Grand openings: G's Cheesesteaks on Avenue B at Houston

Photo by Stacie Joy 

G's Cheesesteaks officially opened yesterday at 6 Avenue B on the NW corner of Houston. (It was first mentioned here.) 

The storefront (and upstairs floors) have undergone extensive renovations recently. This is the first retail tenant in 15 years in the long-empty building that the new landlords call The B. 

Daily hours: 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Find the menu here.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

The second day of the annual Tompkins Square Park Riot reunion shows was canceled due to the threat of thunderstorms. (Several downpours occurred during the afternoon.) 

However, Scott Sturgeon (on the left, from Leftöver Crack/Choking Victim/Star Fucking Hipsters), who was set to open today as a special guest, did eventually play a set later in the day... along with Tibbie Skye West on bass and a few other familiar faces (Shayne!). 

You can read more about the Tompkins Square Park police riots of Aug. 6, 1988 here.

Early evening views

Thanks for all the rainbow pics early this evening ... this reader photo is from Houston and Allen...

Week in Grieview

Posts that past week included (with a Friday evening photo from 4th and A)... 

• Details on the arrests for the deadly shooting in Tompkins Square Park on July 12 (Friday) 

• Former St. Emeric property will yield to housing for seniors and formerly homeless individuals (Friday) 

• A few more details on the future of East Village classic bar Lucy's (Thursday) 

• Scoop: After nearly 30 years, Starbucks is closing its Astor Place location (Sunday) ... Farewell to the Astor Place Starbucks, now officially closed (Monday) ... Before (and after) Starbucks on Astor Place (Tuesday) 

• Report: Whole Foods leasing the former Associated space on 14th Street in Stuy Town (Monday) 

• ICYMI: Mount Sinai receives conditional approval from the state to close Beth Israel (Monday) 

• Report: RYCO Capital buys 6 East Village rentals in $103-million deal (Wednesday) 

• Reopening day at International Bar (Thursday) 

• Oh no! O'Flaherty's has departed its gallery-performance space on Avenue A (Friday)

• A broken window at Two Boots (Tuesday) 

• Cuts & Slices bringing its acclaimed oxtail pizza to the Lower East Side (Wednesday) 

• A new restaurant for the former Mighty Quinn's space on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Aoi Kitchen closes on 6th Street; owners announce new concept for the space (Monday) 

• EV restaurant roundup: Four Four South Village, Don Chicken, De La Soul donuts and more (Wednesday) 

• Sammy's Halal reopens on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

• The J. Crew-Jack's Coffee combo has opened in NoHo (Monday) 

• Buy Me Flowers pushes up daisies on 7th Street (Thursday)

• These are the opossum days of summer in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

• Curbside advice about discarded couches (and other large items) (Tuesday) 

... and on the heels of recent posts about East Village NYC T-shirts for sale at a Forever 21 in San Diego and a neighborhood named for the East Village in Downington, Pa., ... a reader shares this signage from Barcelona, home to a well-reviewed vintage shop called Loisaida...

In case you want to rent the former Tower Records on 4th and Broadway

The news we broke this past week that the Astor Place Starbucks closed after nearly 30 years brought back memories for some people of another nearby business: Tower Records on Fourth Street and Broadway (1983-2006). 

A different broker now has the property. (This is fairly recent, and the listing isn't online yet.) 

The large space, which includes a mezzanine (Blink has the second floor), has been vacant for nearly five years. Build Studio was the last tenant. Previously, it served as the MLB Fan Cave, which closed after four seasons in 2015. 

You can read some history of 692 Broadway here. 

While we always preferred browsing in smaller indie shops, such as the many that once lined St. Mark's Place, including Sounds, Joe's CDs, 13 CDs, Venus Records, Mondo Kim's, Norman's (on Cooper Square), Rockit Scientist Records, etc., we killed a lot of time at this Tower. (We had a friend who worked nearby, and we ducked in here quite a bit while waiting to meet up.)

And ICYMI: Tower Record lives on... online.

By the way, have you seen "All Things Must Pass," Colin Hanks's 2015 documentary about the Tower Records chain? It's right here, courtesy of YouTube... 

 

Feeling the need for Suburban Speed

Photos by Stacie Joy 

This past Saturday (July 27), Brooklyn-based Suburban Speed was a late addition to the Show Brain-presented afternoon of live music in Tompkins Square Park. 

It was maybe not the most enviable slot, with just a few people out early for the show, along with some curious passersby. 

Regardless of the time, Carson Walsh (vocals, guitar, soprano saxophone, power drill) and Seth Sosebee (bass, keyboards) were intent on delivering a compellingly abrasive and anarchic set of songs that commanded attention.

To date, Suburban Speed has released several singles ("Pink Plastic Lighter," "Monte Carlo" and "Provolone Pimps.") With their unconventional song structures and Walsh's sometimes free-form vocals delivery, we're looking forward to hearing how they put it all together on a full record.

You can follow the band here.

Sunday's opening shot

There is a new mural for August by Rx Skulls outside the 2nd Avenue F stop.

EVG Etc.: A garbage dilemma on 10th Street; a chance to catch night fever

Above: 4th Street cooling center 

• Why 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue poses a challenge to Mayor Adams' "trash revolution" (Gothamist) 

• Two NYPD sergeants shot and wounded responding to a robbery on Delancey and Eldridge (1010 WINS ... the Post ... CBS News) 

• DA announces indictment in horrific collision that killed four and injured seven others at Corlears Hook Park on July 4 (DA's office... previously on EVG) 

• Why Chika and Don Tillman decided to close their 10th Street dessert bar, ChikaLicious, after 21 years in business. (Grub Street) 

• An East Village best restaurants listicle (Time Out) 

• The red-tailed hawk fledglings are getting around Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography) 

• 50 years of the Ramones at CBGB (The Bowery Boys) 

• The mystery balcony on the Bowery (Ephemeral New York) 

• Catch a screening of "Saturday Night Fever" Monday at the Village East by Angelika (Official site) 

• An ongoing series with films that incorporate preexisting documentary transcripts into fictionalized or re-staged contexts (Anthology Film Archives) 

• This September, Belarus Free Theatre returns to La MaMa with "KS6: Small Forward," a new stage production based on the life story of Belarusian international-basketball-player-turned-activist Katsiaryna (Katya) Snytsina (La MaMa) 

... and free today on 10th Street at First Avenue (H/T Steven)...

 

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[Updated] The 36th annual Tompkins Square Park Riot reunion shows are happening this weekend

The free concerts commemorating the 36th anniversary of the Tompkins Square Police Riot of Aug. 6, 1988, are happening this weekend.

Bands are scheduled for today and tomorrow. The first band up today, Donut City, says they're on at 2 p.m. sharp. 

----

Updated 8/4 2:42 p.m.

Due to the threat of rain/storms this afternoon, the show has been canceled. However, Scott Sturgeon (Leftöver Crack, Choking Victim and Star Fucking Hipsters) and a few others who were added to start the bill will still be playing. 

----

And on Sunday...

Saturday's opening shot

Balmy on the Bowery... and NYC's heat advisory has been extended through this evening (and likely Monday). 

Here is the city's Cool Options NYC website.

Friday's parting shot

A view of this evening's double rainbow... thanks to Cecil Scheib for the photo!

Three's company

 

This week, local trio Hello Mary (Helena Straight, Stella Wave and Mikaela Oppenheimer) released more new music (and a video!). 

The track "Three" is on the band's forthcoming record, Emita Ox, due out on Sept. 13. 

Hello Mary is headlining a show at Bowery Ballroom on Oct. 24.

Time again for Summer Streets, now with an extra 2 hours on Saturdays

The annual Summer Streets celebration returns on the first three Saturdays of August. 

Starting tomorrow (Saturday!), miles of NYC roadways will be closed to vehicles so that people can run, walk, and bike — often in the same direction. 

As in previous years, this car-free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue from the newly extended hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (previously 1 p.m.) 

You can find more details about Summer Streets at this link, including the sponsors and free exercise classes on Astor Place.

Report: Former St. Emeric property will yield to housing for seniors and formerly homeless individuals

As expected, the Archdiocese of New York has struck a deal to develop the block-long property on 13th Street and Avenue D that formerly housed the St. Emeric church and school. 

A collaborative effort involving Community Access, Spatial Equity, Duvernay + Brooks, and the Cooper Square Committee is reportedly launching this project to provide homes for seniors and formerly homeless individuals, including those with special needs who qualify for supportive services.

As 6sqft reported: 

Under the terms of the deal, the developers would create 570 affordable housing units across the full-block site. The project calls for two towers, one measuring 240,000 square feet and the other 570,000 square feet. Up to 60% of the homes will be reserved for homeless New Yorkers.

And... 

The first phase of construction will be as-of-right and kick off in 2026; the team may pursue a rezoning for the second phase. Any change in zoning would require the project to go through the uniform land use review procedure (ULURP). 

The now-deconsecrated church, founded in 1949, merged with St. Brigid on Avenue B in early 2013. The site adjacent to the Con Ed power plant includes a former school building, greenhouse, and large parking lot. 

In March 2022, a local church official who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that the former church and school would be torn down. The source also told EVG's Stacie Joy that the Archdiocese wanted to "do something positive for the community, perhaps something like affordable housing." 

The Archdiocese previously went the luxury route, selling two former East Village churches for over $80 million in recent years. 

The link below has more background on this story... 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• The former St. Emeric property could yield a 570-unit affordable housing complex on Avenue D

Oh no! O'Flaherty's has departed its gallery-performance space on Avenue A

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After a rollicking 18 months at 44 Avenue A, O'Flaherty's is out of the gallery-performance space on the NE corner of Third Street. 

We spotted a for-lease sign on the gallery's awning early yesterday morning. Artist, curator and owner Jamian Juliano-Villani confirmed the closure. 

When asked if she'd reopen in the neighborhood, she offered: "We're looking for a space where the sun sets at the entrance, not rises." When we asked her if there was anything else, she said, "Yes, Billy's pregnant," referencing O'Flaherty's gallerist Billy Grant.

O'Flaherty's debuted in February 2023 with "O'Flaherty's gelitin O'Flattering," featuring the Vienna-based performance group gelitin. The shows attracted big crowds.

And Juliano-Villani often seemed to be having the most fun of anyone...

Other memorable events included the debut of a Café (with art!) last August, which showed the work of seven artists and offered mac and cheese and chicken fingers, which may or may not have been part of the show. 

Less kitschy offerings included solo work by longtime East Village resident Donna Dennis, part of the architectural sculpture movement of the early 1970s.

Broker Chandler Slate said the O'Flaherty's space is available immediately with an asking price of $29,000 monthly.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019 in this space. The comedy venue opened in September 2011, and UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.

O'Flaherty's previously had a year-long run at 55 Avenue C at Fourth Street, culminating with a mobbed show in July 2022.

At 44 Avenue A, the shows were few and far between but never dull. 

Details on the arrests for the deadly shooting in Tompkins Square Park on July 12

Photo (from July 12) by Stacie Joy 

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

NYPD sources shared more details on the arrests of two suspects in the July 12 fatal double shooting in Tompkins Square Park. 

According to media accounts and police sources, the NYPD arrested two men last week — Angel Sardina, 63, and Rafael Macias, also 63. 

The men, who each have an extensive criminal record, "were both staying in a Pike Street shelter-type situation." Officers from the Gun Violence Suppression Unit made the arrests, and the two were processed at the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street. 

Sardina allegedly fired the shots that killed 74-year-old Fermin Frito, who was said to be selling drugs at the chess tables inside the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park. A second man, 44-year-old Edwin Rivera, was also shot in the ambush just before 10 a.m. It's not immediately clear what role Macias played in the shooting. 

Public records show that the charges against Sardina include murder in the second degree. He is being held without bail at the Eric M. Taylor Center in East Elmhurst. 

Police previously said this was a turf war over drug sales. "This is a targeted attack against a perceived drug rival," an NYPD source told us last month. 

The chess tables remain closed behind barricades, and officers from the 9th and 13th Precincts have been on patrol in and around the Park—both on foot and in vehicles. Members of the NYPD's Mounted Unit have also been spotted patrolling the area. 

In the wake of this incident, the 9th Precinct is emphasizing its commitment to community safety and is encouraging residents to participate in its upcoming National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, Aug. 6, from 4 to 7 p.m., an event designed to strengthen police-community partnerships.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Police: Turf war over drug trade cause of last week's deadly shooting in Tompkins Square Park 

These are the opossum days of summer in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Steven

Hello, is it me you're looking for? 

It has been a while (January), but we finally have an opossum sighting in Tompkins Square Park—with photographic evidence!

Over the years, opossums have been sighted in Tompkins Square Park (hence its own EVG opossum tag). 

We don't know how many members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia might live in the Park. We've tried to tag them, but we haven't gotten close enough with the spray paint. (That is a joke!)

Anyway... enjoy the cuteness...

A few more details on the future of East Village classic bar Lucy's

Photo of Lucy's interior last night by Stacie Joy

The new owners of Lucy's will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this month.

As we reported in May, the owners of Golden Age Hospitality, whose portfolio includes establishments like Le Dive, The Happiest Hour and Deux Chats, seek to take over Lucy's, the decades-old Avenue A favorite owned by Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius that has been closed since late November. 

However, Golden Age withdrew their application before the May meeting, and it happened again in June, per public records. This is not uncommon and can mean anything from the paperwork not being in yet to the applicant still negotiating a lease with the landlord. 

The questionnaire on file at the CB3 website for public viewing (PDF here) ahead of the meeting on Aug. 19 shows that the trade name would remain Lucy's with the same hours — 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. 

The questionnaire packet includes a letter from Golden Age Hospitality CEO Jon Neidich to the local block association. The letter reads in part: 

While we are taking over the operation of the bar, our involvement is solely premised on preserving an East Village institution: Lucy herself will very much still be a part of this project (and will still be behind the bar!). We will not be changing the concept or design of the space (we will be adding some soundproofing in the ceiling and an ADA bathroom). 

The floor plan shows the same configuration with two pool tables, etc. The storage space behind the pool tables will be a prep area for the limited menu with five sandwich offerings. (There's a BLT, turkey club, croque monsieur, etc.)

Several tipsters have told us Neidich was a big fan of Lucy's and 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. 

As we first reported, attorneys for the building's new landlord served Lucy 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), was seeking a hefty increase.

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.

Golden Age Hospitality also has a pending application for the former Boiler Room space on Fourth Street at Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

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

Reopening day at International Bar

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The International Bar reopened Monday after a four-plus month hiatus at 102 First Ave. near Sixth Street.

Back in the spring, the iBar folks told us that a paperwork snafu was the culprit, precipitating a longer-than-expected closure.

The iBar has had several lives since it first opened in the late 1970s at 119 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Regardless of the address, there has always been a Welcome Home-kind-of vibe at the International. 

"We really missed all our regulars and are so happy to be back," said Sawyer, the bartender on duty (below left with Rob). "It's business as usual. We all missed our East Village family."

Here's a look at the reopening day late Monday afternoon...

The bar is open from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily. 

If you're on Instagram, you can follow the bar here.

Buy Me Flowers pushes up daisies on 7th Street

Buy Me Flowers, an unlicensed cannabis dispensary, closed earlier this summer at 102 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The news of a closure isn't necessarily newsy, as smoke shops here and in other parts of NYC continue to open, close, reopen, rebrand, and close in a seemingly never-ending show of gamesmanship to stay ahead of crackdowns via law enforcement.

This was the first retail tenant for the space, which served as a residence for decades. 

As previously noted, Anthony Pisano lived in this converted storefront full of antiques and whimsical curiosities for nearly 40 years. He died in 2018 at age 86. Check out some interior pics from his home here.  

We have a feeling we'll be in for a series of schlocky concepts here in the years ahead in the building owned by Steve Croman.