EVG Etc.: Restaurant owner defiant over vaccine mandate; Essential Cinema at Film Anthology

• Owner of the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop on First Avenue and St. Mark’s taunts Gov. Hochul to “arrest him” for opposing vaccine mandate (Eater) 

• Teens who survived fire on Avenue D recount their ordeal (CBS 2 ... previously on EVG) 

• About former cab driver John McDonagh’s benefit show for Theatre 80 this weekend (NY1 ... previously on EVG) 

• New DA Bragg admits that he botched his policy rollout (Gothamist) 

• What the MTA has and hasn’t done to make the subways safer (City & State) 

• Anthology Film Archives on Second Avenue and Second Street is screening some essential cinema featuring work by Buñuel, Bresson and Cocteau (Official site) 

• Praise for the cardamom bun at coffee shop La Cabra on Second Avenue (Eater ... previously on EVG) 

• Checking out this podcast with East Village resident John Holmstrom, co-founder of Punk (Flaming Pablum) 

 • Diversions: Calling all Nico fans (Dangerous Minds)

... and HBD (1/22) to LES-based filmmaker Jim Jarmusch ...

 

The renovations inside Kamaran Deli & Grocery on Avenue A

Kamaran Deli & Grocery at 79 Avenue A at Fifth Street is undergoing a renovation... management here told EVG contributor Stacie Joy notes that they are expanding their fridge cases ... they've also put in new countertops and are creating a kitchen in the back ...

Given the debut of Healthy Choice a few storefronts away, perhaps Kamaran feels the need to up their market game...

Caturday's opening shot

The always-sweetly lounging kitty (Hemingway! 😻) in this window along Third Street ... photo by Stacie Joy... 

Hope to see you again

 

Cat Power's excellent new record of covers, titled Covers, was released on Jan. 14. In this video, Powers (aka Chan Marshall, a one-time East Village resident) provides a mournful reinterpretation of "I'll Be Seeing You."

A young hawk hangs out on 5th Street

Photos by Steven

On Wednesday morning, a juvenile red-tailed hawk — likely migrating through the area — came to rest on a fire escape on this Fifth Street building.

There was a lot of curiosity, then concern, as the young hawk hunkered down here between Avenue C and Avenue D for nearly 20 hours. 

Eventually, some members of the local bird-watching community called Ranger Rob (aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor), to come take a look.

It all ended yesterday without any further drama, however. Before Rob had the chance to leave for Fifth Street, the hawk, who did not appear to be injured, flew off to unknown parts.

The first look at the all-new Via Della Pace on 4th Street

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I’m back at Via Della Scrofa to meet with co-owner Giovanni Bartocci and get a sneak peek at Via Della Pace’s new location at 87 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Business partner and co-owner Marco Ventura keeps tabs on the alimentari while Bartocci takes me down the block to see the renovated space as they ready it for opening. 

While here, I ask for an update on Bartocci’s expired E-2 visa. (He was back in Italy as of yesterday.) In addition, we talk about the fires in the previous location in 2020 after 17 years in service, the status of the new space, and the immigration issues that have forced Bartocci to temporarily leave the United States.

What’s the status of the new home for Via Della Pace?

We are close — very, very close to opening. Close to opening sounds funny, but we have been almost ready since the end of July, but nothing is playing on our side. We are stubborn, and we don’t give up!

You posted on Instagram in 2020 that you were able to salvage the original sign from Seventh Street. Will there be anything else from the original restaurant here?

Thank God the first fire [Feb. 10] wasn’t as bad as the second [Dec. 5]. And the most important thing, no one got severely injured or worse, and the only damage we had was mainly from the water. 

We didn’t have a single flame inside, and we were able to save most of all the memorabilia and tables — the soul of VDP is going to be there!    

How did you mark the 1st anniversary of the fire this past Dec. 5?

I just stopped by and cried a bit. It is really painful for me every time I pass by! I miss VDP every single day — it was just magical. 

You mentioned that your E-2 visa has expired, and you are being forced to leave the country until you can reapply. Are you comfortable talking about the visa issue? 

What can I say? Since Feb. 10, 2020, everything went wrong, and my visa problem is just a consequence of all these crazy events. For sure, I can tell you I wasn’t very lucky but considering what is happening in the world, I’m alive and still fighting, so I should reconsider the word luck. Plus, after two years I will see my family again. Yes, I must go back to Italy, but you will not get rid of me so easily! [Laughs]      

You can keep an eye on the restaurant’s Instagram page for any updates.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A visit to Via Della Scrofa

Kim's Video lives on with 'Staff Picks' at Metrograph

Metrograph is honoring one of the greatest places you loved to hate in a new series titled "Staff Picks: Kim's Video," which gets underway today (Friday!).

Cutting and pasting the entire description right here:

The Kim’s Video empire started out in an enterprising immigrant hustler’s East Village laundromat on Avenue A, a joint that ran a dodgy sideline renting VHS tapes out of cardboard boxes and laundry baskets. It became a legendary New York City institution — a discount film school, with outlets as far as exotic Jersey City and a multi-story flagship located in a former bathhouse on St. Mark’s Place, famous for cranky behind-the-counter attitudes, dismal wages, and a mind-boggling selection. 

After the closing of its final location in 2014, Kim’s faded into the mists of legend: an exceptional place, but also representative of a broader international video store culture that’s long hovered on the brink of extinction.

Kim’s is gone but far from forgotten, and so Metrograph salutes the esoteric eclecticism of Kim’s Video with a series made up of film selections and introductions by a number of former store clerks who’ve gone on to better things still branded for life by their time, as well as the mysterious Mr. Kim himself. 

