Police looking for suspect who spraypainted swastikas on Astor Place

Here are details via the 9th Precinct's Twitter feed...

🚨#WANTED🚨 Do you recognize him? He’s wanted for #CRIMINALMISCHIEF. On 9/30/19, he graffitied swastikas on signs in @AstorPlaceNYC. If you recognize him or have any info, ☎️ the 🕵🏻‍♂️ at 646-610-5267 or DM @NYPDTips. pic.twitter.com/Xr4m8WXNnx

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) October 15, 2019

Here's the full photo that the NYPD released...



Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

Reader report: New playground equipment already falling apart in Tompkins Square Park

It seems that the renovated Tompkins Square Park playground on Seventh Street and Avenue B is not made from parts that can withstand a week's worth of East Village kid play.

An East Village parent shared the following photos...





Here's the parent via an email:

One of the tethered swing-seats has already come undone and is swinging freely and dangerously due to a bent bracket and missing locknut. When some kids were playing with the broken unit [Sunday] evening, it nearly clocked my son in the head.

So the parent alerted an NYPD officer who was in the Park. The officer provided the parent with "crime scene" tape to secure the loose seat. The officer also promised to report it to the Parks Department.



Another parent noted a plastic piece that belongs to the playground equipment lying around... with a missing screw...



The equipment is made by a Swedish company call Hags... the contractor who did the work is based in Paramus, N.J.



The playground reopened in the evening on Oct. 4 after a year-long renovation.

The upgrades included the reconstruction of two playgrounds with new safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing. According to the Parks Department website, funding for the reconstruction cost $2.57 million.

Back to the first parent:

This broken gear on a brand new NYC playground is striking fear [the reader recalled this accident] and not a small amount of anger from some parents. And if the $2.5 mil number is accurate, then it really is a crime scene. It's absurd that things would be falling apart after little more than a week.

The parent followed up with this: "Everyone is ecstatic that there are new playgrounds for our kids — we’re just a little dismayed at how things could come apart so quickly."

Updated 8 p.m.

Parent Choresh Wald shared these photos... noting the cheap epoxy that will crack soon ...





... and a sign of rust on the stainless steel even before the arrival of cold weather ...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Preliminary thoughts and concerns about the new Tompkins Square Park playground

Pigeon-proofing the Con Ed substation on Avenue A and 5th Street

You may have noticed the activity around the Fifth Street side of the Con Ed substation, a popular roosting spot for pigeons along Avenue A.

For the past 10 days or so, workers have coned off about a quarter of the block here between Avenue A and Avenue B to navigate the two cranes on the scene.

According to one of the workers, the crew is erecting an enclosure to prevent pigeon droppings from befouling the equipment below ...



Not sure exactly what this structure will look like... for now, the workers are still putting in steel supports...



Updated 8 a.m.

The graffiti scrub team was out early this morning power-washing the building... someone had tagged DBDBDBDBDBDBDB from Sixth Street all the way across Avenue A...

Fowl play: An outpost for Portuguese grilled chicken on Avenue B

Frangos, a Portuguese grill, debuted back on Friday at 182 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Vinny & O shared these photos...



The restaurant's Instagram account has this description: "Home of the legendary flame grilled Peri Peri chicken."

View this post on Instagram

Spanish salad with a choice of Peri Peri chicken thigh. #Frangos #periperi #foodnyc #newyorkeats #eastvillage #eastvillageeats

A post shared by Frangos Peri Peri (@frangosnyc) on Oct 14, 2019 at 1:54pm PDT

Aside from a variety of grilled chicken options, the menu features a good number of salads, burgers and wraps.

Not sure on the alcohol situation here. The proprietors have not been before CB3 for a license. Their Instagram account shows several mocktails for now.

This space was previously Y Cafe, the low-key health-focused restaurant that closed here in March after eight years in business. Several readers said the Y Cafe owners decided against renewing the lease.

