Monday, August 12, 2024

First sign of Ishq, a new Indian restaurant on Avenue A

Signage is up for the new restaurant coming to 202 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

The owners of Gazab on Essex Street (just south of Houston) are opening an Indian restaurant here. Previous news reports about this arrival stated that the name would be Jhakaas.

However, the signage — as well as the questionnaire online at the CB3 website for a liquor license — lists the name as Ishq...
Ishq is currently hiring ...
According to the Commercial Observer, Gazab Executive Chef and founder Vamshi Adi would also run Jhakaas. 

The 3,000-square-foot space was previously Kōbo by Nai, which quietly closed in the spring after arriving in late 2022. 

The address, 202 Avenue A, which has a tragic past, received a horizontal and vertical enlargement several years back, adding two floors to the building.

(Pink) Signage alert: Loong Noodles on St. Mark's Place

We noted the coming-soon signage for Loong Noodles at 28 St. Mark's Place a few weeks back. 

Now, the neon signage has arrived, and it's pink. Very pink! 

Here's how it looks at night, providing a menacing glow to this block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Thanks to Jacob Ford for these photos.)
The noodle shop appears to be opening soon. If you're on Instagram, you can find their account here

Until December, No. 28 was Kung Fu Tea for the past 10 years. (Will Loong attract the electric unicyclists like Kung Fu Tea did?)

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

A summer Sunday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park...

Playing the Apollo?

Photo today from 10th Street at First Avenue at Apollo Bagels... thanks to Rainer Turim for the photo.

Week In Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a ride-share photo on 9th Street by Derek Berg)... 

• Mayor Adams unveils the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition for long-problematic East Village corridor (Friday

• A visit to Groove Garden, a community music studio on Avenue C (Wednesday

• Ruby/Dakota opens on 2nd Street: Gallery is a tribute to family legacy and personal healing (Friday)

• The end and beginning of curbside dining (Monday

• Little Poland appreciation post (Thursday

• TLK by Tigerlily Kitchen closing as demolition looms on 3rd Avenue (Saturday

• 2 members of Team USA are featured in this local band's new music video (Tuesday)

• About the Show Brain Festival 2024 in Tompkins Square Park (Friday

• Have you been to the new location of Sammy's Roumanian Steak House? (Thursday

• Elisa's Love Bites closes its 9th Street storefront (Wednesday)

• The summer of stolen plaques continues with thefts at New York Marble Cemetery, the former Club 57 (Tuesday) ... The plague of plaque thefts (Thursday

• Manhattan's first medicinal marijuana dispensary is now for lease on 14th Street (Monday

• Coming attractions: Korean rice bowls for 309 E. Houston St. (Tuesday

• Grand openings: G's Cheesesteaks on Avenue B at Houston (Monday)

• 14th Street's twinkling lights tree returns to its roots (Tuesday

• Sidewalk bridge removal reveals a business closure on 1st Avenue (Monday

• The Black Ant has closed on 2nd Avenue (Monday

... and the National Night Out Against Crime took place this past Tuesday. Here are a few scenes from the annual community-building campaign at the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street (photos by Stacie Joy).

The Rock Against Racism concert is today in Washington Square Park

The Rock Against Racism concert is taking place this afternoon in Washington Square Park.

This was rescheduled from the May 5 rainout. (The show was also once slated for Tompkins Square Park.)

Bands playing today from 2-6 include Ten Ton Mojo ... Four Trips Ahead ... Lake Lanier ... Skadanks ... and Butter Brain. 

Saturday, August 10, 2024

Saturday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

From Day 1 of the Show Brain Festival 2024 (details) in Tompkins Square Park.

Here are some shots from a rambunctious set by Balaclava...
Back at it tomorrow afternoon with five more bands, including Pinc Louds and Skorts.

TLK by Tigerlily Kitchen closing tomorrow as demolition looms on 3rd Avenue

TLK by Tigerlily Kitchen closes for good after service tomorrow at 58 Third Ave.

The closing arrives as demolition looms for six buildings on the west side of the avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

Despite being on a desolate-looking stretch of Third Avenue with neighboring boarded-up retail spaces, TLK cheerfully remained in service this year mid-block, offering solid, veggie-friendly cuisine. 

