A high mass in honor of St. Nicholas

Here's an invitation via the staff at the Most Holy Redeemer & Nativity Church:

Historic Most Holy Redeemer and Nativity Church will celebrate its origins in the German immigrant community with a special mass in honor of St. Nicholas.

It will be a traditional Latin Solemn High Mass including Gregorian Chant propers and featuring Hayden’s Nikolaimesse (St. Nicholas Mass), under the direction of James Wetzel, director of music at the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer. The mass starts 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5.

The church, which was completed and consecrated in 1852, is located on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The mass will be followed by a reception with "seasonal refreshments" (egg nog?).


[Church interior via Stacie Joy]

Happy trails to the Red Horse Hopper on 7th Street

Photos this morning by Derek Berg...





New York is a tough town...

Details on the 3rd annual East Village Arts Festival at the Tompkins Square Library branch

The Tompkins Square Library branch is hosting its third annual East Village Arts Festival.

The two-day event starts on Friday. Here are just a few of the events via the EVG inbox (find the full rundown at this link):

Friday, Dec. 6

• Music Performance: NYPL Sings!
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Join us for a fun sing-along with some fantastic librarians! Musicians from libraries across NYC will perform songs from the New York Public Library children's album, NYPL Sings! The performance will be held in the second floor children's room. All ages welcome.

• Art Opening for the Sixth Street Youth Program
3:30-5 p.m.
Young artists will display their work highlighting the Lower East Side.

• Photographers Karla and James Murray
5-6:30 p.m.
Exhibition Opening: "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York." The opening reception includes live music and refreshments.

• Logo for Jazz Foundation of America
5-6:30 p.m.
Musical Performance: George Braith Quartet
A true original, saxophonist George Braith has brightened jazz with his innovations — from his classic 1960s recordings for Blue Note and Prestige; to his 1970s presentations at the lower Manhattan club, Musart, which he ran; to his own original instrument, the Braithophone, which fuses soprano and alto saxophones into one horn.

Saturday, Dec. 7

• Drag Queen Story Hour with Harmonica Sunbeam
11 a.m.-12 p.m.
DQSH captures the imagination and play of gender fluidity in childhood, and gives kids glamorous and unapologetically LGBTQ role models. A drag queen will read inclusive books as well as storytime favorites, and lead participants in a simple craft. Sponsored by the Office of City Council Member Carlina Rivera. This program will be held in the basement community room.

• Walking Tour: Artists, Writers, Musicians of Tompkins Square
11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Tompkins Square Park has long been a center of the arts. Please join us for a fun, free one-hour walking tour, hosted by library manager Corinne Neary and local street photographer Michael Paul.

• Children's Arts and Craft Activities
12-4 p.m.
All materials will be provided, just bring yourself! These activities will be in the second floor children's room.

• 16mm Short Film Screenings: Artists in New York
1-1:45 p.m.

We will screen three short 16mm films, from the reserve collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts:

"Jackson Pollock" (1951; 10 mins.) Dir: Hans Namuth, Paul Falkenberg
From the straightforward documentation of the artist at work, and his personal explanation of what he is doing, to the original music score, everything in this film is marked with the intense quality of the late Pollock's personality.

"Artist in Manhattan" (1968; 9 mins.) Dir: Barry H. Downes, Linda Marmelstein
A portrait of Jerome Myers, a key figure in the famous Ashcan school of American art and one of the founders of the historic Armory Show of 1913. His paintings and drawings depict New York City at the beginning of the 20th century.

"Andy Warhol" (1965; 22 mins.) Dir: Marie Menken
Warhol is seen in his studio and at gallery showings surrounded by his signature pieces: Brillo and Campbell soup cartons, and his silkscreens of flowers and well-known personalities.

The branch is located at 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

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On Dec. 1, the branch celebrated its 115th birthday... here's how the building looked upon the grand opening...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Dec 1, 2019 at 12:41pm PST

[Updated] The Associated on 14th Street in Stuy Town closes on Monday

[Photos yesterday by Steven]

Employees at the Associated on 14th Street in Stuy Town are telling patrons that this Monday (Dec. 9) is the last day. [Updated: Employees are now saying Wednesday, Dec. 10. Updated 2: The store is closed as of Friday (Dec. 13).]

As one reader told us: "It is starting to look that way, though there is no sign of marked-down merchandise."

There weren't any store closing signs posted as of yesterday here between Avenue A and First Avenue ... though there is a notice that sale items/coupons will be honored at the Associated on Avenue C at Eighth Street...



News of this closure first surfaced in September. The final day was expected to be somewhere at the end of November or early December, per Town & Village.

Longtime store manager Norman Quintanilla told this to T&V in September:

“A lot of people are crying and upset about it,” he said. “It especially affects a lot of elderly customers that we help with phone orders. They don’t know where else to go.”

