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...

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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...

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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...

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

Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy 

Workers have taken down the construction plywood from outside Essex Card Shop at 47 Avenue A ... revealing a new front door and windows...

EVG contributor Stacie Joy got an interior update as well... as the renovations are shaping up here at the shop destroyed by a fire in early January...

Supporters of the business have helped it raise more than $90,000 in a GoFundMe campaign. 

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.  

Italian favorite Via Della Pace opens in new East Village home on 4th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A new era begins for Giovanni Bartocci (above and below, left) and Marco Ventura at Via Della Pace. (The two also recently opened the small grocery Via Della Scrofa at 60 E. Fourth St.)

Last night, the restaurant had a soft opening in its new home at 87 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery... after months of delays while waiting for approvals on various permits and licenses. 

As Bartocci told us at the start of the year: "We are close — very, very close to opening. Close to opening sounds funny, but we have been almost ready since the end of July, but nothing is playing on our side. We are stubborn, and we don’t give up!" 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by Via Della Pace for the opening last night...

Via Della Pace, which first opened in 2002, lost its home during the devastating fire on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street in December 2020. VDP had been closed since a previous fire on Feb. 10, 2020. 

At the time, the owners were unsure if they would ever reopen on Seventh Street. The Dec. 5 disaster took care of that, as workers had to demolish the five-floor building. 

You can follow Via Della Pace on Instagram for updates.

No. 87 had been vacant since Cucina di Pesce closed in September 2018. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The first look at the all-new Via Della Pace on 4th Street

Openings: Little Myanmar brings Burmese cuisine to 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

Little Myanmar, serving Burmese cuisine, is now open at 150 Second St. at Avenue A. 

Eater had the scoop about Little Myanmar's arrival:

The lauded underground Burmese spot Yun Cafe — famously wedged among a row of shoebox-sized businesses inside the Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway station in Jackson Heights — is expanding aboveground. 

The family behind the operation — married couple Thidar Kyaw and Tin Ko Naing handle the cooking, while their daughter Yun Naing is the business manager — is opening a rare Manhattan Burmese establishment called Little Myanmar ... with a full-blown kitchen that expands on Yun Cafe's existing repertoire with tangy noodle soups, steaming hot curries, mala skewers, and baked cassava cakes.

Eater has more on the family here, including the fact that their convenience store burned down in March 2021 in a fire that destroyed six businesses in Jackson Heights.

Little Myanmar, which includes five tables for in-person dining, is open daily from 3-9 p.m. for now. You can follow them on Instagram via this link or call them at (917) 475-1183.  

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

Photo at the 9th Precinct on 5th Street yesterday by Katie Godowski 

Frank James, accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Sunset Park on Tuesday, made his initial appearance in a federal courtroom this afternoon. A U.S. federal judge ordered the alleged gunman to remain in custody. 

Per CNN: 

In court, Assistant US Attorney Sara Winik described the attack as "premeditated and carefully planned" as prosecutors requested James remain behind bars. 

Defense attorneys told the federal judge they consented to him remaining in custody for now but may press again for bail later. The lawyers further asked for a psychiatric evaluation to determine James' medical needs. 

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, had this to say: 

"We are all still learning about what happened on that train. What we do know is this: Yesterday, Mr. James saw his photograph on the news. He called Crime Stoppers to help. He told them where he was. Initial press and police reports in cases like this one are often inaccurate. Mr. James is entitled to a fair trial, and we will ensure that he receives one." 

James was arrested on the NE corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon. According to media accounts, James called the NYPD tip line and told authorities where they could find him. 

Two workers outside Saifee Hardware & Garden are also credited with alerting police after spotting James walking by the store on the SE corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street.

Owner: City's bureaucratic red tape forces business to close before even opening

Last August, Gurjaipal Singh and his partners took possession of a storefront at 75 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

They aimed to open Desi Stop, a deli serving Indian food, tea, coffee and snacks, 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 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. 

"They open the file only once in four to six weeks. Ask for the requirements, then again another six weeks of waiting," Singh said. "We have made all the investments. But now, we have reached our limits. It's a small-business startup, and we can't pay bills from our own pockets for months. And now it looks like we have to close it even before opening this business." 

Desi Stop's most recent, and perhaps last, Facebook post reads:

Going Bankrupt.  It's very unfortunate to share that we are going out of business without opening the business. Slow and unresponsive behavior of different city departments killed this small business.

Film notices: Getting down to 'Brass Tactics'

You've likely seen film notices up on various avenues and side streets for an Apple+ series titled — per flyers — "Brassed Tactics," which looks to be a big production.

We've spotted flyers along Avenue A from Third Street to 10th Street... and on Second Avenue from Third Street to Houston for filming on Tuesday and Wednesday...

An ad in Backstage describes the production like this:

Roman Candle Casting is seeking talent for "Brass Tactics," a new drama from Apple TV+ set in the year 2002. Talent, aged 18–45, is wanted to portray trendy New York City types, including punks, music geeks, and more. Talent must be available in April for filming in NYC. Pay is $165–$180 per eight hours of work.

The series is "City on Fire." Here's more about it via a recent article at Variety:

The series is based on the book [ed note: which is set in the 1970s] of the same name by Garth Risk Hallberg. In "City on Fire," NYU student Samantha (Sui Wonders) is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. Samantha is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends' band is playing her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. 

As the crime against Samantha is investigated, she's revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.

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.