Twas 8 days before Christmas: MulchFest signage arrives in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo Sunday by Steven]

In case you were wondering, eight days before Christmas, when you might be able to mulch your tree after the holidays (did you even buy one yet?) ... the city is getting an early start with the MulchFesting promotion. Signage arrived in the center of Tompkins Square Park over the weekend.

According to the Parks Department website, you may drop off your tree at any Mulchfest location between Dec. 26 and Jan. 11. Chipping Saturdays will then take place on Jan. 4 and Jan. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Back to the Parks Dept. website:

Bring your tree to a chipping site on Chipping Saturdays to take home a tree-mento! We'll chip your tree and give you your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree.

Stay tuned for a few dozen more MulchFest posts and mulch-related puns (I know this mulch is true!) between now and Jan. 11.

Land of Buddha, a Himalayan gift shop, taking over the former St. Mark's Comics

[Photo by Steven]

Signage for Little Buddha, a Himalayan gift shop, arrived yesterday at 11 St. Mark's Place.

No word yet on an opening date. Workers had been spotted renovating the space in recent months.

St. Mark's Comics closed its doors here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue after 36 years in business back in February.

Owner Mitch Cutler cited a variety of factors behind the closure. "I have been working 90 hours a week for 36 years, and I no longer have the wherewithal to fight them — all of these various reasons," he told me in late January.

The shop is still selling merchandise online, however...

View this post on Instagram

We’re restocking on some of your favorites, so now’s a great time to place your order! https://www.stmarkscomics.com/shop

A post shared by St. Mark's Comics (@stmarkscomics) on Nov 24, 2019 at 4:58pm PST

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's is deader: St. Mark's Comics is closing after 36 years

Reactions to St. Mark's Comics closing

Le Sia remains closed for renovations on 7th Street

[Photos by Steven]

Le Sia remains dark on Seventh Street near Cooper Square.

The well-liked restaurant, which serves a Chinese crawfish boil, has been closed since before Thanksgiving.



A notice on Instagram states that Le Sia is "closed for maintenance."

Le Sia debuted in January 2018.

Monday's parting shots

The city has dumped a lot of salt on the streets ahead of the mixed precipitation (aka sleet) that we're expecting overnight... Vinny & O noted the salt mines on Avenue A and Avenue B this evening...



Our radar imagery is currently showing more steady precipitation, which will become widespread across the East Village late this evening into overnight.

Christmas spirit at the 9th Precinct

The 9th Precinct's annual holiday party took place this past Saturday morning on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

EVG contributor Derek Berg shared these photos from the event, which included a toy giveaway to the children in attendance...

The Associated has closed on 14th Street

[Photos by Steven]

The Associated Supermarket on 14th Street in Stuy Town is now closed. According to several readers, the grocery shut down after the business day this past Thursday here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

EVG correspondent Steven stopped by on Friday morning and found the store shuttered ... there were no signs to note a closure... people figured it out on their own, though...











News of this closure first surfaced in September. The final day was expected to be somewhere at the end of November or early December, per Town & Village.

The closing date continued to change over the course of the past week. Employees told customers different dates, including Dec. 9 and Dec. 10.

On Saturday morning, workers were spotted removing items from the market...



Longtime store manager Norman Quintanilla told this to T&V in September:

“A lot of people are crying and upset about it,” he said. “It especially affects a lot of elderly customers that we help with phone orders. They don’t know where else to go.”

Quintanilla said that he wasn’t involved in discussions with Associated’s ownership and Blackstone regarding why the store is closing but he said that business has been steadily decreasing every year.

Joseph Falzon, the store’s owner, previously told Crain's that a confluence of factors had cut business nearly in half. For starters, construction on 14th Street for the L train obscured the supermarket with a 12-foot fence these past two years.


[Obscured view of the former Associated from Saturday]

If the Associated remained open, then they'd have faced competition from the Trader Joe' opening soon across 14th Street. The TJ signage arrived last week...



In an email in September, Stuyvesant Town General Manager Rick Hayduk told residents that they are "working on finding a new tenant with full understanding that a local grocery store is important to the community; but this will take some time."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Associated on 14th Street in Stuy Town is said to close by year's end

New Citi Bike station arrives on 1st Avenue

[Photos by Steven]

A new Citi Bike docking station with 51 docks arrived on the east side of First Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street late last week...



