City fences off Allen Street Bathhouse to prevent trans artist from painting on its walls

On Tuesday afternoon, city workers arrived to erect a fence around the long-vacant Allen Street Bathhouse here at Delancey...

This was the city's latest heavy-handed tactic in the summer-long battle against unhoused trans artist Nadja Rose, who had been creating murals on the vacant bathhouse's walls and surrounding sidewalk space in recent months.

None of this pleased city officials (led by the Parks Department), who would dispatch sanitation trucks and the 7th Precinct to discard her belongings and art supplies. She would always return. There were also social-media reports that the city had her locked up "in the psych ward" several times. 

Observers (optimistically) wondered why the city couldn't use this as an opportunity to create some type of artist-in-residence program at this neglected space that has long been a favorite spot for taggers.

Her work prompted admiration from passersby here on the Allen Street Mall, a passage with an out-of-business Subway sandwich shop on one corner and a Starbucks on the other. (As for the old bathhouse, plans for a cafe in the structure date to early 2016.) 

Writer Jeremiah Moss has documented Rose's work here on Instagram...

 

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There haven't been any sightings of the artist since the fence went up, we're told. But she did leave some parting messages...

Sweetie debuts on Avenue A

Sweetie debuted earlier this month at 85 Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

We don't know too much about the bar in the space below Somtum Der (try the tum pla too & kao mun!). The bar's Instagram description is "cocktails + music + fun."

Sweetie is open Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m.

This subterranean space had been vacant since Elvis Guesthouse checked out at the end of 2016. 

Taqueria St. Mark's back in taco action

Taqueria St. Mark's reopened this past Friday at 79 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!) 

This is the first time in nearly 18 months that patrons have been inside. Since the start of the pandemic, the bar-restaurant was only open briefly for takeout and delivery. Taqueria's Gramercy location remained in service. 

The haven for Lakers and Dodgers fans debuted here in March 2015, relocating from Orchard Street.

Wednesday's parting shot(s)

Halloween season is underway at Key Food on Avenue A. 

Related: Mallomars are on sale — 2 for $5.

At the sidewalk runway show on Ludlow Street for cumgirl8's latest collection

Photos by Stacie Joy

Every band has its own merch. Members of the stylish local band cumgirl8 up the ante with their own clothing line. 

And the trio — Veronika Vilim (below, middle), Chase Noelle and Lida Fox — recently debuted cumgirl8's second collection in a sidewalk runway show outside Café Forgot on Ludlow Street. (The band's friend, designer Carson Lovett, was also part of the creative team.)

This Vogue recap-interview from the other day has more on the show and inspiration behind it, which the outlet described as "a real New York moment that created a bridge between Y2K and today."

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there and shared these scenes from the runway and of the crowd...

... and on hand along the runway ...

As for music, cumgirl8 — whose influences range from the Slits to Saint Etienne to diplo — just released "I Wanna Be," the first single off the forthcoming (Oct. 22 release) EP titled RIPcumgirl8. Find cumgirl8's music here.

The band is playing as part of the season finale at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club on Friday night. 

The 10th annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival begins on Friday evening

There are 10 days of free events in the neighborhood's community gardens connected to the 10th annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival.

This year's festival includes activities at dozens of gardens, each featuring various performances, concerts, workshops and other related events (dominos tournament!). 

The festivities begin with an opening-evening celebration at 6 at Green Oasis, 370 E. Eighth St. between Avenue C and D.

Check the LUNGS website here for the day-by-day, garden-by-garden schedule.

A visit to Ergot Records

Ergot Records made its debut back on Friday at 32 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Adrian Rew, who's behind the experimental imprint of the same name, is the owner here ...

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the shop during the opening weekend. For now, Ergot Records will focus on second-hand records and cassettes, spanning an array of genres, including jazz, salsa, punk, disco, hip-hop and avant-garde.

Eventually, Rew, a resident DJ at the Lot Radio and former curator at the gallery Blank Forms, wants to add books and other literature and host in-store events. 

Here's a look around the shop, which includes several listening stations ... 

