The new old Lucy's reopens tomorrow

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Lucy's officially begins a new era tomorrow at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Lucy's, now owned by Golden Age Hospitality, underwent renovations in recent months. Golden Age Hospitality CEO Jon Neidich, who previously lived upstairs and was a big Lucy's fan, promised to maintain the bar's look and feel and the same neighborhood bar vibes. (The renovations mainly included soundproofing in the ceiling and ADA bathrooms.) 

When the ownership change was presented to Community Board 3 last summer, Eater noted: "At least up until now, Neidich's businesses are just about the antithesis of Lucy's." A Times profile noted how he and Golden Age are swanking up millennial nightlife. (Who doesn't love a caviar-baked potato?) 

This past Thursday night, the new Lucy's debuted during a private party that included friends and neighbors, Golden Age associates, and a reporter or two. The place looks almost identical to the Lucy's you visited before closing in November 2023. (This EVG post will bring you up to date.) 

I have to say the bar looks pretty much like I remembered it — only a bit spiffier. It has a new jukebox featuring bands from Outkast to the Rolling Stones, new speakers, and a fresh coat of paint. 

Elsewhere, there is a new ADA-compliant restroom and a cleaned-up storage room (I did not get to go into the basement, but I was told it's an empty storage area now). A team of enthusiastic bartenders also makes some carefully crafted cocktails. However, there are no contraband bottles of you-take-the-first-shot 192-proof Spirytus behind the bar. 

One item is missing: the well-worn poster for the 1997 teen drama Hurricane Streets, which filmed a scene in the bar. Neidich said a new one is on its way. 

Overall, it looks as if Neidich tried carefully to recreate the Lucy's of his earlier days.

Around 9:30, Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius, who opened the bar here in 1987, arrived on the scene after an outing with The New York Times to a very warm welcome...

Golden Age has said that Lucy will still have a presence here — even bartending. (Playing it cool, she told me she'll "be at the bar when I'm available.") 

Here is Lucy with Jon Neidich...

I asked her what she thought of the new look.

"It's good. It's nice. This is new, and it costs a lot of money. It was time to make a change. Mine was very old," she said. "This is just so nice. I still love it." 

And on her return to the bar to see so many people happy to see her? 

"I am surviving a long time because people care about me, and then people from all over the world come in to say hi, and they remember me."

The best part for me, personally, was seeing Lucy smile. She put down the cane she now uses, sat at a table by the front door, and looked around the bar at everyone enjoying the opening night private party.

She put her hand over mine and said, "You look tired, Stacie. Go home. I am staying maybe a little bit longer."

It was after midnight when I walked out, and she was still going strong.

Starting tomorrow (March 4), Lucy's is open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. You can follow Lucy's on Instagram here.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• A few more details on the future of East Village classic bar Lucy's 

• Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar

Meet the new owner of Boris & Horton

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Carol Krakowski is the new owner of Boris & Horton, which was the city's first dog cafe when it debuted in 2018. 

Krakowski, who has a dog named Baja, said she is still a few weeks away from a grand reopening.

In the meantime, with the new ownership, Krakowski is applying for a beer-wine license for the space on the NW corner of Avenue A and 12th Street. (The previous cafe also served beer and wine.) 

Today (Monday), Krakowski will be at the cafe from 3 to 6 p.m. to gather signatures for the application. She said she's also happy to discuss her plans for Boris & Horton further. On Monday, March 10, she and her reps will appear before CB3's SLA committee. 

The previous owners, Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman, closed Boris & Horton in November before eventually finding a buyer for the business.

One-time studio home of Joey Ramone is for sale at the St. Mark

The modest studio that Joey Ramone lived in from the late 1980s until his death in 2001 is now for sale. 

As Curbed first reported, the unit in the St. Mark at 115 E. Ninth St. at Third Avenue asks $575,000, the going rate for the 20-floor doorman building. 

