Coool Dad (and Ross Hater) created the illustration and had a T-shirt made via Zazzle.
You can order one if you'd like here. (Only Zazzle is making $$$ on this.)
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
A look at Monday afternoon’s rooftop fire on 2nd Street
EVG reader P. Skiff shared these top three photos... as the FDNY quickly arrived on the scene...
EVG's Stacie Joy was there after firefighters had extinguished the flames...
One firefighter sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
There wasn't any immediate word on the cause or extent of the damage. The FDNY quickly had it extinguished.
Thankfully, it looked a lot worse than it was...
[Updated] These are the movies screening in Tompkins Square Park this summer
Here's what is on the docket:
• Aug. 14 — "Mistress America"
• Aug. 27 — "Summer of Soul"
• Sept. 19 — "Birdman"
Each screening (roughly at 8:30 p.m.) begins with a short film by a LESFF alum, followed by the feature presentation. The screenings take place in the center of the park where the bands usually perform on weekends.
The invite promises "complimentary refreshments and surprises throughout the night."
NOTE: The screening of "Mistress America" scheduled for tomorrow night has been moved to Aug. 14 due to the expected rain in NYC.
The series is in partnership with presenting sponsor Searchlight Pictures and local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein ...with community support from East Village Community Coalition, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), and Loisaida Inc. Center.
Find more info here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Please don't pick the flowers
Their care and consistency have kept the spot vibrant and green, season after season. (We've given it a shout-out every so often.)
Unfortunately, a sunflower was recently snipped from the plot on Monday ... a disheartening act for those who work hard to keep this corner blooming. (The young man was caught in the act, and he was very apologetic, we're told.)
Urban gardening is challenging enough without losing flowers to passersby (as we've seen on Second Street).
Supporters of this plot shared a message with EVG: If you're walking by, admire the garden — but please, let the blooms be...
Details about the 9th annual East Village Queer Film Festival next month at wild project
The festival "embraces an inclusive Queer identity, featuring films that entertain, explore, and promote queer-themed issues, work by and featuring LGBTQIA+ artists, as well as work inspired by the expanded innovative and audacious downtown Queer avant-garde."
Check out the roster of films (and buy tickets) here.
The venue is at 195 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Scenes of a Summer Celebration on 12th Street
Photos by Stacie Joy
Heading back to Saturday afternoon for scenes from a Summer Celebration sidewalk block party on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue... organized by (above) Maegan and Alex, the co-owners of the East Village Vintage Collective.
The afternoon featured various vendors...
... and several of the block's food establishments, including House of Pasta, Poppy, The Community Boutique & Café and The Pastry Box...
You can follow the East Village Vintage Collective Instagram account for updates on other upcoming events...
On Avenue A, Heaven Can Wait morphs into Lucinda’s Honky Tonk + Juke Joint
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Signage arrived yesterday for Lucinda's Honky Tonk + Juke Joint at 169 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.
The venue is described as a "Soulful Southern Honky Tonk" on Instagram.
The ownership is said to be Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, Brownies and Lakeside Lounge co-founder Laura McCarthy, and songwriter and manager Kelley Swindall.
Moving forward, Lucinda's will host live country music on Friday nights, live-band karaoke on Saturdays and a jukebox "stacked with country faves through the ages."
Lucinda's is hosting a test run this weekend (details here).
Here's a first look inside Lucinda's, where crews were busy setting up the stage and adding more framed photos, including some by Danny Clinch, to the walls
The space was most recently occupied by Heaven Can Wait (b. 2022), which went dark earlier this year.
The lounge/small music venue has seen several concepts in recent years, including Coney Island Baby, Lola and East Berlin. The address was previously EVG favorites HiFi (2002-2017) and the indie live music venue Brownies (1989-2002).
Say cheese: S'MAC celebrates 19 years in business
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Owners — and longtime East Village residents — Sarita and Caesar Ekya, both trained engineers, opened the restaurant in the summer of 2006 with a creative twist on the classic comfort food.
Originally located at 345 E. 12th St., S'MAC moved to its current spot in 2017.
In addition to serving up cheesy concoctions (we mean that in a good way), S'MAC has also been a generous neighbor. For several years, the Ekyas partnered with East Village Neighbors, a local volunteer group, to provide meals for community members in need through a fridge and pantry outside the restaurant. (The initiative ended after tenant complaints led the landlord to ask for its removal.)
Nearly two decades in, S'MAC remains a comforting constant in a neighborhood that seems to be constantly changing.
