More about the anonymous, animal-loving snow shoveler of the East Village

[Yesterday!]

Yesterday, we posted about an individual who voluntarily shoveled out a snowbound car on East Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... and left behind a typewritten note suggesting that if the car owner wanted to show his or her gratitude, he or she could make a small donation to Ollie's Place/Mighty Mutts Animal Rescue on East Ninth Street...

And here is the car that the person shoveled out...





Last evening, the resident shoveled out another car in the neighborhood and left a similar, typewritten note...



We tracked down the resident and asked a few quick questions about his or her actions...

On what made them decide to do this:

I like shoveling snow. I know that sounds a bit weird, but I’ve always liked shoveling snow. During [Saturday's blizzard], I shoveled out my car, some friends' cars ... and some other places. I actually put an ad up on Craigslist offering free snow shoveling services to those who were unable to do it themselves but didn't get any responses. So [on Tuesday], I just grabbed my shovel and found a car that was deeply buried and figured I would just shovel it out, which I did.

When I got home, I realized that maybe the person might want to know who shoveled out their car so I quickly typed up the first note, and put it on the car. I added the part about Mighty Mutts because I have been volunteering there for a long time and I’m always trying to find new ways to help them out.

On the use of a typewriter:

I used a typewriter because my printer doesn’t work, I have bad penmanship, and I like my typewriter.

On continuing the service:

So far I think I have done four cars with this type of note, and will try to do a couple more before alternate-side parking starts again.

I didn’t put much thought into this before doing it. But while doing it I started thinking it would be a good fundraising project for Mighty Mutts or any charity. People could sign up to have their cars shoveled and volunteers could go shovel to help raise money. The beginning of the year is always difficult because it is harder to raise money and people have already donated to charities during the holidays, but the operating expenses don’t change.

Shoveling snow is one of the only things I get to do that has a clear start and a clear finish, it is exercise, and I like to think it’s a good way to make someone’s day. Whether or not they want to donate is irrelevant — it’s a simple way to do something nice.

We also mentioned that the post attracted a lot of comments here and on Facebook. Overall, people were impressed and thought it was a nice act of random kindness. However, there was a contingent who found this note and gesture guilt-inducing and passive-aggressive.

We asked the resident about this.

"I guess I could understand how it could be seen as passive-aggressive. Maybe I worded the notes improperly, but that was never an intention. I really don’t want anyone to feel obligated to pay for something they didn’t ask for. I would rather they just enjoy having their car shoveled out without having to even think about it."

Previously on EV Grieve:
There is an anonymous, animal-loving snow shoveler in the East Village

Ben Shaoul's 100 Avenue A ready for tours

And over at 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street, Ben Shaoul's incoming condoplex is starting to finally look like a residential building.

Which may by why the property is now open for tours (let's see who responded to the building's naked lady marketing motif!) with broker Ryan Serhant...

Site tours of 100 Avenue A have begun!!!!!!! I'm so excited I can't even feel the cold!!!!!! www.100AveA.com

A photo posted by Ryan Serhant (@ryanserhant) on Jan 25, 2016 at 12:54pm PST

Questions! If we go on a tour, then do we get to wear a branded 100 Avenue A hard hat like Ryan Serhant? And is there an economy tour?

The residences at the 6-story 8-story building start at $1.3 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The retail space at Ben Shaoul's 100 Avenue A is available for $24.5 million; plus, naked model marketing clarification!

Trying to figure out what is going on at 98-100 Avenue A

Someone threw black paint bombs at the naked women condo ad along 100 Avenue A

[Updated] DF Mavens has closed (for now) on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Well, it's apparently lights out now for DF Mavens, the vegan ice cream shop and cafe on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

The shop is dark... and there is a sign...



However, according to a DFM Facebook post this afternoon: "Our St. Marks location is closed until further notice. We are still available at retail locations."

Not sure what "until further notice" means here.

Anyway, the shop was open for business yesterday.

DF Mavens opened their first retail space here on Dec. 26, 2014. The storefront was previously home to Eastside Bakery (.net?)

And this corner continues to be a tough spot for any retail establishment. Maybe it's time to bring back the Gap!

Updated 8:56 p.m.

