Friday, January 12, 2018

Don't break down



Here's Jawbreaker with "Boxcar" from 1994... Tickets to Jawbreaker’s three shows at Brooklyn Steel in late February went on sale today. And those tickets apparently went quickly.


At the opening reception of Samoa's 'Candy Coated Evil' at Howl! Happening



"Candy Coated Evil," a solo exhibition by Samoa, curated by Kembra Pfahler, had its opening reception Wedneday night at Howl! Happening.

Text and photos by Dan Efram

Samoa's beautiful opening was inspiring. Artists and supporters from the past and present of the NYC arts scene packed the space on East First Street at the Bowery.


[Samoa]







Curated by his longtime artistic partner Kembra Pfahler, the show encompassed props and costumes from many of their performances together. However, to these eyes, the real stars of this show are Samoa's voluminous painted works. Most of these brightly colored pieces, mixed in subjects with a dark political humor and history. These are social injustice pieces that engage and enlighten.









Highly recommended. Runs until Feb. 11.

And don't miss a performance by Kembra and Samoa tomorrow night from 7-9. (Find more info on that here.)


[Kembra Pfahler and Samoa]

Find more details on the exhibit as well as the dates and times of the special events here.

Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project is located at 6 E. First St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Samoa's 'Candy Coated Evil' opens tomorrow at Howl! Happening

In a fog



The early morning fog today in Tompkins Square Park via @samcantread ...

The nonpayment of rent notice has arrived at East Village Cheese


[Photo by Dave on 7th]

As we've been noting, East Village Cheese at 80 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue has been closed since the first week of December. (Recaps here and here.)

Yesterday, legal documents from the Civil Court of the City of New York arrived on the front door with a "Notice of Petition of Non-Payment" (aka the rent is past due).

A quick look at the paperwork on the door shows that the East Village Cheese owners owe $32,697 ...



The balance goes back to July ... with the full amount of $6,489.60 due each month for rent since August, per the paperwork, which is dated Dec. 19.

On Dec. 21, co-owner Lobsang Tsultrim was spotted at the storefront along with a Remove All My Junk truck. Before some of the perishable items had been discarded, the aroma of ripe cheese had been noticeable in the adjacent storefront. (The power at East Village Cheese has also been off since early December.)

East Village Cheese moved here from Third Avenue in September 2015. By April 2016, regulars started worrying about the shop's longterm financial health. For good reason, as it turned out.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Neighbor: East Village Cheese, closed now for 2 weeks, is starting to smell

A 2ND MULCHFEST HAS BEEN ADDED BY OVERWHELMING POPULAR DEMAND

In case you missed last weekend's Mulchapalooza in Tompkins Square Park... the Parks Department is holding another one tomorrow and Sunday...


However, please note that on-site chipping will not take place. Per the Parks Department website: "all holiday trees dropped off at MulchFest sites will still be recycled." (But how can it be a MulchFest without any actual mulching happening in the Park?)

Anyway! Goggla has photos AND video from last weekend's festivities...

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Thursday's parting shot



A little late to be storing for winter? Photo in Tompkins Square Park today via Steven...

[Updated] Report of a stabbing on 14th Street at 1st Avenue


[Photo by William Klayer]

The NYPD is investigating a stabbing that took place this morning around 11:45 outside the Community Grocery & Candy on 14th Street just west of First Avenue.

There aren't many details at the moment. Per Patch:

The knifeman was wearing a black leather jacket and ran away after attacking the victim, an NYPD spokeswoman said. He has not been arrested.

Police said the injured man was transported to the hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

As of now, there isn't a description of the suspect or motive in the stabbing.

Updated 1/12

Town & Village has more on the story...

The two men had gotten into an argument inside a store that turned physical, police said, spilling out onto the street. At one point, one of the men took out a sharp object and slashed the 54-year-old victim. Police said both individuals are “known to the neighborhood,” though they don’t know the name of the suspect and haven’t arrested him.

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.

The suspect is described as Hispanic and about 6 ft. 2 inches tall and was wearing a long, leather coat.

LinkNYC goes old-school with expanded offerings



Photo on Second Avenue and Fifth Street this morning via Derek Berg.

Ayios Greek Rotisserie has closed on St. Mark's Place


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

Word is spreading that the Greek restaurant at 2 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue/Cooper Square has called it a day.