Quintanilla said that he wasn’t involved in discussions with Associated’s ownership and Blackstone regarding why the store is closing but he said that business has been steadily decreasing every year.

Joseph Falzon, the store’s owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence these past two years.

There's also increased competition, including the Target on 14th and A that opened in July 2018 with a large food-and-beverage selection. In addition, the Trader Joe's is expected to open early next year right across 14th Street. (Per the comments in previous posts on this closure, a good number of residents don't find the Target or Trader Joe's to be an adequate replacement for an old-fashioned supermarket.)

In an email in September, Stuyvesant Town General Manager Rick Hayduk told residents that they are "working on finding a new tenant with full understanding that a local grocery store is important to the community; but this will take some time."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Associated on 14th Street in Stuy Town is said to close by year's end

169 and 171 1st Ave. fetch $14 million

As we first noted back in February, 169 and 171 First Ave., located between 10th Street and 11th Street, arrived on the sales market. The two walk-up buildings, with two retail spaces and five residential units, were available separately or as a package, per the listing.

A Miami real-estate investor opted for both buildings, in a transaction reported at $14 million for the pair, which comes out to "$1,100 per foot, a very high per foot price," per Lois Weiss at the Post, who first reported on the deal.

The residential units are market rate ... as for the retail spaces, 16-year-tenant Momofuku signed a 10-year lease renewal in 2015, per Weiss. No word about Manhattan Eyeworks next door at No. 169, a three-story building that features a 60-foot rear garden, a free-market duplex apartment and — drumroll — 6,508 feet of air rights.

United Copy & Print has apparently closed

United Copy & Print at 241 E. 10th St. just west of First Avenue recently closed ... the interior has been cleared out, as this photo via Steven shows...



United Copy & Print arrived in this space, a former nail salon, in early 2012... they moved down the block here after previously doing business as The American Copy Center.

Tuesday's parting shot

The Christmas lights outside 7B/Vazac's/Horseshoe Bar on Seventh Street and Avenue B ... (and a follow-up to Saturday night's post)...

Meanwhile, at the women's restroom in Tompkins Square Park

Thanks to Eden for the photo!

Updated: Garbage trucks return to park on 10th Street

Two garbage trucks were spotted parked on 10th Street just west of First Avenue today (thanks to Steven for the photos!) ...



On Nov. 21, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) was to temporarily relocate the trucks — effectively immediately — to Pier 42 along the East River for the next three months.

For whatever reasons, the trucks are back here — and during the day. In September 2018, the DSNY started using this section of 10th Street to park up to seven garbage trucks from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., including on Sundays. The DSNY no longer had use of their garage on 30th Street, and the solution was to relocate their fleet to residential blocks.

This move sparked numerous complaints from residents and merchants alike who called out the problems with the smell, noise and negative impact on business.

While the trucks were away from here for a week-plus, the "Authorized Vehicles Only" signs remained up along this corridor, reserving parking for DSNY vehicles.

Updated 2:30 p.m.

Sen. Brad Hoylman's office contacted the city. "They say that the trucks are there on a lunch break but will remain off the street overnight and on weekends, as they have publicly committed."

In a statement, the Department of Sanitation said: "Sanitation workers continue to use this facility during lunch breaks; the trucks are not parking overnight."

The Theater for the New City complex at 155 First Ave. near 10th Street was previously used by DSNY for storage, and they still maintain space in the facility for crews.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Questions and concerns as the sanitation department begins using 10th Street to park garbage trucks

• More trash talk about those garbage trucks parked on 10th Street

• Local elected officials continue to press city for alternatives to parking garbage trucks on 10th Street; muggings now a concern

• A waste of space: 10th Street still waiting for the garbage trucks to move on

• Garbage truck parking situation on 10th Street still stinks, residents say

• Waste land: Local elected officials tell the city to move the garbage trucks from 10th Street

• State pols introduce legislation to ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on city streets, like on 10th Street

• The city is removing the garbage trucks that were parking overnight on 10th Street

Tramonti Pizza closes on St. Mark's Place ahead of move to NoMad

[Photo from June 2017 by Cheyenne]

Tramonti Pizza closed on Saturday night after service at 130 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The pizzeria, which opened in the spring of 2017, is moving to a larger location on Fifth Avenue and 28th Street, per their Instagram feed.

Tramonti Pizza garnered some positive notices. And EVG reader David, who alerted us to the closure, was a fan.

"The food — especially the pizza and the pastas — was excellent and always fresh, the owner and staff very friendly, and the prices reasonable given the quality of ingredients used," he wrote in an email. "That said, it never seemed full, so not a complete surprise I guess."

Word here is that new owners are planning to continue operating a pizzeria. The two previous tenants were also pizzerias — (Via Della Pace Pizza and Falanghina Pizza Bar).

Whole Earth Bakery held forth for 20-plus years at this address until December 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pizzeria in the works for former pizzeria at 130 St. Mark's Place