La Plaza Cultural closed until the summer for fence replacement; RIP Krusty

La Plaza Cultural, the community garden/green space on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C, is now closed for a new-fence installation. (Pushed back from earlier this year.)

Back on Friday, workers removed Krusty, La Plaza's last remaining full-grown willow tree ...



Krusty had rotted and needed to come down (Cher, another majestic willow, was removed in July 2017) ...



Krusty's mulch remains will be used for the garden beds ...



According to the La Plaza Instagram account, the fence work will likely keep the space closed through June. "We hope to have an official reopening at the summer solstice."

Local residents and activists founded La Plaza in 1976. It was renamed in honor of Armando Perez, a community activist who was murdered in 1999, in 2003.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A fall day to remove the Winter Flowers from La Plaza Cultural

A wake for the last willow trees at La Plaza Cultural

At the Weeping Willow Wake

Beijing Express went quickly

Several readers (and H/T Nick Solares!) have noted that Beijing Express has not been open lately during announced business hours at 92 Third Ave.

The quick-serve restaurant between 12th Street and 13th Street just debuted in January, taking the place of Gala BBQ, which opened and closed within three months.

New storefront reveal at 300 E. 5th St.

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Workers have removed the plywood from the under-renovation storefront on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Fifth Street (officially 300 E. Fifth St.).

No word yet who the new tenant is. (Anyone happen to know what's coming here?) The work permits on file with the city note "interior renovation of existing store into eating & drinking establishment."

The storefront now looks similar to the other gut-renovated businesses on the Fifth Street side, which were billed as the Shops on East Fifth Street by the broker leasing the spaces in the summer of 2016.

This corner was Mary Ann's for years before the Mexican restaurant morphed into Dahlia's, which was later busted for reportedly serving a lot of minors in early 2016. The corner has sat empty since 100% Healthy Blend (or maybe just Healthy Blend) closed after three months in November 2016.

Reminders: This MTA Select Bus Service Open House is tonight

There's an MTA Select Bus Service Open House tonight (April 8) from 6-8 at the 14th St. Y, 344 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The background: With a new planned SBS route to go into effect ahead of the partial shutdown of the L train later this month, the MTA may eliminate several M14A and M14D stops throughout the East Village and Lower East Side in an effort to speed up service along the bus lines.

Hit this link for more on the MTA's plan.



As the flyer atop this post shows, there's opposition to the plan ... including an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures here.

The meeting tonight is to hear more about the plans and raise any concerns or voice your approval, etc.

Previously

Audrey Hepburn canvas still needs a home

[Jan. 29, 2018, via Steven]

We thought we might have seen the last of the Audrey Hepburn/"Breakfast at Tiffany's"/Holly Golightly canvas that made the rounds early last year, first on St. Mark's Place then later on the Bowery...


[Feb. 23, 2018, via Lola Sāenz]

It popped up again today on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street, as EVG regular Lola Sāenz noted...



OK, it may not be the same one (they are apparently available at IKEA after all) ... Anyway, as Holly Golightly said, "I don’t want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together."

Week in Grieview

[The photogenic 4th and B — back story here]

Posts on EVG this past week included...

RIP Leslie Sternbergh Alexander (Thursday)

The Hells Angels have left the East Village (Tuesday)

1 month in: Basquiat at the Brant Foundation (Friday)

A spirited sendoff for Hattie Hathaway (Wednesday)

Prepping for the Spring Awakening in the neighborhood's community gardens (Thursday)

Q&A with Jake Dobkin, co-founder of Gothamist and author of 'Ask a Native New Yorker' (Friday)

Longtime EV/LES residents Raken Leaves and Julius Klein are marking their almost "40-year interaction" with a two-person exhibition of their art work (Friday)

The building housing the former Sidewalk sells on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Sunshine Cinema-replacing office building moving forward; demolition watch back on (Wednesday)

A future look at the former 650 E. 6th St. (Thursday)

Ride on, Cowboys: Stillwater Bar & Grill closes after 15 years on 4th Street (Monday)

'Lucky 20' opens at the Theater for the New City Art Gallery (Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Monday)

CB3 wants you to attend the MTA Select Bus Service Open House (Friday)

Happy No. 18 Academy Records (Monday)

Last weekend for Jerry's New York Central on 4th Avenue (Saturday)

A reminder that H Mart is coming to 3rd Avenue (Monday)

Report: Irving Plaza closing for 8-month renovation (Wednesday)

Fare deal: The MTA's new digital payment system arrives at Astor Place (Tuesday)

Sage Kitchen opens on the Bowery (Monday)

One Manhattan Square moves to the north (Wednesday)

Blue Bottle Coffee Company coming to Astor Place (Friday)

Jiang Diner now in soft-open mode on 5th Street (Tuesday)

299 Bowery arrives on the rental market 20 months after DBGB closed (Monday)

A quick look at Webster Hall a month before it reopens (Monday)

... and here's an updated look at Webster Hall, now with the Webster Hall on the marquee...



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Regal Essex Crossing is now open

The 14-screen theater at Regal Essex Crossing — the first mainstream-movie multiplex on the Lower East Side — opened yesterday at 125 Delancey St. at Essex.

Here you can see films like "Us" or "Shazam!" or "Pet Sematary" in 2D, 3D or "RPX Regal Premium Experience," which is described on the Regal website like this:

RPX presents movies the way filmmakers intended with powerful, uncompressed surround sound and bright eye-popping images in 2D and RealD 3D. Guests will enjoy the custom-built premium environment creating the perfect moviegoing experience. A giant immersive screen is illuminated by high-quality digital projectors and completed with a state-of-the-art sound system.

The theater, with reclining seats and snack trays, will eventually offer a more extensive food menu as well as a full liquor license. (Community Board 3 didn't approve a full liquor license in December 2012 for the now-closed Sunshine Cinema on East Houston.)

You can find movie times at the Regal site here. They also have pre-sale tickets for the 182-minute "Avengers: Endgame," opening April 25.

The theater is located inside the Essex, the tallest building in the mega-Essex Crossing project at 26 stories. This building is also home to the new Essex Street Market.

Saturday's parting shot

A moment on Ludlow Street this afternoon...

Last weekend for Jerry's New York Central on 4th Avenue

Jerry's New York Central is closing after the business day tomorrow (Sunday). Store signage here on Fourth Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street notes up to 70 percent off on items...



No one from Jerry's responded to our queries about the reasons behind the closure.

As previously noted, this location is an offshoot of Jerry's Artarama, a 15-store art-supply chain headquartered in Raleigh, N.C.

Jerry's opened on Fourth Avenue in late 2013, taking over the space from Utrecht Art Supplies (now Blick), who moved into a new store on 13th Street between University and Fifth Avenue. (As reported in October 2013, Jerry's signed a 10-year lease for 4,452 square feet of ground floor space. Asking rent for the deal was $125 per square foot, per a release announcing the deal.)

As New York Central Art Supply was preparing to close at 62 Third Ave. in 2016 after nearly 111 years of business, Doug Steinberg worked with David and Ira Goldstein, who own Jerry's, to acquire the remaining paper inventory of the store.

With Jerry's closing, the Blick outposts at 1-5 Bond St. and 21 E. 13th St. will be the remaining art-supplies stores in the immediate area.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Jerry's New York Central is closing on 4th Avenue

The other Bowery Wall

On the southwest corner of the Bowery and Houston (outside the former Cherche Midi) ... on the other side of the street from this.

From the left: Fumeroism ...Mad Vaillan ... and A Lucky Rabbit ... all via East Village Walls.