Dressing up Avenue A for a 1990s crime thriller

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

We've fielded several questions in the past 24 hours about the film production underway on the southern end of Avenue A between Houston and Third Street...

Posted flyers show a project called "Chelsea Honeymoon." Sources tell us this is the Darren Aronofsky-helmed thriller "Caught Stealing" starring Austin Butler ... and an impressive cast that includes Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Will Brill, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne and Vincent D’Onofrio. 

Per Deadline: 

Based on the books by Charlie Huston, who adapted the screenplay, the film follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a burned-out former baseball player, as he's unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of '90s NYC. 

Double Down Saloon on Avenue A looks to be playing a key supporting role. Recently added worn signage on the storefront advertises a "Paul's Bar" (or maybe just "Pauls Bar"). 

Staff at the bar (suspiciously clean on Saturday evening!) confirmed they will be closed through at least Sept. 27, though management declined to reveal the film's name or any other production details.

Across Avenue A, set dressers have also fit Conor's Goat with a 1990s-ish sign for a coffee shop... a staffer there said this was just for some exterior shots and that other businesses along this stretch may also be getting some vintage signage... (Unlike Double Down, Conor's Goat remains open for business.)

Filming notices are posted on parts of Avenue A, Avenue B, Second Street and Third Street ... with dates until Sept. 27. 

The film's release promises to attract considerable interest. Aronofsky's filmography includes "The Whale," "Black Swan," "Mother!," "The Wrestler," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Pi."

Façade exploration underway at former P.S. 64

Reader photo above; Jose Garcia photo below

Residents were surprised to see workers in a bucket lift this weekend at the site of the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center at 605 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Here's what's happening at the long-vacant, landmarked building, according to an email from the East Village Community Coalition: 

As part of ongoing building stabilization and preservation efforts, a bucket lift will be on site as per the schedule below so that preservation architects and engineers can assess existing conditions by gently tapping (sounding) the façade elements with a rubber mallet. This sounding exercise is intended to ensure that the terracotta elements of the façade are safely tied into the building structure and are not in danger of falling. 

Elements that are not safely secured to the building may be removed for public safety purposes, and retained for replication or reinstallation. We have been assured that this work was planned in conversation with NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and Landmarks Conservancy, and that the building is not being demolished or harmed in any way. 

Please note the "No Parking" signs! A partial street closure will be in effect but is not expected to affect bus routes. 

605 E. Ninth St. 

• 8 am — 6 pm, Sept. 14 

• 9 am — 6 pm, Sept. 15 

• 8 am — 6 pm, Sept. 21 

350 E. 10th St. 

• 9 am — 6 pm, Sept. 22 

• 8 am — 6 pm, Sept. 28 

This is the first noticeable work we've seen since owner Gregg Singer sold the crumbling property. 

In a transaction filed on Jan. 9, an entity going as 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC bought the property from longtime owner Gregg Singer for $57,267,453, per public records. 

The LLC reportedly (per The Real Deal) has ties to Aaron Sosnick, a billionaire hedge fund manager who lives next door in the Christodora House. Denham Wolf Real Estate Services stated that the LLC is "a philanthropic entity with the purpose of returning the property to community use."

Through the years, Singer, who bought the building from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.1 million, wanted to turn the one-time P.S. 64 into a dorm, though those plans never materialized, and the building has sat in disrepair. The 135,000-square-foot building is zoned for “community facility use,” and any conversion to a condoplex or residential housing would require a zoning variance. 

As previously noted, some residents want to see the space used again as a community center, as it was during its time as Charas/El Bohio Community Center. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001.

More details emerge about the new Whole Foods Market StuyTown on 14th Street

On Wednesday, Whole Foods Market will open its first smaller-format store, Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, at 1175 Third Ave. on the UES. 

The announcement also sheds some light on what to expect from the previously announced (in July) Whole Foods set to open next year in the former Associated Space on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

From a Whole Foods press release on Friday: 

Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will provide a convenient option for grab-and-go meals and snacks, weekly essentials, and a quick, easy destination to pick up ingredients to complete a meal—with all items meeting the company’s rigorous quality standards. 

The innovative, smaller-format stores will range between 7,000 and 14,000 square feet, or about a quarter to half the footprint of an average 40,000-square-foot store. 

Features and product assortment of the Lenox Hill location include: 

• More than 400 local products from 100+ Northeast-based suppliers, including New York-based favorites Family Farmstead Dairy, The White Moustache, Annie’s Ginger Elixir, Dam Good English Muffins, and Mill Hollow Maple Syrup. 

• New local brands are launching at the Lenox Hill location, including Jack & Friends, P-Nuff Crunch, and Mimi Cheng’s. Additionally, TALEA Beer Co. is introducing its Lenox Hill Pilsner, which will only be available at the Lenox Hill location. 

• First Juice & Java venue in New York City, offering coffee, tea, juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and various desserts. 

• Launch of new ready-to-heat sous vide entrees and sides from the Whole Foods Market Kitchens brand. Single-serve hot bowls and meals include health-forward Teriyaki Salmon, Falafel Tahini, and Chipotle Chicken grain and protein bowls. 

