Holiday Hawk

Photos from Tompkins Square Park today via Bobby Williams.

This is England

"London Calling," the third studio album by The Clash, was released in the United Kingdom on Dec. 14., 1979. The video is for "Clampdown." And in case you don't know that the album cover was shot on East 14th Street... here's a little history about the greatest rock-n-roll image of all time(?).

A late afternoon holiday moment in Tompkins Square Park

Photo by @BennyPack

Has anyone taken advantage of this 'great news' at the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office?

We all know how much fun it is going to the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on East 14th Street. (A reminder here and here.) Has anyone done the Sunday pick-up service this month?

Revisit the Lower East Side/East Village of 1978: Screening of 'Viva Loisaida' this Sunday afternoon

You have a chance Sunday afternoon to catch a screening of "Viva Loisaida," Marlis Momber's 1978 documentary about life on the Lower East Side.

Per the Facebook invite:

VIVA LOISAIDA, chronicles what life was like for the director and her fellow immigrants in the mid 1970s. The film opens with a scene in the old Tompkins Square band shell and goes on to highlight the huge murals, the many grassroots art and political organizations which contributed to the EV/LES's a cultural diversity.

The screening starts at 3 p.m., at the Tu Casa Rehearsal Estudio, 95 Avenue B (East Sixth Street). There's a suggested donation of $10.

Previously.

Reviving those 7-Eleven + another chain rumors for Avenue A

[Photo last week via Shawn Chittle]

That pesky rumor has returned... the one about the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street being more than just a 7-Eleven. Back in September, we heard the space of the former Bar on A and Angels & Kings would be chopped into two chains, a 7-Eleven and either a Starbucks or Subway. Just rumors mind you.

So far, there's nothing on the DOB permits pointing specifically to anything other than a 7-Eleven here. But! The applicant of record for both 500 E. 11th St. and 170 Avenue A is Bentonville, Ark.-based Harrison French & Associates, an architecture and engineering firm whose clients include 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Subway.

Plus, as several people have noted, this is a really big space for just a 7-Eleven. Anyway, yesterday, a reader passed along word of a rumor that the space will be both a 7-Eleven and a Starbucks.

Perhaps. Anyway, at this point, nothing would likely surprise us here...

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Unsilent Night for a bad Santa kind of day in the East Village

[Unsilent Night in 2010 by Bobby Williams]

In case that you are looking for a group activity Saturday night in the East Village that doesn't involve dressing like Santa, acting like a jackass, buying Jäger bombs (and demanding that the bartender sets up a Jäger-train), terrorizing people out running errands, yelling for your friends who left a few minutes earlier and are already at next bar, then you're in luck...

It's time for the annual Unsilent Night, the boombox caroling walk... Composer Phil Kline's holiday tradition got its start in 1992... meeting place is 7 at the Arch at Washington Square Park... and the group makes its way over to Tompkins Square Park.

Oh, and what if the Santas come across the carolers...? Unsilent Night has asked nicely...

@santacon And please don't fuck with Unsilent Night! Enjoy it as it passes by ….

— Unsilent Night (@UnsilentTweet) December 13, 2012

Rolling out the fruit and vegetable stands at the incoming New York Healthy Choice

Back in February, signs first appeared for something called New York Healthy Choice on Avenue C at East 11th Street ... Chico created murals for the gates in July ... we haven't seen much activity here of late (granted, this isn't an intersection we cross with great frequency... and, like the other businesses along here, the basement was flooded during the Sandy surge...)

Exchanged emails with EVG reader Rob yesterday... who's also curious about what New York Healthy Choice will be — A deli? A mini Whole Foods? A place to buy a box of Annie's Mac & Cheese?

All the above?

Per Rob's photo, the proprietors have rolled out these vegetable-vegetable stands.

As Rob said: "Looks promising."

Former employee says: Rawvolution has closed

Last week we noted that Rawvolution, the vegan cafe on East 12th Street, would be closed until Jan. 1 for "renovations."

Meanwhile, a now-former employee sent us the following:

"Rawvolution closed down to the public as of December 1 (with no reason, warning, or heads up to their employees…shady shady.)"

We haven't heard anything official yet from ownership...

