Booted in the bus lane — day 8

The Subaru with the missing plates enjoyed its eighth day booted in the bus lane here on Avenue A between Third Street and Second Street... (thanks to EVG reader Carl Bentsen for the pics!)...

And there is an addition of a windshield note today... with a phone number (not to the mayor's office!) for the Subaru owner to call if he/she can't afford to have the boot removed...

A reader said the city towed the car here from Third Street on Sept. 8 ahead of the milling.

Freaks to the front

 

Australian punks Amyl and the Sniffers released this live video clip this week from a recent show... a good preview of what to expect when they play Terminal 5 on West 56th Street next Friday night... in support of their most recent release, Comfort to Me.

City removes the outdoor dining structure from Pardon My French on Avenue B

This morning, workers from the Department of Sanitation and Department of Transportation swooped in on Pardon My French, and removed the restaurant's curbside dining structure on Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (The block was shut down to through traffic during this time.) 

An EVG reader shared these photos...

A resident who lives nearby told us that the structure had been used for storing chairs and tables for the sidewalk cafe. And we don't know if the city had fined the restaurant for the space or asked them to remove it.

The city recently began cracking down on abandoned curbside-dining structures through the Open Restaurants program. 

Per the city: 

Having removed the initial 24 abandoned sheds, the task force has begun identifying and removing additional sheds, investigating another 37 sheds identified as egregious violators of Open Restaurants program guidelines, and reviewing complaints and summons data to identify and remove other abandoned sheds throughout the five boroughs. Sheds reported to be abandoned will be verified as abandoned two separate times before receiving a termination letter, followed by removal and disposal of the shed. 

The task force will also review sheds that, while potentially active, are particularly egregious violators of Open Restaurants program guidelines. In these cases, sheds will be inspected three separate times before action is taken. 

After each of the first two failed inspections, DOT will issue notices instructing the restaurant owner to correct the outstanding issues; after the third visit, DOT will issue a termination letter and allow 48 hours before issuing a removal notice. DOT will then remove the structure and store it for 90 days — if the owner does not reclaim it in that period, DOT will dispose of the structure.

Recent East Village removals include Poco,  Dia, the Ainsworth and Baker's Pizza. Of those four, only Poco remains in business. 

Thank you to Concerned Citizen and Salim as well!

Flashback Friday: this morning's sunrise, last Saturday's harvest moonrise

Thanks to EVG reader Jeanne Krier for these photos...

City to unveil Adela Fargas Way this weekend in honor of Casa Adela's legendary founder

Tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 17) at noon, the city unveils new street blades for Adela Fargas Way on Fifth Street and Avenue C. 

Fargas was the founder and namesake of the popular Puerto Rican restaurant Casa Adela on the block. Fargas, who ran Casa Adela here for decades, died in January 2018. She was 81.

As we reported in May, District Leader Aura Olavarria drafted the petition ... and worked with Adela's son Luis Rivera (pictured below) and other community members-groups. They collected hundreds of signatures and presented the petition to Community Board 3's Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation & Environment Committee, who overwhelmingly approved the petition ... and the entire Board passed a resolution in support on May 24. 

On July 14, the New York City Council Committee passed Councilmember Carlina Rivera's bill for the co-naming.

Here's more about Fargas from the petition:

Adela Fargas was a working-class, Afro-Puerto Rican fixture in Loisaida and the owner and matriarch behind the iconic and authentic Puerto Rican restaurant Casa Adela. She was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, where she became a domestic worker who prepared frianbreras, or packed lunches, for factory workers. 

She moved to the United States at age 39, where her first job in the Lower East Side was at a restaurant on East 4th Street and Avenue D. When the restaurant closed, Adela found a way to provide for her family and feed those less fortunate through selling pasteles on street corners. In 1973, Adela opened her family-run restaurant, Casa Adela. 

Adela Fargas's impact goes far beyond a restaurant, which represented an important meeting place for the Puerto Rican community in New York City, in the diaspora, and worldwide. Outside the restaurant's walls, Adela was a center of Latino life on the Lower East Side and a tireless community advocate. Adela became the godmother to many on the Lower East Side, employing those who lived in the neighborhood and feeding anyone who came in hungry. 

Her soul food attracted a profound sense of community and this street co-naming will serve to honor her living legacy. Each year at the Loisaida Festival, Adela provided food for the community and organized dance and music for the festival as well.

Photo from May by Stacie Joy 

The annual 9th Street Block Party is back, and happening tomorrow (Saturday!)

For the first time since 2019, the 9th Street A-1 Block Association Block Party — one of the best around — is back in action... happening tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 17) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Both residents and merchants along the block — Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue — will have items for sale. Expect some live music too.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

The annual Village View Tag Sale is tomorrow (Saturday!)

There's a tag sale at Village View tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 17) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ... it's on the Fifth Street basketball court between Avenue A and First Avenue... as we've noted before: We've found (bought) some pretty good stuff here through the years.

Thursday's parting SERVE

Photo by Derek Berg 

Some folks from PingPod were at the ping-pong table in the center of Tompkins Square Park today... offering $10 for anyone who could return one of three serves from one of their table-tennis pros. 

The fellow in the above photo returned all three — AND WITH A GUITAR STRAPPED TO HIS BACK. 

Maybe the video will show up @pingpod.

Kembra Pfahler headlining fundraiser Sunday for the LGBTQ History Project

The LGBTQ History Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the lives and legacies of LGBTQ activists and pioneers, is hosting its first fundraiser ... happening Sunday (4-8 p.m.) at Nowhere Bar, 322 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Here are details via the EVG inbox

Since 2019, The LGBTQ History Project has documented the stories of countless people who were crucial to the advancement of civil rights. 

We will have a mega-LGBTQ-history-archive raffle, which includes original poster prints by Harvey Milk photographer Dan Nicoletta, a Cockette postcard series, and limited edition reissues of Vanguard magazine. 

As if that is not enough, Kembra Pfahler (The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black) will be performing, and we will be spinning the debut of Man Parish's new Klaus Nomi album, Dear Klaus Nomi, which includes completely new versions of Klaus' hits featuring his original vocals. (Read about this here.)

You can buy a ticket for the event here. Proof of COVID vaccination will be required for entry, per organizers. 

The pre-dawn Moon in Taurus

An early morning dispatch from Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers ... the top photo of the waning Moon was taken from Third Street ... with another shot with some of the Moon's features...

Per Felton: "The waning moon is weird in the early morning, all flipped over from its usual early evening waxing position. Out in the country, the famous Pleiades cluster would be visible just a few degrees over from the moon, but at street level here in NYC they are not."