The new location of FlyeLyfe opens today on 1st Avenue

Photo from Wednesday by Stacie Joy

The new location of FlyeLyfe has its grand opening today at noon at 215 First Ave. just south of 13th Street.

This is a big move for East Village-based artist and entrepreneur P.J. O’Rourke, who had been selling his original design T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, masks, prints, patches, bags, magnets and caps from a small storefront on 11th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

O’Rourke first started selling his creations on the L train via a mobile art cart in September 2012.

And now he's set up in a two-level space that was previously occupied by a Dunkin' Donuts. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

A visit to FlyeLyfe on 11th Street

Yes, Sophie's is reopening today

There has been activity in recent days at Sophie's, the bar that someone once started a blog about here at 507 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

This photo from yesterday shows a beer delivery ahead of its reopening this afternoon. 

Sophie's along with its sister bars Josie's on Sixth Street and Mona's on Avenue B return after closing in December when Gov. Cuomo did away with indoor dining at bars and restaurants. (Indoor capacity in NYC is at 50 percent as of today.) 

There was never any doubt that these neighborhood bars would reopen at some point. 

Still, there were some freakout moments in recent weeks ... like when Google temporarily listed Sophie's as "permanently closed" ... 😱🤯

Stanton Street CSA accepting sign ups for the 2021 summer season

The Stanton Street CSA has opened up enrollment for the upcoming summer season that begins on June 10. 

Per CSA organizers: "We're proud to announce that this summer will be our 17th year offering organic, local, seasonal produce to residents of the East Village and LES — though of course, anyone can join, not just those who live right nearby." 

And they're offering the following summer shares: veggies, fruit, eggs, maple, and maybe mushrooms (the mushroom share would be new and they're still sorting details). The veggie season lasts 22 weeks starting on June 10. 

Their distributions take place rain or shine on Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the M'Finda Kalunga Garden on Rivington and Forsyth. 

You can sign up online here. And you can find the Stanton Street CSA website here. If you have questions, then there's a Zoom session coming up on Saturday, March 27 for prospective members who have questions about their offerings, want to know how to qualify for a subsidized share or have bad veggie puns for the group.

Signage arrives for Luna Cafe Lounge on 2nd Avenue

A few weeks back we noted that a new restaurant was in the works for 166 Second Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

And here's the first sign of, uh, the signage for Luna Cafe Lounge. (Thanks to Steven for the photo yesterday afternoon.) 

Not sure what all this will be about (a cafe by day and lounge by night? A cafe and lounge by day and night?). 

Nothing has had much staying power here since the Dunkin' Donuts closed in early 2010 ... we've had Meyhane, Medina's Turkish Kitchen, Entrez Bar & Grill, Farfasha, Dinah and Pomodora.

Thursday's parting shot

A new wheatpaste by @SacSix as seen on Fourth Street and Avenue A... photo by Stacie Joy!

Free groceries and milk tomorrow at the Most Holy Redeemer Nativity Church

The folks at the Most Holy Redeemer Nativity Church on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B shared this information about a free food and milk pantry tomorrow (March 19) from 10 a.m. to noon ...

Three trucks will provide FREE a grocery box, a produce box and the third truck will provide a gallon of fortifying milk. Distribution will be in front of Most Holy Redeemer Church ... on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. No pre-registration is required. 

Please observe social distancing and wear a face covering. We're looking forward to seeing our neighbors!

Plywood report at the former P.S. 64

On Monday, we noted that the high winds over the weekend took out a window atop the former (and long-empty) P.S. 64 building — on the 10th Street side between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Now, a reader today points out another opening: on the plywood on the Ninth Street side. There have been reader reports of kids breaking the windows from inside the plywood perimeter...

And 20-plus years of history in two paragraphs:

Developer Gregg Singer, who bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998, has wanted to turn the building into a dorm called University Square. The DOB continues to maintain a Stop Work Order — dating to August 2015 — on the property. 

In years past several local elected officials, community activists and residents have asked for the return of the building for community use. The building became the Charas/El Bohio Community Center after the school left in 1977. The group was eventually evicted when Singer took over as the landlord. It has sat empty these past 20-plus years, causing locals to be concerned about its crumbling façade. 

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood and NYC ...  

Checking in on Standings (March Madness edition)

Standings is a small sports bar at 43 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square... where, since owner Gary Gillis opened the place in 2005, civil fans gather to actually watch a game and not use it as an excuse to, say, drink 300 gallons of beer.

Ahead of the start of March Madness today, one of the biggest events of the year for sports-bar owners, Gillis — a New York Mets fan — answered a few questions via email about the challenging past year and making it work with a few curbside seats.

After a four-month closure, you reopened with curbside service last summer, playing radio broadcasts before switching to TVs in August. How have you been able to make it work given the myriad restrictions (curfews, winter storms that forced a city-mandated closure on Super Bowl Sunday) that are out of your control?

We reopened on July 22 with a Best Buy radio as a substitute for TVs. Best Buy had one type of radio in stock and it was perfect — Howie Rose never sounded so good to me! 

