Avenida Cantina starts serving Tex-Mex on Avenue B tomorrow

[Reader-submitted photo]

As we've been reporting since August, a new bar-restaurant called Avenida Cantina is in the works for 25 Avenue B between East Second Street and East Third Street. Notes posted on the front window announce that the bar will officially open tomorrow (Saturday!).

Here's more about Avenida Cantina based on information on their website:

Three Texans and a New Yorker meet in a bar...

For years, southern transplants in New York have proclaimed the need for REAL Tex-Mex in NYC. Tex-Mex, as southerners know it, does not consist of tiny tacos in corn tortillas or $15 guacamole.

You cried out. We listened. This is not another fancy, overpriced Mexican restaurant. This is your friendly, neighborhood home-cooking, tequila and beer, East Village-charming Tex-Mex experience you crave.

Welcome home.

Here's a look at the menu...


[Click to go big]

Avenida is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. The bar is open until 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

In addition to Avenida, there's a speakeasy in the basement space called The Mockingbird. Per the website:

No sign in the sky will tell you where The Mockingbird is nested. Just look for the silhouette on the door in the underbelly of New York’s indelible East Village.

Through that door lays an eclectic bar and lounge serving up tequila-centric cocktails with the gritty swank of a classic Manhattan speakeasy. Built by the hands of local artists, The Mockingbird provides a cozy, yet untamed atmosphere suited for every occasion, from first dates to birthday parties to private events.

That basement space was once Save the Robots... and much more recently Idle Hands.

No. 25 has been several bars in the past few years... It was home for two months to Matty's, which shut down last February ... and, earlier, Idle Hands, Station B and Billy Hurricane's.

A few CB3 watchers have emailed us in recent weeks asking how/why this item was never heard before the Board's SLA committee. Despite the new concept and 100 percent turnover in corporate partners, this item was not heard at the committee this past September.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something new in the works for 25 Avenue B

Signage arrives for Avenida on Avenue B

Report: Latest woe for St. Mark's Bookshop — possible eviction

[EVG file photo]

According to published reports, St. Mark's Bookshop is in danger of losing its home since July 2014 on East Third Street. The storefront in the First Houses between Avenue A and First Avenue is owned by the NYCHA, who reportedly started the eviction process this past July.

Per DNAinfo: "NYCHA ... said the shop owes $68,361.70 as of this month — a combination of its monthly $6,180 rent, as well as an additional $68.94 in monthly water charges."

Bookshop co-owner Bob Contant told DNAinfo that his attorney was working to get the notice dismissed because "there were a lot of problems with the way the notice was served." While Contant said that the Bookshop was behind on rent, the amount that he and his business partner Terry McCoy owe is less than what the NYCHA is claiming. ("The city has one figure, we have another. We're not on the same page.")

There is more information about the eviction at Bedford + Bowery, who first reported on this. And read the full DNAinfo story here, which includes a statement from the NYCHA.

According to an article in May 2014 at The New York Times, the Bookshop's rent is $6,000 at the East Third Street location, roughly one-quarter of the $23,500 charged by their landlord on Third Avenue, the Cooper Union.

The owners return to court on Jan. 20, though they must pay $6,180 to the NYCHA before the case resumes.

On Nov. 30, the Bookshop launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $150,000 that it needs to stay in business. As of last night, the campaign had brought in $18,756.

The Bookshop is now in its 39th year, spread over several East Village locations.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: St. Mark's Bookshop prepping fundraiser ahead of possible move to Avenue A.

Is this the new home for the St. Mark's Bookshop?

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop signs lease for East 3rd Street space

Renovations at the future St. Mark's Bookshop on East 3rd Street

St. Mark's Bookshop seeking buyers with an ownership interest

Report: Last stand for St. Mark's Bookshop

Reminders (1st of 17): MulchFest — or TreeCycle! — is this weekend in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo Monday by Bobby Williams]

MulchFest 2016, TWO action-packed holy days of obligation in the blogosphere, is happening tomorrow (Saturday!) and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park.

Per the Park Depo on what to do: Please remember to remove all lights, ornaments and netting before bringing the tree to the Park. Bags will be provided if you wish to take some free mulch home or, as we like to do, place between our cheek and gum like Skoal.

Also, this is important: Please remember to remove all children from the trees as well.

As you can see, several trees were discarded yesterday in Tompkins Square Park with the children intact, as these photos by EV MulchFest Associate Editor Steven show...





Oh, we're joking. The kids actually took cover here from some Post reporters.

Also, if you can't make MulchFest (lazy!), then the NYC Department of Sanitation is continuing special curbside collections for mulching and recycling of Christmas/holiday trees through next Friday.

And finally (finally), a reminder on East Fifth Street that may be a clever imitation of the East Fifth St. Tree Committee...



