Golden Food Market closes on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

[Photo by Rainer Turim]

The deli on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street closed last night after nearly 35 years in business.

Workers began dismantling the market on Sunday evening...


[Photo by Steven]


[Photo by Steven]

An LLC with a West 11th Street address bought the building at 118 First Ave. back in the spring for $5.8 million, according to public records.

According to a reader who spoke with the Golden Food Market (aka Ali's) staff, the lease was up for renewal and the new landlord wanted an increase that was more than the store could manage.

Ali Fardos, whose family owned Golden Food Market, also runs East Village Organic a few storefronts to the north on First Avenue.

An EVG reader shared this upon learning the news yesterday: "Ali and staff are the nicest people around. The prices were fair, but most memorably, they stayed open all during and after Sandy. I think I remember that they were lit by hanging kerosene lanterns. They will be missed and fondly remembered."


[Photo by Rainer Turim —— click pic to go big]

[Updated — cancelled] A 'Dirt Bags for Dirtbags' march

Updated 8 p.m.

Cancelled! Officials at the Cooper Square Committee have instead decided to concentrate all efforts on a press conference now slated to take place on the steps of City Hall on Aug. 9 at 11 a.m.

Via the EVG inbox...from the Cooper Square Committee...

Join us [tomorrow] to march on the offices of two of the City’s most aggressive landlords to deliver symbolic “dirt bags” to them as a reminder of the dust, debris, and misery they subjected their tenants to during construction in their buildings.

These bad actors seem to have forgotten the power of a city of renters standing in solidarity, so it’s time to pay them a visit and demand that construction-as-harassment becomes a thing of the past!

We’ll also be advocating for the passage of 12 bills proposed by the Stand for Tenant Safety (STS) coalition that are currently making their way through City Council. This legislation will work to reform the DOB and crack down on landlords who use construction to harass and displace tenants.

We’re also going to be accompanied by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, a radical marching band, who will make some noise to support the cause!

Participants are gathering tomorrow at the Cube at Astor Place. Start time is listed as 10:45 a.m.

Organizers from the Cooper Square Committee will name the two landlords closer to the time of the march. (The names won't come as a surprise.)

Lucy's is currently on the usual summer hiatus

[Photo by Steven]

There is usually some cause for concern when people notice that Lucy's hasn't been open of late on Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Lucy usually takes off for a few weeks this time of year to visit family in Poland. (In 2016 for instance, the bar was dark from July 22 through Aug. 5.)

She has randomly closed for a short period of time without any explanation (here and here).

Anyway, the note on the front door this time around states "We will open soon."

Express Thali has not been open lately on 2nd Avenue

An EVG reader notes that Express Thali, which serves vegetarian Indian cuisine, has not been open of late here at 82 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.

As you can see in the reader's photo above, there's a bunch of kitchen equipment and supplies boxed up in the dining room.

The restaurant just opened in early March. This has been a tough spot in recent years for restaurants. The casualties include Golden Crepes and 7 Spices.

A South Carolina-based investor bought No. 82 from Icon Realty for $10.9 million in late 2015.

Today is the National Night Out Against Crime at the 9th Precinct

The 9th Precinct is hosting the annual Night Out Against Crime community event today on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue from 3-7 p.m.

The flyer mentions a bounce house... but no word of the officer on stilts (who, as I recall, was MIA last year).


[Photo from 2013 by Slum Goddess]

Noted

.@nineinchnails tonight. pic.twitter.com/opqJox7v2O

— Webster Hall (@WebsterHall) July 31, 2017

As you may have heard this morning, Nine Inch Nails announced a last-minute show for tonight at the closing-soon Webster Hall on 11th Street.

As of 4:30, tickets were going for as high as $545 on StubHub...



A price drop from earlier...

To the people selling tickets for tonight's @nineinchnails show at Webster Hall on StubHub for $735: FUCK YOU.

— Stu Horvath (@StuHorvath) July 31, 2017

'Before we got Starfucked' — an exhibit on Avenue A tomorrow evening

Jen Fisher, who has operated the book stand on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place the past four years, is hosting an exhibit of East Village history at the space tomorrow evening.

Here are some details via the EVG info box...

Before we got Starfucked

A personal archive from the late 1980s to early 1990s of photographs, newspaper cuts, flyers and B&W Xerox books will be displayed on Tuesday, August 1 from 5:30-8 p.m.

