Café Social 68 temporarily closes for renovations on Avenue A, reopening in 2 weeks

Café Social 68, located at 68 Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, will be closed for the next two weeks.

The signage that arrived over the weekend notes that the temp closure is "due to some changes being made in our café. These adjustments will allow us to better serve our community and offer you all a better experience." (Thanks to Stacie Joy for the sign picture!)

Café Social 68 opened in August 2019, taking the space over from Croissanteria.

Sunday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

Lowriding on St. Mark's Place today...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo by Steven of Jane Williams and Billy Lyles closing Katinka on 9th Street for the last time on Monday)... 

• A walk across the new Delancey Street pedestrian bridge (Tuesday) 

• Community-focused COZMOS calls it a day on 10th Street (Wednesday)

• A look at the new home of the Boiler Room on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• The multipurpose courts/TF reopen in Tompkins Square Park in living color (Friday)

• King Geronimo and his queen at Ruby/Dakota (Tuesday) 

• About the LES Ecology Center's 'Stewarding Your Neighborhood' art show (Friday) 

• An end-of-summer appreciation (Monday) 

• All the buzz about the mosquito spraying in the East Village (and other parts of Manhattan) (Thursday) 

• No Fork bringing Balkan-inspired sandwiches and pizza to Avenue A (Thursday)

• Café at Atelier Jolie on Great Jones Street seeks beer-wine license (Tuesday) 

• Closings: Kuppi Coffee Company on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) ... A corner-market closure on 3rd Avenue (Tuesday) 

• A coffee window at Café Maud on St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Signage alert: Waiting on a Friend on Avenue A (Thursday) 

... and as the building-size ads turn on the SW corner of 7th Street and Avenue B (bye again for now to Peter Jarema)... photo yesterday by Stacie Joy...

Sunday's opening shots

As seen on the NW corner of Houston at Second Avenue...

The art, which arrived here late last month, is by fuck.with.love. (H/T @catscoffeecreativity)

EVG Etc.: A 4th Street building aims for landmark status; Max Fish returns for NYFW

Above: A reader-submitted photo from 11th and 3rd from the other day

• The Feds raid the homes of the Mayor's inner circle (Gothamist ... Politico ... The Associated Press)

The mayor insists that he regularly reminds his appointees to “follow the law.” It never seems to occur to Hizzoner that it might be better to hire aides who don’t need a daily reminder not to commit crimes. My take in ⁦@NYMag⁩ https://t.co/YFJSstqxNm

— Errol Louis (@errol.louis on Threads) (@errollouis) September 6, 2024

• Ten years after the city passed a Paid Sick Leave Act, some of the worst recent violators in NYC are major corporations and franchises like Starbucks, Shake Shack, Chipotle and Amazon (The City) 

• 82 E. Fourth St. just west of Second Avenue up for landmark designation (Village Preservation) 

• Carnitas Ramirez on Third Street in the battle for NYC's best tacos (Eater... previously on EVG) 

• Today and tomorrow (9/7-8), screenings of a largely obscure body of 16mm films from Andy Warhol (Anthology Film Archives) 

• "Goodfellas" in 35mm Monday at the Village East by Angelika on 12th Street and Second Avenue (Tickets) 

• The 1990s LES photos of Angela Cappetta (Dazed) 

• Vans recreates Max Fish for NYFW (Hypebeast)

• Emma Stern's "The Rabbit Hole" exhibit now at the Half Gallery on 4th and B (Official site... Interview)

A live look-in at the 10th Street Block Festival

Photos by Edmund John Dunn 

The annual 10th Street Block Festival is entering the afternoon session here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Weather permitting, it will continue until 6 p.m.

Larry Luger's Quartet is providing the music...

And we can't say for sure if the giant martini glass is still there... would make for a lovely birdbath...

A morning view from Tompkins Square Park

Photo by Deborah Kadetsky

A misty early morning view of the main lawn in Tompkins Square Park... per the EVGcast™, the area will remain under clouds for the day, with a chance of rain starting around 5 p.m.

Saturday's opening shot

Someone welcomed the freshly painted multipurpose courts/TF last night in Tompkins Square Park ... previously.

Friday's parting shot

Today in discarded framed front newspaper pages ... Jackflashnyc, who shared this photo, also notes that the Chevy Bel Air station wagon in the background is for sale for $18k. Dibs! (And can anyone lend us $17,900?)

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

An EVG reader spotted this lip-shaped couch on Houston just east of Avenue B today.

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

Tonight is the opening of the "Community Care: Stewarding Your Neighborhood" art show, hosted by the LES Ecology Center and Lower Eastside Girls Club. 

Details! 

Opening reception: Sept. 6, 5-8 p.m. 

Location: Lower Eastside Girls Club Gallery, 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D 

Event 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

Last night's moon as seen from the East Village... thanks to Cecil Scheib for the photo!

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: 

• Iconic gay dive bar the Boiler Room is closing later this year ahead of a move to a new East Village space

No Fork bringing Balkan-inspired sandwiches and pizza to Avenue A

Photo and tip by Steven

No Fork, a quick-serve sandwich shop located in the Bronx's Little Italy, is opening an East Village outpost. 

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.

 

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They also serve a variety of sandwiches, pizza and Balkan-inspired dishes. (As the name implies, no forks are allowed to eat these items). Find a menu here. 

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

Signage recently arrived for Waiting on a Friend, an establishment opening later next week at 206 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

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.

 

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