You have a few more weeks to see the Keith Haring exhibit at the Brant Foundation

Photos by Stacie Joy 

UPDATE: Tickets are free on May 27 from 2-6 p.m. Walk-ins welcome.

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The Brant Foundation's exhibition dedicated to Keith Haring continues through May 31. 

The show focuses on Haring's formative years from 1980 to 1983, tracing his rise from subway drawings in New York City to wider recognition in the art world. It opened on March 11 at the Brant Foundation's EV home at 421 E. Sixth St., between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

Here's a selection of the work on display...

Tickets are are $20, though $15 for East Village residents. (Kids 12 and under are free.) 

There are also two time slots with 50%-off tickets:

• Every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. 

• Every Thursday from 2-6 p.m. 

Find tickets here. The Foundation is open Wednesday through Sunday.

Somtum Der to close on Avenue A on May 31

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After nearly 13 years on Avenue A, Somtum Der is closing. 

The Michelin-recognized Isan-style Thai restaurant will serve its final meals on May 31. 

We were told the owners are planning to move back to Thailand, though it's unclear whether that is directly tied to the closure.

In the meantime, the restaurant at 85 Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street is operating with a limited menu — meaning no noodle dishes for now, including favorites like pad thai and pad see ew.

Somtum Der opened here in 2013, bringing northeastern Thai cuisine to the East Village. 

They will be missed.

The 3rd Avenue outpost of the Bean has closed

Photos by Stacie Joy 

H/T William Klayer 

Several EVG readers were surprised to find the Third Avenue outpost of the Bean closed for good this past Friday morning. 

Closure notices directed patrons to visit the Bean locations on Second Avenue and Third Street, or on Broadway and Ninth Street. 

There was also an equipment auction here on Saturday...

This branch at 31 Third Ave. at Stuyvesant Street opened in September 2017... taking over the space from St. Mark's Bookshop, which moved out in 2014 after struggling to stay in business here. 

At one point, the coffee shop/cafe had five NYC locations.

Sunday's parting shot

Reader-submitted photo this evening from along Second Avenue near Fifth Street...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo in Tompkins by Derek Berg)

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• RIP Albert Fabozzi, who started the holiday tree tradition in Tompkins Square Park (May 13) ... A celebration of life for Albert Fabozzi in Tompkins Square Park (May 16)

• RIP Ben Morea (May 14) 

• A 13-story mixed-use development is now in the works for this 3rd Avenue lot (May 12) 

• Report: Judge keeps East Village intake center plan on hold (May 11) 

• At the first Show Brain show of 2026 in Tompkins Square Park (May 12) 

• Scenes of Nine Perfect Lives, a new local band with some familiar faces, at Irving Plaza (May 15)

• The 50th anniversary edition of the Ukrainian Festival is this weekend (May 13) 

• From Avenue C apartment to LES studio: 5 years of Good Time Pilates (May 14) 

• Checking out "Obscura," the latest exhibit at Ninth Street Espresso's 10th Street outpost (May 15) 

• Regina's Grocery & Deli debuts on 1st Avenue (May 11) 

• On the May CB3-SLA docket: The return of Kotobuki East Village; a Georgian-inspired bakery and café for 6th Street (May 11) 

• Double the Han Dynasty signage on 3rd Avenue (May 12) 

• A new dining room for Katz's? (May 11)

• Signage alert: Tea Leaf and Creamery on St. Mark's Place (May 12) … Skinny Louie on 2nd Avenue (May 13) 

• The East Village Sephora debuts (May 13) 

And a few interior shots of the Sephora via Stacie Joy...

The 50th edition of the Ukrainian Festival continues today

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Today is the final day of the 50th annual St. George Ukrainian Festival on Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Taras Shevchenko Place. 

Hosted by St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church, the longtime neighborhood tradition features Ukrainian food, live music, dance performances and vendors. 

The festival runs today (Sunday) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Here are a few scenes from yesterday...

A celebration of life for Albert Fabozzi in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Friends, neighbors and community members gathered around the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree this morning to share memories, stories and music honoring a longtime community leader and the founder of the Park's annual holiday tree-lighting tradition.

Albert Fabozzi recently passed away at age 85 after a short illness. 

He started the Tompkins holiday tree lighting in 1992, following the death of his longtime partner, Glenn Barnett, from an AIDS-related illness. 

What began as a memorial to Barnett and others lost in the AIDS crisis became a lasting neighborhood tradition. 

Speakers included Tom Birchard (below) of Veselka and Sam Shipman, Barnett's nephew. Chris Tanner also performed as Mama Cass Elliot, singing "Make Your Own Kind of Music," one of Fabozzi's favorite songs.

After the remarks and music, attendees laid flowers at the base of the tree in remembrance of Fabozzi and Barnett.

Saturday's opening shot

The NYPD is towing vehicles this morning, including the above Lamborghini, that are parked in the marked No Parking area along the Dance Parade and DanceFest zone. 

The parade will be coming along Astor Place and St. Mark's Place early this afternoon, ahead of the DanceFest from 3-7 in Tompkins Square Park. 

Thanks to the EVG reader for this pic!

