A quick turnover at 328 E. 6th St.

Asian Wave came and went very quickly here at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

We understand that it was open for about a month... before a quick turnover to a new venture called Miso Sushi, which is now in grand-opening mode. You can find their menu here.

Asian Wave is the second consecutive restaurant to close within six weeks at this address. Lovenburg, an outpost of a restaurant based in Turkey serving burgers and a variety of Mediterranean cuisine, opened in February 2020 and closed for good when the PAUSE went into effect.

Tuesday's parting shot

A moment in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

Primary Day

Our unscientific poll of TWO EVG readers finds that it been slow-going so far at the polls, which are open to 9 p.m. 

Among other races (public advocate, comptroller, borough president and city council, DA), voters will be picking the Democratic and Republican candidates for mayor. 

And a ballot primer ...

As you're voting today, you may have a two-sheet ballot. Here are a few things to remember:

- Complete both sides of your ballots.
- Insert ballots into the scanner one sheet at a time, and wait for the "thank you" screen before inserting a second sheet. pic.twitter.com/zO5Wb57A63

— NYC Board of Elections (@BOENYC) June 22, 2021

RIP Art Guerra

We were sorry to hear about the recent passing of Arthur Enrique Guerra, the founder of Guerra Paint & Pigment on 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Guerra, who suffered from Lewy body dementia in recent years, died on May 28. He was 81. (The mural in his honor, as seen in the top photo, went up on the store's gate here this past week.) 

Frustrated with the quality of paints available to muralists, Guerra launched the specialty paint and pigment store in 1986. In 2000, Jody Bretnall and Seren Morey joined the business, and the two will carry on after Guerra's death. 

Here's part of a tribute to Guerra on the shop's Instagram account:

Art was an institution in and of himself. A true original, one-of-a-kind character. They broke the mold after they made him. Wild man straight out of Haight-Ashbury, painter, lover of life, good Spanish wine, great Mexican food, art, artists and art materials. He was a chronic saver of homeless animals and a connoisseur of pigments and classical music. 

Forever a kid at heart, Art's boundless energy for art, art materials and the teaching and sharing of his knowledge knew no bounds. We will sorely miss his laughter and his presence. He was not only our partner but our friend. 

As his business partners for 20 years, we would like to assure you that the business that he founded and so loved is secure and will go on in his name. Though right now we are crying we will continue the teaching mission of this business to supply artists with the highest quality paint components possible to make the best paint possible. This was his vision and it is ours as well.

Some longtime East Village residents will recall Guerra's mural on St. Mark's Place of John Spacely, aka Gringo, from 1983 (it was up through the early 2000s) ... Photo by Peter Bennett ...

As an EVG reader said of Guerra's death: "It's a big loss, and not just for the neighborhood."

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guerra Paint & Pigment Corp (@guerrapaint)

Sushi next for the former Fresco space on 2nd Avenue

We heard rumors that a sushi restaurant was taking over the former Fresco outpost at 138 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

There's now a note on the door for the contractors, and it lists the name of the incoming establishment — Moko (thanks to Steven for the photos)...

The restaurant has an under-construction website, which notes: "High-end Omakase starting at $65."

As previously reported, the owners of Fresco — citing a decline in business during the pandemic — temporarily shut down their 8-year-old gelateria-cafe and returned to their native Greece last October. 

They had hoped to reopen in January, but those plans didn't materialize at the time with the surge in COVID cases and continued limits on indoor service. The space hit the rental market in April.

However, Fresco hopes to find a new storefront elsewhere downtown in the months ahead.

A residential conversion for the former storefront at 111 St. Mark's Place

Plywood has covered the subterranean retail spaces at 111 St. Mark's Place in recent months.

Now, though, as you can see, workers have removed the barriers... revealing that the spaces have been converted into apartments here between Avenue A and First Avenue ...

Work permits show renovations at the basement level — with a note about a new certificate of occupancy. 

The storefront had been on the rental market in recent years. The last tenant here, Macaron Parlour, left in March 2017 for a larger space on the Lower East Side.

Monday's parting shot

Pro skateboarder Brian Anderson has finished his mural outside 50 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street... this Pride Month work coincides with his first board release (via Clown Skateboards) ... with proceeds going to the LISA Project.

Our previous post has more details. 

Photo today by Stacie Joy! 

Where to find some free live music today

Make Music NYC, the free, outdoor music festival that takes place annually on June 21, returns today with shows at sites around the city. 

From 2-6, several bands will be performing during the Girls Rock & Girls Rule show in Tompkins Square Park. This link has more details. 

