Nón Lá bringing Vietnamese cuisine to 4th Street

Nón Lá Vietnamese Kitchen is coming soon to 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

This new venture is from Ronny Nguyen, who runs the very solid Sao Mai on First Avenue. As we understand it, his son will be operating Nón Lá. 

The space was home to Lui's Thai Food. As previously reported, chef-owner Pimnapa "Lek" Sunthatkolkarn had to retire her business after being hospitalized late in the summer.

Thanks to Stacie Joy for the photos and tip!

The restaurant portion of Sage Kitchen has closed

The Sage Kitchen restaurant space has been dark since late in the summer... and now a for rent sign hangs in the window here at 356 Bowery between Fourth Street and Great Jones. 

While the restaurant is closed, Sage is still operating its commissary business from a different location for catering and delivery. The owners discussed the situation in an Instagram post from this past Thursday:

It breaks our heart to tell you that our restaurant on Bowery is closed and will not be reopening. The restaurant was the dream of four friends for a long time and when it came to life last spring so many of you became a part of it.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 and the incompetence of our politicians has made operating a restaurant in New York City completely impossible so we’re going start searching for a new location for our restaurant for when the time is right to reopen. 

With that said, we are very fortunate to have our incredible team working hard in our commissary kitchen and Sage Kitchen will continue to be available for delivery and catering — just like we have done since our inception.

The 6-year-old catering company opened the restaurant space in April 2019.

A return to the Avenue B flea

Yesterday afternoon saw another Avenue B Flea between 10th Street and 13th Street (revisit the one from Oct. 10 here) ... the stoop sale was organized to support the neighborhood, independent vendors and local artists. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was again documented the shoppers and sellers along the Avenue...

Report: Astor Place Hairstylists will close next month after 73 years in business

Astor Place Hairstylists is the latest NYC institution to fall victim to the economic hardships brought on by COVID-19.

The subterranean shop, founded in 1947, will close before Thanksgiving, according to manager Michael "Big Mike" Saviello, who told the Post their that business is down by 90 percent.

They reopened in June, but the customers didn't return. 

Said Saviello: "Maybe we’ll come back when the city comes back, but right now it's not feasible." 

In 2018, Nicolas Heller, a filmmaker (aka New York Nico),  released "Big Mike Takes Lunch,” a documentary that captures a day in the life of the longtime manager. (Read my interview with Heller here. The link also includes an embed of the 12-minute film.)

Heller addressed the pending closure on his Instagram account ... urging his 466,000 followers to pay a visit...

Maybe I was being naive, but I never saw such an iconic NYC institution ever closing. I figured it was too loved by the community to ever shut down. But because of the pandemic, there are no customers and they can’t afford the astronomical rent. 

I’ve been told they definitely plan on closing for good UNLESS there is a “miracle.” I’m not sure what that means, but for your sake, I couldn’t encourage you more to stop by and get your haircut, and find your new barber. @astorplacehairstylists is so much more than just a barbershop, it’s a museum, it’s the epitome of NYC...

 And Astor Place Hairstylists addressed the outpouring of support in this Instagram post...

View this post on Instagram

So many have been asking to donate🙏🤗but even that can’t sustain a nyc business. Thank you from the bottom of our hair cutting hearts for your support. The memories people are sharing...wow! Check our stories. For better or worse, Astor Hair is a one-of-a-kind place because of the people. The owners, the staff, the clients, the visitors. It’s a really hard blow, but Astor Place Hairstylists will never die completely. Maybe one day we will be back in a different form...reincarnated somehow. 🤞❤️🙏💈 #astorhair #nyc #barbershop #iconic #eastvillage #greenwichvillage #barberlife #hairstyles #fcovid19 #nychistory

A post shared by Astor Place Hairstylists (@astorplacehairstylists) on Oct 25, 2020 at 5:21am PDT

Photo from 2011 by Karen Gehres, who directed the film "Astor Barber All Stars."

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week include...  (and photo from St. Mark's Place yesterday is by Derek Berg)

• Another mission to feed those in need in the neighborhood (Tuesday) 

• A farewell parade through the East Village for Jack Finelli (Monday)

• Documenting 166 Avenue A through the years (Thursday) 

• Delphine le Goff on her East Village storefront art and love of the neighborhood (Friday) 

• This is the new building slated for the corner of 6th Street and Avenue C (Monday) 

• Lucy's is back open on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Los Tacos NYC debuts on 7th Street (Friday) 

• About the Mask-Querade event on 7th Street Halloween afternoon (Wednesday) 

• This week's NY See (Thursday) 

• Post-PAUSE status check (Thursday)

• Report: Locals fear the 'crumbling' former P.S. 64 (Tuesday) 

