How to help save the Lower East Side Ecology Center's community compost program

[Image via @EastRiverAlliance]

The Lower East Side Ecology Center has launched a petition campaign ahead of the planned reconstruction of East River Park as part of the the hotly contested East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) to protect against future storms and rising sea levels.

Per their media advisory:

New York City is currently seeking a construction contract to destroy the East River Compost Yard and create a temporary lawn. The Compost Yard is located in a section of the park scheduled to be reconstructed as part of the ESCR in 2023, but under this recent announcement, the compost yard would be relocated as soon as April 2020.

The alteration of the compost yard into a temporary lawn is moving ahead rapidly without community input and was not announced at recent community board meetings. Not only will this plan cut off New Yorkers from composting and effectively kill our community compost program, but it is also a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars to create a lawn that will be destroyed in three short years.

There are over 3,500 households donating their food scraps on a weekly basis that participate in this program. We offer 10 drop off locations in Lower Manhattan where we prevent hundreds of tons of organic material from entering landfill every year. The finished compost is distributed for free in the community.

And their ask, per the petition:

If you support composting, please let the City know how you feel. We demand that the Compost Yard stay operational until the 2023 reconstruction for this section of the Park actually starts. We also demand that the City engage with the LES Ecology Center to finish the design for the renovated Compost Yard as part of the ESCR.

The petition is addressed to Mayor de Blasio, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

As of this morning, nearly 1,500 people had signed the petition. You can find it at this link.

This past Nov. 14, City Council signed off on the controversial plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet. The phased-in construction is expected to begin in the spring. (A coalition of community groups who oppose the plan is expected to file a lawsuit. Read about that here.)

Next Thursday (Jan. 16), CB3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee will receive an update on the construction and timeline from officials at the Department of Design and Construction. That committee meeting, which is open to the public, starts at 6:30 p.m. in the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

Desnuda Cevicheria is closing its 7th Street outpost next week

[Image via]

Desnuda, the 18-seat ceviche bar at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, is shutting down its East Village outpost after service next Wednesday (Jan. 15).

Management recently made the announcement, starting by acknowledging some hookups that apparently took place there through the years. (Well, they do bill themselves as an "intimate date-night wine bar.") Here's part of the message for patrons on the Desnuda website:

We fed a whole lot of people, got a fair amount of people laid, made some good friends and heck even got some people married. After 11+ years it is time to bid adieu to Desnuda East Village. We can not thank you all enough for this amazing journey. It has been a pleasure creating long lasting memories with each and every one of you. We are truly grateful.

The parting message also mentions to "stay tuned while we look for a new location and concept." The Desnuda location in Williamsburg will remain open.

Brasserie Saint Marc looking to expand offerings with live music, sidewalk cafe and boozy brunches

[Photo by Steven]

Brasserie Saint Marc opened at 136 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street back in October.

Management is now hoping to amend their method of operation by offering live music and boozy brunches, among other enhancements, according to materials (PDF here) posted to the CB3 website ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting on Monday (Jan. 13).

Here's a thumbnail overview of the numerous requests/changes via CB3:

Brasserie Saint Marc (UKI Freedom LLC), 136 2nd Ave (op/method of operation/add DJ, Live Music (Acoustic), promoted events, any event at which a cover fee is charged, scheduled performances, add more than 12 private parties per year, add unlimited drink specials, add boozy brunches with food, extend Happy Hour, add Jukebox and Karaoke, add Video/Arcade Games, add sidewalk cafe

One EVG observer who lives nearby notes the proposed changes are sounding more in line with the method of operation of a bar-club rather than of a French restaurant.

The CB3-SLA committee meeting is Monday night at 6:30 in the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

A Visit to Don Juan’s Barber Shop on 4th Street

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Juan Rosado of Don Juan's Barber Shop is busy adjusting a themed barber cape with extra paper towel lining for a young client when I show up to interview him.



There’s a line of people waiting to see him at the shop, 303 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, and very little rest between customers. He pauses only to sweep up, clean the station and prepare for the next clip.



