Let the wheatpaste battle BEGIN!

The plywood along the demolished storefronts at 250 E. Houston St. has become a wheatepaste hotspot in recent months...

Now, the property managers here between Avenue A and Avenue B have unveiled their line of wheatpaste defense ... thanks to Salim for these shots...

So far, the green guards are almost 100% effective...

As we first reported, a six-story residential building is in the works for the lot.

Noted

Photos by Derek Berg 

Crews are setting up for a production with the code name "Yogurt" here on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

It's a TV series with a retro vibe, given the assembled 1990s-era props here ... and NOT TRASH!

Anyway, the crews will be filming around here ... we saw notices on Avenue A... the Bowery... among other places. And we'll see if we can uncover what "Yogurt" really is (ASIDE from a popular food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk).

Updated 12:36 p.m.

Thanks to Emily, via the comments. The series is called "Up Here."

Here's more via Deadline:

Former Good Girls star Mae Whitman has been tapped as the female lead in Up Here, Hulu's musical romantic comedy series from Tick, Tick… Boom! and Dear Evan Hansen writer Steven Levenson, The Carmichael Show's Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, Hamilton director Thomas Kail, and the Frozen and WandaVision songwriting duo of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. 

Parking removed on sections of Avenues A and D; curbside bus lanes set for M14 service

Earlier this month, the city removed the parking signs and Muni Meters from along the west side of Avenue A (between Sixth Street to Houston) and sections of Avenue D.

In their place: No Standing signs. Parking is no longer allowed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days a week in these select corridors ... 

This is one of the transit improvements the city announced as part of the "Better Buses Restart" campaign in May 2021. Per then-Mayor de Blasio's announcement during "Streets Week!" at the time:

Both new and improved bus lanes will serve bus riders citywide, with changes including new red paint and markings, signals improvements, pedestrian safety and clearer signage. 

The city identified the M14A and M14D as a "bus priority" in 2019... when the 14th Street Busway went into effect between Third Avenue and Ninth Avenue. (According to the city, the Busway improved bus travel times by 36%, among other improvements.)

Still, according to the city, speeds on the 14A and 14D are consistently slow throughout the day and early evening. (DOT presentation from June 2021 here.)

Moving forward, the southbound side of Avenue A (from Fifth to Houston) will receive a curbside bus lane; ditto for Avenue D between Second and Seventh going south... and from Houston to Ninth on the north. 

There will also be enhancements for the bus lines below Houston, including new left-turn bays.

No word on when the DOT will mark these bus lanes. (They were originally slated for last summer/fall.)

The "Better Buses Restart" campaign drew praise from transit advocates last year.

"Prioritizing bus riders on the street is a must for New York City's recovery," Ben Fried, comms director for the TransitCenter, said in a statement. "DOT's slate of bus projects will be especially helpful to essential workers and Black and brown New Yorkers, who make most of the bus trips in the city. As traffic returns to city streets, it's extremely important to complete these projects, carve out space for transit to bypass congestion, and ensure millions of New Yorkers can rely on the bus."

Fox 5 last week found an annoyed LES resident who received a $115 ticket on his vehicle after the parking change went into effect along Avenue D. The resident disputed the claim that the DOT left flyers about the changes for residents. 

Thanks to Steven for the photos.

A new Korean concept for the Oiji space on 1st Avenue

Updated July 1. The CB3 questionnaires are now online. The new restaurant is NOT affiliated with the previous tenant, Oiji — despite the fact that the person collecting signatures for the new concept told us so. Kihyun Lee, the founder of the successful Hand Hospitality, and Hand Hospitality partner Jinan Choi, are behind this venture.

----

This spring, the owners of the well-reviewed Oiji on First Avenue opened a new, larger restaurant called Oiji Mi on 19th Street near Sixth Avenue.

Since then, Oiji at 119 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place has remained closed. It was unclear what the owners, Brian Kim and Max Soh, would do with the space.

The other day, a rep was outside No. 119 collecting signatures supporting a liquor license for a new Korean restaurant here...

We were told that the Oiji owners are behind this new concept. Why the need for a new liquor license? There's a corporate name change that requires an updated license.

The applicants will appear before CB3's SLA committee this July 13. The questionnaires for this meeting aren't online just yet.

Oiji opened here in the spring of 2015 and drew praise from Pete Wells and others. 

Tuesday's parting shot

Watermelon unloading zone on Fourth Street and Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg...

