Volunteers at East Village Loves NYC prepare meal for Ramadan; celebrate 1st anniversary

East Village Loves NYC — the local volunteer group that formed last spring to feed people in need during the pandemic — is continuing to make meals and celebrating the multiple religious holidays of New Yorkers

For Ramadan, the volunteers collaborated on an interfaith dinner. Per the group's website: "In Islam, there is a concept called Iftar. It occurs during Ramadan, and it's a time where Muslims all over the world serve free food so that people from all walks of life can eat together."

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the Sixth Street Community Center between Avenue B and Avenue C the other day as the volunteers prepped the meals that went to five mosques in the Bronx and one on Long Island...

East Village Loves NYC — which has attracted some 400 volunteers — recently celebrated its first anniversary.... and in that time, has cooked more than 100,000 meals for New Yorkers during the pandemic ... not to mention donated 325,000-plus pounds of groceries and 7,000-plus pantry bags.

As they noted on Instagram:

What started with our team of five or six friends doing a cooking session to help their neighborhood, turned into a massive family of hundreds of volunteers gathering every week to deliver thousands of meals to New York City.

Early on, Ali Sahin, the owner of C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B, donated his space on Mondays for the group to cook its meals. By last June, they had outgrown the space and started assembling deliveries at the Sixth Street Community Center. By the end of the summer, East Village Loves Queens expanded operations and announced its new name — East Village Loves NYC. 

Find out more about the group and how to donate at this link. Follow them on Instagram here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• These East Village residents are helping feed families in Queens during the COVID-19 crisis

• East Village volunteers expand their outreach to feed more neighbors in need

• East Village Loves Queens expands: Meet East Village Loves NYC

Watching 21-23 Avenue B merge and grow

We've been keeping an eye on the gut renovation and vertical expansion at 21-23 Avenue B in recent months.

As we first reported back in October, workers are adding two new floors and combining the existing two four-story structures here between Second Street and Third Street ...

New York Yimby had some new details about the project the other day... such as!

The new building will now stand six stories above ground, each with a cellar level and a communal roof terrace. The neighboring properties will each house seven apartments and comprise 9,800 square feet.

And...

All combined, available apartments will include six five-bedroom homes and eight two-bedroom units, with select units offering private outdoor space. All residents will have access to a large open-air roof terrace and cellar-level bike storage. In addition to a residential lobby, two 800-square-foot commercial suites will occupy the ground floor of each building...

Icon Realty's Terrence Lowenberg is behind this project set to be complete later in 2022. 

Here's a look at the finished project via Gambino + LaPorta Architecture...

Intellectual property: Thirsty Scholar giving way to the Long Pour

Renovations continue at the former Thirsty Scholar, 155 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street... the Thirsty Scholar signage has been removed. (Thank you to Melissa McIntyre for this photo from yesterday morning!)

As previously reported, new owners, David Harris and Cris Nastasi, will be opening a like-minded bar here called the Long Pour. Harris served as manager of Bull McCabe's on St. Mark's Place and previously worked as a bartender at now-closed block-mates the Telephone Bar & Grill and Ryan's Irish Pub. Nastasi was born and raised in the neighborhood and spent 15 years as the technical director of "Stomp" at the Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue.

And Pete the bartender from the Thirsty Scholar will be working at the Long Pour as well.

H/T Steven  

Openings: Rosemary's East, an Italian restaurant at 350 1st Ave.

And just a little outside the usual coverage zone for this one... Rosemary's East debuts today at 350 First Ave. at 20th Street. (News of this arrival dates to the fall of 2019.) 

The @Stuytown Instagram account had this quickie overview: "The Italian restaurant, whose menu is heavy on pasta and pizza, has an extensive wine bar, sidewalk cafe, and an airy, indoor dining room with skylights." 

Rosemary's East is a sibling to Rosemary's on Greenwich Avenue and part of the Casa Nela hospitality company. 

According to the Post, Stuy Town-Peter Cooper landlord the Blackstone Group has revenue "participation" in the new restaurant. "Blackstone paid for what the partners called a 'significant' portion of the buildout for the 6,800 square-foot space," the Post reported. 

Will update with menus and hours once that info is available.

Petite Abeille and Vamos! previously occupied this space. 

Image via @Stuytown

ICYMI: City Council voted to make Open Streets permanent

On Thursday, City Council voted (39-8) to make the Open Streets program permanent — even after the pandemic. 

The bill has moved on for approval by Mayor de Blasio, who has already signaled support of the program. 

According to various media accounts, Open Streets will be overseen by the Department of Transportation or local community organizations that can apply to manage the programs in their neighborhoods. 

In addition, roadways included in Open Streets will be up for annual review, at which point the DOT can recommend permanent design changes to streets, such as the construction of pedestrian plazas. 

Per Gothamist:

Currently, there are around 235 Open Streets locations comprising around 70 miles (there are roughly 6,000 miles of roadway in New York City). Only about 50 of those locations are managed by a local partner, like a community nonprofit or a restaurant; the rest are technically managed by the NYPD and the DOT, and are essentially neglected.

