'Low Fidelity' features the iconic photos from Bobby Grossman's downtown milieu

Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive on the Bowery has a new exhibit titled "Low Fidelity," a selection of Bobby Grossman's photographs of 1970s-1980s downtown icons. 

Some background via the Howl! website:

Grossman arrived in New York in 1976 after receiving a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he studied alongside friends Chris Frantz and David Byrne of Talking Heads. 

His first job was assisting Richard Bernstein, the artist responsible for the covers of Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. At Bernstein’s studio in the legendary Chelsea Hotel, Grossman found himself at ground zero in the early days of punk and the downtown scene. 

Taking photographs of friends and newfound acquaintances — including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, the Ramones, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and the milieu around Andy Warhol's Factory — Grossman became a regular fixture at CBGB, the Mudd Club and other downtown haunts.

And a little trivia: His first photo credit was the cover shot for Talking Heads' 1977 single "Psycho Killer."

You can check out "Low Fidelity" through May 29 at Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive, 250 Bowery at Stanton. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission.

You can also read about the "Low Fidelity" book project here.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive on the Bowery

That 99-cent slice of pizza will now cost you $1.50

As you may have recently noticed, the price of 99-cent pizza has crept up to $1.50 at neighborhood slice joints... with $1.50 signage covering the 99 cents pricing ...

This was an expected increase ... with media reports dating back to the late fall warning of an uptick thanks to inflationary food costs, the global supply-chain crisis and national labor shortage. Per the Times on Dec. 22: "The $1 Pizza Slice Becomes Inflation's Latest Victim." 

Abdul Muhammad, owner of 99 Cent Fresh Pizza, the eight-location chain in Manhattan, told The Guardian last December that the continued rise in costs may force him to raise his slice prices for the first time since opening in 2001.

"I have to think about it because my customers, many of them unemployed and struggling to make rent, can't afford to pay more," he said. 

Of course, the price of a slice has gone up across the board. 

As Bloomberg reported earlier this month:

The "pizza principle," a mainstay of New York economics for more than four decades, states that a slice of cheese pizza will always be the same price as a subway ride. 

The rule has largely held true since first conjectured in the New York Times in 1980, with any increase in pizza prices tending to predict a matching hike in public-transit fares. 

Not anymore. Prices for plain slices are soaring above $3 throughout the city along with commodity and labor costs. With the Metropolitan Transportation Authority freezing fares at $2.75, the gap between the price of riding downtown and satisfying late-night hunger pangs is growing quickly.

Openings: Viva Cucina on 2nd Avenue

Viva Cucina debuted last week at 85 Second Ave. on the SW corner at Fifth Street. 

The Italian restaurant, with vegan and vegetarian options, is an offshoot of Cafe Viva Gourmet Pizza on the Upper West Side. Justin and Lenny Iracani are running the EV outpost. 

This is also a return to the East Village for the family, who ran Viva Herbal Pizzeria at 179 Second Ave. until it closed in early 2014. 

So you can find some pizza here (with gluten-free and whole wheat crust available) as well as a variety of pasta dishes, risotto and grilled fish.

Viva Cucina's website is still under construction. You can find them on Instagram here. 

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday from 4:30-11 p.m. 

The restaurant takes over the space from Nai Tapas Bar, which moved to a new space across Second Avenue earlier this year.

H/T @vegan.nyx!

Don't be blue! The window displays will return to Blue Door Video on 1st Avenue

Photos by Stacie Joy 

You may have noticed that the cult-classic window displays are empty at Blue Door Video on First Avenue at Fifth Street. 

Not to worry, though, reports EVG Blue Door Video correspondent Stacie Joy. 

There was a leak upstairs, so Blue Door management had to remove all the odds and ends on display, but they will be replacing the window display with new "lingerie and merchandise and signs" in a few days ... the colored lights will also return...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Inside the Blue Door

Checking in on the incoming Chicken & the Egg on 2nd Avenue

Renovations continue over at 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street ... where a restaurant-speakeasy combo is coming soon. (You may have spotted the storefront signage in recent weeks.)

As we first noted last October, a group of hospitality veterans were appearing before Community Board 3's SLA committee to discuss their speakeasy, Sincerely, Ophelia, and restaurant, Chicken & the Egg, for the space. 

During the day, Chicken & the Egg will sell a variety of fried chicken sandwiches, fries and salads... with the bar opening for evening service.

You can check out @chickenandtheeggnyc on Instagram for ongoing updates. (The restaurant's Insta account has this description: "Best Chicken Sandwich Shack in the East Village.")

The previous tenant at 221 Second Ave., the 11-year-old Bay-Area sports bar Finnerty's, never reopened after the PAUSE of March 2020.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Tuesday's parting shot

Rolling up laters of wheatepaste posters this evening outside the dormant construction pit on the NE corner of Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place... (on the top — Supreme's Spring/Summer 2022 ad by Harmony Korine featuring Julix Fox...)

