Bella McFadden's iGirl storefront opens Saturday on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Bella McFadden, aka Internet Girl, will open her flagship shop on Saturday at 150 E. Third St., just east of Avenue A.

"I'm excited to meet the community and be part of it," said McFadden, who moved to the East Village last fall. "Everyone's been more than kind. I can't wait to be immersed."

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.

The iGirl shop, a unique space that embodies the spirit of Y2K emo culture, mall goths, and punk subculture, will showcase McFadden's designs, jewelry, and apparel. Catering to a diverse audience, including high school and college ages, teens to early 30s, the shop will also feature a few exclusive designs that can only be found in-store.

McFadden  has "restocked some coveted pieces and rare and never-seen-before on website merchandise." Pieces will be "evolving and seasonal, with jewelry, cuffs, belts, bags, iGirl everywhere." 

She provided a look inside the space this past week...

On opening day, the first 50 people will receive a free iGirl gift, and there will also be candy and treats. 

Hours: Daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can find brand and store updates on iGirl via Instagram. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Bella McFadden bringing her iGirl brand to the East Village

Family sells 8 East Village buildings for $38 million after decades of ownership

Eight East Village pre-war apartment buildings owned by the same family since the 1960s have sold for $38 million, per a press release and published reports. 

The Eis family reportedly owned the portfolio, which totals 82,245 square feet and includes 99 apartments and nine retail units. Three separate buyers picked up a handful of the properties. 

Per the press release and the Commercial Observer, the buildings are: 

• 105-109 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street (pictured above — Mister Paradise, Huertas and Sammy's Halal*) ... sold for $13 million to Lawrence Movtady. 

• 110 East First St. at Houston (across from Katz's) ... sold for $7 million to Alfred Sabetfard of the Sabet Group.  

• 58 and 60-62 Second Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street ... sold for $11.8 million to Alfred Sabetfard of the Sabet Group. 

• 425 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ... sold for $3 million to Son Dinh Tran. 

• 543 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... sold for $3.2 million to Tran.

* Sammy's Halal seems to be a permanent shutter now at 109 First Ave.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

On Second Avenue near Seventh Street... you looking at the balloons on the bike or the hands on the SUV?

King Flaco outside the 2nd Avenue F stop

Here's the final Flaco tribute mural outside the Second Avenue F stop on Houston.

Nite Owl, an Oakland, Calif.-based artist known for his expressive murals of owls, created this King Flaco memorial mural. (Check out his work on Instagram.)

Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl, was found dead on Feb. 23 after apparently colliding with a building on the Upper West Side. As the Associated Press put it, "Flaco ... escaped from New York City's Central Park Zoo and became one of the city's most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan." 

Flaco also spent eight days in the East Village and Lower East Side this past November. 

A moment on 8th Street in 1983

The 1980s East Village photography of Peter Bennett is currently on display at the Tompkins Square Library branch.

Bennett, a native New Yorker now residing in Los Angeles, grew up in Greenwich Village and lived in the East Village from 1979 to 1988. 

The above photo (not one featured at the library) shows the south side of Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C from 1983. (You can see St. Brigid's on the corner.)

Bennett told us this about the photo:

I used to hang out on that block in the 1970s. [He finished high school at Seward Park in 1972.] I had two friends who lived there, and I would visit them. It was a rough, rough block back then. I was mugged on at least one occasion. Tompkins Square Park was completely off-limits after dark; I remember walking around it coming back from my friends and hearing gut-wrenching screams coming from the park somewhere. It's come a long way. 

Tomorrow (Thursday) evening, as part of Lower East Side History Month, Bennett will be one of the guest speakers in a session titled "The East Village in Music, Art, and Words." He'll be joined by Linus Coraggio, MaryAnn Fahey and Andrea Wilson. Unfortunately, the session is full, and the registration is closed.

However, Bennett's photos will be up for the next few months at the library, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Follow Bennett on Instagram here.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The 1980s East Village as seen through the lens of photographer Peter Bennett 

Remembering Frank Stella

As you may have read, Frank Stella, the renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker, died on Saturday at the age of 87. 

