Late this afternoon, courtesy of Vinny & O... from Astor Place...
... to Tompkins Square Park...
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
A few scenes from the snow squall
Late this afternoon, courtesy of Vinny & O... from Astor Place...
... to Tompkins Square Park...
Hit sandwich connoisseurs Foxface opening a new venture in the former Harry & Ida's space on Avenue A
Foxface, the tiny shop for adventurous sandwich seekers at 80 St. Mark's Place in Theatre 80, is opening a new venture on Avenue A near 12th Street.
East Village residents Ori Kushnir and Sivan Lahat made the announcement on Instagram this morning... offering details on what they have planned for the former Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co., where owners Julie and Will Horowitz closed on Nov. 25 after four-and-a-half years of business.
So look for Foxface Provisions — a smokehouse, tasting room and preservation commissary — later in the spring of 2020. They will keep the small current space at 80 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue, which they opened late last year. Pete Wells is among the fans of Foxface.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Longtime East Village residents open Foxface, now serving sandwiches at Theater 80
Acclaimed pastrami purveyors Harry & Ida's will close this month on Avenue A
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Updated the original post from today...
From time to time we'll take a look at some recently available retail space... such as 189 Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street.
The 950-square-foot (plus basement) storefront, which previously housed Harry & Ida's, has a monthly ask of $9,500, per the listing... which notes this is a "Heavily Trafficked East Village Location" with a "Close Proximity to Tompkins Square Park."
The Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. closed on Nov. 25 after four-and-a-half years of business.
A holiday night to remember a loved one at Dress Shoppe II on 2nd Avenue
Last Wednesday evening, friends gathered at Dress Shoppe II during a holiday sale to support the nearly 20-year-old Indian boutique on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
The event was organized by Jenny Goldberg and Naza Crea, two Dress Shoppe II supporters...
[Goldberg and Crea]
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by and spoke with owner Saroj Goyal and her son Prashant.
The event also marked the three-month anniversary of the death of the family patriarch — Purushottam Goyal. They miss him terribly. (The Goyals had been married for nearly 50 years.)
[Prashant Goyal with Saroj Goyal]
Saroj intends to keep the store up and running.
Here are a few scenes from Wednesday night...
There's also a book on the front counter for people to leave remembrances of Mr. Goyal (read more about his life here) ...
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Dress Shoppe II is located at 83 Second Ave. Find them on Instagram here.
Fat Cat Kitchen closes on 14th Street
[EVG photo from September 2018]
Fat Cat Kitchen, a quick-serve cafe serving quality sandwiches, salads and baked goods at 223 E. 14th St., shut down yesterday after more than 2.5 years in business.
In an Instagram post, married chefs C.J. and Björn Holm put the blame on the landlord...
In September 2018, the DOH shut down Fat Cat here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue following an inspection. The issue stemmed from a broken pipe in the basement that the owners said they didn't have access to...
[EVG photo from September 2018]
According to public records, 223 E. 14 ST. LLC is the landlord, having purchased the building in 2009. The LLC shares an address with the Metropolitan Property Group.
Earlier this year, Fat Cat ran afoul of the Department of Health again — this time for selling food with CBD, the legal compound derived from cannabis. During a routine visit on Feb. 1, a DOH official gathered up a reported $1,000 worth of CBD edibles, putting them in a zip-lock bag and marking them as "embargoed."
The DOH had a murky policy that their own personnel apparently couldn't even explain.
As Eater reported at the time:
DOH visited at least two other times in the recent past and did not mention the CBD products, even though Fat Cat Kitchen advertises the treats with a sign outside the restaurant...
“I mean, this is crazy,” [C.J.] Holm says, alleging that at least two city staffers did not know what CBD was when she called for more information. “They couldn’t even intelligently explain to me exactly what the problem was when I spoke to them on the phone.”
Fat Cat Kitchen opened in May 2017. It was a nice spot with a friendly staff and owners who liked being part of the neighborhood. It's the kind of place that we need more of around here...
The Pure Green space is for rent on 2nd Avenue
[Photo Friday by Steven]
Apparently, Pure Green's time is coming to an end at 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.
Landlord Icon Realty has hung a large for-rent sign — complete with arrow — above the storefront.
According to the Icon website, the space, which is available immediately, has an asking rent of $18,000 per month.
Pure Green, which sells cold-pressed juices, smoothies and açaà bowls, has had several roommates — Wattle Cafe, Greecologies, PlantMade and the I.V. Doc — since opening in March 2017.
The retail space is in the ground floor of the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel, which Icon Realty bought, adding three extra floors and opening as luxury rentals.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Tuesday's parting shot
Last night, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein presented longtime resident Chino Garcia with a proclamation. As Epstein said, Garcia's "decades of arts-centered activism is and always will be an integral part of the Lower East Side."
The ceremony was held at the new West Village location of Two Boots Pizza.
28 years of Unsilent Night and making 'beautiful music in the street'
This past Sunday evening, composer Phil Kline hosted the 28th annual holiday presentation of Unsilent Night, in which Boombox-toting participants travel from Washington Square Park to Tompkins Square Park to pre-selected musical accompaniment.
Residents from more than 40 cities — in the United States and Europe — now take part in their own harmonious holiday stroll during the month of December, culminating with the event in Manhattan.
EVG regular Dan Efram, who shared these photos, asked Kline about the the legacy of Unsilent Night.
[Kline in Tompkins Square Park]
"It was always meant to be a party, and I think for me, writing it was like giving a gift to friends. Like, here's something we can do together for free in this city that might help us escape the madness for a little while," Kline said. "I think it's kept going because many people feel that way, and need that gift too. The way it has spread around the world, largely by word-of-mouth and internet, is something of a shock, but here we are. The madness isn't going away anytime soon and we need to get together and make beautiful music in the street."
You've got that Lovenburg feeling
Lovenburg, a fast-food burger joint based in Antalya, Turkey, is coming to the United States, opening its first outpost at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Lovenburg promises a variety of "homemade natural burgers" ...
The incoming East Village location also has an Instagram account, which notes this location will open soon.
Lovenburg will be peddling burgers between two excellent vegetarian/vegan restaurants — Spicy Moon and Souen ...
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...
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, December 16, 2019
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).
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