A fundraiser for La Plaza Cultural, and a new era for Pinc Louds

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

You are invited to visit La Plaza Cultural late Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. for a fundraiser for the community garden's new solar pavilion. 

The event includes a solo set by the lead singer of Pinc Louds and singer-songwriter K. Porcelain. Attendees can donate to the pavilion. (Read more about the project here.) 

Meanwhile, in a Instagram post last weekend, the driving force behind Pinc Louds made a heartfelt announcement starting with "the wig is off..." 

Over seven years ago, I created a look and voice that allowed me to be more extroverted, vulnerable and honest while performing. It helped me be brave enough to go into the subway stations and wail my soul at millions of strangers every day.

I am so grateful that this side of me was able to blossom through this "persona," this extension of myself… It led me to so many magical adventures and to meet so many beautiful humans… But I was wearing an armor. I wasn't letting people in completely. I would see some of these same people on the street when I wasn't performing, and since they wouldn't recognize me, I would pretend not to know them either. 

One of these humans — a very beautiful bright light in Tompkins Square Park — died earlier this year, and I decided I don't want to keep wearing this armor anymore. In the beginning, it freed me, but recently it's just been crushing me. 

At shows, I've always urged the audience to be more human, to make true connections, "talk to your neighbors…" But you can’t make true connections when you're hiding behind a mask. It's easy to be honest and vulnerable when no one knows who you really are. I'm going to try and give it a shot, this time without the armor. Hopefully, I can. Hopefully, you'll accept that. 

I’m excited about this next chapter. It's going to be scary. And weird. And intense and fun. But above all, it's going to be true. 

My name is Federico… but you can still call me Claudi. Claudi was never a "character." She has always been a side of me. And this side of me is and will remain the essence of Pinc Louds. 

And here is Federico in East River Park on Saturday, photographed by EVG's Stacie Joy...

And you may have seen Federico in recent weeks as he has returned to busking, such as in Tompkins Square Park on July 31 (photo below by Derek Berg)...

While the band formed in 2015, Pinc Louds came to prominence during the pandemic summer of 2020, when its brand of quirky cheerfulness gave COVID-weary residents a much-needed dose of joyfulness with socially-distant live shows that could feature a hopscotch contest or a movement meditation trash outing by Dance to the People depending on the afternoon.

You never knew exactly what you might get with an impromptu show, but it was always a lot of fun. We know that spirit will continue on with the work Federico and Pinc Louds create. 

The Whiskey Ward set to close next month on Essex Street

On the Lower East Side, the Whiskey Ward will close in the middle of September — three months shy of its 24th anniversary, according to co-owner Sandee Wright.

As for a reason for the closure, Sandee said simply in an Instagram message that "it's time."

The no-frills neighborhood bar with a pool table, free peanuts, and an extensive menu of whiskeys has been a solid, low-key hangout through the years at 121 Essex between Rivington and Delancey. They will be missed.  

At the O'Flaherty's Café, come for the art, stay for the chicken fingers

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

There's something new cooking at O'Flaherty's, the gallery-performance space at 44 Avenue A and Third Street.

Starting this evening, you can partake in the new café (The Café) concept from artist, curator and owner Jamian Juliano-Villani (below right)...

... with a menu that features comfort food (nachos! mac & cheese!), salads (loaded iceberg!), and small bites (chicken fingers!)...

... and some new artwork from seven featured artists to coincide with the food...

At the moment, we're not sure if the exhibit is part of the Café or the other way around. In any event, it should be interesting and crowded, given the previous shows here. 

The opening is tonight from 7-10...

And hereafter... Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 2-7 p.m. Cafe Hours: Thursday-Saturday 5-10 p.m.

A pre-dawn collab with the Moon and the Seven Sisters

Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers shared this dispatch early this morning...

Waning crescent Moon and very close by, the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus, high over East Third Street at 4 a.m. on Wednesday. 

All Seven Sisters could clearly be seen, especially if you blocked the glare from the Moon, but only three of them showed up in the photos.

Laundry day at Village View?

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As seen on Fourth Street and Avenue A...

These are longtime food writer Robert Sietsema's 10 favorite East Village meals

Food writer-critic Robert Sietsema, in partial disguise, at the 6th & B Community Garden 

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

I met longtime food writer Robert Sietsema at the 6th & B Community Garden earlier this summer.

