A Downtown State of Mind Saturday courtesy of the Tompkins Square Library branch

The Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B continues to offer free virtual programming... here are two events of possible interest this coming weekend (descriptions via the NYPL) ... 

• Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m.: A Downtown State of Mind celebrating the launch of LiVE MAG! #17  The CoViVid Issue. Zoom Afternoon of Art, Poetry and Inspired Palavar. Jeffrey Cyphers Wright has been publishing art and poetry for decades. His vision has a decidedly downtown slant and the new issue of Live Mag! is true to its East Village roots. 

(Related program: Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. — A Downtown State of Mind part II.)

Register here.

• Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.: Lower East Side Art + Activism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon. Help the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), Interference Archive, Tompkins Square Library and Wikimedia NYC expand Wikipedia's coverage of the Lower East Side at the Museum's second virtual Wikipedia edit-a-thon! 

In keeping with the MoRUS mission to preserve the history of grassroots activism and promote community-based urban ecologies, we will expand Wikipedia's coverage of the community gardens, community centers, grassroots movements, galleries, clubs, squats and homesteads that have contributed to our neighborhood's oversized cultural impact. No experience needed; we'll help you create a Wikipedia account and teach you how to edit content. The edit-a-thon runs from 2-4 p.m., but you can stay for as long (or as short) as you like.

Register here. 

Like other NYPL branches, the Tompkins Square Library is currently only open for grab-and-go service from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 

New York residents ages 13 and older can get a digital library card through the NYPL's online card application and gain access to an array of digital resources.

Catch a wave at this incoming Asian restaurant on 6th Street

Signage went up last evening for a new restaurant coming soon to 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... here's Asian Wave...

While we don't not anything about the new venture (the sign mentions pho) ... we can say what this replaced: Lovenburg, an outpost of a restaurant based in Turkey serving burgers and a variety of Mediterranean cuisine. 

They opened in February 2020 and had about six weeks in business before the PAUSE went into effect, and the Lovenburg feeling was lost.

The first opossum sighting of 2021 in Tompkins Square Park

We got a really good look at the (an?) opossum today in Tompkins Square Park... Steven took these photos... the last sighting in November 2020 came late in the afternoon, and the opossum was hiding in some holly bushes. Not today though...

There were multiple opossum sightings in late 2017. Remember Opie aka Nicodemus Punch Sugarpop?

Previously on EV Grieve:
• The opossum has pretty much made Tompkins Square Park her/his home now

• The opossum of Tompkins Square Park — now on video

• Opossum where art thou?

• Opossum drama in Tompkins Square Park

A much-needed beach day for Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

A dispatch from the Rockaways:

Like many of us perhaps, Miss Kita the Wonder Dog seems to be hitting a wall in terms of social distancing and pandemicness generally. She particularly misses our rich neighborhood nightlife. When we woke up this morning Miss Kita declared Tompkins Square Park insufficient for her needs and demanded a beach day. It's still a bit windy out here and she says it's not yet prime seagull chasing season but a quick trip out of town to catch some fresh sea air was just what the doctor ordered.

Gallery Watch: 'Last Supper' at LatchKey Gallery

Text and photos by Clare Gemima 

Last Supper at LatchKey Gallery 

Group Show, 323 Canal St. 

Canal Street for a new-ish comer is so hustle and bustle that it is often easy to miss the hidden gems amongst the light stores, plastic museums and fake Louis Vuitton’s lining the sidewalk. 

LatchKey Gallery offers a refreshing respite to this, an incredibly large and open space with a dedicated ethos toward advocating overlooked artists. In this week’s Gallery Watch, I am excited to provide insight into this nomadic contemporary art space that is challenging the status-quo on several different levels. 

The powerhouses behind LatchKey Gallery are Natalie Kates and Amanda Uribe. I was lucky enough to meet Natalie at Silo6776 in New Hope at Scooter LaForge’s exhibition Beef Jerky late last year. I could tell Natalie was an enthusiastic and passionate art lover, but it wasn’t until I had come to learn about her Artist Residency Program that she spearheaded with her husband Fabrizio Ferri that I really got the gist of her dedication to emerging artists. 

