DOH temporarily closes Pinky's on 1st Street

An EVG reader, who says he's a fan of the new Pinky's Space on First Street, was disappointed to find the to-go shop closed in recent weeks.

There isn't any mention of a temporary closure on the Pinky's website or social media channels.

According to public records, the Health Department closed Pinky's following an inspection on Feb. 13. In total, there are 121 violation points ... the most serious, per the DOH website: "Food from unapproved or unknown source or home canned. Reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) fish not frozen before processing; or ROP foods prepared on premises transported to another site."

According to Pinky's crowdfunding campaign:

Pinky's will be a GRAB & GO food chain offering a 7 item menu with multiple locations located in small venues (approximately 150 sq/ft) next to high traffic NYC subway stations. We will offer healthy Southern American & French style cuisine served hot and packaged fresh in vibrant packaging creatively designed for easy commute and convenient dining.

Pinky's wants to keep life simple for everyone. Food operations will be streamlined by utilizing a central kitchen to prepare and cook all food with daily deliveries to each location. A limited menu will also keep the overall system simple and efficient for both customers and personnel. Each store will be simplistic and require minimal investment. They will require a steam table, refrigerator, sink, and countertop.

With all food prepared offsite, each location can swiftly serve customers with minimal time and effort as well as minimal staff (2 per store). There's no need for expensive real estate to house kitchen space or expensive equipment to outfit each restaurant. Additional locations can also be seamlessly integrated into network operations with minimal time and expense.

Looks as if there are a few issues to address to make this concept work within the Health Department's guidelines. (Other violations included "HACCP plan not approved or approved HACCP plan not maintained on premises.")

And the reader likely didn't know about the violations given that the DOH's yellow "closed" sticker was covered up on the front door...



Pinky's opened in early January, receiving coverage on UrbanDaddy and ABC 7.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo on First Avenue late this afternoon via Raquel Shapira ...

Red-tailed hawk drama headed to local TV news

[Photo today by Steven]

Ali Bauman, a reporter for CBS 2, was in Tompkins Square Park today... for a red-tailed hawk segment expected to air tonight at 11.

Dora, pictured above, cooperated by catching and eating a pigeon.

And Dora later...



Photos by Steven!

Updated:

Here's the link to the CBS 2 feature.

Week in Grieview

[2nd Avenue surf via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

650 E. 6th St.prepped for demolition; new condoplex on the way (Monday)

Report: Contractor charged in 2nd Avenue gas explosion illegally renovating Harlem apartments (Saturday)

The books of Felix Caro (Wednesday)

Dora returns home (Monday) ... Christo and Dora spotted building nest together (Wednesday)

Pastel Spa & Nails closes on 2nd Avenue; murals outside tanned over (Thursday)

CB3 OKs proposal for Union Square tech hub; calls for zoning protections (Thursday)

Residents voice concerns about quality-of-life issues on 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Monday)

A look at Stuy Town in 1947 (Tuesday)


[Fake tree toss on 1st Avenue this a.m.]

Reader report: manhole explosion on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

Lovecraft has not been open lately on Avenue B (Wednesday)

Matthew Kenney's PlantMade teams up with Pure Green on 2nd Avenue (Friday)

Joe and Pat's signage arrives on 1st Avenue (Friday)

Poke N' Roll debuts on 9th Street (Wednesday)

Natasha Lyonne filming Netflix series "Russian Doll" outside 7B (Wednesday)

More about the new venture from Pilotworks on the Bowery (Monday)

Tibetan speciality shop DöKham is now open on 1st Avenue (Friday)

Yet another opportunity to buy 114 E. 10th St. (Tuesday)


[Hay there on Avenue A yesterday via Bobby Williams]

Openings on Avenue A: Mama Fina's House of Filipino Sisig (Monday)

PokéVillage is the EV's first poke casualty (Friday)

IQ Decor closes on 14th Street (Wednesday)

Extra Place is all pretty much Momofuku Ko now (Tuesday)

Garbage bags now adorn the windows at Out East (Monday)

The Real Yellow Pages have arrived (Thursday)

... and my condolences to the friends and family of Amos Little Jr. The longtime doorman at Sophie's (and also Josie's) died suddenly last weekend. He was 60.


[Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk via Instagram]

Last month he moved back to Philadelphia to spend more time with his family.

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Noted

Lost art/found art on 11th Street and Avenue C... thanks to Shawn Chittle for the photo.

Post explores the complicated relationship of Dora, Christo and Nora/Not-Dora

Among the one-liners:

• "A cheep slut has come between a hawk and her hubby."

• "The three lovers met beak-to-beak in the center of the park, where the plumage hit the fan."

• "To some bird watchers, Nora is nothing more than a rust-colored nest-wrecker."

Here's the article, which includes quotes and photos from Goggla.

Updated 9 a.m.

Heh. The Post put this story on the cover...

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Bobby Williams...

[Updated] Tree casualty in Tompkins Square Park from yesterday's storm

One of the trees (a Pin Oak?) along the Ninth Street entrance and the ballfields became uprooted during yesterday's storm ... workers will need to remove this...



Thanks to Steven for the photos...

Updated 3/4

A crew is in the Park this morning to remove the tree...

Report: Contractor charged in 2nd Avenue gas explosion illegally renovating Harlem apartments

[The former 119-123 2nd Ave. from Feb. 15]

Dilber Kukic, the contractor charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the March 2015 gas explosion on Second Avenue, is gut renovating four apartments at 303 W. 154th St. without permits, according to the New York Daily News.

Per the News:

“We have rented to almost everyone currently living in these properties and I am concerned for their safety,” whistleblower Jerry Leazer said.

Leazer worked as a broker for the six-floor, 54-unit building through his company, Apartments Expert, until last month.

“It’s a dangerous situation,” he said, adding he’d become concerned about legal liabilities due to the off-the-books renovations.

Leazer’s complaint says Kukic, 42, and other workers have removed walls and rewired the apartments without permits.

Kukic’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told the paper: "His probation officer knows. He’s allowed to work. As long as the company is licensed, my understanding is he can work there as an employee."

In an unrelated case in 2015, Kukic pleaded guilty to bribery, a felony, according to published reports at the time.

Per the Daily News: "He admitted to handing off $600 to an undercover officer in the investigator's car in an effort to get violations cleared from a pair of buildings he owns on W. 173rd St. on an expedited basis."

As for the Second Avenue case, Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance's office charged Kukic, landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., along with plumber Jerry Ioannidis, with manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide and assault in the second degree.. (The final defendant, licensed plumber Andrew Trombettas, was charged with offering a false instrument​,​ for allegedly lending his name and license number to paperwork.)

Kukic is due back in court on March 23 — almost three years to the date since the explosion leveled 119-123 Second Ave.

Dora after yesterday's storm

The red-tailed hawk watchers were curious to see how Dora would fare in yesterday's nor'easter with her rehabbed wing... Steven spotted her this morning in her nest in Tompkins Square Park ...



...looking pretty relaxed...

In crane news today

There is crane action happening now on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street.

B is closed here for now.

There were unconfirmed reports that this was to install a new vape-smoke sign. Wrong side of the Avenue though.

Anyway! A few different views via this Live Team Coverage...









In all likelihood, per the cranewatchers on the scene, workers are dropping off, so to speak, an air conditioner or HVAC atop 43-47 Avenue B.

According to the posted sign on Avenue B, this will only take 11 hours.

Report: A book of Lou Reed's unpublished poetry set for April release

In case you missed this news (via Pitchfork and The Guardian)... on what would have been Lou Reed's 76th birthday yesterday, Anthology Editions announced a new book of his unreleased poetry.

Per Anthology:

In August of 1970, a 28-year-old Lou Reed quit the Velvet Underground, moved home to Long Island, New York, and embarked on a fascinating alternate creative path: poetry. "Do Angels Need Haircuts?" is an extraordinary snapshot of this turning point in Reed’s career.

Gathering poems, photographs and ephemera from this era (including previously unreleased audio of the 1971 St. Mark’s Church reading), and featuring a new foreword by Anne Waldman and an afterword by Laurie Anderson, this book provides a window to a little-known chapter in the life of one of the most singular and uncompromising voices in American popular culture.

The book is due out next month.