Friday, February 28, 2025
Feb. 28
In the 'City'
We continue to highlight indie acts performing at this year's New Colossus Festival, which will take place in East Village and LES venues from March 4 to 9.
The NYC-based duo will perform on March 8 at 10 p.m. at the Bowery Electric on a bill featuring EVG favorites Genre Is Death.
Find Festival info here.
6 posts from February
A mini month in review (with a photo from the Tompkins Square mini pool — and yes, Tompkins has a mini pool)...
• The Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop is now OPEN on 14th Street (Feb. 26)
• Mount Sinai Beth Israel will close on March 26 after judge dismisses lawsuit (Feb. 25)
• A longtime East Village bar and restaurant owner turns 100: 'Life is beautiful' (Feb. 20)
• A bar dedicated to women's sports is opening on the Bowery (Feb. 19)
• Bella’s passing marks another sad chapter in East Village fire tragedy (Feb. 9)
• Now Now NoHo set to debut its micro hotel rooms in April on the Bowery (Feb. 3)
Too pissed for punctuation
Photo by Stacie Joy
Moving time in the EV (and elsewhere).
Leave my packages aloneand thanks to whoever took mypacking tape for my move itsfucked up
Concern grows for Christo, Tompkins Square Park’s iconic red-tailed hawk, missing for 2 weeks
Photo of Christo from the EVG archives
According to Goggla, the photographer who has documented the hawks and other wildlife for the past 11-plus years, he has been MIA for the past two weeks. Her last photo of Christo came on Feb. 14, and he has not been spotted since.
We posted a photo of a hawk in Tompkins on Feb. 21, mistaking it for Christo. In fact, it was a new male red-tailed hawk who had taken up residence here.
Here's more via a post from Goggla:
I wasn't around the park very much the week of the 17th, but what ever happened took place some time between February 14 and 21. By the 22nd, Amelia was documented mating with another hawk, who was also working on the nest. As this is expected behavior for this time of year, I didn't notice right away that something was wrong. It was only after I checked some of my photos that I saw the hawk mating with Amelia was not Christo.
I consulted with another hawk watcher and photographer who also had photos of the new hawk. Christo has dark eyes, brown stripes on his legs, and a particular belly band pattern. This other hawks has bright yellowish eyes (young), no markings on the legs, and a different belly band pattern. I tried to tell myself that maybe the sun made the eyes look different, but the legs of these two hawks are very different.
There is a possibility that Christo is out there somewhere, but the fact that another hawk is mating with Amelia and working on their nest makes this unlikely.In February 2020, Christo got caught in an airshaft on Seventh Street after chasing a pigeon. Thanks to some residents and Ranger Rob, he was rescued.
We’re hoping for Christo's return, but with each passing day, it seems less likely.
Thursday, February 27, 2025
The New Museum, with a 60,000-square-foot expansion, will reopen this fall on the Bowery
This will also mark the reopening of The New Museum, which has been closed during the construction of the building next door, designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson.
Here's more about the expanded space via the EVG inbox:
Complementing the New Museum's existing architecture, the OMA-designed expansion will appear distinct on the outside while being seamlessly integrated on the inside. The new seven-story building will double the Museum's gallery space, aligning ceiling heights on the second, third, and fourth floors for uninterrupted connectivity across both buildings. The OMA design will improve vertical circulation for visitors through the addition of an atrium stairway, which will offer views of the surrounding neighborhood and the opportunity for site-specific art installations, as well as three additional elevators, two of which will be dedicated to gallery access.On the ground level, the Museum's enlarged lobby will feature an expanded bookstore as well as a full-service restaurant, while just outside a new entrance plaza will create an open-air venue for public art installations at the terminus of Bowery and Prince Street. On the Museum's upper floors, the new building will include a dedicated studio for artists-in-residence [and] a 74-seat forum...
And about the inaugural exhibition:
Continuing the New Museum's long history of presenting provocative and timely thematic exhibitions, "New Humans: Memories of the Future" will inaugurate the expanded building with an exploration of artists’ enduring preoccupation with what it means to be human in the face of sweeping technological changes.Spanning the entire Museum, New Humans will trace a diagonal history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through the work of more than 150 international artists, writers, scientists, architects, and filmmakers, highlighting key moments when dramatic technological and societal changes spurred new conceptions of humanity and new visions for its possible futures.
