The annual Summer Streets celebration returns on the first three Saturdays of the month (August!).
Starting tomorrow (Saturday!), nearly seven miles of NYC roadways are closed to vehicles for people to run, walk, bike, complain that this takes away prime parking, etc.
As in previous years, this car-free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You can find more details about Summer Streets at this link, including what kind of corporate-sponsored activities to expect at Astor Place.
Jim Andralis is an East Village-based singer-songwriter ... and trauma-focused psychotherapist in private practice — a unique combination for a unique talent.
His body of work, starting with 2016's debut, "Your Dying Wish Came True," shows Andralis as a pop craftsman, a songwriter of rare melodic gifts. Live, he has been joined by Julie Delano, Lesia Graves, Susan Hwang and Jessie Kilguss — not to mention his husband, artist-designer Larry Krone. (They opened for Bikini Kill on July 9 at Irving Plaza.)
Next Thursday (Aug. 11), Andralis plays at Rockwood Music Hall on Allen Street (it's also his birthday). His proceeds will go to the Yellowhammer Fund, which promotes reproductive justice in Alabama and the Deep South
Ahead of the show, we stopped by Andralis' East Village apartment, where we took a lot of photos of Dory, who graces the cover of his forthcoming LP, "I Can't Stop Trying," and the album's promo T-shirts.
Here, Andralis talks about his career ambitions, life-changing accordion lessons and love of the East Village.
What was your earliest career ambition?
I had jobs since I was 15 but nothing resembling career ambition until I was well into my 20s. Until then, I think my sole ambition was trying to pass as heterosexual.
Once I moved here at 24, the dream became performing on some kind of stage — ideally singing. The shows I loved the best were Kiki and Herb, The Talent Family (Amy and David Sedaris) plays, Jeff Weiss and Carlos Martinez’s insane serialized stuff.
The people I looked up to the most were hustling in some kind of service-industry job while attempting to carve out some kind of creative life. Imagining I could do that here felt pretty fucking ambitious.
When did music come into the picture?
I had been in a couple off-off Broadway musicals and stuff, but in the early 2000s, I started taking accordion lessons with Walter Kuhr at Main Squeeze Accordions on Essex Street. I’d always been really drawn to the accordion, particularly in the context of a band. But it’s also completely self-contained. You can play the accordion in your apartment, sing along and you can do just do that right away. Playing chords is really easy.
Anyway, you can draw a direct line from accordion lessons with Walter to everything I love about my life here. I was tending bar at Phoenix on 13th and A. Two of my favorite bar customers, Ben and Clint, found out I was taking accordion lessons and asked me if I wanted to be in their band the Isotoners. I started really writing and singing songs in that band. Bridget Everett would usually sing a couple songs with us whenever we performed, so that’s when Bridget and I got to be friends.
Also, the whole reason I met my husband Larry Krone is that he asked me to play accordion with him at one of Julian Fleisher’s nights at Starlite Lounge on Avenue A. So music coming into the picture also coincided with love and family coming into the picture.
You work as a trauma-focused psychotherapist. Do you consider your music to be more of a side project or perhaps a second career?
It’s definitely a whole second career. But it’s not, to be clear, two actual revenue streams. It’s more like, “You want a vinyl pressing for this release? Take on two more clients, motherfucker.”
You're a longtime East Village resident. What first prompted you to move here? What keeps you here?
Long before I actually lived in this neighborhood, I worked and spent every minute I could here. It wasn’t until I first entered The Bar on 2nd and 4th in, like, 1994 that I felt like I could be myself in any kind of gay context. Soon after that, I
started tending bar there, then Gold Bar, Dick’s and finally Phoenix. But I mostly lived in Queens.
When I started dating Larry in 2004 I put in an application for a place in the HDFC where he was already living. I was able to move here (and actually afford it) in 2007, all thanks to our HDFC!
This neighborhood has felt like home to me for way before I lived here. I just feel lucky to miraculously have an apartment here, friends nearby, tons of live music within a 5-10 minute walk.
