Starting on Monday, all indoor venues, including Webster Hall, will require proof of vaccination for entry.
Top photo by Steven, second pic by Doug
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Wednesday's parting shots
Police searching for suspect who fired a shot outside the Ace Bar on 5th Street
According to police and media accounts, the shooter approached a man on Fifth Street just west of Avenue B. Surveillance video that the NYPD released shows the victim running into the bar at 531 E. Fifth St. for apparent cover at 11:11 p.m.
The gunman, standing on Fifth Street, then fires one shot, hitting a lower section of the entryway. The gunman, wearing a hooded gray sweatshirt, sweatpants and a surgical mask, looks both ways before leaving the scene.
Police released video of the shooting outside @AceBarNY in the #EastVillage. Looks like a gunman was running down 5th Street on Monday, shooting at the victim who ran into the bar for cover and a bullet went through the window. The victim didn't file a report. cc @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/nznScFDjpB
— Myles N. Miller (@MylesMill) August 11, 2021
NYPD sources told the Post that the victim "may have been misidentified as another person who had already run off."
Per amNY, the victim was not injured and quickly left without speaking to the police. Neither man had been a customer of the bar, sources said.
An EVG reader shared a photo of the bullet hole left behind from Monday night...
Adam from LLN NYC captured this footage of the NYPD investigating after the report of the shot fired... as the video shows, police blocked off Fifth Street at Avenue B as detectives canvassed the area around the bar...
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.
Thanks to Humans of New York, Mary O's will be making scones for the foreseeable future
Last week, Humans of New York featured Mary O'Halloran, the proprietor of Mary O's, the 11-year-old Irish pub at 32 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. There's an incredible ending to this story, so allow me to bury the lead.
First, here's her story (Facebook here) courtesy of Brandon Stanton about the bar closing at the start of the pandemic in March 2020:
We got shut down two days before St. Patrick's Day. Always the biggest day for an Irish bar. My husband is a longshoreman, so he was trapped in the Aleutian Islands for nine months — no flights out. It was just me and six kids that needed homeschooling. I pulled all the furniture out of the bar, and made a section for each of them: pillow, blankets, everything they needed.
Then I had to figure out how to survive. Other bar owners were just throwing up their hands, but I had to try something. I began catering dinners for emergency workers at a nearby hotel. It wasn't much money, but it was something to do. Each night I'd cook dinner for thirty people. The kids would help when they could: peeling potatoes, washing dishes. But I'd be so exhausted every day. Everyone had so much faith in me to survive. Maybe because I keep the tough side out — everyone assumed I was OK. Nobody knew I was full of worries. But it was so freakin' hard. To keep the kids happy.Month after month I'm falling further behind on the rent. It felt like the walls were closing in. But my regulars kept showing up. They ran errands for me. Sometimes they'd take the kids on walks to give me a break. There was a group of Irish musicians who would play here every Thursday night. They helped me set up an online store so that I could sell scones to the music people. Soda bread scones with homemade blackberry jam. My mother’s recipe from back in Ireland. Really, it's the simplest thing — but all six of us kids used to line up for them. In January a reporter named Roger Clark from NY1 came to do a story on the bar — about how I've been running it all alone, with my kids.And that angel, he had the anchors taste a scone live on TV. It created big scone hype for a few months. It wasn’t a ton of money. I was only making $1,800 for 100 boxes of scones. It wasn't paying rent or anything. But it was something to do, you know? I finally found something that was working. People were writing notes, saying: 'I gave these to my grandmother, and she loved them.' It was the little bit of light that I needed. It pulled me forward. I didn't feel alone anymore. It was like: 'Oh My God, there's something out there.'"
Stanton followed up with a special promotion last Thursday night during her usual Irish music night — the limited edition Mary O's "HONY" Irish soda bread scones for $30. Stanton shared the link to his more than 20 million social media followers worldwide.
By the end of the night, according to an Instagram post from Stanton, they took in more than $1 million in orders for scones. He took her to a quiet table to give her an update.
