A visit to Club Cumming on New Year’s Eve

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Despite the threat of rain, Mother Nature decided to play nice on New Year’s Eve, where one of the neighborhood's more festive events took place at Club Cumming, 505 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Tonight’s sold-out outdoor cabaret New Year’s Eve Blowout features, among others, Emma Craig as Dolly Parton, Michael T as David Bowie, boylesque artist Richard JMV, the house band COVID Destroyers, kilted singer Anthony Cherry, and headliner Miss Dirty Martini, plus host Kareem McJagger.

I’m there for the 5:30 curbside seating (there’s also one at 8). I arrive to find co-owner Daniel Nardicio holding his puppy Beau...

Attendees are being seated as drinks and food are served, and I head “backstage” to photograph the performers and talk with Daniel about the event, what outdoor event production and livestreaming entails during the pandemic, and about future plans for Club Cumming.

What prompted the decision to create a live, socially distant outdoor entertainment event for New Year’s Eve? 

Well, the decision was simple: Club Cumming is a live venue, known for its performers, and something virtual wouldn’t do. HOW to make that happen was the question. 

Have you seen any reluctance on behalf of people to sit outside during the winter? What has reaction been like to outdoor events at Club Cumming?

No, we had people clamoring to come — if we didn’t have to socially distance, it would have been more packed! Adventurous people were there to have a good time, and a good time was had by — I hope — all! 

Do plan on you sticking with the outdoor space throughout the winter with more events like Doris Day Drinking and Yappy Hour? How has business been with only limited outdoor seating? 

Yappy Hour is a Yappening! I love it so much. Doris Day Drinking is new and I’m sure if its Sammy Jo, it’ll be sparsely attended and mildly annoying…just kidding, it’ll be great! Sammy Jo and Darren (my partner) make a great team and are the Sam and Diane of our Cheers, if Sam and Diane were both bottoms.

You livestreamed this New Year’s Eve event to the general public. How is livestreaming going? Any evidence of livestream fatigue on the behalf of viewers?

It depends, we created a production company and focus more on shooting little films, and creating more of a piece of work, than livestreaming itself. I leave that to the kids. BUT that said, next Friday (January the 8th) RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Nicky Doll is going to be holding virtual drag race viewing parties weekly from Club Cumming and I’m thrilled about that!

Do you think streaming programming might be part of the calendar once rooms reopen to live audiences?

Absolutely! A way to get our performers out to the world, and bring in additional revenue for them —count us in!

This was a tough year for New Yorkers. Any positives to come out of an awful 2020 for Club Cumming? What’s next for the bar?

Trump is out in 20 days, NYC rents are plummeting, I say, “kids, get your asses back and snatch up these cheap apartments, and start a mom-and-pop shop as this is a once in a lifetime chance to ask not what NYC can do for you, but what you can do for NYC. Be a part of the new New York. This city is magic!”

You can keep up with events at Club Cumming via Instagram.

Winter clothing drive at First Street Green Art Park

First Street Green Art Park is starting 2021 with some new murals and a winter clothing drive... they'll be collecting winter clothes (jackets, hoodies, sweaters, etc.) today, Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ... all donations will go to the Catholic Worker St. Joseph's House across from the Park on First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

You may enter the Park on the northeast corner of Houston at Second Avenue.

Reminders: Day 1 of MulchFest starts SOOOON

The city chippery will be onsite in Tompkins Square Park today starting at 10 to commence with the mulching. And fresh mulch will be available for the taking.

The tree collecting will continue here through next Saturday, when they'll be another chipping sesh. As a reminder, please remember to remove all lights, ornaments, netting and unwanted gifts before bringing the tree to this Mulchfest site.

Year in review

 

This week local singer-songwriter Fiona Silver released a video for her latest single — the aptly named "2020." 

