Current mood

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Steven

Happy Hummus Day!

Hummus Day is actually tomorrow. And it appears that you will be able to celebrate on Astor Place today. As these early-morning pics by EVG reader Liz S. show, crews are setting up some hummus-related tasting tables on Astor Place...



This is sponsored by Sabra Dipping Company...


[Another reader-submitted pic]

Updated 1 p.m.

Here are a few pics from Steven showing the Hummus Day in action...





There are also Hummus Goody Bags for the taking...

Nest watch in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

For the fourth consecutive spring, red-tailed hawk couple Christo and Dora once again welcome home(?) a new batch of hawklets, as Goggla has been documenting.

To date, it has been difficult to tell how many kids are up in the nest in Tompkins Square Park. There has been visual confirmation of at least one...




[Photos by Steven]

Per Goggla:

"The number of hawk babies up in the nest in Tompkins Square is still difficult to determine. Christo and Dora definitely have one, possibly more, but it's been a challenge to get a good view of what's happening up there. We will just have to wait for the nestling(s) to get bigger."

Until then... a quick recap. Christo and Dora raised their offspring in Tompkins Square Park last spring/summer ... after bringing them up on AC units in 2014 and 2015. No word on a family reunion this summer.

Jennifer's Way Bakery reduces store hours to service online orders

Jennifer's Way Bakery at 264 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue has reduced hours now, as of Wednesday ... opening just on Friday through Sunday...



Another sign on the door points to an increase in online orders for the organic bakery that makes its products without gluten, dairy, soy, refined sugar or peanuts...





Another Facebook post notes that the bakery is selling most of the vintage items in store. "Time for spring cleaning and giving the bakery a new look."

The bakery is owned by Jennifer Esposito, the Brooklyn-born actress (currently on "NCIS"), who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2009. The bakery opened in March 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Jennifer Esposito responds to reports that she fled East 10th Street for Denmark

Supporting 249 E. 2nd St. during the construction next door

249 E. Second St. has been set with braces ...



There have been several complaints filed with the city this year about No. 249 ... due to the construction next door at the all-new Avenue C, future home of a 10-story, mixed-use building with 46 residential units at the former site of the Mobil station.

Per one complaint on file with the DOB (in their all-cap style): "DEMOLITION AND DRILLING BE DONE. CRACK IN CEILING WALL IN MAIN ROOM. APARTMENT SHAKING AND VIBRATING EXCESSIVELY TO THE POINT OF FURNITURE MOVING."

There was a partial stop-work order issued last month when No. 249 reportedly shifted.

And this isn't the first time a building adjacent to a development site has been damaged during construction. There were reports of cracks at 183 Avenue B during the foundation work for the 7-story mixed-used residential building at 185 Avenue B.

In 2015, No. 249 hit the market for $6.95 million. As far as I know the building was never sold.

On the rental market: 432 E. 13th St.

Teshigotoya, the Japanese restaurant at 432 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, quietly closed earlier this year.

The space is on the market. The listing shows an asking rent of $10,500 a month for the 800-square-feet of space. (There's also a $30,000 fixture fee.)

This spot has been a tough sell in the past few years. Masak, the well-regard Singapore-influenced restaurant, closed in April 2013. Then came Sembrado’s Tacos al Pastor, the Mexican restaurant from Danny Mena, the chef and co-founder of Hecho en Dumbo. And, I'm told, Teshigotoya went through an ownership change at some point after its early 2015 opening.

In previous posts about openings and closings at this address, commenters have said this is a tough block for foot traffic. Will the arrival of condos at the Thirteen East + West development ... or the 8-story residential building going up across the street at the former post office help make something work here?

Thursday's parting shot

A look at the new-look Sheen Brothers awning and black exterior at 10th Street and Avenue B ... (part of an overall exterior rehab at 157 Avenue B/346 E. 10th St.)

And the corner deli as seen last fall...

Noted

As you may have heard, the President fired the FBI director the other day.

Anyway, update your LinkedIn profiles! Because there are now "Looking for an FBI Director" flyers on St. Mark's Place.