Elsewhere, you can find a handful of local bands, including Beechwood and the Trash Bags, playing outside The Cast, the rock-n-roll boutique at 72 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand...

The music starts at 3:30.

H/T Steven

Report: Mount Sinai Beth Israel decides against plans to relocate and downsize

ICYMI: Mount Sinai Beth Israel officials have decided against their "$1 billion downtown transformation" that would have seen the creation of a new 7-story hospital on 13th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Instead, officials said they will renovate its existing facilities along First Avenue between 16th Street and 17th Streets. 

According to published reports (Crain's first reported on this last week), officials cited the need for additional hospital beds following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the fall of 2016, the Mount Sinai Health System announced a years-long project to rebuild Mount Sinai Beth Israel, transitioning to a network of smaller facilities throughout lower Manhattan.

The plans included an expanded facility on 14th Street and Second Avenue as well as a 7-story hospital on 13th Street on the lot where a now-demolished 14-floor building that housed training physicians and staff once stood. They also planned to close its current location — with nearly 700 beds — on First Avenue and 16th Street. The new 13th Street hospital would have featured 70 beds.

In a statement last week, the health system shared the following (H/T Becker's Hospital Review):

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to our city, regional health care providers and the Mount Sinai Health System. These changes forced us to assess and rethink many aspects of how we can provide and improve care, including re-envisioning the future of Mount Sinai Beth Israel. 

Under our new plan we will be able to surge to the same bed capacity as we did during the height of COVID, which is also more than twice the surge bed capacity as the old 14th Street plan.

Officials said they'd announce more details on the modernization of their current campus at a later date.

It's not immediately clear what they plan to do with the empty lot on 13th Street that was slated for the new facility...

Local elected officials responded to the news in a series of statements...

"We are heartened by Mount Sinai's decision to renovate Beth Israel and look forward to a robust community engagement process in determining the scope of services needed there." — Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer

"Mount Sinai's announcement to stay at the current location and modernize their facilities is a win for the community, which had expressed significant concerns about losing so many hospital beds in lower Manhattan. They voiced these concerns before we even knew what COVID-19 was, and this pandemic showed us — in the most painful and devastating way — how right they were. But there is still much we don't know about this plan. While Mount Sinai has committed to keeping the existing building, we don't know what the future hospital will look like." — State Sen. Brad Hoylman

"Mount Sinai Beth Israel's decision not to relocate and instead focus efforts on bringing the existing campus into the modern era has the potential to improve health care services for Lower Manhattan residents. But we will only be able to truly address the systemic health care inequities exposed by COVID-19 at Mount Sinai and beyond if the full breadth of community demands are met. This includes the return of previously removed inpatient beds and medical services, as well as a commitment to improved community engagement." — Council Member Carlina Rivera, chair of the City Council Committee on Hospitals.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• An empty lot awaits the future home of the new Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on 13th Street

• Permits filed to demolish Mount Sinai's 13th Street residential building

• Mount Sinai Beth Israel files plan for 7-story hospital on 13th Street

Who is Savannah Guthrie? This Jeopardy! guest host helped raise $105K for the Bowery Mission

Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of the "Today" show on NBC, is the current guest host on "Jeopardy!"

Honoring the late Alex Trebek, the show matches contestant winnings with a donation to the charity of the guest host's choice.

And Guthrie's pick: The Bowery Mission. One week in, she has raised more than $105,000...

$105,801 raised so far for The @BoweryMission during @SavannahGuthrie’s first week on Jeopardy! pic.twitter.com/OqLWuWDnCI

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) June 18, 2021

And she'll be back on "Jeopardy!" this week. The show airs at 7 p.m. on ABC 7. 

Thank you to EVG reader Allen Semanco for letting me know about this!

Avenues is a real-estate office-espresso bar opening on 10th Street

Yes, I'd like a one-bedroom apartment in a building with laundry facilities and a latte with unsweetened almond milk.

Avenues, a real-estate company, is opening an office — complete with an espresso bar — at 84 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... 

Not sure exactly how this will work at the moment (espresso bar upfront for customers and the office in the back?).

This upper-level storefront was the home of Turntable Lab, which closed its brick-and-mortar business last summer during the pandemic. (They still have a robust online service.)

Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen looks to have closed on 1st Avenue

It appears that Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen has closed here on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street... their phone number is out of service... and the interior has been emptied out...  (And we left a message about the status of this outpost.)

Al Horno, which has four other NYC locations, arrived on First Avenue back in November 2016. 

The address at No. 57 is now on an awning watch. It will be difficult for any new business to top the Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo during a few glorious months in 2012.