Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Cooper Square Friday evening by Carol from East 5th Street) ... 

• Help for Chino Garcia (Friday) 

• The Trader Joe's Wine Shop on Union Square has permanently shuttered (Thursday) ... Here's the midnight email that employees of the Trader Joe's Wine Shop received about the closing on Union Square (Friday) 

• A visit to Aliens of Brooklyn on 9th Street (Thursday)

• On 5th Street, some residents say they want green space and not senior housing (Monday, 84 comments) 

• Cafe Mocha, destroyed by fire in 2020, is reopening in a new East Village location (Monday) 

• East Village cafe AO Bowl closes, owner blames Sen. Schumer (Monday) 

• A memorial for Jack the cat on 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• A look at the remaining red-tailed hawk fledgling in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday) 

• TabeTomo owners have new venture planned for St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• El Primo Red Tacos primed for 151 Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Here's info about a Virtual Rat Academy for East Village business owners, gardeners and residents (Tuesday)

• Signage alerts: Hi-Note on Avenue B; Le Burger on 5th Street (Wednesday) 

• iSouvlaki has closed on 12th Street (Thursday) 

• Today in iconic hotel awning sightings (Monday)

• Manhattan Marketplace coming soon to 1st Avenue and 12th Street (Monday) 

• [solidcore] bringing the pilates to 14th Street (Monday) 

• 5 years later, signs of progress at 180 2nd Ave. (Wednesday) 

• Seeing (Empanada Mama) red on 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Thursday) 

 ... and earlier this summer, a Janovic Paint & Decorating Center opened at the former Duane Reade on Third Avenue and 18th Street... we missed that the company closed the outpost on Fourth Avenue near 10th Street... 

---

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

A look at the remaining red-tailed hawk fledgling in Tompkins Square Park

Photos yesterday by Steven 

Amelia and Christo, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, welcomed three chicks to the nest this spring. 

Unfortunately, as you may have heard, two of them died last month. 

As Goggla first reported, a fledgling died on July 4 from what appeared to be frounce, "a naturally occurring illness that afflicts raptors."

On July 27, the second fledgling was found with its eyes closed and looking weak on a fire escape across from the Park on Seventh Street. Sgt Dan of the Urban Park Rangers was able to scoop up the unwell hawk, who died later that night at the Wild Bird Fund.

While a cause of death has not been determined, from what Goggla observed (and based on what happened in previous summers), she strongly speculates that it was rodenticide poisoning. 

Meanwhile, the third fledgling appears to be healthy, remaining active in the Park (despite this heat) ... and providing a thrill for onlookers... 

You can visit Goggla's site for more photos of Amelia, Christo and the fledgling.

Cafe Mocha, destroyed by fire in 2020, is reopening in a new East Village location

Cafe Mocha was wiped out by a three-alarm fire in February 2020 at 48 E. Seventh St./116 Second Ave. Any hopes for a reopening were dashed when another fire destroyed the corner building in December 2020.

However, the all-day cafe will be returning after all... with a new space at 111 First Ave. just south of Seventh Street.

Owner Ghasan Ballan received administrative approval from CB3 for a new beer-wine license for the address. (The previous Cafe Mocha also served beer and wine.) Paperwork filed with CB3 shows that the restaurant will be open daily from 7 a.m. to midnight, with nine tables for 30 diners.

No. 111 became available when Suki Japanese Kitchen relocated to St. Mark's Place earlier this summer.

Cafe Mocha first opened in the East Village in 2008. No word on when the new space will debut.  

Filling the shelves as Essex Card Shop moves closer toward a reopening on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy

Workers are busy restocking the shelves at the fully renovated Essex Card Shop, which was gutted by a fire in early January at 47 Avenue A.

Owner Muhammad Aslam (below) provided EVG contributor Stacie Joy with an interior update the other day. He said he will be open before Sept.1, and he is looking toward mid-to-end of August. 

As of late last week, he was waiting on several items, including a new ATM, FedEx system and store signage...

You can check out our previous posts on Essex Card Shop, located in the retail space of the Ageloff Towers between Third Street and Fourth Street, for more background on what has transpired to date.  

