Revisiting the art of the Avenue A Trader Joe's

Yesterday, the Times published an article about Julie Averbach, who has written an unauthorized book celebrating the displays, murals and installations at Trader Joe's stores nationwide.

Averbach is a Trader Joe's fan with an art historian’s eye. She became so fascinated by what she saw in Trader Joe's locations that she wrote the book, "The Art of Trader Joe's: Discovering the Hidden Art Gems of America's Favorite Grocery Store," after devoting her thesis at Yale to Trader Joe's as a contemporary cabinet of curiosities. 

This is a good time to revisit a January 2020 post about the new East Village Trader Joe's, which opened at 436 E. 14th St., near Avenue A. 

If you've been to the new East Village Trader Joe's ... then you've likely noticed the nearly 200 drawings that adorn the store's interior ... 

East Village-based illustrator Peter Arkle created the drawings, which are an appreciation of street scenes and architectural details that he has spotted throughout the neighborhood... from more celebrated sites such as the Cube on Astor Place to the lesser-known features like the water fountain/wash bowl with the bronze figures (circa 1890s) outside the Immaculate Conception Church on 14th Street. 

Revisit the piece with Stacie Joy's Q&A here.

9th Street condo project turns former parking garage into construction zone

Top photo from Thursday by William Klayer 

Work picked up last week at the former Little Man Parking garage (aka LaSalle Parking) on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

There are partial demolition permits on file with the city. Part of the existing structure will be used (for residential parting!) in the conversion and vertical enlargement of five to six floors for residential use. 

A tipster on the block told us this: 

Workers arrived this past week and began loading materials onto the roof to build scaffolding. By Friday afternoon, the scaffolding had grown to occupy the sidewalk, bike lane, and part of the street.

Back to the tipster: 

Friday evening was chaotic for a while when an MTA bus could not pass the barricades placed on the street to protect the scaffolding. This caused a roadblock, and the cars behind it honked their horns for about 15 minutes. Eventually, the cars and bus all backed out onto Second Avenue, and traffic flowed across Ninth Street again.

The power is off in the building and as of now there are no exterior lights on the sidewalk so a significant portion of the block is pitch black. Traffic can't see the construction site or narrowing of the street until they are right up on it. 

It's not immediately clear what caused the mini traffic jam on Friday. It's possible someone double-parked and left their vehicle unattended. There should be enough room for buses and box trucks to navigate the construction zone.

Meanwhile, expect more scaffolding this week as workers wrap up the structure's remains.

As for background, the new 74-foot-tall building will include 31,231 square feet of residential space, including 18 units and likely condos, as NYY previously pointed out. Per public notices, Colberg Architecture is the architect of record.

According to public records and the TradedNY account, Arcus Development, operating through Astor Nine LLC, is the new owner of the vacant property. 

The garage has been closed since late April 2023 after the Department of Buildings issued a vacate order on the property following the deadly collapse at the Little Man garage on Ann Street in the Financial District. 

Per the DOB vacate order: "The occupied parking structure with concrete framing observed to be in a state of disrepair at several locations in cellar level... crushed column base observed at several locations in cellar level ... vertical cracks observed inside elevator shaft and on masonry walls."

The address was offered as a "redevelopment project" in August 2023. 

Thanks to Steven for sharing photos of the site.

CB3 to hear more about plans for the new restaurant coming to the New Museum

The New Museum — with its 60,000 square-foot expansion — reopens this fall on the Bowery. Among the new amenities is an all-day café and restaurant. 

Community Board 3's SLA committee will hear more about the plans tonight. 

Per the questionnaire on the CB3 website: 

The New Museum Restaurant — an extension of the New Museum's renewed visitor experience — will function as an all-day café and restaurant. The cuisine will focus on seasonal and sustainable ingredients. 

Art and artmaking have always flourished through in-person collaboration and connection, especially when convening over food and beverage. Our restaurant will be a space where artists, museumgoers, and community members converge, as part of the many new experiences offered by the OMA-designed expansion of the New Museum. 

Built with conversation and intimacy at its center, our restaurant will be an active contributor to the New Museum’s community and a celebration of the surrounding neighborhood’s rich artistic history.

It's not immediately clear if they settled on The New Museum Restaurant as the name. The CB3 questionnaire also states that the trade name is TBD, and press materials sent to local news outlets last week didn't mention a name. 

Anyway, the New Museum announced its partnership with the Oberon Group (Rucola, June, Rhodora Wine Bar, and Anaïs) on the project this past week. Julia Sherman, chef, artist, and author of "Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists," will oversee the kitchen. 

Here's more via the EVG inbox...

