Taco time: Amigo debuts on 2nd Avenue

Amigo officially opens today at 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street (it has been in soft-open mode).

As previously reported, Amigo is a collaboration between Chef Ruben Rodriguez of Nai Tapas at 85 Second Ave. and Juan “Billy” Acosta, whose family runs the much-ballyhooed Carnitas El Momo in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Rodriguez and Acosta met and decided to team up for what L.A. Taco says will be "arguably the best carnitas you will ever find in the U.S."

From an Eater preview the other day: "The restaurant's headlining carnitas tacos ($6), from Acosta, comes in three meaty varieties: Maciza, or bone-in pork butt; buche, or pork stomach; cueritos, or pork skin; or diners can order a mix of all three on a taco. Carnitas tacos abound in the East Village, but this pork’s reputation is second to none."

You can find the menu at Amigo's website... and foods pics on Instagram. And the hours: Monday through Thursday from 5-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from noon to midnight; and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Amigo

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The best carnitas in Los Angeles are coming to the East Village

Tech hub tops out on 14th Street

Workers have officially reached the top at Zero Irving (and formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center and 14 @ Irving ... and tech hub) at 124 E. 14th St. at Irving Place... the American flag is now flying above...

The 21-23-story building, developed jointly by the city’s Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services, will feature 14 floors of market-rate office space as well as "a technology training center and incubator, co-working spaces and state-of-the-art event space ... on the seven floors beneath," per the Zero Irving announcement issued last October.

Food-hall specialists Urban­Space officially signed the lease for 10,000 square feet on the ground level last month.

The new building — long contested by local preservationists and community groups (see links below) — sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

• Speaking out against a 'Silicon Alley' in this neighborhood

• City Council unanimously approves tech hub; some disappointment in lack of zoning protections 

• The conversation continues on the now-approved tech hub for 14th Street

• P.C. Richard is gone on 14th Street; preservationists want answers about tech-hub commitments

AuH20 Thriftique closes up shop on 7th Street

After 14 years selling stylish women's vintage clothes and accessories, AuH20 Thriftique has closed its shop at 84 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

AuH20 closed on Oct. 1 — the shop's 14th anniversary.

Kate Goldwater, who opened the storefront after graduating from college at age 22, made the announcement on Instagram. She will continue the business via online sales. 

On Sept. 17,  she shared her story in a post on Medium titled "The President Ruined a Business I Spent 14 Years Building."

As she wrote: "I joke with my husband that it's just a secondhand store. I wasn't saving lives, but I think I really did have something special in the East Village. I really do feel like I'm letting everyone down by closing it, but I also don't think that I have another option."

Image via Instagram

St. Marks Barbershop moves around the corner

St. Marks Barbershop has left St. Mark's Place. (H/T Steven!)

Albert and Co. have relocated from here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue ... to Cooper Square — specifically 13 Third Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The shop is taking part of the space that was previously home to HairMates.

With the move comes a new name — Ace of Bladez!

The departure means that 16 St. Mark's Place won't be a barbershop for the first time since the late 1960s.

Groovy signage for the Royal Unisex Barbershop is still visible on the east-facing wall.

Top photo by Steven!

Sunday's parting shot

As seen on the sidewalk outside Veselka on Second Avenue at Ninth Street.... "Beet Covid, Wear Your Mask."

Thanks to Lola Sáenz for the photo...

Week in Grieview

• The East Village storefront art of Delphine le Goff (Thursday)

• A new era for indoor dining in the East Village (Friday) 

• Sophie's, Josie's and Mona's reopen (Wednesday) 

• Black & White is closing, with plans to relocate in 2021 (Wednesday) 

• Fresco closing this week with hopes of reopening early next year (Friday) 

• New hours for the city's free meal pick up (Tuesday)

• New York Sports Clubs permanently shutters Avenue A location 2 days after reopening (Friday) 

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday) 

• Public Access debuts on St. Mark's Place with show by legendary skateboarder Mark Gonzalez (Thursday) 

• Il Mattone space now going as the Pizza Spot on East Houston (Monday) 

• A new front window era at Le Fournil (Thursday) 

• Kyuramen bringing ramen to 210 E. 14th St. (Monday)

• 2nd Avenue closings: Spiritea, Dia and Atlas Cafe (Wednesday)

• Pado is closing on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Construction watch: 11 Avenue C (Tuesday) 

• C & C Dry Cleaning closes on 7th Street (Thursday) 

• A return for Tokio7? (Tuesday)

• 45 E. 7th St. now with its perforated cornice parapet (Monday)

... and to wrap up our coverage of the neighborhood's first film shoot notices in six-plus months... As you may already know, there was a video shoot at Double Down Saloon on Avenue A between Houston and Second Street. It was a collaboration between Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa. 

