On the CB3-SLA docket: Applicants for the former Mermaid Inn and Cheese Grille spaces

Photo of the former Mermaid Inn by Steven 

Here's a look at a few of the many applicants who will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this evening. (See below for info on watching online — or in person.) 

New Liquor License Applications 

 • Wonderland (Feichangchengong Inc), 96 2nd Ave. (op) 

Wonderland is the proposed restaurant offering an "Asian fusion menu" at the former Mermaid Inn space on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

The proprietors also operate Chili, a Sichuan restaurant on East 37th Street. You can find their CB3 questionnaire here, which includes a sample menu and proposed hours of operation (indoors, 4 p.m. to midnight daily). 

The Mermaid Inn arrived in the East Village in 2003, with several outposts to follow... they closed here during the pandemic, only to reopen then close again in the fall of 2022 after just seven weeks. 

• Sunflower East Village (RJM Hospitality LLC), 88 2nd Ave (op) 

This is a holdover from last month... we previously noted that the NE corner of Second Avenue and Fifth Street will be home to another location of Sunflower, a cafe serving breakfast-brunch on Third Avenue between 25th Street and 26th Street. 

The EV location looks to have the same menu/vibe, though with dinner service. Find the questionnaire here. 

Sunflower is owned and operated by the same folks as the previous tenant here, Eros, the Greek restaurant that quietly closed in August 2022 when a "temporarily closed" sign arrived on the front door. Eros took over for their diner concept, The Kitchen Sink, in September 2021.

• Idleflora LLC, 188 Allen St (op) 

Idleflora is the name of the proposed "plant-based tea shop and tapas bistro" at 188 Allen St. between Stanton and Houston. 

According to the questionnaire on the CB3 website, the space will also include a retail flower shop. The proprietors operate several East Village restaurants, including Shinn East and Thirteen Water on Seventh Street and Appas Pizza on First Avenue. 

This long, narrow storefront was previously home to Cheese Grille for nearly 10 years. 

• Made in Houston Inc, 205 Allen St (wb) 

The owners of C as in Charlie on Bleecker Street are behind this new restaurant serving Korean cuisine from the SW corner of Allen Street and Houston. You can find the questionnaire here, which includes a sample menu and other details. 

The arrival of the unnamed new restaurant means the end of Mi Salsa Kitchen, the Cuban eatery, at this location. (We contacted Mi Salsa for info about a possible relocation.)

Items not heard at Committee

• MT 121 St Marks LLC, 123 St Marks Pl (wb) 

This applicant will not be heard this evening — they've already received conditional approval for a beer-wine license based on their method of operation, hours (11 a.m. to midnight daily), etc. 

The owners of Chicago's Moody Tongue Brewing Company are behind this venture, a still unnamed Japanese restaurant that will serve a variety of sushi platters and entrees. You can find more details and a sample menu here. 

The team opened Moody Tongue Sushi on West 10th Street earlier this year. The Dining Room at Moody Tongue in Chicago boasts two Michelin stars. 

This space on St. Mark's Place just west of Avenue A last housed Pop's Eat-Rite, the veggie burger joint.

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Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link here. This is a hybrid meeting, and there is limited seating available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.  

Community members speak out against a tactical gear pop-up shop on 9th Street

Photos from Saturday by Eden 

On Saturday afternoon, a group of community members came together to speak out against a tactical gear pop-up shop on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

OneTigris, a China-based company has an online business offering military-grade lifestyle tactical gear, opened on the block on Sept. 10. (Images below via the OneTigris website)

On a block that has seen a handful of pop-up shops through the years, OneTigris, which sells a variety of bags and outdoor gear, didn't attract much attention until an Instagram promo arrived in early November for a giveaway set for Saturday...

Per the promo: 

On 11/11, join us in the heart of NYC's East Village, 618 e 9 st for a special event that's all about giving back. 🌆🦃 We're spreading gratitude just in time for Thanksgiving, with an incredible giveaway! 🍂🎁 

50 goodie bags and refreshing drinks are on us to show our appreciation for this amazing city. 🗽🎉 Our gifts are limited, so come early to make sure you don't miss out! 🕊️💨 Stay updated and be a part of this heartwarming event by registering with your email... Let's celebrate gratitude and give back to the incredible community we call home! 

Members of the community group, representing educators, faith-based groups, small business owners and anti-violence organizations, said they met with store management last Wednesday along with a member of the 9th Precinct's community relations team. 

According to the group, the shop agreed to cancel the giveaway in light of community concerns. However, by the next day, the group members said the shop had "broken that agreement, mysteriously rebranding themselves as gun-safety educators." 

This prompted Saturday's speak-out. Here's a copy of the flyer that circulated on social media...

Per a press alert that the group distributed: 

Posing as a harmless community sports equipment store for the paintball and outdoor set, their website tells a different story — with hundreds of product photos and videos of men and women holding assault-style weapons. 

One concerned resident shared this screengrab for the brand's Instagram account:

The shop remained closed during its posted hours of operation on Saturday. A handful of people spoke out against the shop, citing statistics showing that guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States.

