Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo — "make your best offer" — from 14th Street by Daniel Efram) ... 

• A new home and name for Café Cortadito (Monday)

• 3rd & B'zaar's new market will feature the work of women-owned businesses (Wednesday) 

• May the farce be with you: 'The Empire Strips Back' is next up at the Orpheum Theatre (Thursday) 

• A new era for the old Bad Pussies wall on 3rd Street and Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Fire jumping returns (Saturday) 

• Revisiting a transformative Sunday on Avenue A (Friday) 

• What's happening on this block of 5th Street? (Tuesday)

• CM Rivera addresses 'operations improvements' for Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Openings: The York on Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Corner spaces for lease along Houston at Elizabeth and the Bowery (Tuesday)

• Report: The Astor Place cube will be ready for a spin once more this summer (Friday) 

• Corner development battle: 360 Bowery takes commanding lead over 1 St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Ghost signage on 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• On the rental market: 118 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• March madness! Key Food continues to up its St. Patrick's Day game (Monday) 

• First sign of Raising Cane's on Astor Place (Thursday) 

• Gelato 1st and 10th (Monday) 

• Report: Angel's Share has a new home (and what of its old home?) (Monday) 

... and on First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street, the short-lived Healthily Deli is now going as Top1 Convenience (thanks to Steven for the photo)...

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Week in Grieview

[Outside St. Brigid's today on Avenue B via Bobby Williams]

RIP Shane Keogh (Sunday)

The Birdman of First Avenue is retiring, will close Rainbow Music next month (Thursday)

Rooftop fire on Third Avenue (Thursday)

New, confusing signs up at the former Lit Lounge space (Monday)

At the East Village Vintage Collective (Friday)

Another report of stolen packages from an East Village lobby (Wednesday)

Out and About with George Cameron (Wednesday)

Report: Uncle suing nephew broker Raphael Toledano over $100 million East Village deal (Friday)

A refurbished 330 Bowery comes into view (Thursday)

Le Marécage closes on First Avenue (Monday)

Superiority Burger adding another night to its schedule starting next week (Friday)

Highlights from the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Cow tippers at large (Monday)

Caracas Arepa Bar back open after an 18-day, gas-related hiatus (Thursday)

Former Russian Souvenirs shop for rent on East 14th Street (Monday)

A new marquee for the First Avenue McDonald's (Tuesday)

Several trees coming down in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

There'll be no more trespassing at the Cooper Union academic building (Monday)

NYPD busts the 2nd Ave. Convenience Store (Tuesday)

Reader report: Bike room burglarized at Icon's Second Avenue residential building (Wednesday)

Details on Black Seed's soon-to-open First Avenue location (Tuesday)

Virgola bringing oysters to East Seventh Street (Friday)

City removes Sandy-damaged willow from 9th Street Community Garden Park (Tuesday)

Yummy Asian Food coming to East Third Street (Wednesday)

New tape shop for East Second Street (Monday)

Something new in the works for 25 Avenue B (Thursday)

Arthouse cinema, bookshop planned for Ludlow Street (Tuesday)

Former Jones Diner lot on Lafayette primed for new development (Thursday)

Nicoletta looking to upgrade to a full liquor license (Wednesday)

… and apologies for not telling you about the pop-up shoe shop on Cooper Square on Friday…


[Photo by peter radley]

Week in Grieview

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Bobby Williams]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Carmen Pabón (Wednesday)

Annual New York Cares coat drive underway (Thursday)

A new art gallery on Second Street (Friday)

Village View ends talk of privatization (Monday)

Out and About with Eric Paulin (Wednesday)

A look at East Houston before the arrival of Red Square (Friday)

McSorley's reopens after bout with DOH (Monday)

Patisserie Florentine coming soon to 10th Street (Tuesday)

Chipping away the exterior detail at 112-120 E. 11th St. (Friday)

East Village is closing after tonight (Saturday)

FryGuysNYC coming soon to Second Street (Thursday)

Vivi Bubble Tea coming to former Organic Avenue space on Third Avenue (Monday)

Report: Pretty ugly AMC Village 7 building sells for $32 million (Thursday)

CB3 douses plans for hookah bar Fire and Ice on Third Street (Thursday)

Ray's Candy Store named best East Village restaurant (Thursday)

Kati Roll Company is now open on Second Avenue (Tuesday)

