Week in Grieview

[A Stay Safe message WIP on 5th Street via Derek Berg]

• Exercise options and at-home workouts from East Village-based fitness providers (Monday)

• This is a list of laundromats and dry cleaners still open in the East Village (Wednesday)

• A visit to High Vibe on 3rd Street (Thursday)

• Another 'Star Spangled' cheer for health-care workers on 7th Street (Saturday)

• The East Village photography of Martin Mahoney (Friday)

• Demolition permits filed for former Church of the Nativity and La Salle building next door (Monday)

• On Avenue B, Ben's Deli is closing for now; first time in 45 years (Thursday)

• Construction next door causes Rossy's Bakery & Café to temporarily close on 3rd Street (Wednesday)

• B Bar & Grill lays off its staff without severance; August closing date rumored (Thursday)

• Tompkins Square Library launches online programming this week (Thursday)

• Documenting the coronavirus and helping 2 LES legends (Sunday)

• Coronavirus Urban Etiquette Sign of the day (Thursday)

• Sauce Pizzeria deliver free pies to hospital workers; landlord chips in and freezes rent (Friday)

• "We will not go quietly into the night!" A midnight fireworks display (Saturday)

• Odessa is back open for takeout and delivery (Friday)

• This week's NY See (Friday)

• The Chippery, now with signage on 1st Avenue (Monday)

• Report: These 9th Street tenants don't have to pay rent until building has C/O, judge rules (Monday)

• East Village Organic now closed until April 10 (Friday)

• Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery temporarily closes (Wednesday)

• Black Seed Bagels closes for duration of coronavirus outbreak (Monday)

• Commodities is now temporarily closed on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

• B-Side has closed for good on Avenue B (Tuesday)

• The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place reopens today (Monday)

... and as seen on 7th and A last night...



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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates.

A necessary Saturday morning errand there and back pic.twitter.com/jQy6wTNaAh

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) April 4, 2020

Instagram follow of the day

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Nirvana, 1989, NYC. 📸 by Steve Double. Kurt Cobain (2.20.67 - 4.5.94) #ripkurtcobain #april5th #1994 @kurtcobain #nirvana #kurtcobain #kristnovoselic #chadchanning @thechadchanning

A post shared by sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʙɪʀɴʙᴀᴜᴍ (@sbirnbaum1) on Apr 4, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT

@sbirnbaum1 takes archival photos of musicians around NYC and matches them up to the same setting today, such as this pre-Dave Grohl shot of Nirvana at the East River Park bandshell.

Also, today (April 5) marks the 26th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.

And one more...

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Joe Strummer of The Clash, March 1980, East 14th Street NYC. 📸 by Roberta Bayley @bayley1950 #joestrummer #TheClash @joestrummerofficial @the_clash #robertabayley

A post shared by sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʙɪʀɴʙᴀᴜᴍ (@sbirnbaum1) on Feb 27, 2020 at 2:28am PST

A webinar for East Village small business owners

From the EVG inbox via the East Village Independent Merchants Association...

The programs and initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed by Congress are intended to assist business owners their immediate needs. These programs are beginning to come online each day. As of today, applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are live.

We know that applying to these programs can be complex and often raise more questions than answers. To that end we are hosting an in-depth legal webinar with the generous support of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in partnership with Community Board 3. After a guided how-to of the PPP application process, the Freshfields team will be available to answer questions.

The webinar for East Village small business owners is tomorrow (Monday, April 6) at 1 p.m. You can register and find more details via this link.

Last day for Two Boots for the next few weeks

Two Boots Pizza on Avenue A and Third Street is taking a break after service today.

The longtime pizzeria hopes to return the week of April 20. Here's more via Instagram...

View this post on Instagram

We are AMAZED at the support we have received, not just during this unprecedented time in our history, but for the past 33 years. We will see you sooner rather than later ... #weareinthistogether #twobootspizza #nyceats #veganeats #itsnotgoodbyeitsseeyoulater #pizza #nycpizza #pizzalovers #pizzalove #nycfood #nycrestaurant #nyc

A post shared by Two Boots Pizza (@twobootspizza) on Apr 4, 2020 at 1:56pm PDT

Free tomato seedlings on 7th and A

Someone carefully placed these seedlings out on Seventh Street and Avenue A at the entrance to Tompkins Square Park this morning.

The neatly written sign explains:

These seedlings were raised on a windowsill. Grown from seed (from a beefsteak tomato from Trader Joe's).

