Fall foliage in Tompkins Square Park — red-tailed hawk edition

Christo was hunting in the cover of the fallen leaves today in Tompkins Square Park, as these photos vaia EVG correspondent Steven show...



After a failed attempt or two, Christo emerged with a meal...

A look at NYC's burgeoning chain-restaurant scene

[EVG file photo]

Crain's today examines the increased presence of chain restaurants in NYC.

As they report, since 2008, the number of Dunkin' Donuts in NYC has expanded by 75 percent, from 78 in 2008 to 157 in 2016. In total, chains now represent about 13 percent of NYC's overall restaurant total.

Some excerpts from Crain's:

New York City is quickly becoming the capital of fast-food nation. More chains are moving in to replace diners and other independent restaurants forced out by relentlessly rising rents. Although many chains have broadened their menus and are experimenting with fast-casual dining, the bread and butter for most remains fried meat and a hefty soft drink.

"Fast-food chains used to draw a skull and crossbones around New York when they were looking for places to expand," said Gary Occhiogrosso, who runs consulting firm Franchise Growth Solutions. "Now they all want to be here."

Why?

A record 4.4 million New Yorkers are employed, and many want something fast and cheap for lunch. Tourism has doubled in the past 20 years, to more than 60 million, and many visitors look for familiar fare to munch on. And while there appears to be a glut of fast-food restaurants across the country — which experts see as a growing threat to the industry as a whole — New York is still relatively underrepresented. According to the Department of Labor, only 2% of the city's private-sector employees work in limited-service restaurants, compared with 4% nationally.

Read the full article here. H/T Eater.

Papaya King closes on St. Mark's Place ahead of new development

Papaya King's neon signage came down over the weekend at 3 St. Mark's Place ... marking the end of the hot dog purveyor's four years here... (A Papaya King rep confirmed the closure to me in an email.)



As reported on Friday, Real Estate Equities Corporation is planning to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue to make way for a 7-story office building. That also means the end here at some point for the Continental, Korilla BBQ and E Smoke Shop.

The Papaya King opened in the East Village in May 2013. The original location on Third Avenue and 86th Street and newer spot in downtown Brooklyn remain in service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Papaya King sign going up on St. Mark's Place — right now

Report: The AltSchool's East Village location is closing

AltSchool, a start-up whose investors include Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel, will close its East Village location at the end of the academic year, BusinessInsider first reported.

The Wall Street Journal noted that AltSchool is closing three of their seven private schools "so they can concentrate on developing their software platform for districts to purchase." The East Village location opened last year at 1 Avenue B at East Houston.

Here's more about AltSchool, which charges $27,000 annual tuition for students in kindergarden through fifth grade (these paragraphs are via the Journal):

The small schools serve as laboratories for AltSchool to refine a platform that organizes students’ work and tailors assignments to their individual needs...

And...

AltSchool is part of a “personalized learning” movement that has fans and skeptics. Supporters say it helps children become self-directed and resilient, which will help them in a modern workplace. Critics say hype about the approach has run ahead of any extensive research showing it works.

AltSchool officials sent emails about the East Village closure to parents this past Thursday evening.

Wall 88 looks closed on 2nd Avenue

Multiple readers have pointed out that Wall 88 has not been open lately, including this past weekend here on Sixth Street and Second Avenue.

The Wall 88 phone kicks into a full voicemail box. There isn't any mention of a closure on its website and social media properties. (Yelp states Wall 88 is permanently closed.)

However, despite the fact that the gates have been down for a week, the Wall 88 Facebook page is still robo-posting stock photos and sentiments ...




The restaurant serving rather pedestrian pub fare opened back in March. There was a quick turnaround here after Lions BeerStore closed.

Lions BeerStore — part retail shop, part restaurant — opened in November 2015. An EVG reader said that the Lions BeerStore owners are partners in the new venture, though someone else is/was involved in the day-to-day operations.

