Report: Police shoot at man threatening people with a knife on Houston and the Bowery

According to published reports, police shot at a man threatening people with knives during the morning rush (8:45) along the Bowery at Houston. 

Media accounts described the suspect as an "emotionally disturbed man." 

Per PIX11: "According to police, the officer fired one round but missed the man." 

The Daily News has more of the narrative:

Starting around 8:40 a.m., the unhinged man cut a bizarre path from outside the Butcher's Daughter, a cafe on Kenmare St., to the Bowery and then to the corner of Elizabeth and Grand Sts., cops said. He allegedly threatened to stab people along the way. 

Cops found the man at the corner of Houston St. and Bowery. Officers first shot the man with a Taser, but it didn't work, police said. A cop from the 9th Precinct fired off one shot as officers tried to subdue the man, but no one was hit.

The suspect was taken into custody without further incident. 

EVG reader Robert Miner, who shared these photos, reports that the Bowery is closed from Houston to Bleecker ... other parts of Houston are also said to be currently closed to traffic... 

Updated 10:46 a.m.:

And a report via CBS 2...

 

Stromboli is back open

Stromboli Pizza, sidelined since early August with a building-related gas issue, reopened yesterday on First Avenue at St. Mark's Place. (Thanks to everyone who shared this news via email!) 

As previously noted, we were told that there was a gas-line issue with the building at 83 St. Mark's Place/135 First Ave. The gas issue impacts the building's residents as well, sources said. 

Steven shared these photos, including of Joseph, Stromboli's owner...

Dan & John's next door has also been closed these past two-plus months. The wing shop has not yet reopened.

Thursday's parting shots

A moment on First Avenue and Ninth Street... thanks to Grant Shaffer for the pics...

Barnyard Cheese Shop is closing for good tomorrow

Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy

Tomorrow is the last day in business for Barnyard Cheese Shop at 168 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

Owner Beatriz Gutierrez confirmed the news (H/T Elsie) to EVG contributor Stacie Joy. 

Gutierrez said Victor, her longtime cook, suffered a loss during the pandemic — his brother died. Victor wants and needs to return home to be with his family in Mexico.

Gutierrez said that she has repeatedly tried to find kitchen staff but can't, so she is forced to close Barnyard. She stressed that this is not a lack-of-business issue — it's wholly staffing-related. 

She has a lease on the space until the end of November and may do some catering here. Gutierrez also said she may hold on to the storefront for another venture in the future, though she isn't sure right at this moment.

Barnyard, which offers cheeses, cured meats, salads and delicious specialty sandwiches, first opened in 2008 on Ninth Street and Avenue C ... moving to its current location in late 2016.

Her companion shop next door, Brix Wines, will remain open. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A Visit to Brix Wines and Barnyard Cheese Shop on Avenue B

Dark jazz: Rue-B closes, leaving Avenue B

Photo yesterday by Stacie Joy

Rue-B, the bar and live music venue specializing in jazz at 188 Avenue B, has closed after nearly 23 years in business here between 11th Street and 12th Street. (H/T Lilly!)

Mike Camacho, who has owned the spot for the past five years, made the announcement in a video clip posted on Instagram. 

He said that they will be reopening at a location TBD at a later date. 

While he didn't name a specific reason for the closure, Rue-B's Instagram page states: "We apologize after almost 23 yrs we were forced to close down. Thank U East Village NYC 4 for allowing us to serve you spirits & live Jazz. With Love Rue-B." 

You can watch Camacho's farewell and thank you to patrons below...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ℝ𝕌𝔼-𝔹 (@rueb_nyc)

Reader report: Cheap-eats fave Papaya Dog looks done on 14th Street

Several EVG readers noted that Papaya Dog has been dark recently on the northwest corner of 14th Street and First Avenue ... and yesterday, KT spotted a worker cleaning out the space. He confirmed that the closure is permanent. (All pics here by KT.)

Later yesterday, some furniture and other PD items were placed on the curb...

A look inside shows that many of the fixtures have been removed...

Papaya Dog seems as if it was here forever. However, Manhattan Sideways listed its opening in 2005. 

There's a Papaya Dog still in business on Sixth Avenue (and on Fulton Street?), though other quick-serve hot dog joints have dwindled in numbers in recent years. (The circa-1932 Papaya King is still serving up the grilled franks and papaya drinks on the UES.)

While prices here inched up lately, you could still get two hot dogs, fries and a drink for $7.99 late into the night. 

This corner also seems primed for development. But at this point, there's nothing official about anything coming to this corner ... for now.

