Breaking: Parks officials say they will NOT be putting down a synthetic turf in Tompkins Square Park; skateboarders rejoice

[EVG file photo]

On the eve of a rally to save the Tompkins Square Park multipurpose courts from a future of synthetic turf, Parks officials have announced that they will no longer move forward with their plans.

Organizers behind tomorrow's rally posted the news on Instagram...

View this post on Instagram

WE WON. The city called and announced they are NOT going to install AstroTurf at Tompkins. It’s not a coincidence they made the decision the day before the rally. We organized, made our voices heard, and made a difference. TF IS HERE TO STAY! Big thanks to @quartersnacks @stevernyc @carlinalrivera @supremenewyork @hardbody.nyc Everyone still come out tomorrow! It’s a celebration! Not a protest! I could cry right now 😅✊

A post shared by Adam Zhu (@z.h.u1) on Sep 6, 2019 at 2:55pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Thanks to the Tompkins community who made this happen and @nycparks for listening.

A post shared by Steve Rodriguez (@stevernyc) on Sep 6, 2019 at 2:22pm PDT

As we reported on July 2, the city had plans — apparently only known to residents who may have attended a Community Board committee meeting in May — to cover the courts with synthetic turf, rendering the space useless for skateboarders and street hockey players, among other groups.

The turf project, happening at several area parks, is a result of the city's flood-protection plan that will close East River Park next March for 3.5-plus years. The city needs to find space for the sports teams and youth leagues who use the fields along East River Park.

More than 32,000 people had signed the petition — titled "Save Tompkins Square asphalt!" — since early July.

Instead of a rally tomorrow, the skateboarders are now planning a celebration.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• No winners yet in Tompkins Square Park synthetic turf battle (Aug. 27)

• Petition to 'Save Tompkins Square asphalt!' closing in on 19,000 signatures (July 8)

• Skateboarders upset over plan to add synthetic turf to the northwest corner of Tompkins Square Park (July 2)

Great 'Pains'

The Brooklyn-based Tempers have a new album, titled Private Life, coming out on Oct. 25. The video here is for the first single, "Capital Pains."

A back-to-school BBQ at La Plaza on Saturday

La Plaza Cultural is hosting its annual back-to-school BBQ tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 7) at the community garden on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C.

Aside from the BBQ, there's a book bag/school supplies giveaway as well as other activities for kids.

The event is also in honor Ninth Street resident and fellow gardener Felicia Mahmood, who passed away on April 14. The La Plaza invite notes that Mahmood "pretty much singlehandedly organized, sponsored and ran this event for many years."

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.

Report: Stabbing on Avenue A sends police on chase through Tompkins Square Park

An early morning confrontation on Avenue A near Ninth Street left one man with a stab wound while police chased a gun-toting suspect through Tompkins Square Park.

Patch has details:

About 4:40 a.m., a group of guys was filming a video when a second group of men became angry they were filming, telling the group, "Yo, why you filming us?," an NYPD spokesperson told Patch.

The two groups began fighting, and one person was stabbed in the back, police said. The person was rushed to Mount Sinai Beth Israel for stitches, but had non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The victim told police that one of the men in the other group had a gun.

Cops chased him through Tompkins Square Park, and the gunman unloaded it and drops it on the ground, police said.

Two men were reportedly arrested. Other details weren't immediately available.

Here's how the incident played out on the Citizen app...

Sip Ahoy: A remembrance for Unkle Waltie at the International

Friends are gathering tomorrow (Sept. 7) at the International Bar to celebrate the life of longtime East Village resident Walter Kohl (aka Unkle Waltie).

Kohl, who had been recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, died on July 30. He was 69.

The iBar is at 102 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

For further reading about Unkle Waltie's phrase "Sip ahoy," check out these posts from 2011 via our old friend Marty, who's actually not that old.

Flashback Friday fashions

EVG reader Jason Solarek spotted this on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue yesterday. The piece of box on the street reads: "Fashions from S Klein on the Square."



Not sure how this ended up here — given that the last S. Klein closed 41 years ago. Someone cleaning out a closet... or discarding a department store box collection?

S. Klein is well-known to longtime residents. Here's a thumbnail history via Forgotten New York:

Samuel Klein founded the discount chain S. Klein in 1906, with the flagship store at Union Square East and East 14th Street, and the business eventually grew as large as 19 stores in the metropolitan area before the inevitable decline. The Union Square flagship closed in 1975.

The last of the S. Klein stores closed in 1978.



Today, the Zeckendorf Towers and the Food Emporium occupy the former S. Klein space.

A new-look storefront emerges on 7th and B

Many readers have pointed out the ongoing renovations in the storefront on the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Avenue B.

Jillery, the jewelry and home accessories shop, vacated the corner space in late May 2018.

And the space has been behind plywood in recent months.

There's a for rent sign up on the window...



Not sure what might be next. Perhaps this Flashback Friday quote when Jillery moved in might offer a clue. The president of the board of directors of the co-op here told me this in 2013: "Our co-op is very proud to have rejected chain stores, banks, bars and loud food establishments. We are proud to have chosen a local business like Jillery who has been in the neighborhood for many years ..."





