Someone/Something broke a big window at the 1st Avenue McDonald's

From last night. Over here on First Avenue at the McDonald's next to the Subway… the big window is smashed. Seems pretty recent. (Pretty sure we walked by here Wednesday night and didn't see a smashed window.)

Anyway, take a look at the hole...



Oh wait.





Seems almost too perfect too be manmade. So we're going with alien. Like, an alien laser. Anyone else care to guess what happened here?

C'mon, you guys. This is important.

The Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo is (almost) alive and well on East Houston

Things had been grim (grim I tell you!) the last two weeks here in the Shoppes at Red Square on East Houston between Avenue A and Avenue B … the Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo had been "closed for renovations," looking suspiciously on the gutted side.

But!

On Wednesday night, an EVG reader got a look inside, and reported actual renovations taking place… and last night? New bright signage action.



The place looks close to being operational again. So put away those teary farewell signs!

Tomorrow: The 9th annual d.b.a. holiday fair

Via the EVG inbox...

At Jerry's Newsstand today

East Village resident Kelly King and a handful of other folks handed out flyers today outside Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place… they were hoping to raise awareness about the stand that Jerry Delakas has operated since 1987. (The Department of Consumer Affairs shuttered the stand for "operating illegally" following an ongoing legal battle. He has a little more than a week to appeal the ruling that he fork over $37,000 or vacate.)

Delakas was there as well, and spoke to a reporter from the Daily News, who stayed on the scene a good hour… East Village-based photographer Michael Paul shared these photos...





There was also a reporter there from Fox 5, though she was filming a segment about Starbucks.

Get Crafty tomorrow at The Children's Workshop School

From the EVG inbox...



The Children's Workshop School is at 610 E. 12th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. The event is during school hours in the building's front lobby.

[Updated] Report: LIRR will ban booze during SantaCon, though not before it

The Long Island Rail Road has instituted a 24-hour booze ban from noon Saturday through noon Sunday that overlaps with SantaCon, DNAinfo reports.

"We do it based on experience, based on when we've had difficulties….when we're going to be inundated with a lot of people under 21, or maybe just over 21, where they've created problems in the past," LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena told DNAinfo.

Of course, this year, SantaCon starts at 10 a.m. in Tompkins Square Park... meaning SantaConners arriving via LIRR in the early morning won't be impacted by the ban. So there can be booze business as usual. No word about New Jersey Transit or Metro North.

Metro North and New Jersey Transit have also issued a temporary ban on alcohol this weekend, per Business Insider.

MTA police officers will be patrolling Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and other stations, it said. They will confiscate illegal liquor, and those caught drinking can face fines up to $50 or 30 days imprisonment.

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is celebrating its 1st anniversary, and you're invited

After a Superstorm Sandy setback… the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) officially opened at 155 Avenue C on Dec. 8, 2012. And in the past year, MoRUS has hosted an array of compelling events, including the Direct Action Fashion Show, the Save Charas Community Center Pop-Up Exhibit and the First Annual MoRUS Film Fest, among many other workshops and readings.

Tomorrow night, MoRUS commemorates its first year. Here are details about the event:

To celebrate a year of achievement and to set the stage for the 2014 slate, the nonprofit, all volunteer-run and staffed history museum will host its 1st Birthday Bash & Benefit on Friday at MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets, 7-11 pm. (Admission: $8)

To kick-off the evening, Brooklyn Culture Jammers’ Daniel Kinch will perform an excerpt from his play "A CLOWN, A HAMMER, A BOMB, AND GOD," which is based on the true story of Father Carl Kabat who dressed in a clown suit, broke into a Minuteman III Missile base in North Dakota and disabled a missile by hammering the silo door shut. There's also live music from cowpunk band Effing Al Fresco as well as an appearance by Reverend Billy.

Further into the evening will be a panel discussion, WE KNOW SQUAT! AN ORAL HISTORY SLIDESHOW featuring participants in the Lower East Side squatters’ movement such as Fly, Frank Morales and Peter Spagnuolo. A silent auction featuring the art of such neighborhood visual artists as Darryl Lavare, Harvey Wang and Eric Drooker and a raffle of goods and services donated by such retail neighbors as Two Boots Pizza, ABC Beer and Edi & The Wolf will help raise funds for the museum’s 2014 programming.