She allowed herself a brief, joyful cry. Then she asked: 'I can do this, right?' I told her: 'Of course.' Because every one of those orders came from people who want the best for her. And I felt confident that we'd all be patient while she figured out a new process for making scones. Mary has a great team around her. She refers to them as ‘The Regulars’ as if they’re a squad of superheroes, but they’re actually longtime customers who transform into volunteers at a moment’s notice.... With this support group, and her own business experience, Mary has all she needs to deliver 25,000 boxes of delicious, blackberry-jam-smothered, blessing-infused scones. It's just going to take some planning. And some time. Our goal was always to help with Mary's burdens, not add to them. She will deliver the scones as fast as she can. And things may fall into place rather quickly.
Empty 5th Street lot seeks $2.75 million
According to the listing, the .04 acres is available "to develop a unique residential property in the heart of one of Manhattan's most dynamic live-work-play neighborhoods."
And per the listing: "The subject property's R7B zoning provides for a 3.00 residential FAR, allowing a total of 5,577 buildable square feet, as-of-right, for a one-of-a-kind 1-2 family townhouse or condominium project."
This lot has been vacant for years. The four-floor building adjacent to this lot was demolished in 2008 (see below!) to make way for the five-story luxury rental that stands here today.
Craft beer specialists Top Hops on tap for Zero Irving food hall
And now we know at least one of the incoming vendors. The owners of Top Hops Beer Shop were expected to be on this month's CB3-SLA docket (Aug. 16) to operate a bar-restaurant inside the 21-story building at 124 E. 14th St. at Irving Place.
According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, this location will feature 18 tables to accommodate 97 guests and an 18-seat bar. Top Hops is also applying for a backyard garden space here.
The food items on the sample menu include various sandwiches, burgers and dinner platters (bratwurst!).
Top Hops currently operates outposts in Essex Market and Urbanspace at 570 Lex. Their flagship shop/bar at 94 Orchard St. closed in March after nine years on the block below Delancey.
Here's more about the Zero Irving food hall via the official news release last summer:
Urbanspace will be a unique amenity for Zero Irving's tenants, users of the building’s event space, and the surrounding neighborhood. Urbanspace plans an innovative mixed online/offline platform that stays true to its exceptional, immersive food hall experience while providing enhanced online ordering with delivery and pickup options for building tenants and the local community.Urbanspace also plans a catering option offered to both building tenants and users of Zero Irving's event and conference center...
The 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 website.
Long contested by local preservationists and community groups, the new building sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.
Zero Irving is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Celebrating Luna's 2nd birthday
For a post published on Aug. 29, 2019, EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared a photo essay from the home of the Riveras on Third Street.
On Aug. 7 that year, they welcomed Luna into the family (photo above!).
This past Saturday (Aug. 7), the Riveras celebrated Luna's second birthday.
Stacie stopped by to photograph happy parents Juana and Edward Rivera and Luna's siblings Edward Jr. and Rex.
The festivities included a rooftop pool party...
... and friends and family...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Pete's Tavern reopens TODAY
EVG reader Michael Quinn shared the news via new owner Gary Egan (pictured above), the longtime day manager who worked out a partnership deal with the landlord.
Pete's Tavern is at 129 E. 18th St. at Irving Place. The circa-1864 restaurant had been closed since March 2020.
RIP Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
Born in Brooklyn, she settled in the East Village in 1967 after graduating from Harpur College (now the State University of New York at Binghamton).
Aside from her trailblazing work as a journalist, she was known for her relationship with Jim Morrison of the Doors.
Here's more via an obituary at Legacy.com:
Kennealy-Morrison became a rock music journalist as a young woman, bringing a new seriousness to rock criticism as one of the first women in the field. She interviewed Morrison in 1969 for Jazz & Pop, the magazine she edited and contributed to.
The two began a relationship, largely long-distance, and they participated in a handfasting ceremony in 1970. It wasn't a legal marriage, though Kennealy-Morrison considered herself Morrison's wife. It was a controversial claim, refuted by some who point out that Morrison was also in a serious relationship with Pamela Courson (1946–1974).
The handfasting ceremony was included in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie "The Doors." Kathleen Quinlan played Kennealy-Morrison, and Kennealy-Morrison herself appeared in the scene as the Wiccan priestess who performed the ceremony.
Kennealy-Morrison wrote the 1992 memoir, "Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison." It was one of more than two dozen books written by Kennealy-Morrison, including several fantasy novels in "The Keltiad" series. In 2007, she founded the publishing house Lizard Queen Press, riffing on Morrison's "Lizard King" nickname.