Surrounded by bottles of aftershave lotion and powders, clippers and shavers, artwork and stickers covering every surface, tees and caps for sale crammed into corners, the space has two large screen TVs and a display case festooned with a variety of snapback caps. There are people outside milling around patiently waiting in the cold for one of the seats on the tiny waiting bench to become free.



Rosado answers my questions about the shop’s history and the regulars who come to him for fades, trims and cuts.



How long has Don Juan's Barber Shop been in business?

Since 1999. When I first started cutting hair, I set up in the empty lot next to the Third Street Post Office and ran an extension cord to give $5 haircuts to the neighborhood.

After putting in some time at Raul’s on Avenue B and a couple of other places, I opened Don Juan’s in an old dime-bag drug-sales spot, Chuchi’s Candyland. This was during the Giuliani years and the crackdown on narcotics. Due to a past marijuana conviction, I had to use my brother’s name on the lease. My brother Edgar works for UPS. We co-own the shop.

What is special to you about being in the East Village?

I was born and raised here and live around the corner at Third and Avenue C.

What is the most popular service you provide?

All services run $15 to $25, with skin fades, comb overs and designs being the most popular.

Who is a typical client?

We see a lot of firefighters, law enforcement, FBI/Homeland Security/CIA, local people, and some famous people such as John Leguizamo and DJ Enuff. We’re also a family-friendly shop.

The shop seems nonstop busy. Do you have any plans to expand?

No. We get our lease renewed every two years. Our landlord is a good guy, and we always hope there’s no problem!







Juan also has his own line of apparel: pins, caps, hoodies, shirts and bags under the StackChips apparel line, which you can buy at the barbershop or at Arlo Hotel in Soho. Also for sale at Don Juan’s, Freaky Frige’s I’m Everywhere line of products (we’ve featured Frige’s work before here).







The shop's hours are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., but sometimes Don Juan will stay open until 7 p.m.

C&B Cafe is no longer part of Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place

[Photos by Steven]

C&B Cafe's time at Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place has come to an end.

Back in September, the C&B logo was replaced at 39 St. Mark's Place with signage for Bar Ilegal. However, C&B was still operating in the space on weekends.

Late last week, signage arrived on the door noting that Bar Ilegal — originally a temporary "mezcal den" with live music — was returning ... while the cafe business had closed...



C&B Cafe debuted here in March 2019 in this spot just east of Second Avenue, making this the second East Village outpost of the well-liked cafe that opened on Seventh Street near Avenue B in January 2015.

C&B chef-owner Ali Sahin was brought in to be the executive chef for Paper Daisy, the cocktail bar that opened last March via the owners of Boulton & Watt and Drexler’s, among other credits.

Meanwhile, C&B Cafe continued on at its original location at 178 E. Seventh St. No word at the moment if Sahin has any role with Paper Daisy now. We reached out to Paper Daisy for more information.

Paper Daisy took over the space that belonged to Cafe Orlin, which closed in October 2017 after 36 years of service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street

• C&B Cafe now part of new venture taking over the former Cafe Orlin space on St. Mark's Place

• C&B Cafe debuts outpost on St. Mark's Place

• C&B is weekends only at the moment at Paper Daisy on St. Mark's Place

[Updated] Does anyone want the classic old A Repeat Performance sign from 1st Avenue?

[EVG photo from March 2019]

Updated 5 p.m. The sign has a new home!

A Repeat Performance closed this past July 31 on First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street after 39 years in business.

Proprietor Sharon Jane Smith said that it was simply time to move on. (Store founder Beverly Bronson had died in May 2018.)

Amy Van Doran, who runs Modern Love Club next door, is currently in custody of that great old A Repeat Performance sign. She'd like to give it to any resident who may have an interest in this classic EV signage. She'll be at the shop (156 First Ave.) today from noon to 7 p.m. (She does warn that the sign is larger than it looks!)



Previously on EV Grieve:
• A Repeat Performance, until July 31

• A new storefront for A Repeat Performance, and word about the next tenant

• Today is the last day for A Repeat Performance

Behold the Russo's-Black Seed bagel bread bomb

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta (@russosnyc) on Jan 6, 2020 at 6:39am PST

Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta, the neighborhood institution (circa 1908) over on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has teamed up with Black Seed Bagels for this combo sandwich — bagel bread stuffed with prosciutto and handmade mozzarella and served with a pesto dipping sauce.

