Village Crêperie debuts on 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Village Crêperie opened last week along 441-445 E. Ninth St. (aka 145 Avenue A).


[Image via Instagram]

Here's a look at their menu, offering a variety of coffee and crêpes...



You can find them on Instagram here. No word on their hours moving forward.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Village Crêperie coming soon to 9th and A

ICYMI: Momofuku's Ssäm Bar moving from the East Village to the Seaport

ICYMI: Back on Wednesday, David Chang announced several changes/closures to his global restaurant empire as the fallout from COVID-19 hits the A-list ranks.

Among the coming changes: Chang is moving the nearly 15-year-old Ssäm Bar from Second Avenue and 13th Street into the space that houses Bar Wayō at the South Street Seaport.

Here's part of the message posted to the Momofuku website:

[W]e have decided to move Ssäm Bar from the East Village to Wayō’s much larger space at South Street Seaport and combine the teams of both restaurants. We loved what we created with Wayō, but we have to focus on our restaurants with the most potential. It would be hard to think of a better candidate than Ssäm Bar. Its lease expires in January 2021 and over the last fifteen years has probably changed more radically than any other restaurant of its kind—and thrived in the process.

With more space for guests, multiple entrances, and a new kitchen, Ssäm Bar at the Seaport is better suited to the new realities of restaurants. Not only that, we’re also excited to incorporate elements of Wayo’s menu and service into the new Ssäm Bar. With tabletop cooking and karaoke rooms, the new restaurant will carry on Ssäm Bar’s legacy and celebratory spirit. And don’t worry, John McEnroe is coming with. We are still working on sorting out the details and will share more as we develop the project.

The Ssäm Bar had a large footprint on this corner... curious to see who/what might take this space over one day...



Milk Bar had retail space on the 13th Street side before moving across the street in May 2011. The cocktail bar Booker & Dax was then here until October 2016 before Ssäm Bar expanded.

Meanwhile, Eater checked in with a think piece titled: "If Momofuku Is Closing Restaurants, What Does It Mean for Everyone Else?"

Dismantling the former Gem Spa

[Photo by David Sippel]

This afternoon, workers took down the Gem Spa signs from the now-closed corner shop-newsstand on Second Avenue and St Mark's Place (photos below by Steven)...









Parul Patel, who had been the running the shop that her father Ray has owned since 1986, told me that she intends to sell the Gem Spa signs, and has a few suitors already. She was at the scene overseeing the removal today...


[Photo by Stacie Joy]

She also plans to auction the rolldown gates that East Village-based musician-artist Paul Kostabi painted last September, splitting the proceeds with him. (She will also continue to sell Gem Spa merchandise online.)

The iconic shop, home of the egg cream, officially closed on May 7 amid ongoing financial challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis...


[Photo by Steven]

Updated:

A look at about 7:30...

Someone vandalized the COVID-19 memorial on 10th Street and Avenue A

The vandalism happened sometime overnight here on 10th Street and Avenue A... the mirror that kept a tally of the COVID-19 deaths worldwide was smashed ... and someone took one of the signs attached to the memorial... thanks to Rosella Tursi for sharing these photos...







The memorial was originally created back in March in honor of Edd Conboy, a licensed therapist and director of social services at Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia, who died on March 20 of a stroke. He was 69. His brother Jim, an East Village artist, created this after his family was unable to hold a funeral in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The memorial continued to evolve to honor those who have died during the pandemic. This also marks the second time that someone has vandalized it.

Week in Grieview

[7th Street isolation by Rainer Turim]

Posts from this past week included...

• Owner of Taste Wine leaving the business to help save his young sons Benny and Josh (Monday)

• These East Village residents are helping feed families in Queens during the COVID-19 crisis (Tuesday)

• The best carnitas in Los Angeles are coming to the East Village (Monday)

• This East Village resident discusses getting an antibody test (Thursday)

• Amelia and Christo's 2020 red-tailed offspring: Look at the babies! (Friday)

• Opinion: COVID-19 + Storm Surge = Catastrophe for the Lower East Side and East Village (Thursday)

• Partial Stop Work Order at the tech hub after worker rescued from scaffolding collapse (Monday)

• An art collaboration to help support the Sixth Street Community Center (Sunday)

• Revel quietly expands downtown with rideshare scooters now available in the East Village (Monday)

• Another new building permit filed for the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave. (Wednesday)

• Avant Garden continuing to offer free meals to those in need (Wednesday)

• Steven Hirsch's CoronaLand (Friday)

• Jewel Bako is permanently closing (Tuesday)