She went on to write and publish a series of rock-themed mystery novels, including "Ungrateful Dead: Murder at the Fillmore," "A Hard Slay's Night: Murder at the Royal Albert Hall," and "Scareway to Heaven: Murder at the Fillmore East."She was also a longtime reader of EVG and left comments under her real name as well as, more recently, Peachy McPeachface.
You can find feature obituaries about her at Variety and the Los Angeles Times, among many other news outlets.
Oh-K! Another Korean-style hot-dog chain to give the East Village a go
The chain specializing in Korean-style snacks such as stuffed hot dogs and egg toast has this location as "coming soon" on its website. Oh-K Dog also has outposts on Ludlow Street and Seventh Avenue South with several more planned for the city.
Competition for Korean-style hot dogs is heating up around here. Two Hands, which offers Seoul fresh corn dogs, opened on Avenue A and Ninth Street in April ... while Mochinut is opening soon on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
As for this storefront on St. Mark's Place... not much has had success here in recent years. Joe's Steam Rice Roll was the most recent tenant, quietly closing in March. Other concepts here included Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.
H/T Upper West Sider!
The FedEx Office Print & Ship Center is shipping off to a new storefront on East Houston
The FedEx Office Print & Ship Center is moving from its current space to several storefronts to the west ... into one of the newly renovated spaces (I believe this was Dr. Manuel Velazquez's office) ...
Apparently, not all of the retail space was part of the deal. (You can tell by where the new paint stops — right at the recently shuttered Mattress Mart.) Other current tenants in the unpainted zone include the Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins combo, Subway (sandwich shop), China Town Chinese restaurant, H&R Block and Kapri Cleaners.
Two Perrys makes first appearance on Avenue C
By day, the space will serve as a cafe offering breakfast and lunch ... with a bar-restaurant service in the evenings, according to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website.
No word yet on an opening date.
Loverboy, specializing in pizza and slushy drinks, closed here during the pandemic after nearly three-plus in business. Before Loverboy, the corner space was home to multiple establishments, a list that includes Lumé, the "Epicurean drinkery," ... Life — Kitchen and Bar … which had taken over for Verso. Other restaurants here in the past nine years include Caffe Pepe Rosso and Caffe Cotto.
Monday, August 9, 2021
At the Tompkins Square Park Riot Reunion shows
The concerts commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the Tompkins Square Police Riot of Aug. 6, 1988, took place this past weekend.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos over the course of the two days that featured more than a dozen bands and speakers (not to mention the heavy presence of the NYPD and Parks Enforcement Patrol) ...
Large tree branch down in Tompkins Square Park
Not sure at the moment when this elm branch may have fallen — late night/early morning.
And this is the latest branch to come down in the park this summer.
Updated 2 p.m.
Here are a few more photos via Steven ...
Former tenants of the fire-destroyed 48 E. 7th St. want to hear from landlord Faith Popcorn
During a rally in late July across from the former building on the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue, the residents, as well as local elected officials and housing advocates, said that they haven't received any answers from Popcorn (aka Faith Plotkin) on finding new low-income housing in the neighborhood.
"This building was our home. Three generations of our family grew up at 48 E. Seventh St. and have helped build this community," said Cathy Barna. "Now we are really struggling to find affordable housing in this neighborhood."
The misery for the tenants started in February 2020 when a fire displaced the building's residents. No. 48, which included retail tenants Via Della Pace and Cafe Mocha and eight apartments, was under renovation this past fall and was vacant at the time of the December fire, which also destroyed the Middle Collegiate Church next door.
Before the December fire, the displaced tenants were hoping to be back in the building this fall, according to the Cooper Square Committee, which organized the late-July rally with TakeRoot Justice.
There were approved work permits dated from last Oct. 29 on file with the DOB. According to the permits: "Repairs due to fire; interior non-structural demolition, removal of damaged floor and roof framing, replace damaged floor and wall joists, reconstruct floor and roof joists, reconstruct roof joists, reconstruct roof bulkhead, repair interior stairs ... install new windows, installation of new roof."
The FDNY previously said that faulty electrical wiring was to blame for both fires. Workers demolished the building on Dec. 7.
Now, 17 months out of their homes, the tenants said they want to "open lines of communication and to move forward stalled negotiations."