The creation is available all month at any of the Black Seed locations, including the one at 176 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

EVG Etc.: Anthrax scare at Nowhere; dessert watch at Red Gate Bakery

[Neon goodness at the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, 14th and A]

• Man accused of sending fake anthrax to Nowhere bar on 14th Street (NY1)

• The "perfect versions of classic American desserts" at the new Red Gate Bakery on First Street (Grub Street ... previously on EVG)

• The intriguing history of the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and 12th Street (B+B)

• Evictions in NYC Continue to fall in wake of Rent Reforms (Gothamist)

• MULCHFEST HIGHLIGHTS FROM TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK (Laura Goggin Photography ... previously on EVG)

• A visit to the William Barnacle Tavern on St. Mark's Place (Untapped New York)

• Celebrating the 1980s East Village photography of Tim Greathouse (Another Man)

• The 50,000-square-foot building in the works for Delancey and Attorney (NYY)

• Ugh: The building housing Forlini's in Little Italy is for sale, and the restaurant will eventually close (Eater)

So you want to serve on your local Community Board

Application season continues for the 2020-2022 class of Manhattan Community Board members. So this is your chance to be part of your local Community Board (CB3!).

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office sent out a notice yesterday about the applications, which are due Jan. 21. Per the EVG inbox:

Interested in what gets built in your community and how government works to deliver services in your neighborhood? Apply to join one of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards.

Every Community Board has 50 seats which are filled for two-year terms by volunteers, who are selected by the Borough President and local City Council members. Half the seats are up for appointment or reappointment every year.

Community Boards get a seat at the table in high-stakes land use, real estate, and zoning negotiations, and they work directly with city agencies to influence how government services are delivered at the neighborhood level.

If you'd like to serve as a member of your Community Board, apply online here! Community Board applications will be open until 5 p.m. on Jan. 21.

Physical applications (downloadable here as a PDF) may also be dropped off at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office or mailed and postmarked by Jan. 21, but online submissions are strongly preferred.

Brewer's office said that CB appointments will be announced at the end of March.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game

The Chippery bringing fish and chips to 1st Avenue

Signage is up for the Chippery, coming soon to 85 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. (Thanks to Goggla for these pics!)

This will be the first Manhattan outpost for the New Jersey-based chainlet, which currently has four locations in the Garden State...



The quick-serve establishment offers a variety of fried seafood platters and sandwiches. You can find their menu here.



No word on an opening date just yet.

Some recent history for this address: This storefront was home to the offbeat boutique Mod World between 1994 and 2006. Most recently, it was Shinbashi Sushi, where the chef smoked outside and gave passersby dirty looks.

Avenue C Restaurant has apparently closed on Avenue C

[Photo from Friday]

Several readers have noted that Avenue C Restaurant has been dark of late... including through this past weekend.

There isn't any word of a closure — temporary or otherwise — on the restaurant's website or social media properties. Calls to the restaurant go unanswered (the voicemail system has not been set up, per a message). Meanwhile, Open Table is reporting that this is a permanent closure...



The restaurant just debuted last July at 102 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. One EVG regular who lived nearby said that the staff was friendly, but the place didn't do much to distinguish itself for return visits. (The website copy was stunningly generic: "Welcome to Avenue C Restaurant, the new trendiest American restaurant on the Lower East Side! From it’s industrial décor, to chic vibe we deliver the location to enjoy an amazing experience.")

Someone put a lot of money into the space, giving it a whole new look from its nine years as Edi & the Wolf, which resembled some kind of cozy Austrian garage. Executive chefs Eduard "Edi" Frauneder and Wolfgang "the Wolf" Ban decided to close up last April due to "increasing operating costs," Eater reported.

Choice Cleaners 7 coming to Avenue A

Updated 1/16 — Choice is now open!

Signage is up now at 24 Avenue A ... where Choice Cleaners 7 is coming soon to this space at Second Street.

This is a move for the current Choice Cleaners 7 at 23 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.

The retail space was previously home to the Art on A Gallery & Shop, which closed last summer after seven years.

