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...



-----

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

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...

---

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...

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

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

EVG Etc.: Creating the 9/11 Tribute in Light; Reading up on the candidates

[Morning view from Astor Place]

How the 9/11 Tribute in Light comes together (Curbed)

A local Voter Guide ahead of Tuesday's Primary Day (The Lo-Down)

How the City Council candidates view the future of the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street (Crain's ... previously)

A feature on the married chefs who run Fat Cat Kitchen on 14th Street (Town & Village)

A years-in-the-making restoration of "Soul City" via East Village filmmaker-artist M. Henry Jones on Thursday night (Anthology Film Archives)

Spike Jonze brings a new dance-based project to La MaMa (The New York Times)

More talks on the future of Sara D. Roosevelt Park's Stanton Street Storehouse (DNAInfo)

Senior housing for the fire-damaged Beth Hamedrash Hagadol on the LES? (BoweryBoogie)

Bird migration in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

Alex shares some photos from the summer of 2017 (Flaming Pablum)

Diversions: Sammy Hagar's influence on the early Clash (Dangerous Minds)

... and the NYPD released info on an assault that took place last month on First Avenue between First Street and Second Street.

The #NYPD is seeking assistance in identifying the person ⬇️in regards to an assault that took place on 8/12/17 at 25 1 Ave ☎️ #800577TIPS pic.twitter.com/XaZd7hg7rb

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) September 8, 2017

New community coalition helping keep Avenue B safe for cyclists and pedestrians

[Via @loisaida_oscc]

You may have noticed a few changes along the Open Street of Avenue B... this is courtesy of the newly formed Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition, described as "a community-led program providing safe, socially distanced recreation for our neighborhood."

For starters, volunteers have painted and repaired some of the barriers that are up along the Avenue from Sixth Street to 14th Street daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ...




[Top 2 photos by Stacie Joy]





The group has launched a Twitter and Instagram account...

As the newly formed Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition, we believe this should be a community-led program providing safe, socially distanced recreation for our neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/RiCfc7yzG3

— Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition (@Loisaida_OSCC) July 9, 2020

... where you can learn about upcoming events... and receive news alerts...

🚨Barrier protection alert!🚨 Strong winds today—please dismantle and set any barriers you see out today on Avenue B to the side, not blocking building entrances, with legs stacked behind crossbars to keep them from getting blown around. Safety first!

— Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition (@Loisaida_OSCC) July 10, 2020

If you're interested in volunteering to be an Avenue B Open Streets Ambassador, you can find a sign-up sheet here.

The city announced the Open Street plan in late May to help residents safely get some fresh air while social distancing. As we've noted, people have hidden or vandalized the barricades or they've been clipped by motorists or the FDNY...





A related item of interest... tomorrow (Tuesday night!), CB3's Transportation, Public Safety, & Environment Committee will hear the following item — FDNY: Fire safety concerns regarding Avenue B Open Street.

Here's the meeting info:

Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Online: https://zoom.us/j/97511826911
By Phone: +1 646 518 9805, +1 929 205 6099
Meeting ID: 975 1182 6911

Updated: Streetsblog has a post on this story here.

Week in Grieview

[Tompkins Square Park this morning]

Posts this last week included...

• Body of dismembered, decapitated man found inside residence on Houston and Suffolk (Tuesday) Reports: Police arrest former personal assistant in murder of tech CEO (Friday)

• The final days at I Need More, the late Jimmy Webb's rock 'n' roll boutique on the LES (Saturday)

• Bali Kitchen closes on Aug. 1: "COVID-19 was too much for us" (Thursday)

• Gemini Rosemont buys third parcel on 2nd Avenue for future development (Friday)

• Odessa's longtime manager says the diner is closing for good; co-owner later says they're just closing for renovations (Monday)

• The Russian & Turkish Baths have NOT permanently closed on 10th Street (Monday)

• New community coalition helping keep Avenue B safe for cyclists and pedestrians (Monday)

• These East Village streets are now part of the expanded Open Restaurants initiative (Saturday)

• Veeray Da Dhaba bringing the "authentic roadside cuisine of Punjab" to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday)

• Checking in on Pause Cafe (Thursday)

• Flashback Friday: Take a virtual tour of the Brant Foundation's Basquiat exhibit from 2019 (Friday)

• Report of a fire at 67 Avenue D (Wednesday)

• Retail space at 4 St. Mark's Place, onetime home of Trash & Vaudeville, is for rent again (Wednesday)

• Stranded Records is back open (Friday)

• INA NYC closes 13th Street outpost (Wednesday)

• On 2nd thought, C&B finishes its curbside seating with the help of the DOT (Tuesday)

• Mystery dig behind the St. Brigid School (Wednesday)

• Shell shock! Lost turtles return to La Plaza Cultural (Wednesday)

• Calling out a plant thief on 7th Street (Thursday)

• Oscar watch on 2nd Street (Monday)

• The new-look 151 Avenue A (Thursday)

• Formerly interesting new business closes on 1st Avenue and 14th Street (Monday)

• The Standard East Village sets reopening date (Monday)

... and as seen on Avenue B at East Houston...


