This is the ninth Pride mural here curated by photographer-filmmaker Daniel "Dusty" Albanese. (Dusty has more about the work on Instagram.)
And read about Sencion's pink sheep art at the Los Angeles Times.
Friday, June 5, 2026
Pride outside the 2nd Avenue F stop
The Lower East Side Puerto Rican Parade is back for a third year tomorrow
The parade begins at Columbia and Rivington Streets and proceeds north to 12th Street and Avenue D, followed by a community celebration highlighting Puerto Rican culture, heritage, and resilience.
Organizers say the event aims to honor the contributions of Puerto Ricans on the Lower East Side while bringing together neighbors through music, dance and community spirit.
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Thursday's parting shot
Photo by Stacie Joy
The Summer of Ludd is coming to Tompkins Square Park this June 28...
The 5th annual LUNGS Theater Festival takes place this weekend
The free performances start at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. (Note: The program is the same each day.) In total, there are five original one-act plays. For a detailed preview, visit the LUNGS website here.
Joseph Papp began the outdoor theater tradition on the Lower East Side in 1956 when he introduced "Shakespeare in the Park" in the East River Park Amphitheater.
In 2022, LUNGS continued this part of his legacy with the free Summer Theater Festival.
Hoffmaier & Hoffmaier leaves Avenue B after 25-plus years
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
One of the neighborhood's longtime professional offices has left the neighborhood.
After more than 25 years at 13 Avenue B between Houston and Second Street, Hoffmaier & Hoffmaier Law Offices has relocated to 305 E. 24th St. near Second Avenue.
The practice was one of those quietly reliable neighborhood fixtures, helping residents with notary services, wills and other legal paperwork for decades.
Partner Neva Hoffmaier didn't elaborate on the reasons for the relocation, though she emphasized that the practice remains open and that all client files have been transferred to the new office.
As for what's next for the Avenue B storefront, Hoffmaier wasn't sure.
"Probably a gut reno," she said.
Cotti Coffee coming to 14th Street
Photo via EVG reader Brian Carroll
Renovations continue at 223 E. 14th St., where there will soon be another coffee option on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Signage arrived earlier this spring for Cotti Coffee.
This will be the latest NYC location for the China-based multinational company, which has more than 14,000 stores in 28 countries.
The founders previously helmed Luckin Coffee, another China-based chain pursuing U.S. expansion, before becoming embroiled in a high-profile accounting scandal.
No. 223 has been vacant for a few years since the demise of Smokers Zone 1.
On 11th Street, a dry cleaners replaces a dry cleaners
We figured the place might be fitted for some kind of shop selling things by the bowl or cup.
But, as Choresh Wald points out, the space is now Prime Time Cleaners.
Sometimes a former dry cleaners becomes a wine bar. Sometimes it just becomes another dry cleaners...
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Wednesday's Let's Go Knicks parting shots
Photos by Stacie Joy
Knicks fan and Mary O's owner Mary O'Halloran makes some last-minute touches to Mary O's Game 1 signage outside 32 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street...
Expect to see more Knicks items here in the coming days as the NBA Finals unfold. Also, Spurs fans are welcome, she said.
East Village musician Franzi Szymkowiak on her band Lukka's latest release
Photos and interview by Stacie Joy
East Village-based singer-songwriter Franzi Szymkowiak and her band Lukka (Ashley Gonzalez on bass and Simon Fishburn on drums) return on Friday with Wendekind, an album exploring transformation, identity and the search for meaning between the personal and the cosmic.
Ahead of the release, we asked Franzi a few questions about the new record and the influence of the East Village on her work.
Tell us about Wendekind. What's the story behind the album and its title?
The new album is mainly about personal change, transformation, and searching for meaning somewhere between someone's inner world and the cosmos.
The title references the generation (my generation) born around the fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany — children growing up during a moment of change. I thought it would be fitting.
How does the neighborhood influence your music and creative process?
Living in the East Village has always served as a creative input for me. There’s a creative energy here with so many bands playing shows at places like Berlin Under A or Night Club 101. Those kinds of things naturally pull you forward to do the same thing. I recently saw a ShowBrain show here at Tompkins Square Park with The Lemon Twigs headlining — truly inspiring.
The East Village can feel super chaotic, crazy, and so colorful at the same time. It sometimes feels like anything goes and anything can happen, so I feel that's the same with my music: No boundaries, anything goes, whatever channels through me.
-----
Lukka is headlining tonight at the Spare Room in gutter bk in Williamsburg. Details here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Community input wanted for the $30.2 million renovation of the Tompkins Square Library
The New York Public Library has announced plans for a $30.2 million comprehensive renovation of the 122-year-old Carnegie branch on 10th Street.
The project is currently in the design phase, with construction projected to be completed by Dec. 22, 2028.
According to the NYPL, the renovation will reconfigure the library's layout to create dedicated spaces for children, teens and adults while addressing long-standing accessibility needs. Planned improvements include ADA upgrades to the entrance, bathrooms, and elevator, as well as new furniture, upgraded technology, and modernized building systems.
As part of the planning process, the library is seeking community input. Patrons can complete a survey online here or at a kiosk inside the branch between Avenue A and Avenue B through June 30.
After the survey closes, the NYPL plans to host a community meeting to share the results and gather additional feedback.
As branch manager William Hall noted in an email to patrons, the goal is to ensure the branch can serve the neighborhood for generations to come.
