Friday, April 30, 2021

3rd & B’Zaar will 'Spring Into Pride' throughout May on 3rd Street

3rd & B’Zaar is ready to Spring Into Pride in May.

The mixed-vendor market and event space at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B debuts its latest extravaganza tomorrow (May 1) with 30 local designers, artists, makers, vintage sellers, etc., including (in the top photo) Sara Ann Rutherford, Frank New and Delphine le Goff.

Hours: 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Ahead of the grand opening, East Village-based artist Scooter LaForge was putting his mark on the interior... EVG contributor caught a work-in-progress glimpse the other day...
3rd & B’Zaar debuted late last year with a month-long Holiday Market ... followed by Sex, Love & Vintage in February.... with several art shows for good measure. 

Thursday, April 29, 2021

East Village Flea is back at 1st and 1st on Saturday

There's another East Village Flea (aka Nexus Flea) this Saturday (May 1!) on First Street and First Avenue (Peretz Square) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Look for some live music in the afternoon with Raven (2 p.m.) and Robert Leslie (3 p.m.).

A visit to [plant-baked]

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

The display in the front window at [plant-baked], the newish bakery at 117 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, was nearly empty by the time I arrive on an overcast Friday afternoon — a sign of a healthy day of business. 

I’m here to talk with the small shop’s owners: Parker — self-titled Head of Delivery and Dishwashing — and Yunsu (both prefer to go by first names only) — chef/owner and Head Dough Flinger. The two East Village residents are partners in both business and life.

Parker said that it’s sometimes difficult to gauge demand/supply. On the previous day, there were unsold pastries, which they delivered to the nearby East Village Community Fridge.

During our talk, we touched on the challenges of starting a small business during a pandemic and overcoming adversities as well as their plans for the future.
You mentioned you don’t use the word “vegan” anywhere in your marketing. But your products and both of you are vegan. What made you decide to go eschew the term?

Parker: In my mind, vegan is a term that functions as an identity for people, but food should be described by the ingredients that are in the dish, baked good, etc. It’s the main reason we decided on the name [plant-baked] in the first place, to make it as apparent as possible that our ingredients come from plants. We focus our energy on producing delicious food that happens to be vegan, and anyone who is curious enough to try it out is welcome to, whether they are vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous.

Your font and design choices are very specific. Why the decision to use brackets in your name and all lowercase lettering?

Parker: This choice grew rather naturally from some original packaging we were doing for a wholesale client. The packaging included the name of the item: The Classic Croissant, company name 3B Eats and the phrase plant-based, so our croissants would be easily distinguished from the animal-based options they also had available. 

We grew fond of the simplicity and subtle nature of the term. When we discussed names for our retail location, it came out as the winner (among many ideas that were tossed around) because of that simplicity. Making the name lowercase and bracketed denounces the proper noun format to instead help convey some basic information about what we offer.

Yunsu: Also, as a side-note, I’m personally a huge stickler for fonts, having dabbled in some journalism and growing up with a mother who used to be a professional journalist. Apparently, it’s something that stuck.

Is [plant-baked] under the umbrella of 3B Eats

Parker: 3B Eats is the company we formed originally to start our business. The 3B comes from the apartment where we first started this baking adventure. “Eats” seemed like the right kind of catchy food-oriented term. The bonus was that our business was indeed founded to help make sure the residents of apartment 3B could continue to eat. The downside is that the business name is difficult to convey when speaking, and often had people confused about our business name (3 Beets? 3Beats? Three Bee Eats?).
 
When launching into our retail location, it was a good chance to remedy that with a new DBA. We get far less confusion, but still end up with the occasional “planet-baked” and other slight mutations but overall a step in the right direction.
 
Yunsu: [plant-baked] just opened and it’s exciting to be able to be on this journey making delicious plant-based baked goods, but that’s not all we want to create. We have many different ideas where we want to explore sustainable, plant-based foods and figured creating an all-encompassing “3B Eats” company would be more suitable for such endeavors rather than limiting ourselves.
 
What prompted the decision to launch a business during some of the worst days of the pandemic?

Parker: It was a convergence of finding passion and running out of unemployment benefits. We found ourselves unemployed just before the pandemic reached the U.S. and sent us into lockdown. The job search was hard before the pandemic and only ended up significantly worse after the lockdown started. There were hundreds of applications between us both, but everything came up short. With benefits and opportunities running short, we had to fill our time with something productive to keep our spirits up. 

