Alphabet Scoop has reopened on East 11th Street

The seasonal ice cream shop near Avenue B has reopened after a lengthy delay ...

Back on March 19, the store's Facebook page noted the following:

Alphabet Scoop's spring reopening will be delayed due to the need to repair the steps to the store. We had an engineer examine them and they cannot be used until they are either repaired or replaced. They are the original steps, created in 1867 when the building was erected. Please pray that the project will move along quickly.

They finally got those new stairs... and they were just able to reopen last weekend...





They'll be open weekends only this fall... Per their Facebook page: "Already the Pumpkin Spice and Salted Caramel are big hits as well as a long-time favorite, Pistachio! $5.00 for a pint!"

The Father’s Heart Ministries runs the shop that employs at-risk youth in the neighborhood. (You can read an article about it at The Villager here.)

Photos by Shawn Chittle

Week in Grieview

[Photo from Ben's on Avenue B via Stacie Joy]

Neighbors come together for Giuseppi Logan (Tuesday)

Artichoke taking over The Hat on Stanton and Ludlow (Thursday)

An updated look at the Astor Place reconstruction (Friday)

Paint splattering van vandals (Thursday)

Cornell Edwards Way debuts (Monday)

Check out the new penthouses above 7A (Thursday)

"Blatant drug activity" on East Third Street (Tuesday)

A pedicab to Coyote Ugly from Times Square may cost this much (Tuesday)

At the 1st annual Nuyorican Poets Cafe Block Party (Sunday)

Time to repair this hydrant on East 3rd Street (Monday)

Headless giraffe! (Friday)

David McWater resigns from CB3 (Tuesday)

The Russ & Daughters Cafe is going to happen (Wednesday)

Looking at Centre-fuge cycle 10 (Friday)

Looking at "the Grand Canyon of East 4th Street" (Tuesday)

Rent is Too Damn High's Jimmy McMillan drops a new video (Tuesday)

A new owner for 504-508 E. 11th St.? (Monday)

Why Extra Place seems quiet (Tuesday)

Out and About recap (Wednesday)

Report: FDNY rescues partygoers from 2nd Avenue 'rooftop rager' after stairwell collapse injures 1

[Photo by Marc A Hermann for the Daily News]

From the Daily News today:

A rooftop rager dissolved into a rescue mission in the East Village early Sunday morning, when a stairway platform crumbled, leaving one man seriously injured after he plunged two stories and trapping more than 30 collegiate partygoers on the roof, authorities said.

Over 30 college-aged revelers had gathered on the roof of 159 2nd Avenue at E. 9 St. in the lower East Side on Saturday night for a moonlit soiree, witnesses said.

Also, the building is at East 10th Street, not 9th Street per the Daily News.

The injured student is in critical but stable condition at Bellevue.

And the reaction from the assembled revelers?

"We were having a party, just a bunch of people hanging out ... Some guy runs upstairs and says, 'Everyone quiet down, everyone shut the f--k up , someone might have died,'" said Martin Barshai, 20, a film student at New York University.

According to WABC 7: "Officials say the building has a lot of college aged students in the building that do a lot of 'partying.'"

Here is WABC's report:



The Post has a lot of photos here. Their headline: "NYU rager goes horribly wrong after roof collapse"

Updated 9-30

The Post reports today that an NYU student jumped on the landing, causing it to collapse, according to unnamed sources.

The LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival continues today

[The 6BC Botanical Garden]

The second annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival in the Gardens continues today in a community garden near you... Here's a detailed schedule (PDF).

One programming note: Jim Power broke his right hand last week when he was thrown from his scooter after hitting a pothole on East Ninth Street and Avenue A ... Regardless, he wanted people to know that his free mosaic workshop today from 2-4 will go on as scheduled at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden. "So everyone who would like to be introduced to the art of mosaics please come on down for a wonderful afternoon," he said.

At the 10th Annual FAB! Festival

FABnyc presented the 10th Annual FAB! Festival yesterday afternoon on East Fourth Street ... our friend editrrix was there and shared these photos... (Find more of her work here)

The Halal Guys are apparently opening their first restaurant in the East Village

Food-cart favorites The Halal Guys expanded to the East Village on Sept. 19 with a cart on the northwest corner of East 14th Street and Second Avenue...

Now, as a few readers noted, the former deli at 307 E. 14th St. (immediately adjacent to the new cart) has new signage noting a Halal Guys restaurant ...We don't have any further details at the moment...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Halal Guys are now open on East 14th Street and 2nd Avenue

This morning in lines for German beer

Oktoberfest begins today at Zum Schneider on Avenue C and East Seventh Street... and EVG reader John noted a 30-person line at 9:41 a.m. ...



Doors open at 11. First keg is tapped at noon. (And what is German for Woo?)

Noted

East 10th Street and Avenue A this morning. Hurry, this offer won't last...

Noted

@evgrieve someone took a poop in front of Chase at Astor Place this morning & it was certainly human pic.twitter.com/Zw9PNmtmSg

— Bomarr Blog (@bomarrblog) September 28, 2013

Officials confirmed that this is not part of the Astor Place reconstruction.