Farewells: Rev. Anne Sawyer has left St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery

Photos by Stacie Joy

Easter Sunday was the last day for the Rev. Anne Sawyer to preside over services at the historic St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on 10th Street and Second Avenue.

Rev. Anne, who started as the 14th Rector in June 2017, is heading back to her native Arizona to be with her wife, the Rev. Susan Anderson-Smith.

Before moving to New York, the two co-founded a tuition-free school in Tucson, Ariz., modeled after the former Nativity School here. Anderson-Smith needed to return to the school last year. 

And as Rev. Anne told EVG contributor Stacie Joy:  "We've been doing the long-distance thing for a while. That's a big part of it — wanting to be back together," she said. "I will miss St. Mark's and all of you."

We'll miss Rev. Anne too — she was friendly and outgoing with a great affinity toward the neighborhood and its residents ... it was a pleasure to run into her at the church's many events in recent years (such as here and here...)

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery 

Root & Bone shutters after 8 years in the East Village

Root & Bone closed after brunch service on Sunday... bringing an end to eight years at 200 E. Third St. just west of Avenue B. 

Per an Instagram post: 

After 8 years in the East Village, we have made the incredibly difficult and heartbreaking decision to close our doors. ... We are so grateful for all the wonderful people that have joined us, the friends we have made, and the family we have forged with our amazing, funny, and weird staff. 

"Top Chef" veterans Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis opened the restaurant specializing in Southern cuisine in early 2014... they later expanded the brand, with a pop-up in Puerto Rico and an outpost in South Miami in 2019. That location remains open... as does their Stiltsville Fish Bar in Miami Beach. 

This EV address was previously home to Mama's Food Shop, which closed in July 2012 after 15 years. Heart 'n Soul tried the space briefly before Root & Bone.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Mama's Food Shop closes after 15 years; 'the community nature of the neighborhood has all but vanished'

Meta deal: Facebook takes up more of 770 Broadway

ICYMI... According to Bloomberg, Facebook signed a lease for an additional 300,000 square feet of office space at 770 Broadway. 

Per Bloomberg, this addition gives Facebook — a tenant since 2013 — "nearly total control" of the 15-story landmarked building between Eighth Street and Ninth Street.

And if Facebook employees tire of their own cafeteria(s), then they will be able to schlep down to the retail space when Wegmans opens next year in the former Kmart home.

Bagel Boss has closed on 14th Street

The Bagel Boss at 238 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue apparently won't be reopening. 

The address has been removed from the Bagel Boss website, and Google lists them as "permanently closed." 

This comes after a temporary closure last October. At the time, BB management told us, "The location is temporarily closed due to gas and electric problems. We hope to open back up before the end of December!" The outpost never reopened, and it eventually showed up on real-estate listings. 

On Saturday, a reader saw the gate open for the first time in months ... and the interior mainly looked cleaned out...

Bagel Boss had only just opened here last July. 

The company, founded in 1975, has 14 locations in NYC and on Long Island. An outpost at 55 E. Houston St. (at Mott) also debuted last year. The store at 263 First Ave. remains in business.

[Updated] Report of a stabbing on Avenue A near 10th Street

Photos by Steven 

Updated 4/20

The NYPD has identified a person of interest. According to NYPD sources: "The victim didn’t cooperate at first because he was drunk."

We had heard previously that the two men knew each other.

Updated 4/25

Here is a surveillance clip of the suspect.

----

There are reports of a man who suffered non-life-threatening injuries after getting stabbed on Avenue A near 10th Street outside Tompkins Square Park shortly before 6 p.m. 

Several EVG readers report that crime scene tape is up in parts of Tompkins Square Park ... at the entrance on Ninth Street at Avenue A ... and the area around Temperance Fountain...

The Citizen app reports that the unknown victim "sustained leg and head injuries" and was being transported to the hospital.

This was the scene on Avenue A close to 10th Street...   

It's not known at the moment what led to the stabbing.

Closing day at Panya on Stuyvesant Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Panya, the Japanese bakery at 8 Stuyvesant St., closed for good on Saturday evening, marking the fourth and last of the businesses owned by Yoshida Restaurant Group to shut down here between Ninth Street and Third Avenue. 

Village Yokocho, Angel's Share and Sunrise Mart have shuttered in recent weeks. Cooper Union, which leases the buildings from their owners and had subleased them to the Yoshida Restaurant Group for more than 25 years, said it was the tenants' decision to move on. (This post has more background.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy visited the bakery two and a half hours before closing. There were a few items left on the shelves... the kitchen was already closed...

The manager said that some employees had worked at Panya for years — several since they were young adults. One worker was seen crying.

Panya opened here in 1994. 

Like the other businesses in this corridor, they will be missed...

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."