Yunsu had been craving a classic, buttery croissant. After searching for some that were made locally, we found there wasn’t a single bakery in the neighborhood that made them. With nowhere to turn, we embarked on making our own. A few iterations later, and we realized we were actually making some headway and feeling fantastic working on a project that was all our own. 

Before we knew it, we were filing our business name, then selling pastries wholesale to cafes in the city, and building our own kitchen to keep up with the demand. If asked a year ago, I would never have assumed this to be the path we were on. 
 
Yunsu: I remember the moment I turned to Parker and simply asked, “How do I become a baker?” I never thought this would be possible. From figuring out how to make our own (plant-based) butter to iterating recipe after recipe to hone the flavor profile of our dough, I feel like I’m still learning even in our kitchen today. Just this week I figured out another trick to better manage our baking schedule (it takes three days to make our croissants from starting the dough to pulling them out of the oven). And hopefully, this new lesson will lead to more time dedicated to doing more R&D projects (our true passion).
The flood resulting from the second broken water main on Seventh Street and First Avenue in late December damaged your new oven and delayed your grand opening in early January. How did you overcome this disappointing setback? 

Parker: I wish it had been the flood’s fault for the broken oven — at least it wouldn’t have felt like everything was working against us — but they were actually separate events. We were supposed to open our doors in mid-December (around the time of the first flood on Seventh Street) and found out our oven was damaged in transit, causing us to burn a whole day’s orders for our wholesale clients and effectively shutting our doors before they were even open to the public. 

Then came the challenge of getting repair services and parts ordered out to fix the damage during the holidays, which means it took an additional three weeks and two separate repair services. In the middle of trying to get it all repaired, the second flood came. This one was late at night, so we ended up coming out to the shop to mitigate any damages. We worked alongside some of our neighboring businesses to redirect the flooding off the sidewalk and back into the streets.
 
In a weird way, that flood actually helped the other setbacks feel smaller and reaffirmed our choice to open up on Seventh Street with some really wonderful neighbors. 
 
Yunsu: I remember that night vividly. After a full day of working on the shop, we finally got home. By the time we laid down in bed, I got the Citizen app notification on my phone. In the back of my mind, I knew we would have to go back, but I kept hoping it wouldn’t be as bad as last time, only I was wrong. Our super called us moments later, asking us to come back to the shop/building to check the basement for him. And lo and behold, it was actually worse than the first flood. 

But overall, I definitely think it was a pretty memorable and good bonding experience for us and our neighbors. Would I want to do it again? Absolutely not.

Why did you decide on this space on Seventh Street? Did the proximity to several of Ravi DeRossi’s vegan restaurants play any part in this?

Parker: We looked at spaces everywhere from the Lower East Side to Union Square, but at the heart of it, we knew we wanted to be in the East Village. This is where we first lived when moving to the city, and the energy here is like none other. 
 
The East Village also is one of the most plant-based-friendly neighborhoods around, largely thanks to Overthrow Hospitality and Mathew Kenney Cuisine’s concepts. The weight of those two food groups, and others just starting to warm up to plant-based concepts, plus the independently owned restaurants, make the neighborhood a blooming oasis.
 
Yunsu: In terms of our requirements when searching for a location, indoor dining wasn’t an option or a desire by any means. Also, we were more focused on looking for a space that would foster our ability to grow and sustain our wholesale business, so we were looking for more of a kitchen than a retail location.
 
We had originally toured a space next door (that soon after became Los Tacos), but realized that the existing buildout wouldn’t have worked for us, and would have to be removed for us to build out the kitchen. Los Tacos did an excellent job with the existing space, in my opinion. 

Once our broker showed us the space we now reside in, we fell in love with it. It was simple, much larger than our previous space, and gave us the flexibility to design our kitchen from scratch. 

The windowed frontage was nowhere near the top of our list of desired traits, but it has become one of my favorite aspects of the shop. I actually was the one to propose that we utilize the window to showcase my dough-flinging.
The setup is very unique. Patrons at the window can see the full kitchen operation. Is this total transparency in the baking process important to you?

Parker: Absolutely — for multiple reasons. First, not only is our food plant-based, but also free from palm oil, soy, sesame, peanuts and tree nuts (except coconut, which is not a true tree nut, but is regulated as one by the FDA). 

