Liquid Denial, the 6th annual MoRUS Film Festival, starts on Thursday

Here are details via the EVG inbox...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will host its 6th Annual Film Fest, Liquid Denial, at community gardens in the East Village Thursday through Sunday.

Tackling the time-sensitive issue of water insecurity, Liquid Denial seeks to raise awareness and promote actions to improve access to clean, safe water and identify water-related threats to the health of humans and the environment.

A special centerpiece of Liquid Denial includes a screening of "The Man Who Fell to Earth," starring David Bowie, at La Plaza Cultural on Saturday, Aug. 18. All films will begin at 8:45 p.m. A limited number of early-bird all-access passes are available at Eventbrite, which will include a complimentary, reusable drinking straw to be redeemed either at MoRUS during regular operating hours or at the Film Fest.

This link has all the festival/film details.

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Webster Hall alum proposing new venture for former Lovecraft space on Avenue B

Updated 8/20: The applicants said that they are no longer considering this space.

Applicants who are family members of the previous Webster Hall ownership will appear before CB3's SLA committee this month for a new liquor license for 50 Avenue B and 238 E. Fourth St.

The addresses include the former Lovecraft, the two-level bar-restaurant between Third Street and Fourth Street, and the Johnny Favorite's pizzeria around the corner on Fourth Street. (The two spaces are connected.)



According to the questionnaire for the public posted to the CB3 website (PDF here), the still-unnamed establishment will serve "American fare in Avenue B space and pizza on Fourth Street, both American and pizza in the basement." The applicants are seeking a sidewalk cafe for the Avenue B side as well.

The paperwork also notes that "there will regularly be live music performances." (The type of live music isn't specified. The questionnaire includes a noise- and traffic-mitigation plan.)

The proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays; with a 10 a.m. opening time on weekends.

Applicants include Stephen Ballinger, whose résumé posted with the questionnaire lists him as the head bartender and bar manager at Webster Hall from 2014-2017, and Adam Ballinger, who was most recently the marketing manager at Webster Hall.

The Ballinger family (brothers Lon, Steve and Doug Ballinger) owned Webster Hall from 1992 to last summer, taking over the venue on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue in 1989 when the Ritz was ending its time here.

In the spring of 2017, they reportedly sold the now-landmarked building to Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and AEG Presents for $35 million. (Steve Ballinger is also listed as one of the applicants in the Avenue B venture along with his sons Stephen and Adam.)

The August CB3-SLA meeting is Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Lovecraft, which was inspired by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, closed in early 2018 after three-and-a-half years in business. Johnny Favorite's shuttered in August 2017 after debuting in April 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lovecraft has not been open lately on Avenue B

Updated: Brown out again at the Verizon building

The staff watching over the Verizon building on Second Avenue at 13th Street has apparently stocked up again on brown paint... the tags that lined the 13th Street side were painted over last week...



Perhaps this marks a return to the brown paint wars that dominated local headlines from 2012-2014.

Tags would fill up the wall. Someone would cover them with brown paint. The tags would return. So did the brown paint. And so on.

For several years it seemed as if Verizon was willing to just let the graffiti stay (in part because the 13th Street side was covered with a sidewalk bridge...)

In any event, here's what the wall looked liked before the latest brown out last week...







Updated 8/14

EVG reader Jen Pace noted these arrivals today...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Sidewalk bridge finally hauled away from the Verizon building on 2nd Avenue

Fire under sidewalk bridge on 13th Street temporarily brings an end to homeless encampment

First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Verizon is going to blow the budget on brown paint

The space for rent in the former Warhol-owned building where Basquiat last lived on Great Jones

[Photo from yesterday]

There have been several listings since last fall for space available to lease at 57 Great Jones St. just off the Bowery... a former stable that Andy Warhol owned. It was also where Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked at the time of his death in 1988.

Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of Basquiat's death at age 27.

Also yesterday, as noted here, Basquiat's friend and SAMO© collaborator, Albert Diaz, along with Adrian Wilson, created this tribute yesterday outside No. 57...



As for the listing, it first arrived last fall, and has disappeared and reemerged several time since then, most recently in early August.

Per that listing, which is no longer active (no word on the asking rent):

The heart of NoHo, ground floor sublease opportunity till December 2022 or for short-term lease/pop-up this summer. Approximately 800 sqf including back office. Storage space on the basement upon request. Building formerly owned by Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked. Behind this space is a hidden restaurant by appointments from repeaters or referrals only.

Unique business concepts preferred but any kind of business considered. Ideal for gallery, retail, event space, ice cream shop, pastry shop and etc. Employees bathroom only.

Here's a look inside the space...


[Image via LoopNet]

The outside has long attracted a variety of street art...