H/T Ryan John Lee

Wise Men closes on the Bowery

After a 5-year-run at 355 Bowery, Wise Men has closed here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The cocktail lounge wrapped it up after service on Friday, as BoweryBoogie first noted. There wasn't any reason given for the closure. (The space had been on the market.)

Photographer Danielle Levitt, S magazine creative director Christina Chin and hospitality vet Caroleyn Ng were behind this venture. It was modeled after the steakhouse that Chin's parents opened on Mulberry and Bayard in Chinatown after they arrived to the States from Hong Kong in the late 1960s.

Before Wise Men, the space was home to Osaka Vibe/Orange Valve — aka, that kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation of sorts: That kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery

Former kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery is now home to the Wise Men


[Photo from 2011]

A quick look at the incoming Joe and Pat's

Work continues inside 168 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street, where the Staten Island pizzeria Joe & Pat's is opening a location...

EVG regular Lola Sāenz shared these photos the other day showing how the interior is shaping up...



At the moment, it looks as if some of those antique murals from Lanza's, the previous tenant, will be part of the refurbished dining room...



Find previous posts on this topic here.

The Ainsworth neon arrives on 3rd Avenue

The rather retro-y neon signage arrived on Third Avenue at 11th Street for The Ainsworth, the chainlet of upscale sports bars ...



Oh, and there's the Ainsworth awning on the 11th Street side...



No word on an opening date. But when they do throw open the doors, their hours will be:

Sunday-Wednesday: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Village Pourhouse closed here in April.

Previously

Sunday's parting shot

This evening in Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview

[14th Street yesterday morning]

Memorial for Elizabeth Lee on Cooper Square (Saturday ... Wednesday ... Thursday)

Malik Campbell shot and killed on Avenue D (Friday)

Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building (Friday)

RIP Richard Hambleton (Wednesday)

Joe Ricketts shuts down Gothamist and DNAinfo (Thursday)

HiFi’s last stand (Tuesday)

Out and About part 2 with Siobhan Meow (Thursday)

1st Avenue fruit vendors pack up for the season (Wednesday)

On Monday, a rally for the former P.S. 64 at City Hall (Friday)

Graffiti space giving way to Greek restaurant on 10th Street (Monday)

Ho Foods coming to 7th Street (Thursday)

Happy No. 50 to the cube of Astor Place (Wednesday)

Landmark Bicycles closes on Avenue A (Thursday)

East Village subs for the Forest Moon of Endor in Halloween speeder video (Monday)

Everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market (Friday)

Mama Fina's signage arrives on Avenue A (Monday)

Look at the old BP station on 2nd Avenue now (Monday)

An early start on the holidays on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

4 East Village restaurants earn Michelin stars (Tuesday)

Cabaret law repealed; they'll be swinging, swaying, records playing (Tuesday)

Reader report: Driver crashes into Town & Village Synagogue on 14th Street (Monday)

... and at Mikey Likes It at 199 Avenue A... this month's 1980s-inspired mural is Daniel from "The Karate Kid" ... (goes with this flavor) ...


[I’m Daniel…with a “D”]

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John Wilcock's history of The East Village Other

Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall have been sharing an ongoing comic book history at BoingBoing of underground publisher-Warhol biographer John Wilcock's years in New York.

On Friday, they did a segment on The East Village Other, the underground paper Wilcock helped launch in 1965. You can check it out here.

A reminder about time

As a reminder, we're marking the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. on Nov. 5 ... so set those clocks-watches back an hour (and wonder, if you're at a bar at that time, whether they will stay open an extra hour)...

To illustrate Fall Back, let's look at the clock tower at the Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity church on Third Street where it is either 5:15 or 2:25. Tomorrow at this time, it will be 4:15 or 1:25.

Anyway, here's advice from the FDNY...

When you change your clocks for #DaylightSaving, test your smoke/CO alarm & replace batteries. It could save your life. pic.twitter.com/vJFKKB1U6f

— FDNY (@FDNY) November 4, 2017