A lunar landscape

A shot of last night's waning gibbous Moon with 95 percent illumination as seen from the East Village (via telescope)... Photo by Grant Shaffer

Saturday's parting (snow) shot

Photo from Tompkins Square Park today via Derek Berg...

EV Grieve Etc.: 'F*@#d in the East Village' takes the stage; Katinka retains its charm

[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Teen arrested after stabbing sister, mother in the Riis Houses on Avenue D (Daily News)

Lower East Side Tenement Museum president announces retirement (The Lo-Down)

Two-person comedic play "F*@#d in the East Village" on stage through Tuesday at The Wild Project on Third Street (Official site)

An online retrospective on Bullet Space: "An Art Squat in the 1980s and 1990s" (Gallery98)

An appreciation of the colorful shop Katinka on East Ninth Street (Off the Grid)

East Village-based artist designed a lapel pin and is donating 20 percent of proceeds directly to the Women's March on NYC (The Red Pantsuit Pin)

Some East Village hawk visitors (Laura Goggin Photographer)

This weekend: Four-part series of short films inspired by New York’s Downtown gallery culture (Anthology Film Archives)

The "ambitious Vietnamese cooking" at newcomer Hà Nội House on St. Mark's Place (Grub Street ... previously)

A robbery at the TD Bank on 1st Street (B+B)

City finally ready to move forward with Package 4 of the East River Esplanade (BoweryBoogie)

A cat hospital on the LES in the 1870s (Ephemeral New York)

A last meal at Le Train Bleu, the quasi-hidden restaurant atop Bloomingdale's (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

...and in local squirrel news...

@evgrieve how could I forget Plastic Bag Squirrel today at union square? @thevulgarera pic.twitter.com/mSMFO1kj3m

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) January 14, 2017

50 Avenue A is no longer a Citibank branch

About 20 minutes after the Citibank branch shut down operations yesterday at 50 Avenue A, workers began removing the signage here between Third Street and Fourth Street...

Workers continued to haul out the remains of the bank branch today... while telling customers that they need to go to the Seward Park branch on Grand Street for banking business...



There is also a Citibank ATM inside the 7-Eleven on Avenue A at 11th Street (and a branch on First Avenue in Stuy Town)...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Citibank branch on Avenue A is closing

Wake up and smell the... oh

Good Saturday morning from 14th Street and First Avenue...

Hitting that perfect Beat

According to published reports today, Larry Steinbachek, keyboardist with the pioneering synth-pop trio Bronski Beat, has died of cancer. He was 56.

The UK band's debut record, the Age of Consent, holds up quite well today. Two singles from that release hit the top 10 in the U.K., "helping to bring LGBT themes to mainstream attention," as NME noted.

The above video is for "Smalltown Boy."

Meeting on Jan. 17 for shareholders living in HDFC buildings

Via the EVG inbox...

We want local HDFC folks to be fully informed about what is happening with the NYC Housing Preservation and Development and their proposed new Regulatory Agreement for ALL HDFC buildings citywide. Now is the time to get involved.

As the flyer shows, the meeting is Tuesday night at 6:30, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Find more information at the the HDFC Coalition website here.

Citibank branch closes today on Avenue A

Back on Oct. 12, we shared the news that the Citibank branch at 50 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street was closing in January.

And today is closure day — 3 p.m. to be exact.

The Citibank signage directs patrons to use the branch on Grand Street in Seward Park moving forward.

There has been an E.A.B. branch here since at least the early 1990s (if anyone can recall for sure). Citibank bought E.A.B. in 2001.

I asked a Citibank customer service rep here back in December about the closure. He said he didn't know anything — he was filling in from another branch — other that that the bank decided not to renew the lease upon the completion of its terms.

While we were talking, a woman who had been patiently waiting in a short line asked the teller if they had any 2017 calendars. The teller apologized and said that they didn't have any calendars. The customer said that she would return the next day to see if any calendars may have arrived. Meanwhile, a man — a regular on Avenue A and in Tompkins Square Park — sat sleeping in one of the chairs in the waiting area.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Citibank branch on Avenue A is closing

East Village groups to Mayor de Blasio: Jared Kushner’s actions are not those of someone who 'cares deeply about NYC'

On Monday, President-elect Trump officially named his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior White House adviser. Later that day, Mayor de Blasio praised Kushner during an unrelated press conference.

"About the person of Jared Kushner — I respect him a lot," de Blasio, who has opposed Trump, told reporters, as reported by Politico. "He's certainly someone I’ve been talking to over these last weeks. He's someone I intend to stay in touch with on behalf of the people of New York City. He's someone who really cares about New York City and is someone that would be very helpful to us. So I’m certainly pleased he’ll be in that role.

"And I can say clearly compared to many other people who've been named to other positions, I find him to be a lot more reasonable and a lot more moderate."

The mayor's praise and endorsement drew a response from two East Village-based community groups. Here's s a copy of the statement signed by Steve Herrick, executive director of the Cooper Square Committee, and Risa Shoup, executive director of Fourth Arts Block released yesterday:

Mayor de Blasio seems hopeful that his friendly relationship with Jared Kushner may be of some benefit to New York City, but our community has not benefited at all from Kushner’s ownership of close to forty buildings in the East Village.

