14th Street wishes you an early happy holiday season

Workers were out this morning putting up the festive holiday lighting on this Oct. 28 along the always-festive stretch of 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

We spotted the illumination(s) crew one block to the west...

Happy Halloween Weekend...

Things to do this holiday season (or any other day): Go to Ray's

When you're out and about this holiday season, stop by Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... the food is tasty...and...

...business isn't so good. As Slum Goddess noted:

He cut the price of his Belgian "Obama" waffles to $2.00..Don't know if it was the right thing to do..but his business is slow...PLEASE go there and support Ray's Candy Store..If he closes Avenue A will have lost an icon..

And Scoopy reported this week...

[H]e said, this is the first time since he bought the hole-in-the-wall store in 1974 that he’s never paid his rent on the first of the month. "They might throw me out," he said matter of factly. "If I work alone — no girls, no help — I will make $100 a day and pay my rent. ... And if lose my store, I lose my apartment, too. This is my only income, and it’s too cold to collect cans." He wasn’t kidding.

Also, according to Bob Arihood, look for some new coffee products soon at Ray's...

The holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park is now completely dark

Workers were seen yesterday in Tompkins Square Park working on the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree. (Top photo by Steven!) 

As noted on Sunday, the Parks Department allegedly forgot to wire the tree before the tree lighting ceremony... and so organizers had to scramble to hire an electrician at the last minute. That work helped light two-thirds of the tree.

Now, the tree is completely dark... Merry Christmas from NYC!

Thanksgiving at the Aqueduct, Part 2

On Thanksgiving, we headed out to South Ozone Park, Queens, home to the Aqueduct Racetrack, conveniently located by the long-term parking at JFK. Just a short 2-3 hour A train ride away! Actually, I think it's just 21 stops away from where we live in the neighborhood. So, fuck yeah — we called Delancey Car Service to get us there. High rollers! Post time was 11:25 a.m., an hour earlier than usual for the fall meet, which ends on Dec. 31.

Oh, the real fun begins in January with winter racing. You'll know who the diehards are then. As Mark Jacobson wrote in a Feb. 22, 1999, Aqueduct feature for New York magazine:

It is unlikely that the seventeenth-century English aristocracy had Aqueduct winter racing in mind when they imported those three Arabian, Turk, and Barb stallions -- stock from which all Thoroughbreds are said to be descended. Begun in the mid-1970s to keep gambling tax dollars pumping year-round, winter racing has long provided a handy metaphor for the 50-odd-year decline of the erstwhile Sport of Kings. Indeed, with its slew of six-furlong races, its bowls of clamless clam chowder ladled out from steaming steel vats, and the same daily "faces" -- Rastas, Chinese waiters, Korean War vets on disability, etc. -- serial plunging at the $2-exacta windows, Aqueduct seems a perfect spot to divest one last grubstake before tottering off this mortal coil.

Yeah, well, that's the thing that has always struck me about Aqueduct: So many of the regulars there do seem to be merely killing time before dying. It's like a well of loneliness, even among like-minded individuals there intent on betting and drinking.





According to the Aqueduct Web site: "Aqueduct opened on Sept. 27, 1894. In 1941, a new clubhouse and track offices were built. The track was torn down in 1956 and the new "Big A" opened in 1959. In 1975 the inner track was constructed to facilitate winter racing."

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. It was suitably depressing, made even more so by the presence of holiday decorations that brought no warmth to the cavernous space. At least they're trying.



There was actually a fair number of families at the track. That's part of the idea of an early post on the holiday. Come out, watch some races, and leave by 3 p.m. for home and turkey and stuff. And get everyone out of the house while the real work gets done.

For food at the track, there's a Nathan's Famous and Sbarro. Not to mention the Hello Deli. There's a cafetria in the Man 'O War Room. And the Big A grill in the second floor clubhouse.



But! For some old-school charm, you have to visit the Equestris, the white-tablecloth restaurant that offers panoramic views of the track. You can buy six beers at a time. They'll put them in a bucket with ice. The betting windows aren't too far away. (But don't stay up here too long — the real action is downstairs alongside the track.)

I appreciate the air of sophistication put on by the tux-clad, well-coiffed maître d' and bell captain. They make you feel as if you're at 21. Given the rather seedy clientele downstairs, the desciption of the Equestris on the Aqueduct Web site is particularly hilarious:

Elegant Attire has long been a Tradition at Aqueduct Racetrack. Ladies and Gentlemen who honor this tradition are always appreciated.
Recommended Attire: Elegant
Gentlemen should wear suits or sport jackets (no shorts or abbreviated wear); Ladies should wear dresses, skirts or pantsuits.
Acceptable Attire: Business Casual
Management reserves the right to use its discretion to determine acceptable attire. Gentlemen: Collared shirts required. Suits or sports jackets optional. No shorts or abbreviated wear.

