Unapologetic Foods looking at the former Huertas spot on 1st Avenue

The team at Unapologetic Foods — owner Roni Mazumdar and Chef Chintan Pandya — has an application in for a liquor license at 107 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street ... the former Huertas space. 

According to public records and posted notices, reps for the hospitality group (they're behind Dhamaka in the Essex Market and Adda Indian Canteen in Long Island City) will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee next Monday, July 15. (Questionnaire PDF here.)

The application for the unnamed Indian concept shows proposed daily hours of noon to 2 a.m., with plans for a small sidewalk cafe and several tables on a back patio within the property line. 

Unapologetic also operates the fried-chicken outpost, Rowdy Rooster, at 149 First Ave. at Ninth Street, and the Filipino restaurant Naks, 201 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Huertas closed last August after 10 years in service. The building had a new landlord, and chef Jonah Miller said he could not agree to "suitable terms" for a new lease. 

Reps for Paulie Gee's Slice Shop looked at this space late last year, though those plans didn't move forward.

The July 15 SLA meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link at this link.

This is a hybrid meeting, and there is limited seating available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

A new mural for a new restaurant opening at 97 St. Mark's Place

Cecilia, a new bistro via Russell Steinberg, opens later this summer at 97 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. More on Cecilia later. (You can visit the CB3 application from January here.) 

And ICYMI: Longtime East Village-based artist Stephen Tashjian — aka Tabboo! — recently created the mural outside the address...

This space was mostly recently Luz Cafe and Taberna 97... and for 31 years it was home to Yaffa Cafe (RIP 2014).

In 2016, workers painted over the mural that had been on the wall since 1993 — a portrait of Lika Ramati, the former co-owner of Yaffa Cafe... a heart mural via Hektad arrived next for the Taberna 97 era.

Astor Place gets the neighborhood's first electric charging docks for e-bikes

Last week, an electric charging dock for Citi Bike's e-bike fleet arrived outside Wegman's on Astor Place, the location of a previous docking station. (Thanks to Jacob Ford for the photo and tip!) 

This marks the first docking station in the neighborhood specifically for charging e-bikes. (These docks also accept the first-gen bicycles.) The DOT and Lyft unveiled the first two in May, with Hell's Kitchen and Greenpoint locations. 

Notably, the Astor Place station is electrified on the street, a unique feature compared to the first two stations, which were on the sidewalk. (Streetsblog has a comprehensive background on this here.)

According to DOT and Lyft officials, electrified charging stations will allow Citi Bike e-bike batteries to be charged while parked in stations instead of manually swapped out, making e-bikes more available to riders and reducing vehicle miles traveled by operations vans. 

Most e-bike batteries are charged in a warehouse and shuttled back and forth for manual swapping at the station in an often cumbersome manner...

Citi Bike riders might not realize most docks don’t charge e-bikes. It’s a surprisingly labor-intensive operation: A crew of 170, on four shifts and 69 specially equipped cargo vans, ferries the batteries to a Long Island City warehouse and back. https://t.co/FJ3Xndf1pY

— Curbed (@Curbed) June 29, 2024

According to May figures, Citi Bike has about 15,000 e-bikes in its fleet. In the first five months of the year, Citi Bike riders have taken more than 7 million trips on e-bikes.

Lyft recently announced that starting on Wednesday, Citi Bike e-bike rides will become more expensive for the $219.99-per-year annual members, rising to 24 cents per minute from 20 cents per minute. Back in January, the price went from 17 cents to 20 cents per minute.

High spirits: At WitchsFest USA on Astor Place

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The annual The WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire took place yesterday on Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette. 

As always, there were workshops, performers, and vendors, as well as a grand finale, the Summer Blessing Ritual. Here's a look.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo of Gutter Beach outside Il Posto Accanto on 2nd Street)...