The cube and Astor Place officially welcomed with ribbon cutting (Wednesday) Then Astor Place closes for "Game of Thrones" fan event (Thursday)

East Village Burritos & Bar is now Spicewala Bar Indian Cuisine (Monday)

Dean & Deluca vet bringing Fat Cat Kitchen to 14th Street (Tuesday)

Switch Playground now open on 12th Street "for the body and soul" (Wednesday)

Future Swiss Institute gets the plywood treatment on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Coyote Ugly opens its first location in Kyrgyzstan (Wednesday)

Say goodbye to the temporary fire truck garage on East 14th Street

[EVG file photo from August 2013]

Workers today disassembled the temporary structure outside Engine Company 5 on East 14th Street near First Avenue. For the past 10 months, the pen had been housing the truck from Ladder Company 3 on East 13th Street near Fourth Avenue ... while that station house underwent repairs ...


[Photo by EVG reader Pinch]

Previously on EV Grieve:
This open, airy, East Village studio seeks $2,600 a month

Week in Grieview

[Photo from 4th Street by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP George Cameron (Wednesday)

Cars to give way to a bus-only corridor most hours on 14th Street during the L-train shutdown (Tuesday) Citi Bike will expand ahead of L-mageddon time (Thursday)

City Planning Commission OKs tech hub for Union Square (Thursday)

Judy talks about her apartment of 40 years (Thursday)

City pools open (Wednesday)

B&H Dairy has new-look menus (Tuesday)

Rose and Basil has gone out of business (Friday)

9th Street's Zucker Bakery closing after 7 years in business (Tuesday)

This week's NY See strip (Thursday)

Moxy East Village opening date now set for late 2019 on 11th Street (Monday)

Giant alligator false alarm (Friday)

Christo and Amelia's kids are growing and growing... (Monday)

Final vote from the Rent Guidelines Board (Tuesday)

Korilla BBQ has closed on 3rd Avenue (Thursday)

Openings and closings on this block of 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

The 411 on 886 (Monday)

The new Westside Market on 3rd Avenue opens (Thursday)

Ippudo closed for renovations through July 17 (Monday)

In Tompkins Square Park, we lost a piano but gained, for now, a wicker vanity table (Tuesday)

The Neighbors move out early at First Street Green Art Park (Tuesday)

Cheers Cut has not been open lately on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

... workers removed the sidewalk bridge from outside 86 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue this past week ... which had been there since an apartment fire on Feb. 7. In case you forgot what the Black & White looked like...



... and the heatwave is drying up the perpetual puddle/pool at the M14 stop on Avenue A near Ninth Street...



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2nd Avenue update (March 29)

[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

The latest headlines

Possibility of criminal charges in New York City building collapse growing (ABC News)

Months before East Village blast, utility found gas line was tapped in dangerous way (The New York Times)

Investigators question whether cause of East Village explosion is criminal (WABC-7)

East Village explosion underscores city's infrastructure woes (Crain's)

Heartless visitors snap selfies at East Village blast site (New York Post)

Donations and Services

• The Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC continues to collect donations to help address the needs of residents displaced by the explosion. Find the website here with more details.

• A parishioner from Church of the Nativity, Mildred Guy, lost her home in the fire. Today, Nativity will be collecting clothes, sheets and funds for displaced victims from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Donations will be going to the Red Cross. The Church is at 44 Second Ave. between East Second Street and East Third Street.

• Theater for the New City on First Avenue is offering FREE clothing from their costume collection ("costume" street wear) to its neighbors displaced by the explosion. They have coats, jackets and other clothing. Call 212-254-1109 to make an appointment.

• From 5-8 p.m. today, Professor Thom's is hosting a fundraiser for their Second Avenue neighbors. Per a Professor Thom's manager: "100 percent of all donations collected will go directly to helping our neighbors who have been affected by this."

The Loft at Professor Thom's (219 2nd Avenue between East 13th Street and East 14th Street) A $25 donation gets a bracelet for $1 well drinks & domestic beer, $2 wine and imported beer.

• EVG reader Sierra writes in to say:

We have an apartment on 9th Street and Avenue C. We can easily live in half of it as it's currently two apartments not yet combined. Our home is furnished and completely private. A single person or couple would be best for the size of the space. We can offer a two-week stay, just ask for proof of address.

