The China Star returns to service

After a few days off for a kitchen repair, the China Star reopened today at 145 First Ave. near Ninth Street.

EVG regular Lola Sáenz shared this photo of China Star owner Jay Yang. (You can read our interview from October 2017 with Jay and learn the family backstory of the China Star at this link.)

EVG Etc.: NYCHA plans to sell land and air; Mercury Lounge announces anniversary shows

[Taking the gloves off on 2nd Ave via Derek Berg]

The NYCHA plans to sell air rights and open some land to private development in order to raise money for repairs (The Real Deal)

The Opportunity Zone program promoted by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, whose company owns many EV properties, could also benefit them financially, an Associated Press investigation found (TPM)

Details on the Mercury Lounge’s 25th anniversary shows (Brooklyn Vegan)

MTA fare hikes loom (AMnewyork)

Gov. Amazon Cuomo will tour the L-train tunnel, cause disruptions tomorrow (Gothamist)

The Sanitation Department is hosting a design contest for a new corner waste basket (Curbed)

MC5's Wayne Kramer revisits old EV haunts (The New Yorker)

Under financial duress, the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater has announced lay offs. Their theaters, including the U.C.B. East on Third and A, are not in danger of closing. (The New York Times)

Who's that kid with the New York Dolls outside the Gem Spa in 1973? (Dangerous Minds)

A homes feature on Adam Elzer, who lives above his restaurant Sauce on 12th Street (6sqft)

About those mysterious sidewalk markings on Avenue C (Town & Village)

The U.S. theatrical premiere of "Dead Souls," the eight-and-a-half-hour documentary (shown in three parts) by Wang Bing that documents the testimony of survivors of the hard-labor camp in the Gobi Desert in Gansu, China (Anthology Film Archives)

A film series featuring grifters (Metrograph)

41-year-old Cornelia Street Cafe closing on Jan. 2 (JVNY)

And people have been lining up to get into the new Nutella Cafe over on 13th Street and University Place. Save some time and month and head to Key Food on Avenue A...

Dallas BBQ is here to stay

You may have noticed the recent arrival of those mysterious flyers in the front windows of the always-crowded Dallas BBQ on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place noting "Here we stay..."



Perhaps it's a variation of dining in...? EVG correspondent Steven spoke with a manager, who said that Dallas BBQ was considering moving to a new location. Apparently word leaked to some regulars. Ownership decided to stay put, and the signs are to let their customers know that they are not going anywhere.

The family-owned Dallas BBQ has 11 locations in the metropolitan area serving up enormous platters of reasonably priced food (onion loaf!) and supertanker-sized (Texas-sized?) drinks.

The original Dallas BBQ opened on the Upper West Side in 1978. The EV location debuted at some point in the 1980s. (If anyone can supply the exact date/year...)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Mom jailed for leaving toddler outside Dallas BBQ speaks out 20 years later

Tamam now open on 5th Street

[Image via Instagram]

Tamam, a Turkish boutique, opened last week on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue in a storefront between White Trash and So-Hair.

The owners sent us a note about their shop.

Tamam means "ok! all right! sure!" etc. in Turkish. Our shop is a boutique with handmade ceramics, tabletop, jewelry old and new, as well as ikat and hand-embroidered pillows, Turkish rugs, handmade scarves, accessories, clothing. We also have a great selection of antique and vintage textiles from Turkey, Central Asia, India and beyond.

Tamam is three partners: Clare Louise Frost, Elizabeth Hewitt of Tulu Textiles, and Hüseyin Kaplan, a noted Turkish textile and rug dealer. Tamam is all of treasures in one place, a treasure chest of all the things we love.

We are so happy to be in the East Village — we couldn't imagine opening our shop anywhere else.

They are open most days from noon to 8 p.m. through Dec. 23. (They will then be closed until the start of the New Year.) Find more info at their Instagram account here.

[Updated] Details on the last night at the Continental this Saturday

[Photo from last week]

As previously reported, the Continental is wrapping up its 27-year run at 23 Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place on Saturday night.

More details on that last night have emerged via these flyers, showing the New York Dolls outside Gem Spa in 1973, in circulation...



It will be a late night, with festivities set to start at 11 p.m. Guests/DJs including Lenny Kaye, Jessie Malin and Randy Jones (the cowboy from the Village People).

The Continental, which transitioned from a live-music venue to a regular-old bar in 2006, had received several extensions in the past year, first in July then October. Trigger, the bar's owner, had most recently hoped to stay open until May 2019.

This will be the last business to close on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place. A boutique office building with ground-floor retail is in the works. Real Estate Equities Corporation picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties here for nearly $150 million in November 2017. The corner assemblage is owned by the Gabay family.

Updated 12/17

Apparently Dec. 15 is not actually the Last Night as the Last Night flyers note or what was previously announced... flyers are now up on the front doors noting a Dec. 31 Last Night... with inventory clearance until then...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

Report: NE corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building

Demolition permits filed for northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

End is nearing for the businesses on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

The Continental gets a 3-month reprieve

New building plans revealed for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Another disappearing diner

Going outside the usual coverage zone for this post about the Pearl Diner, a place that I always liked.

Yesterday, New York Yimby reported that building permits have been filed for a new 21-story hotel at 212 Pearl St. in the Financial District — a plot of land that currently houses the Pearl Diner.



