Reaching the top at the all-new 12-story building at 280 E. Houston St.

Top photo by Stacie Joy

Workers have reached the top at 280 E. Houston St., the 12-story mixed-used building that bulked up quickly between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

EVG reader Jim Knapp shared the photo below last week showing the newly arrived American flags atop the structure...

As noted, the new building encompasses 224,809 square feet of space — for residential, commercial and community use. The residential portion will total 211,028 square feet for 157 apartments, per DOB records. The retail section will feature 12,000 square feet, while the community facility is 1,300 square feet.

Jim also shared this photo showing the property in the late 1980s before Red Square arrived at 250 E. Houston St.

The parcel previously housed a single-level strip of storefronts that several years ago either relocated closer to the residential building at No. 250 E. Houston St. (Kapri Cleaners and the FedEx Office Print & Ship Center) or closed (Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins, Subway, Mattress Firm and China Town).

The elongated trapezoidal lot housed a gas station until about 1987. This post from 2016 includes a photo of it.

Prep work (plywood, pedestrian barriers, etc.) started in February 2023. According to the rendering, the completion date is now February 2025.

At the annual Loisaida Festival

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Yesterday, the 37th edition of the Loisaida Festival unfolded under sunny blue skies, as attendees celebrated the rich heritage of the Lower East Side during this annual Memorial Day weekend event. 

This year's theme was "A Cultural Mosaic." 

Here are a few scenes from along Avenue C/Loisaida Avenue, where festival-goers enjoyed live music (we saw Pinc Louds!), theater, food, a dancing F train and much more...

37 1st Ave., once home to some East Village music history, is now rubble

The three buildings at 33-37 First Ave. are now a pile of bricks and rubble on the NW corner of Second Street. 

Late last spring, EVG's Stacie Joy toured the No. 37's basement, home to HaveAHeart, one of the last underground East Village music studio spaces. 

Stacie and her tour guide also ventured upstairs to the apartments that had been vacated ahead of the pending demoliton...

Aside from the once-common basement studio, it turns out there was another music connection upstairs at No. 37.

Billy Ficca, a drummer best known for his work in Television, The Waitresses and The Washington Squares, lived here... there was even a piece of a drum kit left behind...

You can read about pending development coming to this parcel here.

Sunday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Brooklyn-based artist Michela Muserra recreated her mural, titled "Despues de la lluvia" ("After the rain"), on 12th Street and Avenue C today. 

As we noted on Friday, someone painted over the brand-new work several days after Muserra completed the painting at the 12C Outdoor Gallery.

Muserra completed the work today during the annual Loisaida Festival ... we'll have photos from the festival later...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from 3rd Street and Avenue A)...

• Hopes for a new East Village home for Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen (Friday) ... East Village staple Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen has closed on 7th Street; operators hope to find a new space (Thursday) 

• These East Village residents are still cooking up a unique book of recipes (Monday)

• A neighbor buys the landmarked Isaac T. Hopper Home on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• The Damned's Captain Sensible on the return of drummer Rat Scabies, the importance of the Ramones and the legend of CBGB (Thursday)

• Someone painted over this brand-new mural on 12th Street and Avenue C (Friday) 

• At the annual Dance Parade and DanceFest (Tuesday) 

• A look at Yoshiko Chuma's 'Extreme Classics' at La Mama (Saturday) 

• Check out the hand-painted punk posters of Masato Okano (Saturday) 

• The present and future of the NW corner of 1st Avenue and 2nd Street (Monday) 

• A Sustainable Village will be on the move this summer (Wednesday) 

• Cello’s Pizzeria now in soft-open mode on St. Mark's Place (Friday) 

• Openings: The Onion Tree Pizza Co. on 1st Avenue (Thursday) ... Sunflower Cafe on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• A curbside structure demolition party at Lucky on Avenue B (Friday) 

• Busted & shuttered at the Grab & Go on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• A quick visit to Gnocchi on 9th (Tuesday) • From the Heads Up Dept.: In case you are thinking of trespassing at 325 E. Houston St. (Saturday) 

• Today in free, weird circus-y things (Tuesday)

• A man and his duck (Sunday) 

• A look around at the "perfect woman" flyer knock-off industry (Wednesday) 

Speaking of which, more people are now seeking "perfect" things...

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At yesterday's hardcore matinee in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Tompkins Square Park played host to the "Back to the NYHC Roots" music series yesterday afternoon. 

The slate of bands, presented by The Shadow and New York Hardcore Chronicles, included Winter Wolf ...

... Kārtël ...

... and Non Residents...

...and scenes from the crowd...

... and there was a photogenic finale...

The afternoon also included sets from Redwoods and Incendiary Device.

Days of wine and Rosé

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On a recent early Friday evening, Brix Wine Shop held its annual Rosé Gala ... this year in the courtyard at the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on Ninth Street and Avenue B. (Brix previously held the event at La Plaza Cultural down the block). 

It was a pleasant evening with many familiar East Village friends and neighbors, including Brix owner Beatriz Gutierrez and Pastor Will with his husband Steven ... and several bottles of rosé.

Reminders: The Loisaida Festival is today

Poster by Juan Carlos Pinto 

In case you missed our post this past Tuesday: The annual Loisaida Festival is today.

This year's theme is "A Cultural Mosaic," which organizers say "beautifully encapsulates the diverse heritage and vibrant spirit of New York City's Lower East Side." 

The event, which unfolds along Avenue C-Loisaida Avenue between Fifth Street and 12th Street, includes more than 50 artisans and 10 food vendors. (And this goes on rain or shine, in case you were eyeing the weather.)

There's also a slate of bands and musicians (including Pinc Louds at noon) on the main stage and elsewhere on the festival grounds. Visit this link for details.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

At the end of the hardcore show today in Tompkins Square Park... more photos on the way tomorrow...