Email her here

• EVG reader Gojira also has an extra room for a displaced resident. "I have a large, unused room in my apartment, free to a displaced single or couple, but you must be okay with cats. Email me here. I can host for a month. Proof of address required."

• A displaced resident named Alex left this comment on a previous post:

Hello! I live at E 41 7th, and we are displaced and awaiting news. If anyone is interested in volunteering anything, you can contact the Red Cross...or take things to 169 Avenue B. They already have lots of things. But as a displaced person who will most likely be in long term shelter for a while, a few things that needed (and got elsewhere! Yay!), but others may need are: ear plugs and eye masks (for sleeping in shared housing), slippers, pajamas, mittens/gloves/hates/scarves (I had a coat, but didn't need gloves on Thursday when I left, but needed them today). New underwear & simple socks. Laundry detergent, even small containers of it, shower caps, bathrobes, travel things, small individual instant coffee things, simple cups/mugs, plates & cutlery (I'm in shelter and got food, but don't have a cup for coffee).

• Manhattan Mini Storage is offer free storage for displaced residents. Details here

Week in Grieview

[Caught in the rain on Avenue A via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Q&A with the authors of the "Rock & Roll Explorer Guide to New York City" (Thursday)

Printed Matter will have a bookstore inside the Swiss Institute's new 2nd Avenue home (Tuesday)

Funny business: Comedy club replacing comedy club on 4th Street (Monday)

The latest I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Friday)

At Dual Specialty Store (Thursday)

Don't be surprised to see a human take your order (and cash) at the Astor Place Shake Shack (Monday)

Tinkersphere leaves 5th Street for the Lower East Side (Friday)

An injured opossum on Avenue B (Monday)

The former East Village Cheese space has a new tenant on 7th Street (Friday)

Bareburger making its Orchard Street debut (Thursday)

Moxy East Village arrives at the lobby level (Monday)

Pink Bear Ice Cream and Steam Rice Roll has apparently closed on 14th Street (Tuesday)

Cafe Zaiya has closed on Cooper Square (Wednesday)

About the bar-restaurant proposed for 2 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

2 years later, 136 2nd Ave. ready for its restaurant (Wednesday)

Hot Box looking ready to debut on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

Report: Ravi DeRossi bringing Fire & Water to 7th Street (Tuesday)

... and something for the birds on St. Mark's Place... photo by EVG reader Hansley Yunez...



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Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village. Editor's note: Given the freezing temps when we were going to do this last week, we arranged to do this interview indoors.

By James Maher

Name: Cheryl Pyle
Occupation: Musician (Flute and Bass), The Flute Mistress of Epic Doom Metal
Location: 11th Street Between A and B
Time: 2 on Saturday, Feb. 2

I moved to the East Village from San Francisco after college in 1980 because I had been meeting a lot of jazz musicians who said that the jazz was in New York. I stayed with a friend, a bass player’s wife, on 14th street near 6th Avenue and we went around to all of the jazz clubs. There was Fat Tuesday’s, Village Vanguard, Jazz Forum, Jazzmania and Lush Life — there were tons of clubs. There was also Bradley’s on University Place, where everyone would go after they played and would hangout till 6 or 7 in the morning.

When I used to go to the Village Vanguard and Max was the owner, he would let all of the jazz musicians in for free, and he’d be down there, this little guy with a cigar, and he would say, “Did you find some gigs? Did you find a place to live?” He was that kind of New York guy. My first Christmas Eve here I spent down there; he let me in for free. I think Elvin Jones was playing and his mom was there and it was just a very old New York kind of family atmosphere for jazz.

So I met a lot of jazz musicians and I met this drummer from San Francisco and he said, “Oh, I think I have this apartment building in the East Village and you can move in without first and last months rent.” We came over here and the neighborhood was scary. There was a couple here, Ice and Joyce, and they said, “Take an apartment. The landlord abandoned the building. Pay us when you can.” The rent was $180 a month. I took this apartment, my friend Todd took the one downstairs, and another piano player took the one in front. Then the city offered to sell us the building for $5,000 in 1981, so we all put in $250 dollars and bought it. And I’m still here.

The dynamic of the building was pretty cool because Ice and Joyce were very cool. There were a lot of artists and musicians and dancers. Even though we were all broke, it was a great time. A lot of times we didn’t have heat, so you’d just have to take cold water baths and stuff. It was pretty raw but we all knew each other. We have been ongoing fixing the building. I’ve painted several times. I sanded the floors myself. We did a building repair on the roof. We landscaped the backyard and fixed it up so we could sit out there when it’s warm. We put in a new boiler. I was just doing plumbing last week. I love doing plumbing. We all have tools.

