Five Tacos now open on St. Mark's Place

Several readers have told us that Five Tacos is now open at 119 St. Mark's Place just west of Avenue A... One reader said that last night was the grand opening.

Wasn't open when we walked by this morning... So, a rather off-kilter shot then of the menu...

CB3 approved a beer-wine license for them. It's run by the owners of Ten Degrees Bar a few doors down...

Panuozzo sandwiches coming to St. Mark's Place

Speaking of St. Mark's Place... Grub Street had the scoop yesterday about a branch of the Upper East Side-based San Matteo Pizza and Espresso Bar opening on St. Mark's Place ... (we're assuming it will be in the space left vacant by Motek, the crepe place... it's the only vacant storefront along here...)

A panuozzo is apparently some kind of pizza-panino hybrid that looks like this...

[Via Grub Street]

Other details from Grub Street:

• They will stay open till 2 a.m. "for hungry bargoers."
• "We want to introduce the panuozzo to young crowds," the owner said.
• A beer-and-wine license is in the works (of course!)

This is what 1 WTC looked like on Jan. 13, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

Today's sign of the apocalypse

Spotted on East Houston near Chrystie Street. New reality show called "Jersey Couture." Filmed around here on the weekends?

There's no stopping the Subway invasion

On Thursday, we counted up the number of Subway (sandwich shops) in the East Village ... (find the answer here...)

Last night, EV Grieve reader Chis F. passed along this shot of yet another Subway setting up shop that we hadn't noticed ... A little out of bounds, but close enough at Essex and Stanton...

When suddenly we remembered that it was actually winter

Avenue B near Sixth Street.

Late afternoon on East 10th Street

Looking east. By Bobby Williams.

Strike force

By Bobby Williams.

[Updated] Reports: 12-year-old girl struck and killed walking across Delancey

The tragedy happened this afternoon around 2:30 while the girl, who attended Castle Middle School on Henry Street, crossed Delancey Street from the south side at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge, according to multiple reports.

A friend of the 12-year-old girl told Gothamist: "We were crossing the street and the light changed real quick. She started going, and then she stopped, but she tripped. The van hit her twice. The first time it hit her, then when it stopped and realized that it hit her, it hit her again."

The driver of the van has not been charged. As DNAinfo put it, "no criminality" is suspected.

Updated 6:19 p.m.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer just released a statement:

Tonight, New York City mourns the senseless death of a sixth grade girl who lost her life while crossing Delancey Street today. This devastating loss is only the latest in a string of tragic accidents that have occurred on Delancey - numbering into the hundreds over the past decade. In both May and August of last year, New Yorkers lost their life navigating this intersection. Between 2008 and 2010, 523 motor vehicle accidents occurred at Delancey and Essex.

The City must act now and not wait a second longer. We can no longer go about its daily business with the knowledge that one of our central intersections is irrefutably perilous.

Updated 1/14:

The dailies provide more details on the tragedy. The victim is 12-year-old Dashane Santana who lived in the Jacob Riis Houses. The girl's mother told the Post that her daughter dropped a bookbag while crossing Delancey Street. When she turned to pick it up, the minivan hit her. She was with friends on her way to Dunkin' Donuts.

The Post also reported that Dashane had just applied to Juilliard.

Earlier reports:
Gothamist

DNAinfo

The Lo-Down

BoweryBoogie

[Image: Christopher Robbins/Gothamist]

Yello again

Yello from 1985 with "Vicious Games."

An L-Shaped footprint ready to make its impression on East Houston Street

In late November, the Mystery Lot of East Houston Street (the empty parcel on the south side of the street between Attorney and Ridge) hit the market, per The Lo-Down. The lot is going for $9.5 million.

Now, it appears more development is in the works for this stretch of Houston... The long-empty adjacent space is now for sale — at $4.6 million.

Here's the listing via Massey Knakal:

The subject property consists of 331 E Houston Street and 161 Ridge Street. 331 E Houston Street is a single story commercial building and 161 Ridge Street is a vacant parking lot. Together, the properties create an L-Shaped footprint with 25’ of frontage on E Houston Street and 20’ of frontage on Ridge Street. The lots have a combined footprint of 3,000 square feet and are located in the newly designated East Village/Lower East Side zoning district which is zoned R8A*. This zone provides an FAR of 5.4 for Residential use, 7.2 with inclusionary housing and 6.5 for Community Facility use which translate to a maximum buildable square footage of 16,200 BSF, 21,600 BSF, 19,500 BSF, respectively. Furthermore, the two lots are adjacent to two 25’ vacant lots on E Houston Street.

