Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with an opossum pic in Tompkins by Clay Roberts)... 

• The Loisaida CommUnity Fridge on 9th and B needs a new home — here's why (Monday) 

• RIP Hettie Jones (Tuesday) 

• A happy retirement to Jane and Billy, closing Katinka after 45 years in the East Village (Wednesday)

• Printed Matter/St. Marks is leaving St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• Gov. Hochul makes a splash with funding for new in-ground swimming pool at Tompkins Square Park (Friday) 

• German supermarket powerhouse Lidl is opening an outpost on the Lower East Side (Monday) 

• The multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park are closed for painting (Monday) ... Painting it black on the TF in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday) 

• NYU buys dorm on Cooper Square that everyone already thought was an NYU dorm (Tuesday)

• Renovating 82 2nd Ave. for the arrival of Kebabwala from the Unapologetic Foods team (Tuesday) 

• At a 6th & B Garden Variety performance with Angela Di Carlo and Dirty Martini (Thursday) 

• A look inside Castellano Electric Motors on the Lower East Side (Thursday) 

• A late summer refresh for Bin 141 (Wednesday) 

• A signage setback at Ben's Deli (Wednesday) 

• A lot of hoop-la for this high-tech basketball backboard in Tompkins Square Park (Friday)

• '24 comeback for Elvis on Great Jones (Monday) 

• UWS hotspot Bánh Vietnamese Shop House opening a new restaurant in the East Village (Monday) 

• A quartet of murals for 2nd and A (Wednesday) 

• Summer ends on a positive note as the shopping soundtrack of our lives returns to Key Food (Friday) 

... and a reader shared this photo of some comfy new seats to wait for the M9 on Avenue C...

A repainted multipurpose court comes into view in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The multi-purpose courts/TF will reopen on Tuesday... after workers complete repainting the surface of the space along Avenue A and 10th Street. 

The crew will apparently be working on Labor Day to get this done.

 Here's how it's looking now...

The walking track around the perimeter seems to be taking shape. (Does anyone with an aerial view of the courts along 10th Street have any photos to share?)

The asphalt was just getting broken in again after renovations from Oct. 16 to Dec. 1. In addition to new asphalt, Parks added benches, fountains and three basketball backstops. 

We'll see how everyone co-exists in this new configuration. The court has been a skating hotspot for decades. 

So far, "suburban" is the word we're hearing about the new look.

As Quartersnacks noted in June 2023 about the repainted surface: "It will be a shock to the system in terms of the park's Feng Shui, but skateboarders have adjusted to way worse changes."

Sunday's opening shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

The Labor Day weekend move-in/out and capturing all the feelings on Fourth Street and Avenue B... 

Saturday's parting shot

Here's a late-summer look at the world-famous wisteria on Stuyvesant Street. 

s neighbor Harold Appel noted, "The wisteria not only survived the spring pruning, it is thriving!"

6 posts from August

A mini month in review... (with a photo from 2nd Avenue by Rainer Turim) ... 

• A new East Village home for Gizmo (Aug. 22) 

• Remembering Harold Meltzer (Aug. 21) 

• Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place (Aug. 19) 

• East Village musician Jesse Malin provides an update on his spinal stroke and thanks everyone for their ongoing support (Aug. 17) 

• The 4-year-old East Village Neighbors Community Fridge will no longer be in service on 12th Street and 1st Avenue (Aug. 16) 

• Mayor Adams unveils the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition for long-problematic East Village corridor (Aug. 9)

About 2 free shows in Tompkins Square Park this weekend

The annual New Village Music Festival is today from 2-6 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park. 

According to organizers, the festival "was created as a vehicle to unite people of all ages and ethnicities. It is a free outdoor community concert that celebrates music, culture, and community." 

 You can find more details on the official Facebook page and website. 

And tomorrow (Sunday!) afternoon... Show Brain is back with a slate of bands...

Saturday's opening shot

A morning view today from Cooper Square...

Psychedelic purrs

 

For the long weekend, a long set of music... a live performance by the Osees from the Freak Valley Festival in Netphen, Germany, earlier this summer. 

Osees, who have a new album out now (their 35th in the past year or so), are one of our favorite live acts. See for yourself this Oct. 24-25 at Warsaw in Brooklyn.

Have a nice Labor Day weekend. See you Tuesday.

Summer ends on a positive note as the shopping soundtrack of our lives returns to Key Food

After nearly three weeks' worth of deathly silence in the aisles of Key Food, we heard the familiar strains of Janet Jackson's "Control" upon entering the grocery at the start of the Labor Day weekend... from her third studio album of the same name (1986). 

Hop to it 

I'm in control, and I love it, hahaha, that's right 

Control

Now I've got a lot 

Control

As previously reported, the PA system at the grocery on Avenue A and Fourth Street went kaput (paraphrasing), and management needs to wait for a part to arrive to jumpstart the music and the directives for store personnel (Richie, line two, please). 

The store is open 24/7, and you'll always hear some random song from your deep past booming from the PA above.

