A 14th Street storefront is available to rent for the first time in 63 years

The east storefront at 626 E. 14th St. is available for the first time since 1959.

A for-rent sign recently arrived on the front window between Avenue B and Avenue C at the now-closed Sun's Laundry.

Robert Lee opened the dry-cleaning business with his father in 1959.

Mr. Lee was 84 in August 2020 when he and his family decided to close up shop, one of the city's last Chinese hand laundries.

Both Gothamist and NBC News had features on Mr. Lee following his retirement. 

Openings: Íxta on the Bowery

Íxta debuted last week at 299 Bowery between Houston and First Street. (First mentioned here in August 2021.)

This is a second coming for Íxta, which had a two-year run on East 29th Street from 2005 to 2007. Restaurateur Mike Himani, whose credits include a Chickpea in Penn Station and Nisi Mediterranean in Times Square, told Eater that he lost the location due to the terms of the sublease.

Here's more from Eater:

For Ixta's reprisal, Himani [brought] on executive chef Francisco Blanco from Mexico City. Blanco, who cooked at Le Cirque and Eataly’s Manzo, will fine-tune a menu of southern Mexican and Oaxacan dishes at Ixta, while mixologist Jenny Castillo will create tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails.

The restaurant is open daily from 5-11 p.m. You can find the menu here. And some Instagram pics here.

Daniel Boulud closed DBGB at this address in August 2017 after an eight-year run. 

Where to find some unique masks for Halloween

Tomorrow (Wednesday!), 3rd & B'zaar unveils a unique collection of Halloween masks — with a local flavor — via artist Leopold Masterson. 

The hand-drawn/painted (watercolor, pencil and ink) creations are all signed by the artist ... and feature an array of pop-cultural icons, in-the-news-cycle names and some local residents (behold the Stacie Joy Mask!). 

The masks may be worn out and about (there's a space for eyes) or kept in the bag with jokey titles as a collectible. 

The seasonal marketplace — titled Fall Into the City — is open from 1-7 p.m. at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Expect another batch of new masks before Halloween.

The remains of a charred Acura on Houston

10/12 update: The city has removed the car!

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Here are the remains of an Acura that crashed into a pole early Sunday (4:50 a.m.) at Houston and Allen. After the collision, the car caught fire. We're told no one was injured. (Thanks to everyone pointing out that this is/was an Acura.)

The car is now parked on the north side of Houston just below Houston (facing the wrong direction) ... where the shell has attracted some tagging attention...

Two people have been killed by motorists along this corridor in the early morning hours this year... Raife Milligan, 21, and Andy Gil, 21.

A sidewalk returns to full view and use along St. Mark's Place

Yesterday we reported that workers were finally removing the sidewalk bridge outside 19-23 St. Mark's Place. 

EVG reader KT Hendrickson shared these night/day photos showing the triumphant return of an unencumbered sidewalk between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

The bridge had been up for some six years. As we understand it, work on the 8-story building was wrapped up last summer ... and apparently, a COVID-era backlog with the city caused delays in the signing off on the work.

A familiar new rendering for 3 St. Mark's Place

Yesterday, workers placed an updated rendering on the plywood at the NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue. (Thanks @unitof for capturing the moment!)

After a 10-month hiatus, foundation work restarted in the late summer ... when the developer, Real Estate Equities Corp. (REEC), received a $70-million loan for the project. 

REEC plans on 53,000 square feet of office space and some 7,700 square feet for retail. The new rendering shows that version ... though the final look isn't too different from what was revealed several years ago...

As previously reported, a 10-story office building had been in the works here. In October 2020, the City Council's Zoning Subcommittee voted down REEC's application to transfer air rights from the landmarked 4 St. Marks Place to the new building across the street.

With the air-rights transfer, REEC would have been allowed to build 8,386 square feet larger than the current zoning allows.

The building, officially 1 St. Mark's Place, is slated for a July 2024 completion. 

Our previous post has more details about what has transpired here to date. 

Dumpling Lab, recipient of a new Bib Gourmand, has closed on 9th Street

After nearly a year in business, Dumpling Lab has closed at 214 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Thanks to Steven for the photos.)

The space had been dark recently, and Google listed them as "permanently closed."