Supporters of Essex Card Shop have helped it raise more than $91,000 in a GoFundMe campaign. 

Report: Alleged subway shooter who was arrested in the East Village set to stand trial in February

Photo by an EVG reader from April 13 

A federal judge today set a trial date for Feb. 27, 2023, for Frank James, who allegedly opened fire on a Manhattan-bound N train in Brooklyn in April. 

Per ABC 7: 

Numerous ideas, photos, records and reports have already been collected by the government and turned over to the defense. James has pleaded not guilty to federal terrorism charges. 

It wasn't immediately clear what his defense will look like. 

James is facing life in prison if convicted of the two charges he faces.

As previously reported, James reportedly shot 10 people on a subway train in Sunset Park on April 12. In total, 29 people were wounded in the aftermath on the train and platform. 

Police arrested James on April 13 on the NE corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place... aided by the actions of several tipsters. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• City honors Saifee Hardware manager Francisco Puebla for role in nabbing alleged subway shooter 

• Report: 5 people are splitting the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for Frank James tip

• Report: Alleged subway shooter held without bail after first court appearance 

• Videos: Witnesses describe spotting alleged subway shooter Frank James before his arrest in the East Village

Openings! Desi Stop on 2nd Avenue

Some good opening news... Desi Stop has debuted at 75 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (Thanks to EVG reader Garth for the photo and tip!)

The deli, serving homemade Indian food, tea, coffee and snacks, is open daily for now from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
 

For months it looked as if the quick-serve shop would never make it to an opening date.

Here's a recap from an EVG post from April...

Last August, Gurjaipal Singh and his partners took possession of the storefront at 75 Second Ave. 

They aimed to open Desi Stop in the fall. 

As of mid-April, Desi Stop remains in limbo, and Singh says he's gone bankrupt waiting for the city to OK the address to open and start serving food. 

"Unfortunately, after six months and spending thousands of dollars and meeting with all requirements of city departments, we are still waiting for clearance to open up," he said in a text message. "Slow working of city departments is killing small businesses like us even before they can open." 

The problems started in November 2021 when the Department of Buildings conducted the gas inspection. According to Singh, DOB officials said that they could not find any records in their database for the space after 1999. The DOB could not then approve the inspection. (It's not clear how the previous restaurants at the address, Nostro Ristorante and ZaabVer Thai, among others, were able to open.) 

So Singh said that they started from scratch with the DOB, which included getting clearance from the Landmarks Preservation Commission (the building is within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District), submitting new drawings and applying for new permits. 

Singh also hired a fire suppression company. There was an initial delay by the company and then with the FDNY, Singh said. The certificate of approval remains in the review process. 

Anyway, all that is behind Singh and his partners, and they look forward to serving the neighborhood "after a lot of struggle." 

La Mia Pizza remains closed for now

La Mia Pizza remains closed at 124 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street... a board still covers the front window... (thanks to Steven for the photos)

On July 3, firefighters responded to a report of a gas leak at the building and called for ConEd to inspect the property. 

Initial reports indicated that a small explosion occurred in the pizzeria's kitchen, causing a minor injury to a ConEd worker (who declined a trip to the hospital). There were also accounts from passersby that the blast knocked out La Mia's front window. 

However, according to NBC 4, the explosion took place in a boiler room; that first responders broke the front window trying to access the restaurant. 

A look through La Mia's front door shows that there isn't any damage to the interior...

An employee told 1010 WINS that it was "just a little bit of fire." The cause of the leak has not been publicly identified.

There isn't any signage about a temporary closure, and there isn't an outgoing voice-mail message at the shop. Delivery apps list Friday as a reopening date, though that's far from official.

La Mia opened here in September 2020.

Getting down to 'Brass Tactics' once again

Another major production is slated to film on Avenue A and some side streets early next week. 

Film notices are up now for "Brass Tactics," codename for the new Apple+ series "City on Fire." (The series is based on the book of the same name by Garth Risk Hallberg.)

"Brass Tactics" has filmed around here several times, dating back to the spring. The cast includes John Cameron Mitchell and Jemima Kirke. "City on Fire" is written and executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, whose current credits include the "Gossip Girl" reboot.