One of the workers in a nearby kiosk told Steven that Ayios closed at the end of 2017. The gate has been down during advertised business hours of late. There's nothing mentioning a closure on their website. There's no answer on the phone... while Yelp is reporting that they have closed...



The restaurant opened on Aug. 31, 2016 at No. 2, whose previous tenant was the St. Mark's Ale House. They closed in July 2016 after 21 years in business.

H/T EVG reader Paul!

Polish G. I. Delicatessen signage comes down on 1st Avenue


[Reader-submitted photo]

Workers yesterday removed the Polish G. I. Delicatessen awning at 109 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The space is undergoing renovations for what is believed to be an outpost of Shawarma House, which specializes in halal Turkish dishes from a quick-serve space on West 39th Street and a cart on Staten Island.

Polish G. I. Delicatessen, the Eastern European specialty foods shop, closed this past July after 21 years in business. Read more about that closure here.

Sweet Generation is 3 today



Sweet Generation, the bakery at 130 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, is celebrating its third anniversary (birthday?) today... to celebrate, there are some freebies while supplies last.

Sweet Generation partners with several nonprofit organizations and local high schools to create an internship program that teaches baking, food safety, customer service, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to teens and young adults from low-income communities.

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway


[DXA Studio]

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) nixed the reflective, four-story addition proposed for 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Curbed has coverage here. A few excerpts:

The Commission’s verdict followed hours of public testimony, where most people spoke in opposition to the project describing it as “overwhelming,” “grotesque,” and “atrocious,” among other descriptors.

But not everyone hated the proposal.

There were many who came out in support of the four-story rooftop addition too, most notably a number of art gallery owners, who praised the design and the aesthetic.

“This is a great homage to the existing building,” said Arnie Zimmerman, an art gallery owner.

“This impresses me in that the scale is exciting,” said Sally Wasserman, who lives in a building that neighbors the project.

Commissioner Michael Devonshire reportedly praised architect Jordan Rogove, though thought that this particular addition "may have been more appropriate as a de Kooning museum out in a field in East Hampton."

The LPC ultimately told the design team to return with a revised proposal, as Curbed reported.

This past November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked.

That decision spared the address from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights, which would be put to use for a 14-floor office building.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) had campaigned for more than 18 months to help preserve these buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Wednesday's parting shot



A sunset-time look downtown today via Bobby Williams...

Gutter ball



Haha. Sorry.

Photo today on Second Avenue and Fourth Street by Derek Berg.

Morning routine



Derek Berg photographed this man in Tompkins Square Park this morning... taking part in some deep-breathing exercises that also involved rubbing snow on his head and bare chest.

Report: The Landmark Sunshine Cinema closes on Jan. 21



The owners of the the Landmark Sunshine Cinema on East Houston have made its closing date official: Jan. 21.

Deadline Hollywood broke the story last night.

Ted Mundorff, CEO of Landmark Theatres, took a pragmatic tone when reached by Deadline. “We’ve known it was coming,” he said. No special programming or commemoration is planned on the final weekend, he confirmed. “There’s nothing to celebrate.”

The Sunshine moved up "Dog Day Afternoon" one weekend, and the Al Pacino classic will play alongside "Super Fly" as the theater's last midnight movies on Jan. 19-20.

To recap, last May, the Post reported that East End Capital and K Property Group bought the building for $31.5 million with plans to convert it to a mixed-use development with retail and upstairs office space. The site includes 20,000 square feet of air rights.

In November, the new owners of the building housing the theater filed demolition permits to take down the three-level structure here between Eldridge and Forsyth, per The Lo-Down.

Landmark reportedly had the opportunity to buy the property, but decided against it after CB3 voted down a proposal for a full liquor license for a cafe in the theater in 2012 for pre- and post-movie drinks and dinner. Landmark now offers those amenities at a new theater on West 57th Street.

The Sunshine had been expected to close in early 2018. The recent arrival of some special screenings at the theater gave hope to some Sunshine regulars that, perhaps, the place would remain open for a few months longer...



... and there was a tweet from the Sunshine about the Oscars...


The Sunshine opened on Dec. 21, 2001.


[2001 photo via Facebook]

Built in 1898, the Sunshine Cinema building was formerly the Houston Hippodrome motion picture theatre and a Yiddish vaudeville house.


