Proto's Pizza is closed for remodeling, and now under new management

Photos by Steven 

On Monday, we noticed that Proto's Pizza was closed for a renovation at 50 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street. 

By yesterday, there was an "Under New Management" banner outside...

... with a sign noting that they'll be back open on Tuesday (Aug. 1!)...

Proto's has served up a solid slice since debuting here in 2012 ... new ownership took over in 2015.

A tribute to Sinéad O'Connor on Great Jones

Top photo via EVG from July 15 

A few nights ago, someone did a somewhat half-assed job of buffing out the storefront at 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

So last evening,  artist Adrian Wilson (under his @planndalism account) stopped by to fix the crown that he added earlier this month to the former home-studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat (thanks to EVG reader Uli for the photo below)...

While there, Wilson and Erin Ko added a tribute to Sinéad O'Connor after news of the singer-songwriter's death earlier in the day at age 56.

The wall now includes a quote from a 2014 interview with O'Connor: "If you live with the devil, you find out there’s a God."

As previously reported, Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space this fall for designers and artisans in the space here called Atelier Jolie. 

Thanks to Adrian for sharing the photos!

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

As seen on Seventh Street and First Avenue today.

Aka, Headless body near Tile Bar. 😬 

Background

Today in photos of someone standing in a tree in Tompkins Square Park

As seen on the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park today.

N&Lon7th shared these photos... the one below might offer a better view of the tree climber, who was smiling and comfortable up there in case anyone is/was wondering...

Today in East Village business signage that won't be saved

Photo by Steven 

Farewell to the Crab Du Jour signage... spotted in a dumpster today on First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

The Crabsters closed here back in December after nearly a year in business. 

There is apparently a new tenant for 225 First Ave., though we have yet to hear who.

The great New Double Dragon signage shines brightly again, now on the Lower East Side

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

New Double Dragon was forced to close earlier this month with the pending demolition of its longtime home at 37 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.

However, that great NDD signage lives on.

NDD owner Shawn Lin is friends with Kenney Shi, the proprietor of Soley Tea at 111 Eldridge St. between Broome and Grand. (Both men are Fujianese.)

The two had been discussing preserving the sign for months — once Shawn learned this winter that he might need to shut down his quick-serve Chinese restaurant this year.

Once Shawn finally closed, Kenney hired a sign company to carefully remove and transport it to his shop on the Lower East Side this past July 11...

Kenney saved all the (nonworking) lightbulbs and bought new wiring for the sign with the hopes of having it illuminate his small shop. 

Kenney has also saved and restored other Chinese and Chinatown-area signage, which he displays in his boba tea shop and art gallery...

Soley Tea is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. if you want to pay a visit.

Postscript

After my first visit this past week, Kenney got the signage to light up... even adding a dimmer switch ...

Sami & Susu bring you the Pita Shop by day on Orchard Street

Samu & Susu, the Mediterranean restaurant and wine bar at 190 Orchard St. just south of Houston, is using the space for a new daytime concept called Pita Shop.

Owners Jordan Anderson and Amir Nathan started the business as a lunchtime pop-up in Brooklyn before settling on the Lower East Side in 2021.

Per an Instagram post: 

Pita Shop brings back all the best pita sandwiches you know and love: our sensational cauliflower with red cabbage and zhoug, the spicy harissa chicken with pickles and tahini, and our juicy lamb kebab pita with charred vegetables and shatta. We will have rotating specials along with a big salad and a lamb over rice dish. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pita Shop (@pitashopnyc)

If all goes well, they hope to make the Pita Shop permanent: "In the near future, we will be able to find it a place of its own as an independent quick-service restaurant."

Pita Shop is open Wednesday to Friday from noon to 4 p.m. Find the website here ...  and the Instagram account here.

Meanwhile, Sami & Susu remains open nightly from 5:30-11.

Kuppi Coffee in soft-opening mode on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

The Kuppi Coffee Company outpost is now in soft-open mode at 82 St. Mark's Place (aka 131 First Ave.).

As previously noted, this is the first Manhattan location (and second overall) for the shop based in Edgewater, N.J.

