Owner of former P.S. 64 shares first public comments on building’s future

Nearly 10 months have passed since we've heard any official updates on the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

The long-dormant building, with a vacancy order still in place, has remained in disrepair for decades. New ownership — said to be a private foundation — bought the property in January 2024 for $57.1 million.

Yesterday, Crain's New York Business ran an interview with the owner, Aaron Sosnick, of 605 East 9th Community Holdings LLC. While there wasn't much new information shared for those following the story, these were Sosnick's first published comments about the property. 

During the first two public meetings about the former school's future in October 2024 and January 2025 (see links below), organizers referred to the LLC as "a philanthropic entity with the purpose of returning the property to community use." (The Real Deal had previously cited Sosnick's ties to the property.) 

Sosnick, who owns a place next door, told Crain's that the effort — called the Creative Community Collective — is still in its early stages but aims to create an educational, arts, and community hub for the East Village. (Photo below by Stacie Joy from January 2025.)

"It's been a year and a half of making the community aware of what's going on, doing initial outreach to places that might be interested," said Sosnick, a hedge fund manager, investor and philanthropist. "Now we're really moving toward making a serious plan." 

The project could take three to seven years to complete at an estimated $200 million cost (double the amount floated last fall), financed through philanthropy, government support and leasing income, Sosnick told Crain's.

The immediate goal is to lift the building's vacate order so engineers and architects can begin detailed planning. The team has been in talks with a nonprofit and a foundation as potential anchor tenants and is considering amenities such as a theater, dance rehearsal space and even a wedding chapel.

Despite the challenges ahead, Sosnick said he's optimistic: "We think we're in a very strong position to do something good there — and we're working hard at it." 

EVG's Stacie Joy asked a project rep for any other updates. 

"I suspect another meeting with members of the community will happen in some form when there's more information to share down the line beyond what we covered at the last info session earlier this year," said Quamid Francis of Q Impact Solutions, who led the previous public meetings. 

Francis, who noted that he liked the Crain's piece, said they are "focused on getting the vacate order lifted and fundraising." 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center has a new project name 

• Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million

Cue the next track: Hi-Note bids farewell (for now) on Avenue B

Hi-Note has closed for now after three years at 188 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street. (Thanks to EVG reader Carolyn Blair for the photo!)

The cafe-bar-community radio station (yes!) closed after service on Oct. 6. However, the owners have a new concept for the space. 

Here's part of the message via the Hi-Note Instagram account: 

This concept has been a true labor of love, and every sip, every set, and every shared moment has meant the world to us. 

While it's bittersweet to share this news with you all, this is not the end; it's the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our team and cozy space on Avenue B. We're so excited to share more with you! Please also follow along here for updates on the new home for Hi-Note Radio. 

We owe a special shout-out to this piece of the adventure, since what started out as a small (yet logistically lofty) dream to create a radio bar has become such a big part of the community. We're so grateful for everyone that tuned in over the years, and to the DJs, both local and from afar, that joined us for live radio sets and opened our eyes to all kinds of new music. Our wonderful collaborators, listeners, and team are what made this a success, and that magic will remain in Hi-Note Radio's next location. 

The venue carved out a niche with its in-house radio programming, featuring dozens of DJ-hosted shows, and its Monday-night open-deck sessions, where anyone could spin their own LPs and 45s near the bar. Sounds like that spirit will return with the next incarnation.

On the CB3 SLA docket in October: A country buffet from the C as in Charlie and Kisa team

In August, the owners of C as in Charlie and Kisa reportedly signed a 10-year lease at 166 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

On Monday night, reps for the hospitality group will appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee for a new liquor license. 

According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, the still unnamed concept with seats for 60 diners will feature a "country buffet" priced at $25.99. 

The application includes a sample menu with some buffet faves...

Given the popularity of the food at C as in Charlie and Kisa, this may usher in a new era for buffets. 

