Grant Shaffer's NY See

[Click on image for more detail]

Here's this week's NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

The McDonald's on 14th Street at 1st Avenue is now closed, and gutted, for the time being

The McDonald's at 404 E. 14th St. near First Avenue was boarded up on Tuesday ... its McSignage removed.

The DOB permits posted on the plywood note an "interior renovation."



There isn't any note to patrons about a closure — temporary or permanent. (The McDonald's at 25 Third Ave. at St. Mark's shut down in June 2017 after 20 years in business.)

The arrival of the work permits, of course, suggest a renovation or upgrade, perhaps like the McD's on Delancey and Essex.

Several of the one-star Yelp reviews about this location state that this is among the worst McDonald's in the city.

Thanks to EVG reader Tara Cox for the photos and tip!

The Dumpling Shop moving into the former San Loco space on 2nd Avenue

The coming soon signage is up at 124 Second Ave. where the Dumpling Shop is prepping for a grand opening here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.


[Photo by Steven]

According to Facebook, the Shop is "[a]n internationally inspired culinary experience through one of the world’s most iconic foods: dumplings."

Dumplings are red, violets are blue, the dumplings we create aren’t what you’re use to. 🌹🌹🌹 Here at The Dumpling Shop, we’re not only trying to reinvent what goes inside the dumpling, but on the outside, as well! Perhaps you may see our creation as Valentine’s Day special? (hint hint)

A post shared by The Dumpling Shop (@thedumplingshop) on Jun 28, 2018 at 3:59pm PDT

The previous business at this address, San Loco, closed in June 2017 "due to a rent increase that is unsustainable," as owner Jill Hing put it. San Loco opened in this location in 1986.

Updated 8 a.m.
Thanks to the commenter to point out the Shop's website, which includes the menu.

O.O.T.D. opens on 7th Street

Back in May we heard that a clothing boutique was opening in the former East Village Cheese shop on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The shop, O.O.T.D. (Outfit of the Day?), debuted this week here at 80 E. Seventh St. Don't know too much about them at the moment. O.O.T.D. has an Instagram account...

A post shared by OOTD (@ootdnyc2018) on Jul 3, 2018 at 6:37pm PDT

East Village Cheese closed here without any notice in early December after two-plus years at this address.

Yuan Noodle has closed on 2nd Avenue

[Top 2 photos via Chris Rowland]

Yuan Noodle has closed at 157 Second Ave. less than a year after debuting to positive notices here between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

There are two signs on the front window. As of yesterday afternoon, one sign noted that the business was for sale (via Yuan's owner Jacob Ding, who's also a commercial real-estate broker) ... and the other one, upside down, noted a closing sale...



Upon opening last summer, Eater wrote that Yuan "is nothing short of spectacular." The New York Times praised Yuan's signature Guilin mi fen (rice noodles).

In recent weeks, Yuan started looking like a restaurant that was closing, offering 2-for-1 shot deals ...



... and signs for all-night happy hours and $25-all-you-can-drink specials...



Anyway, not sure what happened here. (There isn't any note about the closing on the Yuan website.) This has been a challenging space to make work. Biang! — the sit-down Chinese restaurant via Xi'an Famous Foods owner Jason Wang — closed here back in March 2017 after 15 months in business. The previous tenant, Wylie Dufresne's bistro Alder, closed after two-and-a-half years at the end of August 2015.

As noted before, if Wang and Dufresne, given their successes, couldn't make the space work ... not sure who can. Other recent restaurants here (before 2013) included Plum and Cafe Brama.

In May, applicants from Butter Midtown received CB3's OK to open a Mexican restaurant at No. 157. Given the business-for-sale sign, this deal apparently fell through.

Despite the application on file at the CB3 website, Ding told Eater in May that his restaurant was not closing.

Waiting for the fireworks

Goggla shares this photo of Christo and Amelia's red-tailed hawk offspring... with an Amelia photobomb...



Previously on EV Grieve:
The EVG podcast: Red-tailed hawk talk with Laura Goggin

You've made yourself clear

Spotted on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

July 4

Spotted on Seventh Street by Dave on 7th, who writes: "Time to declare your independence from the tree you bought for Xmas."

Noted

This sculpture arrived overnight on 10th Street and Avenue B (where other similar works have been on display in recent years) ... this one is carrying a presidential briefcase...





Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!

Tuesday's parting shot

Rainbows and heat relief on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... thanks to Gregg Greenwood for the photo!

