What will the art market bear for this?

[Photo by Derek Berg!]

This was the scene this morning on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... where this [admittedly photogenic] giant teddy bear was spotted sprawled out on the sidewalk, empty cup and toilet paper not far from its outstretched paws.

Seeing as it was plopped right outside their door, the folks at the Shape of Lies decided to turn the bear into an art project...




[Photo by William Klayer]







Unless marked, all photos by Derek Berg!

Noted

An EVG reader shared this from Clinton Street just below Stanton Street on the LES... the reader wondered how this was possible.

Seems obvious that the chair was there before the city installed the light pole.

Week in Grieview

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Public forum set to discuss special business district in the East Village (Wednesday)

City approves co-naming the northwest corner of 7th Street and 2nd Avenue Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way (Thursday)

High-rent blight: Senator's report finds nearly 10% vacancy rate on parts of 1st and 2nd avenues (Friday)

Looking at the future home of 14th Street's 2nd Trader Joe's (Tuesday)

Out and About with photographer Roberta Bayley (and Stella) (Thursday)

Report: Suspect in 6th Street slashing seeking a sentencing deal in court (Wednesday)

The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years (Friday)

Hello again: black crowned night heron spotted in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

Love Gang is moving on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Love and shrooms for Gregg Allman outside the former Fillmore East on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

Report: Morton Williams won't be taking over the 14th Street Associated after all (Wednesday)

...crosswalk moments on Second Avenue and Seventh Street yesterday...



[Photos by Derek Berg]

Esperanto offshoot closes on 1st Street; may return elsewhere (Tuesday)

The Pride Ribbon Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery (Thursday)

Moustache has closed on 10th Street (Tuesday)

Reader report: A buyer for 119 and 121 2nd Ave., site of the deadly gas explosion? (Friday)

Shiina opens on 3rd Avenue (Friday)

Against the Grain yields to sustainable omakase restaurant on 6th Street (Wednesday)

Celebrating a Grateful Deal anniversary in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

Ramen Setagaya reopens after renovation on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

The Continental's 5-shot deal bumped from $10 to $12 (Tuesday)

No Malice Palace 'waiting for legal things to happen' on 3rd Street (Tuesday)


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Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen is going on summer break after today

[EVG file photo]

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, the basement cafe that serves as a fundraising arm of the St George Ukrainian Catholic Church, closes after today for their customary summer break.

Hello everyone! We've​ got some sad news for you: today is our last day in this season, we will be closed for summer break. Hope all of you will have a wonderful summer☀️🏝️ and we can't wait to see you in September! We'll keep you posted about our opening day. . Дорогі наші клієнти, ми маємо сумну новину для Вас: сьогодні наш останній день в цьому сезоні. Стріча зачиняється на літню перерву. Сподіваюсь, Ви гарно проведете літо ☀️🏝️, і ми вже не можемо дочекатись побачити Вас у Вересні! Ми повідомимо Вам день відкриття. . #streecha #ukrainiankitchenofsaintgeorgechurch

A post shared by Streecha🇺🇦Ukrainian kitchen NY (@streecha) on Jun 4, 2017 at 4:48am PDT

...and their menu...

Our regular #menu and we always have our daily specials! Наше щоденне #меню і ми щодня маємо страву дня! #Streecha #UkrainiankitchenofsaintGeorgechurch #delicious #Ukrainian #food

A photo posted by Streecha🇺🇦Ukrainian kitchen NY (@streecha) on Jan 17, 2017 at 7:24am PST

Streecha, 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, is open from 9-5 today.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen

Saturday with Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Miss Kita's owners write in to say, "Taking advantage of the nice weather to renew her NYC dog license."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meet Kita

The further adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

The further (often truly) amazing adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Happy holidays from Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street has her first ever annual checkup

Holiday greetings from Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Summer greetings from Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street is on the mend!

EV Grieve Etc.: Essential NYC books; Union Square backpack theft

[Indoor parking on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

How NYC is turning food waste into compost and gas (The New York Times)

Update on the suspected arosn at Lower East Side synagogue Beth Hamedrash Hagadol (The Lo-Down)

Three workers injured after steel beam falls 12 stories at 688 Broadway/1 Great Jones Alley construction site (Patch ... previously)

The housing risks in neighborhoods facing rezonings (City Limits)

GVSHP's annual Village Awards ceremony is coming up; awardees include B&H Dairy and GOLES (GVSHP)

Pretty quiet on the hawklet front in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

A feature on Godlis, the East Village-based photographer who covered the early days of CBGB (W)

15 essential New York books (Curbed)

Suspect sought in backpack theft from 4 train platform at Union Square (DNAinfo)

See the Orson Welles classic "Touch of Evil" tomorrow (Metrograph)


[How reindeers spend the off-season, East 7th Street via Derek Berg]

A Sufjan Stevens listening event at the East Village Planetarium and the Lower Eastside Girls Club (Brooklyn Vegan)

The Harold Hunter Day Skate Jam is tomorrow (Official site)

PokéSpot owner on Fourth Avenue opening a coffee/juice bar in NYU dorm on Broome Street (Commercial Observer)

East Village landlords Icon Realty sell West 11th Street building for $38 million (The Real Deal)

Alex weighs in on the 50th anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Flaming Pablum)

... and at Metropolis Vintage, 43 Third Ave. at 10th Street...

