Monday, March 11, 2019

Perk Espresso and Coffee Bar opens this week on 14th Street



Perk Espresso and Coffee Bar will make its debut tomorrow Friday here at 534 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thank you Michael Paul for the photo and tip!)

No word yet about who the operators are... and other vital info, such as menu offerings.

This makes the second cafe to open along this block in recent months. Dua Kafe, serving Albanian-American cuisine, debuted in November at 520 E. 14th St.

No. 534 had been Tasty Tasty Chinese Take Out (and previously Tasty King) until August 2017.

Former No Malice Palace for rent on 3rd Street



For rent signs are now in the window of the renovated storefront at 197 E. Third Street west of Avenue B (in the former No Malice Palace space).

According to the listing at the Dartmouth Company:

Size: Ground - 1,212 SF + outdoor area | Basement - 1,145 SF

Asking Rent: Upon Request

Vented restaurant space available on trendy East Village block.

Landlord delivering brand-new glass storefront.

Located in Manhattan’s most exciting dining neighborhood.

The building that housed NMP had been on the sales market for the second time in three years. (Didn't see any sign of a recent sale here via public records.)

No Malice Palace opened in 1999. Owner Phil Sherman died in November 2016 ... various signs on the gate in 2017 noted that they would reopen, but were just "waiting on legal things to happen." NMP remained closed until early December 2017, when it emerged as a pop-up holiday bar called Donner and Blitzen's Reindeer Lounge. No Malice Palace returned then in January 2018 before shutting for good last April.

Plans for a bar called Down and Out never materialized here.

An EVG reader mentioned that a bar had opened in the space last fall... which prompted the arrival of the Laurel & Hardy Urban Etiquette Sign...

1st of the new businesses at 20 Avenue A is now open



As we've been noting, the former Chase branch at 20 Avenue A at Second Street has been divided up into four retail spaces (not three like the 20 Avenue A Watchers originally thought!) ... and the first business debuted last week... here's Halo Spa...



They offer spa-like things such as threading, waxing and facials.

Still waiting for the Grand Opening of Alphabet Pizza, which will serve up 99-cent slices.

And the corner space will be a deli-market —based on the refrigeration unit we saw workers wheel in early January...


[Early January]

Not sure yet what the fourth space here will bring. What pairs well with a deli, spa and 99-cent pizza? (You don't really have to answer that.)

Chase vacated this storefront in November 2015.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Sunday's parting shot



Photo on Seventh Street today by Derek Berg...

Week in Grieview


[This morning's view of Tompkins Square Park]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Basics Plus is closing on 3rd Avenue (Monday)

The touching story of Terry and Charlie in I Am a Rent-Controlled Tenant (Thursday)

Reincarnations: St. Dymphna's set to return late spring-early summer on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Longtime East Village resident Frederic Tuten's "Young Life" (Wednesday)

Gabriel Stulman vying for former Great Jones Cafe space (Monday)

Fiaschetteria Pistoia returns to service after December fire (Friday)

This week's NY See (Monday)

Introducing Village Preservation (Monday)

Where Citi Bike has expanded on East Village streets (Wednesday)

Open house! MTA officials will explain what's happening during the L-train non-shutdown (Wednesday)

Claim: After 40-plus years, Moishe's Bake Shop has closed on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

The Ottendorfer Library branch reopens Monday (Friday)

The current state of 84 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

The current state of 20 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Buffalo Exchange headed to Broadway (Friday)

Renovations taking place in the fire-ravaged former home of Yakiniku West on 9th Street (Thursday)

A visit to Now Yoga on 4th Avenue (Friday)

A Basquiat-at-the-Brant Foundation reader (Wednesday)

C&B Cafe debuts outpost on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

... and in future storefront-rental news, the Domino's outpost on Allen Street just south of Houston relocated to Stanton Street...



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Dance dance dance



New wheatpaste art — David Bowie, Madonna and Nile Rogers — spotted next to the mural wall on the Bowery at East Houston yesterday. (What connects the three? Rogers produced Madonna's Like a Virgin and co-produced Let's Dance.)

Here's an up-close look at the art, created by The Postman...





... and here's a sampling of other wheatpaste stickers by the Postman that have been around (spotted on either First Street or Second Street) these past few months...





