Today in sad discarded flat-screen TVs on Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
'David Vega’s East Village'
An EVG reader just shared this with me... The Solas Studio, 117 E. 24th St. (2nd floor) between Lexington and Park, is presenting a 1980s photo exhibit titled "David Vega’s East Village."
The opening is tomorrow (Feb. 13) night from 6-8. Otherwise, the exhibit is open by appointment from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays until March 13.
The exhibit coincides with a new book of his photography, "Look Back East Village 1984-1987."
And a few of his 1980s photos ...
Fire-damaged Via Della Pace unsure about reopening on 7th Street; Cafe Mocha in bad shape
[Photos yesterday by Steven]
A day after the three-alarm fire tore through 48 E. Seventh St. at Second Avenue, residents and business owners faced the grim task of assessing the damage.
The owners of Via Della Pace on Seventh Street posted this message on Instagram about their very uncertain future:
We are deeply saddened that our restaurant, Via Della Pace, was involved in a fire yesterday. Everything was completely destroyed, and we were unable to salvage our precious items. We are holding onto the good memories of serving our wonderful clients and will always remember the fun times we shared over a good meal.
As of now, we are unsure whether we will continue with our restaurant business. We will keep you updated, and we are so thankful for your support and love.
The rustic Italian cafe opened in 2001.
Meanwhile, on the corner, Cafe Mocha, which opened in 2008, looks to be in bad shape with extensive water damage...
[Updated 5 p.m.] The restaurant, with a sidewalk cafe that draws a crowd in warm-weather months, posted this update to its website:
Due to a fire above Cafe Mocha we will be temporarily closed while we assess the severe damages. For our neighbors and customers, we appreciate your loyalty all these years. We remain hopeful that we will reopen to continue serving our friends and families.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. None of the residents were said to be injured. One tenant of the building said on an EVG Facebook post that "all tenants and animals are safe and sound."
On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: A 10th Kitchen for Avenue A; Coppelia for East Houston
Tonight marks the second of Community Board 3's SLA & DCA Licensing Committee meetings for the month.
Among the applicants vying for new liquor licenses:
• A 10th Kitchen (A 10th Kitchen Inc.), 162 Avenue A
An applicant is on tonight's agenda for the vacant restaurant space (pictured above) between 10th Street and 11th Street. There's already signage up for the venture, called A 10th Kitchen.
There aren't many details on the application (PDF here) other than that A 10th Kitchen will serve a menu featuring "New American" cuisine between the hours of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday with an 11 a.m. start on the weekend.
The questionnaire shows 13 tables for 26 guests along with a six-seat bar. The applicant, listed as Enkeleda Kelmendi, has not been licensed before, per the paperwork.
Flinders Lane closed here in August 2018 after five-plus years in service. Before the Australian restaurant, this space was previously The Beagle ... and Orologio before that.
---
• Corp to be formed by Beatrice Rodriguez Dearma, 157 E. Houston St.
An outpost of Coppelia, the 24/7 Latin diner on West 14th Street, is vying to open at 157 E. Houston between Allen and Eldridge. The application (PDF here) shows space for 58 diners as well as a bar with 14 stools.
The diner is part of the same family as Yerba Buena, the now-closed restaurant at 23 Avenue A, and Toloache, the Mexican bistro up in Midtown.
157 E. Houston was, until late 2017, the Latin tapas joint Macondo East.
Side note: The paperwork for this applicant previously (and mistakenly?) showed up at 205 Allen St. ...
... the former Domino's pizza space, which looks as if a new tenant is on the way in...
The CB3 committee meeting is tonight at 6:30. Location: the Public Hotel, 17th Floor, Sophia Room, 215 Chrystie St. between Houston and Stanton.
Window watch: 11 Avenue C
Because three months have passed since our last look at the 10-story 11 Avenue C (aka 350 E. Houston St.) ... now with glass windows up to the top floor...
BLDG Management is the developer behind the project, which will feature 46 residential units and ground-floor retail.