Incorporating sustainable materials and practices in both its menu and design, the 100-seat space will be a zero-waste, all-day cafe and restaurant spotlighting vegetables and local seafood, drawing inspiration from local purveyors and growers and focusing on ingredients from the Hudson Valley. 

Dish presentation by Chef Julia Sherman will be artful and visually striking, and diners can expect bright colors and playful eating. The cocktail program will be designed by Arley Marks, featuring classic martinis, spritzes, and botanical non-alcoholic selections. The wine list will feature natural selections of back vintages, predominantly from regenerative wine growers. 

OMA's design for the space draws inspiration from downtown New York neighborhood restaurants and the community gardens of the Lower East Side, creating a warm and intimate gathering space for artists, museum visitors, and patrons from around the world. 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. The Zoom link is here. This is a hybrid meeting, and limited seating is available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

A quick look at the March CB3 SLA agenda

Photo of 215 E. 4th St. by Stacie Joy 

Here's a look at a few of the East Village addresses on tonight's CB3 SLA committee meeting agenda: 

New Liquor License Applications 

• 20 Blocks (Empty Lunchbox LLC), 215 E 4th St (wb) 

A sandwich shop called 20 Blocks is planned for the former home of ZAKAYA NYC between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The online questionnaire for the beer-wine license describes the place as "a sandwich shop serving up original classics: the food & drink you know and love, but with a twist. The best sandwiches by a mile." (Traveling 20 blocks north-south in downtown Manhattan is roughly 20 blocks.) 

The sample menu includes various sandwiches with eggs, fried fish, lamb shoulder, and broccoli rabe, as well as sides such as long beans, sweet potato chips, and potato salad. 

The proprietors, Willy Corman and Jack August, previously held pop-ups in community gardens "with a new chef and a new menu" every week. According to the application materials, proceeds went to the garden. 

Proposed hours: Sunday to Wednesday from 9 a.m. to midnight with a 2 a.m. close on other nights. 

• Wilka's NYC LLC, 241 Bowery (op) 

Wilka's Sports Bar, 241 Bowery between Stanton and Rivington, will be dedicated to broadcasting women's sports. We wrote about it here. Find the Wilka's CB3 questionnaire here. 

• Baja and Humans LLC, 195 Ave A (aka 441 E 12th St) (wb) 

This is for the new owner of the dog cafe Boris & Horton. We wrote about the new owner here. The CB3 questionnaire is available at this link. 

Items not heard at Committee 

• Metrograph LLC, 7 Ludlow St (op/method of operation: change to allow patrons to take alcohol into movie screening area)

Metrograph moviegoers will now be permitted to take an alcoholic drink into the theater's two auditoriums... a standard practice now at most theaters with a liquor license. (RIP Sunshine.)

The theater, between Hester and Canal on the Lower East Side, has a lobby bar-cafe and the commissary on the second floor. 

Dining Out NYC — Not heard at Committee 

Under the city's new Dining Out NYC program, enclosed, year-round roadway dining structures are no longer permitted. The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle. 

Additionally, these establishments are restricted to operating only from April through November. Sidewalk cafes are permitted year-round. (ICYMI: C&B Cafe on Seventh Street participated in a pop-up event on Friday afternoon to help advocate for year-round outdoor dining.)

Restaurants had to apply for the license with the DOT, which apparently required a local community board sign-off. 

These establishments within the confines of Community Board 3 are on the March agenda... 

• Gnoccheria by Luzzo's (Italian Essenza Corp), 234 E 4th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Victoria! (Moneygoround Inc), 235 Eldridge St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Phebe's (East Pub Inc), 359 Bowery (Roadway Cafe) 

• Dream Baby (162-4 Ave B Bar, Inc) 162 Ave B (Roadway Cafe) 

• Non LA (NonLA LLC), 128 E 4th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• 7th Street Burger (TPK Holdings LLC), 91 E 7th St (Roadway Cafe) 

• Westville (Westville Restaurant, Inc), 173 Ave A (Roadway Cafe) 

• Westville (Westville Restaurant, Inc), 173 Ave A (Sidewalk Cafe) 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. The Zoom link is here. This is a hybrid meeting, and limited seating is available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Full reveal at 340 Bowery, the new home of micro hotel Now Now NoHo

Workers removed the plywood from outside the under-renovation 340 Bowery between Bond and Great Jones this past week. 

And it looks the same on the outside anyway...

As previously reported, this is the new home of Now Now NoHo, a micro-boutique hotel for solo travelers. According to the Now Now website, the tiny rooms "combine the nostalgia of European train cars with the ingenuity of Japanese capsule hotels." Rooms will be available starting on April 1. 

