Wednesday, August 17, 2022

A new residential building for this block of 9th Street

Foundation work continues at 645 E. Ninth St., where a 7-story residential building will rise on the site of a former parking lot between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The now-approved permits, first filed in April 2020, show 10 residential units, most likely rentals given the square footage. 

This is the second former residential parking lot on the block to yield to housing... No. 639, an 8-story building, was unveiled (finally) in late 2020...

Free fitness classes return to Avenue B

The "14Y Fitness in the Streets" series of free outdoor classes have returned to the Open Streets of Avenue B.

Via the EVG inbox...
The 14Y is proud to partner with Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition (LOSCC) with support from NYC Departments of Transportation and Small Business Services this summer to expand our group fitness class offerings and support our vibrant downtown community!

Join us on Wednesdays and Saturdays in August and September for Zumba, Masala Bhangra, and Heart and Soul Cardio Dance to stay active, enjoy some sunshine, and connect with your neighbors!

All fitness levels are welcome!
You can find the schedule and more info at this link

The program debuted in May 2021.

Shinzo Omakase set to debut on 2nd Street

Shinzo Omakase seemingy appeared out of nowhere at 89 Second St. just east of First Avenue...
A Google listing for the space states a soft opening tomorrow (Aug. 18) ... with a 20%-off deal for the first week. 

We haven't spotted a website or social media for the restaurant just yet. 

There was also some debate in the EVG newsroom about the use of comic sans on the door signage...
We can't recall the last tenant here... Guaco Taco in 2017?

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Tuesday's parting shot

An EVG reader shared this from an unnamed East Village community garden ... "the sky and trees on the surface of the pond makes it look like the turtle is swimming in the sky. She is my favorite turtle in the neighborhood — very curious and frisky."

A sticky situation this morning at the Keith Haring sculpture on Astor Place

Photo by Lola Sáenz 

A new day dawned at the Keith Haring's "Self Portrait" on Astor Place at Third Avenue ... with stickers (featuring a QR code for some film project) all over the sculpture ... 

[Updated with video of the crash] Another day, another car drives into Tompkins Square Park

The NYPD was on the scene early this morning after someone attempted to drive a car through Tompkins Square Park before crashing into a fence. 

Christopher J. Ryan took these photos at 5:48 a.m. ...
The working assumption is that the car entered the Park on Ninth Street and Avenue A ... and headed east before colliding with a fence just past the dog run. 

At this point, we don't have any other details, such as the condition of the driver or the number of passengers.

On Sunday morning, a man drove into the Park after allegedly hitting a female companion and sparring with people who came to her aid.

Updated 9:13 a.m. 

Here's a look at the collision site... given the skid marks and impact at the benches, observers believe the driver was speeding...
Thank you to the folks at the Tompkins Square Dog Run for the photo.

Updated 10:30 a.m. 

A reader shared this surveillance footage of the car driving at a high rate of speed and smashing into the benches and fence...

 

Here's a second video from the reader... showing the aftermath of the crash. Several people in the Park confront the driver, the man in shorts and a ponytail, and take his keys... and wait for the NYPD... the video does not show what happened after the police arrived and what, if anything, may have happened to the driver...

  

VIDEO: Watch the Nissan Sentra drive through Tompkins Square Park on Sunday morning

Updated with comment from the NYPD below.

We've received a 25-second video clip of the driver taking several laps in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday morning.

As previously reported, a man, possibly late 20s to early 30s, and a woman were seen arguing in the Park just before 11 a.m. Both the man and the woman are known to hang out near the chess tables in Tompkins.

According to witnesses, the man grabbed a shovel from a Parks maintenance truck and hit the woman multiple times. (It's not known the extent of her injuries.) One Park regular described this as "a crime of passion" to EVG contributor Stacie Joy. Per the regular: "I mean, she owed him money and whatever but like damn. A shovel?"

A group of men sitting nearby rushed to her defense and chased the shovel-wielding attacker from Tompkins. 

Witnesses said the man returned in a few minutes driving a Nissan Sentra with Pennsylvania plates. (Our previous post has info about traffic citations associated with this vehicle.) He entered the Park, which was hosting the weekly Greenmarket, at Seventh Street and Avenue A, "going down different rows while everyone is diving out of the way," as one witness described it. Witnesses believe he was looking for the men who had confronted him.

