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?).

Meanwhile, in Tompkins Square Park ...

An update on the decorative Santa figure that found its way underneath the holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park early yesterday — or overnight Sunday. (First post here.) 

As EVG decorative Santa correspondent Steven noted, there was a moment of joy yesterday afternoon when good samaritans propped up the Santa for a more traditional and dignified Santa stance...

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end on a happy note.

No, at some point, TBD, Santa ended up flat on his back once again... as seen this morning...

Oh, dear.

DOUBLE OH DEAR!

Thankfully, the dog did NOT weewee on Santa. 

And to be continued, probably...

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus...oh

As seen this morning under the holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park... (thanks to Steven for the photos)...

At first glimpse, there were some SantaCon flashbacks. Then, concern for a possibly injured or inebriated individual dressed as Santa on this frigid Jan. 10. 

However, it is a life-size Santa figure. 

As we understand it, a resident left this in his lobby yesterday for the super to stow for the season. Someone ended up dragging Santa here instead. Update! This was the Santa out front at East Village Social on St. Mark's Place. They made a special delivery. God Bless us, everyone!

Mondays!

6 posts from December

A mini month in review... (with a photo from Dec. 11 by Derek Berg)...

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like (Dec. 23) 

• The Community Holiday Feast fed more than 600 people in Tompkins Square Park yesterday (Dec. 20)

• Letter perfect: City makes the MPH right on 2nd attempt (Dec. 20) 

• Did SantaCon contribute to NYC's current COVID-19 surge? (Dec. 18) 

• Report of a fatal fire early at 118 Avenue D (Dec. 16) 

• At the rally for Casa Adela (Dec. 13) 

Corinne Neary checks out of the Tompkins Square Library branch

Photo by Stacie Joy

After five-plus years as the manager of the Tompkins Square Library branch, Corinne Neary is moving on this holiday season.

Neary is heading to the Jefferson Market branch on Sixth Avenue when it reopens later this winter. (She worked there as a trainee and senior librarian before coming to Tompkins Square in November 2016.)

Patrons of this branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B have said that they appreciated Neary's attention to the neighborhood's history ... especially its writers and artists — past and present — with events such as the East Village Arts Festival and various walking tours. Her programing was also top-notch... and she has excellent taste in classic films (a Myrna Loy triple feature!).

We talked with her during the EVG podcasting days for a session in early 2019. Find that conversation here.

A 15-year NYPL veteran, Will Hall, takes over for Neary at Tompkins Square.

Welcome, Will, and thank you, Corinne... 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (featuring Smoking Santas in Union Square by Derek Berg)... 

 • These East Village businesses are temporarily closing as COVID cases continue to climb (Monday)

• The Community Holiday Feast fed more than 600 people in Tompkins Square Park yesterday (Monday) 

• Reports: Did SantaCon contribute to NYC's current COVID-19 surge? (Tuesday) 

• RIP Robert J. Giurdanella (Wednesday) 

• Driver fleeing police charged in the hit-and-run death of delivery worker on Houston Street (Wednesday) 

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like (Thursday) 

• Another visit to the home of Frankie Christmas (Friday) 

• The end of the East River amphitheater (Friday) 

• Letter perfect: City makes the MPH right on 2nd attempt (Monday) 

• Cornerstone Cafe calls it quits (Tuesday) 

• Signage arrives for the new Urban Wine & Spirits (Monday) 

• Former August Laura space is on the rental market; building on the auction block (Thursday) • Arthur’s Barber Shop has closed (Tuesday) 

• Activity at the former St. Brigid School on Avenue B and 7th Street (Thursday)

• 1st sign of Raíz Modern Mexican on 1st Avenue (Thursday) 

• 7-Eleven shutters on 14th Street (Monday)

• Bubbleology Tea has gone out of business on 1st Avenue (Thursday) 

• East Village Social has not been open in awhile (Monday) 

• EVG turns 14 (Tuesday — thank you for all the kind words about the site! ❤️) 

... and thanks to Goggla for this festive holiday shot from Seventh Street and Avenue B...

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

A Lou Reed Christmas scene on St. Mark's Place

A holiday scene on St. Mark's Place... with Invader's Lou Reed mosaic still in place from late 2015 (and via the Lisa Project) ...

The Russian & Turkish Baths are back open on 10th Street

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

The heat is on just in time for the cold weather.

The Russian & Turkish Baths have reopened their doors at 268 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. Established in 1892, the popular bathhouse has been closed since the pandemic's start in March 2020. They reopened yesterday. 

Partners and brothers (from left) Dmitry and Jack Shapiro gave me a tour of the newly remodeled and renovated space...