Top photo of Ink on A

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Here Nor There opens on 9th Street

Here Nor There opened back on Thursday at 315 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

The boutique, owned by stylist Julia Copeland, offers "curated vintage and emerging designers." (She has dedicated the store to her mother Elizabeth, who passed away in late August.)

The shop's website is here... the Instagram is here.

No. 315 was previously the boutique Huminska, which officially closed in December after 27 years in business. 

Top photo by Steven, storefront photo via Instagram

Opening a portal at the Bowery Mural Wall

The latest work wrapped up at the Bowery Mural wall yesterday ... an elaborate, student-assisted creation via Groundswell and Raul Ayala titled "To Open a Portal" ...

This is a lousy photo (the glare!) at the wall that explains more about the work...

Amped up: Bands get the boot from Tompkins Square Park for not having sound permits

A promising triple bill of bands got the boot from Tompkins Square Park last evening.

EVG reader Chris Ryan shared these photos... the three bands (and check them out!), the Employees, Hello Mary and Clovis, arrived to play an amped late-afternoon show without a sound permit.

According to Ryan and several other witnesses, the NYPD and the Parks Enforcement Patrol showed up after while, and eventually shut down the show (they apparently let the bands continue playing for nearly 30 minutes before stopping it)... 

Ryan said the officers explained that the bands must have permits to play amplified music. (Ryan offered to put the bands in touch with Chris Flash, who has organized free shows in the Park for years.)

There have been reports of "an intermittent crackdown on amplified performance," as amNY put it, in Tompkins Square Park. 

As Ryan said: "Hopefully, this not the end of the resurrection of live music in the Park." 

Join Joey for Blessing of the Animals tomorrow at Trinity Lower East Side

Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish is hosting a Blessing of the Animals tomorrow (Sunday!) afternoon... details via the EVG inbox!

In commemoration of St. Francis' love for all creatures and in celebration of the gifts of love and devotion our pets bring to our lives, Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish will host a walk-through Blessing of the Animals in their garden on the corner of Avenue B and 9th Street this Sunday, Oct. 4, from 1 to 2 in the afternoon.  

Especially if you are out enjoying the exciting events around the neighborhood at this year's LUNGS Harvest Festival on Sunday, stop by Trinity's garden with your furry friends for a blessing! Trinity's church pup and Tompkins Square Dog Run favorite Joey will be there and he'd love to welcome you!

Noted

Morning view from Third Avenue and 10th Street... someone said the chair was waiting for a Lyft...

Reminders: The 9th annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is this weekend

An abbreviated version of the annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is taking place this weekend in participating community gardens around the East Village.

Check out this link for the full list of performances, which includes a reading by Penny Arcade at La Plaza Cultural and music by Michelle Shocked at De Colores Community Yard & Cultural Garden.

And an overview via the EVG inbox...

It's 2020 and we are all stuck inside somewhere ...  This year's festival is dedicated expressing our situation through art ...  sharing the reality of what is going on in our lives

All the exhibits will take place behind the garden fences with the audiences on the sidewalks.

The audience will be moving, fluid. The art stationary. We want to foster our wild variety of sentiments through our art. We are all politically bent, given the times and election. Vote with your ART too. Let people know how you feel.

This as an Art exhibit and the gardens are the Green Museum.

It's perfect for touring audiences to visit and enjoy our community gardens.

Take 2: the MoRUS film festival is THIS weekend

After a brief tussle with the NYC Parks GreenThumb, the entity overseeing community gardens, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is excited to (once again) present their eighth annual film festival.

It started last night — sorry! I only received this info at the last minute! Via the EVG inbox:

This year's festival — Reel Ecologies: Films for a Sustainable City — focuses on small-scale sustainable agriculture in urban environments, topics range from community-compost programs to community gardens to roof-top farms and more. 

Reel Ecologies: Films for a Sustainable City is presented in conjunction with our collaborative exhibition How Green Is My City? with the Green Map System, on display at MoRUS through the end of the year.

Please join us, for free, on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Green Oasis Garden, in partnership with Reclaimed Organics, for a kid-friendly Adopt-a-Worm program offering an opportunity to drop off your compost scraps and learn about the important work earthworms do!

Ticket proceeds will benefit Sixth Street Community Center's emergency food distribution efforts.

Check our our website for more details.

Friday's parting shot

In the company of 'Men'

 

The Barcelona-based post-punk trio Mourn have a new album coming out next month titled Self Worth. The video here is for "Men."

Fresco closing this week with hopes of reopening early next year

 

Siblings Ilias, Vanessa and Anna Iliopoulos have decided to temporarily close Fresco, their 8-year-old gelateria-cafe at 138 Second Ave. and return to their native Greece. 

They plan to reopen Fresco early next year here between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, and possibly pivot to a full-service cafe model. 

"It's not a landlord issue. It's purely about the decrease in revenue due to COVID-19," Ilia told EVG correspondent Steven about the temporary closing.

He says that they plan to stay open until the end of the weekend depending on when they run out of supplies.