There are two other empty retail spaces in this corner building, including the former FryGuys storefront on Second Street... which was recently renovated...



The Sabet Group bought 24 Avenue A (aka 150 E. Second St.) for $15.8 million early last year, per public records.

Monday's parting shot

Mascot Monday? Photo on Second Avenue via Derek Berg.

About Shaq's assist on East Houston Street today

[Screengrab via TMZ]

In news about former NBA superstars today... Shaquille O'Neal was among the good samaritans who stopped to aid a woman who had fallen in the intersection at Pitt Street and East Houston. (Shaq was a passenger in an SUV heading toward the FDR when the incident occurred.)

In footage obtained by TMZ, the current TNT NBA analyst "helped stop traffic and waited with the woman until an ambulance arrived."

The woman was said to be diabetic, and fainted while crossing Pitt Street to Avenue C.

Happy Three Kings Day from Zaragoza

EVG regular Lola Sáenz shares this photo from the indispensable Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery, 215 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street ... on this Three Kings Day, Pompeyo is selling his traditional rosca de reyes at the shop...

More details about Zum Schneider's February closing date on Avenue C

As we first reported on Dec. 23, Zum Schneider is leaving its home of 20 years on Avenue C and Seventh Street next month.

The landlord, listed as 229 East 7th Street HFDC, did not renew their lease.

Owners of the popular biergarten and restaurant offered up more details about the pending closure in an email to customers late last week. (Thanks to all the EVG readers who shared this!)

The email reads in part:

It is now very clear and final that Zum Schneider, the way you know it on Ave C and East 7th Street, is coming to an end on Feb. 29, 2020. You deserve to know what happened, so here comes a short explanation.

Exactly one year ago we wrote to our landlord, 229 East 7th Street HDFC, a letter requesting an extension of the lease for the store where Zum Schneider is located, because we were just about to enter the last year on our lease that we signed in February 2000.

After we did not hear from the co-op, we contacted them again. After the third reminder they confirmed reception of our letter but nothing more. Then, months and months of following up on our letter went by with no result or reply whatsoever. We had no other choice but to set the deadline of Aug. 31. We explained that not just the restaurant owner and management need to know where the future lies, but the crew of 25 part-time and full-time employees deserve to know whether they have a job at Zum Schneider in 2020 or not.

On Sept. 1, 2019, we received a letter from the co-op's lawyer stating that they have no intention to renew the lease, and that we are to vacate the store by Feb. 29, 2020. In the following months we tried to convince the co-op that we are in fact a good tenant that has paid his rent on time every month for 20 years. We recommended different solutions, e.g. a shorter term lease, but the co-op was simply not interested. Therefore it is now 100 percent irreversible and unchangeable that our last day on Avenue C will be Feb. 29, 2020.

Here's what will happen in the next 8 weeks:

• Our restaurant will operate business as usual until Feb. 2. We then have to close the kitchen and will operate as a bar only. On Feb. 20 we'll kick off our annual Karneval party, which will go for 6 days, and will also double as our closing party.

• Feb. 25 will then be the very last day we're open to the public.

Future of Zum Schneider:
We will take a moment to reflect, and then start the search for our new location in Spring 2020. We intend to stay in Manhattan, and we are looking forward to turn the page and start with a fresh breeze, to create an even better and funner Zum Schneider elsewhere and with a landlord who appreciates our tenancy.

Last and most important:
We cannot thank you enough for your patronage, enthusiasm and loyalty over the years. Every Zum Schneider patron is part of the big Zum Schneider family. We are very anxious to welcome you and serve you the Bier, fare and fun you became familiar with over the years, at a new location in the near future.

Zum Schneider did announce that they will once again host their Oktoberfest tent along the East River this coming fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Last Christmas for Zum Schneider on Avenue C: Biergarten on the move in 2020

Jiang Diner opening a second East Village outpost

Jiang Diner, which has become a hit since opening last spring at 309 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is opening a second outpost that debuts tomorrow (Jan. 7).

The Diner, which offers Northwestern Chinese cuisine, including the popular Xinjiang big plate chicken, is moving around the corner to 104 Second Ave. The current location will become a quick-serve establishment. A note for patrons on Fifth Street offers an explanation...