Foundation work began in December 2016 here on this triangular lot that housed the neighborhood's last gas station.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Workers officially reach the top at 11 Avenue C, where a 10-floor building sits on the neighborhood's last gas station
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
'Queers of Noise: Love Stinks' set for Valentine's night at the Bowery Electric
Katrina del Mar and Wendigo Productions have teamed up for “Queers of Noise: Love Stinks” Friday evening (Valentine's!) from 7:30 to 11 at the Bowery Electric.
Here are some details about the event via the EVG inbox (and find the Facebook Event Page at this link) ...
... this celebratory concert’s lineup features mostly female-fronted bands with trans, dyke, and straight allies, including Tracy City, Monte, Grace Bergere, DJ MzzzMullett and the Queers of Noise Supergroup fronted by very special guests Eileen Myles, Pamela Sneed, Cristy C Road, Reuben Butchart, Michael Love Michael and more.
Modern love can be complicated. For all the shallow screentime spent glazing your eyes bending your over _personals / Lex / grindr /tindr / her / okCupid it’s time to balance out, give your hard candy life a chance to crack open and gush. Join us for a live music night of punk, riot grrrl, radical queer poets and female-led rock bands!
The Bowery Electric is at 327 Bowery at Second Street (aka Joey Ramone Place). Tickets are $15 and available online here or at the door.
And Tracy City, featuring del Mar on vocals, has a new video out... feel the power retro pop of "Love"...
A Visit to Stanton Street Yoga
Text and Photos by Stacie Joy
The people at Stanton Street Yoga, 196A Stanton St. between Ridge and Attorney, welcome me with hugs to what is billed as a kirtan love feast on a chilly January Friday night.
It’s my first experience with kirtan, which I’m told is a “dynamic form of chanting meditation with sacred mantras in a call-and-response rhythm to unite mind body and soul.” This is to be followed by a house-made Ayurvedic vegan dinner, which features cauliflower pakora, and is open to all levels of yogis and meditators.
I arrive early because I’m not sure what to expect. The yoga studio is kitted out with bolsters and blankets, people are drinking spiced chai made by sanctuary director of operations Mario Cornejo, and there is a candlelit space set up for the facilitators to play instruments (the harmonium, karatalas cymbals and mridanga drums) and chant.
[Mario Cornejo]
Cofounder Dhyana Masla and studio manager and senior teacher Ira Ruiz answer my questions about the studio and its community before Ruiz sits down to lead the event.
What is Stanton Street Yoga’s history, and why choose the Lower East Side for its home?
Masla: In 2011, my sister Syama and I moved to NYC to start Stanton Street Yoga. Invited by the owners of Sanctuary Guest Suites, the accommodations above Stanton Street Yoga, the vision was to create a retreat center for traveling guests — a sanctuary to come home to after a day of touring NYC where you can rest, attend yoga and meditation classes ... a real spiritual oasis.
The foundation of the studio was built upon the desire to offer the culture, lifestyle, and deep teachings of yoga that, if applied, bring about life transformation and actual happiness. We live in a society where most people approach yoga as exercise, though it’s so much more than that.
Syama and I taught every class on the schedule for the first year, before launching yoga teacher training (which happens twice per year in the studio) and gradually built the team of teachers we have now.
[Ira Ruiz]
[Yoga instructors Alexis Zaccone and Naushin Rahman]
How do you describe the community of people at Stanton Street Yoga?
Ruiz (who answered this and the rest of my questions): All-inclusive and deeply rooted in building lasting relationships, something that in NYC is hard to find as everything is always changing and people are always coming and going.
Throughout the years we were gifted with steady seekers that are invested in their own personal journey to health and healing. From their desire and commitment to find connection, we have been able to step forward into our dharma (purpose/duty) of sharing not only the physical practice of yoga, which gives us so many benefits that improve our emotional, mental and physical health, but also the deeper teachings, which offer spiritual growth and transformation.