In July 2016, the Greenwich Village Society of Historical Preservation unveiled a commemorative plaque outside the building ... marking the site of Basquiat's home and studio from 1983 to 1988...

You may now buy your Halloween costume this August

The pop-up Spirit Halloween store is now open (and now hiring, still) on Third Avenue here between 13th Street and 14th Street (in the former Ricky's space) ...



The place was closed at the time of these photos... so we can only do a little window shopping through the rolldown gate...



Previously on EV Grieve:
It's never too early to think about Halloween this July

Some back rent due at ZaabVer Thai on 2nd Avenue

ZaabVer Thai has been out of service at 75 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street since the late spring.

A sign on the front door still claims "under renovation" while Yelp and Google list the restaurant as permanently closed.

Back on Thursday, a three-day notice arrived from the landlord... noting that the tenant owes $114,499.65 at $14,475.23 per month for the base rent ... plus charges for water ...

A new mural to mark the 30th anniversary of Basquiat's death

[Photo by Curt Hoppe]

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Jean-Michel Basquiat's death.

To mark this occasion, his friend and SAMO© collaborator, Albert Diaz, along with Adrian Wilson, created a mural outside 57 Great Jones Street near the Bowery, where Basquiat lived and worked at the time of his death. Basquiat was 27.

The mural reads: "I didn’t sign up to be used as a face for name brand crap."

In July 2016, the Greenwich Village Society of Historical Preservation, in partnership with Two Boots Pizza, unveiled a commemorative plaque outside the building ... marking the site of Basquiat's home and studio from 1983 to 1988...

Week in Grieview

[Photo Tuesday evening from 4th and A by Rob C.]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

City Council unanimously approves tech hub; some disappointment in lack of zoning protections (Thursday)

LPC OKs condoplex for gas explosion site on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Wednesday)

Chelsea Thai debuts on 1st Avenue (Monday)

This is what's happening with the former Grassroots Tavern space on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

RIP Milton Ellison (Wednesday)

AG announces details on how Croman tenants can receive restitution for harassment (Wednesday)

H Mart coming to 3rd Avenue in base of NYU's Alumni Hall (Friday)

Signage arrives for East Village outpost of Sakagura (Tuesday)

Cleaning up the Relaxation Garden on Avenue B and 13th Street (Monday)

The Braised Shop in soft-open mode on 10th Street (Friday)

It rained (Saturday ... Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

The red-tailed fledgling is having the most fun in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

Boris & Horton expanding on Avenue A (Tuesday)

The Ottendorfer Library is now closed for renovations (Monday)

Sign of Fire & Water on 7th Street (Thursday)

Citi Bikes with larger baskets are now roaming the streets (Wednesday)

Nai Tapas Bar closes on 1st Avenue ahead of move to 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

Nobody Is Perfect has closed (Monday)

The Dessert Kitchen space is for rent on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Ben Shaoul's former Liberty Toye sales office is now for rent on Avenue B (Monday)

Checking in on the condoplex where 1st Street meets 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

... and at 112 First Ave. near Seventh Street, the Hunan Slurp Shop has been in soft-open mode since May. On Friday, they celebrated their grand opening with this ceremony...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

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This part of Avenue B is closed at the moment for ConEd work

EVG regular Salim notes that ConEd crews are out this morning on Avenue B at Sixth Street ... at the site of an apparent lightning strike yesterday morning... for now Avenue B is closed to traffic between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. Sunny & Annie's and the other merchants along here are open.

Saturday's parting shot

A look at the pre-rain sunrise today from 14th Street ... thanks to EVG reader Durk Snowden for the photo...

Prepping for the New Village Music Festival in Tompkins Square Park

Crews have set up for the New Village Music Festival in Tompkins Square Park ... weather is looking really iffy at the moment... what's being billed as "New York's Hottest Music Fusion Festival" is schedule from 2-6 p.m.

Waiting on the manhole

As of about 8:30, Avenue B is closed between Fifth Street and Seventh Street ... ConEd and the FDNY are on the scene outside Sunny & Annie's... there's a smoking manhole and an unconfirmed report that this was caused by lightning...



Sunny & Annie's is temporarily closed, breakfast ruined.

Updated 1 p.m.

As you can see the Avenue is back open to traffic... and Sunny & Annie's is back open.



Multiple residents who live nearby say this was a lightning strike...

It was a dark and stormy morning

Top photo is on St. Mark's Place between Third Avenue and Second Avenue... as the storm approached from atop the Death Star ...



And a few minutes later...

Good morning ... wait for it ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0I3rFeqYN4

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) August 11, 2018

Blinded me with Soft Science

Soft Science recently released their second record, titled Maps. The video here is called "Diverging." RIYL: Shoegaze.