While enjoying a simit from C&B Café, Robert tells me about moving to the area. He lived for 13 years on 14th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C starting in 1977 when he paid $150 monthly for a four-room railroad apartment with a toilet in a closet. (It was rumored that Sylvester Stallone may have lived in the tenement building, now a co-op.)

"NYC was aflame when I arrived,"  said Sietsema, originally from Dallas. 

Sietsema was a rock star — or, as he says, a micro-celebrity — for 14 years playing (bass, guitar, keyboards) in Mofungo. 

"If you weren't carrying a guitar around the East Village, there was something wrong with you," he says of the time. 

He also started a rock star food fanzine called Down the Hatch, which focused on under-the-radar spots. 

The Village Voice took note of the zine and offered him a job as a part-time food critic, which soon turned into a full-time gig. 

Sietsema, who currently works at Eater on the NYC beat, considers himself a consumer-focused reality-based food photographer and, in the past, had to pay cash mostly to avoid detection when on the job.

He says he can now use his credit card, as he believes no one cares as much about the reviewer's role, which has been entirely eclipsed by the social media influencer.

An adventurous food consumer, Sietsema admits that he will eat anything, though he doesn't care for brains (although he happily tries other organ meats). 

As we debate where the official borders of the East Village are, I ask him for some of his favorite local dishes: 

• Mushroom barley soup with buttered challah bread from B&H Dairy Kosher, 127 Second Ave.

• Pork katsu don from Beron Beron, 164 First Ave.

• Egg and chorizo sandwich from C&B Café, 178 E. Seventh St. 

• Three mezze with a glass of wine from Café Mogador, 101 St. Mark's Place

• The spicy redneck from Crif Dogs, 113 St. Mark's Place

 • Falafel sandwich from Mamoun’s Falafel, 30 St. Mark's Place

• A bowl of pho from Sao Mai, 203 First Ave.

• Pierogi with sauteed onions from Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, 33 E. Seventh St.

• The slightly sweet cheese slice at Stromboli, 83 St. Mark's Place

• Potato-filled flautas with salsa verde at Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery, 215 Avenue A 

Sietsema says the East Village is one of the best food neighborhoods in the city and across all socioeconomic levels. 

What’s missing from the local food scene? A good masala dosa. 

You can keep up with Robert on X (formerly Twitter)

Pink Olive is closing its East Village outpost

After 16 years in the East Village, Pink Olive is closing its gift and stationery boutique on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Founder Grace Kang, who opened her first shop here in 2007, made the announcement via an email to its patrons (as well as on Instagram).

Over the years, we have weathered countless challenges together, and it is these shared experiences that make this decision even more difficult. However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Various factors have led me to this decision, and while it fills me with sadness, I am also eager to embrace the new possibilities that lie ahead. 

Our final days of operation will be filled with mixed emotions. Thank you to the East Village community and the amazing team that started it all. I'm so grateful to you! 

The East Village shop will be open until Aug. 29, "or until we sell out." Her outposts in the West Village and up in Cold Spring will remain in business.

You can read our Q&A with Kang from 2017 right here. 

Image via Instagram 

The Tompkins Square Library branch now has a late August reopening date

Photos by Steven 

Renovations at the Tompkins Square Library are taking longer than expected, and the branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B will now be closed until the end of the month...

The library has been closed since April 24. They were initially expected to return in early July. 

As previously reported, the closure will "facilitate improvements to the building, including preliminary work on a new Teen Center at the library, as well as replacing the branch's flooring and a fresh coat of paint."

 Patrons can still visit these nearby branches: 

• Ottendorfer Library, 135 Second Ave. 

• Hamilton Fish Park Library, 415 E. Houston St. 

• Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Ave. 

Cooper Union's Foundation Building (almost) returns to full view

Photos by Steven 

Workers continue to remove the elaborate sidewalk bridge (the Urban Umbrella!) from outside the Foundation Building here on Cooper Square between Astor Place and Seventh Street...

The sidewalk structure arrived in April 2021... work permits pointed to a "renovation on the fourth floor."

The Urban Umbrella, made of recycled steel and translucent plastic panel, made its first NYC appearance in the fall of 2017.

