In the newest installment of how to steal a bike and destroy a tree in the East Village

An EVG reader who lives on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B shared this story about a young tree on the south side of the street … late Saturday night, "there was still a living tree there, and a bike stupidly locked to it."

And then yesterday morning?

The tree was basically snapped and half… and the bike was gone…



"Unbelievable; that tree was doing so well until someone thought it was a good idea to destroy it to steal an old bike," said the reader. "What an awful loss to our block."

Figaro Villaggio announces itself on First Avenue

Signs are up now for Figaro Villaggio, the Italian wine bar-restaurant taking over the Banjara space on First Avenue and East Sixth Street. (Banjara is now sharing space with its sister restaurant Haveli on Second Avenue.)



We're assuming the Figaro folks will be painting the restaurant's exterior… because the existing Banjara blue and the new Figaro colors are currently clashing.

Figaro Villaggio is from the same owner as La Pasta Bistro Grill on MacDougal ... and the same owner currently has a Figaro Bistro Grill on Second Avenue between 50th and 51st...

And Figaro Villaggio is on tonight's CB3/SLA committee docket for a new liquor license. The paperwork (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website show proposed hours of 10 a.m. - 1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday; until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

No word on an opening date. A look inside reveals that there's a lot of work to do.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Banjara space yielding to Figaro Bistro Grill, 15 comments

Banjara moving soon to the Haveli space on Second Avenue

Happy news for Lucky's Dry Cleaners and Laundry on East 11th Street

At the end of November, we reported that Lucky's Dry Cleaner and Laundrys would have to close… in part because the landlord apparently wanted to break proprietor Linda's lease while she took an indefinite leave of absence to care for a family member in China.

However, EVG reader Brian Katz happily passes along an update on the situation here. Linda's landlord is allowing her to leave to attend to her family while also allowing her to transfer her store (for the duration?) to her good friend who has more than a decade of experience running a laundry and dry cleaners.

Craigslist ad of the day

We'll keep this in the ad's all-cap style… and presented without comment...

LOCATED IN MANHATTANS HIPSTER TERRITORY!!! YOU NEED NOT SAY MORE ABOUT THIS GEM....!!CAN YOU IMAGINE WALKING TWO OR THREE BLOCKS TO CLASSES... HANGING OUT LATE NIGHT....THEN WALKING HOME.... DOING THE DOUBLE HEEL TAP IN THE AIR!!! HAHAHA!!! JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!! "I THINK THIS SPELLS SATISFACTION FOR ME AND MY ROOMIE!!!!

Uh, WOOOOOOO?

[H/T Bagel Guy]

OK, here's 84 Third Ave. without the scaffolding and stuff

Hey! It's our now weekly look at 84 Third Ave., the Karl Fischer-designed 9-story retail-residential complex at East 12th Street… now without any construction netting, scaffolding, etc.

Check it out. It doesn't cost anything to just look…





Photos by peter radley

When it snows

Well, we mostly survived the Great Snowstorm of Dec. 8.™

And no snowfall, however light, could go without someone scrawling the outline of a penis on a car. Dave on 7th and others noted an array of crude snowffiti along East Seventh Street and Avenue B and Avenue C...

Well, if this kind of thing will continue to happen (oh, and it will) … then we might as well make it look pretty...



Thanks to Luke on 7th for the above image.

And now, the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree

After this afternoon's tree lighting ceremony…

Photo by peter radley

Week in Grieview

[Dr. Jones I presume? Yesterday on 2nd Avenue]

John's of 12th Street has a new owner (Thursday)

Visit the East Village of 1967 (Tuesday)

7-Eleven closes on St. Mark's Place (Sunday … Wednesday)

SantaCon will start on Dec. 14 in TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK (Thursday)

Out and About with Rew Starr (Wednesday)

Comet watching in the East Village (Monday)

AC plummets from the Christodora House (Friday)

Vicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches has closed (Wednesday)

10-story building in the works for this East Houston corner (Monday)

East Village gift ideas (Friday)

A decrease in the number of chain stores in zip 10009 (Wednesday)

Red Hook Lobster Pound coming to the East Village (Tuesday)

Saved by the Book underway at St. Mark's Bookshop (Tuesday)

Cafe Rakka closes; Rakka Cafe reopens (Monday)

Mudspot Café now open in First Park (Thursday)

A St. Mark's Place scene: A Mercedes, some pot and the Bieber on the stereo (Tuesday)

A new restaurant taking over the Toucan and the Lion space on East Sixth Street (Friday)

Just another Saturday night and ...

