Filming notices for 'Gossip Girl' outside Key Food; see you in the aisles xoxo

Crews for the HBO Max reboot of "Gossip Girl" will be in the neighborhood today (Thursday!) and tomorrow (uh, Friday!). 

EVG GG Watchers© have spotted filming notices on Fourth Street and along stretches of Avenue A.

Storylines for season 2 have been kept under wraps, so we might as well speculate what the young adults from Constance Billard-St. Jude's School are going to be doing.

The proximity of the notices to Key Food can only mean that the grocery will play a — pardon this — key role in a plot line, like (typing out loud here) that Zoya buys a "cake for any occasion" here as a makeup gift for the canceled Julien or Monet de Haan has a crisis of it-girl status while looking for the moved-several-times Skinny Pop. Or maybe the gang stops by for to-go sushi for lunch on the steps of the Met. (Yes, it's out of the way and not really very good, but through the magic of TVmaking, the Brooklyn Bridge seems like 4 blocks to Central Park.)

(As an aside: Given the no parking signs around Key, where are all the delivery trucks going to idle/double park over the next two days? On the lawn at Village View?)

Anyway, GG notices are also posted outside Katz's, which might mean a GG-corned beef combo is in our future... one can dream!

Season 2 reportedly started filming in February, with a shoot here on March 1. No word on a release date.

The East Village was a popular location during the run of the original CW series (2007-2012) ... like outside Doc Holliday's ... or inside Veselka.

El Churro for Allen and Houston?

Renovations continue at 200 Allen St., that thin strip of a storefront on the SE corner of Houston. 

Back in February, workers at the scene told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that a cafe-coffee shop was in the works for the space, though they didn't have the business name. 

Well, based on recent façade additions, 200 Allen St. Watchers© figure the business name will be El Churro...

We'll see!

As for the past, Eastanbul Gyro Kebab and Smyrna Bakery closed here last fall. Empire Gyro, with a 24/7 schedule, opened here in February 2019 ... with the conversion to Eastanbul (and Smyrna) in the summer of 2020. The space was previously Sugar Cafe for 10 years. 

And because someone will mention it! Economy Foam (and later, & Futon) anchored the corner from 1937 to 2003.

Akina Sushi has not been open lately

Several readers have noted that Akina Sushi has been dark in recent weeks at 424 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Yelp lists the restaurant as closed... and the phone is not in service. (Delivery is also no longer available via the usual third-party apps.)

Owner Tim Chang opened Akina Sushi in December 2008... and fans of the restaurant have noted their appreciation of the staff, including Tim's wife Nicole and sometimes his mother. His sister May owned the now-closed nail salon next door. 

'Room With Stars' at Theater for the New City

"Room With Stars" is currently in production at Theater for the New City on First Avenue. 

This partly autobiographical play, written by Nina Howes and directed by longtime EV resident Elizabeth Ruf, "evokes the culture and music of the height of the Vietnam War era on the Lower East Side." 

Here's more:

Teenaged Samantha’s dreams of a scholarship to college are shattered when she's expelled from high school and locked up for her anti-war activities. Her hard-working mom is no help, and her Puerto Rican boyfriend actually wants to enlist. Samantha finds an ally in her boyfriend's fiery aunt, Angelina, a volunteer at the Catholic Worker. The playwright and the community-minded artistic team of "Room With Stars" hope to inspire new generations to speak out against the atrocities of war and all forms of injustice.

EVG contributor Steven caught an opening-weekend performance and gives it high marks...

The play runs through June 19, with showtimes Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. There's a 3 p.m. matinee on Sundays. Find more info here. 

Theater for the New City is at 155 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

Photos courtesy of Andreas Weigelt

At the last day of self-defense class

Photos by Stacie Joy

With the increase in hate incidents against Asian Americans during the pandemic, Glenn Genovas, an East Village resident and owner of Sei Shin Dojo on Avenue A, decided to offer free self-defense classes for AAPI women.