Silver wrote the song and also directed the video. As she explained: 

"I wanted to make a video that reflected some of the themes of [2020] — protests, police brutality, environmental issues, financial insecurity, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the incredible perseverance of spirit I found from people coming together, supporting each other, and celebrating life in the face of fear. It's been a wild year..." 

Her band features Guy Fiumarelli on guitar, Steve Salerno on bass, Brian Duke on drums and Gregg Foreman on keys.

To 2021!

Gone but not forgotten

Remembering a few of our friends and neighbors who died in 2020...

• Frances Goldin, lifelong preservationist and community activist

• Terry Lewis, aka Kid Lucky, beatbox and beatrhyming pioneer

• Jimmy Webb, manager at Trash & Vaudeville, and later owner of I Need More

 

• Annette Averette, neighborhood activist and member of the Sixth Street Community Center 

• Matthew "Matty" Maher, longtime bartender then owner of McSorley's

• Margaret Morton, professor at Cooper Union and photographer who documented the city's homeless

• Holly Lane, East Village-based music executive

• David Gonzales, longtime employee at Frank Restaurant on Second Avenue

• Shirley Campbell, housing activist

• Giuseppi Logan, free-jazz legend



• Phyllis Somerville, veteran actress of film, TV and Broadway 

• Miguel Algarin, poet and founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

• Carol Porteous-Fall, eco-activist and yoga enthusiast

• Ali Yasin, pharmacist and proprietor at New York City Pharmacy on First Avenue

• Miguel Grande, the Pasta King at Supper on Second Street

• Nashom Wooden, legend in the drag community 

• The Rev. Diane Dunne, pastor of Hope for the Future Ministries who fed the homeless in Tompkins Square Park since the late 1980s

• Edgar Artur Cajamarca, kitchen team member at Miss Lily's 7A

  

• Francois "Frans" Nieuwendam, menswear consultant and nightlife veteran

• Walter Lure, musician and founding member of the Heartbreakers

• Hanshi Wilfredo Roldan, martial-arts legend

• Jack Finelli, theater lover, community gardener

• George Eshareturi, doorman at St. Dymphna's

• Stasia Micula, community activist who worked in the 1970s-1980s as adult film star Samantha Fox

The 1st hour of 2021 at Ray's

And Ray Alvarez, the proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A near Seventh Street, was on duty at the front window... as seemingly always. 

Ray also officially turns 88 on Jan. 25. (Some folks celebrate it on Jan. 1!) Happy Birthday/Birthmonth Ray!

Thanks to Peter Brownscombe for the photo!

6 posts from December

 A mini month in review...

• East Village Loves NYC prepares 1st holiday feast; tops more than 70,000 meals made for hungry New Yorkers in 2020 (Dec. 23)

• A Visit with Frank "Frankie Christmas" Bianco (Dec. 22) 

• Theater in Quarantine presents a world premiere from an East Village closet (Dec. 14) 

• Permits filed to demolish the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery (Dec. 8) 

• Straight shooters: Marvel Studios brings 'Hawkeye' to 4th Street for Disney+ series (Dec. 8) 

• Fire engulfs southeast corner of 7th Street and 2nd Avenue; Middle Collegiate Church destroyed (Dec. 5)

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 and NYC...

[Updated] Morning-after look at the damage caused by the broken water main on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

Emergerncy crews are on the scene this morning... making repairs to the ruptured water main on First Avenue and Seventh Street — the second such break in a week. 

The break was first reported at 8:30 last night. There wasn't much info on the cause of the break via officials, as local news outlets reported. 

Multiple residents/sources (received several WTFs via Instagram DMs) along Seventh Street said the water continued to gush from the street past midnight. 

Here are a few photos showing the aftermath this morning on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...

The curbside dining structure outside Ladybird appeared to have received the most damage from the stream of mucky water...

Ladybird, like all of Ravi DeRossi's East Village restaurants, is currently on hiatus.

Meanwhile, northbound traffic on First Avenue is being diverted at Sixth Street... (you'd be saving time to turn on Fourth Street, should you be out driving...)