• Whole Foods Market favorites, including an ample selection of fresh, seasonal produce, meat and seafood, prepared foods like sandwiches and pre-packed meals, breads, alcohol, and supplements, as well as a handpicked range of local specialties and our own 365 by Whole Foods Market brand. 

Meanwhile, Beam Living shared the following email with StuyTown residents on Friday: 

This store will be one of the first locations of the new Whole Foods Market Daily Shop — a recently announced quick-shop concept from the grocer. 

Whole Foods Market StuyTown will provide a convenient option for grab-and-go meals and snacks, weekly essentials, and the wide range of fresh, seasonal produce that Whole Foods Market is known and loved for. This location will also feature Juice & Java, which provides coffee, tea, fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups, and desserts. 

We believe this smaller-footprint concept will be a perfect fit for our community, and we are excited to add Whole Foods Market as another best-in-class grocery option to the neighborhood alongside offerings from Trader Joe’s, D'Agostino Supermarkets, and Target. 

We are currently in the early stages of readying the space for the new store and look forward to sharing more information on an opening timeline later this year.

A Whole Foods Market Daily Shop will also open in Hell's Kitchen, making three for Manhattan. 

Back in February 2021, StuyTown management informed residents that Chef's Local Harvest, a 10,000-square-foot grocery store, would open in this 14th Street space ... from the father-son duo Paul and Aaron Fernandez, who helped create the Union Market chainlet (as seen on Avenue A and Houston) and Ideal Marketplace in Chelsea. 

Associated closed here in December 2019. Joseph Falzon, the store's owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence for nearly two years. 

Lastly, the StuyTown people have apparently spoken... (not sure about the validity of this poll, such as the sample size and corresponding margin of error! And would a Chick-fil-A really go into the same space as the former Associated?)

 

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On the CB3 docket tonight: An outpost of Bushwick pizzeria Ops; longer hours for Penny

Photo by Steven 

Tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting is on the light side (there are several applicants for places below Houston). 

Here are a few items to note around here...

New Liquor License Applications 

Mike Fadem, the chef and owner behind Bushwick's Ops (and sister pizzeria Leo in Williamsburg), looks to open a Neopolitan-style joint at 176 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. 

Proposed hours for the space (54 indoor seats, including a 7-seat bar) are noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close Friday and Saturday. (Questionnaire here.) 

The sourdough-leavened pizzas at Ops always get high marks... and, FWIW, Time Out recently ranked them at No. 5 on a city's best pizza listicle. 

No. 176 previously housed Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana, which went dark in late 2023.

Items not heard at Committee 

• El Diablito Taqueria 

The taco shop at 60 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue will be getting a license to serve beer inside the small space. 

• Penny 

You'll likely have a better chance of getting into the raw bar and seafood counter at 90 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. 

According to the paperwork filed on the CB3 website, Penny is extending hours of operation to noon to midnight all days of the week. (Current hours: daily from 5-10:30 p.m.) 

Penny, upstairs from sibling Claud, was just added to the Michelin Guide New York. 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. Find the Zoom link here. 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.

Chicago's Dark Matter Coffee is coming to the Bowery

Dark Matter Coffee is opening its first NYC outpost with a location on the Bowery at First Street. 

Neon signage arrived for the respected coffee roaster on the SE corner last week. 

Dark Matter started on Chicago's west side in 2007, and there are now multiple locations (not to mention an online shop). 

It's not immediately clear if this will be a dedicated Dark Matter outpost called Dark Matter Coffee ... or a coffee shop serving Dark Matter (and other items) as seen in the brand's Osmium Coffee Bar, Star Lounge and Meddle Coffee Bar in Chicago. 

Known for its music-inflected irreverent branding (see their About) and transparent sourcing practices built on direct relationships with Latin American farmers, Dark Matter has expanded into other cities, teaming up, for example, with local entrepreneurs in San Antonio for a craft beer-coffee bar. 

Dark Matter founder Jessie Diaz recently shared more about the NYC storefront search and the loss of his brother, Rob, in an Instagram post.

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Dark Matter will enter a crowded coffee environment with Think Coffee across the Bowery at Bleecker and La Colombe inside the Whole Foods Market® Bowery ... not to mention Current Coffee in the Bowery Market at Great Jones. 

Former SW corner occupants Blue & Cream relocated its flagship outpost to 409 Bleecker St. in early 2023 after 15 years on the Bowery.

Extra taco time: Carnitas Ramírez expands its days of service on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

After nearly three months in service, Carnitas Ramírez is expanding its hours of operation at 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B. 

Starting this week, the popular taqueria will open on Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 10 p.m., adding on to its existing Friday-Sunday schedule...

In other Carnitas Ramírez news, they are now making their own tortillas in-house.

