Photo by Robert Miner
At the height of the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade this afternoon...
Saturday, October 21, 2023
How to tote around the Essex Card Shop with you
Photo by Stacie Joy
The folks at Essex Card Shop, 47 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street, continue to unveil some new merch... owner Muhammad Aslam showed us the new tote bags ($24.99) the other day.
Like the t-shirts, it features an illustration by Joel Holland with the signage from the previous storefront at 39 Avenue A.
Saturday's opening shots
Also, half (or so) of the Park lights remain off...
Also, for anyone working on a screenplay. Remember: The opening scene of a film script introduces the audience to the story's characters, setting and inciting incident... it was a dark and stormy morning...
Lastly, in case you didn't see the No Parking notices along Avenue B or on Seventh Street between A and B, the city likely towed your vehicle...
Friday, October 20, 2023
'Vapor' trail
Been looking for some new Halloween-seasonal music videos (something other than the EVG standby by Siouxsie and the Banshees!).
The above video is for the recently released single "Vaporized" by the Seattle-based Sea Lemon. (And yes — she does look like Wednesday Addams-Christina Ricci here.)
The DOT wants your feedback on the future of East River Park waterfront access
We are writing to invite you to join us at East Village/Lower East Side Waterfront Access Study's upcoming Community Workshop #3. The study is evaluating opportunities for improvements in the FDR Drive corridor from Montgomery to 14th Street considering mobility, circulation, safety, accessibility, open space, environment, resilience, and stormwater management.
The workshop will be held at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, Baker Hall, 402 E. Eighth St. near Avenue D, on Monday, Oct. 23, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
At the meeting, you'll have the opportunity to share your feedback on improvement concepts for Montgomery St., Jackson St., Delancey St., Houston St., and E. Sixth St. along the FDR Drive corridor.You can register for the workshop here.
East River Park is currently being gutted as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project, estimated to be completed by the end of 2026.
Speaking out against the ongoing sweeps on 9th Street and 1st Avenue
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Several city agencies have recently participated in weekly sweeps of an unhoused encampment under the sidewalk bridge on the NE corner of Ninth Street and First Avenue.
Last night, nearly a dozen community groups and mutual-aid network members planned a protest outside the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street to speak out against the ongoing sweeps ...
In anticipation of this protest (there were flyers announcing it on social media), the NYPD had placed barricades on the entrances to the block between First Avenue and Second Avenue... and only residents (with ID) or delivery people were allowed through ...
At some point, police escorted activists Johnny Grima and Derrick DeMaria out of the barricaded area.
It's not immediately clear what happened next. Grima ended up on the sidewalk on Second Avenue and Fifth Street with an apparent injury from a fall. (Grima claimed he was pushed while officers at the scene said he fell.)
It took nearly 30 minutes for EMTs to arrive ... while Grima remained on the ground...
A uniformed officer accompanied Grima to the hospital, where he was evaluated for injuries.
In the spring of 2022, the city conducted multiple sweeps on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C (coverage here and here and here) ... and along Seventh Street and Tompkins Square Park in November 2021.
In the past 18 months, activists have spoken out against the citywide encampment sweeps ... while asking for safe housing for New Yorkers living on the streets.
Mayor Adams has defended the actions, saying "he was working to preserve the 'dignity' of homeless New Yorkers."
After a late September sweep on Ninth Street and First Avenue, police officials reportedly said it "was a result of numerous community grievances from locals and business owners who complained that the sidewalk was blocked."
What to know about the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade tomorrow
Photos by Stacie Joy
The 33rd edition of the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade takes place tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 21. (Yes, the event was canceled this year, then revived via sponsor Get Joy, a Connecticut-based dog wellness company. Details here.)
Given that a sizable portion of Tompkins Square Park is closed for construction (here and here), the city has OK'd extending the event onto parts of Avenue B and Seventh Street.
The info here comes from the Dog Parade website:
The day consists of a walking parade down Avenue B (free and open to all) and an exclusive costume competition in the park (also free, but limited space and wristbands available. Wristbands are available the day of the event, first come, first serve).To join the parade in your costumes, meet at 13th Street & Avenue B. (Do not meet in Tompkins Square Park!) Spectators can watch the parade on Avenue B from 12th Street to 7th Street. The parade is rain or shine and begins at 1 p.m. There is no registration to walk in the parade.To have a chance to compete in the exclusive costume competition (or score a free wristband to watch), arrive at 12th Street and Avenue B no later than 12:30 p.m. The waiting area for the parade opens at 12 p.m. Judges will be selecting their favorite costumes to compete in the competition from 12-1:30 p.m.