So. Combine all this and what do you get?

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[A look down Broadway the other day, by Bobby Williams]

About Patti Smith and the "die in" (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Why does it seem as if Patti Smith is in bed with the developers? (Gothamist)

The history of 101 Avenue A (BoweryBoogie)

Drinking at Lucy's (Eater)

Chiyono on East Sixth Street closes (Grub Street)

Darren Aronofsky now owns the entire townhouse on East 11th Street (Curbed)

LES store owner killed in "FDR Drive death run" (The Daily News)

And for your lunchtime entertainment, the recently released new video from African-fusion band Timbila ... and a summer of 2011 East Village time capsule...

Pocket the Cha Cha by Timbila from Karen Kirsch Page on Vimeo.

Fast-food trifecta: Take a look at what's replacing King Gyro on First Avenue

EV Grieve reader Creature brought us the news on Monday about King Gyro closing on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street...

...he's back with news of its replacement:

Oh my! A Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo!

And if Pudgie's is so famous, how come we've never heard of it?

Here's what we found. The healthy fried chicken!

So we guess this fills the need after the Pizza Hut-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's combo made way for the Spaghetti Meatball Factory on 14th Street and Second Avenue...

UPDATED:

An instant request for Spike... from 1980...

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

As we've been reporting, East Village Farms is closing on Avenue A on Jan. 31. One worker said the building's owner will be demolishing the structure for lord knows what...

Anyway, as you know, the space was originally a theater in operation from 1926-1959.

[Via Cinema Treasures]

We've seen a few tantalizing bits and pieces of the theater's remains... as far as we know, the auditorium is still intact.

EV Grieve reader Lambert Jack was one of the many curious about what's behind and above the grocery... He took a look the other night...

Per Lambert Jack: "We went into the main theater room, and poked around the offices and other abandoned rooms. There were some amazing painted tin roof parts. I hope someone strips the cool stuff ... before the place is razed."

His opinion on the space? "I'm not sure the building is worth saving — the cool parts of it seem really run down and unusable — but the ornate period works need to be preserved as best as they can. I would love to have a theater there, but I suspect it's headed for new housing."

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

Reader finds lost P.S. 63 student transcripts from the 1920s

A reader tells us that she found two student transcripts (pupil's record) on the ground near P.S. 63 on East Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... they likely fell out of a box the school was either discarding or moving...

Let's take a look. As you can see, one is dated 1926... (student birth date: July 22, 1920)

...the other is from 1924... (student birth date Sept. 17, 1917)

And here is the "physical examination record."

As the reader notes on the one student: "She is apparently not proficient in anything."

This is what 437 E. Sixth St. looked like on Jan. 9, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

[EV Grieve repost] A cab ride up First Avenue in 1971

First posted this last Feb. 27 ... given yesterday's item on the First Avenue of 1997... thought it might be nice to repost this now...

Marriage mural on East Second Street rankles neighborhood activist

The Lo-Down reported on a controversy surrounding the newest mural by Tats Cru on Second Street at Avenue A. Turns out a longtime neighborhood activist is demanding that the property owners remove the mural that she finds "racially offensive." She contacted CB3 and other local organizations for help. CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer forwarded the complaint to the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the Lo-Down noted.

Turns out that this is a marriage proposal mural (like the one that was in this space before...). The groom-to-be (Marisha said yes!) wrote in to the Lo-Down with an explanation. "[I]t is a shame that something bred of love is getting sprinkled with negativity because one individual misconstrued it – a piece of art, no less. Regardless, I just want to make it clear that I was the sole creative director of this mural and Tats Cru only executed my design as requested."

[Photo of the happy couple via the Lo-Down]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Going to the mural and we're gonna get married

A marriage proposal by mural on Second Street (and she said yes)

NYPD briefly closes part of Avenue C due to 'suspicious package'

Several readers told us that around 5:15 this evening, the NYPD shut down Avenue C between Seventh Street and Ninth Street after receiving a call about a "suspicious package." Bobby Williams was on the scene...

We stopped by a little later to retrieve that suitcase we left behind and found the scene to be all clear. All clear of the NYPD.

'I'll have the Chittle to go please'

This afternoon out a window. Photo by Shawn Chittle.