When serving customers who may have severe allergic reactions to specific ingredients (there are 100-plus known food allergies, only 8 are regulated in the U.S.), transparency is the only way to ensure a safe and delicious experience. 
 
Second, the lockdown was an eye-opening experience to reexamine our societal practices. In most circumstances, the kitchen is relegated to a tiny back room so cramped that no one has room to walk in a straight line without bumping into equipment, people, etc. It always comes down to maximizing the production per square foot while also maximizing your sales capacity (seating) to increase your revenue. 

After seeing how some businesses reimagined their spaces to meet the new challenges — Superiority Burger on Ninth Street is a fantastic example — it became clear we didn’t need any service space for the foreseeable future. Serving right out the door is an approach that will be around for a while.
 
Third, the transparency of an open kitchen catches attention and focuses that attention on the food being made. Most of my prior kitchen experience had either full or partially open kitchen concepts so customers could see the action. Who doesn’t love seeing a bit of the fire and excitement that goes into making the food about to be served? 
 
Yunsu: We don’t have nearly as much fire in our bakery, but the meticulous assembly of laminated dough can be just as mesmerizing. 
 
Also, it affects our pricing model. The price you see in our window is the price you pay. No additional taxes, no tipping, and no pricing meant to leverage the brain’s tendency to round $4.99 down to $4 to increase revenue. We charge what we need to run our business and pay ourselves — and any future employees — enough to live in the neighborhood. We hope that model catches on.
What has the reception from residents and patrons been like to date? Do you have any expansion plans, and do you envision a day when you have a full cafe-style operation with seating, etc.?

Parker: The reception has been overwhelming at times. We have many local regulars who are fantastic and help spread the word about us. We have many non-local regulars who make decent treks from Brooklyn, Queens, and uptown just to get their favorites. 

We sometimes get overlooked due to our small size, simple design and unusual kitchen-only design. Still, we would rather win the recognition through word-of-mouth than worry too much about trying to draw people in with a bunch of fanfare. 
 
Yunsu: As for expansion, our plans currently only go so far as our existing lease in our current location. We’re a power-baking duo that may or may not opt to grow to have employees. We love being a Ma-and--Pa shop, which makes the idea of a full-service cafe concept pretty far out there, but I wouldn’t rule out anything. 

Our business has been successful due to our agility and adaptation. So, being flexible with our concept while adhering to our values will be the way we keep building our future. We have lots of ideas and goals we want to achieve, just not enough time.
You can keep up with the bakery here. Current hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.-ish!

Art gallery in the works for this Avenue A space

There's a new tenant for 64 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

Stacie Joy spotted Phillip March Jones, an artist, writer and curator, inside the space this week...
This past October, he started MARCH, "a curatorial platform and gallery operating at the intersection of visual art and social justice." 

Here's more about MARCH:
The gallery presents artworks in a variety of formats and settings — online, in collaboration with other institutions, and at off-site locations — with the aim of amplifying the voices and showcasing the talents of under-recognized artists.

Until June 2020, this storefront was Alphabets ... when owner Linda Heidinger moved the novelty-gift shop to Palm Springs, Calif.  

Openings: Etérea debuts on 5th Street

Etérea, the latest plant-based concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open (as of last night) at 511 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Per the Overthrow Instagram account:
Etérea is Spanish for "ethereal," meaning "light and delicate, as if not of this world." It communicates our CEO Ravi DeRossi's vision of a tequila and mezcal bar unlike any other in the city, past or present. With deep red velvet banquettes, vividly colorful pillows, and thousands of hanging flowers, we hope the place will offer our guests an escape from the rat race of the city. ⠀
Mixologist Sother Teague from Amor y Amargo is behind the bar menu here ... while Executive Chef Xila Caudillo oversees the plant-based small plates "that honor her Mexican Heritage and SoCal Upbringing."

Etérea is open Wednesday-Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, with a 2 p.m. open on Saturday and Sunday. You can find the menu here

DeRossi's other EV establishments include Avant Garden, Ladybird and the recently opened Cadence.

And previously here... Violet, the restaurant by the Pizza Loves Emily Group and chef/owner Matt Hyland, did not reopen after the COVID-19 PAUSE.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before Violet, there was Goat TownSeymour Burton, Butcher Bay and GG's.   