Dumpling Lab management confirmed the departure in a text, stating: "we will be looking for another location to reopen in the near future."

The restaurant, which drew inspiration from chef Xiaomei Ma's native Tsingtao, China, was from the same team behind Hunan Slurp on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

And lousy timing on the closure, as Dumpling Lab just made the 2022 Michelin Guide's list of 18 new Bib Gourmands.

Empanada Mama debuts on 14th Street and 1st Avenue

The quick-serve Empanada Mama location opened for business this past Friday on the NW corner of First Avenue and 14th Street. (We've been tracking the progress here since May.) 

Here's a look inside (before it opened for the day) ... there are two self-ordering kiosks...

There is also a cashier taking orders, so that option of paying by cash is available. 

During this initial soft-opening phase, the outpost is open from noon to 10 p.m. daily. Eventually, they will keep hours of 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. 

This is the fourth NYC space for Empanada Mama, which Socrates Nanas launched in 2005.

Papaya Dog closed here last fall, ending a 16-year-run of slinging cheap eats from this corner.

Will we be posting a lot of snow photos this winter?

Seventh and A a few winters ago

AccuWeather unveiled its Winter 2022-23 snowfall outlook for the country yesterday.

So what can we expect in NYC? AW is forecasting seasonal snowfall totals of 18-23 inches here, which would be below average for NYC... with between six and nine "days of accumulating snow."

And a lot of snow likely won't make a difference for public schools. New York City School Chancellor David C. Banks previously announced that there will be no snow days during the 2022-2023 academic year, NBC News reported. 

In a show of solidarity with the students, we will take the days off for them.

Glosslab nails down new 4th Avenue storefront

Mani-pedi chain Glosslab is opening an outpost at 129 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.

This will be the 10th location in NYC.

Mi Garba, the pleasant wine bar/cafe, closed here in December 2020 after five-plus years in business.  

Jeremiah Moss to discuss 'Feral City' at Book Club Thursday night

Photos by Stacie Joy 

This past Friday evening at the Strand, East Village-based writer Jeremiah Moss launched his new book, "Feral City," with a reading and an animated conversation led by Lucy Sante.

This Thursday night, Moss will be at Book Club Bar for an author event with Robert Galinsky. 

Per the invite: "What happens when an entire social class abandons a metropolis? This genre-bending journey through lockdown New York offers an exhilarating, intimate look at a city returned to its rebellious spirit." 

The event starts at 8 p.m. at Book Club, 197 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Scenes from National Pierogi Day at East Village Meat Market

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On Saturday, East Village Meat Market celebrated National Pierogi Day... with all sales from the pierogi going to Ukrainian relief efforts. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the longtime shop, 139 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street, toward the end of a very busy business day... where there were just a few customers left before closing up... 

... she was greeted by longtime manager Andrew Ilnicki ...

Miracle on St. Mark's: Sidewalk bridge coming down outside No. 19-23

Photo by Steven 

Workers from the Department of Miracles are out this morning... removing the long-standing sidewalk bridge from 19-23 St. Mark's Place. 

The structure outside the 8-story retail-residential complex between Second Avenue and Third Avenue has been up for nearly six years. Google Street View shows that it arrived sometime between September 2016 and September 2017. (Thanks to the reader who checked that!)

Monday's opening shot

Thanks to EVG reader Jeanne Krier for today's sunrise pic... and today is Indigenous Peoples' Day... NYC public schools are closed, and many offices are closed too for the day.

Public art returns to the former CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center

Photos by Kenny Toglia 

Public art has returned to the former CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center on Ninth Street/10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

There's a new installation on the property titled "Pumpkin Dome" via the Buckyteers, a radical art/engineering collective. The group is reclaiming the space for the community "and tells big real estate to back off," per a statement.

... group member Mark Chaos...

The five-floor building became the CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center after P.S. 64 left in the mid-1970s. New landlord Gregg Singer reportedly evicted the group in December 2001. He bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998 for $3.15 million, and it has remained vacant for 20-plus years.

There is a continued call to return the building for community use. 

Meanwhile, Madison Realty Capital has moved forward with a foreclosure against Singer ... and, as we first reported, the building is now being pitched for use as a medical facility or for educational purposes. 

