37 1st Ave., once home to some East Village music history, is now rubble

The three buildings at 33-37 First Ave. are now a pile of bricks and rubble on the NW corner of Second Street. 

Late last spring, EVG's Stacie Joy toured the No. 37's basement, home to HaveAHeart, one of the last underground East Village music studio spaces. 

Stacie and her tour guide also ventured upstairs to the apartments that had been vacated ahead of the pending demoliton...

Aside from the once-common basement studio, it turns out there was another music connection upstairs at No. 37.

Billy Ficca, a drummer best known for his work in Television, The Waitresses and The Washington Squares, lived here... there was even a piece of a drum kit left behind...

You can read about pending development coming to this parcel here.

Sunday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Brooklyn-based artist Michela Muserra recreated her mural, titled "Despues de la lluvia" ("After the rain"), on 12th Street and Avenue C today. 

As we noted on Friday, someone painted over the brand-new work several days after Muserra completed the painting at the 12C Outdoor Gallery.

Muserra completed the work today during the annual Loisaida Festival ... we'll have photos from the festival later...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from 3rd Street and Avenue A)...

• Hopes for a new East Village home for Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen (Friday) ... East Village staple Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen has closed on 7th Street; operators hope to find a new space (Thursday) 

• These East Village residents are still cooking up a unique book of recipes (Monday)

• A neighbor buys the landmarked Isaac T. Hopper Home on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• The Damned's Captain Sensible on the return of drummer Rat Scabies, the importance of the Ramones and the legend of CBGB (Thursday)

• Someone painted over this brand-new mural on 12th Street and Avenue C (Friday) 

• At the annual Dance Parade and DanceFest (Tuesday) 

• A look at Yoshiko Chuma's 'Extreme Classics' at La Mama (Saturday) 

• Check out the hand-painted punk posters of Masato Okano (Saturday) 

• The present and future of the NW corner of 1st Avenue and 2nd Street (Monday) 

• A Sustainable Village will be on the move this summer (Wednesday) 

• Cello’s Pizzeria now in soft-open mode on St. Mark's Place (Friday) 

• Openings: The Onion Tree Pizza Co. on 1st Avenue (Thursday) ... Sunflower Cafe on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• A curbside structure demolition party at Lucky on Avenue B (Friday) 

• Busted & shuttered at the Grab & Go on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• A quick visit to Gnocchi on 9th (Tuesday) • From the Heads Up Dept.: In case you are thinking of trespassing at 325 E. Houston St. (Saturday) 

• Today in free, weird circus-y things (Tuesday)

• A man and his duck (Sunday) 

• A look around at the "perfect woman" flyer knock-off industry (Wednesday) 

Speaking of which, more people are now seeking "perfect" things...

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At yesterday's hardcore matinee in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Tompkins Square Park played host to the "Back to the NYHC Roots" music series yesterday afternoon. 

The slate of bands, presented by The Shadow and New York Hardcore Chronicles, included Winter Wolf ...

... Kārtël ...

... and Non Residents...

...and scenes from the crowd...

... and there was a photogenic finale...

The afternoon also included sets from Redwoods and Incendiary Device.

Days of wine and Rosé

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On a recent early Friday evening, Brix Wine Shop held its annual Rosé Gala ... this year in the courtyard at the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on Ninth Street and Avenue B. (Brix previously held the event at La Plaza Cultural down the block). 

It was a pleasant evening with many familiar East Village friends and neighbors, including Brix owner Beatriz Gutierrez and Pastor Will with his husband Steven ... and several bottles of rosé.

Reminders: The Loisaida Festival is today

Poster by Juan Carlos Pinto 

In case you missed our post this past Tuesday: The annual Loisaida Festival is today.

This year's theme is "A Cultural Mosaic," which organizers say "beautifully encapsulates the diverse heritage and vibrant spirit of New York City's Lower East Side." 

The event, which unfolds along Avenue C-Loisaida Avenue between Fifth Street and 12th Street, includes more than 50 artisans and 10 food vendors. (And this goes on rain or shine, in case you were eyeing the weather.)

There's also a slate of bands and musicians (including Pinc Louds at noon) on the main stage and elsewhere on the festival grounds. Visit this link for details.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

At the end of the hardcore show today in Tompkins Square Park... more photos on the way tomorrow...

A look at Yoshiko Chuma's 'Extreme Classics' at La Mama

EVG regular Daniel Efram attended a dress rehearsal Wednesday evening for "Extreme Classics," the latest production from East Village resident Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks at La Mama. 

Per Dan (via Instagram):

It's a moving and mind-altering production, equal parts political commentary, dance, theater, musical, and art abstraction. 

Yoshiko Chuma (conceptual artist, choreographer/artistic director of The School of Hard Knocks) has been a firebrand in the post-modern dance scene of New York City since the 1980s, has been consistently producing thought-provoking work that is neither dance nor theater nor film nor any other predetermined category. She is an artist on her own journey. A path that has taken her to over 45 "out of the way" countries and collected over 2,000 artists, thinkers and collaborators of every genre since establishing her company The School of Hard Knocks in New York City in 1980.

You can see "Extreme Classics" tonight at 8:30 and tomorrow at 5. The production, a shared evening with Taryn Griggs and Chris Yon, is at The Club at La Mama, 74 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Details are here.

Reminders: the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is underway

In case you missed our post from Tuesday...

If you're looking for some free arts and entertainment this weekend, Theater for the New City is the place to be. 

TNC has scheduled more than 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers, and filmmakers for its 29th annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will continue through tomorrow.