But the neighborhood was really really scary. The building right across the street had a lot of drug problems and I think there were seven murders there. I remember my mom came to visit from California in 1984 and we walked out and there was this car stripped on the street in a blazing fire. This stolen car ring from New Jersey used to bring cars over, strip them and light them on fire on 11th street. It was like a war zone. I always carried Mace with me. One time I was putting my key into my door and this guy put a knife to my throat. He cut my chain off but I had Mace in my hand and I Maced him. He threw me down and ran away. That was my one mugging situation.

I had mostly been playing the jazz flute since I moved here. Being in this creative atmosphere is really important and it has given me some opportunities to play with some amazing people. I was able to record at RCA BMG in Midtown with some of my jazz idols, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. And in 1999, I started playing the electric bass and rock and heavy metal. I got into that whole scene. We played at CBGB, which was just fantastic. It’s kind of crazy to have this jazz side and then this heavy metal side. In 2008, I did a recording for an epic doom metal band in Denmark called Altar of Oblivion. I found myself being called the flute mistress of epic doom metal.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Week in Grieview

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

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

• It snowed! (Thursday ... and Thursday) 

• Lovewild Design debuts on Avenue C (Friday) 

• Report of a small fire inside the empty P.S. 64 building on 9th Street (Thursday)

• NY AG: Madison Realty Capital to pay more than $1 million for victims of fraud and tenant harassment (Wednesday) 

• Celebrating 41 years of the Pyramid Club (Tuesday)

• Gallery Watch: In the Woods by Sally Saul at Rachel Uffner Gallery (Wednesday) 

• Theater in Quarantine presents a world premiere from an East Village closet (Monday) 

• East Village bars and restaurants temporarily close down again (Tuesday) 

• Restoring the Blondie mural on Bleecker and the Bowery (Monday) 

• A new look (and name!) for the East Village Neighbors Fridge (Friday) 

• Workers clear lot ahead of new-building construction on 6th Street and Avenue C (Wednesday) 

• A visit to Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza (Friday) 

• New York Sal's Pizza bringing slices to 14th Street (Monday) 

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday) 

• Break ins at A break in at Kolkata Chai Cafe (Tuesday) and East Village Finest Deli (Wednesday)

• Rapid COVID-19 testing center opening on the Bowery (Monday)

• Steel structure for new Houston Street office building continues ascent (Monday) 

• Here then, the renovated 84 2nd Ave. (Tuesday) 

• Sanitation worker spares snowman's life on 7th Street! (Thursday) 

• Former Finnerty's space for rent on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

And remember...

... and this too! (Thanks Delphine for the photo!) ...

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Reaching the top at Zero Irving (aka tech hub)

Here's what is turning out to be a monthly look at 124 E. 14th St., aka Zero Irving (and formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center and 14 @ Irving ... and tech hub for life!) ... workers are apparently up to the tippy top here at Irving Place...

The latest Zero Irving e-newsletter (14th @ Irving Construction Update #36, and, by the way, #2 is already a collector's item) states the following updates:

Superstructure Concrete
The project’s superstructure contractor will be completing the 23rd floor slab the week of 9/7. They will continue to place stairs at the top of house, in addition to mechanical pads, curbs and the buildings parapets. Upon completion of this miscellaneous concrete the contractor will begin demobilization. This will include cocoon removal, removal of shoring and decking material and other demobilization tasks.

Cellar
The project’s electrical contractor is finishing installation of Switchgear Room equipment and feeder conduits in coordination with Con Ed’s site visits. End line boxes will be completed, along with overhead conduits throughout the cellar. Con Ed is anticipated to complete their pulls and tie-ins to switch gear room. The project is expecting permanent power by October 2020.

General Site
The project’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection contractors continue work on site to install sleeves and layout embeds and all other materials being placed into the deck on the 23rd floor. 

The newsletter makes mention of the 23rd floor. The official press release about the project lists this as a 21-floor building. Other news stories mention 21 floors too. The work permit lists 22 floors. Perhaps this 23rd floor mentioned is bulkhead-related. 