The track holds 40,000 specators. On Thanksgiving, they drew 3,200. So there were definitely places where it seemed like it was a little full.



I love the barber shop at the track. Wasn't a lot going on Thanksgiving, though. In fact, I stopped by three different times. The door was open, but the barber wasn't around. Not that I really wanted a haircut. I just like the idea of it. I got my hair cut there once. It's $7. Despite his grandfatherly appearance, the barber was rather miserable and in no mood for track history chitchat. He scolded me a few times. And he smelled like talcum powder. My hair is simple to cut. Yet he still made me look like Fred Gwynne. Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster.



Topeka John always says to bet on horses with Cat in their name. (I forget why — I just do it.)



As I noted yesterday, Aqueduct is becoming a racino, a racetrack that will include a casino (slots only), conference center and big hotel. It promises to be fancy — a business destination for yuk-yuk doofsters in pleated khakis in town for business. This place will never be the same. I understand the need to generate revenue, etc., etc. — just don't have to be happy about it.

Sorry, but I have to quote that Joe Bob Briggs article one more time:

Aqueduct is the kind of urban race track that doesn't really exist anymore in the rest of the country.

I love this place.

Joy to something! The holiday lights are back on in Tompkins Square Park

After three nights without the lights illuminated on the holiday tree... Earlier today, a park official told us they were having electrical problems... Can't wait to start complaining when the lights are still on in February!

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Previously.

A holiday market this weekend at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C

The second annual MoRUS holiday market takes place tomorrow (Saturday!) and Sunday from 1-6 p.m. ... featuring zines, postcards, prints, patches, jewelry, hand-knitted hats, books and more by artist-activists Fly Orr, Carla Cubit and Seth Tobocman. 

Stacie Joy took these photos during a trip to MoRUS this past weekend...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Diagrams provide idea of what David Schwimmer's house will look like on East Sixth Street

While we're waiting for the renderings of 331 E. Sixth St. to land in our inbox, we at least have a basic idea of what the under-construction, six-floor superhome will look like here.

Found these diagrams at the DOB site.

Looks like they'll be an elevator. Roof terrace. (Roof party!) No sign of a swimming pool.

Anyway, at least one local blogger is under the impression that David Schwimmer might be the mystery owner of this space.

Finally, the city logged a complaint yesterday from a caller who stated: "CONSTRUCTION ON A FEDERAL HOLIDAY W/O ANY PERMITS FOR DOING CONSTRUCTION ON A FEDERAL HOLIDAY. CLR STATES THAT SHE IS THE TENANT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is David Schwimmer the 'Friends' star who now owns the demolished 331 E. Sixth St. townhouse?

Outrage over total demolition of historic East Sixth Street townhouse

Check out the Sirovich Holiday Art Sale

Only just saw this (and missed day 1!) ... day 2 of the annual Sirovich Holiday Art Sale is today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ... in the auditorium at the Sirovich Center for Balanced Living at 331 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

We've bought a few things here through the years... the proceeds support the programming at Sirovich.

Holiday lights make you momentarily forget how horrible the intersection of 14th and 1st is

Hey, alright — the holiday lights are up now along East 14th Street west of First Avenue … getting into the spirit yet?

SantaCon 2022 route revealed

SantaCon is back for in-person binging and bar crawling this Saturday (Dec. 10). 

Organizers have released the official route, which is not too different from last year's edition. 

The official festivities begin at 10 a.m. on 40th Street and Broadway. Per the SC website: "Santa is Painting the town Red We will be dancing in the streets and Santa will unleash a holiday celebration NYC has never imagined possible!" 

A $15 "donation" gets your Santa Badge and access to 60-plus participating bars, mainly in Midtown West and East. 

This year, eight of the bars are in the East Village: 

• Amsterdam Billiards & Bar, 110 E. 11th St. at Fourth Avenue 

• Bull McCabe's, 29 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue 

• Coyote Ugly, 244 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue 

• Doc Holliday's, 141 Avenue A at Ninth Street 

• The Grayson, 16 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street 

• Horseshoe Bar/7B, 108 Avenue B at Seventh Street 

• The Phoenix, 447 E. 13th St.  between Avenue A and First Avenue 

• Solas, 232 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue 

However, as we've seen in previous Cons, bars not on the official list are often all too happy to participate, including the 13th Step on Second Avenue. 

