'Sunset' now

 

Local band Rebounder is working on a new album... and heading out on a short tour with JW Francis.

Rebound plays at Public Records out in Gowanus (tickets here) this coming Thursday (Jan. 16). They'll be on around 9 p.m.

The above video is for the band's most recent single, "Sunset Vision."

Reflections on owning and closing The March Hare on 9th Street

Photo by Ilana Wiles 

In April 2022, writer Ilana Wiles bought The March Hare at 321 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... taking over the whimsical toy store from the founders, who had to step aside for health reasons. 

The shop was around the corner from where Wiles, the founder of the blog Mommy Shorts, and her family lived. 

Wiles has announced that The March Hare is closing on Jan. 31.

"There will be a new shop taking over," she told EVG in a message. "We did not want to leave until we knew something was taking its place."

In her newsletter, Apparently, Wiles, who now lives in Tribeca, wrote about what brought her to this point.

Here are some excerpts: 

I knew this day would come eventually (I was anticipating some time in the spring), but as it turns out, our last day in this location will be January 31st. That’s because we decided to go month to month until the landlord found new tenants and he happened to find them rather quickly, which is a testament to how much different this block feels than when we first took over The March Hare a little over two and half years ago, in an effort to keep our neighborhood from having another small business with a closing sign on the door and cardboard covering the windows. The eagerness of the new tenants symbolizes to me that the March Hare has served its purpose, we fulfilled our promise to keep it going for the good of the community, and it has all come to its natural end. 

When we bought the shop in April of 2022, we did it for three reasons. The first, and most pressing, was to help out the previous owners who were a young married couple [Jason McGroarty and Karen McDermott] facing a health scare. They needed consistent capital to pay for their medical bills, which the toy shop did not provide. Selling the shop to us did just that. 

Plus, we let them phase out their inventory while still collecting income, helped fundraise for them through my online platform, and were happy to have them stay involved through part-time work for a paycheck. Since then, Karen's health has vastly improved and she is doing great. Jason now has a full-time job and has moved on. Everyone is happy and healthy.

The third reason [for buying The March Hare], which was probably the biggest ... was our desire to do something good for our community ... It was post-pandemic, and it felt like our city was falling apart. Families we knew were leaving left and right, mom-and-pop shops were closing at an alarming rate with nothing taking their place, and personally, we were feeling pretty isolated, as a lot of people were at that time. It was a time when we were rethinking our priorities and eager to make positive changes. 

Everyone said that buying the March Hare was a bad business decision, but we countered that it wasn’t about the money. It was about the community. And that’s how I elicited support from you all— buying something from the shop was not just a way to support me, it was a way to help keep small businesses alive in Manhattan. 

But then, something pretty wonderful happened over the course of these last few years— new shops started to open all around us on East 9th Street ... East 9th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue is now a thriving block full of unique independent small businesses, so asking for support to help the March Hare stay open “for the good of the community” started to feel a bit disingenuous. The March Hare was just like any other business — it needed sales for our bottom line, which never did more than break even. 

I have always said that buying the shop was for the community. I meant NYC. But you showed me that my real community is so much broader than my neighborhood. We come from all over the world. I love you all. Thank you for supporting me through this chapter. 

The March Hare opened in November 2020. It carried on the tradition of Dinosaur Hill, the 37-year-old toy store on the block where Karen McDermott had worked. Dinosaur Hill closed in 2020 after owner Pamela Pier retired. 

As for a possible next iteration of The March Hare, Wiles is keeping her options open — perhaps continuing to exist online or as a pop-up.

2025 development watch: 360 Bowery, future home of Chobani House

As noted this past October, the new 22-story office building on the SW corner of Bowery and Fourth Street will house one tenant: the NYC-based Chobani, LLC, a food and beverage company initially known for its Greek yogurt. 

The company is expected to occupy the building — aka Chobani House — by the end of this year. 

Previously disclosed details from a company rep: 

Chobani House will be home to its global business headquarters with employees working in office four days a week, a community kitchen preparing nutritious meals for those in need, an innovation center supporting Chobani's business and also bringing together global food scientists to advance solutions to help eradicate hunger, and an incubator lab for emerging NGOs and non-profits who are focused on social impact. 

The over 120,000-square-foot building will include an "experiential retail space" and other organizations connected to Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani's founder and CEO.

Someone also recently tagged the building on the Fourth Street side — the first tag that we recall seeing here.

Foundation work started on the new building in the summer of 2022. The lot was previously home for 26 years to B Bar & Grill.

Openings Fomo Momo on First Avenue

Photo of (from left) Ankita Nagpal and Impreet Sodhi by Michael Tulipan 

Fomo Momo opened several weeks ago at 85 First Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. (First reported here.)

