have at least two lookouts, used the top of a fire hydrant to shatter the glass and enter the shop...

   

Given this and a previous two break-in attempts here back in June, Shahbain says they will be forced to buy and install a pricy rolldown gate.

Tuesday's parting shot

Here's a view from the southwest corner of First Avenue and 14th Street ... where, as you may notice, the Christmas tree vendors have already packed up and left — 10 days before Dec. 25. 

One of the vendors told Pinch, who took the photo, that they had sold out for the season.

A second Christmas tree for Tompkins Square Park?

Decorating in progress in Tompkins Square Park... 

Meanwhile, the lights on the other holdiay tree, planted in 1992, were turned on this past Wednesday for the season. 

Photo today by Steven.

Updating: East Village bars and restaurants temporarily close down again

Yesterday marked the beginning of Gov. Cuomo's second ban on indoor dining in the city because of the recent surge in the coronavirus pandemic. 

While outdoor dining, as well as takeout and delivery, can remain, several neighborhood bars and restaurants decided to temporarily close down anyway ...  including those places that have ample space for outdoor seating, such as Esperanto on Avenue C at Ninth Street (thanks to Eden for the photo!)...

Bars such as Josie's, Mona's and Sophie's, which reopened on Sept. 30, had been operating at the limited 25-percent indoor capacity ... and needed to close as they're without any outdoor space for patrons. 

Here's an in-progress look at who has shut down for now (several of these had been noted previously) ... several other restaurateurs were still mulling over their decisions... 

• Boulton & Watt, Avenue A 

• The Copper Still, Second Avenue

• Esperanto, Avenue C 

• The Gray Mare, Second Avenue

• The Jones, Great Jones

• Josie's, Sixth Street 

• Lucien, First Avenue 

• Mona's, Avenue B 

• Otto's Shrunken Head, 14th Street

• Penny Farthing, Third Avenue

• Phebe's, the Bowery 

• Sophie's, Fifth Street (pictured at top yesterday) 

• Sláinte Bar and Lounge, the Bowery

• Van Da, Fourth Street 

• Virginia's, 11th Street

Data that Gov. Cuomo released on Friday showed that restaurants and bars in the state accounted for just 1.4 percent of cases over the last three months while 73.84 percent of exposures were blamed on indoor household gatherings.

As multiple articles have pointed out, many restaurants were already struggling to rebuild their operations after losses sustained from the shutdown of dining during the PAUSE this past March.

--Updated 9:30 a.m.--

The Department of Sanitation has issued a Snow Alert for tomorrow starting at 2 p.m., which cancels all outdoor dining for the duration of the snow alert.

--

The restaurant industry expects more permanent closures if Gov. Cuomo decides to put into place a full shutdown again, which would also ban outdoor dining. (This after restaurant owners had to spend thousands to make their curbside setups compliant with ever-changing city guidelines.) 

Still, despite the end of indoor dining for now, many local bars and restaurants vowed to carry on ...

 

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Celebrating 41 years of the Pyramid Club

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

Staff gathered late Sunday afternoon outside the Pyramid Club on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street to celebrate its 41st birthday. 

The Pyramid, a defining club of the East Village scene in the 1980s, has not been able to reopen since the PAUSE went into effect this past March. 

"We thank our friends, patrons, and the EV community for all the love and support over these past decades," club manager Maria Narciso told me. "You are part of what’s keeping the Pyramid spirit alive during this global pandemic."

There was also a Veniero’s carrot cake to mark the occassion...

To pay tribute to the club, Michelle Joni and friends boarded Glinda the Good Bus for a selection of 1980s music along Avenue A...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to the Pyramid Club on Avenue A

• A Visit with Michelle Joni and Glinda the Good Bus

A break in at Kolkata Chai Cafe

Someone broke into the Kolkata Chai Cafe late Saturday night here at 199 E. Third St. just west of Avenue B. 

Proprietor Ayan Sanyal said that the incident happened around 2 a.m. Sunday... surveillance video shows the suspect repeatedly trying to break the glass in the front door with an unknown object ... before gaining access...

   

Aside from breaking the door, the perp took off with the cash register. 

"Thankfully there wasn't much cash and insurance should cover the door, but still a hassle and annoying incident in an already exhausting year," said Sanyal, who's hopeful that people will continue getting takeout this winter "because it's looking to be long, cold and short of any financial relief." 

Kolkata Chai Cafe opened here last September. 

And this marks the latest break in at a neighborhood business, joining a list that includes B&H Dairy ... Popeyes ... Tompkins Square Bagels ... and China Town.

Here then, the renovated 84 2nd Ave.

Workers have removed the plywood from outside 84 Second Ave. ... offering the best look yet at the refurbished building here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (Thanks to Goggla for the photo!)

As we've been posting (check out that link farm below!), No. 84 received a gut renovation that took the building from 5,829 square feet to 8,439 total square feet with a horizontal enlargement in the rear of the property. The modified No. 84 now also sports a retail space and four residences.

This property has changed hands twice in the past four years. Highpoint bought the building for $7.8 million in the spring of 2018. According to public records, the building sold in May 2016 for $5.1 million. The Sopolsky family had owned it for years.

Also as we've noted several times through the years, the address has a dark past, which includes the still-unsolved murder of Helen Sopolsky, proprietor of the family's tailor shop who was found bludgeoned to death in 1974, per an article at the time.

The storefront had remained empty since her death.

And here's the plywood rendering so you can see how the real-life No. 84 matches up...



Previously on EV Grieve:
• Plywood and a petition at 84 2nd Ave.

• Workers clearing out the mysterious 84 2nd Ave. storefront

• Renovations proposed for mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

• Mysterious 84 2nd Ave. sells again, this time for $7.8 million

• There are new plans to expand the mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

• Renovations underway at the (formerly) mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

• A rendering and vintage erotic playing cards (NSFW) at the under-renovation (and mysterious!) 84 2nd Ave. 

A look at the building in 2009...

Restoring the Blondie mural on Bleecker and the Bowery

Over the weekend, the artist @praxis_vgz (h/t the LISA Project NYC) restored Shepard Fairy's Blondie mural on Bleecker at the Bowery. (Thanks to Robert Miner for the above photo!)

The mural had been tagged multiple times in recent months, as our friend Alex noted back in August ...

The mural has been here since August 2017.

The latest from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church: the New York Liberty Bell survives

Here are the latest developments about the Dec. 5 fire that destroyed the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street. (You can find all of our coverage via this link.)

For starters, on Friday, the FDNY said that faulty wiring at 48 E. Seventh St. was to blame for the six-alarm fire that destroyed the neighboring Middle Collegiate Church. An FDNY spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the fire has been deemed "non-suspicious." 

Myles N. Miller at NBC 4 reported that witnesses in the area first started smelling smoke around midnight. However, the first 911 call didn't come in until several hours later when a cab driver saw flames rising from No. 48.

The Fire Marshall has concluded their investigation, but we do not yet have the official written report. What we've been told is: It has been confirmed that the fire originated in the building to our north and the cause was electrical in nature.

— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020

Over the weekend, workers started removing the church's east-facing (back) wall in order to stabilize the site, according to the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church. (Photo below via Steven)

We will have more to say to our community and to the press once we see the official report. In the meantime, we offer prayers of thanksgiving that there were no fatalities.

— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020

In some positive news, the steeple remains intact, which is where the New York Liberty Bell had hung in the belfry. The bell appears unharmed ...

As work continues to stabilize @middlechurch, our engineers have found that the church’s historic “New York Liberty Bell” was not damaged during last week’s devastating fire.

DOB engineers remain on site to monitor & assess the stability of the structure. pic.twitter.com/v5BPwuIUGl

— NYC Buildings (@NYC_Buildings) December 12, 2020

Our bell will ring again, and our love is still ringing. pic.twitter.com/BLofkL4HmT

— Middle Church (@middlechurch) December 13, 2020

Some history of the bell via the Times:

It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.

Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.

It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed... 

Buildings Department officials said that they continue "to monitor and assess the stability of the remaining structure of the church, including the façade and the steeple, while cleanup operations are still underway." 

In one other development, Gothamist reported that there was a small fire at the scene on Saturday morning.

Around 9 a.m. Saturday, "something sparked up and the units that were on the scene did what they were supposed to do, which is just put some water on it," said a FDNY spokesperson who declined to give his name. The flare-up was so minor that the FDNY personnel on scene did not transmit a fire alarm, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Church officials have started the rebuilding process (donation link here) ...

 

Theater in Quarantine presents a world premiere tonight from an East Village closet

After the pandemic shuttered theaters back in March, Joshua William Gelb transformed a 2' x 4' x 8' closet inside his East Village apartment into a white-box theater.

 

This apartment therapy marked the beginning of a creative endeavor titled Theater in Quarantine.

On March 30, Gelb and his collaborators began releasing pre-recorded studies in movement, camera orientation and perspective — building toward more complex theatrical experiences ... in late April, they premiered their first live-stream performance — an adaptation of Kafka's "The Neighbor," which was followed by an unauthorized edit of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" and collaborations with artists like Scott R. Sheppard ("Underground Railroad Game"), Nehemiah Luckett ("Jazz Singer") and Ellen Winter ("36 Questions").

Tonight sees the Theater in Quarantine's world premiere of "I Am Sending You the Sacred Face" by Obie Award-winner Heather Christian,  a one-act musical that charts the spiritual journey of Mother Teresa from Gelb's closet. 

The 40-minute work features choreography and additional direction by Katie Rose McLaughlin, and is presented in partnership with Theater Mitu's Expansion Works. Additional live-streamed performances will take place on Thursday and Saturday night at 9.

 

You can watch live tonight at 7 or 9 on YouTube, where all performances are archived. 

 

New York Sal's Pizza bringing slices to 14th Street

Signage for New York Sal's Pizza arrived late last week at 536 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to Michael Paul for the photo!)

The signage is identical to the New York Sal's Pizza up on 10th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. Not sure at the moment if this will be a second location or if they are relocating. (Going with new location!) Any slice connoisseurs know anything about New York Sal's?

This will mark the return of a pizzeria with Sal's in the name for the East Village ... going back to the Sal's on Avenue A (RIP 2012 after a long tenure in two different locations ... and not to be confused with the also-closed Fat Sal's on Avenue A).

Rapid COVID-19 testing center opening on the Bowery

A COVID-19 rapid-test site is opening in the former Sage Kitchen space at 356 Bowery between Fourth Street and Great Jones ... 

Not many details on the signage, other than "rapid test results in 15 minutes" and "PCR test results in 24-28 hours." For the sake of comparison, CityMD's website lists a 5-7 day wait now the results from a PCR (nasal swab) test.

The Rapid Test Space (proper name?) is "powered by Vaheala," which "combines coronavirus testing, symptom and risk tracking, and contact tracing technologies to drive custom protocols so that employees and employers know who is safe to work onsite and who should stay home."

A business called Rapid Test NYC opened in Little Italy this fall. BoweryBoogie reported that the test costs between $250-$300 there (and potentially offset by certain health-care plans or flex-spending programs).

For anyone interested in more info, here's what the CDC currently says about antigen tests ... and antibody tests.

Former Finnerty's space for rent on 2nd Avenue

Finnerty's will not be reopening at 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

A for rent sign now hangs outside the sports bar and self-described "party destination" featuring rent-a-keg service. 

The bar closed in March for the PAUSE and never reopened. There is not any message about the closure on their website or social media properties. 

Finnerty's, which opened in 2009, was an alleged Bay Area sports bar, where fans could watch games featuring the 49ers, Giants, Golden State Warriors or San Jose Sharks. Snubbed: the Oakland A's (and the Oakland Raiders before they moved to Las Vegas). 

This makes two like-minded bar closures on this block... Professor Thom's also never reopened after the PAUSE...

Steel structure for new Houston Street office building continues ascent

Since our last look on Nov. 2, there's noticeable progress on the 9-story office building rising at 141 E. Houston St. between Eldridge and Forsyth... the steel structure is up to what appears to be the fourth and fifth floors...

