The Summer Streets days of summer are upon us

The annual Summer Streets celebration returns on the first three Saturdays of the month (August!).

Starting tomorrow (Saturday!), nearly seven miles of NYC roadways are closed to vehicles for people to run, walk, bike, complain that this makes double parking nearly impossible, etc. 

As in previous years, this car-free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can find more details about Summer Streets at this link, including the sponsors and free exercise classes on Astor Place.

Baker Falls shapes up

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

If you walked by 101 Avenue A this week, then you may have seen local artist Antony Zito at work outside the recently opened Baker Falls ... adding hand-painted lettering on the façade and front windows...

The venue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street had its soft opening on July 13. When fully operational, the two-level space will feature an all-day cafe, bar, room for community events, and a stage for live music under the Knitting Factory at Baker Falls moniker.

Zito also added the old-school KF logo at the entryway to the ground-floor music space... 

As we've noted (see links below), East Village resident Nick Bodor, who has owned and operated several local businesses in the past 25-plus years, including the Library and alt.coffee, is behind Baker Falls.

Meanwhile, live music via the Knitting Factory at Baker Falls started on July 20 in the main room with Sunflower Bean.

We bought tickets for our first show here last Friday night for a concert featuring headliners cumgirl8, who were back in NYC after an extensive tour in recent months, including several nights opening for Le Tigre.

We hadn't seen cumgirl8 — Veronica Vilim (guitar), Lida Fox (bass), Chase Noelle (drums) and Avishag Rodrigues (guitar) — since late 2021 at the now-closed Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.

The hypnotic neon punk band continues to impress ... playing an exuberant set featuring songs from their forthcoming (Aug. 18!) 4AD EP titled phantasea pharm...

From our vantage in the back of the looked-full performance space, cumgirl8 received an enthusiastic Friday night welcome, complete with a mini mosh-pit.

While the venue is still working out the kinks in these opening weeks, we'll certainly be going back. You can check out the Baker Falls website for upcoming events.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Baker Falls set to debut this week on Avenue A (July 10)

• Generation next: Baker Falls will bring together a cafe, bar and the Knitting Factory at the former Pyramid Club on Avenue A (Nov. 28, 2022)

• The next iteration of the Knitting Factory coming to the East Village (Aug. 24, 2022) 

From crabs to wings on 1st Avenue?

Photos by Steven

Opening soon signs are posted on the plywood outside 225 First Ave. for Buffalo Wild Wings here between 13th Street and 14th Street...

Given this era of fake coming soon signage, we contacted BWW's corporate office to verify the arrival. (We will update if they respond.) BWW has other locations in and around the metropolitan area, so it wouldn't be a shocker if they decided to open one here.

And they may have some good consumer data. If this is legit, this makes for the fourth wings joint on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and 14th Street (Dan and John's, Atomic Wings, Koko Wings) ... not to mention Wingstop around the corner on 14th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This retail space was most recently, for a year, Crab Du Jour. 

Like a breath of fresh Urban Air on 1st Avenue

Photo by Steven

The former Beer & Smoke Shop at 149 First Ave. at Ninth Street has been undergoing a transformation in the last week... and the new signage arrived yesterday for Urban Air Convenience (or maybe UrbanAir Convenience).

Given the sign's smoke motif... and the smoke emanating from the disembodied lips, this is likely a smoke shop ... and not, say, a convenience store selling Air Jordans or fresh urban air for those wildfire days.

The storefront was previously the Hague Convenience Store for several years... (and before, something useful like a tailor's shop). 

Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

A future East Village trivia question: What was the last ad on the south-facing wall at 37 First Ave. before it was demolished? 

Answer: Little Simz for Vans.

RIP Miss Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Miss Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street (2009-2023) 

Text by Jose Garcia 

The lovely Miss Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street took her earthly leave of us on the night of Aug. 1. While she remained happy and engaged until quite recently, she had been in declining health for several months.

A native of Tennessee, Kita came north as a puppy and somehow made it to Bide-a-Wee Manhattan from which she graduated as a three-and-a-half-year-old stunner with a winning personality to boot. She was clearly well-loved and cared for by her previous owner who had named her Kita — a name she recognized and responded to so we figured it was none of our business to go about changing it to Sugar, which may have been the original plan.

Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street made her EV Grieve debut on March 9, 2012. Over the years she became something of a local celebrity once removed through a combination of grit, good looks and a nose for news. In addition to her coverage in EV Grieve, Kita was named Bide-a-Wee "Pick of the Litter" for January 2012, and had a cameo appearance on the "Second Chances" episode of the Netflix series, "Dogs." 

She was frequently spotted around the neighborhood and seemed to genuinely enjoy meeting her neighbors, graciously accepting ear scritches (and the occasional illicit dog treat) while doling out her own sweet kisses to the lucky few. 

Kita enriched our lives immensely and we were every bit as lucky to have found her as she may have been to have landed with us. 

Thank you for the many kindnesses you showed her and us. 

We will miss her terribly. 