Hard to tell at this hour the extent of the flooding. E7, the deli that debuted yesterday on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street, is open this morning. 787 Coffee and Abraço are both open on Seventh Street. There were reader reports of flooded basement apartments along Seventh Street.

Will update when more information becomes available. 

Updated 7 p.m. 

Wow — the roadwork was completed this afternoon...  and the Avenue is back open...

... and businesses are open along Seventh Street, including Los Tacos, Pylos and Trash & Vaudeville... and there was a service at St. Stanislaus ...

And as for all the reports of brown water...

.@NYCWater is responding to quite a few complaints about this. Yes, likely related to the watermain break. Call 311 with your address so nearby hydrants can be flushed. In the meantime, DEP recommends to run cold tap water for a while to see if it helps flush the pipes.

— NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera (@CMCarlinaRivera) December 31, 2020

E7 Deli & Cafe receives 2020 welcome

E7 Deli & Cafe had its grand opening yesterday on the northeast corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street (118 First Ave.) ... several hours before the water main rupture flooded parts of the nearby streets...

The deli seems to have escaped any serious damage — the shop was open this morning, festive balloons intact.

E7 sells sandwiches and salads and has your usual corner-deli fare. Perhaps a welcome addition given that two corner delis have closed on First Avenue this year — at 10th Street and 12th Street.

No. 118 First Ave. had been vacant since Golden Food Market closed here in the summer of 2017 after 35 years in business. Before their lease wasn't renewed, an LLC with a West 11th Street address bought the building in the spring of 2017 for $5.8 million, per public records.

Golden Food Market owner Ali Fardos now runs East Village Organic a few storefronts away.

A tapas-wine bar was in the works for No. 118 in April 2018, but those plans never materialized.

On 2nd Avenue, B&H Dairy wraps up a trying year, ponders its future

The hits kept on coming in 2020 for B&H Dairy, the 83-year-old lunch counter at 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. The vandalism. The break-ins. The mound of garbage. The wind-damaged canopy. (A crowdfunding campaign is helping them get through this rough patch.)

In a story published yesterday, Gothamist reporter Jake Offenhartz talked with co-owner Ola Abdelwahed, who admitted "that the last few months have left her closer to giving up than she ever thought possible."

The latest indignity came, she said, with the city and state's constantly changing guidelines for outdoor dining:

The final straw came a few days before Christmas, when city inspectors ordered B&H to dismantle their newly-erected sidewalk structure, due to its proximity to a curbside tree. (The bus lane on 2nd Avenue means B&H can't take advantage of on-street dining). 

By that point, they'd already relocated the outdoor area twice to meet the city’s demands, while investing thousands of dollars in new wiring that will, in theory, eventually allow them to connect an outdoor heater. "When the man stopped by and told me about the tree, I almost had a heart attack. No one ever mentioned the tree, all of a sudden they remember the tree," Ola told Gothamist on a recent morning. "I give this place so much heart and emotion to continue the tradition, and the city wants to destroy us."

 

Nowon will close temporarily starting New Year's Day

Citing potential health concerns for its staff and patrons, Nowon will close temporarily starting tomorrow, New Year's Day.

Chef Jae Lee's hit Korean restaurant opened late last year at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. They ended up having only four months in business before the PAUSE took effect in March.

Nowon re-opened for takeout and delivery in April ...  they also teamed up with Frontline Foods to provide meals for health-care workers.

Below is the Instagram post about the short-term closure. (And Nowon will be serving a New Year's Eve special featuring Korean dumplings and rice cake soup.)

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nowon 노원 (@nowon.nyc)

So long Milon

Updated 2/15: While the Milon sign remains in place for now, Panna II has opened for dinner service inside the space

--

As we wrap up the year, there's another restaurant closure to note. Milon, the Indian-Bangladeshi restaurant that first opened here on First Avenue at Sixth Street in 1982, has quietly gone out of business, according to multiple sources.

