Rent hike forcing 37-year-old Guerra Paint & Pigment Corp. to leave the East Village

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The East Village is losing one of its excellent and unique shops. 

Guerra Paint & Pigment Corp. is leaving its longtime home at 510 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B to consolidate operations at their Williamsburg warehouse. Why? Their building has a new landlord and "a triple net lease with untenable terms." 

Guerra's management made the official announcement yesterday on Instagram: 

We are closing our Manhattan location and consolidating our retail store to our Williamsburg warehouse where we have been for 20 years at 21 Wythe Ave. between N 14th and N 15th Streets, Brooklyn. The impetus behind the move is a new East Village landlord and a triple net lease with untenable terms, but we are excited for the change! Having operations all in one place will allow us to provide even faster service and turn around time, particularly on bulk orders ... We will miss our East Village home of 37 years, but we look forward to seeing you in Williamsburg! 

The move is scheduled for the week of May 23. This shop will be closed that week for the transition. The soft opening in Williamsburg is expected on May 30. (The Instagram post has particulars about placing orders online during the move.) 

We heard the news of the pending departure earlier this spring... when EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the shop for a visit...

Founder Art Guerra passed away in May 2021. He was 81.

Tree cutting and fencing in East River Park reaches the 6th Street pedestrian bridge

The tree cutting along the "shared-use path" — the Greenway between East River Park and the FDR — has reached the Sixth Street pedestrian bridge. (Thanks to Natalie for the top photo from yesterday morning. All other pics by EVG from yesterday afternoon.)

In recent days, workers have been chopping down mature trees along this corridor adjacent to the track and field...

The latest Construction Bulletin (click on the image to go big) lists "Ongoing Con Edison utility work" ... it's not immediately known what kind of Con Ed work would necessitate removing the trees...

In the weeks ahead, workers will install protective fencing along the Greenway up to the 10th Street pedestrian bridge and continue "clearing and grubbing" (cutting down trees)...

As of now, you may no longer access the Greenway below the Sixth Street pedestrian bridge...

The track and field area is still accessible ...

The outdoor gym area below the track and field is open, though you need to enter it via the walkway along the river.

There aren't any specific dates at this time attached to gutting the remaining 57.5-acre East River Park — burying the existing park under fill and elevating it by 8-to-10 feet above sea level — north of Sixth Street. A presentation from last fall (at this link) shows the area north of Sixth Street closed in the summer of 2024 ... at which time the new amenities designated for the currently gutted park below Stanton Street would be available to the public.

The city has said that it will maintain public access to a minimum of 42 percent of the park throughout construction.

Opponents of this version of the reconstruction project continue to speak out, stressing there's a better path forward to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise — one that doesn't cause 1,000 mature trees to be chopped down. 

Cadence reopens tonight in new 7th Street home

Cadence, the vegan soul-food restaurant, reopens tonight in its new larger space on Seventh Street. 

As previously reported, Chef Shenarri Freeman's popular spot moved on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue — from No. 122 to No. 111. 

The new space means Freeman and company can accommodate larger parties and serve about 60 diners at a time (vs. the dozen or so seats at No. 111).

Cadence opened in the spring of 2021 and drew praise from Pete Wells at the Times, who gave the place high marks.

The former Cadence space will be turned into a raw vegan restaurant, said Ravi DeRossi, the owner of the plant-based Overthrow Hospitality. The storefront next door, where Cadence was going to expand, will become a vegan wine and dessert bar.

Proletariat, another Overthrow property, is also on the move ... the craft beer bar left St. Mark's Place for a larger home at 21 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. The opening date is pending.

At the rally in Foley Square to support abortion rights

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A crowd estimated in the thousands turned up at Foley Square downtown late this afternoon in protest of the leaked SCOTUS draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Protestors gathered and politicians scrambled to speak out following the bombshell report last night at Politico indicating that conservative justices are poised to vote to overturn a landmark ruling that guarantees access to legal abortions. (The Supreme Court confirmed that the leaked abortion draft is authentic.)

New York City: It's time to fight back.

Join me, advocacy groups, and other elected officials at 5PM in Foley Square to say #BansOffOurBodies and support abortion rights. #RoeVWade

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) May 3, 2022

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was at Foley Square and shared these photos...

"We, here in New York, must set up a fund to ensure that any woman, anywhere in the country, can look to New York as a safe haven that will allow them to make the reproductive health care decisions that are best for them," New York Attorney General Letitia James said. "This won't make things right, but it will give women nationwide one way to rest easy." 

Other speakers included Amy Schumer...

Some attendees later headed north to Houston Street en route to Washington Square Park...

Rite Aid on Avenue D empties out ahead of rumored closure

Photos by Stacie Joy

A tipster told us that the Rite Aid on Avenue D between Sixth Street and Seventh Street is closing.

During a visit late last week, two employees told us the following: "We don't know if we're really closing or not — they keep telling us different things." 

The store doesn't exactly scream "open for business." Many shelves are empty. One employee said shoplifting is a problem — not just here but everywhere. 

One thing still in stock... DVDs...

Last month, Rite Aid said it plans to close a total of 145 “unprofitable” stores as part of its optimization efforts ... and is reportedly "looking to save in administrative and labor costs and make improvements across payroll and the supply chain, with total savings expected to reach $170 million in 2023."

Rite Aid opened here in the retail space of Niko East Village, the new 12-story retail-residential complex, in late 2018 ... after a move from its previous home one block to the north.

The Duane Reade closed on Avenue D at Second Street in November 2019 ... eventually replaced by a USA Super Stores outpost.  

A campaign to support landmark designation of the Eye and Ear Infirmary on 2nd Avenue

Preservationists are rallying to support the Eye and Ear Infirmary on Second Avenue at 13th Street. 

Here's more via Village Preservation: 

The historic Eye and Ear Infirmary ... is in danger of being lost forever. This striking building, which was built in stages between 1856 and 1903, with most of it dating to the 1890s, housed what is the oldest specialized hospital in the Western Hemisphere, founded in 1820 by two doctors known as the "fathers of American ophthalmology." 

This institution became an icon of comprehensive and accessible care for the public, attracting Helen Keller to speak at the ribbon-cutting for the final stage of the building in 1903. 

Unfortunately, the building’s fate is now clouded. It is being emptied of doctors and services as a move several blocks to the north is being contemplated. No matter what happens, this striking piece of our city’s history deserves to be spared from the wrecking ball. 

This link has info on how to support the landmark designation of the infirmary. 

Last summer, Mount Sinai Beth Israel officials announced that they were no longer pursuing the "$1 billion downtown transformation" that would have seen the creation of a new 7-story hospital on 13th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. This building appeared to exist among the new facilities.

May 1 on Avenue B

There seemed to be a lot going on along Avenue B on Sunday... religious processions... May Day celebrations... Maypole dances... EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos from along the Open Street...

An evening of chamber music at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer

Readers have told us they've enjoyed the free concerts at the Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

So here's another one to mention: This Wednesday at 7, the church is hosting an evening of chamber music featuring a Juilliard faculty husband-and-wife duo performing lute songs from the Renaissance. The show starts at 7 p.m. Find the event link here.