Recent TV productions along Avenue A include the aforementioned GG ... "American Horror Story" ... and "Up Here."

[Updating] Report of a gas explosion at La Mia Pizza on 4th Avenue

One person reportedly sustained a minor injury following a gas explosion this afternoon at La Mia Pizza, 124 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The FDNY responded to the call at 3:22...

Manhattan All Hands Box 0464, 124 4 AVE, EMERGENCY

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) July 3, 2022

... and issued the "under control" 22 minutes later.

Manhattan All Hands Box 0464, 124 4 AVE, COMMERCIAL, , Under Control

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) July 3, 2022

The front windows of the restaurant, which opened here in September 2020, were blown out during the explosion. It wasn't immediately known who was injured — an employee, patron or passerby. 

Will update when more information becomes available.

Updated 6:05 p.m. 

Here's part of ABC 7's report: 

First responders detected gas and called ConEd who dispatched a crew to help search for the source inside the 20-floor building. As they were searching an explosion happened in the kitchen of the restaurant while FDNY and ConEd employees were inside. 

The explosion didn't cause a fire and was contained to the kitchen, according to the FDNY. 

One ConEd employee sustained minor injuries but refused transportation to the hospital. 

Thank you to the EVG reader for the top photo.

EVG Etc.: Ridership surge swamps Citi Bike; Velazquez endorses Rivera

Photo on 1st Avenue by Derek Berg

• The latest on the Open Restaurants Program, with comments from East Village restaurant owners (The City) 

• Labor shortage keeps Veselka from being open 24/7 (Insider) 

• At Zaragoza Deli & Grocery on Avenue A: "An East Village home for Mexican family recipes" (CBS New York) 

• Police look for hit-and-run scooter rider who struck 2 year old on Suffolk and East Houston (1010 WINS) 

• Ada Calhoun reflects on her East Village childhood (The Post ... previously on EVG) 

• Ridership surge swamps Citi Bike (Streetsblog) 

• Early voting underway (Gothamist) 

• Rep. Nydia Velazquez endorses Carlina Rivera in crowded NY-10 primary battle (Daily News via AOL) 

• Hanging with the red-tailed hawk fledglings in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography) 

• Lawsuit: Russian oligarch throws NYC developments into disarray, including 238-240 E. Third St. (The Post) 

• A profile of Mia Yoo, artistic director of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club (The New York Times) 

• Suspect in LES subway attack arrested in Baltimore on rape charge (The Post)

• Man starts fire inside Eldridge Street spa, injuring two people (CBS New York) 

• More about Loisida, the new LES-based clothing brand via Carson Lovett and cumgirl8's Veronika Vilim (Paper ... previously on EVG) 

• A Chinatown dining guide (Eater) 

• The Egg Rolls, Egg Creams & Empanadas Festival is coming back for its 21st edition (Thrillist)

Checking in on the Bowery Mural Wall 'on pause'

Here's a look at the Bowery Mural Wall at Houston this evening.

As previously noted, people have been tagging the motorcycle mural by David Flores, the last commissioned art for the space. At one point it was completely covered.

This prompted Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall, to issue a statement on Instagram in late May:

The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...

Also on the wall now: A wheatpaste of Goldman Srebnick holding a fire extinguisher, courtesy of @DeGruppo...

Essex Card Shop getting closer to reopening on Avenue A

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The build-out continues inside Essex Card Shop, the business gutted by a fire in early January at 47 Avenue A.

Owner Muhammad Aslam (above) provided EVG contributor Stacie Joy with an interior update the other day. As you can see, the new floor, walls and ceiling are all in place... with workers starting on the shelving phase ... 

Aslam is hopeful that the longtime family-owned business can be up and running again in three to four weeks.

You can check out our previous posts on Essex Card Shop, located in the retail space of the Ageloff Towers between Third Street and Fourth Street, for more background on what has transpired to date.  

Supporters of Essex Card Shop have helped it raise more than $91,000 in a GoFundMe campaign. 