The branch was closed for four months in 2023 (April-August) to, per NYPL officials, "facilitate improvements to the building, including preliminary work on a new Teen Center at the library, as well as replacing the branch's flooring and a fresh coat of paint."
Retro signage alert: Good Time Country Buffet on 1st Avenue
As we previously reported, the owners of C as in Charlie on Bleecker Street, and Kisa on Allen and Houston, signed a 10-year lease for the space — an all-you-can-eat Southern buffet is headed to the East Village.
According to a May 19 report in Food & Wine, restaurateur David Yun — a co-owner of Kisa and C as in Charlie — said the concept will offer an all-you-can-eat spread for $26.99, featuring Southern comfort-food staples such as fried chicken, Salisbury steak, collard greens, mac and cheese, and cornbread.
Yun told Food & Wine that affordability is part of the appeal.
"At that price, it won't be too difficult for people to come in and try," he said. "People can't always just go and try a new three-star, fine-dining restaurant, but most people could come [to our buffet] to see if they like it or not."
The opening date is set for this month.
P.S.
We like the retro signage, btw... created by Noble Signs in Brooklyn... who also run the New York Sign Museum.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Closings: Marylou on St. Mark's Place
The owners of the French bistro and cocktail lounge first announced the closure via Instagram on May 5, though didn't cite any specific reasons... instead, the post thanked patrons for their "love, energy and loyalty."
The storied Cafe Orlin closed here in October 2017, wrapping up a 36-year run on St. Mark's Place.
The next tenant, Paper Daisy, had a year here before shutting down at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
The 'best burritos' in Los Angeles are coming to Lafayette Street this fall
The Los Angeles-based Wake and Late "specializes in the best burritos for breakfast and lunch, and specialty coffee."
A fall opening is expected in this space, which housed Honeybrains, which offered "brain-healthy meals and juices" here until its February closing.
Meanwhile, next door, high-end Mexican restaurant Atla closed after service on Sunday, following 10 years on the corner.
A new concept from Chef Enrique Olvera is expected here in the fall. 
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Tuesday's parting shots
June 2
Hoy! Filipino Street Food is heading to Clinton and Houston
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
A new Filipino street-food concept is in the works for the former Biga Bite pizza space on the SW corner of Houston and Clinton.
Owner-chef Cyed Adraincem, a 15-year veteran of NYC's hospitality scene whose résumé includes running the kitchen at Superbueno on First Avenue, is aiming for a July 2 opening for Hoy! Filipino Street Food.
The fast-casual restaurant will feature counter service and diner-style seating, with a menu centered on Filipino street-food favorites such as lumpia and skewers. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options will also be available.
Adraincem describes the concept as "something simple for the neighborhood, something relaxing," inspired by the atmosphere of Filipino night markets and street-food culture.
The project also includes art director Kristofferson San Pablo (below right) of Los Angeles, who said the goal is to bring something to the city that's "currently lacking in NYC."
The pair plan to feature an open kitchen, and based on an early look at the design concepts, expect a colorful, decidedly trippy interior.
Hoy! acquired the space in March and plans to seek a beer-and-wine license.
You can keep tabs on Hoy! via Instagram.
No more Karma for the East Village
The art gallery, which at one point operated a bookstore and three exhibition spaces, has closed its last East Village locations.
Art dealer and publisher Brendan Dugan debuted Karma at 188 E. Second St. between Avenue A and Avenue B (above) in November 2016. A smaller gallery arrived later at 172 E. Second St. (That space is now Holographic Studios.)
Karma Books opened in April 2018 at 136 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, and closed in April 2025.
They've also recently left 22 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery after nearly five years. (H/T Garth).
As for 22 E. Second St., Willard Morgan started the Ideal Glass Studios, an artist-run film & TV production studio, here in 2004 ... and the Second Street building was in use as a gallery and art collective.
Morgan, who still owns the building, runs Ideal Glass Studios from a location on West Eighth Street.
As for Karma, they debuted their flagship New York location in the 10,000-square-foot ground floor of the old Otis Elevator Company Building on West 26th Street last summer. They also have an outpost in Los Angeles.
Tribeca Festival time at the Village East by Angelika
As such, the theater at Second Avenue and 12th Street is now screening only Tribeca-related films until June 16...
You can hit this link for more theater info, screening times and related activities for Tribeca films.
This is the 25th year of the festival.
Viral vexors prompt no-filming policy at 1st Avenue smoke shop
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
If you've recently stopped by the rather nondescript Craft Beer and Smoke on First Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, you may have noticed new signs prohibiting photos and videos inside the shop.
Curious about the reason, we asked.
According to a staffer, the signs went up after a series of encounters with what he described as "YouTubers and TikTokers" who had been coming into the store to film content.
The staffer said groups of five to seven people would sometimes enter the small shop at night and livestream using a mix of GoPros, handheld cameras and smartphones.
"They are making videos in the space and starting trouble," the staffer said. "When I told them no filming, they said there was no sign, so we put the sign up."
He said the groups generally didn't buy anything — save for one occasion when someone purchased beer — and refused requests to leave.
However, since posting the signs, the staffer said the filming has stopped. He added that he warned the groups he would call 911 if they returned and refused to leave.
The staffer said he didn't know the creators' channel names and had not seen the videos himself.
The new signs should serve as a reminder to the neighborhood's viral vexors: not every storefront is looking to become your content studio.
Monday, June 1, 2026
Monday's parting shot
Bass (1928-2018) took over the family business in 1956 and, the following year, moved the Strand Bookstore from Fourth Avenue to its current location.
Read more about Bass here.
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