Many tributes have been paid to Stella, whom CBS News called "a towering figure in post-war American art." 

Per NPR: "One of the most influential American artists of his time, Stella was a pioneer of the minimalist movement of the early 1960s. During that time, painters and sculptors challenged the idea that art was meant to be representative and used their medium as their message." 

Other selected tributes include Artforum ... and The New Yorker.

From 1978 to 2005, 128 E. 13th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue served as Stella's studio, where he reportedly created many of his most renowned works. 

In November 2021, Village Preservation unveiled a plaque on the space in a virtual ceremony with Stella and Whitney Museum Director Adam Weinberg.

The building, erected in 1903, is believed to be the last surviving horse and carriage auction mart in NYC. In 2006, Village Preservation helped prevent it from becoming a seven-level condo.

The Peridance Center now leases a dance studio here.

Lui & Lui takes center stage at the next incarnation of 3rd & B'zaar

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy  

The next incarnation of 3rd & B'zaar will debut tomorrow evening (Thursday) at 191 E. Third St., between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The clothing and accessories brand Lui & Lui will be headlining the space for the next year.

I spotted Lui & Lui's Sol Sanchez, assisted by her mother, Luisa Arguello, who was visiting from Argentina, working inside the mixed-vendor market and event space the other day. 

"Sol is definitely part of the original 3rd & B'zaar family," said Maegan Hayward, a 3rd & B'zaar co-founder and owner of the East Village Vintage Collective on 12th Street. She was one of the first vendors we ever had, and we were her first spot to sell her brand in the U.S. So, we are very excited to have her take over and bring her artistic vision to the shop." 

The opening evening event is from 5:30 to 9:30, and it will feature live music and assorted sales. Find more info here. 

The shop, which will include items from the East Village Vintage Collective and several other independent vendors, will be open starting Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A look inside the former Dallas BBQ on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The gut renovations continue at the retail space on the NE corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue. (The photo below shows the St. Mark's side.)

As we've noted, hospitality vet Curt Huegel, whose portfolio includes concepts such as Bill's Townhouse, Campagnola and Printers Alley, and, closer to home, Jackdaw on Second Avenue at 13th Street, is behind this unnamed incoming establishment. 

Here's a look inside, where extensive renovations over the last year-plus have occurred since its days as Dallas BBQ ...

Huegel appeared before Community Board 3 in June 2022 and received approval for the concept. (He didn't respond to our previous request for comment about what's in store for this space.)

Dallas BBQ closed in December 2022 after anchoring the corner since the mid-1980s. Staff said the building's landlord would not renew the chainlet's lease.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo of tonight's sunset — and Tompkins Square Park view — by Cecil Scheib...

An East Village tribute to Flaco

Photos by Laura "Lulu" Reich 

Here's an in-progress look at a Flaco tribute mural going up outside the Second Avenue F stop on Houston.

The work is, appropriately enough, by Nite Owl, an Oakland, Calif.-based artist known for his expressive murals of owls. (Check out his work on Instagram.)

Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl, was found dead on Feb. 23 after apparently colliding with a building on the Upper West Side. As the Associated Press put it, "Flaco ... escaped from New York City's Central Park Zoo and became one of the city's most beloved celebrities as he flew around Manhattan." 

Flaco spent eight days in the East Village and Lower East Side this past November. Flaco was first spotted in the East Village on Nov. 6 at the Kenkeleba House Garden off Avenue B and Third Street. He was seen repeatedly over the next few days here and on the Lower East Side.

Updated 6/8: See the final mural here.

New applicants for Lucy's withdraw for this month

Anyone curious about the future of Lucy's at 135 Avenue A will have to wait at least another month.

Reps for the owners of Golden Age Hospitality, whose portfolio includes buzzy establishments like Le Dive, The Nines and Deux Chats, seek to take over Lucy's, the decades-old East Village favorite that has been closed since late November. 

As noted last week, Golden Age reps were on Community Board 3's SLA committee meeting docket for May 13. 

However, they have withdrawn their application...

This is not uncommon and can mean anything from the paperwork not being in yet to the applicant still negotiating a lease. (We do not know the reason here.) 