Here are the hours during this holiday weekend: 

• Christmas Day: 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

• Sunday/Boxing Day: 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. (9 a.m. until 2 p.m. men only; 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. coed). 

All patrons must be vaccinated and present proof of vaccination. Capacity, for now, is limited to 40.

Here's more info from the Russian & Turkish Baths website:

We will not be honoring prepaid admission passes or memberships at this time. We will reassess this policy in the New Year. Admission will be $50 per person.

Vaccination cards will be checked for all patrons. If you are not feeling well or are not vaccinated, you will not be allowed in the Baths. 

Dmitry and Jack's father, David, a longtime owner here, passed away in the spring of 2020. Boris Tuberman remains an owner ... and will still have the Boris weeks.

Another holiday visit with Frankie Christmas

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

We last checked in with the undisputed king of East Village Christmas, Frank “Frankie Christmas” Bianco, at this time last year. 

This year Bianco, a Brooklyn native who has lived here since 1980, welcomed us back to his winter wonderland apartment on Avenue D with an update on the lighting schedule...   

“This year, I shattered my previous record and was able to put up a total of 11,875 lights, about 1,500 more than last year. To finish by Dec. 1, I usually start decorating as soon as the Labor Day weekend finishes. For the last couple of months, it took me about 200 hours to complete each room in my apartment. I usually spend an hour or two each night of the week decorating and get the bulk of it done on the weekends, where I may spend up to eight hours decorating.”

What else is new?

“It’s a tradition to get at least a half dozen Christmas tattoos every year since moving down to the LES. I have 11 new snowflake tattoos and the Grinch’s hand holding an ornament. Similar to my Christmas tattoos, I always make sure to add a few new decorations to my apartment as well. I purchased a Christmas Tree from Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the largest Christmas store in the world located in Frankenmuth, Mich., and my favorite new addition, a Swarovski 2021 snowflake ornament.” 

...and now take a tour...

 

What can we look forward to next year? 

“In 2022, I’m somehow putting up more lights than I did this year! It’ll be tough, but I’m confident I’ll be able to [string more than] 12,000 lights. I’ll also be returning to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland to find new additions to my collection, and most important spread the Christmas Spirit!”

Read our Q&A with Frankie from last year at this link. 

No. 14

Here's your annual reminder that EVG is another year older.

The very first post arrived on this site on this date in 2007. It was about Sophie's, which is why I posted the top pic. 

I explained the origins of this news site in our gala 13th-anniversary post right here. 

So let's use the rest of the allotted time in this post to thank you for reading the site, leaving comments, sharing tips, commiserating about the loss of a business and celebrating the best neighborhood around. As I've said before, this site doesn't work without you.

A big thanks to all the frequent contributors, especially Derek Berg and Steven, for their ongoing photo and tip submissions. And a special shout-out to Stacie Joy for her tireless work in documenting the businesses and residents of the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, a happy and healthy holiday season to you!

Seasonal stump art

'Tis the season for some holiday stump art here at the Seventh and B entrance to Tompkins Square Park. 

In recent months, someone has been creating installations atop the stump of the English Elm that came down in August 2020 during Tropical Storm Isaias. 

EVG reader Robert Minder shared this photo from October...

There's usually a "Twin Peaks" vibe to the art... which we appreciate.

Reports: Did SantaCon contribute to NYC's current COVID-19 surge?

Photo on Dec. 11 along Avenue A by Derek Berg

In recent days, several published reports have suggested that SantaCon, held on Dec. 11 in bars and venues in parts of Midtown and in the East Village, played a role in the current surge of positive COVID-19 cases in Manhattan. (It's also a topic brought up in the EVG comments.)

City Councilmember Mark Levine, chair of the Health Committee and Manhattan Borough president-elect, helped bolster this case when he tweeted Saturday about the high numbers in the city: "And yes SantaCon may partly be to blame."

Manhattan unfortunately now has highest covid rate in NYC.

This is partly because we test more. But this should serve as a warning about how much omicron is out there. Be especially cautious about indoor gatherings where masks come off. (And yes SantaCon may partly be to blame.) pic.twitter.com/DoSOidFhkq

— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) December 18, 2021

In a story published Sunday, The Daily Mail noted, "The SantaCon surge: Covid cases in Manhattan QUADRUPLE in the six days since notorious costumed bar crawl." The article builds its case on the Levine tweet and other social media posts where people said they tested positive after attending the annual bar crawl that was postponed in 2020.

