Monday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Out with Valentine's Day on this Presidents Day... as seen on First Avenue and Seventh Street...

Flashbacks: A wedding at McSorley's Old Ale House!

Photos courtesy of Jason Sheehy 

This past weekend, McSorley's celebrated 170 years at 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square. 

Here's but a piece of the bar's history, which EVG reader Jason Sheehy shared from late last summer. (You may recognize Jason as a proud owner of one of the Gem Spa signs.) 

For starters, McSorley's is the favorite bar in the city for Jason and his girlfriend Regina. 

"The communal tables bring everyone together, and we have met some of our best friends sitting at those tables," he said. 

So when it came time for the wedding, they figured why not hold it in their favorite place. 

The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. before the bar opened for the day this past Aug. 31. There were light and dark mugs of McSorley's and bagels from Tompkins Square Bagels for the 70-plus people from around the country in attendance...

Gregory de la Haba, the co-owner and operator of McSorley's, said the bar has hosted weddings in the past but very rarely. 

"We've had a few of our family and close friends (regulars) get married inside. But only once in a blue moon will we allow [someone] to marry inside ... they must be true regulars — for years — like Jason and Regina," he said, adding with a laugh: Otherwise, we'd be officiating weddings at McSorley's every day."

Said Jason, in the Yankees cap in the photos: "This bar is rich in history, and we are more than excited to be just a tiny part of that."

Catch some emerging bands at the New Colossus Festival this March 6-10

The 2024 edition of the New Colossus Festival takes place from March 6-10 at East Village and Lower East Side music venues, including Arlene's Grocery, Berlin, Bowery Electric, Heaven Can Wait, Knitting Factory at Baker Falls, Mercury Lounge, Pianos, and the Rockwood Music Hall. 

This is a great (and budget-friendly) opportunity to catch a lot of local bands as well as emerging artists from the U.S. and abroad. Check out the schedule and find tickets here. 

We've enjoyed finding new bands via these showcases, such as Lukka, fronted by East Village-based singer-songwriter-composer Franzi Szymkowiak. (Read our interview with her here.) 

The New Colossus Festival started in 2019.

Marking the 16th day that Sophie's has been blocked by oil tankers for Con Ed work

Today marks the 16th day that Con Ed has parked these loud, smelly oil-processing rigs on Fifth Street at Avenue A... belching a pungent smell into the immediate area and completely blocking the front of Sophie's, the longtime bar at 507 E. Fifth St. (and the reason EVG started)...

A bartender said the trucks are "killing" their business.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg)...

• Source: DA's office mulling charges against tow truck driver in the death of longtime East Village resident Merle Ratner (Thursday) 

• 2 weeks left before Gizmo closes and relocates from longtime East Village home (Wednesday) 

• Boris & Horton, NYC's first dog-friendly cafe, announces the 'devastating' decision to close on Feb. 26 (Thursday) 

• On the CB3-SLA docket: Williamsburg’s Win Son Bakery plans East Village outpost (Monday) 

• Peter Jarema Funeral Home ad comes back from the dead on 7th and B (Monday) 

• Joey Bats Café making its Essex Market debut (Saturday)

• A Citi Bike docking station for 3rd and A (Monday) 

• Storm center: Scenes from around the East Village after Nor’easter moves off the coast (Tuesday) ... more flurries! (Saturday) 

• In case you Wonder what's coming to this Stuyvesant Street space (Monday) 

• Signage alert: Dear Rufino on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Closings: Emilia by Nai on 1st Ave. (Wednesday) 

• We are now signage official with the new Bank of America Branch (Thursday) 

• Yummy Hive announces itself on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street (Monday) 

• Signage alert: N25 on St. Mark's Place; YGF Malatang on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

• Daniel's Bike Shop slated for this 14th Street storefront (Thursday) 

• Now $1.50, 99¢ Fresh Pizza enters a new era (Wednesday)

... hoping this doesn't turn into a copycat crime wave ...  as seen on the Citizen app...

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An annoying noise from an unknown source along this block of St. Mark's Place

February photo of St. Mark's Place looking east from Third Avenue 

From the EVG inbox... a reader writes about a loud, constant ventilation noise outside the resident's building at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (north side of the street). 

Some background: 

I'm not sure of the source of the sound; I walked around the block from St Mark's past the new building [the 9-story 1 St. Mark's Place] almost finished on 3rd Avenue and down Stuyvesant north of 2nd Avenue. From the sidewalk, I couldn't hear the noise ... 

The noise could be from the new building on 3rd Avenue but could be from one of the restaurants that line St Mark's or Stuyvesant. It's not an AC. It sounds much louder. It sounds like it's coming from the courtyard behind 11 St Mark's. It started a couple days ago. 

Our guess was from the renovations for 8-14 Stuyvesant St., where the food-hall concept Wonder is on the way.

The resident filed a noise complaint at 311. Are any nearby residents hearing this, too?