A visit with Wolfie, a talented emerging outsider artist — and rabbit

Images by Stacie Joy

Earlier this month, Special Special, an exhibition space and retail brand on First Street, hosted its first interspecies exhibition of a talented emerging outsider artist.

"The Artist Is NOT Present" is the first solo exhibition by Wolfie, a rabbit (above and below), featuring the artist's series of 13 recent portraiture artworks from the catalog of Marina Abramović's 2010 retrospective at MoMA, "The Artist is Present."

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to meet the artist and take in the space, which opened in 2016 here between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

According to the Special Special press materials on the show, Wolfie began this body of work when she found a copy of Abramović's "The Artist is Present" sitting in her home left out by her roommate Panny, "who had received the book as a gift but had not felt a personal connection with it."

Out of a pile of other printed material, Wolfie was immediately drawn to the emotive portraits from the performance, which took place long before her birth. When Panny discovered Wolfie’s first finished piece, a portrait of Abramović, she was so impressed that she showed it to her colleague’s at Special Special, landing this emerging artist her first solo exhibition.

And...

Wolfie's whimsically crafted portraits evoke possibilities of art creation, beyond the conventions of the human-dominated global art scene. For Wolfie, her chewing process is an act of curation, indiscriminately selecting portraits from the catalog, and chewing between her chosen subjects until she reaches her optimal desired composition.  

And from the left here at Special Special: Wen-You Cai, founder and director, Oliver Yuan, product designer, and Panny Chayapumh, graphic designer and Wolfie's human companion ...

You may book an appointment to see Wolfie's work through the end of the month at Special Special via email.

Hey, it's primary election day!

The first of two 2022 primary elections is today (June 28) for state and Assembly offices. The primaries for congressional (including the 10th Congressional District with candidates including de Blasio, Rivera, etc.) and state Senate openings were pushed back to Aug. 23 due to New York State redistricting issues. 

Polls are open today from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find your poll site via this link (unless you voted early already!). 

Anyway, you likely know about the race for governor, lieutenant governor and the Assembly. There's also a lesser-known slate of judicial candidates. City & State has a primer on those races. You can find a regiular ol' primary primer via the Times right here. 

Screengrab courtesy of Duran Duran side project Arcadia... the best Duran Duran side project aside from the Power Station.

City pools open TODAY

Dozens of outdoor city pools reopen for the season TODAY ... locally, this means the Hamilton Fish Pool on Pitt and East Houston (above, as seen on Saturday), the Dry Dock Pool on 10th Street and Avenue D and the Tompkins Square Park mini pool... which workers were filling on Sunday morning (don't forget to skim the pool for leaves and beers!) ... 

Every year, we hear from people who had no idea there was a mini pool in Tompkins Square Park. The mini pool is open for children and their parents-guardians. 

If this helps with location ...

Outdoor hours are from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. daily, with a break for pool cleaning between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Find more info about city pools at this link. The mini pool is open until Labor Day, with the larger pools in service through Sept. 11.

And an important — and unfortunate — note about pool programming this summer: "Due to the current national lifeguard shortage, all swim programs, including lap swim, senior swim, and Learn to Swim, have been canceled for summer 2022."

Blank Street continues East Village expansion with outpost on 1st Avenue

Updated July 1: This branch is now open

A new location of Blank Street coffee is coming to the NE corner of First Avenue at 13th Street (opposite the Starbucks on the NW corner).

Blank Street also carries products from local brands, including King Street Baking Co. and King David Tacos. 

Our previous post (here) has more background about Blank Street.

This will make the fourth outpost in the EV area for the fast-growing coffee brand. Last fall saw the arrival of branches at 149 Avenue A ...36 Third Ave. ... and in the Bowery Market. 

This storefront was last a GNC, which shuttered in the summer of 2020. 

Cafe Joah debuts on Avenue A

Several readers have pointed out that Cafe Joah is in soft-open mode at 212 Avenue A just north of 13th Street. (Thanks to Brian Carroll for this photo; also to Russell K and Isa for sending pics.) 

Cafe Joah is serving coffee and pastries now... with plans for sandwiches and salads in a few weeks. You can follow the Cafe's Instagram account for updates.

Ownership here was also behind the previous tenant in the space, Fat Buddha. NY State suspended the bar's liquor license in the fall of 2020 for "egregious violations of coronavirus-related regulations." CB3 denied Fat Buddha's application for a new liquor license in June 2021, per public records. 

For now, ownership is focusing on the cafe business.