EVG Etc.: NYCHA's staggering repair bill; CitiBike's new owner

[Sunset and shadows on St. Mark's Place]

The NYCHA needs $32 BILLION for repairs over the next five years (Curbed) More than 800 kids tainted by lead in NYCHA buildings, city says (Daily News)

Why Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of Prune on First Street, would want to team up with an accused sex harasser (The Post)

Lyft buys CitiBike (Gothamist)

Should you worry about falling window A/C units? (Curbed)

Q-and-A with writer/DJ/goth scholar Andi Harriman (Flaming Pablum)

Grand/Clinton Street gridlock update (The Lo-Down)

Opening a fire hydrant is a long city summer tradition (Ephemeral New York)

The business success of Luke's Lobster, which got its start on 7th Street in 2009 (CNBC)

1986 Tonya Harding doc "Sharp Edges" gets a 1-week run starting Friday (City Cinemas Village East ... and background here)

U.S. premiere of the documentary "A Skin So Soft" begins on Friday (Anthology Film Archives)

About that cartoon video for Richard Hell's "The Kid With the Replaceable Head" (Dangerous Minds)

NYC’s first bike counter is at the base of the Manhattan Bridge (Streetsblog)

There's a special breakfast-taco menu tomorrow from 6:30-11 a.m. at Superiority Burger on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

Official announcement flyer from @doodoodillon for July 4th. STARTS AT 6:30am. AM. IN THE MORNING. We are closed for normal business hours on July 4th. Ok!

A post shared by @ superiorityburger on Jun 25, 2018 at 9:14pm PDT

An EVG reader shared this photo ... showing that GoLocker has set up shop at 508 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B in a building owned by the Kushner Companies.



The Brooklyn-based company, which launched in 2014, delivers parcels to lockers stored in neighborhood businesses. There was a set of GoLockers in the back of the Gentle Wash Laundromat on Avenue A, though those were recently removed.

... and EVG reader Andy Reynolds reports that an equipment truck for "The Deuce" shoot on Seventh Street this week took out a nice-sized branch near Second Avenue...

Hey, it's almost the Fourth of July

[Pic from 2015]

Once again, the Macy's 4th of July fireworks will launch from the East River... tomorrow night.

Here are some basics via the official Macy's News Release:

The 42nd Annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® will feature more than two miles of prime viewing along the shores of the East River. Macy’s annual Independence Day celebration will offer front row views for more than three million spectators in New York City and another 12 million viewers nationwide. The show, beginning at approximately 9:25 p.m. will ignite the sky over the East River centered in midtown with a series of more than 75,000 shells and effects.

Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks can be viewed from any area with an unobstructed view of the sky above the East River. The seven barges stationed between East 23rd and East 40th Streets are best seen from:

MANHATTAN

Public viewing will be set up along elevated portions of the F.D.R. Drive. The lanes will be opened to the public at approximately 7 PM with access at Houston, 23rd, 34th, and 42nd.

As Curbed noted in its July 4 preview, those 75,000 shells are up from a paltry 60,000 from last year. (Like comparing "Geostorm" to "Independence Day.")

Here's a map to give you a better idea of the barge location for optimal viewing...


[Map via Macy's and EV Arrow]

And if you're just going to be randomly driving around, there are some street closures to be aware of:

• East Houston Street between Baruch Place and FDR Drive
• Avenue C between 13th Street and Avenue C Entrance Ramp to FDR
• Avenue C Entrance Ramps
• 6th Street between Avenue D and FDR Drive
• 10th Street between Avenue D and FDR Drive
• 14th Street between Avenue C and Avenue B
• Avenue C between East 16th Street and East 23rd Street

And the always friendly reminder from the 9th Precinct...

As we enter into the last weekend before the #FourthofJuly we want to remind you that #fireworks are not only dangerous but illegal.
Leave them to @Macys and the professionals.
Be safe and have fun! #EastVillage #NYC pic.twitter.com/4CtucFabIP

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) June 29, 2018

Among other things, this could happen...



Headline H/T

Report: Gregg Singer thinks the city should buy the Boys' Club of New York building on 10th and A

As I first reported on June 21, the Boys' Club of New York is selling its Harriman Clubhouse building on the northwest corner of 10th Street and Avenue A.

And developer Gregg Singer, who has been trying to turn the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street into a dorm these past 20 years, has the perfect buyer for the Boys' Club — the city.

Community activists, preservationists and some local elected officials have long been opposed to Singer's plans, and want to see a return to use as a cultural and community center.

So people want a community center? In Singer's estimation, the Boys' Club is the building for that, as he told Patch in an interview published yesterday.

"It's next to Tompkins Square Park, it's a couple of blocks from this property, it's in good condition, its got a pool, basketball court, music rooms, art rooms — it's crazy. So it's ready to go," said Singer, on a recent tour of the gutted former P.S. 64. "We've put about $65 million hard and soft costs to renovate this property. There, it's already in existence so if they really do need a community center, there you go, it's right in your lap."

Reaction!

"It's sort of a ludicrous idea," said Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. "The connection that this community feels to the community center is very strong and it has remained strong for decades and the community's resolve to get this building back [will not be] diverted."

Last October, Mayor de Blasio said that his administration would take steps to reacquire the property ... without actually offering any further details on how the city would do this.

Meanwhile, the Boys' Club building, which opened in 1901, will remain in operation through June 2019.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

The Times explores the past, present and future of the former P.S. 64

Free things to do at the Tompkins Square Library branch this month

There are all sorts of free classes and discussion groups — from jewelry-making workshops to knitting circles — at the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Here's just a few of the events happening this month. (Find the full list of activities for kids and adults here.) Via the EVG inbox...