That might not come as a surprise to anyone who's walked by here in recent months. The gate has remained down since the PAUSE went into effect in March. In addition, there isn't any room for outdoor seating. 

Back in the summer, Royal Bangladesh on the lower level quickly grabbed up the curbside seating space, as you may have noticed in the middle of First Avenue after high winds. They've been serving from the back garden of late. (Their hours seem a little unpredictable.)

Upstairs neighbor Panna II eventually reopened for takeout and delivery and later indoor dining at 25 percent. They temporarily closed again when Cuomo's second indoor dining ban went into effect early December.

We had been waiting for confirmation from someone affiliated with Milon. (The phone has been disconnected.) The closest we got was an EVG regular who spoke with a worker spotted entering the locked-up space. 

Robert Sietsema at Eater provided history of Milon, Panna II and Royal — who've competed for costumers and the highest electric bill for decades at 93 First Avenue in this post from 2016.

As for Milon's decor:

It takes awhile for your disbelieving eyes to adjust, because the space is hung with thousands of tiny colored lights. Some are Christmas lights, but others are stars, hearts, and red-hot chiles. These descend from the ceiling, as do dozens of banners for seemingly every nation on earth, like a United Nations on acid.

While Milon and Panna II had been catering to the Instagram crowd in recent years, locals still find the restaurants a comfort on evenings away from the weekends. Some have feared that the indoor-dining ban could mark the end of the so-called Curry Row. 

[Updating] 1 week later, there's ANOTHER water main break on 1st Avenue and 7th Street

One week after workers repaired a broken water main on First Avenue at Seventh Street, another rupture has occurred tonight, flooding the street all over again...

Happening now! Another water main breaks at the same spot on East 7th Street and 2nd Av. @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/DQGoZidnx9

— Gili Getz 🔥 (@giligetz) December 31, 2020

It took workers two-plus days to clean up the broken pipe last week... which forced several businesses to temporarily close and residents to lose their water service.

Here's a clip via EVG reader Raquel Shapira ...

As you might expect, northbound traffic on First Avenue is being rerouted. The city had also just reopened Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue on Monday for the first time since the devastating fire on Dec. 5.

Updated 9:45 p.m.

Photos via a tweet by Jake Offenhartz at Gothamist shows the water rushing across Seventh Street to Avenue A...

Updated:

More footage from along Seventh Street near A, where the water continues to flow from the point of the break... flooding the outdoor dining spaces (again)...

for real this is wilddddd pic.twitter.com/i1cBV8rFfp

— Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) December 31, 2020

Residents have reported the city has shut off the water to the buildings in the immediate area... and several residents on Seventh Street were spotted leaving their apartments with suitcases...

Updated: 

As of 11 p.m. the water main had not been shut off for unknown reasons, and water continued to flow along Seventh Street toward Avenue A... Jackflashnyc shared these photos...

Top photo via @jeremoss

EVG Etc.: Appreciating Pinc Louds; Visiting Punjabi Grocery and Deli

Photo on First Avenue yesterday by Derek Berg

• How Pinc Louds helped fill this year's live music void (Gothamist ... read our interview with Claudi from the summer here) 

• A visit to Punjabi Grocery and Deli on First Street (NBC 4) 

• Mayor extends Open Storefronts program to restaurants and bars through September 2021 (Eater)

• Tracking the rise in violent crimes this year (The New York Times)

• Ticket info to stream the live Patti Smith birthday show tonight (Veeps)

• The Gem Spa online auction now extended through Jan. 7 (Official site) 

• A feature on Daniel Root, an East Village photographer specializing in capturing the city before first light (amNY ... read our interview with Root here) 

• At NYCHA buildings, outstanding repair requests disappear (The City) 

• Tips for wintertime bike riding in NYC (Gothamist) 

• Call to end New Year's Eve forever! (The New Yorker)