The blade signage also went up on Thursday... if you can read that...

No. 340 was The Whitehouse, a single-room hotel/flophouse for decades. Our last post has more about the new hotel and some history of the address. 

A cafe concept is expected in the retail space. We are confirming a few details about that. 

Thanks to the EVG readers who shared photos this past week.

Partial window signage reveal for the new home of Soda Club on Avenue A

Interior renovations continue at 95 Avenue A at Sixth Street. Window signage is now up for the next tenant, Soda Club, which is relocating here from 155 Avenue B near 10th Street. 

As we reported on Jan. 30, the Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded vegan wine and pasta bar is taking over the space that Amor y Amargo occupied until it relocated to its original home next door early this year.

"It's a super busy restaurant," Overthrow Hospitality's Ravi DeRossi previously said of Soda Club, "and we're turning away a lot of people in the small space that we currently have on Avenue B." 

There is no word yet on an exact opening date for Soda Club. 

Overthrow is keeping the lease at 155 Avenue B for a new concept.

Sunday's parting shots

Photos by Derek Berg 

Who's a good robot dog? Tompkins Square Park today...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a crescent moon watch from 2nd Avenue)... 

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues (Tuesday) 

• The return of Lucy's (Monday)

• Tompkins Square Park field house refurbished, reopening nears after final inspections (Tuesday) 

• RIP Hal Hirshorn (Wednesday) 

• A group of runners is hoping the city will add lighting to the new East River Park track (Thursday) 

• At Night Club 101 with Hello Mary (Monday) 

• Meet the new owner of Boris & Horton (Monday) 

• Ashes to ashes: A to-go twist on Ash Wednesday (Wednesday) 

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

• Coming this spring to 9th Street: Irving Green (Thursday) 

• Openings: Bateman's on 6th Street (Thursday) 

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

• Interesting new business opens on the Bowery and Houston (Wednesday)

• From pizza to politics: Eleven B serves up a new campaign HQ on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• Signage alert: Butter Smashburgers on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

... and EVG reader Bryan K. shared this Christmas tree discard with us from Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... Per Bryan, "Trying to camouflage the shame by dropping it among some old tree branches!"

About Robert Sietsema's New York

Longtime food writer-critic Robert Sietsema (The Village Voice, Eater, The New York Times) recently launched a Substack newsletter that offers an array of reviews, openings, neighborhood explorations, think pieces, etc. 

He'll also "focus on value and good food around New York City." 

This piece he did a few weeks ago caught our eye: "All the Soups at B&H Dairy, Ranked." 

You can read more about the newsletter and sign up for a subscription here. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• These are longtime food writer Robert Sietsema's 10 favorite East Village meals

Sunday's opening shot

A photo from Third Street featuring a clock as a reminder of Daylight Saving Time... aka, Spring Forward where we lost an hour of sleep (at least until Nov. 2).

Saturday's parting shots

Photos by Steven 

As seen on Second Street today... don't forget to tip!

'Art Handlers' at Bullet Space

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"Art Handlers" is the new group show at Bullet Space ... with an opening tomorrow (Sunday!) evening from 6-9. 

The urban artist collab is at 292 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Noted

The Enron parody continues, with flyers around the neighborhood advertising a job fair in Washington Square Park on Thursday for interns to join the fake-revived company.

This Enron has been pushing The Egg, a (fake) at-home nuclear reactor. 

Per CNET: 

The Egg appears to be part parody and part art project, but there may be something else stirring under the surface. Connor Gaydos is listed as Enron's CEO in the company's articles of incorporation in Delaware... Gaydos is the co-author of a book about Birds Aren't Real, a movement designed as a parody of conspiracy theories. Birds Aren't Real pushes the idea that birds are government spy drones. 

The scandal-plagued Enron, mired in accounting fraud, filed for bankruptcy in December 2001. According to Britannica, the collapse of Enron, which held more than $60 billion in assets, involved one of the biggest bankruptcy filings in U.S. history.

Damn Damn Damn

 

RIP Brian James, the guitarist and co-founding member of the Damned. He died this week at age 70.

In October 1976, the Damned released their debut single, "New Rose," written by James. The Damned was the first UK punk band to release an official song. It appreared on the Damned Damned Damned record. 

He also played with the Lords of the New Church and Iggy Pop, among others.

   

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The Damned's Captain Sensible on the return of drummer Rat Scabies, the importance of the Ramones and the legend of CBGB

An info session for community and faith leaders on protecting immigrant New Yorkers

Via the EVG inbox... 

