At Ben's Deli, now with more food options

The folks at Ben's Deli at 32 Avenue B recently expanded their food offerings … adding a steam table, among other things.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for a look here between East Second Street and East Third Street.





She found Ben's son, Mohammad, wearing the (new) blue Ben's Deli T-shirt working complete with a broken hand…



There's also a coffee station now, so Oscar has a little more time to make sandwiches.





And here is Fadhle Suliman behind the register with his 12-year-old son, Mohamed ...



Anyway, the food is quite good … and reasonably priced…


[EVG took this photo]

'Most uses considered' for 3 retail spaces at Kushner's 170 E. 2nd St.

The retail spaces are now on the market over at 170-174 E. Second St., where landlord Jared Kushner has reportedly been using aggressive tactics to rid the buildings of rent-stabilized tenants.



Here's more info about the spaces between Avenue A and Avenue B via the RKF listing:

SPACE
Ground Floor
Space A — 250 SF
Space B — 500 SF
Space C — 500 SF

SITE STATUS
Formerly multiple tenants

NEIGHBORS
Black Iron Burger Shop, Duane Reade, Il Bagatto, Jane’s Exchange, Snack Dragon, Supper, Two Boots, Waffles and Dinges [sic]

COMMENTS
Most uses considered
Natural light throughout
Situated in one of New York City’s fastest growing neighborhoods
Potential basement space
In close proximity to the F subway lines

There isn't any mention of the asking rent, just "negotiable."

And this is a curious selection of neighbors. Black Iron is three blocks away on East Fifth Street and Snack Dragon is closing this week. And Il Bagatto is now delivery only.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside a classic East Village tenement before the whole building is renovated

Two East 2nd St. buildings sell for $17.5 million; will new owner still honor Allen Ginsburg?

Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Culturefix has closed on Clinton Street

[Photo via The Village Voice]

The bar-boutique-gallery at 9 Clinton St. just south of Houston abruptly closed this past weekend.

Co-owners Cole Schaffer and Ari Stern left the following explanation on their Facebook page on Saturday:

We regret to announce that after four years of doing business at 9 Clinton Street, Culturefix will be closing its doors. Tomorrow, July 27th, will be our last day of operations and we would love to have all of you here for one last drink then. At this time, we cannot go into detail as to the cause of our closure, but would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters.

To the thousands of artists, musicians, performance artists, film makers, designers, writers, curators and organizers — you made Culturefix what we always hoped it would be; a community of limitless artistic expression in a nontraditional art space.

To all the lovers of food and drink we have served in the past — we would like to thank you for choosing to spend your time and money with us when you had endless options in this city. Your support directly facilitated the gallery and everything we have displayed and hosted.

We would lastly like to express our appreciation and gratitude for the community on and around Clinton Street. You are what makes this neighborhood the best in all of NYC.

We can't wait to update you on our future endeavors!

The Lo-Down first reported on this closure Sunday morning.

You can read an interview with Stern from last year in the Voice here.

Spontaneous East 5th Street cookout doesn't go so well this afternoon

This man, not known to the residents here on East Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, decided to fire up a grill on the stoop.

Paul Kostabi was around to take these photos.

The man used the entire can of lighter fluid. The grill caught on fire.



Someone called the fire department.







The NYPD also stopped by.



In the end, the man was told to leave. And he was allowed to take his meat with him.

July 28

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go … well, at least on East Seventh Street near Avenue C where the Bride of 7th spotted this beaut — lights intact, bonus.

And extra bonus points for the iPhone authentication.



But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

[Updated] About the guy looking for a girlfriend

Well, these flyers are everywhere. We planned on ignoring them, figuring it was some kind of wacky marketing campaign or something really stupid. Stupider.

But apparently they are for real, or at least that's what he wants people to believe.

Here is WCBS with the story:

Dan Perino is on a mission. He’s looking for a girlfriend in a non-traditional way, plastering posters all over Manhattan.

“I’m not desperate. This is a better way to meet women. I want to find a more meaningful relationship,” Perino said.

Sick of the singles scene, the 50-year-old is taking his search seriously. He started putting the fliers up and in just hours he said he received more than 100 calls — some genuinely interested, others thinking it’s a joke.

He said he plans on having a girlfriend within a week. The above story is from Friday. So, by this Friday... we'll have some more summer loving!

