Al fresco comeback: City’s outdoor dining program returns

This is no April Fool's — roadway dining season officially kicks off today, April 1. 

Restaurants and bars participating in the Dining Out NYC program may now start serving in their roadway dining structures. The city allowed approved establishments to begin setting up last Tuesday, before today's official start.

This is the first year of the new program. Per 2023 City Council legislation that Mayor Adams later approved, establishments can operate sidewalk setups year-round, while roadway dining operates seasonally, from April 1 to Nov. 29. (Sidewalk cafes are allowed year-round.)

The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle. 

According to a city press release, 2,600 establishments have approval to operate on roadways or sidewalks. "By April 1, NYC DOT estimates 600 roadway dining applicants and another roughly 2,000 sidewalk applicants will be able to operate." 

However, the Post noted Sunday: "Only seven restaurants out of 3,000 hoping to set up al fresco have received outdoor liquor licenses from the State Liquor Authority, meaning thousands may not be able to legally serve alcohol outside." 

We haven't seen much curbside-dining construction in the East Village, but we spotted several in the works on the Lower East Side over the weekend, including outside hotspots like Le Dive and Dudley's.

On Saturday evening, as the temperatures started dropping from the 80s to the 50s, we saw several restaurants and cafes with chairs and tables on Broome Street.

Regardless, based on the number of applications, there will be far fewer establishments with outdoor setups compared to 2020 and 2021. According to NYC Comptroller Brad Lander's office, an estimated 12,500 restaurants offered outdoor dining at the height of the pandemic. 

Also, Streetsblog reported that most curbside dining will be in wealthier neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Enjoy a coffee outdoors

Mudspot Café (top photo) has a compact curbside space ready for today. ("Smaller and cuter" than post years, they noted on Instagram.) 

Meanwhile, last week, EVG's Stacie Joy spotted C&B Cafe starting work on the coffee shop's outdoor space.

Owner Ali Sahin said there will be six tables with 12 seats total — and no roof, though perhaps a few umbrellas at some point in the future. The floor panels will be removable for ease of cleaning.

"We are approved for the roadside dining structure, and we are doing the absolute minimum of what the city requires because they will change their minds and the rules," Sahin said. 

He continued: "We want to spend as little money as possible; this is already pretty expensive. And at the end of the season, we'll toss it, as it's too expensive to store and we have no room or space to store it."

Several restaurateurs said they opted out of curbside dining this time due to the new, complex, and costly process, spanning over 30 pages of rules and regulations.

How to vote on what neighborhood projects receive capital funding from City Council

Participatory Budgeting Vote Week is underway in NYC. 

Per the city: 

Between Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, April 6, residents across New York City will cast their ballot and vote for locally developed projects to improve schools, parks, libraries, and other public spaces in their community. Voting is open to everyone ages 11 (or at least in 6th grade) and older who lives in or has a special connection to (i.e., goes to school or works) in one of the 23 participating Council Districts. Help shape the future of your community by casting your vote today. 

City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's District 2, which includes the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, the Lower East Side and Murray Hill, has $1 million in funds available ... and nine projects up for a vote.

• Lower East Side Playground Soccer Field Redesign

• Bathroom Upgrades at Washington Irving School 

• Bathroom Upgrades at Bard High School Early College 

• Sensory Gym at P.S. 19 East Village Community School 

• Auditorium Air Conditioning at P.S. 63 STAR Academy and The Neighborhood School 

• Union Square East and West Median Refurbishment

• STEM Lab for M361 The Children's Workshop School 

• Tree Guards for District 2 Street Trees

• Argus Cameras for PSA4, 6th, 9th, 13th Precincts 

You may vote (once!) online here until Sunday, April 6. Or! You can vote in person (once!) at the following locations...

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo on 1st Avenue today by Steven 

Today marks the 114th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. 

As in the past 20-plus years, volunteers have participated in the chalking project (organized by Street Pictures), writing the names and ages of the victims, mostly young women, in front of the buildings where they lived on the Lower East Side.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which occurred on March 25, 1911, in New York City, remains one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history. The tragedy claimed the lives of 146 garment workers. Management locked the doors to the stairwells and exits to prevent unauthorized breaks. The trapped workers either perished in the flames or by jumping from the factory windows. 