Owner Michelle Morgan's menu draws inspiration from her mother, who was born in Hong Kong, and her travels throughout Asia. 

In announcing the closing date on Instagram, TLK also reported that they will continue with delivery and catering along with a pop-up dinner residency this fall on the Lower East Side (you can follow their Instagram account for updates)...
The restaurant opened here in late 2021

TLK opens today and tomorrow at 2 p.m. (Reservations here.) 

As we first reported, a residential complex is expected to rise along this parcel — 50-64 Third Ave. Only one building will remain on the block after the demolition — 48 Third Ave., the 5-story property owned by Isfahany Realty Corp. on the northwest corner of 10th Street with Healthy Greens Gourmet in the retail space. 

We'll have more about the development on Monday.

Saturday's opening shot

#Summer2024 

P.S. 

Info on what this is here.

Friday, August 9, 2024

Friday's parting shot

Downed tree this afternoon on First Avenue between Second Street and Third Street — photo via EVG reader Danimal... was it a victim of today's high winds ... or a car/truck...?

'Birthday' wishes

 

Thus Love is one of the bands playing this weekend in Tompkins Square Park as part of Show Brain's indie rock fest

The video for "Birthday Song" dropped this week and will be included on the band's second record, which is out on Nov. 1. 

Thus Love plays live in Tompkins tomorrow from 5:20-6 p.m.

About the Show Brain Festival 2024 in Tompkins Square Park

Show Brain is hosting a two-afternoon concert this weekend featuring a slate of indie bands.

Here's the rundown:

Aug. 10 

• 2-2:30 Pons 
• 2:45-3:15 Balaclava
• 3:30-4:05 Native Sun 
• 4:25 to 5 95 Bulls 
• 5:20 to 6:05 Thus Love 

Aug. 11

• 2 to 2:25 Chronic
• 2:45 to 3:20 The Thing 
• 3:45 to 4:20 Pinc Louds 
• 4:35 to 5:10 Pop Music Fever Dream 
• 5:25 to 6 Skorts 

Previously on EV Grieve:

Mayor Adams unveils the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition for long-problematic East Village corridor

Photo from last week on 14th Street looking west from Avenue A 

Mayor Adams yesterday unveiled the 14th Street Community Improvement Coalition, a multi-city-agency approach to address the quality-of-life issues along the problematic corridor between Avenue A and First Avenue and surrounding streets. 

A centerpiece of the plan includes the previously announced $1 million investment in a new Mobile Command Center, which will soon arrive on 14th Street. (The mayor said the command center will not be permanent.) 

Adams made the announcement while flanked by a host of city administrators representing the NYPD, the FDNY, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), and the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene (DOHMH), and local elected officials. (You can watch the entire press conference below.)

"When we came into office, we had a clear mission: protect public safety, rebuild our economy, and make our city more affordable and livable, and the '14th Street Community Improvement Coalition' precisely addresses these concerns — enhancing quality of life and making the East Village safer," Adams said at a press conference inside the 14th Street Y. "Our administration does not and will not tolerate an atmosphere where anything goes." 

"Anything goes" has been the order of the day (and night) on 14th Street in recent years, an issue that gained widespread attention following the Sunday afternoon triple stabbing that left one man dead on June 23

Since the stabbings, the NYPD has been a regular presence on the block, both on foot patrols and in patrol cars. The NYPD also installed three light towers south of 14th Street between A and First. Residents have said they've seen improvements along the block.

Per Adams, the city formed the multi-agency coalition to tackle the complicated convergence of public safety issues, including illegal vending, retail theft, substance use and sales, the mental health crisis, and unlicensed cannabis shops.

In recent weeks, teams from various city agencies have conducted walkthroughs to observe these issues firsthand and engage with local community members and businesses. They have also identified individuals needing services, such as housing or medical care, and referred them to the appropriate city agencies. 

To further enhance communication, the 9th and 13th Precincts have launched a WhatsApp chat with business owners along the East 14th Street corridor. The chat allows for real-time identification and resolution of concerns.

