Exchange Alley latest restaurant to give 424 E. Ninth St. a go

[Image via Gothamist]

In the past few years, 424 E. Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue has proven to be tough sell for restaurants, where we've seen Olivia, Sintir and Zi' Pep close in fairly quick succession ...

The New Orleans-themed Exchange Alley will give it a go starting tonight ... chef Paul Gerard, a Brooklyn native who spent his salad days in New Orleans, has spent time at Sweetwater in Williamsburg ... and more recently at Soho House and the Soho Grand Hotel... His partner is Billy Gilroy, founder of Employees Only, the "it-speakeasy," according to one account of the place... You can read more about Exchange Alley at Grub Street ... Gothamist ... and Vogue ... their menu is here.

Busy day today in Tompkins Square Park

Busy day, as these photos from Bobby Williams show... there was live music... as well as the Prayer Station via the Sacred Life Ministries ...

There was a video/commercial shoot featuring actor Dean Winters from "30 Rock" and "Rescue Me" ... (Was this for The Heroes Project?)

...and a traveler/crusty needed some medical attention...

DOH temporarily closes Plump Dumpling on Second Avenue

[EVG reader AC]

The DOH apparently paid a visit today here on Second Avenue at 11th Street... inspectors haven't posted the report online just yet... we'll check back later...

St. Mark's Bookshop hits crowdfunding goal with several days to spare

Following up on our earlier post today ... from the EV Grieve inbox...

ST. MARK’S BOOKSHOP RAISES $23,000 (AND COUNTING) ON LUCKY ANT

Two weeks ago Lucky Ant set out to help embattled St. Mark’s Bookshop finally make a real push towards financial sustainability. The goal was to raise at least $23,000 to help toward the cost of moving to a smaller store and develop the online presence needed to compete.

What happened?
With a few days to spare, St. Mark’s Bookshop surpassed their fundraising goal. They currently stand at $24,560 from 405 customers. The most popular pledge was the $100 and most of the support came locally (76% from New York). We did see support from all over the world including pledges from Japan, Australia, France and 7 other countries.

What’s next?
The bookshop raised the minimum they need to get the ball rolling on their transformation. The full cost of the move could cost up to $100,000 and we are keeping the pledging open until the deadline this Friday night at 11:59. We hope to continue to see pledges coming in and to raise the maximum we can.

What this means:
The rewards were structured so that pledgers were not only pledging their financial support today, but will receive discounts for the year to come and we hope that this will encourage a surge in sales for the bookshop.

In the grander scheme of things this is the first time the community has put their money where their mouths are. After pledging to support the bookshop, through Lucky Ant, the community has proven that it will not stand idly and watch neighborhood institutions fail. This is a victory for bookshops, but also for small business everywhere.

The calm before the swim

At the Dry Dock Playground on East 10th Street and Avenue D just now... the pool is open 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. (through Labor Day), with a daily break for cleaning between 3-4 p.m.

Photo by Shawn Chittle.

Report: Dog shot by NYPD in 'stable condition'

There has been some speculation about the condition of the pit bull mix that the NYPD shot yesterday afternoon on East 14th Street and Second Avenue. Early media reports said that the dog was dead ... the Daily News later reported that the dog, Star, was alive and in an East Harlem animal shelter.

Serena Soloman at DNAinfo got confirmation this afternoon that the dog is alive. Per her story:

"The dog is being provided medical care by Animal Care & Control of NYC and is in a stable condition at this time," said Richard Gentles, a press representative for ACC, which contracts with the city to rescue and care for homeless and abandoned pets.

No word just yet on the condition of the dog's unnamed owner, who reportedly was homeless and suffered from epilepsy.

Meanwhile, Gothamist hears from an NYPD spokesperson who confirmed that officers discharged pepper spray on the dog before shooting it. Per Gothamist:

"Pepper spray in no way would ever be effective in subduing a dog," says Doug Halsey, the director of Ready For Rescue, a non-profit animal rescue group. "I only see this as heightening the animal's aggression. This was an ignorant and irresponsible approach on these officers' part."

Witnesses have said that the dog was protecting his owner, who may have been unconscious at the time of the police response.

Previously.

[Image by @robbyohara]

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Looking at the ruins of 185-191 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

A brownstone is neutered on East 12th Street (Off the Grid)

An update on the new Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) (The Villager)

Take a subway ride from Union Square to Coney Island in 1987 (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

More about the Ruff Club (for dogs) opening at 34 Avenue A (DNAinfo)

More on the 7-Eleven drama at Seward Park (The Lo-Down)

New Yorkers becoming heavier (Gothamist)

Fantastic photo of Debbie Harry in front of CBGB (Flaming Pablum)

Noted: Bourgeois Pig now selling wine spritzers on tap (Grub Street)

Maserati owner leaves car idling, unattended in Times Square. Guess what happens next? (Runnin' Scared)

WPIX was the lone media outlet outside 116 Avenue C this morning... where a woman was violently robbed last Saturday... here is the WPIX report.

[Photo by Matt LES_Miserable]

And this morning, Chico started work on a new mural in the backyard space at Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A at East 10th Street...

