On Avenue A, a golf-related shop fore people who might like golf

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

It's a Cinderella story, out of nowhere: Whim Golf is shaping up to open at 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.  

Here's more about the company:

For people who might like golf. Founded in 2019, Whim Golf is an American fashion brand on a mission to democratize golf. Built to bridge the gap between art and sport, Whim designs timeless products, artful content, and immersive experiences that together build a community that shifts the narrative about who belongs in golf.

Or, as a 2022 feature in Golf Digest put it, "Taking the coolness from streetwear, the whimsy from fashion and the silhouettes from golf, [Whim Golf] is looking to refresh the sport's image."

And: "So the mission is twofold: make golf style everyday style, and increase golf’s visibility along the way."

If this sounds somewhat familiar, Whim Golf opened a pop-up location on the Lower East Side in the summer of 2019.

The Avenue A outpost will feature golf apparel and related accessories... as well as a putting green, which was under construction the other day when EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by...

... and talked with co-founder Will Gisel, who started the company with childhood friend Colin Heaberg. (They also own a creative agency called Whim.)

Whim Golf is expected to open soon.

The retail space has been vacant since Lancelotti Housewares left in the fall of 2021 after 25 years in business. A collectible sneaker shop had been in the works here, but the business never materialized. 

ICYMI: Starting tonight, you can stay out until midnight at a bar or restaurant

Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced that closing times for restaurants and bars will be extended from 11 p.m. to midnight statewide beginning today. 

Per Eater: 

It's a minor win for restaurant and bar owners who have been calling on elected officials to lift the state's pandemic curfew for months and seen only incremental change. 

"It's great news," says one south Brooklyn bar owner, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. "No curfew would obviously be better, but we do have to watch out for 'Cinderella Covid' which only comes out at midnight."

As Thrillist pointed out: "Subways are still out of service from 2 to 4 a.m., too, which could pose a challenge for hospitality workers trying to get home once the new curfew goes into effect."

And the reaction from Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance:

The extra hour is good news for restaurants, bars and customers, but we need to also lift the rule that prohibits customers from being seated to eat at a bar in NYC, and revisit removing the requirement that a “food item” be served with a drink. @theNYCalliance https://t.co/z80fuV8QRA

— Andrew Rigie (@AndrewRigie) April 14, 2021

In February, Cuomo moved the closing time from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Also,  the governor said that spectators will be allowed at horse and auto races at 20 percent capacity, beginning on Thursday... which is also the opening day for the spring season at Belmont. 

Image by WindAwake

The Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest from MoRUS starts tomorrow night

We looked at the initial offerings of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space's (MoRUS) Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest last month. Here's a closer look at some of the lineup for the nine-day festival that begins tomorrow night. Find the complete schedule here. (There are screenings every night.) From the EVG inbox ...

Stories by and about women of the Lower East Side will appear on movie screens throughout the East Village in locations ranging from community gardens, The Anthology Film Archives and the recently opened Loisaida, Inc.

Friday, Aug. 1, 8 p.m.

WHAT ABOUT ME, dir. Rachel Amodeo @ Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue off Second Street. (87 minutes)

Here's a scene filmed in Tompkins Square Park featuring Dee Dee Ramone ...



The Voice this week called the 1993 film "an essential, seedily romantic snapshot of Tompkins Square Park's pre-gentrified, tent-city wilderness."

Saturday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m.

YOUR DAY IS MY NIGHT, dir. Lynne Sachs @ Orchard Alley, 350 East 4th Street between Aves C and D. (filmmaker in attendance, 64 minutes)



Sunday, Aug. 3, 8 p.m.

SWEATSHOP CINDERELLA, dir. Suzanne Wasserman @ Orchard Alley, 350 East 4th Street between Aves. C and D. (filmmaker in attendance, 27 minutes)

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 8 p.m.

HUNGRY HEARTS, dir. E. Mason Hopper, La Plaza Cultural, Southwest Corner of 9th Street and Avenue C. (80 minutes)



Thursday, Aug. 7, 8 p.m.

LES Biography Project, by Steve Zehentner and Penny Arcade (feat. Sarah Schulman and Carmen Pabon) La Plaza Cultural, Southwest Corner of 9th Street and Avenue C. (56 minutes)

Friday, Aug. 8, 8 p.m.

VIA GEANME, dir. Sebastian Gutierrez and UMBRELLA HOUSE, dir. Catalina Santamaria @ El Jardin Paraiso, 5th Street between Avenues C and D. (26 minutes)

Saturday Aug. 9, 8 p.m.

BORN IN FLAMES, dir. Lizzie Borden, El Jardin Paraiso, 5th Street between Avenues C and D. (filmmaker in attendance, 80 minutes)

Admission to each individual screening is a suggested donation of $5, with the exception of the opening night screening of "What About Me," which is $10; $8 for students, seniors, & children (12 & under); $6 AFA member.