C as in Charlie opened at 5 Bleecker St., just west of the Bowery, in 2022, while the Korean diner Kisa debuted last year on the SW corner of Allen and Houston. 

The bistro-bar Ferns closed at 166 First Ave. in February after more than seven years in business. 

CB3's SLA meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. 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, will be accommodated.

Signage alert: QQ Nails & Spa on 2nd Avenue

Signage is up for QQ Nails & Spa in the corner retail space at 24 Second Ave ...

The nail salon has 40-plus outposts in the NYC metropolitan area. 

And this marks the third permanent tenant for the condoplex on the NE corner of First Street. Liftonic opened a studio on the lower level earlier this year, followed by another chain, the dental "studio" Tend.

The retail space had seen a variety of pop-up concepts since opening in 2019. 

This corner parcel was previously a BP station with a mini convenience store, which closed in 2014.

Tuesday's parting shots

Photos by Steven 

Eerie-ish scenes in vacant storefronts along Second Avenue... a look inside 107 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street ... still outfitted as a grocery (RIP the former New Yorkers Foodmarket, December 2023). 

And there are still a variety of crutches left from its week-long stint in August as an NYU Swap Shop...

... and up the avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... the Point of Sale system still glows at Krave It, which shuttered months ago...

Revisiting Britain’s late-night weirdness at Various/Artists on the Lower East Side

Top photos and article by Daniel Efram 

After the evening news and before the test pattern lulled you to sleep, British TV once presented a strange and exciting in-between world — a late-night laboratory of eccentrics, artists, and unclassifiable oddballs. 

Through Nov. 9, multimedia gallery Various/Artists on Essex Street is resurrecting that era with "After The Watershed: Late-Night TV From Britain," a nostalgic installation in collaboration with the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture.

In England, the term "After The Watershed" refers to a time of day wherein broadcast limitations were less controlled and programming was less bound to rules and regulations. Experimental wonk and oddities were programmed alongside delicious dives into oddball characters with unique passions. Broadly, there are some similarities to US public access TV of the 1980s in that you never knew what you might get and might never see it again. 

"I learned loads from watching movies, documentaries, current affairs ... oddballs, eccentrics, rogues, dipthomaniacs on TV," describes S.S. Sandhu of the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture. "And I was watching it alongside millions of other people that wherever we were living we had exposure to music, to clothes, to noise, to fashion, to international politics, to serious ideas ... it is remarkable how [much of this insight] was available on late night TV. I wanted to honor that." 

For this exhibit, Various/Artists Co-Directors Scott Kiernan and Garrett Linn transformed their Lower East Side space into a period-piece living room, where visitors can sink into a second-hand sofa and watch fuzzy CRT screens play archival reels of British television at its most gloriously weird — no pause, no rewind, just the flicker and hum of another time. (Below left: SS Sandhu and Garret Linn.)

"The setting is really important ... There's a noise of the street, of real life going on…" Sandhu says. "In a modest way, this is reflected in this precise setting. 

"This was TV at the time; it certainly was not high definition. It wasn't superior technologically; it would be fuzz, static, and interference." 

Upon the first visit to the show, a reel on repeat in the back room included a visit with a toy train conductor whose spot-on set recalled a long-lost train line and a visit with Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist Ivor Cutler, who infamously appeared in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour Film and in numerous BBC sessions and John Peel collaborations. 

There are four upcoming talks at the gallery, including deeper dives into the premise...

• Oct. 14 — 7:30 p.m.: Bad Meaning Good: Britain Does Subcultures 

Five extra films (on Brit Jazz, metal machine music, The Fall, Atomage fetish scene, and much more) followed by a discussion between writer, filmmaker, musician Dan Fox, and co-curator Sukhdev Sandhu.

