Report of a fire at 136 Avenue C

Updated 9:57 a.m.: The FDNY issued an "under control" roughly 38 minutes after the first report.

Updated 3/1: A look at the storefronts here.

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The FDNY is currently on the scene of a two-alarm fire at 136 Avenue C, a 6-story building on the NE corner at Ninth Street...

Manhattan 2-Alarm Box 0450, 136 AVE C, MULTIPLE DWELLING A

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) February 27, 2023

A reader on the scene shared these photos from the east side of Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street ... we'll keep updating when more information is available...

@rodrodrod shared this aerial view...

Anyway Cafe is closing tonight; staff hopes to open new establishment

Photos Friday by Stacie Joy 

Rumors have been circulating recently that Anyway Cafe, the wholly unique Russian restaurant-vodka-bar-live music venue at 34 E. Second St. near Second Avenue, is closing. 

This is true, though a new like-minded establishment from the Anyway staff is in the works.

Management at Anyway addressed the situation in a Facebook post last evening... noting that tonight will be the official last night... 

Most of you already know that we are in the midst of negotiations for a new lease. Wish us good luck!! This Monday, February 27, is our official last night as Anyway Cafe. 

Hey, as in life, when one door is closing, the other one is opening. It's just in our case we want it to be the same door! 

So, this Monday we are all gathering together — staff, musicians, neighbors, and if you'll be in our area, please stop by after 7 p.m. 

And guys, we don't have enough words to express how much we love and appreciate you!!!!!!! YOU are the ones who make our precious place fun, inclusive, family-like and simply one-of-a-kind. More to come; stay tuned!! We LOVE you!! The tightest hugs!! 

Truly and always yours, Anyway staff.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by last evening. The three (former employee) partners have formed a new corporation and hope to open another venture — either here or somewhere else. Regardless, the establishment will not be called Anyway Cafe. 

Anyway Cafe first opened here in 1995.

[Updated] Avenue C Laundromat now closing on March 31

Photos by Stacie Joy

Updated: The closing date was extended to March 31

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Avenue C Laundromat closes after service tomorrow.

The official reason: the landlord (listed as D&K Plaza, Inc. in Rego Park) is selling (or has sold) the two-level building here at 69 Avenue C at Fifth Street. There isn't any listing of a sale in public records just yet.

The announcement earlier this month apparently caught staff by surprise... employees such as Ines Calle (below), who has worked here for 20 years, are left looking for new work...

Said one EVG reader about this closure: "It's a real bummer for anyone who lives in the immediate neighborhood and I feel bad that the women who have worked there for so many years are now looking for new jobs. I guess these new luxury buildings that keep going up in this neighborhood all come with a built-in washer/dryer? Ugh."

A notice to remove the sidewalk dining room at the now-closed Bait & Hook

Bait & Hook has been dark this year... with no signs of life at the sports bar-"seafood shack." 

Google lists Bait & Hook as "permanently closed." However, there hasn't been an official notice from the restaurant or its social media properties. (Someone did remove the Philadelphia Eagles flag above the front door.)

Meanwhile, this past Thursday, the Department of Transportation posted a removal notice about Bait & Hook's outdoor dining area...

The large sidewalk structure, which looked like a converted mobile home, was one of the more egregious violations of the outdoor dining concepts in the pandemic era...

The place has shuttered before. In January 2020, a "closed for renovation" sign arrived a week before a for lease sign. Then they reopened. 

Bait & Hook debuted in 2012.

Before Bait & Hook, the space was the Meatball Factory, then Hole Foods ... and before that! The Pizza Hut-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's combo, which vanished in 2010.

From Brix to Brick on Clinton

Back in October, we noted the signage arrival of Brix Wine Bar at 19-21 Clinton St. between Stanton and Houston. 

At the time, we figured it might be from the folks running Brix Wine Shop on Avenue B. However, owner Beatriz Gutierrez told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that she was not behind this Brix.

Perhaps other people had the same thought. There's new signage now for Brick Wine Bar. (Thanks to EVG reader Fiona for the pic!)

Brick Wine Bar owner George Mercardo previously operated Barbarrio (2017-2019) on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem. 

Brix/Brick takes the space from Oh La La Cafe, which closed last summer... and, previously, Cocoa Bar. 