The person who shared this video shot it from Temperance Fountain. The clip starts with the car slowing down (with the hazard lights flashing) before revving up and taking another lap. 

Witness estimates put the driver in the Park between 1 and 2 minutes total. "Hard to describe how terrified people were for however short a time that was," one witness told us.

   

Before the man drove into Tompkins, he was seen — with a torn T-shirt and missing shoe — getting into the car with a woman who was also in the Park. (It's unclear if this was the same woman he allegedly hit with the shovel.) Witnesses said he drove the wrong way on St. Mark's Place toward First Avenue before turning around and making a right onto Avenue A, where he went in circles under the traffic light at Seventh Street before entering the Park. 

The NYPD arrived (along with a truck from FDNY Engine 5 on 14th Street) after the man had driven through Tompkins. He was stopped on Avenue A near St. Mark's Place. There's speculation the car broke down. 

To the disbelief of some onlookers, the man was not charged and walked away after spending some time talking with officers from the 9th Precinct. According to a resident who watched the police on the scene on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place: "One thing I noticed was that the police didn't seem interested in witness accounts."

We've talked with witnesses who saw the man allegedly hit the woman with the shovel... drive the car up St. Mark's Place and along Avenue A before entering the Park... and maneuver his way through the Park. No one we spoke with saw the entire incident from beginning to end. 

Witnesses described a confusing, chaotic and scary few minutes in the Park. Witnesses who saw any part of this unfold said that there were amazed no one was injured and shocked that the driver wasn't arrested.  

As of last evening, the car was still sitting on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place...
The car also received a ticket yesterday morning ...
... for "failure to display parking meter receipt" and "no expiration date on plate or elsewhere." Fine amount: $65.

Updated 8 p.m. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy asked a source at the 9th Precinct for a comment on what happened in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday morning. 

"The event in the Park was a result of a dispute between the car owner, who was with his female friend, and another group of men who robbed the car owner. The car owner tried to get back his belongings from the robbers but he was jumped ... The robbers chased him with a shovel and in the process, he got into the car to run away from them. He proceeded to drive into the Park — not knowing it is a Park because he is not from the neighborhood," the source said. "So far the owner of the car and his girlfriend were the victim of a crime and the complaint is still being worked on by the detectives. So there is still an ongoing investigation." 

The current NYPD storyline is at odds with what multiple residents said they saw transpire. According to several witnesses, the driver of the car allegedly hit his girlfriend with a shovel before a group of men intervened. Witnesses said they also have seen the man in the Park on several occasions.

Love Thy Beast departing 5th Street for Brooklyn

Love Thy Beast, the 5-year-old dog boutique at 300 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue, is moving next month to a larger (by 4x) space in Williamsburg (thanks to Steven for the photos)...
In an Instagram post, owner Tiziana Agnello wrote:  
There are many happy tears as I am looking back to all our photos. We put in so much hard work setting up the east village but after 5 years its time to move on. There are so many amazing surprises in store for our Brooklyn location that we know you'll be there on the regular.
Agnello, a former prop stylist, started selling her homemade creations online and in several pop-up locations back in 2012 ... before opening here in the spring of 2017. 

Monday, August 15, 2022

About the 188 Allen St. Takeover this week

Over the next few nights, #0H10m1keandfriends are hosting bands and sticker artists at 188 Allen St. between Houston and Stanton... 
The "Art Garage" (aka 188 Allen St. Outpost) arrived outside CheeseGrille here several weeks ago (and coinciding with a new mural above the restaurant by @SacSix). 

You can read more about what to expect here over the next five nights at this link.

Volunteer litter cleanup around Tompkins Square Park scheduled for Thursday

Here's an opportunity to pitch in and help pick up litter in Tompkins Square Park — thanks to a large rat! 

Jonothon Lyons, creator of Buddy the Rat, is launching a community litter clean initiative called "Buddy's Brigade: Litter Exterminators." 

Lyons and NYC entrepreneur Michael Quinn are hosting a series of volunteer community litter cleanups around New York City with material resource support from the Department of Sanitation.

The first cleanup will be around the perimeter of Tompkins Square Park this Thursday (Aug. 18) at 5 p.m. 

Volunteers can meet at the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A on Thursday. You don't need to bring anything: Quinn said that the Department of Sanitation will be supplying all of the necessary resources and equipment. They will also be coming back to pick up the trash, he said.