Altered images: A site-specific installation by artist Kyoko Hamaguchi at mh PROJECT nyc on 2nd Avenue


The mh PROJECT nyc is debuting its fourth artist-in-residence this afternoon (from 4-8) in its viewing space at 140 Second Ave. (No. 306) between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Here's more about the artist and what to expect in the mh space:

Kyoko Hamaguchi is a conceptual mixed-media artist who was born in Tokyo and lives and works in New York City. By utilizing her daily experiences and society’s systems in her artwork, familiar images are deconstructed and become anomalous. Her work takes form in many different materials including photography, sculpture and installation.

Hamaguchi will turn the whole space into a site-specific installation. She will investigate the ancient technology of the camera obscura as a system for making sculptural objects. This interactive installation will allow the viewer to engage and play with the images they see in the space. The aim of the project is to propose an alternative way of seeing that emphasizes an active approach to viewing rather than the passive one that has become the norm with the constant flow of images in our environment today.

Her installation will be at mh through April 12. The studio is open Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. and by appointment. (Enter the studio at 140 Second Ave. through the black door and press the #306 buzzer.) Find more details at this link.

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Noted

The East Village residents who run Foxface, the sandwich shop at 80 St. Mark's Place, reported the following today...


... and the money shot...

At Howl! Happening tonight: 'A Reading from the Old Neighborhood'


[International Bar & Grill, 119 St. Marks Place, 1986 © Ted Barron]

Tonight from 7-9 at Howl! Happening — "A Reading from the Old Neighborhood" ... via the EVG inbox...

Howl! Happening invites you to join us for a reading and fantastic music from the old neighborhood, featuring LES luminaries:

Samoa

Kurt Wolf of Pussy Galore

Poet legends David Huberman & EAK! Angie Glasscock

East of Bowery (which includes the photography of Ted Barron)

Darius James

Annecy TK

Puma Perl

…and many more

Host Drew Hubner is the author of "American by Blood," "We Pierce" and "East of Bowery." Produced by Kristin Mathis.

Find more details at this link. Howl! Happening is at 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Signs of spring: Books for sale on Avenue A today

Jen Fisher, who has operated the book stand on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place the past five years, will make her 2019 debut this afternoon ... as she announced on Instagram...




ChaShaMa making a bank statement at former Santander branch on Avenue A



The former Santander back branch on Avenue A at Fourth Street is now serving as a pop-up gallery for the next month.

The folks behind ChaShaMa (hope MoMa doesn't sue!), a nonprofit that supports artists "by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate into spaces to create, present and connect," are behind this exhibit...

The Mini Mono Mental group show, featuring "miniature yet monumental moments by 14 emerging, international artists," will be here through April 7. Storefront hours are Thursday through Sunday noon to 5 p.m. ...



This Santander branch closed at the end of April 2018.

Friday, March 8, 2019

Friday's parting shot



Photo on 12th Street near Fourth Avenue today via Derek Berg...

Spiritualized



The Portland, Ore.-based band Y La Bamba, led by Luz Elena Mendoza, recently released its excellent sixth record — Mujeres. The live track here is for the eponymous "Mujeres" recorded live at Seattle's KEXP a few years back.

As a bonus... the audio track of "Cuatro Crazy," my favorite song from this new record...

Flowers for Moishe's Bake Shop


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Someone left these flowers outside the now-closed and under-renovation Moishe's Bake Shop on Second Avenue near Seventh Street. The bakery closed on Tuesday after 40-plus years in business.

The proprietor, Moishe Perl, who also owns the building at 115 Second Ave., said that he was retiring. Perl was later said to be searching for new management to re-open the spot as a cafe and bakery in the spring.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Claim: After 40-plus years, Moishe's Bake Shop has closed on 2nd Avenue (42 comments)

Time of 'War' for East Village artist Anton van Dalen



Longtime East Village artist Anton van Dalen is exhibiting with the P.P.O.W. Gallery at the Armory Show this weekend.

He's part of a group with five other P.P.O.W. artists. The curated theme: War.

"Included is this enormous canvas, which I painted in 1982 ... will be thrilling to see it there," he said in an email. "For me it's one of these freeing moments where intuition, 37 years later, finally flowered."


[van Dalen in 1982]

This part of the Armory Show is at Pier 94, Booth 717 (between about 50th Street and 54th Street across 12th Avenue). . Find more details on the Armory Show here.

The show continues through Sunday. Hours: Friday from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 7 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Find of a preview of the Armory Show at Gothamist.

