Eros is still 'temporarily closed,' and now fully empty

The curious saga of Eros continues... the Greek restaurant has been closed since early last August on the NE corner of Second Avenue and Fifth Street.

That's when a "temporarily closed" sign has been on the front door. The Greek restaurant's website still notes that this location is "closed for renovations. Reopening TBA."

The city removed the lengthy curbside dining structure from Fifth Street — after multiple warnings — in January.

Most everything from the interior has either been removed (as of last week) or shoved against the windows along the Fifth Street side of the space... 

Eros took over for the diner the Kitchen Sink in September 2021 (same owners) ... management previously changed names from Moonstruck to the Kitchen Sink in the fall of 2015. 

We've talked to several nearby residents who said they'd welcome the return of a more diner-y-type establishment like the Kitchen Sink.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Waiting out the downpour late this afternoon on Fourth Street...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with more air-quality alerts from the Canadian wildfires)...

• Ink on A can use some help (Monday) 

• About the fire at 204 Avenue B (Friday)

• The latest distribution for asylum seekers took place this past week (Tuesday)

• On St. Mark's Place, Funzi's Pizzeria is a throwback modeled after grandmother's house (Tuesday) 

• Farewell to the Champagne's of storefront signs in the East Village (Friday) 

• Last summer for the current configuration of the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Weeping for this lost tree on Avenue A (Tuesday)

• Khiladi NYC is closing on Avenue B (Sunday) 

• Six Feet Under Sound with The Acute (Thursday)

• The incoming Shake Shack on the Lower East Side owes nearly $200k back rent: legal notice (Monday) 

• At 2nd and 2nd, a change in plans (Monday) 

• Is 334 Bowery now officially a doomed location for restaurants? (Thursday) 

• For those who rocked: Legendary East Village venue Fillmore East closed on this date in 1971 (Tuesday) 

• City pools open (but not the Tompkins Square Park mini pool) (Thursday) 

• Do you remember the Unicorn Frame Shop? (Wednesday)

• Retail moves: Westerlind relocates to East Houston Street (Wednesday) 

• Roasted NYC slated for this 2nd Avenue storefront (Wednesday) 

... and a surprising number of people have asked about the status of Healthy Choice, the deli-market on the SW corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street. Temp signage for My Deli 3 Corp. arrived on June 23. Same ownership and management here... an employee told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that the sign is temporary and relates to their beer license renewal...

-----

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

On 7th Street, the Clyde Romero Memorial Garden celebrates a longtime garden activist

Photo by Dave on 7th

The Lower East Side Ecology Center Garden on Seventh Street has been rededicated in honor of its late co-founder.

Moving forward, the green space on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C will be known as the Clyde Romero Memorial Garden.

Romero, a longtime East Village resident, was co-founder of the LES Ecology Center. He died in January 2022 at age 84. 

During a ceremony this past Thursday, Romero was celebrated "as an artist, community and environmental activist, a dear friend to many." 

EVG Etc.: Superiority Burger's 3 stars; Red Gate Bakery's birthday cake

Photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg 

• Carlina Rivera wins the June 27 Democratic primary with 61% of the vote (Our Town ... The Village Sun) 

• A look at a former synagogue on Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue that several artists bought in 1982... two of the units are now for sale (Curbed... previously on EVG) 

• Lifeguard shortage means no adult lap swim at NYC pools (Gothamist) 

• About those winged bugs around NYC (The City) 

• Pete Wells drops three (out of four) stars on Superiority Burger (The New York Times ... previously on EVG) 

• Red Gate Bakery on First Street just may make the best birthday cake in NYC (Eater) 

• The Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings are having some summer fun (Laura Goggin Photography) 

• July 4-related street closures and where to watch the Macy's-related fireworks (Gothamist)

• A look at Whim Golf's new pop-up store on Avenue A (Hypebeast ... previously on EVG) 

• East Village resident Graham Nash discusses his latest record (Relix) 

• An oral history of Paper, now with a new owner (The New York Times ... Study Hall) 

• Henry Street gallery owners discuss the current economic client (Artnet News) 

• D.A. Pennebaker's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" gets a 50th-anniversary screening on July 9-10 at Village East by Angelika (Official Site) 

• Check out the upcoming screenings in the Essential Cinema Repertory collection at Film Anthology Archives on Second Street and Second Avenue (Official site)

Updated: Just a few more chances to see 1980s East Village art-scene documentary 'Make Me Famous'

Updated July 6: See below for more screening dates.

We've mentioned "Make Me Famous" several times (like here and here) ... the documentary tells the story of the 1980s downtown art scene through the lens of painter Edward Brezinski.

   

There are a few more screenings in NYC (and it is well worth your time and the effort to go to one of these theaters...)

• July 2, 8 p.m., at Roxy Cinema, 2 Avenue of the Americas, Cellar Level

• July 2, 2:45 p.m.,  and July 3, 7 p.m., at New Plaza Cinema, 35 W. 67th St.

Follow the film's Instagram account for updates.

And read an interview with director Brian Vincent and producer Heather Spore Kelly, at The Moveable Feast. Here's another piece via The Village Voice.

