Could work at 75 1st Ave. finally be over?

Over the weekend, workers dismantled the construction storage pen that had been sitting in the bike lane outside 75 First Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street ... putting the contents into a dumpster... (thanks Elissa for the tip!)

Once again, it appear that work might be complete here at the 8-floor condoplex that has been a long time in the making.

As previously noted, the groundbreaking here took place in September 2016. (The build included nearly 14 months of inactivity.) Sales commenced in August 2017, with City Realty reporting that 50% of the units sold in the first six weeks.

The venture was slowed down following a series of lawsuits between the construction manager, Pizzarotti, and the developer, the Colonnade Group, as The Real Deal reported in 2019.

The address even made our 2020 development watch... still on the list three years later.

2023 preview: Panda Express

Nearly a year has passed since we first reported on Panda Express coming to the corner space on the SW side of 14th Street and First Avenue. 

The signage arrived in May. (All these photos are from late last week.)

PE workers told us in July that they'd be open very soon. 

By late August/early September, there were issues with permits — as in waiting for the city, Con Ed, etc., to approve them. A PE rep then told The Village Sun then that this outpost wouldn't open until the first quarter of 2023. (One tipster told us that management here was very late in turning in the necessary paperwork for the various licenses, etc.)

In any event, the PE still looks ready for action, ... though this location still hasn't appeared on the PE website ... and we still receive a lot of queries about the status of the space...

As for this storefront, an AT&T store was here for a few months... taking over for the Vitamin Shoppe.

Panda Express launched in California in 1983 ... with more than 2,000 locations today ... with a handful around NYC.  

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a Second Avenue mannequin photo by Derek Berg) ... 

 • 4 East Village development sites to watch in 2023 (Wednesday) 

• NYPD looking for 3 suspects in New Year's Eve stabbing on Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Parting thoughts on being a small-business owner as Love Thy Beast departs the East Village (Thursday)

• The last days of Timbuktu (Friday) 

• A happy birthday mural for Ray on Avenue A (Monday) 

• A celebration of Three Kings Day (Saturday)

• The future of the unlicensed weed vendors (Tuesday)

• Hearth is starting its 20th anniversary year with a renovation (Wednesday) 

• Preview 2023: Target Union Square (Thursday) 

• Health scare: IG-Fit closes on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Bagel Market replacing Bagel Boss on 14th Street (Friday) 

• From Mikey's to Smileys on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street (Friday) 

• What's happening at the ConEd substation? (Friday) 

• On Astor Place, a yearn to spin again (Monday) 

• Spring cleaning this winter at B-Side (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Ankara #3 (Wednesday) 

• Belse has closed on the Bowery (Thursday) ... Blue & Cream has left the Bowery for Bleecker Street (Tuesday) 

• Signage alert: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street (Thursday) 

• The 13th Step is now going as Downtown Social (Wednesday) 

... and a parting shot of Chesney after the Gifts of the Magi" performance Friday at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (photo by Derek Berg)

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The Duck With the Pearl Earring

New work, as of yesterday, by Jim Tozzi (seen below) outside the Second Avenue F stop...

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Saturday's parting shot

A moment today on Astor Place via Derek Berg...

MulchFest 2023 now with TOTE BAGS

Photos by Steven 

Day one of the chipping weekend for MulchFest 2023 is in the books. 

There's now a fresh mound of mulch for the taking in the middle of Tompkins Square Park...

The Parks Department is making it easier this year for residents to take some home for use in sidewalk tree beds, gardens, etc., with MULCHFEST TOTE BAGS... the IT accessory for the chipping season...

Back at it tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A celebration of Three Kings Day

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A coalition of community organizations, faith communities and local residents came together yesterday to celebrate Three Kings Day (Los Reyes Magos).

The festivities started with a procession — featuring the Batalá New York percussion ensemble — from the Loisaida Community Center on Ninth Street and Avenue C.

The procession stopped outside the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center on Ninth Street, which included an appearance by longtime neighborhood activist Chino García, co-founder of Charas...

