Thursday, December 15, 2022
Before Dallas BBQ, part 3 (the end, maybe)
A reader shared this 1940s-era photo from the Municipal Archives... when it was still the decades-spanning Estroff Pharmacy...
Bad Brains on the Bowery with Shepard Fairey and Glen E. Friedman
Photos and reporting by Daniel Efram
Bad Brains also helped pay tribute to the club that championed its unique sounds by performing a trio of goodbye shows in 2006. Additionally, the location is special to Fairey as his first NYC solo art shows took place at the CBGB 313 Gallery, then curated by Jonathan Levine.
Friedman, the acclaimed East Village-based photographer known for his work with cultural icons, skaters and musicians, including some of Fairey's favorite artists, such as Public Enemy and Run-DMC, provided the photographs that Fairey compiled for the large-format piece.
"All of the photos in the collage were made at CBGB during the holidays in 1981 or 1982," Friedman says. "The Bad Brains annual Xmas matinees became a great thing for all us punks who didn't care or didn't have a place to be during the holidays. We'd all go and congregate there and see some of the best shows of our lives."
The mural's location was secured by the Lisa Project, a program dedicated to beautifying the community via mural art. Several members of the public had grown attached to the Blondie mural and wondered why it was being replaced. According to sources on the scene, the wall is supposed to be refreshed every three years but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
"After the Bad Brains left Washington, D.C., they moved to New York and were living here on the Lower East Side. They played CBGB a lot. In fact, their music came into its ultimate highest power when they were living and playing here," Fairey tells me about the project's roots in the East Village and Lower East Side community.
"[They were] a defining band in terms of the sound of hardcore but a unique band in that they were all Black in a white genre," Fairey continues. "It's incredible to have Bad Brains get some love here because they have such a strong connection to NYC and CBGB. They recorded their first album at 171-A in Alphabet City."
The four-person crew — (from the left) Fairey, Rob Zagula, Praxis and Osk — installed the mural on Monday and Tuesday ...
Here's a look at the elaborate work that took place this past week...
Daniel Efram is an East Village-based photographer-curator. He is the producer of "The Steve Keene Art Book."
Gen Korean BBQ House drops the plywood for a full reveal on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue
As we've been reporting... the brand — known for its all-you-can-eat specials — has 18 locations in California, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and Texas ... with a handful more in the works.
Community Board 3 OK'd a beer-wine license for the address back in July. (The previous tenant, 5 Napkin Burger, had a full liquor license.) Alcohol is only part of table service — there won't be any bar seating, per CB3 minutes.
The restaurant is taking the former 5 Napkin Burger space as well as the storefront next door that served as the 5 Napkin Express, then Taman Falafel. Those businesses closed at the start of the year.
Pizza for the former Subway (sandwich shop) on Avenue B
A worker helping renovate the storefront told EVG correspondent Stacie Joy that a pizzeria is coming soon here...
Not sure at the moment what kind of pizza we're talking about... more upscale pies and slices or the ubiquitous 
The Subway outpost was here for nearly nine years before going dark in 2020.
The Zero Irving food hall is now OPEN
Photo courtesy of @GramercyLocal
Everyone's favorite new food hall debuted yesterday on the ground floor of Zero Irving, the recently erected 21-floor building at 124 E. 14th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
Most of the 13 vendors were up and running (a few weren't ready just yet, such as the bottle shop Top Hops Beer).
You can go to the UrbanSpace website for a list of the vendors, six of whom are reportedly first-time entrepreneurs or start-up companies... not to mention EV vets Wafles & Dinges and Bobwhite Counter. (Bobwhite doesn't appear on the website, though their name is on the entrance and they have arguably the most high-profile space inside.)
The Zero Irving food hall is open Monday-Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The space has WiFi and outdoor seating in the rear of the complex. (So you're not sitting on 14th Street.)
This link has more background on Zero Irving.
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Candlelight carols this Sunday at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer
The event, free and open to the public, starts at 4 p.m. at the church, 173 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Noted
They remain off this evening for unknown reasons...
Before Dallas BBQ, part 2 (and yes — there will be a part 3)
Top photo by Stacie Joy
The interest in the pre-Dallas BBQ status of the NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue shows no sign of abating!
Yesterday, we posted the photo via Godlis showing the early 1980s corner and its occupant, Estroff Pharmacy.
Steve Butcher shares this shot of the corner, including Estroff's next-door neighbor — East Village Stationery circa 1982.
Oh, and never mind that random dumpster fire!
The 'Daze' of our lives: Adam Zhu's new photo book chronicles today's downtown youth culture
Photos by Stacie Joy
East Village native Adam Zhu started shooting on film nearly 10 years ago at age 16.
As he recently wrote: "Even then, I knew I'd like to see the work physically rather than rush to share it online."
Since his teen years, Zhu, who now lives in Chinatown, has been documenting his downtown experiences and friends, a multi-generational group of skaters, musicians and artists, through his camera.
