Bar Veloce returns from pandemic hiatus

Bar Veloce reopened in recent days here at 175 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. 

The wine bar had been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Owner Frederick Twomey reportedly decided to keep all of his Bar Veloce outposts closed in the city. 

"It didn't feel right to open, even in some weird edification. My job is to bring people together," he told The Spirit back in August. 

He also updated the interiors of the bars during the closures. 

The locations here (the original circa 2000, expanded in 2011) and in Chelsea and Columbus Circle are open... with the Soho outpost returning soon. 

East Village hours: Daily from 4 p.m. to midnight, with a 1 a.m. close Friday and Saturday. (Reservations are accepted for the communal tables via email: info@barveloce.com.)

Plant-based Mexican cuisine next for 120 1st Ave.

Here's the word about the next tenant for 120 First Ave. — Raíz Modern Mexican.

This appears to be the first outpost for the restaurant. Here's more about them via a LinkedIn profile:

Plant-forward restaurant — featuring burritos, tacos, salads and bowls for health-conscious consumers, served in a ... friendly fast-casual setting. 

The @TradedNY account announced the lease signing the other day.

The last tenant here, Chef Hans Asian Kitchen, closed after just a few weeks in business.

Thanks to Steven for the photo and Upper West Sider for the tip!

Holy smokes! Another accessories store setting up shop, this time on 2nd Street

Signage is up now for Manhattan Smoke Shop here on Second Street east of First Avenue... making it the fifth or sixth like-minded store to open in the neighborhood in the past few months (here and here and here and here, for example). 

And the business is a few feet away from the Deli & Smoke Shop...

... though they distinguish themselves by offering beer and Boar's Head — and White Claw Variety Packs. 

The Manhattan Smoke Shop takes the place of a short-lived taco shop. (Or was it a hookah place?)

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included... (with a reader-submitted post-Halloween pic from 13th Street) ...

• Judge issues a temporary restraining order, halting construction at East River Park (Friday) ... The first sections of East River Park set to close today as resiliency work begins; activists arrested (Monday) 

• Election results: Rivera, Marte win local City Council races (Wednesday) 

• A look at 302 E. 2nd St., where a housing lottery is underway (Wednesday) 

• Work on green space for long-vacant site on 4th Street near the Bowery is underway (Thursday) 

• Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the eviction of the Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center (Friday) 

• This is what's next for the former Benny's Burritos space on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Ho, ho, no! SantaCon slated for Dec. 11 (Tuesday) 

• USA Super Stores debuts on Houston Street and Avenue D (Friday) 

• Halloween in the East Village (Saturday edition) ... Halloween in the East Village (Sunday edition) 

• Outside the Bored Ape Yacht Club pop up on 3rd Street (Tuesday) 

• New outpost of the Wild Son opens Tuesday on 1st Avenue (Thursday) 

• 32 Avenue C has been demolished (Tuesday) • Essex Squeeze bringing coffee, juices and smoothies to 5th Street (Monday) 

• SMØR reopens today after a brief renovation (Saturday) 

• Jiang's Kitchen signage-canopy combo arrives on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• Blank Street is now open at 36 3rd Ave. (Monday)

• Oh-K Dog now officially coming soon on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• The former Central Bar being converted to office use on 9th Street (Wednesday) 

• A very quick pivot for Chichen Itzá, now going as Tompkins Village Cafe on 10th Street (Thursday) 

• Noho Food Market hangs the signage on the Bowery (Monday)

... Over at 50 Avenue B, where the Portuguese cafe Joey Bats is opening soon, there's a new mural featuring Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo...

Paulie Nassar created the mural... (thanks to Stacie Joy for the pics!)

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

RIP Gary Auslander

Gary Auslander, a local hospitality veteran and longtime resident of First Street, died on Oct. 31. According to a Facebook post by his son Isaac, Auslander suffered a heart attack. 

His friends and loved ones are gathering this evening at 6 at the Lazy Llama Coffee Bar, 72 E. First St., west of First Avenue, to celebrate his life and share stories. 

Auslander's projects included Cajun favorite Baby Jake's on First Avenue and Baby Jupiter on Orchard Street.

He is survived by his wife Susan and sons Jake, Issac and Eli. 

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H/T Dave on 7th; Baby Jake's photo from 1997 by Dave Buchwald.

Saturday's parting shot

A scene from the annual Dias de Los Muertos at Campos Community Garden on 12th Street today... thanks to Stacie Joy for the photo...

On Astor Place, 'The Way Home' aims to educate New Yorkers about the city's housing crisis

"The Way Home," an interactive self-guided exhibition on the city's housing crisis, will be on Astor Place through this weekend. 

Here's more about it via the RXHome website:

New Yorkers will have the opportunity to walk through the maze and learn about the challenges many people experiencing homelessness face in New York City. The interactive maze will educate New Yorkers about the proven solutions the next mayoral administration can take to end and prevent homelessness in New York City. 

