On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: Tiger Lily, Lamia's Fish Market, Little Rebel

The first of two April CB3 SLA committee meetings happens tonight via Zoom.

Here's a look at three new liquor license applications in the East Village:

• The Tiger Lily Kitchen (Elvis' Cafe LLC), 58 Third Ave. 

Hospitality veteran Michelle Morgan is looking to bring the Tiger Lily Kitchen to the former Boilery space here between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Morgan opened Tiger Lily, which serves "healthy Asian-inspired cooking with gluten-free and vegan options," late last year as a takeout and delivery operation at 293 Third Ave. between 22nd Street and 23rd Street. This space would allow for her to offer indoor dining.

For a look at their lunch and dinner options, you can check out the Tiger Lily Instagram here. The application for the address is on the CB3 website.

• Lamia's Fish Market (East Coast Fish Market Inc), 45 Avenue B 

Lamia's Fish Market is seeking an upgrade from beer-wine to a full liquor license here between Second Street and Third Street. 

Lamia Funti, the applicant, appeared before CB3's SLA committee meeting in April 2016. The application was reportedly denied based in part on the history of the space. (The Lo-Down reported on this here. And DNAinfo here.)

Media outlets previously identified Funti as the co-owner of Le Souk on La Guardia Place along with her husband Marcus Jacobs. He was reportedly an owner of Le Souk, a years-long thorn in the side of Avenue B neighbors, as reported and here ... and here.

In October 2009, the State Liquor Authority canceled Le Souk's liquor license. (Read the SLA release here.)

Despite the 2016 committee denial, Lamia's received the beer-wine license via the State Liquor Authority later that fall.

You can read Lamia's questionnaire on the CB3 website at this link.

• Little Rebel (K&L Hospitality LLC), 219 Second Ave.

A bar-gastropub called Little Rebel is in the works for the former Professor Thom's space on Second Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street.

You can read more about the plans that owners Dermot Lynch and Jarek Krukow have for the space — as well as see a sample menu —via their questionnaire here.

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. You can find the Zoom info here. 

Pizzeria primed for 128 2nd Ave. space

For the Coming Soon Department... a pizzeria is in the works for 128 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Seventh Street. The @TradedNY account reported that the new leaseholder is Antonio's Pizza.

Not sure at the moment if they are related to Antonio's Pizza on Flatbush Avenue.
 

The space is already fitted for a pizzeria: Nolita Pizza left last June after a year for a newer outpost down on Kenmare Street.

Before that: Kati Roll Company bowed out here in April 2019 after just under three years in business.

The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who had taken over as the landlord.

H/T Upper West Sider!

Tuesday's parting shot

Spring morning scene from Tompkins Square Park... photo by Derek Berg...

Afternoon cute squirrel photo break

From Tompkins Square Park today ... courtesy of Steven...

The artist who captured the sounds of East Village community gardens during the pandemic

Interview by Stacie Joy

Over the past year, Japanese artist Aki Onda has been visiting East Village community gardens and making field recordings for his project "Silence Prevails: East Village Community Gardens During the Pandemic." (Find the video here.)

Although now back in Japan, his project has recently gone live, and I was able to talk with him about his work, the inspiration behind the project and what’s next for him.

How did this project come about? Can you speak about its history? What made you choose the East Village for your project and what drew you to its community gardens?

I had an idea to do a project about the East Village community gardens for many years, although it took a long time, nearly two decades until I could work on it.

I started visiting NYC around the end of the 1990s and often stayed in the East Village. Back then, the area was home to artists and musicians. I had many friends and it was easy to hang out with them as well as sublet their apartment. I also loved watching avant-garde cinema at Anthology Film Archives, spent hundreds of hours there and met Jonas Mekas. 

His film "Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania," which I watched in Tokyo in 1996, had a tremendous impact on my life and art practice. So, it was a big deal for me to meet him. I would visit him at his office, and he would offer a drink to toast even if it was morning. Then, we would go to lunch at his usual Italian restaurant nearby, or Mars Bar.

Mekas organized two exhibitions of my photographs at the Courthouse Gallery in the basement. I donated a couple of large-size prints, and in return, he gave me a small print of his still image, which I still have. I met so many filmmakers while I spent my time at the AFA, and that helped me to absorb the Downtown culture. 

I found community gardens such as Albert’s Garden, Liz Christy Community Garden and 6 & B Garden around that time. Each had a very distinctive character and I sensed there was something to look into. My favorite was La Plaza Cultural, although the garden itself was rough around the edges and unpretentious, I found it a cheerful and festive space. 