Questions, and concerns, remain over private security detail outside the former P.S. 64

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

A security detail remains outside the former P.S. 64 (and later Charas/El Bohio Community Center) on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

As we first reported over the Memorial Day weekend, employees of the Massachusetts-based Madison Security Group started to watch the property... and near where several unhoused residents have been living under the sidewalk bridge in recent months (and the site of several controversial sweeps via city agencies).

There was speculation that the security was there to watch the tents under the sidewalk bridge, perhaps hired by nearby residents concerned by their presence. One local resident told us: "A Madison Security car was stationed alongside the encampment all last night with its lights flashing at them."

However, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spoke with one of the security guards, who said he was explicitly there on eight-hour shifts to monitor the building and serve as an impediment for people attempting to sneak inside the long-abandoned school-community center. (There have been reports of kids partying and other activities inside the property.)

The security guard said that he did not care about the tents or the Christodora House — the former P.S. 64 was his only interest. He also stated that he didn't know who had hired them.

Ownership of the property is in transition. In January, Supreme Court Justice Melissa Crane ruled that Madison Realty Capital could move forward with a foreclosure against building landlord Gregg Singer after years of delay. 

Madison Realty Capital reportedly provided Singer with a $44 million loan on the property in 2016. Court records show that he failed to repay the balance by its maturity date in April 2016, and by that September, the lender filed to foreclose, as reported by The Real Deal.

Singer, who bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.15 million, has wanted to turn the building into a dorm, though those plans never materialized. There has been a call to return the building for community use in years past. 

As for the security, we witnessed the Madison car leave Ninth Street and drive around to the 10th Street side of the building, though the detail didn't remain there. An unmarked NYPD vehicle also stopped by on Ninth Street, yelling at the security guard seated in the car about being too close to a fire hydrant.

The security has also impacted the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish across Ninth Street. Since 1986, Trinity's Services And Food for the Homeless (SAFH) has provided lunch for 200-300 people each weekday. However, church officials say the security detail on the block has kept some people in need from coming through.

"While I'm happy to see that security has returned to keep the building safe, the constant presence of vehicles with flashing lights and guards in bulletproof vests has definitely been a deterrent to some of our soup kitchen's guests coming to receive food and assistance," Trinity's Rev. William Kroeze (aka Pastor Will) told us. "Many of our guests are undocumented and have complicated relationships with law enforcement, and they can't readily discern the difference between law enforcement and private security. It's important that Trinity always be a place of sanctuary and refuge for those most on the margins of society, and I'm concerned that for some of our guests, we are not such a place at the current time."

Meanwhile, two tents remain under the sidewalk bridge. There were six-seven tents at the peak this spring, with residents numbering up to 10.

This week in film-TV shoots

There's a busy week ahead for filming around the East Village ... tomorrow sees "Big Indie Smith" shooting along Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park (and 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B).

"Big Indie Smith" is code for a TV series remake of the 2005 Brad-and-Angelina vehicle "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Donald Glover and Maya Erskine (taking over for Phoebe Waller-Bridge) are the leads in this series for Amazon Prime. 

Also!

Notices are up along Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery for "Brass Tactics" ... code for the upcoming Apple+ series "City on Fire" based on the 2015 book by Garth Risk Hallberg. (We wrote about this production here.) Both BT pics by Derek Berg. 

Crews were prepping Rivington Guitar (Pawn Shop!) today for tomorrow's shoot ...

LAST BUT NOT LEAST. 

The "Gossip Girl" reboot for HBO Max will be filming along Avenue A and some side streets (like Fourth) on Thursday and Friday... pic by Stacie Joy...

Live team coverage TK.

Updated 6/7 

A reader shared this from First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... where there's a TV commercial filming over the next few days...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a construction notice on 2nd Avenue) ...