Fall Friday flashback: SANTA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

On Fridays this fall, and probably winter and spring and... we'll post one of the 12,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear, like this one, from Dec. 12, 2009...

----------

A little brisk, but a fine morning nonetheless to run some errands. It's rather peaceful out and...


WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

SANTA! SANTA! I followed a group of Santas up First Avenue who kept yelling at people a block ahead of them — at 9:30 a.m. ... And someone asked me where the North Pole was — two different times along Third Avenue. Can't wait till they all start drinking...

The Santas are congregating now at Lunasa.

Evening in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Bobby Williams.

We're DOOMED

Zoltar is out of order again outside Gem Spa... He was fine this morning when I walked by... At this rate, the Mets should sign him to a big contract.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

[Updated] Reader mailbag: No water on my block!

We received a late-night/early-morning email from a reader noting:

"There is no water in my block. I thought it was just in my apartment, but I asked my neighbor and she doesn't have water either. I also went to the corner deli to get something, and the deli guy brought up that they didn't have water."

The reader followed-up, saying that the water returned this morning to where he lives along East Seventh Street and First Avenue ... but that the water was now a rust color coming out of the faucet...

Anyone else experience loss of water the past 12 hours? Or notice some construction ... or...

Updated:
Added the photo that Bobby Williams took yesterday on East Seventh Street near Avenue A... showing the work on the water main...

Here's where the Santas will be on Saturday

A reader sent along the zones for SantaCon on Saturday...

...and they are expected in the East Village between 4:30 and 7 ... "Have fun anywhere in the green zone," according to the directive. Pay no mind to us residents! You're just having fun!

Per the reader:

Although they have specific bars listed ... I imagine there will be Santas everywhere in the neighborhood. The other crappy thing is that the time frame (4:30-7:00) means that a lot of the Santa's probably won't go across to Brooklyn at 7pm and will just stay in the EV all night.

Also:

It might be nice to have a few places that volunteer to be "Santa-free zones" that could be publicized as safe places to go on Saturday.

I know that the Grassroots on St. Mark's won't serve any Santas... anywhere else?

Also, we understand that there at least two other separate Santa events here Saturday...

And noting the main photo on the SantaCon home page:

Tompkins Square Bagels turns 1

This weekend, Tompkins Square Bagels celebrates its one-year anniversary at 165 Avenue A. On the eve of the occasion, we asked proprietor Christopher Pugliese to reflect on the past year.

On the local community:

"I'd really like people to know how thankful I am for their support. I've met so many amazing people at Tompkins Square Bagels this past year, you could not imagine. Every type of person. What a great great community we have. Anyone who says the spirit of the East Village is gone or done is absolutely wrong. The people are here."

On what he's most proud of:

"One of the things I'm most proud of, and maybe something that landlords should pay attention to, is that I made it without a liquor license. They were dangling that in front of me like a carrot if i agreed to pay a little more in rent. I made a decision early on — no liquor, no cigarettes, no targeting the school kids around the block by filling my place with junk food and candy. No lotto tickets. I was going to either live or die being a responsible member of the community. And I lived."

On the future:

"I'd love to put an old-fashioned Italian-style pork store/market type of place in the Diablo Royale Este space next door. [The bar temporarily closed late in August; it is not expected to return. The space is on the market.] I want to knock down a wall in TSB and connect the two. I want to have meats, fish, cheeses, coffee, bread, groceries, pre-made food, pasta, etc.

I'm interested in doing this because I live here and, personally, I'm tired of having to walk blocks and blocks for a decent piece of fish or some good pasta. Where I grew up in Brooklyn, we had places like Pastosa Ravioli. Have you ever been to one? It's like an Italian pork store, pasta shop and gourmet food place all rolled into one. There's a real neighborhood here on Avenue A. The people are here. Yet, they don't have basic needs met like a good market."

Previously.

Reflecting on 51 Astor Place

Enough glass up here on 51 Astor Place that we can do this...

... shaping up. Like it any better now with glass?

Previously.

A petition to name part of East Sixth Street after Donald Suggs

Donald Suggs, a familiar face around the neighborhood, died in early October from an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

Now his many friends and loved ones have started a campaign to petition the city to name the block that he lived on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and B in his honor.

