Activity at the fire-damaged Cafe Mocha

This past week, workers covered up the windows at Cafe Mocha, which was wiped out by the three-alarm fire on Feb. 10 at 48 E. Seventh St./116 Second Ave.

Workers were also spotted removing debris from the retail space as well as the rest of the building (thanks to Steven for the photos on Friday)...



There is a full vacate on the property, though the city is allowing emergency work, including sealing the roof.

Cafe Mocha has taken a hopeful approach about possibly reopening. A sign on the door and a message on their Instagram account thanks neighbors and customers for their loyalty through the years.




[Photo from Feb. 15]

Meanwhile, on Seventh Street, the Italian restaurant Via Della Pace was also damaged. In an Instagram post on Feb. 11, management said that they were unsure whether they'd continue on with the business.

Based on the 300-plus comments on the post, many patrons hope to see them back.



The cause of the fire is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. None of the residents were said to be injured. One tenant of the building said on an EVG Facebook post that "all tenants and animals are safe and sound."

And no word on any type of crowdfunding campaigns for the displaced residents. Please let me know if you hear of any.

The Third Man has closed on Avenue C

Paper now covers the front door and windows at the Third Man, the cocktail bar at 116 Avenue C that shut down at the beginning of the month.

There isn't any official notice of a closing on the Third Man's website or social media properties. Google and Yelp list the space between Seventh Street and Eighth Street as permanently closed. (Several Instagram users noted the bar's last day was Feb. 1.)

This closure doesn't come as a surprise. Owners Eduard "Edi" Frauneder and Wolfgang "the Wolf" Ban also operated Edi & the Wolf on the next block. That Austrian restaurant closed last April due to "increasing operating costs."

The Third Man, with an early-20th-century-Vienna–theme (and a nod to the classic film), opened in December 2012.

Solidcore snaps up former ICP space on the Bowery

An outpost of the nationwide fitness chain solidcore is opening in the former home of the International Center of Photography's (ICP) home at 250 Bowery...



Here's a description of their popular workout via Well & Good:

It involves a megaformer, free weights, and a whole lot of being really, really mindful of the way you move your body. The method uses slow, controlled movements (“the slower the better!” is a common refrain in class) to burn out your slow-twitch muscles to the point of failure. The thinking is that this creates long, lean muscles over time.

This location just south of Houston Street debuts on March 7 ... in an area where more boutique gyms and studios have been opening.

The ICP cleared out of this space last summer ahead of a move to Essex Crossing.

A sign of spring (and summer)

Jen the bookseller is back at her usual spot on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place for the afternoon...

Photo by Steven

Week in Grieview

[Outside St. Stanislaus on 7th Street yesterday via Derek Berg]

Posts from this past week included...

• NYPD's body-cam footage shows the deadly police shooting on Avenue A and 7th Street from Jan. 9 (Friday)

• A Visit to Odessa Restaurant (Thursday)

• The Marshal seizes Hotel Tortuga (Tuesday)

• On second thought, Jiang Diner is moving back to 5th Street (Wednesday)

• Brooklyn Bean Roastery arrives on Avenue A (Tuesday)

• Last Dance: Lafayette Street live music venue closes tonight after just 4 months (Tuesday)

• Rock on: Remembering Bill Graham's Fillmore East (Wednesday)

• Tio Pio bringing its rotisserie chicken to 14th Street (Tuesday)

• Hearts for Gem Spa (Monday)

• Demolition watch: 183 Avenue B (Wednesday)

• Police looking for suspect who stole 3 Phase 2 paintings from Avenue C studio (Wednesday)

• Idlewild Coffee Co. coming to 5th Street (Friday)

• Chairnobyl (Wednesday)

• That Thai Direct renovation is taking longer than expected (Tuesday)

• Checking out the new International Center of Photography at Essex Crossing (Monday)

• MAD Toast House has gone out of business (Thursday)

• Change is coming to Kmart on Astor Place (Wednesday)

... and yesterday, EVG regular Lola Saénz spotted acclaimed photographers Janette Beckman (left) and Martha Cooper on Second Avenue...



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Desires: Food from the corner deli

A recent corner deli rebrand to note, one with a romance novel meets Food Network vibe.

ES Wholesome Food has new owners here at 226 E. Seventh St. at Avenue C... the deli is now called [drumroll] Your Desire in Food...



Your Desire serves a variety of wraps and sandwiches as well as offers the usual corner deli items [that you desire?].

