Mark Burger won't be back around here

As we first reported on Wednesday, Mark Burger closed at 33 St. Mark's Place.

The sign on the front door here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue reads: "Gone for now but not for good. Thanks to the ones who still believe in Mark. Our sliders don't have an expiration date."

Bedford + Bowery later caught up with their GM, Brian Pollock, who said the "rent is too high, it’s too hard to keep up."

And:

He added that the neighborhood has changed considerably since the restaurant opened its doors eight years ago. "It’s a place where people used to go for dive bars, to get a hot dog at Papaya King," he said. "Now people go for cocktails and noodles. It’s not necessarily good or bad but, unfortunately, it’s not as suited for us."

He said that they may reopen in some form, but not in this neighborhood.

Sunday's parting shot

A view downtown via Bobby Williams...

Noted

Sixth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue this evening...

Week in Grieview

[Ping-pong variation in Tompkins Square Park via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

East Village resident sues State Liquor Authority over bottomless brunches (Thursday)

RIP Diane Maguire (Friday)

7th Street townhouse once owned by John Leguizamo to be demolished for new development (Tuesday)

Out and About with Pepe Flores (Wednesday)

Final date set for Clayworks Pottery on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Judge lets Steve Croman postpone his sentencing so he may celebrate the Jewish holidays at home (Tuesday)

The East River Park Track is now closed for renovations; September 2018 reopening expected (Tuesday)

A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year (Wednesday)

Kona Coffee and Company coming to 2nd Avenue (Friday)

First Hints of Fall (Monday)


[Breakfast with Christo via Steven]

City moves to potentially landmark 827-831 Broadway (Wednesday)

Willow tree post mortem at La Plaza (Tuesday)

The final print edition of The Village Voice is out today (Wednesday)

Capa Café now serving inside the International Center of Photography on the Bowery (Friday)

Mayor forms Office of Nightlife (Thursday)

Intermix has left the Bowery (Monday)

Some condoplex pricing (Monday)

Wagamama opens Oct. 4 on 3rd Avenue (Wednesday)

Dr Smood is now in on Houston and Orchard (Wednesday)

Drumming up some dumpster action outside Webster Hall (Tuesday)

The rent is due at the former DF Mavens (Monday)

Smoke Shop & Convenience Inc. slated for 14th Street (Monday)

---

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In search of drunk-brunch answers at the Post

This past week, East Village resident Robert Halpern sued the State Liquor Authority over a loophole in the 1999 law that allows bottomless brunches.

Steve Cuozzo uses that as a jumping off point in a column at the Post. Drunk brunch, and drinking in general among the millennial set, is a citywide scourge, he writes.

There’s never been as much binge boozing as there is today. It stretches far beyond the Lower East Side’s infamous “Hell Zone” to Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. In the Meatpacking District, vomit on the pavement makes me cringe more than smelly carcasses once did. Even hotel rooftops and high-end restaurants are affected: Top chef Michael White actually employs a bouncer to stand on Lafayette Street to protect his Italian trattoria Osteria Morini from “young, affluent, intoxicated people stumbling from one place to the next,” a manager explained to me.

Any explanations?

A few causes of this drunken oblivion are obvious. Affluent young singles cluster in neighborhoods oversaturated with saloons. Restaurants promote “beverage programs” more than food.

Some media outlets seem bent on driving half the youthful population into AA. Time Out New York’s September issue feature on the craft-beer scene is blurbed on the magazine’s cover as “67% information, 33% inebriation.”

Also! Citing stats that show Manhattan is home to 38 percent more women than men among recent college graduates, Cuozzo believes the imbalance is driving this demographic to drink.

What’s that got to do with binge drinking? When gender expectations are wildly out of sync, anxiety is soothed with alcohol’s fast-acting flood of relief.

A look at the new #212wall

EVG reader Kerry on 12th shares the above photo, noting the new murals — called the #212wall — on the northwest corner of 12th Street at Second Avenue.