10th Annual FAB! Festival takes over East 4th Street today

[Photo by Whitney Browne via the FAB website]

From the EVG inbox...

FABnyc will present the 10th Annual FAB! Festival today from 1-5 pm on East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery. This one-day-only arts explosion features FREE performances and exhibits for all ages. Attendees can sample tasty bites from local food vendors while enjoying dance, theater, and music by artists from across the Lower East Side (and beyond!). All performances will take place across numerous indoor and outdoor stages and sites on East 4th Street. Full lineup here

Deceptive perceiving

The Buzzcocks from 1977 with "I Don't Mind."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Shopping on Broadway via Bobby Williams]

Boutique priced out of the LES finds cheaper digs on Madison Avenue (DNAinfo)

Amy talks about her brief marriage to LES Jewels (The Villager)

Video recap of Portals 10-12 (GammaBlog)

Are these the 10 best restaurants on the LES? (Fork in the Road)

Aren't there enough Chinatown bus services? (The Lo-Down)

Yay? Bloomberg threatens to stop holding news conferences (The Wall Street Journal)

Remembering the Ludlow Street Cafe (Flaming Pablum)

History of The Village Voice (Off the Grid)

Manganaro's Hero Boy is saying put (The Commercial Observer)

RIP the original Blarney Stone (Grade "A" Fancy)

An open letter to The DL from LES Dwellers (BoweryBoogie)

Appreciating the Mayfair Barber Shop (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Williams Burroughs sings! (Dangerous Minds)

... and a reader notes that workers are hoisting some solar panels or something to buildings atop East 12th Street between A and B this morning... You always take pictures of cranes...


[Source: men installing solar panels with crane]

Tonight: LUNGS Harvest Fest Opening Night Party

From the EVG inbox...

Please come to the opening night celebration of the Second Annual LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) Harvest Arts Festival tonight at LaPlaza Cultural at East Ninth Street and Avenue C. Come and bring your friends, drink and dance and have fun with us.

The schedule for Friday is:

5-6:30 For kids, with Circus Amok

6:30 Tompkins Square drummers

7 Welcome remarks featuring Rosie Mendez, Scott Stringer and Brian
Cavanagh

MUSIC
7:30 to 8:15 Eric and Friends

8:15 Pierre Monney

9:00 Mike Cobb & the Crevulators

Find more details about LUNGS here.

An updated look at the all-new Astor Place

[EVG file photo]

The reconstruction around Cooper Square and Astor Place is upon us... Yesterday, officials shipped out the, uh, official news release about the project (which we didn't receive!*) ... and Curbed has the details ... as well as some slightly updated images  ...


[New trees help block out Chase branch]

The plan remains the same ... which includes enlarging Cooper Park, streamlining the street grid and creating new permanent pedestrian plazas. Not to mention adding 60 additional trees. Curbed notes that the work will cost $16 million. The work will start at East Fourth Street, "where new drainage catch basins, curbs and sidewalks are being constructed."

And the project will work its way north over the next two years.

Meanwhile, there hasn't been any official word about what will happen to Jim Power's mosaics that adorn Astor Place.

Per Serena Soloman at DNAinfo yesterday:

"They should not be removed," said Power, who plans to put up signs saying the mosaics are in danger.

"We are being pushed around by this so-called redesign. This is our neighborhood," he said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Five years later, Astor Place apparently ready for its 2-year reconstruction project

* Our fax machine has been out of paper since 1999.

Headless giraffe makes another baffling appearance around 5th and B

As we understand it, there have been numerous recent sightings of this headless stuffed giraffe around the vicinity of East Fifth Street and Avenue B... the creature, who desperately needs a nickname, a branding campaign and more social media exposure (for starters, at the least), was spotted last night outside Bloom 62, Ben Shaoul's nursing home-turned upscale rental.

The headless stuffed giraffe likely represents the duality of man, though, as of our press time, that hadn't been confirmed.

[Thanks to @melissa_dilger for the photo]

Ludlow Street 10 years later; plus, a report on what's taking the Max Fish space

In a blog post yesterday, photographers James and Karla Murray take a walk down Ludlow Street and compare the storefronts to just 10 years earlier...

Many casualties of course... Max Fish... Pink Pony ... Ludlow Guitars... with El Sombrero next... Of course, you can always count on the enduring images from Katz's.

Find the now-and-then shots here.

Updated 6:09 a.m.

Meanwhile, BoweryBoogie has the scoop on what hopes to take over the Max Fish space... the second outpost of Sweet Chick — "a casual southern-style restaurant that offers a menu dominated by fried chicken and sides like waffles, biscuits, and slaw."

They opened the first outpost on Bedford Avenue back in February.

The Stuyvesant Stationery shop closes Monday after 23 years in business

As noted here a few weeks ago, the Stuyvesant Stationery shop on East 14th Street near Avenue A lost its lease... and they close for good after Monday (probably a good time to stock up on inexpensive wrapping paper, among other sidewalk-sale items) ... the store has been here for 23 years...


[Photo by Cheryl Pyle via Facebook]

Ken from Ken's Kitchen pointed out that the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office sub-leased the space to the Stationary shop. The USPS will be moving out next spring.