H/T John Penley

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included... (with a photo by Derek Berg from one of the 9 days it rained last week... )

• Exclusive: This is the new tenant for the former Gem Spa space (Monday) 

• Long-vacant P.S. 64 now being pitched for medical use, educational purposes (Wednesday) 

• Police: Delivery man slashed in face at 7th Street and Avenue A entrance to Tompkins Square Park (Thursday) ... The Parks Department looks to be lighting up the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park (Friday) 

• Remembering off-Broadway theater legend Jeff Weiss (Tuesday) 

• The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, with a new name, returns to Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

• Building issues temporarily KOs HAGS on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• The annual Harvest Arts Festival is underway in East Village community gardens (Thursday) 

• A new art installation on Astor Place honors playwright-activist Lorraine Hansberry (Tuesday) 

• Openings: Irving Farm New York on 10th Street (Tuesday) 

•  A 1982 view of St. Mark's Place at 3rd Avenue (Friday) 

• Coming soon: the 'Meet Me in the Bathroom' documentary (Tuesday) 

• Jean-Luc Godard screenings this month at the Quad Cinema (Tuesday) 

• At the Blessing of the Animals at Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish (Sunday)

• Construction watch: 351 E. 10th St. (Tuesday) 

• These 3 East Village restaurants make list of new Bib Gourmands (Wednesday) 

• Zee Convenience & Smoke debuts on Avenue A (Thursday) 

• New plaque honors Ginsberg and Burroughs on 7th Street (Friday) 

... and here's Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Gregory Corso at the Beat Poet Reunion. Photo by John Penley via the Tamiment Library at NYU...

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A plant exchange at the Tompkins Square Library branch this Tuesday

On Tuesday evening, the Tompkins Square Library branch is hosting a plant exchange.

Per the invite: 

Meet your neighbors while exchanging cuttings, seedlings and plant care tips! Bringing plants to the exchange is encouraged, but not required.

The exchange starts at 5:30 p.m. at the branch, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Vehicle catches fire after striking pole at Houston and Allen

Police are investigating an early morning crash on Houston at Allen after a vehicle reportedly struck a pole and caught fire...

There's not much information at the moment. The Citizen app put the crash at 4:55 a.m. No word on injuries. 

As of 9 a.m., the NYPD had the westbound lanes of Houston closed from Ludlow-First Street across to Allen. 

And user video from the Citizen app...

Vehicle Ablaze After Striking Pole @CitizenApp

E Houston St & Allen St 4:55:24 AM EDT

Sunday's opening shot

Looks like the city is getting a little winter-weather-advisory practice in this morning. 

Otherwise, sunny and 63 today with light winds from the west/southwest...

EVG Etc. Remembering Chef Colin Alevras; assessing the mayor's street sweeps

• RIP Colin Alevras, who ran the the Tasting Room with his wife Renee on East First Street from 1999-2006 before moving to Elizabeth Street. He died of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. (The New York Times) 

• Assessing Mayor Adams' street sweeps six months later: "Property destroyed, people separated from services, no reduction in street homelessness" (1010 WINS) 

• Dysfunction in the Adams administration fuels housing crisis (The Post) ... And the mayor parties until late at Little Sister at the Moxy East Village (Page Six)

• State court keeps possibility of permanent outdoor dining program alive (Gothamist) 

• New program will convert unused newsstands to rest stops for delivery workers (The City) 

• Primary Wave Music has acquired a major stake in Joey Ramone's music-publishing assets for around $10 million (Variety) 

• Interesting behavior from Christo and Amelia in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggon Photography) 

• Fake heiress Anna Sorokin (aka Anna Delvey) is living in the East Village upon her release from prison yesterday (The New York Times... the Post) 

• The story of Angel Ortiz, Keith Haring's overlooked collaborator (i-D) 

• Some history of the recently opened Nine Orchard hotel on the LES ... aka, the old Jarmulowsky Bank building (The Forward) 

• Double Chicken Please on Allen Street named one of the world's best bars (6sgft) 

• The evolution of the egg cream (Eater) 

• Iggy Pop Covers Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker" (Pitchfork) 

• THIS WEEKEND: A few screenings left of Kathryn Bigelow & Monty Montgomery's "The Loveless" and Abel Ferrara's "The Addiction" (Anthology Film Archives)