Signage alert: Spirals bringing the cinnamon rolls to 1st Avenue
Photo by Danimal
Sigange went up last week at 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street for Spirals, a bakery specializing in cinnamon rolls.
According to the business website: "After two years in the making, fresh, delicious cinnamon rolls are coming very soon to the East Village!"
Cinnamon rolls have proven to be popular around here, given the lines we've seen for Sunday Morning, which opened in January on Avenue B.
If you're on Instagram, you can follow Spirals here for updates.
This retail space was previously occupied by Davey's Ice Cream, which relocated around the corner to Ninth Street in 2022.
Monday, July 28, 2025
Remembering Jason Goodrow
Photos courtesy of Satoko Goodrow
Friends and family gathered yesterday in La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street and Avenue C to celebrate the life of longtime neighbor Jason Goodrow, a beloved local musician who passed away in May.
Attendees remembered Goodrow with songs and stories, honoring his decades-long presence in the neighborhood music scene. A talented performer, mixer, and producer, he played in numerous bands over the years and left a lasting impression on those who knew him.
Tomorrow night, the music continues with a "Life Celebration Jam" at ReVision Lounge and Gallery (219 Avenue B, between 13th and 14th Streets). The event begins at 7 p.m. Find details here.
Community Board 3 joins call for urgent safety measures at Manhattan Bridge-Canal Street intersection
Photo via @andrea_gordillo
Community leaders, local elected officials, and safe-street advocates are renewing calls for urgent changes to the dangerous Manhattan Bridge exit at Canal Street and the Bowery after two people were killed by a speeding driver early on July 19.
At a vigil held July 23 at the foot of the bridge, Community Board 3 Chair Andrea Gordillo said the deaths of May Kwok, 63, and Kevin Cruikshank, 55, were "preventable" and demanded immediate safety upgrades.
Here's part of a statement that Gordillo shared on Instagram on July 24:
We gathered last night in heartbreak and fury for May Kwok and Kevin Cruikshank, two lives stolen in crashes this weekend that we've long warned were preventable. As Chair of Community Board 3, I've joined community leaders in calling on @nyc_dot to fix Canal Street and make room for the people and small businesses who give this corridor life for years now.
We're past the deadline. DOT promised a redesign plan by Fall 2024. Two more lives are now gone, and we've seen no action.
We need immediate safety changes — and we must rethink the Manhattan Bridge Plaza as a true public space: for walking, biking, gathering, and grieving.
Despite years of community pressure and city studies, the Department of Transportation has yet to unveil a redesign. The agency says it plans to update the public on proposed safety improvements this fall. Advocates are pushing for measures like bollards or concrete barriers, as well as a broader reimagining of the Manhattan Bridge plaza.
"DOT has plans and they sit on shelves, people die, people are seriously injured in the meantime," Kate Brockwehl, an advocate with the organization Families for Safe Streets, said during the rally, as reported by Streetsblog. "Why play politics and delay, and delay, and delay, when you know that Canal Street in its current design is a public health emergency?"
A DOT spokesperson told ABC 7, "This driver should not have been on our streets and, as we work to develop safety improvements along Canal, we will continue our advocacy at the state level for legislation to address the most dangerous recidivist drivers who pose an outsized risk to all New Yorkers."
There are currently five inbound lanes of traffic entering the Bowery and Canal from the bridge, which may be an unnecessary number, given that traffic across the bridge has dropped 19% since congestion pricing took effect, as Streetsblog reported.
The driver of the stolen car (a rental that had not been returned), Autumn Donna Ascencio Romero, 23, was charged on July 21 with murder, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, criminal possession of a weapon, leaving the scene of an accident and criminal possession of stolen property.
Her passenger, Kennedy Lecraft, 22, was reportedly charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
After the deadly collision in which the speeding car jumped the curb, striking the victims on the sidewalk before destroying an unoccupied police van, the two tried to flee the scene. NYPD investigators said they found an open bottle of tequila in the front of the car and two semi-automatic weapons in the trunk.
Romero was out on bail for a Brooklyn collision that seriously injured a 22-year-old woman in April.
Twenty-four hours after the deadly crash, a driver lost control of his car on Sunday morning and drove into a food truck and TD Bank at the same intersection. There were no reported injuries.
At this link, Streetsblog has a history of this dangerous intersection and the potential fixes required to improve the safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.
Homecomings: La Salle Academy prepares to return to original East Village campus
The move marks a homecoming for one of New York City's oldest all-male Catholic high schools, which had operated out of nearby St. George Academy on Sixth Street since 2010. (The school opened on Second Street in 1856.)
