Sunday, February 27, 2022
Sunday's parting shot
The Black History Bowl returns to the Lower East Side
Photos by Stacie Joy
The second-annual Black History Bowl took place yesterday afternoon at the Baruch Playground on the Lower East Side...
Once again, the event featured residents, community groups and local elected officials commemorating Black History Month ... bringing together young adults and their parents. (There were also two games of flag football.)
Donations allowed for snacks, drinks and meals for 60 kids... with any leftovers going to the Loisaida CommUnity Fridge and Pantry at Trinity Church on Ninth Street and Avenue B.
Here are a few photos via EVG contributor Stacie Joy...
Week In Grieview
Posts this last week included (with a photo outside McSorley's by @ArtieAthas) ...• The #SupportUkraine Humanitarian Effort (Saturday) • Local Ukrainians react to the Russian invasion (Friday)• Cleaning out and preparing to rebuild Essex Card Shop on Avenue A (Tuesday)
• Lady Wong brings the desserts of Southeast Asia to 9th Street (Thursday)
• A visit to June First Skincare (Wednesday)
• Meg is on the move (Saturday)
• Another step to make outdoor dining permanent (Thursday)
• Missing: the fruit vendor on 1st Avenue; the taco cart on 2nd Street (Friday)
• A visit to CLLCTV.NYC (Tuesday)
• Rowdy Rooster debuts on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)
• Reports of suspicious fires in Stuy Town (Wednesday)
• Tribute-filled façade of former Basquiat studio painted over (Tuesday)
• Ralph's returns on Avenue A (Thursday)
• Blick makes it signage official on 4th Avenue (Wednesday)
• Cutting down a sycamore tree on 9th Street (Thursday)
• Verameat has closed (Tuesday)
• Bistro Marylou opening at 41 St. Mark's Place (Friday)
• Joey Bats opening a shipping outpost on Houston Street (Tuesday)
• A Neighborhood Loading Zone for this block of 9th Street (Monday)
• So long to the Union Square Walgreens (Monday)
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About the new neon Lucy's signage at Lucy's
Text and photos by Stacie Joy
You may have noticed a new Lucy's sign hanging in the front window at Lucy's (aka Blanche's Lucy's Tavern), 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
Proprietor Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius' birthday is Feb. 10, and a friend bought her the sign as a gift.
Lucy said that she doesn't usually celebrate her birthday as it is also the anniversary of her husband's death ... but this year she celebrated with this new sign...
BTW if you're on Instagram, you can follow Lucy's here.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Saturday's parting shot
The #SupportUkraine Humanitarian Effort
The East Village-based Ukrainian Congress Committee of America has launched a #SupportUkraine Humanitarian Effort with AICM-Ukraine. (Link here.)
Andrij V. Dobriansky, director of communications and media at the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, told us that they are working with UN-registered NGOs.
"We are using these donations to get supplies into Ukraine that can be more easily transported: bandages, diapers, emergency pharmaceutical packs — all items in need for refugees making a long journey," he said.
Meanwhile, yesterday, a group of local elected officials, clergy and community leaders gathered at the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street to stand in solidarity with Ukrainian New Yorkers.
Today, I rallied with the Ukrainian-American community here in NYC for peace above all else. I stand and will continue to stand with this community and the people of Ukraine throughout this. pic.twitter.com/pXZupKAO1e
— Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) February 25, 2022
Standing today in solidarity with leaders of NYC's Ukrainian community, calling for action in the face of Putin's reprehensible war.
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) February 25, 2022
We want Ukrainian immigration requests expedited, safe passage of relief supplies, and seizure of oligarch's assets in NYC.
Слава Україні.🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/TwjGCQlHHR
Outside Veselka on Second Avenue and Ninth Street, co-owner Jason Birchard talked with reporters.Honored to share space and solidarity with colleagues and friends in Little Ukraine today. We stand resolute with the people of Ukraine and their families demanding immediate action against totalitarian, premeditated war.
— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) February 25, 2022
Слава Україні. Glory to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/BY4O83D4DC
"My grandfather started this. He was an immigrant from Ukraine escaping Russian aggression in the 1940s," Birchard told CBS News. "They're frightened, they're scared, there's a state of shock. People don't know what to do. It's not only a war against Ukraine. It's a war against the free world."
