2024 marks the 50th year in business for Ray's Candy Store

2024 photo by Peter Brownscombe 

At Ray's Candy Store, 2024 started with an anniversary as the shop officially turned 50. 

Ray Alvarez reportedly bought the shop at 113 Avenue A near Seventh Street in 1974 for $30,000. 

Also, this month, Ray celebrates his 91st birthday. (The day seems to be celebrated both on Jan. 1 and Jan. 25!)

So a happy anniversary and birthday to Ray!

Spin city

Photos by William Klayer

From this morning on Avenue A between Fifth Street and Seventh Street at the start of the annual "Isle of Manhattan: One Lap 'Round the Island" event...

P.S. They meet back here afterward too.

About those New Year's Eve fireworks

We received several queries about the fireworks display that commenced last night around 8... taking some people by surprise (and traumatizing their dogs). 

Given the noise, a few residents thought the brief (5-to-7-minute?) Macy's-grade show originated somewhere in this neighborhood. 

It was, though, coming from Williamsburg and not one of the more-publicized fireworks events. This is via the city's 311 site on the list of legal fireworks displays that the FDNY issued permits for: 

• Sunday, December 31 at 8 PM 
• Williamsburg Bridge 
• Sponsor: Kool Hunter LLC, DBA Heads in the Sky 

Here's part of the grand finale ...

 

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

Photo ops on Avenue A and Ninth Street...

6 posts from December

A mini month in review (with a photo on 9th Street by William Klayer)

• New Yorkers Foodmarket is closing soon on 2nd Avenue (Dec. 20) 

• Displaced 14th Street tenants seek support after city orders them to vacate their building (Dec. 18) 

• Up in the under-restoration bell tower at Most Holy Redeemer (Dec. 14) 

• Landmarks Preservation Commission approves hotel project that could potentially damage the city's oldest residential landmark (Dec. 13) 

• The Joyce Theater Foundation completes purchase of the former Boys' Club on 10th Street and Avenue A (Dec. 5) 

• City officials help facilitate successful meal handout for asylum seekers in the East Village (Dec. 4)

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past holiday week included (with a photo of the Most Holy Redeemer bell tower on 3rd Street — see link below for more)...

• Crowdfunding help for the residents displaced by Madison Reality Capital construction on 14th Street (Wednesday) 

• 'Everything must go' as the New Yorkers Foodmarket sets Dec. 31 closing (Thursday) ... A last look at the New Yorkers Foodmarket (Saturday) 

• Hamilton Fish Park Library closing for a 2-plus year renovation (Friday) 

• A super soft opening at Barnyard Cheese Shop, back in biz on B (Tuesday) 

• EV classic B&H Dairy is back open with a new front door and windows (Friday) 

• When it was time to light up the clocks on the bell tower at Most Holy Redeemer (Sunday) 

• A new era for EV mainstay Anna (Friday) 

• Archie's Press is on the move (across 10th Street) (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Instant Noodle Factory on 7th Street (Thursday)

• A look at the new home of 55 Express Tailor Repair on 4th Street (Thursday) 

• Petopia reopens on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• Mr. Pizza ready to announce himself on 1st Avenue (Friday) 

• Suds Buds is the name of the rebranded Wash 'N Clean Laundromat on 14th Street (Thursday) 

• Stocking up for MulchFest (Monday) 

• Now that it's Dec. 26... (Tuesday)

... and another Clint Mario for you... this is on Fourth Avenue near 10th Street...

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Now that it's New Year's Eve, let's prep for St. Patrick's Day

Photo by Edmund John Dunn 

As seen yesterday at Target on 14th and A... still not close to the March 17 merch spread as once seen at the (RIP!) Kmart on Astor Place...

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Today's charcuterie board is sponsored by the Department of Sanitation...