2nd annual Mask-Querade taking place Halloween afternoon on 7th Street

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality group is once again hosting a Trick-or-Treat Halloween festival for children ages 12 and under on 7th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

It's taking place on Oct. 31 from 2-4 p.m.

A few details via the EVG inbox: 

Children accompanied by a parent or guardian are invited to trick or treat safely. Adults will be able to observe in designated viewing stations to watch children with complimentary mulled wine and spiced cider. Safety will be enforced by volunteer community members. 

Candy will be safely distributed and candy bags will be issued by us!

Overthrow is also looking for volunteers to hand out candy. If you're interested, then you may email: speakup@overthrowhospitality.com 

FA debuts on 9th Street; the green bench arrives in Tompkins Square Park

FA — better-known as Fucking Awesome World Entertainment — debuted on Saturday at 420 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The skateboard company and streetwear brand, co-owned by pro skaters Jason Dill and AVE (aka Anthony Van Engelen), opened its first retail space in Los Angeles in 2019. This is the first East Coast outpost for FA.

The shop's grand opening also saw the arrival of the green bench, a very special guest brought here by the owners of FA and currently a block away in the skating (TF) area of Tompkins Square Park. 

Here's more about it via Curbed, who first reported about it coming here:

The green bench is in Tompkins Square Park right now.

If you're a skateboarder — or a former skateboarder, or at least somewhat skateboarding-adjacent — and live in New York City, that sentence cannot be read without an exclamation point. The green bench! That's because this particular 300-pound piece of steel street furniture has become one of the most storied objects to skate around and on, and its arrival on the East Coast adds a coda to a two-decade saga of discovery, theft, loss, reconstruction, and a particularly hard-won switch backside noseblunt slide across its 13-foot arc.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy went to check out the green bench...

... and found it in heavy use ...

Back to FA, their store hours are Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

No. 420 was previously Puppy Love & Kitty Kat, the 10-year-old pet supplies and grooming shop that closed in 2019.

Storefront photo by Steven. Thanks to William Klayer for sharing pics as well.

Blank Street coffee looks to be opening an outpost on 3rd Avenue

Blank Street, the fast-growing NYC coffee brand founded in the summer of 2020, looks to be opening an outpost at 36 Third Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

The address just showed up on a Google Map of locations for Blank Street. (Thanks, Upper West Sider, for pointing this out!)

Here's more about the company via a Grub Street profile from August:

Blank Street has managed to underprice the competition. A cappuccino costs $5 at Blue Bottle, $4.15 at Starbucks, and $3.90 at Dunkin' Donuts. At Blank Street, it's $3.50. To achieve this, [founders Vinay Menda and Issam Freiha] have had to fundamentally rethink what customers like them really want from a coffee experience today, and what that might mean for the future of the beverage in New York City. 

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Blank Street is not just the way that the founders have fastidiously optimized their own operation but also the vision that Menda and Freiha have to update the thousands of coffee carts already doing business on city streets.

The two plan to have 100 locations operational by the end of 2022. 

Blank Street takes over space last leased by Frisson Espresso, which closed in September 2019 after 20 months in business.

This seems like goldmine territory for coffee given the proximity to college students (NYU and Cooper Union have dorms nearby). There is also plenty of competition, including the Bean across Third Avenue. Plus, the storefront-obscuring sidewalk bridge surrounding the residential building (The St. Mark at 115 E. Ninth St.) has been up for five-plus years.

Photo yesterday by Steven!

Sun meets the sidewalk again along this stretch of 2nd Avenue

Workers removed the sidewalk bridge from outside 111 Second Ave. here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street on Monday... re-introducing sunlight and the storefronts (New Yorkers Foodmarket and Le Fournil Bakery) to this west side of the Avenue. 

And you can get the full view of Le Fournil's newish sign, which debuted back in the summer...

The sidewalk bridge had been in place since the bakery opened in December 2019. (The sidewalk bridge went up in the fall of 2019 for exterior work at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.)

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Reader report: new laundromat washed up before it opens?

We've been meaning to note that a laundromat is opening at 60 Avenue B between Fourth Street and Fifth Street... previously site of a laundromat. 

An EVG reader (who shared both of these pics) points out a 14-day rent demand on the gate...

Per the document, the total rent due is $9,510.44 (the monthly rent is $4k). Hopefully, the owners can get this sorted out to open.

Convincted felon Steve Croman is the landlord of the building.

When life gives you a bulky sidewalk bridge, play tetherball

As seen today on the Urban Umbrella scaffolding around Cooper Union's Foundation Building ... thanks to Goggla for the photo! 

(And the sidewalk bridge is NOT being removed ... at least not now...)