About MoRUS:
The mission of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space is to preserve history and promote scholarship of grassroots urban space activism by researching and archiving efforts to create community spaces. We will also exhibit materials that document these actions, to educate people on the political implications of reclaimed space. MoRUS is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization.

Find more information on the MoRUS website and Facebook page.

East Village resident holding rally this morning in support of Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place

Late yesterday afternoon, East Village resident Kelly King put up these signs on the currently shuttered newsstand that Jerry Delakas has operated since 1987 next to the downtown 6 at Astor Place.

As we first reported on Tuesday, the Department of Consumer Affairs shuttered the stand for "operating illegally" following an ongoing legal battle. He has a little more than a week to appeal the ruling that he fork over $37,000 or vacate.

Delakas was unaware that the city was going to seize his stand, as Jeremiah Moss learned. As Jeremiah noted, Delakas saw the broken padlock, and initially thought that he had been robbed.

So King is taking it upon herself to hold a rally this morning at 11 outside the newsstand. (She says that Delakas will be there as well.)

"He is not a fancy type to have the deep legal education to fight corruption off — he is a newsstand man. He is a villager. He is one of our own," King told me via Facebook. "I am going to stand up for him. I am going to give what I have to give."

And she hopes that some other residents will also be able to to stop by to show support for Delakas today...



EVG reader dbs shared these photos from last night...

The takedown of 100 Avenue A continues

[Bobby Williams]

Demolition work continues at 100 Avenue A… workers are gutting the former theater/grocery to make way for Ben Shaoul's 7-story retail-residential complex between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.

There seems to be a lot of interest among residents in this project, given its heart-of-the-East-Village location. These aerial views via EVG reader Paul Dougherty provide a look at what's left up top…




Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Reader mailbag: Has the city cited you for having gas meters in the hallway?

A member of an East Seventh Street co-op board writes:

We got cited recently by the NYC Environmental Control Board for having some of our gas meters in the common hallways ... contrary to a code augmentation memo dating from 1975. We are trying to argue that we are grandfathered to get around the big expenses of moving meters into apartments or the basement ... we've also heard a rumor that many other buildings in the neighborhood are getting hit. This violation is currently causing us grief in renewing our insurance, and could cost us many thousands to cure, so we want to try and band together if there are others in our situation.

So… Any other co-op members have information to share? Have you been cited by the ECB? Have you successfully navigated moving the meters?

-------------

We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)

Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)

Reader mailbag: Do you have any suggestions for East Village-related holiday gifts? (22 comments)

Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo remains closed for renovations on East Houston

The Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo located in the Shoppes at Red Square on East Houston between Avenue A and Avenue B remains closed for renovations. The doughnut/ice cream dispensary has been closed since Dec. 2. (BoweryBoogie noted this on Monday.) Signs on the door point to a reopening yesterday.

However, as these photos by an EVG reader from last evening show, work remains on the space, which looks suspiciously gutted…





While it wouldn't be the first time a Dunkin' Donuts closed around here, the reader who spotted the above work yesterday noted that it looked more like an upgrade than a demolition….

Rooftop Santa baby

Avenue C and East Sixth Street via Bobby Williams...

Afternoon video break: 'Online Mating'

Hila Perry, aka "HiLa tHe KiLLa", who is behind such EVG favorites as "White Girl Wasted" and "NYU Film Rap," returns with a new video... "Online Mating," in which she teams up with Ethan Kaplan for... this.

Ev Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East 4th Street yesterday via Derek Berg]

Manhattan rents drop again, though don't get too excited (Curbed)

Watchmaker on the Bowery calls it quits after 65 years on the job (The New York Times)

The best in LES food (The Lo-Down)

Slush/snow images from Tompkins Square Park yesterday (GammaBlog)

Hookah Bar Temple of Ankh relocating to East 2nd Street (BoweryBoogie)

The "East River Bridge" (aka Williamsburg) in 1912 (Ephemeral New York)

Dinner at the Stage (Gog in NYC)

Rally against privatization at Washington Square Park (Washington Square Park blog)



The Wall Street Journal is the latest media outlet to write about Empire Biscuit (The Wall Street Journal, subscription required)

Alex gets faked out at Sounds (Flaming Pablum)

The death of a block (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

GoldieBlox vs. Beastie Boys redux (Gothamist)

...and tomorrow... via the EVG inbox...



Starts at 11 a.m. at the Third Street Music School Settlement, 235 E. 11th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...