Shiny Galeani, an NYC SantaCon organizer, provided some damage control in a recent interview with Gothamist. 

"Every year we get a lot of press that shines a negative light on SantaCon. I understand and certainly it'll get more clicks." But, she said, some of the coverage felt a little unfair, focused on specific incidents from a decade ago. 

"People have all kinds of preconceived notions about what we are and why we do it," Galeani said. "A lot of it stems from bad press that we got a long time ago, and that’s a bummer." 

And don't call it a pub crawl! 

"It's definitely not a pub crawl because there is no order and you don't have to drink." Many bars, Galeani said, will serve mocktails. The biggest misunderstanding, of course — the one that goes beyond definitions and logistics — is that folks just don't get SantaCon. 

SantaCon is about "community and absurdity and the holiday spirit," said Galeani. She marveled at its ability to take over a place as big as New York City with sheer silliness. It is open to everyone.

Apparently, the MTA didn't get the "it's not a pub crawl" memo. The MTA is banning booze on LIRR and Metro-North Trains and stations for 32 Hours for SantaCon (from 4 a.m. Saturday to noon Sunday). 

The Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lighting is Dec. 8!

[Photo by Steven]

Well, while you're waiting for one holiday to begin... here's some save-the-date info — the 28th edition of the Tompkins Square Park tree lighting happens on Dec. 8 from 4-5 p.m.

Expect caroling, refreshments, etc.! Always a good time. More details next week!

Meanwhile, in a bit of good news, that mysterious hole that arrived near the tree last Christmas Eve eve was filled in on Nov. 6 after nearly 11 months ...


[Photo from Nov. 6 by Steven]

(Of course there are those smaller mysterious holes now...)

ArtisanFEST returns to The Neighborhood School on Sunday

From the EVG inbox...

The Neighborhood School’s ArtisanFEST: Art, shopping, snacks and all your holiday gifting under one roof!

The Neighborhood School’s ArtisanFEST is back! On Sunday, Nov. 24, from 10 am to 4 pm, come out to support a local public school and get all your holiday shopping done in one fell swoop. Admission is free and open to the public. Scoop up silk-screened clothing, hand-printed linens, sample-sale items, home decorations, jewelry, fine art and more.

Confirmed artisans include: Lucky Fish (gorgeous screen-printed clothes and home goods); Vale (edgy yet dainty vintage-y jewelry); Wovenplay (imagination-sparking clothes and accessories for wee adventurers and artists); Interior Provisions (affordably luxurious home products with a conscience; Small Trades (men’s and women’s classic clothing inspired by Irving Penn’s 1950s photos); Winter Water Factory (boldly printed organic clothing and accessories); Atsuko & Akiko (exquisite and playful clothing, home décor and jewelry); Jillian Sherry (delicate ripped silk paintings and textile prints); Billie Beads (polymer beaded, bejeweled objets and killer tchotchkes); MUNY (Indian, boho, fair-trade, handcrafted textiles evoking both Mumbai and New York – hence the name); Odette Williams (delightful retro-hip aprons, kid clothes and wall art) and many more. There will also be homemade treats, kids selling their own beaded and Rainbow-Loomed jewelry, and some of those groovy food trucks.

A portion of the proceeds goes to Studio in a School, the wonderful organization that brings together professional artists and public school kids, and to The Neighborhood School PTA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. The Neighborhood School is at 121 East 3rd Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A in the East Village.

A petition and holiday card campaign to help return the former PS 64 to the community

A few updates about the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street.

Back in September, the Department of Buildings put a stop, for now, to developer Gregg Singer's plans to convert the long-emtpy building between Avenue B and Avenue C into a dorm.

City Councilmember Rosie Mendez's office recently launched an online petition asking Mayor de Blasio to return the building to the community. Per the petition:

The building at 605 East 9th Street had an impact on many generations of the Lower East Side / East Village residents. [The] landmarked building that was auctioned off by Mayor Guiliani 16 years ago and the building has been empty for more than 13 years. This building has been a beacon of hope, inspiration, culture, and community for the residents of the Lower East Side.

We need to bring back the building for community use and ensure that our history is not forgotten or erased. Our community still needs this building for engaging in the arts, educating each other of our history, and providing social programs for the children, young people, adults, and seniors that make up this beautiful neighborhood.

We’re asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to use his power to undue an injustice perpetrated by Mayor Guiliani and listen to the Lower East Side/East Village community by returning this building for community use.