The sibling to Taqueria Ramírez, the celebrated Greenpoint establishment, continues to draw crowds and accolades. A few weeks back, in a post about the city's best tacos, Eater's Robert Sietsema wrote: "Carnitas Ramirez is game-changing, with pork options so flavorful and so varied — many virtually unknown in restaurants here — that they almost catapult the place into the fine-dining realm."

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg

A sidewalk cafe like no other on Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a debate-night scene from Kelly's on Avenue A via Stacie Joy) ...

• 2 men indicted for fatal Tompkins Square Park shooting (Friday) 

• D.A. Bragg announces sentencing of assistant in brutal 2020 Lower East Side murder of tech CEO (Thursday) 

• The 24-floor building rising on 14th and C appears to be one-third of the way home (Monday)

• 50-64 3rd Ave. wrapped for demolition (Monday) 

• A stunning photo of the Tribute in Light (Wednesday) 

• Inside a historic Stuyvesant Street home for sale (Thursday)

• Upright Citizens Brigade NYC reopens this week with new 14th Street venue (Monday) 

• Showing some summer love for Show Brain (Friday) 

• Why yes, the new building at 280 E. Houston St. does look quite enormous (Tuesday) 

• Serving up Pulp art at Abraço (Saturday) 

• This stretch of 2nd Avenue is now sidewalk-bridge free (Tuesday) 

• Coming attractions: The Feast of San Gennaro (Tuesday)

• Construction watch: 156 Rivington St., home of ABC No Rio (Thursday) 

• Soft openings: Sake Bar Asoko on the Lower East Side (Friday) 

• From Jamaican patties to macarons at 440 E. 9th St. (Tuesday) 

• Holy Cow! A burger joint for 14th and B (Tuesday)

• Café Social 68 temporarily closes for renovations on Avenue A, reopening in 2 weeks (Monday) 

• Signage, signage — everywhere signage! (Friday)

EVG Etc.: Testing the Good Cause Eviction law; exploring the East Village through a new exhibition at the Swiss Institute

Crossing 1st Avenue at 10th Street 

• A longtime East Village resident will be putting to test New York's recently enacted Good Cause Eviction law (CityLimits) 

• "Energies," the new exhibition at the Swiss Institute, invites visitors to explore other parts of the East Village related to the exhibition's themes of "ecological affordances and effects, social formations, and political arrangements attached to energy past and present" (World-Architects) 

• The rich history of 143-145 Avenue D (Village Preservation) 

• LES kava bar sues city to reopen (The Post) 

• The mayor's staffing decisions come back to haunt him (Politico) 

• The challenges facing the interim police commissioner (Gothamist) 

• The Lower East Side Film Festival debuts a new horror series in October (IndieWire) 

• 21-year-old man in critical condition after being struck by cab on Clinton and Delancey (1010 WINS ... PIX 11) 

• Eljuri Concerts for Democracy Fundraiser takes place on Sept. 26 at Drom on Avenue A (Official site) 

• "Batman" Day in theaters on Sept. 21 (Village East by Angelika) 

• How to get your apartment security deposit back (The City) 

• America's stores are winning the war on shoplifting (CNN)

Sunday's opening shot

Audrey Hepburn art on Avenue A and Seventh Street by Free Humanity ... who has a solo show now at CLLCTV.NYC on Third Street (No. 209 just east of Avenue B) through Sept. 26. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A visit to CLLCTV.NYC

I Spy: Serving up Pulp art at Abraço

Britpopsters Pulp has returned for its first stateside tour in 12 years, playing last night and tonight at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. 

In addition, Mark Webber, the band's guitarist, is releasing a personal history titled "I'm With Pulp, Are You?" (Hat & Beard Press) in November. 

Webber lived briefly on Seventh Street in the late 1990s. Yesterday, he stopped by Abraço, 81 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, to check out the artwork that Steve Keene created of Pulp's classic 1995 record Different Class. (The artwork is up for auction.) 

This might sound like Pulp fan fiction, but ... Cecilia Ghidotti, a fan who traveled from the UK to see the Brooklyn shows, came to Abraço while Webber was there. And a photo proves it  (thanks, Daniel Efram) ...

The Pulp art is expected to be up at the coffee shop through the end of the month.

Emigration

From the Poetry Window at East Village Books... featuring the work of Johnny H., an East Village poet...

The water runs off the Lower East Side 

Changing color over the age 

The elm gave up contributing 

How many years has that been 

How many years ago 

Was the blood of my birth 

The wrens when did they fly away 

At the price of a song

The city breathes dispensation 

Into the fruit of the land 

Have you flown there yet 

Did your wanting change 

Did you see the subway train 

From a seat in the tree 

You may not know 

You will not be ready for it 

A most inappropriate time 

You will alter 

The tint of the sea

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

An assist from the crew at Ludlow Garage (another single-level business on the LES!) on Attorney Street...

Cum as you are

 

Local experimental art-punk group cumgirl8 released a new video this week for the track "ahhhh!hhhh! (I don't wanna go)." 

The single is on the band's 4AD debut, the 8th cumming, out on Oct. 4. 

As for the video, it's a parody of a 1990s televangelical talk show in which they answer the question, "What is a cumgirl?"