In a tweet, DFM said "don't fret," that they were working on the situation...

Updated 1/28

Officially closed...

Dear Valued Customers,Many thanks for the support and sadness you expressed in social media postings about our recent...

Posted by DF Mavens on Thursday, January 28, 2016

Previously on EV Grieve:
Prepping for the arrival of DF Mavens on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (29 comments)

Hawk invader in Tompkins Square Park!

Kevin the Kiteman was in Tompkins Square Park earlier today... with a hawk kite...



We were curious what, if any, reaction resident red-tailed hawks Christo and Dora might have to this hawk interloper...



Unfortunately, we don't know... Christo and Dora didn't seem to be around at the moment...

Photos via Derek Berg

There is an anonymous, animal-loving snow shoveler in the East Village

A tipster sends along this note ... from a car on East Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Per the note, written on a typewriter:

Your car was shoveled out of the snow for FREE on the evening of Tuesday, January 2016.

If you would like to show your gratitude you could make a small donation to Mighty Mutts Animal Rescue...

If not, that is fine and enjoy the free shoveling.

Thanks.

Updated 1/28
Find an interview with the snow shoveler here

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.


By James Maher

Name: Leslie McEachern
Occupation: Owner, Angelica Kitchen
Location: East 12th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave
Time: 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25

I was born and raised in Greenville, S.C. … nothing could be finer. I came to New York numerous times in the 1970s for visits, for fun. I was in college from 1967-71 and I was at a large school — the University of Tennessee — that had a lot of fringe people from Miami and New York City.

So I met all of these great, outrageous folks and got very much into an alternative lifestyle — meaning sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. I had a great time and was introduced to the alternative lifestyle, the vegetarian way of doing things. The back-to-the-earth movement was becoming strong at that point and it interested me a lot. I started working in a warehouse in Raleigh, N.C., for a company called Laurel Brook Foods and they were a wholesaler of natural foods. I also helped start a co-op there called Noah’s, which at that time had three families and now I’ve heard it has over 5,000 — still up and strong running.

I had started a small business representing certain natural foods, but I was going to different health-food stores around the country and trade shows and demonstrating their products. One day in 1981, I was at Greenberg’s. It was a very old school natural food store on First Avenue, between Seventh and St. Mark's Place. I was in there doing a miso demonstration and handing out samples and Frank Simons, the guy who had just bought Angelica Kitchen, walked in. I didn’t know him at the time but I had been a fan of Angelica. He and I caught each other’s eyes, to say it mildly. We got engaged and I moved from the mountains of North Carolina to New York to be with him. That was what got me here – falling in love and doing the right turn so many of us know about.

Angelica was at 42 St. Marks Place at that time. It was a small place and we had very few seats, so we had an open policy about seating. People came in and sat in any empty chair in the restaurant, whether it was a two top or a four top, so lots of connections were made that way. That was very fun. It was very community spirited. Organic wasn’t as much of an issue at that time but there were a lot of products available. That became my mission once I was in charge of the restaurant after Frank died. I really believed in the small, independent organic farmer as stewards of the land, so I was able to get on my soapbox through having Angelica Kitchen and really support the farmers.

There was this great couple called George and Tilly who were on Fifth Street between Second and Third and they would come in on Friday and Saturday from their farm in New Jersey. They would bring truckloads of fabulous produce and apple cider. You’d see everybody there from John McEnroe to the people who lived down the street. Everybody in town who ate clean knew about George and Tilly. I would be running back and forth with a hand truck with cases and cases of kale and collards and turnips and apples.

After Frank died, I moved over to Seventh Street between B and C. The great thing about the East Village is always the people, and I really felt deeper into the heart of the neighborhood. In those days it was so convivial and neighborly. It was very community driven. I loved it. There is a reason the East Village has the reputation that it does, historically, because it was a wild and crazy place, and yes it was sometimes scary. I had amazing things happen, including people stealing from me. It had kind of an outlaw feeling. In the moment it was frustrating, but you just kept going.

I built the 12th Street location in 1987, so it’s still the new place. It used to be the Café Royal when it was Jewish Broadway and all kind of characters were in here, including Bugsy Siegel and George and Gracie, and just on and on. I loved the fact that it was a gathering spot back in the day and now since 1987 it has been too.