The final destination was St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue at 10th Street ...

... for a production of "Gifts of the Magi," written by local activist Angie Hernández, which tells "a story of the nativity that celebrates Puerto Rican culture and the rich history of Loisaida."

And making a return appearance on this occasion was the crowd-pleasing Chesney the camel...

This event was produced by a team of volunteers from the community with support from St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, Henry Street Settlement, L.E.S. CommUnity Concerns, the Loisaida Center, Save Our Storefronts, Trinity Lower East Side, JoeyBats Cafe, The March Hare, CONBODY, Exit9, La Sirena and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein's office, among others.

2023 — the year 'Neo Punk' broke

 

Iggy Pop's 19th studio album, Every Loser, is out today. 

The record, which features backing musicians Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and a posthumous appearance from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, is enjoying some pretty solid reviews to date. 

There are a bunch of audio clips from the record on YouTube... such as the one above for "Neo Punk."

As previously noted, East Village resident John Holmstrom, the co-founder, editor and illustrator of Punk Magazine, created a new issue that's only available with a purchase of Every Loser.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A Punk Magazine-Iggy Pop holiday 'Loser' extravaganza at Metropolis

• Go on a tour of Iggy Pop's East Village in 1993  

Chipping in for MulchFest

Photos by Jackflashnyc 

Ahead of the chipping festivities in Tompkins Square Park this weekend, Drew and Thorn were spotted bringing some trees into the 2023 MulchFest site. 

Drew also showed a textbook-perfect tree-tossing technique ...

As we've noted, it's important that when throwing a Christmas tree, the head remains an extension of the spine, not bent forward. Also, keep the knees apart to avoid leading the throw with the right knee.

Anyway! Chipping Weekend takes tomorrow and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Per the Parks Department: "We'll chip your tree and give you your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree."

The last days of Timbuktu

Photos by Stacie Joy

As we first reported on Dec. 20, Timbuktu, the Moroccan specialty shop at 45 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street, was closing in the weeks ahead. 

The shop is nearly empty now... owner and East Village resident Del Blaoui said that they only have a few days or a week left and he's looking to sell his showcases and tables ...

According to Blaoui, the new landlords, who took over in the spring of 2021, decided to terminate the shop's lease. 

Blaoui has been in the wholesale business for four decades and has been in this location for 20 years.

Timbuktu is usually open 1-8 p.m. Phone: (212) 473-4955.  

A report of a small fire at Dua Kafe on 14th Street

Updated the location of the fire. And an update via Dua: "We should be opening up again very soon (the plan is tomorrow!) since the damage was relatively minimal outside of the bathroom space."

On Wednesday night around 10:30, there was a report of a fire in the bathroom at Dua Kafe, 520 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to EVG reader Russell K. for the top photo.) 

The FDNY reported an "under control" from the scene in less than 15 minutes. (Dua has a posted closing time of 10 p.m.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday... fortunately there was little evidence of any fire, including smoke or water damage. 

Workers at a neighboring business said that there was a small electrical fire in the back and "everything should be fine again soon." 

In the meantime, there are there is a "closed for renovation" sign up at the restaurant specializing in Albanian cuisine (read a Times review of the space here) ...

Bagel Market replacing Bagel Boss on 14th Street

Signage (likely not the final product) is up now for a Bagel Market at 238 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

This will be the fifth NYC outpost for the brand that started in the summer of 2020 ... please chime in the comments if you've tried their bagels.

The business takes over for Bagel Boss, the chainlet that opened a location here in July 2021. They closed several months later in October for, per management, "gas and electric problems" in the building. Bagel Boss never reopened here.  

What's happening at the ConEd substation?

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

There has been a lot of activity this past week around the ConEd substation along Avenue A and on Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

ConEd hired people to block parking spots on both sides of the facility (many of the vehicles had car alarms that liked to go off for no apparent reason, per neighbors). 