The Yoreevo listing does not mention Ramone by name but includes this in its lead: "This is your chance to literally live like a rockstar! This renovated studio in the heart of the East Village was once home to a punk legend!" 

Joey's brother Mickey Leigh reportedly inherited the studio in 2014 and sold it in 2018. When he renovated the apartment, the new owner found a stash of Joey's papers behind the kitchen cabinets. 

The broker told Curbed that the tenant would pass the memorabilia to the new owner.

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On 7th Street, the Instant Noodle Factory is closing; noodle liquidation sale commences

Photo by Stacie Joy

The Instant Noodle Factory is officially shutting down on Seventh Street.

The quick-serve spot had been dark this year.

Last week, ownership — the wife-husband team of Cierra Beck and Tat Lee — provided an update on Instagram:

Thanks, everyone, for your support these past 2 years! You might have noticed we've been a bit quiet on here these past few months. Cierra has been struggling with a health issue and needed to take some time away from the business. Combined with some additional setbacks, we made the bittersweet decision to close our stores! A huge thank you to our employees, past and present... Hope to see you guys next week at East Village for some noodle deals and a chance to win one of our noodle cook machines!  

Starting today, they will sell their remaining inventory — from noodles to glassware — at the shop, 130 E. Seventh St., just west of Avenue A. 

The EV outpost opened in December 2023, following the successful start of a popular DIY noodle shop in Long Island City.

The couple is launching an app, Noodlepedia, and Noodle Club, a monthly subscription box. Details are here.

Sunday's parting shot

View of the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue today. 

ICYMI: The Times interviewed Ukrainians in several neighborhoods, including the East Village, about their reactions to Friday's spectacle in the Oval Office.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo Thursday on Astor Place by Francine Lange) 

• Report of a fatal shooting at Tom & Jerry's on Elizabeth Street (Saturday) 

• More discussion on the future of the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. 5th St. (Tuesday) 

• Concern grows for Christo, Tompkins Square Park’s iconic red-tailed hawk, missing for 2 weeks (Friday) 

• Report: Judge orders temporary stay on Beth Israel's March 26 closure (Saturday) 

• RIP David Johansen (Saturday) 

• The New Museum, with a 60,000-square-foot expansion, will reopen this fall on the Bowery (Thursday) 

• A dog in distress (Sunday) 

• Flamingos Vintage Pound returns to the East Village with new St. Mark’s Place outpost (Monday) 

• A Taste of change for Joe's Wine Co. (Monday) 

• The Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop is now OPEN on 14th Street (Wednesday)

• This longtime convenience store has closed at 124 2nd Ave. (Thursday) ... Holy farewell: Saint Pizza is leaving Avenue B (Monday) 

• Another local Duane Reade by Walgreens closes (Wednesday) 

• Signage alert: Mr. Fish on 3rd Avenue (Monday) 

And this past week, workers removed the covered sidewalk extension outside Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe on Cooper Square and St. Mark's Place (thanks to Jacob Ford for the photos) ...

This sidewalk extension drew the ire of some EVG readers, who questioned its legality.

A closing sale at Jo Laurie Loves on 9th Street

Jo Laurie Loves is closing its retail space at 620 E. Ninth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

According to social media posts, the landlord is not renewing the lease for Jo Laurie, a longtime East Village resident who has had the space since 1988. 

Laurie operates a full-service architectural company and, in the fall of 2021, converted part of the design studio into a retail store. Her company is registered as a B-Corp, which allows her to distribute 8% of pre-tax profit to provide health and welfare benefits to women who manufacture her products. 

 Find her website here ... and on Instagram at this link.

 

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Sign of spring

Photo by William Klayer 

After a winter hiatus, the Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream outpost reopened on the NW corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street this past week. 

The shop's hours are 2-10 p.m. daily (longer hours once it gets warmer). 

As previously noted, the business dates to 1928, when Ralph Silvestro started selling Italian ice (or water ice) from his truck around Staten Island. The first retail store opened in 1949 on Port Richmond Avenue in Staten Island. 