A last look at the New Yorkers Foodmarket

Photos by Steven 

The New Yorkers Foodmarket is winding down business at 107 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Owner Michael Schumacher put all items in the grocery on sale back on Thursday with a Sunday (Dec. 31) closing date in mind. He told customers on Friday that if he sold enough of the remaining stock, he would not reopen this weekend. 

The store did eventually open this afternoon around 2 ... there were a few items left here and there...

It's not yet known if the market will return for one more day.

As we first reported on Dec. 20, ongoing financial challenges and health issues forced Schumacher to close the store that he has been part of since 1987, when he and his brother bought what was an Associated. 

Read more here.

Noted

Photo by Steven 

Yesterday we noted the arrival of the Mr. [$1.50] Pizza signage at 186 First Ave. 

As you can see, the $1.50 is now taped over. Perhaps the price was meant to be a surprise. Or maybe they've already decided to change the price. Or maybe this is the work of some tape vandals/bandits.

Former illegal cannabis dispensary now for rent on 1st Avenue and 11th Street

For rent signs arrived this past week at the storefront on the SE corner of First Avenue and 11th Street. (H/T Steven.)

This had been the Recreational Plus Cannabis Dispensary, an illegal shop that had been busted several times. (A Restraining Order was visible inside the front window here at 180 First Ave.)

The business' Yelp page still notes, "Recreational Plus East Village is temporarily closed. Scheduled to reopen on January 1, 2024.") 

The signage arrived for Recreational Plus in October... it was later removed, though the shop remained in operation.

The previous retail tenant here was Eleven Consignment Boutique, which closed amid a legal battle in November 2019.

This building, with the dual Michael Jackson murals, is also for sale. 

Saturday's opening shot

Morning view of Seventh Street from outside Cooper Union...

'Anyway' you want it

 

In this season of the listicle, we'll put La Sécurité's album Stay Safe from June on the under-rated list.

The video here from the Montreal band is for "Anyway." 

Headline H/T

Mr. Pizza ready to announce himself on 1st Avenue

We were just wondering whatever happened to Mr. Pizza... the coming-soon signage had disappeared from outside 186 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street. (H/T Steven!)

And just like that, this morning, Mr. Pizza (or maybe Mr. $1.50 Pizza) is ready to be installed on the storefront. (The interior still has a ways to go.)

Anyway, as you guessed, this will be another discount pizza shop once it opens. 

This is the first business for the retail space since Handsome Dan's Snocone & Candy Stand closed here between 11th Street and 12th Street in September 2018. 

In early October 2018, a six-alarm fire next door at 188 First Ave. caused extensive damage to the surrounding properties ... and the residential spaces at No. 186 and No. 188 remain without tenants. 

Hamilton Fish Park Library closing for a 2-plus year renovation

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The Hamilton Fish Park Library at 415 E. Houston St. between Pitt and Columbia is set to close for "building improvements" through the end of 2026.

I stopped by and talked with managing librarian Brandon Korosh (below in the middle) ...

Korosh said that the $19-million gut renovation will include a new open concept with floor-to-ceiling windows for better lighting... workers will also strip the back wall to allow light through the (currently painted) panes.

The library was previously closed for two-plus years due to an "aging HVAC system," which will be replaced during this renovation. 

During the closure, patrons can use the branches at Seward Park, Tompkins Square and Ottendorfer.

EV classic B&H Dairy is back open with a new front door and windows

Photos by Derek Berg 

After a two-day storefront renovation on Tuesday and Wednesday, the great B&H Dairy is back in service at 127 Second Ave. ... (the B&H awning will return next week)...

As we noted on Tuesday (when the above photo was taken), the new restoration happened thanks to a Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plans for the new doorway and front windows.) 

In 2020, someone broke the front door to rob the circa-1938 lunch counter. Earlier that year, someone smashed the front window with a bottle. 

B&H is open daily here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

A new era for East Village mainstay Anna

Photo by Stacie Joy

After nearly 30 years in the East Village, the Anna brand has launched a new era in the Garment District.