Do you see an influx of people in search of health and wellness at the start of the new year? Do people usually stick with it, what help can you offer to encourage folks to stay, and what do you tell someone who believes they’re just too busy to try yoga?
Every new year brings a desire to complete what one wasn’t able to the year before. New Year’s resolutions bring a lot of new faces through our doors as people are perhaps reconsidering their patterns and habits that may no longer serve them.
I encourage realistic goals! Setting yourself up for success means that you meet yourself where you are, and our tribe is devoted to meeting you where you are in order to build a sustainable practice that allows you to stay committed. We believe in progress not perfection, therefore I encourage individuals to always set long-term goals, but focus more on the little things we can do each day to move forward toward the best version of ourselves.
Do you find yourself competing for people’s time and attention who could be swayed to try the increasingly popular HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and CrossFit classes as well as the plethora of fitness apps?
While there is a large group of fitness classes and offerings all over NYC, we believe each individual belongs somewhere, and your vibe attracts your tribe. At Stanton we offer more than just physical and alignment-based classes, we offer an opportunity to connect to something deeper and beyond the external.
What’s next for Stanton Street Yoga? Any expansion plans?
We are soon to inaugurate our brand-new healing and treatment space, which will be used for Ayurveda consultations, private healing sessions such as reiki, sound baths, breathwork and bodywork. We also have further teacher trainings including breathwork facilitator trainings in Florida, and 300-hour teacher trainings in India.
Early morning look at the fire-damaged SE corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street
Here's a 6 a.m.-look at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street following the three-alarm fire that started here yesterday afternoon shortly before 4...
A lone police car is on the scene...
FDNY officials said that the fire started on "a lower floor" of the five-story building and spread up to the top floor before it was extinguished by about 140 firefighters, according to published reports. The cause is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries.
Here's more via the Post:
The owner of Cafe Mocha, the ground-floor restaurant, said he smelled the fire before the building went up in flames.
"I was in the restaurant and we smelled the fire coming from the bathroom. We smelled it, I think, coming through the shaft," owner Ghasan Ballan said.
"I feel bad for the residents, they have no home," he added.
No other word at the moment on the status of the two retail tenants here — Cafe Mocha and Via Della Pace ... or the displaced tenants of the building with 15 units.
One report said that the building suffered extensive interior damage.
Updated 8:30 a.m.
One tenant of the building left this comment on our Facebook post:
I am a tenant of the building. Live on the top floor. Thank you all for your concern. All tenants and animals (including my 2 cats) are safe and sound. Thankfully my family is blessed with much love and support from family, friends and neighbors. According to my super, building has much smoke and water damage. Will take about a year to restore the building.
Dun-Well Doughnuts is done with St. Mark's Place
After three-plus years of serving vegan doughnuts from 102 St. Mark's Place, Dun-Well is closing its East Village outpost this coming Sunday (Feb. 16).
The storefront recently arrived on the rental market, and we knew something was up — a move or a closure.
Dun-Well made the announcement on Instagram yesterday:
In order to focus upon new endeavors at our flagship Brooklyn location and to expand our wholesale operations, we have decided to close our St. Mark's location this month. This is a bittersweet decision as we have loved being part of the St. Mark's community over the past few years. We hope you’ll continue to support us as we move into our next chapter!
Dun-Well can now be found in almost 20 NYC locations including several Whole Foods Markets and cafes throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens and we plan to expand our reach to bring our doughnuts to an even larger community.
Christopher Hollowell and Dan Dunbar opened the first Dun-Well in East Williamsburg in 2011. They debuted on St. Mark's between Avenue A and First Avenue in July 2016, shuttling in fresh doughnuts daily from their Montrose Avenue HQ.
Given the outpouring over the closing announcement on Instagram, Dun-Well will be missed on St. Mark's Place.
H/T Steven!
It is alive: Bait & Hook is returning — under new management
A for rent sign arrived at the recently shuttered Bait & Hook on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue several weeks ago.
