Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Tuesday's parting shot

Thanks to EVG reader Joe for this stunning photo this frigid morning from 14th Street at Second Avenue looking east toward tbe Con Ed power plant...

Openings: Salad Don at Essex Market

Photos and story by Stacie Joy 

Lenin Costa (above) recently launched a healthy new quick-serve option inside the Essex Market.

Salad Don serves a variety of build-your-own salads and bowls. (Billed as "delicious healthy bowls with a Peruvian touch.") You can find the menu here

The best sellers to date are the salmon tahini bowl and the rotisserie chicken bowl.
I got the vegan Buddha bowl and the roasted squash soup, and they were both delicious, especially the soup. 

Costa now has three local businesses: the well-regarded Don Ceviche at 57 First Ave. between Third Street and Fourth Street and the Don Ceviche stall at Essex Market.

Salad Don is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

If you're on Instagram, they have an account here

Tacombi is not reopening on 12th Street

After 14 months in business, Tacombi "closed for renovations" on the NW corner of Third Avenue and 12th Street in September. 

Subsequent months saw no work in the space, and in the past week, the "closed for renovations" signs came down. The address is no longer on the Tacombi website, and the space is now mostly empty.
This hasn't been the easiest spot to make work for any length of time. Other recent casualties include iSouvlaki and GreekitoThe Wayside lasted six years. 

This seems like a decent location, with its proximity to NYU and New School dorms, not to mention people-drawing venues like the Loews Village 7 and Webster Hall.

Signage alert: Smashed on 3rd Avenue

An outpost of Smashed is coming soon to 94 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

This will be the third location for the brand specializing in smash burgers and fries. (The other two stores are in the West Village and Dumbo.) 

You can check out the menu here. (Smashed has vegan options too.) 

As far as we can recall, this space has been vacant since the Joint (fka 99 Miles to Philly) shuttered in 2018.

Openings: Tiki Tiki on First Avenue

Tiki Tiki, described by the business as "a sweet tooth's paradise featuring churros, skillet cookies, waffle sticks and more," is now open at 14 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street. 

This is the third Tiki Tiki in the metropolitan area, a spin-off business from chocolate specialist Sticky Tiki. The EV outpost is open daily from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and closes at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. 

No website, but they have an Instagram account here

No. 14 was previously home to successive illegal smoke shops that were shuttered.

Monday, January 20, 2025

Monday's parting shots

Photos by Derek Berg 

Post-snow day snow creatures...

Cat power: Crowdfunding to keep Ollie's Place open on 9th Street

Via the EVG inbox... 
Ollie's Place Cat Adoption Center, part of Mighty Mutts Inc. (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit), urgently needs your support to continue its life-saving mission of rescuing, rehabilitating, and finding forever homes for cats in need throughout New York City. A fully volunteer-run group, it can no longer meet the rising expenses of rent, food, and veterinary care. 

Without support, Ollie’s cannot renew the lease and continue to save the cats who desperately need help. A special donor has offered to match 100% of proceeds raised in this GoFundMe! This is an opportunity of epic proportions for our cats! We are looking for large donors to help us reach this goal and to provide on-going funding as well. 
Find the CrowdFunding link here

Ollie's Place us at 430 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. You can follow them on Instagram to learn more about our mission and adoptable cats.

Sunday snow scenes

Photos by Daniel Efram 

Here are a few scenes from yesterday. Depending on the location, NYC received two to four inches of snow...

Monday's opening shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

From last night in Tompkins Square Park...

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Reports: 20-year-old East Village man dies in stabbing on the Lower East Side

Two young men were stabbed on a Lower East Side street last night, leaving one dead, according to police sources and media accounts. 

A 20-year-old man was reportedly stabbed on Norfolk Street between Delancey and Broome around 8:30 p.m. Another man, 19, was found with multiple stab wounds two blocks away on Delancey and Clinton.
 
EMTs took both men to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.

The 20-year-old, who the Daily News and police sources identified as Amir Smith, died from his wounds. He lived in the East Village, police said. 

The other victim is in stable condition.

Two men "were handcuffed at the scene and taken into police custody for questioning," per amNY and the Post. 

