Thursday, May 16, 2024
Thursday's parting shot
The 18th Annual Dance Parade steps off on Saturday, ending in Tompkins Square Park
According to organizers, more than 10,000 participants —"representing a kaleidoscope of dance styles" — will participate in the festivities starting at 11:30 a.m. on 17th Street and Sixth Avenue.
The parade makes its way across Eighth Street to Astor Place, where there's a grandstand at St. Mark's Place, before ending in Tompkins where hopefully there will be more than three (unlocked) porta-potties for the thousands of people expected.
And here are details on the activities from 3-7 p.m.:
The festivities culminate with DanceFest in Tompkins Square Park, offering a cultural extravaganza that's inclusive for everyone. Expect dance performances on two stages, site-specific acts, a DJ dance party, and free dance classes at The Joyce Theater's New York Center for Creativity & Dance offered by Grand Marshal Lil Buck, Mark Morris Dance Group and Peridance. Bring your dance shoes and rock out to disco DJs Tone Love, Misbehaviour, Kenny Parker, Ameer and a Soul Train set on the Social Stage.
This is a rain-or-shine event, and the forecast looks pleasant enough RN, with overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s.
A look at Carnitas Ramirez, opening soon on 3rd Street in the East Village
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Work continues at 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B, where the owners of Taqueria Ramírez, the celebrated Greenpoint establishment, are debuting Carnitas Ramirez at the end of the month.
Owners and life partners Tania Apolinar and Giovanni Cervantes opened the Mexico City-style taqueria in Greenpoint in September 2021. It later landed at No. 49 in Pete Wells' top-100 NYC restaurants for the Times.
The other day, I met up with Cervantes (left) and Yvon de Tassigny, a former chef at St. Anselm in Greenpoint who will be heading up the kitchen.
True to its name, carnitas — slow-cooked pulled pork, supplemented here with just lard and salt — will be the specialty of the house. They will also offer a vegetarian option. There's a beer and wine license, too.
Carnitas Ramirez expects to open its doors on May 31. Initially, the restaurant will operate only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 a.m. until "we sell out" or "about 7 p.m."
Wonder debuts its new kind of food hall today on Stuyvesant Street
The brand currently operates 10 locations throughout New York City and New Jersey, offering pick-up, delivery, and dine-in (ordered via touch screens) from a collection of chefs, including Bobby Flay, Marc Murphy, Jose Andres, Nancy Silverton, and Marcus Samuelsson, and restaurants such as Tejas Barbeque, Di Fara Pizza, and Barrio Cafe.
Meanwhile, at-home diners can choose their meals via a "super app." A list of available restaurant brands is available here.
Marc Lore, a billionaire former Walmart executive and serial entrepreneur, is driving this venture. In an interview with the Times in March, Lore hinted at Wonder's potential, stating that it "could be the Amazon of food and beverage." According to the Times, the company has made strategic moves to solidify its position, acquiring the meal kit company Blue Apron, securing a $100 million strategic investment from Nestlé, and signing a deal with Walmart to establish Wonder in four of its stores.
Wonder's arrival marks the end of a nearly 24-month vacancy in the building that Cooper Union had subleased to the Yoshida Restaurant Group for more than 25 years. (This post has more background.)
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
At the first Show Brain show of 2024 in Tompkins Square Park
Photos by Stacie Joy
The weather held out on Sunday afternoon for Mother's Day — and the season's first show by Show Brain, which has been bringing live music to city parks the past few years.
Here is Ozzie Silva of Show Brain with East Village-based singer-songwriter-composer Franzi Szymkowiak of Lukka (her band was not on the bill this day)...
The lineup included the gloom punk of Desert Sharks...
... and the high-spirited eclectic punk fusion of headliners Pinc Louds...
And taking in the bands...
The next Show Brain production in Tompkins Square Park is on June 30. (Keep tabs via the SB Instagram account.)
The next concert promoted by Chris Flash of The Shadow is on May 25. Follow these shows on Facebook.
The annual Ukrainian Festival is this weekend
The three-day festival — one of the best neighborhood events — celebrates Ukrainian culture, music, and food with various performances and vendors selling traditional arts and crafts.
The Festival kicks off on Friday evening, May 17, and continues through Sunday late afternoon, May 19.
We haven't seen the schedule times for the outdoor performances just yet — they're usually on Saturday afternoon and evening and again on Sunday. We'll update you when we hear more about them.
Heading back to Downtown Beirut
Photo by David Vega via Flaming Pablum
On Friday evening, you can revisit a celebrated and long-gone East Village bar (RIP 1994).
Lucky on B plays host to two shorts filmed at Downtown Beirut, 158 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street...
A description:
Join Lucky for a little trip down memory lane with the premiere of two classic videos torn from the East Village's storied past: "The Look of Love" and "Night at Downtown Beirut."