Located at the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place, just east of Washington Square Park, the Triangle Waist Company became a symbol of the urgent need for workplace safety reforms. 

For more details on the fire and its lasting impact, visit the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.

At the annual fundraiser for the Sixth Street Community Center

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Sixth Street Community Center held its Annual Fundraiser Dinner on Sunday night. Proceeds go to support the Food Distribution Program, which has provided free access to farm-fresh produce to thousands of food-insecure families on the Lower East Side since April 2020. 

I stopped by as the staff was prepping the four-course meal created by Chef Frumpy Grain.

According to an Instagram post, the Center raised nearly $7,000.

Learn more about the programs at the Sixth Street Community Center here.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a moon watch shot from First Avenue)... 

• Fundraiser underway for patron killed at Tom & Jerry's on March 1 (Tuesday) 

• Otto's Wednesday open mic: music and community in the tiki bar’s back room (Wednesday) 

• 9th Street condo project turns former parking garage into construction zone (Monday)

• Final orbit for the 2nd Avenue Star Watchers (Thursday) 

• Yummy Hive vanishes in the night on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street (Friday) 

• At LaMama, 'Above Ground' brings aging, improv and the art of being seen to the stage (Tuesday) 

• Work commences at the long-vacant 11 Avenue A, due for a residential conversion and 3 new floors (Wednesday) 

• Win Son Bakery set to debut East Village outpost on March 19 (Friday) 

• About Robert Sietsema's New York (Sunday) 

• Full reveal at 340 Bowery, the new home of micro hotel Now Now NoHo (Monday) 

• Construction watch: 183 Avenue B (Thursday) 

• These bars and restaurants are temporarily closed, and at least one is permanently shuttered (Thursday) 

• Zine takes a fresh look at Keith Haring's public school murals on the Lower East Side (Wednesday) 

• Partial window signage reveal for the new home of Soda Club on Avenue A (Monday) 

• CB3 to hear more about plans for the new restaurant coming to the New Museum (Monday) ... A quick look at the March CB3 SLA agenda (Monday)

• Closings: Tallgrass Burger on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• Revisiting the art of the Avenue A/14th Street Trader Joe's (Monday)

• Signage alert: El Camino on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

... and NOTED on Avenue B and Second Street (photo by Stacie Joy)

Construction watch: 183 Avenue B

Here's a look at the in-progress, all-new 183 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street.

As we've noted, this 8-floor, 12-unit residential building is going as the Village Garden Condominium.

The Village Garden website states that "all units are flooded by natural light. Lower floors provide views of the beautiful historic buildings of the Lower East Side; upper floors afford sweeping views of the neighborhood and Tompkins Square Park ... The two full-floor penthouse units include two terraces, perfect for inviting friends or a romantic evening. The delight of your private outdoor space can be appreciated during the morning sunrise or in the evening with a glass of wine." 

Amenities include a fitness room and the opportunity to buy one of six individual garden spaces in the back of the building. Pricing has not been announced. 

Here's the plywood rendering...

In January 2017, Corcoran listed the property at an asking price of $4.75 million. According to public records, the building—with intact air rights—sold for that exact amount in April 2017. The DOB permit lists Richard Pino as the owner via Tompkins 183 LLC. 

The existing four-story building was later demolished on this lot in early 2020. 

A December 2024 completion date remains on the plywood rendering.

Zine takes a fresh look at Keith Haring's public school murals on the Lower East Side

East Village native Rainer Turim is releasing the second edition of his zine on Keith Haring's Public School 97 murals from 1985 to 1988. 

The new edition is hand-numbered and limited to 100 copies. Turim said it features never-before-seen photographs, video stills, and glossed-over news articles from the first edition that give context and meaning to the murals Haring painted in this elementary school courtyard, which now belongs to Bard High School Early College Manhattan, 525 E. Houston St.

The zine opening will be tomorrow (Thursday!) from 6 to 9 p.m. at Village Works, 12 St. Mark's Place, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Copies will also be available at Printed Matter. 

Work commences at the long-vacant 11 Avenue A, due for a residential conversion and 3 new floors

We spotted workers yesterday pumping concrete into the basement of 11 Avenue A between Houston and Second Street. 