Planted on Feb. 20, so they should bear fruit in 4-6 weeks.

Plant them in a big pot (they'll get big!) (the paper pots will dissolve)

If you want to grow them outside, they'll need to be hardened off. (Google it. It's easy)

Thanks to the reader for this photo!

Another 'Star Spangled' cheer for health-care workers on 7th Street

Once again tonight, the #ClapBecauseWeCare cheer for health-care workers and first responders featured an electrified "Star Spangled Banner" here on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

And there were two special guests: two off-duty ER doctors from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx who drove up via a police escort. (They had seen the previous night's video.)

Alice Owen and Randi Himelfarb shot these videos...

Instagram follow of the day

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1980 & now: 5 Saint Marks Place. #nycthenandnow

A post shared by NEW YORK CITY: THEN & NOW (@nyc.thenandnow) on Apr 3, 2020 at 10:30am PDT

Check out New York City: Then & Now, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like ... find the account here.

'We will not go quietly into the night!' A midnight fireworks display

An EVG reader shared the above video from last night.

A description from the reader: "Nearing midnight, an explosive celebration on April 3 in the East Village, looking Northwest-ish from First Avenue and Third Street."

There were apparently two rounds of rooftop fireworks — with one lasting nearly a minute. Several people were able to catch the second round...

Fireworks going off around midnight in the east village in nyc. Whoo. pic.twitter.com/qBoo0rXTFh

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) April 4, 2020

H/T President Whitmore for part of the headline!

Village Farm Grocery has closed for now on 2nd Avenue

The corner market on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street closed yesterday...



This after reducing hours in recent days. As EVG correspondent Steven noted, Village Farm Grocery remained open even after the blackout and Superstorm Sandy... and they are the latest neighborhood deli to close during the COVID-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, several blocks to the south on Second Avenue... East Village Farm and Grocery at Fourth Street is open — but only for deliveries... no customers permitted inside...

Friday's parting shot

Outside Forbidden Planet on Broadway today... photo by Derek Berg...

The 7 p.m. cheer, 7th Street style

The #ClapBecauseWeCare cheer for health-care workers and first responders tonight at 7 had a new wrinkle on Seventh Street — someone blasted the Jimi Hendrix version of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Thanks to Susan Schiffman for the clip!

Your very own Oh Sees concert

In lieu of any live shows in the foreseeable future... here's a recently (March 21!) released video of Oh Sees rehearsing their new record (not sure which one, given that they release about eight LPs a year!).

Enjoy all 56 minutes. Depending where we are in the world, Oh Sees are currently scheduled to play Webster Hall in September.

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.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Nashom Wooden

The East Village photography of Martin Mahoney

Earlier this year, East Village-based photographer Martin Mahoney invited me to his upcoming group show at Westbeth Gallery, which was to take place March 19 to April 19.

Given the COVID-19 crisis, Westbeth cancelled the show.

Mahoney had planned to show a selection of his photographs. I asked him if I could share some of his work here (find more at his Instagram account) ...



Mahoney moved to the East Village in 1985 from Wexford Town in Ireland.

"While I’ve always had an interest in photography, I’ve lost many pictures of the old neighborhood and it’s characters and regret not taking more of the rapidly disappearing buildings and people who are being replaced with soulless glass boxes," he told me. "So I decided about two years ago to try to capture the essence of what is left of the old neighborhood and preserve it as best I can before it’s lost forever."











... and here's a selection of his black-and-white shots ....

Odessa is back open for takeout and delivery

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Like me, maybe you panicked a bit when you saw that the Odessa Restaurant at 119 Avenue A was closed in recent days.

Luckily, it was only a temporary staffing issue and longtime manager Dennis Vassilatos says they hope to stay open as long as they can get delivery people in. The affordable diner is down to one delivery person, with new hires starting soon.



Dennis says they’re going to take things day by day and hope to stay open. Hours now are 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. until 5 a.m. weekends, but he cautions some days they might not open until 5 p.m., so call first.



"Times are difficult, and uncertainty is part of our lives. People are afraid. I hope everything works out and we are all healthy," he says before showing me a fresh Boston cream pie, available for $5 a slice.



Previously on EV Grieve:
A Visit to Odessa Restaurant

East Village Organic now closed until April 10

[Photos by Steven]

Last Friday, we noted that East Village Organic was closing for the next week on First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

Unfortunately for EVO fans, the closure has been extended for another week, as the sign outside the market notes.



