At Abraço, a block away on Seventh Street, Derek mentioned the find to Jamie, the café’s owner. A small group quickly rallied, walked over, and wheeled the piano back to the coffee shop.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
A piano gets a second life at Abraço
Genre is Death live at Berlin
Photos by Stacie Joy
We 🖤 Genre is Death.
We also have a stash of photos from the noise duo's last EV show, which took place on April 3 at Berlin, 25 Avenue A and Second Street, as part of a record release show for Star's Revenge.
Here is Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee in action...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Good Friday Blues returns for its 24th year at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
Staying true to its long history and commitment to justice and mercy through worship and the arts, poetry, dance, and historic preservation, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery announces plans for its annual Good Friday Blues on Friday, April 18 from noon to 3 p.m.This service was conceived more than two decades ago by Bishop Catherine Roskam, and Jeannine Otis, director of music at St. Mark's, in collaboration with the Saint Mark's Choir.WHO: Featuring members of the St. Mark's Choir, and a cast of distinguished actors, singers and instrumentalists.
The church is on 10th Street at Second Avenue. You can also catch a livestream via YouTube.
45 years of ABC No Rio
Photos by Stacie Joy
The "ABC No Rio 45 Years" exhibit is underway at the Emily Harvey Foundation.
A quick overview of what to expect at this event celebrating the work of the collectively-run nonprofit arts organization founded in 1980:
ABC No Rio 45 is an exhibition of the artists and activists who have contributed to ABC No Rio over the decades and built it into an iconic Lower East Side cultural center.
Find the full description and related events here.
This past Thursday night marked the opening reception, and a crowd turned out...
The Emily Harvey Foundation is at 537 Broadway, 2nd Floor, between Prince and Spring..
Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. or by appointment. Closed Sunday and Monday. The show ends on April 26.
The environmentally friendly new structure, designed by architect Paul Castrucci, will include a computer lab, print shop, and a zine library, among other amenities. (Find more details here.) The city is contributing $21 million to the project through the Department of Cultural Affairs.
ABC No Rio's previous four-story building on the lot, which was said to be in disrepair, was demolished in the spring of 2017, putting its programming into exile at other arts organizations around the city.
ABC No Rio's longtime director, Steve Englander, passed away in December.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Wednesday's parting shot
2 new stories and 8 residential units proposed for historic 7th Street church
As the property sits in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, the developer needs the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Tonight, Community Board 3's Landmarks Committee will hear about the proposal. (PDF here.)
An overview:
The project entails converting and enlarging the existing church to a mixed-use building. Proposed are 8 residential units within the existing structure, including a new two-story vertical enlargement above and a Community facility space at the cellar level.We are seeking support of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the vertical enlargement with proposed modifications to the entrance for the residences & community facility, windows at the street facade, restoration of masonry street facade & decorative arch trim at the window openings, stepped gable cornice replacement, cornice at the belltower roof, exterior lighting and modifications to the rear facade.
No. 121 started its life here as a house in 1843.
Here's more history via Daytonian in Manhattan:
...on May 10, 1902, The New York Times reported that the Hungarian Reformed Church had purchased the dwelling. The group hired architect and builder Frederick Ebeling to convert the structure to a church building.The building was consecrated in 1903. Within the next year, Ebeling extended church to the property line and incorporated a central bell tower characteristic of a Hungarian country church. The quaint little church had a comfortable overall charm. And yet there was little to hide the fact that this was a house-turned-church.In 1961, when St. Mary's American Orthodox Greek Catholic Church purchased the building, the congregation thought it a good idea to modernize the structure by encasing Ebeling's stone façade in "Naturestone," an artificial stone material.It was not a good idea.Despite the offensive makeover, the little house-turned church retains its charm; a relic of a time when foreign-speaking immigrants drew together in a new land to worship together.
And a look at it in the 1940s via the Museum of the City of New York ...
The Landmarks Committee meeting starts tonight at 6:30 at the Chinatown YMCA/Houston Street Center — 273 Bowery, classroom 1.
On Avenue A and Houston, plywood comes down to reveal Bar Bianchi
The refurbished space will be home to Bar Bianchi, the latest Golden Age Hospitality property alongside Acme, Le Dive, Monsieur and Lucy's 2.0. (Golden Age is doing this in partnership with Darin Rubell of Paradise Projects.)
According to a job listing for the new establishment, Bar Bianchi is "an Italian-inspired wine bar serving natural wine, an aperitivo-style menu with a full bar specializing in spritzes and negroni variations."
Expect a late spring opening.