Gov. Hochul makes a splash with funding for new in-ground swimming pool at Tompkins Square Park

Say so long to to Tompkins Square Park mini pool. (And yes, Tompkins Square Park has a mini pool.) 

On Wednesday, Gov. Hochul announced nearly $150 million in capital grants to fund 37 projects "as part of the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative — New York's biggest investment in swimming since the New Deal." 

Here's more from Hochul's office: 

The program provides grants between $50,000 and $10 million to help municipalities design, construct, rehabilitate, or modernize public swimming facilities, focusing on supporting disadvantaged and underserved communities that lack access to safe swimming and outdoor recreation opportunities. Applications were evaluated on characteristics of project need, impact and viability. 

Tompkins Square Park will receive $6.1 million for the new pool project. Specifics: 

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation will reconstruct and expand the mini pool at Tompkins Square Park by removing the existing above-ground mini pool and replacing it with an in-ground pool, doubling the current capacity. 

Additionally, they will replace the filtration system, expand the pool decks, replace the perimeter fencing and gates, and add outdoor pool showers and a new lifeguard chair. 

And nearby on Houston and Pitt, the Hamilton Fish Recreation Center Pool is getting $10 million: 

This project will reconstruct the recreation center, outdoor terraces, pool, and pool filter plant at Hamilton Fish Park. The architectural renovation will transform this historic site by bringing it up to today’s safety and accessibility standards for the benefit of the community. 

There is no word on the timing or timeline for the local pool projects. The Tompkins mini pool was closed for the second consecutive summer while the field house underwent renovations. 

If this project gets underway next year, the pool could be closed for a third summer. However, given the design and procurement phases, that's an ambitious timeline.

A lot of hoop-la for this high-tech basketball backboard in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Derek Berg 

Tompkins Square Park is the temporary recipient of a "smart basketball hoop." 

A company called huupe is behind the technology that provides a lot of feedback on your game. 

NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, huupe CEO Paul Anton, local elected officials, CB3 members, and several TV news crews were on hand yesterday to unveil the basketball courts along 10th Street near Avenue B. 

Here's more from the Parks Department: 

The new basketball hoop technology offers a range of advanced features designed to elevate the game. Its waterproof backboard functions as a video screen, delivering expert training content, live TV, and interactive elements to enrich the playing experience. 

Equipped with advanced sensors and an integrated webcam, the hoop provides real-time feedback on shot accuracy, trajectory, and court positioning, allowing players to refine their skills with precision. Additionally, huupe facilitates global gaming by enabling real-time shooting contests with players from around the world, boasting 99% accuracy in tracking remote competitions and fostering a competitive, international community. 

The concept for huupe originated from a remote game of 'PIG' played via Snapchat between lifelong friends Paul Anton and Lyth Saeed. Their experience highlighted a gap in remote sports interactions, sparking the creation of huupe ... Now, Anton and Saeed are dedicated to extending its benefits to underserved communities.

The hoop was installed on Tuesday and will be up until early October. (No word on whether the huupe has a built-in alarm to deter it from being stolen.)

If you want to recreate this at home, the Huupe Mini is $599, while the outdoor Huupe Pro costs $9,995.

We've come a long way from the bottomless milk crate. 

Earlier this summer, the courts were closed for several weeks to resurface, install new rims and backboards, and paint a new mural.

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Part of the doorways of 10th Street series...

Free screening tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Slums of Beverly Hills'

As a reminder... there's a free screening tonight of "Slums of Beverly Hills," writer-director Tamara Jenkins's feature debut from 1998 with Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Corrigan.

   

The screening will take place in the middle of the park (where the bands play), starting, per the flyer, at 7:30. There will also be some free pizza from Two Boots (while supplies last!).

Printed Matter/St. Marks is leaving St. Mark's Place

After six years in the front lobby of The Swiss Institute on the SE corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue, the Printed Matter outpost will vacate the space this fall. 

 Here's more about the departure from an Instagram post yesterday: 

We are saddened to announce the closing of Printed Matter/St Marks... The last day the storefront will be open to the public is October 13, 2024. The bookstore came into existence in 2018 as the result of a rare and wonderful collaboration with the Swiss Institute, and we thank them for their incredible hospitality and partnership that made the storefront possible. 

The St Mark's space has been a remarkable site for experimentation, maintaining a specialty focus on the East Village neighborhood and its history as a home for avant-garde art and countercultural publications, offering a selection of independently published books by artists, zines, prints, and historical material. The location oversaw a full calendar of programs, window installations and workshops, including four editions of the East Village Zine Fair, a joyous and wildly successful outdoor zine fair organized in collaboration with 8-Ball Community. 

We are grateful to the many Printed Matter staff members who have contributed so much energy and talent to all that the space undertook! Stay tuned for future announcements, events, and special sales taking place at Printed Matter/St Marks in the weeks ahead. 

We always hate to hear about a bookstore closing, especially one hosting a favorite event — the annual zine fairs on St. Mark's Place. They will be missed!