[Photo taken during the BombCyclone last Thursday]

Unleashed by Petco is unloading its pet supplies as store is closing on 2nd Avenue



After two-plus years at 31-33 Second Ave., the Unleashed by Petco shop is shutting its doors.

Sale — Nothing held back! — signs are up in the windows, as this photo by EVG reader EJ show. An employee said that Jan. 23 is their last day here between Second Street and Third Street in the retail space of the East Luxe rental building. Not sure at the moment why this Unleashed is closing.

The specialty retailer of pet food, supplies and services opened here in August 2015.

The San Diego-based retailer operates more than 1,500 stores in the United States under the Petco and Unleashed by Petco names.

Developer Ben Shaoul bought this property for $5.6 million in 2011. He later added three floors to the existing building … then unloaded it for $29 million to real-estate investor Sunny Yung.

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

Ben Shaoul's bland new 2nd Avenue building is called The East Luxe


[Photo of 31-33 Second Ave. from 2009]

PS122 is now Performance Space New York, returns to 1st Avenue starting tonight


[Photo from Dec. 1 by Steven]

Performance Space 122 (PS 122) has changed its name to Performance Space New York as it returns to its its newly renovated home on First Avenue and Ninth Street for the inaugural performances in the refurbished space.

The announcement came yesterday in a series of posts on Instagram...

Heart of East Village, 150 First Avenue, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10009

A post shared by Performance Space New York (@performancespacenewyork) on




The New York Times has a preview of the new space in this article.

The rebranding process, as the new name indicates, involves an effort to make Performance Space more welcoming to a wider audience. In its grungier former life, which began in 1980 when a group of artists took over an abandoned schoolhouse on First Avenue, the space fostered a certain sense of community, but it didn’t quite scream “come in.”

And some thoughts from new executive artistic director Jenny Schlenzka...

"If our audience could be a representation of the city, that would be a huge success," she said, noting that downtown dance and theater audiences tend to be predominantly white. But the idea of separate audience-building initiatives doesn’t interest her. "I've been in these meetings about 'Oh, we need to diversify our audience,' and it’s always, 'Let's do a side program' or 'Let's do a community day.' But I don’t want a community day. I want the community to be the main program."

Performance Space New York hosts its first show here tonight with the start of the annual (and last) Coil festival. Find that program here.

The East Village Series runs from Feb. 17 to June 30, and "will examine the history of Performance Space and its neighborhood, reflecting on forces that have shaped them: gentrification, the AIDS epidemic, and punk and club culture."

Ms. Schlenzka likened it to “the way that in psychoanalysis, you have to know your past to free yourself to conquer the future.”

Nostalgia, she added, is off limits: “We have this amazing past that in my opinion not enough people know about. But it can drag us down, and that’s a fine line to navigate.”

Find more about the East Village Series here.

Aside from Performance Space New York, the 122 Community Center will house the Alliance for Positive Change, Mabou Mines, Painting Space 122, and a fifth tenant to be announced.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here's the sidewalk bridge-free corner of 9th Street and 1st Avenue — and the 122 Community Center

Come along on a tour of the under-renovation 122 Community Center on 1st Avenue

Soogil brings Korean dining to 4th Street


[Photo from Jan. 1]

Soogil has opened at 108 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The restaurant is from Soogil Lim, a South Korea native who previously worked as sous chef at Daniel and executive chef at Hanjan.

Here's a preview via Eater:

Combining that experience, Lim has created a menu of vegetables, meat, and seafood. Dishes in each category include sweet potato beignets with chilled white kimchi soup; spicy soft tofu flan with shrimp, squid, and manila clams in a seafood broth; and sliced pork belly with mini kimchi-radish rolls. Drinks focus on Korean spirits, wine, beer, and twists on classic French cocktails — rather than the traditional French 75 with Champagne, lemon juice, gin, and simple syrup, the French 108e has sake, Champagne, and lemon juice.

You can find the full menu at the Soogil website here.

Soogil is open Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The space was previously home to Wasan East Village, which closed last summer after seven years in business.

Ben & Jerry's now hiring on St. Mark's Place



A hiring sign is now up at the incoming Ben & Jerry's at 24 St. Mark's Place (above left)... in case you are looking for a job or missed the news in late November that the brand was returning to the neighborhood with a retail outlet (or both)...



Previously on EV Grieve:
7 years later, a Ben & Jerry's is returning to the East Village