RIP Vinie Burrows

Vinie Burrows, an acclaimed actress and activist who lived in the East Village in Village View along First Avenue, died on Dec. 25. She was 99. 

From her obituary:

Burrows began her Broadway career in the 1950s, starring alongside Ossie Davis in "The Wisteria Trees." She continued to perform on Broadway for several years, appearing in such shows as "The Green Pastures," "The Skin of Our Teeth," and "The Blacks." But Burrows became frustrated with the narrow range of roles available to Black women, and she left Broadway to pursue a solo career in one-woman shows. 

Burrows' one-woman Off-Broadway show, "Walk Together Children," was critically acclaimed and continued as an international tour after its initial run. She went on to perform other one-woman shows, including "Sister! Sister!" "Dark Fire" and “The Great White Way: The Story of Rose McClendon." 

In 2020, she was honored with an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. Burrows was also an activist who represented the Women's International Democratic Federation at the United Nations.  

As the Amsterdam News reported, Burrows "once noted that her greatest role in life was the one she performed for truth and justice." 

She has been the subject of several tributes in recent days...

Vinie Burrows, an actress who made her mark on Broadway in the 1950s but who grew frustrated by how few choice roles were available for Black women and turned her focus to one-woman shows exploring the legacies of racism and sexism, has died at 99. https://t.co/qakbhiKE74

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 5, 2024

... including this piece in The New Yorker titled The Many Lives of Vinie Burrows. 

Here's a video message from Burrows from April 2020...

   

Burrows is survived by her son and daughter, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Documenting the demolition of Middle Collegiate Church

As we noted on Friday, workers finished removing the rest of the sidewalk bridge from the SE corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue, marking the end of the demolition on the Middle Collegiate Church property.

Here's a look at the space now as church officials focus on the next phase of their return to the East Village. (They hold services from their temporary home — East End Temple, 245 E. 17th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. )

Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, Committee Board 3's Landmarks Committee will hear about a Certificate of Appropriateness for the Middle Collegiate's space at 50 E. Seventh St. (seen below next door to Van Leeuwen) with changes to windows, siding, skylight and the rooftop unit.

By December, officials hope to create a new worshiping space for up to 225 people in a two-story structure adjacent to the church and their property at No. 50.

In recent weeks, EVG correspondent Steven documented the work on the church lot. Middle Collegiate leaders considered this a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers sifted through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that would eventually rise on the property.

In these photos, you can see that workers marked the stones that will be reassembled and used for the new construction.

As previously reported, church leaders said they had to remove what remained on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by the church, the culmination of an 18-month review, there was too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property. 

The church structure was destroyed during a six-alarm fire early morning on Dec. 5, 2020. The fire reportedly started inside 48 E. Seventh St., the five-story residential building that once stood on this corner. FDNY officials blamed faulty wiring at the under-renovation No. 48 and said the fire had been deemed "non-suspicious." 

As for the future of this lot, this is from the Rebuilding Middle Church FAQs:

We aim to have completed our roughly $15MM campaign with cash, grants, and pledges by December 2025. Funds will create Middle's Center for Spirituality, Justice, and the Arts on the site of its historic 1892 former building that can support transformational ministry for centuries to come...

Previously

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from 7th Street at 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg) ...

• Longtime East Village sewing shop Gizmo will be relocating in early 2024 (Wednesday) 

• 2024 marks the 50th year in business for Ray's Candy Store (Monday) 

 • The remains of the fire-damaged Middle Church structure have been removed (Friday)

• 2 NYPD officers sustain minor injuries after line cutters cause skirmish at reticketing outpost for asylum seekers on 7th Street (Saturday) 

• 2024 development watch: 33-37 1st Ave. (Tuesday) ... 42-46 2nd Ave. (Wednesday) ... 50-64 3rd Ave. (Thursday)... 280 E. Houston St. (Friday) ... 

