However, it is a life-size Santa figure.
Mondays!
Monday, January 10, 2022
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus...oh
Not in bloom: Sunny's Florist closed until early March
The sliver of a storefront on the SE corner of Sixth Street and Second Avenue will be closed through February.
EVG regular Lola Sáenz ran into owner Sun "Sunny" Ja Hwang and her son Edward late Friday. They explained that business has been slower (and generally so in these colder-weather months) ... and combined with the spread of the omicron variant in recent weeks, the two decided to shut down until March 1.
Unfortunately, the closure includes Feb. 14, a day when the popular shop sees lines around the corner for the tasteful arrangements wrapped to perfection with a flourish (especially when Eddie is doing it).
The business dates here to 1988.
Irving Farm New York is opening an outpost on 10th Street
This will be the sixth cafe/coffee shop in NYC (plus one upstate in Millerton, where they also operate a roastery) for the company that started on Irving Place in 1996. (There was an outpost on Orchard Street, though the owners sold it to a manager, who now runs Sunday to Sunday in the space.)
And we're assuming that the 10th Street location will offer breakfast and lunch items like at the other outposts.
No. 79 was previously City of Saints Coffee Roasters, which debuted in June 2014 and never reopened after the PAUSE of March 2020.
LES Convenience is coming soon for your convenience on Avenue A
Signage for LES Convenience arrived late last week at 105 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. The signage promises an ATM, snacks, drinks, hookah and more.
No. 105 was previously home to Hub Thai, which moved to 50 Avenue A this past March.
LES Convenience will mark the third deli-snack-smoke establishment to open on the west side of Avenue A within three blocks. A more-upscale looking deli-market is coming to 93 Avenue A ... while a mystery deli-market is said to be in the works for 123 Avenue A.
Meanwhile, I would have been happy if East Village Farms had never vanished at 100 Avenue A.
Abandoned curbside dining structures attracting more attention on the NE corner of 6th and A
As previously mentioned, several readers-residents have complained about the lengthy structure on the Sixth Street side. The bar-restaurant August Laura closed in the corner space here in early December, and up to 10 people were said to move into the structure the night workers cleared out the restaurant. Another reader said that it has become "a 24-hour shooting gallery."
In late December, reps for the Department of Homeless Services posted notices for a cleanup on the Sixth Street structure. According to a resident who lives nearby, that action saw the removal of some mattresses and several abandoned household items.
In October, then-Mayor de Blasio ordered the Department of Transportation to remove unused dining sheds erected as part of the Open Restaurants program. City workers have reportedly taken down dozens to date.
We're told that residents have contacted 311, the DOT and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office about these structures.
While the retail space is for lease, 94-96 Avenue A is also set for auction on Jan. 31 with an opening bid of $4.8 million. Penn South Capital paid $9.6 million for the property in March 2019. The building's new owners added a one-floor extension here in 2020.
Sunday, January 9, 2022
Week in Grieview
• Reports: Theatre 80, the crown jewel of St. Mark's Place, enters bankruptcy, hopes to refinance loan (Tuesday)
• East River Park greenway now closing up to 10th Street (Monday) ... Tree sitters take to East River Park (Wednesday)
• About Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge, opening soon on Avenue B (Thursday)
• An SUV collision on 1st Avenue at 5th Street (Monday)
• Cops searching for a dapper gun-toting suspect who robbed the Villager Smoke Shop (Tuesday)
• An end of the ride: Busy Bee Bikes closes on 6th Street (Monday)
• Tamam Falafel has closed on 14th Street; new location in the works (Wednesday)
• 2022 corner watch: St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue (Thursday)
• Dim Sum Go Go makes it sign official on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• Kurt Russell to the rescue at Metrograph (Wednesday)
• Check out the new video by local faves Hello Mary (Friday)
• The 'High Line East vibes' of 799 Broadway (Monday)
• 58 1st St. awaits another restaurant (Tuesday)
• A look at the corner market coming to 6th and A (Tuesday)
• Boilermaker is closing on 1st and 1st (Wednesday)
• To the Tompkins Square Park tree stump art with love (Thursday)
• Christo, badass (Tuesday)
Sunday's opening shot
Saturday, January 8, 2022
Saturday's parting shot
Please be mine
A special edition of the weekly Fridays at 5 feature... Remembering David Bowie on what would have been his 75th birthday... this is the video for "Be My Wife," from Low, which was almost released 45 years to the date.
David Robert Jones was born on Jan. 8, 1947, in Brixton, London. He died on Jan. 10, 2016. He made his home nearby on Lafayette Street just south of Houston.
Hot chip: Scenes from MulchFest Day 1
Steven braved the low double-digit wind chill for these shots...
Back at it tomorrow (Sunday) for Day 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
So if you have a Christmas tree to dispose of, you still have time to take it to the park. Better, save it for discarding until, say, August, so we will have a Christmas in August post to look forward to...
#Mulchfest
'Gifts of the Magi' — and Chesney the camel! — at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
Thursday afternoon saw a production of "Gifts of the Magi" at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in 10th Street at Second Avenue ... sponsored by the Henry Street Settlement and Trinity Church Wall Street...
MulchFest '22: Everything you need to know about Chipping Weekend, happening THIS weekend
When: The two-day chipping event, the grand finale of the MulchFest season, takes place today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Tompkins Square Park
Where Exactly: Follow the sound of the wood chipper to the middle of the park.