Scooter kindly passed on a Zoom invite to Natalie in conversation with Dana Robinson, (a previous artist in residence), which is how I came to learn of LatchKey’s current exhibition Last Supper. 

The show, curated by Tamecca Seril showcases the works of 12 Black female artists, referencing the significant event of the show’s title where Jesus and his apostles gather and consecrate around a banquet feast.

The classic, white-washed representation is (and forever will be) a staple in art history, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be challenged. Last Supper at LatchKey Gallery builds a new table that lifts and honors voices that art history seems to leave out of its canon — those that belong to Black women. 

Last Supper celebrates fellowship and organized radical thinking amongst the curated group of artists. The show positions their work within a contemporary context, in turn creating a discourse around what it means to be Black, female and creative while inevitably disrupting the art world’s tiresome and often gross institutionalized normality. 

Last Supper showcases the works of Shervone Neckles, Ify Chiejina, Turiya Magadlela, LaToya Hobbs, Kimberly Becoat, Nkechi Ebubedike, Josie Love Roebuck, Jennifer Mack Watkins, Dana Robinson, Dominique Duroseau, Ariel Danielle and Ashante Kindle.

The pieces by Shervone Neckles are photographic and hanging from the ceiling, offering something I have never seen before in a gallery space. History, time and torture are suspended in her golden-framed objects and these works were definitely what excited me the most. 

Other works that stood out for me: Jennifer Mack-Watkins’ majestic and sweet prints, Turiya Magadlela’s stunning sewn fabric work at the entrance of the space and Dana Robinson’s charming dappled painted transfers on panel.

As I was watching videos, admiring large-scale paintings and pestering the extremely hospitable and lovely Amanda, I noticed a large back-space to the gallery. Unbeknown to me, this was the studio hosting Kates-Ferri Project artist residency. 

The divide from gallery to artist studio space was raw and generous for the average gallery-goer. Once stepping inside the residency quarters, I was enthralled by another young maker’s world. February’s artist in residence was the beautifully spoken and gifted Eric Manuel Santoscoy-Mckillip, who has filled the space with painted sculptures, freshly designed rugs and a working studio that I was delighted to receive an invitation to tour. 

Born in El Paso, Texas, Eric plays with ideas of overlapping and blurring — subjects that seek to reflect the in-between space of the U.S. and Mexico border. His work is rich in color, crazy with texture and so bold and confident to the point of intimidating. 

At first glance, it looked as though the work was made with 100 percent pure pigment, but thanks to the nature of the studio space, I learned he was using flashe. The artist has built a lexicon around their work that is felt, heard and seen. Eric pays homage to a complex history and identity in the way he uses, as an example, stucco as both a protectant layer and texture creator. 

He has an invested interest in design, derivative colorways and has an explorative and deeply personal practice that pays respect to its roots. He moves between painting and sculpture and has been producing experimental work during his time in the residency. To see more of his work, you can visit his website here.

Last Supper will be showing at LatchKey’s Canal Street and Industry City locations until March 20. To book an appointment, please visit their website. A special thanks to Eric and Amanda for having me.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ 

Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com 

Checking in on Meat + Bread on Allen Street

Meat + Bread debuted at 201 Allen St. just south of Houston back in January. 

The quick-serve establishment serving a variety of burgers, sandwiches and snacks is owned and operated by brothers Azi (below left) and Yamoni Bari and Yamoni's wife, Khadija Bari.

This is their first restaurant, though they know the way around a kitchen: Azi and Yamoni's father owned an Indian restaurant back in the 1990s on the Upper East Side. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the other day to see how they are doing.  

"We definitely knew it would be a challenge opening during the pandemic, but we also saw opportunity and potential," Azi said. "So far we have seen an incline from week to week in sales, repeat customers and also excellent feedback from the community. We do our best in minimizing wastage and reusing our inventory. Things can only get better."  

