Update: Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen remains closed for renovations

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which has operated at 130 St. Mark's Place since 1991, closed Aug. 14 for renovations. The shop was expected to reopen Aug. 18, as the signs noted. However, a walk by yesterday afternoon revealed that the renovations continue... the gate is partially open. It looks as if someone is inside working...



Anyone have information? Anyone talk to Peter?

Previously.

Posts that I never got around to posting: What's left behind at the former Jersey Shore Store?

The Jersey Shore store on Broadway between 11th Street and 12th Street closed back in early July. (It was only planned to be temporary.) The space is available.



Anything left behind inside the store?



Hmm — seems about right.

Dog shit days of summer

One of these days I'll post some urban etiquette signs on my Flickr page...when I do, I'll include this one from 12th Street near Avenue B.



I appreciate people being direct...

Sharpie-wielding artist off the hook; MTA misses out on making some money

Back in February, pop artist Yoshitomo Nara, spent the night in jail for doodling a smiley face on the wall of the First Avenue L-train stop. Thank God this fiend was busted! Oh, the charges were dropped today.

His attorney modestly told the Post: "He can get back to wowing the art world with his great art."

The paper also notes the following:

The always cash-strapped Transit Authority missed an opportunity to make some money off the incident -- their efficient employees wiped the graffiti off the wall. It's been estimated the brick it was on could have been sold for an estimated $10,000.

Image via.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Contemplating "Rear Window" and the rears in the window at the Standard (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

“GRAF: Reading the Writing on the Wall; images of the L.E.S. 1968 to present" continues through Monday at the Tompkins Square Park Library Gallery (The Villager)

Another long night on the streets for the Mosaic Man (Neither More Nor Less)

Remembering the 82 Club on East Fourth Street (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

A lot of people want the Aqueduct (The Real Deal)

What you get for $1 from the Condom Lady (Slum Goddess)

Gettin fit in Stuy Town! (Stuy Town's Lux Living)

Meet-and-greet Kiss for $995 (Brooklyn Vegan)

Boy on a leash (BoweryBoogie)

Be a wingwoman for these guys — $30 an hour! (Hunter-Gatherer)

Breaking news: Second Avenue sinkhole paved over!

Oh! A reader alerted us that city crews filled in the crater yesterday. Hmmm... this blows our theory that the MTA was merely getting ready for the Second Avenue Subway dig expected down here sometime around the year 2987.

Anyway, let us take a look back at this most precious of sinkholes. (And I have an unconfirmed report that "The Second Game of Preaseason Football Pub Crawl" got swallowed up by this thing....)





Previously.

Meet the Man in the Van

You may recall reading about Jimmy Tarangelo back in March. For the past eight years, he has lived with his four dogs in a 20-foot-long Boise Cascade Aristocrat (with a Ford Econoline for storage) over on a street in the West Village...

Now, Brooklyn-based filmmaker Sean P. Dunne has put together a fascinating six-minute documentary on Tarangelo.

Man In Van from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

For further reading:

Mobile Home (New York magazine)

The Aristocrat: The Mystery of the West Village Camper (Scouting New York)

Van man sleeps in park (New York Post)

What's going on with the playground at Mary Help of Christians?

There was a fund-raiser for Mary Help of Christians outside the church on 12th Street near Avenue A this past Sunday.



There are still two masses here on Sunday mornings.

Anyway, seeing this fund-raising sign made me wonder.... Whatever happened to the sale of the former school's playground?



It has been nearly a year since The Real Deal reported the following:

Two thirds of a 15,000-square-foot East Village playground that was home to a popular flea market is under contract in a quiet, all-cash sale for $10.4 million to the Archdiocese of New York, court documents said.

The playground, divided into three ownership lots, is adjacent to the shuttered Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church on the east side of Avenue A between 11th and 12th streets. The Archdiocese owns the church located on a 13,000 square foot lot, city records show.

The two parcels, under contract since July, total 7,500 square feet and are owned by a Roman Catholic order called the Salesian Society, based in New Rochelle, NY. The third part of the playground, totaling 7,500 square feet, is owned by the Archdiocese, records show.

The Archdiocese did not respond to requests for comment, but real estate professionals speculated the church parcel and playground would be sold and developed into residential housing.

The only thing growing here now are weeds. Which is fine by me. Couldn't this space be turned over for community use? Do we really need another condo or dorm?






The Mary Help of Christians market vendors relocated last fall to the playground behind Earth School, Thompson Square Middle School and P.S. 64 on Fourth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. I believe the flea market is done for the summer, though...

For further reading:

Bob Arihood has posts on the faithful souls who come to the church steps every night to say the rosary. Here.... and here. (The third photo in this post is one of my all-time favorites...)

The Church Ladies (The New York Times)

Second Avenue sinkhole gets first celebrity endorsement

Second Avenue and Seventh Street. Previously.

Now THIS is permanent brunch

At the one-and-only Odessa on Avenue A.


Previous posts on the actual Permanent Brunch on First Avenue.

Beer and pizza for former Bounce Deuce

Eater reports that the former Bounce Deuce on Second Avenue at Sixth Street is becoming a pizza/beer joint. As Eater noted: "No word yet on whether or not they're keeping the flat screen TVs (and yards of beer)."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Every Bounce Deuce story imaginable

Memorial for Eric "Taz" Pagan grows outside Forbidden City

And down the street at Common Ground...




Previously.