A visit to Yoli Restaurant on 3rd Street

Photos and text by Stacie Joy

I dropped by Yoli Restaurant on Third Street near Avenue C Tuesday morning to watch a steady stream of locals and folks who work in the area come by for late breakfast/early lunch.



People lined up the entire time I was there for Dominican-style food from manager Yolanda Garcia (seen below peeling yucca) and her coworkers.







The tiny space is open from 7 a.m. every day until 5 p.m. and serves up island staples like chicharos (a split-pea side dish), platanos maduros (yellow fried plantains), rabo guisado (oxtail stew) and house favorite arroz con pollo (chicken over rice).

Most of the folks I spoke to said they come by almost every day for the $5 lunch special (the catfish was mentioned by many as a must-try) and food “like momma used to make back in the Dominican Republic.”

I was also told that "no one leaves here hungry." The tiny shop has only a few seats but some people ate while standing outside, perched on a stoop nearby, or took their orders packed up for take out.













Yoli Restaurant: Comida Tipica Dominicana is located at 274 E. Third St. between Avenues C and D. Telephone 212.420.1075. Old-school style, no website or seamless, although delivery is available.

November at the Tompkins Square Library

Here's an ad for English classes at the Tompkins Square Library from 1920 ... found it in the NYPL Digital Collections here.

Anyway, 98 years later, the branch at 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B continues to offer an array of free activities — classes, screenings, workshops and discussion groups. Find the full list of November activities for kids and adults here.

And starting on Dec. 1: it's their second annual East Village Arts Festival, featuring artwork from more than a dozen local artists on display, 30 public programs spanning two weeks, and a gallery walk highlighting neighborhood galleries. Details TK.

On Avenue D, Rite Aid completes the 1-block move to its new (former) home

The Rite Aid is now open in the retail space of Niko East Village, the 12-story retail-residential complex via L+M Development Partners on Avenue D between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...



The store relocated here one block to the south from its previous — and temporary — home in the base of the ground floor of Arabella 101...



With this, Rite Aid is back to its original home. The property where the Niko stands previously housed several one-level storefronts, including Rite Aid (and Shady's pizza!).

And so this Rite Aid chapter closes for now... and there will apparently be retail space available in the Arabella 101. (Maybe it's time to revisit that Kim's Video-interactive pizzeria idea for this space!)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

7th Street residents angered after developer cuts down the wrong tree

NIKO East Village debuts on Avenue D and 6th Street

The Adele joins The Robyn in pop star-friendly East Village corridor

Rentals underway at The Niko on Avenue D

Thursday's parting shot

EVG reader Deryn Nannery shares this view of Tompkins Square Park from earlier on this summery fall day...

Painting around the fountain

For some reason a coat of paint for Temperance Fountain — which turned 130 this year — in Tompkins Square Park ...

Thanks to EV Resident for the photo...

Halloween night on Avenue B

Here's a look at some of the Halloween costumes that EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted last evening along Avenue B...

Tompkins Square Park playground reconstruction 1 month in

There's progress to note with the Tompkins Square Park playground reconstruction on Seventh Street at Avenue B. (Renovation work started on Oct. 1 on the Avenue B children’s playgrounds.)

For starters, there's now a Work in Progress sign up on that corner to let people know what's happening.

The two playgrounds in the Park's southeast quadrant have been scrapped up (along with the walkways) ...





Steven shared these next two shots ... the top photo, from Oct. 10, looks toward Seventh Street and Avenue B...



... and the same angle from Tuesday...



According to the Parks Department website: "This project will reconstruct two playgrounds with new play equipment, safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing.

And a schematic from the website...



The project has a 12-month timeline for completion.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Playground renovations underway in Tompkins Square Park

Heavy-duty fencing arrives as playground renovations continue in Tompkins Square Park

Revisiting A & C Kitchen on Avenue C

Here's an interesting tidbit that came out of the recent Dojo closure news... On Twitter, Dave Pentecost shared that one of the original Dojo chefs (from the days on St. Mark's Place) works at A & C Kitchen, 136 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street...

One original chef is at A&C Kitchen, Ave C and 9th. Just ordered my hijiki tofu dinner for lunch! Best deal and tastiest around.

— Dave Pentecost (@dpentecost) October 25, 2018

I wasn't aware of this... and I hadn't ordered from A & C in ages (A & C has been around now for 25 years). I had forgotten how good the place is — with large portions and reasonable prices ... been there twice now in the past week...







Of course I can't vouch for everything on the extensive menu...

Taberna 97 returns for service Thursday-Saturday on St. Mark's Place

Taberna 97 at 97 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue has returned to action... the Portuguese restaurant, which opened in December 2016, had been in use just for special events in recent months.

The owners here also ran St. Dymphna's across the street. That pub closed on Oct. 20 for undisclosed reasons.

Taberna's hours are Thursday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Find their menu here.) You might recognize some of the updated decor...

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Our cozy corner ! #bar #winter #nyc #eastvillage #portugal #fancesinha #nyc #sustainable #leedgold #family #guiness #rememberingstdymphnas

A post shared by Taberna97 (@taberna97) on Oct 26, 2018 at 5:28am PDT

DOT puts down the green paint on the new 13th Street bike lane (except for one mysterious spot)

DOT crews yesterday painted the new westbound bike lane on 13th Street... starting at Avenue B (the crew was just west of Second Avenue when I saw them)...



There is a curious gap just east of First Avenue... at first glance, it appears the the paint crew simply stopped and continued past the parked car...



However, a reader of the block chimed in saying that there's a curb cut here (and the car parked here later, seeing as the back wheels are on the freshly marked lane)...



The DOT team also skipped the construction zone in front of the incoming Thirteen East + West condos west of Avenue A.

As previously reported, the city put in a bike lane on the north curb of 12th Street from Seventh Avenue to Avenue C, and the south curb of 13th Street from Greenwich Avenue to Avenue B separated from traffic with a painted buffer ahead of the April L-train closure.

The bike lanes are just one of the ways the city hopes to keep people/commuters moving during the 15 (or so) months that the Canarsie Tunnel under the East River gets repaired.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Prepping for the new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th streets

Bike lane line work continues on 12th Street