Here's a look at each mural ... (these replaced the mural here that had been tagged multiple times ... work started Thursday and wrapped up Friday)...


[@Hektad]


[thomasallen_nyc]


[@megzany]


[@acool55 + @outersource]


[@wrdsmth]


[@phoebenewyork]

H/T @just_a_spectator

Baohaus closed for renovations for now on 14th Street

Just noting that Eddie Huang's Baohaus has been closed since last Sunday... and will be so for another few weeks here on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



Huang, the chef-author-TV personality, will reportedly open an outpost on the Bowery in Chinatown. (This location was seeking a full liquor license last month. Not sure what the outcome was.)

The quick-serve Taiwanese restaurant opened on 14th Street in 2011... the original Rivington Street location closed shortly after this.

H/T EVG reader Shiv!

Saturday's parting (moon) shot

Photo via Grant Shaffer ...

2nd Street firehouse collecting donations of hurricane-relief supplies for Puerto Rico

Mayor de Blasio announced yesterday that more than a dozen firehouses across the city will be collecting supplies to send to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

In the East Village, Engine 28/Ladder 11 at 222 E. Second St. between Avenue B and Avenue C will be accepting donations daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Below is a list of items NYC is collecting:

• Diapers
• Baby food
• Batteries
• First Aid Supplies
• Feminine Hygiene Products

From the media advisory: "Please note the City is only collecting the items listed above. All donated items must be non-perishable, not second-hand, nor contain any liquids of any kind. Open or unsealed donations of food or hygiene supplies will not be accepted. Wet wipes will also not be accepted. Any other items will be kindly returned."

Safely dispose of your harmful household products tomorrow (Sunday!) in Union Square

This SAFE Disposal Event is happening tomorrow (Sunday!) in the north plaza in Union Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Per the NYC.gov site:

The NYC Department of Sanitation is holding a series of SAFE Disposal Events (Solvents, Automotive, Flammable, Electronics) to provide NYC residents with a one-stop method to get rid of harmful household products.

Materials accepted include common household products such as auto fluids, batteries, electronics, strong cleaners, medications, paint and more.

Welcome to the 'Machine'

V, the latest record by the Horrors, is out today. The above video is for "Machine."

Noted

Photo in Tompkins Square Park this morning by Derek Berg... apparently Deborah, the Park's gardener, collected these from nearby into one spot to dispose...

EVG Etc.: Guide to the L train shutdown; premiere of 'Hunting Pignut' at MoRUS

[Photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg]

Department of City Planning debuts community portal, which brings together basic demographic information about each community board (The Lo-Down)

L train shutdown: everything you need to know (Curbed)

More on the lawsuit over bottomless brunch, with a report that concludes with the trolling quote: "I mean it’s the East Village, it’s the most upcoming neighborhood in Manhattan. If you’re not happy with the alcohol usage in this neighborhood – maybe its time to move out." (PIX ... previously)

Prune, still got it (The New York Times)

The Astor Alive! outdoor performing arts festival returns to Astor Place tomorrow for a day of dance, music, poetry, cabaret, etc. (Facebook Events page)

More on Richard Boch's Mudd Club book (Dangerous Minds)

Van Leeuwen opening an outpost in the former Ludlow Guitars space (BoweryBoogie)

East Village podcaster looking for new home for his studio (Daily News)

Mayor says 50 electric car charging hubs coming to NYC by 2020 (DNAinfo)

Local brands will disappear from Whole Foods (Money)

Tomorrow (Saturday!) night, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) at 155 Avenue C is showing "Hunting Pignut," a coming-of-age film set in the Newfoundland punk scene that's now in limited release in Canada. It is based on the life of writer/director/editor Martine Blue, who lived in C-Squat on Avenue C for seven years. The film is inspired by her friends and her time here.



Her first film, "El Evictor," will precede "Pignut," a B-horror short filmed at C-Squat. Slum Goddess has a part in it. Find more details on the screenings here.

