Saturday, September 7, 2024
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, September 6, 2024
Friday's parting shot
Home 'room'
Madrid-based indie rockers Hinds (now a duo) are back with a new album, Viva Hinds, which is out today.
The video here is for a single off the release titled "The Bed, The Room, The Rain and You."
Hinds will play Warsaw in Brooklyn this Oct. 29.
Today in discarded lip sofas
Maybe a Bocca Sofa from Heller? Maybe not?
The multipurpose courts/TF reopen in Tompkins Square Park in living color
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The multipurpose courts/TF reopened yesterday along 10th Street and Avenue A after a 10-plus-day closure so workers could repaint the surface. (More background is available here and here.)
The Parks Department added color to the asphalt, including a walking track on the perimeter and markings for the basketball hoops at the eastern end. And the majority of the asphalt is painted green (no markings for kickball, though!).
The skaters also returned to this seminal, decades-long skate spot, and the various ramps and rails that were here previously are also back.
And the mood? "Elevated chill."
The 10th Street Block Festival is happening tomorrow (on 10th Street)
Photo by Steven
The long-running East 10th Street Block Festival is back tomorrow on the lovely tree-lined stretch of the East Village between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., you will find, per organizers, "great vintage clothing, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, books, records, generally cool stuff." In addition, Larry Luger's Quartet will be in full swing, while Veselka will be on hand with pierogis and lemonade.
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is sponsoring the event with the 10th & Stuyvesant Streets Block Association.
About the LES Ecology Center's 'Stewarding Your Neighborhood' art show
Details!
Opening reception: Sept. 6, 5-8 p.m.Location: Lower Eastside Girls Club Gallery, 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue DEvent description: The show aims to celebrate and inspire community engagement in environmental stewardship. This event will feature works from local artists highlighting the importance of caring for our shared spaces and the impact of community efforts in nurturing our neighborhoods.
Hours after tonight's opening: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-5 p.m.
Find more details here.
Friday's opening shot
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Thursday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
Essex Card Shop owner Muhammad Aslam is ready for the back-to-school season. (Or he's starting a journal!)
The shop is at 47 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street...
All the buzz about the mosquito spraying tonight in the East Village (and other parts of Manhattan)
Photo by Stacie Joy
The city is spraying parts of Manhattan, including the East Village, starting tonight "to reduce mosquito activity and the risk of West Nile virus."
Per a release from the DOH:
Trucks will spray pesticides in sections of Manhattan beginning on Thursday, Sept. 5, between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning.The Health Department will use very low concentrations of Anvil® 10+10, Duet® or MERUS® 30. The risks of pesticides applied by the Health Department for mosquito control are low for people and pets. Some people who are sensitive to spray ingredients may experience short-term eye or throat irritation, or a rash. People with respiratory conditions may also be affected.
According to the map, the city isn't spraying east of Avenue B...
Last month, officials detected West Nile in NYC for the first time in 2024.
As of Aug. 30, no positive cases were found in zip codes 10009 or 10003.
P.S.
Here's a good (albeit obvious) starting point for your mosquito-spraying playlist.
A look at the new home of the Boiler Room on 2nd Avenue
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The Boiler Room opened several weeks ago in its new home at 45 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street.
After nearly 30 years in operation, the no-frills LGBTQ+ bar at 86 E. Fourth St. near Second Avenue closed this past April.
Management said the building's landlord at No. 86 had them in a two-plus-year court battle over pandemic-related back rent payments.
Fortunately, they found a space nearby, and we stopped by on Monday, just after the bar opened for the day.
Laney the bartender was on duty...
Amazingly, the space looks pretty much the same as the old Boiler Room location, only cleaner and without that 30-year-old bar aroma.
The downstairs space has yet to be opened, but they hope to have it in use soon for private parties and events.
The bar is open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday, with a 4 a.m. close on Thursdays through Saturday. Find them on Instagram here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
No Fork bringing Balkan-inspired sandwiches and pizza to Avenue A
Photo and tip by Steven
The owners of the three-plus-year-old business — best friends Artir Hyseni and Veton Sinani from Kosovo — announced in recent weeks that they will open a second location at 131 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street this fall.
The house specialty is the "Famous No Fork Sandwich," which features layers of prosciutto, melted mozzarella and house-made sauce.
Javier Zuñiga and Jesse Merchant Zuñiga, owners of the previous tenant, Bad Habit, closed their ice cream shop in July to move to the West Coast to start a family.
Signage alert: Waiting on a Friend on Avenue A
A grand opening is set for Sept. 13. Per the invite:
That new cocktail bar in the East Village is finally open & it's everything you wanted it to be. Waiting on Friend is emerging with the intention of creating a fun space for everyone and a guaranteed good time.The bar is the perfect go-to destination for all your nightlife needs — amazing cocktails, fun music for dancing, and living room-like lounge areas for catching up with friends.Waiting on a Friend is a strict 23+ venue.
We're not sure who's behind the concept. There's still an active liquor license for the space, and public records list Adam Fulton, Kyle O'Brien and Gavin Moseley as the principals via Den Hospitality/Garret East.