Before the city made recycling law, I was already doing it, and not only recycling with recyclable goods, but also of compost, which of course made the weight on our garbage go down because we weren’t putting all of the refuse in the garbage bags. We were saving it in five gallon buckets to be used in a composting operation that Christina had set up on my block on 7th Street.

You know who didn’t like that? The garbage carters. You know who ran the garbage carters? It was an organized group called The Family. Things started happening to Christina. I think her truck got blown up. I’m pretty sure that’s the right story. I’m not sure if it was those people, but it was some kind of a competition issue.

Then one day right after I had opened on 12th Street, a group of shall we say gentlemen — four rather stocky men in suits — came to the front door to talk to me. So I called this guy, Carl Hultberg, who was handling the recycling for NYU, to come over and sit with us. These guys had come to intimidate me to stop my composting and recycling. They were at that time charging by the weight, and the weight wasn’t what it should have been according to them. So Carl, who was a strong activist and informed recycling man, started laying out information for them. They were claiming that they were recycling, these four men, and Carl said, "We would like to see your recycling operation. Can we go there?"

You could just see them think, "Who do these kids think they are?" But Carl was asking them very pointed questions to prove they weren’t recycling. It was a funny meeting. They walked out and they got nothing from us. We were cheering and high fiving. That was a great moment for not only Angelica Kitchen, but also a big moment in the changes that were coming. I don’t know if it influenced those four men or not, but now that recycling is a law and composting is encouraged, it’s kind of interesting to look at the progress we made.

Now things have changed drastically. From being, I guess they say farm-to-table, long before it had a terminology. Now a lot of people say that’s what they do, but there’s no way to verify. So I feel for the consumers because people who are really looking to support that movement are just kind of up to the whim of the people who are doing the branding of any particular location.

Some people are doing a very good job and some people are taking advantage of the trend — local, regional, artisan. That’s always just been how we do things here. But I don’t want it to be negative — I want it to be positive. We’re the real deal. We’re doing what other people say they’re doing. You can always count on Angelica to be completely plant-based and organic. We’re here seven days a week, lunch and dinner.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Virgola is opening a 2nd East Village location this spring on Avenue B

[221 Avenue B]

Virgola opened at 111 E. 7th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue last month.

Now owner Joseph Marazzo is planning to open another outpost of his oyster bar and Italian wine cafe... this time at 221 Avenue B between East 13th Street and East 14th Street.... there's a CB3 notice on the gate announcing that Virgola will be on the February SLA docket for a beer-wine full-liquor license...



The address was last home to Camp David, an upscale lounge-tapas bar that quietly closed some time last summer.

According to its website, the Avenue B Virgola will open this spring. Aside from the original location on Greenwich Avenue, there's an outpost in the works for Ormond Beach, Fla., as well.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Oysters coming to the former Bourgeois Pig space on East 7th Street

Owner's retirement marks the end of Broadway Panhandler

In case you didn't already see this. Several EVG readers have sent along the link from the Times on Monday... reporting that Broadway Panhandler will be closing for good this spring after 40 years in business ... the last 10 on East Eighth Street at Broadway.

Norman Kornbleuth, the owner of the well-stocked cookware retailer, is retiring. Per the Times:

“I’ve been in this business for 40 years,” Mr. Kornbleuth said on Thursday. “I’m now 72; my wife has health issues. It’s time.”

Mr. Kornbleuth said that his two daughters were not interested in running the business and that his efforts to sell the company fell through. He has yet to decide the date when the store will close its doors for good.

Kornbluth, however, didn't completely rule out staying away from the retail world, telling the Times that he might open a small knife shop sometime after Broadway Panhandler closes.

Image via the Village Alliance

[Updated] Citi Bike will be back in action tomorrow morning with limited service

[EVG photo on 6th and B from Saturday night]

Citi Bike officials shut down the grid last Friday night ahead of the blizzard... now they are ready to start up part of the system again tomorrow morning.