The map (via the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade Instagram account) shows the parade route, which starts at 12th Street and Avenue B... heads south to Seventh Street, where the parade turns right and enters Tompkins at the entrance mid-block...
Some specifics about timing:
1 p.m.: Parade kick-off
1:45 p.m.: Interview finalists
2 p.m.: Best in Show begins
2:30 p.m.: Best in Show winners are crowned
And for the bullet-point crowd:
• This event is open to all, and attendance is free
• The first 600 paradegoers will receive wristbands, giving them access to march in the parade and access the park/contest stage and Seventh Street (first-come, first-serve basis)
• Event is rain or shine
• During the parade, a panel of judges will select canines and their humans to advance to an exclusive costume competition on the park stage
And what about parking in the area? Like, if you live here and have a car that might typically be parked along Avenue B or Seventh Street... this info comes via the 9th Precinct:
No parking on both sides of the street on Avenue B from 14th Street to Seventh Street, and no parking on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B (both sides of the street). Starts Friday at midnight, ends Saturday at 9 p.m.
Per a spokesperson at the 9th: "Tow trucks will be towing people, but we'd rather get the word out to the community ahead of time."
Otherwise, enjoy!
Thursday, October 19, 2023
An open house at the George Jackson Academy on St. Mark's Place
Sharing some info from the George Jackson Academy, 104 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.
The middle school for boys is hosting an in-person open house this Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to noon ... and again on Nov. 8 from 5:30-7 p.m.
Please register to attend using this link: GJA Open House Registration.
About the Earth School's Fall Fair on Nov. 4
Updated 10/20 to reflect the rain date — Nov. 4!
You can find all the activities in the schoolyard on Fourth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.
Per the EVG inbox...
Open to all families! Come join our community and enjoy:
- A bouncy house
- Music with a live D.J.
- Arts & crafts, including slime making, beading...
- Affordable food, homemade and from local restaurants
- Games — mini-golf, bean bag toss, basketball and more
- Rummage sale (child & adult clothing)
- And more family fun!
Admission is free; tickets are $1 each and most activities and food cost 2-3 tickets. All proceeds from the Fall Fair are used to fund enrichment classes, supplies, and more for the students of the Earth School.Thank you to the following for the generous donations: Bibi's, Gemma, Iggy's Pizza, Peter Pan Doughnuts, Veniero's, Trader Joe’s, Key Food, Guitar Center...
On Union Square, Target debuts ahead of its announced opening day
Photos by Steven
The Target at 10 Union Square East opened its doors on Tuesday night... five days before its announced Oct. 22 debut (and 15 hours before the Wegmans grand opening on Astor Place).
Oh, and the mayor was in on the scoop...
Anyway! To recap the Union Square story...This outpost in the base of the Zeckendorf Towers has been in the making for nearly four years.
Target did the same opening-before-the-expected date back in July 2018 on Avenue A and 14th Street.Union Square is getting a Target!
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) October 17, 2023
This unveiling symbolizes a key trend in our city’s economy. We're not coming back — we ARE back. This convenient location is going to bring jobs, foot traffic, and revenue to one of New York City’s most iconic areas. pic.twitter.com/f58f1eForI
The 33,000-square-foot store (the EV location is 27,000 square feet, FYI) includes a CVS pharmacy and all the other stuff you'd expect to find at Target. Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
In February 2020, news broke (via the Post) that Target had signed a lease for space that the Food Emporium had... the grocer shut down in May 2021.
As previously noted, the space that was once pub-crawl hotspot SideBar on the SW corner of 15th Street and Irving Place is now part of the retailer's footprint.
This opening comes several days before the East Harlem location closes because of reports of thefts and organized retail crime threatening the safety of employees and customers.
The Dash Snow tribute has been painted over on the Lower East Side
Top photo by Gabriel Sommer
After 14-plus years on a north-facing wall of 205 Allen St. at Houston, someone has painted over the tribute to artist Dash Snow.
The portrait arrived about a month after Snow was found dead in July 2009 at the Lafayette House on Fourth Street. He was 27.
Graffiti writer SEEDR was credited with the work, one of many that popped up around downtown at the time.
As far as we know, this was the last of the portraits still in existence...
Above photo from August 2009 by Salim
What's happening at the former Trader Joe's Wine Shop on 14th Street?
One EVG commenter said the Wine Shop is reopening... the signage could also be to spruce up the bare storefront. Anyway, we haven't gotten anyone to confirm what's happening here. The signage simply lists the Trader Joe's website. We contacted the TJ's home office for comment about the space. So, chalk this up to a RUMOR at the moment.