These 3 East Village restaurants make list of new Bib Gourmands

[Violet on 5th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B]

Michelin yesterday released the list of Bib Gourmand restaurants in New York City for 2020, and three East Village establishments made it on for the first time.

Background, per the news release: "Introduced in 1997, the Bib Gourmands are awarded to restaurants that earn the attention of Michelin inspectors for an affordable and remarkable dining experience. Bib Gourmand restaurants offer a full menu of a starter, main course and dessert, making it possible to order two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for around $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included)."

Here’s the list of new East Village Bib Gourmands, with a short description of each restaurant that Michelin provided...

• Ruffian, 125 E. Seventh St.
"This natural wine bar offers 20 counter seats and a concise, well-executed menu."

• Van Đa, 234 E. Fourth St.
"Showcasing an updated take on Vietnamese cuisine, this new cafe offers reinvented street food signatures and a menu divided by region: Hue, Hanoi and Saigon."

• Violet, 511 E. Fifth St.
"This charming restaurant is notable for its unique focus on thin, crispy, grilled pizza inspired by the iconic Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island."

And local holdovers from 2019...

• Bar Primi
• Double Zero
• Hunan Bistro
• Katz's
• Luzzo's
• MáLà Project
• Momofuku Noodle Bar
• Momofuku Ssäm Bar
• Prune
• Soba-Ya
• Somtum Der

The 2020 Michelin-starred restaurants for New York City will be released on Monday.

Monday's parting shot

A fall scene along East River Park late this afternoon...

Another look at the corner of 4th Street and the Bowery

A follow up to our post last week that CB Developers plunked down $59.5 million for a piece of the action at 358 Bowery — the current home of the B Bar & Grill.

There was some reader speculation about the surrounding buildings on the Bowery, and if those might be snapped up to become some part of an even larger development.

This doesn't appear likely. For starters, 356 Bowery to the south of B Bar & Grill already changed hands earlier this year.

According to Real Estate Weekly, the property sold for $8.9 million to an LLC that shares an address with Realex Capital, a "real estate acquisition and development owner-operator."

And per REW, the building was to be delivered vacant. There are currently plans on file with the DOB for "repair of an existing 5-story brick building including replacement of deteriorated wood joists and repair/replacement of damaged masonry."



Meantime, 354 Bowery remains on the sales market with an ask of $5.65 million...



The listing notes, with a straight face: "Built by the Astors, squatted by the Ramones and Andy Warhol, then rediscovered in the 2000’s by Manhattan’s financial elite, NoHo has become the downtown residential neighborhood for those craving luxury lofts with a bohemian, eclectic vibe."

The retail tenant here, Hecho en Dumbo, closed in June 2018.

As for 358 Bowery, Eric Goode, whose multiple interests include the Jane Hotel, the Bowery Hotel and the Waverly Inn, has been assembling air rights to build a larger project on this corner space that houses his single-level B Bar & Grill.

According to PincusCo:

In January and February 2017, Goode filed records with four additional parcels into a single zoning lot which would allow for a larger building on the site. In addition, Goode paid Granite Management, which owns two of those buildings, $1.6 million for 4,670 square feet of development rights and Goode paid $1.8 million to a small cooperative building at 32 East 4th Street for 4,012 square feet of development rights.

This warehousing parcels will likely also mean the end of B Bar & Grill, which opened in 1994.

Previously on EV Grieve:
CB Developers pay $59.5 million for an interest in 358 Bowery — current home of the B Bar & Grill and likely a new development

A lawsuit dismissal and 2-year anniversary at the former P.S. 64

Over the weekend, several community activists noted the two-year anniversary of Mayor de Blasio's pledge to return help the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C to the community.

During a town hall forum at P.S. 188 on Oct. 12, 2017, de Blasio said that the Giuliani administration should not have auctioned off the property, and that he would work to "right the wrongs of the past," as DNAifno reported at the time.

"For the administration to put that building into private hands failed miserably, and we’ve seen the negative affect that that has had on the community. So I'm announcing tonight the city's interest in re-acquiring that building," de Blasio said, eliciting cheers from the audience.

