Kolkata Chai Co. closed for renovations until April 1 on 3rd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

Kolkata Chai Co. is closed until April 1 here at 199 E. Third St., just west of Avenue B. 

Door signage notes that ownership (brothers Ani and Ayan Sanyal) are "making some much-needed changes to our equipment and decor."

The cafe's Kenmare Street location is open. 

The shop, serving masala chai, debuted in September 2019 in the East Village.

Weekend parting shots

Walking on Stuyvesant Street in the rain on Saturday morning...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with an early spring shot from Stuyvesant at Ninth)...

• 2 East Village residents 'shaken and scared' after assault inside their building (Monday) 

• Same gunman suspected in shooting in Tompkins Square Park, police say (Thursday) 

• A 7-floor development in the works for the NW corner of 1st Avenue and 2nd Street (Monday) 

• This spring, new life for the mucky tree well that smells like dead things on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• Bella McFadden bringing her iGirl brand to the East Village (Thursday) 

• These zine editors want your rat stories ('Don't call us gross') (Wednesday)

• The Lazy Llama has closed in First Park; no new vendor in the pipeline (Tuesday) 

• Openings: Bungalow on 1st Avenue (Sunday) ... Sauced on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) ... Terminal B on Avenue B (Thursday) ... Okiboru House of Udon on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday) ... The Lions on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Aliens of Brooklyn leaves the East Village to harvest the Chelsea Market (Monday) 

• Flushing-based cafe and bakery Sweet Cake is opening an East Village outpost (Monday)

• Another pink-out at 57 Great Jones St. (Wednesday)

• Peak-a-boooo: Partial reveal at 1 St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• East Village Tattoo debuts on 4th Street (Wednesday) 

• Behold 57 Great Jones St. in small scale (Friday) 

• Signage alert: Crispy Burger on 1st Avenue (Monday)

• The faceless Charlie Brown mural is now headless (Monday)

  ... and Eddie Izzard's "Hamlet" made its EV debut this past Tuesday at the Orpheum on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... here through April 14 (thanks to Steven for the photo)...

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

March 24

Photo by Derek Berg 

As seen this morning on Second Avenue at Seventh Street... and just three months since Christmas Eve. There's a lot of green left in that tree (at last it looks that way on a laptop).

Purple reign: Marking Holy Week at Most Holy Redeemer

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B could change the color of the clock faces on the recently restored bell tower. 

The clocks were green for Saint Patrick's novena, but now they are a shade of violet-purple to mark Passion Week, aka Holy Week, which marks the observance between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. (H/T Matthew 27: 1-62, and Mark 15: 1-47.) 

In other Most Holy Redeemer news, the church's historical bells are now used for the hourly chime. You will only hear the carillon bells for hymns and the noon/6 p.m. ringing. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Up in the under-restoration belltower at Most Holy Redeemer

Openings: Bungalow on 1st Avenue

Interior photo by Stacie Joy

Bungalow debuted yesterday at 24 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street. (Previously mentioned here.) 

Several readers have noted the grand entryway to the Indian restaurant run by Vikas Khanna, host and judge of "MasterChef India," and restaurateur Jimmy Rizvi of Bombay House hospitality group. (Khanna opened Junoon on West 24th Street in 2009 and earned a Michelin star in 2011.)

In an Instagram post, Khanna said March 23 would have been his sister Radhika's 50th birthday. "We open Bungalow on the auspicious day as a tribute to her life and also to honor millions of kitchens, chefs, cook book writers, street vendors, home cooks across India — and most importantly to our MOTHERS who have nurtured our souls forever." 

Bungalow has received a lot of pre-opening press... You can read more about the place in the Times, WWD, or Vogue India, among other outlets. (Restaurant website here.)

As we've noted, two addresses — 24 First Ave. and its property mate 99-101 E. Second St. — were demolished several years ago to make room for the new residential building here called the 101 Condominium.

No. 24 's previous occupants included the cabaret Lucky Cheng's (1993-2012).

Saturday's parting shot

"Job" ended its run today at the Connelly Theater on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B after more than two months (including an extension). 

We bought tickets to see the psychological thriller a few weeks back and have talked about certain plot points ever since. 

Congrats to the playwright (and NYC native), Max Wolf Friedlich, for the twists and turns and the two-person cast, Sydney Lemmon and Peter Friedman. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater

Entering week No. 5 for the Veselka documentary at Village East by Angelika

Crowds keep showing up to the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue and 12th Street for screenings of "Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World" ... so the documentary on the longtime East Village diner keeps getting extended. 

The film is now in its fifth week here, with daily screenings scheduled through Thursday. The screening tonight (6:30) and tomorrow (3 p.m.) includes a Q&A afterward (tickets here) ... and there are other incentives (as seen below)...

See @VeselkaMovie tonight thru Sunday (3/22-3/24) at the Village East (@AngelikaFilm_NY) and enjoy filmmaker Q&As after. Then…FREE dessert at @veselkanyc with @VeselkaMovie ticket stub. And free Veselka Musette Bag given out in-theater after the Q&As (one bag per ticket)! pic.twitter.com/yidxIOKyD1

— “Veselka” Documentary (2024) (@VeselkaMovie) March 22, 2024

Saturday's opening shot

From a rainy 10th Street and Avenue A, photogenic steam courtesy of Con Ed...

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

The Frank Booth/"Blue Velvet" hoodie on St. Mark's Place... What kind of beer do you like?

The 'Quiet' life

 

Brooklyn-based band Razor Braids has a new album (Big Wave) coming out on June 7... the video here is for the single "It Goes Quiet." 

