Photo and text by William Klayer
The cards have spoken... as seen on Avenue A and Third Street...
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Report of a fire at 328 E. 9th St.
Photos by Steven
The FDNY is responding to a fire that broke out this afternoon on the fourth floor of 328 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Witnesses reported seeing flames shooting out of a front window...
The FDNY was on it quickly...
There's no word at the moment about the extent of the fire, its cause, or any injuries. (Preliminary word is no injuries.)
Two eyewitnesses reported that a group of SantaCon revelers made a joke at the scene ("We can keep warm by the fire") before taking a fire selfie.
Updated 4:30 p.m.
The FDNY remains at the scene... UNOFFICIAL word is a space heater is to blame.
Updated 5 p.m.
There doesn't appear to be much damage to the retail spaces here... waiting to hear more from the owners tomorrow... 
Updated: Unfortunately, there is significant water damage to Jane Cookshop, and the busiess will be closed for the foreseeable future (their online shop is open) ... an.mé and Pillow Cat Books had some clean up but are OK, per their Instagram accounts...
Happy birthday, London Calling
'The last man standing' at Panna II
As reported then, the upstairs-downstairs block of Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants at 93 First Ave. was down to one — Panna II.
We bring this up because the Times checked in with a feature on Panna II.
Boshir Khan, 49, the Bangladeshi-born owner of Panna II, which sits on First Avenue just around the corner from the old Curry Row, finds it bittersweet to be the last man standing at the vibrant entryway. He was still greeting visitors on a recent Friday in November, though with less urgency."Sometimes I'm glad — it's less stress," he said, recalling the vigorous competition with his neighbors.
And...
Mr. Khan, who grew up around the corner from his restaurant, began working shifts at Panna II in the sixth grade with his father. He remembers the area being "rough" in the '80s."After 5 o'clock, you can't even go out," he said. "But I miss the old neighborhood."
You can read the feature here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Check out the Sirovich Holiday Art Sale TODAY
We missed Day 1. You can stop by today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ... in the auditorium at the Sirovich Center for Balanced Living at 331 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
We've bought a few things here through the years, and the proceeds support the art programs at Sirovich.
FYI: SantaCon is today
Con24 officially kicks off at 10 a.m. on Broadway and 39th Street, with an announced end at 8 p.m., when participants will quietly and orderly return home.
The $15.93 "donation" (read about their charity here) gets your Santa Badge and access to participating bars, mainly in Midtown West and East... As always, the East Village is a main attraction.
• Amsterdam Billiards & Bar, 110 E. 11th St. at Fourth Avenue
• 10 Degrees Bar, 121 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue
• The Laurels, 231 Second Ave. at 14th St.
• Coyote Ugly, 233 E. 14th St., between Second Avenue and Third Avenue
• Solas, 232 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue (serving as a "Huge Venue")
• Bull McCabe's, 29 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue
• The Phoenix, 447 E. 13th St., between Avenue A and First Avenue
• Doc Holliday's, 141 Avenue A at Ninth Street
• Horseshoe Bar/7B, 108 Avenue B at Seventh Street
The map lists The Grayson at 16 First Ave. near First Street. They closed in the spring, and a new owner operates Lydia's there. Not sure if they are taking part or not.
As we've seen in previous Cons, bars not on the official list also participate, including Downtown Social on Second Avenue at Ninth Street. The SantaCades arrived here earlier this week. (Photo by Steven)
Friday, December 13, 2024
95 Bulls session
This mini set via 95 Bulls was released on Nov. 22... filmed live at Mrs. Morgan's Flower Shop in Bronxville... and presented by Show Brain, which brought lots of live music to Tompkins Square Park (and elsewhere) this past year (bands that included 95 Bulls).
EVG Etc.: Anthony Weiner eyes Council race; Ramones film with Pete Davidson looks in doubt
Second Avenue and Ninth Street the other morning
Headlines of interest this past week include...
• After acquittal in subway chokehold trial, Daniel Penny says he was vulnerable in the encounter (The Associated Press) ... Opinion: The Penny verdict reveals how NYC failed Jordan Neely (The Washington Post)
• Anthony Weiner, jailed for sexting child, eyes political comeback in City Council race for Carlina Rivera's term-limited seat (The Associated Press)
• Fatal stabbings exceeded gun deaths in NYC in November (Gothamist)
• Dozens of low-income New York City families will soon begin receiving regular cash payments through a new program funded by City Council (Gothamist)
• Get ready for the next big fight over Airbnb's reach in NYC (Politico)
• DOT pushes back on a Council bill to require the agency to register and issue license plates for electric bikes and e-scooters (Streetsblog)
• Coffee prices climb to near 50-year highs (CNBC)
• The 2025 edition of the New Colossus Festival — March 4-9 at venues in the East Village and Lower East Side — just added 100 artists to the schedule (Brooklyn Vegan)
• Panna II keeps the spirit of Little India alive (The New York Times ... previously on EVG)
• Ramones Netflix film with Pete Davidson is in doubt as Johnny Ramone's estate wins latest legal round (Variety)
• "A Christmas Carol" this December at the Merchant's House on Fourth Street (Official site)
• Moody Tongue Pizza, serving Tokyo-Neapolitan-style pizza, debuts at 123 St. Mark's Place (Time Out ... previously on EVG)
• Bar Miller on Sixth Street receives its first Michelin star (Eater ... previously on EVG)
• A centennial celebration of the work of photographer, filmmaker and artist Robert Frank (Anthology Film Archives)
Sweet! Get your 10,000 steps in at the Cookie Walk this weekend
The two-day Walk will be held in the church's lower level tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. (while supplies last).