Created by Mike Enright, who has also contributed a bunch of CDs to our eclectic jukebox, these shorts were shot at the old Downtown Beirut, one of the best bars in history! We'll let people gather for a few drinks between 6 and 6:30, screen one film, take another drink break, and then screen the second film. They're each about a half hour long, and while everyone's drinking, Mike will be showing some of this other video art.
Lucky on B is at 168 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street.
This screening is part of Lower East Side History Month.
P.S.
There was also Downtown Beirut II at 157 E. Houston St. near Allen.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Alex has more on DB at Flaming Pablum.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Tuesday's parting urban etiquette note
Photos by Stacie Joy
As seen on 10th Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...
Please have your alarm checked. It is going off and disturbing the community!
Fresh compost for Tompkins Square Park
Photos by Steven
Tompkins Square Park received a fresh compost mound today via the LES Ecology Center...
The compost came from Governors Island, where Earth Matter runs a small farm.
The LES Ecology Center has been without a permanent home since having to vacate East River Park in 2021 for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project.
This article from March at The City has updates on the uncertain future of NYC's composting program.
Like many other critical city programs, composting faces severe threats due to city budget cuts.
In a positive sign, during International Compost Awareness Week last week, the LES Ecology Center raised $27,000 to sustain their programs in the months ahead.
Citi Bike dock swap along Avenue A
We reached out to Citi/Lyft to learn more about this As the Docking Stations Move.
Angels Boutique gets its wings on Avenue A
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Vintage-designer purveyors Angels on A has debuted its sister shop a few storefronts away here on Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
Angels Boutique is in soft-open mode at 70 Avenue A (the former Halloween pop-up space) ... with a May 23 grand opening on the books.
I caught up with owner Angel Ramirez and store manager Jess Parsons the other day...
"The store sells vintage designer collectible novelty fashion items," Parsons said of Angels Boutique. "They don't have to be luxury; they do have to have personality."
Daily hours: Noon to 8 p.m.
You can follow Angels Boutique on Instagram here.
Planet Taco exits East Village orbit
Photos by Steven
Planet Taco shut down its East Village operations on Sunday, bringing an end to the shop's three-plus-year run at 141 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
In a note to patrons, ownership blamed "rising costs" for the closure...
The Planet Taco on Ninth Avenue remains open.
Planet Taco opened in March 2021 and received generally positive reviews from readers and critics.
The address previously housed Otto's Tacos for seven years. Before that, many things came and went here, such as Good Guys, a Subway (sandwich shop), part of a Max Brenner outpost and Burritoville (!!!).
Noted (sidewalk bridge edition)
Photo by Stacie Joy
As previously reported, G's Cheesesteaks is the new tenant for 6 Avenue B at Houston Street — the first in 15 years.
The gut renovations of the long-vacant residential portion are also complete. The building — now going as The B (!) — is currently leasing.
G's owner, Giacomo Pisano, apparently tried to get the sidewalk bridge hauled away. Good luck!
So there's now a G' s-branded sign on the bridge with the message, "We tried to get this scaffolding removed ... But this is NYC."
Pisano, whose family has been in the restaurant business for several generations, founded G's in Staten Island in 2015 at age 20.
The opening date for the EV outpost is expected soon.
Monday, May 13, 2024
Don Juan's Barber Shop closing after 25 Years following rent hike
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After 25 years at 303 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, Juan Rosado is closing his Don Juan's Barber Shop.
You've heard this story before: The lease is up, and Rosado said the new rent is too much for him.
"We had a good run, I can't complain," he said. "I raised my son here."
Rosado, an East Village native who grew up around the corner, started cutting hair by setting up in the empty lot next to the post office branch on Third Street and ran an extension cord to give $5 haircuts to the neighborhood. (An aside: He's also an excellent photographer.)
Since opening Don Juan's, the shop has become a thriving family-friendly business and a local hangout that provides a much-welcomed community spirit.
Thankfully, Rosado isn't going too far: He'll have a chair at Jay Joe's Classic Cuts at 256 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.
And this, he hopes, is an interim situation. Rosado plans to open a mobile barber shop in the future.
"My power move," he said.
June 23 is the shop's last date...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Xi’an Famous Foods opens an outpost on 4th Avenue
Company CEO Jason Wang's father David Shi got his start in a small food stall in Flushing, a business popularized after an Anthony Bourdain endorsement.
No. 139 on Fourth Avenue was most recently PLNT Burger.
After 17 years of not being open on Mondays, Abraço is now open on Mondays
Photos by Stacie Joy
Starting today (Monday—hi!), Abraço will be open on Mondays, a first in the cafe's 17-year history.
The summer hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (By the way, Abraço serves cocktails in the evening.)
And FYI: No laptops are allowed here (and no outside food or drinks, in case you need to be reminded of this here or anywhere else). And no barking dogs!
Abraço is at 81 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
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