• Oct. 21 — 7:30 p.m.: The Very Material of Television 

A screening presentation on the pioneering work of David Hall. "Hovering somewhere on the McLuhan-Monty Python-Mr Rogers continuum, Hall's work explored the television as a physical object, a piece of furniture, a dream machine." Presented by writer, professor and programmer Leo Goldsmith.

• Oct. 30 — 7 p.m.: "We Dissent" (1960) 

First screening in 65 years of Kenneth Tynan's 90-minute TV program about American writers, artists and thinkers who saw themselves as refuseniks from what America was — or was becoming. Introduced by radio producer and Theory of Everything podcast presenter Benjamen Walker

• Nov. 7 - 7 p.m.: Season Finale Deep cuts of televisual arcana with show co-curators Matthew Harle and Colm McAuliffe of The Colloquium for Unpopular Culture 

During the gallery's regular open hours, Thursday through Sunday from 3-8 p.m., guests can experience the exhibit by watching on the couch — perhaps with biscuits — and enjoy the latest programming, which changes each week. 

Various/Artists is at 19 Essex St. between Hester and Canal.  

CB3 to consider street co-namings honoring Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and Jack Kirby

Image via Marvel Comics 

Two proposed street co-namings honoring trailblazing New Yorkers are on the agenda for Community Board 3's Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation & Environment Committee meeting tonight. 

One proposal would co-name Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C as Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera Way, honoring the pioneering trans activists who helped spark the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. 

In 1970, Johnson and Rivera co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) at 213 E. Second St., one of the first trans rights organizations in the world. STAR House served as both an organizing hub and a refuge for young trans and gender-nonconforming people. (Read more background here.)

The other proposal seeks to co-name Essex Street between Delancey and Rivington as Jack Kirby Way, recognizing the legendary comic book creator and Lower East Side native. 

Kirby, a decorated World War II veteran who grew up in 147 Essex St., co-created Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, X-Men, and Black Panther, among many others. 

Per the proposal, his bold imagination and storytelling helped define modern pop culture, while his LES roots continued to influence his work throughout his career. 

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30 at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Members of the public can attend in person or by Zoom. 

-----

About the top photo: In July, the corner of Essex and Delancey briefly became Jack Kirby Way/Yancy St — honoring Kirby, the co-creator of the Fantastic Four and the fictional block where Ben Grimm (the Thing) grew up. The special street sign, unveiled ahead of the premiere of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," was only up for one day.

Openings: Shifka on the Bowery

Shifka is set to debut today at noon at 324 Bowery, near Bleecker (next door to Think Coffee).

As previously mentioned, this "One Stop Pita Shop" is from the team behind Sami & Susu, a Michelin Bib Gourmand wine bar on Orchard between Houston and Stanton. 

Owners Amir Nathan and Jordan Anderson began offering various pitas at their Mediterranean-inspired space, and these pitas became popular enough to open this spin-off location. 

Shifka offers pita sandwiches like Harissa Chicken, Lamb Kebab and Cauliflower Shawarma, along with bowls and dips. The space also serves beer and wine, with counter seats and open-kitchen views.

Opening hours: Noon to 10 p.m. 

If you're on Instagram, you can follow the Shifka account for updates. 

Openings: Zesty Tabbouleh on 2nd Avenue

Zesty Tabbouleh is now open at 82 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (Thanks to EVG reader Danimal for the photo!) 

The Lebanese restaurant offers small plate staples such as baba ganoush and salads (the zesty tabbouleh salad!) ... and shawarma platters, kebabs, and fresh fish. Coffee drinks are also listed at just $2.

The restaurant has an Instragram account here. 

No. 82 has been vacant since 2019. The Unapologetic Foods team had plans for a kebab house here, but they decided to move on back in the spring.

Monday's parting shot

View of a rainswept Tompkins Square Park this evening (and no sign of any downed branches)...

Work stops, plans change for new building on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street

Work has come to a halt over the past six weeks at the northwest corner of First Avenue and Second Street, where the first few floors of a new residential building are visible above the plywood. 

