Artwork created by Brad Heckman based on this EVG photo from First Avenue and Ninth Street...
Monday, August 26, 2024
Monday's parting Instagram post
The Loisaida CommUnity Fridge on 9th and B needs a new home — here's why
Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy
On the heels of our story that the 12th Street and First Avenue East Village Neighbors Community Fridge at S’MAC was being forced to close, we received word from Trinity Lutheran Parish that the Loisaida CommUnity Fridge and Pantry at Ninth Street and Avenue B also needs to shutter.
I spoke to Pastor Will Kroeze from Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish about the situation.
"Over the winter, we received violations from the Department of Health because of an increased number of rodents in and around our garden where the fridge is located, which jeopardizes our ability to fulfill our primary mission — to serve the community through our daily free lunch and food pantry," he said. "It is imperative that we maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene so that we can do this work, as we are regularly inspected by the Department of Health and have always been proud of the high marks we receive."
He said that the church is now seeking a new location for the fridge "so that it can continue to be a
resource for our community."
"Given that the East Village Neighbors fridge on First Avenue is no longer operating, we feel particularly strongly now that the Loisaida Community Fridge must continue on; we are seeking the community’s support in securing a new location nearby."
The fridge arrived here in June 2021.
"It's been such an honor for Trinity to host the fridge since its inception. The fridge has been a natural extension of the work we've done for over 40 years to address food insecurity in our community, and we're proud of the many thousands of pounds of food that have gone directly into the hands of those who need it the most," Pastor Will said. "The success of the fridge is a testament to the dedication of the tremendous group of
community leaders and volunteers who have poured their hearts into it in service to our neighbors."
While the CommUnity structure remains in place for now, the East Village will soon be without any community fridges. The plant-based one outside Overthrow on Bleecker Street near the Bowery is currently MIA, with an Instagram post from last December stating a new fridge was on the way.
'24 comeback for Elvis on Great Jones
A stenciled Elvis sign is now above the doorway here between the Bowery and Lafayette...
The new project, a café and wine bar, pairs the teams of Paradise Projects (Boulton & Watt, Wiggle Room, Mr. Paradise) ... and Golden Age Hospitality (Le Dive, the new Lucy's).
We don't know too much else about this Elvis. During the longtime run of the Great Jones Cafe here, a bust of the King of Rock and Roll was in the window. (The exterior has also been painted a similar orange as that of the Great Jones Cafe.)
There's a placeholder website and Instagram account, which shows a fall opening...
No. 54 was home to the creole-flavored Great Jones Cafe from 1983 to 2018. The popular yet low-key spot never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59.
The multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park are closed for painting
Posted signage notes this is to accommodate — gulp — painting... (and H/T to @tf_report!)
This area along Avenue A and 10th Street was closed from Oct. 16 to Dec. 1 for renovations, which included new asphalt and amenities, including a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, three new basketball backstops, and benches.
The courts reopened without any markings — save for around the basketball area.
As you may recall, the original reconstruction diagrams included a walking track marked by blue paint and painted lines for kickball.
We learned about all this over the weekend, and there wasn't anyone available at Parks HQ to ask.
So, with this painting, we may see the arrival of a marked walking path and kickball court, something that likely couldn't have been added during the more unpredictable winter weather months.
Previously on EV Grieve:
German supermarket powerhouse Lidl is opening an outpost on the Lower East Side
On Thursday, Lidl US officially announced that it had agreed on lease terms with affordable housing nonprofit Grand Street Guild for the 23,000-square-foot space at 408 Grand St. that previously housed a Rite Aid. (There were rumors of this pending arrival earlier last week, per the East of the Bowery Instagram account.)
There are several Lidl outposts around NYC, including Queens and Staten Island. When the Grand Street grocery opens next summer, it will be the third in Manhattan. There's one in Harlem now, with a location opening in Chelsea. (And more groceries are on the way.)
Lidl US first arrived in Virginia in June 2015. The U.S. expansion hasn't been smooth, per a June 24 post on Grocery Dive:
Renowned across Europe for the potent mix of low prices and high-quality goods that defines its thousands of colorful stores, Lidl arrived stateside with deep pockets, a highly developed private label strategy and a disciplined focus on efficiently running a complex business in a highly competitive environment.But instead of steadily growing its U.S. footprint as it had originally intended, Lidl US has moved ahead in fits and starts, prompting questions about why its value-focused business model has trouble gaining traction on American soil.
This retail space is on the other side of Grand and Clinton from Target, which opened in August 2018. (And yes — there's a Trader Joe's nearby too.)