This is also a homecoming for the brothers, who were born, raised and educated on the Lower East Side. These days they are residing in Queens.

"The best part of it all is coming back and opening a business in the neighborhood we grew up in," Azi said.  "It's great when friends and family stop in — those who still live in the area. Overall, it has been a good experience so far and hopefully a better one going forward."   

Meat + Bread is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. Phone: (607) 228-3441. You can find their menu here. And on Instagram here. 

This is the new tenant for the NW corner of 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

If you guessed bubble tea, then you win! 

Yesterday, we noted that the long-vacant storefront — most recently Nobletree Coffee — on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place received the plywood treatment. 

A deeper dive in public records (thanks Upper West Sider!) reveals that the leasee is the Taiwan-based Xing Fu Tang, a bubble tea chain that specializes in brown sugar boba.

The bubble tea is rather plentiful already along this corridor. And last month, we reported that Gong Cha, which describes itself as "one of the most recognized bubble tea brands around the world," is opening an outpost at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Photo yesterday by Steven

Leasing underway at Stella LES on Avenue C and Houston (and 2nd Street)

Leasing is now underway at Stella LES, the new 10-floor, 45-unit residential building that has been going up these past four years on the northwest corner of Avenue C and Houston. (The official address is 251 E. Second St.)

Streeteasy currently lists seven units, ranging in price from $4,480 for a one-bedroom unit (587 square feet) to $8,160 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home (1,159 square feet).

And a description of the building:

Set within a unique triangular plot, Stella's architectural footprint offers studio-to-two bedroom residences with sunlit spaces and multiple exposures. Public areas are equipped with ultraviolet LED in-duct air purification systems proactively treating the air and reducing airborne and surface contaminants. With amenities such as a fitness center, roof deck and resident’s lounge, discover unmatched conveniences in a haven for Lower East Side living.

And Stella LES pays tribute to famed acting teacher Stella Adler, per the marketing materials:

Inspired by outspoken theater pioneer and Lower East Side native Stella Adler, Stella LES is a boutique 45 unit development that reflects her wildly independent spirit, her iconic status, and her fierce commitment to furthering her craft.

As previously noted, Stella LES joins the other newer residential buildings nearby bearing a single name — The Adele and The Robyn. 

Foundation work began in December 2016 here on this lot that housed the neighborhood's last gas station. Architect of record Rotwein+Blake previously stated that "the narrow triangular site presented numerous challenges from its odd shape to zoning constraints."

You can find the official Stella LES website here. The leasing gallery is on the property.

The building also boasts retail space on the ground floor.

Report: The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill will be reopening soon on University Place

The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill has been closed now for nearly a year — officially March 15, 2020 — over on the corner on Ninth Street and University Place. 

And there was some understandable concern that the timeless NYC steakhouse, which opened in 1977, might not be returning. (And it didn't help that there wasn't any messaging coming from the restaurant about the pandemic-related closure.)

However, Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite have reported some very good news at New York this week via managing partner Ron D’Allegro: "Not only will the restaurant be reopening within weeks, he says, but 'I'm just about to re-sign a new lease for another 12 years.' The only thing holding him up, D'Allegro says, is permits and inspections."

Turns out that they needed a new exhaust system in the restaurant, a project that took place during part of the state-mandated shutdown.

During the pandemic, the Knickerbocker received a PPP loan and raised nearly $70,000 via a GoFundMe, whose contributors include nearby neighbor F. Murray Abraham. They were also reportedly able to renegotiate a lease with the building's condo board. landlord. (See the comments for more on this!)

In the weeks ahead expect to see some of the familiar staff, who had been furloughed, including the longtime executive chef. However, no live jazz for the time being... but they will have sidewalk seating for the very first time.

Police make arrest in fatal punch on 1st Avenue and 11th Street

Police have arrested a 19-year-old Lower East Side resident for delivering a fatal punch during an afternoon argument on Feb. 10 on First Avenue and 11th Street.