Nearly 2 decades ago @RudyGiuliani auctioned off El Bohío. For two decades it has sat neglected.

2 years ago, on this day, @NYCMayor promised to work with our community to get it back. #keepyourpromise #giveitback @BrianLehrer pic.twitter.com/X6JoOjwPwh

— Andrea Gordillo (@AndreaGordillo) October 12, 2019

@NYCMayor Two years ago today you promised to give us back CHARAS make good on this promise.#keepyourpromise #giveitback @BrianLehrer #ReTweetPlease pic.twitter.com/fjJHCPsw5C

— AuraDL 歐拉 歐拉維利亞 (@AuraDL2) October 12, 2019

The mayor brought up P.S. 64 again in the late summer of 2018 during a media roundtable at Brooklyn Borough Hall. There, de Blasio said that property owner Gregg Singer "has been exceedingly uncooperative" about selling the building back to the city, as The Villager reported. However, Singer told Patch that he hadn't heard from anyone at the mayor's office about the property.

Back on Feb. 7, local elected officials gathered outside the building and urged the city to reclaim the property for community use. The building was also the focus of a recent town hall hosted by Community Board 3's Arts & Cultural Affairs Subcommittee.

Singer has wanted to turn the building into a dorm called University Square. The DOB continues to maintain a Stop Work Order — dating to August 2015 — on the building.

To date, Singer has filed two lawsuits against the city, claiming that the de Blasio administration is derailing his dorm-converting efforts.

According to the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC), the first lawsuit, brought against the city in early 2018, was dismissed on Sept. 30.

Per an email from the EVCC:

As respects the federal constitutional and statutory claims, the court agreed with the defendants' position in a thorough 48-page opinion, which closely analyzes — and rejects — each of Mr. Singer's allegations of federal constitutional and statutory violations.

While this is as complete a victory as could be expected, it is our understanding that Mr. Singer's team has filed an appeal, which the defendants will oppose.

A proposal for a loading zone outside the incoming Trader Joe's on 14th Street at Avenue A

On Wednesday night, Community Board 3's Transportation, Public Safety and Environment Committee will hear a proposal for a seven-day-a-week commercial loading zone for the incoming Trader Joe's at 432-438 E. 14th St. just west of Avenue A.

The proposed hours for the loading zone: 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. There's no information at the moment about how large this spot might be for commercial trucks making deliveries to the coming-soonish store.

Back in May, Trader's Joe's officially added 432 E. 14th St. to its list of store openings, ending nearly two years of speculation that the chain was opening its second 14th Street outpost here in the retail complex of the residential building called EVE.

Don't expect this TJ's to open anytime soon, though... here's a look inside the other day...



Meanwhile, L-train work continues along this corridor between Avenue B and First Avenue, though MTA officials say they are ahead of schedule by three months.

The Committee meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

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

All about EVE, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office-replacing rentals on 14th Street

Claim: A Trader Joe's won't be coming to new development at 14th and A after all

Trader Joe's: No current plans for grocery at 432-438 E. 14th St.

Looks like there's a Trader Joe's coming to 432-438 E. 14th St. after all

Red Gate Bakery setting up shop at 68 E. 1st St.

Renovations are underway inside 68 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, where the proprietors of Red Gate Bakery are preparing to open later this year.

The Red Gate website notes that they sell "small-batch, high-quality, no-frills baked goods." Their menu features a variety of cookies, brownies, cakes and a midnight banana bread. You can see some of these items on the Red Gate Instagram account....

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @redgatebakery on Sep 24, 2019 at 4:03pm PDT

This is the first storefront for the proprietors, who have been taking online orders for a variety of events and special occasions.

No. 68 was previously home to the Tuck Shop, which closed in September 2018 after 13 years of selling Australian meat and vegetable pies on the block.

H/T Vinny & O!

RIP John Giorno

John Giorno has gone
RIP John 🖤 pic.twitter.com/aKLM9valbM

— Chris Stein (@chrissteinplays) October 12, 2019

John Giorno, the poet, performance artist and LGBTQ+ activist, died on Friday. He was 82. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Here's ARTnews:

Giorno was one of those extremely rare figures who would have had an admired career, and earned a place in the canon, even if he had only pursued one of his myriad interests. He wrote gloriously explicit poetry in the 1960s that foregrounded his homosexuality, gave frenetic performances around the world, painted bewitching text paintings, organized efforts to care for colleagues battling HIV/AIDS, and was an early convert in the United States to Tibetan Buddhism and meditation.

The central project of Giorno’s life was dramatically expanding the boundaries of poetry, and — at least equally as important for him — revolutionizing the methods by which it could be presented and distributed.

For the past 53 years, Giorno lived at 222 Bowery — aka the Bunker. (The palazzo-style structure was also the home of New York's first YMCA in 1884.) Last month, his multiple lofts in the building were featured in Architectural Digest:

American abstract painter John Opper was the first artist to set up a studio in the building, attracted to the abundance of natural light, open space, and cheap rent. He was soon followed by Mark Rothko, James Brooks, and Wynn Chamberlain. Over the following years, countless creatives and titans of the downtown scene would pass through the space; it's on the building's top floor where Andy Warhol screened one of his seminal films, "Sleep," featuring Giorno fast asleep for five hours...

In early 2018, Giorno created these posters with the line "You’re walking down 2nd Avenue, coming to St. Mark’s Place" ... which were adorned on the plywood on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place during renovations for the incoming Swiss Institute...



The line is from his "Eating the Sky" in 1978. Listen to that here.

There were plenty of tributes to Giorno on social media...

Today we lost a legend.
poet, artist, perpetual angel.
JOHN GIORNO. (1936-2019)#johngiorno #scooterlaforge pic.twitter.com/uxqPemYvS2

— Howl! Happening (@HowlHappening) October 12, 2019

It is with great sadness that we learned the passing of artist and poet #JohnGiorno. We had the honor to present his work in 2015, with the restrospective set up by his husband UGO RONDINONE : I ❤️ JOHN GIORNO
He will be missed#IloveJohnGiorno pic.twitter.com/AM2K6FheXJ

— Palais de Tokyo (@PalaisdeTokyo) October 13, 2019

1968 "Dial-a-Poem' — (+1 641-793-8122 ) — hear a live recording of a poem from Frank O'Hara, David Henderson, John Ashberry, Laurie Anderson & more. "It occurred to me that poetry was 75 years behind painting and sculpture and dance and music." #rip #JohnGiorno pic.twitter.com/UuM8fgYy5q

— Adam Nelson (@workhousepr) October 13, 2019

Week in Grieview

[Early morning along St. Mark's Place]

Posts from this past week included...

CB Developers pay $59.5 million for an interest in 358 Bowery — current home of the B Bar & Grill and likely a new development (Wednesday)

Dutch consultant files independent report on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (Friday)

Reports: Chinatown murders bring renewed attention to the city’s street homeless (Monday)

Blessing the pets at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (Monday)

Preliminary thoughts and concerns about the new Tompkins Square Park playground (Tuesday)

"Backstage On Stage" — What a Blue Man Group classroom setting looks like (Friday)

Gov. Cuomo approves bill to create public liquor license database (Monday)

St. Mark's Market closes (Monday)

A memorial for Lucien Bahaj (Thursday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

Cloud99 Vapes space for rent, business set to close (Thursday)

Ruby's Café debuts on 11th Street (Monday)

A tribute to the construction worker who died at 356 E. 8th St. (Wednesday)

"Joker" weekend (Sunday)

Vanessa's Dumpling House temporarily closed for "modernization" on 14th Street (Monday)

Aoi Kitchen coming soon to 6th Street (Tuesday)

Year-long renovations expected soon at Joseph C. Sauer Park on 12th Street; locals want fence to remain at 8 feet (Tuesday)

Who painted Laura Palmer? "Twin Peaks" art coming to the Living Gallery Outpost (Tuesday)

Brooklyn's Nostro Ristorante setting up an outpost on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

Punto Rojo is for sale on 1st Avenue (Thursday)

Bank of America checking into corner space on Houston and Eldridge (Wednesday)

Sweetgreen status check on the Bowery (Monday)

August Laura and all the new bars and restaurants coming to this stretch of 6th Street (Wednesday)

Here's the all-new storefront at 131 1st Ave. (Tuesday)

The China Star is now Baji Baji on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

Snapshot of the former International Center of Photography space on the Bowery (Monday)

Report: Tenant leasing alleged sex-party house on 7th Street is leading a "double or triple life" (Monday)

... and from Friday, EVG reader Laura notes the NYPD respecting the bike lane on 12th Street at Fourth Avenue. At least three cyclists had to ask him to move...



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Hawk watchers in Tompkins Square Park yesterday spotted this juvenile red-tailed hawk hanging out (it is fall migration time) ... dining on some local cuisine...



According to EVG correspondent Steven, this arrival didn't sit well with Amelia and Christo, the Park's resident hawks. They circled the youngster and, at one point, one of the adult hawks rammed the juvenile before escorting it away from the Park.

Later in the day, Amelia and Christo took in the views from atop St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street...

'Fall Into Love' at Middle Collegiate Church's street fair on 2nd Avenue

Tomorrow (Oct. 12!) Middle Collegiate Church hosts the Second Avenue Street Fair: "Fall Into Love."

Here's what you can expect between Noon and 5 p.m. along the Avenue (from Sixth Street to 14th Street):

Children and families can enjoy fall-themed activities like pumpkin painting, art projects, a bounce house, tie-dye t-shirt making, and a bubble station, in addition to local vendors. The Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir, the Village Chorus for Children and Youth and other local artists will be offering entertainment in front of Middle Collegiate Church.

The Second Avenue Street Fair was started in the 1980s as a way to raise money for the "Celebrate Life Meal," the free meal the church offered to those living with HIV/AIDS. The meal continues today in partnership with The Momentum Project. Proceeds from the Second Avenue Street Fair benefit the pride ministries of Middle Collegiate Church.

Put this in 'Heavy Heavy' rotation

Here's "Heavy Heavy," a track from the local indie rock quartet Pom Pom Squad ... something from their "Ow" EP that's out now.

You can see them with Miss June Monday night out at Rough Trade.

[Updated] Signage for Lions & Tigers & Squares arrives on 2nd Avenue

It's signage day for the new outpost of Lions & Tigers & Squares, the Detroit-style pizza shop from the owners of Artichoke opening later this year on Second Avenue at 10th Street.

Our previous post has all the details.

Nicoletta closed last December at this address after six-plus years in business. They are still delivering pizzas from an undisclosed location.

Thanks to William Klayer for the photo!

Updated 8 p.m.

It appears they are in soft-open mode... photos via Steven...





Previously on EV Grieve:
Detroit slice city: Artichoke bringing an outpost of Lions & Tigers & Squares to 2nd Avenue

'Backstage On Stage' — What a Blue Man Group classroom setting looks like

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Last Friday, the Blue Man Group launched a new ongoing educational program at the Astor Place Theatre called "Backstage On Stage."



On this day, the theater hosted 125 kids from the PS 142 After 3 Arts Program on the Lower East Side.

Blue Man officials say that this matinee program aims to give kids an in-depth look at the theatrical world and introduces them to opportunities both on and off the stage. This program will be STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) focused.

There's a 30-minute session where students get a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of a show as well as a Blue Man history lesson. (The global entertainment empire got its start in the East Village/LES, performing at LaMama, PS 122 and Dixon Place in the late 1980s.) A Blue Man Group performance follows this session.

I stopped by for the inaugural "Backstage On Stage" session and found a lot of happy kids, who especially enjoyed experiencing the messier aspects of the show and seeing their teachers "volunteer" to take the stage ... not to mention those Blue Men, who've been performing here in the 287-seat theater since Nov. 17, 1991.