You can find the petition here.

Meanwhile, the grassroots organization SOCCC (Save Our Charas Community Center) has been collecting holiday cards from neighbors to deliver to Mayor de Blasio in person on Tuesday (Three Kings Day). Find out more details about this here.

Finally, the sidewalk bridge on East 10th Street is celebrating its 17th month with expired permits…



Previously on EV Grieve:
Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

[Updated] At the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY'

Landmarks Preservation Commission asks to see modified plans for former PS 64

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approves application for modifications at PS 64

'Misinformation' cited as DOB issues Stop Work Order at the former PS 64; community meeting set for Sunday afternoon

Breaking: Holiday lights are off again in Tompkins Square Park

Oh no!

@angel_chao just passed along this photo...

And just hours after our post that the lights had returned... Too many holiday lights highs and lows for one night...

Solving the Great Santa Claus Mystery of Tompkins Square Park

Late last night, the rando Santa Claus looked all aglow in an upright position under the holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park, as these photos by EVG reader Jake Bowling show...

As we've been noting this week (here and here), someone brought this Santa figure to the tree in the park sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. 

At one point, Santa was standing proudly... other times, he was flat on his back, per hijinks. 

And through some detective work (our fee: $200 per day plus expenses) and some reader comments, we learned how Santa came to town to the park. (Early reports that Santa was nabbed from a lobby turned out to be incorrect.) 

This Santa had been holding forth outside East Village Social on St. Mark's Place this past holiday season. 

On Sunday night, someone from the bar transported SC to his new resting place... here's a video via Instagram showing Santa on the move (to the gentle strains of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by East Village Social aka EVS (@eastvillagesocial)

Sadly, the trail ends here. Steven, our secret Santa correspondent, reports that there's no sign of the Claus in the Park today...

Hopefully, he'll be back again some day (or is that Frosty?).

Important questions on East 12th Street

A lone Christmas holiday tree stand sits, seemingly discarded, on East 12th Street near First Avenue. Is it from last year? Or in place for this coming Christmas holiday?

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week include ... (and photo on Avenue A by Derek Berg)...

• The Bowery Mission's 141st Thanksgiving (Wednesday) 

• Bluestockings hosting limited-capacity opening this holiday season in new LES storefront (Monday)

• A visit to Van Da on 4th Street (Thursday)

• A visit to Raul's Barber Shop (Tuesday)

• The Bean reopens on Second Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Here's a look at the final RBG mural on 1st Avenue and 11th Street (Friday) 

• The East Village Holiday Crawl is underway (Friday) 

• This week's Gallery Watch column (Wednesday) 

• Reader reports: E. 10th St. Finest Deli will close next month (Wednesday) 

• San Loco's liquor license has arrived on Avenue C (Friday) 

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday) 

• Tile Bar returns (Monday)

• Two-plus years after devastating fire, Yakiniku West reopens next week on 9th Street (Thursday) 

• AO Bowl softly opens on St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• A glimpse of the 10-story condoplex to come to 14 2nd Ave. (Monday)

• High winds damage outdoor dining spaces on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• A full reveal at 639 E. 9th St. (Wedensday) 

• Former psychic medium hits the rental market on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• Former Mace space for rent on 12th Street (Thursday)

And as seen on First Avenue...... be open, be free! 

---

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

Lucy's is on a holiday break

Oh! Stopped by Lucy's the other late afternoon only to discover… she is on holiday until next Friday. And these signs really do need a smiley face.

City workers remove holiday lights before Easter comes calling

City workers have arrived at Tompkins Square Park this morning to remove the holiday lights... really.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On St. Patrick's Day, a Christmas miracle in Tompkins Square Park

A groovy kind of love: 3rd and B'zaar back with a Valentine's Market this weekend

Like Air Supply, if you're lost in love, then you may want to check out the next pop-up market at 3rd and B'Zaar.

The mixed-vendor market and event space at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B will host a variety of local designers, artists, merchants and vintage sellers for this Valentine's weekend.

The Valentine's Market runs Friday-Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.

In a photoshoot with Stacie Joy, organizers (from left) Maegan Hayward, Sara Ann Rutherford and Delphine Le Goff paid homage to some 1980s excess and indulgence ...

3rd & B'Zaar debuted in late 2020 with a month-long Holiday Market followed by Sex, Love & Vintage in February ... Spring Into Pride in May and June ... Summer in the City in the summer and another holiday-themed pop-up late last year. 

You can follow them on Instagram for more info about vendors.