The Cock plans a move to the former Fat Baby space on Rivington Street

Updated 5/12: There is opposition to this application. BoweryBoogie has more here.

The Cock looks to be leaving its home at 93 Second Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street for new digs on the Lower East Side.

Owner Allan Mannarelli, an East Village resident, will appear before CB3's SLA committee on May 12 for a new liquor license at 112 Rivington St., the former Fat Baby space.

"We are moving due to lease issues — particularly the price and length of term," Mannarelli said in an email. "We actually love our landlord at 93 Second Avenue, but our individual needs are dissimilar."

Mannarelli, whose former credits include neighborhood scourge Superdive, said that they "intend to create a new paradigm for proper behavior as it relates to our footprint in the community."

The Cock, once described as "the last filthy gay bar in New York," moved to No. 93 in late 2015 (you may recall the "Block the Cock" campaign) ... it first opened on Avenue A in 1998 before relocating to 25 Second Ave. several years later.

With a possible move, coupled with the official closure of The Pyramid, Mannarelli said that this "leaves us with what I consider to be a gaping hole" in East Village nightlife. 

Mannarelli has thoughts about a possible new tenant for No. 93, previously Lit Lounge. "It struck me that The Pyramid would be perfect for that space, and I would like to try to make that happen."

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

A free market and Tompkins Square Park cleanup on Friday

On Friday, the volunteers behind East Village Mutual Aid are hosting a Free Market and Park Cleanup on Ninth Street at Avenue A. 

From noon to 4 p.m., there will be tables providing pantry items, to-go food, toiletries and literature, among other items. 

And then, from 3 to 4 p.m., the group will be doing a cleanup of Tompkins Square Park. Anyone interested in helping with this may just show up at 3 p.m. 

Questions? evillagemutualaid@gmail.com

You will be able to sit at a bar again on Monday; food-with-drinks rule may be suspended

Gov. Cuomo announced today that, starting on Monday, seating at bars will be allowed in New York City — for the first time in nearly 14 months.

In addition, the midnight food and beverage service curfew will be lifted for outdoor dining areas beginning May 17 and for indoor dining areas beginning May 31.

Per a Cuomo press release: "Lifting these restrictions for restaurants, bars and catering companies will allow these businesses that have been devastated by the pandemic to begin to recover as we return to a new normal in a post-pandemic world."

Per Eater:
The move follows months of pushback from restaurant and bar owners across the city, who have been calling on elected officials to lift the state's midnight curfew. Industry trade groups and local politicians have also spoken out against the curfew, calling it an unfair, "arbitrary" restriction that hampers the ability of restaurateurs to bring in revenue due to earlier cutoff times.
Meanwhile, New York lawmakers are prepping to suspend the food-with-drink rule at bars as soon as this week, per The New York Times. Cuomo enacted the directive for "substantive" meals at bars last July as a way to keep patrons seated at tables.

Some bars, already under a financial strain and working with skeleton crews, needed to create a menu (Hello bags of Funyuns!) and whip up a kitchen or be forced to close — even if they never served food before the COVID-19 PAUSE. 

Last summer, Abby Ehmann, the owner of Lucky at 168 Avenue B, launched a petition asking Cuomo to roll back his mandate. Several days later, the SLA suspended her license and issued a fine after agents saw that she was not serving food with drinks.

More fallout from Saturday's hardcore show in Tompkins Square Park, and an exclusive look at the event application

Reporting by Stacie Joy

The fallout from Saturday's hardcore matinee in Tompkins Square Park continues. 

Gothamist reported yesterday that the Parks Department has revoked permits for seven upcoming events that were organized by East Village resident Chris Flash, who had applied for the permit for the Saturday show. (Two of the events had already received city approval.) 

According to PIX11 and Gothamist, reps from the Parks Department said that Saturday's free all-ages show was billed as a "September 11 Memorial" on the permit application, a point that made headlines at both outlets and drew outrage from readers for its brazenness. Each outlet said that the Parks Department had provided them with a copy of the permit.

In an interview with EVG's Stacie Joy on Monday, Flash, who has organized concerts in Tompkins Square Park since 2006, said that the permit he filed for on April 24 did not mention 9/11.

"Nowhere did it say anything about September 11. We did apply for a September 11 memorial event, but it was for September," Flash said. "Why would we apply for a September 11 memorial in April?" 

