Waga is closing on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven

Closing sale signs are now up at Waga, 22 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The shop sells handmade goods — from jewelry to bags and leather belts — primarily from West Africa. 

Waga seems like it has been here longer than its 2001 debut... and is one of those unique places that gave this block a little charm. 

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

In a reflective mood on Ninth Street today...

Inside the new home of The Joyce, which aims to be a hub for the performing arts in the East Village

Photos by Stacie Joy 

News arrived in February that the Chelsea-based Joyce Theater signed a one-year lease for the former Boys' Club of New York, the 7-story building at 287 E. 10th St. and Avenue A. 

The nonprofit organization was soon in a soft-open mode. The Joyce has made available a handful of studios at subsidized rates for dance artists, including space specifically for tap and percussive artists. There are also studios open for local dance companies and businesses to hold rehearsals, auditions classes, workshops ... or other gallery-arts uses. (Deer Gallery unveils its inaugural exhibit on Thursday featuring work by East Village-based photographer-artist Steven Hirsch.) 

As Joyce Foundation officials announced in February:

The Joyce aims to continue offering community services and amenities with an emphasis on the performing arts and especially dance. Eventually, The Joyce Theater Foundation hopes to make the Tompkins Square Park-adjacent building a hub for local and international artists and companies alike as they create works that will reach audiences across the city and around the world.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently toured the 58,000-square-foot building ...

... with Lou Albruzzese, director of operations at The Joyce...

Here's a look inside, starting in a Joyce office... 

... Stacie also had permission to visit a few of the rehearsal spaces ...

After this first-year lease, The Joyce "intends to purchase the building to share this valuable arts-community resource on a permanent basis." 

According to a statement earlier this year from Joyce officials: 

The purchase, facilitated by real-estate adviser Paul Wolf of Denham Wolf Real Estate Services, is contingent upon the success of fundraising efforts over the course of the coming year. These additional funds are vital in supporting the renovation of the building, completing its transformation into an extraordinary — and much-needed — destination for the performing arts.

After 121 years on the corner, the Boys' Club moved out of the Harriman Clubhouse this past summer.

As we first reported in June 2018, the Boys' Club put the building on the sales market. At the time, Stephen Tosh, BCNY's executive director and CEO, said the sale of the East Village building would allow the organization to start new programs in other neighborhoods needing its services. 

In August 2019, Crain's first reported that Aaron Sosnick, an East Village resident and founder of the investment fund A.R.T. Advisors LLC, was the new owner of the Harriman Clubhouse. He bought it for $31.725 million and reportedly planned to sell the property, "potentially at a substantial loss," to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

E.H. Harriman founded the Boy's Club in 1876. The Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A opened in 1901.

[Updated] A grassroots movement to access the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park

Workers reseeded the barren-in-spots main lawn in Tompkins Square Park in late April. Parks employees locked the main gate and put up a sign (later followed by a few more) asking parkgoers to stay off the lawn during this time. 

Well, if you've been in the Park on any pleasant day since then, you've seen how well people are minding the signage and locked gates... (thanks to Joe for this photo from May 14)...

Now, someone has taken it a step further — literally... there's a step on the western side of the lawn to make it easier to navigate the fence...

The Park is currently short on open space with the start of the field house reconstruction. For the next 18 months, the space behind the field house — dubbed the Slocum area as it includes the Slocum Memorial Fountain — is also closed to the public, taking some picnic tables and the spray showers out of commission. 

Updated 6:30 p.m.

There's now an extra step to make navigating the fence even easier...

Top and bottom photos by Steven

This East Village outpost of Blank Street coffee will be a barista training lab

Photos by Steven 

The Blank Street outpost on the NE corner of First Avenue at 13th Street is now closed to the public. (Thanks to the EVG commenter who pointed this out yesterday.)

According to the door signage, this space will become a "training + innovation lab" for the fast-growing brand. 

And the small print: "Over the coming months we will also open the door to anyone who wants to come try some of the fun things we are working on. See you soon!"

Blank Streeters can still hit up the other two EV locations on Avenue A and Third Avenue. 

The First Avenue Blank Street opened last summer. 

As previously noted, not everyone is a fan of the company. Per the Times last year: "When word got out that Blank Street is not an independent chain like Variety or Bean & Bean, but an enterprise with global ambitions backed by private equity financing, many became curious — and sometimes suspicious."

Report of a fire in an abandoned curbside dining structure on St. Mark's Place

According to multiple residents this morning (after 8), a man allegedly set fire to the abandoned curbside dining structure outside 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Firefighters immediately extinguished the blaze. It was not immediately known if the man had been living inside the structure ... his whereabouts were also not known after the fire...

Last Wednesday, the Department of Transportation issued a "Termination" notice for this dining structure outside Compilation Coffee, which closed one week after the streetery arrived last November.

Meanwhile, city officials are still debating the future of outdoor dining. Part of a proposed bill "would allow 'streeteries' — aka the dining sheds on the streets — to stay up from April through November each year," NBC New York reported on Friday. 

Reader-submitted photos

Today in Citi Bike docking station news

After a week-plus absence, the Citi Bike docking station has returned to the SW corner of 14th Street at First Avenue. Workers removed it for planned utility work. 

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photo!

The Wild Son will not be reopening

Photo by Steven

The Wild Son has been closed for the past few months at 130 First Ave. just south of St. Mark's Place ... and more recently, the sign outside the lunch counter had been removed. 