Much later, I learned that the garden was founded by Carlos "Chino" Garcia and fellow local activists. Their associations with Buckminster Fuller and Gordon Matta-Clark, and the intersection between art and activism, was also inspiring.

My work, both sound- and visual-based, are often catalyzed by and structured around memories —personal, collective, historical. So, the community garden was the perfect subject, and slowly over the years, I kept visiting those gardens and learning historical backgrounds.  

Finally, I decided to embark on the project in 2019 and there was a strong twist. The original idea was to document the gardens by making field recordings, taking photos, and writing texts through the four seasons from spring 2020 to winter 2021. 

However, the pandemic swept the globe, and as of March 2020, New York was its epicenter and under full lockdown. GreenThumb made a decision to close all community gardens until further notice. Only members were allowed to enter, and my project ground to a halt. 

Nonetheless, I thought it could be interesting to document the gardens in these unprecedented times and began contacting individual gardens directly. In the end, I visited around 25 gardens in spring and summer 2020. Spending time in the gardens was somehow comforting. Those are sparsely populated outdoor spaces and there is low risk of catching the virus. 

And, if I look back to the past, those gardens started as "green oases" by local residents when the city was going through a severe financial crisis in the 1970s. This was the hardest hit area with many low-income residents, and buildings descended into ruin. In that traumatized neighborhood, there was a strong need to improve lives and find sources of hope. 

Somehow, in the midst of COVID-19 crisis, though it’s a different type of crisis, I saw a sort of cycle and thought it’s worth researching and how those garden spaces changed over the last half-century.

What was the most surprising thing that happened while you were recording?

When I was recording in Campos Community Garden, suddenly the wind blew, and the wind chimes hung from a tree, started making beautiful sounds and vibrations. It lasted until I pressed the stop button.

What were the reactions of others as you set up your equipment and recorded sound and images?

I use a handheld cassette recorder, only with a cheap attached microphone. It’s low-key and not like a high-end digital recorder with a fluffy expensive shotgun microphone attached to a long boom. The presence of my equipment is unobtrusive and people feel less uncomfortable. Taking photos is a bit different, and I usually ask them to get permission first as I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable.  

What’s next for you as an artist?

I'm preparing my solo exhibition titled "Letters from Dead Souls" at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) in summer 2021, and as well as a few other upcoming exhibitions.  

As for the community garden project, luckily, I developed good relationships with core members of the community garden movement during my research. It's a deep subject and there is a lot more to dig into. I'm planning to continue the research for the next several years and expand the project for another opportunity. Let's see what comes with it...    

Image of the artist by Makiko Onda, all other images courtesy Aki Onda. You can keep up with the artist here.

'Rats galore,' the video sequel

Yesterday we posted the reader report about the rat problem in the long-empty lot at 89 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

Today, we have a reader video report via 2ndAvenueSilverPanther showing a few rats frolicking among the discarded mushy boxes inside the lot... 

Two Hands debuts on Avenue A

The first NYC outpost of Two Hands, a quick-serve establishment serving "Seoul fresh corn dogs," opened back on Friday here at 147 Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Here's a look at what to expect with their varieties of corn dogs...

They also serve dirty fries — deep-fried potato tater puffs with Two Hands Dirty Sauce and Cheetos powder. Find the menu here.

Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with an 11 p.m. close on Fridays and Saturdays.

The expanding company also has franchises in California, Arizona and Nevada... and now NYC.

Photo by Steven

Cooper Union's Urban Umbrella

In case you haven't been by Cooper Union's Foundation Building lately ... in recent weeks, workers have finished surrounding the building with the more aesthetically pleasing Urban Umbrella scaffolding ... fitting for this landmark

Behold!

Work permits point to a "renovation at the fourth floor."

The Urban Umbrella, made of recycled steel and translucent plastic panel, made its first NYC appearance in the fall of 2017.

Reader report: It's 'rats galore' at this long-empty 1st Avenue lot

An EVG reader shared an email with the subject line: "New tenants for 89 1st Ave?"

A bit of a misleading title, but it's rats, rats and rats galore. This "fence" (especially in quotes compared to the former grand one) is an invitation for garbage dumping, and the rat situation in the courtyards behind the building is dire. 

This is just the sidewalk; the lot is a mess. Do readers have suggestions or tips for how to get the lot better secured from dumping and trespassing? Or who to call to come to issue a fine? Or how to get this turned into a community garden for the time being? It's only been what, 40-plus years?!

There are development plans here ... last May,  another set of new building permits were filed with the city for the lot between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

According to the DOB, the proposed building is six floors with eight residential units and ground-floor retail. In total, the structure is 8,183 square feet. The project is still awaiting approval.