The archive is based on 1980s and 1990s events such as The Tent City in Tompkins Square Park, the annual Stations of the Cross, Father George Kuhn, and the fight against gentrification as it was recorded and put together by a resident of the Lower East Side. Seen in the light of today's ongoing destruction of our neighborhood, we believe that this archive has acquired historical relevance as a record of the Lower East Side and the life it once contained.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Starbucks confirmed for Avenue A

SobaKoh has closed on 5th Street

SobaKoh, a soba restaurant on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has closed.

A sign appeared on the gate this past weekend noting the closure...


[Photo by EVG reader Natalie Walshe]

Said one neighbor: "This is a real heartbreaker. The restaurant was so good. The owner made his noodles in the window."

We have not heard an official reason for the closure of SobaKoh, which opened in early 2005. On Facebook, the restaurant noted that the owner "will be returning to Japan after his retirement."

The (unofficial) word on the block is that it didn't have to do with a lack of business or a rent increase, but rather an unscrupulous contractor who bilked Hiromi Takahashi, the restaurant’s chef and owner, over repair work. A neighbor said that he decided to throw in the towel rather than incur more expenses.

Signage arrives for Ahimsa on 10th Street

[Photo by EVG reader Cheyenne]

Signage is up for Ahimsa, the new vegetarian Indian restaurant opening at 265 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The restaurant's Thompson Street location boasts an $11.95 buffet lunch special. (You can find the Ahimsa menu here.)

The previous tenant here, Moustache, the reliable Middle-Eastern restaurant, closed back in May.

About the 5th annual MoRUS Film Fest, starting Wednesday

Here are details about the fifth annual film festival by the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space ... via the EVG inbox...

1971
Opening Night: Wednesday, Aug. 2, 8:30 pm
Umbrella House roof garden, 21 Ave C
**(Accessibility Note: The building does not have an elevator. Access to rooftop requires climbing six flights of stairs)
2014 – Film directed by Johanna Hamilton – Runtime: 79 min
The FBI was unaccountable and untouchable until 1971, when a group of ordinary citizens uncovered its illegal domestic spying programs.

Cointelpro 101 & Still We Ride
Thursday, Aug. 3, 8:30 pm
6B Community Garden, corner of East 6th St. and Ave. B
Cointelpro 101, 2010 – Documentary directed by Freedom Archives – Runtime: 56 min
Cointelpro 101 exposes illegal surveillance, disruption, and outright murder committed by the US government in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Still We Ride, 2013 – Documentary directed by Andrew Lynn, Elizabeth Press & Chris Ryan – Runtime: 37 min
Still We Ride showcases how group bicycle rides in New York City faced harassment by police during a crucial growth period of the cycling movement.

The Informant
Friday, Aug. 4, 8:30 pm
Orchard Alley Garden, East 4th St. Between Ave. C and D
2011 – Film directed by Jamie Meltzer – Runtime: 81 min
The Informant delves into the life of Brandon Darby, a community organizer turned FBI informant.

Citizen Four
Closing Night: Saturday, Aug. 5, 8:30 pm
La Plaza Community Garden, SW corner of 9th Street and Ave C
2014 – Documentary directed by Laura Poitras – Runtime: 94 min
Citizen Four followed Laura Poitras as she encountered with Edward Snowden in Hong Kong before he handed over classified documents providing evidence of mass illegal invasions of privacy by the NSA.

*******************************

A limited supply of all-inclusive passes for $20 will be on sale soon through Eventbright or by visiting MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets during hours of operation. Admission to each individual screening will otherwise require a suggested donation of $6. For updates visit the Film Festival website here.

Report: DBGB is closing on the Bowery

[EVG file photo]

Daniel Boulud has announced that he is closing DBGB Kitchen and Bar on Aug. 11 after an eight-year run in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and Houston.

"In this location, it’s busy on weekends but erratic in the early part of the week," he told The New York Times. "I hope to find a more appropriate space for it in New York."

Per Eater: "The neighborhood is changing," says Boulud of his decision to close the "very good restaurant" serving tuna tartare, lamb ribs, and boudin Basque.

Curious how the neighborhood is changing in his estimation — getting too upscale for the likes of DBGB? Or changing in that the Bowery hasn't really taken off like people anticipated. A good number of retail businesses have come and gone. Ditto for restaurants. For instance, PYT — "Home of America's Craaaziest Burgers" — closed after just three months in a space that was previously home to three restaurants in fairly quick succession. L'Apico closed in May after five years around the corner in the Avalon Bowery Place complex.

Anyway, farewell to DBGB... I enjoyed keeping tabs on its sidewalk cafe in the restaurant's early days...