In conclusion, I believe I shall remain here as long as possible!
I try to live in the moment as much as I can. But I've always been a nostalgic person. Do you find yourself being more nostalgic about the East Village and NYC, in general, these days, or can you balance the present and past to a healthy degree?
It depends on the moment. Some days I walk around and feel the history of our neighborhood existing in this weird, beautiful harmony right alongside the present. Like I’m part of something complicated and beautiful that extends beyond me in all these different dimensions.
Other days, it’s almost like panic because I can’t remember what used to be where this nail place is. Was Little Rickie on First or A? And if I can’t remember fill-in-the-blank, how the hell will anyone remember I was ever here?
It feels very linked to my feelings about mortality. In other words, yes completely healthy!
Sometimes, though, it’s a really sweet nostalgia, like you could get a goddamn soy patty platter at Dojo for 5 bucks in my day, honey!
Tell us more about the recently released single "New York City Spring" and what was going on when you wrote it.
I got COVID pretty bad in March 2020 when the city was just hit so hard.
I don’t think "Working Girl" is the BEST movie, but I like it. It came on TV when I was really sick. I watched the opening with Carly Simon singing, and a million people taking the Staten Island ferry to go work with, like, the Twin Towers on the horizon and I lost my SHIT. It was like this enormous wave of grief and terror came over me, this awareness of how vulnerable this little island is and how much it’s been through.
I write a lot of songs about New York, and I love art that loves New York and New Yorkers, like my friend Neil Goldberg’s gorgeous work. “New York City Spring” is my experience of New York in 2020, when it felt like a scared, wounded place where all these things used to happen. But it ends up kind of a pep talk for us
both and an attempt to conjure some sort of magic to come save us.
You and the band opened for Bikini Kill on July 9 at Irving Plaza. Most memorable moment of the evening for you?
The entire feeling just felt like this enormous, insanely fun moment. We were just ecstatic to have been invited by Bikini Kill to do it and so overwhelmed by how welcoming the venue and crowd were.
But if I had to pick one particular moment, it was being with my band just ecstatically dancing during Bikini Kill’s incredible set. We’d already done our set, loved every second of it, and just got to celebrate the whole thing together as friends while watching the most amazing Bikini Kill show. Plus Kathleen dedicated “For Tammy Rae” to me and Lar. That also felt like heaven and made me cry.
Your birthday is Aug. 11. (Happy early birthday!) You're playing a show that night at Rockwood Music Hall, and you're donating everything you make to the Yellowhammer Fund. Can you tell people more about them and why you support the organization?
The Yellowhammer Fund is doing amazing reproductive justice work helping people in the places being hit the hardest right now. They help marginalized communities get health care. One way I can help is by supporting organizations like Yellowhammer. I’m just grateful they exist. They are doing beautiful work that is saving lives, and also fucking dangerous.
And thanks for the birthday wishes!
Your LP, "I Can't Stop Trying," is due out in early January. Will there be a tour with it? Any special plans?
I mean, I hope so! I’m proud of this record. My friend, producer and engineer Tom Beaujour set up this insanely safe and quarantined recording experience, and making this record really helped me survive that year.
In terms of plans, we usually do a record release at Joe’s Pub. That’s not locked in, but we have our fingers crossed.
I have never toured. I’m dying to do it but can’t quite afford it. But it’s something I feel like I’ll make happen if not for this record definitely the next one, which we’ll be recording this fall!
Larry and I are doing a show in Andes with Julian Fleisher, Neal Medlyn and Julie DeLano on Aug. 6. Can we call that a tour??
We've loved every minute of being part of this community and we've been very fortunate to have met so many amazing people along the way. We're very proud of what we've built here over the years, and it’s hard to say goodbye! But, it is time to move on. ...
We’re excited to say that we are keeping the space in the family, and we can't wait to share with you what's next for you on 6th St. Keep an ear out!
Renovations are taking inside the former coffee shop at 442 E. 14th St., just west of Avenue A. Two EVG readers/tipsters reported that workers at the scene said the incoming tenant is — Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
This would also make the second EV Popeyes: an outpost opened in October 2020 at 39 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.