Fiaschetteria Pistoia returns to service after December fire


Fiaschetteria Pistoia is back open after a late-night fire on Dec. 23 put the Tuscan-style restaurant out of commission.

More than 60 firefighters battled the blaze. (A cause has not been revealed.) There weren't any reports of injuries, though parts of the kitchen and dining room at Fiaschetteria Pistoia, which debuted in 2017, were damaged.

Fiaschetteria Pistoia also opened a new outpost at 114 Christopher St., near Bedford Street, at the beginning of January.

H/T Stacie Joy!

A visit to Now Yoga on 4th Avenue



Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

After six years of sharing space near Union Square, Now Yoga, 61 Fourth Ave. (third floor) between Ninth Street and 10th Street, opened its very own studio this past September.

I recently stopped by to talk with studio owner Renata Di Biase as she prepped Now Yoga for the day ... I also watched instructor Edward Jones lead a morning vinyasa class.

In the following Q&A, Di Biase discusses the challenges of operating a community wellness space and making yoga accessible to more people.



How did Now Yoga come to be? What is its history, and why did you choose the East Village for its home?

The story of Now Yoga begins with Om Yoga, which was founded by Cyndi Lee in downtown Manhattan back in the 1990s. When that institution closed in 2012, a few of Om’s senior teachers (including Edward Jones, Frank Mauro and Joe Miller) founded Now Yoga.

They didn’t have a studio space of their own at the time, but Barbara Verrochi and Kristin Leigh of the Shala in Union Square graciously opened their doors to Now, inviting the guys and a small team of teachers to offer a number of classes on their schedule as a complement to their own ashtanga program.

For six years we operated out of the Shala, where Now continued to offer its own distinct brand of alignment-based vinyasa yoga, in addition to developing its own teacher training program.

When limited space in the studio and on the schedule meant that Now Yoga would have to downsize in order to continue its residence at the Shala, it was time to take the leap and move Now into its own home. It was important that the new studio continue to serve our existing community, so the search for a new space was pretty focused around the general Union Square/East Village vicinity.

Our most loyal students either live in the East Village area or are already very accustomed to traveling in and out of this area to or from work and home. This area is where we all really developed our practices and careers teaching, so it’s only natural that we transplanted ourselves just a couple of blocks from where we began.







How do you describe the community of people at Now Yoga?

Our community is pretty diverse. Many of our students are seasoned practitioners and long-time East Village residents — creative professionals who make up the fabric of the East Village in their own ways as business owners, artists, teachers, etc. Some are college students newly settling into the neighborhood and just beginning to delve into yoga. Some are circling back to yoga after several years since Om’s closing, rediscovering the practice in this new space. Many travel from other neighborhoods because this is their second home. We’re right off of two major subway lines, so we’re on the way to or from somewhere, for most.

Our teachers and staff are a huge and important part of the community. We’re a little family and one that has grown with the move into the new studio. Our teachers are grounded, down-to-earth, regular people. I think that makes Now unique.



You say on your website that “Everyone can practice yoga, regardless of one’s level of fitness or experience.” How does Now make yoga accessible?

We’re committed to helping people adapt the practice of yoga to suit their body and their needs. We’re not trying to fit ourselves into a rigidly defined practiced. We’ve tried to build a diverse schedule of classes that offer pretty specific levels so that any student can feel welcome and serve, which may sound counter-intuitive.

What we’ve found with teaching all open-level classes in the past is that things can get pretty watered down in an attempt to deliver a one-size-fits-all practice. It’s impossible to do that. Introducing levels (basics, basics/intermediate, intermediate, intermediate/advanced, yoga for seniors, etc.) allows us to get pretty clear. With a menu full of options, you’re more likely to get what you need and want. And you’re more likely to get a teacher prepared to meet your needs.



A recent CDC study showed that yoga has continued to rise in prevalence among U.S. adults since 2012. Do you feel as if yoga is becoming less of a so-called alternative practice and more mainstream?

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s yoga was much more of a trend. That and a very different economic landscape meant that a new yoga studio had the potential to be the hot new thing.

We’re in a different age now and there’s a yoga studio on nearly every corner, which I think means that more people are doing yoga and accept it is a standard part of their fitness and wellness routines. The prevalence of yoga studios means there’s also a broader range of adaptations of yoga available — so there’s something for everyone, from the super traditionalist to the person who enjoys asana in the dark set to hip hop. (We’re somewhere in between.)