Kushner has brought nothing but unaffordable, luxury housing to this community and to NYC at large. While we are in the grips of an intense housing crisis, and homeless rates are at an all-time high & virtually every regulated tenant in the city is facing harassment, Kushner has converted scores of affordable rent regulated apartments into luxury housing that rent for $3,000-$5,000 per month. In doing so, Kushner has faced allegations of harassment and lack of essential services repeatedly. Numerous articles have chronicled Kushner’s bad-acting over his four years of ownership here in East Village.

We say to the Mayor that Jared Kushner’s actions are not those of somebody who “cares deeply about New York City.” We say that Kushner’s actions have contributed greatly to the loss of affordable housing. Furthermore, if the Mayor stands by his words and thinks Jared Kushner is “reasonable and moderate,” we suggest the Mayor come meet with Kushner tenants in the East Village to hear what they’ve been through under his ownership.

There haven't been any shortage of tenant horror stories since Kushner started buying up properties here in 2013.

The Village Voice spoke with some of those tenants for a piece titled "Jared Kushner's East Village Tenants 'Horrified' Their Landlord Will Be Working in the White House."

Per the article:

"Trump's appointment of Kushner is in keeping with his cabinet selections of amoral billionaire crooks, liars, and thieves," says another East Village rent-stabilized tenant, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. "This guy's company preys on the feeble and infirm, lies, charges illegal late fees, puts tenants at risk in myriad ways, whose overall message to tenants is a shrug and a 'you get what pay for' re: heat, gas, hot water, modern plumbing, and electricity."

"We felt the complete lack of empathy and compassion from our landlord," she adds. "The whole country’s going to experience what we’ve been going through."

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Jared Kushner buys $130 million portfolio of East Village rental buildings

Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

More about Jared Kushner's East Village buying spree

Soon, we will all be writing our rent checks to Jared Kushner

Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment

Jared Kushner's residents at 118 E. 4th St. would like gas for cooking and some heat

Jared Kushner's East Village tenants wish he'd resolve issues closer to home

Reader report: Concern over lax stray voltage warnings on East Village streets

An EVG reader shared these three photos from several side streets...

Per the reader: "One of these pictures represents a tow zone. The other two represent a Con Ed shock warning that could electrocute you, your child or your dog. Can you tell the difference?"


[4th Street east of Avenue B]


[5th Street between A and B]


[2nd Street east of Avenue B]

Back to the reader:

"Minimal snow fall each winter brings multiple shock warnings to the East Village yet Con Ed refuses to adequately warn the public despite numerous requests, protests, City Council hearings, injuries, deaths and lawsuits.

"The problem is that no one walking up and down the block (or in and out of those buildings) with their kids or dogs has any idea that they are walking into an electrical hazard that could shock or kill them. All they see is the same caution tape used to signal wet paint or parking restrictions."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Beware of 'stray voltage' here on Avenue A and East 2nd Street

Resident shocked about Con Ed's nonchalance over stray voltage

A new community arts and performance venue on 8th Street and Avenue B

Starting in early December, the former yoga studio in the basement of 295 E. Eighth St. (this building) at Avenue B was transformed into Planeta Space.

Per their website, Planeta Space "is a community arts and performance venue focused on multidisciplinary collaboration within the fields of digital media, virtual reality, architecture, and music."

The space is part of Planeta, a research-and-development studio that works on applications for mobile devices and virtual reality.

This weekend, Planeta is hosting an exhibition of young Nicaraguan artists (Saturday at 6 p.m.) and a "KID'S Disco (Sunday at 4).

Check out Planeta's Facebook page for more upcoming events.

Beyond Vape latest shop to depart St. Mark's Place

The sale continues at Beyond Vape, the upper-level shop closing at the end of the month at 19-23 St. Mark's Place...





I do not know why this store is closing, whether it's an unmanageable rent increase or ongoing e-cigarette competition on the block. (Or perhaps the new FDA regulations enacted last spring have made an impact.)

Beyond Vape opened here in late 2013. At that time, it was the growing chain's first East Coast outpost. Today, there are eight other NYC locations of Beyond Vape.

Grand Sichuan closed next door back in the fall. Other more recent closures on this block include Friterie Belgian Fries and Lab -320°.

New broker for former 7-Eleven space on St. Mark's Place

The 7-Eleven at 37 St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue closed at the end of November 2013. And the storefront has been empty ever since... there's now a new broker for the retail space. (The listing isn't online just yet at Walter-Samuels.)

A few of the storefronts here in the corner building have sat empty since late 2011. (RIP Timi's Gelateria Classica™.)

However, there will be a new tenant soon enough next to the former 7-Eleven with the arrival of 98 Favor Taste, which will specialize in traditional Korean-style barbecue and Chinese hot pot meals

It would have been a good day for some football, except for 1 small detail

Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Bobby Williams...