UWS hotspot Bánh Vietnamese Shop House opening a new restaurant in the East Village
Signage arrived for Bánh Anh Em on Thursday. (Thanks to EVG reader Seth Treiman for the photo and tip!)
The folks behind Bánh Vietnamese Shop House, which started as a pop-up during the pandemic "showcasing hard-to-find Vietnamese dishes in NYC," shared more details on Instagram:
Bánh Anh Em is Chef Nhu Ton’s love letter to our culture, our country, our families and all the brothers and sisters we've met along the way. It's a reflection of the journeys Chef Nhu has taken, traveling countless times across Vietnam by motorbike, rediscovering and re-inventing herself, and deeply immersing in the craftsmanship of Vietnamese cuisine.
We are profoundly grateful to the generations, the restaurants and the chefs who paved the way for us to be here today, and we hope to honor their spirit through every dish we craft...
No word yet on a potential opening date.
No. 99 was previously home for two-plus years to Cutlets.
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Sunday's parting shot
Photos by Steven
Taking in the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival today this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park.
And nearby on Avenue B, a plaque that hasn't been stolen...
Week in Grieview
• Remembering Harold Meltzer (Wednesday)
• Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place (Monday)
• A new East Village home for Gizmo (Thursday)
• That's all for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge on 12th Street and 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• The new 24-story residential building on 14th and C begins its ascent (Tuesday)
• Dedicating Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. Way on the Lower East Side (Tuesday)
• Why you'll be shopping at Key Food on Avenue A without hearing a random song from the 1980s (Sunday)
• A second Rogue vintage clothing shop opens on the Lower East Side (Friday)
• Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street (Saturday)
• On the CB3 docket this month: a new era for Lucy's, another operator for Lamia's Fish Market (Monday)
• Veselka reopens front counter for dining-in customers (Monday)
• About the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (Saturday)
• With help from some friends, The Hard Quartet pays homage to the Stones on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)
• 9th Precinct issues headphone-theft warning (Monday)
• At the annual Festival Calle 6 (Monday)
• Get well soon, Currant! (Tuesday)
• Tree down on Avenue A (Wednesday)
• This week in lines (Friday)
• A look inside the shuttered Starbucks on Astor Place (Wednesday)
• FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend (Saturday)
... and from our ongoing Classic Cars of Avenue C collection...
Astor Place Hairstylists is very much open
Yesterday, management put up a "We Are Open" banner on the construction plywood above the basement stairs (thanks, Michael Quinn!)...
They also posted a video on Instagram (see below) to ensure that people know it's business as usual here seven days a week (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Astor Place Hairstylists, founded in 1947, faced an uncertain future during the pandemic. However, with help from some investors, they were able to sign a new lease in 2022.
Now take it away, Frankie...
Saturday, August 24, 2024
About the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
The 2024 Charlie Parker Jazz Festival artwork by Lily Qian
ICYMI... The 32nd edition of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is this weekend ... the annual tribute to the saxophonist includes several free live jazz performances.
The Saturday portion of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is in Marcus Garvey Park from 3 to 7 p.m. If you're planning a Manhattan road trip, find more info at this link.
And we've mentioned the Tompkins Square Park portion of the fest tomorrow (Sunday).
Here's part of Sunday's lineup:
... the newly minted (2023) Jazz Master Louis Hayes is joined by some of the more impressive talents in modern jazz. Hayes, a one-time member of McCoy Tyner’s trio, has been leading bands since he was a teenager in 1950s Detroit, recorded with John Coltrane and Yusef Lateer, and did stints in quartets with Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley, as well as time with the Oscar Peterson Trio. He’s supported by the 24-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist Ekep Nkwelle, a Juilliard grad and rising star of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Alexis Lombre, the Chicago-born pianist, vocalist, and composer whose 2017 debut Southside Sounds pays homage to her home’s artistic and cultural heritage.
Find the full rundown here.
Also tomorrow: From 8 p.m. to midnight, there's a Charlie Parker Jazz Festival After Party at Nublu on Avenue C. Details here.
Parker, who died in 1955 at age 34, lived at 151 Avenue B from 1950 to 1954. That residential building, between Ninth Street and 10th Street, is landmarked.
FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend
Founders Hall on 12th Street this morning
In the East Village, parking restrictions are in place around the various residence halls along Third Avenue between Ninth Street and 14th Street and on 14th Street and 12th Street.