In the East Village, Avenue B between Sixth Street and 14th Street is hosted by the Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition, which continues to add programming. (For instance, they teamed up with the 14th Street Y for a series of fitness classes between 13th Street and 14th Street on Sundays and Wednesdays in May.)

Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera introduced the legislation, Int. 1933-A. She discusses the next steps in this Streetsblog op-ed from Saturday:

With this legislation passed, I'm excited for the future of open streets. That doesn't mean there aren't still challenges ahead. City agencies must now take greater ownership in these efforts and swiftly respond to people who have committed vandalism and physically and verbally threatened open streets volunteers. We need Mayor de Blasio to expand on the $4 million he committed in this year's budget to open streets operations and to start sending out his new City Cleanup Corps workers into communities to help keep open streets barriers set up and our streets free of trash.

You can read more about Open Streets at NY1 ... Gothamist ... and Streetsblog.

Photo from Saturday by Stacie Joy

Cure Thrift Shop will have a new high-profile corner space

The for-rent signs have come down from the storefront on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 12th Street... 

... and a pleasant surprise about the new tenant: Cure Thrift Shop... 

For now, Cure, the eclectic nonprofit that benefits juvenile diabetes research and advocacy, will continue on from its current location at 111 E. 12th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

No word on an opening date...but it's good news that the shop will have such a large, high-profile spot in the future.

As previously reported, Basics Plus was set to close in this storefront in the spring of 2019. However, the housewares shop that opened here in August 2014 ended up consolidating the space, and making do with a smaller footprint in the building.

The Cure's new home — officially 91 Third Ave. — first hit the market last summer.

Surprise! Surprise! was the previous housewares tenant, closing in April 2014 after 25 years in business.

Empty 1st Avenue lot enters the surveillance era

A few weeks ago, in a post with a "rats galore" headline," a reader pointed out that the long-empty lot at 89 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street had become a dumping ground for discarded boxes and other unwieldy items. 

Among the questions the reader had: suggestions or tips for getting the lot better secured from dumping and trespassing.

Last week, someone removed the mushy stacks of boxes, whacked some weeds and posted "private property" signs... 

.... as well as a "you are being watched!!!!!" warning...

We'll see if this keeps the Utz-Chips-box-tossing scofflaws at bay.

To recap: There are development plans here ... in May 2020,  another set of new building permits were filed with the city for the lot.  According to the DOB, the proposed building is six floors with eight residential units and ground-floor retail. In total, the structure is 8,183 square feet. The project is still awaiting approval.

This is the second time in recent years that plans have been filed for a new building for the address. In 2017, the city never approved plans for a similar-sized structure — eight units, six floors.

As previously reported, Florence Toledano was the owner of this lot. In 2013, public records show that the deed for the property was transferred from the Florence Toledano Living Trust to 89 First Avenue LLC. The DOB permit lists Daniel Toledano as the manager of the property. (And people always ask: Any relation to former boy wonder tenant hassler, Raphael Toledano? Don't know. Going with No.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Will this long-empty lot on 1st Avenue yield affordable housing?

• Drilling and soil testing commence at the long-empty lot at 89 1st Ave.

• Workers remove the sculpture fence and prep lot at 89 1st Ave.

In run-up to reopening, Short Stories is renting its bar by the hour for private drinking sessions

Short Stories, the cafe/bar at 355 Bowery, is prepping to reopen here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Starting today, when people can legally sit at a bar again, they're holding a "friends and family" preview. 

And what does this entail?

We’re letting you buy the whole bar for just you (or you and a friend) one hour at a time. Four hundred plus days ago NYC ended bar service. No one has legally ordered a drink from a bartender in all that time. For $60 you get the whole place to yourself, plus two cocktails, to do just that. We’re running this each Monday until we reopen. This is for the most committed of drinkers.

And...

100% of the sales (plus whatever you nice people tip) will go to our wonderful bartending staff. They deserve it.

You can find the reservation info here... and it includes a bartender mode 1.) Flirt 2.) Rude 3.) Jovial 4.) Flair. 

Short Stories first opened in February 2019.

During the winter-spring hiatus here, there was some speculation that Short Stories was not going to reopen... fueled by cryptic messages in the curbside dining structure... 

... "WTF happened to Short Stories" ...

... and "Bowery Kills" ...

Unhappy returns: A one-week respite from a sidewalk bridge

From April 21-23, workers removed the sidewalk bridge from around the northwest corner of Ninth Street and Second Avenue ... after being in place for nearly three years for façade repairs.  

Well, as you can see in the top photo, the sidewalk bridge returned to 145 Second Ave. late last week, as Steven noted.

We heard two reasons for this:

a) the bridge came down before inspections took place

b) the repair work wasn't done to spec

No idea how long it will remain up this time.

But it was nice to see the Whiskers Holistic Petcare storefront while we could for the week.

[Updated] The Original Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches has moved on Avenue A

Updated 5/7: Nicky's has moved across to 216 Avenue A. Unfortunately, there wasn't any notice of a move on the old storefront.