As proof, he shared a copy of the approved permit (submitted last Nov. 2 and OK'd on March 23 — we blocked out his address and contact information) that the Parks Department had previously shared with him for the date.

The permit shows the event name titled "rally/concert." (click on the image for more details) ...
It's not immediately clear why the approved permit Flash received from the city differs from the ones the Parks Department is sharing with media outlets.

"I think the spokesperson entered my name and all the permits came up — there are eight of them, seven left — and she gave them one random application," Flash told Stacie last night. "I wanted May Day — it has social and political implications. They refused to give us May Day. They offered us April 24, which I accepted."

He also has concerns about the Parks Department "violating his confidentiality" by releasing the permits to reporters.

"And in addition to violating my confidentiality, [the Parks Department] gave out the wrong information," Flash said. 

Elsewhere on the permit, there's a mention of "amplified sound from 2-6 p.m. with proper sound device permit from NYPD." 

The attendance is listed on the permit as 100, and estimates put Saturday's crowd size at 2,000 during the late-afternoon sets by bands with large followings — Bloodclot, Murphy's Law and Madball. 

At the time of this filing this past November, Flash said they didn't know who was going to play on that date. The show, which also served as a fundraiser for the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation, was first announced by Black N' Blue Productions on April 8. 

According to Gothamist, "the alleged misrepresentations" on the permit along with the crowd size (outdoor events in New York are capped at 500) and the lack of masks and social distancing prompted the Parks Department to revoke the permits for Flash for the remainder of the year. (Flash previously said that they followed the city's three pages of COVID-related requirements.)

The large number of maskless attendees during a pandemic drew the ire of people on social media as well as some residents who were in the park on Saturday afternoon. Local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein referred to the show as a "super spreader event" in a tweet.

In a message with Stacie yesterday, he wrote: "I was in the park on Saturday and saw the overwhelming crowd. They violated their permit, and [the Parks Department] withdrew all future permits. I agree with that decision. It was not safe."

Meanwhile, Flash said that he has not heard from anyone at the Parks Department. 

"All I know so far is that the Parks Department said they are going to review everything. I applied for eight shows, so seven are coming up," he said. "It remains to be seen what their next move is. They have no legitimate grounds to refuse us permits for any future events. I do not know the requirements for a rescinded permit, but I have not been contacted."

And...

"Regardless of what happens, I will be discussing this with my lawyer. I have a 15-year clean track record of being conscientious and following all the rules and regulations. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to issue a warning?"

Flash described this all as "a momentary media frenzy." 

"They will move on and find something new to have a frenzy over," he said. "In short, I am not worried in the least. I welcome a good fight."

Updated 2 p.m.

Flash confirmed the following: "The Parks Department emailed us a two-page letter informing us of their intention to revoke all subsequent permits in TSP." No word on the next steps.


El Carnaval coming soon to the former Fonda space on Avenue B

Updated: El Carnaval opened on May 9!

Coming soon signage arrived Monday at 40 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street for El Carnaval, a Panamanian restaurant and bar. 

We're told the new venture is from the folks who run KC Gourmet Empanadas right next door...
... that space looks to become a to-go outpost for El Carnaval...
Fonda, the previous tenant at 40 Avenue B, closed last summer. The Mexican restaurant's other locations in Chelsea and Park Slope remain open. This outpost opened in February 2012, stopping the revolving door of restaurants to come and go here.

Thanks to Stacie Joy for the photos and Vinny & O for the tip!

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Tuesday's parting shots

Christo, one of the red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park, took a nest break yesterday ... and visited some children... or was his mind elsewhere?
Per jackflashnyc, who shared these pics: "He seemed curious of the kids, though moments later we found a mortally wounded rat at our feet that may have been his real focus."

Meanwhile, in the dog run...

From yesterday: Why not come dancing? ...
Thanks to Barb Feinberg for the photo...

[Updated] Questions arise after packed hardcore matinee Saturday in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Tompkins Square Park played host to a hardcore matinee on Saturday afternoon, and now the Parks Department is reportedly investigating the permit application.

The all-ages show featured five bands: the Capturers, Wisdom in Chains, BloodclotMurphy's Law and Madball. Organizer Black N' Blue Productions collected donations to cover expenses, with a portion designated for the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation. 

The combination of the bands' large followings, ideal spring weather, and lack of live shows over the past year helped draw a large crowd on a day where a lot of people were already in the Park for the usual Saturday festivities on the lawn as well as an organized youth event on the basketball courts. 

