From hair salon to campaign headquarters

There has been some activity of late at the long-vacant former hair salon on Avenue C between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street... right in between Alphabet City Wine Co. and ABC Beer Co.

Turns out the space will be the campaign headquarters for Rick Del Rio, a Democrat running for City Council against Rosie Mendez. You can read about him here.

Report: Boca Chica closed for now

Rumors started spreading this afternoon that Boca Chica, the inexpensive Latin American restaurant on First Avenue at First Street, had closed as of yesterday. Earlier, we received an email from an EVG regular with the subject line "Boca Chica Dead."

Ugh.

However, this doesn't appear to be the case. Serena Solomon at DNAinfo reported that two partners abruptly exited the business yesterday, and the remaining owner was "frantically searching for new partners." The remaining partner was hopeful to continue operations.

The restaurant opened in March 1989.

[Image via Google +]

Reader report: Small fire scare on East Second Street

From a resident at 157 E. Second St. There was a small fire this afternoon in someone's apartment on the fifth floor. Per the reader: "Seems like everything's under control, though."

Noir moon

Last night over the East Village (and the rest of the city, really...)

Photo by EVG regular jdx.

Looking at the retail component of recent East Village developments

There are currently three major upscale housing developments in progress in the East Village ... each of which will have a retail component:

• 21 Jupiter

A 4,300-square-foot TB Bank branch has inked a deal here at Second Avenue and East First Street. And there are those Mars bar comeback rumors too.

• The Jefferson



There are two retail spaces available here on East 14th Street at the former Mystery Lot...

• 84 Third Ave.

As far as we know, there aren't any deals in place yet for 84 Third Ave., the 12 story retail-residential combo coming to the corner of East 12th Street.

There you have all that.

So let's take a look back at three recent developments to see how the retail component fared...

• 2 Cooper Square



The retail space remains empty... and on the market since the apartments hit the market in 2009...

• 52 E. 4th Street



The retail portion of the 15 stories of condo on the Bowery and East Fourth Street sat empty, save a few odd pop-up shops (remember Bowery Bazaar in 2009?)... until plans for a 7-Eleven were eventually unveiled ... the convenience store opened on Dec. 23, 2011.

• The Copper Building



The retail space here on Avenue B and East 13th Street remained vacant for several years until the East Side 99¢ shop moved in last October.

So, the three high-end developments have yielded a 7-Eleven and a 99-cent shop (which relocated from around the corner). Residents are willing to pay big money to live here, but retailers aren't as interested to follow suit... What's going on here?

Here's what happens when you allegedly try to shoplift a pair of socks at the 1st Ave. Rite Aid

The Post reports today a 29-year-old man allegedly tried to take a pair of socks from the Rite Aid at East Fifth Street.

"When [the man] realized he’d been spotted, he started running, smashing into displays and sending toothpaste and bottles of mouthwash flying. But he was soon nabbed."

The NYPD reportedly charged the would-be thief with petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief.

No word of what impact this had on the always long wait at the checkout line.

[The online version of this story didn't contain a photo credit]

There will be balls: At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant

Reverend Jen hosted the 14th Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant last Thursday evening at the Cake Shop on Ludlow Street. Competitions included "best male tits," "congeniality" and "best nutsack."

EV Grieve Facebook friend Walter Wlodarczyk shared some photos, even blocking out the privates where necessary for our family-friendly website ...

















Jugger-nut provided the musical entertainment. (Watch a video at the band's Facebook page.)





...and here he is... this year's Mr. Lower East Side — Johnny Bizarre, who, among other acts, hammered a nail into his pee hole.



Slum Goddess has a lot more photos and videos here, which may be NSFW.

And here's a video that the New York Post produced...

Noted

Spotted outside Arabella 101, the newish luxury apartment building on Avenue D...



Haven't seen "yuppie" scrawled on much of late... perhaps we're seeing a return to, say, 2008 ... or maybe earlier.

[Updated] Remnants of Sandy off Avenue C; FEMA deadline tomorrow

A quick survey of damage caused by Superstorm Sandy's floodwaters on Avenue C... Two businesses that were shut due to storm damage recently reopened — C-Town and Verso ... (Kasadela on East 11th Street near C was unable to reopen.)

Late last week, workers removed the portable boiler set up outside Eastville Gardens on Avenue C and East Eighth Street...


[November]

...now...



There's still a portable heating system set up outside the NYCHA property on East Sixth Street at Avenue C...



And from the EVG Grieve inbox ... via Paul Newell, Democratic District Leader, 65th Assembly District ...

This Wednesday, February 27th is the deadline to register for FEMA disaster recovery plans. I strongly encourage everyone impacted by Superstorm Sandy to register – as damages sustained may not yet be known, and insurance payouts may be less than predicted. Wednesday is the last day for Sandy survivors in the 13 New York counties designated for federal disaster assistance to register with FEMA and complete and return low-interest Small Business Administration disaster loan applications, an important step in the FEMA grant process.

Survivors who register may be eligible for federal grants to help cover various disaster-related expenses including rent, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

For more information, here's FEMA's Hurricane Sandy website.

Updated:
Gov. Cuomo extended the deadline day from Feb. 27 to March 29, per The Real Deal.

[Updated] Jennifer's Way Bakery opens Friday Saturday on East 10th Street

As we noted at the beginning of the month, Jennifer Esposito, the Brooklyn-born actress who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2009, is opening a bakery on East 10th Street. A sign on the door says that it opens Friday. The sign now says Saturday.

She has said that the space will be "a gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, soy free, peanut free, allergy friendly, organic bakery."

And an interior photo from last week via Twitter...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Actress Jennifer Esposito's Jennifer's Way Bakery opening soon on East 10th Street (46 comments)