Previously on EV Grieve:
How DBGB is 'pissing on the grave' of punk rock

Why we're writing about Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar in Buffalo

Breaking: DBGB making sidewalk cafe look less barren

Opossum, where art thou?

Possum or opossum? This little Manhattanite is glad you asked https://t.co/BoaKjHbrzo pic.twitter.com/napFCdEcKY

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 30, 2017

As the Daily News reported, it was "marsupial madness" today as an opossum was discovered inside the Classic Gourmet Deli on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

There isn't much more to the narrative, other than the NYPD Emergency Services Unit was called in ... and the critter "was safely removed in a crate by Animal Care Centers." He was then released on the rooftop garden at Steiner East Village.

Seats with more legroom now available on St. Mark's Place

The overhead bin space looks iffy, though. EVG reader Peter D. spotted this row on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue...

Week in Grieview

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Neftaly Ramirez (Monday)

At the new home of the Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

A bad sign at Heart of India on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

Polish G. I. Delicatessen has officially closed (Monday)

Reader report: Cleaning power and a clean up on Cooper Square (Thursday)

Becky's Bites and Stuffed Ice Cream are now open (Friday)



The Joey Ramone street sign is currently MIA from Joey Ramone Place (Friday)

Wagamama says hello on 3rd Avenue (Friday)

98/99 Favor Taste opens on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

The Great Jones Café is now closed, permanently or not (Friday)

1st LinkNYC kiosk coming to St. Mark's Place (Monday)

The Pourhouse might be in the poorhouse with back rent due in excess of $60k (Tuesday)

Michelle Alteration & Boutique now open on Avenue C (Wednesday)

Dokodemo now serving Japanese street food on 4th Street (Friday)



80 E. 10th Street rises, teases (Tuesday)

GURGLING TUB ALERT (Wednesday)

Oh yes the former Caffe Bene storefront is still for rent (Wednesday)

Former San Loco space for rent on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

The blanding of Union Square West (Tuesday)

Bonefade Barbers mark arrival on Avenue A (Monday)

Retail rent at 190 Bowery is $2 million a year (Wednesday)

Campaign to get a wax statue of Paul Giamatti at Madame Tussauds™ comes to the East Village (Sunday)



All ping-pong pics in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg...

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Report: Explosion victims seek to freeze Maria Hrynenko's assets

Victims of the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion are now looking to freeze the assets of former landlord Maria Hrynenko, who last month sold two of the three properties destroyed in the blast on March 26, 2015.

The Post today reports that Hrynenko and her companies have been hit with 28 lawsuits.

Per the Post:

The legal motion asks that a judge forbid Hrynenko from “removing, destroying, selling, assigning, gifting, encumbering and otherwise disposing” of cash from the sale.

As I first reported in June, Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group, Inc., paid $9.15 million for both lots — 119 and 121 Second Ave. To date, there haven't been any new permits filed at the DOB.

The DA charged Hrynenko and several others, including her son, with involuntary manslaughter and other alleged crimes. The criminal case against her has yet to go to trial while the multiple civil actions are still making their way through the courts.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

Saturday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square today by Derek Berg...

Remembering Eddie Hunt

Eddie Hunt, a familiar figure in the neighborhood who worked in East Village bars such as the Coal Yard and the International, died last Saturday of an apparent heart attack. He was 54.

Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 2 p.m., Eddie's friends are gathering at Manitoba's, 99 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, for a tribute party.

'Vanishing' point

[Photo from July 19]

"Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul," the book by East Village-based writer-blogger Jeremiah Moss, was published this past week.

You can read an exclusive excerpt of the East Village chapter at Longreads.

He was also on the cover of The Village Voice last week (July 18 issue date). You can read that here.

The official book launch party was the past Thursday. There are several more upcoming events, as well as an appearance on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC Thursday at noon. Find those details here.

#Soon

[Photo from the other day]

Summer Streets start next Saturday. (Plus, Smellmapping!) Find more details here.

'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' getting the 35th anniversary treatment at Union Square

Here's the official blurb about the 35th anniversary screening....

Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Universal Pictures are bringing Fast Times at Ridgemont High to select cinemas nationwide for a special two-day event, which also includes an introduction from a TCM host. Academy Award winner Sean Penn stars in the film that defined the outrageous and bold teen comedy genre.

It's playing Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and again on Wednesday at the same (fast)times at Regal Union Square Stadium 14 on 13th Street and Broadway. Find more details here.

And now, the dated trailer...