• RIP Anton van Dalen (Wednesday) 

• East Village McDonald's pays tribute to 2 victims from a suspected DUI collision in Corlears Hook Park during July 4 celebration (Sunday) 

• With a larger new kitchen, EVLovesNYC expands to feed more New Yorkers (Monday) 

• Mary O is bringing her scones to 7th Street (Tuesday) 

• Bands we like: Skorts (Friday) 

• Upclose with Gustaf at Berlin (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Stuytown Pharmacy on 14th Street (Monday) 

• Other plaques that are currently missing in the East Village (Wednesday) 

• A tree branch falls in the small dog run in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

• H Mart is expanding on 3rd Avenue (Tuesday)

• These 2 East Village trees are still entombed in concrete (Monday) ... Reader report: 2 more entombed trees (Saturday)

• Dua Kafe is on vacation (Wednesday) ... The SOS Chefs storefront will be closed until early September (Wednesday) 

• A visit to Cakes by Klein on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

• Juvenile red-tailed hawk getting the washing and drying down in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday) 

• Smiles everyone: New-age dental studio setting up shop in 2nd Avenue condoplex (Monday) 

• An e-bike repair shop for 7th Street (Friday) 

• 50 Avenue B is now on Housewatch (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Crepe City on Avenue A (Tuesday)

... and a word for the Colonel on Second Avenue and 14th Street ...

East Village McDonald's pays tribute to 2 victims from suspected DUI collision in Corlears Hook Park during July 4 celebration

Residents who live around Corlears Hook Park on the Lower East Side are reeling from the tragedy that unfolded on the evening of July 4 when an alleged drunken driver plowed into a group celebrating the holiday, killing three people and injuring at least eight others. 

There's a makeshift memorial with balloons, candles and flowers at the McDonald's on 14th Street at First Avenue for two of the victims, Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son, Herman Pinkney, 38.

"Lucille had worked for many years at the McDonald's on 14th Street and First Avenue and was the sweetest person," said Tom Hickey, who shared the photos here. "[She was] always greeting patrons with a smile and remembering their orders and things like that. Lovely, lovely woman." 

Authorities identified the other victim as Ana Morel, 43, of East Harlem. 

Police said that a Ford F-150 came traveling "at a high rate of speed" shortly before 9 p.m., went through an intersection and past a stop sign, then drove onto the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park. 

The driver, Daniel Hyden, 44, a substance abuse counselor in New Jersey, was arrested on charges including aggravated vehicular homicide, eight counts of assault for recklessly causing serious injury with a weapon, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated unlicensed driving, police said.

This afternoon, local elected officials helped organize a prayer vigil at Corlears Hook Park. Rev. Dr. Marc Rivera will lead the service, which starts at 4 p.m.

CBS 2 ... PIX 11 ... and the Post are among the outlets with comments from the victims' loved ones, including 29-year-old Diamond Pinkney who lived a block away in the Vladeck Houses with his mom and brother.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Wedding day today at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Seventh Street near Cooper Square...

Reader report: 2 more entombed trees

EVG readers shared intel on two other entombed neighborhood trees after this post from Monday.

The top photo is from outside 85 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue (thanks, Ron!). 

The tree is surrounded by a halo that reveals about an inch of soil.

 

The shot below is from outside 202 E. 13th St., just east of Third Avenue. It shows a tree pit complete with plastic greenery to give the concrete base a 99-cent store look.

From the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation website... in the tree pit section: 

A city tree must battle many urban hazards daily — from air pollution and bicycles to dogs and people. In addition to above-ground threats, tree roots also must contend with tough below-ground conditions. A tree pit or lawn strip provides limited space for these forest giants, and this soil is a tree's only source of nutrients. Because of this, it is essential to create as nurturing a tree pit as possible.

This weekend, hats at Mary O's future scone shop on 7th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

As we mentioned the other day, Mary O'Halloran, proprietor of Mary O's on Avenue A, is opening a scone shop at 93 E. Seventh St., just east of First Avenue, later this month. 

This weekend, she's letting East Village resident Stan Gaz use the space as a pop-up to sell his custom-made hats and jewelry ...

He'll be in the storefront today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Updates on Instagram here.

'Strange' magic

 

I don't remember when I first heard The Shacks, but I recall buying the NYC trio's debut LP at Academy Records on 12th Street in 2018. Someone said, "If you like Mazzy Star and Broadcast, then..."

Somewhere along the line, the NYC-based trio (all in their late teens/early 20s at the start) called it quits... but only after recording a lot of music. The band's label, Big Crown, recently issued their previously unreleased songs (plus others that weren't on vinyl). 

