Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Saturday's parting shot AKA... today in wedding parties at Crif Dogs... 

P.S.

Congratulations! 

Check out 6 plays written and performed by local artists at the 6th and B Garden

 

The second annual LUNGS Theater Festival takes place this weekend at the 6th Street and Avenue B Garden.

The free performances are from 3-6 p.m. each day. Note: The program is the same today and tomorrow.

Saturday's opening shot

At the Second Avenue F stop, a new mural of Sasha Colby — winner of season 15 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" — by David Puck...

Friday's parting shot

An EVG reader shared this photo today from Veselka on Second Avenue and Ninth Street, where the cold summer borscht is back on the menu ...

Get the 'Message'

Every-Friday-at-5™ faves Osees (Thee Oh Sees!) have announced a new record, Intercepted Message, out this August. The video here is for the title track.

Annnd they are a great live band... you can see for yourself this coming Sept. 22-23 at the Warsaw.

P.S.

A hint of their live show... though without the video aura...

At the former St. Brigid School, a generous outpouring of community support for asylum seekers

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

Yesterday was the first distribution day since we published the stories (here and here) about the asylum seekers at the former St. Brigid's School, which the city is using at a temporary "respite center" on Seventh Street and Avenue B. 

It's a big production, with many community members reaching out, eager to help. I hope all donated goods: clothes, bedding, towels, personal-care products, book bags and shoes will find good homes with the newly arrived refugees. 

I arrive a bit early at the drop-off location, and it's already filling up — so many people are bringing in so many items. As I frantically text some reinforcements — friends and neighbors — to help organize the growing donations, more and more people drop off bags for the hundreds of asylum seekers arriving here in the past week. 

The community support is more than I ever imagined, with residents bringing precisely what is most needed: shoes (chancletas are a highly requested footwear), jeans, sweats, T-shirts, blankets, sheets, towels, and backpacks. A local wine bar owner drops off hundreds of dollars worth of new shoes, socks and bedding. 

People carefully explain what they've brought, and several ask me about providing ongoing support. It's touching — and daunting. Hundreds of pounds of items are piling up...

As more volunteers arrive, we begin setting up tables at the Free Store outside the center. There is, predictably, initial pushback from the facility even though we're on a public sidewalk.

However, we reach an understanding and are soon working together to get the goods to the people who need them. And hundreds of asylum seekers are provided clothing, bedding and hygiene products. The donated backpacks —  a hotly sought-after item — move faster than I anticipated.

Staffers come out to help translate. Spanish and French are the two most spoken languages, but one woman speaks Mandarin, and no one can assist her. She wants to go to Flushing but needs to know how. 

Site workers also help me pair specific items with those who made a request, and we strategize how to get the most-requested item — Wi-Fi access — to the people. Since there is no coordination between the city and several agencies working within the site, getting anything accomplished through government channels is impossible. 

There are some heartwarming moments — two women are ecstatic over a donated box of new makeup, a gentleman spies some glittery shoes he admires, and the woman requesting extra-small or extra-extra-small yoga pants finally grabs two pair. Someone else spies the AeroBed that was dropped off, and we Google translate how to inflate it — often with amusing results and a much-needed moment of levity.  

As soon as items hit the table (and sometimes before), they are nabbed by the center's residents. And a new bus of immigrants arrives in the middle of the distribution, while another bus parks down the block to take people to Albany. Many take their newly acquired packs, clothes, and goods and head to the bus in preparation for heading north — all thanking us before they board. 

The scene is sometimes chaotic, with altercations between city and state employees, and the police are called to intercede. Additionally, a few Medrite employees — the subcontractors the city hired — are agitated, and some unkind words are uttered. Still, no one stops the Free Store, and even when security arrives via NYC Emergency Management, they are supportive.

This was a hugely successful community event, thanks mainly to East Village residents and EVG readers. Many of the asylum seekers expressed gratitude and thanks for the generous help.

Future drop-off dates at Assemblymember Harvey Epstein's office at 107 Avenue B at Seventh Street are:

• Tuesday, June 6, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 

• Thursday, June 8, 3-5:30 p.m. 

• Tuesday, June 13, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Inside the East Village 'respite center' for asylum seekers

• Missed meal deliveries and a need for basics: the developing situation at the East Village respite center for asylum seekers

Openings: Star Team on 9th Street

Image via @kyotaumeki

East Village native (and current resident) Kyota Umeki, a skateboarder and designer, debuted his skate shop, Star Team, Wednesday at 436 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

He created the Star Team brand a few years back, and the shop features his clothing, boards and other accessories (check out his headphones). 

Quartersnacks posted a Q&A with him on Wednesday, where, among other topics, he talks about the vision he has for the storefront: 

I don't know what the shop will actually be like after it opens, but right now, I'm imagining a shop where the community will grow on its own. I want this store to be run like a real store. I want it to be proper. I want people to feel comfortable here. I'm looking forward to doing events and gatherings — not exactly "shows." The space is pretty small, so it's hard to think of bigger stuff to do, but it'd be sick to do drop events for homies and little gather-arounds every couple of weeks, like having other brands and clothing.