• Jen the bookseller closes the book on her Avenue A vending days (Thursday) 

• Le Dive owners looking to take over the Boiler Room space on 4th Street (Thursday)

• About those New Year's Eve fireworks (Monday) 

• Glizzy's has left St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• Closings: Milk Burger on Houston (Tuesday) 

• Patis Bakery bringing the bread to Broadway (Tuesday) 

• Yuca Bar closed for renovations on 7th and A (Thursday) 

... and an EVG reader shared this photo from the dog run in Tompkins Square Park yesterday... titled Dogs Frolicking In 1st Snowfall of 2024...

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

The remains of the fire-damaged Middle Church structure have been removed

Photo by Steven 

This morning, workers finished removing the rest of the sidewalk bridge from the SE corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue, marking the end of the demolition on the Middle Collegiate Church property.

Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, previously told us this was expected to be a two-to-three-month job. It turned out to be about a month and a half, as work started on Nov. 20.

Lewis also explained that it would be a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers sifted through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that will eventually rise on the property. (We will post some of the in-progress photos next week.)

As previously reported, church leaders said they had to remove what remained on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by the church, the culmination of an 18-month review, there was too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property. 

The church structure was destroyed during a six-alarm fire early morning on Dec. 5, 2020. The fire reportedly started inside 48 E. Seventh St., the five-story residential building that once stood on this corner. FDNY officials blamed faulty wiring at the under-renovation No. 48 and said the fire had been deemed "non-suspicious." 

By December 2024, officials hope to create a new worshiping space for up to 225 people in a two-story structure adjacent to the church and their property at 50 E. Seventh St.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

Development watch: 50-64 3rd Ave. (and TLK by Tigerlily Kitchen is still open)

Demoliton prep continues on the west side of Third Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street, where six buildings will come down in the months ahead. 

As we first reported, a residential complex is expected to rise along this parcel — 50-64 Third Ave. (See the rendering here.) 

Per previous reports, Kinsmen Property Group — a joint venture between State Building Group and another Toronto company, Madison Group — bought the walk-up buildings over the past three years, paying more than $60 million for the parcel. 

Only one building will remain on the block after the demolition — 48 Third Ave., the 5-story property owned by Isfahany Realty Corp. on the northwest corner at 10th Street with Healthy Greens Gourmet in the retail space. 

On Tuesday, workers were spotted removing the fire escape from the corner building at 11th Street, where Ainsworth was the last retail tenant in the space ...  (thanks to Jacob Ford for these two shots)... 

Meanwhile, plywood now covers the other vacant storefronts and entrances on the block...  

... except for TLK by Tigerlily Kitchen at No. 58... which, despite the appearance of its neighbors, remains in business...

A TLK rep told us that they are open and serving as usual. At this point, the rep said it is not clear how long they will be able to do so.

However, they are participating in the winter Restaurant Week (Jan. 16 – Feb. 4) with a special dinner prix fixe.

Hospitality veteran Michelle Morgan opened the restaurant featuring a healthy, Hong Kong-inspired menu in late 2021.

P.S.

Kotobuki closed in the fall at 56 Third Ave. ... the restaurant is still offering deliveries in the area and plans to open in a new space in the East Village. More here.  

Mr. Pizza ready to announce himself on 1st Avenue

We were just wondering whatever happened to Mr. Pizza... the coming-soon signage had disappeared from outside 186 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. (H/T Steven!)

And just like that, this morning, Mr. Pizza (or maybe Mr. $1.50 Pizza) is ready to be installed on the storefront. (The interior still has a ways to go.)

Anyway, as you guessed, this will be another discount pizza shop once it opens. 

This is the first business for the retail space since Handsome Dan's Snocone & Candy Stand closed here between 11th Street and 12th Street in September 2018. 

In early October 2018, a six-alarm fire next door at 188 First Ave. caused extensive damage to the surrounding properties ... and the residential spaces at No. 186 and No. 188 remain without tenants. 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a pic of St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery from Thursday)...

• Help for the family of Ommatt Cruz, who died Nov. 17 in a construction accident in the East Village (Monday) 

• At the grand opening of El Rinconcito on Avenue C (Monday) 

• RIP Bob Contant (Saturday) 

• Rockwood Music Hall 'getting back to basics,' closing its Stage 2 space (Friday) 

• Watch the video presentation for the 'City of Yes for Economic Opportunity' text amendment (Sunday) 

• Apartment fire temporarily shutters Scarr's Pizza on the Lower East Side (Monday)

• In 2024, Bank of America will be moving on up on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• The 'Snappy' new show at O'Flaherty's (Friday) 

• Openings: Potenza Centrale on Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Demolition underway on the fire-damaged Middle Church façade (Monday) ... Steeple watch (Tuesday) ... Brick by brick: Historic steeple removed from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church (Friday) 

• A Thanksgiving Day message to stop throwing eggs on 9th Street (Thursday) 

• Sharaku Japanese Restaurant emerges from plywood frozen in 2020 time (Tuesday) 

• EV trees in the fall (Thursday) 

• Scaffolding and sidewalk bridges coming and going along Avenue A (Friday) 

• Incoming bagel shoppe on a roll with renovations (Monday) 

• Signage alert: Hen House on 1st Avenue (Friday)

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

Brick by brick: Historic steeple removed from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church

A photo from yesterday morning shows that workers have whittled down the steeple at the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church façade on Second Avenue at Seventh Street. (Thank you to everyone who shared photos — there seems to be a lot of interest in this.)

Demolition got underway on Monday... with attention focused on the steeple starting on Tuesday. 

The steeple housed the church's historic Liberty Bell, which was preserved and is temporarily at the New York Historical Society.

Work is expected to last up to three months here... with a new sanctuary rising again someday for Middle Collegiate.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Happy holidays from our fire hydrant to yours...

[Updated] Steeple watch

Multiple readers shared this dramatic view this morning from atop the steeple at Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue at Seventh Street...

... the top three were from an anonymous reader... the next two are via Cecil Scheib...

... and by Jason Trucco...

Yesterday marked the first day of demolition at the fire-damage façade. 

As Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, previously told us, this is a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers will be sifting through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that will eventually rise on the property. 

The façade’s arch will reportedly remain untouched. 

The six-alarm fire that started in the empty apartment building next door early on Dec. 5, 2020, destroyed many of the church's historic elements, such as the Tiffany-stained glass windows. (The church's Liberty Bell was preserved and is temporarily at the New York Historical Society.)

Demolition work is expected to last two-to-three months.

Updated: 

And a look by the end of the day... via Jacob Ford...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

Openings: Potenza Centrale on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Luigi Iasilli debuted Potenza Centrale, his pizza-focaccia takeout spot, last Tuesday at 38 Avenue B near Third Street (arrival first reported here). 

This is despite the fact Con Ed had to shut off gas to the building earlier this fall. Luigi says it will probably be months (lousy news for neighbor Asian Taste) before it's restored.

He explains that he's waiting on Con Ed and the fire department to sign off on the work so gas can be restored. In the interim, he's using electricity to cook.

Menu items include the unusual purple potato focaccia...

Coming soon: an eggplant parm dish and fresh pasta to make at home. 

Also, I have it on good authority that if you ask Luigi, he will sell you some of his famed, highly hydrated, and fermented dough so you can try your hand at pizza at home. 

Fresh mozzarella made in-house and housemade sauce are also available. 

Luigi was the owner of the well-liked Max restaurant, which closed 10 years ago at 51 Avenue B,

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close Friday and Saturday.

You can follow them on Instagram here.

Demolition underway on the fire-damaged Middle Church façade

The top 3 photos by Jacob Ford; the rest via Derek Berg 

Workers today began to remove the remains of Middle Collegiate Church's fire-damaged façade at 112 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street... the first day of what is expected to be a two-to-three-month job...

This afternoon, around 3:30, church leaders and members of the Middle community gathered to mourn the sanctuary that they called home.

"This is a really important day," said the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis (above and below in the red hat), the church's senior minister. "The beginning of something new but the end of something old."

As previously reported, church leaders said they must remove what remains on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by the church, the culmination of an 18-month review, there was too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property. 

The church structure was destroyed during a six-alarm fire early morning on Dec. 5, 2020. The fire reportedly started inside 48 E. Seventh St., the five-story residential building that once stood on this corner. FDNY officials blamed faulty wiring at the under-renovation No. 48 and said the fire had been deemed "non-suspicious." 

By December 2024, officials hope to create a new worshiping space for up to 225 people in a two-story structure adjacent to the church and their property at 50 E. Seventh St.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished

Apartment fire temporarily shutters Scarr's Pizza on the Lower East Side

A fire on Friday in an apartment directly above Scarr's Pizza has temporarily closed the popular pizzeria on Orchard Street.

Paper-plate signage on the front door breaks the news to patrons...

There weren't any reports of injuries (or the cause, for that matter) ... only one window in the building just below Hester is currently boarded up. There also weren't any posted vacant notices on the front door to the residences. So hopefully the damage isn't too extensive. 

You can keep tabs on the Scarr's Instagram account for updates. 

This past summer, Scarr Pimentel moved to this larger space from across Orchard. 

Scarr's is usually in the conversation for NYC's best pizza accolades (here and here)... in April, Pete Wells at the Times included Scarr's in his list of NYC's 100 best places to eat.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a sunrise-on-Seventh-Street shot from Thursday)... 

• 19-year-old worker killed by father in a construction accident on First Avenue (Friday) 

• Demoliton of the fire-damaged Middle Church façade starts on Monday (Thursday) 

• The unhoused residents living on 9th Street and First Avenue (Friday) 

• Community members speak out against a tactical gear pop-up shop on 9th Street (Monday) 

• Q&A with Colin Simpson, aka reggae artist Ras Redemption (Thursday) 

• CB3 committee to hear presentation on the proposed 'City of Yes for Economic Opportunity' text amendment (Tuesday) 

• Revisiting 305 E. 11th St. and 310 E. 12th St. (Thursday) 

• Five Guys coming to 12th and 2nd (Tuesday) 

• East Village resident pleads guilty to running a 'sophisticated ghost gun factory' (Friday) 

• This East Village lot is now home to this 60-foot-long photograph of a car cemetery in Ukraine (Tuesday) 

• ICYMI: Flaco is backo on the Upper East Side (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Red Onion on 10th Street (Wednesday) 

• Signage alert: Crêpe Master on 7th Street (Monday)

• Cookie Walk is now side-of-church-signage official (Tuesday) 

• Bench mark: A throwback to 1939 arrives on the Tompkins Square Park multipurpose courts (Monday)

• Ugh, SantaCon is on the way (Tuesday) 

• Everything's gone Green (Wednesday) 

... and for anyone keeping track, it appears the Whole Foods Market® Bowery was first to the market with (live) Christmas trees this year...

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

Demoliton of the fire-damaged Middle Church façade starts on Monday

Photo Tuesday by Steven 

On Monday, workers will begin to remove the remains of Middle Collegiate Church's fire-damaged façade at 112 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Earlier this month, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, told us this is expected to be a two-to-three-month job. Lewis also explained that it's a combination demolition-salvage operation. Workers will sift through the remains of the building, initially completed in 1892, to save any of the limestone and ironwork for use in the new sanctuary that will eventually rise on the property.

As previously reported, church leaders said they must remove what remains on the property within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to a report commissioned by the church, the culmination of an 18-month review, there was too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property. 

On 3:30 Monday afternoon, church leaders and members of the Middle community "will gather to mourn the sanctuary it called home."

From an announcement about the start of the demoliton:

While this is a moment of communal grief, it will also clear the way for Middle to build a new sanctuary as the community continues to rise. The gathering will embody an ethos that has always defined New York: Resiliency that rebuilds from tragedy by reshaping the neighborhood in ways that honor the past but chart a bold new future. 

The church structure was destroyed during a six-alarm fire early morning on Dec. 5, 2020. The fire reportedly started inside 48 E. Seventh St., the five-story residential building that once stood on this corner. FDNY officials blamed faulty wiring at the under-renovation No. 48 and said the fire had been deemed "non-suspicious." 

By December 2024, officials hope to create a new worshiping space for up to 225 people in a two-story structure adjacent to the church and their property at 50 E. Seventh St.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Workers prepping to remove the remains of the fire-damaged façade at Middle Collegiate Church

• The remaining structure of the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church will be demolished