C&B is expanding on 7th Street

In some very positive local business news... C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin plans to expand his cafe into the vacant retail space — the former dry cleaners — next door here at 178 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports that, at the moment, Sahin doesn't have any plans for indoor dining — just increased space for him and the team and a longer to-go counter. 

While he has signed a lease on the new storefront, this is a long-term project, as per Sahin, so don't expect to see the expanded space anytime too soon.

Back in the spring, Sahin held a successful fundraiser to buy a larger, more efficient oven for the cafe. Since then, he has been cranking out even more tasty bread. 

C&B opened here in January 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street

Phebe's has decided to close for now

Management at Phebe's Tavern & Grill announced yesterday that the corner spot on the Bowery and Fourth Street is temporarily closing.

Here's part of their message on Instagram:

Due to the restrictions in New York City regarding hospitality and with the growing number of positive Covid-19 cases Phebe’s has made the tough decision to temporarily close our doors. We will miss you all, and keep you posted about reopening dates.

Have a happy and safe holiday! We will see you soon.

Given the holiday wishes, it's likely that Phebe's won't be open again until some time after the New Year.

Phebe's reopened in June for outdoor dining, with ample space on both the Fourth Street and Bowery sides of the business (though of late there has been some underground work going on right out front) ... and then the 25-percent indoor seating once that was OK'd in late September. 

A Phebe's has been here since 1968. The bar-restaurant is now owned by the same group behind Linen Hall and the Penny Farthing on Third Avenue.

Several other restaurants have decided to preemptively suspend service before any possible new PAUSE order coming from Gov. Cuomo. A few weeks back, some of the restaurants in Danny Meyer Union Square Hospitality Group closed for indoor and outdoor dining.

Photo from May via Instagram. 

New restaurants for this stretch of 4th Street

In late October we told you that Nón Lá Vietnamese Kitchen is coming soon to 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. A new sign now hangs over the doorway.

This venture is from Ronny Nguyen, who runs Sao Mai on First Avenue. We were told that 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.

Meanwhile... right next door... at the former Bali Kitchen space...

... new lettering on the door reads Village Cafe & Grill. There's a menu posted for the establishment at Seamless, and it's extensive, featuring everything from bagels to burritos to burgers... not to mention a variety of wraps, sandwiches and salads. Not sure who's behind the venture at this moment.

The excellent Bali Kitchen closed on Aug. 1 after business plummeted during the pandemic. The Indonesian restaurant opened in September 2017. Owners Jazz Pasay and David Prettyman were hoping to continue a catering business as well as other pop-up ventures. 

 

Noted

Mystery signage reveal today on Ninth Street near First Avenue... what could it be here in the westbound Ninth Street?????? Looking forward to the official unveiling! Photo by William Klayer.

Where a grand elm stood

As reported yesterday, yesterday's high winds and heavy rain brought down one of the majestic American elm trees in Tompkins Square Park. 

By early last evening, a crew was in the Park removing the tree from near the entrance on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place. 

Steven took these photos today. The winds uprooted the tree, which apparently had a weak root system (or so an onlooker surmised) ...

Tompkins Square Park still hosts a large assemblage of elms ... how many, don't know. Been awhile since this tree map was updated.

The Tompkins Square Library's annual East Village Arts Festival starts online this Friday

The fourth annual East Village Arts Festival at the Tompkins Square Library starts this Friday, and runs through Dec. 12.

And as you might expect, this year's event is online, though the work of some of the featured artists will be on display at the branch, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Below are some of the daily highlights via the EVG inbox. You may register for the free events here.

Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m.:  "SONIC GATHERING XIX," a performance of John King's micro-opera "Disappearant." Sonic Gatherings started in March in response to the pandemic. King, along with choreographer Brandon Collwes began a weekly series of performances with a rotating cast of dancers and musicians, now in its 29th iteration. 