Turns out there’s a good reason for the pause. According to Department of Buildings filings, the project has changed from a seven-story, 22-unit building to an eight-story structure with 24 units.

So expect to restart here in the weeks ahead ... and keep an eye out for an updated plywood rendering for the mixed-use building, officially 88 E. Second St.

The site previously housed three buildings — 33, 35 and 37 First Ave. — which were demolished in early 2024. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• 37 1st Ave., once home to some East Village music history, is now rubble 

• Goodbye for now to HaveAHeart Studio, the rehearsal space below New Double Dragon

The last of the East Village Juice Press outposts has closed

A for-lease sign hangs in the window at 201 E. 10th St. just east of Second Avenue. 

The Juice Press storefront recently shuttered without much notice, bringing an end to 15 years of Juice Press in the East Village. 

The very first Juice Press debuted at 70 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue in 2010. (The location never reopened after someone broke in and looted the space in June 2020.)

The plant-based food and beverage brand eventually grew to more than 80 locations in seven states. 

There was also a Juice Press on 10th Street closer to Avenue A that closed in 2015 (thanks to landlord Steve Croman, sources said at the time). 

The JP website still lists about 20 locations in NYC. 

Founder Marcus Antebi, who showed a sense of humor before debuting JP on First, is no longer involved with the company and has since launched a venture called goodsugar, which has a UES outpost.

Basquiat biopic 'Samo Lives' returns to film in Tompkins Square Park

Crews are expected to be back in Tompkins Square Park today to film scenes for "Samo Lives," the Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic written, directed and produced by Julius Onah. (Not sure if they will film in this wind and rain today.)

Filming began here on Sept. 15 with sightings in Tompkins Square Park of Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the title role alongside an actor playing Andy Warhol.

As we first reported, actor Danny Ramirez plays Al Diaz, an East Village native and "SAMO©" collaborator. However, despite a few conversations with Onah, the real-life Diaz has no formal role in the project, which will also tell part of his history.  

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• About 'Samo Lives,' the Basquiat biopic now filming in the East Village 

• 'Samo' story: Real-life Al Diaz shut out of new Basquiat biopic

Former Good Beer space 0n 9th Street may yield a cafe-bar

A new cafe-bar called Cahoots NYC is in the works for 422 E. Ninth St., between Avenue A and First Avenue. (H/T Steven!)

The applicants, listed as Cheyenne Garcia and Daniel Frehner, who have experience working at establishments in Portsmouth, N.H., are scheduled to appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee on Oct. 20 to seek a liquor license for the space. 

The application on file for the public shows 13 tables with seating for 38, and proposed hours of operation from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. 

The application includes a sample menu featuring various pastries and sandwiches as well as breakfast fare such as a granola bowl and avocado toast...

Good Beer, a shop-and-bar hailed as a craft beer pioneer, closed here in 2022.

CB3's SLA meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. 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, will be accommodated.

Signage alerts: More convenience for Avenue B

Signage went up this past Friday for Saba Candy & Grocery at 106 Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

The signage showcases lottery tickets, cold beer, soda, dairy, pet food and detergent (!). 

This is likely an upgrade over Anwar/Akter Grocery, which sold a wide range of random items, such as religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies, and adult DVDs with titles like "Anal Pleasures." Not to mention expired groceries. The grocery suffered an unceremonious ending in July 2022. 

This is one of the two recently renovated storefronts in this building. The northern space will eventually be home to Shinzo Sushi. (Background here.) 

A few blocks to the north, signage (and balloonage!) is up for Boutique Convenience at 166 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...

The storefront was last Smoke City Exotics, an unlicensed weed/smoke shop that got busted in June 2024.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a 2nd Avenue sky view via Olivia Coffey)

Never miss an EVG post with the weekly EVG newsletter. Free right here.

• Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D to be co-named Jimmy Carter Way (Monday, Oct. 6) … Here’s Jimmy Carter Way (Tuesday, Oct. 7) 

• Fundraiser launched for man seriously injured in 9th Street fall (Tuesday, Oct. 7)

• Family affair: 30 Years of Exit9 on Avenue A (Thursday, Oct. 9)

• New interactive map helps tenants check for lead risks in their buildings (Wednesday, Oct. 8) 

• First wave of artists announced for the 2026 New Colossus Festival (Thursday, Oct. 9) 

• Save these election 2025 dates (Sunday, Oct. 5) 

• Workers clear out Chris French Cleaners as demolition looms for corner of 4th Avenue and 9th Street (Monday, Oct. 6) 

• Harvey Epstein seeks feedback on the future of the large dog run in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday, Oct. 8) 

• Meet Rhaenys, the new kitty at MJay Convenience (Wednesday, Oct. 8) 

• You’ll hardly recognize the former Crocodile Lounge on 14th Street (Monday, Oct. 6)

• Picture this: A museum devoted to vintage photobooths opening in the Lower East Side (Thursday, Oct. 9) 

• Check out the first video from local Band Tough Darlings (Friday, Oct. 10) 

• A supermoon warmup (Monday, Oct. 6) 

• Signage alert: Jungle Bowls on 6th Street (Wednesday, Oct. 8) 

• Kobano has not been open lately on the Bowery (Monday, Oct. 6) 

• ICYMI: Diorama season! Miniature magic returns to the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C (Saturday, Oct. 4) 

And this week in product placement at Pillow-Cat Books on Ninth Street... pic by Eve Smith...

ICYMI: Time Out Market debuts on 14th Street

ICYMI: Time Out Market debuted in late September at 124 E. 14th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. (Thanks to EVG reader Brian for the photos.)

The space features a bar and a stage, along with communal tables and about 300 seats, including 70 on the terrace for outdoor dining. 

Here's a rundown via 6sqft: 

• Patty Palace by Chef Kwame Onwuachi: Curried patties and coco bread 

• Kababwala by Unapologetic Foods: Chicken, goat, and bison kebabs inspired by India’s night market culture 

• Taqueria El Chato: Suadero, pastor, and tripa tacos, made-to-order vampiros and quesadillas, along with chorizo and mushroom options. 

• Lori Jayne Burger: Bushwick-born burger joint with steak frites

• Fornino: Signature pizza, salads, and seasonal specials

• Kam Rai Thai: Smoky grilled pork buns, crispy Hat Yai fried chicken with sticky rice, wok-charred pad see ew, and more 

• Paninoteca by Anthony: Italian American sandwiches 

• Coffee & Pastry showcase: Drinks from Coffee Project NY and La Colombe, croissants, egg muffins, and navettes from Chef Daniel Boulud's Épicerie Boulud, cinnamon rolls from Sunday Morning, shortbread from the Shortbread Society, and sweets from Magnolia Bakery. 

Daily hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Time Out currently has 12 other similar markets worldwide, including a 24,000-square-foot converted warehouse that opened in 2019 in Dumbo. 

Urbanspace Union Square had its food hall here from December 2022 to March 2025 on the ground floor of Zero Irving (formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center, 14 @ Irving, and tech hub).

Saturday's parting shot

As always on Avenue A, Ray's Candy Store tonight...

Saturday's opening shot

A look at First Street Green Art Park this morning.

The InGardens Festival continues here through Monday with some free musical performances. (Check out the schedule here. Enter the park either on First Street near Second Avenue or along Houston Street.) 

And here's one of the latest murals — a tribute to Larry Clark's 1995 film "Kids" by t0newash.

To whom it may 'Concern'

 

Here's the first video from Tough Darlings, a relatively new band that features some local music veterans (Alice Donut, Wharton Tiers Ensemble, etc.).

The video is for "You of Your Concern." 

Meanwhile, you can see them live on Oct. 26 at Berlin on Avenue A.