Here are some EVG photos from earlier this month showing the work in progress...
Previously on EV Grieve:
The Times today has more on all this here.
This longtime convenience store has closed at 124 2nd Ave.
Top photo by 2ndAvenueSilverPanther
2nd photo by Steven
Village Convenience closed its doors yesterday at 124 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
Workers cleared out the space, marking the end of an era for the longtime business. (One neighbor said the space has been a convenience store under various names since the mid-1970s.)
There have been signs of distress lately, starting with the store's closure during usual business hours and reopening with a 50%-off sign on the storefront.
While there were unfounded reports that the store lost its license to sell cigarettes and lottery tickets (a lucrative piece of business) after selling to a minor, no official confirmation has surfaced.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Wednesday's parting shot
50 years gone
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's double studio album Physical Graffiti.
And as you may know... per Village Preservation:
Led Zeppelin immortalized the twin tenements at 96 and 98 St. Mark’s Place between First Avenue and Avenue A on the Physical Graffiti album cover. The award-winning design featured the two buildings (with the fourth floors removed to make them fit the square shape of the album cover) with the windows cut out to reveal the letters of the album title printed on the inner sleeve, or, if the sleeve was reversed, a series of images of different characters seeming to occupy the building, including lead-singer Robert Plant in drag.
The building's rock history also includes the stoop at No. 96 ... where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met up at the start of the 1981 video by the Rolling Stones for "Waiting on a Friend." (And more recently by The Hard Quartet!)
The building also houses the basement tea shop Physical GraffiTea. Owner Ilana Malka previously ran the vintage clothing boutique Physical Graffiti here until January 2011.
The Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop is now OPEN on 14th Street
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
The Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop is now open at 430 E. 14th St., between Avenue A and First Avenue.
We stopped by the shop, which opened on Monday, and met Zahra, the franchise owner, and the rest of the staff on duty...
After two days, and to no surprise, the top seller has been the classic Cinnabon cinnamon roll...
There's also Carvel's soft serve...
... and cakes, though no sign of the Cookie Puss...
We spotted our old friend and best-seller Fudgie the Whale, who looks more predatory than we recall from our youth. (The sugar rush from the layers of fudge and soft serve washed down with a two-liter soda likely blurred our memories — thanks, Mom!)
There are seats for eating in...
And today (Wednesday!), there is a buy-1-sundae, get-1-free deal...
This outpost is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Find more info here.
Tom Carvel started the business in New York from an ice cream truck in 1929 ... and he famously narrated the brand's commercials in the 1970s and 1980s. (Catch him on Letterman here.)
Of the 347 Carvel outposts in the United States, 200 are in New York State, and several Cinnabon/Carvel combos are in the five boroughs. (Carvel and Cinnabon are owned by the same company, GoTo Foods.)
Previously on EV Grieve:
Another local Duane Reade by Walgreens closes
Prescription holders here are being sent to the CVS on Bleecker...
As USA Today reported last month:
The thinning of Walgreens locations has been in the works. Walgreens said in October 2024 it planned to close about 1,200 underperforming stores across the U.S. as a strategy to offset declining profits resulting from low drug reimbursement rates and sluggish retail sales.
This is the latest Walgreens or Duane Reade to shutter around here in the past 5-6 years. The oddly configured Walgreens on 14th Street and Fourth Avenue closed in January 2022, the Walgreens on Astor Place closed in August 2020, and three neighborhood Duane Reade by Walgreens locations shut down: The outpost on Avenue D at Houston and First Avenue between 14th Street and 15th Street shuttered in November 2019, while the storefront on 10th Street and Third Avenue shut down in early March 2019.
Still, it seems like there are still a lot of Duane Reades around.
About the new food truck that arrived on 10th and A
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
In recent days, a new food truck called La Cocina arrived at the NW corner of Avenue A and 10th Street.