"I am really looking for an FBI director. This is not a joke! Just trying to drain the swamp and hoping to meet the right person. I am a professional president and have been told 3 times that I am not under investigation. You know who you are. To me each and every person is beautiful. Open to the relationship morphing into something more profound."

No word if interested applicants can drop off résumés at Westminster offices.

Thanks to Goggla for the photo!

Hello, is it me you're looking for?

Found discarded on 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... outside Academy Records, oddly enough.

The added art on Lionel's sweater should make this more valuable.

Thanks to Christine Champagne for the photo!

Report: Coast Guard estimates that 5,200 gallons of Con Ed's insulating oil spilled into the East River

As previously reported, a transformer containing approximately 37,000 gallons of insulating oil used with electrical equipment failed on Sunday, spilling onto the station property in Downtown Brooklyn and into the East River.

According to DNAinfo, emergency workers have recovered 560 gallons of the synthetic mineral — less than 2 percent of the total lost.

Of the remaining 30,700 gallons of lost oil, some may still be recovered on land around the Farragut Substation, but the U.S. Coast Guard estimated Wednesday that around 5,200 gallons seeped into the river Sunday.

That estimate is based on averages from other cleanups where the agency estimates it can usually collect ten percent of the oil that escapes into water, officials said.

And clean water advocates warn that breakneck currents along the East River make it, "almost the worst possible spill recovery scenario."

The spill occurred at Con Ed's Farragut Substation...



Back to DNAinfo:

Synthetic mineral oil is considered "non-toxic" by the state's DEC and is less harmful to water quality and wildlife than petroleum, though it can still harm fish and birds, according to a Con Edison spokesman.

People should avoid direct contact with the spill as it can cause eye and skin irritation and shouldn't fish in the area, according to the state DEC.

There wasn't any evidence of anything amiss/spilt along the East River Promenade this afternoon...

The usual group of men were fishing between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge...





... and a little further north...





... and how about that Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment ...

The St. Mark’s Church Greenmarket will not be returning this year

[Photo from June 2016 by Steven]

An EVG reader looking for when the annual St. Mark’s Church Greenmarket might return this season found the following message on the GrowNYC website...



Not a good sign.

An administrator at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery confirmed the news. Church officials were informed by GrowNYC last week that the St. Mark's Greenmarket will not be returning this year. It would have been the 36th year for the Greenmarket here. We reached out to GrowNYC, which runs the city’s Greenmarkets, for comment. Will update when we hear back.

The Greenmarket on 10th Street at Second Avenue first started in 1981 in the triangular space in front of the St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery.

Updated:

Someone from the Greenmarket staff this this in the comments...

Thank you everyone for expressing your concern regarding the St. Mark's Greenmarket. We are a 501(C)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to simultaneously serve our farmer/producer community and the NYC residents who depend on our markets for fresh food. Closing markets is always a last resort for us and we are actively looking for a new location in the near vicinity that will allow for a more thriving marketplace, to make sure that our farmers stay viable and we can continue serving the community.

In the meantime, we found homes to support the farmers that sold at St. Marks and please visit us on Sundays in Tompkins Sq Park, Sundays (starting 5/21) in Stuy Town, and M/W/F/Sat in Union Square- all a close walk from 10th street and 2nd Ave.

The 7th Street Village Farm is for rent

A tipster points us to a listing for 113 First Ave. — current home of the 7th Street Village Farm.

Per the listing at Douglas Elliman:

Calling all business owners and restauranteurs. Enjoy a dynamic space with maximum exposure, located at one of Manhattan's most bustling intersections. Foot traffic, a sizeable basement, and potential for outdoor space are all key factors to this listing. Just minutes away from all mass transit, this space is conveniently located near some of the East Village's hottest spots.

The listing has the price at $350,000. (Annually? Key money?) Public records show that the building changed hands in March 2015 for $5.5 million. The new owner is behind an LLC with a Jackson Heights address. (Back at the time of the sale, we heard that the deal was between family members.)

And as we understand it, the deli owners are the ones who have OK'd the art on the Seventh Street walls, which include the MCA tribute by @cramcept...



In any event, the corner has housed a market for as long as anyone we talked to can remember...


[Photo from 1979 by Michael Sean Edwards]