Lead singer Shanny Wise (an LES native) now fronts Fcukers... 

The above video from the Shacks for "This Strange Effect" is from 2017. RIP The Shacks!

Bands we like: Skorts

Photos by Stacie Joy 

We're not sure what plans the members of the local band Skorts originally had for this past Sunday. But the foursome found themselves setting up to play in the early afternoon as part of a concert lineup on a sultry summer day. 

One of the original groups on the lineup was unable to make it at the last minute, so Show Brain promoter Ozzie Silva called the band to fill the open slot. 

"We've played Tompkins before, and it's always such an incredible time," said lead singer and guitarist Alli Walls, an East Village resident. "It's great to be hanging around all day with the other amazing bands and always awesome to catch the passersby of all kinds that come through the park. Energy is always unmatched at the Tompkins shows — Ozzie puts the best bills together." 

And Skorts has been on many bills of late. (Oh My Rockness NYC had them at No. 4 in its 2023 "hardest-working bands" list.)

Last Friday, they released their latest single, "Steal the Night," which showcases the band's alluring, fuzzed-out pop-psych sensibilities. (As one writer put it, Skorts "wouldn’t sound out of place on a Sub Pop or Matador Records mix tape from the mid-90s.")

Alli Walls...

Char Smith (lead guitar and an EV resident)...

Emma Welch (bass and backing vocals)...

Max Yassky (filling in on drums)...

You can find Skorts on Bandcamp here. 

Their next show is Wednesday night at The Sultan Room in Bushwick.

Leaving you with two of the band's videos... "Eat Your Heart Out" and "Cyclops Girlfriend"... 

  The next Show Brains show in Tompkins Square Park is July 14.

Upclose with Gustaf at Berlin

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Gustaf was set to headline Sunday's free show via Show Brain in Tompkins Square Park. 

After a galloping set by Shred Flintstone, the rain arrived... and we all left thinking we wouldn't get to see the last two bands — Miranda and the Beat and Gustaf. 

However, we received a message saying the two groups would each be playing sets for free at Berlin, the space under 2A at Avenue A and Second Street. 

We arrived in time to see the art-punk swagger of the Brooklyn-based Gustaf, a two-album quintet gaining momentum thanks to some unbridled live sets, both as headliners and supporting UK acts such as IDLES, Sleaford Mods, and Yard Act.

The last time we encountered Gustaf, they energized the vast outdoor stage with their performance at the Kilby Block Party in May, transforming a potentially dull early afternoon slot into a festival highlight.

Fast-forward to Sunday evening, and they seized every inch of Berlin's intimate venue with unrestrained energy, led by charismatic lead singer Lydia Gammill... (watch a live clip here)...

50 Avenue B now on Housewatch

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Signage is now up for Housewatch, the new name of the bar at 50 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

It also marks the rebranding of the basement venue, Gama Lounge. That team, composed of several firefighters, is now running the ground-level space. (Housewatch is also in the firefighter's lexicon — the person who receives and acknowledges all alarms and maintains the firehouse directory.)

Housewatch takes over for Joey Bats Café, which we noted last week closed this outpost. Joey Bats will continue selling its signature pastéis de nata from the Essex Market, Grand Central Terminal and Chelsea Market. Joey Batista (aka Bats) was previously a partner in Gama Lounge.

Ramones revelry: Punk Magazine's John Holmstrom hosts art and cartoons bash at Metropolis

Since May 19, Joey Ramone's birthday, East Village resident John Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor, and illustrator of Punk Magazine, has hosted a celebration of all things Ramones in the basement at Metropolis Vintage. 

Tomorrow (Saturday!) marks the last day, with events happening from 2 to 7 p.m. The afternoon includes a screening of some Ramomes animated cartoons and, from 4 to 7, the Live Punk Art Event. 

Per Holmstrom: "We have been staging these events for several weeks, and it’s been creating some really interesting images. Some of the drawings are now available to buy online at an auction website. (50% or more of sales will go to the Lymphoma Foundation in the name of the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash, which has raised over $100,000 since 2001!)." 

Joey Ramone died on April 15, 2001, of lymphoma. 

Metropolis is at 803 Broadway and 11th Street. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• At the start of Joey Ramone Weekend at Metropolis Vintage