This is the second time in recent years that plans have been filed for a new building for the address. In 2017, the city never approved plans for a similar-sized structure — eight units, six floors.

As previously reported, Florence Toledano was the owner of this lot. In 2013, public records show that the deed for the property was transferred from the Florence Toledano Living Trust to 89 First Avenue LLC. The DOB permit lists Daniel Toledano as the manager of the property. (We do not know the relationship between Daniel Toledano and Florence Toledano. One reader said Daniel is a nephew of Florence.)

Daniel Toledano is still listed as the property owner and developer of the project. (Toledano is also listed as the owner of the lot that housed the 2Bn2C sculpture garden at 231 E. Second St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. More on that space in another post.)

In December 2017, workers dismantled the sculpture fence that had lined the First Avenue lot for years (since the late 1980s, per one estimate). The fence was created at the former Gas Station (aka Art Gallery Space 2B) on Avenue B and Second Street by Claire Kalemkeris and Johnny Swing in collaboration with Linus Coraggio.


[EVG photo from 2017]

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield to affordable housing?

• Drilling and soil testing commence at the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

• Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave.

A good sign at Little Poland

When Gov. Cuomo announced that indoor dining was expanding to 50-percent capacity on March 19, several East Village bars and restaurants said that they'd reopen ... including Little Poland on Second Avenue. 

In an Instagram post on March 10, the diner between 12th Street and 13th Street said that they were preparing to open its doors once again.... for the first time since the PAUSE of March 2020.

And in another positive sign, Little Poland is now hiring for several positions... 

It will be nice to have them back ... Little Poland first opened in 1985. 

Thanks to Steven for the photos...

La Cabra opening a Scandinavian coffee roastery and sourdough bakery on 2nd Avenue

Signage is up now in the window of a retail space at 152 Second Ave. for La Cabra, which will bring a Scandinavian coffee roastery and sourdough bakery to this space between Ninth Street and 10th Street...

Per an Instagram post via @lacabra.nyc:

We are revisiting this city sooner than we expected. Back in February, we signed a contract for a beautiful location in East Village and our first location will be an open and beautiful sourdough bakery combined with a coffee bar. 

We recently started the renovations and together with our local partner we look forward to welcoming you this summer with bright coffees, sourdough bread and handmade pastries.

The previous tenant here, Pure Green, which sold cold-pressed juices, smoothies and açaí bowls, closed in early 2020. They had several roommates — Wattle Cafe, Greecologies, PlantMade and the I.V. Doc — dating back to their opening in March 2017.

Thanks to Steven for the photo and tip!

Openings: Burrata Pizza on Avenue A, Sal's Pizza II on 14th Street

Burrata Pizza has debuted at 221 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

As previously reported, this pizzeria is taking the place of Muzzarella Pizza (1991-2020). 

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. You can find a menu, which includes salads and paninis, at GrubHub. 

... and New York Sal's Pizza II recently opened at 536 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. The deal signage on the sidewalk offers two slices and a soda for $6.

The hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

This is a sibling to the New York Sal's Pizza up on 10th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen.

Anyone try either pizzeria? EVG regular Edmund John Dunn liked his slice from Burrata.

Gong Cha debuts on St. Mark's Place

The new Gong Cha outpost has officially opened at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

This is the ninth Manhattan outpost for Gong Cha, which describes itself as "one of the most recognized bubble tea brands around the world" ... which got its start in 2006 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

This block of St. Mark's has seen a variety of bubble tea come and go through the recent years... some still in business (Kung Fu Tea right across the street).... and some not (Mi Tea). And there's more on the way for the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

This storefront had been vacant since Lab -320° closed in late 2016 after six months of selling ice cream. The previous longtime tenant here, The Sock Man, closed in January 2016 after a reported rent hike via (now former) landlord Raphael Toledano. 

Sock Man owner Marty Rosen later opened a new location at 99 1/2 St. Mark's Place ... where he remains today.

Added:

There was previously a Gong Cha location on 14th Street. 

Photo by Steven

I say love, it is a flower

An EVG reader shared these photos from Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue today ...

Headline H/T

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg) ...

