Terra Thai reopens with new grab-and-go items

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

After a month-long revamp, Terra Thai reopened earlier this month at 518 E. Sixth St., between Avenues A and B. 

I stopped by last week and met with co-owner Karuna Wiwattanakantang, who runs the small restaurant with her husband, Norawat Margsiri.

Terra Thai has a new grab-and-go concept. Two display fridges in the front of the shop have signage indicating what is available for take-out when you drop by. There is no menu, delivery, or online ordering, although that might change. 

"I am trying to make it easier for the kitchen," Karuna tells me.

Karuna says they have "created special food, something that can surprise you" and "new, special dishes," like today's salmon with basil sauce over rice, served with a poached egg side and a broccoli salad, all for $13. 

Karuna says they've stopped carrying less popular dishes and added some new ones, like empanadas and basil salmon. 

She also plans to sell a Thai cooking set for at-home chefs, where you buy the kit and add your own choice of protein, and prepare it in your kitchen.

"People here like to cook," she explains. And she's happy to create "affordable food for the neighborhood."

There's no seating in the newly renovated space, and the wall of plants is still there.

Is there a favorite dish on the old menu you miss? You can try calling the restaurant and asking to have it prepared, but Karuna warns it may take a while, and she may or may not have the ingredients. 

She encourages people to drop by, see what's fresh and ready to go...and pick up their food to take away.

"I feel indebted to the East Village neighborhood very much," she says. 

I ask Norawat what he thinks of the changes, and he points to Karuna and smiles, "You have to ask her. She's the boss."

Terra Thai is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. You can follow them on Instagram here.

They previously operated Terra Thai in Boulder, Colo., for six years before deciding to move to NYC and signing a lease — weeks before the pandemic PAUSE of March 2020. They opened in May 2020.

Urbanspace Union Square has shut down to make way for Time Out Market

Urbanspace Union Square, the food hall on the ground floor of Zero Irving (formerly the Union Square Tech Training Center, 14 @ Irving, and tech hub), has closed at 124 E. 14th St. 

While the closure was anticipated this year, its suddenness caught many off guard. Last evening, we saw several people peering inside and asking what had happened.

Late last month, Time Out announced it was opening Time Out Market, Union Square, in this space in the fall. 

The 10,000-square-foot market hall will soon house seven kitchens, a fully-stocked bar and a stage set to host talent and performances from local artists. The 300-seat space will also feature an outdoor terrace. The new destination will build upon the legacy of Time Out Markets across the world — all with the mission of featuring the city’s best and up-and-coming culinary and cultural talents. 

"Time Out Market New York, Union Square will not just be a place to eat: it will be a platform for culinary and cultural talents—where you can discover the city’s flavors and fresh ideas, and experience New York’s creativity all at once; a place for people and the local community to come together," said Vice President for US Time Out Market, Virginia Rector-Birbal. "It will be for everyone, every day — for all ages, budgets, tastes — under one roof." 

Time Out currently has 10 similar markets worldwide, including a 24,000-foot converted warehouse that opened in 2019 in Dumbo.

 

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Reps for Time Out were scheduled to appear before Community Board 3's SLA committee this month but withdrew before the meeting. 

Urbanspace Union Square opened in December 2022 with 13 vendors (including locals Bobwhite Counter) ... six of the vendors were reportedly first-time entrepreneurs or start-up companies. 

We were never inside here and can't speak to its appeal — or lack of. Some Reddit commenters spoke of high prices for the vendors. 

The market is on the ground floor of the 21-story building — developed jointly by the city's Economic Development Corp. and RAL Development Services — that was long contested by local preservationists and community groups. It sits on the former site of a P.C. Richard & Son on city-owned property.

Bánh Anh Em looking closer to opening on 3rd Avenue

Bánh Anh Em has hosted pop-up events over the past two weekends at 99 Third Ave., showing the unique Vietnamese dishes that the restaurant will offer here between 12th Street and 13th Street before its grand opening next month. 

As previously noted, Nhu Ton and John Nguyen, the owners of Bánh Vietnamese Shop House on the UWS, are behind Bánh Anh Em. 

Grub Street had a preview here.

 

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A few more details on the condo conversion of a former tenement synagogue on 4th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

As we first reported on Feb. 10, workers are gutting the former Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel at 256 E. Fourth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

As of this past Thursday, a partial demolition permit has been filed with the city. Some parts of the existing building will remain in place as the four-story structure will receive two additional floors to accommodate six condos. 

Since our story broke, there has been concern over the loss of this one-time historic tenement synagogue. 

Project architect Stephen Conte told the Post on Friday that ...

 ... there was no way to save the original facade, as decades of water damage rendered the already-thin front walls unsafe.

