About face: The Cupcake Market has a new name on 7th Street

The owner of the Cupcake Market on Seventh Street has renamed her shop here between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... the new signage for Funny Face Bakery arrived yesterday, as EVG contributor Derek Berg noted...





The new name coincides with the launch of the bakery's online shop.

Sarah Silverman opened the bakery in April 2016. Given the name Cupcake Market, you'd figure cupcakes would be a big seller. Turns out she was on to something with the hand-painted face cookies of presidential candidates — Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump — that she created in the run-up to Election 2016. Those quickly became big sellers.

She soon started creating custom portrait cookies for her customers to celebrate birthdays and other special events... as well as launching a line of intricately designed cookies accurately (and eerily?) depicting various celebrities and movie characters... and hiring a group of artists from Pratt and SVA to help with the design.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Funny Face Bakery (@funnyfacebakery) on Nov 3, 2019 at 6:15am PST

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A post shared by Funny Face Bakery (@funnyfacebakery) on Aug 6, 2019 at 6:39am PDT

So given the popularity of the cookies, the shop decided to re-introduce itself as Funny Face Bakery. And they do still sell cupcakes.

Daily hours are 1:30 to 9 p.m.

First sign of Mokyo, a new Korean restaurant coming to St. Mark's Place

Signage recently arrived for Mokyo at 109 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is a new venture via Kay Hyun, the chef-owner of the popular Korean restaurant Thursday Kitchen on Ninth Street.

Mokyo looks to have a similar small plates menu as its Ninth Street sibling. CB3 OK'd a beer-wine license for the address back in July. At the time, Mokyo's proposed hours were listed as 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with a brunch service from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The previous tenant here, the Israeli-Mediterranean restaurant Timna, closed in March after nearly four years in service.

This book was due on Dec. 10, 1958. Someone just returned it to the Cooper Union Library.

A fun item from the Cooper Union Library's Instagram account.

The above copy of Gestalt Psychology by Dr. Wolfgang Köhler was due back at the Cooper Union Library on Dec. 10, 1958.

Obviously any book that seeks to understand learning, perception and other components of mental life as structured wholes is one that you want to sit with for awhile.

And someone did so — for 61 years.



According to the Instagram post, the patron found it while going through some old books (it wasn't clear if she was the same person who checked it out) ... and she returned it in the mail.

Fortunately, the library wasn't Gestalt-free all these years. The library added a newer edition of the book in 1970.

Remember to vote today!

Polls are open today (Nov. 5!) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in what promises to be a pretty slow day at the ballot boxes.

As City Limits points out, though: "Those voters who do show up will make important decisions on citywide offices, changes to the city’s governing structure and judicial posts."

Among those offices is public advocate. Letitia James, the previous public advocate, was elected as state attorney general in November 2018. City Councilmember Jumaane Williams won a special election in February, and is seeking to serve out the remainder of James’ term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2021.

Anyway, the office of the public advocate exists to be a watchdog, a check on the mayor. The public advocate is also the first in line to assume the title of mayor if something were to happen to said mayor.

City Limits has a nice voters' guide, which you can find at this link.

Behold your new Avenue A L-train entrances!

As we were first to report back on Sunday evening, the L train's new Avenue A entrances — the Brooklyn-bound side — opened to the public yesterday morning at 9.

But first! There were speeches and what not...





EVG regular Greg Masters, who provided the initial tip about the opening, shared these photos (the MTA noted that the station opened with temporary finishes)...





This work has been two-plus years in the making. According to MTA officials yesterday, the majority of work on the 14th Street sidewalk restoration is expected to be completed more than six months ahead of schedule.

When all the construction is wrapped up, the revamped 14th Street First Avenue station will have four new street entrances — two on either side of 14th Street at Avenue A as well as two new platform-to-street ADA elevators that will be ready next summer. (Find more details on this MTA advisory.)

Still no word on when the the north side (Eighth Avenue bound) entrances will open at Avenue A. Meanwhile, the luxury of having entrances at Avenue A and First Avenue will be short-lived.

According to the L Project Newsletter:

Now that the Avenue A side will be open, the 1st Avenue side will close on Nov. 11 for a few months for structural repairs. We have to make sure it looks as good (and has the structural strength too!) to match the new one. The same thing will also happen for the north side entrances. We'll always have two open at the station.

Now here are additional photos courtesy of East Village Tours...





Bedford & Bowery has a few video clips of the new entrances here.

Meanwhile, the L-train slowdown, which began on April 26, is now expected to be finished within a year — reportedly several months ahead of schedule.

What's going on at Joe's Steam Rice Roll?

[Photo Thursday night at 6:30]

Joe's Steam Rice Roll has not been open during the shop's usual hours here at 36 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue stretching back into last week ... and the gate remained down over the weekend without any notice to potential patrons.

There also isn't any notice of a temporary or permanent closure on the quick-serve restaurant's website or social media properties. The phone is currently out of service. No one has responded to an email query about this location's status.

Joe's debuted back in June, making this the third NYC outpost of the popular quick-serve establishment, which got its start in Flushing. (You can read more about the food at Joe's in this Hungry City column at the Times in January.)

As previously noted, No. 36 has seen a variety of quick-serve concepts come and go in recent years, including Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.

Previously.

A blast from the burrito past!

For the first time in a long time the gate was open on the southwest corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street yesterday ... bringing into the view the fairly well-preserved storefront of the previous tenant — Benny's Burrito's... the menus are still posted outside the front door...





Benny's closed here on Nov. 29, 2014 after 27 years in business.

