[Updated] Mercadito Cantina closing Jan. 30

Staffers at Mercadito Cantina on Avenue B have begun telling regulars that the offshoot of the flagship eatery across the street will close on Jan. 30.

One source said that a lack of a liquor license doomed the cantina. (Beer and wine are available. However, otherwise, the bar serves "tric-quila.") CB3 turned twice turned down their request for a full liquor license, citing an oversaturation of bars in the area.

Without being able to offer margaritas, Mercadito Cantina had to charge more for their food.

The flagship Mercadito across the street will remain open.

Update:
Eater has more details ...

They are turning their space . . . into an event space where they'll offer "innovative cooking demonstrations by Chef Sandoval, beverage classes by Tippling Bros., private party packages and more."

With deadline looming, Chloe Sevigny still hasn't applied to become a Community Board member

Applications are due today (or at least postmarked) in Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's office to be considered for a community board appointment. (DNAinfo's Patrick Hedlund just wrote a piece telling more about the process here.)

So! As you probably remember, Chloe Sevigny said in an interview last May that she'd like to be on Community Board 3 ...

Last evening, I asked Audrey Gelman, Stringer's press secretary, if Chloe had turned in an application yet.

"Sadly she has not applied to date, but I am looking forward to her new line for Opening Ceremony."

P.S.
And Chloe isn't dating Pauly D. This new feature in The Boston Phoenix explains what happened.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Still waiting for Chloe Sevigny's community board application

[Top image via]

Latest addition to Kenny Scharf's mural: Security cameras

The Kenny Scharf mural here on Houston and the Bowery has been bombed twice now... (here ... and here)

After this, several people mentioned that someone mounted security cameras here... Sure enough, as we saw last night...

Iconic blizzard bike quickly alienating neighbors with new crowd

Sighing...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: Q-and-A with the bike that became an iconic symbol of the 2010 Holiday Blizzard

2 Cooper Square moves back to the east side

In a post last month, EV Grieve reader Stedman alertly noted the new sign outside 2 Cooper Square on the Bowery.... "Are we the West Village now? I didn't get the memo."



So the 2 Cooper power brokers have put up a more accurate sign to reflect their address...

Previously on EV Grieve:
2 Cooper Square decides that its in the West Village now

Goodbye yellow brick wall with graffiti....

Here on the sushi place on St Mark's Place at Avenue A....

Before!



Now!

And look who just had a photo shoot here.

[Updated] Small fire reported on 11th Street and Avenue C

EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams reports that there was a small fire this evening at the Village East Towers on 11th Street and Avenue C. Fire crews responded at 7:30 and quickly extinguished the blaze. No reports of injuries. No other details are available now.

[Updated] Building security said it was a cooking-related fire in an apartment.

On this date in 1874...

Via amNY:

On Jan. 13 137 years ago, a historic riot broke out in Tompkins Square Park. Reeling from an economic depression, more than 7,000 unemployed workers rallied in 1874 to force the city to create a public-works program to provide jobs to residents. But unbeknownst to the protesters, the city made a last-minute decision to revoke their demonstration permit. When police began rounding up people, chaos ensued. Eyewitness Samuel Gompers described the scene, saying “mounted police charged the crowd on Eighth Street, riding them down and attacking men, women, and children without discrimination. It was an orgy of brutality.” Schools were placed on lockdown, but in the end, no one was killed in the mayhem.

[Thanks to Red Riotdog for the tip]

Seeing double on St. Mark's Place: There are now two 2 Bros

As we first reported on Jan. 3, Totale Pizza on St. Mark's Place near Second Avenue closed... the owners also run the successful 2 Bros a few doors away...

Well, the former Totale space is now another 2 Bros...

Meanwhile, the other location on the block remains open...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Upscale slices for the former Totale space?

A reader alert from El Camion

El Camion opened today at 12th Street and Avenue A... A reader just sent along an e-mail:

"Eating at El Camion. It is delicious! Nice atmosphere, too."

City Hall, 5:31 p.m., Jan. 13

Ellen Stewart, 91

There are reports now that La Mama founder Ellen Stewart has passed away. She was 91.

Stewart founded La Mama in a Lower East Side basement back in 1961 ... and guided the theater to its current mini-empire on East Fourth Street. "Not only did she introduce unusual new work to the stage; she also helped colonize a new territory for the theater, planting a flag in the name of low-budget experimental productions on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and creating the capital of what became known as Off Off Broadway," according to her obituary in the Times today.

As Michael Feingold wrote on Runnin' Scared, Stewart opened every La MaMa performance the way same: By "ringing a cowbell and declaring, 'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to La MaMa, dedicated to the playwright and to all aspects of the theater.'"

