The WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire is today on Astor Place

The WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire is happening today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette. Here's what to expect via the WitchsFest website:

On July 13 please join us ... as we present in its 8th Year, WitchsFest USA – A Pagan Street Faire: Join us for a Magickally Enchanted day charged with mystical energies in the heart of New York City’s East Village ...

We invite you to come dressed in your favorite costume of the woodland creatures of the Realms of the Fae, Nymphs, Satyrs, and much more. For a Magickally Witchey day of workshops meant to expand your knowledge of the Arts of Practical Magick and Witchey performances that will keep you spell bound throughout the day, culminating with a Summer Blessing Ritual.

Feel the Magick, feel the power, feel it here as it begins with the Gathering of Witches, Voodoo Priestess, Warlocks, Psychics, Pagan Information Groups and other teachers of their own Crafts, from within New York and around the United States as they share their wisdom with us. You’ll enjoy shopping from our many array of magickally enchanting vendors where you can purchase books signed by your favorite authors, jewelry, enchanted ritual tools, spells handmade by true beings of their own spiritual Crafts, and much, much, more!

Noted

Photo from Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C via Dave on 7th.

Flashback to Wednesday at the same spot...


[Photo by EVG reader Jill]

'Gold' standard

Here's the French dream-pop band Marble Arch with "Gold" from their spring release "Children of the Slump."

Shocker: Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place closed 'due to electrical issues'

Updated: 7/13: They are back open.

The Starbucks outpost on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place is closed for the moment... signage points to an electrical issue...



Meanwhile, in non-electrical news, Starbucks will no longer sell copies of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal or USA Today at its stores nationwide starting in September, per the Post.

Updated 7/13

CLOSED AGAIN!





Thanks to Steven for the photos!

The sandbox in the Tompkins Square Park playground is nearly out of the all-important sand

The sandbox in the playground along Avenue A and Ninth Street in Tompkins Square Park is looking a little light on the sand these days.



The sand level is low enough that you can see the foundation...





Parent Choresh Wald, who shared these photos, noted: "It is the lowest I've ever seen it."

No word on what happened to the sand. Stolen? Eaten? Climate changed?

'Aya of Yop City' screens for free tonight in Tompkins Square Park via Films on the Green

The 2019 Films on the Green series — focusing this year on female directors in French and Francophone cinema — returns to Tompkins Square Park tonight for a free screening.

The selection is "Aya of Yop City," an animated film (based on the graphic novel) from 2013 directed by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie. It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film at the 39th César Awards.

The synopsis!

In warm Ivory Coast's working-class district of Abidjan or Yop City, the 19-year-old aspiring doctor, Aya, dreams of finishing her studies despite her father's opposition. But, Aya lives in a poor West African township during the 1970s, where getting married to a rich man and starting a family is every girl's aspiration — at least, that's what Aya's best friends, Bintou and Adjoua, are hoping for. Under Yopougon's bright sun, three girls, three different destinies and three parallel lives intertwine, as life keeps going.

And the trailer...



The film will start at dusk (give or take a few minutes). There was a nice turnout for last week's screening of "Tomboy" in the Park...

Beat happening: the 7th annual Nuyorican Poets Café block party is tomorrow (Saturday!)

Nuyorican Poets Café is hosting its seventh annual block party tomorrow (July 13) on Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Per their invite: "The Block Party will feature exciting activities including a DJ, bouncy houses, sumo wrestling, inflatable boxing, open mic, poetry, as well as free food and refreshments! Come join us as we come together as a community for a day of summer fun!"

You can check out the 2018 edition of the block party via these photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy.

Recent openings: Tsukimi on 10th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Tsukimi opened in late June at 228 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

This Kaiseki-inspired restaurant's menu, via executive chef Takanori Akiyama, offers an 11-course tasting menu. Here's more via a preview at Eater:

The meal can start with nori and fluke, progress to a dish with bluefin tuna, goldeneye snapper, and bigfin reef squid, and end with olive oil yogurt, according to a sample menu (see it below). Of the 11 dishes, three will be sweet. They’ll all be served within a 14-seat space that’s divided in half by an aisle, with two seven-seat counters facing each other, a space designed by Brooklyn-based Studio Tack.

The outside doesn't look like much... but! The restaurant's interior merited a write-up at ArchPaper earlier this week...



Akiyama's NYC credits include Dieci, which was the previous tenant in this space.

The restaurant is open Wednesday-Sunday for a 7 p.m. seating. After Labor Day, seating times will be 6 and 9 p.m.

Taking the last slice

Thanks to Jess Ruliffson for sharing this photo from earlier today on Chrystie Street near East Houston...

