Saturday, May 22, 2021

Reader report: Damage from last night's revelry on St. Mark's Place

A Saturday morning report from EVG reader Allen Semanco:
A walker lies smashed by a drunken crowd of revelers, largely underage, on Saint Mark's Place last night. My neighbor used it every day for walks around the neighborhood, greeting all with a friendly smile.
The walker was locked to a bike stand, and was broken away from it here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Report of a 5-alarm fire at 163 Bleecker St.

Several EVG readers have asked about the strong smell of smoke in the neighborhood early this morning ... wondering if there was a fire in the East Village. 

The fire was further to the west. The @FDNYalerts Twitter account first reported the fire at 12:36 a.m. at 163 Bleecker St. between Sullivan and Thompson. 

It eventually became a 5-alarm fire, which the FDNY declared under control at 5:33 a.m. Photos via the Citizen app show extensive damage to the retail tenant there — Uncle Ted's Modern Chinese Cuisine.
The Citizen app also reported that a firefighter sustained minor injuries.

A fire on April 19 on the corner of Bleecker and LaGuardia Place reportedly destroyed the storefront belonging to GMT Tavern.

Friday, May 21, 2021

The 'Wild Culture' Saturdays on 3rd Street

This month and into the summer, Wild Project, the nonprofit arts venue at 195 E. Third St., hosts a series of outdoor performances and events on Saturday afternoons. 

The series, which takes place outside the Third Street venue between Avenue A and Avenue B, is called Wild Culture.
Wild Culture's purpose is to facilitate cultural sustainability and help support our artists and venue by bringing the East Village neighborhood together to overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic through art and performances. 
Throughout the summer Wild Culture will produce downtown artists across music, spoken-word, poetry, dance, and theater and more to our E. 3rd St. block, just outside our venue to help revive, with our neighborhood partners, the East Village, and our city.
This Saturday (tomorrow!), Wild Culture is hosting the Spring Into Pride fashion show with neighbors 3rd & B’Zaar, as well as a musical performance. 

While the performances are free, there is a suggested donation of $10 to help Wild Project, which has been shuttered these past 14 months during the pandemic.

You can learn more about tomorrow's activities as well as purchase tickets via the Wild Project website.

'Something' to talk about

 
The new single from local band Hello Mary is out today... check out the video here for "Take Something."  

You can find their Bandcamp page here... or the EVG feature from a few weeks back here

Hello Mary is playing a sold-out show this evening at Bowery Electric.

About the Champagne Diet pop-up boutique this weekend on 9th Street

This weekend, East Village resident Cara Alwill is hosting a pop-up for her The Champagne Diet brand at 434 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

There will be a selection of vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories for sale on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for a quick sneak preview the other day...
You can also schedule an appointment here.

Police searching for suspect who punched an Asian woman at the 2nd Avenue F stop

The NYPD has released a sketch of a suspect they say punched an Asian woman on the F stop platform on Second Avenue at Houston. 

According to police, the attack occurred on April 28 at 6:40 p.m. 

From the PIX 11 report:
A 47-year-old Asian woman was walking on the southbound platform when a man approached her and punched her in the face before fleeing, police said. The woman fell to the ground and sustained bruising to her face and head, leg pain and lacerations to both hands, police said. 
No words were exchanged before the attack, according to police.
The suspect's description, per amNY:  "A 30-year-old man with a dark complexion, a full beard and short dark hair, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hat, blue jeans and white t-shirt."

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the attack.

Hate crimes involving Asian-American victims soared in New York City this past year. This Curbed post has details on some of the crimes.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.

AuH20 Thriftique is returning full time to 7th Street

Last Friday, we reported that AuH20 Thriftique was making an encore presentation over the weekend in the shop's former home at 84 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Turns out that things went quite well with the pop-up weekend... so much so that owner Kate Goldwater is reopening the space. 

Per an Instagram post:
It's been unbelievable seeing everyone this weekend and we're overwhelmed by the support. We're fortunate to have such great customers, employees and a landlord that's so willing to work with us, this past weekend and now moving forward. So we're reopening! 
For the time being, AuH20 will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m. while Goldwater figures out the particulars.

Goldwater closed the shop last fall after 14 years of selling stylish women's vintage clothes and accessories. You can keep tabs on the reopening via the AuH20 website.

A-1 Record Shop reopens tomorrow (Saturday!) for in-store shopping

A-1 Record Shop will reopen tomorrow for in-store browsing/shopping for the first time since the PAUSE of March 2020... this following last Saturday's soft-opening sidewalk sale.