For New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, the city's homeless service system is at best, a maze. At worst, barriers like unnecessarily burdensome systems that determine who is deserving of rental assistance and outdated policies that prioritize emergency shelter ahead of permanent housing, keep thousands of New Yorkers, the majority of whom are Black and Latino families, in an unending cycle of homelessness and housing instability.

As CBS 2 reported:

The Department of Homeless Services says people can expect to spend 90 days to a year in a shelter while they apply for affordable housing, but city data shows the average person spends 520 days there, trying to find a home.

CBS 2 has more about the challenges of trying to navigate the shelter system in the search for permanent housing in this report from last night. 

The exhibition — open today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — has been here since Wednesday after a stop outside Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Here's a video preview...

  

SMØR reopens today after a brief renovation

SMØR, the Nordic cafe on 12th Street, is back in action today following a temporary closure for some floor work, per the door signage... 

The cafe is open Wednesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. here just west of Avenue A.

And look for some news in the days/weeks ahead about an expanded space on the block for SMØR. You can follow their Instagram account for updates.

Thanks to Steven for the photos. H/T Lola Sáenz

Friday's parting shot

Nice to see the windows again this holiday season at the 99-cent store at 73 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street... the sidewalk bridge came down here this past summer after nearly five years for the condoplex next door. 

Thanks to Goggla for the photo today!

How 'Soon' is now

 

Loveless, My Bloody Valentine's sonic masterpiece, turned 30 yesterday. (Happy anniversary!) 

So enjoy the video for the album's last track — "Soon." 

You can read more about the record here ... and here.

Judge issues temporary restraining order, halting construction for now at East River Park

Photos Monday by Daniel Efram 

A judge has issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to East River Park Action, halting the demolition of East River Park as part of the $1.45-billion East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project.

Here's more via an email from East River Park Action last night:

Appellate court judge Judith Gische heard arguments from Arthur Schwartz and Kathryn Freed, attorneys for East River Park Action, who requested the TRO.

The City's lawyer argued that the city was only doing preparatory work, and would not impose "irreparable harm" … until Thanksgiving.

The judge decided that because park users were already excluded from the tennis courts, she would grant the TRO and cause all work to cease pending further expedited hearings on our Parkland Alienation appeal.

The City has until [noon today] to file a reply, and our attorneys have until Monday at 10 to reply to the reply. The hearing should be in the afternoon. Stay tuned!

One notable thing was that the judge did, at one point, refer to the "formidable appeal." Kudos to our pro bono attorney wizards.

Right now in East River Park work has stopped because the community has fought back pic.twitter.com/rgdScRMGNQ

— Our Park (@ERPAction) November 5, 2021

East River Park Action and opponents of this version of the reconstruction project continue to speak out, stressing there's a better path forward to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise — one that doesn't cause 1,000 mature trees to be chopped down.

"Phased work operations" began on Monday below Houston Street at the Brian Watkins Tennis Center. According to the construction notice, four tennis courts on the north side and the tennis center will remain open through the end of the 2021 permit season on Nov. 21. All tennis courts and the tennis center including restrooms will be closed until 2024 — subject to change, per the city.  

Two activists were arrested on Monday at the site for not heeding freshly posted "no trespassing" signs at the tennis courts.

Opponents of this plan were at the site all week, drawing a huge police presence on Monday...

CBS 2 and The Village Sun also have coverage.

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the eviction of the Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center

A group of community leaders, local elected officials and residents will gather tomorrow (Saturday) to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the eviction of the Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center.

We've written a lot about what has (and mostly HAS NOT) transpired here through the years here at 605 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. (The commemoration looks to be happening on the 10th Street side of the building starting at 12:30.)

Here's a recap via the office of District 2 City Councilmember Carlina Rivera:

Lower East Side elected officials, residents, and artists rally to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the eviction of Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center to call on the City to take action to immediately stop the destruction of the building.

 

For over 20 years, Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center provided arts, community and nonprofit space for the Lower East Side and greater New York City area. Mayor Rudy Giuliani auctioned the city-owned building in 1998. Developer Gregg Singer purchased the building and evicted the center on Dec. 27, 2001. 

 

Two decades later, the building remains vacant and has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent the Department of Buildings issued a Full Vacant Order in 2019 for failure to maintain the property. 

 

The owner Gregg Singer has taken no significant steps to repair the damage, stabilize the building, or restore the facade, and is currently in foreclosure by mortgagor Madison Capital Realty.

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio stated at a Town Hall on Oct. 12, 2017, that the city would take steps to reacquire the building. The administration has yet to act, despite follow-up inquiries from the community coalition and its elected officials. Community activists and elected officials alike call on the City once again to take steps to save this local treasure. 

 

The rally will kick off hours of street performances by local artists, poets and musicians that showcase our decades-long efforts to return this once-vibrant center to the community.

As previously reported, Singer 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 & Cultural 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 years, causing locals to be concerned about its crumbling façade, among other issues. 

This link features Singer's POV on what has transpired with the building.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A walk around inside the long-abandoned — and ghoulishly beautiful — P.S. 64

Photo from March by Stacie Joy