Garret East and Borrachito Taqueria & Spirits switched places inside 206 Avenue A in the summer of 2020. Borrachito went dark in January without any notice to patrons.
And this is the second Waiting on a Friend to give the East Village a try.
The first Waiting on a Friend opened at 132 First Ave. at St. Mark's Place in September 2018. It didn't last too long.
The bars are named for the song by the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. The "Waiting on a Friend" video was shot on St. Mark's Place.
The 2024 Waiting on a Friend's Instagram account also references the video.
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Community-focused COZMOS calls it a day on 10th Street
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After one year, COZMOS has come down to Earth and closed at 280 E. 10th St.
The shop-gallery-performance space just west of Avenue A was the brainchild of longtime friends Anton Relin (below left) and Vlad Makarkin, who aspired to showcase the offbeat and creative East Village spirit of yore.
There were art shows, sessions on tarot for beginners, Mongolian wellness, and a musical event with improvisational dance and an oboe recital, to name just a few of the events in recent months.
"I'm not sure there's much to say about the closure," Relin told us. "Vlad and I dreamt of having COZMOS neighborhood spaces in every community. Perhaps that will happen one day. As of now, we let the lease expire."
He added: "Personally, I plan to remain in the neighborhood. There are at least a few events that I'd still like to organize, perhaps under the COZMOS name. I'll continue to engage with the community as I can. I want to express how thankful I am to the community for filling the space with life."
He named locals such as Dan and Rina Root, Edgar Oliver, Steven Hirsch, Jason Trucco, Bob Holman, Sara Galassini, and others who "filled our space with life and love."
"Contrary to what some may think, the artistic soul of the East Village is certainly still alive," Relin said. "I'm just hoping it will be healthy and happy for many years."
Makarkin echoed his business partner's sentiments.
"I 100% agree with Anton’s responses. Had we not opened COZMOS, we would've never gotten this glimpse of a very different, much more real, life," he said. "If there is anyone out there thinking about doing something like this, I can only say it was 100% worth it. I hope the COZMOS mission lives on."
Relin said he may continue to do pop-up events locally. You can keep an eye on the website or social media for updates.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the paint: A look at the color-coded multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park
Photos by Stacie Joy (top one via EVG)
Updated 6 p.m. Still closed.
---
Workers were racing to wrap up painting the multipurpose courts/TF in Tompkins Square Park last evening.
One of the workers said they thought they'd be ready to unveil today, though it could have to wait until tomorrow.
This space along Avenue A and 10th Street has been closed for repainting since Aug. 26. After the resurfacing last fall, the Parks Department added color to the asphalt, including a walking track on the perimeter and markings for the basketball hoops...
As previously noted, we'll see how everyone co-exists in this new configuration. The court has been a skating hotspot for decades.
Closings: Kuppi Coffee Company on St. Mark's Place
A small note on the door stated that Aug. 31 was their last day in service, and it thanked patrons.
This was the second outpost for the Edgewater, N.J.-based Kuppi Coffee Company. (In 2018, Architectural Digest named Kuppi the "Most Beautiful Coffee Shop" in New Jersey, noting: "White-washed exposed-brick walls and hung flower boxes — brimming with greenery — bring the outdoors in at Kuppi Coffee Company ...")
People seemed to like Kuppi here, though there are many nearby well-established coffee choices... including (but not limited to!) Porto Rico Importing Co., Abraço and Mud... plus 787 Coffee, Poetica Coffee, et al.
The previous tenant at the address, AO Bowl, closed in August 2022 after an off-and-on 18 months in business ... and blaming Sen. Schumer.
In 2019, workers gutted this single-level structure on this corner ... and divided the storefront into several retail spaces. The other tenant here is the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.
The former occupant, Foot Gear Plus, closed in July 2018 after nearly 40 years in business.
A coffee window at Café Maud on St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue
They're serving coffee and espresso via LDV Imports
starting at 8 a.m.
The all-day cafe opened in June in a space that housed Dallas BBQ for several decades at 132 Second Ave.
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Tuesday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
Today, volunteers from the mutual aid group EVLovesNYC filled 300 backpacks with back-to-school supplies in the basement of the Elim House Of Worship on Avenue B and 12th Street.
Tomorrow, they'll distribute the backpacks containing crayons, markers, paper, sticky notes, notebooks, etc., to families with school-aged kids in the NYC shelter system.
The volunteer-run group's modest origins date back to spring 2020 when a handful of friends got together to prepare meals for neighbors from a small East Village apartment kitchen. Since then, they've prepared more than 500,000 meals for New Yorkers in need across the city.
huupe dreams
Photo by Stacie Joy
The "smart basketball hoop" installed last Thursday in Tompkins Square Park is currently out of commission.
"It's not broken. It needs to be hard-wired into the city's system," said a technician on the scene. "[It] may be back online tomorrow sometime and will then be good for 24/7."
A company called huupe is behind the technology that provides feedback on your game. Per the city: "Its waterproof backboard functions as a video screen, delivering expert training content, live TV, and interactive elements to enrich the playing experience."
The high-tech hoop will be here until early October.
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