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday)

• Checking in on Anyway Cafe (Wednesday)

• Challahlujah! B&H Dairy returns for takeout and delivery (Friday)

• Reopenings: Baji Baji, Factory Tamal, Ruffian x Black Emperor, Málà Project and more! (Friday)

• Vegan mainstay Caravan of Dreams is back open on 6th Street (Wednesday)

• Cafe Mogador is open now in the evenings for takeout and delivery (Tuesday)

• For the dogs: Shake and Tail now open on 11th Street (Wednesday)

• Construction watch: 94-96 Avenue A (Thursday)

• First ice cream truck sighting of 2020 (Wednesday)

• You now have 2 extra hours to shop at Trader Joe's (Monday)

... and the city's Social Distancing Ambassadors were out in Tompkins Square Park yesterday... handing out face masks ...




[Photos by Steven]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

View this post on Instagram

Letting the days go by: A moment with the Talking Heads early this evening on 2nd Avenue near St. Mark’s Place. [Sound on!] Sadly, the man playing the music on the steps of Ottendorfer then stopped the song and put on ... the Bangles and “Walk Like an Egyptian.” #eastvillage #TalkingHeads #onceinalifetime

A post shared by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on May 14, 2020 at 4:06pm PDT

You got love on your side

Queen Andrea completed this We ❤️ New York mural on Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street back on Thursday.

And on this topic, in case you haven't seen the marquee over at Webster Hall on 11th Street...



Headline H/T

Saturday's parting shot

The lawn in Tompkins Square Park today... photo by Derek Berg...

Care to dance online? The 14th annual Dance Parade is today

This year's Dance Parade — the 14th annual — lives on online. And it's happening today (Saturday!) from 1-3:30 p.m.

Details via the EVG inbox...

Anticipating 1,000 people dancing-in-place from around the world, parade organizers have lined up family-friendly fun and movement joy in DJ-lead dance rooms, free dance classes with top professionals, dance-offs between participants, flashmob, free dance classes, and will announce winners of Dare-to-Dance challenge. which invited house-bound choreographers to submit new work to win cash prizes. Register to participate at this link. Those wanting to watch can see the show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitch and YouTube Live!

In previous years, the Dance Parade sees St. Mark's Place as a main route while the subsequent Dancefest takes place in Tompkins Square Park.

Hot dog! Papaya Dog returns

We've been noting some restaurant-cafe reopenings these past few days... EVG Pinch regular shares another — Papaya Dog is back open on the northwest corner of 14th Street and First Avenue with their variety of $5.99 and $6.49 combo deals...

One use for discarded disposable gloves

Presenting the Pandemic Pee Glove.

As seen by Julius Klein on Second Avenue...

Friday's parting shot

Parked on Avenue A at Seventh Street late this afternoon via Derek Berg...

Breakfast club

Local trio cumgirl8 have a new EP out on Muddguts Records. The video here is for "Waffles." Bon appétit!

Amelia and Christo's 2020 red-tailed offspring: Look at the babies!

They start eating rats and grow so fast!

Amelia and Christo have three bouncing hawklets in the nest this season in Tompkins Square Park. (They are roughly 1 month old now.)

As always, Goggla has been documenting the activities of our resident red-tailed hawks... she shared these photos of the chicks, now more visible above the lip of the nest ...



So far, all three chicks look good and are getting bigger, she reports.

Here are a few more photos of the nest via Steven ...







Meanwhile, Goggla spotted Christo in action... this is from Tuesday night, as he snatched four rats in a row, and brought them to the nest...





And a good question: "So, I guess four rats can feed a family of five?"

One more piece of trivia: When was the last time Tompkins Square Park saw three hawk chicks? 2016!

Steven Hirsch's CoronaLand

["First Responders" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]

East Village resident Steven Hirsch is well-known for his courthouse photography as well as documentary work.

During the COVID-19 PAUSE, Hirsch turned his attention to a new medium: drawing.

"I started doing them when the virus started. It seemed like a time to start doing something different considering the world flipped upside down in a week," he told me. "The virus seemed like the only thing that made sense to draw since my work is autobiographical. I try to draw one a day."

He shared a selection of his work... you can find more here.


["Waiting To Get Tested" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]


["Masks" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]


["PPE" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]


["Covid-19 Splat" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]


["Lungs" 8" x 6" Acrylic and Pencils On Paper]


["Waiting To Get Tested" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]


["Killer Hornets" 8" x 6" Pencil and Acrylics On Paper]


["Trader Joes" 8" x 6" Pencil On Paper]