In order to serve a more extensive variety of Northwestern Chinese food to our valued customers, Jiang Diner is moving to a new location in the East Village at 104 2nd Ave. with a better equipped kitchen on Jan. 7, 2020.

We will serve new fast-service Chinese inspired dishes such as wonton, noodles, and congees at this location. We kindly welcome you to stop by both of our locations to explore the electric taste of Chinese cuisine!

So, 104 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street was Hot Kitchen. As we've noted, the Sichuan specialists went from serving terrific food to a more pedestrian hotpot.

At the beginning of December, the restaurant started 0ffering Japanese cuisine under the name Sushi & Sake ... and by this past weekend, the place was closed...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

According to the Times back in August, Tao An, the owner of Jiang Diner, was also behind Hot Kitchen:

He also owns the nearby Hot Kitchen, a Sichuan restaurant, but the proliferation of Sichuan spots in downtown Manhattan has meant tougher competition and difficulty retaining chefs, Mr. An said. Jiang Diner began as a way for him to serve the Xinjiang-style food he loved as a young man growing up in Beijing, and to offer the neighborhood a different option.

It's not known at the moment who was running the Japanese restaurant in the Hot Kitchen space these past few weeks.

In any event, as of yesterday, Jiang Diner signage is now outside No. 104 ...


[Photo by Steven]

... as is a variation of the sign from Fifth Street...



H/T to Eden and Steven!

L-train construction fence finally comes down on 14th Street — 3 weeks after the Associated closed

[Obscured view of the former Associated from Dec. 14]

The Associated Supermarket on 14th Street in Stuy Town closed in mid-December.

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 upgrades obscured the single-level storefront with a 12-foot fence these past two-plus years.

Now, roughly three weeks after the store closed, workers removed that fence from the north side of 14th Street ... offering unobstructed views of the now-shuttered supermarket...







The corner of 14th Street and Avenue A has served as the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction dating back to July 2017.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Trees coming down for L train expansion on 14th Street

Pizza pocket purveyors I Love Panzerotti coming to St. Mark's Place

I Love Panzerotti is opening an outpost at 130 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. The signage arrived back on Friday. (Thanks to Nick Solares for the photo!)

I Love Panzerotti is a growing chainlet — the first one opened in April 2019 down on Varick — that specializes in panzerotti, a fried dough pocket popular in Italy that's filled with mozzarella and tomato sauce or any other combo of ingredients.

Eater critic Robert Sietsema likes them. He had this to say about the Varick spot:

At $7 to $9 each, one is probably enough ... I was intrigued by the mortadella and mozzarella filling, and a companion enjoyed the artichoke hearts, which also came with spinach inside. Indeed, the number of vegetarian options is one of the pluses of this place, and among those, the classico (mozzarella and tomato, with a marinara dipping sauce) is one of the best.

The St. Mark's location has also applied for a beer-wine license.

Tramonti Pizza closed at this address in late November ahead of a move to a larger location on Fifth Avenue and 28th Street.

The pre-Tramonti tenants were also pizzerias — (Via Della Pace Pizza and Falanghina Pizza Bar). Whole Earth Bakery held forth for 20-plus years at this address until December 2012.

Space 194 has closed on 1st Avenue

[Photo by Steven]

Space 194 is now officially closed. There wasn't any public notice — via a sign or an Instagram post — from ownership about the closing.

On Dec. 27, we mentioned the for rent sign that arrived on the door here at 194 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. The hybrid tea-coffee shop-gallery opened in December 2018.

Meanwhile, as we also noted on Dec. 27, Koko Wings, which specializes in Korean fried chicken, is now open right next door. This is Koko's second NYC outpost.

The address was previously the Neptune, the Polish-American diner shut down in December 2016 after 15 years in business. According to one source, the rent doubled.

After Neptune's departure, the landlord divided up the restaurant into two retail storefronts. Chelsea Thai gave it a try for five months in the space that Koko now occupies. Upon closing last January, Chelsea Thai founder-chef Saruj Nimkarn said that there wasn't enough business here for him to make the rent. He had been in the Chelsea Market for 21 years.