Previously on EV Grieve:
This year's TreeCycle event left mulch to be desired, at least before it started

Interesting new business now serving oven baked goodness (and pizza) on East 14th Street

The Domino's Pizza® opened its doors on Wednesday here on East 14th Street ... just a little west of Avenue A...





Aside from pizza, the location also offers items ranging from Stuffed Cheesy Breads and Oven Baked Sandwiches to desserts, such as Domino's Marbled Cookie Brownie®.



The storefront was previously home to the 99-Cent Discount Center.

Thanks to EVG contributor Edmund John Dunn!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Interesting new business opening on East 14th Street

Work continues at interesting new business coming to East 14th Street

Signage arrives for interesting new business on East 14th Street

Activity to note at interesting new business coming to East 14th Street

Gothic Cabinet Craft has closed on 3rd Avenue

As our friend Alex at Flaming Pablum first noted yesterday, the longtime Gothic Cabinet Craft shop has quietly closed on Third Avenue at East 13th Street.

The family-owned custom wood furniture shop has some 30 outlets in the NYC metropolitan area, with its manufacturing plant in Maspeth. The East Village location was its first though, when Theodore Zaharopoulos set up shop on the corner in 1969. (In 2014, the company rebranded as Gothic Furniture, which implies something else. But!)

Anyway, as Alex noted, the storefront can be seen multiple times during "Taxi Driver" from 1976 ... (some trivia that Gothic has also noted in its news releases) ... the sign is just to the left of Iris' hat...



It was one of the few NYC storefronts that still existed from the film. (See Scouting NY for a "Taxi Driver" then-and-now feature.)


[Imagine via Scouting NY]

29-year-old Gallery Vernon is closing on East 9th Street

An EVG reader pointed out the arrival of "we are closing" signs at Gallery Vercon, the boutique at 332 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Vashti de Verteuil opened her shop here in 1987... where she carries her own line of jewelry ... and also carries handmade accessories — from hats, scarves and belts — by other designers. The reader who shared this news notes that de Verteuil also teaches at Parsons...

Updated 5:07 p.m.

De Verteuil told Bedford & Bowery that landlord and aspiring lawyer Raphael Toledano was buying 332 E. Ninth St. She was on a month-to-month lease with the previous landlord, but never even had a chance to negotiate a new lease with Toledano's's Brookhill Properties. "The good old days are gone," De Verteuil said. "You know, when the new landlords take over, you can barely afford the rent anyway. Whatever offer they were going to make me, I wasn't going to be able to afford it." The shop's last day is Jan. 15.

Tonight in car fires on Avenue A

Car on fire at E 4th and Ave A in East Village. Looks like battery caught fire. @FDNY in the scene. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/lJdZOm2uxF

— Cecil Scheib (@cecilscheib) January 8, 2016

And there's a video clip here.

The Sock Man is closing on St. Mark's Place

[Image via Twitter]

Word is spreading that The Sock Man is closing on St. Mark's Place.

A tipster tells us that the last day here is Jan. 18. Friday, Jan. 15 is now the last day.

The shop has been peddling socks, tights, lingerie and other accessories on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue since 1983.

We'll share more details as they becomes available.

Updated 1/8
Jeremiah Moss has more on the closing at Vanishing New York.

Per a JVNY reader: Owner Marty Rosen is "being forced off St. Mark's Place forever due to Real Estate tyrannical fascism. It breaks my heart to help him pack up the store. He plans to look for a new space and to continue his online business, but this is so disturbing."

City removes Sandy-damaged willow on East 8th Street

A city crew is [finally] taking down a willow tree on East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C that didn't make it after Sandy...

Neighbor Alex Story, who took the top photo, also shared this shot of the healthy willow from several years back...



The city removed another Sandy-damanged willow from the 9th Street Community Garden Park back in August.

As for the the Eighth Street willow, as we recall, a local blogger had a cow wrote about the tree being pruned five or so years ago.

Nonna's Pizza is closed for now on Avenue A

A troubling sign over at Nonna's, the pizzeria at 201 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street... a note on the door says that the shop is closed until further notice... and the inside looks pretty disheveled...



Nonna's just arrived this past June, as we first reported. As a reader told us, the pizzeria is/was run by a grandson and his grandmother … the family patriarch operated pizzerias in Long Island and Westchester dating to the 1980s.

EVG readers gave the pizza here high marks. Hopefully this is just some kind of short-term renovation or something.

The space has been pizza the past few years: Fat Sal's, which closed in May 2014, took over in May 2011 from APizzA.