Saturday, Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.: Six Feet Apart but Still Together: Online Discussion with Artist Paul Adrian Davies. Among many other projects, Davies, a longtime resident of the Lower East Side, has recently been working on photographs of the East Village's streets during the pandemic. He will show us his work, discuss the process and inspirations, and answer questions. There will also be a display of the work at Tompkins Square Library. 

Monday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.: Mom and Pop Storefronts: Online Curator Talk with Karla and James Murray. James and Karla Murray, acclaimed photographers and authors of "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York" will discuss and show the work created by the participants of their 2020 Mom and Pop Storefronts workshop. In partnership with the East Village Community Coalition, James and Karla taught participants how to use photography and oral history to raise public awareness, build community and encourage advocacy. 

Thursday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m.: Virtual Walking Tour: Artists, Writers, Musicians of Tompkins Square. Please join us for a fun online walking tour hosted by library manager Corinne Neary and local photographer Michael Paul. 

Thursday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.: Online Book Discussion. Village Preservation will host an online discussion with author Miranda Martinez, and her book, "Power at the Roots: Community Gardens, Gentrification, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side."

Saturday, Dec. 12 at  3 p.m.: Online Discussion with an Artist: Delphine le Goff. Among many other projects, le Goff has recently started sketching East Village buildings and businesses. She will show some of her work, discuss her process and inspirations, and answer questions. 

Vin Sur Vingt Wine Bar opening an outpost on 2nd Avenue and 11th Street

Vin Sur Vingt Wine Bar is opening its seventh NYC location at 170 Second Ave. at 11th Street.

The proprietors of the neighborhood wine bars will appear before CB3's SLA committee next Monday evening seeking a new liquor license for the space, the former Liquiteria (as seen above several years ago).

You can find the questionnaire (PDF!) for this applicant right here. The materials include a letter from 170's co-op board, who have unanimously signed off on the new tenant.

And here's more about Vin Sur Vingt via the wine bar's website:

The menu includes an extensive list continuously rotating of 250 wines – 50 wines by the glass – coupled with a light French fare menu. The intimate space was personally designed to resemble the most authentic Bar a Vin in France. A pewter-topped bar runs along its length, with large tilted mirrors hung along a copper plated ceiling to reflect cozy dim lighting. The relaxed ambiance is also prevailed by nostalgic melodies that play in the background. All this to ensure an experience that transports you to the very place where these elements were born.

Until October 2018, this corner space was home to the original Liquiteria, which opened in 1996. Founder Doug Green sold the business several years ago to a group of investors who then opened more outposts, all of which closed by late last year.

H/T Steven!

6 posts from November

A mini month in review... 

• A Thanksgiving feast for neighbors in need at the East Village Community Fridge (Nov. 26) 

• With gas shut off, Tompkins Square Bagels owner wonders why the city isn't helping small businesses during pandemic (Nov. 24) 

• Here's a look at the final RBG mural on 1st Avenue and 11th Street (Nov. 20) 

• A visit to Van Da on 4th Street (Nov. 19) 

• Scenes from a Biden-Harris victory (Nov. 8)

• A very East Village Halloween (Nov. 1)

Photo the other day on 10th Street

1st Avenue curbside dining structure is gone with the wind (again)

Today's high winds — reported at 40-plus mph at times during the gale warning — toppled this curbside dining setup on First Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street (thanks to Jeremiah Moss for the photos!)

Turns out the structure belongs to Panna II, which was not open at the time. Owner Boshir Khan told Curbed that this was the third time (as Curbed noted — !) that his structure has toppled over.

Per Curbed:

[H]e hasn’t been able to install a sturdier structure because of the expense; this one, he says, cost him $2,000, and more substantial ones can cost more than ten times that figure. "If you want to do it permanently, it's a lot of money,” he says. Even though he's already looking into putting it back up, Khan says he's still unsure about how plausible outdoor dining will be once the weather turns from chilly to flat-out cold: "We have a heater and everything, and people [still] don't want to sit down." Over the past two weeks, Khan says, no diner has wanted to eat outside. 

NYC restaurateurs have until Dec. 15 to fully adapt their structures to the winter, per city guidelines.