Staff Picks will continue throughout 2022, each month featuring selections that celebrate the small and specialty video stores, independent theatres, and community hubs where passionate film lovers gather. Titles include selections by Isabel Gillies, Lorry Kikta, Ralph McKay, Alex Ross Perry, Sean Price Williams, Mr. Kim, and more.

Find out more about the series and ticket info here. Metrograph is at 7 Ludlow St. just above Canal.

And some flashbacking for you, courtesy of dyske.com ... here's a look at Kim's Video when it was at 85 Avenue A (now Somtum Der) between Fifth Street and Sixth Street (click on the image for a bigger view!)

Kim's on A closed in the summer of 2004. 

And! Memories!

I was just reminiscing about Kim's on A! For a freelance piece on the worst college films ever, I asked if they had 'Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise.' To my great surprise, they did! In disgust, the clerk bounced the tape off the counter and it hit me in the chest. 😍

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) January 20, 2022

This block of 3rd Street gets a psychic with $10 specials; 'walk-ins welcome'

It has been nearly three years (!!!) since we noted a new business opening involving a psychic in a storefront. (We're back! Wooo!) 

Anyway! EVG reader Erin notes this arrival on Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... this space was previously home to a more-useful business — Sunrise Cleaners.

Officials: Police arrest teen accused of starting fire that destroyed the Essex Card Shop

A teen has been arrested in connection to the fire that destroyed Essex Card Shop at 47 Avenue A on Jan. 10. 

An FDNY official confirmed the arrest (as well as age and gender) to EVG contributor Stacie Joy. We're told the charges include second-degree arson for the 13-year-old, whose name was not released due to his age. 

Officials and other sources said that the teen was seen leaving the shop minutes before management smelled smoke. Investigators were able to pull photos/videos from the store surveillance camera. 

The fire destroyed Essex Card Shop, which moved here between Third Street and Fourth Street in June 2020 after 20 years on a storefront one block to the south. 

Owner Muhammad Aslam has said he will reopen the business, which has collected more than $65,000 in a crowdfunding effort to help pay for expenses and lost income. 

The fire also temporarily shuttered Downtown Yarns next door.

As previously noted, the stout cement ceiling and brick walls in the storefronts of the 13-floor Ageloff Towers served as a firebreak and prevented further damage to the building and adjacent businesses.

A visit to Via Della Scrofa

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

The warmth of the small but well-stocked alimentari fogs up my glasses, and I can still faintly smell delicious espresso and chocolate-y scents even behind my face-covering mask as I enter Via Della Scrofa at 60 E. Fourth St. 

Co-owner Giovanni Bartocci is there to greet me and show me around the recently opened shop between Second Avenue and the Bowery as locals drop by for sandwiches and morning coffee.  

On this winter morning, the usually gregarious Bartocci is stressed about a recent immigration decision that’s forcing him to temporarily leave the country for his native Italy. Regardless, he still manages a smile and presses some individually wrapped cookies into everyone’s hands before they exit the store.

I wait until there’s a break in the foot traffic to talk with Bartocci about the store, the neighborhood and his somewhat uncertain plans for the future. (We’ll have more on his status in part two of our coverage tomorrow, in which we discuss Via Della Pace, his 17-year-old restaurant on Seventh Street and Second Avenue that was destroyed by a fire in 2020. Via Della Pace is set to reopen on Fourth Street this year.)

How did Via Della Scrofa come to be? 

My business partner Marco Ventura and I always wanted to open a little Bottega — a little shop. You can find one in every town in Italy where you go to buy just some guanciale, and you get out with a bag full of different things and go back in because you bought biscotti, pasta, candy, olive oil…but you forgot the guanciale [laughs]!

Plus, we couldn’t go back because of the pandemic, so we tried to recreate a little piece of Italy here. The name Via Della Scrofa came almost naturally for many reasons. We own Via Della Pace, the restaurant. And in Rome, the two streets are very close, like we will be when we can reopen the restaurant. 

On Via Della Scrofa in Rome, there is the famous restaurant Alfredo Alla Scrofa from Alfredo of the Alfredo sauce fame. And last, the “scrofa” is the sow…and if you walk in [to the shop], you want to eat everything.

What do you recommend for first-time shoppers at the store? What are the best-selling items?

I recommend not being shy and asking for suggestions from Marco or me. We will guide you and explain what we sell —we want you to experience our traditions in the best way possible! 

The best-selling item for sure is the Chinotto Neri — so good we went out of stock in less than 40 days, but it will be back by the end of January. Also, porchetta and guanciale cioli, Galatine Milk Candy — a lot of things!

Why is it important for you to have your businesses in the East Village?

We love the East Village! We have always been here; this is our neighborhood. It is like a home away from home! We always try to be here for the people of the East Village. We stayed open during the Sandy blackout, giving away food and we did the same for the people living in the buildings of the explosion in the opposite corner [of Via Della Pace in 2015]. People needed just to show us something to prove they were living there, and we were offering spaghetti al Pomodoro and a glass of wine anytime they wanted.

What’s next for the shop? Any future plans?

Now we just want to open the restaurant — we are focusing on that. After that, we don’t know. We are happy as long as people walk out of our locations with a smile. 

And if we will make a lot of people smile, then we will consider new adventures. 

You can keep tabs on the shop here. They are open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

And stay tuned for part two of our coverage tomorrow, where we talk about Via Della Pace’s reopening and the complex immigration issues that are forcing Bartocci to temporarily leave the country.