New owner in the works for Downtown Yarns

Rita Bobry, who opened Downtown Yarns 17 years ago at 45 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street, is retiring.

And Leti Ruiz, an employee, is looking to take over the business.

Ruiz launched a crowdfunding campaign yesterday:

I am very happy and honored to have been considered to carry on this very special place Rita has created.

When I first came to Downtown Yarns I didn’t know anything about knitting but I remember being drawn to the vibrant colors and textures, the subtle scent of the wool and the perfect samples on display. I knew immediately how special Downtown Yarns was and that I wanted to be a part of it. I took class after class, acquiring skills and knowledge, eventually joining the sales team, and then part-time staff, then teacher, now potential owner.

Downtown Yarns has been more than a store for me and so many others, it is a vital community space where intergenerational learning happens, where new skills are developed, and where community networking is initiated.

Preserving this special hub in a rapidly gentrifying New York City neighborhood is important not only for those who have been here for years but also to new community members and visitors, offering a welcoming home to curious crafters, makers, and learners.

Ruiz has already met half of her goal in the first 24 hours.


[Ruiz as seen in the GoFundMe video]


[Photo of Rita Bobry by Gudrun Georges]

H/T EVG reader gaminette!

Previously on EV Grieve:
A spin through Downtown Yarns on Avenue A

For rent on St. Mark's Place

The Edible Arrangements outpost on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue has closed... a for lease sign is now in the front window.

This is one of five spaces for rent on the block... Satori Holistic Wellness & Beauty has been for lease since at least the beginning of the year...



... there's a new broker for the former Macaron Parlour, which moved to a larger space on Hester Street in the spring of 2017...



... the ground-floor at No. 116 has been converted into a storefront... and there's a second broker now for the address that hit the market in early June...



... and the for rent sign arrived about 10 days ago at the former Mr. Bing, the pop-up shop that wrapped up here back in the spring...

This year's Summer Streets celebration includes rocks and bubbles on Astor Place

This year's Summer Streets is coming up the first three Saturdays of August (the 4th, 11th and 18th).

As in previous years, the car-free, Street-Festival-Free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue.

The city yesterday announced the activities taking place along the route. Here's some of what you'll find on Astor Place, via the Summer Streets website:

BF Bouldering Wall & Obstacle Course, Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette Street
Join the Brooklyn Boulders Foundation to test your skills on an eight foot tall bouldering wall. Leave the ropes and harnesses behind and scale this wall with ease. The Bouldering Wall and Obstacle Course by the Brooklyn Boulders Foundation was co-designed by West coast-based Vertical Solutions featuring wood paneling, and a pull-up bar feature. The obstacle course includes accessible features for all abilities to be able to complete the course. Challenge yourself and get through quickly for a prize or race against a friend. Even if this is your first time, don’t worry, there will be plenty of safety mats to catch your fall.

And!

Gazillion Bubble Show’s Bubble Garden, 4th Avenue between 8th Street and 9th Street
GAZILLION BUBBLE SHOW is Unlike Anything You Have Ever Seen Before! The most incredibubble show in the world! Bubble lovers of all ages are delighted with an unbubblievable experience, awashed with a bubble tide, and perhaps even find themselves inside a bubble. Mind-blowing bubble magic, spectacular laser lighting effects and momentary soapy masterpieces will make you smile, laugh, and feel like a kid again. You have to experience it to bubblieve it! Experience the Gazillion Bubble show's exclusive interactive Bubble Garden. Join the fun by making bubbles of all sizes and learning new bubble tricks that will amaze and dazzle you!

Another limb down in Tompkins Square Park

A large branch fell (presumably last night) from an American Elm onto the handballs courts near the entrance at Ninth Street and Avenue B... Goggla shared these photos ...



A limb fell yesterday afternoon near the entrance on Seventh Street and Avenue B. Thankfully no one was injured

At the rally outside the former P.S. 64 Friday evening

[Photo by Peter Brownscombe]

On Friday evening, several local elected officials, community activists and residents gathered outside the former P.S. 64 (aka CHARAS/El Bohio) on Ninth Street to rally for the return of the building to the community.

The date marked the 20th anniversary of the city auction where developer Gregg Singer became the owner of the property between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Attendees at the rally called on Mayor de Blasio to take the next steps to return the building for public use. The building became a community center after the school left in 1977. The group was evicted when Singer took over as the landlord.

Speakers included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assembly member Harvey Epstein, City Council member Carlina Rivera as well as her predecessor, Rosie Mendez ...