Jose Garcia & Family

Keybar has left 13th Street for life in Bushwick

ICYMI: Keybar is now closed at 432 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The bar concluded 20-plus years in business at the end of July, ahead of a move to Troutman Avenue in Bushwick. Management told us they'd debut there in the middle of this month. 

Ownership previously said that a rent hike courtesy of landlord Steve Croman was behind the relocation.

No. 432 likely won't remain vacant for long. In May 2022, CB3 approved a new liquor license for John Cutillo, who operates The Spotted Owl on the corner at 211 Avenue A, Iggy's Keltic Lounge on Ludlow and Local 138 at 181 Orchard. 

At the same meeting, CB3 denied an application for the Keybar principals to relocate to the SE corner of 13th Street and Avenue A (now a smoke shop) "because it does not show public interest and seeks a full on-premises license in a location that has never been licensed for a full on-premises liquor license in a saturated area with a history of quality of life issues on upper Avenue A."

Report: City Council set to vote on a permanent outdoor dining program

Updated 4:15 p.m.

Council reportedly passed the legislation ... and it is now awaiting the signature of Mayor Adams to become official. District 1 City Councilmember Christopher Marte voted no, as the Commercial Observer reported, "on the basis that it would allow bad actors to continue with outdoor dining for years at a time." 

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City Council is expected to vote today to make outdoor dining a permanent part of the NYC street landscape. 

Per Gothamist: 

The bill, sponsored by Council Member Marjorie Velázquez with vocal support from Mayor Eric Adams, has gone through multiple revisions since it was first introduced in February of last year, as the Adams administration and Council members have spent more than a year in negotiations for a permanent setup. 

In the latest version, roadway cafes will be allowed from April until the end of November. Sidewalk seating will be authorized for restaurants year-round with the proper permitting, which covers a four-year period. Curb-based roadway seating will require a separate permit spanning the same length of time, with each permit costing $1,050, according to the bill text.

As City & State previously noted, "The establishment of a permanent outdoor dining program has been held up in part by lawsuits, but also by disagreements between City Hall and the Council on what the program should look like."

The most recent lawsuit to end the pandemic-era Open Restaurants program was filed last month. As Streetsblog reported:

The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, makes many of the plaintiffs' previous arguments about the open restaurant program taking away parking, causing noise and congestion, and allegedly inviting rats to move in (though this has been debunked).

But central to the latest effort to undermine the restaurant industry is the claim that the city itself has deconstructed its own pandemic edicts and, as a result, should do the same with the restaurant program.

Meanwhile, if passed, there's still a lengthy approval process for a restaurant to receive streetside dining status. Take it away, Streetsblog:

Business owners will have to send their petitions for outdoor dining to DOT, the Council, the borough president, and the local community board, the latter of which will have 40 days to give recommendations on whether to approve the applications. 

If the business is in a historic district or adjacent to a landmark, it will also need to get approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

The Council can review petitions and hold a vote on whether to approve them.

And one question we've heard people ask: If City Council passes this legislation, what does that mean for the outdoor structures that restaurants and cafes set up during the temporary program? According to various published reports, those streeteries that don't comply with the new rules must come down by Nov. 1, 2024.  

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo and text by Stacie Joy 

Today marked the last day at C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B for Bailey Anderes, the coffee shop's stylish barista/counterperson/general happy presence. 

Bailey is pursuing a dream career (blogging?) in another profession... and everyone who has been through the doors here will miss him!

Late morning mannequin break

Photo by Steven 

As seen on St. Mark's Place this morning between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Well, this is not a boat accident! It wasn't any propeller! It wasn't any coral reef!

Report: The historic 137 2nd Ave. — the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic — has a new owner

One of the neighborhood's most unique properties has a new (mystery) owner. 

The landmarked three-story building at 137 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street just changed hands for $18.95 million, the Post first reported. 

The unknown buyer was listed as 137 Second Avenue Holdings, LLC. No word on what the new tenant has planned for the space, which hit the market back in March. 

According to the listing, possible uses included "a future townhouse or residential redevelopment."

The neo-Italian Renaissance brick building is the former German Dispensary, which opened in 1884. (In 1905 it became the Stuyvesant Polyclinic.) 

Here's more about the building from a 2008 New York Times feature:

Like the branch library next door, the Second Avenue building of the German Dispensary was the gift of Anna and Oswald Ottendorfer, who ran the German newspaper New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung. That journal had great influence in Little Germany, on the Lower East Side around First and Second Avenues below 14th Street. The 1886 edition of Appleton's Dictionary of New York described an area in which "lager-beer shops are numerous, and nearly all the signs are of German names."

The building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1976. Learn more about No. 137's history and architecture at Off the Grid here.

In 2019, the space became the headquarters of the female-focused co-working club The Wing. Per reports at the time, "the HQ is intended to riff off the building's original details, such as existing terracotta tile floors, decorative pillars, moldings and skylights."

According to Curbed, who first reported on this availability in March, "The Wing's furniture is still in the building and can be included in the sale."

Apparently, the new owner didn't want that furniture. On July 20, EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted workers trashing some pretty nice-looking office fixtures... not to mention some books...

Derek alerted the folks at Village Works around the corner on St. Mark's Place, who were able to salvage some of the books...