No. 442 was previously the Lower East Side Coffee Shop, which closed hereafter 13 years in February 2021. Next door, New Herbal World, which offered a variety of herbs, teas and tonics as well as acupuncture, moved to Lafayette Streetin September 2019.
It was a tough time for all the businesses on this corner in recent years. For nearly three years, this side of 14th Street was an active construction zone for L-train repairs and Avenue A entrance construction ... with various trucks, drill rigs, pile drivers, compressors and generators.
Several businesses were forced to shut down due to limited access to their storefronts. Outside the now-shuttered Dion and the Coffee Shop, customer access included only 28 inches of sidewalk space — not big enough for a wheelchair in spots.
Workers on Tuesday removed the curbside dining structure from outside Takahachi, the 32-year-old restaurant on Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.
As far as we can recall, the space hadn't been used since last fall (though it was pretty festive when it was in service).
And here's how the space looked last evening...
There is a No Standing sign in place here, and parking is not allowed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days a week.
The signs arrived in late June ahead of the new Bus Only lane on the southbound section of Avenue A below Fifth Street. (Not sure why the city placed the signs here, when there isn't a bus lane — unless that's coming soon. Somtum Der next door still uses its curbside dining space.)
Meanwhile, as you likely read, a new lawsuit was filed that seeks to end the city's outdoor dining program. The suit blames the Open Restaurants program, which was implemented during the pandemic in 2020, for excessive noise, traffic and garbage.
The story was well-covered. You can read more at NBC 4 ... the Post ... NY1 ... ABC 7 ... and Crain's, among many other outlets.
A regular EVG contributor informs us that SMØR Bakery (first mentioned here) opened this past week at 437 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
The Nordic-inspired shop is baking breads and pastries (i.e., sourdough, croissants, danishes, donuts) and serving coffees and sandwiches (try the Salmon & Co., with smoked salmon, dill plus scallion cream cheese, red onion, tomato and capers).
As well as seating for 15, a mini-general store offers housemade provisions (granolas, pickled and curried herrings, chicken salad) as well as local and imported specialty items, like smoked salmon, charcuterie and prepared foods.
The shop is run by the same co-owners, Sebastian Perez and Sebastian Bangsgaard, as the SMØR cafe a few doors east. The partners, who grew up in Denmark, met while working in a Scandinavian restaurant in Tribeca before opening SMØR in 2019.
“We were always planning to open a bakery to complement our restaurant, but the pandemic put a delay on our initial plans,” Perez said in an announcement about the debut. “We have always been inspired by the bakery scene in Copenhagen, and to say we’re excited to finally open our doors is an understatement.”
He added that Baker Rowan Gill has been R&D-ing the recipes for months, putting their spin on signature items.
Hours are Wednesday-Sunday from 8 a.m. until sold out. For more information, visit the bakery’s website or Instagram account.
Last evening, the Standard East Village officially unveiled a new mural in support of Ukraine outside the hotel's Fifth Street side.
Kyiv-based artist Waone Interesni Kazki created the work.
Titled "From Legend to Discovery," the mural "represents the resilience, life and spirit of the Ukrainian community."
The hotel on Cooper Square held an opening party for the unveiling, with proceeds said to be going to the Ukrainian Museum nearby on Sixth Street and Palianytsia, a Ukrainian charity initiative based in Lviv, Ukraine, that helps refugees and war victims.
As noted, there are many takeaways from the 20-page report, including a section titled "vacancy hotspots."
Among those: The retail spaces in the NYCHA-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street. Three of the seven Avenue A-facing storefronts remain vacant and have been for years.
The report offers this recommendation:
Urge the NYCHA to make their vacant spaces on Avenue A available for vendor markets, micro-entrepreneurs living in NYCHA developments, and local businesses more generally.
We don't know why the city/NYCHA hasn't made more of an effort to lease these high-profile spaces.
The other two vacancy hotspots are the retail spaces at Steiner East Village on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street (for lease signs have been posted for the past four years) and the renovated storefronts at 250 E. Houston St.