Boulton & Watt closed here last July after 11 years. At the time, there was a thought that another Paradise Hospitality (Mister Paradise, Wiggle Room, Pretty Ricky's) project would take over, given this Instagram post: "Stay tuned for some exciting news about a new project in this space; see you all very soon!"
And because someone will post "Bring back Nice Guy Eddie's" in the comments... this space was previously Nice Guy Eddie's. The bar-restaurant with Chico's KISS mural closed in June 2011 after 16 years in service.
We know where Cookie Puss is at
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
An item was noticeably missing when we stopped by the just-opened Cinnabon/Carvel combo shop at 430 E. 14th St. in February.
An inventory of the cakes fridge revealed favorites such as Fudgie the Whale — but no Cookie Puss!
On a return visit, we were happy to see Tomas (above) with a handmade Cookie Puss, a beloved Carvel creation that dates to the 1970s.
Per Carvel lore, this cake is a fictional space alien who hails from Planet Birthday, complete with cookie eyes and an ice cream cone for a nose. (Did you not drop acid as a 10 year old?)
The Cookie Puss, perfect for birthdays, retails for $37.99 in store and feeds approximately 10 people or one really stoned person.
The store manager, Pradip, says you can call to preorder or just come in and pick one up from the fridge.
"Cooky Puss" was also the debut single from the Beastie Boys in 1983, and the first release featuring Ad-Rock. The lyrics are all — don't sue! — satirical references to the other Cookie Puss. Listen here. (Yeah, those lyrics aren't really suitable for work.)Fat Boys Burgers for 1st Avenue
Photo by Pinch
An outpost of Fat Boys Burgers is coming soon to 231 First Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street.
This will be he second location for the burger joint, first launched by two brothers and a cousin on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. (All three were born and raised in that neighborhood, helping out at the family-owned A&A Deli, now Healthy Market.)
Fat Boys offers a variety of burgers (including a meatless version), fries, chopped chicken fries (chopped fried chicken, cheese and gordo sauce served over fries), and shakes.
This First Avenue storefront was most recently Chick-N-Smash, which debuted in December 2023. Locals will recall this space was home for 18 years to Vinny Vincenz until the spring of 2021.
[Updated] A licensed cannabis shop is opening at 15 Avenue B
Photos by Stacie Joy
A licensed cannabis retail shop is the next tenant for the SE corner of Avenue B and Second Street.
Workers have been doing interior renovations in recent weeks...
Paperwork from last August states that this is a Conditional Adult-use Retail Dispensary (CAURD). Per the Office of Cannabis Management: "CAURD licensees are the first retail dispensaries to open for legal adult-use cannabis sales in New York State, establishing businesses owned by justice-involved individuals at the bedrock of New York's adult-use cannabis market."
This corner space was most recently Luzzo's La Pizza Napoletana, which went dark in the fall of 2023. The Avenue B address was previously home to the Wafels & Dinges cafe (and corporate office) for nearly eight years. W&D, which still operates from kiosks and food trucks around the city, moved out in March 2021.
Updated:
Signage is up for the no-vowel name — Pryzm...
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Tuesday's parting shot
We tried, without much success, to get a shot of new panels... so thanks to Salim for getting the job done today.
BTW, U.K.-based artist Nick Walker joined Tats Cru to do the panel on the far left.
April 15
However green it looks, the reader who shared the photo reported the tree was quite dry. Perhaps it has been colored?
So long — smell ya later!
Thanks to our friends at DeColores Community Yard for the top pic and Joann Falkenburg for the second photo!
Tompkins Square Park Field House officially reopens after renovations (and you won't recognize the restrooms)
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After more than 18 months of renovations, the field house and restrooms at Tompkins Square Park officially reopened yesterday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on an actual spring-like day.
Susan Donoghue, NYC Department of Parks commissioner, along with other Parks officials, local elected officials, and Community Board reps, did the honors...
The reconstruction of the field house that serves the 10.5-acre park included a complete renovation of the building's interior and exterior, upgrading all mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Accessibility improvements feature reconfigured layouts, new entryways, ADA-compliant ramps, and renovated restrooms and maintenance areas. The mayor's office funded the $5.6 million renovations.
While the ceremony was still wrapping up, neighborhood kids were already making themselves at home near the Slocum Memorial Fountain, and visitors wasted no time enjoying the newly accessible space.
Overall, the mood was upbeat and even celebratory. After a long stretch of construction and closed-off areas, residents seemed pleased to reclaim one of the East Village's most active public spaces.
And now, join us in a moment of silence... we appreciated your service...
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