Here's more from The Cut at New York magazine from Thursday:

Last year, SantaCon was thankfully canceled due to the pandemic. This year, there's still a pandemic — not to mention a highly contagious variant spreading — but like many other holiday gatherings that now seem ill-advised, it happened anyway despite fears it had all the makings of a super-spreader event. And now, surprise: #santacon TikTok is flooded with people who attended and have since tested positive for COVID-19.

The Cut assembled a collection of the SantaCon-COVID clips on TikTok.  

Meanwhile, Business Insider also pointed the finger at SantaCon for this current uptick in a piece titled "The SantaCon surge has hit NYC" from Saturday.

Per their report:

[S]ince last weekend — which saw the return of SantaCon, NYC's biggest event of debauchery and drunken revelry — many a New Yorker's phones have blown up with texts from friends saying they'd been exposed to Covid. Positivity rates have doubled in the past three days, with cases in the city up more than 40 percent in one day, recording the highest one-day total since January 14. 

Later, the piece backs off a bit from the headline:

To be sure, SantaCon isn't entirely to blame for the Omicron wave. Companies have been holding in-person holiday parties and NYC nightlife has been back to normal for quite some time. Health restrictions, like mask mandates and social distancing, have been increasingly disregarded. 

In a post published yesterday at Bushwick Daily, three residents who tested positive and work at bars-restaurants in the East Village or Lower Manhattan blamed SantaCon for spreading COVID.

East Village bartender Iseult James told the site that "the event might have been a super spreader and is largely to blame for the uptick in positive tests. So now, instead of spending Christmas with her husband's parents in Fort Greene, the couple must stay at home."

As multiple news outlets have already reported, average daily case counts in New York City more than doubled over the week ending Dec. 17, according to the latest data available on the city's health department website. NYC is reporting a seven-day average of more than 7,200 cases per day, up from about 3,200 the week prior, a 127-percent increase.

According to the NYC Health site, neighborhoods including the East Village and Murray Hill, where SantaConners mingled on Dec. 11, have among the highest positivity rates in the five boroughs for the week ending Dec. 17. The citywide positivity rate is at 7.68 percent.

Here are the two zip codes that include parts of the East Village... 10009 had a positivity rate of 9.79 percent while 10003 had a rate of 11.81 percent (click on the image for more detail) ... 

The zip code encompassing Kips Bay/Murray Hill is at 11.14 percent ...

Of course, SantaCon participants or bar employees who have tested positive don't necessarily live in these zip codes. (Also, these zip codes also have high rates of fully vaccinated adults, above the city's 71 percent.)

Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio addressed the rise in COVID cases during a press conference yesterday.

"It's going to be a very challenging few weeks. But the good news is based on what our healthcare leadership understands, at this moment, we are talking about a matter of weeks," de Blasio said, as CNBC reported.  

The mayor went on to say that New Yorkers infected with omicron are experiencing mild symptoms so far, though many unanswered questions remain about the variant.

"We're going to see a really fast upsurge in cases; we're going to see a lot of New Yorkers affected by omicron," de Blasio said. "So far, thank God based on everything we've seen, the cases are milder than what we've experienced previously." 

Gov. Hochul reemphasized yesterday that there would not be any new shutdowns.

"It's not March of 2020. It's not even December of 2020. Just to keep things in perspective, it is milder than delta," Hochul said of omicron, per NBC 4. "We are avoiding a government shutdown because we now have the tools available to all of us — vaccinations, booster shots, masks — particularly for the variant we're dealing with."

You can find information on vaccines and boosters via the city at this link. Find a city-affiliated testing site here.  

The Community Holiday Feast fed more than 600 people in Tompkins Square Park yesterday

Photos by Stacie Joy

Here's a quick recap of the Community Holiday Feast in Tompkins Square Park yesterday afternoon. 

For starters, given the weather on Saturday, organizers, including Jeremiah Moss and EVG contributor Stacie Joy, had to move the event to the rain date of yesterday.

From 2-4 p.m., volunteers served 600-plus free hot meals in the Park... providing some good food and vibes in the process... 

The following businesses and residents donated to the event:

Scooter LaForge, Stacie Joy, C&B Cafe, S'MAC, Food for Life, Marjorie Ingall and Jonathan Steuer, Chris Flash, Mary O's, San Loco, Rossy's Bakery, Molly Crabapple, EVLovesNYC, Gavin Downie, Jon Thornton, Tiffeani James, Jeremiah Moss and Rebecca Levi, Derrick the Abolitionist, Leslie Feinberg, Hank Chmielinski and Holli Porreca, Rosie Kahn and Dan Grimes.

Stacie and Jeremiah also thank all the community members who donated their time yesterday volunteering for the Community Feast. And to all a happy and healthy holiday season... 