The report, released by the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition, provides a deep dive into the neighborhood's commercial landscape that builds off of the 2019 "East Village Commercial District Needs Assessment" to give a 2021 snapshot of the EV commercial district.
The Sixth Street pedestrian bridge, which connects residents from the East Village to the East River Park track and field, is expected to be closed tomorrow through Friday, according to the city's latest Weekly Construction Bulletin.
Per the notice:
Ongoing Con Edison utility work in East River Park at the Greenway will necessitate a temporary closure of the E. 6th Street Bridge. All park amenities will remain. Access the park from E. Houston St. and the E. 10th St. Pedestrian Bridge. Pedestrian detour in effect. Please follow all posted signs.
As of 6:30 this evening, there weren't any posted signs letting the dozens of people who were heading to the Park know that they'd need to use a different route in the days ahead. The notice also doesn't specify the hours... does the bridge reopen on Friday? If so, when?
To date, work on the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project has focused on cutting down trees and demolishing all the amenities, mostly below Stanton Street. Workers will bury the 57.5-acre land under fill and elevate it by 8-to-10 feet above sea level to protect the area from future storm surges.
The city has said they will maintain public access to a minimum of 42 percent of the park throughout construction, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.
Earlier this summer we noted how the plywood along the demolished storefronts at 250 E. Houston St. had become a wheatpaste hotspot in recent months.
Later, the property managers here between Avenue A and Avenue B unveiled their line of wheatpaste defense — some rando 2x4s on the plywood, intended to prevent the Wheatpasting Gangs of New York from putting up ads for, say, that sold-out Andrew Bird show at Pier 17 or the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs' record, Cool It Down (which I think will be good).
Anyway, as the top photo shows... the green guards are fairly useless. Hope there's a money-back guarantee!
Workers are busy restocking the shelves at the fully renovated Essex Card Shop, which was gutted by a fire in early January at 47 Avenue A.
Owner Muhammad Aslam (below) provided EVG contributor Stacie Joy with an interior update the other day. He said he will be open before Sept.1, and he is looking toward mid-to-end of August.
As of late last week, he was waiting on several items, including a new ATM, FedEx system and store signage...
You can check out our previous posts on Essex Card Shop, located in the retail space of the Ageloff Towers between Third Street and Fourth Street, for more background on what has transpired to date.
Supporters of Essex Card Shop have helped it raise more than $91,000 in a GoFundMe campaign.
Kindred, the restaurant at 342 E. Sixth St. serving food and wine inspired by the Adriatic, is closing after service on Aug. 14 — and after two-plus challenging years of the pandemic.
Management made the announcement yesterday via an Instragram post ... which reads in part:
As you can imagine, surviving the last two years has been very challenging; however, we made it happen with creativity, an amazing team of employees, and a strong will to succeed and to share a great restaurant with the East Village community.
Since Christmas and the Omicron outbreak, sales have not been consistent enough to stabilize in the current market. With inflation, a looming recession, another potential COVID outbreak, decreased foot traffic in Manhattan - we don't see a viable path forward. We're still waiting on ERC funds from the IRS (it's only been 10 months 🤦🏻♀️)
This is a grueling and difficult decision, but the right one. Part of taking care of our staff and ourselves is knowing when to pause and reflect. This is that moment for us and Kindred.
The restaurant from the team at Ruffian on Seventh Street opened here just west of First Avenue in October 2019.
The familiar ICE CREAM lettering has arrived at 309 E. Ninth St., the new home for Davey's Ice Cream here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Owner and local resident David Yoo said that a hand-painted logo on the front window will be the finishing touch. No word just yet on an opening date. (You can follow @daveysicecream for updates.)
The Union Square outpost of Panera Bread is shutting down for good this afternoon at 2 (H/T EVG reader Dan!) ...
No reason was cited for this closure; signage points Panera-goers to two locations nearby on Fifth Avenue. This outpost opened here at 10 Union Square East in 2012.