East Fifth Street Stretch Hummer Sweet Action.

Reminders: The 22nd annual Tree Lighting at Tompkins Square Park is today

From 4-5 … details are on the flyer below...


[Bobby Williams]

Previously

Peter Stuyvesant Post Office now also open to ruin your Sundays this month

The Sunday hours continue this month at the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on East 14th Street. (And apparently not everyone could agree on the hours, as you can see that 2 p.m. got changed to 1 p.m.)



Regardless! We all know how much fun it is going here. (A reminder here and here.)

And people, as people do, have taken to Yelp to offer their opinions on this branch … the overall average rating: 1 star!



Here's one recent 1-star review:

This place is hell on earth. I'm writing this review whilst standing in line- it's now been over an hour waiting to pick up an express international courier package I never received a notice for (with everyone else that's been screwed over by usps in this area)

I feel like it's a Survivor TV show challenge- survival of the postal service fittest. I'm watching people concede the line after waiting TOO long, hungry babies crying, there are the elderly sitting on the floor due to body aches, there are loud fits and nervous breakdowns from customers at the service box when rude staff aren't helpful after they've been waiting a half life for a stamp.

2 hours later, I need to pee. And I'm still waiting.

In any event, this is likely the last holiday season here … as this branch is supposedly closing in the spring. The USPS will lease the former Duane Reade on East 14th Street near First Avenue for retail services, such as stamp sales and P.O. boxes.

Previously on EV Grieve:
UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Report: Closure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office is pretty much a done deal

Concern mounts for snowman on Second Avenue

Passersby are troubled by the snowman continuously nodding off on the job here on Second Avenue near East Houston…





How do you explain this to the children?

Tonight's sunset

Photo by Jason Hammonds

Today's (hungry) hawks

Above, on East 11th Street off First Avenue via Greg Matherly of Reciprocal Skateboards…

And in Tompkins Square Park via Goggla… (find more hawk highlights from today here)



… and Bobby Williams…

A SantaCon warm-up?

In Tompkins Square Park this afternoon… The fellows told EVG contributor Derek Berg that they had nothing to do with SantaCon, which is next Santarday … Gotta be careful to be a Santa around here apparently...

A SantaCon warm-up?

Strummer's Greetings

Looking festive here on East 7th and Avenue A…

'Pop-up art show' tonight at the former PS 64

We continue to wait to learn about the dorm fate of the former PS 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street.

Meanwhile, Joselyn McDonald, a first-year MFA Design and Technology graduate student at Parsons the New School for Design, is hosting a video projection installation outside the building tonight at 6.

"I don't have a political agenda in doing this, rather, I wanted to do a video art installation for the community, and the fate/history of CHARAS was suggested to me time and time again by the members of many community organizations," said McDonald, an East Village resident. "It's really just a celebration of the rich history of the community. I think PS 64 is a strong focal point for letting that narrative unravel."

She plans to project "historic and contemporary images and video of PS 64 on the façade of the front of this esteemed school and community center. PS 64's role in the community, represents to [me] the way physical places can become essentially another integral member of the community."

And there will be snacks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

Deed for 'community facility use only' at the former P.S. 64 now on the market

Efforts continue to fight the dorm planned for the former PS 64 on East 9th Street

Testimony Of Councilmember Rosie Mendez regarding the former PS 64

[Updated] At the 'Save Our Community Center MARCH AND RALLY'

Landmarks Preservation Commission asks to see modified plans for former PS 64

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approves application for modifications at PS 64

Hold it now

On East Fourth Street yesterday afternoon… photos by EVG contributor Derek Berg… and we have no idea what the shoot was for...

Cab, East 14th Street, rain