And then there is this award-winning bit of video...



Updated 1:45 p.m.

Right! An EVG Facebook friend reminded us that he was looking for a film role a few weeks back. What will he be looking for next?

On the closing of Kim's and the death of a 'downtown aesthetic'

[EVG photo from last week]

Kim's received the Sunday New York Times Memorial treatment with the somber headline "Passing of a Video Store and a Downtown Aesthetic." (The subhead: "Kim's Video Closes and a Village Sensibility Dies.")

As we first reported on April 21, owner Yongman Kim is closing the last of the Kim's here at 124 First Ave. ... perhaps as early as this week ... or into August.

The article includes thoughts from Richard Hell, Alexandre Rockwell and Darren Aronofsky, among others.

To the Times:

Pressed by higher rents, Mr. Kim said, he plans to close the First Avenue store at the end of next month, 27 years after he opened the first one, on Avenue A, in 1987. But this is more than a story of rising rents and the disruption wrought by digital streaming. It’s the tale of a downtown culture now largely lost, one in which clerks and creative types mingled, influencing one another and the scene as well.

And!

Mr. Kim is taking business classes and plans to return with the Kim’s brand in some way. He’s also thinking of moving back to the Lower East Side from New Jersey, where he now lives.

He’d be returning to a different downtown.

“Manhattan in the 21st century is this Disneyland for the superrich,” Mr. Hell said, even though he cautioned against romanticizing the past. “New York in the ’70s was more like the reality of human existence. And you need to know what the world is really like to make good art.”

Speaking of a downtown aesthetic, I knew this guy who would go in the Avenue A location and ask for the worst movies ever made, like "Leonard Part 6," just to see how annoyed the clerks would get.

And here's a bonus photo from the EVG collection showing the back door at the First Avenue Kim's that leads out to ...



Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] A really bad sign outside Kim's Video & Music on First Avenue (31 comments)

Source: Kim's staff looking for ways to save their store

More about the closure of Kim's: 'We are NOT closing because record stores are dying'

Listing for Kim's Video says space is 'ideal for Bank, 711, Starbucks'

Deeper discounts at Kim's as closing countdown continues

Come back again someday

East Sixth Street this morning ... photo by Derek Berg.

Snow cream shavery coming to East 10th Street

Renovations are underway at the former Kung Fu Tea location at 241 E. 10th St. at First Avenue.

Coming soon here: Snowdays Shavery.

The sign went up Saturday.


[Image via Facebook]

Here's the description via Facebook:

Combining the texture of shaved ice with the creaminess of ice cream, we make something called snow cream.

From a shave cream trends piece in The Huffington Post from last summer:

Lighter than ice cream, smoother than shave ice, and creamier than sorbet, there isn't much to directly compare this to ... but whatever it is, it's delicious.

Generally served in Asian-inspired flavors, don't expect Yogurtland-esque offerings to be on the menu. Most snow cream shops offer flavors such as black sesame, green tea, and taro (alongside the original, sweet cream flavor), toppings including red bean, lychee, and mochi (with some more common fruit toppings mixed in), and most people top their creation with condensed milk.

One of the coolest parts of a snow cream experience is the actual way it is prepared: the snow cream is shaved off of large blocks, each of a different flavor. Unlike shave ice, the snow cream comes off in large ribbons, not small, icy pieces.

H/T EVG reader Sarah

Here's Ben Shaoul's new-look 2nd Avenue residential building

The construction gear and what not is off the front of 31-33 Second Ave., showing the exterior of Ben Shaoul's new residential building here just south of East Second Street.



According to plans on file with the city, workers remodeled the existing commercial space on the ground floor ... remodeled the existing apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors ... and added three floors on top of the existing building. Each floor will contain two apartments, per the DOB documents.

The south side of the building appears to still need some work … or else the cinder-block look is in…



BoweryBoogie previously reported that a Petco-branded store is set for the retail space.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Ben Shaoul planning a 3-story addition at 31-33 Second Ave.

Bracing for 3 new floors at 31-33 Second Ave.

Checking in on the work in progress at 31-33 2nd Ave., where Ben Shaoul is adding 3 new floors

[Photo of 31-33 2nd Ave. from 2009 by LuciaM via Panoramio]

A note from 'that obnoxious drunk girl'

A resident made this discovery the other morning in an East Village building lobby. A sign placed over the remains of some [redacted] that apparently hit the wall then the floor.