This space is much smaller than its N.J. counterpart, situated on the Hudson with outdoor seating and Manhattan views. In 2018, Architectural Digest named Kuppi the "Most Beautiful Coffee Shop" in New Jersey: "White-washed exposed-brick walls and hung flower boxes — brimming with greenery — bring the outdoors in at Kuppi Coffee Company ..." 

Kuppi offers a variety of coffee drinks and tea ... and we understand they will eventually provide some cafe-type fare on St. Mark's.

There's a small bench along the wall for indoor seating, though they will be adding more seats in the weeks ahead... as well as increasing the hours of operation. For now, Kuppi is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Remote work schedule today in Tompkins Square Park...

Incoming...

A look to the south toward the Lower East Side (and Lower Manhattan) this afternoon as stormy weather moved through the area.

Thanks to EVG reader Michael Kramer for sharing this shot! (Click on the image for a bigger view!)

A return to 'Alphabet City' at Metrograph

At 19, they gave Johnny the streets and everything on it. Tonight they want it all back! 

You have three chances to see the cult-y classic-ish "Alphabet City" from 1984 on a big screen at Metrograph this coming Friday, Saturday and Monday. 

Here's the Metrograph description of Amos Poe's crime drama, filmed in and around the East Village... 

A squalid slab of vintage '80s Downtown grottiness, Poe's features a leather-jacketed, Pontiac Firebird-driving Vincent Spano as a heroin dealer who decides to turn his back on the dope game when his gangster overlords command him to burn down the tenement building where his mother and sister live — but soon discovers his bosses aren't going to let him walk away without a fight. 

Shot by DP Oliver Wood in the scuzzy-glamorous style he would later perfect on 'Miami Vice,' with a score courtesy of Chic's Nile Rodgers, 'Alphabet City' is a seedy snapshot of Avenue A looking worse — and better — than it ever did. 

Behold...

 

And Poe will be at the theater for an introduction and Q&A during Saturday night's screening. 

Tickets, right this way. 

Metrograph is at 7 Ludlow St., just above Canal.

City issues RFP for the renovation and operation of the snack bar at First Park

The Parks Department has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for "the renovation, operation and maintenance" of the snack bar at First Park. 

The Lazy Llama currently holds the lease, which is up in April 2024, here in the space between First Street and Houston adjacent to the First Avenue F stop. 

The coffee shop, which has a cafe across the way at 72 E. First St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has been operating from the kiosk since July 2021. (They can apply for the new lease/agreement as well.) 

Here's some info from the RFP: 

The snack bar kiosk is an octagonal, 10-foot by 15-foot structure featuring a brick exterior, a pass-through counter and window, and a unique, wildlife-inspired roof. The interior includes a service area and storage. The kiosk sits just above the 2nd Avenue F train and is a prime location for commuters and park patrons to stop and enjoy the offerings of the snack bar. 

And!

The concessionaire will be required to renovate, operate, and maintain a café at a high standard of quality. The café should make a significant improvement to the ambiance of the park and surrounding area while providing a convenient service to the public. Proposers should submit a menu and price list in their proposals that demonstrate quality, variety, and affordability. Proposers should include some low-cost items on their menus. Parks will favorably view proposals that incorporate ethnically diverse and/or healthy food choices, such as salads, fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, granola... 

A "recommended" remote prospect meeting is tomorrow (Wednesday, July 26) at 11 a.m. The meeting link via Teams is here. 

You can find a copy of the RFP via this site. (Click on the "Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link.) Proposals are due on Aug. 25 by 3 p.m. 

Previous local businesses at the kiosk include S'MAC and Mudspot Café.

Asbestos abatement ahead of demolition at the NW corner of 1st Avenue and 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

As we previously reported, demolition permits are on file for the three-building parcel of 33-37 First Ave. at Second Street. 

Last week, asbestos abatement notices went up at 33 First Ave., the building on the corner that previously housed the First Avenue Laundry Center (and the spa upstairs) ...

Asbestos abatement notices also just arrived at No. 37,where New Double Dragon was the longtime tenant... the quick-serve restaurant closed earlier this month with hopes of relocating someday. The middle space, No. 35, has been vacant since Stars shuttered in 2015. The storefront had been home to a string of concepts, including Empire Pizza II, IL Gusto Italiano and Farid's Middle Eastern Grill Food & Pizza, among others. 