Wrote Blue Glass upon hearing the news: "There will never be another like her."

[Photo via La Mama]

Easy as 123, apparently

The Post today looks at how some new developments managed to survive during these challenging economic times... and they feature our very own 123 Third Avenue ...now coming to life at 14th Street and Third Avenue in East Union Square ...


Per the article:

“People aren’t buying from paper anymore, they want to see what they’re getting,” says Corcoran Sunshine Marketing’s Henry Hershkowitz, sales director for 123 Third Ave. ... “You don’t want to wait until it’s totally done; you just want the tools to sell it.”

At 123 Third Ave., Hershkowitz has been able to put more than 80 percent of the units into contract. Condos start as low as $600,000 and go up to $4.525 million.“More than 50 percent [of the building is made up of] one-bedrooms,” Hershkowitz says. “They sold quickly. They’re all sold out.”

And $600,000 is considered "low?"

Previously.

Possible delay in emergency responses today for Building Inspections

We'll periodically have information on local fire company activities, including when they are closed for periods of time... particularly the FDNY’s Engine 28 and Ladder 11 — the two fire companies quartered at 222 E. Second St.

The following fire companies that are located in the East Village OR that respond to emergencies in the East Village will be conducting Building Inspection (BI) at the following times on Thursday (and every Thursday):

10 am - 1 pm (AM BI Period) L-6, L-18, L-20
1 pm - 4 pm (PM BI Period) E-5, L-11, L-9, E-9, E-15

Building Inspection may cause delays in response because parts of their Buidling Inspection District are not in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd due emergency response area.

Remembering Eddie Graham

On this day in 2008, Eddie Graham passed away.

[Photo by Bob Arihood]

You probably saw Eddie. He lived under a Linden tree — year-round — in front of 195 E. Fourth St., just a little east of Avenue A. He seemed to be there for years. I have no idea how many. Then one day he was gone. Another character in our daily lives who had suddenly vanished. Bob Arihood wrote about Eddie's life and death at Neither More Nor Less. You can read that here. You can read about one of his dreams here.

Today, Eddie's garden that he tended under the Linden tree is gone. There's just soil there now. But if you look at the tree in front of 195 E. Fourth St., a little above eye level, there's a rusted metal plaque screwed into the tree that reads "Eddie's Garden."

How a Canadian publication just scared off tourists from using the Mars 2112 bathrooms

A Vancouver-based online publication recently unleashed a listicle titled "Passport to the world's 12 best and worst bar bathrooms."

Hmm, I can think of some lousy shitters in the East Village... you know, I love Mars Bar ... Hey, look — the Mars Bar toilets made the list! ... and, oh... Oops!

HA, HA, HA... Anyway, some good out of it: The publication used Goggla's photos with it!

Looking at Percy's...

El Camion opens today at 12th Street and Avenue A... Speaking of Avenue A eateries... we haven't discussed Percy's at the corner of 13th Street very much... As Eater noted back on Dec. 15, Knife + Fork, the former Fourth Street restaurant that was operating inside Percy's, shut down...



And Percy's was said to be expanding its menu ... Anyway, there's new signage up here...



I still haven't eaten here... I was going to stop by one Sunday afternoon for a few beers and what not, but there was some sort of brunch-time band playing... which I wasn't in the mood for...



Has anyone eaten here? To be honest, I've been rooting for this place since longtime East Village resident Larry Watson made his pitch before the CB3/SLA in June. As he said: "I love this neighborhood and would never do anything to compromise all the years and continued effort that was put into our neighborhood. I have supported Father Pat Moloney and St. Brigid's with cleaning up and maintaining this area."

This was a refreshing message in an era of carpetbagging celebrity chefs and insufferable hipsterized restaurateurs opening shop hereabouts...

I'm not sure if live music was part of Percy's original plan, but it seems as if they might be getting into the concert business... at least for one night....

Love the ConEd Building? Then have we got a home for you!

Just look at the view from this private roof deck on Fourth Avenue...



This two-bedroom home, located in the Petersfield, is going for $1.95 million, per the listing. Just think of all the money you'll save on watches!

Special supplement in this week's issue of The Villager?

Seventh Street and Avenue A... and we've always been been fans of the paper, which has been publishing community news since 1933...

That Four Loko sign isn't lying at Robin Raj

Yesterday, we noted that Robin Raj on Third Avenue near 14th Street was advertising Four Loko... a few people questioned whether this was the real thing...

Then someone passed along this photo of their fridge after a Robin Raj run and this message: "Just look at it. The sign does not lie."