Also, the very large (added for the commenter so as not to be "glibly complicit"!) Citi Bike docking station on 11th Street at Third Avenue in front of NYU's Third Avenue North dorm is offline for the weekend. (Thanks, Seth Treiman, for the pic!) ... as is the one on 12th Street just west of Third Avenue.
As always, expect extra vehicular traffic, double/triple parking, and stressed-out parents and guardians.
Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street
Reporting by Stacie Joy
The FDNY responded to an early morning report of a sidewalk trash-bag fire on Fourth Street just west of Avenue A, which spread to a parked car.
Local Assembly Member Harvey Epstein shared these photos from around 6 a.m.
It's unclear what caused the trash fire or if someone intentionally set several stacked garbage bags ablaze.
Another EVG reader shared this photo ... after the FDNY combed through and spread out the contents of the trash bags and doused them with water... 
The car appears to be destroyed. There weren't any reports of injuries.
Friday, August 23, 2024
Endless Summer (aka Friday's Parting Shot)
Photo by Stacie Joy
Early evening from Tompkins Square Park...
'Vision' quest
The London-based Crows have a new record coming out on Sept. 27.
Ahead of that, here's the Interpol-ish track "Vision of Me."
Potty prep ahead of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday
Photo by Steven
A) The annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is Sunday from 3-7 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park. Find the lineup here.
B) Speaking of lineups, here are the extra porta-potties for the event (as the TSP field house remains under renovation).
C) is for Charlie Parker, who lived at 151 Avenue B from 1950-54.
EVG Etc.: Broken mailboxes at the Riis Houses; Erewhon-like smoothies at East Village Organic
Reader-submitted photo from along 7th Street
• NYCHA mailboxes vandalized and broken for months at the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D without fixes (PIX11)
• ICYMI: Cancer-causing chemicals still lurk under the Jacob Riis Houses 19 years after detection (The City)
• A last-ditch effort to stop Beth Israel closure (Gothamist)
• Mayor Adams on his low-profile DNC trip (City & State)
• State greenlights NYC evicting more migrant families from shelters (The City)
• The Sun Shy Spa on Sixth Street near Second Avenue accused of being a brothel (The Post)
• East Village Organic on First Avenue is selling a similar "Coconut Cloud Smoothie" as those from Erewhon Market, the L.A.-based grocery chain (Gothamist)
• How those Olympic muffins made their way to the East Village (Gothamist... previously on EVG)
• About Odre, a new Korean restaurant from Hand Hospitality at 199 Second Ave. near 13th Street (Eater)
• Props for Bungalow, the newish Indian restaurant at 24 First Ave. (The New York Times ... previously on EVG)
• Writers, poets, musicians, et al, wanted for the open mic Saturday from 2-5 p.m. at 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden (Instagram link)
• "Good One" is one of the best movies of the year — EVG ... Saturday's 7:30 p.m. screening includes a post Q&A with director
India Donaldson (Village East by Angelika, 12th and 2nd)
A second Rogue vintage clothing shop opens today on the Lower East Side
Photos by Stacie Joy
Above from left: Gabriel Celik, Kelsey Jenik and Sophia Romulo
Today marks the grand opening of the second LES outpost of Rogue at 313 E. Houston St., between Clinton and Attorney.
This offshoot of vintage clothing entrepreneur Emma Rogue's Allen Street shop offers more clothing options (this weekend with a bin sale of $5 to $20 items) as well as an events space.
This weekend also marks the official drop of the Rogue Zip-Off Jean Jorts (only 100 made), which promise to be a hot item.
Rogue, who was out of town when we stopped by, started selling clothes from her childhood bedroom on Depop and opened her first shop stocked with Y2K and 1990s vintage and secondhand at 53 Stanton St. in June 2021.
She recently relocated to a larger space nearby at 154 Allen St., where she also showcases other up-and-coming designers. (You can read more about her in this Teen Vogue feature.)
And info about the opening weekend...
This week in lines
Photo by Stacie Joy
We didn't think we'd see a line like the one for the Olympic Village muffins on Second Avenue on Saturday again, but then Kolkata Chai Co. said, "Hold my Chai oat milk soft serve."
From 4-7 p.m. yesterday, Kolkata Chai Co. at 199 E. Third Street handed out free small cups of Chai oat milk (made with Oatly) soft serve.
The line went down Third to B... north to Fourth Street ... and west on Fourth toward Avenue A.
Per one EVGer: "CRAZY. People waiting hours for a tiny free Oatly oat milk soft-serve sample?"
Thursday, August 22, 2024
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