A second look at Phase II dining in the East Village

[Casa Adela, Avenue C]

Phase 2 is in full swing, with bars and restaurants with the proper permits OK'd to serve food and drinks on newly created sidewalk and street spaces. (Dining inside is still off limits.)

We looked at a few of the outdoor dining options Tuesday... EVG contributor Stacie Joy checked out more of the newly deputized open spaces around the neighborhood, from cafes adding a table or two out front to artificial turf on the street ...


[Lavagna, 5th Street]


[Nowon, 6th Street]


[B&H Dairy, 2nd Avenue]


[Kafana, Avenue C]


[Takahachi, Avenue A]


[Lower East Side Coffee Shop, 14th Street]


[Khiladi, Avenue B at 11th Street]


[Il Posto Accanto, 2nd Street]


[Cortadito, 3rd Street]


[Supper, 2nd Street]


[KC Gourmet Empanadas, Avenue B]


[Hibachi Express Dumplings, 14th Street]


[Au Za’atar, Avenue A at 12th Street]


[San Loco, Avenue C]


[Buenos Aires, 6th Street]


[Gnocco, above and below, 10th Street]




[C&B Cafe, 7th Street]


[Westville East, Avenue A at 11th Street]


[Desi Galli, Avenue B]


[Lil' Frankie's, 1st Avenue]


[Veselka, 2nd Avenue at 9th Street]

A moment in the sunrise

Two views of this morning's sun show... top photo looking toward the Con Ed building on 14th Street is from Jeanne Krier... and the below shot is toward the Christodora House on Avenue B...



And some have claimed to see a face in the clouds...

Activity at the former Eleven Consignment Boutique

There was activity yesterday inside Eleven Consignment Boutique on First Avenue and 11th Street... site of a long legal battle between former business partners and owners.

The high-end used clothing and accessories store shuttered without any warning some time in late November or early December, angering customers who had items for sale inside. (Ditto for the Park Slope location.)

Someone said to be a court-appointed receiver was inside the still-stocked EV shop yesterday, continuing the claims procedure process. (This after apparently kicking in the front glass?)


[Photo yesterday by Lola Saénz]



As the Post reported in early January, a lawsuit among partners was to blame for the sudden closure.

Elizabeth Murphy, who ran the business with her husband Ben Malik Marambiri, said they were forced to turn it over to former partners, Kisito Mone and Romeo Hien, after years of litigation, which included allegations of breach of contract and misappropriation of money, finally ended in June [2019].

Murphy says Mone didn’t want to put in the work to run the businesses.

And Mone's reaction?

Mone denied the business was turned over to him, although he said he returned the keys to Murphy and Karambiri’s new lawyer, Rania Sedhom.

Sedhom said she gave the keys to a representative of the court-appointed receiver who was named to oversee the stores’ assets.

By the looks of it, that court-appointed receiver is on the job.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Eleven Consignment Boutique closes, leaving customers without their resale items

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen is open this summer

[File photo by Stacie Joy]

With all the attention on the Phase 2 outdoor dining at the moment... a quick note about Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen.

The no-frills (in a good way!) basement cafe, which generates income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Seventh Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for takeout.

Check out Streecha's Instagram account for ordering details...

View this post on Instagram

Streecha is back!🥳 Now we are open for takeout. Tuesday - Saturday Ukrainian favorites as well as our lunch specials. Request lunch special menu and order by texting 914 413 9774 or message us here.

A post shared by Streecha🇺🇦Ukrainian kitchen NY (@streecha) on Jun 22, 2020 at 5:27pm PDT

Streecha is at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

EVG Etc.: Primary results; fireworks crackdown

[On the Bowery]

• Preliminary results from the 2020 NY Primary (Gothamist)

• State's takeout cocktail law expires this weekend, causing more worry for bars-restaurants (Eater)

• Mayor turns alternate-side parking into a once-a-week affair (Streetsblog)

• City cracking down on illegal fireworks (ABC 7)

• Speaking of ...: Details on this year's Macy's July 4 Fireworks Show (NBC 4)

• NYC's rent-stabilized apartments receive one-year rent freeze (Curbed)

... and earlier this month, the Post reported that Avraham Adler, who had been accused of hosting sex parties in a townhouse rental on Seventh Street, had been charged with assaulting his girlfriend and taken into custody. (Previously on EVG.)

Over the weekend, neighbors here between Avenue B and Avenue C saw people removing furniture from the house, packed up in both a rental truck and dumpster (h/t Dave on 7th!)...

Checking in on Anwar Grocery

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Anwar Hossein has owned and operated the Anwar Grocery, 106 Avenue B, since 2005.