Just arrived!!!!! Our new Logo designed by #johnholstrom of @thepunkmagazine come on down and get a button FREE of charge no purchase required, #johnholstrom @thepunkmagazine #joeyramone #johnnyramone #theramones #ramones #eastvillage #eastvillagevintage #

A post shared by Metropolis Vintage (@metropolisnycvintage) on Jun 2, 2017 at 12:03pm PDT

Celebrate 18 years of Bluestockings Bookstore tonight

✨JUNE 3RD • 7PM ✨ Come celebrate 18 incredible years of Bluestockings! The night will feature a talent show showcasing some of our staff and volunteers. There will be snacks, friends, and lots of love all around. We’d love for all of you who have helped us stay open for so long to be there to celebrate with us–we wouldn’t be here without the support of our beautiful community ✨

A post shared by Bluestockings Bookstore (@bluestockingsnyc) on May 12, 2017 at 10:52am PDT

The collectively-owned radical bookstore, fair trade cafe and activist center celebrates 18 years in business starting tonight at 7, 172 Allen St. near Stanton. Bluestockings recently signed a new lease and underwent some minor modifications.

The Facts of Life (Tootie!) at Mikey Likes It

Been awhile since we featured the gate at Mikey Likes It, 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street... Andre Trenier's 1980s-flavored mural always coincides with the flavor of the month ... this time around it's the "Facts of Life" — "a Prickly pear ice cream with Blood orange and Prickly pear swirl and Orange glazed cake pieces," per Mikey's Instagram account.

And that is Eastland's Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields) from the long-running NBC sitcom "Facts of Life" on the gate.

And flashback to May, and "Good Times" with Jimmie Walker...

Report: Teen lied about assault at Avenue A deli

[Image via]

Back in April, Dia El-Deen Hassan, a clerk at Kamaran Deli and Grocery on Avenue A at Fifth Street, was arrested for assault after reportedly hitting a customer with a baseball bat and calling her a tranny.

Authorities now say that the bashing claim was bogus, the Daily News reports today.

The clerk and his attorney denied the allegations from the outset and said that 18-year-old Noel Torres was trying to steal beer.

Surveillance video from the deli reportedly confirms the clerk's version of events. The charges against Hassan are expected to be dropped next week.

Police arrested Torres, who was charged with filing a false report charge, per the News.

The clerk's attorney, Stuart Meltzer, said this about Torres' actions:

"Laws designed to protect the disadvantaged, those that are different, that stand out in society and that are clearly targets … are very important laws and they're designed to protect the fabric of our society."

'Love' and war

East Village-based singer-songwriter Fiona Silver debuted a video for "Love Grenade" today. Watch it above... and you can see her live tomorrow night at Brooklyn’s Color Me Bushwick festival. Her set is at 6 p.m. And her first record, titled Little Thunder, is out June 23.

Some new trash cans for 2nd Avenue

Vinny & O shared these photos ... showing new city trash cans along Second Avenue ... seen here at Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place (and only on the east side of the Avenue for now) ...



A recent report at DNAinfo noted that these "High-End Litter Baskets" cost $525 each.

Perhaps these were placed here for the benefit of the travelers who have been camping out under the Orpheum marquee this spring.

The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

[Photos by EVG reader MP]

Some passersby were shocked yesterday to see that the McDonald's on Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place had shut down. A sign on the door noted, "Sadly, this location is closing."



In June 2015, The Real Deal reported that real-estate investor Arthur Shapolsky was in contract to buy the corner assemblage — 23 Third Ave., 27 Third Ave. and 3 St. Mark's Place — for roughly $50 million. The site could reportedly accommodate a 41,500-square-foot commercial building or a residential one of roughly half the size.

However, Joseph Gabay, whose family owns the properties, told me last night that they have not been sold despite the continued rumors.

"McDonald’s has chosen not to renew their lease after a 20-year run," he said via email. "With the addition of 51 Astor, the dynamic of the square has changed."

As noted earlier this week, Shake Shack is expected to open later this year directly across the street in a corner space at 51 Astor Place.

"With a contemporary brand moving in like Shake Shack and McDonald's leaving the change is evident," Gabay said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

P.S.

And what happened to the Golden Arches?

@evgrieve McDonald’s arches removed in armored truck. pic.twitter.com/x7JRDrSRqd

— Jacob Ford (@unitof) June 1, 2017