Avenue A is now down two pizzerias... Nino's remains closed at St. Mark's Place, with no sign of life inside of late. So you still have Two Boots at East Third Street and Muzzarella Pizza between East 13th Street and East 14th Street. Not to mention the discount slices at the new 99¢ Pizza at East Sixth Street ... and Mamani Pizza between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

H/T dwg

Updated 10:17 a.m.
Looks like Nonna's is closed for good, via Gojira in the comments.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nonna's Pizza arrives on Avenue A

SRO Pizza is apparently DOA on the Bowery

Perhaps to the surprise of no one, SRO, the pizza speakeasy with a $38 prix-fixe menu at 334 Bowery, has apparently closed for good. We noticed that the space has been dark of late. The SRO phone is out of service. A sign on the door (under the guise of Bowery Pizza) suggests that people try the newish stunt burger joint PYT next door...



One upset Yelp reviewer noted that SRO was closed on Dec. 16. We checked in with an SRO media rep who gave us information in the past. The PR firm no longer represents the restaurant.

While people generally seemed to like the pizza, the prices were too high and the concept too gimmicky. (When SRO opened last January, patrons had to enter a door marked "no vacancy" from the adjoining restaurant.) Plus the whole SRO connection to the Bowery's past was tone deaf.

Anyway, let's see if we have all this straight about the address: The space between Bond and Great Jones was home to Forcella Bowery for nearly three years until November 2014 … only to be replaced in December 2014 by the tapas-friendly Espoleta, which closed six months later to make way for Gia Trattoria. They quickly closed. That address is now PYT.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent space to the south, Slice of Naples remained open even after Forcella shuttered. (Same ownership!) That was until pizzaiolo Giulio Adriani converted the space to SRO in January 2015. Last June, the Bowery Pizza sign appeared. At that time, we thought that SRO had closed. However, the aforementioned rep told us that "while it appears that SRO has shuttered, it is indeed still operating, and quite successfully!"

Next!

Tough retail Environment? Upscale furniture shop closing on the Bowery

Environment Furniture, which "creates timeless contemporary collections for the home that respect the planet," is having a going-out-of-business sale at its showroom on the Bowery between Great Jones and East Fourth Street...



The Environment website described their location this way:

In the heart of the bustling hip neighborhood of the Bowery, iconic destination for the underground art world and music community. Footsteps away from the Bowery Hotel, Il Buco and former CBGB historic location.

The store arrived in 2012... and later expanded into the adjacent space at 350 Bowery (previously Gallery 151).

New shop hopes to be a perfect fit on East 9th Street

EVG contributor Steven passes along word (and a photo!) of a coming soon sign that arrived yesterday at 331 E. Ninth St. for Tailors Atelier of NY ... which, as you may have guessed, is a tailoring shop that's expected to open Feb. 1 here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The head tailor, Nigel Ramsey, has 30 years of experience, per the shop's website.

Here's their mission statement:

At TAILORS ATELIER, we have tailored our livelihoods on Altering and Tailoring people's clothing into works of art. From the simple to the complex we've experienced it all and can assist you every step of the way. No job is too small or too big for our knowledgeable staff. We've happily done it all for 30 years now!

The previous tenant here, the Glasgow Vintage Co., closed this past August after less than a year on the block.

Medical marijuana now for sale on East 14th Street

Columbia Care, one of NYC's first medicinal marijuana dispensaries, opens today at 212 E. 14th St., just east of Third Avenue.

As previously noted, the medical conditions approved for marijuana prescriptions are limited to cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, among several others. In addition, the NYC dispensaries will only sell 30-day supplies of marijuana in the form of oils, pills or tinctures.

CNBC toured the facility... per their report:

The dispensary's exterior is intentionally discreet, lacking marijuana plant designs so commonly seen around the country. There are five security cameras out front, and patients will be buzzed in after showing medicinal program cards. Once inside, customers are invited back to the pharmacy area. The interior space is modern and warm, not sterile like a doctor's office.

But key larger questions remain including how many medical practitioners will participate in the program, and recommend medicinal marijuana to patients.

Also, health insurance does not cover medical marijuana so patients will have to pay out of pocket. Columbia Care will run a separate program for low-income patients. The company has submitted its consumer-facing price proposals to the state for approval.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New East 14th Street retail space already gone to pot

Columbia Care brands its marijuana dispensary on East 14th Street

[Updated] Now playing at the Sunshine: flooding

We are temporarily closed at the moment due to repairs; we will keep you updated on when we will open.

— Sunshine Cinema (@sunshine_cinema) January 6, 2016

In case you had plans on seeing a movie (maybe the Charlie Kauffman retrospective) at the Sunshine Cinema on East Houston, you are out of luck at the moment.

The Sunshine tweeted out earlier this afternoon that they are "temporarily closed."