Above photos from yesterday by Stacie Joy
Top photo by Steven
Meg is on the move
Photos by Stacie Joy
As we're told, the new outpost will be open on Friday.
However, this doesn't mean an empty storefront now at 312 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. This space will become a "Meg Archive" for used Meg clothes to be resold and traded.
Meanwhile, EVG contributor Stacie Joy reports there are several pieces left at the shop... everything is under $25. Gloves are $2/pair, sweats for S10, dresses, jumpsuits, tops, etc., $25.
Megan Kinney opened her first shop in the East Village in 1994.
Store hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday, February 25, 2022
By the Way...
Mid-afternoon Walgreens signage removal shots
'The feeling is shock'
Photo of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on 7th Street by N&Lon7th
As The New York Times points out, NYC is home to more than 150,000 Ukrainians, the largest such community in the country... the East Village and Brighton Beach are among the neighborhoods with large populations of Ukrainian-Americans. Here are some local headlines from the past 24 hours following the Russian invasion of Ukraine yesterday...
• Protesters rally for Ukraine on UES, at East Village church; "Please, help our families" (CBS 2)
St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in the East Village, parishioners gathered to pray for peace.Andrij Dobriansky is the church cantor and spokesman for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America."The feeling is shock. The feeling is the punch to the stomach," Dobriansky said. "This entire neighborhood was built on the back of refugees, people who know what destruction is, so this is what we've been fearing for the longest time."
• "A Time of Worries": New York City's Ukrainians are anxious and afraid (The New York Times)
• Ukrainians take to the streets in Manhattan (The New York Times)
• "Stop Putin": Demonstrators at Manhattan rallies voice loud support for Ukraine (NBC 4)
• "They are prepared to fight" — NYC's Ukrainian community watches family and friends brace for invasion (Gothamist)
• "It breaks my heart": East Village’s Little Ukraine prays for peace (amNY/The Villager)
• Ukrainian Americans express anger, sadness as Russia invades (USA Today, includes quote from Veselka owner Tom Birchard)
• Support Ukrainian-owned businesses by dining at these NYC restaurants (Thrillist)
Missing in the East Village: the fruit vendor on 1st Avenue; the taco cart on 2nd Street
For starters, the fruit vendor has not been at his usual post on the SE corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street for several days. (Top photo.)
The vendor had been toughing it out during the winter months, but now everything is gone. (H/T Goggla!)
There was some speculation — over the clickety-clack of typewriters in the EVG newsroom — that perhaps the Citi Bike docking station prompted the departure and, perhaps, relocation. While the dock isn't new, its arrival meant the vendor needed to find parking elsewhere for his van with supplies to keep the stand stocked with fruit and vegetables.
Meanwhile, on the NW corner of Second Street at Avenue A...
... the whereabouts of the Tacos Cholula cart is unknown. One grieving regular puts the absence now at a few weeks. We have our best people looking into this.
Bistro Marylou opening at 41 St. Mark's Place
And yesterday, opening-soon signage for the new establishment went up... a French bistro called Marylou... (thanks to Steven for this shot)...
The sign promises cocktails, small plates, brunch and good vibes.
We don't know much else about the new venture at the moment. (Bistro Marylou has some teaser posts on Instagram.)
The previous tenant, Paper Daisy, debuted in March 2019. The cafe-cocktail bar, from the owners behind East Village establishments Boulton & Watt, Drexler's and Mister Paradise, closed at the start of the PAUSE in March 2020 and never reopened. The storied Cafe Orlin closed here in October 2017, wrapping up a 36-year run on St. Mark's Place.
Flower space for rent outside Sunny & Annie's
Photos by Stacie Joy
The flower vendor that arrived at Sunny & Annie's on the NW corner of Avenue B and Sixth Street in November has closed...
... and the space is now available for someone else who may want to sell flowers here...
No word about the rent. You can ask when picking up a P.H.O. Real!
Thursday, February 24, 2022
So long to this sycamore tree on 9th Street
Photos by Steven
Workers today cut down this sycamore tree on the north side of Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second.
It was not immediately clear what prompted this removal...
... a worker pointed out a deteriorating and spongy area of the stump...
EVG reader Terry Howell shared this photo...