Designer Kathy Kemp explains in an Instagram post from last month:

It's been almost 30 years, and so many friendships have started at the store with the Anna clothes. Those relationships have grown over the years and mean so much to us. We're hoping to bring that magic to the factory, and we're excited to see you at our new location in the Garment District on West 39th Street. It's our studio but also a store where we share ideas, design, manufacture and shop. 

The Garment District is a second home where all Anna pieces come together, and it feels right to fuse our worlds and share them with you in a place that inspires us so much.

The new location is at 257 W. 39th St. (7th floor) between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue.

This means that the boutique on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue is now vacant. This was Anna's third EV outpost, after spots on Third Street and 11th Street. 

For more on Anna, read this great interview with Kemp by James Maher from 2014. 

'Everything must go' as the New Yorkers Foodmarket sets Dec. 31 closing

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated 12/30: The grocery now appears to be closed.

Michael Schumacher, owner of the New Yorkers Foodmarket at 107 Second Ave., has moved up his closing date. The grocery will now close after the business day on Sunday, Dec. 31.

As we first reported on Dec. 20, ongoing financial challenges have forced Schumacher to close the store that he has been part of since 1987, when he and his brother bought what was an Associated.

Starting this morning at 11, Schumacher said that everything will be 50% off inside the grocery.

Business has dwindled recently, and new competition like the Wegmans nearby on Astor Place hasn't helped. 

Schumacher also cited some ongoing health issues that have prevented him from putting in the hours necessary to make the business more profitable. He also doesn't have any money to hire staff. His cashier, Rosa, is the sole employee.

A grocery store has been in this retail space (in a building owned by NYU) since the early 1970s.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• New Yorkers Foodmarket is closing soon on 2nd Avenue

Openings: Instant Noodle Factory on 7th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Instant Noodle Factory Downtown is now open at 130 E. Seventh St., just west of Avenue A. (First reported here.)

This is the second outpost for the husband-and-wife team of Tat Lee and Cierra Beck ...

The first Instant Noodle Factory is located close to where the couple lives in Long Island City. Both have resided in the East Village at some point and have a strong connection with the neighborhood. 

The two looked at several East Village storefronts before selecting the former Avant Garden space (AG moved around the corner to Sixth and A) for its layout and location.

Shop specialties include the beef birria noodle bowl and two new flavors: sweet-and-sour pork and ginger-scallion chicken. There are also vegetarian and vegan options.

The base price is $10.50, and it includes a noodle package, premium, classic toppings, and protein that you select. (The price goes up for additional proteins or harder-to-find noodles.) The team then prepares the bowl for you on the custom induction cookers and conveyance system. 

The two say they can make up to six bowls at a time. This differs from their largely automated system in the first location.

Lee speaks of the "infinite possibilities, so many noodles and options," with almost 90 noodles to select from currently, with more on the way. 

Many of the noodles are imported, and a new batch is en route from Korea. "We're always on the hunt for the best noodle, which is sometimes hard to procure," says Lee.

CB3 approved a beer and wine license for Instant Noodle Factory, and they plan to serve Japanese beer, soju, and sake cocktails.

The current daily hours are Thursday through Saturday, noon to midnight, and Sunday through Wednesday until 10 p.m. 

You can keep up with them on Instagram here. 

A look at the new home of 55 Express Tailor Repair on 4th Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

We've been meaning to stop by the new home of 55 Express Tailor Repair at 246 E. Fourth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The tailoring and dry cleaning business relocated here earlier in the fall from 55 Clinton St. between Stanton and Rivington.

I talked with Rafael, the longtime manager of the shop.

"We service clothes for men, women, kids — everybody. Alterations, tailoring, everything." 

The shop is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ... and it's cash only. (There is an ATM outside in case you arrive without any.)

And as the name implies, express tailoring is available while you wait. 

You can call (212) 228-8909 or email Rafaelexpresstailor [at] gmail.com with questions.