[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

[Updated] Reader report: Fares Deli reopening on Avenue A

Last month, the State seized Fares Deli on Avenue A near St. Mark's Place for "non payment of taxes."

This morning, EVG reader mdmn walked by and spotted workers restocking and repacking the shelves. A man who seemed to be in charge Longtime owner-operator Tony (Abdul), pictured here with his back to the camera, said that the store was reopening...

Wall Street Journal investigates St. Mark's Place Supreme Slice 'experiment;' wither $1 pizza?

The Wall Street Journal today looks at the new $1.50 SUPREME Slice that 2 Bros. Plus is selling at 36 St. Mark's Place ... a few storefronts away from where they sell the $1 slice...

To the article!

According to Eli Halali, who owns the 2 Bros. Pizza chain with his brother, the 50% price hike is an experiment to gauge customer reaction to a larger and higher-quality slice.

And!

If successful, Mr. Halali said the chain would consider adding the Supreme Slice at some of its other locations, in addition to keeping the $1 slice. He stressed that the $1 slice was in no way in jeopardy.

And!

The Supreme Slice is cut from a 22-inch pie, versus the normal 18 inches. The sauce is different, made with plum Italian tomatoes; and the baking process is longer and more involved, said Mr. Halali.

And how does that Supreme Slice taste compared with the non-supreme slice? Said one customer, No difference. "I don't expect great taste for $1 and I don't expect better taste for $1.50."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Slice shockers: 2 Bros. blows up the $1 pizza model

Reader report: Animal Crackers has closed

A reader walked by the family-run pet store on Second Street between First Avenue and Avenue A and was surprised to find it empty this morning ... the reader recalls seeing it open as recently as last week... (In February 2011, the NYPD closed the store for receiving stolen property.)

Any patrons of the store know what happened ...?

By my count, this makes the fourth pet store to close in the East Village in the past year or so...

Brick Lane Curry House still planning Second Avenue expansion

Back in April 2011, Steve Cuozzo at the Post reported that reps for Brick Lane Curry House had signed a lease for a 7,000-square-feet, three-level outpost on Second Avenue in the East Village...

Turned out that the space was for 99 Second Ave., most recently home to Sea Salt, the upscale fish eatery that closed in early 2008 after a seven-month stint...

[2011]

Anyway, we bring this up because... have you seen the shape of No. 99 these days...? Been awfully quiet there... and collecting an array of tags, flyers and what not...

However, Vivek at Brick Lane told us that they will be moving here... they're currently focusing on the new location on Third Avenue and East 93rd Street... which is expected to open in three weeks...

"Once that is done, we will focus on 99 Second Ave."

10 reasons to help St Mark's Bookshop survive

Writer-small press blogger Karen Lillis (featured here on EVG in 2009) offers 10 reasons why people should consider supporting the St Mark's Bookshop fundraiser ... as the store asks for help moving to a less-expensive space in the neighborhood.

The store's fundraising campaign at Lucky Ant wraps up this week ... and they are roughly $2,500 short of their $23,000 goal as of this morning.

A brief excerpt...

2. St. Mark's Bookshop is not just a place that sells (and curates) culture and history. St. Mark's Bookshop IS living history.

As a bookstore, St. Mark's holds an institutional memory of major moments in alternative publishing history. The owners (and some longtime employees) both worked at 8th Street Books, which was the New York bookstore the Beats frequented and the New York bookstore that embraced the "paperback revolution." Both owners worked also at East Side Books, an East Village bookstore which was known as a place to find underground comics, mimeographed novels, and local political pamphlets — at a time when these were a major currency of the cultural revolutions and the avant garde. St. Mark's opened in the late '70s, making a place for artistic expressions to live and breathe alongside new areas of inquiry we take for granted today, such as sections with labels like "Vietnam Studies" or "Lesbian and Gay Studies."

You can find the post by Lillis, a former St Mark's Bookshop employee,  here.

118-120 E. Fourth St. now (slightly) less expensive to buy

Back in May, a pair of tenements at 118-120 E. Fourth St. owned/managed by Magnum Management, in partnership with Meadow Partners, hit the market for $25 million.

Today, the buildings will cost you a little less ... as the listing at Massey Knakal shows a $1.5 million price drop....

According to public records, 118 East 4th LLC bought 118 E. Fourth St. in November 2010 for $4.025 million; 120-122 East 4th, LLC bought 120-122 E. Fourth St. on the same date for $7,475 million... good for $11.5 million total.

Ducks Eatery now open in former Resto Leon space on East 12th Street

You may have noticed the renovation going on at the former Resto Leon space on East 12th Street just west of First Avenue...

UrbanDaddy previewed the new restaurant taking over the location, a BBQ place called Ducks Eatery... which has expanded from its origins as the Ping pong club SPiN's in-house eatery on East 23rd Street.

Menu items include apricot-glazed brisket that has been slow-cooked for 15 hours... beef jerky cured in squid ink ... and trail mix with bacon and Cocoa Krispies. After previews the last few nights, UrbanDaddy says that the place opens tonight.