The 21-23-story building, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces and state-of-the-art event space ... on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October. Food-hall specialists Urban­Space officially signed the lease for 10,000 square feet on the ground level last month.

The new building — long contested by local preservationists and community groups (see links below) — sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

• Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

• City Council unanimously approves tech hub; some disappointment in lack of zoning protections 

• The conversation continues on the now-approved tech hub for 14th Street

• P.C. Richard is gone on 14th Street; preservationists want answers about tech-hub commitments

Week in Grieview

[Outside Davey's Ice Cream on 1st Avenue yesterday via Derek Berg]

A makeshift memorial for East Village explosion victims Nicholas Figueroa and Moises Ismael Locón Yac on 2nd Avenue (Thursday and Saturday)

How your donations helped people in need at The Bowery Mission in 2014 (Friday)

The Wall Street Journal on the ongoing issues at Icon Realty's 128 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

Ben Ari Arts is a shell of its former self on Avenue A (Tuesday)

San Marzano reopens (Friday)

The Stage donates its bulk food and supplies (Friday)

Out and About with Mildred Guy (Wednesday)

Rumor: Tompkins Square Bagels possibly opening a 2nd East Village location on 2nd Avenue (Monday, 32 comments)

The 'Postmodern Polynesian' of Mother of Pearl replacing Gin Palace on Avenue A (Friday)

More about Babu Ji, opening next month on Avenue B (Wednesday)

Reader report: 421 E. 6th St. will house Peter M. Brant's personal art collection (Thursday)

Tuome back in business after a kitchen fire (Wednesday)

Johnny Favorite's now serving slices (and sorbet) on East 4th Street (Thursday)

T-swirl crêpes for where Subway's 6-inch subs once roamed on East 14th Street (Monday)

Ben Shaoul and friends paid $75 million for the one-level group of properties next to Katz's on East Houston and Orchard Street (Thursday)

SenYa now open on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

5 weeks in, Long Bay closes for now (Wednesday)

First Avenue bagel update (Tuesday)

And a Black Seed bagels check-in (Tuesday)

Earth Day rainbow! (Thursday)

First look at Pancake Paradise on Avenue C (Monday)

NatureEs calls: About the organic cafe coming to where Mars Bar 2.0 was in the works (Tuesday)

What lies beneath the Moishe's sign (Wednesday)

From pudding to macaroni at 102 St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Zoltar moves to the left (Friday)

And Rosie's opened on Friday, and by Saturday the "s" was burned out here on Second Avenue and East Second Street …


[Photo via Spike]

Week in Grieview

[Entrance to the 14th Street flea market via Bruce Beschner‎]

• Carlina Rivera states her opposition over plan to transfer air rights for new St. Mark's Place office building (Thursday)

• Officially on egg watch now in Tompkins Square Park (Saturday)

• Coffee time: New counter space coming to Gem Spa (Friday)

• A moment with Wayne Diamond as he checks out "The Wayne Diamond" at Russo's (Wednesday)

• Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream coming to Avenue A (Tuesday)


[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

• SMØR now open for dinner on 12th Street (Wednesday)

• Why the playground at P.S. 19 has been closed for community use (Friday)

• Another fire at 204 E. 13th St. (Monday)

• The state's plastic bag ban is NOW in effect (Sunday)

• Suki is moving to a larger space around the corner (Monday)

• Half Gallery debuts on 4th and B (Saturday)

• More of the explosion site condoplex comes into view at 45 E. 7th St. (Monday)

• Former PS 64 not subject to the city’s new crackdown on deteriorating buildings (Tuesday)

• Heavy lifting at the future tech hub (Monday)

• Breaking the internet 1995 style at the Anthology Film Archives (Thursday)

• "The Icon variable" (Friday)

• Queens of the Street group art show opens on 11th Street (Friday)

• Prince Tea House announces its arrival on 10th Street (Tuesday)

• Time for the Life Time signage on Cooper Square (Thursday)

• The Marshal seizes the former Hot Kitchen space (Monday)

• That Duane Reade by Walgreens closed on 10th and 3rd (Monday)


[Everyone's favorite Almodovar film]

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Week in Grieview

Posts from the past week include (with a shot of 1st Avenue at Houston) ...