You can now see the results of his photography in his first book, a seemingly timeless collection of youth culture titled "Nice Daze." The book "is an homage to Zhu’s formative years populated by friends, lovers, contemporaries and mentors." (You may recognize Zhu's name. In 2019, he successfully launched a petition and raised awareness of the city's plan to cover the ballparks/skate area in Tompkins Square Park with artificial turf.)
This past Saturday, Zhu celebrated the book's release, which coincides with a solo exhibition of his work at CCProjects, a gallery space and cultural center on the second floor at 17 Allen St. (at Canal).
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the opening to meet up with Zhu ...
The exhibit is curated in collaboration between Zhu and Daisy Sanchez. Copies of the 176-page book, co-published by CCProjects and Paradigm Publishing, are available at the venue as well as online here.
Memphis Seoul announces itself on 1st Avenue
This will be the second location for the restaurant, which describes itself as "Southern cookin' with a Korean kick!" (You can check out the menu here.) Founder Bart Hubbuch opened his first Memphis Seoul in Crown Heights.
Our previous post has more about the restaurant and ownership.
This address became available after Organic Grill relocated to West Third Street this past spring.
Crab Du Jour sleeps with the fishes on 1st Avenue
After nearly a year in business, this outpost of the chainlet has closed at 225 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street. Google lists them as permanently closed. Workers have been breaking down the interior...
The restaurant, described as a Cajun Seafood Boil & Bar, never got the chance to serve beer and wine... which a sign on the door points out is coming soon... 
This address was previously a Checkers, which closed in late 2020 after six years in business.
Thanks to Steven for the photos!
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Have you seen Sarah Hatman?
Clara Favale, a friend who lives on the block, reports that Sarah was last seen on Sunday.
"She would never leave her post for more than a half hour to get food," said Clara, who has been in contact with the NYPD, Homeless Services Outreach and area hospitals to no avail.
Anyone with information can call or text Clara at (917) 620-8220. You can also reach her via email at cfavale@stillpointcst.com.
"I am depending on our East Village community to help me find out what happened to her," Clara said.
Before Dallas BBQ
Top photo by Stacie Joy
News of Dallas BBQ closing after service on Dec. 31 prompted several reader queries: What was on this NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue before the BBQ arrived in the mid-1980s?
Renovations underway at the former Whitehouse Hotel on the Bowery
Top photo by EVG; all others by Stacie Joy
Renovations are underway at 338-340 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond.
There is a shared bathroom on the floor as well.
However, the Whitehouse stopped accepting reservations in September 2014. Plans were previously filed via Sam Chang in 2014 to "convert a 4-story lodging house into a 9-story hotel," according to DOB records. Those plans never materialized. The Renatus Group now owns the property.
In August, a "retail opportunity" banner arrived by the front door of the former Whitehouse Hotel, the last of the flophouses on the Bowery.
Management is offering 2,000 square feet on the ground floor, with an "optional 500 SF cafe + courtyard." 
The work to create the retail space is happening. Permits show the scope of the work includes replacing windows, cleaning the brick, and repainting fire escapes, all with the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. (The building is located in the NoHo Historic District.)
There is a lot of history with the Whitehouse, a four-story building erected in 1916 that has served as a single-room occupancy hotel. A handful of residents remain here, and their presence has reportedly hindered any new building plans.
We hadn't heard anything about the building since late 2018, when Alex Vadukul profiled the artist Sir Shadow, who was one of the six remaining residents of the Whitehouse, in a feature at The New York Times.
As Vadukul noted: "A few residents have died, and buyouts have lured away others. The men who remain in the flophouse have refused these deals. The Whitehouse Hotel's future appears to now hinge on a grim but simple waiting game." (Sources tell us that Sir Shadow no longer lives at this address.)
Ahead of the renovations, the residents were moved to space at 338 Bowery... where the tenants can access their small room via security...
Some recent history: The building was spruced up in 2011 to appeal to the thrill-seeking backpacking set. (For $45, guests could stay in a tiny room where the walls don't go up to the ceiling... while the long-term residents remained on another floor.)
However, the Whitehouse stopped accepting reservations in September 2014. Plans were previously filed via Sam Chang in 2014 to "convert a 4-story lodging house into a 9-story hotel," according to DOB records. Those plans never materialized. The Renatus Group now owns the property.
Retail space aside, it's not immediately known what the plans are for the upper floors of the former hotel.
The New Museum is collecting coats for the Bowery Mission
Photo courtesy of the Bowery Mission
The New Museum's coat drive continues through Dec. 31 ... with everything collected going to their neighbors at the Bowery Mission.
Details:
Bring your new or gently-worn winter coats (preferably in larger sizes) to the New Museum or the Bowery Mission. Participants will receive two free tickets to the Museum (valid through Feb. 5). Note that we cannot accept children's coats.
You can drop off the coats at the museum, 235 Bowery at Prince Street, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, you can check this link for current exhibits at the New Museum.
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