The shop's original timeline shows it will be open here from Sept. 10 to Nov. 23. We contacted the store's management for comment.

Bench mark: A throwback to 1939 arrives on the Tompkins Square Park multipurpose courts

Photos by Steven 

One of the new amenities has arrived at the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park — your 1939 World's Fair-style benches...

Work started on this space along Avenue A and 10th Street on Oct. 16, first with ripping up the asphalt that hasn't been repaired since the mid-1990s. (And then the arrival of new asphalt.)

Still to come: the outline for a kickball court, a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, and three new basketball backstops at the eastern end.

Posted signs say that the $1.4 million project will be completed by Dec. 1.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Big changes are coming to the iconic skate spot in Tompkins Square Park

Signage alert: Crêpe Master on 7th Street

Signage recently arrived for Crêpe Master, which is expected to open soon (Google lists tomorrow) at 123 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

This will be the second outpost for the Japanese Harajuku-style gluten-free crêpe shop that launched several years back on 116th Street in Harlem. 

Per Manhattan Sideways: "Unlike French crêpes, the Japanese version is traditionally served in a cone — and a classic street food dish in populous cities throughout the country." 

The crêpes take over for cupcakes here... Butter Lane decamped from the storefront for space at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, N.J., during the summer.

Week in Grieview

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

• A primer on Community Board 3's role in the permit process for legal cannabis shops (Tuesday) 

• A new era begins for Downtown Burritos Cocina Mexicana on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• The St. Nicholas Cookie Walk returns for the 1st time since 2019 (Thursday) 

• A look at the fresh asphalt on the under-renovation multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

• Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza's Chris Barrett is opening a slice joint on 4th near B (Wednesday) 

• The return of Rakka! (Monday)

• No more Funzi at Funzi's Pizzeria on St. Mark's Place (Friday) 

• Kotobuki is moving to a new East Village location (Monday) 

• Report: Just 1 bid for the former P.S. 64 during its bankruptcy auction (Friday)

• Flaco continues East Village tour (Saturday) ... From Tompkins Square Park: Christo in Don't You (Forget About Me) (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Gemina Coffee Shop on 14th Street (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Pawffice on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday ... Glizzy's on St. Mark's Place (Monday) ... Matto Espresso on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

• Hey Bay: Con Ed preps for more transformer work at the Avenue A substation (Friday) 

• A little piece of Paradise on 11th and B (Tuesday)

And here's an updated look at the space ... now with the food offerings on the storefront...

• The great photo uploading glitch of Nov. 9, 2023 (Thursday) 

... and there will be Poland Spring under the Christmas trees this year... as seen at the USA Super Store on Third Avenue and 10th Street...

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

In Freemans Alley with Michael Alan Alien

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Last weekend I had the chance to watch local artist Michael Alan — aka Michael Alan Alien — create a new mural in Freemans Alley...

The NYC native took a break and talked about the piece.

"It's a style I started in the early 1990s that I have tweaked over time. A piece that speaks to old NY and painting now," he said. "NYC till death do us part."

Joining him there was his life partner and muse The Living Installation, aka Jadda Cat...

For Flaco

Previously

Sunday's opening shots

Transformer (the power-grid type) fans are lining Avenue A today to watch the removal of an old (?) transformer at the Fifth Street side of the Con Ed substation... this piece is something with fans...

As noted, the new transformer is set to arrive for placement the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Flaco continues East Village tour

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Flaco watch continues. 

The Eurasian eagle-owl was first spotted far away from his Central Park home on Monday in the East Village. 

And the sightings continue. 

The images here are by @Vinweasel_, who reports he was tracking Flaco via other photographers, and networking together. He photographed the owl at an undisclosed local location with his Sony A7iii with a 70-200 2.8 lens and a monopod.

And at seeing the great Eurasian eagle-owl? 

"I was stoked like a 10-year-old at an amusement park!"

Saturday's opening shot

Sunrise from 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue this morning... and as a reader noted in the comments the other day, this 14th Street corridor now has fresh asphalt...

Friday's parting shot

A longtime EVG reader shared this from outside the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center on the 10th Street side: "Racoon spotted climbing off the old P.S. 64 scaffold and scurrying up 10th before turning south on B."

Next stop?

'Round' trip

 

Emma Anderson, songwriter, guitarist and singer in the shoegazing/Britpop band Lush, recently (Oct 20!) released her debut solo record, Sonic Cathedral. 

The track here is for "Bend The Round."

From Tompkins Square Park: Christo in Don't You (Forget About Me)

Photos by Steven 

Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl, is getting all the attention this week after decamping to the East Village and Lower East Side from Central Park. (And yes, we have a Flaco post coming soon.) 

This may be why Christo, the resident red-tailed hawk of Tompkins Square Park, has been extra photogenic of late ... as seen yesterday near 7th and A ...

And 2023 marks Christo's 10-year East Village anniversary.

Headline H/T

No more Funzi at Funzi's Pizzeria on St. Mark's Place

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After nearly five months, Funzi's Pizzeria has a new name at 36 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

The restaurant is going for now as ... Pizzeria...