A recent post from the Brick Instagram account notes that they are opening "real soon." 

Noted (again)

Top photo by Concerned Citizen; 2nd pic by Stacie Joy 

Over the weekend, a smoke shop debuted at 199 E. Third St. just west of Avenue B... (not sure of the name, maybe Grand Opening? JK!) 

So this block now has a place for the usual variety of edibles, exotic snacks, etc. Not to mention festive balloonage for the debut...

This space was New Swan Cleaners until March 2022 ... the lease was up, and the owner decided to retire.

Sunday's parting shots

Yesterday, workers removed most of the remaining sidewalk bridge on First Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street along Village View...

Now just a small section on the interior property along the Fifth Street walkway between Avenue A and First Avenue remains... the extensive sidewalk bridges that weaved around the buildings on the Village View property arrived in April 2019. 

Thanks to Steven and Vinny & O for sharing photos this weekend...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo Tuesday on Astor Place by Derek Berg)... 

• Hold it now: No porta potties for Tompkins Square Park during the 18-month field-house renovation (Tuesday ... Saturday) 

• Let's dance: The Joyce Theater is the new tenant for the former Boys' Club on 10th and A (Thursday) 

• Site cleanup needed before development can begin on this long-empty corner on 14th and C (Monday) 

• A Visit to the East Village NYC Book Club (Thursday) 

• An appearance on GMA leads to an attack at Unregular Pizza on 4th Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Opening night at O'Flaherty's (Friday) 

• 444 E. 13th St. is on the auction block (Wednesday) 

• Coming attractions: 'Make Me Famous' (Friday) 

• A Commodities post-mortem (Sunday) 

• East Village Buyers moving from 3rd Street to Avenue A (Wednesday) 

• Ashes to go this Ash Wednesday (Wednesday) 

• Fat Tuesday! (Tuesday) 

• Renovations at Prune (Tuesday)

• More details about Balkan StrEAT, opening this spring on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Jewelry brand opening an outpost on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Downtown Bakery is closed for now (Friday) 

• Decision 2023: What screening of 'Cocaine Bear' are you attending? (Monday) 

• Signage alert: Gotham Burger Social Club on Essex Street (Thursday)

• Incoming 99-cent pizza shop now with 99-cent pizza signage (Tuesday) 

• Smoke shop (Thursday)

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Memories of Christo, Dora and Nora/Not-Dora in Tompkins Square Park

Photo this month by Steven

The Guardian this past week had a piece about Gacek, a plump black-and-white cat who is said to be the top tourist attraction in Szczecin, Poland. 

Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi wrote that "there's no better way to experience a new city than seeking out its Gacek-equivalent: the weird landmark that embodies the soul of a place far better than the more traditional sights." 

She then highlights our resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park — at least the tawdry love triangle involving Christo, Dora and Nora/Not-Dora that made worldwide headlines in 2018. (You can read The Guardian article here.) 

Meanwhile, you may catch a glimpse of Christo and Amelia (on the scene since April 2018) in and around the Park... and it is officially mating season, as Goggla explains here.

Thanks to Derek Berg for sharing the Guardian article!

Saturday's parting shot

At the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue at 12th Street ... previously ...

About the Art Show at Village Works

Village Works, the gallery space and book store specializing in NYC culture at 90 E. Third St. just west of First Avenue, is hosting a group art show tomorrow (Sunday!) evening from 5-11. 

The event is also serving as a fundraiser for the 2-year-old Village Works, which needs to secure a new space after the landlord "dramatically raised" the rent here.

More about 18 months without public restrooms in Tompkins Square Park

As we first reported this past Tuesday, the city will not be providing any portable toilets for public use when reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park field house starts next month. 

The Post picked up our scoop, putting two reporters on the story... and noting in the lead: "Number 2 may soon be the number one problem for neighbors of Tompkins Square Park." The piece includes quotes from EV residents about the uptick in fecal matter spotted in and around the park since the restrooms closed in November. 

A Parks spokesperson told the paper ....

Judging by past experience, officials did not see portable toilets as a short-term solution, because they were "very difficult to clean and maintain, and have frequently been the targets of vandalism." 

