ICYMI: Raising Cane's bringing the fried chicken fingers to Astor Place

Photo from 2020 by Vinny & O 

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers — a fast-food chain specializing in, uh, chicken fingers — is opening an outpost on Astor Place. 

Several business pubs (New York Business Journal and Commercial Observer) reported that the Louisiana-based company signed a 20-year lease for 4,300-square feet on the ground floor at 10 Astor Place at Lafayette Street. 

Raising Cane's has more than 615 restaurants in 32 states ... with an outpost slated for Times Square. 

No. 10 was, until August 2020, a Walgreens.

Thanks to the EVG reader for the tip!

New York magazine pays homage to the East Village with 'Tales From Little Ukraine'

Via the EVG inbox... 

New York magazine's annual "Yesteryear Issue" celebrates the magazine’s 54th anniversary by paying homage to the East Village's Little Ukraine. 

"The issue tells the neighborhood’s story through successive waves of immigration, and shows how the neighborhood retained its identity and culture," says features director Genevieve Smith. "These stories are told through a deeply reported history by city editor Christopher Bonanos, as well as first-person accounts and archival photographs and illustrations." 

And the cover? 

The cover features a painting by Yaroslava Surmach Mills (1925–2008), who grew up in the East Village (her father was the proprietor of Surma Book & Music Co.), attended Cooper Union, and became a well-known children's-book illustrator in the 1970s. 

You can find the issue here.

Today in urban etiquette signage

Photos by Stacie Joy 

First, from Third Street and Avenue, a note about an annoying car alarm that went off over the weekend. "PLEASE fix your car's alarm — it was going off all night."

And, from an undisclosed building lobby: "If you stole my Keurig pods you're CLASSLESS" ...

Inside the food-and-drink empire that included the now-shuttered Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart

Top photo by Steven last week 

Three longtime East Village businesses on Stuyvesant Street — Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart — recently closed ... and a fourth, Panya, will soon follow. 

The New York Times yesterday had the first (and very rare!) interview with the owner of the businesses — the Yoshida Restaurant Group. 

Over the past 50 years, Tadao Yoshida, known as Tony, the mystery mogul of the East Village, has built a food-and-drink empire that few of his generation can rival. It all started in the early 1970s with the humble vegetarian-friendly joint Dojo and has expanded to include, most recently, the sprawling Japan Village food court in Industry City, Brooklyn. 

Mr. Yoshida helped teach New York that it couldn't live without an authentic izakaya (something like a Japanese pub). And the cocktail revival of the aughts can be traced directly to Angel's Share. 

He also may very well be the man responsible for that ubiquitous ginger-carrot salad dressing found at every Japanese restaurant across America. 

As previously noted on EVG, Yoshida first opened the Ice Cream Connection on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in March 1970. Yoshida's Japanese-inspired vegetarian cuisine came along in 1974. 

In 1982, Dojo took over the space next door and expanded even more. Higher rents shuttered the East Village Dojo, with the West Third Street outpost continuing until 2018.

The Times also shares this anecdote about the Ice Cream Connection:

The East Village was dangerous then, and Mr. Yoshida was known to keep a long Japanese sword behind the ice cream counter for protection. A story goes that a young John Belushi, after seeing Mr. Yoshida chase away some troublemakers with the sword, was inspired to create his recurring samurai character on "Saturday Night Live."

 "People said that," Mr. Yoshida admitted. "I'm not sure. After the samurai sketch, people said, 'Tony, that’s you.'"

As for why these businesses have closed after 25-plus years here on Stuyvesant Street between Ninth Street and Third Avenue... a spokesperson for landlord Cooper Union told us (and other media outlets): "Unfortunately, the tenant informed us of their decision to vacate the property. They were not asked to move out, despite the fact that they haven't paid any rent since 2020."

Yoshida confirmed to the Times that the businesses had not paid any rent since April 2020. "In the pandemic, we could not do business, and I hoped they would give me some sort of break," he said. The Cooper Union spokesperson previously said: "The formula for calculating rent on these properties has been in place for some 30 years and has never been changed."