An EVG reader also reported a damaged curbside structure outside Takahachi/Drom on Avenue A near Sixth Street...

Tree down in Tompkins Square Park

The high winds today brought down a tree (updated: one of the grand American Elms) in Tompkins Square Park... EVG reader Eddie shared these photos, showing the fallen tree near the entrance on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place...

While this is the second large tree to fall during a storm this year ... workers did plant up to 20 new ones in the Park late last year.

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Steven shared these photos...

... and late this afternoon... crews were on the scene ... the St. Mark's Place entrance is currently closed...

Report: City drops plan for hotel special permit requirement south of Union Square

The de Blasio Administration has reportedly withdrawn its proposal to require special permits for new hotels in the area south of Union Square.

As The Real Deal reported on Nov. 20, "the city quietly withdrew an application to establish a 25-block area where any new hotel construction requires a special permit. The decision came at the urging of the City Council."

The City Planning Commission had approved the application prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

ouncilmember Francisco Moya, who chairs the body’s zoning subcommittee, said in a letter to Marisa Lago, the director of the Department of City Planning. “As we all know, the policy landscape has changed profoundly in the last seven months, and we believe it’s important to evaluate our efforts in a citywide context with respect to the regulation of hotels.”

The Hotel Special Permit plan was seen by elected officials as a way to provide protections for the surrounding neighborhood as a component of passing the upzoning for the tech hub (now Zero Irving pictured above on Saturday) on 14th Street at Irving Place back in 2018.

Critics of the plan had argued that the requirement of a special permit for hotels from Third Avenue to University Place would have little to no effect on the potential development that the tech hub might expedite.

Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, which led the opposition to the plan, released this statement last week:

"Though presented as such, this plan would never have provided any meaningful protections to the area of Greenwich Village and the East Village south of Union Square, where historic and residential buildings are being destroyed to make way for soulless high-rises. Now that this deeply unpopular plan has been shelved, we urge Mayor de Blasio and Councilmember Carlina Rivera to truly address the need to protect this neighborhood, its history, and its character."

According to The Real Deal,  despite the withdrawal of this particular plan, the city remains committed to studying whether such a mandate would work citywide.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The conversation continues on the now-approved tech hub for 14th Street

Signage arrives for Cadence, the latest Ravi DeRossi venture on 7th Street

The sign is now up for Cadence at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ... this latest vegan restaurant venture from the East Village-based Ravi DeRossi will be a take on southern soul food via chef Shenarri Freeman.

And this is one of several new restaurants that DeRossi's revamped Overthrow Hospitality group has planned in the coming months, a list that includes the pasta bar Soda Club on Avenue B and the Mexican-themed Spider in the Garden on Fifth Street.

He also recently expanded Amor y Amargo on Avenue A at Sixth Street, including opening a cocktail-general store in the corner retail space.

As Eater previously reported, each of his new restaurants is being led by "senior employees within the company who agreed to launch their own projects under DeRossi's new hospitality group."

Here's more from Eater:

Moving forward, DeRossi and [director of operations Drew] Brady wanted to shift the company to add more employee-first initiatives — like seeking out in-house talent first to launch new projects — and encourage more community involvement. 

At Overthrow Hospitality, employees will each be allotted 10 paid hours per month to take part in protests or volunteer at various community organizations. For those who participate, the logged hours convert into wellness credits that the employees can put towards things like buying a new bike or getting a gym membership.

The new direction comes as the group is still weathering the pandemic along with the rest of the city. DeRossi was able to negotiate favorable rent deals on the places that are opening, and he says that launching more vegan restaurants led by veteran team members at a time when environmental and economic crises are colliding is the right way to go.

Cadence will be DeRossi's fourth establishment on the block, joining Saramsam, a Filipino restaurant at 111 E. Seventh St. that opened in September, and Ladybird and Avant Garden. 

Desnuda, the 18-seat ceviche bar, was the previous tenant at 122 E. Seventh St, closing in January after 11-plus years. 

Amor Y Amargo photo last month by Vinny & O