Behold 57 Great Jones St. in small scale

Photo by Stacie Joy

Here's miniature/diorama artist Danny Cortes with one of his most recent works — an incredibly detailed 57 Great Jones St. ... including some of the tags and wheat pastes that adorned the façade. (No, there isn't a pink version of this!)

The address is currently Atelier Jolie ... Andy Warhol once owned the building between the Bowery and Lafayette ... and Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked here from 1983 to his death in 1988.

The building, erected in the 1860s, was also once the headquarters of gangster Paul Kelly. Read more about the space's history at Village Preservation. 

Milling about Avenue A

Updated 3/23: With the rain, the milling got pushed to Tuesday evening, per the DOT website.

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Avenue A is on the clock for late-night milling, the removal of the top layer of a street's asphalt surface.

Work began last night between Houston/First Street and Fourth Street, and per the Department of Transportation schedule, it is expected to continue this March Madness Friday night (we have Longwood upsetting Houston) up to 10th Street.

Thankfully, the work was all done very quietly, and no one heard a thing.

Friday's opening shot

Morning along St. Mark's Place. 

Also, Easter is next weekend. 

 The bunny art outside David's Cafe by @poieverywhere was completed this past November...

Same gunman suspected in shooting today in Tompkins Square Park, police say

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Updated 3/26: Police made an arrest in the shooting.

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No injuries were reported after a gunman opened fire early this afternoon near the chess tables at the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park, police said

NYPD sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, said there were five to seven shots fired, with a bullet penetrating a window above Niagara across the street.

Police said the suspect, described as a Black male wearing a ski mask and dark clothing, was the same shooter who fired shots that struck two innocent bystanders this past Saturday. "It's a beef," per a police source.

The suspect reportedly fled on a Citi Bike.   

"We're not going to stop until we get him," a police official told us. 

The official said that they were "confident in the direction this investigation is going. The detectives here are world-class and won't rest until the job's completed." 

"We already had increased patrol at the park, including when the shooting happened," the official said.

This Saturday, master the craft of decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs

On Saturday, the Ukrainian American Youth Association is hosting its annual event to decorate pysanky — Ukrainian Easter eggs. 

Attendees use dyes, beeswax, and a stylus (all provided) to decorate the eggs with traditional Ukrainian designs. You get to keep what you make.

The event, which will last from noon to 5 p.m., will be held at the Ukrainian National Home, second floor, 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

Details are on the above flyer. All the proceeds will go toward humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Bella McFadden bringing her iGirl brand to the East Village

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

An online vintage clothing sensation is making the East Village home to her first storefront. 

Bella McFadden, aka Internet Girl, will open her shop later this spring at 150 E. Third St. just east of Avenue A (the former home of East Village Buyers, who moved to the avenue). 

Starting in her teens, McFadden, now 28, was an avid thrifter and eventually became the first-ever seller to earn more than $1 million on the Depop app. She later launched her own website for her iGirl brand, "inspired by Y2K emo culture, mall goths and punk subculture." 

This past September, McFadden, originally from Canada, moved to the East Village. She only looked to open a store in her new neighborhood, noting the space was in her budget. She signed an 18-month lease.

"It's my first time with a storefront, so I wanted to test the waters and not sign a long-term lease," McFadden said.

The store will also be called iGirl, selling McFadden's designs, jewelry, and apparel for her target audience, which includes "high school and college fans, teens to early 30s." McFadden, who has a sizable social media following (TikTok, YouTube, et al.), also plans to drop a few exclusive designs that are only available in-store and not online. 

She hopes to open by the end of April or early May. 

"I feel this is a really safe space for a Tumblr girl," said McFadden, who started using the platform in the 10th grade. "My haven and my roots, a place for those girls to connect and unite."

You can find updates on iGirl via Instagram.

Peak-a-boooo: Partial reveal at 1 St. Mark's Place

The 9-story office building on the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place is showing off a hint of brick and glass. 

The new development at 1 St. Mark's Place has been shrouded in that tarp in recent months.

Perhaps we shall see the full thing soon — the rendering lists a July 2024 completion date, providing 50,000-plus square feet of office space and some 8,000 square feet for retail.

As a reminder of the final product... (via Morris Adjmi Architects)... 

Openings: Sauced on 2nd Avenue

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Manhattan outpost of Sauced is now in soft-open mode at 47 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street. (Don't be confused: the front window still has the previous tenant's name, New York Adorned, the tattoo and piercing shop.) 

Like the original location in Williamsburg, Sauced does not have a wine list ... and they are available "by discussion." ...

Co-owner Vincent Marino provided a brief tour of the space, including a backroom available for private events...

He introduced me to chef Quentin Peron, who oversees a small, ever-changing menu of small plates. (On this visit, they served mushroom pate, a bellota plate, and a cheese/charcuterie board, among other items.)

Hours: 

Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight 

Friday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

Saturday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

Sunday, 3 p.m. to midnight. 

You can find updates on the Sauced Instagram account. 

And Sauced will eventually have a new next-door neighbor once the Boiler Room moves here from Fourth Street.

Openings: Terminal B on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Terminal B is now in soft-open mode at 21-23 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street. 

We had seen the signage but weren't sure what to expect from the LaGuardia Airport-sounding name. It turns out that Terminal B is a convenience store with Asian-themed products...

Pictured here are staffers Angel Chow and Edward Wong. (Owner Judy Zhu had stepped out...)

They'll eventually offer some to-go items, including coffee, tea and matcha.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.