File under Spirit Animal

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

Through the years of the 4th Street Photo Gallery with Alex Harsley's 'Entanglements'

[Photo from 2014 by James Maher]

Alex Harsley, the proprietor of the 4th Street Photo Gallery and a neighborhood resident since 1965, is the subject of a new exhibit at the Sheen Center.

Here's more what you can expect starting tonight through Aug. 4:

"Entanglements" is an ode to a community inextricably linked. For nearly 50 years, Alex Harsley has remained fixed; bearing witness to the symbiosis of life outside his 4th Street Photo Gallery. Through his classic, award-winning photography and conceptualized mixed-media pieces, time becomes textured, non-linear as the images bob between a romanticized 1970s East Village and an aged, yet still vibrant and diverse, ecosystem of present day.

Scenes revolve around the doorway and community of The 4​th Street Photo Gallery, the non-profit started by Harsley in the 1970s as a refuge for underrepresented artists, and, as Holland Cotter wrote, “he has made the city a primary subject of his classical brand of ‘street photography.’”

And...

The experience of "Entanglements" becomes a portal to the hidden connections and patterns that exist in all of our lives. It serves not just as nostalgia in remembering the past, but also as a reminder that these stories are still alive in the people, each who passed through this one East Village block, and continue to tangle themselves in love, change and community.

"Entanglements" opens tonight (July 11) at 6 in the Gallery at the Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery. Harsley will also be giving a "talkback" tonight at 7:30.

Meanwhile, you can read our two-part interview with Harsley, who turns 81 this year, from 2014 right here and here. And go visit his shop at 67 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

P.S.

And even if you don't know Alex, you will recognize his Dodge GTS Dart with traveling companions...


[James Maher]

Irving Plaza is now closed for renovations

[Photo by @thegrrlmorgan via @IrvingPlaza]

Irving Plaza is now officially closed for an eight-month rehab. The 1,200-capacity music venue on Irving Place and 15th Street closed after a show Sunday night featuring headliner Anberlin.

As for the renovations, here's Billboard with the story from this past April:

[T]he renovations at Irving Plaza will be overseen by Live Nation clubs and theaters division and include revamps of the lobby area and the music hall, new bars on all levels, the addition of a downstairs VIP lounge and remodeling of the mezzanine including a new box-seating section configuration.

Live Nation officials have said the venue will reopen in the first quarter of 2020.

There was an Irving Place Appreciation Night on July 1, a free show featuring Robert Gordon as well as local bands ElectraJets, The Trash Bags, Beechwood and The Advertisers.


[The Trash Bags]


[Beechwood]


[The Advertisers — the first band on the bill]

The venue has been in use for concerts the past 41 years. The Polish Army Veterans of America have owned the building since 1948. Here's more history via the Irving Plaza website:

Originally, the building was four separate brownstones, which were eventually combined into a hotel in the 1870s. In 1927, the building was gutted and turned into a ballroom-style theater and christened Irving Plaza.

Over the next few decades Irving Plaza would serve as a union meeting house, a performance space for folk dance troupes, and a Polish Army Veteran community center, as well as a venue for the Peoples Songs Hootenannies with Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

In 1978, Irving Plaza was converted into a rock music venue ...

As for more recent history, here are some bands that I've seen at the Irving Plaza in recent years... courtesy of the framed posters at the venue...

Closings: Pie by the Pound wraps up 17 years on 4th Avenue

[Image via Facebook]

After 17 years of selling pizza by its weight, the appropriately named Pie by the Pound has closed on Fourth Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.

June 30 was the shop's last day.

Here's part of the message from owner Jeffrey Reiss on Facebook:

It is time to say goodbye😭🙁😢. I want to thank the local community and beyond for supporting us and who have been our fans until the end. I will deeply miss the vegetarian, vegan and especially the Gluten Free Communities. Such beautiful memories of all the families and kids and my staff....that will last a lifetime. I will miss this place. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Love,
Jeffrey

A regular told us that the lease was up, and Reiss wanted to pursue other opportunities.

H/T Kat!

Kikoo Sushi's second 1st Avenue outpost is now open

As noted back in the spring, Kikoo Sushi, the all-you-can-eat specialist currently at 141 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, was opening a second outpost at No. 210 between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Anyway, that second location is up and running now.

The new restaurant also marks the Great First Avenue Sushi Merger of 2019 as Kumo Sushi is also part of this operation... which means the former Kumo space on the southeast corner of First Avenue at 13th Street is now vacant...





A reliable source told us that Kumo's lease was up ... and that for now, Kikoo will continue on at 141 First Ave.

As for No. 210, that retail space was home to a Papa John's (2010-2018) before the sushi rolled in.

H/T Steven!