Owners Ankita Nagpal and Impreet Sodhi, who grew up in Northern India, started selling momos (a type of steamed or fried dumplings) at a pop-up at Smorgasburg after developing and testing their own recipes. Encouraged by the response to their Indian-style street food, they launched a food truck in Jersey City in 2023.

The East Village is home to the pair's first restaurant (there's a location for pick-up and delivery in Jersey City). 

The EV menu includes sandwiches, bowls, and snacks in addition to various momos. Because someone will ask, a restaurant rep told us they offer vegan and vegetarian options, including plant-based chaap nuggets (the soy-based chaap is a popular South Asian meat substitute).

Hours:

Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday: 4-11 p.m.

Friday-Saturday:  4 p.m.-1 a.m.

If you're on Instagram, you can find the Fomo Momo account here.

Openings: Sinsa on 2nd Avenue

Image via @sinsanyc 

After a soft opening on Dec. 3, Sinsa officially opens this evening at 95 Second Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

This Korean American wine bar is a sister restaurant to Rice Thief.

Per Instagram, Sinsa "honors traditional meals our mothers once prepared. At Sinsa, we continue this tradition by crafting a culinary experience that combines flavors from our childhood with the diverse influences of American culture through Anju — a Korean tradition of sharing small & big plates and drinks with good company."'

Find the menu here.

We first mentioned this pending arrival in April when the business received administrative approval from CB3 for a beer-wine license for the space. 

Rice Thief started as a delivery service specializing in Korean crab dishes. 

Some background on Rice Thief from a January post by Eater: 

Richard Jang, alongside his mother, Jong Sook Jang, and girlfriend, Haiqi Yu, started the business in the fall of 2022, specializing in soy-marinated crab that's hard to find in New York, known as ganjang gejang, as well as seafood stews, and rice. The service — which has drawn a waitlist — started at his home, before relocating to a Sunnyside, Queens ghost kitchen. 

Their first restaurant debuted in Long Island City earlier this year. 

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday from 5-11 p.m.

No. 95 was most recently Thailand Cafe, which did not reopen following the pandemic PAUSE of March 2020. 

Where to still find a curbside dining structure on the Lower East Side

An abandoned curbside dining structure remains on Ludlow at Rivington on the Lower East Side. 

It sits outside Bel-Fries, though we haven't seen anyone use it in... years. 

Restaurants were to remove all the streeteries by Nov. 30 as part of the new Dining Out NYC program. The DOT oversees the outdoor dining program and will fine a business $500 on the first offense and $1,000 for each violation until structures are removed. 

It's not immediately clear why this abandoned small structure remains in place. This is the only one we’ve seen left in this area. Has anyone seen others around NYC? 

Under the city's new guidelines, 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.)

Signs of construction life at former East Village parking garage that will yield to condos

On our 2025 development watch list: The former Little Man Parking garage (aka LaSalle Parking) on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

The property changed hands last spring for a residential conversion. We haven't seen any activity here in the past year. 

On Monday, however, an EVG tipster shared these photos, noting some construction activity on the site...

The power is back on, too, as the parking sign is blinking once more...

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

The 74-foot-tall building will include 31,231 square feet of residential space — 18 units and likely condos, as NYY previously pointed out. Colberg Architecture is the architect of record, per public notices. 

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.

Core workout: New building prep on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street

Photo by Steven 

A Davey Drill is now in the house on the lot, taking core samples ahead of construction on the NW corner of First Avenue and Second Street. 

There are now approved (as of early December) work permits for a 7-story residential building with ground-floor retail. According to DOB paperwork, the building will be 19,278 square feet, with 2,994 square feet designated for commercial space. Plans call for 22 residential units, likely rentals based on the square footage. 

This EVG post provides more background on the former 33-37 First Ave assemblage. This post has a schematic showing the new building.

The new building uses the address 88 E. Second St., a development to watch in 2025.

About the free activities for people 60+ at the John Paul II Friendship Center on 7th Street

The John Paul II Friendship Center offers recreational and educational programs for residents 60 and over.

The Center is hosting a free fitness class starting Thursday at 11 a.m. You don't need to sign up in advance; just show up at the Center, 103 E. Seventh St., between Avenue A and First Avenue. (It is adjacent to St. Stanislaus.) 

There is also a Healthy Drumming class starting on Jan. 17 at 11 a.m.

There are also free hot lunches weekdays at noon...

JP II is part of the Polish and Slavic Center. You can find more info here.

Coffee at the Holiday Cocktail Lounge

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

Back in November, The Holiday Cocktail Lounge announced that it was opening at 8 a.m. for coffee and breakfast items in a new venture titled Holiday Coffee Lounge. 

We're always looking for a stress-free coffee option. As you undoubtedly noticed, the rise of hybrid and remote work has turned coffee shops into impromptu offices during the week. People camped out for hours, laptops open, and long coffee cups empty. Our favorite: the people taking part in Zoom/Teams meetings in a crowded space. (This is above my pay grade, so let's put a pin in this until we can get our ducks in a row and get buy-in from upstairs!)

