A visit to Arka, the 71-year-old Ukrainian gift shop on 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

As The New York Times recently noted, business has been brisk in recent days at Arka, the shop that sells traditional Ukrainian clothing and other goods at 89 Second St. just east of First Ave.

Mykola Drobenko, who runs the shop with the help of family, told the Times that business had been off in recent years. However, since Russia's unprovoked attack on the country on Feb. 24, Akra has run out of Ukrainian flags and pins. More are on the way.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by Akra on Saturday, and the Drobenko family gave her permission to take photos. (See below for the relatively limited store hours and Akra's long history in the neighborhood.)

According to a 2019 feature at The Click, an NYU publication, Arka dates back 72 years... 

Arka opened its doors in 1951 on 7th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. The owners were Roman Porytko and Jaroslav Pastushenko, two immigrants from Ukraine who were able to start a new life in the United States under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which allowed Europeans who had lost their homes in World War II permanent residence in the U.S. 

And... 

In the 1980s, the East Village continued to flourish and grow, which resulted in steep rent increases. In 1985 Arka was hit with a 1000 percent rent increase from $300 per month to $3,000 per month and announced that after 35 years, they were going to close their doors. Signs announcing their closure were placed on each of the three large windows of the ground-level store. 

"I happened to be walking by the Seventh Street shop one day ... when a sign in Arka's window caught my eye," explained business entrepreneur Mykola Drobenko to the Ukrainian Weekly in 1986. A few days later, Drobenko returned with an offer to buy the business. 

After buying Arka, Drobenko moved the store to the first floor of a building that he owned on Second Street. 

The shop is open Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. ... and Saturday by appointment. Find more info, including mail order, at the Arka website.

A sign of spring amid the bulldozed remains of East River Park

Here's a look at East River Park from the Corlears Hook ferry access ... these photos are from Saturday and show where the amphitheater used to be...

Despite the barren terrain, we spotted some bulbs coming to the surface...

Meanwhile, there's a press conference tomorrow (March 9) at 9 a.m. at Corlears Hook Park to "call on NYC Parks to halt tree work permits." 

Starting next week, activists say the city is slated to cut down another 50 healthy mature trees from the immediate area. Speakers are expected to include District 1 City Councilmember Christopher Marte, per media invites. 

And as previously reported ... Since early December, work has focused on cutting down hundreds of mature trees and taking out amenities such as the tennis courts in Project Area 1 below Stanton Street. 

The current plans call for gutting East River Park — burying the existing 57.5-acre land under fill and elevating it by 8-to-10 feet above sea level. The new park is expected to protect the Lower East Side from storm surges until at least 2050. 

Park entry remains at Houston, Sixth Street and 10th Street. The city has said they will maintain public access to a minimum of 42 percent of the park throughout construction, expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

Chef Tan signage arrives on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven 

Workers put up the signage yesterday for Chef Tan, the new restaurant opening soon at 37 St. Mark's Place. 

This will be the first NYC outpost for the restaurant in Jersey City that serves Szechuan and Hunan cuisine. (Jersey menu here.) 

We're told that management is waiting on the usual city inspections before they are able to open. 

Chef Tan takes over the space at Second Avenue from 99 Favor Taste, which closed during the pandemic after three-plus years in service.

Report: 'Rowdy teens' blamed for series of attacks at Sheen Brothers on 10th and B

Rowdy teens have harassed and attacked workers in an East Village deli for months. The police have done nothing about it, the store owner says.

“Sometimes, they have a metal rod, and sometimes, a baseball bat. ... The police say they can’t do anything.”https://t.co/vE25lKuLpt

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) March 7, 2022

Updated 3/10: One teen has been arrested, per the News.

The Daily News reports that "a group of rowdy teens have harassed and attacked workers" at Sheen Brothers, the market on the SE corner of 10th Street and Avenue B.

Owner Jay Patel told the News that "he has called the police time and again about the teen terrors, but cops have told him their hands are tied." 

Video surveillance dating back to October shows a series of assaults at the market, including one in which teens repeatedly punch a clerk in the face. 

Patel said they spent $7,000 on an automatic gate and a buzzer system to beef up the shop's security. Customers have to be buzzed in and out of the corner market now. 

As part of his East Village walking tour yesterday, Mayor Adams visited Sheen Brothers and vowed "we are not going to tolerate" the attacks. 