While there isn't an official attendance tally, some estimates put the crowd size for the concert at more than 2,000 at its peak late in the afternoon. According to New York State, the maximum number of people attending outdoor events is currently capped at 500.

Photos from the show circulating on social media have drawn the ire of people who pointed out the limited mask-wearing and social distancing (particularly difficult in a moshpit). 

Some residents passing through also expressed concern about the size of the show and the lack of masks. In a tweet, local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein questioned why permits were issued while the city remains in recovery mode from COVID-19...
Not all local elected officials immediately questioned the decision. City Councilmember Keith Powers was in attendance... tweeting out a mask-wearing selfie...
"We're all excited about supporting our music scene, but we still need to remember that we're in a pandemic," Powers told Gothamist yesterday. 

And:
Asked about the safety of the event, he went on to reference a Gorilla Biscuits song: "I have reached out to organizers to remind them to 'start today' with better social distancing protocols."
However, it may be potentially too late. A Parks Department spokesperson told Gothamist: "This matter is actively being investigated as the permit application filed and agreement appear to have been violated — future permits are in jeopardy."

PIX 11 followed up, reporting that the event was "misrepresented" on the application.
The Parks Department was led to believe the event was a political rally with about 100 people expected to attend — not the estimated 2,000-person crowd that showed up for a hardcore concert, according to the spokesperson.

A copy of the permit obtained by PIX11 shows the name of the event was listed as "September 11 Memorial" and the description was a "political rally with music and speakers."

According to PIX 11, the Parks Department "moved to revoke all permits by the organizers," including the A7 "Back To The NYHC Roots" New York Hardcore Compilation Record Release show scheduled for May 8.

[Updated 5 p.m. Parks Department spokesperson Crystal Howard told Gothamist today, "We are moving to revoke all permits for this organizer and related future events." That equals seven total events.]

Chris Flash, the publisher of The Shadow, who has organized concerts in Tompkins Square Park since 2006, disputes PIX 11's coverage. He told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that he applied for the permit for a "rally/concert" for April 24. 

"Nowhere did it say anything about September 11. We did apply for a September 11 memorial event, but it was for September," Flash said. "Why would we apply for a September 11 memorial in April?"

Stacie viewed the permit, which was submitted to the city on Nov. 2, 2020. It does not mention a 9/11 memorial. The event name is titled "rally/concert." 

"We were given a 3-page list of things the Parks Department wanted us to comply with — we complied with all of the stipulations," Flash said. "We were required to provide gloves, masks, sanitizer and a clipboard if someone wanted to voluntarily provide contact tracing. We provided two tables with all the necessary supplies. We cannot enforce rules, we can't — we're not the police. Even the police said they can't enforce."

According to Flash, the application asked how many people were estimated to attend. 

"We put down 100-plus. The application is put in 6 to 12 months ahead of time," he said. "At the time we filed, we didn't know who was going to play.

"We have the total and utmost reverence for our beloved Tompkins Square Park," Flash said. "It is the last bastion against creeping gentrification. We fought for it: in the media, in the streets and in the courts. We will never trash the park, and we will do everything right and everything in compliance. We have a track record going back to 2006 — every show is without incident."

Meanwhile, Stacie was there Saturday and shared these photos...

Monday, April 26, 2021

Lois will yield to Accidental Bar on Avenue C

Lois, the wine bar at 98 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, closed last fall with plans to return this spring.
 
During the break, though, owners Nora O'Malley and Phoebe Connell decided to pursue other opportunities. 

"It is not, however, the typical COVID closure story," O'Malley told me via email. "The good news is that our dear friend Austin Power — yes, for real — will be taking over the space."

With an official June 1 opening date, Power will debut Accidental Bar, dedicated to sake.

Per a media release on the new space:
Similar to Lois, Accidental Bar will offer a revolving beverage list of sake, along with a curated selection of wines and beers on tap.  Power will offer limited release seasonal sake sourced directly from Japan along with exclusive experimental sake brewed by the renowned Brooklyn Kura, some of which will be on tap. Power will also offer a seasonal menu of small plates inspired by his home and his husband's home — South Carolina and Kyoto, respectively — to complement the experience. 
Ali Sahin, the owner of C&B on Seventh Street, introduced Power to the Lois owners several years ago.