Balancing a café's role as a workplace and a welcoming space for all has become a pressing challenge. (Maybe have no laptop hours?) 

Given that some of our favorite places can be overrun during the week, we decided to check out the morning service here at 75 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

During two recent visits, there were plenty of open tables...

The daytime service features espresso from local Superlost Coffee, tea and juice, pastries, croissants, mini beignets, breakfast items, and sandwiches. There's also free Wi-Fi. 

We also tried the grilled cheese for lunch (solid!).

The Holiday serves coffee from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the liquor service starts. 

For now, the place remains a safe haven for those seeking a quiet retreat during the day... (and sorry if we blew up your spot with this post!).

Why School for the Dogs abruptly closed in the East Village

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Last Thursday, Annie Grossman had no choice but to shutter School for the Dogs, the business she started in her East Village living room in 2011, with little to no warning to her longtime patrons and staff. 

She said a potential sale to another local pet services operation fell through at the last minute, leaving her and the business in financial ruin. 

As she wrote in an Instagram post, "The reality is that there is the business owner you want to be, and then the business owner you sometimes end up having to be." 

How did a beloved local business run by a lauded female entrepreneur reach this point? 

I talked with Grossman over the past few days, and she discussed what led up to the painful decision.

She launched the dog-walking and training service from her living room on Third Avenue and immediately faced adversity when her home was destroyed in a fire. 

After a successful fundraiser, Grossman opened a shop at 155 E. Second St., just east of Avenue A. As her business flourished, she moved to a larger space at 92 E. Seventh St. near First Avenue in 2018. This space was double the size of the Second Street studio and included a yard, room for merchandise and a consultation room.

While the relocation increased her rent from $4,000 a month to $11,000, business was going well, and School for Dogs could handle the boost in rent and expenses. 

"Even with the onset of COVID, we still did well," she said. "We were doing important work for people and dogs, helping people get excited about dog training and helping people and dogs to learn together. It was a labor of love." 

There was "not a ton of margin, but [we were] still making it," Grossman said. 

However, by 2022, the thin margins became problematic with unexpected expenses.

"You can only lose so much money. I took out loans, used my credit cards, and had decent advisers," Grossman said. "Then the A/C blew, and it was $12,000 to replace both the units in the space, and I had no more cushion." 

Other expenses piled up, such as $20,000 in roof repairs that the landlord had her responsible for and money she didn't have. 

Now carrying debt, Grossman discussed the situation with a fellow business owner in the pet services community. Grossman said the woman would take on most of the debt and negotiate the lease. 

They agreed on a Nov. 30 closing date and that the new owner would still honor the previously purchased group classes, packages, and bookings. 

According to Grossman, the potential new owner never showed up at the attorney meetings and ghosted her before she finally received a "typo-riddled email" that said, "In essence, we're no longer interested in the opportunity." 

Grossman had no other backup plan. "I feel like I've been had; I feel like I've been left at the altar." 

Problems online 

Grossman was also battling on a second front. Her online business was sued for not conforming to ADA standards. She said she was the victim of an "ADA shakedown" via a frivolous lawsuit that she needed to heed. 

"Because this was pending litigation involved in the online shop," she could pay them to settle or shut down the site. She chose the latter and announced just before Christmas that the online store was closing to focus on School for the Dog's core business and "consolidate to create a tighter ship for the new owner." 

By Jan. 2, without the new ownership in place, the Seventh Street storefront was dark as well.

In conversations over the weekend, Grossman said she has no assets and is completely out of money. She paid her staff through the current pay period but had nothing for severance. 

She said she feels awful about the abrupt closure and how it affected her employees, trainers, and customers. 

Grossman said she would love to have someone take over the business and is "completely open to any situation" that involves keeping School for the Dogs going. 

"Start out doing something you love, end up doing something that doesn't speak to the skills that brought you there," she said. 

Below is the Instagram message about the closure from Sunday...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Annie Grossman (@annie.grossman)

Sunday Morning will sell cinnamon rolls every day of the week on Avenue B

Photo and reporting by Stacie Joy

Chef-restaurateur Armando Litiatco (above) is opening a cinnamon roll shop called Sunday Morning at 29 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street. 

Litiatco owns Rana Fifteen in Park Slope and was the chef at FOB Filipino, which recently closed in Cobble Hill. 

He'll offer different flavors of cinnamon rolls here. He's targeting Jan. 19 as a soft-opening date.

The previous tenant at No. 29, Tea Dealers & Ceramics, moved to a larger space last May.

Today in low-budget snow creatures

Getting creative in Tompkins Square Park with today's light snowfall ... thanks to the EVG reader for this pic.