From the EVG inbox:

Donald Suggs Street, or Donald Suggs Way, or Donald Suggs Avenue
Sign a petition to name East 6th Street, between Avenues A & B Donald Suggs Street. Donald Suggs was an amazing, brilliant, multi-talented New Yorker who lived for over 20 years at 526 East 6th Street. His journalism at The Village Voice was groundbreaking in its expert coverage of marginalized people. He was African-American and gay. He was a social activist, a raconteur...

His family and friends feel the loss very deeply. He made it a point to know his neighbors, not just in his building, but on his block, and extended his friendliness to most of the East Village, becoming so well-known and well-liked, just for being him, that his death prompted overflowing expressions of grief on the same sidewalks where he'd walked so much, and his Facebook page has practically vibrated from the outcries and postings.

Donald's contributions to his neighborhood and to the city are considerable and noteworthy and deserve this street-naming recognition. Here is a formal obituary.

To sign this petition the old-fashioned way, you may stop by Exit 9 on Avenue A (between East Fourth and East Third) where Suggs recently worked.

Here are the hours to sign the petition at Exit 9:
Today, noon to 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec 17 — Thursday, Dec. 20, noon to 7:30 p.m.

Per his friend Jennifer: "Right now we will see if we can get enough signatures this way. If need be, we will look into doing an online petition."

Previously.

[Image via Facebook]

Natori remains open on St. Mark's Place

At the end of November, we heard that Natori, a longtime favorite on St. Mark's Place, was closing for good on Nov. 30. We understood that the owner needed to return to Japan for family matters. Workers confirmed this closure to us.

However, in the last week, several readers noted that Natori was back open. We brought this up to our original tipster, a reliable source. The tipster was surprised. "I went there that [last night] and the owner was sobbing over it being the end."

Then an EVG regular just had dinner there, and brought up the topic. The waiter said that they weren't closing, and dismissed the topic. The EVGer tried again to no avail. The waiter though, was friendly and talkative about other topics. The EVGer also noted that there weren't any early-bird specials that Natori had been known for... In any event, Natori is still open. We'll try to get more information about what's happening here.

The Drunken Clam opens tonight on St. Mark's Place

Via Thrillist, we learned about The Drunken Clam, a clam-beer bar that opens tonight below the tofu-karaoke complex at 6 St. Mark's Place. (Thrillist describes it as "an underground bunker of clams and beer.")

On the menu:

NAKED CLAM
Half Shell Raw Clams

DRUNKEN CLAM
Two Dozen Steamed Clams

BIG-FAT SHRIMP
12pcs Fried Jumbo Shrimp

DRUNKEN CLAM IN THE HOUSE
Two Dozen Clams + NY TOFU Stew of Your Choice

GREENDOG
A Jumbo Dog Served in Romain Lettuce with Tomatos, Cheese, Onions & Sauerkraut

PANCAKE ARMY OR MARINE
Crispy Kimchi or Seafood Pancake

B.B.B.(BEST BUD OF BEERS) PLATTER
Fried Calamari, Popcorn Shrimp & French Fries

HOT WING 12pcs

WINES & BEERS AROUND THE WORLD

Meanwhile, the whole building here (most recently Mondo Kim's) remains on the market for $14.5 million.

Previously.

[Images via Facebook]

Construction mishap turns NYU dorm into a concrete jungle

There's news to report about the incoming 16-story building coming to 133 Third Ave., just north of Third Avenue...

Some sort of construction mishap on Dec. 5 "accidentally sent wet concrete oozing through a wall and into an NYU dorm next door," according to a report yesterday on DNAinfo. The ooze reportedly damaged the rooms of three students on the dorm's fourth floor. NYU has repaired the rooms, though the students have decided to stay for the time in their alternative housing.

As a result, per DNA:

The owner of the building leased by NYU for use as the Coral Towers dorms is seeking $1 million in damages from developer McArthur Morgan, LLC and a permanent end to construction at 133 Third Ave.

Maybe we can bring back that addendum to Jam Envelope & Paper?

[H/T Curbed ... above photo from two weeks ago]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another high rise rising on 14th Street and Third Avenue