Mike Zohn, co-owner of the now-closed Obscura Antiques and Oddities, is cleaning out the basement of the shop at 207 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.
This afternoon (Monday, Feb. 17), he'll be putting out a few items on the curb for anyone to take. Up for grabs: Some folding chairs from Cafe Pick Me Up, a 2015 Avenue A casualty.
Updating: FDNY battling 3-alarm fire on the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Monday) Fire-damaged Via Della Pace unsure about reopening on 7th Street; Cafe Mocha in bad shape (Wednesday)
Dun-Well Doughnuts is done with St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)
Things that go boom in the night: As Bush Tetras prepare for their 40th anniversary show (Friday)
In order to focus upon new endeavors at our flagship Brooklyn location and to expand our wholesale operations, we have decided to close our St. Mark's location this month. This is a bittersweet decision as we have loved being part of the St. Mark's community over the past few years. We hope you’ll continue to support us as we move into our next chapter!
Dun-Well can now be found in almost 20 NYC locations including several Whole Foods Markets and cafes throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens and we plan to expand our reach to bring our doughnuts to an even larger community.
Christopher Hollowell and Dan Dunbar opened the first Dun-Well in East Williamsburg in 2011. They debuted on St. Mark's in July 2016, shuttling in fresh doughnuts daily from their Montrose Avenue HQ.
The posted hours today are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., though you should likely get there sooner rather than later...
The L train's new Avenue A north entrance — for Eighth Avenue-bound commuters — opened this past Monday.
For the next few months, you'll need to use the Avenue A entrances for all L-train action. (The Brooklyn-bound side arrived this past Nov. 4 at Avenue A.)
This morning, workers boarded up the north entrance at First Avenue.
This side is expected to be closed for repairs until May.
The south side entrance at First Avenue is expected to reopen in April...
Once the MTA complete the First Avenue entrances, the ones at Avenue A will close again so workers can add the finishing touches. No word just yet from the MTA about when all four entrances — two at First Avenue and two at Avenue A — will all be accessible at the same time.
When all the construction is wrapped up, the revamped 14th Street First Avenue station will have four entrances — including the two on either side of 14th Street at Avenue A as well as two new platform-to-street ADA elevators that will be ready for use this summer. (Find more details on this MTA advisory.)
• The ongoing Director's Cup series at the Village East includes "The Big Lebowski," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Do the Right Thing" (Official site)
• And depending on your mood, the Quad is offering up "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" and "Sid and Nancy" tonight for Valentine's (Official site)
• The newish Wegmans in Brooklyn now offering delivery to parts of Manhattan (NBC New York)
• Remembering Punk magazine’s “Patti Smith Graffiti Contest” from 1976 (Dangerous Minds)
... and the newest attraction in Tompkins Square Park — a (at-the-time steaming) compost pile that arrived yesterday...
There’s another band practicing in Rivington Music Rehearsal Studios at 188 Stanton St., Room 3 on Friday night at 6, which is when NYC legends Bush Tetras are supposed to begin their own two-hour rehearsal.
The four members of Bush Tetras are prepping for their upcoming 40th anniversary show at le Poisson Rouge on Feb. 21 with 75 Dollar Bill opening.
The post-punk no-wave band, with roots in the East Village, is Dee Pop, Val Opielski, Cynthia Sley and Pat Place. While waiting for the room to open up they decide to sign a copy of their 2018 album Take the Fall.
I get a sneak peek at the big show’s potential setlist before Dee alerts the current members of Room 3 that they are officially over time.
Once inside, Cynthia sets up some percussion instruments on a shelf and tosses down a pack of cough drops while Pat tries out her new guitar strap and sets up her foot pedals. Val takes off her shoes and pads around the space barefoot setting up her much-loved bass, which she tells me she once left on the subway accidentally (it was returned!). Dee peels some tape off the drum kit to help Cynthia hold up the show flow and they all settle in to start the business of rehearsal.
[Cynthia Sley]
[Dee Pop]
[Pat Place]
[Val Opielski]
The space is tiny, and the time is limited so after snapping some shots (and one quickie video clip of “Snakes Crawl”) I head out. Room 3 isn’t soundproofed, so I get to hear the band as I walk toward the front door, stopping to take a photo of the band’s RMRS portrait, which hangs in the hallway.
You can keep up with the band at this link. And you can hear them live on WFMU's The Evan "Funk" Davies Show next Wednesday night at 9.