As the name suggests, you take one of the provided boxes and walk (slowly) around cookie-filled tables (there are more than 60 varieties — of cookies, not tables) to pick your favorites.
More details are available at the church's website. The first Cookie Walk here took place in 2009.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Thursday's parting shot
Photo by Robin McMillan
Billy Idol photo shoot today outside Cherry Tavern on Sixth Street (not sure for what).
Check out 2 classic bands in documentaries at Howl! Happening
Then at 7:40 ... there's "Illustre," a 33-minute film that documents the NYC debut of New Order in September 1980 at Hurrah on West 62nd Street.
Howl! Happening is at 6 E. First St. near the Bowery. More info here.
City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot
EVG file photo
The 9th Precinct currently uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles. Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement from the City Council vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning in December 2021.
Here are the next steps in what is likely a years-long process, per a city release on the project:
The process of creating new affordable housing at 324 East 5th Street begins with a robust community engagement process culminating with the creation of a community visioning report summarizing the community's input. Together with local stakeholders, HPD will lead an in-person community workshop, local tabling events, meetings with the local community board and stakeholders, and other activities, all while collecting responses through a questionnaire (link), available online and in print at each event. Community members, local organizations and residents are invited to provide feedback and suggestions via the questionnaire.Following the community visioning report, HPD will release a request for proposals (RFP) where affordable housing development teams may submit their proposed plans for the site. Responses from developers must be responsive to the community priorities laid out in the community visioning report. Additional information, including updates on the process and upcoming public tabling events, is available on the HPD website (link).
Said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. in a statement:
"The reuse of public land currently used for parking of city vehicles for affordable housing is exactly the right thing to do. We are excited to use this property owned by the taxpayers to confront our historic housing crisis in a creative and sustainable way. ... we will engage with the host community, which is the neighborhood of my early years, to ensure that what gets built at 324 E. Fifth St. addresses local needs and aspirations."
A group called 5th Street Park Coalition has advocated for a park in this space adjacent to P.S. 751.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Scrooged: 14th Street Trader Joe's employees say their hours are being cut this holiday season
According to a tipster at one of the locations, a typical work week for a full-time employee is 35 hours/five days per week. For the past few weeks, the worker says that these two Trader Joe's locations have been cutting employee shifts from five days a week to two and three days.
Says the tipster, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal by management:
A lot of the Trader Joe's employees have kids, and with the holidays upon us, they don't know how they're getting by. Even the employees who don't have kids are having difficulty making ends meet. Some are late with rent, others have had their phones turned off, and we are all having to cut back on basic things like food, ironically.
The tipster continued:
It's even worse for those who have a second job as Trader Joe's is no longer accommodating their previously agreed-upon hours, leaving them no choice but to forfeit their overlapping hours.
Employees say they have discussed this problem with management but claim that the managers play good cop/bad cop.
"The store captains will say they'll take care of it, the supervisors who make the schedule say, 'Sorry, we can't do anything.'"
Our sources say that management has blamed slow sales for the cut in hours. However, a worker with knowledge of the finances noted that both of the 14th Street Trader Joe's remain busy, with daily tallies in early December between $192,000 and $260,000 at the East Village outpost.
"The real reason this is happening is the stores' management gets a higher year-end bonus the more the overhead is lowered, in this case, overhead being human beings," the tipster alleged.
The Trader Joe's corporate office did not respond to an email about the reduced hours and other worker claims.
And the challenges may extend into the New Year: Workers were recently told that as of January, there will be no set schedules.
Openings: BKLYN MACS on 9th Street
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
BKLYN MACS debuted a few weeks back at 438 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
The husband-and-wife founders, Brooklyn natives Gene (pictured above) and Rebecca, serve "macaron-inspired desserts" and beverages (including Partners Coffee from Brooklyn).
Per the business website: "We've mastered and improved the classic French technique of macaronage to create the ideal macaron cookie shells — a balance between crunchy and chewy..."
Gene said that so far, the best-sellers from the rotating selection of 30-plus macarons include pistachio, fruity cereal, Mexican hot chocolate, and dulce le leche. (They also offer custom-printed macarons.)