The Italianate brownstone building designed by architect Fred A. Petersen was completed in 1859.

Daylight saving time: Why the lights were off 3 nights in a row in Tompkins Square Park

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Let's shed some light on what happened in Tompkins Square Park the past few nights. 

As we reported yesterday, the lights were out overnight in the park from Thursday through Saturday, with a return on Sunday night. 

Meanwhile, some parkgoers noted that the lights were on during the day. 

Here's what happened. According to Parks employees, the timer on the lights was set incorrectly. They were supposed to come on at 7 p.m.; instead, they switched on at 7 a.m. and off at 7 p.m.

And no one apparently noticed.

Parks workers adjusted them to being on 24/7, but hope to have them switched to the correct timer cycle by later today.

Please do not urinate on the former Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place

20 St. Mark's Place remains on the rental market — now in its sixth year! (So many brokers.) And apparently, people have been using the space between Second Avenue and Third Avenue as a toilet.

As the Post reported the other day, ownership here had a megaphone installed alongside a monitored-24/7 surveillance camera "to ward off a growing number of vagrants and drunks attempting to relieve themselves on the vacant building."

Apparently, this setup has been in place for a year. We never really noticed (or heard) it. Then again, we've never urinated on the building — however tempting! 

Anyway, per the Post: 

Whenever a loiterer even steps foot on the stoop of the three-story landmarked building, a booming voice explodes out of the sound system, admonishing the violator to "stop!" or "move on!" 

The "jarring, obnoxious" clarion call can be heard up and down the block at all hours, according to residents. 

The Brooklyn-based security company Live Lion is behind the system.

As noted, No. 20, known as the Daniel LeRoy House, was built in 1832. Per the Wikipedia: "LeRoy was an in-law of Peter Stuyvesant, and a South Street merchant, who lived in the house with his wife Elizabeth Fish, of the eminent Fish family."

No 20. received landmark status in 1971 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Past lives of this subterranean space — info via Daytonian in Manhattan — include a theater-saloon called Paul Falk's Tivoli Garden in the 1870s... in the 1930s, the Hungarian Cafe and Restaurant resided here before becoming a temperance saloon called the Growler.

The Grassroots Tavern closed here on New Year's Eve 2017 after 42 years (upstairs tenant Sounds shuttered in 2015)

Speaking of the Grassroots, the other day, EVG contributor Steven went to pee on the building noticed the front door open, and looked at the white-box status of the former great bar...
 

Updated! 

Since this video came up in the comments... An instant request! From 1986, here is Billy Joel's "A Matter of Trust" filmed on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue ...

 

The Wren is temporarily closed for renovations on the Bowery

The Wren temporarily closed operations at the end of July for renovations here at 344 Bowery at Great Jones. 

According to the bar's Instagram account: "We’ll be closing for a couple of weeks to give The Wren a little love." (There's a similar message on The Wren website.)

The front windows are currently papered over... and there are new work permits for renovations...
 

The Wren, which opened here in late 2011, is part of the Sleeping Giant family, whose portfolio includes Bua on St. Mark's Place and Wilfie & Nell on West Fourth Street.

Noted

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As seen on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B today...

Beware of Prowler!!! 

You are not welcome in this building! Do not return! 

Otherwise, steps will be taken for all of our safety!

The lights were back on last night in Tompkins Square Park after 3 evenings of darkness

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated 8/8: We have an update on the lights here. Spoiler: Timer issue.

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The lights were on in Tompkins Square Park last evening...

... and for the first time since Thursday night, according to multiple residents. 

Here's one reader report about Friday night: 

The entire park was dark last night and the previous one. People were using their phone flashlights to navigate. Oddly, the only lights that were working were in the construction trailer outside the field house. No cops anywhere despite recently seeing patrols earlier in the week, but I'm guessing the Union Square incident likely had their focus elsewhere. Very bizarre, and I've never seen anything like it. 

EVG reader Janie Heath shared this clip from Saturday on Avenue A near the Seventh Street entrance that shows a completely dark Park ... and people entering nonetheless...

   

Also, on Saturday night: Someone called 911 to report a "blackout," per the Citizen app ... (and the blackout was IN the park, and yes, that Thompson error)...

