Monday, February 4, 2019

16 Handles is back in FroYo action



The 16 Handles outpost on Second Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street reopened Saturday after a two-month winter hiatus.

EVG 16 Handles Correspondent Steven passed along these photos, one of which shows the shop's new hours...



16 Handles opened on Second Avenue in 2008 (their FroYo empire has grown to include locations in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey), and has outlasted every other FroYo purveyor around. RIP, for instance, Yogurt Station ... Red Mango ... Funkiberry ... Very Berry... PinkBerry ... and any other forgotten Berries.

Bad news at Spinner's?



Spinner's short tenure at 536 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B has apparently come to an end. The quick-serve restaurant has not been open lately, and newspaper now covers the front door and window. Google lists Spinner's as permanently closed.

Spinner's, billed as a chicken boutique, opened this past Aug. 23. Two months in, they closed for a quickie revamp, and added pizza to their arsenal.

EVG commenter MrNiceGuy had this to say on our October post:

I'm rooting for this place, but it seems like they've got an uphill battle — the foot traffic on that part of 14th St isn't great, and L-train construction is non-stop across the street. But I've met the owner, he's a really nice guy and his chicken is great. If you live in the neighborhood, give them a shot! Adding pizza to the menu seems like a last-minute Hail Mary. Good luck Spinner's!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Spinner's bringing chicken and Texas BBQ to 14th Street

Sunday, February 3, 2019

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY III



Photo on 10th Street tonight by EVG regular Daniel...

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY II



The pre-Super Bowl delivery situation outside Atomic Wings on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street ... thanks to EVG reader Laura for the photo!

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY



Photo this afternoon on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg...

Week in Grieview


[Wednesday's squall from 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Brian Butterick/Hattie Hathaway (Friday)

St. Mark's is deader: St. Mark's Comics is closing after 36 years (Tuesday)

Longtime East Village residents open Foxface, now serving sandwiches at Theater 80 (Thursday)

Looks like there's a Trader Joe's coming to 432-438 E. 14th St. after all (Friday) ... Trader Joe's will end home delivery in Manhattan on March 1 (Wednesday)

A waste of space: 10th Street still waiting for the garbage trucks to move on (Thursday)

Happy No. 20 to Lavagna! (Friday)

Commodities is under new ownership on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

Ravi DeRossi plans vegan diner in former Bar Virage space (Monday)

Plywood arrives on 7th Street and 2nd Avenue; excavation expected in 2 weeks (Wednesday)

Concern again for Punjabi Grocery & Deli on 1st Street (Tuesday)

Headed south: Mr. White has apparently closed on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

La Plaza's temporary closure for new fencing postponed; farewell to the Winter Flowers (Monday)

Momentary afternoon whiteout in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

Eating in the East Village via Eater (Thursday)

Mi Casa Latina debuts on 14th Street (Monday)

Spicy Moon brings vegetarian szechuan to 6th Street (Monday)

Wara looks to open in early February on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

Former Kingsley space now for rent (Monday)

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Reactions to St. Mark's Comics closing


[Photo by Steven]

As first noted on Tuesday, St. Mark's Comics announced that it will close at the end of February after 36 years on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

"I have been working 90 hours a week for 36 years, and I no longer have the wherewithal to fight them — all of these various reasons," owner Mitch Cutler told me about all the different factors that led to his decision to close up shop. "It is challenging to have a storefront business in New York City for a number of reasons...it is challenging to keep and maintain a retail storefront and there are enough impediments now that—like I said, I'm exhausted and can't fight them anymore."

News of the closing was picked up by a variety of news sources (and thanks to Curbed and Gothamist for linking to my post!) ... there was a lot of reaction via Twitter. Here's a sampling...









And there was this from storyboard artist Sean Chen...


Meanwhile, the store is having a clearance sale, as you can see on the sign outside...


[Photo by Steven]

Grant Shaffer's NY See



Here's this week's NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood ... and NYC.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Saturday's parting shot



The sunset view downtown at 5:35 p.m. via Bobby Williams...

Today in discarded Russian VHS tapes on 2nd Avenue



Derek Berg spotted these on Second Avenue near Fifth Street ... perhaps a marketing tie-in to the new Netflix series "Russian Doll"? (No, but...)

EVG Etc.: African-American history in the East Village; an EV avenue on the Upper East Side


[Doggy bag on 7th Street earlier this week via Derek Berg]

Good Samaritan assaulted at the McDonald's on 14th Street near First Avenue (Town & Village)

Co-working network The Wing is moving its corporate headquarters to the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic building on Second Avenue between St. Mark's and Ninth Street (6sqft ... previously)

A guided tour of African-American history in the East Village (Off the Grid)

Our local City Council rep, Carlina Rivera, discusses the opposition to the new stormproofing plans for East River Park (WNYC ... previously)

Details on the NYCHA, HUD tentative deal (Curbed)

Get the lead out! Tests show lead levels 36x health standard in this Delshah Capital building on Ludlow Street (The Real Deal)

Avenue A — on the Upper East Side? (Ephemeral New York)

The Metrograph is screening Chantal Akerman's mesmerizing documentary "News From Home," featuring long takes of locations in New York City circa the mid-1970s (Official site)

An interview with writer Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a lifelong Lower East Side resident (Untapped Cities)

Another Ramone book to consider — Richie Ramone's "I Know Better Now" (LA Weekly)

15 things (maybe) you didn’t know about the East Village (6sqft ... previously)

The Posties declare winners and losers in the L-train shutdown switcheroo (The Post)

CB2 says no to Elizabeth Street Garden redevelopment (Curbed)

Is the Reported app is curbing bad taxi driving? (Streetsblog)

A look at the residents of Westbeth Artists Housing, the first and largest federally subsidized artists’ colony in the country when it opened in 1970 (Artsy)

... and here's Eden with this crime report (at Tarallucci e Vino?) ...

Noted



One of the homemade street signs spotted along Avenue A. (There's one for No Parking on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.) Be mindful of the cardboard tickets the city will issue.

Friday, February 1, 2019

Friday's parting shot



Feb. 1 spring fever in Tompkins Square Park... photo today by Bobby Williams...

'Drink' up



London's Snapped Ankles release their second full-length record on March 1. Ahead of that, here's the video for the single "Drink and Glide."