 

Some day it will be like this:

From acclaimed architect Roger Ferris, the only new development of its type on the Lower East Side, 141 East Houston is a new frame for viewing the neighborhood. Column-free and unbounded by walls, it reinterprets the area through a bold geometric perimeter of cladding and glass. State-of- the-art workspaces and private terraces reframe expectations, while a well-connected location recasts perspectives. 

With its glass frame and dynamic courtyard running the length of its eastern side, doubling as a second facade, 141 East Houston challenges the distinction between indoors and out.

East End Capital and K Property Group bought the property for $31.5 million in the spring of 2017. The links below provide more background on what has transpired on the site of the former Sunshine Cinema (RIP January 2018).

Previously on EV Grieve: 
• Sunshine Cinema-replacing office building moving forward; demolition watch back on

• Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema

• The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space

• A celebratory ad on the purchase of 139 E. Houston St., current home of the Sunshine Cinema

• The boutique office building replacing the Sunshine Cinema will be 'unbounded by walls' with an outdoor space called Houston Alley

Sunday's parting shot

A new tribute to Gem Spa (closed for good in May) on this freshly repaired sidewalk on Ninth Street ... photo by Steven...

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week include... (and thanks to Derek Berg for the photo of @krypfixed in Tompkins Square Park) 

• Report: Faulty wiring caused fire that destroyed SE corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Saturday) 

• Permits filed to demolish the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery (Tuesday) 

• Indoor dining at 25% comes to an end after this weekend (Friday) 

• Bike lane detour confusion as construction starts along the East River Greenway (Friday) 

• Straight shooters: Marvel Studios brings 'Hawkeye' to 4th Street for Disney+ series (Tuesday) 

• Nón Lá debuts on 4th Street (Thursday) 

• Headless Santa now free to terrorize Rite-Aid shoppers on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

 • On 1st Street, Con Ed work shutters Cafe Himalaya and Prim Thai once again (Tuesday) 

 • The Tompkins Square Park Holiday tree is now lit (Wednesday) 

• Thai Direct reopens on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

 • This week's NY See panel (Thursday) 

• This week's Gallery Watch: Nosegay Tornado by Ambera Wellmann at Company (Wednesday) 

• A partial reveal shows off the now-taller 94-96 Avenue A (Thursday) 

• As Westville Bakery exits, Superiority Burger set to expand on 9th Street (Tuesday) 

• The Checkers on 1st Avenue closes (Tuesday)

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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Spray on: A new tribute to Basquiat on Great Jones

There's new art adorning the second floor of 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette... artist-photographer Adrian Wilson (under his @plannedalism moniker) painted "Let Us Spray" here where Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked at the time of his death in 1988.

The building, once owned by Andy Warhol, now houses Bohemian, an upscale Japanese restaurant ... their curbside dining space includes a message by Al Diaz,  who, as a teen in the late 1970s, collaborated with Basquiat on a series of cryptic messages seen around the city signed from SAMO©. 

This isn't Wilson's first dalliance with the space. In the fall of 2018, he helped curate the Same Old Gallery, an exhibit that featured Diaz's work. The two also collaborated on a mural here to mark the 30th anniversary of Basquiat's death in August 2018.

In July 2016, the Greenwich Village Society of Historical Preservation (now Village Preservation) unveiled a commemorative plaque outside the building ...

We don't need another hero

A discarded Batman cape as seen on Eighth Street at Avenue C this morning by William Klayer... and not far away from where Marvel's "Hawkeye" was filming on Friday...

It's Day 2 of the holiday market and flea on 1st Avenue and 1st Street

Today marks Day 2 of the holiday market and flea on First Avenue and First Street at Peretz Square from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  ... and it looks like a good day for it with temps expected in the high 50s. You can find a list of participants at the Facebook Events page here.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday and shared these photos... 

Saturday's parting shot

A few of the vendors this evening outside the 3rd & B’Zaar Holiday Market at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...  a group of local merchants, artists and designers are behind the venture, which is open through Dec. 24. 

Look for "unique gifts at affordable prices" Wednsdays through Sundays from 1-6 p.m.

Photo by Stacie Joy