Butter Lane leaves 7th Street for a new home in the American Dream Mall

Photos by Steven

Butter Lane has closed its East Village outpost here at 123 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The small bakery, which offered a variety of cupcakes, baking classes and catering, winded down operations this past weekend... ahead of a move to the American Dream Mall (located across from the Angry Bird Mini Golf ticket booth) in East Rutherford, N.J.

Butter Lane debuted here in late 2008 ... with new ownership taking over in 2014.

Signage alert: Anjelly on St. Mark's Place; Rice Bird NYC on 9th Street

Photos by Steven 

Signage went up yesterday for Anjelly at 103 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

We're told this will be an Asian dessert spot. 

The previous tenant, CJ Tattoo, relocated to 55 Avenue C in March. 

Meanwhile... signage arrived last week for Rice Bird NYC at 334 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

A worker said this would be a Chinese restaurant. 

This retail space has been vacant for years.

Midnight moon over 2nd Avenue

Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers shared this dispatch from last night...

"After two months of haze and smoke, finally, an almost-full moon hovers over Second Avenue at midnight."

Expect a full moon tonight... and then there's a rare blue supermoon coming at the end of the month.

East Village Loves NYC aids asylum seekers in Midtown during Saturday's heatwave

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

On Saturday morning, a reporter covering the humanitarian crisis at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown asked me if anyone in the neighborhood did emergency aid crisis response. 

She mentioned witnessing hundreds of people on the sidewalk, with the heat index hovering around 100, without food or water while they waited for a spot to open up at the intake center. (All arriving asylum seekers are now processed through a centralized system, but they are no spaces available, so long lines have formed while people wait — up to several days — for a chance to get inside.) 

I contacted some mutual aid groups I'd worked with in the past, including East Village Loves NYC, and we set up a plan to provide 250 meals to people midday after being told they'd only had a "block of cheese" and a bottle of water the night before.

In less than four hours, the volunteers with EVLovesNYC prepared hundreds of meals (beef and vegan options) at their home base, the Sixth Street Community Center, and had them ready to go...

We arrived at the city's intake center at the hotel on East 45th Street. We received assistance from DocGo (the subcontractor managing the site) to hand out the halal meals, watermelon slices, chocolate croissants (courtesy of C&B Cafe on Seventh Street) and bottles of water. 

With so many people waiting (some transported to area hospitals), the city was scrambling for places to put them. The Mayor's office hoped to move people to the Port Authority while waiting for space to open up. MTA buses were brought in as emergency mobile cooling centers. 

The situation at the center was tense, and later that night, after we left, people tried to break the barrier to get inside. There isn't an end in sight, and the city repeatedly has stated they have no more room to house the influx. (City and state officials also continue to ask for assistance from the federal government.)

For information on volunteering with or donating to EVLovesNYC, visit this site.

Local 92 has closed on 2nd Avenue

Multiple readers have noted that Local 92 has gone dark here on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

There aren't any messages on the restaurant's website or social media about a closure... Google lists the Local 92 address as on Mulberry between Prince and Spring. No one answered the phone listed for this Mulberry address on Sunday or last evening.

Local 92, which served a variety of Middle Eastern cuisine and was a popular brunch spot, first opened here in 2013.

In 2021, three former employees claimed that Marcello Assante, the restaurateur behind Local 92 as well as the now-closed Bella Ciao in Little Italy, "refused to pay his employees overtime; ignored coronavirus health requirements issued by city and state officials; and referred to former employees as 'princesses' after they raised concerns about the alleged incidents," Eater reported. There were also allegations levied against Local 92 chef and co-owner Shai Zvibak. They denied the accusations. 

And Local 92 is the latest closure along this corridor in the past two years... other closings on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Sixth Street include the Mermaid Inn, Eros, Mighty Quinn's BBQ, Wild Mirrors, Sauced Up!, Calexico and Sestina.

6 posts from July

A mini month in review... (with one more summer cloud pic)... 

• First look inside the Astor Place Wegmans, set to open on Oct. 18 at 9 a.m. (July 27) 

• When a young red-tailed hawk gets stuck in the airshaft outside your kitchen window (July 21) 

• RIP Big Lee (July 18)

• Late night at Key Food (July 14) 

• The last day for East Village mainstay Ink on Avenue A (July 9) 

• Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space for designers and artisans in Basquiat's former studio on Great Jones Street (July 8)

Noted

A little after 6 this evening, sanitation employees shut down Sixth Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...

... so that workers could powerwash off some street graffiti...

... oh...

... and as seen on Friday night...

Details about the NYPD's Night Out Against Crime

Photo by Stacie Joy

The NYPD is hosting its annual National Night Out Against Crime tomorrow (Tuesday, Aug. 1).

In the East Village, the community-building event takes place outside the 9th Precinct from 4-8 p.m. There's free food (BBQ!) and other treats for attendees... as well as some kid-friendly entertainment. It's also an opportunity to meet staff from the 9th Precinct.

The Precinct house is at 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

July 31

Photo by Steven

OK, so not a real tree... still, we can dream of a _ _ _ _ _ Christmas here on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.