• Fridays, July 6, 13, 20, 27 at 3 pm: Knitting Circle. Not a class, but a knitting group. Participants must bring their own supplies.

• Monday, July 9 at 1 pm: Monday Matinee Movie: "My Left Foot" (1989; 103 mins.) Dir: Jim Sheridan. Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb — his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan.

• Tuesdays, July 10, 24, 31: Vinyasa Warrior Yoga. This class is open to all level practitioners from beginner to expert yogi. Please bring your own mat and towel.

• Tuesday, July 10 1-3 pm, and Monday, July 16 11 am-2 pm: Workforce 1 Job Fair. Workforce 1 will be recruiting for many open positions. Bring your resume and apply for jobs.

• Wednesday, July 11 at 5 pm: Film Screening: "Thoroughbreds" (2017; 92mins.) Dir: Cory Finley. Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

• Thursdays, July 12 and 26 at 1 pm: Shakespeare Reading and Discussion Group. The Shakespeare Reading and Discussion Group meets the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 1 pm in the second floor community room. The group will be discussing Richard II. Check at the first floor desk for copies.

• Saturday, July 14 at 3 pm: Saturday Matinee Movie: "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964; 91 mins.) Dir: Jacques Demy. A young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision. Starring Catherine Deneuve. In French with English subtitles.

• Wednesday, July 18 at 6 pm: Ukulele Lessons for Beginners. Four 70-minute sessions: 07/18, 08/01, 08/15, 08/29. Please bring your own ukulele. Registration is required.

• Thursday, July 19 at 5:30 pm: Writing / Performance Lab. The intention is to provide artists in the community the opportunity to develop works-in-progress of writing pieces, theater texts, performance pieces and related projects. In addition to writers and performers, musicians, singers, dancers, etc., are welcome to participate.

• Monday, July 23 at 1 pm: Monday Matinee Movie: "Westworld" (1973; 88 min.) Dir: Michael Crichton. In a futuristic theme park, robots fulfill tourists' every fantasy, until they start to run amok. Starring Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Yul Brynner.

• Wednesday, July 25 at 5 pm: Film Screening: "A Quiet Place" (2018; 90 min.) Dir: John Krasinski. In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski.

The Ottendorfer Library branch at 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street has many free activities too. Find that list here.

Monday's parting shot

A little shade and a breeze today along the East River Park under the Williamsburg Bridge...

Disco inferno on 7th Street

An extra from the filming of "The Deuce" today at Blue & Gold on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Photo by Derek Berg...

Today in free treadmills on 3rd Avenue

Spotted on Third Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street by EVG reader Ann ... the note with the treadmill says that it "works perfectly" ... and it appears to have a workout surface with a 40-percent incline capability, which helps reduce internal rotation of the knees, lessening the chances of cartilage degeneration.

The Continental gets a 3-month reprieve

[Photo from June 3]

The Continental was set to close this past weekend after a 27-year run at 23 Third Ave.

However, on Saturday morning, Trigger, The Continental's owner, announced the following on Facebook:

"[M]y lease at Continental got extended 3 months!

We have till approximately early October so please come by ..."

So a few more months of the six-shots-of-anything-for-$12 deal.

Permits were filed on March 15 to demolish the low-rise buildings here at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue.

A seven-story, 66,000-square-foot office building with ground-floor retail is reportedly slated for this corner. However, plans for this new building haven't been made public to date.

As previously reported, the McDonald's, Papaya King and Korilla BBQ have already closed.

The smaller shops on the St. Mark's side have mostly moved on ... Unique Collection is headed to Bleecker Street ...



These two places remain...



The E Smoke Shop on the corner is also gone (they merged with the other Smoke Shop down the block) ...



I came upon the tail-end of this scene early Saturday morning... apparently workers from the E Smoke Shop cleaned out the store by piling everything atop (and next to) the trash can on the corner... much to the dismay of the sanitation crew who had to clean up the extra mess...





Afterwards, one of the sanitation workers walked across St. Mark's Place and yelled toward the E Smoke Shop: "Have a nice day. ANIMALS."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

Report: NE corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building

Demolition permits filed for northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Suki opens on 7th Street

Suki is now open at 86 E. Seventh St. just west of First Avenue... there are just a handful of seats available to try Suki's menu of traditional Japanese curry...





Suki's hours are Monday-Friday from 5-10 p.m.; noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Suki is closed on Sunday. Find their Instagram account here.

The space previously housed Cafe Che/Benny's Burritos & Empanadas ... Abraço was here for 10 years before moving across the street.

Top two photos by Derek Berg

Kambi Ramen House has closed on 14th Street

After 10 years at 351 E. 14th St. near First Avenue, Kambi Ramen House shut down after service this past Thursday.

EVG regular Pinch shared these photos... a sign on the door notes that their lease is up...



Kambi's sister restaurants, Minca Ramen Factory on Fifth Street near Avenue B, and Andante in Brooklyn remain in business.