• A visit to Le Phin, the new Vietnamese cafe on 10th Street (Wednesday) 

• Essex Card Shop is now in its reconstruction phase on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Help for an East Village teacher who lost everything in an apartment fire (Thursday) 

• Bike-lane upgrade underway on Houston (Monday) 

• Commemorating International Transgender Day of Visibility on 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street (Friday) 

• Everytable bringing its fast-casual concept to Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• El Rinconcito makes it signage official at new Avenue C home (Monday) 

• Farewell to Holyland Market on St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• Bracing for new construction at the former B Bar & Grill space on the Bowery (Monday) 

• Demolition grinds on at 38-48 2nd Ave. (Thursday) 

• A 1-day strike at Anthology Film Archives (Friday)

• A look at the just-finished mural 'Ukraine: A History in Solidarity' (Wednesday)

• Remembering Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop in the 'CBGB' movie (Sunday) 

• Bar Veloce looking to open an outpost on the Bowery (Monday) 

• Openings: Avenue A Deli and Grill (Thursday) 

• Venus Over Manhattan opening a gallery on Great Jones (Wednesday) 

• Coddiwomple makes closure permanent (Tuesday) 

• Former Eileen Fisher space for rent on 9th Street (Tuesday) 

• Discarding an oversized photo of yourself: A cautionary tale (Friday) 

... and always been intrigued by this building on 14th Street near Third Avenue... especially with the new tag on top... 

On the topic of tags... a reader shared this photo... showing that someone tagged the entrange to the luxury Steiner East Village on 12th Street at Avenue A...

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Week in Grieview

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Affordable housing lottery underway at 79-89 Avenue D (Friday)

Cherche Midi space on the market for new retail development on the Bowery at East Houston (Wednesday)

Jane's Exchange is not closing! (Wednesday)

Christo and his new lady hawk friend Amelia have at least one egg in their nest in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

Rue St. Denis is closing after 25 years of selling vintage clothing and accessories on Avenue B (Tuesday)

The Hard Swallow returns on 1st Avenue (Friday)

Former East Village Cheese space for rent on 7th Street (Monday)

On Avenue A, Coney Island Baby debuts; live music returning to the Pyramid (Thursday)

FDNY: Wiring blamed for April 21 fire on 9th Street (Saturday)

Activities at the the Tompkins Square Park library branch (Thursday)

Pop-up theater in the former Pork Pie Hatters on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked (Friday)

LPC nixes proposed addition for 827-831 Broadway (Tuesday)

Former Rainbow Music shop will be a Chinese restaurant (Thursday)

No Malice Palace is closed again (Wednesday)

Y7 Studio bringing the hip-hop yoga to 250 E. Houston St. (Thursday)

Plywood arrives at Webster Hall (Monday)

Counting down to the Joe and Pat's opening (Monday)

Ace Hardware closes on 4th Avenue (Friday)

High praise for Mani in Pasta’s Roman-style pizzas on 14th Street (Thursday)

The return of Gothamist (Thursday)

Reader report: Economy Foam & Futon is leaving 8th Street for Chelsea (Wednesday)

Cafe in the works for 2 St. Mark's Place, previously Ayios and St. Mark's Ale House (Tuesday)

The force is apparently no longer with Suffolk Arms (Monday)

MoMa officials not really into MoMaCha's name on the Bowery (Monday)

Slurp Shop signage (Monday)

Discarded painting of the week (Thursday)

... and EVG reader Steph noted that the Man in White — the longtime LES resident seen for years dressed head to toe in white — was spotted in blue jeans and a blue jacket this past week...



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EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Info on two block parties this Saturday (East Village Feed)

The swirly door on East Fifth Street returns (The Gog Log)

Patrick Hedlund interviews The Grumbler (DNAinfo)

The Grumbler on the perils of public sidewalks in our reality-show world (The Grumbler)

Price chopping on East 10th Street (Curbed)

The guy from Crowded House was ready to move into 240 Houston right before it caught fire (HuffPo)

115 Norfolk reveals itself (BoweryBoogie)

A hotel room on Bleecker Street for $2.75 a night (Ephemeral New York)

Underground rock scribe Jack Rabid leaves the East Village for Park Slope (Brooklyn Paper) Why? "I got married, and we bought a house. The other half of it was, I started to really hate the East Village. I used to say you’d never get me out of there with a crowbar, but it’s not the East Village I grew up loving in the late 1970s. There’s not a trace of the underground culture anymore."

And EV Grieve reader Blue Glass reports that Kathy's has completed the move a few doors down on First Avenue between 14th Street and 13th Street...