Also, as the Times piece references: "Cooper Union, which leases the buildings from their owners and had subleased them to Mr. Yoshida for decades."

Back in 2011, when Cooper Union and St. Mark's Bookshop were trying to hash out a new rental deal for the retail space for 29 Third Ave., WNYC reported that "Cooper Union doesn't actually own the building that holds the store, but leases it from a company called 29 Third Ave Corporation c/o Casabella Holdings, LLC."

So it's not clear what will happen with the two-level building that housed Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and the previously shuttered Sharaku. Cooper Union told us there's no new building planned on this site.

Meanwhile, Yoshida's lone business left here, Panya, will "continue for a month on a wholesale basis before it, too, closes," per the Times. Employees though, have told EVG readers that the bakery will close before the end of the month.

On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: applicants for the former Sidewalk and Rue-B spaces

Here's a look at two of the items on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting... (we wrote about Bar Veloce's application for a new spot on the Bowery here). 

• Offside (OT AT LLC), 94 Ave A (op) 

An applicant is looking to open Offside, a bar-restaurant serving "American comfort food" in the former Sidewalk (and August Laura) space on the NE corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street.

According to the questionnaire on the CB3 website, Offside has proposed hours of 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays, with an 11 a.m. start on weekends. The applicants also plan on having sidewalk and streetside seating. 

The applicant previously ran the Offside at 137 W. 14th St. The tavern, which opened in 2017, closed during the pandemic in 2020. Offside was known as a gathering spot for fans watching Islanders games. 

August Laura closed last December after a fall 2019 debut. Sidewalk, the restaurant, bar and live music venue (home of the Antifolk Festival), shuttered in February 2019 after 34 years.

• Next Best LLC, 188 Ave B (op) 

Hi-Note is a proposed coffee shop-karaoke bar combo for 188 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street in space that was previously the jazz club Rue-B. 

According to the CB3 questionnaire, daily coffee service will take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ...  with the bar component open from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. During the day, Hi-Note plans to serve cafe fare, including pastries, salads and sandwiches. 

Hi-Note's management team previously ran Baby Grand, the now-closed karaoke bar on Lafayette. 

Rue-B shut down last fall after 23 years in business. 

Tonight's virtual meeting starts at 6:30. You can find the Zoom link here.

 Thank you to Jake Bowling for the photo at 188 Avenue B.

Houston Village Farm is closing on 1st Avenue

You may have noticed the recent arrival of the for-lease sign on Houston Village Farm's storefront on the SW corner of First Avenue and Fourth Street.

Management of the deli-market told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that they will close by June, likely sooner. The cause? Slow business, high rent.

While several like-minded businesses have opened in the neighborhood in recent months, this marks the third corner market to close on First Avenue during the pandemic era  ... joining the one on the SE corner of 10th Street and the SE corner of 12th Street.

Everytable makes it signage office on Avenue B

Updated 5/25: Certified open!

Thanks to the EVG readers who pointed out that the Everytable signage is now up at 229 Avenue B between 13th Street and 14th Street. (The PEACE art pre-dates their arrival.) 

As we reported on March 29, Everytable, the Los Angeles-based fast-casual concept focused on healthy meals, is expanding into NYC with 100 new outposts expected in the next few years.

Per the company's website:

Everytable’s business model drastically reduces the costs of the standard restaurant model. Chefs at our local kitchen turn fresh, wholesome ingredients into delicious meals, which we sell through our small, grab-and-go storefronts. 

From start to finish, everything is designed to be super-efficient, and the savings are reflected in our prices. We have locations in food deserts, underserved communities with little or no access to nutritious food, and in affluent areas. To ensure that everyone can afford our meals, we price them according to the neighborhoods we serve.

No word just yet on an opening date on Avenue B.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a pic on Second Avenue by Derek Berg) ... 