Adams outlined the following actions: 
  • Conducting weekly NYPD operations to address homeless encampments, vendors, and persons needing assistance. 
  • Assigning a dedicated NYPD foot post to address quality-of-life issues and maintain a visible presence along the commercial corridor of 14th 
  • Affixing mobile light fixtures to sustain visibility.
  • Servicing litter baskets daily on all three DSNY shifts and addressing homeless encampments.
  • Deploying DSNY graffiti clean-up crews to remove graffiti on private property. 
  • Ensuring availability of mental health units and homeless services outreach teams to support people in need of mental health support through DOHMH and DHS. 
"This is not a problem that's going to come back to this area," Adams said emphatically. "What we saw here is not acceptable. This is not the city that we deserve. We deserve better, we're going to get better, but we're clear on the complexities of the problems that we're facing." 

During the Q&A period with reporters, District 2 City Councilmember Carlina Rivera fielded a question about the weekend flea market at Immaculate Conception on 14th Street at First Avenue, which some residents said contributes to the quality-of-life issues. 

The flea market moved to 14th Street in the fall of 2012 when the Mary Help of Christians property on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street turned into luxury housing courtesy of Douglas Steiner. 

As Rivera explained, the market wasn't a good fit for the space that Immaculate Conception had available.

"It was already too large for this space, so that market spilled onto the street, and people started attaching themselves to [it], saying they were affiliated with it when they were not. So it quickly did get out of control," she said. 

Rivera said officials have talked with church leaders and the Archdiocese of New York, though no action has been taken on their behalf. 

"They are relying on the revenue from that market to help sustain them," Rivera said. "So while the flea market continues, we are looking toward maybe suspending it, finding a different location, or using other means for the church to [generate] revenue. Because it's not working. 

"We brought in the Street Vendor Project to try to organize the vendors. That has not worked. We've brought in faith-based institutions and clergy to speak to people," she continued. "So we've tried so many different approaches and perspectives, but really ... the corridor is just way too busy and there are too many things happening on it for us to have that market continue in the capacity that it is." 

The press portion of yesterday's presentation begins at the 37-minute mark...

   

H/T Edmund John Dunn!

Previously on EV Grieve
• A look at 14th Street this morning after the triple stabbing and homicide (June 24)

• NYPD light tower arrives on a cleaned-up SE corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (June 27

• A look at 14th Street and 1st Avenue — 'a New York Block No One Can Fix' (July 10

• From the archives: A documentary short about the intersection of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (July 11)

Ruby/Dakota opens on 2nd Street: Gallery is a tribute to family legacy and personal healing

Photos by Stacie Joy

Ruby/Dakota debuted late last month at 155 E. Second St., just east of Avenue A.

Hannah Studnick operates the gallery and performance space.

"It has been a lifelong dream of mine to open a gallery in Alphabet City, the neighborhood my maternal grandfather was born in, the same place where my first cousin returned many years later and founded C-Squat," Studnick told EVG. "After my twin sister Emma's untimely passing in 2018, my whole world broke open. I slowly started moving toward this physical and emotional space of 'Gallerist.'"

The retail space, whose tenants have included the previous home of School for the Dogs, was the lone storefront that Studnick saw on her EV retail tour.

"In the end, the gallery found me. It was the only space I looked at," she said. "I knew from the moment I walked in this was Ruby/Dakota, a name that manifested from a distant memory — the names my mother would have given us if she had chosen more wisely."

The gallery's first group show, "Home is You, Right Now," is up through Sept. 6. 

Here's a look at opening night back on July 25.
Featured works include "East Village Date Night" by Lee Smith...
Other artists in the show include Kate Awalt-Conley ...
... Sacha Alexandra ...
... and Julia Justo ...
Ruby/Dakota is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and Mondays are by appointment. The gallery's website has contact information and details on other events in the space. (If you're on Instagram, you can find updates here.)

"I do this for my twin sister Emma, my family, myself, and most importantly, the living artists of New York City, who do deserve our support, who make this place alive, and the greatest city on earth, naturally," Studnick said. "Through this room of my own, I am able to tell the truth as I see it and allow so many wonderful artists to share theirs, too. It is an honor and a privilege. I am so grateful to be here. "

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Midday mannequin break

As seen today on Ninth Street at Stuyvesant Street... thanks to the EVG reader for the pic!