Thanks to the publics assistance and the great work of our @NYPDDetectives this individual has been apprehended. https://t.co/y456qe46Q1

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) March 2, 2021

According to published reports (amNY, the Post), Anthony Fabriani, 60, was arguing with Anthony Larocca, 19, when the teen punched him in the left eye, knocking him to the ground. 

Fabriani, who lived in Sheepshead Bay, slammed his head on the sidewalk when he fell. He was transported to Bellevue for a fractured skull, a fractured orbital bone and swelling of the brain. He died of his injuries on Feb. 23. 

Detectives, who according to amNY classified the death as a homicide, arrested Larocca on Monday. It is not believed the two men knew each other. So far there's no motive for the altercation, per the reports.

Meanwhile, on the 6 train

Dave on 7th spotted this scene today on the 6 train... and the MTA is not a big fan of self-propelled or motor-propelled vehicles on trains...

East River community group gets action on release of (heavily redacted) value engineering study

Turns out there is a value engineering study after all. 

In January (first reported here), following a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request by advocacy group East River Park Action, NYC's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) stated that the city's value engineering report could not be sent because: "DDC's search of agency records revealed no responsive documents for [the FOIL] request."

The value engineering study is the oft-cited factor behind the city's change of plans in September 2018 to bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project.

According to an email from East River Park Action on Sunday, the group appealed their original FOIL request, and on Feb. 11, the DDC released the three-year-old report. 

However, per East River Action: "the report is heavily redacted. Here's a good page. Note that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages..."

Back to the East River Park Action email:

We need to see an un-redacted report. We also strongly support the NYC Group of the Sierra Club, which "calls upon the City Council's Committees on Environmental Protection and the Council's Parks and Recreation Committee to hold a joint oversight hearing on the East River Coastal Resiliency Project or ESCR" to get to the bottom of the “secrecy, inadequacy, and sequence of events and information releases [that] have left many perplexed and disturbed.”

The 347-page Value Engineering Study for the Office of Management and Budget is available here. The 31-page Report of Findings is available here.

The city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, will raze the 57.5-acre East River Park, bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise. 

In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reports, the city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be complete in 2025. 

The start of construction, which had been slated to commence this past fall, was delayed until this spring, according to a recent presentation the city made.

But after seeing the redacted report, East River Park has many outstanding questions for the city to answer.

Our many ACTIONeers have pored over the plans and have found fatal flaws that will damage our neighborhood's well being for years to come. We must have transparency, accountability, and community involvement in a revised plan.

What might be next for the NW corner of 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place?

3/3 update: See this update for the new tenant!

The plywooding of the vacant retail space on the northwest corner of St Mark's Place and Second Avenue continued yesterday. (Thanks Steven for the photo! H/T @unitof!) 

No word yet what might be in the works for the spot. (The workers were just there for the plywood; the work permits just mention interior renovations.) Tips welcome!

The for rent sign arrived here in August 2019 ... marking the first time in six years that this high-profile retail space was on the market. 

Nobletree Coffee closed here in May 2019 after just five months in business. A sign on the door for Nobletree's "beloved customers" offered thanks ... along with a reason for the closure: "Because of the slow foot traffic at this location we were forced to close." 

The listing at Winick noted that this is the "busiest intersection in the East Village." 

This storefront previously sat empty for three years — ever since DF Mavens closed in January 2016 ... after a Dec. 26, 2014 debut. (It took the Mavenators 14 months to open the space.)

Other tenants in recent years include Eastside Bakery (.net?) and Roastown Coffee.

And the only business to last here in the past 30 years: the Gap, from 1988 to 2001... (photo by Barry Joseph!)

347 E. 4th St. sells; conversion to residential use is in the works

347 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D recently changed hands for a reported $2.385 million.

The three-story building had been used as a facility for Community Access, which provides housing and social services for people with mental health concerns. 