EVG Etc. Food crawl on St. Mark's Place; Book Fair at the Metrograph

[The red-tailed fledgling in Tompkins Square Park via Derek Berg]

Diesel buses a concern during L-train shutdown (Town & Village) And get ready for commuter hell (The Post)

St. Mark's Place food crawl (Eater)

Metrograph's first ever Film Book Fair is this weekend. Alongside the fair will be a weekend of film screenings that celebrate the written word (Metrograph)

Lower East Side activists continue the fight for Rivington House (Curbed)

SummerStage tomorrow (5-7 p.m.) at the East River Amphitheater with Porches, Sunflower Bean and Crumb (Official Site)

History of the Community Synagogue Max D. Raiskin Center on Sixth Street (Off the Grid)

"Don't Look Back" — part of the Rock 'N Film series — screens on Sunday (Anthology Film Archives)

Shove Mink's crocheted Kembra Pfahler dolls (Dangerous Minds, maybe NSFW)

... and coming up Sunday afternoon at the 6 and B Community Garden...

Woahhh Sunday’s gonna be ILLLY!!! Performances by @erikzajaceskowski @elizafax @analogcinema @ms._abigail_rock and more!!!

A post shared by Nyssa Frank (@nyssafrank) on Aug 8, 2018 at 4:35pm PDT

A mosaic to cure what ales you

[Photo by Steven from July 16]

A few weeks back, Steven ran into Jim Power, who was prepping a new mosaic in honor of McSorley's Old Ale House.

The mosaic is now in place on St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue ... looking ready for a full reveal...

H Mart coming to 3rd Avenue in base of NYU's Alumni Hall

H Mart, an Asian-American supermarket chain based in Lyndhurst, N.J., is opening an outpost on Third Avenue at Ninth Street in the long-vacant retail space of NYU's Alumni Hall. (H/T Upper West Sider!)

Signage arrived this week in the front window of the former Birdbath space and Citi Habitats office next door. (Both of these businesses left in the summer of 2014, and have sat empty ever since.)

Based on the work permits filed with the DOB, the market will encompass at least 3,800 square feet.

Not sure how much space that means along these empty storefronts...



Most of these spaces have been vacant now three to four years.

When M2M closed on Third Avenue and 11th Street in February 2017, the owners of the Asian market posted signs that they'd be opening a new outpost in the former Birdbath space. (Those plans obviously never materialized.)

As for H Mart, this will be the third location in Manhattan (the others are on West 32nd Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side). Overall H Mart has more than 70 outposts in the United States and Canada.

I'm familiar with the store, though I've never been inside one... if anyone wants to chime in about H Mart in the comments.

Updated 9 a.m.

West Side Rag has photos and insights (link here) from the H Mart grand opening on Broadway back in February.

The Braised Shop softly opens this weekend on 10th Street

The Braised Shop, which will offer a variety of Taiwanese street food, will be in soft-open mode starting tomorrow here at 241 E. 10th St. at First Avenue.

We originally thought this was going to be the second outpost of the Taiwan Bear House, the popular bento-box shop down on Pell Street. Turns out that one of the Braised Shop owners is the co-founder of Taiwan Bear House.

Updated 8/13

Eater has a preview...

Like Taiwan Bear House, the Braised Shop offers a simple menu. But here, the focus is on luwei, a method where various ingredients get braised in a broth. Options include pork belly, beef, fish fillet, broccoli, corn, and other proteins and vegetables. Each one starts at $2.50, and diners can choose as many as they want. All of it goes on top of noodles, the way it’s eaten in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, here's a look at their made-to-order offerings...

A post shared by The Braised Shop (@thebraisedshop) on Jul 31, 2018 at 10:26am PDT

Pick whatever seems appetizing (ALL!) and we’ll chop it all, braise in broth and boom! 🤤 想吃什麼自己挑！ #TheBraisedShop #滷味店 #Taiwanesefood

A post shared by The Braised Shop (@thebraisedshop) on Jul 31, 2018 at 10:27am PDT

'The Deuce' on 2nd Avenue

Crews for the HBO series "The Deuce" continue to film around the neighbor... and EVG regular Daniel shared these photos ... showing some 1970s-era vehicles parked along Second Avenue (the show likes Second Avenue) between 10th Street and 11th Street that will be put to use during filming later...





... Lola Sáenz passed along this photo from the morning rush...



Meanwhile, the Second Avenue branch of Tompkins Square Bagels is getting a throwback look...



Oh! And at the movies... EVG reader Alta Tseng shared this transformation of the Village East Cinema at 12th Street...



"The Deuce," a porn-industry drama set in the 1970s, is now in its second season...



Updated 8/10

Shiv took this photo last evening...

Grant Shaffer's NY See

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 — and perhaps elsewhere.