The hours are Sunday-Wednesday 1-9 p.m., Thursday 1-10 p.m., and Friday-Saturday 1-11 p.m.
In 2019, the two quit their corporate jobs and launched Phivi Marketplace, an e-commerce events platform, before pivoting to desserts during the pandemic.
Signage alert: Tipsy Shanghai on 2nd Avenue
Photos by Steven
The Tipsy Shanghai signage arrived Tuesday at 104 Second Ave. at the NE corner of Sixth Street.
As previously noted, reps were on this month's CB3-SLA committee docket for a beer-wine license and had received conditional approval.
The restaurant serves traditional Chinese cuisine and has West Village and Murray Hill locations. (Their outpost on East Broadway shuttered last year.)
While the chainlet started in 2018, its signage notes "century-old restaurant from China."
Monsieur Vo closed here earlier in the fall after a September 2022 debut.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
A Look Back on The East Village Eye
Some background:
In February 2023, the New York Public Library acquired the East Village Eye archive from founder and editor Leonard Abrams. The collection consists of documents, manuscripts, artworks, videos, ephemera, and a complete run of the original printed publication (72 issues in total), which was published from 1979 to 1987 and covered the neighborhood's arts, politics, and social currents during a transformative decade.
The collection also documents the daily workings of a small publication – advertising, correspondence, datebooks, financial records, and more. Contributors included resident advice columnist Cookie Mueller, Richard Hell, and David Wojnarowicz, and the newspaper featured images from dozens of acclaimed photographers early in their careers.
Sadly, Abrams died in April 2023, only a few months after the collection came to the NYPL. He was 68.
St. Marks Veterinary Hospital is closing this month
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After nearly 40 years in practice, St. Marks Veterinary Hospital is closing its doors this month at 348 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
The last day for the business, founded in 1986, is Dec. 20. The hospital team will continue to take appointments until then.
Here's part of their closing via social media:
With heavy hearts, we want to let you know that our hospital will be closing its doors on Friday, Dec. 20, at 2 p.m. This wasn't an easy decision. Reduced consumer demand in the area for primary veterinary care services has hindered our ability to meet our operational goals.We deeply value the trust you've placed in us to care for your pets and sincerely apologize for any challenges this change may present to you and your family.While this chapter is closing, we’re still here for you and your furry family members! We encourage you to visit our partner hospital:
Reade Street Animal Hospital (2 miles away)Address: 146 Reade St.Phone: (212) 519-0245This location is part of our Thrive community and accepts Thrive Plus members. You will continue to receive the high-quality care you expect at St. Marks Veterinary Hospital, and your pet’s records will transfer seamlessly. If you want a copy of your pet's records sent directly to you, please email us at stmarks.info@thrivepet.com.We're so grateful to have been a part of your pet's journey and your family's life. Thank you for the love and support you’ve shown us — we'll miss you all dearly and hope to see you at Reade Street Animal Hospital.
Strand employees reach tentative agreement, return to work pending ratification vote
Photo Saturday by Stacie Joy
After a three-day strike, management at the Strand Book Store has reached a tentative contract with its 80-plus union staff, who are represented by the UAW Local 2179.
The employees returned to work yesterday. According to @strandbooksellers: "Later this week, we will vote to decide whether or not to ratify the contract and formally end the strike."
Will Bobrowski, Local 2179's second vice president and a former Strand employee, told Publishers Weekly that if the contract is ratified, it will last through Aug. 31, 2028.
More details:
Among the changes to the contract, Bobrowski told PW, are an increase to the store’s per-hour hiring rate, which will now be $0.50 above New York State minimum wage and a $1.50/hour raise in an employee's fourth year, amounting to a roughly 37% wage increase over four years for Strand workers who begin at the base salary. (The minimum wage in New York will increase by another $0.50 on January 1, 2026, and on Jan. 1, 2027, the state's rate will be tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, taking inflation into account in the establishment of a minimum.)
Striking workers were from the flagship Broadway and 12th Street store, the Upper West Side outpost, and the Brooklyn warehouse. This marked the first strike at the Strand since the early 1990s.
During the strike, the store was reportedly maintained by a skeleton crew that included store managers, part-time non-union workers and other non-union administrative staff.
9 Bleecker St. is for sale — and rent
First, there was a listing to buy the building via Corcoran for $6.6 million.
More recently, the space showed up for lease via RealNY... the floors are available for retail or office space...
This past Nov. 7, after 10 years at No. 9, Overthrow closed its boxing gym on the ground floor. As ownership wrote on Instagram: "Unfortunately, we took on immense debt during and post-Covid, which kept the doors open, but we can no longer afford our current lease, and the building has been listed for sale by the owner, making staying open unsustainable."
This one-time home (41 years) of the Yippies, named and created by Abbie Hoffman and Paul Krassner, ended in January 2014 after a protracted legal battle. (Read this archived story in the Times for all the legal wrangling and history.)
Overthrow was named after one of the countercultural newspapers that the Yippies published here.
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