"Sorry guys, Cleaned it up as much as I could. Thanks for being understanding.
xoxo,
That obnoxious drunk girl"

And how was your weekend?

The 99-Cent Discount Center has officially closed

Workers were clearing out the storefront yesterday at 440 E. 14th St. … carting off the remnants in these bags…



As previously noted, the store owners lost their lease … joining former next-door neighbor Stuyvesant Stationery in that club here just west of Avenue A.

With the departure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office, there are now three, single-level storefronts sitting vacant … presumably to make way for some future development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
99-Cent Discount Center latest lost-lease casualty on East 14th Street

Thanks to the anon EVG reader for the photos

A Nepali jewelry shop for East 9th Street

EVG reader Ingrid Mourreau-Kelleman passes along word of a new store opening today at 350 E. Ninth St. just west of First Avenue... a Nepali jewelry shop ...



Matiell Consignment Shop moved out of this space in May for a new home on the Upper East Side.

[Updated] Verizon getting brown on it

Well! Thirteen whole months have passed since our last post about the graffiti vs. brown paint back-and-forth on the Verizon building along East 13th Street.

You know how it went. Verizon had someone paint over the graffiti on the side of the building … only to have it return days later.

After investing in security cameras and gallons and gallons of brown paint, it seemed as if Verizon had given up here at Second Avenue.

But now! Verizon is having the wall painted brown again…





About half finished now.



And the tags will certainly return. Just too tempting of a canvas to be left brown.

Updated 9:24 a.m.

A reader tells us that the scrubbing and painting continues this morning...





Previously on EV Grieve:
First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Verizon is going to blow the budget on brown paint

Roast Kitchen coming to University Place

Just noting the imminent arrival of another outpost for the NYC mini-chain here on the corner of East 13th Street …



There are currently locations on Seventh Avenue and down on Water Street … with three more on the way.

And their menu…


[Click to see more detail]

The corner space was previously home to a Qdoba Mexican Grill.

Summer loving happened so fast

Oh! And Awww! Some hawk love (Christo and Dora???) atop the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer on East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B …



Photos via Rob & Mike

Here is the new Beastie Boys mural in honor of 'Paul's Boutique'

This Beastie Boys mural went up this weekend on Ludlow and Rivington.

As you may have read, the mural is in honor of their second record, "Paul's Boutique," which is celebrating its 25th (!!!) anniversary.

Brooklyn-based artist Danielle Mastrion created the mural outside Wolfnights, the sandwich shop on this corner. LeRoy McCarthy, who unsuccessfully lobbied for "Beastie Boys Square" here, is also behind this project.

The storefront was once home to Lee's Sportswear, which appeared on the cover of "Paul's Boutique."



Thanks to EVG Facebook friend Shirley Dluginski for the new mural photo!

1st Avenue ceiling fan

Photo this afternoon via Grant Shaffer.

Week in Grieview

[St. Mark's Place near 3rd Avenue on July 26]

Remembering Michael Brody (Monday)

Dr. Dave is fighting eviction on East Second Street (Thursday)

Celebrating 25 years at Paul's Da Burger Joint (Monday)

Google employee accused of raping woman in East 12th Street apartment (Tuesday)

First signs of the Alphabet City-Tompkins Square Slow Zone (Friday)

Out and About with Lauren Edmond (Wednesday)

Work starts on Mars Bar 2.0 (Monday)

Rice burgers coming to East Ninth Street (Thursday)

About the Between the Seas Festival (Tuesday)

Veselka turns back the clock (Wednesday)

The return of I Coppi (Wednesday)

Time-lapse video of the baby hawks (Wednesday)

A reboot for Oyama (Tuesday)

At the Blarney Cove Cove (Monday)

Covering the mural wall on the Bowery and East Houston (Thursday)

Deeper discounts now at Kim's, closing soon (Wednesday)

A look at the new Max Fish signage (Tuesday)

The quick-rising new luxury buildings on Lafayette (Tuesday)

"You were walking through the east village with broccoli casually tucked in your backpack" (Wednesday)

Coffee shops with WiFi (Friday)

Birdbath Bakery still closed (Monday)

Here is your Red & Gold Crab Shack! signage (Monday)

French bistro taking over Apartment 13 space (Thursday)