The screening starts at 8 p.m., and is followed by a Q-and-A with Blue.

And tonight, there's a party at Scumbags & Superstars, which sells "clothing and accessories for weirdos" down at 100 Clinton St. between Rivington and Delancey... a good chance to check out the store...

Kona Coffee and Company coming to 2nd Avenue

Work continues at 59 Second Ave., where sidewalk-bridge signage has arrived for Kona Coffee and Company here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Don't know too much about this operation. Their Facebook account notes that their beans "come from small, family-owned farms in Kona."

This is already a pretty competitive stretch for coffee, with the Bean set up almost directly across the Avenue ... and the Coffee Project and Southern Cross on Fifth Street just off the Avenue. (Not to mention two corner delis.)

Until October 2015, the address was home to Alex Shoe Repair, whose lease was not renewed after the building's new owner Icon Realty bought the property in early 2015.

RIP Diane Maguire

Several readers shared the news that Ninth Street resident Diane Maguire died on Saturday. She was 59.

Diane grew up on Sullivan Street and eventually moved to this block between Avenue A and First Avenue. She could be seen on most days sitting outside on her building's stoop with her dog Josie talking to neighbors.

There's an obituary for her here. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Someone left flowers and a poem, titled "Crazy Lady," in the doorway of her building. Said one reader: "She always lit up the neighborhood and talked to everyone who passed by ... usually telling a dirty joke as well, asking what the difference is between sex and snow..."



Thanks to Michelle Simes for the photos and Steven for the reporting.

Capa Café now serving inside the International Center of Photography on the Bowery

The Capa Café is now up and running inside the International Center of Photography (ICP), 250 Bowery between Houston and Stanton.

A Café rep sent along details yesterday ... via the EVG inbox...

The International Center of Photography ... is tapping Great Performances (GP), the sustainability oriented New York City food service and events company, to re-invent and operate the ICP Museum’s café. Reimagined and debuting this fall as the Capa Café — a nod to ICP founder and noted photojournalist, Cornell Capa — the 40-seat eatery features a revamped menu, complete with a robust coffee and tea offering as well as seasonally sensitive fare for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, including baked on-site breads and pastries, made-to-order sandwiches, and hot entrées.

The Café will also unveil a new look later this month, per the announcement. The Capa Café is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.



The ICP opened here in June 2016. Maman, which ran the first cafe in the space, quietly closed back in March, as BoweryBoogie reported. Another cafe later opened in its place.

City installs pre-tagged Big Belly on 7th Street and Avenue A

This afternoon, Derek Berg noted that a worker delivered a Big Belly to the northeast corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street ... one that, ingeniously or not, had already been tagged... (save someone the trouble of doing it later) ...



Back in June, workers placed these solar-powered trash cans in and around Tompkins Square Park as part of the city's $32-million plan to combat vermin in rat-popular neighborhoods, like here. (As I recall, the northeast corner of 7th and A didn't have its own Big Belly.)

As previously noted, the rat-proof trash cans — which cost $7,000 each, per the Daily News — might work when they are not full or have trash stacked next to them...


[Sept. 2]


[Sept. 9]

ICYMI — Mayor forms Office of Nightlife

Nightlife is part of the soul of our city. The Office of Nightlife will make sure it stays that way for generations of New Yorkers to come. pic.twitter.com/hUNIZOVBJv

— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) September 20, 2017

In case you didn't see this news from Tuesday night... when Mayor de Blasio arrived at House of Yes in Bushwick to announce the formation of the city's Office of Nightlife, where a soon-to-be-appointed Night Mayor will reign.

Per DNAnfo:

The new appointee will field complaints and mediate disputes between nightlife establishments and city and state agencies, as well as residents with complaints and concerns.