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea coming to former CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice space on St. Mark's Place

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea is the next tenant for 33 St. Mark's Place. Signage is up now at the storefront between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The chainlet, with an outpost in Flushing, takes over the space from CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, the Taiwan-based chain that closed in late May after nearly five and a half years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rockit Scientist Records to become a bubble tea shop on St. Mark's Place

Wednesday's parting shot

This hot and humid weather brings out the best! Photo on Fourth Street today by Derek Berg.

Noted, You Pigs Edition

EVG reader Boxysean shares this photo of a bag of bags on the fence along Tompkins Square Park at Seventh and B... and the bag has a message written on it:

Here's some bags to pick up after your dogs you pigs

EVG Etc.: Cyclists rally for safer streets; Martin Rev talks about his life and work

[The U.S. Women's Soccer team mural created last month in First Park by Lexi Bella]

Cyclists stage Die-In in Washington Square Park to advocate for safer streets (Gothamist ... Curbed ... amNY)

After Avenue A Citi Bike collision, top cop says officers can use deadly force against cyclists (Streetsblog ... first on EVG)

MTA says halting car ban on 14th Street is causing "public confusion" (The Post)

GOLES is hosting a free workshop tomorrow night (July 11) on the new NY Rent Laws (Official site)

Suicide's Martin Rev — an EV resident — discusses his life and work and the making of one of music's greatest albums (Dangerous Minds)

More on the Gem Spa's fight for survival (Off the Grid ... previously on EVG)

Speaking of Gem Spa, they now serve a vegan egg cream...

View this post on Instagram

Introducing Vegan Eggcreams! Exclusively at the one & only Gem Spa (widely known to make NYC’s best eggcream)! Be sure to share this post and tell your friends to follow us at @besteggcream!🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤🥤#gemspa #vegan #eggcream #veganfood #vegans #veganfoodspot #veganfoodshare #veganlife #veganfoodshares #veganfoodlovers #vegancommunity #vegantreats #vegansofig #vegansnack #veganism #veganfoodie #veganfit #veganeats #veganproducts #veganfoodporn #veganlifestyle #vegantravel #vegannyc #nycvegan #nycveganeats #nycvegans #veganinnyc #nycveganfood #veganeatsnyc #nyceats

A post shared by Gem Spa (@besteggcream) on Jul 8, 2019 at 4:04pm PDT

This morning in photos of a Lamborghini parked in front of a fire hydrant on 7th Street

Thanks to EVG reader Jill for this photo on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Perhaps the tradition will continue...

RUMOR: The Boys' Club building on 10th and A has a new owner; will remain in use as a nonprofit

[EVG photo from last fall]

In recent weeks, several residents — and credible sources — have shared tips about the Boys' Club of New York's East Village clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A.

As I first reported in June 2018, Executive Director Stephen Tosh told alumni about the BCNY's plan to sell its Harriman Clubhouse, which opened in 1901. The BCNY would continue to use the space through June 2019. A listing for the 7-story building arrived on the Cushman & Wakefield website last October with a $32 million asking price.

According to several tipsters who have provided reliable information in the past, sources at the Boys' Club have said that the building was sold to a "nonprofit arts organization and will be a theater and house various arts-related entities." In addition, the Boys' Club would rent part of the space for one more year while searching for a new space in the area.

Neighbors have also noted a surprising lack of activity at the building this summer — at odds with an organization supposedly on the move.

However, to date, there isn't any public record about a sale of the Harriman Clubhouse at 287 E. 10th St.

In addition, Boys' Club officials squashed the sales rumor.

"The building has not been sold. The process is continuing," Shonda Smith, the BCNY's director of communications, said in an email. "When we have something to share, we will let you know."

The listing for the building last fall pitched the property as either "an ideal conversion opportunity or continued educational/recreational use by an end user." The 50,000-square foot building includes classrooms, a gymnasium, an auditorium, music studios, recreational and pool space.

The accompanying sales materials highlighted the recent luxury condo developments that have cropped up nearby, including Steiner East Village and Ben Shaoul's 100 Avenue A.

Last fall, local elected officials — including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera — urged the BCNY board to postpone the sale until they consult with the community in "good faith." However, the BCNY declined to meet with the elected leaders.

Tosh said last year that the sale of the East Village building would allow BCNY the opportunity to start new programs in a neighborhood such as Brownsville or East New York.

For their part, community activists and parents have said that a compelling need remains in the East Village and Lower East Side for the kind of activities that the Boys' Club offers.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

During noon rally today, local elected officials will seek postponement of Boys' Club building sale

[Updated] Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million

Boys' Club fast tracks sale of East Village clubhouse as final bids are due Oct. 30