This is the first worker we can recall here in nearly a decade. 

For years, residential conversion plans have been pending here. Public records now show new permits (as of late February) to convert this existing three-story commercial structure into a six-story residential building with retail space on the first floor.

The permits show five dwelling units for the 5,000-plus square feet of residential space. 

Some history: Ben Ari Arts, which had been at this location since 1960 (it opened on Allen Street in 1945), closed at the end of 2013. It was said to be the last Judaica shop on the Lower East Side.

Ben Ari Arts owner Yakov Melmed, who started helping his father sell menorahs, ceremonial wine cups, and prayer shawls at the store in 1973, decided to leave the neighborhood. According to public records, he sold the building for $3.4 million. 

Ariel Soudry of Better Living Properties is listed as No. 11's owner. 

CB3 to hear more about plans for the new restaurant coming to the New Museum

The New Museum — with its 60,000 square-foot expansion — reopens this fall on the Bowery. Among the new amenities is an all-day café and restaurant. 

Community Board 3's SLA committee will hear more about the plans tonight. 

Per the questionnaire on the CB3 website: 

The New Museum Restaurant — an extension of the New Museum's renewed visitor experience — will function as an all-day café and restaurant. The cuisine will focus on seasonal and sustainable ingredients. 

Art and artmaking have always flourished through in-person collaboration and connection, especially when convening over food and beverage. Our restaurant will be a space where artists, museumgoers, and community members converge, as part of the many new experiences offered by the OMA-designed expansion of the New Museum. 

Built with conversation and intimacy at its center, our restaurant will be an active contributor to the New Museum’s community and a celebration of the surrounding neighborhood’s rich artistic history.

It's not immediately clear if they settled on The New Museum Restaurant as the name. The CB3 questionnaire also states that the trade name is TBD, and press materials sent to local news outlets last week didn't mention a name. 

Anyway, the New Museum announced its partnership with the Oberon Group (Rucola, June, Rhodora Wine Bar, and Anaïs) on the project this past week. Julia Sherman, chef, artist, and author of "Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists," will oversee the kitchen. 

Here's more via the EVG inbox...

Incorporating sustainable materials and practices in both its menu and design, the 100-seat space will be a zero-waste, all-day cafe and restaurant spotlighting vegetables and local seafood, drawing inspiration from local purveyors and growers and focusing on ingredients from the Hudson Valley. 

Dish presentation by Chef Julia Sherman will be artful and visually striking, and diners can expect bright colors and playful eating. The cocktail program will be designed by Arley Marks, featuring classic martinis, spritzes, and botanical non-alcoholic selections. The wine list will feature natural selections of back vintages, predominantly from regenerative wine growers. 

OMA's design for the space draws inspiration from downtown New York neighborhood restaurants and the community gardens of the Lower East Side, creating a warm and intimate gathering space for artists, museum visitors, and patrons from around the world. 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. The Zoom link is here. This is a hybrid meeting, and limited seating is 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.

A quick look at the March CB3 SLA agenda

Photo of 215 E. 4th St. by Stacie Joy 

Here's a look at a few of the East Village addresses on tonight's CB3 SLA committee meeting agenda: 

New Liquor License Applications 

• 20 Blocks (Empty Lunchbox LLC), 215 E 4th St (wb) 

A sandwich shop called 20 Blocks is planned for the former home of ZAKAYA NYC between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The online questionnaire for the beer-wine license describes the place as "a sandwich shop serving up original classics: the food & drink you know and love, but with a twist. The best sandwiches by a mile." (Traveling 20 blocks north-south in downtown Manhattan is roughly 20 blocks.) 

The sample menu includes various sandwiches with eggs, fried fish, lamb shoulder, and broccoli rabe, as well as sides such as long beans, sweet potato chips, and potato salad. 

The proprietors, Willy Corman and Jack August, previously held pop-ups in community gardens "with a new chef and a new menu" every week. According to the application materials, proceeds went to the garden. 

Proposed hours: Sunday to Wednesday from 9 a.m. to midnight with a 2 a.m. close on other nights. 