We were unsure if this might be a revamp or a rebrand. However, ownership has confirmed that this is a permanent closure.

Robert Ceraso, owner and creative director of the Endless Hospitality Group, said they made the decision to focus on the company's four EV establishments — Bar Lulu, Good Night Sonny, the Wayland, and the latest, Madeline's Martini (not to mention the newish High Hope Tavern in Westerly, R.I.).

"It was occurring to us that that little location was just taking way too much of our bandwidth," he said.

The Wild Son relocated to the East Village from Little West 12th Street in May 2020. They moved to a smaller space next door in November 2021, offering a daytime service and turning the corner space into Bar Lulu.

"The unfortunate truth is it's just really hard to run a small food-focused business in New York City right now. Especially if your product is supposed to be approachable and cost-conscious," Ceraso said. "Cost of goods are still through the roof. It's not impossible, but it's definitely not easy. 

"It was a tough decision because we really loved that little lunch counter and thought we made that space really nice."

On 10th Street, infused bake shop Sweetooth closed for now after raid

Photos yesterday by Steven

All three outposts of Sweetooth, which takes claim as the city's first "infused" bake shops, are currently closed after a multi-agency raid last week.

Several readers noted that the brand's first location, on 10th Street just west of First Avenue, was busted this past Thursday.

While the physical storefronts are temporarily shuttered, special orders and deliveries are still available...

 

View this post on Instagram.

A post shared by SWEETOOTH (@sweetoothonly)

The action comes roughly 12 days after the Post reported that the shop was "unlicensed and illegal," according to the state Office of Cannabis Management. The paper also quoted a Sweetooth co-owner saying, "“Right now, we’re taking advantage of the loose laws in the liberal New York Democratic city." 

In a follow-up article on Saturday, the Post reported that Thursday's raid yielded 1,052 edibles, 303 THC vapes, and 97 pre-rolls (good for a $13,500 fine) from the West Fourth Street Sweetooth. 

There wasn't any mention of what may have been seized from the EV storefront, which opened last fall. There's a closed notice on the space via the Department of Health...

In February, Mayor Adams and Manhattan DA Bragg announced that they have joined forces to combat the proliferation of illegal, unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the city.

Following that, the NYPD filed complaints against four unlicensed establishments selling cannabis in the jurisdiction of the 9th Precinct, which covers the East Village. 

Power aid: Transformer work wraps up at the Con Ed substation

After 5-plus months of activity, work is wrapping up at the Con Ed substation along Avenue A and on Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

On Friday, workers packed up the sidewalk office units and (most of the) porta-potties... the 24/7 security personnel hired to watch the adjacent parking spaces were also gone. 

The security booth remains on Fifth Street, awkwardly near where Sophie's patrons take cigarette breaks...

Con Ed has been replacing a transformer here, blocking Avenue A for several weekends for some intricate crane theatrics. 

Meanwhile, there's word this process will happen again with another transformer delivery this fall. (How many transformers does one substation house?)

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Con Ed ready to transform your weekend along Avenue A! 

• Revisiting a transformative Sunday on Avenue A

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

A walk in Tompkins today with Bobby (on the right!)....

Another look at yesterday's Dance Parade

Sharing a few more photos from yesterday's rain-soaked Dance Parade along St. Mark's Place... thanks to EVG reader Robin McMillan for these shots ...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a construction shot of 1 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue)... 

• With Community Board approval, Sammy's Roumanian Steak House takes another step to returning to the Lower East Side (Tuesday) 

• This East Village resident is bringing a classic 82-year-old radio back to broadcasting life (Thursday) 

• Mayor Adams visits Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

• RIP Andy Rourke (Friday) 

 • Report: 8 months after fire, residents want their landlord to repair their Avenue D building (Monday)

• Workers demolish the south ramp to East River Park at Houston Street (Wednesday)

• Parkgoer escapes injury after a branch falls in the Tompkins Square Park dog run (Wednesday)

• The Cube will return to Astor Place this summer — but not before a spin to the Hamptons (Thursday) 

• A winning bid for Theatre 80; a vow to keep fighting for the building (Friday) 

• Openings: Saint Pizza on Avenue B (Wednesday) 

• Checking in at Jazba, a new Indian restaurant opening this summer on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• A necessary 'eVil' (Tuesday) 

• Packing up the Urban Umbrella scaffolding around Cooper Union (Tuesday) 

• 8 new trees on a truck in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

• Out and about with Rhett the Rhino (Friday)

• The all-new Bleecker Street Bar debuts (Monday) 

• City issues curbside dining structure removal to the shuttered Compilation Coffee (Thursday)

• Scenes from a rain-soaked Dance Parade (Sunday) 

-----

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

The Village View Tag Sale is today (Sunday!)

There's a tag sale at Village View today (Sunday!) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ... it's on the Fifth Street basketball court between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

All proceeds go to the VV Garden Committee!

Making a splash at the 2023 Dance Parade

Photos by Derek Berg 

The steady rain yesterday afternoon didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants in the 17th annual Dance Parade. 

This year's edition, with the theme "Beyond the Zone," was to feature 10,000 dancers from 160-plus dance organizations. 

Derek Berg shared a selection of photos from along the parade route on St. Mark's Place... and from inside Tompkins Square Park, where the post-parade DanceFest kicked off...

The incredibly true adventures of papier-mâché man continue

Photo by Derek Berg 

As seen on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street today... and flashback to yesterday.