This was one of the two new docking stations that Citi Bike said they'd add to the East Village this year. Still no sign of one at the other promised location, 12th Street and Avenue C, though a Citi Bike rep said that remains in the works.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at where Citi Bike is expanding in the East Village

Hakata Zen is (almost) back on St. Mark's Place

After nearly a year-long closure for undisclosed renovations, Hakata Zen is set to return here at 31 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

A hiring sign is up...



A reader said back at the start of the New Year that a broken pipe was to blame for the temporary closure.

Anyway, to recap the whirlwind of concept switcheroo-ing here, the restaurant at No. 31 was a Hakata Hot Pot/Zen 6/Sushi Lounge combo starting in March 2016. A year later, it became Noodle Cafe Zen presents Sushi Lounge & Hakata Hot Pot. Eventually the space just became Hakata Zen.

The Smith reopens for evening bar service after last week's fire

The Smith reopened this past Friday night for bar service featuring a limited six-item menu and $2 oysters.





The main dining room will remain closed for now. This follows the kitchen fire last Monday night that temporarily closed the bistro here at 55 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

The FDNY had the fire under control in less than 40 minutes. The @FDNYalerts account stated that the fire was in a kitchen duct.

The Smith started in the East Village in 2007, later expanding to seven locations total in NYC (4), Washington, D.C. (2) and Chicago (1).

Joe's Steam Rice Roll back open on St. Mark's Place

[Photo yesterday by Steven]

After a mysterious closure these past seven weeks, Joe's Steam Rice Roll was back open this past weekend at 36 St. Mark's Place.

During this time, there wasn't any note for patrons or message on the restaurant's website or social media properties about any kind of closure for renovations. No one ever responded to an email query or Instagram message about this location's status. One source on the block said that this outpost is under new management.

Joe's debuted back in June here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, making this the third NYC outpost of the popular quick-serve establishment, which got its start in Flushing.

Kavasutra opens 2nd East Village location

[Photo via EVG reader JG]

Kavasutra opened a new kava bar Saturday evening at 45 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



This marks the South Florida-based chain's second East Village location. The one at 261 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue arrived in July 2015. Kavasutra, which also has outposts in Colorado and Arizona, has been accused of sexism and transphobia in the past.

As for kava, you can read this Eater primer about the beverage.

No. 45 previously housed the vegan cafe pop up Skinny Buddha.

SantaCon came to town. Again.

Here are a few scenes from the latest SantaCon invasion on Saturday afternoon... the first batch of photos are by Derek Berg...





















Readers/residents in general felt as if there were more participants this year. (I also heard from people who thought the crowds thinned out earlier than in previous Cons.) Complaints about this alleged charity event included the usual sightings of Santas throwing up and using the sidewalks as a toilet ... as well as a general obnoxious indifference about blocking sidewalks, forcing residents — ones who didn't feel like plowing through the crowds — into walking on the streets.

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EVG correspondent Steven took these photos from Second Avenue and Ninth Street, always a SantaCon stronghold ...



Once again, Solas on Ninth Street served as a "Special Santa Venue" ...



While the 13th Step and the Copper Still were not official "SantaCon Charity Venues," they each drew large crowds ...



... with the 13th Step charging a $5 entry fee...

Week in Grieview

[The window display at Veniero's on 11th Street]

Posts from this past week included...

A visit to Obscura Antiques and Oddities, closing soon on Avenue A (Thursday)

At the 28th annual Tompkins Square Park tree lighting (Monday)

San Loco opens on Avenue C (Friday)

Making the case to landmark this unique church on 4th Street (Monday)

Fire in the kitchen at the Smith (Monday)

Ravi Derossi has Soda Club in the works for Avenue B (Monday)

Behold this festive DIY Christmas wreath on 7th Street made from parking tickets (Thursday)

Celebrating 40 years of the Pyramid Club (Thursday)

Netflix issues Winter Weather Advisory for Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

'Tis the package theft season (Wednesday)

CB3 hearing about the air-rights transfer for new office building on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Maharlika closes after 8 years of serving Filipino cuisine on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

A call to cancel SantaCon (Wednesday)

Ama Raw Bar debuts tonight on Avenue B (Monday)

The McTrump Value Meal at the McDonald's on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

Michael Jackson mural defaced on 11th Street (Monday)

Tree stump art (Sunday ... Wednesday)

The new Bean opens on Broadway (Tuesday)

Red Gate Bakery shapes up on 1st Street (Monday)

Rumors: Barstool Sports and Williamsburg Pizza teaming up for a bar-pie concept at the former Percy's Tavern (Tuesday)

... and EVG correspondent Steven spotted this Cooper's Hawk in the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



... whatever you do, avoid eye contact...



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