• Openings: All The King's Horses Cafe on 12th Street (Thursday) 

• Popeyes now open on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• The UPS Store delivers a grand opening on 1st Avenue (Friday) 

• Teso Life signage arrives on St. Mark's Place; T-swirl Crêpe makes an EV return (Wednesday) 

• 2 new floors for 21-23 Avenue B (Wednesday) 

• Former Hotel Tortuga space now slinging 99-cent slices on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Glaze Teriyaki Grill closes on 4th Avenue (Monday) 

• A full reveal at 202 Avenue A (Monday)

... and after a year up on the northwest corner of Avenue A and Third Street, workers have removed the sidewalk bridge, bringing back into view the retail tenants along here: Exit 9 Gift Emporium, Essex Card Shop, Downtown Yarns, Galleria J. Antonio and Bin 141...

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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

The holiday lights are already up along 14th Street

You may have noticed that the holiday lights have already arrived on 14th Street at First Avenue ... all the way west to around Union Square... this is the earliet that we can recall seeing them by about three weeks... perhaps in a bid to just hurry us through the rest of 2020...

Previously on EV Grieve: • Holiday lights make you momentarily forget how horrible the intersection of 14th and 1st is

Full-on fall

A fall scene in Tompkins Square Park this morning via Steven...

EVG Etc.: The Strand says its cash reserves are depleted, issues plea for business

• An SOS from the Strand (Gothamist ... Deadline) The plea from owner Nancy Bass Wyden resurfaced recent articles (here and here, for instance) about her continued investment in Amazon... and growing rift with her staff.

• Manhattan's median asking rent fell below $3,000 — to $2,990 — for the first time since 2011 (Streeteasy)

• The East Village is well-represented in this listicle of the city's best Vietnamese restaurants (Eater)

• Catching up with the Mosaic Man (B&B)

• Video shows a male Karen — aka "Daren" — being aggressive on Astor Place after refusing to wear a mask (The Daily Dot)

• East Village teen arrested while live-streaming his climb of the Queensboro Bridge (Queens Daily Eagle ... Gothamist)

• Pinc Louds full-band show on Astor Place TONIGHT (Instagram)

• Penny Arcade stages her new mixed-media performance, "Notes from the Underground," on Friday, Oct. 30 at Pangea on Second Avenue. Find the livestream info here.

Random photo from yesterday at Second Avenue and Sixth Street

The early voting period starts TODAY!

Starting TODAY (Saturday!), polls in New York City will be open through Nov. 1 for early voting. Officials have said that voters will find plexiglass dividers, hand sanitizer and social distancing at polling locations.

Visit the Board of Elections website to find your location and the hours, which vary by day.

Meanwhile, you may request an absentee ballot until Oct. 27 via this link. Your absentee ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3 (2020!), and received no later than Nov. 10 (2020!). 

Photo in Tompkins Square Park yesterday by Steven

Updated 5 p.m.

Some readers reported two- to-three-hour waits at Campos on 13th Street... lines stretched around Campos and back to Avenue B... and down to 12th Street... down 12th Street to C ...

#TopStory #LBS : @michalp_: 'Long, orderly voting line in the East Village on the first day of #EarlyVote!
Cc @evgrieve #VoteEarlyDay ' pic.twitter.com/9kbak1xIHs, see more https://t.co/xddeRCloAz

— Always looking (@PekkaPuhakka) October 24, 2020

Line photo via Steven

So long to the tower crane at the tech hub

That's all for the tower crane that has been part of our 14th Street skyline this past year... workers are now removing the structure at 124 E. 14th St., aka Zero Irving (and formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center and 14 @ Irving ... and tech hub 4ever!) 

The project's superstructure contractor started removing the tower crane earlier this week. The full dismantling is happening today (Saturday!).

Expect a full day of activity (bring a picnic!) with partial lane closures on 14th Street. Here's a look at the activity as of 8:35 a.m. ...

Workers recently reached the top of the 21-23 story building here at Irving Place.

And the usual summation...

Zero Irving, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces and state-of-the-art event space ... on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October. Food-hall specialists Urban­Space officially signed the lease for 10,000 square feet on the ground level last month.

The new building — long contested by local preservationists and community groups — sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Last weekend for Black & White on 10th Street

Black & White wraps up its 20 years at 86 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue tomorrow (Sunday). 

As previously reported, management (Johnny T of Niagara and Bowery Electric is an owner) says they will eventually relocate. Per an Instagram post from September: 

Hey everyone, we’re moving locations... so come get your last drinks here while you can and we’ll see you in our new location in 2021! 

The bar is open today and tomorrow from 4-11 p.m. 

Friday's parting shot

The free mask promo via Borat's crotch today on Houston and the Bowery ... photo by Derek Berg...