The V-Spot opens an empanada outpost on St. Mark's Place ahead of planned vegan restaurant

The family-run Park Slope vegan restaurant The V-Spot has plans to open an outpost at 16 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Until that happens, The V-Spotters started selling empanadas to-go from the storefront this past Friday…


[Images via Facebook]

As for a full-blown vegan restaurant on St. Mark's Place, the family has turned to Kickstarter to help get the business here started. If interested, then you can read about the campaign here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Organic omnivore, vegetarian or vegan restaurant wanted at 12 St. Mark's Place

The V-Spot coming soon to St. Mark's Place

Week in Grieview

[7th and A the other day via Derek Berg]

East Village Radio is officially back (Thursday)

Rumors: Red Square has been sold (Monday)

A look at the new luxury condos coming soon to East 13th Street (Wednesday)

With space too expensive in the East Village, Pommes Frites will reopen on MacDougal Street (Wednesday)

Brewer and Mendez celebrate Mayor's signature of new tenant notification law (Friday)

Workers remove damaged linden tree from Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

Mixologoist Albert Trummer looking to bring a cocktail bar to Avenue C (Tuesday)

Urban Etiquette Cat Sign! (Thursday, 27 comments)

Your new Cooper Square dorm (Friday)

Taxi Relief Stand arrives on Avenue A (Thursday)

A new beginning for Diane McLean and her 3 children (Wednesday)

Presenting the Shops on East Fifth Street (Tuesday)

VolaVida Gallery opens on East Fourth Street (Thursday)

Out and About in the East Village 2015 recap (Wednesday)

Bar Akuda is now The Grayson after 2 weeks (Friday)

On Sixth Street, Hudson East fetches $60 million (Wednesday)

Avenue A storefront shuffle (Monday)

The disappearing penthouse of 515 E. Fifth St. (Friday)

New Steve Croman warning flyer makes the scene (Monday)

Moishe's has a new (temporary-looking) sign (Thursday)

The discarded Bill Murray throw pillow (Monday)

Commercial space available for rent at 117 Second Ave. (Thursday)

The B Bar's Urban Etiquette Sign about their neighbor's trash (Monday)

… and Tarzan Mike (aka He-Man) feeds a squirrel in Tompkins Square Park…


[Photo yesterday via Steven]

Report: Dog walker traded Sugar for PCP

PLS RT: Sugar last seen on 2.23 at 9am at 210 East 26th St. She may be wearing a navy sweater. #FindSugarNYC pic.twitter.com/1nm3kxIgvw

— FindSugarNYC (@FindSugarNYC) February 25, 2015

East Village resident Morgan Bogle has filed a new lawsuit claiming that her dog walker traded Sugar, her Amstaff/pit bull mix, in exchange for drugs, the Post reports today.

Here's what she alleges against dog walker Tommy Doerr in court papers, as reported by the Post:

Doerr, 46, was “detained by the police who had allegedly searched him and found him in possession of a controlled substance, believed to be PCP,” Bogle claims in court papers.

She “has also been told . . . that [Doerr] ‘traded’ Sugar to some drug dealers in return for PCP or sold Sugar in order to obtain money to buy drugs,” court papers state. “Morgan believes that her best friend and beloved pet was sold by Doerr to be used in connection with dog-fighting or traded for controlled substances.”

Doerr's lawyer responded:

“I can tell you there was a drug intake [at the hospital] and it was completely negative, which proves that any allegation that he was on any kind of drugs is completely false,” attorney Mel Ginsburg told The Post.

“There’s a lot of completely false allegations being made about this case,” Ginsburg said. “Nobody’s going to fake going into the hospital. There’s no intent here.”

Also:

The dog walker has countersued Bogle, accusing her of defamation because of the “false” drug allegations. Doerr also claims a pet detective hired by Bogle treated him “in a most abusive and intimidating manner” and told Doerr he should kill himself, according to court papers.

The 4-year-old Sugar went missing on Feb. 23 under mysterious circumstances.

Doerr, who had been with Sugar for three years, previously said that he didn't remember what happened to the dog.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about Sugar, the missing pit bull mix with a $5k reward (78 comments)

Reward for Sugar is now $10,000, thanks to NBA all-star David Lee (45 comments)

An East Village Sugar sighting (53 comments)

East Village Cheese makes move to 7th Street official

As we reported on May 27, East Village Cheese was going to relocate this summer to East Seventh Street.

There's now a sign up at the shop at 40 Third Ave. between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street with a few more details on the relocation…



Their current lease expires at the end of July. In January, we heard that the Duane Reade on Third Avenue at East 10th Street was going to expand into adjacent storefronts on that block, forcing out several businesses, including East Village Cheese and Excel Custom Framing. (Excel has found a new home on Third Avenue, which we will write about in a separate post.)