[Updated] Reader report: Car crashes into Blink Fitness on Avenue A; driver flees

Several EVG readers shared that a car crashed into Blink Fitness on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street just before midnight last night. After smashing the window to the left of the front door, the driver backed off the sidewalk and sped off. 

The gym was closed at the time, and there weren't any reports of injuries.

We're told that several people filmed the incident. The make and model of the vehicle are unknown at the moment. 

One reader, who only saw the aftermath of the crash, assumes that the driver was making a U-turn and hit the accelerator rather than the brake, lurching onto the sidewalk and into the window.

We'll update if/when more information becomes available. 

Blink is open this morning, and as of 7, the front window has yet to be replaced. 

Updated 

EVG reader Creature noted that workers boarded up the window around 11 a.m.

Updated

An EVG reader shared this video filmed immediately after the collision... the driver appears to have gotten out of the vehicle and inspected the damage before driving away... the license plate is not visible in the video...

 

Updated

EVG reader Chris Rowland shared these photos from inside Blink this evening...

... and there's a memento on the emergency plywood — the car's hood ornament...

Tompkins Square Park upgrades: When will the field house and restrooms reopen?

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

NYC Parks officials tell us that the nearly 20-month renovations of the Tompkins Square Park field house are expected to be completed by the end of the month or early February. 

According to the NYC Parks' Capital Project Tracker (renovation PDF here), the work started on-site in May 2023 and is 93% complete. The original timeline listed a completion date of September 2024. 

Here's background on the work via Parks officials: 

The reconstruction of the field house in Tompkins Square Park will result in the complete renovation of the building's interior and exterior, including all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Accessibility improvements include reconfiguration of interior layouts, new entryways, and ADA-compliant ramps. The first aid room, lifeguard locker room and maintenance areas also have been renovated.

The $5.6 million funding for the much-needed renovations — the field house rarely had heat or hot water — came from the mayor's office. 

Here's a look at the area on Friday...

"These upgrades are part of the overall project to bring the building up to current codes and standards, enhance accessibility, and create more effective spaces for maintenance and operations," Press Officer Kelsey Jean-Baptiste told us. 

For the past 20 months, the busy 10.5-acre park has been without the field house restrooms, which, pre-renovation, looked like sets for a low-budget horror film. For relief, there were portable toilets. Sometimes, there were three porta-potties for use; sometimes, there were none. (This post has more about the Tompkins toilet drama.) 

Here's a look behind the field house. The space, which includes the Slocum Memorial Fountain, has been closed to the public during renovations. The photos include shots of the refurbished locker rooms for the mini pool (yes, Tompkins has a mini pool!) and ADA-compliant ramps...

The Tompkins Square mini pool was also out of commission for two consecutive summers. However, the pool itself was not part of the renovation project.

Expect a new pool in the years ahead, though. Last August, Gov. Hochul announced nearly $150 million in capital grants to fund 37 projects as part of the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) initiative. 

Tompkins Square Park will receive $6.1 million for a new in-ground pool, which will double the current capacity of the above-ground model for children and their guardians. The project's start date has not been announced.

 

The Tompkins Square Park field house will likely return to service before an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

What are they now? The fate of several unlicensed cannabis shops in the East Village

As 2024 unfolded, illegal smoke shops closed rapidly in the East Village and around NYC. 

The latest casualty is the unmarked place that opened in the former Good Beer space at 422 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. The legal documents on the storefront are dated Jan. 2. (Thanks to Steven for these two photos.)

Here's a look at a few other formerly unlicensed spots, like the Village Happy House at 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, which is now for lease. 

The ex-Goodies Shop is also for lease at 324 Bowery near Bleecker...

At 44 First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, Exotic Green House shuttered and morphed into Rainbow Spa, which offers "body work"...

At 143 First Ave., the former Smart Smokers (dumb name!), Jason Corey of The Immigrant on Ninth Street and Jennifer Murphy are behind a new venture called Banshee. The restaurant will serve oysters and other fresh seafood. 

Banshee is on this month's CB3-SLA committee docket for a new liquor license for the storefront between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. (Application here. And thanks to Jake for the photo.)

In August 2023, a new city law that holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed cannabis shops went into effect.

 

Introduction 1001-B, also known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits commercial space owners from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products and imposes fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations. 

While the illegal shops are disappearing, leaving plenty of available storefront inventory, expect many new licensed establishments in the year ahead.

According to the Post:

The legal cannabis industry will take New Yorkers even higher in 2025, with state regulators projecting the number of new licensed pot stores will more than double — soaring from 275 to more than 625.

The Office of Cannabis Management said sales in 2025 could exceed $1.5 billion, or about double last year's haul while law enforcement will expand efforts to padlock illegal stores.

You can find a map of legal cannabis dispensaries here.

 Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The future of the unlicensed weed vendors