1 St. Mark's Place gets lit

Photos by Jacob Ford

A milestone of sorts at 1 St. Mark's Place — interior illumination!

Even this feels like a long time coming.

The previous buildings here, which included retail tenants such as Korilla BBQ, the Continental and McDonald's, were demolished in the summer of 2019 to make way for an office building. 

There was a lot of drama surrounding the size of the building (flashback), and work was stopped for 10 months as Madison Capital Realty tried foreclosing on the property in 2021. Foundation work finally started in late August 2022 — this after crews and equipment were assembled here in the summer of 2020. 

Still, a ways to go, though, on the 9-story office building on the NW corner at Third Avenue.

The developer, Brandon Miller, was found dead in his Hamptons home in July. Miller, who took his own life, was reported to be $34 million in debt.

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Chucky on A today...

About the Earth School Fall Fair

The annual Fall Fair will be held on Saturday at The Earth School in the playground on Fourth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Details via the EVG inbox: 

The event is open to the entire community and will include games and crafts, a bounce house, tasty food, and a rummage sale. We can't wait to have a fun-filled day with our community.

This week in milling and paving

The DOT posted flyers earlier this week stating that crews would be milling Avenue A from Houston to 14th Street starting last night. (The DOT's website had a Thursday evening start date — see screengrab below.)

Milling Avenue A this week might have been the final nail in the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade coffin, tentatively set for Saturday afternoon on Avenue A between Seventh Street and 14th Street.

However, we're told that the city has postponed this work and even updated its weekly schedule to reflect that change.

Also, as several readers have noted, part of Avenue A was already milled back in MARCH. 

Meanwhile, after finishing a whole block last Friday night, Second Avenue is scheduled to be paved during the evenings this week. 

Also! Third Avenue is scheduled to be paved Friday night from 12th Street and Houston.

All of this is very subject to change.

Thanks to the EVG reader for the top pic.

Openings: Cuts & Slices on Houston

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Cuts & Slices, the popular Bed-Stuy pizzeria, debuts its Lower East Side outpost today at 321 E. Houston St. between Attorney and Ridge. 

Owners Ashlee and Randy Mclaren (above) gave us a quick look inside the other day as they were prepping for the grand opening...

Described by Eater as a "Trinidadian-leaning pizza parlor," the Mclarens have built a loyal following through social media. Their unique slice offerings include chopped cheese, curried oxtail and jerk shrimp. (Read a rave review about the pizza at Eater.) In a feature from April, the Times called Cuts & Slices "New York's Most Exciting Pizza."

They'll be open today from noon until they sell out of slices. 

This will make the third location for the brand that first opened in Brooklyn in 2018.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

The line this evening for the grand reopening of TabeTomo at 131 Avenue A. (The line went up A and west on Ninth Street.) 

The tsukemen specialty shop had been closed since an early morning fire upstairs on April 24.

And thanks to everyone who sent in line photos tonight...

Scratch that: The random songs of the 80s and 90s return to Key Food

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

The static-y-sounding versions of the delightfully eclectic hits from the 1980s and 1990s are back at Key Food.

This past week, reader reports came in that the soundtrack of our shopping lives returned to the grocery on Avenue A and Fourth Street after a 13-day hiatus. (This marked the second time the music died here in three months.)

However, it sounded as if you were listening to, say, Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You" on a radio with abysmal reception.

According to store manager Richie Gaitan, while the music is back, it does not sound great as the store waits for a part to arrive for its PA system. In addition, the in-store intercom system is still not working, so you won't hear them calling for Ralph in produce or someone to "look at the broken recyclables machines" outside. 

There is no estimate on the music repair date; it will be "when the part comes in...soon, I hope." 

In the interim — classic Halloween decor is up for your enjoyment.

P.S. 

During the research of this post, I heard in order: 

• Level 42's "Lessons in Love" 

• Men without Hats' "The Safety Dance" 

• Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"

Closings: Dora on Avenue B

Photo by Stacie Joy 

After 15 months in business, Dora's Restaurant has closed at 40 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

The restaurant serving Peruvian cuisine (operated by siblings Dora and Oskar Morales) was recently denied a full liquor license by Community Board 3. 

According to the minutes of last month's CB3 meeting, there were 24 commercial 311 complaints for the restaurant, with seven requiring NYPD action. In addition, CB3 noted that they broke their signed stipulations and kept their windows open past 10 p.m. with DJs as entertainment. The minutes also show that there were allegations that they were serving liquor without a permit.

Residents also said that the previous tenant at the address, El Carnaval, was a problem neighbor. El Carnaval was accused of serving liquor without a license in the summer of 2021. There's a video from the meeting here. (El Carnaval was first up.) 