Rew, who previously worked at A-1 Records on Sixth Street, renovated the space with the help of a few friends. He signed a five-year lease on the storefront and plans to stick around for a while. We hope so too. 

Hours:

• Wednesday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

• Friday-Saturday: Noon-8 p.m. 

• Sunday: noon-6 p.m.

You can find the Ergot Records Instagram account here. 

After a few days away, barricades return to the Tompkins Square Park chess tables

For a few days over the weekend and until yesterday, the chess tables in Tompkins Square Park were free from the police barricades surrounding this area since Aug. 31. (Top photo from Sunday.)

The unofficial word from this corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A was that a Park regular moved and tossed the barricades.  

In any event, workers put barricades back into place yesterday...

... and fastened them together this time ...

Some residents had complained about the encampment here... with activity around the chess tables that included drug use and fencing stolen goods. The city had cleared out this space several times this summer, starting back in June.

Photos by Steven

A makeover for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge and Pantry

There's a new look for the 24/7 East Village Neighbors Community Fridge and Pantry outside S'MAC at the NW corner of 12th Street and First Avenue ...

Yesterday, East Village-based artist, artist, writer and filmmaker Ethan Minsker completed a makeover for the refrigerator and adjacent pantry. (This Instagram post explains more about the background and inspiration.)

The fridge's motto is "take what you need, leave what you can," and is made possible by S'MAC, Change Food and East Village Neighbors. Its first anniversary is coming up soon.

You can support the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge and Pantry at this link.

Photos by Steven

A clue about future development courtesy of the former Subway at 250 E. Houston St.

We continue to wait for official word of what will happen to the now-empty strip of storefronts at 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

As we've reported, there's been a storefront shuffle along this retail stretch. Kapri Cleaners and the FedEx Office Print & Ship Center moved from the unrenovated spaces to new storefronts closer to the entrance to the 13-story residential building at No. 250. Other businesses, including the Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins and China Town, have closed. 

The old retail section of this strip is apparently coming down to make way for an unspecified new development. 

A letter from the owner of the shuttered (as of Aug. 30) Subway sandwich shop provides another clue. EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted this on the storefront (click on the image for more detail) ... 

Per the letter: "I am saddened to inform you that since the Ownership of this Property has decided to construct a multistory building, they will not be able to renew [the] lease for my Subway Store."

The family-owned franchise had been here for more than 20 years. Per the letter, the owner said that he hopes to find a new location for his Subway.

Meanwhile, still nothing on file with the city just yet about a demolition or new building permits.

Sri Lankan specialists Sigiri back open on 1st Avenue

Some good reopening news via EVG reader Garth... he notes that the Sri Lankan flag is flying once again outside Sigiri above Dual Speciality Store at 91 First Ave. 

The 16-year-old spicy standby here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street closed at the start of the PAUSE in March 2020... doing delivery and takeout in the summer of 2020 before closing again.

In recent months, we noticed that the interior had been dismantled. Glad to see that it was just for a renovation and nothing like a closure.

Sigiri is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Check out the menu here... which includes a daily lunch special from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Pillow-Cat Books is open now on 9th Street

We mentioned Pillow-Cat Books in this post last month ... this shop specializing in animal books opened late last week at 328 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Here's a description via a recent Instagram post:

Pillow-Cat Books is the first animal-focused bookshop in New York ... it is small, green, and filled with used, vintage and antique books in several languages and of all types: art, photography, design, literature, comics, children, etc. The books' only common denominator is that an animal or animal character has to be present. 

Pillow-Cat is open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  You can find the shop's Instagram account here... and the website here.  

Photo by Steven

SLCT Stock brings vintage t-shirts and sneakers to 12th Street

SLCT Stock opened back on Friday at 523 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The shop carries collectible t-shirts, sneakers and other pop-cultural items from the 1980s and 1990s.

Indiana University student Nick Ayala started SLCT in Bloomington, Ind., in 2018. There's also an outpost in Boulder, Colo. 

Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with a 6 p.m. close on Sundays. You can find this SLCT's Instagram account here.

And if you're over this way, then you can also check out East Village Vintage Collective a few storefronts away at 545.