-----

NEW dates!

New Plaza Cinema
35 W. 67th St.
Friday, July 7, 8:45 p.m. Filmmakers Q and A
Sunday July 9, 7 p.m.

Roxy Cinema 
2 Avenue of the Americas
Saturday July 15, 3 p.m.
Sunday July 16, 3 p.m.
Monday July 17, 9 p.m.
(all screenings with filmmaker Q and As)

Breakfast

Breakfast 

By Donald Davis

The gulls were flying over the avenue

Squawking their squawk at us

Right at dawn today

So I figured it must have been dark

At muster time

Or even earlier

When they glided in from the coastal waters.

Maybe the pack had flown about all night

Thinking of french fries

Of which there were a lot,

As yesterday was the coronation

They surely heard the commotion.

The poem by Donald Davis is from the East Village Books poetry window.

Photo on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street by the author.

Saturday's opening shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Pausing the C&B Cafe staff meeting yesterday for a photo!

C&B is at 178 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue B.

Fire damages B-Side bar on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated July 3: There's now a GoFundMe for bar employees here.

------

The FDNY responded to a report of a fire just before 1 p.m. today at 204 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

The department's Twitter account deemed the fire under control in 45 minutes.

Sabina Brunetti, the co-owner of B-Side, the bar in the building's retail space, said they had a new air conditioner installed. A worker was using a torch for welding, and the insulation went up in flames. B-Side was not open at the time.

The fire marshal deemed the blaze accidental. 

The four-story, three-unit building is now under a full vacate order. There weren't any injuries, thankfully, and all the tenants (plus a dog) got out safely. For now, the residents have a place to stay, but there isn't an estimate to how long repairs will take. The apartments were said to be badly damaged.

Meanwhile, the bar will also be out of commission for an unknown amount of time.

B-Side was closed at the start of the year for an extensive deep clean and renovations, including a new ceiling.

"We put so much blood sweat and tears into the space — it's really emotional. Our regulars are like family," a visibly upset Brunetti said. 

She was especially concerned for her staff, some of whom do not have other jobs. She also is worried about the tenants whose homes were damaged, including the landlord who lives right above the bar.

Despite the setback, she vowed to return.

"We absolutely plan to rebuild," Brunetti said. "Again and again."

6 posts from June

A mini month in review (with a photo of Slashers in Tompkins on June 10 by Robin McMillan)...

• Ink on A can use some help (June 26)

• Iconic gay dive bar the Boiler Room is closing later this year ahead of a move to a new East Village space (June 20)

• Police: Woman dies after jumping from 3rd Street residential building (June 18)

• Despite the city's endless bureaucracy, East Village residents continue to aid asylum seekers at the former St. Brigid School (June 8)

• Decades-spanning ghost signage disappears from this East Village building (June 5)

• Why 787 Coffee decided to close its 14th Street outpost (June 2) 

Revisiting a classic 'New Amsterdam'

 

Something different for this Friday-at-5 segment.

This video premiered on June 23 ... "New Amsterdam" composed by Moondog and performed by Calefax Reed Quintet... and filmed and edited by East Village resident H. Paul Moon. 

You can read more about the making of the video here. 

As you'll see, the East Village has a supporting role, including St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, First Park and First Street Art Park. 

In addition, there's a scene where Moondog biographer Robert Scotto — a West Village resident — sits on the stoop of the composer's former address at 179 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

This piece from Untapped Cities has more about Moondog, born Louis Hardin in 1916 ... aka "the Viking of Sixth Avenue" ... 

Moondog was a fixture of two different worlds in New York City. He was both a respected musician who worked with big names in genres ranging from classical to jazz to rock music, as well as an enigmatic street performer.

This morning in lending a hand

Photo by Derek Berg 

Wash day for the Samuel S. Cox statue at the Seventh and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park...

Sunday is the last day for Khiladi NYC on Avenue B

After nearly four years at 175 Avenue B and 11th Street, Khiladi NYC will close after service this Sunday (July 2). 

Owner Sruthi Chowdary made the announcement on Instagram yesterday afternoon ...

July 2nd will be our last service, please come join us in bidding a farewell to this beautiful/challenging journey of ours. It hasn’t been an easy 4 years, COVID threw the world in a chaotic mode and our journey was definitely influenced by it! The most beautiful part of it all is how we were able to build a community around it and how that community came through during the thick of it! 

People, food and music will always be the core of our being, but sometimes good things have to come to an end too. Stay tuned to see what the future holds for us! 

The restaurant, which served Southern Indian fare, debuted in August 2019 to positive reviews. 

It wasn't always easy here. Someone broke into the restaurant, which had been helping feed area families as part of the Neighborhood Food Swap during the COVID-19 crisis, in late May 2020. 

This past March, a neighbor accidentally drove into Khiladi's curbside dining structure ... in the morning before the restaurant was open for the day... and destroyed the seating area...

The space is now on the rental market via KSR.