I talked with Mohamed, a partner in the business that's in its fourth day of operation here.
They have a limited menu. You get your choice of a stewed chicken or steak or a hamburger plus two of these sides, ride, beans, fries or tostones (their specialty) for $10. (His rather biased take on the food: "It's delicious!")
Open daily from 12:30 until 9:00 p.m.
And no social media presence just yet.
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
More discussion on the future of the city-owned parking lot at 324 E. 5th St.
In December, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced plans to redevelop the city-owned lot into inclusionary housing. The 9th Precinct uses the 11,540-square-foot site between First Avenue and Second Avenue for parking and various towed vehicles.
Affordable housing on this parking lot was one of the points of agreement in the City Council's December 2021 vote to approve the controversial SoHo/NoHo rezoning.
Here's more about the RFP process via the HPD:
No one understands neighborhood conditions and needs better than those who live and work in the community. HPD values this expertise, which is why community engagement is central to the affordable housing development process. The goal of this outreach is to identify priorities for housing, services, and community amenities.
You can sign up to receive email updates about the project here.
The public workshop will be held on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at University Settlement's Speyer Hall, 184 Eldridge St., between Rivington and Delancey on the LES.
Meanwhile, the 5th Street Park Coalition is advocating for a more expansive use of the space, including the adjacent playground at P.S. 751, in what would be "a comprehensive rezoning plan which accounts for affordable housing, greenspace, public community space and a new public school play area."
Per organizers:
We are seeking a holistic combination of both lots, 324 and 310 (which used to be public to the community). No reduction to the size of the current planning for Affordable Housing nor the nearby school to lose any of its valuable resource.Our goals are to work with HPD, DOE and SCA on a mutually beneficial school redevelopment, affordable housing overlooking a small greenspace with a public component and potentially more with the police department. Our goal is organization.
Find more information about the Coalition here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
[UPDATED]: Mount Sinai Beth Israel will close on March 26 after judge dismisses lawsuit
Updated March 1: An appellate judge issued a new temporary stay on Mount Sinai's plans to shut down Beth Israel.
---------
After a state Supreme Court judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block the facility's closure, Mount Sinai Beth Israel leadership announced a March 26 closing date, according to published reports. (Politico's Maya Kaufman also shared the date in an X post last evening.)
As Gothamist and Crain's reported, Judge Jeffrey Pearlman tossed the lawsuit filed in August by a community coalition challenging the closing.
As previously reported, Mount Sinai must operate a new 24/7 urgent care center near the hospital on First Avenue at 16th Street for at least three months and reach an agreement with New York City Health + Hospitals to invest in expanding Bellevue Hospital's emergency room and psychiatric emergency department.
In an employee memo shared with Becker's: "This date will allow us to ramp down the facility in a manner that is seamless and safe for patients and staff," said Elizabeth Sellman, president and COO of Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Arthur Schwartz, the coalition's pro-bono lawyer, said he would appeal the decision and seek a new stay on the closure within 24 hours, per Gothamist.
Reactions included...
Mount Sinai officials have said Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade, with dwindling cash reserves and reduced bed counts.As someone who has championed the expansion of hospital capacity in NYC as an advocate, and now as Chair of the @NYCCouncil Health Committee, today's court decision is a slap in the face to the community that relies on Beth Israel for their healthcare needs. https://t.co/QXgqrFbQH7
— Lynn Schulman 舒曼琳 (@Lynn4NYC) February 24, 2025
Beth Israel was founded 143 years ago on the Lower East Side and moved to its current location on 16th Street and First Avenue in 1929.
Last few days for Kenny Scharf at the Brant Foundation, and the admission is free
Admission is free for the last two days on Thursday and Friday.
This was said to be the first institutional show for Scharf, who made a name for himself in the 1980s East Village art scene alongside one-time roommate Keith Haring and others.
The Brant show spans several floors and includes 70 pieces of his vibrant work from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
A few faves... "Self-Portrait With Cadillac" with his signature intergalactic motif (1979)...
... "Escaped in Time ... I'm Pleased" (1979)...
..."Kembra in Prettyland"...
... "Udo by the Sea"...