"We're going to see if there are any interior design elements we can keep that don't have any toxic materials or mold," such as stained glass windows and wooden doors, Conte told The Post, adding that the red brick exterior was chosen to keep the building "contextual" within the block.

Village Preservation continues to call for expanded landmark protections in the East Village, including swaths of Avenue B and Avenue C (more info here). Despite similar designations in other neighborhoods, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission has ignored the proposal. 

Our previous post has more info on this building's history. 

Here's a New York Municipal Archive photo from the early 1940s, when this was the Lemberger Congregation Anshei Ashkenaz. The property, dating to 1859, was once part of Petrus Stuyvesant's estate.

Residential rendering reveal at the former 9th Street parking garage

Workers have now installed the scaffolding and sidewalk bridge for the residential conversion of the former Little Man Parking garage (aka LaSalle Parking) on Ninth Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

And the plywood now includes a rendering of the new residential structure... and not the most detailed one we've ever seen ...

Per previous reports, the new 74-foot-tall building will include 31,231 square feet of residential space, including 18 units and likely condos. Colberg Architecture is the architect of record. 

Part of the existing structure will be used in the conversion and vertical enlargement of five to six floors for residential use. 

The plywood rendering lists a Winter 2026 completion date.

The garage closed in 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. 

According to public records and the TradedNY account, Arcus Development, operating through Astor Nine LLC, is the new owner of the vacant property. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• 9th Street condo project turns former parking garage into construction zone

After December fire in building, Jane Cookshop will not be reopening on 9th Street

Jane Cookshop, closed since a fire in the building on Dec. 14, will not be reopening at 328 E. Ninth St. 

A fire broke out on the fourth floor, causing extensive damage to the housewares shop between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Owner Jen Ro made the announcement on Instagram: 

With a heavy heart, we're coming on here to announce that Jane Cookshop will not be returning to 328 E. 9th Street. We miss our little shop and the magic it brought to everyone who walked through our doors. We are incredibly grateful for the amazing vendors, collaborators, and, most importantly, our loyal customers who made this journey so special. 

Thank you for the love and support along the way. While this chapter is coming to a close, we're taking some time to reflect and reimagine what’s next for Jane Cookshop. Stay with us as we work on our next big adventure. We can’t wait to share it with you soon! 

Ro has been selling some items at East Village Postal, which her parents own at 151 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. The remaining goods there from Jane's are now on sale.

Jane Cookshop opened in early 2022.

7 years vacant, the storefront on the NW corner of 3rd Avenue and 12th Street is now for rent

Leasing signs for a vented restaurant have arrived on the storefront on the NW corner of Third Avenue at 12th Street, aka 88 Third Ave. (The listing via CBRE isn't online yet.) '

There's also a for-lease banner on the 12th Street storefront that last housed Tacombi...

These two spaces have operated with separate businesses in recent years. 

The corner storefront has been vacant since Gotham Pizza closed in the summer of 2018. The following year, we spotted workers gutting it, and one of them said a Chinese restaurant was in the works. 

In April 2022, we spotted a demand-for-rent notice totaling $281,134.68. 

Last week, along with the new for-lease signs, came a notice of eviction to the business that never opened...

Other past corner tenants included Funkiberry, the colorful FroYo establishment that went down in 2015.

Sunday's parting shots

How things started today on 13th Street at Third Avenue... and how they ended...

Top photo by Bayou; 2nd pic via Pinch

Checking in on the bunny of 13th and B

On Tuesday, a reader noted a rather domesticated-looking rabbit living in the vacant lot on the southeast corner of Avenue B and 13th Street. 

Here's an update from the reader: 

Our friend continues to hop around the vacant lot every evening — usually can be seen from 8 p.m. onward enjoying the fresh green shoots and grass slowly growing in. No sightings of other rabbits. We are so curious about how he made this little corner of his home. 

Hope he stays safe. There are a ton of rat poison containers in that space, though also an insane number of rats ignoring them ... but otherwise seems to be doing OK.

Thanks to Sara for the photos!

Venerable Joe's Pizza becomes Jonas Pizza for a day to celebrate the Jonas Brothers

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

If you were wondering about yesterday's lines on 14th Street and Third Avenue, Joe's Pizza became Jonas Pizza for part of the day.

... as part of a Jonas Brothers 20th-anniversary event (they formed as a band in 2005), which included lighting up the Empire State Building Friday night. 

Anyway! There was a Jonas Brothers slice and merch inside... as well as excited fans...

Later in the day, the brothers — Kevin, Joe and Nick — arrived on the scene for a quick DJ set...

And today, the American Dream Mall in New Jersey hosts the sold-out JonasCon ...