Several tipsters have told us that Golden Age Hospitality's Jon Neidich was a big fan of Lucy's and was interested in buying the bar. (We're told Neidich once lived in the apartments above the bar at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.)

During several conversations in February, Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius told EVG contributor Stacie Joy that she had many potential suitors for the bar and may have a role in the new incarnation. 

Neidich did not respond to previous emails about taking over Lucy's. We also contacted Golden Hospitality partner Craig Atlas, whose name appears on the CB3 application. A rep for Golden Hospitality responded last week and said they don't have anything else to share about the application right now.

As we first reported, attorneys for the building's new landlord served her with a 30-day Notice of Termination in early February with a demand to vacate the space by the end of the month. 

Her lease expired in May 2015, and she was on a month-to-month arrangement with the previous landlord. Lucy told us that her last rent was $8,000 per month, and the new landlord, as of late December (West Lake 135-139 Avenue A LLC), is asking for $25,000, though there might be some willingness to negotiate. 

The bar (aka Blanche's Lucy's Tavern) has been closed since November when some paperwork issues forced what was to be a temporary closure.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar

Reader report: Why were our new trees canceled?

From the EVG inbox...

I live on Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue and we were so excited when the city posted we'd be getting two new trees on our block. But [last Thursday], our dreams were crushed when someone came and filled in the two freshly dug tree holes with cement again! I tried calling 311 but to no avail. Does anyone have an idea what happened to get our trees canceled? 

The reader is curious if any block associations or community gardens have had something similar happen.

Elsewhere, a reader points out that this tree well outside 521 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B has been inexplicably filled in with cement...

Fabano Florals returns to Avenue B, this time as a full-time shop

Photo by Stacie Joy

East Village resident Andrea Fabano has reopened her floral shop at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street ... and it's now a full-time storefront. She debuted here last summer as a weekend pop-up business

Hours for Fabano Florals: 10 a.m.. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. She is also open on occasional Sundays, such as as Mother's Day.

On 3rd Avenue, Cutlets and the world's narrowest weed shop have closed

A for-lease sign hangs on the storefront at 99 Third Ave., marking the official end of Cutlets here between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Richard Zaro of Zaro's Family Bakery was behind this quick-serve deli concept that touted "quality sandwiches made with premium ingredients." And they were pretty good. 

Cutlets launched as a delivery-only business in July 2020, expanding into a Flatiron District pop-up in late 2020 ... before opening a flagship location on West 35th Street. The EV location debuted on Dec. 1, 2021. (There was a Cutlets opening on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, but those plans were squashed.) 

Also gone: The world's narrowest weed shop that shared the address.

A look at Christo and Amelia's 2024 offspring in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Steven 

Amelia and Christo, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, have welcomed three bouncy baby fuzzballs to the nest this spring. 

Steven took these photos over the past week...

As we've seen in previous summers, the hawklets grow so quickly... by mid-June, they'll be surprisingly huge and learning to fly, hunt, pose for photos, etc. 

Visit Goggla's site for the back story on our local hawks.

Paying tribute to legendary photographer Saul Leiter on 10th Street

Top 2 photos by Derek Berg

Last Wednesday evening, Village Preservation unveiled a plaque honoring acclaimed American photographer and painter Saul Leiter at 111 E. 10th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, where he lived and worked from 1952 to his death in 2013. 

Speakers included critic and curator Vince Aletti, a longtime East Village resident who is the former art editor and photography critic for The Village Voice, photo exhibition reviewer for The New Yorker, and author of "A History of Photography in Fashion Magazines" (2019). (You can read a recent interview with him at Vanity Fair here.)

This marked Village Preservation's 24th plaque unveiling ... including markers on the homes of notable figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Allen Ginsberg and Charles Mingus. (Photo by Steven)

Joe's Wine Co. (NOT Trader Joe's) coming to 3rd Avenue

Updated Dec. 1: Trader Joe's is suing the shop for encroaching on its Joe name, per Gothamist.

Signage is up for Joe's Wine Co. at 113 Third Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street...

The shop will sell wine and spirits, and its Instagram account promises a "huge selection" of wines for $12 and less. No word on an opening date. You can follow the shop here.