20 years ago an injustice was done when Mayor Giuliani sent the CHARAS/El Bohio community center to auction. We’re pushing to get it back in the LES/East Village community’s hands. I urge the mayor: step on the gas in reacquiring the space — it can’t be a back-burner project. pic.twitter.com/7QfcWje937

— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) July 21, 2018

@NYCMayor Give us our community center back #CHARAS today marks 20th anniversary of the action of CHARAS/El Bohío community and cultural center with @galeabrewer @RosieMendez @CarlinaRivera and community leaders pic.twitter.com/EtnCVshBqx

— Harvey Epstein (@HarveyforNY) July 20, 2018

Today our neighbors came together to rally for CHARAS/PS64 on the 20th Anniversary of its auction. We have fought for a long time to reclaim community spaces & we are reminding our @NYCMayor of his commitment to the Lower East Side to get this building back. pic.twitter.com/H0iUNPXFSn

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) July 21, 2018

During a town hall forum at P.S. 188 last October, de Blasio said that the Giuliani administration should not have cautioned off the property, and that he would work to "right the wrongs of the past," as DNAifno reported.

"For the administration to put that building into private hands failed miserably, and we’ve seen the negative affect that that has had on the community. So I'm announcing tonight the city's interest in re-acquiring that building," de Blasio said, eliciting cheers from the audience.

The mayor has not publicly discussed this interest any further.

Meanwhile, Singer says that he has no intention of selling the building, which he bought for $3.15 million. He wants to turn the landmarked property into a dorm called University Square, which continues in a holding pattern while the DOB maintains a Stop Work Order on the building.

Singer discussed his plans and aired his frustrations with the city, claiming officials have obstructed his legal right to develop the property, in this wide-ranging interview from June 3 with The New York Times.

Here are more photos from the rally via EVG contributor Peter Brownscombe ...

Great Jones Cafe remains closed

[Photo from Saturday]

Jim Moffett, the longtime owner of the Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street, died on July 10. (A cause of death was not disclosed. A friend said that Moffett was 59.)

And the restaurant near the Bowery has remained closed since Moffett's passing. To date, there hasn't been any announcement about when, or if, the downtown fixture (since 1983) will reopen. The Cafe's phone has been disconnected ... and there haven't been any messages for patrons on either the Cafe's website or social media platforms. Several generic, pre-sceheduled posts arrived on Facebook, but were eventually removed...



Moffett became owner of the Great Jones Cafe in 1989.

Inkstop Tattoo has left Avenue A

Back in May, Eric Rignall, the owner of Inkstop Tattoo on Avenue A at 13th Street, announced that his shop would close by Aug. 1 after 21 years in business on this corner.

He recently moved out ... and now the corner space is vacant with a for-rent sign...



The asking rent is $7,000 per month, according to the listing, which notes that it's a "perfect space for office or retail. No cooking. Microwave is allowed."

In May, Rignall told me that the Ink Stop landlord had been fair with him "but market value for rent in the neighborhood is a bit too high in general to stay on top of things," he said. "Also, it is true that the new changes to the neighborhood in the last few years have dramatically reduced business in the area. A lot of people have moved out and there is not as much foot traffic as there was."

He will be working out of Long Island City now. You can find his contact info here.

Trailer-outdoor gallery moving ahead of 1st Street road work

Workers will be moving the trailer that has sat on First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue these past seven years ...



The trailer will depart this week for water-main work on this block. It's not known just how long it will be gone.

Since January 2012, the trailer has served as an outdoor gallery via the Centre-fuge Public Art Project.

Centre-fuge was up to Cycle 23. (The art has not changed here since last August.)

The Department of Transportation uses the trailer as an office for the long-delayed East Houston Reconstruction project that will — let's face it — never be finished, at least at the intersection of Houston and the Bowery.

It's never too early to think about Halloween this July

The former Ricky's space on Third Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street will serve as a pop-up Spirit Halloween store. As you can see, the signage is up!

And the place is already fully stocked. Here's an early look at the costumes ... Pennywise!



... and Jeff the Killer and the Grim Reaper to help sooth your jangled nerves...

The Moxy East Village tops out on 11th Street

Workers have reached the top at the 13-story Moxy East Village ... raising the American flag on the western side of the incoming hotel here on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue...





Work has progressed at a pretty good clip here... workers were still deep in the foundation phase at the end of 2017.

The 285-key hotel for Marriott's Moxy brand has a late 2019 opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A few more details about the incoming Moxy East Village on 11th Street

Sunday's parting shot

Derek Berg took this photo of one of the red-tail fledglings in Tompkins Square Park today...

Limb down in Tompkins Square Park

EVG reader the Philosophical Zombie shared these photos from Tompkins Square Park... where a limb broke off near the entrance on Seventh Street and Avenue B this afternoon...



Luckily no one was injured...