(Are portable toilets more difficult to clean and maintain than a 10.5-acre park?)

The city's relief solution is for parkgoers to walk five minutes (one way) to use the restrooms at the McKinley Playground on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue adjacent to P.S. 63/the Neighborhood School. 

An EVG reader, who shared the Post link, said in an email: "The city and elected officials really don't give a shit, so to speak, about our park."

P.S. 

Looking forward to following these filed-under tags...

9th Precinct teams up to host a blood drive

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The New York Blood Center's mobile unit was outside the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue on Thursday afternoon... where community members and officers from the NYPD alike donated blood.

The law enforcement officials who donated told EVG correspondent Stacie Joy that they were doing so to help save lives...

You can visit the Blood Center's website for information about donating.

Saturday's opening shot

The colder temps have provided an icy cover for the reflective pool on Avenue A near Ninth Street ... meanwhile, snow showers are possible today with a few areas seeing a coating [of snow], per this tweet.

Some like it 'Hot'

 

Pure Adult, the Brooklyn-based duo of Jeremy Snyder and Bianca Abarca, is on a bill this March 12 for the New Colossus Festival grand finale at the Bowery Ballroom. (Tix here.) 

The video is for "Hot Crusade."

Ukraine, 1 year on

Photo last spring from 2nd Street and Avenue C

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine one year ago today.

Here's a look back at a few of the EVG posts highlighting the war's impact on the local community...as NYC is home to the largest Ukrainian population in the United States... 

• A visit to Arka, the 71-year-old Ukrainian gift shop on 2nd Street 

• Two Boots supporting Ukraine with 2 new pizzas, including the Mr. Ze 

• 9th Precinct collecting medical supplies for Ukraine humanitarian relief 

• One East Village family's protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine 

• Another visit to Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen 

• How Veselka is helping with Ukraine relief efforts 

 • A look at the just-finished mural 'Ukraine: A History in Solidarity' 

• New York magazine pays homage to the East Village with 'Tales From Little Ukraine' 

• Getting ready for the St. George Ukrainian Festival

Opening night at O'Flaherty's

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Feb. 16 saw the debut of O'Flaherty's, the new gallery-performance space at 44 Avenue A at Third Street. (We first reported on this here.)

And what an opening it was: An enthusiastic crowd packed into the theater space to take in the first performance in a series titled "O'Flaherty's gelitin O'Flattering" featuring the Vienna-based performance group gelitin. 

The four members, all in their 50s, painstakingly created a live sculpture based on the statue "Laocoön and His Sons."

Presiding over the festivities was artist, curator and owner Jamian Juliano-Villani ...

The group members, wearing flesh-colored stockings, smeared themselves with petroleum jelly before slathering their bodies in plaster ...

... throughout the spectacle, Juliano-Villani's friend and business associate Ruby Zarsky strummed a guitar from an elevated position in the back of the theater, the former UCBEast (and Pioneer)... 

Afterward, the crowd snapped up the merch...

O'Flaherty's is hosting three more performances by gelitin — all different, and on Feb. 25, March 2 and March 4 — and screening the U.S. premiere of the group's film, "Stinking Dawn." Go here for details and showtimes. 

As previously reported, O'Flaherty's had a year-long run at 55 Avenue C at Fourth Street (we covered the opening here), culminating with a GRAND finale late this past summer. 

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019. The comedy venue opened in September 2011, and UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.

Coming attractions: 'Make Me Famous'

"Make Me Famous," a documentary on 1980s-era East Village-based painter Edward Brezinski, premiered last weekend in London... garnering some feature stories (The Guardian ... AnotherMag) in the process.

Here's a description of the film: 

Edward Brezinski worked alongside Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the Lower East Side art scene, but never reached the same level of success as his contemporaries. "Make Me Famous" uncovers why such a well-connected yet peculiar painter never made it, despite being so maniacally focused in his quest for fame. 

What begins as an investigation into Brezinski's legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC's 1980s downtown art scene. Gallery owners and fellow artists dish on insider gossip, name drop, and contradict each other in telling the story, resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist that captures the spirit of an iconic era. 

Check out the trailer...

 

You can catch a screening at the Museum of the City of New York on April 18. (Details here.)