Monday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy

The area behind the office/fieldhouse is locked up once again in Tompkins Square Park ... three days after it was unlocked for the first time since Nov. 8. 

Depending on who you ask, the area is/was closed because of drug activity or a broken pipe.

Hello again: Sidewalk on the NW corner of 2nd Avenue and 9th Street returns to view

The longstanding sidewalk bridge is coming down today on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street — aka 145 Second Ave. (thanks to Steven for the photos)...

... which has to make management at Whiskers at 235 E. Ninth St. happy...

The sidewalk bridge and scaffolding had been up since May 2018. 

Hopefully, this is for keeps now. Workers removed the sidewalk bridge in April 2021 ... only to return one week later. 

The corner space (Starbucks until April 2019) is being renovated for a fast-casual restaurant called Balkan Streat.

Dec. 31 is the last day for East Village mainstay Dallas BBQ

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Dallas BBQ, which has anchored the NE corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place since the early 1980s, is closing after service on Dec. 31, staff confirmed to EVG contributor Stacie Joy.

News of a closure had been expected since an applicant for a new bar-restaurant appeared before Community Board 3 in June. Hospitality vet Curt Huegel, whose portfolio includes concepts such as Bill's Townhouse, Campagnola and Printers Alley, received approval for the unnamed establishment. There was some debate over closing time, and the committee wouldn't approve a 4 a.m. close. We reached out to Huegel to see if he was still taking the prime corner space.

According to staff, the building's landlord would not renew the chainlet's lease and opted to rent the space to another business.

The EV Dallas BBQ staff has been offered jobs at other locations, including one near JFK in Jamaica, Queens, and a new one set to open in New Jersey. 

The family-owned Dallas BBQ has a dozen locations in the metropolitan area. The original Dallas BBQ opened on the Upper West Side in 1978, and the EV location debuted in the 1980s (1984?). They have a solid following who enjoy the enormous platters of reasonably priced food (onion loaf!) and supertanker-sized frozen drinks. 

There were rumors in 2018 that this outpost would relocate, but management decided to stay put after protests from regulars.

The Dallas BBQ on University Place and Eighth Street shuttered in 2007... the original UWS outpost closed in December 2014 — both the result of rent hikes.  

First Avenue Laundry Center is closed for now

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The First Avenue Laundry Center is now closed at 33 First Ave. at Second Street.

As previously reported, the longtime laundromat was to shut down for renovations this fall. 

Anne DeVita, the 88-year-old manager who has worked here for 40 years, confirmed the closure. (There aren't any signs indicating any type of closure — temporary or permanent.)

Anne told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that she doesn't know what is happening with the space, just that the owners told her not to come in right now. 

Inside the laundromat, the light is on but there isn't any evidence of work taking place. 

There has been speculation that this corner is ripe for development... with the long-vacant single-level storefront next door...

Public records list R.M.H. Estates as the landlord of both properties ... with ownership of No. 33 and 35 dating to 1984... they also own 37 First Ave., home of the New Double Dragon...

... which, BTW, has a great sign...

... and an unfussy interior...

We're hopeful that First Avenue Laundry Center will reopen ... and Anne will have her seat back inside the front door. (Photo below from September by Stacie Joy.)

1st Avenue old-timer Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant is being replaced by — obviously — a smoke shop

There's a new era for 93 First Ave. just south of Sixth Street. 

A smoke shop is taking the storefront on the lower level, space that Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant had from 1978 to late this past spring. (We first reported on the closing here.) 

Smokers Basement (please leave your thoughts on apostrophes in the comments) is the latest entrant in an already-crowded smoke-related market. (Exotic snacks too, maybe?) It appears Smokers will only be leasing the spot on the left.

For decades, hosts from the three restaurants at the address — Royal Bangladesh, Milon and Panna II — theatrically tried to get passersby to eat in their establishment, insisting that their food is superior. 

Milon closed at the end of 2020. While the sign remains, Panna II serves from both upper-level dining rooms (adding more to the urban legend that the three restaurants shared a kitchen!). 

Given how quickly the tacky-looking smoke shops are opening, it wouldn't be inconceivable to have three weed-related businesses here shortly... with bud hosts out front saying that they have the best CBD flower.

Thanks to the EVG reader for this tip!

Sunday's parting shot

The annual Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lighting is NEXT Sunday, Dec. 11, from 4-5 p.m. (Details here.) 

This is a photo of how the tree looks tonight (Dec. 4)... hopefully the Parks Department will have the wiring/lighting figured out by then...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo on Second Avenue by Derek Berg)...