We heard from multiple neighbors who complained about blaring music via DJs outside the quick-serve spot in the summer of 2020 — when restaurants expanded to sidewalk and curbside spaces. 

Dora continued the tradition after taking over from El Carnaval, which shuttered in the summer of 2022. 

Fonda, the previous tenant at 40 Avenue B, closed during the pandemic. For eight years, Fonda stopped the revolving door of restaurants to come and go here. (Octavia's Porch, anyone?)

Lollo Ristorante Pizzeria & Bar has not been open lately on Avenue B

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Lollo Ristorante Pizzeria & Bar, located at 27 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street, has been dark lately. 

Google lists them as temporarily closed, though OpenTable marks them as permanently closed. (Calls to Lollo go unanswered.)

After an extensive renovation, Lollo debuted this past November. 

The space was previously home to the always-dependable Solo Pizza, which closed following a rent hike in September 2022 after 15 years in business.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

Evening view of Avenue A and Seventh Street...

The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade will go on — or will it? Why no one seems to know.

2023 photo by Stacie Joy

Reporting by Stacie Joy

Updated: The parade is ON: Details here.

In recent years, as Halloween approaches, we have received updates on the Tomkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. Sometimes, there is an on-again-off-again dance, and this year is no different — except that we are still all in limbo for the 34th edition. 

With the Parade scheduled in just a few days, no one seems to know what is happening. 

Joseph Borduin, the parade producer, seems as confused as we are. He mentions a frustrating and ongoing lack of cooperation from the City and a long wait with bureaucratic stumbling blocks to get the event up and running on (gulp) Saturday — this Saturday. 

As of press time, the event has been pared down to a parade processional only — no contests, no judges, emcees, stage or prizes — and the location has been moved to Avenue A between 14th Street and Seventh Street, with barricades preventing (or attempting to prevent) people from entering Tompkins Square Park. There will also be a registration process, with a cap of 800 people. The event hours are still 1 to 3 p.m., and the parade is sponsored by The Veterinary Emergency Group. 

Right now, there are more questions than answers. Borduin said he and his team of organizers are "still waiting for the city to schedule a walkthrough with city agencies to approve the parade route before they can release anything official."

So, even this information may be subject to change. As soon as we have more information, we'll share it with you.

Today: A rally to landmark the historic New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

Village Preservation, along with disabled advocacy groups, neighborhood organizations, local elected officials, and members of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary community, will hold a rally and press conference this morning at 11 to call on the city to designate the hospital's historic main building (above) as a landmark.

The future of the building and the hospital on the NE corner of Second Avenue and 13th Street has been in doubt since they were acquired by Mount Sinai Health System. (In 2013, following the merger of Continuum Health Partners, Inc. with The Mount Sinai Medical Center, the hospital was officially renamed the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.) 

As organizers previously noted: 

In late 2022, Mount Sinai Beth-Israel, the parent corporation of the 200-year-old New York Eye and Ear Infirmary that serves people with hearing and vision disabilities, applied before the Public Health and Health Planning Council to merge operating certificates with the Infirmary — a tactic that would enable MSBI to more easily move services out of the site and around the city, paving the way for a sale of the historic Infirmary. 

The Infirmary owns two buildings here — 14th Street and Second Avenue and 13th Street and Second Avenue — and the vacant lot on 13th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Real-estate insiders have said the parcel could fetch upwards of $70 million for some new development. 

Those gathered today will call for preserving the hospital, said to be the oldest specialized hospital in the Western Hemisphere, and its historic building, the ribbon cutting for which was performed by Hellen Keller. 

Another piece of trivia: The building on Second Avenue and 13th Street served as a setting in "The Godfather," in which Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) moves his father's hospital bed, saving him from a possible assassination attempt...

 

Can you spot the new building going up on 14th Street and Avenue C?

Quick update on the 24-story building rising on the SW corner of 14th Street and Avenue C... we're receiving a lot of comments about how large it looks (up to the 18th floor?).

Here is a closer view...

Also, no word yet on the affordable housing units said to be available here. 

You can find more background on this project in previous posts here and here.

The HEYTEA brand is opening an outpost on 2nd Avenue

Photo by Steven

HEYTEA is opening its latest NYC branch at 128 Second Ave. Signage arrived a few days ago on the storefront just south of St. Mark's Place. 

The brand started in China in 2012, and now there are 4,000-plus locations worldwide selling a variety of milk and fruit teas... including a handful in NYC.

The previous tenant, Roasted NYC, was open for about a year... morphing from the weed-related NYC Kind Cafe ... which took over for the short-lived Paint Puff "N" Peace in 2022.