• Wilka's NYC LLC, 241 Bowery (op) 

Wilka's Sports Bar, 241 Bowery between Stanton and Rivington, will be dedicated to broadcasting women's sports. We wrote about it here. Find the Wilka's CB3 questionnaire here. 

• Baja and Humans LLC, 195 Ave A (aka 441 E 12th St) (wb) 

This is for the new owner of the dog cafe Boris & Horton. We wrote about the new owner here. The CB3 questionnaire is available at this link. 

Items not heard at Committee 

• Metrograph LLC, 7 Ludlow St (op/method of operation: change to allow patrons to take alcohol into movie screening area)

Metrograph moviegoers will now be permitted to take an alcoholic drink into the theater's two auditoriums... a standard practice now at most theaters with a liquor license. (RIP Sunshine.)

The theater, between Hester and Canal on the Lower East Side, has a lobby bar-cafe and the commissary on the second floor. 

Dining Out NYC — Not heard at Committee 

Under the city's new Dining Out NYC program, enclosed, year-round roadway dining structures are no longer permitted. The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle. 

Additionally, these establishments are restricted to operating only from April through November. Sidewalk cafes are permitted year-round. (ICYMI: C&B Cafe on Seventh Street participated in a pop-up event on Friday afternoon to help advocate for year-round outdoor dining.)

Restaurants had to apply for the license with the DOT, which apparently required a local community board sign-off. 

These establishments within the confines of Community Board 3 are on the March agenda... 

• Gnoccheria by Luzzo's (Italian Essenza Corp), 234 E 4th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Victoria! (Moneygoround Inc), 235 Eldridge St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Phebe's (East Pub Inc), 359 Bowery (Roadway Cafe) 

• Dream Baby (162-4 Ave B Bar, Inc) 162 Ave B (Roadway Cafe) 

• Non LA (NonLA LLC), 128 E 4th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• 7th Street Burger (TPK Holdings LLC), 91 E 7th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Westville (Westville Restaurant, Inc), 173 Ave A (Roadway Cafe) 

• Westville (Westville Restaurant, Inc), 173 Ave A (Sidewalk Cafe) 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. The Zoom link is here. This is a hybrid meeting, and limited seating is 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.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a crescent moon watch from 2nd Avenue)... 

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues (Tuesday) 

• The return of Lucy's (Monday)

• Tompkins Square Park field house refurbished, reopening nears after final inspections (Tuesday) 

• RIP Hal Hirshorn (Wednesday) 

• A group of runners is hoping the city will add lighting to the new East River Park track (Thursday) 

• At Night Club 101 with Hello Mary (Monday) 

• Meet the new owner of Boris & Horton (Monday) 

• Ashes to ashes: A to-go twist on Ash Wednesday (Wednesday) 

• One-time studio home of Joey Ramone is for sale at the St. Mark (Monday) 

• Coming this spring to 9th Street: Irving Green (Thursday) 

• Openings: Bateman's on 6th Street (Thursday) 

• On 7th Street, the Instant Noodle Factory is closing; noodle liquidation sale commences (Monday) 

• Interesting new business opens on the Bowery and Houston (Wednesday)

• From pizza to politics: Eleven B serves up a new campaign HQ on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• Signage alert: Butter Smashburgers on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

... and EVG reader Bryan K. shared this Christmas tree discard with us from Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... Per Bryan, "Trying to camouflage the shame by dropping it among some old tree branches!"

An info session for community and faith leaders on protecting immigrant New Yorkers

Via the EVG inbox... 

Join New York Immigration Coalition and the Lower East Side Community Care Coalition to learn how your organization can be an ally in the fight to protect our neighbors. Attendees will be taught how to identify valid vs invalid warrants and the rights your organization has in an encounter with federal authorities. 

March 8 2-4 p.m. 

St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery 

131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue 

Sign up at this link.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

This year's New Colossus Festival is underway at East Village and Lower East Side music venues. It will feature more than 200 bands and various industry panels. 

At Baker Falls, 192 Allen St., between Houston and Stanton, there was an afternoon slate of conversations ranging from independent release and distribution strategies to creating music videos. 

The live music continues through Sunday. Check out the slate here.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues

Ashes to ashes: A to-go twist on Ash Wednesday

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

This morning, on this Ash Wednesday, Pastor Will Kroeze and retired Pastor Barbara Beale offered "ashes to go" from the corner of Ninth Street and Avenue B outside Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish.