Here's the official CB message via Facebook:

Citi Bike will re-open tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/27/16 at 6:00 AM with *limited service*. Please check the station map or mobile app for up-to-date station information. Stations in blue are in-service, grey stations still need to be cleared. Snow removal will continue until all stations are cleared. AM Valet Service will be available as scheduled at Pearl & Hanover. AM Valet Service will not be offered at Penn Station or Port Authority. PM Valet Service will be available at all three stations. We appreciate your continued patience and understanding as we dig out!

Here's the link to the station map to check tomorrow morning.

Not sure about other docking stations around here... but the one on East Seventh Street and Avenue A looks ready for action...

Tuesday!



Today!




Updated 1/27

I looked at the station map out of curiosity... you can see the local docking stations that are (and are not!) in service as of this morning... 7th Street and A and East 10th Street along Tompkins Square Park are among those dispensing the bikes...



Bottom two Citi Bike photos by Derek Berg

Residents wonder how much longer their couches will be left buried after Saturday's blizzard

Photo on East 7th Street today via Derek Berg

Report: Police shoot man with knife in Jacob Riis housing complex on East 6th Street

The NYPD reportedly shot a knife-wielding man on the seventh floor of the Jacob Riis II housing complex on East Sixth Street and the FDR late last night.

The Daily News reports:

An NYPD sergeant and officer, both assigned to Police Service Area 4, found a 25-year-old man brandishing a knife, cops said. The man ignored the officers’ repeated commands to drop the knife.

“He kept advancing on them in a threatening manner,” an NYPD spokesman said.

The man, who was shot once in the chest, was taken to Bellevue where his injuries didn't appear to be life threatening, per the Daily News. The paper also described the man as "emotionally disturbed."

WPIX reports that the man, whose grandmother lives in the building, has more than 12 prior arrests.

Screengrab via WPIX

On Broadway, that Teavana (RIP Silver Spurs) will become a Starbucks

[Photo from October 2014 via @elivalley]

Starbucks is reportedly doing away with its Teavana tea bar concept, and is closing its three Manhattan locations, including the one on Broadway at East Ninth Street.

And what will replace Teavana? Per BuzzFeed, who first reported on this:

The company announced on Friday that it will convert the three Teavana tea bar locations in New York into Starbucks stores by the end of April.

For 34 years, the corner space here was home to Silver Spurs, the diner that closed in December 2013.

As for Teavana, Starbucks bought the Atlanta-based company for $620 million in December 2012. While the Teavana tea bars are closing, Starbucks will continue on with the nearly 350 Teavana retail outlets across the country.

H/T Grub Street

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 34 years, Silver Spurs is closing on Broadway

Teary letters to landlord show that local children are devastated over closure of Silver Spurs

Starbucks-owned Teavana coming to the former Silver Spurs space on Broadway

Report: Landmarked East 13th Street building sells for $21.5 million

Back in August, 126-128 E. 13th St between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue and an adjacent property on East 12th Street arrived on the sales market.

And now, The Real Deal reports the property has a new owner: Investor Arthur Minerof's Milan Associates picked up the two buildings for $21.5 million, or $1,670 per square foot.

The dance studio Peridance has a lease through 2028 (with a 5-year option after that) while the 12th Street side houses the Alliance Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts studio.

Per The Real Deal: "Minerof ... is planning a long-term hold of the properties."

As for 126-128 E. 13th St. (as we've cut-and-pasted before), this is believed to be the last surviving horse and carriage auction mart building in New York City, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who helped keep the structure from becoming a seven-story condo back in 2006.

In addition, the building served as the studio of artist Frank Stella, and during World War II was an assembly-line training center for women. (Read more about the building's history at the GVSHP website here.)

In May 2012, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to landmark the building. Several months before this vote, a State Supreme Court judge ordered the sale of the property after the condo developers lost a foreclosure suit, according to The Real Deal.

Image via Cushman & Wakefield

David Bowie tributes on the Bowery and Bond Street

The tributes to David Bowie continue...

In case you didn't read about this one yesterday... during the blizzard on Saturday night, a group of Bowie fans added David to the street sign on the Bowery at East Houston...



You can read more about this at Gothamist and BoweryBoogie.

And not everyone is a fan of the addition. Gawker said that "the tribute is bad and makes no sense."

Meanwhile, another tribute arrived last week on a gate along Bond Street between the Bowery and Lafayette...