Little Poland appreciation post

We've always appreciated the no-frills, old-school dining experience at Little Poland, located at 200 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Little Poland, around since 1985, is the last of its kind in this neighborhood. Its longevity is a testament to its quality and reliability. (Remedy Diner is fine, but it's no Little Poland.) 

We stopped by between the lunch and dinner shifts on a recent summer day. There were a few people at tables by the front windows (and eventually, two brave souls sat outside in the heat). 

There's quick and efficient table service, decent prices and breakfast specials until noon (well, 11:59 a.m.) And, per the menu: "The food we serve is as good, as music of Chopin." (We know that extra comma.)

Next year marks the diner's 40th anniversary. We need more places like Little Poland, and we hope that it can celebrate many more anniversaries here.
Little Poland is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Get them a call: (212) 777-9728.

Have you been to the new location of Sammy's Roumanian Steak House?

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Sammy's Roumanian Steak House returned to the Lower East Side to much fanfare in April. 

However, since opening at its new home, 112 Stanton St., between Essex and Ludlow, we haven't heard too much (where are the reader reports?) about the NYC institution that spent 47 years through the start of the pandemic serving up ice-encased vodka, smeared pitchers of schmaltz and enormous platters of meat from the lower level at 151 Chrystie St. 

Sammy's announced its closure in January 2021, vowing to return to the neighborhood. 

In June, Matthew Schneier, chief restaurant critic at New York Magazine, wrote that "things are as they ever were." 

These photos are from before Sammy's opened for service for the evening—even before the bottles of schmaltz were placed on all the tables and Dani Luv fired up the keyboards.
It's hard to replicate a classic, as Schneier noted. 
All is not identical. Sammy's now finds itself at street level, though it approximates the cave quality of the original by covering its front windows. The room is long, narrow, and black, like a high-school black-box theater, albeit with some of the worst acoustics I have ever experienced in a restaurant. It was so hard to hear that everyone at my table spent the entire meal screaming in vain at one another, in the great Jewish tradition. 
Still: "Forty-nine years after its founding, Sammy's is a tradition unto itself." Sammy's expanded the hours of service earlier in the summer. 

The listed hours are Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 4-11 p.m., with an 11:30 p.m. close on Fridays and Saturdays.

Sammy's does reservations (recommended) the old-fashioned way: 1-646-410-2427 or sammys157@yahoo.com

The plague of plaque thefts

The stories about the memorial plaque thefts around the neighborhood are generating national attention. 

The New York Times had more details on the noon-time theft of the marker outside the historic New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue. 

"The heist took 13 minutes 58 seconds, from the moment the man in the gray T-shirt appeared to the moment when he walked away, having slipped the loot into a backpack he slung over his shoulder." 

We posted a photo of the alleged suspect captured on surveillance video here

(Thanks to the Times for linking to our coverage of previous plaque thefts. It's nice to see, as too many local news sites pretend they were the first to report on a story. Also, H/T Bayou.) 

The Associated Press also has a piece specifically on Village Preservation-placed markers, the one outside the one-time home of the Fillmore East that we first reported on ... and one on 13th Street for Anaïs Nin.

Another honoring Elizabeth Blackwell at the former home of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children at 58 Bleecker St. was removed but left on the sidewalk for whatever reason. 

As you likely guessed, there is a market for scrap metal, "part of a disturbing trend that includes the theft of a statue of Jackie Robinson from a park in Kansas," according to the AP. 

Meanwhile, in the comments on Tuesday, an EVG reader noted the double plaque theft from outside the accounting-legal office at 55 Avenue A (see photo above). 

Previously on EV Grieve

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

On 2nd Avenue, the arrival of pothole-warning reinforcements

As the prospering pothole enters another month (flashback) on Second Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, attempts to warn incoming traffic continue in earnest. 

First, there was a trash receptacle, then an orange reflective traffic cone, and then someone added some wood pallets. After a vehicle crushed part of a pallet, there's now an orange barrier. 

Pretty soon, the city just may fill it in.

Noted

A reader-submitted photo from the Bowery and Great Jones today...