Thanks to Steven for the bottom three photos!

Openings (Night Music) and reopenings (Sauce Restaurant)

Night Music officially debuted last night at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This is Ravi DeRossi's latest vegan entry in the neighborhood. Here's a blurb from Grub Street on this Indian restaurant:

This time DeRossi has a secret weapon: his mom. She taught executive chef Spencer Caine how to cook all the traditional dishes Ravi ate growing up during a months-long vegan-Indian-cooking boot camp at her house in Colorado.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!



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[Image via Sauce]

And down on Allen at Rivington, Sauce Restaurant re-opens today following a kitchen fire that forced the 8-year-old Italian joint to close back in early January.

The restaurant has been upgraded with a refreshed interior as well as a new food and drinks menu.

Adam Elzer, who took over ownership in 2016, also runs Sauce Pizzeria on 12th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue and Coco & Cru on Broadway at Bleecker.

Thursday's parting sunset shots

Spectacular sunset this evening... the top photo is by Bobby Williams, with a view of the Christodora House on Avenue B... and below, a shot across Tompkins Square Park by Cecil Scheib ...

Good news from 1st Avenue

EVIL is Not In Service.

Thanks to Simon Dumenco for the update!

Noted

EVG reader David shared this from outside the psychic's space on Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. No word if the palm reader foretold these typos on its new sign.

[UPDATED] Rally Saturday afternoon to keep the Tompkins Square Park asphalt courts free of synthetic turf

Updated 9/6
The city has announced that it will no longer cover the court with synthetic turf!

--

The skateboarding community is coming together Saturday afternoon to show their support for keeping the multipurpose courts in the northwest corner of Tompkins Square Park free of synthetic turf.

As we reported on July 2, the city has plans — apparently only known to residents who may have attended a Community Board committee meeting in May — to cover the courts with synthetic turf, rendering the space useless for skateboarders and street hockey players, among other groups.

The turf project, happening at several area parks, is a result of the city's flood-protection plan that will close East River Park next March for 3.5-plus years. The city needs to find space for the sports teams and youth leagues who use the fields along East River Park.

Here's more from Adam Zhu, the East Village resident who launched the petition — titled "Save Tompkins Square asphalt!" — in early July:

For generations, Tompkins has been a safe haven for skateboarders and other marginalized activities. It serves as a melting pot for all walks of life and is an integral part of our identity as a neighborhood and community.

The city now plans to install AstroTurf there to prioritize permitted sports, which will destroy the way our community has utilized this park for decades. Please join me on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. in the NW corner of the Park to show the city what this park means to us!

In July, reps for the skateboarders met with the Parks Department. Both sides have reported that it was a productive meeting. However, Crystal Howard, a spokesperson for the Parks Department, told Patch last week that the proposal to turn the lot into astroturf remains. "We continue to consider the skateboarder's interests as we review the matter," she said.

You can find the petition here. As of last evening, there were over 32,000 signatures.

As Zhu recently told The New York Times: "There is something important about this specific spot, and that has to do with the history of the park at large and our personal history with the park — having grown up here, met all our friends here.

"I’m not fighting to make this a skate park," he added. “It’s a multiuse park, and it functions very well as is."

Previously on EV Grieve:
• No winners yet in Tompkins Square Park synthetic turf battle (Aug. 27)

• Petition to 'Save Tompkins Square asphalt!' closing in on 19,000 signatures (July 8)

• Skateboarders upset over plan to add synthetic turf to the northwest corner of Tompkins Square Park (July 2)

At Gallery 72, everything that John Holmstrom did with the Ramones

East Village resident John Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor and illustrator of Punk Magazine, is bringing together the huge catalogue of work he created for the Ramones for an exhibit starting tonight at 72 Gallery.

Here's more about the exhibit, titled "All the Stuff I Did With the Ramones":

John first met the Ramones at the very dawn of the New York Punk Scene. As the founding editor of Punk Magazine at the age of 21 in late 1975, Holmstrom's work became the visual representation of the punk era.

He featured the band on the cover of Punk Magazine issue #3 — helping to cement them as the quintessential punk band and Joey Ramone as the silhouette to be replicated in countless teenage bedrooms to this day. John went on to have a long collaborative relationship with the band — most famously illustrating the album covers Rocket to Russia and Road to Ruin.

This show give a rare opportunity to see Holmstrom's long-lasting collaboration displayed as a single body of work. One which still feels as fresh and vibrant today as it did when the ink first hit the paper.

The opening reception is tonight (Sept. 5!) from 6-9 at Gallery 72, which shares space with The Great Frog, 72 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand. (The folks behind The Great Frog created the gallery space in their rock 'n' roll ring shop and boutique.)

After tonight, you can check out the exhibit from noon to 8 p.m Tuesday through Sunday until Oct. 18.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

On Avenue A, Coney Island Baby transforms into Lola; live music to share stage with club nights

After 15 months as primarily a live music venue, Coney Island Baby recently switched up concepts — and names — here at 169 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.