We contacted a parks rep about what may have happened with the lights.

Also of note: The lights were ON during the day yesterday.

Updated: 

The lights remain on during daylight hours... (photo by Steven)...

Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe coming to this prime East Village corner space

Coming-soon signage is up for the next tenant on the NE corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue — Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe.

This will be the second location for the business, which opened in Prospect Heights in 2010. From their website: "Our bagels are hand-rolled, kettle boiled, and baked on premises — made the Olde fashioned way."

No word on an opening date.

The prime space has been empty since Sanshi Noodle House closed last summer after a year-plus in service.

Bar Virage closed here in December 2018 after 20-plus years.

Last week for Huertas

As a reminder... Huertas, the popular Basque restaurant at 107 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, is closing... Saturday is the last night in service. 

There's a new landlord for the building, and chef Jonah Miller could not come to "suitable terms" for a new lease, he previously announced. 

So in case you want to pay a visit... Huertas is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-10 p.m. ... with an 11 p.m. close on Friday and Saturday. 

Find reservation and menu info here.

Huertas opened in April 2014.

Top photo from January

Motel No Tell announces itself on Avenue A

Temp signage is up for Motel No Tell at 210 Avenue A... a new bar-tavern on the NE corner of 13th Street...

A group led by hospitality vet Ronan Downs, whose numerous NYC credits include Becketts Bar & Grill in the Financial District, is behind this Avenue A project. (Here's a PDF of their July 2022 questionnaire on the CB3 website.)

According to the State Liquor Authority, the liquor license is still pending for the address, though the owners did receive a "Conditional Approval Letter" last week.

No word on an opening date. There is an Instagram account here.

There have been several other suitors for this space since Percy's Tavern closed in 2017. An establishment called Relax at Blondie's was in the works dating to late 2021.

And some of you might recall No-Tell Motel, a scene-y bar via Deb Parker at 167 Avenue A (now Mama Fina's) between 10th Street and 11th Street that closed in the early 1990s. 

Raíz Modern Mexican is closed for now on 1st Avenue

Photos by Steven

Raíz Modern Mexican is now in "closed for renovations" mode at 120 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

The gates have been down since this past Tuesday, Aug. 1

There isn't any mention of the closure on Raíz's website or Instagram account.

In an Instagram message, the restaurant confirmed they were closed for renovations, with a possible reopening next month.

The retail space has also been listed on LoopNet since April, with the last update on the storefront posted on Aug. 1. 

The plant-based, fast-casual restaurant — featuring burritos, tacos, salads and bowls. — debuted in early 2022.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg)... 

• East Village Loves NYC aids asylum seekers in Midtown during Saturday's heatwave (Tuesday) 

• RIP Miss Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street (Thursday) 

• The chaotic scene at Union Square (Friday) 

• City Council votes on a permanent outdoor dining program (Thursday)

• Raising awareness of Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s proposed merger with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (Sunday) 

• Baker Falls shapes up (Friday) 

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

• Theater for the New City ready to take to the streets (Saturday)

• Butter Lane leaves 7th Street for a new home in the American Dream Mall (Wednesday)

• From crabs to wings on 1st Avenue? (Friday) • The Summer Streets days of summer are upon us (Friday) 

• CineKink is back with its 20th-anniversary film festival (Monday) 

• Openings: Dora's Restaurant on Avenue B; Rynn's on 5th Street (Monday)

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

• Local 92 has closed on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Like a breath of fresh Urban Air on 1st Avenue (Friday)

• Something to frown about at Smileys (Monday) 

... and six years after our last podcaster paparazzi photo of the week ... a return engagement with Marc Maron, here on 2nd Avenue (photo by Derek Berg) ...

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

A moment at the community fridge on Bleecker

A reader shared this photo from Thursday at the community fridge outside Overthrow Boxing Club at 9 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery. 

Miguel (left) and Power from Artists Athletes Activists were stocking the fridge. 

Per the reader: "Seeing them is a good reminder that the fridge is stocked around 2 p.m. on Thursdays. On Sunday, they offer cooked meals from East Village Love NYC." 

The city's first plant-based community fridge arrived here in February 2021.

Find a map of all the NYC community fridges at this link.