These East Village businesses are temporarily closing as COVID cases continue to climb

--Updated12/22: In a good sign, several of the businesses that decided to close this past weekend have reopened. Updating the list below--

The rise in COVID-19 cases across NYC alongside the spread of the new omicron variant made its presence known to local businesses and residents over the weekend. 

In recent days, several establishments either closed because of infection among their staff or due to possible exposure to someone who had tested positive. For instance, Mister Paradise, the cocktail bar at 105 First Ave., closed for the weekend after positive test results for some employees...

Yellow Rose on Third Avenue and Academy Records on 12th Street were among other businesses to announce a temporary closure due to positive test results. 

The Brant Foundation, showing a solo exhibition of new works by Julian Schnabel, abruptly closed "out of precaution" on Saturday here at 421 E. Sixth St. ...

Others taking a cautionary approach included Hearth at 403 E. 12th St. ...

Here is a partial list of other East Village businesses that either decided to amend their operating method or close...

• All The Kings Horses at 521 E. 12th St. has closed until further notice. UPDATED: They reopen on 12/21 with limited hours and no indoor dining. 

• AuH2O Shop, 84 E. Seventh St., closed yesterday and will not reopen until after Christmas. "We're very sorry to people looking to pick up online orders or last-minute gifts, but we thank you for understanding the need to keep our staff and everyone safe." 

• Azaleas, the women's boutique, limited their hours and the number of patrons allowed inside the shop at 140 Second Ave. 

• Beauty Bar, 231 E. 14th St., will be closed until at least Dec. 31.

• Bluestockings, the activist bookstore and café at 116 Suffolk St., is now only open for pickup orders and coffee and pastries to go. 

• Boris & Horton, the dog-friendly cafe on Avenue A at 12th Street, closed for the weekend, stating on Instagram: "The health of our employees, guests, and community is our number one priority." UPDATED 12/22: They are back open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• The Copper Still, 151 Second Ave., plans to reopen on Dec. 26.

• The Film Anthology Archives, 32 Second Ave., canceled yesterday's screenings and those scheduled for tonight and tomorrow. Per a statement: "Having already planned to close for the holidays from Dec. 22-Jan. 6, we hope to return as scheduled on Jan. 7."

• Josie's, 520 E. Sixth St., like its sister bars Mona's and Sophie's, will be closed at least until after Dec. 25.

• Kindred, 342 E. Sixth St., is closed to at least Dec. 28.

• The Hard Swallow, 140 First Ave., will reopen on Dec. 27.

• The Immigrant, 341 E. Ninth St., has closed until Dec. 26.

• Metrograph, the cinema at 7 Ludlow St., is closing its theaters and commissary until Dec. 25.

• Mona's, 224 Avenue B, has shut down through Dec. 27.

• Now Yoga at 61 E. Fourth St. has suspended in-person classes, pivoting back to online sessions for the remainder of the year. 

• O'Hanlon's, 349 E. 14th St., is shutting down until Dec. 26 to give its staff time off to get tested and to deep clean the bar.

• Otto's Shrunken Head, 538 E. 14th St., closed after service last night. The bar plans to reopen on Jan. 5.

• Phebe's, 361 Bowery, announced it will be closed for the next week. 

• Ruffian, 125 E. Seventh St., plans to reopen on Dec. 27.

• SMØR, the Nordic cafe at 441 E. 12th St., suspended indoor dining, serving food and drinks outdoors and for takeaway and delivery. 

• Sophie's, 507 E. Fifth St., is closed now with hopes of reopening after this holiday week.

For fatigued owners, employees and residents, the closures have prompted unpleasant flashbacks to March 2020, when businesses announced short-term closures due to the rising cases of coronavirus... only to be shuttered for months after then-Gov. Cuomo ordered all nonessential businesses to close during the PAUSE. 

In recent days, both Mayor de Blasio, who has less than two weeks left in office, and Gov. Hochul have reportedly said another NYC lockdown won't be necessary. "Getting vaccinated, getting the booster and wearing a mask are critical to avoiding getting seriously ill from COVID-19, so don't take a chance," Hochul said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the scramble for testing continues. Long lines await people anxious for peace of mind before traveling in the days ahead or attending holiday get-togethers with friends or family. The Mayor has promised more testing sites early this week. 

Starting today, the NYC Test & Trace Corps, in partnership with the NYC Health Department and NYC Care, will distribute 500,000 rapid antigen self-testing kits and 1 million KN95 masks through community-based organizations across the city. It's not clear where these might be available in the East Village. 

Hearth photo by Lola Sáenz