Photo of Ilias and Vanessa by Steven.

A new era for indoor dining in the East Village

[Hearth]

Photos by Stacie Joy

Wednesday marked the beginning of indoor dining at the state-mandated 25-percent capacity... about 175 days after the PAUSE order went into effect in March.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy visited 14 East Village restaurants early in the evening as the dinner hour was getting underway to see how places were creatively using their spaces to provide safe service for both patrons and their staffs.

Being such a nice fall night out on Wednesday, many diners stayed in the comforts of the curbside or sidewalk spaces. Other loyal and intrepid diners went right inside. Not everyone is ready for indoor dining. And not every restaurant is ready to resume service inside. 

Some observations from Stacie: Air purifiers were everywhere. Temp checks at the door. Contact tracing for every table (or every diner, depending on where you went). Some places had a handheld scanner for temps, others had ones mounted on the wall. 

Here's a look... (the names and info for each restaurant is at the end of the post...)

[Lavagna]

[Il Posto Accanto]

[Mary at Mary O's]

[Veselka]

[Pangea]

[John's of 12th Street]

[Mokyo]

[Jack at Takahachi]

[Nowon]

[Tuome]

[Lucien]

[Divya's Kitchen]

[Bin 141]

Here's the list of restaurants — in alphabetical order — that Stacie visited:

→ Bin 141, 43 Avenue A

→ Divya’s Kitchen, 25 First Ave. 

→ Hearth, 403 East 12th St. 

→ Il Posto Accanto, 190 E. Second St. 

→ John’s of 12^th Street, 302 East 12^th St.

→ Lavagna, 545 East Fifth St.

→ Lucien, 14 First Ave.

→ Mary O’s, 32 Avenue A 

→ Mokyo, 109 St. Mark’s Place 

→ Nowon, 507 East Sixth St. 

→ Pangea, 178 Second Ave. 

→ Takahachi, 85 Avenue A 

→ Tuome, 536 East Fifth St.

→ Veselka, 144 Second Ave. 

Said Stacie: "I was grateful to every owner who let me in and allowed me to take pics. Every place I went to was accommodating and unfailingly polite. The hospitality was nice."

New York Sports Clubs permanently shutters Avenue A location 2 days after reopening

That was fast. After a grand reopening on Monday, the New York Sports Clubs at 28 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street has permanently closed.

Multiple readers shared an email from NYSC about the closure.

On behalf of NYSC, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the Avenue A location on September 30th. 

This decision was a difficult one, but all isn’t lost. Effective immediately, your membership has been upgraded to our Elite Membership level at your current rate which gives you access to our entire network of clubs. By having an Elite Membership, you’ll be able to work out in all of our over 160 locations — from DC and Maryland to New York, Boston, Florida, California and yes, even Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, the sign on the door points to a temporary closure...

Town Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 14 due to coronavirus-related closures. They had reportedly worked out a deal with a group of lenders and a private-equity firm to serve as the lead bidder for the assets. 

On Wednesday, AG Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Town Sports for allegedly illegally charged customers their membership fees during the COVID-19 closure and then failed to issue reimbursements.

This NYSC outpost opened in March 2015 in the newly gut-renovated building... what tenant might want to take arguably the neighborhood's ugliest building?

Previously on EV Grieve:
• New York Sports Club in the works for Avenue A

• New York Sports Club says hello on Avenue A

• Familiar Burger-Klein sign has disappeared from Avenue A

• Here is the New York Sports Club building on Avenue A

Thursday's parting shot

 

A moment along Second Avenue via EVG reader Megan Finsaas ...

About Correspondences on Astor Place

No, this isn't a low-budget remake of "Dune." Or Gov. Cuomo's idea of a return to indoor dining with limited capacity. (Thanks Eden for the photo!)

Today through Sunday, a performance called Correspondences will take place on Astor Place.

Here are some details via the Village Alliance:

With Correspondences, multidisciplinary artist duo Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya offer multiple entry points for spectators to engage with questions of being, interdependence, and coexistence. The human body (performer and observer), machines, natural elements, and the urban square mingle in an entangled poetic microcosm while opening inquiries into animate life and environmental ethics.

In the inaugural presentation of this multi-borough project, audiences can safely engage in Astor Place installation over conversation, and bear witness to daily activation periods performed by members of the LEIMAY Ensemble.

Single bodies are enclosed inside transparent chambers partially filled with sand. Bodies are donned with gas masks as they try, time and again, to rise to standing. At intervals, machines attached to the chambers trigger a blast of sand causing the performers to lose their footing, sinking them back down into the ground. This seemingly perpetual eruption repeats throughout daily performance activation periods of Correspondences, both with and without performers.

The first performance is tonight at 8... with additional shows tomorrow through Sunday at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and so on... 

[Photo by Lola Sáenz]

... and here's another view via Steven today ... an undress rehearsal...