What Else?: Tompkins is also a chipping site, which means residents can take home a nourishing bag of fresh mulch to put down on gardens and tree beds and to spice up boring omelets.
Why Should I Care?: It's eco-friendly and more than 29,000 trees were treecycled last year. Per the Parks Department website: "Help us top this number!"
How Is It Possible That the Parks Department Can Get Such a Precise Number (29,000) Over Dozens of Chipping Sites in the Five Boroughs and We Can't Get Toilet Paper in the Restrooms in Tompkins?: Yes.
What If I'm a Social Media Influencer?: Use #Mulchfest to share your mulching memories with friends, family and clingy exes.
Friday, January 7, 2022
Because we haven't posted any Snow... snow... SNOW photos in several hours
Goggla captured the top shot in New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street... while Vinny & O took this in Tompkins Square Park...
Meanwhile, an EVG reader took this aerial shot looking into the Park along 10th Street...
East Village Loves NYC offering free COVID-19 PCR testing once again this Sunday
The testing takes place this Sunday (Jan. 9) from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. You need to sign up in advance — no walk-ins. You can find the link here.
Results from this past Sunday were returned in 24 hours. Testing is done by Alaine Diagnostics in Saddlebrook, N.J. People who signed up reported a quick and efficient system here.
East Village Loves NYC was formed in the spring of 2020 to feed people in need during the pandemic. In year one, the volunteers — 400 strong — 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.
Snow... snow... SNOW!
And don't let the National Weather Service scare you with the purple-highlighted blob outlines! (And EV Arrow is for hire!)
NWS radar capturing bands of heavy snow-some with reports of 1-3" per hour rates. Travel has become very treacherous with snow cover on all untreated roads. pic.twitter.com/Y0MRib3owy
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 7, 2022
Snow... snow... SNOW! 2
Thursday, January 6, 2022
To the Tompkins Square Park tree stump art with love
As we've noted, someone has been creating installations atop the stump of the English Elm that came down in August 2020 during Tropical Storm Isaias.
Obviously, the new work is a statement on the duality of human existence.
Thanks to Steven for the photo!
About Hekate Café & Elixir Lounge, opening soon on Avenue B
Photo from early November
Text and photo by Stacie Joy
Lucky Bar owner Abby Ehmann and Brooklyn Roasting Company founder Jim Munson are opening Hekate Café and Elixir Lounge in the weeks ahead at 167 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street.
In a storefront that previously housed a dry cleaners, the new business is across the street from Lucky, the bar Ehmann opened in September 2016.
Here, Ehmann talks about the concept behind Hekate Café and the challenges of operating and opening a business during the pandemic.
What is the concept behind the new venture?
Hekate Café and Elixir Lounge will be a warm space infused with feminine energy, serving coffee and espresso drinks, specialty teas, and magical elixirs. There will also be interesting merchandise for sale with an emphasis on the mystical.
What prompted you to open a second business?
I have had new business ideas percolating — heh — for years; I honestly cannot help myself! Every empty storefront I walk past sparks an idea — what would be good for each space, what I would do with it. I was working on opening a bar/coffee shop/restaurant on the Lower East Side with a couple partners back before the pandemic hit, which obviously put the kibosh on our plans. During the lockdown, I was still thinking about how and where the Hekate concept could become a reality.
When things started opening up, I looked at several spaces and simply didn’t move fast enough to grab them. Then I would be at work, staring across the street at the FOR RENT BY OWNER sign, and think, could THAT work? I consulted with Jim Munson, my “coffee guy” and chief dreamer at Brooklyn Roasting Co., wondering if we could make a little café work, and we decided to give it a shot!
The reasonable rent was really the driving factor for this space. I sure wish more landlords would be willing to work with new businesses, as we have so many empty storefronts, which is a disservice to the neighborhood. I have been very fortunate with generous and understanding landlords, both here at my new location and at Lucky.
How did you come up with the concept for the witchcraft-themed spot?
I honestly can’t recall how the concept came to me! It has gone through many iterations, always coming back to, basically, creating magic. I believe people really crave hope and magic in their lives right now, which has been amplified due to the pandemic. People want to believe and be optimistic, which is difficult in times with so much overwhelmingly bad news. I felt compelled to create something with hope and magic.
And once I decided upon Hekate as the “personality” of the business plan, wonderful things just started happening. People have been seeking me out to collaborate, which I believe is a true necessity to make any business work these days.
How does proximity to Lucky Bar factor into the new location?
Opening a new business right across the street will make it convenient since commuting between locations will only take seconds. Friends who are already coming to Lucky will easily be able to check out Hekate. And my regulars are excited to grab a coffee before or after they’ve had a drink. However, ideally, Hekate will attract an entirely different audience.
What are some of the challenges and rewards of opening a new business during the pandemic?
Government agencies are always a challenge; for instance, learning that 95% of the awnings you see are illegal and working with the awning company to be compliant while also competitive — well, as competitive as an awning can be. They really don’t make it easy to run a business in this city.
The pandemic has inspired a whole new level of regulations and even more regulators. I can’t say what the rewards of opening a new business in a pandemic are yet. I am hoping that, as I’ve said, the desire for a little magic in people’s lives, and our ability to offer some of that, will prove to be very rewarding! I know that providing a haven for weirdos, and my customers’ appreciation of that with Lucky, has been extremely gratifying.
You can keep up with the new business and their opening plans here.
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