Those who received the ashes arrived on foot, by bicycle and car.

At least one dog took part as well...

Pastor Will also prepared to-go bags of ashes — made from burned palms from Palm Sunday and holy oil — for a colleague to administer to a hospital-bound parishioner and during at-home visits.

And yes, someone couldn’t resist making a dime-bag joke...

Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy 

Longtime Lower East Side resident Steven Matrick arrives at Pianos (158 Ludlow St.) excited to talk about music and bands — and I am excited to let him, as he details some acts he's especially keen on seeing (and hearing) at this year's New Colossus Festival.

Since he's the co-founder of the nearly weeklong event, which is rapidly approaching (today through Sunday), we take some photos at one of the fest's 11 venues and chat about the NYC music scene, what it takes to run a festival, and his favorite moments from previous ones.

What inspired you to start The New Colossus Festival, and how has it evolved since its inception? 

I was on a series of panels with the other bookers on the Lower East Side, and we kept talking about how much we all missed CMJ. This was in 2018. Festival Co-Founder Mike Bell approached me about the New Colossus Festival as the booker of Pianos, and then his partner quit, so we teamed up. He rightly pointed out the scattershot nature of bands coming to NYC on their way to SXSW and how we should centralize it in the neighborhood we love. We chose Lio Kanine from Kanine Records to help us with booking, as he always threw amazing parties at CMJ. 

We did a test run in 2018 on both floors at Pianos the week before SXSW, and it went extremely well, so we went full throttle in 2019. The festival lineup has gotten bigger (more bands) and better (more amazing bands) with each year. We’ve been able to rely on locals less and less with each edition, and our mission is to welcome international bands to NYC, so we’re very happy about this. We also have done 22 weeks of shows (with 5 bands at each one) at 18th Ward Brewery the last three years, so we’ve at this point worked with about 300 local bands and are able to figure out which ones we want to showcase every year. 

The festival name is derived from Emma Lazarus's poem about the Statue of Liberty. How does that symbolism influence the Festival’s identity? 

NYC has been one of the epicenters of music for a very long time, and we want to welcome artists from all over the world to play their first shows in March. This was Mike's idea, and I'm a very sentimental person, so I was and always have been really into it. 

It is really beautiful, and there is a way in which musical artists wash up to NYC looking to play: 

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she 

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

How do you see The New Colossus Festival contributing to NYC's cultural and artistic landscape? 

Well, we're an indie rock festival. The indie rock music scene started in the East Village with CBGB and Max's Kansas City, moved to the Lower East Side in the early 2000s (Mercury Lounge, Luna Lounge, Pianos, Cake Shop, Don Hills, etc.), moved to Williamsburg in the early 2010s, and then eastward to Bushwick. Now, there are a ton of venues in Ridgewood and BedStuy.

The move eastward has to do with artists finding affordable places to live. It is extremely important to us that we have this Festival in the Lower East Side/East Village to bring these kids back to playing in these historic venues. 

We're also functioning as an entry point for what will be 800 bands by the end of the Festival, and most of them gain a footing so that their next show in NYC has the capacity to have a good-sized audience at it. It's a wonderful thing.

Many artists are performing in New York City — or even the U.S. — for the first time. How does the Festival support them in making that leap? 

Well, when you go to SXSW, you're technically only supposed to play one show and certainly not more than one at night during official festival hours. This year, we’ve given all international bands two to three shows and many locals two shows. It is so excellent to provide multiple showcases for them during their trip. 

In the past, at Pianos, a band from Norway would showcase at 7 p.m., and sometimes the rooms were empty because nobody knew who they were yet. This is a much better way to play your first NYC shows. 

Are there any artists or performances you’re particularly excited about this year? 

Yes! I'm a punk rock guy and am throwing two label parties. All of the bands on those parties are amazing: Test Plan, Prostitute, Public Circuit, Peer Pleasure and Bucket (two bands I saw at Ireland Music Week), Joe & the Shitboys from the Faroe Islands, who are opening three shows for Iggy Pop soon, and some really excellent weird bands from Ohio: Big Fat Head, People in the Daytime and Touchdown Jesus, that Pons, who are on our label, sent over to me.