He and his family live upstairs here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. Hossein previously owned two other stores in the neighborhood — A&H Grocery at 204 Avenue A and Ahn Newsstand and Candy store at 500 E. 12th St., both long shuttered.

Hossein says that things are difficult for the shop right now, that the lease expired this past December and that they’ve been in court with the landlord, all of which is on hold due to COVID-19-related closures. He and his family hope that they are able to hold onto the store.

We recently took a look at the grocery after it was burglarized in early June during a rash of overnight break-ins. He has also reported at least one daytime robbery since then. He stresses that things are getting bad again, he says, like they used to be.

He shows me the paperwork from when he was shot twice at his other grocery. (Surgeons had to amputate his pinky toe after a bullet shattered it during a robbery.)



The old-school-style shop has some unusual selections for your shopping needs, such as DVD copies of a Nickelback concert, blank TDK cassette tapes and VHS videotapes.

If you dig, you can also find religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies plus the usual selections of refreshments. The times I visited, Bollywood was on repeat on the TV up front. Anwar's is definitely the last of its kind in this neighborhood, and well worth a visit...

Renovations at Atlas Cafe

Updated 11 a.m.: Ownership says that they are renovating, per Derek Berg. Headline changed to reflect that.

Atlas Cafe has been dark throughout the COVID-19 pause. Yesterday, someone put the contents from the mostly-empty restaurant out on the curb here on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street...



The Atlas phone number is no longer in service... and the website is offline.

The restaurant, which serves reliable vegan (and non-vegan) menu items with a Moroccan vibe, first opened in 1999.

H/T Lola Saénz!

Today is the last day for the Essex Card Shop before a move up the block

Essex Card Shop closes after today at its longtime home at 39 Avenue A... ahead of a move less than a block away to between Third Street and Fourth Street...



As previously noted, the eclectic shop is moving one block to the north to the now-vacant storefront at 47 Avenue A (the former Essex 99-Cent Store owned by the same folks).

We also noted how much we liked the shop's sign and pleasantly cluttered exterior.

The storefront has also caught the fancy of local artists, including Delphine le Goff ...



... and Joel Holland ...



As for the sign, a shop regular says that the owners are keeping the sign, but it likely won't be hanging above the new location.

Ralph’s is hiring on Avenue A

As first noted back in early March, an outpost of Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream is coming to 145 Avenue A and Ninth Street.

And this location is hiring... kind of difficult to see, but there is a handwritten sign on the front window with an email address to use if you're interested in a job here (RalphsIcesEastVillage@gmail.com)...



The business dates to 1928 when Ralph Silvestro started selling Italian ice (or water ice) from his truck around Staten Island. The first retail store opened in 1949 on Port Richmond Avenue in Staten Island. In recent years the company has franchised out, expanding to other parts of NYC as well as Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester County.

No word on an opening date yet for Ralph's, which takes over the storefront from Gelarto.

Tuesday's parting shot

A familiar summer scene on 10th Street near Avenue A ... thanks to the reader for the photo!

Primary Day with Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

😻

Previously

A letter about racial profiling and harassment in a residential building on 14th Street

[Emily and Logan]

East Village resident Emily Rems shares a letter that she sent to her building's management company after her partner was a victim of racial profiling and harassment in the lobby this past Friday.

To the Managers of 230 E. 14th St., NYC,

My name is Emily Rems and I have lived in your building for 17 years. For the last 15 of those years, I have been living here with my partner Logan. I am white and Logan is Black. And unfortunately, over the years this has meant that we have not always been treated equally as residents of your building.

The latest example of this disparity happened last night, ironically on the evening of June 19th (aka Juneteenth). Logan was coming home in the evening after running some errands, and he found himself entering the building behind a young white man with a mustache who is unknown to us, and a young white woman who was with him.

The man with the mustache stopped Logan before he could climb the stairs and demanded to know if he lived here, stating that he was asking “because a lot of stuff is getting stolen here.” Further aggression and hostility followed when Logan refused to engage.

Please understand, we are well aware that mail theft is a huge issue in our building. Logan and I have both had our packages stolen from the lobby of this building and we understand how frustrating that can be. It is my understanding that this is the reason security cameras have recently been installed near our mailboxes. But for a white tenant to corner one of the only long-term Black tenants still living in this building and demand some kind of proof of residence is to create a hostile and racist community environment. It is harassment, plain and simple, and I think management should address it in a letter to everyone who lives here.

When it came to management’s attention last year that new residents were renting out their apartments as illegal Air B&Bs, cease and desist warnings were sent to everyone living here multiple times, and signage went up in the lobby in two places letting everyone know this behavior was unacceptable. I think what happened to Logan warrants the same type of action.