The Original Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches outpost on Avenue A at 13th Street is now out of business... as you can see, workers have cleared out the quick-serve restaurant...

This departure isn't a surprise, as a homemade for-rent sign popped up on the front window months ago.

Nicky's, related to the one that had been on Second Street several years earlier, opened on Avenue A in March 2019.

Sunday's parting shot

Today on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place... photo by Derek Berg...

May Day (and Night) in the East Village

There was a lot going on in the neighborhood yesterday, May 1. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy captured some of the goings-on... including (in no particular order) the LUNGS Spring Awakening, Beltane, a May Pole, outside Lucky on Avenue B, the opening day of Spring Into Pride at 3rd & B’Zaar, an anarchist council event in Tompkins Square Park, a flea market in the Park to raise money for the Audre Lorde Project,  and, in the evening, the first Temptation INXS — 80s Dance Party Saturdays via DJ TM.8 in its new home at Drom. 

Here then, photos from May 1...

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week included (with a sunset photo from Tompkins Square Park)...

• A visit to [plant-baked] (Thursday) 

• Art gallery in the works for this Avenue A space (Thursday) 

• Addressing the problem corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Saturday) 

• Fallout from the HC matinees in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday ... Wednesday) 

• Lois will yield to Accidental Bar on Avenue C (Monday) 

• The Gallery Watch Q&A: Superchief Gallery NFT (Friday) 

 • First sighting of Amelia and Christo's 2021 red-hawk offspring (Friday)

• 3rd & B’Zaar will 'Spring Into Pride' throughout May on 3rd Street (Friday) 

• Brought to life: Electric Burrito signage arrives on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Openings: Etérea debuts on 5th Street (Thursday)

• The Cock plans a move to the former Fat Baby space on Rivington Street (Thursday) 

• Full reveal at the 101 Condominium's 1st Avenue side (Monday) 

• Glass acts: Zero Irving gets its rooftop Sky Lounge (Monday)

• El Carnaval coming soon to the former Fonda space on Avenue B (Wednesday)

---

Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Behind the first book featuring the work of artist Steve Keene

Steve Keene, the prolific Greenpoint-based painter whose work on album covers for Pavement and the Silver Jews is likely well-known to indie-rock enthusiasts, is the subject of a new coffee-table book now in the Kickstarter phase.

East Village resident Daniel Efram,  a longtime Keene collaborator, is producing the art book.

"In my nearly three decades of working on various projects with Steve Keene, my home and many of my favorite SK moments came at 1990s indie rock shows at Brownies or the Lakeside Lounge in the East Village," Efram said in an email. 

Eric Ambel, the former owner of the Lakeside Lounge (RIP April 2012) on Avenue B, recalled how Keene helped give the bar-music venue its identity.

"I was in the process of opening ... with partner Jim Marshall (aka WFMU DJ The Hound). We had a name, the Lakeside Lounge, but we didn't have a concept for the decor," Ambel said. "I suggested we get Steve Keene to do a bunch of paintings for us that had a sort of 'lodge/lake vibe' to them. Steve was way into the idea, and after checking out the colors we had used in the bar, he created an amazing set of images for us. During our 16 years in business at the Lakeside, he would make three completely new sets of art for the bar."

According to Efram, "The Steve Keene Art Book: Live from Subliminal Projects LA, CA" is the first art book attempting to tell the story of Keene's career by showcasing the complete work from his 2016 show at Shepard Fairey's Subliminal Projects gallery. 

You can find more info on the Kickstarter page.

Photo by Daniel Efram

Sunday's opening shot

Uptown view from Second Avenue and Third Street this morning...

Saturday's parting shot

A moment from the LUNGS parade today on Avenue B in celebration of the neighborhood's community gardens... photo by Derek Berg...

Addressing the problem corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue

The long-problematic corridor along 14th Street and First Avenue is getting some attention. 

First, a reader report just from yesterday:

As you are also aware the intersection of 14th Street and First Avenue has long been plagued by homeless individuals, unsanitary conditions, drug use, alcohol use and, at times, violence. Over the past year these issues have moved over to directly in front of my building to where there is now an encampment. 

Several residents from my building have been in contact with Carlina Rivera's office, 311 and the police (the 13th Precinct, as this is on the north side on 14th Street) but unfortunately the situation has not only NOT been resolved but has also exacerbated. 

Residents and staff from my building who have attempted to address those camped out front have been threatened, so understandably people are hesitant to confront.

The encampment (pictured above, via a reader) is in front of the retail post office at 335 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

However, the calls and concerns from the residents have apparently been heard: Today (May 1), we're told that representatives from the 9th Precinct, several city agencies and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office will be on the southeast corner from 4-6 p.m. for a community outreach event.

Back in the New York groove

Wheatpaste by SacSix... spotted on East Houston near Allen by Robert Miner...

Welcome to May

As seen on First Avenue and Second Street...

Saturday's opening shot

Peak wisteria on Stuyvesant Street ... (at 10th Street just west of Second Avenue) ...