The shop, representing the brand's only liquor license in New York State, abruptly closed on Aug. 11, 2022, after 15-plus years in business. Workers here reportedly planned to unionize when the company announced the closure.
Since the shop closed, Trader Joe's had held onto the space for storage here in the base of NYU's Palladium Hall. At the time, the company announced that the "space currently used for the wine shop will be used to improve the overall operations of store 540, our grocery store in Union Square."
In a statement to Gothamist, a company spokesperson said that its decision to close the store had nothing to do with the unionizing efforts ... calling the outpost an "underperforming wine shop." To which anyone who saw the lines out the door disagreed with.
This past April, Trader Joe's workers at Essex Crossing narrowly voted not to join Trader Joe's United... this followed a vote against unionizing by workers at a store in Brooklyn in October 2022.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Here's the midnight email that employees of the Trader Joe's Wine Shop received about the closing on Union Square (Aug. 12, 2022)
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Wednesday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
A scene from the opening day at Wegmans on Astor Place... the grocer's first Manhattan outpost. (More background here and here.)
The store opened at 9 a.m. Per EVG reader Jeanne Krier: "The line, at 8:30, snaked up the block, around the corner and halfway down 9th. There was cheering, applause, selfies, videos, smiles all around."
Last nights (for now) for Robert Leslie in Tompkins Square Park
Photo from Sunday in Tompkins with Robert Leslie in the background
by Derek Berg
EVG reader cs on b shares this info... Robert Leslie, a local busker who's been playing around these parts for the last 10 years before moving to Seattle this past summer, is back in town for the week... and is playing tonight and tomorrow night in Tompkins Square Park, his favorite spot to play, for the last time for the foreseeable future.
He's usually by the Temperance Fountain. You can catch him before the sun goes down, 5:30 tonight and around 5 tomorrow until around 7-7:30. He'll be back in town every now and again, but now's a good time to see him!
An overhead view of Tompkins Square Park when the lights are off
An EVG reader shared these photos Monday night from the Christodora House on Avenue B, which overlooks Tompkins.... providing an aerial view of the darkness ...
This happened in the summer, too... with the lights staying off for multiple nights. According to Parks employees at the time, 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.
No word on what the problem is this time. Several residents said they contacted 311.
Per one reader: "So ridiculously unsafe."
Last night, a reader reported that the lights were working along the east side of the Park... but remained off around the main lawn and in the areas under construction...
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
RIP Maryanne Byington
Maryanne left us Friday, Oct. 13, after a long battle with a pulmonary illness.
Maryanne was a resident of East Eighth Street since 1982 and an integral part of Green Oasis and Gilbert's Sculpture Garden. She was one of the founders of LUNGS and served as Vice President from 2011 to 2020.Maryanne was a trophy-winning professional ballroom dancer. She was Emeritus Dean of High Heels at Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls, where she offered students expert instruction in the arts of dressing up, making up, going out, and acting like a lady. Maryanne said, " Do you enjoy wearing high heels? Sometimes, the technique of rumba will create just the right walk for the right situation."Maryanne loved to dance and dress in Oscar de la Renta's most colorful Latin-influenced festive party gowns. She also loved to sit in her garden, watch children carve pumpkins, and listen to the birds sing. She was partial to shrimp cocktails, grilled cheese sandwiches and chilled Negronis served in a pretty cocktail glass.Maryanne's graciousness, sense of humor and beautiful smile are already greatly missed.
The milling of the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park is underway
Photos by Steven
Workers arrived this morning around 8 and began milling the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park...
As we've been reporting for the past 13 months, the Parks Department will reconstruct these multipurpose courts along 10th Street and Avenue A, adding various amenities, including a two-lane seal-coated walking loop and new asphalt.
This spot (aka TF) is considered hallowed ground for skaters, where generations have used this space since the 1980s. (It has been called "the last great meet-up spot for skateboarders and their friends in New York.") 
According to a landscape architect with the Parks Department (from a presentation in February), there's a lot of "asphalt structural damage," and it "needs to be replaced and repaired. And the only way to do that is to take all the asphalt down to the sub base and put new asphalt down."
Posted signage states the work will occur between Oct. 16 and Dec. 1.
Skaters are worried the new asphalt will be either too soft or hard for skating, turning this into a useless spot.
This is the second significant reconstruction currently underway in Tompkins Square Park. Work on renovating the field house began in May... with a September 2024 completion date.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Monday, October 16, 2023
Monday's parting shot
Thanks to Sonya for the photo!
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