A spin through the East Village with the Judex’s ‘Sweet Hatchback’

 

Musician William Byron shared this new video for "Sweet Hatchback" from his band The Judex, filmed around the East Village last month. 

Though the band isn't based in NYC, Byron said much of their work is mixed at producer Mark Plati's private East Village studio. (Plati is perhaps best known for his work with David Bowie in the 1990s.) 

The video features neighborhood scenes and appearances by local resident Felix Goodman, a stylist on St. Mark's Place and violinist who has played with various New York bands.

Byron said regular breaks at places like Paul's Da Burger Joint, Juicy Lucy, and Tompkins Square Park helped shape the project's atmosphere.

Scenes from Nine Perfect Lives at Irving Plaza

Photos by Stacie Joy

For a band playing just its fourth live show, Nine Perfect Lives already carries itself like a seasoned NYC act. 

Saturday night at Irving Plaza, the group — featuring Helena Straight and Stella Wave from the on-hiatus Hello Mary, Cooper Ladomade of Rocket, and musician/audio technician Jeanne Hill — delivered a set that felt loose, loud, and fully locked in despite the band's short history together.

The band was the middle act of a bill featuring Television Overdose and headliners The Thing. 

Here's vocalist-guitarist Helena Straight...

... vocalist-guitarist Stella Wave...

... bassist Jeanne Hill ...

... and drummer Cooper Ladomade...

Even just four shows in, the band already sounded remarkably locked together, shifting easily between hazy shoegaze textures and punchier guitar-driven hooks.

Helena and Stella's voices gave the songs their emotional center ... sometimes floating above the noise, sometimes cutting right through it.

Nine Perfect Lives delivered a loud, immersive set built around swirling guitars, distortion and sharp pop melodies.

The band just announced its first shows outside NYC, playing with Horsegirl on a few dates in June.

Keep tabs on Nine Perfect Lives via Instagram.

Checking out 'Obscura,' the latest exhibit at Ninth Street Espresso's 10th Street outpost

Photos by Stacie Joy 

There's a new exhibition on the walls at Ninth Street Espresso's 10th Street outpost.

"Obscura," a series of charcoal and pastel works on paper by Greenpoint-based artist Molly McCutcheon, is now on view through June 5, 341 E. 10th St. near Avenue B. 

The pieces have a dreamlike, shadowy quality that pairs nicely with the low-key hum of the coffee shop. 

We stopped by for a look during the opening this past Saturday evening... 

The exhibition was curated by Mark Roth and Leon Brown of Adjacent To Life. 

Ninth Street Espresso is open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday's opening shot

Photo by Steven 

As you likely noticed, the barricades are up along St. Mark's Place and Avenue A ahead of the Dance Parade and DanceFest tomorrow (Saturday!)... details here.

RIP Ben Morea

Ben Morea, a central figure in the 1960s Lower East Side anarchist guerrilla theater collective, passed away on May 2. 

According to published reports, he died near his home in Colorado. He was 84. 

Morea was a central figure in the downtown radical movements of the 1960s. The Brooklyn native helped found the art-anarchist collective Up Against the Wall Motherfucker and the anarchist publication Black Mask, and was involved in a series of headline-grabbing protests and direct actions, including demonstrations at MoMA, the Pentagon, Columbia University, and the Fillmore East. 

He also took part in a well-known protest in which Lower East Side garbage was dumped into the fountains at Lincoln Center to draw attention to city neglect and sanitation conditions downtown. 

In recent days, someone left a tribute to Morea outside the vacant storefront that once was part of the Fillmore East, the 2,700-seat concert venue (RIP 1971) on Second Avenue at Sixth Street.

A parting thought from CrimethInc.: 

Ben was not simply an old revolutionary from another era, nor a nostalgic remnant of the American counterculture. He was one of those rare human beings who attempted to transform rebellion into a total form of life — to erase the borders between self and other, poetry and insurrection, art and survival, to bring global social revolution to the streets of the metropolis.

Parks Department seeks input on Tompkins recreation-area upgrades

The conversation continues about the design process for a reconstruction project involving the Tompkins Square Park mini-pool, basketball courts and fitness area.

On Saturday morning, Parks officials and local City Councilmember Harvey Epstein are hosting an in-person meeting to discuss the project. (The city took recommendations in January and February.)

The meeting is set for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Attendees can gather on the Ninth Street walkway near the basketball courts over closer to Avenue B.

Here's an aerial view of the area that will eventually be under construction along 10th Street and Avenue B...

A new petition is circulating asking that Parks remove the fitness area from the scope of work to ensure "the space remains accessible during the pool reconstruction, and direct the money where it will do good instead of doing harm."

The fitness area serves a large community of users, including people of every gender, age, income, race and fitness level, who meet year-round, all-weather, day and night. The equipment is well-known among calisthenics practitioners, and many travel to train there. 

As for the pool... in August 2024, Gov. Hochul announced nearly $150 million in capital grants through the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative.

As part of that, Tompkins Square Park was awarded $6.1 million for a new in-ground pool, which will double the capacity of the current above-ground trailer park model... as seen last week, waiting for the leaf blower ...

Other areas of the park have undergone renovations... last April, the field house and restrooms reopened after more than 18 months of rehab work. In 2023, reconstruction of the multipurpose courts took place.