"[A]nd so began my love of visiting Austin, first at Sake Bar Satsko just down the block and later at Tokyo Record Bar, learning about what I liked in sake and hearing the new things he was excited about that week," Connell said.

Accidental Bar will be open six days a week: Monday and Wednesday-Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m., with a 10 p.m. close on Sundays. 

Image via @accidentalbarnyc 

Brought to life: Electric Burrito signage arrives on St. Mark's Place

The neon signage for Electric Burrito arrived back on Friday at 81 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue.

This is the Southern California-style burrito shop that started as a pop-up concept at Mister Paradise around the corner on First Avenue. Mister Paradise co-founder Will Wyatt and bar GM Alex Thaboua are behind this to-go venture that expects to open on the week of May 17.

The menu includes burritos inspired by Thaboua's upbringing in San Diego and house-made sodas.

You can check out the Electric Burrito Instagram account for some burrito pics.

Until March 2020, this space was an outpost of Xi'an Famous Foods.

Photo by Steven

Glass acts: Zero Irving gets its rooftop Sky Lounge

Here's our first look at 124 E. 14th St., aka Zero Irving (and formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center and 14 @ Irving ... and tech hub) since the start of the year.

EVG regular Pinch pointed out that the 21-story building is all glassed up these days. And it looks like that tenant-only rooftop Sky Lounge is coming together. 

Here's what the latest Zero Irving e-newsletter has to say: "Bulkhead permanent roofing installation for the roofing membrane work is ongoing. Layout for drilling for connections and installation of perforated steel panels is ongoing."

Roofing membrane!
A February article in Fortune included Zero Irving in a piece on "what the COVID-safe skyscraper will look like." Per the article:
The building is equipped with state-of-the-art touchless technology that will allow tenants to enter the building using an app on their phones. The app will open the building’s electric revolving doors, get tenants through security turnstiles automatically, and arrive at their floor through elevators equipped with destination dispatch — all without touching a thing.
Zero Irving is expected to open later this year.

And some of the background on the project...

The building, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces and state-of-the-art event space ... on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October. Food-hall specialists Urban­Space officially signed the lease for 10,000 square feet on the ground level late last summer.

The new building — long contested by local preservationists and community groups (see links below) — sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Full reveal at the 101 Condominium's 1st Avenue side

A quick update: Workers recently removed the sidewalk bridge from outside the all-new 24 First Ave. — aka the 101 Condominium, Rybeck Development's 7-story, 23-unit condoplex ... 
The Second Street side of the development is still under wraps... as you will recall, two addresses — 24 First Ave. and its property mate 99-101 E. Second St. — were demolished to make room for the 101...
Our previous post has the 411 on the 101.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Sunday's parting shot

An EVG reader shared this photo from today... showing a car door squeezed in among the deliveries in this East Village lobby...

Week in Grieview

Posts from the past week included (with a photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg) ... 

• The EVAC, an arts venue, replaces FlyeLyfe on 1st Avenue after 1 day in business — why? (Wednesday)

• At the March to Save East River Park (Monday

• Concern for the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park (Monday

• Opening day at the new Bluestockings Cooperative on the Lower East Side (Saturday

• Happy Hatch Day for Amelia and Christo, the red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park (Friday

• Spring forward with Al Diaz (Thursday

• Reopenings: Ukrainian East Village restaurant, Little Poland (Monday)

• A new era of small talk in this week's NY See (Thursday

• Live music returns to these 2 Avenue A venues (Thursday

• A print edition of the Village Voice is now out (Tuesday

• Report: Mermaid Inn plans to reopen, though the SLA isn't helping (Thursday

• Report of a trash fire outside Saifee Hardware (Sunday

• 145 2nd Ave. returns to view (Thursday

• A little of the old Coyote Ugly at the new Coyote Ugly on 14th Street (Tuesday)

• Signs of life at Sanshi Noodle House (Wednesday

• You can now stay out until midnight at a bar or restaurant (Monday

• On second thought, Chef Hans looks to be the new tenant for 120 1st Ave. (Wednesday

• Brazen Fox returning to the Brazen Fox space (Thursday)

... and another 4/20 is in the books... didn't get a chance to mention Lexi Bella's art in First Street Green Art Park...
And thank you to Spotted by Locals for naming EVG one of the 6 best blogs in NYC. Link here.

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