The eight-week course started in April... with the last session taking place last week. EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to watch part of the class, in which Genovas donned a helmet and padded suit and put their training to the test...

The instructor said he was impressed with the results.

"They put all those weeks of training into one actual self-defense application," Genovas said. "One of [the students] hit me so hard that she broke my face shield. In case you are wondering, it was repeated elbow strikes that cracked the face shield."

According to a new report from the Asian American Bar Association of New York, there were 233 reported attacks against Asian Americans in New York City in the first three quarters of 2021. Of those, only seven have led to hate-crime convictions to date, per the report, as CNN covered. 

The Bar Association's analysis showed that most reported anti-Asian incidents were in Midtown, with around 55% of the incidents involving a female victim. 

Demolition complete on the NE corner of 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street

Workers have wrapped up the demolition of the three buildings that stood along 38-48 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.

Unfortunately, the dumpster on the lot obscures the full view from the blogger portal on the Second Street plywood...

Gone are the former Church of the Nativity, the church rectory and LaSalle Annex.

As previously reported, Gemini Rosemont Development has plans for an 11-story mixed-use building (100,568 square feet in total) on this soon-to-be-empty parcel. According to the approved new building work permit, the development will feature 88 residential units (likely condos given the square footage) and 9,600 square feet for retail. 

We haven't spotted any renderings out in the wild just yet.

In 2020, Gemini Rosemont bought the former La Salle annex at 38 Second Ave. and Second Street. The $14.5 million purchase of the four-story building was the third of three contiguous plots that they acquired. The Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment company closed on 42-44 Second Ave. and 46-48 Second Ave. (the former Church of the Nativity) in March 2020 for $40 million. 

Updated: Here's a better view of the empty lot via Felton Davis...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• There are 8 million stories in the naked city... and this is one of them on 2nd Avenue 

• A look inside the soon-to-be-demolished Church of the Nativity on 2nd Avenue

Openings: Emilia by Nai

Chef Ruben Rodriguez unveils his third East Village project today with the opening of Emilia by Nai at 174 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Per the Emilia by Nai website: "A minimalist farm-to-table restaurant — where Rodriguez pays homage to his Grandmother Emilia, for her untraditionally kept garden in Galicia and her love for coffee."

The coffee portion will come during the day as the team behind the Coffee Project NY on Fifth Street (and other locations) will be running a daily cafe service between 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The restaurant will be open then from 5-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, with a 11:30 p.m. close on Friday. And Saturday: 1-11:30 p.m. ... and Sunday: 1-10 p.m.

You can find the menu here.

This is a return to the address for Rodriquez, who ran Nai Tapas Bar here until a move to Second Avenue in 2018.

Rodriguez also operates Amigo by Nai at 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street.

Milk Burger signage arrives on Houston

The Milk Burger signage has arrived at 321 E. Houston St. between Attorney and Ridge. (Thanks Stacie Joy for the pic!)

The quick-serve burger joint with an outpost in the Bronx was OK'd for a liquor license here back in February. 

You can check out their menu (burgers! fries! milkshakes!) right here. 

No word on an opening date just yet. Owner Erik Mayor was hiring as of early May.

El Maguey y La Tuna closed here in 2018 after the landlord reportedly doubled the rent.

The Nook NYC announces itself on 2nd Avenue

Signage recently arrived at 199 Second Ave. for The Nook NYC. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

CB3 OK'd a liquor license back in December for the applicants here between 12th Street and 13th Street. According to the CB3 questionnaire, the operators, who run several businesses in Queens, will be serving Korean food.

The previous tenant here, the Japanese restaurant Pado, closed during the pandemic in the fall of 2020. 

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo on Avenue A late this afternoon by Stacie Joy...

First red-tailed chick takes maiden voyage

Photos by Steven 

The first of Amelia and Christo's three 2022 red-hawk offspring has fledged... leaving the nest yesterday for a sturdy-looking branch in a tree away from the nest. 