"[Nightlife] is part of the magic of New York City," said Mayor Bill de Blasio, flanked by former Ramones drummer Marky Ramone and jazz double-bassist Ron Carter, at the Wyckoff Avenue venue. "Where the culture happens is essential. Without the venues, the culture simply can't exist."

The administration is in the process of interviewing candidates for the job, which is expected to be filled by the end of the year.

The Office of Nightlife will have an estimated annual budget of $407,000, including $37,000 for office space, supplies and computers, as well as $370,000 to pay the Night Mayor and an assistant director of the office, according to a financial impact statement.

"The office will be led by who someone who will undoubtedly be more popular than me and will wield tremendous power," de Blasio said.

As those de Blasio fans at the Post noted:

Despite the presence of community boards and the city’s own Department of Small Business Services, the mayor believes another layer of government is needed to deal with quality-of-life issues and to help keep struggling clubs from going under.

Gothamist has more on the creation of this Office here.

East Village resident sues State Liquor Authority over bottomless brunches

East Village resident Robert Halpern, a lawyer who has lived here for more than 30 years, is in the news after he sued the State Liquor Authority over a loophole in the 1999 law that allows bottomless brunches (drunk brunch, drunch, etc).

The Real Deal first had the story yesterday:

These weekend specials, where you pay a set price for unlimited alcohol during brunch hours, are prohibited by law, according to Halpern’s complaint, and they’re contributing to the “deterioration of the neighborhood.”

According to Halpern’s calculations, there are 679 active liquor licenses in the East Village alone, and the Liquor Authority keeps approving more. There were 305 new liquor licenses approved in the area in 2016, and 243 in 2017.

“There are too may people running around drinking all the time,” Halpern told The Real Deal. “It’s become more and more of a drinking culture here.”

From the Post:

“Anybody who has lived in this neighborhood for a while knows that it’s gotten out of w​h​ack. There’s no balance anymore in terms of people living here and people just deciding to have fun here,” he said.

The SLA has claimed that bottomless brunches — where customers pay a set amount for endless mimosas and Bloody Marys — are exempt from a rule prohibiting unlimited drinks because the “service of alcohol is incidental to the event.”

Halpern insists that’s nonsense.

“Alcoholic beverages are not ‘incidental’ to the bottomless brunches, they are intrinsic to them,” he said.

And the Daily News:

A Liquor Authority spokesman said that state law prohibited over-serving — even during bottomless brunch.

"Serving unlimited drinks is prohibited under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law, and instances of over serving by our licensees are aggressively investigated and prosecuted," SLA spokesman Bill Crowley said, adding that the law does provide for certain "special circumstances."

His complaint reportedly enumerates 17 bottomless brunches available in the East Village, including the Cloister Cafe on Ninth Street, Jeepney on First Avenue and Pardon My French on Avenue B.

A celebration of tenant groups this weekend

On Saturday, the Middle Collegiate Church is hosting a Tenant Empowerment Conference.

Here are the details via the EVG inbox...

The goal of the conference is to celebrate all of the great work that's been done by tenant groups in New York City over the past few years.

We will also discuss the most effective means for tenants to assert their rights in the face of misbehaving landlords, rapacious developers and greedy banks.

In attendance will be tenants who have confronted predatory equity-practicing landlords (ie., Steve Croman, ICON Realty, Renaissance Properties, Jared Kushner, Samy Mahfar, Raphael Toledano, Madison Realty Capital etc.), as well as affordable housing advocates, local small business owners who are being threatened, local press, elected representatives and other interested parties from all over the city.

The conference will last from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. There will be a welcome address and a keynote speaker. There will be three panel discussions, run sequentially.

Tenant power packs, continental breakfast and lunchtime sandwiches will be provided to attendees.

The TTC (The Tenants Coalition, formerly the Toledano Tenants Coalition) and Cooper Square Committee are the co-hosts. The Middle Collegiate Church entrance is at 50 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Here's a slide show that that the groups put together ... showing some of what tenant organizations in the city have done in the past two years: