Breaking bread: Librae Bakery coming to Cooper Square

Renovations continue inside 35 Cooper Square at Sixth Street... signage on the door reveals the new tenant — Librae Bakery...

Don't know too much about the incoming business... they do have a placeholder website. 

We can glean a few clues from the bakery's help-wanted ad:

Looking to hire passionate people for a zero short cut, artisan family bakery. Seeking detail driven, bread-obsessed bakers with experience in sourdough production and vinoisserie. Daytime shifts only, early morning availability a must! Option for full and part time.

Sourdough! 

Schmackary's, which sold cookies and other desserts, never reopened in this space following the PAUSE of March 2020.

Former B Bar & Grill cleared from the Bowery

That's all for the former B Bar & Grill on Fourth Street and the Bowery ... as the demolition, which started late last year, wraps up here on the SW corner.

The photo here is at the former entrance to the one-time hotspot (dating to the mid-1990s)...

And next UP: a 21-floor office building. We got a first look at the Midtown-friendly monstrosity here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• CB Developers pay $59.5 million for an interest in 358 Bowery — current home of the B Bar & Grill and likely a new development

• B Bar & Grill lays off its staff without severance

• Permits filed to demolish the former B Bar & Grill on the Bowery

• First sign of the B Bar & Grill-replacing 21-story office building on the Bowery   

Modern Asian restaurant slated for 334 Bowery

Restaurateur Dieu Khuu is opening a new spot at 334 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond... 

Khuu, who also operates the Boil, which has locations on Chrystie Street and Waverly Place, appeared before Community Board 2 earlier this month for a new liquor license. 

According to the CB2 questionnaire (PDF here), the still-unnamed establishment will be a "Modern Asian restaurant serving creative southeast Asian dishes."

Gia Trattoria closed here late last year after just four months in business. 

As previously noted, this space has been challenging to make work through the years. There was Gino Sorbillo. And between November 2014 and June 2015, the storefront was divided into two spaces, and Forcella, Espoleta, Gia Trattoria (unrelated to the most recent Gia Trattoria), Slice of Naples, SRO and Bowery Pizza came and went over six months.  

Easter Sunday

As seen today outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue and 10th Street... thanks to Louise & Danny for the pic!

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo Wednesday of GarbageFest in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg)... 

• Suspect in Sunset Park subway shooting arrested in the East Village (Wednesday) ... Videos: Witnesses describe spotting alleged subway shooter Frank James before his arrest in the East Village (Wednesday) ... 5 people are splitting the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for Frank James tip (Saturday) 

• Owner: City's bureaucratic red tape forces business to close before even opening (Wednesday) 

• East Village treasure Katinka crowdfunding to remain in business and support its work in India (Tuesday)

• New York magazine pays homage to the East Village with 'Tales From Little Ukraine' (Monday) 

• Remembering International Bar owner Molly Fitch (Sunday)

• At the NYC premiere of "The Crusaders" (Thursday) 

• Inside the food-and-drink empire that included the now-shuttered Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart (Monday) 

• Organic Grill's East Village location has closed ahead of move to new space on West 3rd Street (Tuesday) 

• Keith Haring's "Self Portrait" returns to Astor Place undercover of the night (Friday) 

• Half Gallery opens an annex on 4th Street (Friday) 

• Early pick for your fall 2023 reading list (Tuesday)

• Houston Village Farm is closing on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• El Colmado debuts on East Houston (Friday) 

• Birria LES opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place (Friday)

• Everytable makes it signage office on Avenue B (Monday) 

• Another smoke shop for 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Felix Roasting Co. opening an outpost on Astor Place (Wednesday) ... Raising Cane's bringing the fried chicken fingers to Astor Place (Tuesday) 

... and we were sorry to hear about the passing this past week of comedian Gilbert Gottfried at age 67. Some of you might recall when he introduced the new "Star Trek" as part of the Epix free movie series in the summer of 2011 in Tompkins Square Park ... (Photo from the Park in July 2011 by Bobby Williams) ...

A memorial for the cherry trees of Corlears Hook Park at Earth Church on Avenue C

Earth Church, the new space for Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir at 36 Avenue C, is hosting a Memorial for the Cherry Trees of Corlears Hook Park late this afternoon.

This past week, workers cut down multiple blossoming cherry trees in Corlears Hook Park as part of the ongoing $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project.

Today on the Lower East Side. @smdono5 #WeRefuseESCR pic.twitter.com/GNendPTsXp

— a thousand people a thousand trees (@1000treesNYC) April 11, 2022

Several activists, including Rev. Billy, were arrested this past week at the scene while trying to prevent workers from taking down the trees. 

The event, which includes a potluck, starts at 5 p.m. today on the NE corner of Third Street and Avenue C. 

Toigo Orchards returns for the season to the Tompkins Square Greenmarket

A quick note from the year-round Tompkins Square Greenmarket along Avenue A (and Seventh Street)... Toigo Orchards from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, returned for the season last weekend with "orchard and small fruit and certified organic greenhouse vegetables." 

The Greenmarket's last returning producer, Luna Family Farm (cut flowers, branches and wreaths from Burlington County, New Jersey), is expected to return on May 15. 

Market hours are listed as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday's parting shot

An EVG reader shared this from East Ninth Street — blue and yellow flowers with two peace doves in a flower planter. 

Per the reader: "After the rough news week we had this week, a reminder that beauty and peace exist seemed like a mental health break to me."

Report: 5 people are splitting the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for Frank James tip

Photos Wednesday by Stacie Joy

The NYPD yesterday announced that five people will share the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for submitting tips leading to the arrest of Frank James, the alleged Sunset Park subway shooter. 

Per Gothamist: 

The names of the individuals, who will receive $10,000 each, were not released by the NYPD.

The amount – cobbled together by the New York City Police Foundation, Transportation Workers Union Local 100, and MTA – is among the larger rewards doled out by Crime Stoppers. The tip line allows anyone to provide leads anonymously and without having to testify in court, according to its website. 

As the Associated Press reported, James tipped off police about his whereabouts on Wednesday. 

Media accounts have speculated that at least two of the recipients will be Zack Tahhan, the security camera installer (below), and Frank Puebla, the manager at Saifee Hardware & Garden on First Avenue (watch interviews with both men here ... read this interview with Puebla at NY1) ... the two were outside the hardware store on Wednesday afternoon when James walked by.

James allegedly shot 10 people on a subway train in Sunset Park on Tuesday morning. In total, 29 people were wounded in the aftermath on the train and platform. 

Per NPR, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said James was charged with one count of violating a law prohibiting terrorist and other violent attacks against mass transit systems. James could face up to life in prison if convicted. 

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, told reporters after Thursday's hearing: "The initial press and police reports in cases like this one are often inaccurate. Mr. James is entitled to a fair trial, and we will ensure that he will receive one." 

Meanwhile, multiple media reports have retraced James' path following the shootings. He was said to be on the Lower East Side Wednesday morning when a high school student tipped off police to his presence. There were also reports that he ate at Katz's on Wednesday, though a manager told ABC News that was not true. 

Following his arrest early Wednesday afternoon on the NE corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place, the media descended on the area...

James is currently being held without bail.

Monthly plant sales return to the Recovery Center on 3rd Street

The monthly plant sales have started up for the year at the Recovery Center ... starting today from noon to 3 p.m. at the facility, 8 E. Third St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. 

Proceeds go directly to clients of their outpatient substance use treatment center.

The Center, part of Project Renewal, will host these sales on the third Saturday of the month.

Good Friday on Avenue B and 8th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B celebrated Good Friday yesterday with a Stations of the Cross processional and Senor de los Milagros ... commemorated with Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street. (And the first in-person Good Friday procession since 2019?)

The procession began at St. Brigid on Avenue B and Eighth Street...

... with the Way of the Cross procession heading east along Eighth Street...

... and a look inside St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B at Eighth Street...

Friday's parting shot

Joey Ramone died on this day in 2001...

Massive 'A.T.T.A.C.K'

 

Arre! Arre! just released a new record titled We Ride the Universe (PNKSLM). 

While we're waiting for new videos from the Swedish band (described as "Punks from Malmö, Sweden"), here's a clip for "A.T.T.A.C.K" from their 2018 debut.