Good news... but what will become of the Tats Cru-painted gate?

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Union Square by Derek Berg) ...

• The in-person tree lighting ceremony returns to Tompkins Square Park; save the date for Dec. 12 (Wednesday) 

• Shoring up the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

• Random Accessories celebrates 25 years (Thursday)

• Dress Shoppe II will close in early January (Tuesday) 

• Q&A with local band cumgirl8 (Thursday)

• Gallery Watch: 'If Death Ever Learn' at Someday Gallery (Wednesday) 

• Your chance to check out Jimmy Webb's collection of iconic music photography (Tuesday) 

• Someone painted 2 swastikas on the barrier surrounding the 6th Street sinkhole (Monday) 

• Sidewalk bridge arrives ahead of planned demo of former Red Square storefronts (Wednesday) 

• A visit to Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive on the Bowery (Friday) 

• Surf's up for Patagonia on the Bowery (Monday) 

• Jiang's Kitchen is in soft-open mode on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• The Irish breakfast makes a triumphant return to St. Dymphna's (Thursday) 

• Openings: Bar Lula on 1st Avenue (Thursday)

• The longest partial moon eclipse in 580 years as seen from 2nd Avenue (Friday)

• Boarding up Papaya Dog (Monday) 

• A tradition like no other returns this holiday season on 9th Street (Sunday) 

• Drunken Dumpling returns (Tuesday) 

• Beyond Sushi will not be reopening on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Sweet Village Marketplace opens on 1st Avenue (Sunday) 

• At Key Food: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more (Monday) 

• Blank Street debuts on Avenue A today (Friday) 

• A new florist for Sunny & Annie's (Monday)

... and a new mural arrived the other day on the NE corner of Sixth Street and First Avenue (outside the Dunkin') ... "Rise by lifting others" by Aída Miró ... thanks to Goggla for the photo...

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

Update: the alarm on the BMW outside Sophie’s at 507 E. 5th St. near Avenue A in the East Village is still going off — now 24 hours in. People egged the car, stole the NJ plates and left a passive-aggressive note. pic.twitter.com/wQcRY8oCAr

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) November 15, 2021

Week in Grieview

[Thanksgiving on 9th Street]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Jimi Zhivago (Tuesday)

Report: NYCHA tenants on Avenue C have been without heat and hot water since Nov. 15 (Wednesday)

Report of a fire at 204 E. 13th St. (Friday)

RIP Chile (Saturday)

A concept revamp for the Cienfuegos space on Avenue A (Monday)

This week's NY See (Friday)

Scenes from a (re)marriage: Comedy classics at the Anthology Film Archives (Tuesday)

Take a Stand at this holiday market on 7th and C (Friday)

Green paint arrives on the new 12th Street bike lane (Friday)

Space Mabi closes 1 year in on 1st Avenue (Monday)

Ichibantei vying for 20 St. Mark's Place, and an update on the former Grassroots Tavern space (Monday)

New building permits pre-filed for the (slightly larger) tech hub on Union Square (Monday)

At Leah Tinari's book signing for 'Limitless' at an.mé on 9th Street (Sunday)

Dua Kafe, serving Albanian-American cuisine, now open on 14th Street (Tuesday)


[Photo from Tompkins Square Park this morning]

Ummburger has closed on 1st Avenue (Monday)

What lies beneath 9th Street and 3rd Avenue? (Monday)

Biga NYC debuts on Clinton and Houston (Monday)

Despite its mediocre food, Panna II is a line-waiting smash thanks to Instagram and those twinkling lights (Tuesday)

Three Seat Espresso increases the seats for espresso on Avenue A (Monday)

... and a new mural arrived earlier in the week on Houston at the Bowery via Brazilian artist Tito Ferrara...



... which joins the recently arrived "Imagination of Alice" by @aluckyrabbit ...



Thanks to East Village Walls...