• Reader report: Private security firm now keeping tabs on unhoused encampment on 9th Street (Sunday) 

• Luzzo's debuts on Avenue B, closes on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• You can find items from Dress Shoppe II this summer at A Repeat Performance on 3rd Street (Wednesday) 

• 44 Stuyvesant St. is on the sale market for the first time — ever (Tuesday) 

• A visit to P&T Knitwear on Orchard Street (Friday)

• Pride outside the 2nd Avenue F stop (Wednesday) 

• The Marshal seizes Bar None on 3rd Avenue (Friday) 

• The Tacos Cholula cart makes triumphant return to 2nd Street (Thursday) 

• Renovated 104 E. 10th St. comes into view (Wednesday) 

• City Councilmember Carlina Rivera makes bid for Congress official (Friday) 

• Report of a fire at 11 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• Aliens of Brooklyn colonizing 9th Street (Thursday) 

• MayRee to bring Thai food to 1st Street (Thursday)

• Coming soon to 14th Street: Fries Factory, Urban Juicery (Tuesday) 

• The stately 122 E. 10th St. is for sale (Monday) 

• Openings: Hard to Explain on 10th Street (Thursday) ... Birria LES on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) ... Everytable on Avenue B (Tuesday)

• Retail space at 44 Avenue B hits the rental market (Wednesday)

• The Salads Days of our lives (Monday)

... and a new era...

---

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

Report of a fire at 11 St. Mark's Place

Top photo by William Klayer; others by Steven 

The FDNY responded to a report of a commercial fire around 5:30 p.m. at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

Udon, Beard Papa, Land of Buddha and the Professional Threading Studio are the retail tenants here. It wasn't immediately clear where the source of the fire/smoke may be coming from.

The FDNY gave the "under control" at 6:16... citing "duct work" ...

Manhattan All Hands Box 0446, 11 ST MARKS PL, COMMERCIAL, DUCT WORK, Under Control

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) June 1, 2022

Despite the significant FDNY presence, witnesses on the street said they didn't smell any smoke... and hopefully, any fire/smoke may not have caused much damage...

Tuesday's parting shot

The motorcycle mural by David Flores here on the Bowery and Houston has been completely covered...

Updated 5/25

Thanks to the readers pointing us to the statement by Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall. Here's part of an Instagram post from yesterday:

The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...

A bubble tea shop for this long-vacant storefront on 14th Street

Pila de Boba, offering bubble tea, macarons and ice cream, is a new tenant for 328 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The shop was scheduled to open this past Friday, per its Instagram account.

This space — now divided into two storefronts — has been vacant since Artichoke Basille's Pizza relocated across the street in June 2017. Before the move, the pizzeria suffered damage during a two-alarm fire. The FDNY said the fire was accidental — "due to heat from the pizza oven flue."

Various brokers have been trying to lease this space since early 2018. 

Thanks to Steven for the photo, and Pinch for keeping a watchful eye on the space.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included ... (with a Midtown view from Friday)...

• After deadly shooting, fearful residents speak out about the drug activity on Avenue D & 3rd Street (Wednesday) 

• First look at the new residential building for 280 E. Houston St. (Tuesday) 

• New storefront and interior reveal at the fire-damaged Essex Card Shop on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• A special night for Julia Cumming and Sunflower Bean at Webster Hall (Friday) ... Hello Mary takes the stage at Webster Hall (Tuesday) 

• The Alamo is free on Astor Place (though it's not ready to spin) (Tuesday) 

• Houston Village Farm has closed, the cats have been adopted, and here's what's next (Thursday) 

• A terrible way to try to kill rats (Tuesday) 

• Stuy Town ownership nixes plans for 2 heat and power plants (Monday) 

• Your chance to make your home feel a little like Key Food on Avenue A (Friday) 

• Davey's Ice Cream will reopen on 9th Street (Monday) 

• 'Townhouse-style duplexes' now for sale at the all-new 118 E. 1st St. (Thursday) 

• Calexico team trying Asian-Latin fusion with Big Cat on 2nd Avenue; a move for Keybar (Monday) 

• Moving day for the old Papaya Dog signage on 14th Street & 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Can you Dig it? A new concept for a fast-casual chain on 4th Avenue & 13th Street (Wednesday) 

• Another smoke shop (Monday) 

Thank you to everyone who shared photos from this festive weekend, including D.R. Grimes for this DanceFest photo from yesterday...

---

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

Saturday's opening shot

The Bowery Mural Wall this morning... with a new "Hooligan" tag... and with remnants left behind from a car fire at the intersection yesterday...