The Cooper Square Committee stated that many of the tenants are senior citizens who had lived in the building for 60 or more years. Other tenants raised their families here, and all of them have deep roots in the community. (There were four rent-regulated units left in the building — three rent-controlled and one rent-stabilized). Tenants — or their family members — from three of the units spoke at the rally.)
"On top of COVID and dealing with personal health issues, the last thing we thought is that we would lose our home of 60 years," said resident Oksana Lopatynsky.
"All my friends are here in NYC," said Donna Czechowycz. "I'm living in an area where I don't know anyone. It's difficult for someone in their 80s to start over again."
Elected officials also called on the landlord to provide answers to the tenants.
Said Rivera: "I stand with Cooper Square Committee and the tenants of 48 E. Seventh St. to say enough is enough, and that their landlord Faith Plotkin must stop hiding and come to the table with real answers about the future of their homes. These tenants have been struggling for over a year ... They've been waiting, amidst COVID-19, in flux ... and even basic questions about the building itself remain unanswered. They don't deserve this, and we won't rest until they receive the housing justice they deserve."TY to @CooperSq for welcoming me to rally today with the displaced tenants of 48 E 7th Street in demanding accountability from their landlord.
— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) July 28, 2021
We need Albany to pass stronger housing rights legislation for all NYers. I'll stand with tenants - my neighbors - until it's done. pic.twitter.com/jLagri1wuA
Popcorn, whose Facebook page lists that she was born in the East Village, reportedly owns several other buildings in the neighborhood.
According to public records, No. 48 has been in the Plotkin family for generations. Her sister, the late Mechele Flaum, was also an owner. The first entry for the building in property records is from 1969, where Plotkin's parents — the former Clara Storper and George Plotkin — took over the building from Rose Storper.
Popcorn is a futurist, author and founder and CEO of the consulting firm BrainReserve. Popcorn's office did not respond to an EVG query for comment. She also did not respond to calls from amNY and The Village Sun, who also reported on the rally and displaced tenants.
"In the darkest days of the pandemic, these community members were also dealing with the destruction of their homes by fire. They had to live through the trauma of not one but two fires," Brandon Kielbasa, director of organizing and policy at Cooper Square Committee, said in a statement. "Now, as these folks attempt to regain a footing, communication from their landlord has become inconsistent and negotiations have stalled."
Photos courtesy of the Cooper Square Committee
Advocacy group: Mayor 'overrules' comptroller on East River Park reconstruction contract
According to East River Park Action in an Instagram post from Friday, the Mayor "overruled" Comptroller Scott Stringer's office and asked that he register the low bidder's contract for the massive floodproofing project.
Last month, the $1.2 billion contract from IPC Resiliency Partners was waiting for approval at Stringer's office.
Stringer subsequently sent the contract back to the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) for more information, including "how the project's lead contractors plan to meet the legal standard that minority/women-owned business enterprises receive 30 percent of the work," as The Indypendent reported.
Per a Stringer spokesperson: "Since we were unable to resolve all of our questions within the 30-day review period, our office has returned the contract to DDC to allow them additional time to address the outstanding issues."
Stringer apparently did not indicate that he opposed the reconstruction plan.
Now the Mayor is "pushing through the City's contract with the unqualified company," per East River Park Action.
Every day this week at noon, the activist group will protest the plan outside the gates of City Hall...
Eileen Myles, the East Village-based poet and novelist who has spoken out against the plan, called out mainstream media outlets for not covering this story.
From a weekend Instagram post that was widely shared on the platform, including by Kim Gordon...
Opponents of the city's current plan — where workers will raze the 57.5-acre plot of land, bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill — say there are better ways to preserve the park and provide flood protection, such as the one mapped out in the years after Sandy.
In late 2018, the city surprised community stakeholders by announcing a complete overhaul of a plan discussed over four years of local meetings.
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 completed in 2025, a timetable opponents say will never be met.
New 2nd Avenue sushi restaurant unveils attempt at humor
Among the various signs now on the storefront: "Tell your sugar daddy Nobu's out. Moko's in."
The same flyer is posted around the neighborhood...
Nobu, of course, is the global chain of high-end Japanese restaurants that got its start in Tribeca in 1994.
Moko's playfulness extends to the menu, where the pricing includes the "starter Omakase" ($65), "worth it Omakase" ($85) and "definitely worth it omakase" ($120).
No word on an opening date just yet.
Thanks to Steven for the photos!
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