Wet hot NYC summer: City pools open today

[Hamilton Fish Pool via www.nycgovparks.org]

That means Hamilton Fish Pool on Pitt and East Houston ... the Dry Dock Pool on Avenue D and East 10th Street ... and the Tompkins Square Pool (mini pool for kids!) are opening ...


[Tompkins Square Pool yesterday via EVG]

The early and late lap swims (8-9 a.m. and 7-8 p.m.) at Hamilton Fish Pool will begin in a few weeks, the Lo-Down noted yesterday.

And no word just yet when you can swim in a floating pool in the East River.

The 2014 New York City Drag March is tonight

Leaves Tompkins Square Park at St. Mark's Place at 8ish.

Check out some photos from last year's march here.

[Updated] Olympic Restaurant closes on Monday

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

The Lo-Down has a thorough report on the longtime Lower East Side businesses that will be closing in the days ahead to make way for the new mega Essex Crossing development.

Of particular interest to us: The Olympic Restaurant at Delancey and Essex. The Lo-Down was told that the diner will close for good after service on Monday. (EVG contributor Stacie Joy previously reported on June 19 that the closing date was still up in the air.)

Perhaps we will run into you there this weekend.

Updated 11:51 a.m.

Lisha Arino at DNAinfo reports that Olympic owner Spiros Nakos "is offering everything on the menu for half price on" Monday.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Olympic Restaurant may close for good as soon as tomorrow

BoweryBoogie and and Jeremiah Moss have also made recent visits. Read BB's take here … and JM's here.

Last in the fledge class

[Photo today by Bobby Williams]

Just one of the (baby?!?!) hawks remains in the nest on the Christodora House ... his/her fledgling siblings have already taken off.

After a little drama Monday night, Shaft has seemingly found his, uh, wings. The second fledgling left Tuesday. He/she has been mostly hanging around East Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. Goggla has an update on the fledglings here.

Hawk watchers figure hawk No. 3 will leave the nest tomorrow.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

The baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park are ready to leave home (also, fledge party alert!)

Brooklyn shows off its mountains

Or so it looked like late this afternoon from East Seventh Street near Second Avenue...

Funky Town now has the brightest awning on St. Mark's Place

The new signage went up this afternoon...

Another sign that it may possibly be a long, hot summer

Spotted on St. Mark's Place by @SuriR

Previously on EV Grieve:
A brief history of humiliating Teddy bears in the East Village

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo on East 4th Street by Jonathan Crane]

Fledgling update (Gog in NYC)

6 ways to celebrate Pride Week (DNAinfo)

About Green Fingers, a new garden shop on East First Street (A Continuous Lean)

Linda Simpson's photos of the NYC drag scene from 1987-1996 (The Cut/New York)

Clinton Street Baking Company looking to expand into the former Min's Market space (BoweryBoogie)

Manhattan renters still want to live in the EV, at least last week (The Real Deal)

About The Save LES Streets site (The Lo-Down)

The Bicycle Film Festival at the Anthology this weekend (Anthology Film Archives)

The Mysterious Time Machine has left 14th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Photo: Brazilian models watch the World Cup at Miss Lily's 7A Cafe (Page Six)

NYC ranked as most "Stressed Out" city in America (CNN)

What the regional office of White Castle looks like in Queens (Scouting New York)

Bloomy's soda ban is officially dead, wrapped in plastic (Eater)

… and via The Laughing Squid, film enthusiast Tony Zhou examines Martin Scorsese's use of silence in movies ...

Slate of Thursday night films will return to Tompkins Square Park this summer

We originally heard that the Films in Tompkins series was not going to happen this summer in the Park.

However, we've just learned that there will be a slightly abbreviated series starting on July 10, and playing on consecutive Thursday nights until August. (A few August dates are expected as well.)

Only one film has been revealed so far: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," which will include a Rocky Horror performance/costume contest. More info on the films as it becomes available.

Meanwhile, the Films on the Green series continues in Tompkins Square Park tomorrow night with a screening of "La Haine."

New closing and reopening dates set for St. Mark's Bookshop

[Photo of new storefront from Sunday]

St. Mark's Bookshop was originally set to close on Monday ahead of their move to 136 E. Third St.

However, workers were still finishing up the new storefront just west of Avenue A. So yesterday store officials released new dates for everything to happen...

Confirmed: We are moving to 136 East 3rd Street on July 1 and will remain open at 31 Third Ave through Sunday, June 29.

— St. Mark's Bookshop (@stmarksbookshop) June 25, 2014

The bookshop has been at 31 Third Ave. and Stuyvesant Street since 1992, and in the neighborhood a total of 37 years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: St. Mark's Bookshop prepping fundraiser ahead of possible move to Avenue A.

Is this the new home for the St. Mark's Bookshop?

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop signs lease for East 3rd Street space

Renovations at the future St. Mark's Bookshop on East 3rd Street

Report: Hearth hit with a 65% rent increase; plus, sidewalk cafe in the works

Meant to note this the other day... when the Times reported that Danny Meyer's 30-year-old Union Square Cafe will be looking for a new home next year after a rent increase.

The article noted a recent spate of high-profile closings and a continuing rise in rents downtown. Among the restaurants facing a huge rent hike: the well-regarded Hearth on East 12th Street at First Avenue. They were just hit with a 65 percent increase, according to the Times.

There aren't any plans to close the place, but ...

[T]he chef and owner, Marco Canora, said his entire business model may have to change.

“I’m trying to be a smart businessman,” Mr. Canora said. “But I can’t do that at the cost of turning my back on my entire belief system and serving commodity pork and Perdue chicken.”

Meanwhile, here's one way to help increase revenue: Hearth has applied for a sidewalk cafe. They are on the docket for the CB3/SLA committee meeting on July 14.

Peeling off the layers through the years of the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall

Over at the NYPL Labs blog, Brian Roos had some fun playing around with the Google Street View archive.

Roos, a New York Public Library developer, used the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall to experiment with ... gathering all of the murals that Google captured to 2007, then filling in any of the missing artwork. He created a brush tool that allowed him to "erase" each layer to reveal the one previous to it ... and in the above image, he cut holes on each layer of the murals for a rather disorienting effect.

For a better explanation of all this, head over to the NYPL Labs for more... and see what other ideas Roos has for the layering tool.

Thanks to @seancarlson for the tip.