• Standoff on 9th Street (Wednesday) ... Anarchy Row (Wednesday) ... In Tompkins Square Park, speaking out against the city's sweeps of unhoused encampments (Saturday) 

• A last look at the now-closed East Village institution Sunrise Mart (Tuesday) ... Stuyvesant Street closings official: Angel's Share, Village Yokocho and Sunrise Mart are gone (Monday) 

• After being hit by a car, Noor the cat is doing well at home with his new East Village family (Tuesday) 

• Inside the Blue Door (Friday) 

• At a rehearsal for 'Hamlet in Harlem' at Theater for the New City (Wednesday) 

• East Village vegan standby Organic Grill is moving to the West Village (Thursday)

• Milling and paving continue along Houston ahead of bike lane upgrade (Monday) 

• Bake Culture opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• A new deli/market for First Avenue (Thursday) 

• Pour one out for Pouring Ribbons (Monday) 

• Former Coyote Ugly space on 1st Avenue hits the rental market (Friday) 

• Now open: USA Super Stores on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

... and speaking of the now-open USA Super Stores... they are selling the 5-gallon buckets of Tide from Vietnam... per the window display ...

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

Remembering International Bar owner Molly Fitch

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Molly Fitch, a longtime East Village resident and the owner of International Bar, died on Dec. 12. She was 51. 

Yesterday, her many friends gathered at the bar at 102 First Ave. near Sixth Street to honor her memory.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there and shared these photos...

She is missed.

RIP Billy the Artist too.

Rev. Billy brings 'Earth Church' to this Avenue C storefront

Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir is hosting an Earth Church extravaganza (a "secular earthy gathering") early this evening at 36 Avenue C, a storefront on the NE corner of Third Street. 

The "Earth Service" starts at 5... with an after-party at 6. You can also watch from afar via Instagram Live @revbillytalen. 

Meanwhile, Rev. Billy and one other activist were arrested yesterday morning in Corlears Hook Park as workers prepared to cut down dozens of trees, including a stand of blossoming cherry trees. Work is now focusing on this area of East River Park as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project.

Saturday's parting shot

A moment late this afternoon... with the rainbow coming down around 12th Street... thanks to Jeanne Krier for this view to the east from Fourth Avenue ...

In Tompkins Square Park, speaking out against the city's sweeps of unhoused encampments

Photos by Stacie Joy

More than a dozen community groups and mutual-aid networks joined forces for a rally in Tompkins Square Park yesterday to speak out against Mayor Adams' aggressive sweeps of unhoused encampments across the city, including one Wednesday on Ninth Street in the East Village. 

Speakers at the rally called for an end to the encampment sweeps ... while providing safe housing for New Yorkers living on the streets.

The rally, which drew 100-plus supporters, took place at the chess tables in the Park's SW corner. Before the event, several people removed the barricades from this space that the NYPD placed here late last summer after clearing out an encampment.
 

The speakers included Sinthia, one of the unhoused residents who was living on Ninth Street...

 

The rally came two days after the 7-hour standoff on Ninth Street outside the former P.S. 64 between a group of activists and unhoused residents and reps from several city agencies. 

The NYPD eventually arrested seven people while a sanitation crew tossed some of the residents' belongings. 

Since then, people have questioned the use of dozens of officers from the NYPD, including members of the Strategic Response Group and the Technical Assistance Response Unit, over four tents. 

As CBS 2 reported: 

"It was awful, it was stupid, and it was violent," said Helen Strom, director of homeless advocacy for Safety Net Project. 

Strom also said it was dehumanizing to watch homeless people and advocate in a seven-hour standoff with police and a Sanitation crew looking to clear up their encampment on an East Ninth Street sidewalk.  

"What the mayor should be doing is he should be sending out housing specialists to get people into apartments, instead of spending hundreds of thousands of tax payer money on police," she said. Strom said it was a total waste of resources, since the unhoused individuals refused to go to a shelter, fearing for their safety. 

As Politico noted: 

The new mayor will face an uphill battle in actually compelling people to leave the streets and go into the city’s shelter system, which is considered unsafe by many who have taken refuge under bridges, on sidewalks and in the subways. Elected officials and advocates for homeless people warn the city lacks capacity to offer people other options, and say the push is an unwelcome return to failed policies of the past. 

