EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

L.E.S. Jewels will be sentenced on June 1 (The Villager, third item)

Goodbye to the OTB on Delancey? (BoweryBoogie)

Looking at Ray's new ice cream machine (Neither More Nor Less)

Update on the Lora Deli wall (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

A lonely wall on St. Mark's Place (The Gog Log)

An amazing photo from Hell's Kitchen circa 1989 (Flickr via NYC Taxi Photo)

Astor Place Mud Truck hit by DOH (Eater)

A random fiber interlude....




Go see the group exhibit Structured (details via Nathan Kensinger Photography)

Pizza bloggers have their say on Pulino's (Grub Street)

The East Village Idiot signs off (East Village Idiot)

And three great posts this week at Blah Blog Blah:

Where Beth Israel is

The history of trolley cars on Avenue A

A post on diarrhea and a real-estate broker

And Eater reported this earlier... and I just saw the sign for myself... my beloved Blarney Stone on Fulton Street is really gone...



Which means these signs must be updated...

What to do with the Vegan Bowery Burger

A friend recently made me aware of the existence of the Vegan Bowery Burger at Whole Foods. (I realize these things aren't new...just new to me.) So, for the sake of investigative journalism, I went over to Whole Foods on Houston and Bowery to check them out. (And are these just specific to this location? Are there, say, Union Square Burgers at the 14th Street location.) To my good fortune, they were in stock at the deli counter. They go for $7.99 a pound. I've never ordered veggie burgers by the pound. So I asked for three. To my amazement, they came to $7.99. (So next time someone asks me how much a pound weighs...)



I'm not much of a foodie. The burgers tasted pretty good (couldn't even detect the mustard powder), though I recommend that you eat them with heaping piles of cheese and bacon.

Now! To more important matters. How to market the Vegan Bowery Burger!

First! We need some 1970s-style Bowery street cred... Gabba gabba yum!



...some hotties in Bowery wear... Let me see that fake beef!



We have your Vegan Bowery Burger bitches!



And a celebrity spokesperson....

Beep, beep! Delivery for Mr. Moby!



Then we'll raise the price to $17.99 a pound. See you at DBGB, suckers!

And when the Bowery is still the Bowery

Nicky's reopens tomorrow

Nicky's owner Quynh Dang left us a note regarding yesterday's post on his restaurant closing for renovations....

We'll be open on Saturday. We did need to renovate and get some equipment repaired. Also, we have 2 more months on the lease...we are trying really hard to negotiate with the landlord since he wants to increase it to three times of what the space is worth. However, we ARE also currently working on our City Hall, NYC location on Nassau St. and we still have our Brooklyn location!

See you soon!

Baggy count

There continues to be a discussion on the noticeable increase of crime and drugs in the neighborhood... Per a reader:

I decided to count the number of little plastic bags I saw on my walk home tonight. From the corner of Ave. A and Houston, to the corner of 8th St. and Ave. B, I counted 39(+, I lost count for a block or two) little bags, roughly three a block. That's on one side of the street, after dark, without bothering to look much beyond my feet.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Are the bad old days here again...again?

Turnover at the former Howdy Do space

Last September, a designer boutique opened at the former location of Howdy Do on Seventh Street.... The store had been keeping erratic hours in recent months... and now a "store for rent" sign hangs over the space...



Jeremiah wrote about Howdy Do's closure here... which replaced an egg shop....

Egg shop...vintage kitsch...designer boutique... What's next for 72 Seventh Street?

Reminders: The fourth annual NYC Anarchist Film Festival tomorrow

The fourth annual NYC Anarchist Film Festival is tomorrow... Theatre 80 on St Marks Place from 1 pm to 5 pm and in the basement of Judson Church from 5 pm to midnight.

Here's a trailer from the official festival site:



This year's festival honors the life and work of Brad Will.

Meanwhile, I found the following video via John Penley's Facebook page. The NYPD raided the 13 Thames Art Space in East Williamsburg the other day... here's video of that...



The Times has more on the arrest today in a piece titled "Film Fest Is on Police Radar, Anarchists Say"

Critics dislike NYU 2031 even more than NYU 2010

As you may have heard, NYU held its first open house last night since formally unveiling its ambitious NYU 2031 invasion expansion plan. Before the event, Andrew Berman from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation spoke out against the plan. We weren't there. But a lot of other people were. So here's a listing of some of the coverage....

The official NYU news release. And here's the plan from NYU.

Protesters dampen 2031 open house (Washington Square News)

Critics Turn Out at Open House on N.Y.U. Expansion (The New York Times)

Anti-Expansion Greenwich Villagers Calmly Storm NYU's Gates (Curbed)

Meanwhile, Alex at Flaming Pablum posted two illustrations of the future campus that a reader found and were since removed, evidently, from NYU's Web site. Here's one of them:



Finally, some words about the NYU event from Save the Lower East Side!:

Scarier still is their silence on the East Village. Looking at the fantasies-afar, you know it's going to pop up here, but they don't give a clue as to where.

The vocal anger of East Villagers prompted the creation of this NYU Expansion Task Force and all these open house presentations. It's good to know that NYU is still so afraid of the East Village that they don't want to tell us where they are looking for East Village real estate.

At Cafe 81, you'd better be quiet or someone will throw a shamwow at you

We've been really curious about what has been going on with Krystal's Cafe 81, the former Verchovyna Tavern aka George's Bar aka Bar 81, on Seventh Street near First Avenue.

As we reported last fall, the bar closed in September for a "vacation," with a reopening on Oct. 1 sign. Well, the place was shuttered until the middle of January. Then, without any fanfare, it quietly reopened with a happy hour.



Things apparently haven't been so quiet of late. An EV Grieve reader noted that the bar recently started a "rockaoke" night every Friday. According to the reader, "It's a live band — amped — with mic'd DJ, doing karaoke ... doors open, screams, etc. The place is packed, with a bouncer, and kids spilling into the street."

Perhaps some folks have complained about the noise... which may explain this new sign that went up on the door... one of the oddest noise signs that we have ever seen...



"Noise detector installed. Once limit is reached, a person would come down from his/her apartment and throw a shamwow at you."

Hmm. Is the sign funny or condescending?

And will you say "Wow" every time you're hit? (And does a shamwow really hold 12 times it weight in liquid?)



Meanwhile, a recent article in Philippine News offers a look at the new bar and chef:

Executive Chef Aris Tuazon hobnobbed from crowd to crowd during opening night of Krystal’s Café 81, the newest Filipino bar-restaurant in the ever-changing landscape of East Village eateries.

Café 81 is the recent reincarnation of Krystal’s Café in Manhattan, which once was a Filipino Karaoke oasis on First Avenue before a Japanese noodle bar took over the location.

Café 81’s vision, Tuazon said, is to balance popular appeal and authentic Filipino cuisine, which is a tricky challenge given the fast-paced food trends and shifting Filipino population of New York City.

When the acclaimed mainstay Elvie’s Turo-Turo closed in Fall 2009 after almost two decades on 13th Street, it pointed as much to the pressures of the economy as it did to an evolving community.

The space inhabited by Café 81 is a testament to the East Village’s ethnic and immigrant communities.

The bar has stood in the same location for over 100 years and was once home to an Italian restaurant, and before that, an Ukranian dive bar.

In the East Village, Filipinos created something of a Little Manila in Manhattan with a revolving door of Filipino businesses and residents. Their visibility was boosted in the 1980s by professional recruitment to the area’s many hospitals, combined with offers of subsidized housing in the midst of ongoing rent strikes in the neighborhood. Many longtime residents and businesses, including Elvie’s, watched the gentrification of the East Village and arrival of new condos and NYU-owned properties.

The Nicky's saga continues

First we heard they might be closing... then they were just moving a few blocks away ... and now, Nicky's on Second Street is closed for renovations? This makes no sense... especially if they do plan to move a few blocks away...

New prices for the world famous Pee Phone wiped away

Melanie first took the shot of the new prices on the world famous Pee Phone ... And I was not pleased to see the Verizon truck pull up the other day for some spring cleaning...




And soon, the world famous Pee Phone prices were wiped clean ...



(And see more of Melanie's photos here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Polishing up the Pee Phone

The Village Inn hostel on Seventh Street closed by city

In recent weeks the city shuttered The Village Inn, the hostel that has been operating at 27 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square.




The Village Inn is one of four in the city operated by the NYC Hostel Connection. (The Chelsea International Hostel, the Manhattan Inn and the Wanderers Inn are the other three.) Responding to a message on Facebook, a hostel rep said, "The status of the Village Inn is still pending."

The city has said that there are illegal hotel rooms in the residential building.

There's also a fairly lengthy discussion by an NYC Hostel Connection rep on Facebook regarding why the hostel was shut down:

[T]he big Hotel chains (e.g. Holiday Inn, Marriott, W, ad infinitum) have strong unions who's leaders have friends in high places in New York's political landscape ... When you're charging minimums like $300.00 per night and you start realizing your numbers are down because there are better options (i.e. Hostels) who do you complain to and/or attack. Answer: (Fill in this blank with your favorite Hostel). Despite the fact that this task force no longer reports to the Department of Buildings New York, they have taken to renegade tactics like unrelenting harassment in order to please their superiors (i.e. politicians, hotel union leaders – who, you got it, PAY THEM UNDER THE TABLE). ... So as our legal fees mount and we are forced to pay our Mortgages out of our own pockets...

A "new generation" for Avenue A Sushi

At least that's what the sign says. And I'm curious to see the gallery...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Avenue A Sushi is confusing us

Another pet supply store coming to Avenue B

B Chiropractic at 23 Avenue B closed up last month without much notice... No word on where Dr. Mike relocated...



Now, this space near Second Street is getting a new tenant... a pet supply store...



Meanwhile, another pet supply store remains for sale up the block...

Anna's song

This video has been making the rounds... a fan of the Brooklyn duo Tanlines used their song for a little love letter of sorts that he made for someone named Anna... (I believe Stereogum was first to post the video... I found the link via the Voice.) Anyway, the band liked it so much, they made it their official video... The whole this was filmed in the neighborhood, as you'll see...



It's a little twee for my tastes... I kept waiting for Michael Cera to show up or something...

Anyway, the video answers why I saw these messages scrawled around various places...

Dumbo drop: The Elephant shuttered again

The problems continue for Thai eatery the Elephant on East First Street. Per a tipster: They have a court order on their window today: “NYC vs. Thai Me Up, Inc.” closing them down. And the Elephant has had run ins with the law in previous years... like last July ... and May 2008... Word on the street is they allegedly served an underage auxiliary police officer. If the Elephant remains closed for any period of time, then perhaps the Lower Eastside Girls Club will be able to hold their annual free prom gown giveaway without having anyone call the cops...

[Update: The Elephant was back open this evening...the legal papers were still up on the side...]

[Image via]

325 E. 10th St. facing year-long gut renovation

An EV Grieve reader and fourth-generation resident of East 10th Street told me that 325 E. 10th St. (a few doors west of the Tompkins Square Library branch) is now undergoing a year-long gut renovation...(and there's another building behind here that's only accessible through 325...)





And bicyclists here should be warned about the dumpster in the street...



The reader passed along the photo below...




Somehow, according to the sign, the year-long renovation here will make all of our lives better...

By the way, apartments in this building were on the market as summer rentals last year.

Where's the B&H canopy?

Something is missing over at East Village institute B&H...



...namely the canopy... perhaps it's just in the shop for some minor repairs, and not an overhaul...




[Top photo via the Voice]

The Trader Joe's love connection

From Craigslist:

To every man who works at Trader Joes on 14th - w4m (Union Square) - m4w (East Village)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We love you, too.

And to clear something up: Not everyone likes to talk much. Odds are that the employee liked you but felt uncomfortable asking for your number at work. When in doubt, make the offer yourself.

The guys I work with are a pretty great group, most with college degrees, some with grad degrees. They're artists and musicians and writers and actors and comedians and models and rappers and photographers and filmmakers. Smart, guys creative guys doing manual labor, and sometimes, you have to ask them yourself.

You should give a name. TJ's Missed Connections often end well.

Maybe there is something about a man in a Hawaiian shirt uniform. And remember: When in doubt, make the offer yourself. I actually know someone who was arrested for making the offer...

I'll Always Love You Just The Same

This was the scene in front on the Charlie Parker Residence on Avenue B three weeks back...



...and now it looks as if the exterior work is nearly complete.



And as the house looked before...



Per the Charlie Parker Residence Web site: "Built in l849, this Gothic Revival-style rowhouse was home to the alto saxophonist Charlie Parker (Bird) from l950-l954. With Chan Richardson and their three children, Parker occupied the ground floor apartment at the height of his career... The Charlie Parker Residence was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in l994 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. In l999 the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Charlie Parker Residence a New York City Landmark, finding the house at l5l Avenue B has special character, historical and aesthetic interest and value as part of the development, and heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City, New York State, and the nation."

[Bottom photo via WallyG at Flickr]

Exclusive: The new HSBC branch will have two ATMs!

What a scoop! On Second Avenue and Ninth Street.




And only two ATMs? Lordy! HSBC will likely need to open another branch a block or two away to pick up the overflow...

Noted

13th Street.

The Domino Sugar Refinery gets a SMART addition

Last week we posted some photos courtesy of Luna Park on the epic bombing at the Domino Sugar Refinery...



There has been more activity north of the Williamsburg Bridge of late.... The following photo was sent to me by the The Graffiti Friend of EV Grieve (GFOEVG)...



The GFOEVG sent us to the above photo taken by Sabeth718.... The shot (and many many more amazing graffiti photos) can be found on Sabeth718's Flickr page. Access that here. (and thanks to Sabeth718 for permission to post.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bombing the Domino Sugar Refinery

Zerza owner discusses his intentions for new Avenue B space

Yesterday, we posted an item about Zerza moving from East Sixth Street to the former Carne Vale space on Avenue B ... the owner left a comment on the post last night, and it sounds as if he is a good neighbor...

My name is Radouane and I came to the United States in 1994 as part of the Walt Disney World college program. I enjoyed working at the Moroccan Pavilion at Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando and sharing my culture with visitors was very much an enjoyable experience so the idea of opening a restaurant to became one of my goals.

In 1997 I was hired by the Plaza Hotel on 59th street and 5th Ave. I was the guest relations manager there, handling the Hotel’s VIP guests and its distinguished visitors. All along I never let go of the idea to open a restaurant so I started taking classes in entrepreneurial management, I secured a loan and I quit my job in 2003 to take the plunge!

In order to make the restaurant experience complete and more authentic, my mother, a talented chef, accepted my invitation and came from Morocco to be part of Zerza and till this day she has been the real magic behind it!
I am proud to say that for the past 7 years we have been operating Zerza, we never had a complaint from any neighbor. We strive to operate the restaurant in the highest standards of hospitality.

Fresh, authentic Moroccan home cooking has always been our first and foremost focus. Yes we did have belly dancing in the past (on Friday and Saturday for 15 minutes) but since I was never a fan of that I decided to stop it a very long time ago. After all belly dancing is not really part of the Moroccan culture! I don’t believe there is any mention of the belly dancing on our web site: www.zerza.com.

We are absolutely not about hookahs and we stopped serving it a long time ago, we had a few exceptions every once in a while for a few guests who requested it after their dinner just so they can try it. Hookahs are definitely not our draw. Many times we get customers who walk in asking if we serve hookahs but we just direct them to a hookah bar in the area.

Now you might ask why Ave B and here is the answer: Our current location is tiny, narrow and high rent! The location we are after on Ave B offers more space at a very reasonable rent! It is not going to be as big as you might previously know it: The landlord has taken half of the space and is turning it to an apartment, so it is going to be smaller but still better for us than the current space that we occupy.

I hope this gave you an idea of Zerza and its story. I hope we get a chance to show you that we will be a positive addition to your neighborhood.

Zerza is on Facebook! Please take a look at some of the guest’s interactions to get a better idea about. Also you are welcome to come and see us now at 308 East 6th street and judge for yourself.