And how it started with the ribbon cutting ...
 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kyota Umeki (@kyotaumeki)

For now, Star Team will be open Monday-Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and weekends from 1-5 p.m. 

H/T William Klayer

Why 787 Coffee decided to close its 14th Street outpost

Deteriorating quality-of-life issues along 14th Street have prompted 787 Coffee to shut its doors here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

In an Instagram message, 787 management called the move "very sad." At the same time, the shop has suffered five break-ins in the past four weeks, and they also cited an increasing number of unhoused people along the corridor, a longtime area of concern for residents (here and here).

In addition, management said some customers sitting outside were assaulted last week. 

"We make coffee as an excuse to connect, to collaborate, to create… but when we are afraid to even go to work, it defeats our values, our DNA," they said.

The shop opened at 319 E. 14th St. in late February 2021 and brought some welcome daytime activity to this north side of the block. 

The growing coffee brand has three other EV locations — 131 E. Seventh St. near Avenue A, 101 Second Ave. at Sixth Street and 159 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue.

Top photo is by Pinch, and the other two are by Joe

Your Funzi's Pizzeria signage on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven

Some classic-looking signage is up now at 36 St. Mark's Place, where Funzi's Pizzeria is set to open soonish here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (They are currently hiring.)

We're told that it will be an old-school slice joint with a few Italian dishes as well. 

And we're betting that Funzi's will break the curse of one-and-done quick-serve concepts at this address. (Reminder: Oh K-Dog & Egg Toast, Joe's Steam Rice Roll, Cheers Cut, Friterie Belgian Fries, Fasta and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza — all since 2015.)

Previously

2+ months after opening, 99¢ Pizza raises price of $1 slice to $1.50

99¢ Pizza debuted in mid-March at 418 E. 14th St. just east of First Avenue. As noted then, despite the name of the establishment, a cheese slice initially cost a penny more — $1. 

The cost of doing $1-pizza business may have caught up with them: EVG reader Tom notes that the $1 slice is now $1.50.

Subsequently, Combo #1 — two plain slices and a can of soda OR bottle or water increased from $2.99 to $3.99. Prices for Combo #2 and Combo #3 (hot dogs!) remain unchanged.

We'll see how the 99¢ Pizza shop at 246 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue responds! They lowered the price of a slice from $1.50 to 99 cents as the cheap slice war heated up.

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

When life imitates art (on a moving truck). Second Avenue and Fifth Street today.

A slice of street art for Two Boots

A colorful new mural by Tats Cru — via the LISA Project NYC — went up today on the corner of Avenue A and Third Street outside Two Boots. (Thanks for the tip, Newman!)

Grab a slice and check it out... 

On Avenue A, a golf-related shop fore people who might like golf

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

It's a Cinderella story, out of nowhere: Whim Golf is shaping up to open at 66 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.  

Here's more about the company:

For people who might like golf. Founded in 2019, Whim Golf is an American fashion brand on a mission to democratize golf. Built to bridge the gap between art and sport, Whim designs timeless products, artful content, and immersive experiences that together build a community that shifts the narrative about who belongs in golf.

Or, as a 2022 feature in Golf Digest put it, "Taking the coolness from streetwear, the whimsy from fashion and the silhouettes from golf, [Whim Golf] is looking to refresh the sport's image."

And: "So the mission is twofold: make golf style everyday style, and increase golf’s visibility along the way."

If this sounds somewhat familiar, Whim Golf opened a pop-up location on the Lower East Side in the summer of 2019.

The Avenue A outpost will feature golf apparel and related accessories... as well as a putting green, which was under construction the other day when EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by...

... and talked with co-founder Will Gisel, who started the company with childhood friend Colin Heaberg. (They also own a creative agency called Whim.)

Whim Golf is expected to open soon.

The retail space has been vacant since Lancelotti Housewares left in the fall of 2021 after 25 years in business. A collectible sneaker shop had been in the works here, but the business never materialized. 

Concern about the future of the 188 Allen Street Gallery

Cheese Grille has apparently served its last grilled cheese sandwich as a quick-serve restaurant from 188 Allen St. between Houston and Stanton. 

The long-and-narrow space — in business for nearly 10 years — has been closed of late... and a for-rent sign hangs in the front window...

Google lists them as permanently closed. [Updated: Ownership says they are open for catering and private events.]

Meanwhile, a group of artists and some art fans are hoping the sidewalk dining structure can continue on as 188 Allen Street Gallery, an art space that has showcased a variety of artists since last summer (see here and here)...

The Department of Transportation has already issued a "Termination" notice for the structure.

NYC street artist SacSix, who has curated shows here as well as created murals on the storefront, appealed to the DOT in a recent Instagram post, inviting city officials here "to see how small business entrepreneurs can create incredible communities in unique spaces." 

Said an EVG reader in an email: "This gallery has been a godsend for our community bringing creative artists together to showcase their talent. For many new artists, this is an opportunity to showcase their works ..."