The company, based in Sunset Hills, Mo., has some 2,000 bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. There have been reports of dozens of Panera closings nationwide in the past two years.
The report, released by the Cooper Square Committee, Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition, provides a deep dive into the neighborhood's commercial landscape that builds off of the 2019 "East Village Commercial District Needs Assessment" to give a 2021 snapshot of the EV commercial district.
The report identifies changes in the commercial district since 2019 and current challenges facing the small businesses in the neighborhood, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report's authors say it depicts a picture of survival amidst ongoing challenges that have led to the closure of numerous local businesses.
The findings are based on an on-the-ground survey conducted in the fall of 2021 that recorded business information or vacancy status for all first and second-floor storefronts in the East Village. In addition, the report draws on merchant experiences shared through a recent survey and interviews with small business owners.
Among the findings:
Of the vacant storefronts observed in 2021, 171 are new vacancies and 149 were also vacant in 2019.
Medium and large landlords (6-60 buildings) own buildings with a majority of storefront spaces overall and own properties with disproportionately high rates of new vacancies, business closures since 2019, and persistent vacancies.
From 2019-2021, 336 businesses in the East Village closed while 261 new ones opened their doors.
Accommodation and Food Services businesses declined over twice as much as Retail Trade and all Other Categories, which remained relatively stable. Accommodation and Food Service establishments declined by 6%; Retail Trade businesses by 2%.
13 businesses expanded in the neighborhood, and 17 relocated to new locations within the neighborhood boundaries.
The report concludes, in part:
Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the years from 2019 to 2021 saw a variety of changes to the East Village commercial district. The number of vacant storefronts in the neighborhood grew as many merchants struggled to keep their businesses afloat and some were forced to shutter their doors.
While some business categories grew, others faced decline or remained stable. Growing businesses and
These changes within the commercial district reflect the many challenges that merchants face during ordinary times as well as new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Respondents to the Merchant Survey reported that the top three challenges they face relate to their commercial rent/lease, finding skilled workers, and marketing/advertising costs. Other notable challenges that merchants face are gaining access to loans/credit/ financing and labor costs.
To overcome these challenges, it is essential that merchants in the East Village continue to receive small-business support and resources in order to ensure their businesses can prosper and grow.
There's a lot to unpack in the 20-page report, which you can read here. We plan to look at some other findings in the days ahead.
The sibling to Bill Graham's Fillmore West in San Francisco brought performers such as Led Zeppelin, the Doors, B.B. King, Roberta Flack, the Byrds, the Grateful Dead, Taj Mahal, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and the Who to the East Village starting in March 1968.
No. 105 opened in 1926 as a Yiddish theater, soon becoming the Loew's Commodore movie house, followed by the Village Theater. In the 1980s, it was the nightclub The Saint, becoming Emigrant Bank in 1995 and then Apple Bank in 2013.
You can read about the history of the building and the 2,700-seat venue right here. And find a listing of every band who played the Fillmore East here.
Workers recently removed the plywood from the under-renovation space at 109 E. Ninth St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... permits show that the former Central Bar was being converted to office space ...
The new ground-floor tenant is MGNY Consulting, which "provides filing and support services for property owners faced with property liability issues such outstanding tax charges and violations."
The Central Bar, the bi-level sports bar-lounge, closed in March 2021 after nearly 20 years in business. In a letter to patrons, the bar owners noted: "Our landlord has sold the building, and the new owners will not be keeping us as tenants."
Closing the book here on Dia, which has not been open in recent months at 58 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street.
The inside of the restaurant that offered Roman-style pizza and coastal Italian seafood is in some disarray (thanks to Steven for this photo) ...
The phone is no longer in service, and Yelp lists the restaurant as closed.
Dia first opened in the fall of 2018... and it was one of several Second Avenue restaurants to shut down coming out of the summer of 2020.
However, at some point last year, new management revived the space until it quietly closed in the early summer.
Meanwhile, as some residents have previously asked, who is responsible for clearing out and/or taking down curbside dining spaces after a restaurant closes? Here's a look at Dia's outdoor structure...