The Lo-Down heard from management that the theater closed due to flooding. They hope to return to cinematic action tonight... or tomorrow morning. Watch their Twitter account for updates.

Updated 1 p.m.

Back open!

We are back open! Come see a film with us: https://t.co/Ell1CH0uGE

— Sunshine Cinema (@sunshine_cinema) January 7, 2016

About those Stuy Town-Peter Cooper air rights that could fetch Blackstone $625 million

Well, you know that the Blackstone Group and Ivanhoe Cambridge's $5 billion-plus purchase of the Stuy-Town/Peter Cooper Village is in the books. (Mostly!)

Now Lois Weiss at the Post has more details about those air rights bandied about in previous sale discussions:

Blackstone has tucked away air rights that could be worth some $625 million.

While the majority of the air rights — roughly 1 million square feet — will be transferred somewhere over the city’s rainbow through a new entity, Blackstone also retained 250,000 feet of air rights within a Stuyvesant Town associated LLC.

These include 200,000 square feet for a community facility, 25,000 square feet for residential and 25,000 square feet for commercial use.

But before residents and elected officials freak out, Blackstone sources said the company is sticking with its promise and will not build anything else on site. The executives spoke on condition of anonymity and explained the deed filings merely divvied up the air rights between various entities.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local politicos seek answers from the Blackstone Group on the Stuy Town air rights deal

A revamped Dry Dock Playground is back open

The Dry Dock Playground recently returned to action after nearly six months of renovations...





Amazingly enough, the $1.5-million project, which included refurbished basketball courts and additional security lighting, was finished ahead of its projected spring 2016 deadline. (The refurbishments did not include the pool.)

Meanwhile, making free throws against the backdrop of the Con Ed power plant still takes intense concentration...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The Dry Dock Playground is closed for reconstruction

You now have a few more hours to use the local libraries during the week

[EVG file photo of the Tompkins Square library branch]

The New York Public Library has expanded hours at branches throughout the city, with a focus on evenings, weekends and other periods of high demand, as we cut-and-paste from the news release.

How did they manage this?

A historic $43 million increase in operating funding to the city’s three library systems in Fiscal Year 2016 has allowed NYPL to add 293 more public service hours per week at branches across the system, bringing average weekly branch hours up from 46.6 hours to 50.

And here are the new hours for the branches around here...

• Hamilton Fish Park Library, 415 East Houston St. between Pitt and Columbia
Hours: Mon. and Weds. 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tues. and Thurs. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Ottendorfer Library, 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Tompkins Square Library, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

None of these branches will have Sunday hours, however, like several other locations. (Still only one Library open on Sundays hereabouts.)

Also, the NYPL released the "Top Book Check Outs of 2015" by branch... so in case you were wondering...

Hamilton Fish Park - "Blue Exorcist" by Kazue Kato and John Werry

Ottendorfer - "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Tompkins Square - "The Paying Guests" by Sarah Waters

H/T DNAinfo

NY Village Deli is on the move on 1st Avenue

An EVG reader let us know that the NY Village Deli has closed its doors at 39 First Ave. after 25 years...


[Reader-submitted photo]

However! Per the sign on the door...



... the deli is just relocating two storefronts away to the north...



This storefront between East Second Street and East Third Street was home to Puebla Mexican Food until last March. (Puebla since found a new location in the Essex Street Market.)

Puebla's lease was up, and the new rent was too much for owner Irma Marin to manage. And according to a tipster, the landlord of NY Village Deli raised the rent to $17,000, which was more than the store owners could pay and stay in business.

The new home of NY Village Deli is expected to open on Monday.

Send a salami to your boy next door in the condo

The branding is up on the plywood, as Curbed noted, on East Houston between Orchard and Ludlow ... where Ben Shaoul is dropping in an 11-story condoplex with an Equinox Fitness in the retail space.

In total here at 196 Orchard St., there will be 94 units — studios to three-bedroomers ... with pricing starting at just under $1 million and measuring from 555 square feet.

And as BoweryBoogie pointed out yesterday, the sales messaging relies upon next-door neighbor (and air rights seller) Katz's...



Here's another marketing photo via the 196 Orchard teaser site...


[Hey yoo guys — this isn't the Surf Inn!]

And BoweryBoogie brought this up: "How long before these future tenants start bitching about the smells emanating from the kitchen of Katz’s?" The air was resplendent (or whatever) with the delicious smell of pastrami last evening while taking these photos on Orchard. (Note to self: Pastrami-Proof© Windows?) One former resident of The Ludlow wrote some years back how much she won't miss the "smell of pickles from Katz [sic] Deli that I am forced to inhale when walking home every day."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Making way for Ben Shaoul's new retail-residential complex on East Houston

Katz's is now the last business on East Houston between Ludlow and Orchard