This year, A-1 Record Shop celebrates 25 years in operation. Come celebrate this milestone with us as we re-open the shop to the public this Saturday, May 22! New store hours: 12-8 p.m., every day. Masks required in the store, limited capacity, BYOH (bring your own headphones), fresh bins filled with heat and deals. 
The heat is on! 

A-1 is at 439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Thursday's parting shot

Photo from Fourth Street at Second Avenue by Derek Berg...

Details on the 34th annual Loisaida Festival

The 34th annual Loisaida Festival will be taking place in a virtual format again this year... celebrated over two days — May 23 and 30.

This year’s theme, ¡Viva Loisaida!, "celebrates the Lower East Side's roots, the elements that characterize the neighborhood, and its residents’ resiliency, creativity, growth and unity."

Here's more about what to expect:
The musical lineup includes: world-renowned Mexican singer and actor Fernando Allende; Afro-Caribbean/electronic music project ÌFÉ; Puerto Rican folk singer Chabela Rodríguez; Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae All-Female Band Batalá, and acclaimed local contemporary R&B Soul-Jazz artist Duendita as well as Linda Díaz, the winner of NPR's 2020 Tiny Desk Contest.
And about this year's artwork as seen atop this post:
The official artwork for the 34th Annual [Virtual] Loisaida Festival was created by João Salomão, a local Brazilian artist also known as PIXOTE, whose distinctive style is heavily influenced by the Brazilian Pixação graffiti tradition. The commemorative poster for this year's festival was inspired by the LES punk and hip hop's NYC graffiti scene of the late eighties and nineties that helped form João's artistic practice. 
With this year’s design, the artist also pays homage to Loisaida's documentary photographer Marlis Momber, also well known as the co-producer of "Viva Loisaida," a 1978 film documenting life in the late 1970s Loisaida neighborhood.
You can find more info about the Festival and how to tune in online at this link.

Will leave you with the teaser video...

 
The first Loisaida Festival took place in 1987. You can revisit photos from the last one held in-person (2019!) on Avenue C right here.

St. Mark’s Comics is reopening this summer (in Brooklyn)


[Photo from 2015 by Stacie Joy]

St. Mark's Comics, which closed in February 2019 after 36 years at 11 St. Mark's Place, will be opening a new shop later this summer in Industry City, the retail and manufacturing hub on the Sunset Park waterfront

"We've had many offers to reopen over the past two and a half years," Mitch Cutler, one of the owners of the new shop, said in a statement. "The pandemic certainly slowed us down, but we were really waiting for the right situation. We’re tremendously excited to have found the perfect new home at Industry City."

The Brooklyn shop includes a new partner, Nick Giangarra, described as a comics professional and St. Mark's Comics veteran. 

St. Mark's Comics, which has been selling comics and collectibles online as well as appearing at the New York Comic Con in 2019, is already buying collections and stocking up to prepare for the grand reopening, currently slated for mid-summer.

Cutler said that a variety of factors, from increasing rents to changing consumer shopping habits, played a role in his decision to close on St. Mark's Place.

Land of Buddha, which specializes in Buddhist-themed antiques, jewelry, textiles, crafts and religious items, opened at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in early March 2020.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to St. Mark's Comics

Openings: Soda Club on Avenue B; Jolene on Great Jones Street

Soda Club, the latest vegan concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (First reported here.) 

The restaurant is serving plant-based Italian cuisine and a large selection of natural and organic wines. You can check out the menu here

Soda Club is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to midnight. For now, they're only taking walk-ins. 

The previous tenant at No. 155, Donostia, the wine-and-tapas bar, closed in November 2018 after five years in business.

This is the third new East Village from DeRossi this year... joining Cadence on Seventh Street and Etérea on Fifth Street.

Photo by @ericmedsker via @sodaclubnyc
At 54 Great Jones St., restaurateur Gabriel Stulman has changed up concepts for The Jones, his all-day cafe that opened in August 2019 just west of the Bowery.

Starting today, the space is Jolene, which takes its name from Dolly Parton's song.

Here's more:
Inspired by the utterly charming Cafe de Flore in Paris...  Stulman has transformed The Jones into a new classic American bistro, cafe, and bar with partner and executive chef James McDuffee ... That means an extensive wine list, clutch cappuccinos, snackable bites like a "Della" tea sandwich, and satisfying mains like chopped steak frites.
Will update with the hours later. No website at the moment, but there's always Instagram.

Before The Jones, No. 54 was home to the Great Jones Cafe, which never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Meanwhile, the bust of Elvis remains from the days of the Great Jones Cafe...