[Photo by Vinny & O]

---

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

Reader report: A $50,000 rent hike for Stuyvesant Grocery to return (not to mention that $1 million upfront)

[Spring 2010]

A reader shared this from the other day... the reader ran into the worker on 14th Street and Avenue A...

I spoke to one of the former Stuyvesant Grocery (14th and A) employees. He said he doubted they would ever reopen. The landlord was asking for $1 million upfront and wants to raise their rent from $30K to $80K. I didn't get a chance to ask if he thought the landlord intended to put up some high rise.

As you'll recall, a three-alarm fire wiped out the corner on May 12, 2010... taking with it neighborhood favorites Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-a-Pizza.

The space still sits empty behind the plywood. Two for rent signs are hanging on the sidewalk shed. Just what you get to rent is open to interpretation.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

Renovations in order for Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-A-Place?

The 'for rent' signs have arrived on the corner of 14th Street and Avenue A

Spotted yesterday on the sidewalk shed...

A three-alarm fire wiped out the corner on May 12, 2010... taking with it neighborhood favorites Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-a-Pizza ...

[EV Grieve reader Sergey]

The corner has sat vacant since crews stripped the place clean several months after the fire... the owners of both businesses had said that they wanted to reopen here ...

[February 2011]

Conspiracy theories abound for this corner ripe for development. The usual suspects such as NYU have already been eliminated. (Via The Villager.)

The number is for Solil Management/Sol Goldman Investments. We didn't find any details about terms of the rentals, space available, air rights, etc.

Thoughts on what type of development will eventually land here?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Conspiracies: What next for 14th Street and Avenue A?

Renovations in order for Stuyvesant Grocery and Pete's-A-Place?

[Updated] Report: NYPD shoots dog on 14th Street and Second Avenue

[Eddie Huang]

All sorts of reports coming in. Per NBC:

Officers were responding to a call to check on a man who appeared to be passed out on a sidewalk at 14th Street and 2nd Avenue Monday afternoon, police said. A dog near the man, who was possibly homeless, began attacking the officers.

That's when police opened fire on the dog, killing it.

[Via @robbyohara]

[Via @robbyohara]

Gothamist has more here ... including a statement by the NYPD ...

An NYPD spokesman confirmed that officers shot and killed a dog at the location at approximately 4:25 p.m. The spokesman could not comment on why officers opened fire.
An East Village resident who witnessed the shooting says that the four officers who responded to the scene in front of the KFC at first were "not aggressive" towards the man or the dog. "The dog was barking very loudly, as though it were protecting its turf," the witness said

And here's a report via the Observer... they interview Eddie Huang, the chef-owner of nearby Baohaus...

Everyone around was like: Put the dog out of its misery. The cops left this dog wiggling and flaying, blood coming out of its mouth. They shot it in front of a public bus.

You can see in the photo, the trail of blood. The dog traveled. People were really really vocal, harassing the cops to put the dog down, and they wouldn’t do it. The whole thing just seemed really, really unnecessary. I don’t know what the protocol is for this, I know they have to keep the peace, but it really seemed like an abuse of power, an unnecessary one, and not doing it the right way.

According to NY1, authorities said the dog "snapped at a pedestrian and an officer."

"He was protecting the owner, like what animals do. He doesn't know any better, he's a dog," said one witness. "They could have handled it differently, rather than shooting the dog. The dog was twitching and rolling around."

"I talked to the cop afterwards. He was very shaken up. He's a dog lover and it ruined his week if not his year," said another witness. "And he did what he had to do to protect himself."

DNAinfo reported that the dog belong to a 29-year-old man from Poland... and that he "epilepsy, and had frequent seizures."

UPDATED 10:11 p.m.
The early reports said that the police killed the dog. Not so. According to the Daily News: "Police said the dog survived and was being cared for at an East Harlem shelter. The unidentified homeless man and the shooting officer were taken to Bellevue Hospital for minor injuries."

And here's a photo from the News ...

The Post notes that the dog's name is Star.

Car fire on 14th Street

Don't have much, if any, info about this... a car caught fire early this morning/late last night in the westbound side of 14th Street at Second Avenue ... the FDNY quickly extinguished the blaze (and there is a firehouse on the block...)



Thanks to @jcastro_nyc for the photos!

Breaking: Fire on 14th Street and Avenue A

Many thanks to EV Grieve reader Sergey for these on-the-scene photos of a fire that appears to have started near Stuyvesant Market on Avenue A and 14th Street. More to come.

Wind knocks out Stuyvesant Grocery plywood on 14th Street and Avenue A

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Tom for these shots yesterday along 14th Street at Avenue A... where the high winds wiped out the plywood outside the fire-damaged buildings along this commercial stretch...

..later in the evening workers put up barriers ...