As noted on July 29, the space was undergoing a reboot, which included the removal of the Coney Island Baby name from the marquee.

The space is now known as Lola.

Tom Baker, one of the original partners at Coney Island Baby, chalked up the change to the "seven-night-a-week band mill."

"You basically need the venue to be packed for the live shows so everyone goes home happy," he told me. "You have to pay the rent."

The CIB team partnered with downtown nightlife veteran Travis Bass to run public (and private) functions.

"The new vibe is more clubby in a sense," Baker said.

Here's how Bass described the space/scene at Lola in an interview published July 26 at WestwoodWestwood:

We’re keeping the stage, but incorporating it more into a dance floor with beautiful herringbone wood floors, carpeting in the front, lots of palm. It’ll have a very art-fashion world collisions. It can be very fashionable, but janky and artsy and not so perfect. There’ll be a lot of layers to this space. Decorative fabrics, bathroom tiles. We can have shows sometimes early and then turn into a party. The stage could be closed or turned into a VIP room. The various rooms give us options for variety.

The venue will still host the occasional live music and comedy nights, at which times it will go as CIB presents: @ Lola. Tonight, local rockers The Liz Colby Sound begin a Thursday evening residency here. (Find the full schedule of bands here.)

Lola takes its name from the 1961 French romantic drama directed by Jacques Demy.

"A close friend of the CIB family chose the name," Baker said. "She got the inspiration from the film — a testament to the resilience of the heartbroken."

Coney Island Baby debuted on April 26, 2018, with a show by hardcore legends Murphy's Law, HR of Bad Brains and Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. Recent highlights included a Sunday matinee featuring arena band The Raconteurs.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A 'quick reboot' for Coney Island Baby on Avenue A (July 29)

The return of 'yuppie scum' at the former home of the Sunshine Cinema

Foundation work is underway here on East Houston between Forsyth and Eldridge, where developers East End Capital and K Property Group are putting in a 9-story office building. (Our previous post has more details on what's to come.)

And someone scrawled a message on the plywood rendering of the new building...



This is the first time that I can recall seeing the "yuppie scum" term in the wild in some years. It would make regular appearances at various neighborhood rallies in 2008 and 2009 (here and here, for example) ...


[EVG photo from 2008!]

Perhaps the term will make a resurgence. Jeremiah Moss wrote more about the history of "yuppie scum" back in 2008.

As for what the 9-story building is replacing at this address, the five-screen Landmark Sunshine Theater closed here Jan. 21, 2018, after 17 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• The Sunshine is gone, and an empty lot awaits a 9-story office building (Aug. 7)

Wednesday's parting shot

A preview of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s annual Tribute in Light. Thank you to Deb Kadetsky for sharing the photo.

Reader report: A dog-kicking incident on 10th Street

An EVG reader shared the following:

Yesterday (9/3) at around 4:40 p.m., a man approached my two friends and I as we stood on the sidewalk talking on 10th Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue ...

He asked us something along the lines of “what are you doing in my spot?” Completely unprovoked, he then kicked my friend's dog across the sidewalk — hard enough that the dog flew about five feet in the air and yelped loudly. He then walked off as though nothing had happened.

We called the cops immediately and they turned up pretty fast but no luck so far in tracking the guy down.

The reader snapped a photo of the man as he walked away. The reader said the dog-kicking suspect was a black male, 5-7 and in his late teens or early 20s with hazel-colored eyes. He did not seem "with it."

Per the reader: "Thought I’d try and make as many people in the neighborhood aware in case he tries to approach anyone else and do the same thing ..."

And the dog is doing OK.

Updated 7:15 p.m.

There are now flyers on 10th Street...


[Photo by Steven]

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen is back open for the fall (and winter and spring)

[Image via Instagram]

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen opens today for the season after its customary summer break.

The rustic basement cafe, which generates income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Seventh Street, is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Check out Streecha's Instagram account for daily specials. You can always find traditional Ukrainian fare such as borscht and vareniki here. Not to mention homemade desserts and coffee.

Visit Streecha at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

L train work moves to the entrance of the future Trader Joe's on 14th Street

As you may have noticed in recent days, the walkway configuration has changed on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue in the L-train rehab zone...



Preliminary work started in the summer of 2017 on building new L-train entrances at Avenue A, including accessibility-compliant elevators.

Here's a rendering...



The front entrance of the incoming Trader Joe's at 432 E. 14th St. is now closed off to pedestrians ...





Pedestrians now have to navigate this path between the Trader Joe's-adjacent construction zone and 14th Street...



As for the Trader Joe's, the store's website simply notes "coming soon."

Not sure how soon "soon" is — especially when you see the inside of the space. Here's how the interior looked earlier last week before the construction moved to the front of the entrance...



Speaking of entrances, crews have restored part of the street and sidewalk outside the Associated across 14th Street...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

Trader Joe's finally confirms that a Trader Joe's is opening on 14th Street at Avenue A