Keith Haring's 'Self Portrait' returns to Astor Place undercover of the night

Keith Haring's "Self Portrait" has returned to Astor Place at Third Avenue... EVG reader 8E shares these photos of workers putting the sculpture back in place last night...

Workers removed "Self Portrait" in September 2020 for conservation work.

The sculpture first arrived here in December 2014. 

Updated 11:30 a.m. 

Workers have yet to do the unwrapping... thanks to Steven for the photos...

Updated April 21 

Unwrapped!

Birria LES opening an outpost on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

The owners of Birria LES, which debuted an instant hotspot on Rivington Street last spring, is opening a new location at 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... signage arrived here yesterday ...

A little background via Grub Street: 

This is the origin of Birria LES, a tiny new storefront with a food-truck-sized menu of tacos, mulitas, tostadas, consommé, and esquites on Rivington Street. The restaurant is a partnership between childhood friends Iqbal "Iggy" Ahmed and Emon Ullah, along with another friend, chef Raymundo Garcia, a native of Tlaxcala in central Mexico. 

Though Birria LES has only been open for a few weeks, the tiny restaurant — with its seven indoor seats and three outdoor standing tables — is a burgeoning favorite among young Muslims. Its popularity is soaring thanks to TikTok, first from @HalalNYC, in a clip that has over 130,000 views and reads, "#Birria LES is a game-changer for #Halal eats in #manhattan 🌮👌🏼." 

Birria LES takes over the space from Japanese chain Ramen Setagaya, which shuttered earlier this year.

Half Gallery opens an annex on 4th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Half Gallery has opened an annex at 233 E. Fourth St. (a former hair salon) ... just a few storefronts away from the main space on the NW corner at Avenue B. 

The annex is currently featuring the work of Kyle Staver ... a collection of bas-reliefs ...

... that complement her paintings on exhibit in the Half Gallery on Fourth and B...

The work will remain up through May 8. 

The gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. (Ask for access to the annex at the main gallery.) 

Half Gallery debuted in the East Village in March 2020.

El Colmado debuts on East Houston

Photos by Stacie Joy 

El Colmado, a market specializing in Dominican food, is now in soft-open mode at 309 E. Houston St. between Clinton and Attorney. (We first mentioned this pending arrival here.)

For now, the market offering a variety of sandwiches, empanadas and to-go-meals is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

El Comado has an Instagram account here. 

A sign that the Keith Haring sculpture is returning to 51 Astor Place?

Update: Yes — "Self Portrait" is back.

Work has been taking place on the perch outside the DeathStar, aka 51 Astor Place ... where the Keith Haring sculpture — "Self Portrait" from 1989 — has been MIA since September 2020. 

At the time, the director of collections at the Keith Haring Foundation told us that the sculpture had been removed for minor conservation work and would be reinstalled after this work was complete. 

Perhaps this is the future date.

The sculpture first arrived here in December 2014. 

Report: Alleged subway shooter held without bail after first court appearance

Photo at the 9th Precinct on 5th Street yesterday by Katie Godowski 

Frank James, accused of opening fire on a crowded subway train in Sunset Park on Tuesday, made his initial appearance in a federal courtroom this afternoon. A U.S. federal judge ordered the alleged gunman to remain in custody. 

Per CNN: 

In court, Assistant US Attorney Sara Winik described the attack as "premeditated and carefully planned" as prosecutors requested James remain behind bars. 

Defense attorneys told the federal judge they consented to him remaining in custody for now but may press again for bail later. The lawyers further asked for a psychiatric evaluation to determine James' medical needs. 

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, had this to say: 

"We are all still learning about what happened on that train. What we do know is this: Yesterday, Mr. James saw his photograph on the news. He called Crime Stoppers to help. He told them where he was. Initial press and police reports in cases like this one are often inaccurate. Mr. James is entitled to a fair trial, and we will ensure that he receives one." 

James was arrested on the NE corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon. According to media accounts, James called the NYPD tip line and told authorities where they could find him. 

Two workers outside Saifee Hardware & Garden are also credited with alerting police after spotting James walking by the store on the SE corner of First Avenue and Seventh Street.