Now, as EVG regular Pinch notes, there's a new sign on the space: "Opening soon under new management."
Bait & Hook debuted with promises of a New England-style seafood restaurant in September 2012. In the opening announcement, Executive Chef Joe Bachman said: "We wanted to open a place that offered New Yorkers an affordable, casual dining experience, with the feel of a seafood shack but the taste of an ocean-side eatery."
The space eventually became another sports bar and SantaCon stop.
We'll see what version of Bait & Hook the new management decides to go with...
Monday, February 10, 2020
Updating: FDNY battling 3-alarm fire on the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street
The FDNY is responding to a report of a multiple-dwelling fire on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street...
The first report came in at 4 p.m. ... the FDNY has since upgraded this to a three-alarm fire. The addresses are 48 Seventh St. and 116 Second Ave. The ground-floor retail tenants are Via Della Pace on Seventh Street and Café Mocha on the corner.
MAN 3-ALARM 48 E 7 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE IN THE WALLS AND COCKLOFT,
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) February 10, 2020
No word of any injuries at the moment.
Updating
Here's a look via Steven just after 5 p.m. ...
And a video clip from a Citizen user...
Three-Alarm Fire Spread Through Ductwork @CitizenApp
48 E 7th St 3:49:00 PM EST
Updated 6 p.m.
The FDNY has yet to issue an all clear... you can see the extent of the damage to the corner building... (photos by Steven)...
Updated 6:40 p.m.
Updated 7 p.m.
The FDNY issued the under control at 6:43 ... no early word on the cause of the fire...
MAN 3-ALARM 48 E 7 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING HEAVY FIRE ON MULTIPLE FLRS, UNDER CONTROL
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) February 10, 2020
Updated 7:38 p.m.
Per PIX 11:
There was fire in the walls of all five floors..., officials said. The first floor is a restaurant and the floors above it are apartments.
Firefighters knocked out windows so they could reach the blaze inside. There were 140 firefighters at the scene.
Five firefighters reportedly received non-life-threatening injuries.
REMINDER: North side L-train entrance opens on Avenue A today
[Photo from Saturday]
As we first reported last week, the L train's new Avenue A north entrance — for Eighth Avenue-bound commuters — debuts today (Feb. 10).
Here's a look around the outside of the two entrance on the Stuy Town side of 14th Street...
MTA officials have said that the entrance is opening with "temporary finishes."
With this debut, the MTA will now close the north-side entrance on First Avenue on Feb. 17 for renovations.
Here's the full schedule of what to expect from The L Project e-newsletter:
• Starting this Friday night (around 10), you'll use the Avenue A north entrance to access trains in both directions on weekends and weeknights.
• On Monday, Feb. 17, the First Avenue north entrance will close for reconstruction. Like the other side, this will take about three months, so we're estimating a May 2020 completion. While this work is happening, both entrances to the First Avenue Station will be located at Avenue A.
• Once we complete the First Avenue entrances, the ones at Avenue A will close again for a bit so we can do the final finishes.
When all the construction is wrapped up, the revamped 14th Street First Avenue station will have four entrances — including the two on either side of 14th Street at Avenue A as well as two new platform-to-street ADA elevators that will be ready for use this summer. (Find more details on this MTA advisory.)
The Brooklyn-bound side arrived this past Nov. 4 at Avenue A.
No word just yet from the MTA about when all four entrances — two at First Avenue and two at Avenue A — will all be accessible at the same time. Also, the work on the new substation at 14th Street and Avenue B is expected to wrap up this spring.
Village Crêperie coming soon to 9th and A
We heard rumors of a coffee-crepe shop opening along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A). And now we have confirmation: Signage for Village Crêperie arrived over the weekend. (Thanks to EVG reader Sean Nahlik for the photo!)
The cafe will join Social Tees as new tenants along these Icon Realty-owned storefronts on Ninth Street at Avenue A, where the previous newish retail tenants mostly vacated last year.
H/T Steven!
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