Do you find yourself competing for people's time and attention who could be swayed to try the increasingly popular (and trendy!) HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and CrossFit classes as well as the plethora of fitness apps?

Competition within the yoga marketplace and the fitness industry at large is, indeed, rather stiff. Before we moved, many people asked why we’d ever endeavor to open up a physical studio when so many yoga and fitness studios close due to market saturation and the challenges of the NYC real estate landscape. (“Can you just offer your services online? Cut out all the overhead? What about an app?”)

For what we do, having a local community space is entirely the point. And we really believe in the kind of practice we’re offering that doesn’t quite exist elsewhere. We hope it resonates with some people and that we can continue to build.

And, unlike a lot of the fitness boutiques cropping up all over Manhattan, we are competitively (and fairly reasonably) priced, plus we offer discounts to students, seniors, and veterans. Yoga, mindfulness, health and welling, while incredibly valuable, all need to be accessible and affordable.

What’s next for Now Yoga?

Community outreach has been part of long-term vision for Now Yoga from the outset; figuring out how and what Now Yoga has to offer the East Village community and beyond is on the more immediate agenda now that we’ve begun to settle into our new home.

One of our teachers and managers, Jana Hicks, is currently running the Yoga4Cancer program at Now, which makes it possible for us to offer an entirely free weekly class for cancer patients and survivors.

We hope to offer more in this vein in the coming months, including developing partnerships with certain nonprofits, like the Trevor Project, to support those in the helping professions with free or discounted classes and services.

We’re interested in partnering with local community organizations that might be interested in bringing accessible, practical yoga and meditation practices to the underserved. But let’s not forget that we’re also surrounded here at Astor Place by stressed-out corporate professionals. Many of us worked — or still work — in the corporate sphere and know the whole desk-lunch routine.

You can check out the class schedule at Now at this link... and follow them on Instagram here.



Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

A visit to Bali Kitchen on 4th Street

A visit to Eat’s Khao Man Gai on 6th Street

A visit to Yoli Restaurant on 3rd Street

Preparing for Saturday's dinner at Il Posto Accanto on 2nd Street

A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

A trip to the recently expanded Lancelotti Housewares on Avenue A

A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street

A visit to Rossy's Bakery & Café on 3rd Street

A visit to CAVAglass on 7th Street

A visit to Dumpling Man on St. Mark's Place

The Ottendorfer Library branch reopens Monday


[Photos by Steven]

The Ottendorfer Library, 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, is back in circulation on Monday morning at 11 (H/T EVG reader Terry!)...



The branch closed for upgrades this past Aug. 6.

According to a message to patrons from branch manager Kristin Kuehl at the time, workers were to install a new fire alarm and life-safety system. Given the building's age and landmark status, the project was expected to take six months. (An updated sign on the library's front door in January noted a closure through "late winter.")

And as always, leaving you with some history of the branch, cut-n-pasted from the LAST TWO Ottendorfer posts...

The Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library opened in 1884 as New York City's first free public library. Designed by German-born architect William Schickel, this landmark building combines Queen Anne and neo-Italian Renaissance styles with an exterior ornamented by innovative terracotta putti. The branch was a gift of Oswald Ottendorfer, owner of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung newspaper.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Ottendorfer Library closing for 6 months to install new fire-suppression system

A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

Buffalo Exchange headed to Broadway



Buffalo Exchange is opening an outpost of its resale thrift shop at 714 Broadway a little south of Astor Place at Washington Place. (Thanks to Majorie Ingall for the photo and tip!)

The retailer, based in Tucson, Ariz., has nearly 50 locations (including one on 11th Street between first Avenue and Second Avenue) in 17 states ... and 2019 makes their 45th anniversary.

Kati Roll Company cuts back on their hours



There are now much more limited hours of operation over at the Kati Roll Company at 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... Steven noticed that they are just open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week, and closed on weekends...



...other nearby Kati Roll outposts are open much later... no word on why they cut back their hours in the East Village.



What's striking is that Kati's original hours were 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, until 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The Kati Roll Company, specializing in Indian street food, opened here in November 2016.

The longtime previous tenant here, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed on March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. (You can read that background here.)

With a H/T to EV Grieve Tikka Roll Correspondent NOTORIOUS!