Avenue A, 1:30 a.m., June 11

Thanks to Steven Hirsch for passing along this photo taken outside Ray's on Avenue A... one way to combat the heavy rain ...

See more of Steven's photos here.

NYC Icy opens in new Avenue A location

Last summer, NYC Icy operated out of a space on Avenue A just south of Seventh Street... they're back this summer, this time at 171 Avenue A, currently using the storefront of Keith Masco's coming-soon 24/7 diner... We'll have more on this later...

Today in photos of people who ran 2.25 miles and ate 3 slices of pizza

Our friend Melanie Neichin at East Village Corner sent along a few shots from earlier today ... from the second annual NYC Pizza Run at Tompkins Square Park...

Dude, where's my car?

Dave on 7th just passed along this wire headline popping up on the Times — Stoner on Pole for British Grand Prix.

As you were.

Stuck on you

Avenue A at 10th Street courtesy of Shawn Chittle.

14th Street, 9:47 a.m., June 11

Even the limos are getting classier on the Bowery

The ol' stretch Rolls in front of Peels yesterday. Photo by Bobby Williams.

Robin laid some eggs

EV Grieve resident ornithologist Bobby Williams has been keeping an eye on this robin's nest in Tompkins Square Park...

Earlier today in classic cars on Seventh Street

[Dave on 7th]

Evil eye hotshot

The Cramps, circa 1991.

Outside the Cooper Square Hotel.

Free concert in Tompkins Square Park Sunday afternoon

Just getting word of a free show in Tompkins Square Park Sunday afternoon (2-7) courtesy of The Shadow:

Performers will include:
> Chink Floyd
> David Peel
> El Muchacho
> Zero Content
> The Drunkard's Wife
> Jennifer Blowdryer

Storm damage at the Tompkins Square Park dog run

EV Grieve reader Allen Semanco passes along these photos showing last night's storm damage ...

Meanwhile, no word yet on these limbs.

Meanwhile, on 38th Street...

Dave on 7th was on 38th Street earlier... where he figured there must be some logical reason why somebody put this meter in the middle of the sidewalk.

Fab 5 Freddie told me...

EV Grieve reader Pedro happened by Gallery 151 at 350 Bowery Wednesday night where Fab 5 Freddy was debuting his month-long art show titled "New York:New Work."

And Fab 5 Freddy was out front speaking with friends and fans...

BoweryBoogie has more on the show here.

Why people will be running and eating pizza and stuff tomorrow in Tompkins Square Park

Oh, tomorrow marks the second annual NYC Pizza Run at Tompkins Square Park. Ninety runners, uh, run 2.25 miles, stopping at three checkpoints to eat slices of pizza.

If you want to take part, you're too late. It's booked.

If you want to take pictures of runners throwing up pizza, then please send them to our friends at EV Heave.

You can find more info here.

The former Café Charbon will become a sports bar 'with an emphasis on value'

As we reported from the CB3/SLA meeting back in January, the team behind The Stumble Inn, Off the Wagon, Gin Mill, Jake's Dilemma, Down the Hatch and The 13th Step are taking over Café Charbon on the corner of Orchard and Stanton Streets. The CB3/SLA committee unanimously approved the transfer.

Yesterday, BoweryBoogie noted that Café Charbon is now closed.

The new owners provided a few details about their plans for the space during the January CB3/SLA meeting: It will be a full-service tavern open from 11:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. The French doors will close at 10 p.m. There will be $1 drafts at happy hour, a private party room and DJs on occasion (no dancing, though).

Yesterday, we asked Michael Asch, one of the two senior co-owners of the 13th Step and its sibling bars, for more about their plans for the former Café Charbon.

They hope to be open in September or October after "a face lift."

"We will be a sports bar, pub and grill, serving burgers, salads, sandwiches, etc., with an emphasis on value — both on the food as well as liquor," he said.

And how about a name, given the ruckus about the 13th Step?

"We are also planning to be sensitive to to the community as far as a name is concerned," he said.

Introducing Gallery 98

Marc H. Miller passes along word about the latest edition to the 98 Bowery website ...

For collectors interested in New York’s downtown art scene circa 1980, the website 98 Bowery has debuted a unique online gallery featuring ephemera, multiples and one-of-a-kind artworks connected to the radical art group Collaborative Projects Inc. (aka “Colab”).

During its short but eventful history, Colab left its mark with exhibitions like the Times Square Show and the Real Estate Show, the affiliated alternative spaces Fashion Moda in the South Bronx and ABC No Rio in the Lower East Side, and a succession of pop-up “A More Stores” featuring low-priced artist multiples. Working collectively, the group was an incubator for ideas and a launching pad for member artists like Jenny Holzer, Tom Otterness, and Kiki Smith. Every item listed on Gallery 98 dates from Colab’s prime years, 1975 – 1985.

Among the items:

Find more here.

For further reading on EV Grieve:
Life at 98 Bowery: 1969-1989

Revisiting Punk Art

Q-and-A with Curt Hoppe: Living on the Bowery, finding inspiration and shooting Mr. Softee

Voices from 98 Bowery's past

An Urban Etiquette Stoop Sign

We spotted this Urban Etiquette Sign recently under a sidewalk shed on the tree-lined 10th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (AKA, Central Village)...

Perhaps the sign worked, because we spotted this fellow taking a nap a few stoops away...

Here's Johnny! on East Fourth Street

Between Avenue C and Avenue D.

And is this the best scene from "The Shining"?