I am confident that you will be sensitive to this situation. Let your residents know what actions you are taking to safeguard our property. Let us all know how you would like us to contact you in the event that our property is stolen and we need someone to check the security camera footage on our behalf. But most importantly, please remind everyone living here that you will not tolerate any harassment among tenants.

I look forward to hearing back from you about your plans to address this issue and thank you in advance for hearing me out. I believe that if this were happening to a member of your family, you would feel equally outraged and would want to speak up on their behalf. And we know this is not the type of environment you want in your building.

Sincerely,

Emily Rems
Managing Editor of BUST Magazine &
Long-Time Tenant of 230 E. 14th St.

There has not been a response yet from the management company.

How Henry Street Settlement is helping neighbors in need during the COVID-19 crisis

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I’d never been to the Henry Street Settlement’s Boys & Girls Republic on Sixth Street between Avenue D and the FDR.



So when Jon Harper, the acting director of emergency response food distribution, invited me I was eager to see what he and his team of workers and volunteers were doing to help support the community through a food initiative.

I visited twice, first on a Monday afternoon to watch the food arrive (some via a partnership with UPS) and get sorted and packed into bags, and then again the following morning to accompany folks as they delivered the packages to local residents in need.

Afterward, I spoke with Jon about the history of the organization, the assistance process and how those interested can get involved.



Can you speak a bit about the Henry Street Settlement program? How did it come to be at the Boys & Girls Republic location on Sixth Street?

Henry Street Settlement has been around since 1893. It was started by Lillian Wald as the Nurse’s Settlement, and has been responsible for an incredible amount of work on the Lower East Side.

Henry Street Settlement serves more than 50,000 people each year with programming in employment and education, health and wellness, transitional and supportive housing, and arts and humanities. Lillian Wald was very active in NYC’s response to the 1918 pandemic! So it’s only appropriate that we are stepping up now to provide critical services to folks on the Lower East Side and East Village who need them.

Boys & Girls Republic is a youth community center that Henry Street took over in 1997. Formerly called Boys Brotherhood Republic, it was created in the 1930s with a special emphasis on youth citizenship and self-government, which Henry Street carries on. Because congregate youth programming was suspended due to the COVID-19 crisis, this building was available to open the food pantry.







How did this food initiative start? How and where do you receive goods and perishables, and how many individuals and families are you providing supplies for?

Henry Street has several food initiatives that were already in place: a large Meals on Wheels program and daily meals for several hundred older adults through our senior center.

This emergency food initiative started because of the acute need that surfaced almost from the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Ninety percent of the calls to Henry Street’s new helpline are from people facing food insecurity — primarily because they are seniors or immunocompromised people who cannot leave their homes, or because they’ve lost their livelihood.

Another nonprofit that provides extraordinary service to the Lower East Side, the grassroots organization Vision Urbana, reached out to us because their client base was growing quickly due to the crisis, and after some discussion we started up a partnership with them.

Currently almost all of our food comes to us through their relationship with the Food Bank For New York City. We are currently distributing that food to over 400 households.

What is the process, from how someone applies for assistance to receiving the packages?

People can contact the Henry Street Settlement helpline at 347-493-2787. A case worker will talk to them about food as part of a broad range of needs that Henry Street might be able to help them with. Right now, we are working to rapidly expand our delivery capacity so that we can provide food to the growing number of people who are requesting this service.

Then, every Tuesday, we send a wonderful set of volunteers and staff out to deliver each bag of groceries to the recipients. It’s important that it be delivered instead of picked up so that we can maintain social distancing, and also let our recipients stay in their homes where it is safer for them.







How can people get involved? Is there a way for folks to donate funds, goods, and/or volunteer their time?

There are several ways that people can get involved! The fastest way, of course, is to donate money through our website. Just go to www.henrystreet.org and click on the “donate” popup that comes up.

We are not currently accepting donations of food — unless of course you can donate an entire pallet of something! We also are very lucky to have and very reliant upon an amazing set of volunteers for the actual deliveries. Come join us! It’s 9 a.m. on Tuesdays, and usually we are done by noon, though if you can only come for an hour or two that’s still useful. If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Deanna Sorge at dsorge@henrystreet.org.





This is already a major undertaking and a large-scale program. What’s next for this project?

The need for help with food insecurity is enormous, especially in our neighborhood. We are working very hard to identify more sources of food so that we can turn this from a two-day-a-week on-site operation into a full-time operation; sending food out multiple days every week. We have the people and the space to expand, we just need the food to be able to distribute, and the funds to make it happen!



H/T to Christine Koenig for her help in setting up this interview.