Top photo via the EVG archives

Farewell to the Champagne's of storefront signs in the East Village

Photos, past and present, by Stacie Joy 

As we first reported on May 8, the always confounding but excellent Fine Wine & Champagne's signage would be coming down in the weeks ahead here on the NE corner of Avenue A and Fourth Street. 

And yesterday, workers removed the neighborhood's greatest sign featuring an unnecessary apostrophe.

The decades-spanning Nizga Liquors is under new ownership... the new shop is going as LES Fine Wines & Spirits. (IMO, to keep with tradition, the name should be LES Fine Wine's & Spirit's.) 

We're not sure about new signage. As we understand it, the private-equity firm that bought the block-long residential building last September for a reported $64 million wants uniform signage/awnings for all the storefronts here between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

However! The two sections of the Champagne's signage — now safe in storage somewhere — are up for grabs. (Hello, MoMa permanent collection!) Rich, the manager, said he that he might auction them off for a "good cause" or they may be available for sale. Either way, stop by the shop or DM @the.rich.brand on Instagram for details. (Several people have already inquired, he said.) 

Otherwise, you can lovingly gaze at the sign as seen during the filming of "Hawkeye" with Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner on the corner in December 2020..

Thursday's parting shot

This may explain that hellish feeling you have inside the porta potties in Tompkins Square Park! 

Thanks Eden for the photo!

Six Feet Under Sound with The Acute

Photos by Stacie Joy

The other day, East Village-based duo The Acute were recording tracks for the band's first full-length release, titled Rongorongo.

Band members Viveca Butler and Stephen Cacouris were at Six Feet Under Sound, an off-the-grid recoding studio (no social media or website) named for its proximity to the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street. 

The band worked with tech director and sound engineer Joe Hogan (below) ...

No word just yet on a release date for the new record. Meanwhile, you can check out the premiere of The Acute's latest video here.

The Acute is also on a bill Saturday evening (8!) at the Parkside Lounge, 317 Houston at Attorney. No cover. Details at this link.

Films on the Green coming to Tompkins Square Park and Seward Park

The Films on the Green series continues on in NYC ... and the annual free French film festival is making its way into two downtown parks starting tomorrow evening (show times roughly 8:30)...

• June 30, Tompkins Square Park  — "Three Nights a Week" by Florent Gouelou (2022) 
• July 7, Seward Park  — "Casablanca Beats" by Nabil Ayouch (2021) 
• July 14, Seward Park  — "French Cancan"  by Jean Renoir (1955) 

Here's more about the film playing in Tompkins:

"Three Nights a Week" ("Trois nuits par semaine") 

With Pablo Pauly, Romain Eck, Hafsia Herzi, drama,1 hour, 43 minutes

France Baptiste's world is turned upside down when he meets the enigmatic drag queen, Cookie Kunty, and falls headfirst into the dazzling and vibrant world of drag. Initially drawn in by a photography project, he finds himself completely immersed in this new Parisian scene, leading to a passionate and tumultuous relationship with Quentin, the man behind the captivating persona. 

You can find the full citywide lineup here. Or this link. The films are free (no tickets required) and are in French with English subtitles. 

Films on the Green is produced annually in New York City parks by Villa Albertine, the French Embassy and FACE Foundation. 

City pools open today (but not the Tompkins Square Park mini pool)

Photos Tuesday by Steven 

Dozens of outdoor city pools reopen for the season today (Thursday, June 29). 

First, let's start with what won't be open — the Tompkins Square Park mini pool, which is looking science fiction-y...

The mini pool is closed for the next two summers as part of the field house renovations in Tompkins Square Park. 

While the pool doesn’t appear to be part of the construction, it’s all about the plumbing, which we're told is a disaster. 

And every year, we hear from people who had no idea there was a mini pool in Tompkins Square Park. The mini pool is open for children and their parents-guardians. Just there — under the arrows by the basketball courts...

As for what is open...the Hamilton Fish Pool on Pitt and East Houston and the Dry Dock Pool on 10th Street and Avenue D.

Outdoor hours are from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. daily, with a break for pool cleaning between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Find more info about city pools at this link. 

The outdoor pools are in service through Sept. 10.

Is 334 Bowery now officially a doomed location for restaurants?

Xeo Cantina has been dark for the past month+ at 334 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond.

There's nothing about a closure on the restaurant's website or social media... they are no long on Resy. No one responded to our queries about their status.

Xeo, described as serving "Vietnamese food with Tequila," opened last June. 

 

It was the latest spot to try the space... Gia Trattoria closed after just four months in December 2021. Oddly enough, there was already a restaurant called Gia Trattoria from different operators at this address several years earlier. 

To recap: Between November 2014 and June 2015, when the storefront was divided into two spaces, we had Forcella, Espoleta, Gia Trattoria, Slice of Naples, SRO and Bowery Pizza come and go over six months. 

This space was later Gino Sorbillo, the first U.S. pizzeria from "the Neapolitan celebrity super-chef" of the same name. The "temporarily closed for renovation" sign arrived here in early January 2021 after a November 2017 opening — so not a bad run considering everyone else's tenure.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Earlier today when it started to rain in Tompkins Square Park...