• Brooke Smith revisits the neighborhood's 1980s hardcore scene with 'Sunday Matinee' (Tuesday) 

• Employee from Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe killed after an early morning hit and run on Third Avenue (Sunday) 

• Part-time faculty at the New School reject university's latest contract offer (Friday) 

• Lower East Side mainstay El Sombrero has closed (Wedensday) 

• 'Tis the season for the 3rd & B'zaar Holiday Market (Thursday) 

• Why the area behind the fieldhouse in Tompkins Square Park has been locked (Monday) ... The area behind the Tompkins Square Park fieldhouse is back open to the public (Friday) 

• Waffles & Dinges and Bobwhite Counter among the vendors at the incoming Zero Irving food hall (Wednesday) 

• Baker Falls will bring together a cafe, bar and the Knitting Factory at the former Pyramid Club on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Construction watch: 699 E. 6th St. (Thursday) 

• On the topic of long-vacant lots (Thursday) 

• A new Aura for 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• About the ongoing removal of the former Kindred curbside dining structure (Monday) 

• The new recreation space at Pier 42 gets its official welcome (Friday) 

• Today in tight, dangerous turns (Monday) 

• Tree down on 3rd Street (Wednesday) 

• Holy smokes! 2 more unlicensed weed shops pop up in the East Village (Friday)

... and as seen at the entrance to Anna Delvey's East Village building (the location is not a secret — it has been featured in multiple interviews) ... photo by Steven...

-----

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

Do you have what it takes to be NYC's Director of Rodent Mitigation?

ICYMI. This was well-covered this past week (spotted first on Gothamist) ... sharing nonetheless since it involves a topic near and dear to all: RATS. 😍 

NYC is hiring a director of rodent mitigation. (Listing here.) 

Cutting-and-pasting from the job description: 

Do you have what it takes to do the impossible? A virulent vehemence for vermin? A background in urban planning, project management, or government? And most importantly, the drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy – New York City’s relentless rat population? If so, your dream job awaits: New York's Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation. 

The Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation is a high-visibility, high-impact leadership role with one of the most important tasks in city government — keeping the city's rats in check and on notice. Despite their successful public engagement strategy and cheeky social media presence, rats are not our friends — they are enemies that must be vanquished by the combined forces of our city government. Rodents spread disease, damage homes and wiring, and even attempt to control the movements of kitchen staffers in an effort to take over human jobs. Cunning, voracious, and prolific, New York City's rats are legendary for their survival skills, but they don’t run this city — we do. 

Reporting to the Deputy Mayor for Operations and in the Mayor’s Office at City Hall, the Citywide Director of Rat Mitigation is a 24/7 job requiring stamina and stagecraft. The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter. 

Salary range: $120,000 to $170,000. 

Sharpen up those résumés and LinkedIn profiles! 

Oh, and as Gothamist pointed out, this is not a NEW role necessarily: As deputy mayor, Joseph Lhota was designated rat czar in the Giuliani administration. 

Top photo on Avenue A from December 2021 by Derek Berg. Perhaps the creator of that sculpture has ideas for this job!

A big birthday card for Ray

Ahead of Ray's 90th birthday next month, EV-based artist Lola Sáenz created a card for the longtime proprietor of Ray's Candy Store. 

She also collected some signatures from his many fans... there's a little room left on the card, which is now up at the shop, 113 Avenue A (at Seventh Street)...

Meanwhile, Ray's crowdfunding campaign (first reported here) has passed the $51,000 mark!

An open house at the George Jackson Academy on St. Mark's Place

Sharing some info from the George Jackson Academy, 104 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The middle school for boys is hosting an in-person open house on Wednesday from 5:30-7 p.m. for the fall 2023 academic year. 

You can find a video about the George Jackson Academy here.

EVG Etc.: Remembering Aline Kominsky-Crumb; artists raising money for Ukraine

Some recent headlines from other sources include...

• Remembering Aline Kominsky-Crumb (The New Yorker ... The Associated Press ... Artforum) 

• The Times talked with several men who said they were drugged at gay bars in the city, including the Boiler Room on Fourth Street; the NYPD is now investigating two recent deaths as homicides (The New York Times) 

• Mayor Adams faces backlash for move to involuntarily hospitalize unhoused people (NPR) ... What forced hospitalization feels like in New York City (Gothamist) 

• This pop-up gallery on 13th Street features the work of Ukrainian artists to help raise money to aid the resistance against the Russian invasion (ABC 7) 

• Pinky's Space on First Street has filed paperwork with intent to sue the city after the removal of its sidewalk structure (Eater ... previously on EVG) 

• The MTA says it needs new sources of income (The City) 

• A recap of the community meeting in Tompkins Square Park on Nov. 17 (The Village Sun... previously on EVG) 

• The Wafra Group sold The Nathaniel at 138 E. 12th St. and Third Avenue to the Westover Companies for $56.8 million, roughly 42 percent less than the $98.3 million it paid for the luxury rental building in 2015 (The Real Deal) 

• Screenings in the "Four Weeks of Christmas" series include "Gremlins" and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Village East by Angelika) 

• The Klezmatics Hanukkah Show is Dec. 11 at Drom on Avenue A (Official site) 

• How LES mainstay Economy Candy keeps up with consumer trends (Retail TouchPoint)

... and happening today...

This Saturday December 3, 2022 from 10AM-4PM at Gethsemane Garden Baptist Church 223 East 7 Street New York, NY 10009 we will be giving cash for guns at our Gun Buy Back. No questions asked. No current or retired law enforcement. Let’s come together as a community. pic.twitter.com/ZbE9qDOFnF

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) November 29, 2022

Noted

A resident of 319 E. Ninth St. in the East Village shares this photo of a letter... intended for a resident of 319 E. Ninth St. — in Duluth, Minn. ... and mailed from Duluth, Minn.