Public records list R.M.H. Estates as the landlord of all three properties dating to 1984. There are no permits on file for a new building on this corner as of now.

In other news, there's a new mural on the wall along Second Street (where KRS-One was) ... a statement piece from Adrian Wilson (@Plannedalism) incorporating the immigrants crossing sign that the California Department of Transportation started using in 1990...

We've also spotted workers prepping the south-facing wall at atop No. 37 for a new ad.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Goodbye for now to HaveAHeart Studio, the rehearsal space below New Double Dragon

• On 1st Avenue, New Double Dragon is closing, and maybe reopening

• First Avenue Laundry Center is closed for now

Monday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

A recent work by DeGrupo... featuring Travis Bickle... as seen on Houston...

Scrooged

Photos by Steven 

During this past weekend, someone destroyed the plaque about the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree on the fence around the main lawn...

This tree dedication and memorial plaque was new as of the past Christmas season. In early 2020, someone stole the previous version that had been in place for almost 20 years. 

Here's a December 2022 photo of the plaque (via Stacie Joy)...

Albert Fabozzi first planted the Christmas tree in 1992 to honor and memorialize his partner, Glenn Barnett, as well as others who died of AIDS.

RIP to the 'RIP ST MARKS' tag

The steel frame is going up on the NW corner of Third Avenue and St Mark's Place... where a 9-story building — 53,000 square feet of office space and some 8,000 square feet for retail — is slated for the all-new 1 St. Mark's Place. 

Soon to fade from view: the obituary on the west-facing wall of 5 St. Mark's Place that someone painted here in the summer of 2019 — RIP ST. MARK'S...

And while we're here, a progress check four blocks to the south... where 360 Bowery at Fourth Street recently topped off...

When the two buildings are complete, nearly 30 floors of office space will be added along the corridor. 

On this topic... New York magazine's current cover story explores how commercial landlords are scrambling to stave off a real-estate apocalypse as developers try to downsize their office space, from the Financial District to Hudson Yards.

Summer scheduling: Lucy's returns after Aug. 10

After service on Saturday night, Lucy's (aka Blanche's Lucy's Tavern) is now on its (customary) summer break...

See you back on Aug. 11 here at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

P.S.

Liking that Spirograph-y lettering!

Pizza signage update on 9th Street

At last look, there was coming soon signage for an establishment called *******Pizza at 105 E. Ninth St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. 

That was apparently just a pizza placeholder ... as there's now signage up for the actual business name — Nuovo York Pizza, aka "New York Style."

No word yet on an opening date.

This space has been vacant since Toasted Deli went dark at the end of 2022 after nearly 18 months in business. 

The DOH temporarily closes both East Village locations of Kavasutra Kava bar

All reader-submitted photos 

In the past week, at least a dozen readers have reached out about the temporary closures of the two East Village outposts of Kavasutra Kava bar. 

The above photo shows the storefront on First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, where there are eight posted notices from the Department of Health...

According to public records, in a notice dated July 13, the following violations were logged against the Florida-based chain that serves drinks made with kava, a root that contains sedative and anesthetic properties:

1) Duties of an officer of the Department interfered with or obstructed. 

2) Food containing a prohibited substance held, kept, offered, prepared, processed, packaged, or served.

Kavasutra's first NYC outpost on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue is also temporarily closed.

The DOH notice, dated July 12, lists the following:

1) Failure to comply with an order of the Board of Health, Commissioner or Department.

The DOH also cited this "failure to comply" in a visit on Jan. 4. 

We reached out to the DOH for more details about the closures. 

On 10th Street, there are also eight DOH notices on the front window ... along with various signs with messages ranging from "Enjoy Life Sober" to "Fight for Fiji" to "Defund the D.O.H." to some hand-drawn penises and breasts ...

There are also signs promising "Back soon" and "We will be back."

The 10th Street Kavasutra location opened in July 2015; the First Street outpost in December 2019.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Report: Kavasutra ownership blasts educators who teach remotely, 'pussy leftists' for wearing masks (March 14, 2021)

Sunday's parting shots

Photos by Steven 

AKA, Searching for members of the Nielson family... as seen outside the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

If of interest, the cemetery's website has a list of interments by vault.