 • City tries again with release of a Value Engineering Study for East River Park (Thursday) 

• Barnyard Cheese Shop returns; Brix Wines moves a storefront away (Monday) 

• Packing up the last of The Pyramid Club (Thursday) 

• At the first East Village Flea of 2021 (Tuesday) 

  A look at Full Tank Moto Cafe, now open on Monroe Street (Tuesday) 

• Easter in Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

• Reopenings: Indochine, Kindred and Van Da (Wednesday) 

• This week's Gallery Watch looks at "There's the Air" by Clare Grill at Derek Eller Gallery (Friday)

• Halftime at NY See (Thursday) 

• Fresco will not be reopening at 138 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

• "Diamonds, Razors & Champagne" debuts at 3rd & B’Zaar (Friday) 

• Vinny Vincenz Pizza has closed (Monday) 

• This photogenic East Village wisteria now has its own jigsaw puzzle (Tuesday) 

• Doc Holliday's turns 27 while closed during the pandemic; "We will be back" (Wednesday) 

• The Hayaty Hookah Bar space is for rent on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Rendering watch: 650 E. 6th St. (Wednesday) 

• Report of a balcony fire on 7th Street (Sunday) 

• 45-47 2nd Ave. has a new owner (Thursday) 

• Back to the 1980s (again) for "Russian Doll" (Friday)

• Partial reveal at the 101 Condominium (Monday)

... and William Klayer spotted DJ Mike Márquez at 7 a.m. for an early Twitch live stream in East River Park by the fogged-in Williamsburg Bridge...

---

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

Vinnie is missing [UPDATED: Vinnie is home safe]

Per the flyer:

Vinnie, very beloved, very friendly, and very dumb, not sure he knows his name but responds to treat-shaking. Gray and white striped. Wearing collar/nametag, microchipped. Probably got over wall to East 2nd Street cemetery or East 3rd Street backyards. Reward!!! 917-446-8822. Missing since late Saturday night, 4/10/21. 

Updated noon:

Vinnie is safe and sound now and hanging out in the living room...

Sunday's opening shot

Dense fog advisory until 10 a.m.! 

Thanks to Jeanne Krier for this photo, which includes the Con Ed Building on 14th Street to the left...

Saturday's parting shot

Thanks to EVG reader Doug for this photo on Stuyvesant Street at 10th Street...

A presentation of work by Ed Shostak/Rose Royale

An EVG reader just made me aware of this exhibit: Ed Shostak/Rose Royale: A Queer Perspective From Postminimalism to Social Practice, Selected Works: 1963 – 2020. 

Shostak, a longtime East Village resident, died on April 8, 2020, from complications due to COVID-19. He was 78. 

Per the reader: "He was an artist stemming from the Warhol Factory. We didn't know to what extent until after he died and his loft on Houston and Avenue A was chock-full of work and over 3,000 photos chronicling EV nightlife."

The exhibit, at the David Richard Gallery, 211 E. 121st St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, is only up through Friday. However, this is the first of several planned shows here to feature Shostak's work. 

Here's more via the gallery's site: 

It is unusual to uncover an artist of his pedigree for which so little is publicly known after establishing himself amidst the visual arts most notable institutions. Shostak cloistered himself in his downtown loft relentlessly working and opting for a less mainstream practice. This exhibition is the first look at many of his late works.

For those who are interested in reconsidering the parallel arcs of art history, examining and expanding the boundaries of the established canon of Post War art, Shostak's work will be a revelation. His work addressed so many of the known formal and conceptual concerns from that period, but through a queer lens. 

Eventually, he abandoned convention, favoring a more expansive view of the possibilities that an artist's practice could include by embracing a queer social practice and advocacy for the transgender community.

This presentation is not a retrospective of his artwork but is comprised of completed sculptural works, drawings, studies, performance, documentary images and films to illustrate and map two key aspects and threads of continuity throughout Ed Shostak's artistic career and life. 

While the imagery may have changed over the decades, the exhibition is organized to map these threads regardless of the subject matter, form or media. In fact, it becomes apparent that his personal life and art practice were inextricable — one and the same — and ultimately, the artist became both the subject and the art. 

Shostak had gone full circle from his childhood performances in the family living room to navigating the art world as a gay man and then to activism and politics to become not only his alter ego, but to be himself— transgender.

The gallery's hours: Wednesday-Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.  You can view some of the selected works and watch videos with curators Isaac Aden and David Eichholtz at this link.

How to download this Stop Asian Hate poster

Dragon76 recently painted this Stop Asian Hate mural on Chrystie and Hester (75 Chrystie St.) on the Lower East Side. 

East Village Walls, who sponsored this work, has teamed up with the artist to make free digital prints available to download via this Dropbox link. 

A free print was also going to be available today (4/10) at BAMBŪ at 124 Hester St. while supplies last. 

Per East Village Walls: 

Display it, share it, protest with it.

Be the change. Be the voice. Be active.

Do more.

We can all make a difference because it's time to stop the hate.

Awareness, Solidarity, Action.

The Welcome to Chinatown site has more information on ways to help businesses in this neighborhood. Think!Chinatown is another good resource. 

Photo by @elliephantdreams via @EastVillageWalls