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a sign of spring in Tompkins Square Park Wednesday — a set by Federico of Pinc Louds. Photo by Derek Berg.) 

• After nearly 40 years, Sixth Street Specials prepares for its final ride in the East Village (Thursday) 

• Lori McLean has decided to close her East Village jewelry shop (Tuesday) 

• An evening to celebrate the life of Anton 'Munch' Albert at Tom & Jerry's (Thursday) 

• An early spring report from 97 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

• Staggering toward the April 1 start of outdoor dining in NYC (Wednesday) 

• Pink Olive set for East Village return (Friday) 

 

• 'The Jonathan Larson Project' is ending its run early at the Orpheum Theatre (Saturday) 

• You can get this fresh-baked bread at Foxface Natural on Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Milk Bar's East Village outpost closed (Wednesday) 

• Former corner market has been a Hive of activity this week (Thursday) ... Yummy Hive post mortem (Monday) 

• Signage alert: Deli Delights & Waffle Wonders on Avenue A (Wednesday) • St. Patrick's Day (night) at Casey Rubber Stamps (Tuesday)

• Another 1 Bites the crust: A French twist for the Bite space on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Openings: Krave It on 2nd Avenue (Monday) 

• Rent a former 7-Eleven on the Bowery (Tuesday) 

 ... and on the first day of spring on Thursday, a double discard on Second Avenue — one from 2023 and the other from 2024?

Sunday's opening shot

Morning lawn view in Tompkins... with an un-spring-like 35 degrees this morning going to a high of 49.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Today in Tompkins Square Park — Dana Beal, political and marijuana activist (second on the right)... with members of an anti-tech group (no website!) handing out flyers marked S.H.I.T.P.H.O.N.E. (scathing hatred of information technology and the passionate hemorrhaging of our neo-liberal experience).

'The Jonathan Larson Project' is ending its run early at the Orpheum Theatre

"The Jonathan Larson Project" is ending its previously scheduled 16-week run two-plus months early at the Orpheum Theatre on Second Avenue. 

The world-premiere musical, which celebrates the dozens of unheard songs of the "Rent" creator, will play its final performance next Sunday, March 30. 

The labor-of-love production began previews on Feb. 14 with a March 10 debut. It garnered solid reviews, though it apparently didn't pack the house.

Show creator Jennifer Ashley Tepper shared this in an Instagram post: 

It's no secret that it’s incredibly difficult to hit the numbers needed in order to run a commercial off-Broadway musical in the current theatrical climate. I am deeply proud of the valiant efforts our team made to try to do that because we believed in 'The Jonathan Larson Project." I am deeply proud of the passionate reactions we've received from audiences every night. And I am deeply proud of our beautiful show and everyone who made it. 

Larson died of an aortic dissection on Jan. 25, 1996, the scheduled day of the first preview performance of "Rent" Off-Broadway. He was 35. 

In the early 1990s, Larson frequented the Life Cafe (which closed in 2011) on the NW corner of Avenue B and 10th Street. There, he worked on treatments for what would become "Rent," also set in this neighborhood.

The post-"Stomp" life of the Orpheum has included shows by Rachel Bloom and Eddie Izzard, which saw the theater return to its roots in the 1980s and early 1990s when it hosted Off-Broadway productions like Sandra Bernhard's "Without You I'm Nothing," Eric Bogosian's "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll" and John Leguizamo's "Mambo Mouth." 

This will be the third show in the past two years to end its run early at the Orpheum — joining the "Star Wars" parody "The Empire Strips Back" and "The Big Gay Jamboree."

H/T Bayou!

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Robert Miner 

Spring cleaning on Seventh Street...

Party like it's 2015

 

Brooklyn-based Two-Man Giant Squid (alums of a Tompkins Square Park Show Brain show) has just released a new self-titled LP. 

The video here is for "I was a DJ in 2015." 

You can check out their art-punk stylings on March 29 during a record release show at Market Hotel.

Pink Olive set for East Village return

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Pink Olive is set to mark its official return to the East Village with a grand reopening tomorrow.

In August 2023, Grace Kang closed her gift and stationery boutique on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue after 16 years in business. She continued to operate her outposts in the West Village and Cold Spring, N.Y. 

However, in January, Kang announced that she was returning to the storefront at 439 E. Ninth St., where she first launched the business in 2007. 

As she said then: "The East Village was where it all began 18 years ago, and it holds such a special place in my heart." 

I stopped by this week as Kang and her shop assistant, Jess, prepared the newly revamped storefront...

New merch highlights include 50-plus different housemade candles...

"We specialize in gifts that make people feel loved," Kang said.

The store opening is tomorrow (March 22) from noon to 4 p.m. You can RSVP here for admittance at 11 a.m.