Per NYY:

The concrete structure will yield 26,413 square feet with 21,120 square feet dedicated to hotel rooms. Permits detail the 244-foot tall building will have 48 hotel units, averaging 440 square feet each. Gene Kaufman Architect PC is responsible for the design.

No demolition permits have been filed as of yet and the Pearl Street Diner located at the site is currently still open for business. The estimated completion date has not been announced.

The Pearl Diner hasn't announced a closing date just yet.

Diners in NYC are an endangered species as it is... especially a single-level building in the heart of the booming Financial District. So it's rather amazing the Pearl Diner has lasted this long.

And now another hotel via Gene Kauffman will rise here. (According to The Real Deal, who first reported on this, Kaufman was already the architect for three of the six ongoing hotel projects in the Financial District.)

The hotel will have company — a 40-story Marriott consisting of two brands — a Courtyard and a Residence Inn is rising directly across the street from the diner...





The Pearl opened in 1962, and is one of the last standalone diners in Manhattan.


[EVG file photo]

As Nick at Scouting NY said about the Pearl's neon sign: "at night, [it] makes New York City look like New York City."


[Photo from 2010 by James & Karla Murray]

Wednesday's parting shots

Our resident red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, enjoy views of this neighbor today from two vantage points... atop the St. Nicholas of Myra Church on Avenue A and 10th Street (above) and the Christodora House on Avenue B and Ninth Street (below) ...



And I can't tell which one is which in these photos that Steven shared.

The two were conspicuously out and about in full view of the hawkarazzi as photos have circulated showing Christo's ex Dora with a new mate in wing rehab.

9th Precinct hosting a Build the Block meeting Friday evening for Sector C

The 9th Precinct continues to host Sector Safety Summits for East Village residents and business owners.

The next one is scheduled for Friday evening for those in Sector C. This Sector encompasses the south side of Seventh Street to East Houston, from the west side of First Avenue to Broadway...



Per the NYPD: "This is an avenue for you to voice your grievances or concerns with issues in and around the neighborhood." (Maybe someone will ask about the light tower on Second Avenue and Third Street.)

This is part of the NYPD's initiative called the Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCO) program. The 9th Precinct is split up into four sectors, with two officers assigned to each sector. Find the sectors and the responsible officers here. Use this map to find out what Sector you're in, and what meeting you should attend.

Friday's meeting will be held at the Bhakti Center, 25 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street. Per the invite, doors will open at 5 p.m. for refreshments and the meeting will start promptly at 5:30 p.m.

When in rehab: Meet Winston, the new red-tailed hawk in Dora's life

Dora's rumored new romance is now blog official.

On Monday, Goggla posted the first photos of Dora (on the left) cozying up to the new love bird in her life — hello Winston!



Bobby and Cathy Horvath, the fine folks at the Long Island-based Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation (WINORR), shared this photo with Goggla.

Dora, the red-tailed hawk who previously lived in Tompkins Square Park, has been in the care of WINORR since April. This marked her second stint there for an injured wing.

She is doing well and seems content with her new life at WINORR. However, she won't ever be returning to Tompkins Square Park — or maybe anywhere out in the wild.

Per Goggla's post:

It looks like Dora is happy hanging out with Winston, who also has a wing injury that keeps him from being unable to live in the wild. The two have bonded and I'm glad the drama of the last year has had a positive conclusion.

SO ... MUCH ... DRAMA.

Christo and Dora raised 10 hawklets these past few years before she left for her latest wing rehab. Meanwhile, Christo has been in relationships with Barucha/Nora/Not-Dora and, more permanently, Amelia.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dora the red-tailed hawk returns to Tompkins Square Park

Dora re-injures her wing, leaves Tompkins Square Park for examination, possible rehab

Dora's wing is not broken, but she won't be returning to Tompkins Square Park any time soon

Red-tailed hawks who love fast food

Why Dora's private secretary is really leaving

Red-tailed hawks: They're just like us (holiday edition)

Christo responds to rumors that he rekindled flame with Dora

You won't believe what Christo eats for his cheat meals

Dora shares her inspiring outlook on molting

Exclusive: Amelia — 25 things you don't know about me!

About the New Colossus Festival, bringing new bands to the LES/East Village this March

More details emerged yesterday about the first-ever New Colossus Festival, which will bring 50-plus bands to LES/East Village music venues March 7-10, 2019.

As Brooklyn Vegan first noted yesterday, the festival (and conference) is being pitched as a stopover for emerging bands headed to SXSW in Austin, Texas, the following week.

Per BV:

The festival was created and produced by NYC music industry vets Mike Bell (Lorimer Beacon), Lio Kanine (Kanine Records) & Steven Matrick (Kepler Events/Pianos) and they are aiming for a CMJ-esque vibe.

“CMJ left such a vacuum, not only for independent music venues, but for bands all over the world that used it as a way to play New York City every year,” says Matrick. “We chose a very convenient weekend to try to bring back that opportunity. We’d also been discussing a way for these venues to work together again and resurrect the collaborative aspect of Manhattan’s music scene.”

Shows will be at Berlin (25 Avenue A), Coney Island Baby (169 Avenue A), Pianos (158 Ludlow) and Bowery Electric (327 Bowery), among other local spaces.

You can find the full lineup of bands as well as ticket info (three-day passes are on sale now for $50) at this link.