In recent years, the company has franchised, expanding to other parts of the NYC metropolitan area and Long Island. 

H/T Steven, who also shared the news of this reopening

Saturday's parting shot

Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo tailing Salvatore "Sal" Boca and his wife Angie on Delancey Sreet after breakfast at Ratner's in "The French Connection."

RIP Gene Hackman.

RIP David Johansen

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Updating: Report of a fatal shooting at Tom & Jerry's on Elizabeth Street

Updated with reader photos from this morning 

The post has been updated as new information has become available

A 39-year-old man was reportedly shot and killed early this morning inside Tom & Jerry's on Elizabeth Street near Houston. 

The Daily News reports that the victim was a bouncer inside the bar. SILive reports that the victim, Anton Albert, lived on Staten Island. 

An updated version of the story claims that "the shooter was drunk and had just been ejected from the bar when the bullets started flying."

Per an updated News article:

"They kicked him out and he went outside, and just pulled out a gun," said Kevin Ames, who was visiting a friend who lives upstairs from the bar when the shooting occurred. "[He] shot in the window and killed one of the bouncers."

The gunman was last seen on Houston. No arrests have been made, police said. 

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

Report: Judge orders temporary stay on Beth Israel's March 26 closure

Late yesterday, an appellate judge issued a new temporary stay on Mount Sinai's plans to shut down Beth Israel. 

This ruling arrived five days after a state Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the facility's closure. 

After Judge Jeffrey Pearlman tossed the lawsuit filed by a community coalition this past August, Mount Sinai announced Beth Israel's closing date of March 26. 

Mount Sinai reportedly moved quickly to empty the hospital on First Avenue and 16th Street. The coalition's pro-bono lawyer, Arthur Schwartz, claimed this week that "every one of the 80 or so admitted patients has either been discharged or transferred to other Mount Sinai facilities. The Intensive Care Unit has been closed. The Cardiac Catheterization Unit has been closed. Ambulances have been notified to not bring patients to Beth Israel because no one is being admitted," per Our Town. 

A Mount Sinai spokesperson confirmed to Gothamist that as of Thursday afternoon, "there were no in-patients at the hospital and all in-patient services had ended,” Riegelhaupt said. "As planned, our [emergency department] remains open and will remain open until closure." 

As Gothamist reported: "Justice John Higgit put the stay in place pending a determination on the case by a panel of judges." 

Mount Sinai officials have said Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade due to dwindling cash reserves and reduced bed counts. 

Beth Israel was founded in 1890 on the Lower East Side and moved to its current location on 16th Street and First Avenue in 1929.

Saturday's opening shot

March getting underway today as seen from Seventh Street and First Avenue... the morning clouds will give way to mostly sunny skies with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s... enjoy, because its back to the 30s (temps) tomorrow.

Feb. 28

Ending the month with a Christmas tree discard on 14th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... thanks to Rob Frankel for the photo!

In the 'City'

We continue to highlight indie acts performing at this year's New Colossus Festival, which will take place in East Village and LES venues from March 4 to 9. 

Here is the darkwave-synth pop of Coatie Pop with "City Song." 

The NYC-based duo will perform on March 8 at 10 p.m. at the Bowery Electric on a bill featuring EVG favorites Genre Is Death.

Find Festival info here.

6 posts from February

A mini month in review (with a photo from the Tompkins Square mini pool — and yes, Tompkins has a mini pool)... 

• The Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop is now OPEN on 14th Street (Feb. 26) 

• Mount Sinai Beth Israel will close on March 26 after judge dismisses lawsuit (Feb. 25) 

• A longtime East Village bar and restaurant owner turns 100: 'Life is beautiful' (Feb. 20)

• A bar dedicated to women's sports is opening on the Bowery (Feb. 19) 

• Bella’s passing marks another sad chapter in East Village fire tragedy (Feb. 9) 

• Now Now NoHo set to debut its micro hotel rooms in April on the Bowery (Feb. 3)

Too pissed for punctuation

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Moving time in the EV (and elsewhere). 