Join New York Immigration Coalition and the Lower East Side Community Care Coalition to learn how your organization can be an ally in the fight to protect our neighbors. Attendees will be taught how to identify valid vs invalid warrants and the rights your organization has in an encounter with federal authorities. 

March 8 2-4 p.m. 

St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery 

131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue 

Sign up at this link.

Women-fronted bands take over the Parkside Lounge stage for International Women’s Day

On International Women's Day this Saturday, the Parkside Lounge will come alive with seven hours of music as 10 women-fronted indie rock bands take the stage to celebrate women in music.

"This year's show features 10 women-fronted bands, with a mix of talented female and male musicians," said Val Kinzler, founder of We The She, a NYC nonprofit whose mission is to reinforce gender equity and healing through the arts by creating interactive workshops and community-supportive events. 

The lineup includes East Village singer/songwriter Patti Rothberg, who will perform her 1996 debut album, Between the 1 and the 9, in its entirety with her new band, The Patti Rothberg Coincidence.

Most performers are the NYC downtown rock scene veterans; others are up-and-coming talents. 

Here's a rundown (note that Rome 56 had to drop out)

• 6 p.m.: The Ruminators (Jill GE & Patti Rothberg) 

• 6:35 p.m.: Violizzy & Friends 

• 7:20 p.m.: QueenPins (featuring Rigel Mary Sarjoo) 

• 7:45 p.m.: Sue Lashley

• 8:15 p.m.: Rew Starr 

• 9 p.m.: Exit 99 

• 9:50 p.m.: Val Kinzler Band 

• 10:45 p.m.: • The Miss J Experience 

• 11:30 p.m.: The Patti Rothberg Coincidence 

• 12:20 a.m.: The Record Players NYC 

 

Parkside Lounge is 317 E. Houston St. at Attorney. 

Tickets are $5.

A group of runners is hoping the city will add lighting to the new East River Park track

A group of runners who use East River Park are advocating for the city to add lights to the new track when it's rebuilt as part of the ongoing East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project. 

Per the petition:

The East River Park Track will soon close through at least 2026 and undergo a complete reconstruction ... The designs for the new track do not include sports lighting. Now is the time for our community to organize and petition our city to incorporate lighting into this fully funded reconstruction project, ensuring the rebuilt track meets the needs of the community now and in the future.

The volunteers state: 

• The track in its current and future planned form has inadequate lighting, which creates risks of personal harm and athletic injuries after dark

• Many of New Yorker City's 8+ million residents rely on evening hours to exercise due to work or school schedules. Lighting ensures the track remains open and usable year-round. 

• Maximize Public Investment: Adding lighting during the ESCR project reconstruction is far more cost-effective than retrofitting later. This ensures the track reaches its full potential as a safe, accessible, and well-used public space. 

And The East River Park Track is one of only two regulation tracks open to the public in Manhattan and the only one located south of 135th Street (the other regulation track is located at Riverbank State Park on the Upper West Side). It is a vital community resource that deserves to be ready to meet the community’s needs for safe all-year-round use after its reconstruction.

The group's effort received a boost last week when Community Board 3 passed a resolution in favor of the lighting, writing:

 ... Community Board 3 supports the efforts of community advocates in ensuring that the track remains a safe, accessible, and well-lit public resource year-round while also addressing environmental concerns related to lighting. 

Find the petition here.

Coming this spring to 9th Street: Irving Green

Photos by Steven

Renovations are underway inside 321 E. Ninth St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, where Irving Green will open this spring.

Per its Instagram account, this is an "East Village destination for curated homeware and gifts with a touch of Irish charm." 

The shop takes over for the March Hare, which closed at the end of January. Read about that here.

Openings: Bateman's on 6th Street

Photo via Bateman's 

Two East Village residents are behind Bateman's, a new cocktail bar on Sixth Street. The bar's name and concept are based on Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, a black comedy horror novel from 1991 (and a 2000 film starring Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman). 

The lounge, via husband-wife duo Carlo Olcese and Natasha Van Duser, with baroque-style paintings and Tiffany chandeliers, features a 10-seat bar and a 20-seat dining area for the small-plates-style menu. 

Bateman's, 308 E. Sixth St., between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight and closes at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 

If you're on Instagram, you can check out pics of the drinks here.

No word if there's any Huey Lewis & the News on the bar's soundtrack.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

This year's New Colossus Festival is underway at East Village and Lower East Side music venues. It will feature more than 200 bands and various industry panels. 

At Baker Falls, 192 Allen St., between Houston and Stanton, there was an afternoon slate of conversations ranging from independent release and distribution strategies to creating music videos. 

The live music continues through Sunday. Check out the slate here.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues