Photo by Derek Berg
A crew filmed Ray outside Ray's Candy Store today on Avenue A for a Japanese TV program ... we'll try to get more details on this...
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
Suburban Speed at Baker Falls
Photos by Stacie Joy
We dropped by Baker Falls this past Thursday, where EVG fave Suburban Speed (below) opened a night of music at the Allen Street venue between Houston and Stanton.
Carson Walsh (vocals, guitar, sax), Seth Sosebee (bass, keyboards), and Dalton Patton (drums, theremin) comprise the Brooklyn-based band.
Suburban Speed plays an unconventional, quirky punk noir that feels tailor-made for a hot summer night's drive through nowhere, chasing ghosts along empty roads...
They are also a good fit for the fever-dream mansion vibe of Baker Falls...
We had to leave before we could see Fine Mess, a new band featuring (in the middle below) Julia Pierce of TDA and Dustin Dollin, an Australian skateboarding legend.
Baker Falls is at 192 Allen St. (as of January). Check out their calendar of bands, open mics and other events. They are also open during the day for coffee service.
You can catch both Fine Mess and Suburban Speed Saturday night at Alphaville in Bushwick.
Cleanup proposed for contaminated Avenue D site, future home of affordable housing
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, along with the Department of Health, is reviewing a plan to remove polluted soil from the former site of the St. Emeric church and school, located adjacent to the Con Ed power plant. Officials say the site "does not currently pose a significant risk to public health or the environment."
Officials are accepting public comments on the proposed cleanup through July 26. See this PDF for details.
Community Board 3 will hear more about the remediation work tonight during the Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation & Environment Committee meeting.
The roughly 1.4-acre property has been in the spotlight since June 2024, when developers Spatial Equity and Community Access reportedly signed a contract with the Archdiocese of New York to buy the site for $58 million to $68 million. They plan to build two fully affordable housing buildings totaling about 570 apartments.
City Council will need to approve a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application for the lot, as the space is not currently zoned for residential use.
According to a 2007 report prepared for Con Ed, the operations began some time between 1859 and 1868 and were shut down in 1933. Per the report: "Over its operational period, the Works consisted of 17 gas holders ranging in capacity from approximately 50,000 cubic feet to 5,000,000 cubic feet. Several of the gas holders were converted from gas storage to liquid storage of naphtha, tar or gas oil."
Similar remediation work was completed in 2023 on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue C — now home to the soon-to-open 24-story residential building called The East.
The now-deconsecrated St. Ermeric church merged with St. Brigid on Avenue B in early 2013.
Here's some history of the parish via Wikipedia:
The parish was established in 1949. The Rev. V. J. Brosman had a brick church built in 1949 to designs by Voorhees, Walker, Foley & Smith ... for $300,000. The cornerstone was laid in 1950. The church is now covered in ivy. A two-story school building was erected in 1952 to designs by the same architects for $240,000.
The Brownfield Cleanup Program "works with private developers to encourage the voluntary cleanup of contaminated properties known as 'brownfields' so
that they can be reused and developed. These uses include recreation, housing, and business."
The hybrid CB3 committee meeting this evening begins at 6:30 at the CB3 office, located at 59 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery. You can also take part via Zoom.
The Lower East Side Lidl opens on Aug. 1
Photo last month by Stacie Joy
Lidl will open its long-awaited Lower East Side food market on Aug. 1, the company has announced, bringing the German supermarket giant's global footprint of over 12,000 stores to 408 Grand St. at Clinton.
The company signed a lease last summer for the 23,000 square-foot space — formerly a Rite Aid — on property owned by the affordable housing nonprofit Grand Street Guild.
Here's what to expect on Day 1, as per the Lidl U.S. website:
Are you ready for fresh, high-quality groceries at incredibly low prices? The moment you’ve been waiting for is almost here!We're excited to announce the grand opening for our newest New York location is Friday, Aug. 1. Score free samples, Lidl swag and more! Come early — the first 100 customers in line will get Lidl gift cards ranging from $5-$100.
The grocery's initial hours are daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
There are several outposts of the discount grocery stores around NYC, including in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island ... with a location also slated for Chelsea.
H/T EVG reader Patrick!
Monday, July 7, 2025
DOT proposes Avenue B makeover, looks to residents for guidance
Photo by Stacie Joy
The Department of Transportation is inviting residents to share feedback and ideas on the future of Avenue B.
The DOT "is proposing a street improvement project on the Avenue B Open Street between East 14th Street and Houston Street."
The Avenue B Open Street Project Proposal has the following goals:
• Build on the success of the Open Street, provide permanent public space and ease operations for larger events
• Improve safety on the corridor, focusing on schools
• Create safe cycling connections
• Calm traffic on the corridor to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists
• Replace Open Street barricades with design treatments.
A copy of the survey is here.
Here are a few of the ideas from the proposal...
There is an item on the docket related to preliminary findings for the Avenue B Open Street.
The hybrid meeting starts at 6:30 at the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. You can also take part via Zoom.
This stretch debuted as an Open Street during the spring of 2020.
Per the program overview:
New York City's Open Streets program transforms streets into public space open to all. These transformations allow for a range of activities that promote economic development, support schools, facilitate pedestrian and bike mobility, and provide new ways for New Yorkers to enjoy cultural programming and build community.
St. Mark’s Place corner vendor hub demolished
As we first reported on June 9, the longtime vendors here left earlier in the year... as the building's new-ish landlord planned for removal.
For decades, vendors sold items such as sunglasses, floppy hats, wigs, umbrellas, and novelty holiday merchandise from outside the corner mainstay Gem Spa. (These items are still available outside Funky Town, mid-block, and at the kiosks closer to Third Avenue.)
Prior to the vendors, the wall housed a bank of payphones (which we also miss!) — a location for New York Dolls photo shoots.
Here's a bonus mid-demolition shot, courtesy of Steven...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Openings: Andrea's Pizza on 2nd Avenue
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Andrea's Pizza debuted at 50 Second Ave. late last week.
Signage hasn't arrived yet here between Second Street and Third Street, though owner Andrea Kenuti hopes it will be here soon. (Ditto for delivery service.)
As we previously reported, this is the first solo venture for Kenuti, a veteran of Scarr's Pizza on Orchard Street, where he worked for seven years, and L'Industrie in the West Village.
He is joined by Nathan Cole at the counter...
As for the pizza...
I tried a classic slice and it was great — thin crust with a hint of char, mildly sweet tomato sauce, and perfectly salty, delicious cheese. I'm no food critic, but I can tell you it hit the spot.
There are several booths inside for dining in (and a handful of tables outside).
Andrea's is open from noon to midnight Monday through Thursday, noon to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday.
There is no website yet, although an Instagram account is available.
Signage alert: Kebabishq on 2nd Avenue
Photos by Steven
Signage is up for the incoming tenant at 128 Second Ave. — Kebabishq.
The logo features the words "Bold," "Skewered," and "Indian." We were unable to find any information about the business.
There have been solid quick serve places here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place, but, unfortunately, no one has had great success over the past nine years:
• Seasoned Vegan Real Quick, 20 months (closed April 2025)
• Tony's Pizza, 20 months (closed April 2023)
• Nolita Pizza, 12 months, (relocated to Kenmare Street in June 2020)
• Kati Roll Company, 29 months (closed in April 2019)
The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016 following an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty.
Icon bought the building in the fall of 2013 for $7.5 million.
76 Avenue B is for rent
Not particularly newsworthy unless you wondered what happened to the art gallery that occupied the space for nearly three years. Gratin has relocated to the Lower East Side — 291 Grand St.
Gratin arrived in late 2022. Previously, Oda House, which served Georgian cuisine and other Mediterranean staples, closed here in August 2020 after more than seven years in service. Caffe Buon Gusto was here for a bit after the corner market, Zips.
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Sunday's parting shots
The weekly EV Grieve newsletter is now available
Week in Grieview
• City shutters reticketing center for asylum seekers at former St. Brigid School on 7th and B (Tuesday, July 1)
• Construction firm owner pleads guilty to wage theft over emergency repairs at 642 E. 14th St. (Wednesday, July 2)
• Residents baffled by new CityBench outside their door on 3rd Street (Monday, June 30)
• Board of Elections makes it official: Harvey Epstein wins City Council District 2 (Tuesday, July 1)
• The newly opened section of East River Park was closed for the fireworks (Friday, July 4)
• Longtime employee takes the wheel at the Ludlow Garage Auto Body Repair (Thursday, July 3)
• Historic honors for East Village institution B&H Dairy (Wednesday, July 2)
• Pride Weekend parting shots (Sunday, June 29)
• Openings: Monkey Sushi on 1st Avenue (Thursday, July 3)
• Tetchy in Tompkins (Wednesday, July 2)
• Trash talk: A can that just can't on 4th Street (Wednesday, July 2)
• Looking at where the Crocodile Lounge once roamed on 14th Street (Tuesday, July 1)
• Overthrow Hospitality set to debut Al-Andalus on 5th Street (Wednesday, July 2)
• 'Manhattan' in 'Materialists' (Friday, July 4)
• 6 posts from June (Monday, June 30)
• The all-new 88 E. 2nd St. is rising (Monday, June 30)
• Signage alert: The Oven's Slice on 1st Avenue (Wednesday, July 2) ... 5s on Avenue B (Tuesday, July 1) ... Nishaan on 1st Avenue (Monday, June 30)
And thanks to everyone who shared photos (and videos!) of the very active juvenile red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park this past week... EVG reader Jennifer Bakry took this photo...
... and from Mark Hado...
Saturday, July 5, 2025
The new East Village Vintage Clothing Map is here
This marks nearly the 10th anniversary of the map, which was launched by the owners of East Village Vintage Collective, located at 545 E. 12th St., between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Per an Instagram post this morning:
At that time, we were trying to highlight the stores that were still around, as these types of stores had started to decline. But that sure has changed! And the great thing about vintage, thrift and secondhand is that every store offers something unique.We present the most updated map, which for the first time ever has been sponsored by the East Village Independent Merchants Association. (The folks at East Village Vintage Collective have been printing this map on their own for all these years and are thrilled to have an amazing organization like EVIMA helping out with this run).This map was made out of love for community, small business, art and eco-friendly fashion. And it has always been printed by the wonderful folks at the Source Unltd Printing.
Store owners who want copies of the map in their shops can contact the East Village Vintage Collective (perhaps via Instagram).
Find updates on EV thrifting via the East Village Vintage Map on Instagram.
Saturday's opening shot
Now to today's weather — a mix of fun sun and clouds with highs reaching 86-87.
And it will feel warmer along Third Avenue between St. Mark's Place and 14th Street during today's scheduled street festival.
Friday, July 4, 2025
What a swell party this is
Heading back to 1990 for this Friday-at-5 selection... with Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop covering Cole Porter's "Well, Did You Evah!" for the compilation album Red Hot + Blue, released as part of a HIV/AIDS benefit project.
The single was never released in the United States, although it peaked at 42 on the UK Singles Chart.
Also, HBD to Debbie H. (July 1!).
The newly opened section of East River Park will be closed for the fireworks tonight
Unfortunately, that's not an option.
Signs are up at the Delancey Street overpass announcing that the Park closes at 3 p.m.
We did not see any similar signs up at the Houston or Sixth Street entrances. (The 10th Street entry is closed for gutting.)
We asked a Parks officer at Delancey about access there this evening, but he didn't know.
A few photos of the FDR... southbound lanes closed at Houston...
The Sixth Street entrance is open... though there won't be much of a view for fireworks ...
'Manhattan' in 'Materialists'
Was pleasantly surprised to see/hear that Cat Power's 2012 song "Manhattan" (from her album Sun) plays at the beginning of the film (after an introductory scene) ... and showing Dakota Johnson walk by Cooper Union.
It's a great song and video, with a few shots from the East Village (where Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, once lived).
And here is the video, released in April 2013...
"Materialists" has a solid soundtrack with original music by Japanese Breakfast... as well as songs like "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" by Johnny Thunders and "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" by The Velvet Underground, among others.
In an interview with Spotify, "Materialists" writer-director Celine Song discussed the importance of music in her creative process.
Music is in the DNA of the film from the script phase. I write with music on, and usually I play one song on repeat — for "Materialists," the song on repeat was "Andalucia" by John Cale.
Song's previous film, the Oscar-nominated "Past Lives," was partially filmed in the East Village, as noted here.
Friday's opening shot
As for your exclusive July 4orecast (sorry), sunny and pleasant today (lower humidity) with a high of 83. The UV Index is 10, so lather on that tanning butter or cooking oil sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher in the great outdoors.
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