Here's their message via Instagram last evening:

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We love you each. We arent ready to come back yet. Please support any small businesses that are still opperating this time, and show kindness and compassion for the employees of the larger grocery stores that we are all depending on right now. Edit: the EVO fam is healthy. No worries there. #stayhome

A post shared by East Village Organic (@eastvillageorganic) on Apr 2, 2020 at 6:56pm PDT

Sauce Pizzeria deliver free pies to hospital workers; landlord chips in and freezes rent

[EVG file photo]

The crew at Sauce Pizzeria, 345 E. 12th St., has been making and delivering up to 400 pizzas at no charge for hospital workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.

Owner Adam Elzer said he got the idea after hearing from a nurse who said she and her fellow workers didn't have time to eat, as NBC New York reported.

When Elzer's landlord discovered that they've been delivering to 40 different hospitals in all five boroughs, he reportedly offered to help.

Per NBC New York:

"I saw what Adam was doing on social media honestly and when we noticed what he was doing it was very clear that we needed to help him," said Ben Kraus of A&E Real Estate Management. The group also donated more than $20,000 to help Adam get more pizzas to more medical workers.

Sauce opened here between First Avenue and Second Avenue in September 2018.

Updated 3:45 p.m.

A few people asked when Sauce is open for takeout-delivery. The answer! 5-10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Whole pies only...


[Photo by Lola Saénz]

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The pizzeria isn't the only local restaurant helping out. Frank Prisinzano, the owner of Supper, Frank and Lil' Frankies, and his team have been delivering meals to local hospitals.

Ho Foods, Kura and 886 teamed up to donate and provide meals for hospital workers. Their goal is 2,000 bentos by the end of this week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
San Loco's special delivery to 2 local hospitals

B Bar & Grill lays off its staff without severance

Layoffs have, unfortunately, been commonplace in the battered NYC restaurant industry in recent weeks as restaurants and bars were ordered to close except for takeout or delivery during the COVID-19 crisis.

For example, Danny Meter's Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), one of the city’s most prominent restaurant companies with 20 eateries, laid off a reported 2,000 employees. (Meyer did announce that he was forgoing his compensation and donating it to a relief fund for all USHG employees.)

Countless other restaurants have followed suit with layoffs. Last Thursday, employees of the B Bar & Grill on the Bowery at Fourth Street learned that they had been terminated, effectively immediately. There wasn't any extension of benefits or offer of severance pay.

One of the now-unemployed B Bar staffers shared the letter sent to employees, and signed by owner Eric Goode, that provides insights into how some of the city's restaurant staffers have been blindsided by layoffs in recent weeks ...


[Click to go big]

The letter reads in part:

This unquestionably is the most difficult time in all our lives. The severity of this crisis has put our business and community in an uncharted territory. We regret that this action is necessary and hope that this layoff will be temporary. While we do not know how long this layoff will last, we hope and expect it will be less than six months. You will be provided with COBRA information under separate cover (if you had insurance through garden café associates). Please note that your compensation and benefits from the Company shall cease as of the Layoff Date, March 26, 2020.

And...

The suspension of operations has had a direct and immediate impact on our B Bar family. With most our staff currently without jobs, we plan to do what many in the hospitality industry are already doing and take immediate action with an appeal to our communities to help raise funds that will help our staff in the interim. More information to follow.

Per the former employee:

Eric Goode responded to employee pleas for two weeks paid leave with very little - some directions about how to apply for unemployment and a "yours truly" sign off. This termination without pay was sudden and decisive, leaving many of the staff left with nothing to feed their families. Many of these staff members have worked at 20-plus years. Mr. Goode is currently living on his multimillion dollar ranch in California.

Goode has been enjoying positive press in recent weeks for his role as the co-director and co-writer (along with Rebecca Chaiklin) of "Tiger King," the hit docuseries that recently debuted on Netflix.

Meanwhile, as reported last fall, CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358 Bowery — the home of the B Bar & Grill since 1994. Goode, who owns a handful of hotels including the Bowery Hotel, has been assembling air rights to build a larger project on this corner space.

According to the ex-employee: "We're closing for good in August. They said they were going to let us know two-three months in advance before the final closing date, however."

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

Thursday's parting shot

Along Second Avenue today via Derek Berg...

Coronavirus Urban Etiquette Sign of the day

Spotted on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue by William Klayer.

Signs telling people not to discard their disposable gloves (or masks) are needed. EVG correspondent Steven spotted these late yesterday afternoon on one block — the west side of First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...