The prime corner space has sat empty since then. At least one prospective tenant kicked the tires on the space in 2017. (The Benny's to-go spot next door, which closed in February 2015, is now the 99¢ pizza place called 99¢ Pizza.)

Anyway, no idea why the gate is finally open. The original rental ask for the spot was $22,000.

Mark Merker, who launched Harry's and Benny's Burritos in 1987, attempted a revival with Benny's Burritos & Empanadas at 86 E. Seventh St. in January 2018, but it didn't last.

Will the new East Village Trader Joe's open on this date in 2020?

[The incoming TJ's on 14th and A]

We reported yesterday that the incoming Trader Joe's on 14th Street at Avenue A is now hiring.

Now comes word from a reliable source that this Trader Joe's will open on Jan. 6, 2020.

The Trader Joe's website still lists this location at 432 E. 14th St. as "coming soon." TJ's corporate office typically keeps these opening dates a well-guarded secret. So we'll see.

And yesterday's post has more about the two-plus year background on this new location.

Update on the Bean's Broadway move

A quick update to yesterday's post on the Bean opening up an outpost on the northwest corner of Broadway and Ninth Street.

The Bean that's currently on Broadway at 12th Street is relocating to this larger spot (thanks to the commenters for pointing this out!)


[Photo by Steven]

As noted in yesterday's post, the Ninth/Broadway storefront was a Starbucks until this past January.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Bean is taking over the former Starbucks space on 9th and Broadway

Monday's parting shot

A morning view looking south on Avenue A at 10th Street via Vinny & O...

[Updated] B&H Dairy closed for a few days for renovation work

[Photo by Steven]

In case B&H Dairy was in your tuna-melt plans today or tomorrow ... the 80-plus year-old lunch counter at 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place is closed for a quick renovation. Their Instagram account describes it as "some light renovation."

Owners Ola and Fawzy hope to be back open on Wednesday, though it could be Thursday. They'll provide updates on Instagram.

Updated:

B&H reopened on Thursday at 2 p.m. ... aside from some modifications (and new wallpaper) ... they also have a new lease!

This dog was found this morning in Tompkins Square Park

Per a reader:

The dog was found with a necktie as a makeshift collar and a chain as a makeshift leash. No real collar or tags.

The girl who found him asked around the dog park if anyone recognized him, but none of us did. He didn't look that old and seemed in decent shape (like he had been taken care of) so maybe he was lost vs. abandoned.

The person who found him will take him to a vet to see if there's a chip...

Updated:

The vet didn't find a chip. The dog is currently in a loving foster home.

Enz's Boutique has closed on 2nd Avenue

As of yesterday, Enz's Boutique has ended its long tenure in the East Village.

Owner-designer Mariann Marlowe has run the rockabilly and retro clothes shop at 125 Second Ave. for the past 18 years after relocating from St. Mark's Place. (The store dates to the 1970s on Grove Street.)

Marlowe told EVG correspondent Stacie Joy that she has enjoyed serving her clientele, including various musicians and artists through the years, but has grown tired of the hostile retail climate and the daily rigor of running the shop.

She has had to manage a variety of issues outside the shop here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place in recent years, including the new-building construction next door, the presence of travelers on the nearby corner and even an impromptu Amazon distribution center on the Avenue.

However, Marlowe isn't leaving the retail business entirely. Starting on Nov. 16, she'll have a kiosk at the new Turnstyle Underground Market in the Columbus Circle Station. You can also find some of her designs at Jimmy Webb's I Need More boutique on Orchard Street.

And who knows, you may even see her back in the East Village one day.


[Photo of Marlowe from 2014 by Stacie Joy]

Updated: Jeremiah Moss has more shop history here.

Opponents of the latest plan to stormproof East River Park will rally at City Hall today ahead of committee vote

This afternoon (Nov. 4), the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Sitings and Dispositions will vote on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), the $1.45 billion proposal to protect the East Side from future storm and rising sea levels.

Ahead of that, opponents of the plan, which will see parts of East River Park closed and buried in the years ahead, will rally on the steps of City Hall at noon.

Via the EVG inbox:

East River Park Action, a grassroots group formed to save the park, along with allies, have gathered thousands of petitions against the destructive flood control plan. They will deliver the petitions to the mayor’s office and City Council members. One group collected nearly 2,000 signatures from NYCHA residents, who have been portrayed by city officials as supporting the plan.

“We wanted to shut that argument down,” said April Merlin, who organized the drive. Her group found that people in Jacob Riis, Baruch, and Lillian Wald Houses across the FDR Drive from the park readily signed.

The group will also perform a satirical skit to represent the thousands of community stakeholders who they say are being ignored. “We’ve been testifying at hearings, demonstrating, and calling and writing our elected officials in overwhelming numbers. Yet our Council members are supporting this terrible plan,” says East River Park ACTION founder Pat Arnow.

The group supports adapting an earlier community-developed plan that provides flood control with minimal destruction of existing parkland and biodiversity.

On Oct. 2, the de Blasio administration announced more changes to the city's stormproofing plans for East River Park. Instead of the entire Park shutting down for three-plus years starting in March, the flood protection construction will be done in phases, with all of East River Park remaining open until next fall.

The plan has been making its way through the city’s uniform land use review procedure in recent months, as we've been reporting (see select links below). If the subcommittee votes for the plan this afternoon, then it will go to the Land Use Committee on Nov. 12 and to the full City Council on Nov. 14.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 14, officials from the Department of Design & Construction are scheduled to present the latest details on the plan before Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee. That public meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Dutch consultant files report on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (Oct. 11)

• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)