You get two versions of Bowie, depending on the direction you're headed... the above shot (going to the west) is from Aladdin Sane ... and there's an older Bowie on the other side ... (this photo is much better than the one I took, so...)

Scott VanderVoort's tribute to David Bowie. Like the one done for Steve Jobs in 2011, one side is young, the other older #davidbowie #ripbowie #thethinwhiteduke #davidbowierip #streetart #nycstreetart #arteurbano #arturbain #artederua #scottvandervoort #liftnewyork

A photo posted by TheDustyRebel (@dustyrebel) on Jan 15, 2016 at 7:00am PST

This installation comes courtesy of Scott VanderVoort, who previously created a tribute to Steve Jobs on the same fence.

-----

...and you've likely seen these around... just as a recap...


[First Park]


[Outside the F stop on 2nd Avenue]


[Lafayette Street]

Car 5087, where are you?

While on patrol in Tompkins Square Park this morning, an NYPD cruiser got stuck in a snowbound area near the dog run...



A group of residents and fellow officers came together to assist...





EVG contributor Derek Berg noted that it took a little more than an hour to free the cruiser.

PYT has closed on the Bowery after just 3 months

PYT — "Home of America's Craaaziest Burgers" — debuted on the Bowery last October. And despite a lot of opening publicity, PYT has closed. For rent signs now hang on the window here at 334 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond.

To date, there isn't any mention of the closure on the PYT social media properties.

This was the first NYC outpost of the Philadelphia burger place known for some pretty wacky creations. Like the Cocoa Krispies Chicken Burger. They also offered the $64 "Basquiat Burger," a misguided effort at paying homage to the neighborhood that BoweryBoogie described as an example of "utter cluelessness"

The space may officially be a doomed location. It was home to Forcella Bowery for nearly three years until November 2014 … only to be replaced in December 2014 by the tapas-friendly Espoleta, which closed six months later to make way for Gia Trattoria. They quickly closed. Then PYT arrived.

The adjacent space, the former SRO Pizza, is also for lease.



Previously on EV Grieve:
PYT bringing its offbeat burger creations to the Bowery

Storytelling with B&H Dairy owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed

[Image via Facebook]

B&H Dairy owners Fawzy and Ola Abdelwahed are among the guests tomorrow night in the new "What's Your Story?" series co-hosted by the East Village Community Coalition and Fourth Arts Block.

Here's a description of the "What's Your Story?" event:

It’ll be an evening of storytelling (similar in format to “The Moth”) by neighborhood artists, residents and business owners. Free and open to the public; free drinks for the first 30 guests, free food for everyone!

Other featured speakers include Sophie Lo from the Museum of Chinese in America and Alex Campaz from Works in Progress NYC.

It all happens tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan 26) from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at UNDER St. Mark's, 94 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Find more info here and here.

With a carrot nose, and two eyes made of lemons...

[Outside Cafe Mocha on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

To be honest, the professionalism and craftsmanship of the now-defunct 5-foot snow penis in Tompkins Square Park took the spotlight away from some of the other more family-friendly snow creations that arrived after the blizzard... here are some of those snowpeople via Bobby Williams...







Feel free to leave your blistering critiques of the children's work in the comments!

[Updated] Woman has her face slashed on the 6 train at Bleecker Street this morning

The NYPD says a 71-year-old woman was slashed in the face while riding a southbound 6 train as it approached Bleecker Street around 7:15 a.m., according to published reports.

The injured woman, who told police that she did not know her attacker, was taken to Bellevue Hospital with a 4-inch laceration on the left side of her face.

The NYPD described the suspect as a light-skinned black or Hispanic 18-year-old man, wearing a red sweater and black sneakers, the Daily News reported. He reportedly fled the scene on board a southbound D train leaving the Broadway-Lafayette station.

Updated 1/26

Police released a sketch of the suspect... and noted that the attack happened on a downtown D train entering the Broadway-Lafayette station... and not the 6 arriving at Bleecker as originally reported in media outlets yesterday...



Gothamist has an update with video surveillance footage and relevant links here.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Updated 1/27

Police arrested 21-year-old Damon Knowles, of Brooklyn, in the assault.

Morning slush hour

Astor Place outside the downtown 6 (though several other corners have a similar look).