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EV Grieve Etc.: Sheldon Silver on trial; the Beastie Boys on 'Soul Train'

[2nd Avenue & East 6th Street assist via Derek Berg]

Sheldon Silver on trial (The Lo-Down … The New York Times)

Checking out the menu items at Arepa Factory on Avenue A (Gothamist)

The $12.5 million penthouse at 10 Bond sells after 2 weeks (Curbed)

Hunting and eating (well, swallowing) rats with Christo in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

Sally Davies on photographing the East Village (The Phoblographer)

"3 by Tom DiCillo" next week at the Anthology Film Archives ... includes 20th-anniversary screening of "Living in Oblivion." DiCillo and Steve Buscemi will be doing a Q-and-A on Nov. 11 (Anthology Film Archives)

Family heirs battle over movie chain, which could prompt a sale or break-up. The company owns several theaters in New York City, including the Angelika and Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street (The Deal ... H/T The Real Deal)

Squeezing the juice out of Organic Avenue (The New York Times)

The Beastie Boys on "Soul Train" in 1990 (Dangerous Minds)

The Ludlow House grows (BoweryBoogie)

Positive thoughts for Dr. Know of Bad Brains (Flaming Pablum)

Four female probationary firefighters will graduate from the FDNY Fire Academy, bringing the number of women firefighters to a total of 49 — a landmark high in the FDNY’s 150-year history (The Village Voice)

In defense of gentrification (The Atlantic)

An East 10th Street townhouse inspired by India (Ephemeral New York)

Artie's hardware store on West 14th Street has closed (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Details of the murder case of a well-known dentist on Bond Street in 1857 (Off the Grid)

21 great NYC diners (Eater)

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

The long-dormant Hispanic evangelical church that was housed in the building here on Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street...



...is now up for rent. Two spaces are available: One at 1,000 square feet and the other at 1,220 square feet. This is a prime chunk of space ripe for something horrible. However. Given the store-bought sign, the lack of a broker and the fact that space is only for rent, and not for sale, we remain hopeful. We're curious about what kind of tenant Pastor Carlos seeks.



Meanwhile. This building is hallowed ground for many cinephiles. The space here at 193 Avenue B opened in 1926 as the Bijou, a 600-seat theater with a balcony. It later bacame the Charles Theatre. As Cinema Treasures notes: "In later years it was one of the early New York theatres to program off-beat and independent films. It showed early Warhol and had open film nights where young filmmakers could get an audience."

You can see the Charles here in this shot from 1949. We're looking north from 11th Street. (Via.)




Here's more info on the Charles via:

[T]he Charles "provided the underground with it's first, semi-permanent base of operations." While the theaters tenure was short-lived (a little over a year--- beginning in 1961) it's legacy was quite impressive. "...it became a landmark of sorts in the creation of an American counterculture."

Jonas Mekas was hired by the owners of the Charles to organize some additional screenings. "Mekas was then in the early stages of his passionate commitment to American experimental cinema" but "had an eye for new talent"...and began holding monthly open screenings which turned out to be great social events. Some audience members quickly made the transition to filmmakers, while others acted/participated as critics.

In light of the above the Charles emerges as a "Great Good Place" because "it was the spiritual home of a particular utopian ideology, a place where the audience was not just the passive recipient of mass-produced fantasies, but an active community, producing movies for itself. The Charles therefore incorporated films and film making into an alternative sense of family and community through freedom and equality.

Here's the Charles in 1966. (Via.)



There's a lot more, of course. (For example, in February 1962, the Arkestra — billed as Le Sun Ra and his Cosmic Space Jazz Group — made their New York debut at the Charles.) But you get the idea for now. I'll have more later. As far as I can find, the use of this space as a theater ended in 1975.

I'll leave you with this letter from the Metropolitan Diary from earlier this summer:

Dear Diary:

Growing up on 16th Street between Avenues B and C before Stuyvesant Town was built meant that respite from summer’s heat was available only if you went to the upscale movie theaters like the RKO Jefferson or the Academy of Music, both farther west on 14th Street. No such luxury could be found at the local movie house, the Bijou Theater, on Avenue B between 11th and 12th Streets.

This two-story theater was strictly a no-frills neighborhood flick house. But when the summer temperature inside became unbearable or cigarette smoke blurred the screen, the ceiling of the Bijou began to ever so slowly slide open from the center toward the edges to provide egress for both heat and Lucky Strike’s blue vapors.

For a 10-year-old like me it was magic — until a sudden thunderstorm came up and the rain began pelting the seats. The roof’s closing speed was also ever so slow, and people scrambled in all directions like it was a fire drill. When it finally closed, we all went back to our seats, gave them a swipe with a handkerchief and never took our eyes off the screen.

The Marx Brothers had their “Night at the Opera.” We had our nights at the Bijou.

Victor Washkevich