The rebrand comes shortly after the shed/storage space on the Seventh Street side welcomed a palm reader as its new tenant ... this after several years as a gallery called the Stand...


[Photo from Feb. 9]

Previously on EV Grieve:
On Avenue C, market known for Cobra Malt Liquor giving way to Wholesome Foods

St. Mark's Place now free of this mobile boiler

[Then]

And in posts that we didn't get around to posting this past week... the mobile boiler that had been sitting outside 56 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue has finally left the block...


[Now]

Seems as if the temp boiler was sitting there for years. Several readers on the block had complained about it — mostly because it wasn't even hooked up to the building for the longest time.

City records show that the permit for a new boiler was approved back in June.

Today in photos of a squirrel eating tomato sauce from a can in Tompkins Square Park

Cute alert! Thanks to Eden for the photos...



Previously on EV Grieve:
• What other photos of squirrels eating things can we post?

• Meanwhile, a squirrel with a coconut drink this morning in Tompkins Square Park

• Today in photos of squirrels carb loading in Tompkins Square Park

A moment with Christo on 9th Street

Late yesterday afternoon, after a failed attempt to snatch a pigeon midair, Christo stopped for a moment on Ninth Street and Avenue A ... staring down some locals, including Steven, who snapped these photos ...



... and showing off those tail feathers...



Christo and Amelia, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, have been active of late as they're prepping their nest(s) for summering in 2020. Goggla, as always, is documenting their movement. Find her photo site here.

Last weekend for this depiction of 1980s Times Square at Howl! Happening

Jane Dickson’s exhibit, "Hot, Hot, Hot," ends its residency at Howl! Happening tomorrow (Sunday!).

The show features "a series of rarely seen and moody paintings of Times Square peep shows from the 1980s." And here's more via the Howl! website:

Dickson’s history and legacy are rooted in Times Square. She worked and lived there from 1978 to 2008 documenting her daily lived experiences and observations as a young woman. In photos, drawings, and paintings that utilize unconventional industrial and domestic materials as surfaces — including carpet, sandpaper, and black plastic bags—she captured a time and place that was notoriously lawless, squalid, and vibrantly alive.

Read more about her work at this link.

Howl! Happening is at 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

The hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow.

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I like her work and backstory... here's more via an interview from January 2019...

Friday's parting shot

Late afternoon on Avenue A... photo by Steven...

Discarded Mannequin Butt

Spotted on Avenue C at Fifth Street this evening by @Jason_Chatfield ...

To here knows when

NYC's Peel Dream Magazine has a new record, Agitprop Alterna, due out on April 3 via Slumberland. The video here is for Pill. RIYL: My Bloody Valentine, (early) Stereolab and Rocketship.

EVG Etc.: The story behind the Hard Swallow on 1st Avenue; the return of Citi Bike's e-bikes

[A St. Mark's Place classic]

Coronavirus fears in Chinatown (The Guardian)

The story of how Sasha and Lee Lloyd "overcame abuse, homelessness, depression, and betrayal" to open The Hard Swallow on First Avenue (Vice ... previously on EVG)

Citi Bike's e-bikes gradually return to the fleet (Streetsblog NYC)

Amelia and Christo are keeping busy in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

The emerging designers at pop-up Café Forgot on Sixth Street (i-D)

In case you hadn’t noticed: With the rise in streaming services, more TV shows are filming now in NYC (CNN)

About "Our Friend, Jean," an exhibit featuring a sampling of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s early works from a group of collectors who knew him intimately (hyperallergic)

The Lowline, the proposed subterranean green space on the LES, remains dormant for now (The Lo-Down)

The history of the LES through music (The New York Times)

Norman’s Sound & Vision, which left the East Village in 2012, has closed its shop in Williamsburg (Brownstoner)

Blinded by Extell's One Manhattan Square (Gothamist)

A retrospective of the groundbreaking artist Ed Emshwiller (Anthology Film Archives)

And happening this evening... via the EVG inbox...

Winter's low visibility conditions make for a difficult time to bike, commute or walk your dog in traffic.

Join Transportation Alternatives for a #DoggyDaylighting Awareness event at Boris and Horton to support life-saving street redesigns that can increase safety for our most vulnerable road users.

FREE! #DoggyDaylighting Awareness Event for the Bike Avenue B campaign
Friday, Feb. 21 @ 5:30-7 p.m.
Boris & Horton, 195 Avenue A (at 12th Street)
**Dogs are not required for the event, but their participation is welcome indoors at this dog-friendly venue.