The News pointed out that overall crime is up in the 9th Precinct 67.5% this year — 325 incidents vs. 194 in 2021. This link takes you to the PDF of the NYPD CompStats. 

For more context, here's a screengrab with breakdowns of reported crimes vs. previous years... (click on image for a better view)...

Monday's parting shot

You may have seen these small paintings of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy around the neighborhood ... including part of his response to offers of an evacuation early on during the Russian invasion: "The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." 

The art is by @EarlyRiser ... the photo from First Avenue and Ninth Street is by William Klayer.

Today in mayoral visits to the East Village

Photo at East Village Organic on 1st Avenue by Steven 

Thanks to everyone for the emails, texts, cards and letters about Mayor Adams taking a walking tour of the East Village today... to announce that #NYCisBack ...

Hitting the streets in the East Village to spread the word: #NYCisBack! pic.twitter.com/q4gcq1MT8l

— City of New York (@nycgov) March 7, 2022

As previously reported, NYC's indoor vaccine mandate is gone starting today. Restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and gyms are no longer be required to check for proof of COVID-19 vaccination from customers. In addition, the mask ban for students has been lifted. 

His tour included visiting with owners of several restaurants (Dallas BBQ, La Palapa, MáLà Project), eating lunch at Veselka and walking through Tompkins Square Park.

Updated 7 p.m.

There wasn't any shortage of the mayor's EV visit today... select news outlets include...

• CBS New York

• Curbed 

• amNY 

• NY1

Meanwhile, the mayor, who announced "new actions and investments in pedestrian safety at intersections" in January, was called out on Twitter for having one of his vehicles parked in the intersection on Second Avenue and Ninth Street this morning ...

@NYCMayor vehicle blocking a crosswalk #walknyc pic.twitter.com/I4L6htRG4R

— Choresh Wald (@Choresh2) March 7, 2022

Sunny's Florist is BACK

Photos by Steven

Good news. After a winter hiatus, Sunny's Florist reopened Saturday on the SE corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street...

Sunny's has been in this sliver of a spot for 32 years... and with arguably the best flowers in NYC.

The shop doesn't have a website or any active social media platforms ... Google lists the hours from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Phone: (212) 473-0185

Two Boots supporting Ukraine with 2 new pizzas, including the Mr. Ze

Photos by Stacie Joy

Two Boots Pizza has partnered with Razom for Ukraine to help support the war-torn country. 

The pizzeria, which has long named their special pies (see The Dude, the CBGB or Larry Tate), unveiled Mr. Ze after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Lesya, for the Ukrainian writer-activist Lesya Ukrainka. 

Each pizza includes key ingredients from two longtime Ukrainian businesses in the East Village. Mr. Ze has kielbasa from East Village Meat Market, while the Lesya has borscht from Veselka.

All proceeds from the sales of these pizzas will go to Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit that supports the residents and culture of that country. 

The special pizzas are available at the EV location, 42 Avenue A at Third Street, and the West Village outpost, 101 Seventh Ave. S. 

At the Avenue A shop yesterday, EVG contributor Stacie Joy caught up with Two Boots staffers Antoline Lopez and Willicia Thomas with a Mr. Ze...

Two Boots also donated food for the Stand With Ukraine Community Concert at the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue this past Saturday.

Ramen Setagaya's St. Mark's Place location looking very closed

Photos by Steven

The St. Mark's Place branch of the Japanese chain Ramen Setagaya has apparently closed.

The space has been empty for several weeks... 

This branch at 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue is no longer posted on the website... and Google lists them as permanently closed...

The affordable ramen spot got its East Village start in 2007 around the corner on Second Avenue before relocating here. 

This closure comes after the arrival of a for-rent sign on the space earlier this year...

Purple reign: Incoming Taco Bell now looking more like a Taco Bell

The Taco Bell coming to the SW corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street is shaping up... the brand's dark purple (Pantone: PMS 2603 C) color now adorns the storefront ... not even clashing as much with the dinosaur mural as anticipated.

Signage is next ... then it shouldn't be too long before they serve up those new Cantina Crispy Chicken Tacos with avocado ranch dressing.

There are currently more than a dozen Taco Bells in NYC. (Fun fact! Glen Bell opened the first Taco Bell in Downey, Calif., in 1962.)

As for this EV corner, Bluemercury, the luxury beauty retailer, closed here during the pandemic.