Looking good!

Steven reports that a second hawklet made it out of the nest, landing in another part of the tree "and kind of got stuck for a bit in the thin branches."

The three chicks have grown so quickly (the first hatch was April 17, per Goggla).

Expect a lot of young hawk activity (flying at low altitudes, for instance) in the weeks ahead.

Given some potentially unsteady flying, please check out this post via Goggla about what to do if you need to reach someone regarding an injured hawk, falcon or other NYC wildlife. 

Questions, and concerns, remain over private security detail outside the former P.S. 64

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

A security detail remains outside the former P.S. 64 (and later Charas/El Bohio Community Center) on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

As we first reported over the Memorial Day weekend, employees of the Massachusetts-based Madison Security Group started to watch the property... and near where several unhoused residents have been living under the sidewalk bridge in recent months (and the site of several controversial sweeps via city agencies).

There was speculation that the security was there to watch the tents under the sidewalk bridge, perhaps hired by nearby residents concerned by their presence. One local resident told us: "A Madison Security car was stationed alongside the encampment all last night with its lights flashing at them."

However, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spoke with one of the security guards, who said he was explicitly there on eight-hour shifts to monitor the building and serve as an impediment for people attempting to sneak inside the long-abandoned school-community center. (There have been reports of kids partying and other activities inside the property.)

The security guard said that he did not care about the tents or the Christodora House — the former P.S. 64 was his only interest. He also stated that he didn't know who had hired them.

Ownership of the property is in transition. In January, Supreme Court Justice Melissa Crane ruled that Madison Realty Capital could move forward with a foreclosure against building landlord Gregg Singer after years of delay. 

Madison Realty Capital reportedly provided Singer with a $44 million loan on the property in 2016. Court records show that he failed to repay the balance by its maturity date in April 2016, and by that September, the lender filed to foreclose, as reported by The Real Deal.

Singer, who bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.15 million, has wanted to turn the building into a dorm, though those plans never materialized. There has been a call to return the building for community use in years past. 

As for the security, we witnessed the Madison car leave Ninth Street and drive around to the 10th Street side of the building, though the detail didn't remain there. An unmarked NYPD vehicle also stopped by on Ninth Street, yelling at the security guard seated in the car about being too close to a fire hydrant.

The security has also impacted the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish across Ninth Street. Since 1986, Trinity's Services And Food for the Homeless (SAFH) has provided lunch for 200-300 people each weekday. However, church officials say the security detail on the block has kept some people in need from coming through.

"While I'm happy to see that security has returned to keep the building safe, the constant presence of vehicles with flashing lights and guards in bulletproof vests has definitely been a deterrent to some of our soup kitchen's guests coming to receive food and assistance," Trinity's Rev. William Kroeze (aka Pastor Will) told us. "Many of our guests are undocumented and have complicated relationships with law enforcement, and they can't readily discern the difference between law enforcement and private security. It's important that Trinity always be a place of sanctuary and refuge for those most on the margins of society, and I'm concerned that for some of our guests, we are not such a place at the current time."

Meanwhile, two tents remain under the sidewalk bridge. There were six-seven tents at the peak this spring, with residents numbering up to 10.

Astor Place Greenmarket returns TODAY

The Astor Place Greenmarket via GrowNYC is back in action for the season starting today (Tuesday, June 7).

You can expect the following vendors, per the Village Alliance:

• Cedar Hill Farm, Kernan Farms — Vegetables from Cumberland County, N.J.

• Halal Pastures Farms — Vegetables from Orange County, N.Y.

• Kernan Farms — Vegetables from Cumberland County, N.J.

• Lost Bread Co. — Baked Goods from Philadelphia County, Pa.

• Remsburger Honey & Maple — Honey & maple syrup from Dutchess County, N.Y.

• Wilklow Orchards — Orchard and small fruits, vegetables, cider, baked goods and jams from Ulster County, N.Y.