We put TVs up in August in time for football and had good (well... good for a pandemic) crowds. Things were good when the weather was good — I lost a TV due to rain damage during a storm. 

After Thanksgiving was when business slowed due to the chilly weather. We have a few electric heaters but they don't do much when it's 20 degrees and windy. In fact, we were closed roughly the same number of days 

We were open in January and February. The 50-mph wind days were especially memorable! The 11 p.m. curfew stinks but to be honest we consider ourselves lucky to still be around given all the closures in the East Village and the overall horrendous impact of COVID on so many lives.

What has been the most challenging part of operating your business this past year?

The most challenging part of running the business in the past year is that COVID took away our main reason for being — talking/arguing about sports in close proximity with other fanatics. 

Standings has very loyal fans. What do you have to say about their support?

I can't say enough about the support of our loyal customers. Sun, rain, 80 degrees or 20 degrees they showed up. We had to close for the Super Bowl due to the "snowstorm" and they organized a Super Bowl Squares fundraiser for the bar. I get emotional just typing about it.

The NCAA canceled March Madness in 2020. What are your expectations for March Madness this year — from a bar owner's perspective? 

I expect much interest seeing as it was canceled last year. Due to our limited capacity with the pandemic restrictions, I anticipate we’ll have to turn some people away.

Any final 4 picks to share?

Final 4: Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, Connecticut.

And spring training continues. Anything to say about the Mets this 2021 season?

The Mets are going to finish 97-65 — mark it down.

Gillis is working on introducing limited seating inside Standings in the weeks ahead. Gillis also owns Burp Castle, the Belgian beer bar next door where patrons must keep their voices down. (No wooing!) Gillis also hopes to reopen with limited indoor seating there soon. 

All photos via @StandingsNYC

New Lower East Side creative space debuts 'Group Sex' today

The East Village-based Ed. Varie is behind a new collaborative space located in Two Bridges at 49 Monroe St. (across the street from Coleman Skatepark in the Full Tank Moto Cafe). And tonight marks the debut here with the inaugural show, "Group Sex." 

Here's more on what to expect via the Ed. Varie Instagram:

Tapping into some of the absurdities of the pandemic, this quote from the NYC Gov website provides some inspiration for our inaugural exhibition in this new space, "The New York City guidelines discourage group sex, but give advice for those who do “decide to find a crowd.” “Pick larger, more open, ventilated spaces" ... 

Group Sex as a title is not a literal interpretation for the curation, but with a goal to create a joyful, fantasy filled visceral exhibition and experience that we have all been missing.

The 11 artists who are christening this new space: Cavier Coleman, Colleen Herman, Esteban Ocampo Giraldo, Giorgio Handman, Ivy Campbell, Leticia Infante, Moises Salazar, Nina Glikshtern, Sarah Hombach, Scout Zabinski and Ted McGrath. 

The exhibit opens today with hours of noon to 9 p.m. (as part of LES Third Thursdays) ... and will remain up through April 18. Gallery hours are Thursday to Sunday, 12–6 p.m. No appointment necessary, masks and social distancing required. 

Ed. Varie (short for Edition Varie), a creative space that has hosted exhibits, book openings and other special events, opened in 2009 at 184 E. Seventh St. at Avenue B.

Raising the Two Hands signage on Avenue A

The Two Hands signage arrived yesterday at 147 Avenue A at Ninth Street... as we noted on Monday, this space will serve "Seoul fresh corn dogs." 

This will be the first NYC location for the expanding company that has franchises in California, Arizona and Nevada. 

With the arrival next to Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices and Ice Cream ... there's a bit of a boardwalk vibe here now along Avenue A ...

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Juice Press founder bringing goodsugar to 1st Street

Marcus Antebi, the founder of Juice Press, is debuting a new pop-up concept called goodsugar™at 21 E. First St.

The plant-based, wellness cafe is now part of the Kollectiv space here between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Here's more about the concept via a goodsugar rep:

• Moving beyond Juice Press, goodsugar will concentrate on eliminating single-use plastic. Products will be sold in reusable containers that can be returned for loyalty points, creating a closed-loop system we hope to see replicated by every cafe, restaurant, and juice bar in the world.

• Cold-pressed juice will be the freshest available anywhere, mixed and served on-demand rather than being stored for days in a fridge or HPP'd to extend shelf life for 3 months. 

• goodsugar offers organic vegan cooked foods, hot soups, fresh salads, and baked goods (free of gluten and refined sugars).

Kollectiv is "an urban retreat center" that features an herbal pharmacy and spa. Several juice cafes have given this space a shot dating to 2015, including NatureEs and the Alchemist's Kitchen. Kollectiv resides in the retail portion of Jupiter 21, the residential building that rose in 2012-2013 on the property that once housed Mars Bar and several other businesses.

Antebi opened the very first Juice Press one block to the east on First Street near First Avenue in 2010. While that location has closed, there are more than two dozen in the city. Antebi, who also has a goodsugar book and podcast, left Juice Press in 2019. 

Hours for goodsugar: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find the menu here.