On the nonpunk front, I can't wait to see Prism Shores, You Said Strange, Delivery, Hachiku, Cusp, World News, Dictator, Dutch Mustard, Snoozer (Alex G's band), Wax Jaw, Bleary Eyed … and I can go on and on and on! 

Looking back, what are the festival moments that stand out for you?

1. Lowly (Denmark) at Pianos in 2019 completely blew our minds. Think Stereolab. 

2. Paul Jacobs (Montreal) blew us away at Pianos in 2022. 

3. GIFT (Brooklyn) played Berlin in 2022 and were so great I wound up managing them.

4. Ducks Ltd. (Toronto) blessed us with three shows last year. Their album Harm's Way was the theme album for the Festival, so I enjoyed every moment of all three shows—as did everyone else who was there! 

5. Roost.World (Vermont) closed out the Festival last year at Baker Falls on Saturday Night, and it was a full-on amazing dance party. 

What are your long-term goals for The New Colossus Festival, and are there any new elements or expansions you’re considering for future editions? 

We'd like to continue holding it in small venues to keep it manageable for everyone and evolve the number of people who come out for the week. This year, we did six shows with Super Bock, three shows with Groover, and, again, 22 weeks of shows at 18th Ward Brewery, so the Festival has become more of a year-round thing. 

We'd like to continue expanding who we partner with for shows and throw great shows throughout the year.

Find the entire schedule and band info at this link.

Report: Judge orders temporary stay on Beth Israel's March 26 closure

Late yesterday, an appellate judge issued a new temporary stay on Mount Sinai's plans to shut down Beth Israel. 

This ruling arrived five days after a state Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the facility's closure. 

After Judge Jeffrey Pearlman tossed the lawsuit filed by a community coalition this past August, Mount Sinai announced Beth Israel's closing date of March 26. 

Mount Sinai reportedly moved quickly to empty the hospital on First Avenue and 16th Street. The coalition's pro-bono lawyer, Arthur Schwartz, claimed this week that "every one of the 80 or so admitted patients has either been discharged or transferred to other Mount Sinai facilities. The Intensive Care Unit has been closed. The Cardiac Catheterization Unit has been closed. Ambulances have been notified to not bring patients to Beth Israel because no one is being admitted," per Our Town. 

A Mount Sinai spokesperson confirmed to Gothamist that as of Thursday afternoon, "there were no in-patients at the hospital and all in-patient services had ended,” Riegelhaupt said. "As planned, our [emergency department] remains open and will remain open until closure." 

As Gothamist reported: "Justice John Higgit put the stay in place pending a determination on the case by a panel of judges." 

Mount Sinai officials have said Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade due to dwindling cash reserves and reduced bed counts. 

Beth Israel was founded in 1890 on the Lower East Side and moved to its current location on 16th Street and First Avenue in 1929.

[UPDATED]: Mount Sinai Beth Israel will close on March 26 after judge dismisses lawsuit

Updated March 1: An appellate judge issued a new temporary stay on Mount Sinai's plans to shut down Beth Israel. 

---------

Following a protracted legal tussle, the end is near now for Mount Sinai Beth Israel. 

After a state Supreme Court judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the facility's closure, Mount Sinai Beth Israel leadership announced a March 26 closing date, according to published reports. (Politico's Maya Kaufman also shared the date in an X post last evening.)

As Gothamist and Crain's reported, Judge Jeffrey Pearlman tossed the lawsuit filed in August by a community coalition challenging the closing. 

As previously reported, Mount Sinai must operate a new 24/7 urgent care center near the hospital on First Avenue at 16th Street for at least three months and reach an agreement with New York City Health + Hospitals to invest in expanding Bellevue Hospital's emergency room and psychiatric emergency department. 

In an employee memo shared with Becker's: "This date will allow us to ramp down the facility in a manner that is seamless and safe for patients and staff," said Elizabeth Sellman, president and COO of Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Arthur Schwartz, the coalition's pro-bono lawyer, said he would appeal the decision and seek a new stay on the closure within 24 hours, per Gothamist. 

Reactions included...