Today's Astor Place grand reopening will include the jazz stylings of Art Baron and Friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Greenmarket will be open every Tuesday until Thanksgiving, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the South Plaza (roughly Eighth Street and Lafayette).

Updated 10 a.m. 

Some produce views this morning via Steven...

Wood you believe another smoke shop is opening

A business called Wood Vibez (!!!) is coming soon to 516 E. Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Given the water pipe on the signage, this is presumably another smoke shop... and not, say, a furniture store or woodworking shop or something related to the slang usage of wood. 😬

As you know, smoke shops have been popping up all over the neighborhood in recent weeks, though not on this block. 

RIP Bobbie Hondo

Photos from October by Stacie Joy 

Bobbie Hondo, a regular in recent years on the downtown performance scene, died on May 31 in her native El Paso, Texas. She was 28. A cause of death was not revealed. 

Here's part of a feature obituary celebrating her life: 

Her independence, unmatched energy, beaming with life spirit and candor, embraced her community. She utilized her voice to provide the impulse, her experiences and determination to advocate for reframing the reality of the issues that impacted her community. Bobbie stood as a symbol of light, inspiration and strength for all humans, in a world conflicted to find equality, free of fear and shame.

Tributes to her on Instagram highlight her talent, creativity and kindness.  

You can read more about her life and some remembrances from friends and families here. 

Above photo: Hondo with her friend Lida Fox (left), vocalist-bassist of cumgirl8 during a show at the Knitting Factory last fall.

This week in film-TV shoots

There's a busy week ahead for filming around the East Village ... tomorrow sees "Big Indie Smith" shooting along Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park (and 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B).

"Big Indie Smith" is code for a TV series remake of the 2005 Brad-and-Angelina vehicle "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Donald Glover and Maya Erskine (taking over for Phoebe Waller-Bridge) are the leads in this series for Amazon Prime. 

Also!

Notices are up along Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery for "Brass Tactics" ... code for the upcoming Apple+ series "City on Fire" based on the 2015 book by Garth Risk Hallberg. (We wrote about this production here.) Both BT pics by Derek Berg. 

Crews were prepping Rivington Guitar (Pawn Shop!) today for tomorrow's shoot ...

LAST BUT NOT LEAST. 

The "Gossip Girl" reboot for HBO Max will be filming along Avenue A and some side streets (like Fourth) on Thursday and Friday... pic by Stacie Joy...

Live team coverage TK.

Updated 6/7 

A reader shared this from First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... where there's a TV commercial filming over the next few days...

Gaia Italian Café set to debut on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Updated 6/7: Certified open

Neighborhood favorite Gaia Italian Café is expected to have a soft opening this week at its new home at 226 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

 

For now, the Café will be open for a few weekdays at lunchtime (no weekend hours yet) with a limited pickup-takeout menu while chef-owner Gaia Bagnasacco and sous chef Kevin Espinal adjust to this new adventure.

An assortment of Italian shelf-stable products (sauces, truffle polenta, grilled artichokes, imported Italian pastas, vinegar and oils) will also be for sale, in addition to a new line of ice cream and house-made treats.

And the duckies have returned to decorate the kitchen.

In an interview, Bagnasacco said she created the storefront “as a tribute to Earth [Gaia is the Greek goddess of Earth], that will have the face of a shop or to-go ‘Gastronomia,’ focusing on serving the community, awareness of Earth matter, and on a style of eating that follows the Mediterranean diet as a primary source in the homemade Italian tradition of the cafè.”

You can follow the Gaia Instagram account for updates. 

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Previously

State of the art: Blick is now open in new 4th Avenue home

Blick Art Materials is now open (as of June 2) in its new home at 111 Fourth Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. (Thanks, Jeanne Krier, for this photo!) 

We noted this pending arrival last year... as the Blick outpost on 13th Street between University and Fifth Avenue was closing to relocate here.

This storefront is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week... with an 11 a.m. start on Saturday and Sunday.

Until early 2019, this space was home to Jerry's New York Central.