The Cheese shop owners had considered a move to Avenue A and East 13th Street, though that plan never materialized.

The new East Village Cheese will be at 80 East Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, which was the former home of Warwick and Framus Custom Shop.

H/T East Village Eats

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumors: Duane Reade expansion will take over adjacent storefronts, including East Village Cheese (74 comments)

[Updated] Confirmed: East Village Cheese will be moving to Avenue A later this year

The downtown skyline this morning

Photo by Bobby Williams

Puke Island Part 5 is this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park

Bands today will include:

2 p.m. — Universal Truth Machine
2:45 — The Graveyard School
3:30 — Skitzopolis
4:15 — Get Ignorant
5 — Lucifer Jones

Find more details here.

Manhattanhenge this

@evgrieve St.Mark's pic.twitter.com/B0mnAKLye9

— Christian Burns (@Knickerbock4Lif) June 7, 2015

Bringing home the bacon

Spotted outside Porchetta this morning on East Seventh Street … via EVG correspondent Steven…

'The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future' now on display in Tompkins Square Park

Artist Jorge Luis Rodriguez installed his new sculpture yesterday in Tompkins Square Park …



Here's more about it via Facebook:

"The Oracle of the Past, Present and Future" (2015) consists of geometric interlocking parts of steel, wood and glass elements that stands about 12 feet high with a magnificent steel dome and designed for Tompkins Square Park …"

The sculpture is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Growth, his large-scale, permanent work at the East Harlem Art Park at East 120th Street and Sylvan Place.

EVG correspondent Steven took these photos of Rodriguez, who teaches at at the School of Visual Arts, Manhattan Community College, and Kingsborough Community College.



The installation will officially be dedicated today at noon … you and the night heron have until May 2016 to enjoy this in the Park.

Some earlier reports did contain a little misinformation…

@evgrieve did you see the shrine the rats built? pic.twitter.com/3WKv662lD3

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) June 5, 2015

Zoltar, now with the personal branding back in place

[September 2012]

Zoltar graced us with his presence outside Gem Spa starting on Sept. 23, 2012 (as seen in the above photo).

And Zoltar hadn't really looked the same since his glass was bashed by a skateboard in April 2013 here on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place… the replacement glass didn't carry the ZOLTAR name…



Now, though! Yesterday, the ZOLTAR SPEAKS lettering returned!



See?!



Though given how vocal Zoltar can be, is the SPEAKS part necessary?

The beautiful south

The debut record by Atlanta-based Algiers came out on Tuesday… Here's a quickie band bio via label Matador:

A trio of émigrés of the American Deep South, now split between New York and London, Algiers synthesizes its eclectic influences, from Nina Simone and PJ Harvey to Suicide and Public Enemy, into frightening new forms.

The video here is for "Black Eunuch."

Afternoon break

Outside St. Stanislaus on East Seventh Street today via Derek Berg…

EV Grieve Etc.: A rise in serious crime; an homage to Arthur Russell

[Photo on East 7th Street by Derek Berg]

A rise in serious crime in most NYPD precincts, including the 9th (DNAinfo)

Some 100,000 rent-stabilized apartments may go market-rate (The Real Deal)

June is Gay Pride Month (Off the Grid)

East Village-based photographer Sally Davies has an exhibit at the Bernarducci Meisel Gallery (Bernarducci Meisel Gallery)

The story behind the mural "Nepal 2015" on the Avalon Chemists building at Second Avenue and Houston (Bedford + Bowery}


[EVG photo of "My Nepal" from Saturday]

An homage to Arthur Russell (The Independent)

Egg Rolls, Egg Creams & Empanadas Festival returns to Eldridge Street this Sunday (The Lo-Down)

A bike/coffee shop opens on Canal Street (BoweryBoogie)

The Super 8 films of Stephanie Gray playing at the Anthology Film Archives (The Villager)

One resident's unchain challenge (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Midtown's vanishing historic architecture (The New York Times)

...and won't someone please help Santa in Tompkins Square Park?

Name change for Bar Akuda?

[EVG photo from May 8]

Bar Akuda, the sports bar-restaurant at 16 First Ave. between East First Street and East Second Street, opened on May 21.

Perhaps ownership decided to rethink the name, which sounds like a Heart song.

An EVG reader notes this morning that the Bar Akuda is sign is gone... and there's a banner noting a more dignified-sounding name — The Grayson...



There isn't any mention of a name change on the bar's Facebook page... here is the latest entry...