A ConEd employee told this to EVG contributor Stacie Joy: 

"We're replacing a transformer in the station. Since it's so small in there, they set up remote units for the employees. Not all the employees but some of them. We will be here for maybe one to two months, I believe. We will try to keep things quiet! It's a big job." 

Here's a look at the Fifth Street side (and the top pic) ... with the two tanker trucks all but obscuring Sophie's...

... and the Sixth Street side...

Spring cleaning this winter at B-Side

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Updated: B-Side reopened on Feb. 25!

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Paper covers the windows now at B-Side at 204 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street... causing some speculation among a few readers that the neighborhood bar had closed. 

Not to fear. 

In an Instagram message, ownership told us: "We'll be back in a week or two. Just doing a deep clean for the spring." Which they admitted it needed after 20 years in service.

The bar opened in 2003 ... with new owners taking over in January 2021.

H/T Sonya

Preview 2023: Target Union Square

Back in February 2020, news broke (via the Post) that Target had signed a lease for a 33,000-square-foot outpost at 10 Union Square East in the base of the Zeckendorf Towers. However, the takeover wasn't going to take place until 2023.

That sure seemed like a like way off... and the current tenant at the time, Food Emporium, had a lease until April 2023. Ultimately, the grocer shut down early — in May 2021. 

Meanwhile, unlike Wegmans on Astor Place, who placed signage here the same day they announced the Kmart takeover in July 2021, there wasn't any coming-in-2023 notice for the new Target.

While there still isn't any Target branding at the under-construction site, this location is now on the company's "Future store openings" page...

In walking around the Zeckendorf Towers, it appears the space that was once pub-crawl hotspot SideBar on the SW corner of 15th Street and Irving Place has been incorporated into the incoming Target...

No official word about an opening date, though the construction sign on the 15th Street side notes an August 2023 completion date...

Target opened on 14th Street and Avenue A in July 2018 ... complete with a replica CBGB storefront — called TRGT. 

Parting thoughts on being a small-business owner as Love Thy Beast departs the East Village

As we noted this past summer, Love Thy Beast, the 5-year-old dog boutique at 300 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue, was moving to a larger (by 4x) space in Williamsburg.

This departure is now official as of the end of December.

Owner Tiziana Agnello left behind a poster in the window with details about the new location... as well as some thoughts on the frustration of being a small-business owner in NYC. It reads in part:

We have searched and searched for over 16 months for a bigger location but the truth is landlords do not care to keep NYC colorful and full of artists and small business.

If we did secure a lease brands like Blank Street Coffee would overbid and steal our lease. This happened at more than 1 location.

Agnello, a former prop stylist, started selling her homemade creations online and in several pop-up locations back in 2012 ... before opening here in the spring of 2017. 

As for Blank Street, which some residents presume is a mom-and-pop enterprise, the brand raised $67 million in 2021 thanks to high-profile venture capital funds like General Catalyst and Tiger Global, the founders of Allbirds and Warby Parker, and real-estate titan Tishman Speyer, as The New York Times reported this past September.

Belse has closed on the Bowery

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Belse Restaurant Bar & Brewery has closed its doors at 265-267 Bowery.

A sign for patrons of the high-end vegan restaurant notes the permanent closure ...

Despite that note, the restaurant's Instagram account states: "We are excited to announce that this location will transition to a new vegan restaurant. More information will be upcoming, but we think you'll be happy with the change."

If one vegan concept doesn't succeed...   

Belse debuted here between Houston and Stanton this past June ... the storefront had been empty since Paulaner shuttered in early 2018 after four years in service. 

Signage alert: Wild Rabbit Coffee on 7th Street

Photo by Steven

Coming-soon signage arrived this week for Wild Rabbit Coffee at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

We don't know anything about the establishment at the moment.

This all comes quickly following Jell & Chill's closure here at the end of 2022 after three-plus years in business.

Wednesday's parting shots

Photos by Steven (top) and EVG 

Today in venting the CO2 tanks that were downstairs at the now-closed Dallas BBQ on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue... with a bonus pic of the almost-empty back dining room...