Leave my packages alone 

and thanks to whoever took my

packing tape for my move its 

fucked up

Concern grows for Christo, Tompkins Square Park’s iconic red-tailed hawk, missing for 2 weeks

Photo of Christo from the EVG archives

Concern is growing over the whereabouts of Christo, the male resident red-tailed hawk of Tompkins Square Park. 

According to Goggla, the photographer who has documented the hawks and other wildlife for the past 11-plus years, he has been MIA for the past two weeks. Her last photo of Christo came on Feb. 14, and he has not been spotted since. 

We posted a photo of a hawk in Tompkins on Feb. 21, mistaking it for Christo. In fact, it was a new male red-tailed hawk who had taken up residence here. 

Here's more via a post from Goggla:

I wasn't around the park very much the week of the 17th, but what ever happened took place some time between February 14 and 21. By the 22nd, Amelia was documented mating with another hawk, who was also working on the nest. As this is expected behavior for this time of year, I didn't notice right away that something was wrong. It was only after I checked some of my photos that I saw the hawk mating with Amelia was not Christo. 

I consulted with another hawk watcher and photographer who also had photos of the new hawk. Christo has dark eyes, brown stripes on his legs, and a particular belly band pattern. This other hawks has bright yellowish eyes (young), no markings on the legs, and a different belly band pattern. I tried to tell myself that maybe the sun made the eyes look different, but the legs of these two hawks are very different. 

There is a possibility that Christo is out there somewhere, but the fact that another hawk is mating with Amelia and working on their nest makes this unlikely.

In February 2020, Christo got caught in an airshaft on Seventh Street after chasing a pigeon. Thanks to some residents and Ranger Rob, he was rescued. 

We’re hoping for Christo's return, but with each passing day, it seems less likely.

Thursday's parting shot

Thanks to EVG reader Mark H. for this photo from 7th and B...

The New Museum, with a 60,000-square-foot expansion, will reopen this fall on the Bowery

Today, officials at The New Museum announced that its 60,000 square-foot building expansion on the Bowery at Prince Street will debut this fall. 

This will also mark the reopening of The New Museum, which has been closed during the construction of the building next door, designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson. 

Here's more about the expanded space via the EVG inbox: 

Complementing the New Museum's existing architecture, the OMA-designed expansion will appear distinct on the outside while being seamlessly integrated on the inside. The new seven-story building will double the Museum's gallery space, aligning ceiling heights on the second, third, and fourth floors for uninterrupted connectivity across both buildings. The OMA design will improve vertical circulation for visitors through the addition of an atrium stairway, which will offer views of the surrounding neighborhood and the opportunity for site-specific art installations, as well as three additional elevators, two of which will be dedicated to gallery access. 

On the ground level, the Museum's enlarged lobby will feature an expanded bookstore as well as a full-service restaurant, while just outside a new entrance plaza will create an open-air venue for public art installations at the terminus of Bowery and Prince Street. On the Museum's upper floors, the new building will include a dedicated studio for artists-in-residence [and] a 74-seat forum... 

And about the inaugural exhibition:

 Continuing the New Museum's long history of presenting provocative and timely thematic exhibitions, "New Humans: Memories of the Future" will inaugurate the expanded building with an exploration of artists’ enduring preoccupation with what it means to be human in the face of sweeping technological changes. 

Spanning the entire Museum, New Humans will trace a diagonal history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through the work of more than 150 international artists, writers, scientists, architects, and filmmakers, highlighting key moments when dramatic technological and societal changes spurred new conceptions of humanity and new visions for its possible futures. 

Here are some EVG photos from earlier this month showing the work in progress...

The Times today has more on all this here.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The New Museum unveils plans for expanded facility on the Bowery 

• Demolition complete on the Bowery for the New Museum annex