The Nord Anglia International School New York, which leased the building, relocated to Gramercy Park for the fall.
The decision to return follows years of financial restructuring after the 2008 economic downturn, when La Salle began sharing facilities with St. George while maintaining its own identity. At the same time, leasing its East Village property helped the school stabilize and retire debt, school officials have said.
La Salle also sold its annex at Second Avenue and Second Street in 2020 for $14.5 million. The site, which included several other parcels, remains undeveloped.
The school announced its return to Second Street in March 2024.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Krave It has not been open lately on 2nd Avenue
Google still shows the outpost as open on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.
We reached out about he status of this location, which just opened in March.
This was the brand's first Manhattan location. It was founded in 2015 in Queens by husband and wife (and high school sweethearts) Vishee and Jenna Mandahar. Krave It also has several locations in the metropolitan area, including Bayside, Huntington and Astoria. A Krave It just opened in Denver.
Krave It specializes in "creative, out-of-the-box sandwich and pizza options," such as the birria pizza, ramyun pizza, Hot Cheetos pizza, Biggie Mac pizza, and more.
The space was, until March 2024, Planet Taco. Recent past lives include Otto's Tacos for seven years. Before that, many things came and went here, such as Good Guys, a Subway (sandwich shop), part of a Max Brenner outpost, and Burritoville.
H/T Steven!
Sunday, July 27, 2025
About a Jeopardy! trivia night at the Brindle Room
"I'm a big fan of the show Jeopardy!, so I created my own clone of the game. Basically, I bought some replica buzzers and found a database of the real Jeopardy! questions online, then stitched it all together with a web-app I coded. It's a pretty realistic recreation of the show!"
"My hope is that this is a differentiated trivia night," he said.
Games will run every 20 minutes from 7-9 p.m., with a champions round at 9 p.m.
About the mini East Village food tour with 2 members of Everton FC
On Thursday, Dave on 7th caught a glimpse of Youssef Chermiti and Beto outside Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A near 10th Street.
The English Premier League players were in town for the Premier League Summer Series, a set of friendlies at MetLife Stadium featuring Everton, Bournemouth, Manchester United, and West Ham United, which took place yesterday.
As part of the visit, the two Everton strikers joined "NYC food aficionado" Matt James on a local tour, with stops including Bobwhite Counter on Avenue C and Danny and Coop’s on Avenue A. (Spoiler: The players said the Philly cheesesteaks were their favorites.)
Here’s a clip from their bagel break...
Week in Grieview
Get the week in review via email by signing up here.
• Buddies Coffee, forced out of Williamsburg with a rent hike, still on track to open East Village location (Monday, July 21)
• The Rainbow is a new play and community space for kids, complete with a mini Ray's Candy Store (Monday, July 21)
• Checking in on Irving Green (Wednesday, July 23)
• Parks Department prunes drooping elm in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday, July 23) … Post-mortem on the freshly cut-back American elm in Tompkins Square Park (Friday, July 25)
• When Black Sabbath played in the East Village (Tuesday, July 22)
• Beer & wine in the works for Danny & Coop's (Thursday, July 24)
• From a Food Market to a Swap Shop on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday, July 23)
• Love, American 1990s style (Saturday, July 27)
... and keeping tabs on outdoor dining trends along Avenue B (photos by Stacie Joy)...
• Buddies Coffee, forced out of Williamsburg with a rent hike, still on track to open East Village location (Monday, July 21)
• What's next for the Minca space on 5th Street? (Thursday, July 24)
• The Rainbow is a new play and community space for kids, complete with a mini Ray's Candy Store (Monday, July 21)
• Celebrating the life of Jason Goodrow (Saturday, July 27)
• Checking in on Irving Green (Wednesday, July 23)
• Parks Department prunes drooping elm in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday, July 23) … Post-mortem on the freshly cut-back American elm in Tompkins Square Park (Friday, July 25)
• When Black Sabbath played in the East Village (Tuesday, July 22)
• An encore presentation for the cumgirl8 clothing and merch sale on 2nd Street (Friday, July 25)
• Some more decade-spanning looks at 5th Street and Avenue B (Wednesday, July 23)
• Beer & wine in the works for Danny & Coop's (Thursday, July 24)
• A pharmacy for 6th Street and Avenue C (Tuesday, July 22)
• From a Food Market to a Swap Shop on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday, July 23)
• Love, American 1990s style (Saturday, July 27)
American elm chainsaw massacre
However, it wasn't easy. East Village resident Joe Kay shared this photo, noting "that elm ate one of their chainsaws!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)