Checking in on Cafe Himalaya

As we reported last week, someone broke into Cafe Himalaya at 78 First St. and stole the restaurant's cash register. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the other day and talked with owner Karma Dolma (top photo and on the right below) ... and met her family, who all work here at the 18-year-old Tibetan/Nepalese restaurant between Avenue A and First Avenue...

She and her husband Tashi (second from the left above) showed her the cash register that was stolen — it was found discarded a few blocks away, cash missing but all parts still working. The police returned the cash register to them and even found the key to it nearby ...

She wanted the residents of the East Village to know how much support they've received and how grateful they are during the pandemic, where at one point early on business was down by 90 percent.

Cafe Himalaya is open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-10 p.m. Find their website here. Or call: 212.358.0160.

Factory Tamal reopens today on 4th Street after a short break

After being closed for nearly a month (making a few people nervous), Factory Tamal reopens this morning at at 63 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. 

EVG regular Lola Sáenz spotted owner Fernando Lopez inside the shop getting everything ready for serving his delicious tamales, egg sandwiches and panini.

They'd been busy at the lower Ludlow Street location ... as well as prepping an entry in the 14th annual Food Film Festival taking place in March. Lopez is featured in the short "Food of Love: Tamale Man," one of the festival's official selections.

The EV outpost of Factory Tamal opened in early February, and is an excellent inexpensive eats spot to consider. You can find their website and menu here. 

9 Avenue B is for rent for the first time in eons

Eons! You may have noticed the recent arrival of the for lease signs outside 9 Avenue B between Houston and Second Street.

No. 9 watchers think that this storefront hasn't been in use for retail in more than 30-plus years. It was an office/storage space for Michael Chang, the previous landlord, according to one source.

Here's how the space was looking on the inside yesterday, courtesy of Stacie Joy...

The new era coincides with the sale of the building this past summer. Centennial Properties — aka the new 9300 Realty owned by convicted felon Steve Croman — is now the landlord. (You can read about Croman's post-prison dealings here.)

The retail space at 9 Avenue B — 1,000 square feet — has a monthly ask of $7,495.

No. 11 next door, also now owned by Croman, has been home for 40-plus years to Raul's Barber Shop. More on them in another post.

At long last, a partial reveal at 619 E. 6th St.

Last week workers finally removed the scaffolding and construction netting from 619 E. Sixth St., where a 6-story residence has been in the works these past four-plus years here between Avenue B and Avenue C.

As a reminder of what's in the works via DXA Studio Architecture, the architects of record:

The facade is clad in a Danish handmade brick and includes a full width mural along a sidewall that links the building in character with its East Village neighbors where street art abounds. The five residential units, from a small studio up to a dramatic three bedroom with office and double height duplex on the top floors, incorporate a simple and timeless palette of materials throughout.

And...

We first heard about this project in January 2016. It has seemingly taken a long time to knock down the previous one-level structure on the property and get to this point. 

Residents on the block had previously expressed their annoyance by the roadway dividers and temporary walkway, which became a popular spot to use as a toilet. 

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 6-story condoplex, complete with Danish handmade brick, coming to East 6th Street

Zoku Sushi apparently gives up the ghost on St. Mark's Place

A for rent sign recently arrived outside 42 1/2 St. Mark's Place, which marks the end here of Zoku Sushi, a delivery-only service.

Just last fall Zoku was getting press for being among the trendsetters of so-called ghost kitchens, a way for restaurateurs to combat increasing rents and employee wages as well as fees charged by food-delivery apps.

Per the Post:

Charlie Yi, founder and CEO of Zoku Sushi in the East Village, has tapped a team of Nobu-trained chefs to prepare top-quality sushi — and thrown them into a 500-square-foot kitchen that’s behind an unmarked door at 42 St. Mark’s Pl.

No, you can’t sit down and eat there, and no, you can’t even pick up your order there. Instead, a team of delivery guys employed by Zoku are circulating in and out to bring sackfuls of sashimi, nagiri and miso to your door.

“Since we don’t have a restaurant or service staff, we can deliver that value to our customer and spend money on top chefs,” Yi says.

There isn't any word of a closure on the Zoku website or social media properties, which haven't been updated since march 17.

This space between First Avenue and Second Avenue was previously 10Below Ice Cream.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Tuesday's parting shot

A sign of fall on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... thanks to Goggla for the photo today!

A look back at Saturday's Avenue B flea

On Saturday afternoon, residents and vendors alike showed up for the Avenue B Flea, featuring sidewalk sales and socially distant acoustic musicians between 10th Street and 14th Street.

It went well enough that a sequel is already in the works.

"It really brought a lot of business down to our friends on Avenue B," said organizer Lisa Lush. "I was told numerous times by locals — this is exactly what the community needs and it’s been a long time since they’ve seen something like it. That old-school EV vibe was back and the energy was electric."

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos of shoppers and vendors...

Halloween at Economy Candy

Hard to believe that Halloween is less than three weeks away ... and it's traditionally a busy season for LES/NYC institution Economy Candy, which opened in 1937.

