Petit Chou opens today on 1st Avenue

Petit Chou debuts this morning at 8 over at 229 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.

As we noted back on July 22, the French-inspired bakery specializes in choux pastry, which is the base for eclairs, cream puffs and profiteroles.

They will also offer a variety of desserts as well as croissants and coffee.

You can follow along with them on Instagram. You can see some of chef-owner @bassim.90's creations here.

Weekend's parting video

A moment late afternoon yesterday during a DJ's set in Tompkins Square Park...



... she played Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" from 1990... which prompted a spontaneous "Poison" dance party that everyone seemed to enjoy ... video (and photo!) by Stacie Joy...

Week in Grieview

[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

Posts this last week included...

• Tompkins Square Library reopens today for grab-and-go service (Monday)

• New 5th Street coffee shop closes in less than 2 months; owner says the 9th Precinct's barricades "greatly restricted" his foot traffic (Thursday)

• CM Carlina Rivera calls for Parks Dept. to review fate of Cox statue in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

• Bluestockings announce new home on Suffolk Street (Saturday)

• Manhattan45, a dance music record store, arrives on 10th Street (Thursday)

• Tropical storm Isaias brings down tree limbs in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

• Storm damage: Pedestrian injured by falling debris on Avenue A and 3rd Street (Tuesday)

• East Village bar owner petitioning against Cuomo’s COVID-19 menu mandate has liquor license suspended for not serving food (Wednesday)

• An East River Park reunion (Saturday)

• MTA unveils new 14th Street L-train elevators; make a pitch to the feds for funding (Friday)

• This week's NY See Panel (Thursday)

• Fish ahoy! The Chippery debuts on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)


[As seen on 2nd Avenue]

• 204 Avenue A disappears; the all-new 202 Avenue appears (Tuesday)

• Bowery Mission selling Avenue D facility (Thursday)

• The Walgreens on Astor Place closes at the end of August (Monday)

• Hamilton Fish Pool reopens (Monday)

• Porsena has closed for good on 7th Street (Monday)

• Fonda permanently closes on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• Oda House closes East Village location (Thursday)

• Karma Lounge closes after 21 years on 1st Avenue (Friday)

• Matthew Kenney changing up concepts on 2nd Avenue and 4th Street (Monday)

• Cantilevering condoplex next to Rite Aid looking glassy (Monday)

... and it was a busy week for making 2020 holiday plans and discarding last year's Christmas tree... as seen Wednesday on St. Mark's Place via Derek Berg...



... and a day later a reader came across this on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...



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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Concern for East Village Organic's extended family in Lebanon

[Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy]

Ali and Amina Fardos, who own East Village Organic on First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, have family members living in Lebanon. On Tuesday, a devastating explosion rocked Beirut, killing more than 160 people and injuring 6,000 while destroying large sections of the city.

In response to the crisis, the market posted this message on Instagram yesterday:

Our hearts have been so warmed by the outpouring of concern for the EVO extended family from customers over the last few days.

For anyone who didn’t know to ask, or was afraid to pry, all of Ali and Amina’s family members in Lebanon are safe and well. We have been very blessed.

But so many others can not say the same. And our hearts have been heavy as we watch the country suffer the after effects of one the largest non-nuclear blasts in history.

If anyone wants to help and is able to give during this time, we have made a donation to @beitelbaraka.

Beit el Baraka has operated a free grocery store since 2019 to help the underserved communities within Beirut, Lebanon and since the blast, they are expanding their efforts to include other services for the people who need it.

We love their message and their mission and we feel confident any funds given to them will benefit the people directly.

[Ali Fardos]

Noted

For anyone who can’t wait for 2020 to be over, there’s a stash of discarded plastic New Year’s Eve hats on First Avenue near 10th Street.

Photo by William Klayer...

An East River Park reunion

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Last Saturday, a group of longtime local residents — past and present — gathered at East River Park near 10th Street for their annual Lower East Side Unity and Pride Reunion.

Given the COVID-19 times that we live in, the Parks Department issued the permit with instructions on social distancing and handwashing as well as reminders to wear masks (which everyone did, with the exception of a few photo opps) and not to shake hands (elbow to elbow was recommended).

And so this year's gathering was more low-key with fewer attendees. However, those here were happy to be in each other's company and in East River Park for possibly one last August gathering (we thought last year might be the grand finale) before the Park is closed for five years of demolition-resiliency work.

























... and everyone paid their respects to group member Philip, who passed away last fall...

Bluestockings announce new home on Suffolk Street

[116 Suffolk St.]

Bluestockings, the volunteer- and collective-run bookstore, activist space and fair-trade café, closed its 21-year-old Allen Street location on July 30. At the time, Bluestockings announced that they had a new LES home lined up.

And yesterday, the official word came down via Instagram: Bluestockings now has the keys to 116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey.

Bluestockings launched a crowdfunding campaign to help build out the new space and "keep providing vital resources to our queer, trans and SWing community."

Per GoFundMe:

Our new space is more than double the size of 172 Allen Street! Accessibility needs are at the forefront of our plans when designing the new space, with a fully ADA-compliant bathroom, expanded café seating, lower café countertops, clear exit paths and wider aisles. We are excited to have more space and need your help to install a platform lift in our cafe area to make sure that our disabled comrades are able to take full advantage of the space.

This extra room also gives us the opportunity to have a much needed area dedicated exclusively to events and meetings for our friends who run book clubs, labor organizers, and anyone else who utilizes Bluestockings as a hub for radical thought.

A much needed technological upgrade.

One of the major issues we have come up against over the years is our very outdated software system. This has made it especially hard to keep up with online orders! To make sure that this isn’t an obstacle going forward, we plan to reopen with a new POS and inventory system to make ordering from Bluestockings as easy as possible.

Bluestockings opened at 172 Allen St. between Stanton and Rivington in 1999. You can follow the Bluestockings Instagram account for updates.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Today is the last day for Bluestockings on Allen Street; new LES location in the works

ARTnews today on 11th Street

There's a group art show today from 2-6 at 516 E. 11th St. (inside the Come Back Daily storefront) between Avenue A and Avenue B ... curated by Marcus Glitteris.

Per the invite: "Masks are required for entry and social distancing protocols will be heavily enforced."

You had your chance at the Cellino & Barnes ads on 14th Street

Despite a high-profile breakup, the iconic Cellino & Barnes — Injured? — ads still graced the L-train entrance on 14th Street at Third Avenue...



These ads for the personal injury lawyers, up seemingly forever, are collector's items in some circles.

And now — now! — they are gone...





Gone!



One last time to call ...8-8-8...8-8-8-8...

Dream 'World'

The Birmingham UK-based Cherry Pickles have a new LP out this fall on PNKSLM Recordings ... this video is for the first single "Out Of This World," which sounds like another lo-fi retro contender for a show at the Roadhouse.