Indoor performances will occur daily from 6 p.m. to midnight, using two of TNC's four theaters. Meanwhile, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (today!), vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will set up on the closed-off block of 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue during another series of performances. 

You can find the complete list of activities (and times) at this link. 

Admission is free, though TNC will gladly accept donations. 

TNC is at 155 First Ave. at 10th Street.

From the Heads Up Dept.: In case you are thinking of trespassing at 325 E. Houston St.

Photos by Stacie Joy

Just FYI — "Thieves will be beaten."
 

Check out the hand-painted punk posters of Masato Okano

This afternoon, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) unveils a hand-painted punk poster exhibition, a collection featuring the unique work of illustrator-musician Masato Okano. 

The show, "Art Speaks More Than Words," will feature his large canvas banners, including the free matinees by NYHC Chronicles at Niagara and Bowery Electric. 

The opening is today from 3 to 9 p.m. Okano will paint live at 6 (accompanied by saxophonist Johnny Butler) following the hardcore show scheduled in Tompkins Square Park. (See flyer below.)

Viewing hours: today, 3-9 p.m.; tomorrow, 1-5 p.m. June 1/8: 1-5 p.m.; June 2/9, 1-9 p.m. 

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street. 

And here's info about today's show in Tompkins...

Saturday's opening shot

This morning on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

Friday's parting crime alert

Who remembers when Union Square used to be a safe place to shop? Bring back S. Klein! 

Thanks to Steven for the screengrab...

Smashing 'Pumpkin'

 

NYC's Been Stellar released a new video this week, this one for the single "Pumpkin."

The band's debut record, "Scream from New York," drops on June 14.

Someone painted over this brand new mural on 12th Street and Avenue C

Update 5/25: Michela will be recreating the mural here on Sunday during the Loisaida Festival.

Earlier this week, Brooklyn-based artist Michela Muserra (seen in the top photo taken several days ago) finished a new mural on the SW corner of 12th Street and Avenue C — aka the 12C Outdoor Gallery. 

This morning, residents awoke to find that someone had hastily (and inexplicably) whited out the mural. We're told the white paint was still wet.

A block source told us that a few parents and students from the Children's Workshop School "were standing in front of it, openly sad and almost weeping that something so beautiful got destroyed." 

We hear that residents filed a police report ... and were told that "the perps" were captured on multiple surveillance cameras and could charged with criminal mischief. 

Muserra titled the work "Despues de la lluvia" ("After the rain"), a sister mural to one that she created in Caguas, Puerto Rico. 

This morning, she reacted to the vandalism in an Instagram post: "Oh well, not mad to be honest. I can redo that in a matter of hours, not even worried about the paint. That is not the problem. The problem is their miserable life where apparently the most exciting thing is to go over other people's work. A work done for the community."

The work was completed ahead of the annual Loisaida Festival this Sunday.

The corner building is owned by the city and managed by Asian Americans for Equality in conjunction with the Tenant Interim Lease Program, the Affordable Neighborhood Co-op Program, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Ownership is planning to press charges, we're told.

Hopes for a new East Village home for Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen's former chef

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy

Photo from May 18 

Updated 5/31: Streecha reopens today under new management. In this post, Rev. Father Johan Lubiv, the administrator of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church for the past four years, discusses what has transpired here recently.

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Yesterday, the closure of Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, a favorite no-frills spot for many residents over the years, was met with shock and sadness. 

According to the operators, the unnamed landlord of the building at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square "decided to go in a different direction." 

The news hit several days after the annual Saint George Ukrainian Festival on the block, where the subterranean space remained busy during the weekend.

The news of their departure was a complete surprise to Dima Kovalenko, the chef overseeing the kitchen for the past 10 years. 

"The owner wants to do some renovations ... and then use it for their needs," he said. 

Despite the sudden closure, there is a ray of hope. After our post yesterday afternoon, Kovalenko said several community members stepped up with potential storefronts in the neighborhood so that Streecha could continue serving their traditional Ukrainian cuisine. 

However, this remains in the exploratory phase.

While he's heartened by the response from regulars and the potential new space, he said that it will not be the same. 

Streecha has been helping generate income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on the block since the 1970s. Many church members also serve as volunteers, and they gather here on Fridays to help make the vareniki (Ukrainian dumplings).

Public records list Order of St. Basil the Great, Inc. as the property owner.

Cello’s Pizzeria now in soft-open mode on St. Mark's Place

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Cello's Pizzeria debuted in soft-open mode on Wednesday afternoon at 36 St. Mark's Place, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

I spotted the chef and pizzamaker, James Jaworski, behind the counter...

He was also with the previous pizzeria here, Funzi's (more on them in a sec). 

We understand the new partners include some members of the Rosa's Pizza family, the operator of Whitman's on Ninth Street, and the owner of Dough Doughnuts, which may explain the presence of these for sale...

There are no menus or prices for the pizza (we were told approximately $4 for a slice) just yet, only what's listed on the wall and/or prepped behind the counter.

Hours for now are noon to 8-9 p.m. during the week, with a 10 p.m.-ish close on weekends. A beer-wine license is on the way.

A little pizzeria history here... Funzi's opened late last June and aspired to be an East Village throwback with a 1970s-80s decor modeled after owner Kevin Cox's grandmother's house.

Cox left the business in November, taking Funzi's name with him for a new version of the pizzeria in another EV location. (Funzi was named after the youngest of Cox's three sons.) We never heard anything more about a new spot for Cox. 

After Cox departed, the business pivoted to St. Marks Pizzeria, with a message on its website noting, "Same Pizza. Same Chef's. Same Location. New Name." This post-Funzi concept went dark in December, and paper covere the front windows until this recent unveiling.