The buyer, listed as Zannatul Ferdous, plans to convert No. 347 into a residence with three units, per work permits on file with the city.

According to LoopNet, the listing for the property first arrived in November 2017... and deactivated as of last week. 

Meanwhile next door, no word on the fate of the San Isidoro y San Leandro Western Orthodox Church of Hispanic Mozarabic Rite at No. 345. That unique property remains for sale. Check out our previous post on this address for more background.

Construction watch: 799 Broadway

Been meaning to post an update on 799 Broadway... where, at the southwest corner at 11th Street, this 12-story zig-zagging office complex has its glassy façade in place ... (these photos are from a few weeks ago, but it essentially looks the same...)

According to a news release about the address: "799 Broadway will feature floor-to-ceiling glass, private terraces, and 15 foot high ceilings. This combination of highly desirable location and state-of-the-art design will appeal to New York’s most progressive and creative companies."

No. 799 was the former home of the historic St. Denis building, which opened as a hotel in 1853. Normandy Real Estate Partners bought the property for somewhere in the $100 million ballpark back in 2016... and tore it all down.

Free TV pitch (Martha Hanson edition)

There's a TV up for grabs along Ninth Street west of First Avenue... and the person who left it behind offered up some details on the TV...

This TV works!!! 

Although it's not smart...... 

I did watch "The Americans" on it. (On FX.) 

Felt bad for Martha, but she's on "Snowpiercer" now! 

GFJ Martha!

Thanks Jason Corey for the photo!

It's March!

Which means this stuff has been up at the Kmart on Astor Place since Halloween! (JK! Have no idea when this arrived...)

Thanks to Edmund John Dunn for the pics.

787 Coffee opens an outpost on 14th Street

787 Coffee has opened another location in the East Village — 319 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... in the space previously leased by Champion Coffee, who never reopened here after the PAUSE went into effect last March. (And the Champion signage remains up for the moment.) 

Friday was there first day in business here. (Thanks to Pinch for the tip and photos!) 

This is the third East Village outpost for 787, which grows and roasts their coffee in Puerto Rico... overall, 787 has eight NYC stores and one in Puerto Rico...

787 Coffee debuted in October 2018 at 131 E. Seventh St. near Avenue A... and at 101 Second Ave. at Sixth Street in July 2019.

Mike's Cleaners is closing on Avenue A

Mike's Cleaners is closing up shop on Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (Thank you to Stacie Joy for the photos.)

The note on the gate blames the closure on the "current situation." 

Across the country dry cleaners have been hard hit during the pandemic...  as more people are working from home and not wearing business attire, and fewer people are going to events where they need to dress up. So no need to take things in to a dry cleaners.

According to the National Cleaners Association, one in six dry cleaners have closed or gone bankrupt in the United States during the pandemic.

The numbers seem higher here. By my count, 10 dry cleaners have closed in the East Village since the start of the pandemic... Dion Cleaners on 14th Street, Amy's aka C & C on Seventh Street, LT Baron's on 11th Street, Sun's Laundry on 14th Street, Best Ave. B Dry Cleaners on Avenue B,  AAA Cleaners on Avenue A, Exquisite Cleaners on First Avenue, Sunrise Cleaners on Third Street and Danny Cleaner's on 10th Street (they merged with Lois Cleaners on the southeast corner of 10th Street and Third Avenue).

Back on Thursday, local community groups gathered outside outside Michelle Dry Cleaners & Laundry on Avenue C to call on state legislators to support commercial rent relief for small businesses. 

A new pizzeria for the former Muzzarella Pizza space on Avenue A

A new pizzeria is coming soon to 221 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street. Signage arrived on Friday for Burrata Pizza 

With Burrata's arrival, this officially marks the end of Muzzarella Pizza, which quietly closed early last summer.

Muzzarella, which opened here in 1991, had many fans who appreciated their low-key, unpretentious vibe and solid slices and menu offerings like the meatball hero.