As of yesterday, the Funzi's name has been removed or taped over...

... from most places...

We're told the investors are taking over the business with a yet-to-be-determined new name. Hospitality vet Kevin Cox, who launched the restaurant, is out, and he took the Funzi's name with him to use for a new version of the pizzeria in another EV location. (Funzi's was named after the youngest of Cox's three sons.)

The pizzeria opened in late June, and aspired to be an East Village throwback with a 1970s-80s decor modeled after his grandmother's house.

Hey Bay: Con Ed preps for more transformer work at the Avenue A substation

Reporting by Stacie Joy

In recent weeks, workers have been doing some prep work at the Con Ed substation on Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... work that includes 24/7 security on the scene, moving cones and barriers here and there. 

As of yesterday, the first of the Bay Cranes arrived ... now the work is getting serious. (Emphasis ours.) 

As per workers on the scene, this is a two-week process. First, they will remove and disassemble the old transformer on the Fifth Street side — starting today. This will take a while. (Editorializing.) Then, slated for the weekend after Thanksgiving, the new transformer will go in and provide an Instagram-worthy photo extravaganza. (Try to get a window seat at Sophie's or Somtum Der!)

This is the second transformer replacement at the substation this year... the previous job was a five-month-long project.

Updated 7:37 a.m.

We have liftoff...

Report: Just 1 bid for the former P.S. 64 during its bankruptcy auction

The bankruptcy auction for the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center at 605 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C was reportedly canceled this week. 

The Real Deal reported that "the property failed to solicit any bids outside of a $55 million credit bid from its lender."

A few weeks back, per TRD, Madison Realty Capital sold the loan secured by the property to 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC, which allegedly has ties to Aaron Sosnick, a billionaire hedge fund manager who lives next door in the Christodora House.

As we first reported, the building was headed to a bankruptcy sale on Nov. 8 — this past Wednesday. 

So what happened? 

Real estate adviser Hilco claims it marketed the property, spoke to over 50 people and conducted individual site tours for four separate groups. But it ultimately received no offers, according to a letter obtained by The Real Deal. 

Buyers were turned off by the building's landmark status and the various difficulties Singer had obtaining building permits, according to Hilco. Others lost interest after reading about "the billionaire neighbor who wants to control the property."

It's unclear then what might happen next to the long-vacant property that Gregg Singer bought in a city auction in 1998. Given the history here, the narrative will likely take several more twists and turns.

Through the years, Singer wanted to turn the one-time P.S. 64 into a dorm, though those plans never materialized, and the building has sat in disrepair. The 135,000-square-foot building is zoned for “community facility use,” and any conversion to a condoplex or residential housing would require a zoning variance. 

As previously noted, some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001. 

Sosnick also reportedly bought the former Boys' Club of New York on 10th Street and Avenue A, now home to the Joyce Theater, several nonprofit arts groups, and a gallery. 

Noting

Every so often, Blogger, the content management system that this site uses, seemingly randomly updates something, like the photo-uploading feature. 

On that note, the photo-uploading feature is currently displaying error messages when trying to upload photos. 

Back with posts AND photos when all systems are go. 

Meanwhile, we can still cut and paste the code from previously published photos... like this crowd favorite, currently on loan to the National Gallery of Art...

 

The St. Nicholas Cookie Walk returns for the 1st time since 2019

A favorite local holiday tradition is back.

The Cookie Walk, slated for Dec. 9 and 10, is taking place once again this year at St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church on Avenue A and 10th Street. This will be the first one since 2019... and before the pandemic.

The always-festive event, held in the church basement, offers about 65 varieties of homemade cookies and pastries. As the name implies, you take a walk around cookie-filled tables and pick your favorites. 

Find more details at the church website.

Have a community service project? The George Jackson Academy would like to hear from you

Sharing some info from the George Jackson Academy, the middle school for boys at 104 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

George Jackson Academy will host a Community Service Day on Monday, Nov. 20. GJA would love to know if there are specific institutions and organizations that would be interested in our students' help on that day. 

If there is an East Village institution or organization interested in partnering with us on Community Service Day, please email us at nmccabe@gjacademy.org by Monday, Nov. 13.

Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza's Chris Barrett is opening a slice joint on 4th near B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Chris Barrett, the owner of the popular Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza brand, is opening a new joint, Eighths — Pizza by the Slice, at 240 E. Fourth St., just west of Avenue B. 

He's looking at a mid-December debut. 

Barrett told me the menu will feature all cannabis-infused items but available in smaller quantities than at his Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza places (like the one directly across Fourth Street). All slices will cost $10, with a recommended order of one to three, depending on your tolerance. The shop will also offer gelato, wings and garlic/ganja knots.

A few other details: There won't be any liquor available here, and patrons must be 21+ for the slices. Projected hours are Thursday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to midnight. (And no reservations are required — this is a walk-up operation.) 

Barrett said he plans to open a few more of these slice shops; he already has outposts in the Bronx and Brooklyn. 

No. 240 was most recently the pizzeria Johnny Favorite's.