He writes:
This lovely sycamore tree and I coexisted peacefully on this block for over 47 years. I don't remember it ever being small. I have no clue why the city choose to murder it today. They will probably say "it's too old," unsafe, etc., etc., etc. My feeling is that Amazon probably needs its own loading space, another restaurant shed needs to be built, a branch might injure a CAR! or it's just inconveniently in the way. I, being old like the sycamore, hope I live long enough to see its spindly replacement sapling, which the city will plant and then ignore.
Yesterday, city workers also removed a tree on 10th Street just west of First Avenue...
Updated 12:30
The remains of the sycamore after the workers left...
Zoning proposal to make outdoor dining permanent heads to City Council today
The summer of 2020 on Seventh Street
Last Thursday, the Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Committee on Land Use voted to recommend the approval of a zoning proposal, which is a first step in creating a permanent outdoor dining program.
City Council will be voting on this same resolution today.
All this follows the Council's lone public hearing on the proposal, a contentious 9-hour marathon featuring 250 people testifying for or against the program on Feb. 8.
One takeaway from that, per published reports: Julie Schipper, head of the Department of Transportation's Open Restaurants Program, told City Council that the dining structures erected in the summer of 2020 won't be allowed to remain standing under the new guidelines.
"We don't envision sheds in the permanent program. We are not planning for that," Schipper said. "What would be in the roadway [are] barriers and tents or umbrellas, but not these full houses that you're seeing in the street."
This CityLand post outlines what needs to happen...
To establish a permanent open restaurants program, several legislative and administrative changes would need to occur. First, a zoning text amendment that eliminates certain restrictions on where sidewalk cafes can be located needs to be approved. Last November, the City Planning Commission voted to approve this text amendment, and now the amendment needs the approval of the City Council.Next, the City Council would need to pass legislation that would repeal the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s authority over sidewalk cafes and authorize the Department of Transportation to establish a permanent program.
Once the City Council approves the program, the Department of Transportation and other relevant agencies would need to establish administrative rules about the program, which would also be subject to a public comment process.
But, as The Village Sun reported last Friday, the Land Use Committee "voted to 'modify' the bill ... by removing the DOT as the lead agency."
However, this does not necessarily mean the DOT is out of the picture for good. Basically, moving forward, as part of the process of creating the new law, Velazquez and fellow councilmembers will now be deciding whether D.O.T. should continue to run the program or whether the job should be handed off to another agency.
This Gothamist piece from Feb. 15 has more on the design of future outdoor spaces.
City officials have said they hope to have a permanent program to begin in 2023.
As The Sun pointed out: "Basically, a lot is currently in the works and still unsettled."
Lady Wong brings the desserts of Southeast Asia to 9th Street
Photos by Stacie Joy
Based on the number of people waiting to enter the shop specializing in desserts from Southeast Asia, they already have a strong following...
You can check out their website here to see a rundown of the shop's kuih and pastries. They also serve coffee from Coffee Project NY.
Posted hours, for now, are noon-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Ralph's returns on Avenue A
Photos by Steven
After a winter hiatus, the Ralph's Famous Italian Ices (& Ice Cream!) outpost reopens today on the NW corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street.
Workers were spotted stocking up the storefront yesterday...
Ralph's debuted in the East Village in September 2020.
The shop's hours: 2-10 p.m. daily.
As previously noted, the business dates to 1928, when Ralph Silvestro started selling Italian ice (or water ice) from his truck around Staten Island. The first retail store opened in 1949 on Port Richmond Avenue in Staten Island.
The company has franchised out in recent years, expanding to other parts of the NYC metropolitan area and Long Island.
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Reports of suspicious fires this afternoon in Stuy Town
ABC 7 reported these fires as being "suspicious" in nature. (The third fire was in a trash can near the Walgreens on First Avenue between 17th Street and 18th Street.)
More than 60 firefighters responded to the scene.
Stuy Town management released this statement:So this was happening a few minutes ago in Stuytown. Fire trucks and sirens heard on 1st Avenue but thing burnt itself out before NYFD arrived, about 6 minutes in total. pic.twitter.com/WtTs2ZtmRf
— Jordan Lage (@JordanLage) February 23, 2022
"We can confirm that three fires occurred here this afternoon. Thankfully, no people were harmed, and no major building damage occurred. We are grateful to the FDNY for their fast response and support. Our team is assisting them with their ongoing investigation."
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