Find more info here at the MoRUS website.

1st look at the Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest from MoRUS this summer

From the EVG inbox...

Female rebellion, the humanity of the homeless and struggles of immigrant workers are among the themes of the initial offerings of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space's (MoRUS) Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest kicking-off Aug. 1, with a screening every evening at various indoor and outdoor venues through Aug. 9.

Opening night (Aug. 1) will feature "What About Me," which Billboard described "as much a bohemian time capsule as it is film art." Using Tompkins Square Park and its environs as a backdrop, with a procession of downtown legends including Dee Dee Ramone, Rockets Red Glare and Johnny Thunders in cameos, director/actor Rachel Amodeo traces the steps of a woman’s decline after she loses her apartment.



"What About Me" will screen at Anthology Film Archives at 8 PM.

"Your Day Is My Knight," a documentary sharing stories of immigrant residents of a “shift-bed” apartment in New York’s Chinatown, will screen on Aug. 2 at Orchard Alley Community Garden, 350-54 E. 4th St. The film’s director, Lynne Sachs, as well as other participants in the film, will be in attendance to introduce the screening with an informal Q&A afterwards.

Suzanne Wasserman's "Sweatshop Cinderella: A Portrait of Anzia Yezierska" will screen on Aug. 3, also at Orchard Alley Community Garden. This short film mixes archival stills and footage, silent film excerpts, letters, newspaper clippings, and interviews to provide a sense of the Jewish Lower East Side in the 1920s through the 1950s and the life of the critically acclaimed Jewish-American novelist. Director Suzanne Wasserman will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film.

Closing night on Aug. 9 brings feminist tour de force "Born in Flames," a comic fantasy set in America 10 years after a Second American Revolution. Filmmaker Lizzie Borden will be in attendance.

A limited supply of all-inclusive passes for $20 are now on sale at Eventbrite or by visiting MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets during hours of operation. Admission to each individual screening will otherwise require a suggested donation of $5.

Further details regarding the MoRUS Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest, including film lineups, venues and collateral events will be updated as available here.

There's also an amateur film competition this year.

Details!

MoRUS is calling for amateur filmmakers to compete for a spot in the festival. Submissions must tie into the “Women of the Lower East Side” theme and can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes duration.

The competition is open to filmmakers of any gender, any age and at any experience level who submit either a link to their film or a DVD copy of the film along with a brief artist’s statement and $10 entry fee to morusfilmfest@morusnyc.org or mail to MoRUS Film Fest, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, 155 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, July 18 at 5 PM ET. A jury comprised of local business owners, artists, activists and MoRUS volunteers will determine which films will be publicly screened on Friday, Aug. 8 at a venue to be determined. First, Second, and Third-Place Winners will be selected by the audience and awarded monetary/in-kind prizes. In addition, one film will receive the MoRUS Choice Award.

Cheep's Pita Creations has apparently closed on Second Avenue

A tipster told us late last week that the windows at Cheep's Pita Creations were covered in newspaper. Closed for renovations? Apparently not. Workers have stripped the place bare, taking with it that Cheep-looking sign. (Sorry for that one.)


Cheep's opened here on Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place in March 2010, taking over the space held by Snacklicious Cinderella.

Cheep's is cheap, but what else?

As we noted Friday afternoon (thanks to a photo from a reader), signs went up Cheep's, which took over the former Snacklicious Cinderella at Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place... By Friday evening, the place was open for business... With an open-air entryway, it seems pretty inviting...




But how is the food? EV Grieve reader Alessandra provided these thoughts Friday night:

Ate there this evening they had only been open for about 5 hrs and they were still trying to get it together. Other than that the prices were great but the Shawarma was at best average. I would probably wait another couple of weeks to venture back and give them a second try and maybe the vertical roaster will be better seasoned and all will be better!

Cheep's eats for Second Avenue

Thanks to the EV Grieve tipster for passing along this signage shot of Cheep's, which is going in at the former Snacklicious Cinderella, Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Fairytale new beginning for Snacklicious Cinderella?

Fairytale new beginning for Snacklicious Cinderella?

Back in January, we noted that the falafel standby on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place was being dismantled by a work crew...



Well now. The place seems to be coming back to life, as of yesterday evening. Lots of new falafelly looking equipment has been brought in... a worker said that they'd be "reopening soon."

Snacklicious Cinderella story officially over

Being dismantled right now... At Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place...another low-budget food option gone...remember when falafels were marked down to a $1?

Flier of the day

At 9th Street and Avenue C.

To be honest, this sign makes me sad. Someone wanted to start a business and they went to the trouble of making all these fliers (there are many taped up along Avenue C). And then they went and spelled the name of the company incorrectly. Unless they do mean Cinderlla's and not Cinderella's. (And I'd argue that Cinderella's isn't the best name for a cleaning business...) But I'm probably thinking way too much about all this.