Several EVG readers shared photos of the storefront signage, and there was a discussion about the name and any possible confusion with Trader Joe's Wine Shop, which closed around the corner in August 2022. (That retail space now houses Trader Joe's Pronto.)

Joe's Wine Co. is an entirely separate entity from Trader Joe's. State Liquor Authority paperwork from July 2023 lists the ownership as Taste Wine LLC, a business previously located at 50 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street... (public records now list the name as Joe's Wine Inc.)

Gary Landsman opened Taste Wine in 2015 before closing in May 2020 to focus on raising awareness and finding a treatment for the fatal genetic disease that his two young sons have. At the time, he said he was hopeful about selling the business. 

Taste Wine reopened in the fall of 2020 under new ownership before shutting down in early 2021. According to the Post, someone stole the shop's entire $300,000 inventory of alcohol during that time.

And 50 Third Ave. is now part of the vacant assemblage that workers are demolishing to create a new mixed-use development.

[Updated] The Roost remains at rest

Photos by Stacie Joy

The Roost remains closed this spring at 222 Avenue B between 13th Street and 14th Street. 

A sign for patrons points to a temporary closure for a renovation and promises that "something special is coming."

A few readers asked if we knew what the plans are here ... we do not! 

The Roost's Yelp page points to a July 1 reopening. 

The venue — a cafe in the front and a speakeasy-style bar in the back — recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Updated

Thanks to the reader comment... we missed this from the March CB3-SLA committee meeting.

Andrew Loscaizo, who owns Salumeria Rosi, an Italian restaurant, deli, salami and cheese shop on the Upper West Side, is leasing the space. He plans to open an outpost here. You can read his application for the business here.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (plus the crowd watching the wisteria on Stuyvesant Street — photo by Steven)...

• When a Dodge Charger drove down the sidewalk on 2nd Street during a high-speed chase (Saturday) 

• D.A. Bragg: Landlord indicted for harassing rent-regulated tenants, including in the East Village (Thursday) 

• On the CB3-SLA docket: New operators for East Village classic Lucy's on Avenue A (Monday) 

• How to take part in Lower East Side History Month activities this May (Friday) 

• The Ukrainian Museum revisits the early work of East Village-based photographer Peter Hujar (Wednesday) 

• On Avenue B, a there-goes-the-neighborhood building sells for $43 million (Wednesday)

• EVG Etc.: NYPD arrests 56 in clearing NYU and New School protest encampments; Knickerbocker Village sells for $85 million (Friday) 

• What happened to the famous East Village (replacement) pear tree on 3rd Avenue? (Thursday) 

• An extension for 'Houses and Hotels' at O'Flaherty's on Avenue A (Wednesday)

• Iconic East Village gay bar Boiler Room has closed ahead of move to a new location on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• A Link5G tower for Avenue C (Monday) 

• The fellow "looking for a girlfriend" is now "looking for the perfect woman" (Thursday)

• Spin-offs: Throwback Two debuts on 9th Street (Saturday) 

• The Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks returning to the Hudson River for some reason (Thursday)

• Friday at 5: The great new track by Pretty Sick (Friday) 

• Watch a large raccoon climb down a tree on 10th Street (Monday) 

• Openings: Hidden Grounds Chai & Coffee House on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

• Coming attractions: The Oasis Cafe on Avenue A (Monday) 

• Tea Dealers & Ceramics is leaving Avenue B (Friday) 

• A Luscious new market option on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• Kōbo by Nai has not been open lately (Wednesday) 

• Today in thieving squirrels in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) ... Today in makeshift fire pits by the Hare Krishna tree in Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

... and we had several readers spot a (presumably) pet parakeet in Tompkins Square Park... in case of an escape from your home...

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

Sunday's opening shot

A new arrival this past week outside the Second Avenue F stop at Houston ... a Knicks tribute by Jappy Agoncillo. 

Apparently this will only be up through the weekend... and ahead of Game 1 between the Knicks and Pacers tomorrow evening. 

Check back later for our analysis on how the Knicks contain Tyrese Haliburton.