Skye and Mitchell Cohen, the third generation of husband-wife owners of Economy Candy, told me that they've "done a fraction of the business" they would normally do had they been operating as normal over these last six-plus months.

"October is typically our busiest month of the year, with Halloween being our busiest day, but with trick or treating in hot water this year our forecast isn’t ideal," Skye says.

Back in March, when the PAUSE went into effect, they launched the CandyCare Pack.

"We were overwhelmed by the 'pay it forward' nature of orders that came in," Skye says. "We started recognizing names as we were printing out shipping labels and thought something had gone wrong. While looking into it we realized we were recognizing names because people who had received CandyCare Packs were ordering and sending CandyCare Packs to their friends and family and so forth ... in lieu of regular social visits, which were made impossible by social distancing measures."

So this fall, they've introduced a variety of Halloween CandyCare Packs, which are currently available on their website for curbside pick up or to ship nationwide.

Economy Candy is at 108 Rivington St. between Essex and Ludlow. While the shop is closed for in-person shopping, they are open for curbside service. Find their website here for more details.

Images via Economy Candy

Outdoor comedy fundraisers continue for the Sixth Street Community Center

The outdoor comedy series, held in a private backyard in the East Village, continues on to help raise funds for the Sixth Street Community Center between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

The next shows for Sixth Street Comedy, produced by EV resident Ali Fischbein, are coming up this week (Wednesday and Thursday evenings). 

You can follow @sixthstreetcomedy for details on the guests and hosts. Or visit this site for ticket info. Keep in mind there is very limited capacity. And masks are required.

The series kicked off in early September, as we reported here.

Image via @sixthstreetcomedy

Beard Papa's bringing the cream puffs to St. Mark's Place

For the first time in more than 50 years, 16 St. Mark's Place won't be housing a barber shop.

Public records show that Beard Papa's — a 2000s-era chain that sells cream puffs — will be the new tenant. (H/T Upper West Sider!)

The company got its start in Japan in 1999, and now has 400 locations in 15 countries... and there are already several outposts in NYC.

St. Marks Barbershop moved away from 16 St. Mark's Place to a new spot around the corner in early October.

The long history of Sun's Laundry on 14th Street

Sun's Laundry closed at the end of August at 626 E. 14th St. ... marking the end of the decades-spanning business that Robert Lee opened with his father in this storefront between Avenue B and Avenue C in 1959.

NBC News has a lengthy feature on Lee and his shop — one of the city's last Chinese hand laundries — that's worth your time.

An excerpt: 

By clocking in 12 hours a day, six days a week, to support his family, Lee was able to put his children, Jane and Edward, through city colleges. During the golden years in the 1980s to the 1990s, Gee said, his uncle earned roughly $2,000 to $3,000 a month.

Lee claims to have maintained the lowest prices, starting at 19 cents to clean a shirt in 1959 and $1.20 in 2020, while competitors usually charged $1.80 to $2.50.

However, the shifts in consumer habits to automated drying machines in the 1970s to polyesters and wrinkle-free products in the 1980s to casual wear in the 20th century had slowly caused hand laundry businesses to falter. But Lee never considered automating his business model.   

Still, Lee and his family were able to buy a two-story house in Elmhurst, Queens, with their added savings from selling their laundry business in Boston. They had purchased Sun's Laundry for $4,300 and secured a 99-year lease, with rent starting at $100 a month in 1959, which steadily rose to $800 from 2008 onward.

An Art Attack at East River Park

On Friday evening, a group of artists came together to paint the amphitheater in East River Park ... the Art Attack (first reported here) was a way to protest the upcoming partial closure of East River Park for up to five years as workers will complete the $1.45 billion storm protection project.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos... including of organizer Ian Dave Knife...

Postscript

The Parks Department swooped in quickly ... sending a team of power washers to the scene to blast away the art on Saturday. Park regulars were surprised by the response, given how long trash and needles and other items that need attention are often neglected...

As previously reported: Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is expected to start this fall.

You can read more about various community efforts at the East River Park ACTION website. You can find the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency Project website here.

The East Village Community Fridge is out of order after someone tipped it over

A recap from the weekend... sometime Friday night, someone (or a group?) decided to knock over the new East Village Community Fridge outside S'MAC on the northwest corner of First Avenue and 12th Street. 

Three uniformed officers from the 9th Precinct put the fridge back upright. This was just the third night for the fridge out in the wild.

Unfortunately, the fall KO'd the fridge, and it is no longer working. 

Said S'MAC co-owner Caesar Ekya in the comments: "And that fridge won't work now so have to find a new one. But we'll get something up and running again this week. Thanks for the donations and will update as soon as a new one is installed."

As we reported last Thursday, this is a project between S'MAC owners Sarita and Caesar Ekya along with East Village Neighbors, a local volunteer group, and Change Food, a social marketing nonprofit. Residents were welcome to drop off unopened food for anyone in need to take.