As someone who has championed the expansion of hospital capacity in NYC as an advocate, and now as Chair of the @NYCCouncil Health Committee, today's court decision is a slap in the face to the community that relies on Beth Israel for their healthcare needs. https://t.co/QXgqrFbQH7

— Lynn Schulman 舒曼琳 (@Lynn4NYC) February 24, 2025

Mount Sinai officials have said Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade, with dwindling cash reserves and reduced bed counts.

Beth Israel was founded 143 years ago on the Lower East Side and moved to its current location on 16th Street and First Avenue in 1929.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from St. Mark's Place on Tuesday) ...

• A longtime East Village bar and restaurant owner turns 100: 'Life is beautiful' (Thursday) 

• The new old Lucy's sign returns on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• Deadline is approaching to apply for a position on Community Board 3 (Thursday) 

• Foundation in place for the new ABC No Rio building on the Lower East Side (Wednesday) 

• Pre-leasing for office space at 1 St. Mark's Place is underway (Tuesday) 

• A bar dedicated to women's sports is opening on the Bowery (Wednesday)

• Spend an evening with Patti Smith at Cooper Union this March 5 (Tuesday) 

• Report: Residents of the Jacob Riis Houses will vote on their funding future (Friday) 

• HBD McSorley's (Sunday) 

• Signage alert: Shirokuro on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) ... HighLife Burgers on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• Where the water will be shut off on Avenue A this coming Monday (Thursday) 

If you're around the Educational Alliance at 197 East Broadway, the Art School's "Roots and Visions: A Collective Journey" exhibit is on display. It highlights "the personal stories and artistic expressions of our talented students and faculty."

We were at the opening Friday and really liked some of the work...

Deadline is approaching to apply for a position on Community Board 3

You may have seen the notices on LinkNYC kiosks — "from brat summer to CB spring."

OK! We'll play along with the Charlie xcx reference. So, the deadline to apply to join your local Community Board (CB3 for residents of the East Village, Lower East Side, and Chinatown) is approaching. 

Here's more via Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's office: 

Manhattan’s 12 community boards are composed of 50 volunteer members serving staggered two-year terms – thus, 25 members are appointed (or reappointed) each year.

Each board has a budget, a district manager and staff, and has three distinct responsibilities: 

Monitoring the delivery of city services such as sanitation and street maintenance 

Planning and reviewing land use applications including zoning changes 

Making recommendations for each year’s city budget. 

Community boards consider a wide range of issues, including distribution of liquor licenses, consideration of sidewalk café applications, and permits for street fairs and other outdoor events. They may also weigh in issues before the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Board of Standards and Appeals (the city agency dedicated to land-use and zoning regulation), and provide input on proposals from city agencies. 

You can apply here. 

The deadline is 5 p.m. on Feb. 28. 

If you are interested, read this CB explainer by The City.

And now... with apologies to everyone.

"Downtown Rules" (Community Board Edition)

(Verse 1)
Late night zoning fight, maps all over the floor
Traffic jams, budget plans, public comment's a war
High-rises creeping up, but we push back
PowerPoint's loading slow—nah, we don’t slack

(Pre-Chorus)
Mic's on, deep breath, time to make my case
Five-hour meeting but we run this place
Rezoning? Nah, gotta set 'em straight
No sleep, no breaks—it's a CB fate

Thank you. Good night.

Foundation in place for the new ABC No Rio building on the Lower East Side

Construction is moving along at 156 Rivington St., where workers last week finished the foundation for the new ABC No Rio building here between Stanton and Suffolk on the Lower East Side...

A ceremonial groundbreaking took place last summer. 

The environmentally friendly new structure, designed by architect Paul Castrucci, will include a computer lab, print shop, and a zine library, among other amenities. (Find more details here.) The city is contributing $21 million to the project through the Department of Cultural Affairs. 

ABC Rio's previous four-story building on this lot, which was said to be in disrepair, was demolished in the spring of 2017, putting ABC No Rio's programming into "exile" at other arts organizations around the city.

The first hardcore/punk matinee in several years occurs on March 23 in Ridgewood. 

According to a recent ABC No Rio Instagram post, the new building's estimated completion date is early summer of 2026.

ABC No Rio's longtime director, Steve Englander, passed away in December.