During an interview yesterday on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show," Adams defended the sweeps," saying "he was working to preserve the 'dignity' of homeless New Yorkers," as Gothamist reported. 

"When I looked at some of those encampment sites...I saw people living in human waste," the mayor said. "Drug paraphernalia, no showers, no clean clothing. Living like that — that is not dignified." 

During a press conference with clergy members on Thursday, Adams said that the Four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, would have done the same thing. 

Yesterday's rally included a march to the former P.S. 64 ... and eventually to Washington Square Park...

... and then back to Ninth Street between B and C...

Meanwhile, a few of the residents who were the subject of Wednesday's sweep moved nearby along Avenue B...

The NYPD photographed the tents this morning... with another sweep likely in the days ahead...

NYPD seeks suspect accused of endangering the welfare of a minor

Updated: Police made an arrest in this case.

Police are searching for a suspect wanted in connection with endangering the welfare of a minor. 

The incident happened on March 16 just before 8 a.m. near Fifth Street and Avenue C. According to NYPD officials, the suspect approached a 12-year-old girl and asked her to accompany him. The man fled after a good Samaritan intervened.

WANTED for AN Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the v/o of E 5th Stand AveC . #Man @NYPD9pct on 3/16/22 @ 7: 49 AM Suspect approached the 12 y/o female victim asked her to accompany him, a good Samaritan intervened and the individual fled Reward up to Call 1-800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/pEPeKnLJQ2

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) April 9, 2022

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.

Checking out the reasonably priced art of Steve Keene at Public Gallery

Steve Keene's "SK Art Show" opened Thursday at Public Gallery. 

And a nice-sized crowd turned out to see what the prolific Brooklyn-based artist had for sale... most of the pieces are marked at a 2-for-$5 price point. (Thanks to EVG reader Kerri Savage for the pic!)

You can read our previous post here or here for more on Keene, whose work includes album covers for Pavement.

Public Access is at 105 Henry St. near Pike Street. Gallery hours this weekend — Saturday-Sunday noon to 6 p.m. 

Friday's parting shot

Spring finally in Tompkins Square Park earlier today... thanks to Sonya for the photo...

Headed for a breakdown

 

Francis of Delirium (an up-and-coming duo now living in Luxembourg!) recently released a new full-length release ... the video here is for "The Funhouse." 

And you can catch the band on their first North American tour... out at Warsaw on April 14 and Baby's All Right on April 27.

Learn the art of decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 9) from noon to 6 p.m., the Ukrainian American Youth Association is hosting an event to help learn the art of decorating pysanky — Ukrainian Easter eggs. Dyes, beeswax and a stylus are used to decorate the eggs with traditional Ukrainian designs. You can take what you make home with you. 

The event takes place at the Ukrainian National Home, second floor, 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. Details are on the above flyer. All the proceeds will go toward humanitarian aid.

Noted

A message for the package thief here on Avenue B. 

Good morning! 

And thanks to the EVG reader for sharing this...

Inside the Blue Door

Photos by Stacie Joy

There has been some mystery/intrigue around longtime business Blue Door Video at 87 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... maybe it's the goofy window displays. Like, what do they sell?

Apropos of nothing (Easter?), EVG contributor Stacie Joy decided to pop by for a visit. The friendly staff (no, they were — that wasn't sarcasm) said she could take photos as long as she didn't include any patrons or private areas, such as the viewing booths...

The shop has a healthy supply of cut-out DVDs of super-obscure titles spanning many genres (3 for $10!) ...  along with some forgotten Hollywood fare (we see you "Laws of Attraction" with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore and your 18% Rotten Tomatoes score!) ... 

... and there are some VHS copies... (Dibs on that "Quantum Leap" episode!) ...

... and the adult titles...

There's a clothing section with lingerie ... and shoes (?)... 

... and various accessories... 

There's also a sale section...

This visit doesn't provide insights into everything that might go inside here, but hopefully, this will remove some of the mystery behind Blue Door Video...