In case you had plans to use the men's room ('comfort station') in Tompkins Square Park

Uh-oh — the dreaded "drainage back up." @EdenBrower shares this photo ...


The sign on the men's room/comfort station door helpfully suggests using the boys' bathroom on the other side of the administration building.

Hopefully all this gets undrained in time for Day 2 of MulchFest tomorrow...

Snow break, archival edition

Snowy NYC as a magical wonderland: 1950s photo of the San Carlo Restaurant at 3rd Ave & 10th St by Saul Leiter @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/EgSWs6Sanw

— Ephemeral New York (@EphemeralNY) January 7, 2017

A photo from the archives of longtime East Village resident Saul Leiter, who died in 2013.

Thanks to Ephemeral New York for sharing!

Mulching commences in Tompkins Square Park while a picturesque snow falls

The 2017 MulchFest/TreeCycle is officially underway in Tompkins Square Park... Despite a botched opening — workers pulled a Kanye and started the proceedings 15 minutes later than advertised — the Park was soon filled with the gentle purr of a mulcher mulching... as these photos by EVG Senior Mulching Correspondent Steven show...





So far, the crowds are fairly light to watch the proceedings... (guests are able to take home a bag of mulch — great in smoothies and acai bowls)



And there haven't been any takers (yet) for the MulchFest Premium Seats, a VIP package that includes Prime Seat Locations, VIP Express Entry and a MulchFest Poster autographed by the Deputy Commissioners of the NYC Parks Department.

MulchFest allegedly happens until 2 (p.m.) today ... and commences again tomorrow from 10-2.

Friday's parting shot(s)

First flurries of 2017! #woo

When Nature calls

The Toronto-based Tokyo Police Club have a new record coming out this year...and they'll be playing the Bowery Ballroom on Jan. 20.

This is "Nature of the Experiment" from the band's 2006 debut EP.

Reminders: You can watch your holiday tree get mulched right before your eyes this weekend

Juuuuuuuuuust a reminder (how could anyone forget???) that the annual MulchFest/Tree-Cycle is this weekend in Tompkins Square Park ... Saturday (tomorrow!) and Sunday (the day after tomorrow!), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Per the Parks Depo:

Join the NYC Parks, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and GreeNYC to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. These wood chips are used to nourish trees and plants on streets and gardens citywide. Or, take home your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree. More than 30,000 trees were recycled last year. Help us top this number!

Tompkins Square Park is an official chipping site. Back to the Parks Depo: "Watch your tree get chipped in front of you, and get a free bag of mulch to take home for your plantings!"

Will we actually get to take the remains of our tree home with us? Or will they just give us a random bag of mulch?

If you don't want to watch your tree get mulched, just leave it outside the Park...



Also! The Department of Sanitation "will collect and compost clean Christmas trees left at the curb" through Jan. 14. (The trees left curbside are also allegedly chipped, mixed with leaves, and recycled into compost for NYC's parks, institutions and community gardens.) Don't forget to remove all lights, ornaments, stands, beer cans and plastic bags from the trees left at the curb.

Rumors continue about the future of the empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

As we've noted (here and here, for instance) in the past few years, workers continue to poke around inside the long-empty lot at 89 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

Yesterday, EVG reader Michael Hirsch spotted a crew taking more soil samples.

As you may recall, we heard a rumor in the fall of 2014 that there were preliminary plans in place to build a 7-floor residential building here.

There still aren't any permits on file with the DOB noting any new-building construction, though it's hard to imagine that a prime plot of land would stay vacant any longer in this day and age...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield to affordable housing?

Drilling and soil testing commences at the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

The 'Wild Women of Planet Wongo' returns to the Parkside Lounge

After a two-month run in the back room at the Parkside Lounge in November and December, the campy "Wild Women of Planet Wongo" is back for a three-month weekend residency starting tonight.

The sci-fi musical comedy (find the plot here) originally played in Bushwick in 2015. (The Times gave it a decent-enough review, saying "the entire cast ... is unstinting with its energy and enthusiasm.")

EVG correspondent Stacie Joy caught a performance at the Parkside during its first run and shared these photos...











Find ticket info here. The admission price includes a Wongotini (vodka, Midori, tequila and lime juice). And the performance is interactive, meaning audience members may find themselves part of the show.

The Parkside Lounge is at 317 E. Houston St. and Attorney.

East Side Ink moves a storefront away on Avenue B

Just noting that East Side Ink moved one storefront to the south at the end of December here on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Sixth Street... the shop has been around in one form or another since 1992.

The space was previously home to Tu Casa Recording Studio and most recently some pop-up art shows.

Winterizing the B&H

Just in time for the winter weather expected later tonight... workers put in an entryway enclosure this afternoon at B&H Dairy on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... maybe help keep the soups on the lunch counter from cooling off too quickly...





Photos by Derek Berg