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a David Lynch tribute on Canal Street via Matt Geo LES) 
 
• Man pleads guilty to Tompkins Square Park shootings, D.A. Bragg announces (Wednesday

• This is the date for the next informational session about the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center (Thursday

• Report: The late Gary Indiana’s personal library and collection destroyed in L.A. wildfires (Monday

• Side-by-side business closures on Avenue A (Tuesday

• First Look: Rendering reveal for new residential building at 1st Avenue and 2nd Street (Monday

• At the 1st annual Fuck Fest (Wednesday

• 2025 Construction watch: Barrier Free Living on 2nd Street (Tuesday

• Paws-itive news: Boris & Horton is returning under new ownership (Friday

• Revamps: Íxta turning Japanese-Brazilian at 299 Bowery (Monday

• Full reveal at 280 E. Houston St. (Friday

• Samascott Orchards expected back at the Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket (Saturday

• A look at The March Hare, closing on Jan. 31 (Tuesday

• Bad news travels fast! Catch the U.S. premiere of the Fuzztones doc at the Bowery Electric (Thursday)

• A look at 'The Entertainer' (Friday

• Signage alert: A diner for 2nd Avenue? (Wednesday

• About 'Luna 10 Years' and a unique lineup of planets (Tuesday

• Playing Santa, Arnold Schwarzenegger looks for his magic bag outside Veselka (Monday

• Activity at the former Raul Candy Store on Avenue B (Thursday

• Return of the permanent signage for Ben's Deli (& Grill) on Avenue B (Friday

• Signage alert: Sunday Morning on Avenue B (Wednesday) • Yankee doodle Deli demoliton (Thursday

• ICYMI: Brick Lane Curry House has closed on 2nd Avenue, though a Brick Lane 2.0 is in the works (Tuesday)

• Amor y Amaro returns to its original 6th Street home (Monday

• That time when David Lynch filmed a rather terrifying trash PSA for New York City (Thursday)

Sunday's opening shot

Photo by Steven 

Samascott Orchards were back today at the Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket — 12 days after a barn fire destroyed much of their produce in Columbia County. 

This link has a list of all of today's vendors.

Today in snow forecasts

The metropolitan area is under a winter-weather advisory today through tonight, and three to five inches of snow are expected in NYC. 

According to the National Weather Service, snow will start falling this afternoon around 3 p.m. and last through 10 p.m. 

And after the snow (which is also the name of an underrated Modern English record, even with the inclusion of "I Melt With You")...

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Saturday's parting shot

"Paper View II" is now at the Hole at 312 Bowery between Bleecker and Houston. 

The above work by Katsu Sawada* is one of the many pieces in the exhibit, which will be on display through Feb. 2. 

Hours: 12-7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. 

* Rudolph (CriminalData), 2024, charcoal on paper, 36 x 24 inches, 91 x 61 cm.

Noted

What about Bob: Annoyance with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan is so December 2024! 

As seen on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street...

Samascott Orchards expected back at the Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket tomorrow

Photo from last Sunday by Steven 

Despite a devastating barn fire on their Columbia County property on Jan. 7, Samascott Orchards is expected to return to the Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket tomorrow (Jan. 19) after a one-week absence

Here's an Instagram post from them: 
We'll be back at markets this week with apples, cider, eggs, and baked goods. Very grateful for the help of our fellow farmers to get back on our feet as much as possible right now. All your messages have been very humbling and appreciated. Looking forward to seeing you soon. 
Good to see, as Samascott Orchards has been a regular and welcome presence at Tompkins. 

And if the year-round Greenmarket is new to you, here's some info (website here)...

Friday, January 17, 2025

Friday's parting shot

Thanks to the EVG reader for sharing this aerial view of the neighborhood (and NYC) from Avenue A and Houston this morning...

Blue highway

 

In memory of filmmaker-musician-artist David Lynch, who died yesterday at age 78

The video here is for "I'm Waiting Here," the lead single from Lynch's third studio album The Big Dream (2013) ... with lyrics and vocals by Lykke Li. 

 I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.

A look at 'The Entertainer'

Photo by Stacie Joy

Aaron Michael Skolnick's "The Entertainer" opened last week at the March gallery on Avenue A. 

Several readers have given the exhibit by Aaron Michael Skolnick a shout-out. 
Created between 2023 and 2025, this body of work is composed of paintings, garments, photography, and an installation featuring cardboard cutouts, jockstraps, and the idyllic bleachers and sports field of Hollywood's American high school. 
It's up through Feb. 22. 

The March gallery is at 62-64 Avenue A, between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Paws-itive news: Boris & Horton is returning under new ownership

Photo from February 2024 by Stacie Joy 

A round of app-paws? Boris & Horton has a new owner. 

The city's dog cafe — closed since late November — announced yesterday that a new owner is taking over the business on the NW corner of Avenue A and 12th Street. 

Per the reopening notice: "Same great space and brand" with "a community-focused vibe." 

The new owner is named as Carol ... with her dog Baja listed as the new CEO.

A reopening date is to come...
 

Early last November, ownership (daughter-father Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman) posted notices that they would close at the end of that month. This development happened even after a successful crowdfunding campaign and a newly enacted subscription plan earlier last year. 

Mikhly and Holzman left the door open for new ownership upon closing. This EVG post explains more about what transpired here. 

Boris & Horton opened in February 2018... and expanded its footprint on the corner later in 2018.