And in the gift shop — Scharf's 1961 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, which is not for sale...
And if you haven't been to the Brant Foundation before, be sure to check out the view to the north from the back of the fourth floor... 
The Brant Foundation is at 421 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.
Exhibit hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are 50% off tomorrow (Wednesday), making them $7.50 for East Village residents. There's free admission on Thursday and Friday. You can secure a spot here.
Scharf, a California native, has lived in Los Angeles for the past two decades. Learn more about his work at this link.
Boris & Horton, under new ownership, eyeing an 'early spring' reopening on Avenue A
Last month, the city's first dog cafe announced that a new owner was taking over the business: "Same great space and brand" with "a community-focused vibe."
Apparently, the new owner, Carol, with her dog Baja listed as the new CEO, was getting the same queries.
Per an Instagram post from Sunday:
The question everyone has been asking and I'm still unable to answer specifically — when are you reopening? Well, no official date yet, but we're getting close enough that I feel comfortable sharing that we're targeting "early spring"! LOTS to come as we get a little closer but know it's coming quickly.
Last November, ownership (daughter-father Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman) announced Boris & Horton's closure. This development happened even after a successful crowdfunding campaign and a newly enacted subscription plan earlier last year.
Mikhly and Holzman left the door open for new ownership upon closing. This EVG post explains more about what transpired here.
Boris & Horton opened in February 2018... and expanded its footprint on the corner later in 2018.
Monday, February 24, 2025
From the archives: DVD, wrapped in plastic
DVD, wrapped in plastic ... Andréa Stella came across this scene on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... Laura Palmer gracing the cover of the first season of "Twin Peaks" ... Cueing up Pete Martell on the phone here.
A Taste of change for Joe's Wine Co
As you can see, someone painted over the Joe's on the signage at the wine store between 13th Street and 14th Street.
The shop is now going as Taste Wine Co. per Google ...
... and per a store receipt (an employee also confirmed the new name)...
As previously reported, Trader Joe's accused Joe's Wine Co., which opened in November, of violating the grocery chain's intellectual property rights.
Per Supermarket News:
Trader Joe's alleges that Joe's Wine Co. originally used a circular logo, color scheme, and wood paneling similar to the grocer's distinctive trademarks and aesthetic. After receiving notice of an impending lawsuit from Trader Joe's, Joe's Wine Co. removed its name and signage and assured Trader Joe's it would select a new name and branding, according to the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit states that, in mid-November, Joe's Wine Co. continued to use the name "Joe's Wine Co." and wood paneling similar to Trader Joe's.
The business removed the signage in December, though it reappeared last month.
The shop's interior is also free of any wood paneling or anything that would fall under the Trader Joe's "Trade Dress." Its website and Instagram account are no longer online.
On Jan. 28, U.S. District Judge Lewis L. Liman granted a permanent injunction against Joe's Wine Co. Per public documents (PDF here):
The Trader Joe's Trademarks and Trader Joe's Trade Dress are valid and enforceable and have been infringed by Defendant.As of February 14, 2025, Defendant and its owners, managers, shareholders, representatives, officers, directors, agents, employees, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, and assigns, and all other persons acting in concert with any of them, are hereby permanently enjoined from infringing or diluting the Trader Joe's Trademarks and the Trader Joe's Trade Dress...
Trader Joe's Wine Shop closed around the corner on 14th Street in August 2022. This was the only Trader Joe's Wine Shop in NYC and New York State. (New York State law limits corporations to one wine or liquor store.) Another Trader Joe's Wine Shop has yet to reopen.
As for the former Joe's Wine Co. ... State Liquor Authority paperwork from July 2023 lists the ownership as Taste Wine LLC, a business previously located at 50 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street... (public records now list the name as Joe's Wine Inc.)
Gary Landsman opened Taste Wine in 2015 before closing in May 2020 to focus on raising awareness and finding a treatment for the fatal genetic disease that his two young sons have. At the time, he said he was hopeful about selling the business.
Taste Wine reopened in the fall of 2020 under new ownership before shutting down in early 2021 at 50 Third Ave., part of an assemblage that has since been demolished.
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