Previously on EV Grieve:
UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Report: Closure of the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office is pretty much a done deal

First sign of more development on East 14th Street?

Looking at Centre-fuge cycle 10 on East 1st Street

Yesterday, EVG roving photographer Bobby Williams checked out the latest cycle (No. 10 already?) of Centre-fuge, the rotating outdoor gallery on the construction trailer here along East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



Visit the Centre-fuge Public Art Project Tumblr for a rundown on all the artists who took part this time around... As BoweryBoogie noted Wednesday, Centre-fuge will end its run in January 2014 with the arrival of Cycle 11.





Previously.

Autumn at the Tree Chair of East Sixth Street

It is alive... here between Avenue A and Avenue B...



Previously.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

For those about to Oktoberfest

From the EVG inbox... in case you are interested in Oktoberfesty things... starts tomorrow at Zum Schneider on Avenue C and East Seventh Street ...

NYC's most authentic Oktoberfest party is now in its 13th year.
Sing and dance the Polka with Mösl Franzi and the JaJaJa's
Drown yourself in a Mass (Stein) of original Oktoberfest beer, including Andechs Festbier and HB Traunstein Festbier
Get your loved one an original Oktoberfest Lebkuchenherz (gingerbread heart)
Enjoy our special Riesen-Wiesn-Brezn (giant pretzls) and Wiesn Hendl (whole broiled chicken)

Free Admission
Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit!
Dates with live music and DJ:
Saturday, Sep. 28, 11 am - Tapping of first keg at noon!
Sunday, Sep. 29, 1 pm
Monday, Sep. 30, 5 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 5 pm

Saturday, Oct 5, 1 pm
Sunday, Oct 6, 1 pm
Monday, Oct 7, 5 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 5 pm

Saturday, Oct 12, 1 pm
Sunday, Oct 13, 1 pm

Residents meet to discuss increased drug use/sales along E. 3rd and E. 4th Streets

Last night, concerned residents met at P.S. 15 with local leaders and 9th Precinct reps to discuss the "proliferation/spread of drugs" on East Third Street and East Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...

Resident Steven Matthews was in attendance, and left this as a comment on our earlier post about the meeting:

The meeting went well. There were approximately 36 people there, including someone from the 9th Pct and the DA's office. Almost everyone had a story, of drug use taking place in their vestibules, dealers operating out of renovated but unoccupied building, dealers having keys to the NYCHA buildings and operating out of them, founding members of community gardens (El Jardin) who have all but abandoned it because of drug dealing in them... And they came from all through the neighborhood, from 3rd and 5th Streets as well as both avenues. Many of them said they heard about the meeting from this blog, so hats off to EV Grieve!

There will be a follow-up meeting in two weeks. In that time, people with sales/use taking place in their buildings will approach the owners and try to get the building registered in the city's Tresspass Affidavit Program. And everyone was urged to call 911 when they see drug sales/use taking place. The 9th Pct rep said that despite the number of stories people had, there have been very few calls, so they were not aware of the severity of the problem.

DNAinfo and NY Press were both there; I'm sure they'll have stories today.

We'll link to those articles when they are posted...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Emergency meeting called to discuss 'the blatant drug activity' on E. 3rd St. (29 comments)

Paint splattering van vandals strike again

Back in January, we noted the above on East Seventh Street near Avenue A... at the time, we weren't sure if it was some kind of van-owner-created art... or vandalism. (Turned out to be vandalism, or whatever you'd like to call throwing paint bombs at vans.)

Fast-forward to yesterday... a resident reports the following...

"This is my van and I found the lovely work this morning. Odd thing is that I moved the van into that spot at 4:30 am and didn't notice it when I left on foot at 11 am."

The resident discovered the splatter upon returning three hours later.

"The paint was still warm and came off a bit when I came back at 2:15 pm. The police [officer] said he noticed it earlier and was wondering if that was intentional. (Ha! No.)

Such a pain in the ass."

There's something about filming in the East Village; Little Orphan Annie likes Citi Bikes

Film crews are out in force this morning along Avenue A and East 11th Street, among other locales... signs point to a Columbia Pictures release called "Moonquake Lake" ... which is apparently code for the remake of "Annie."

Per various Internet reports, the movie started filming in NYC yesterday .... Quvenzhané Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") plays the title role while Jamie Foxx plays Benjamin Stacks (aka "Daddy Warbucks").

Citi Bikes apparently also have a starring role, based on this photo of Wallis yesterday...


[Via]

Which may explain the new, presumably temporary, Citi Bikes docking station on East 11th between A and First Avenue...



Columbia reportedly plans to release this film on Dec. 19, 2014.

Updated 10:18

A few photos from the set on East 11th Street via Shawn Chittle...

Penthouse life above 7A will cost you $16,995 monthly

[Aug. 21]

Since fall 2011, the building that houses 7A on the corner of East Seventh Street and Avenue A has been undergoing renovations... including converting some existing commercial/studio space to residential use and reconstructing the existing penthouses.

Workers started removing the construction gear from the building on Aug. 21.

And now, two of the penthouse units up there hit the rental market yesterday.

Brace.







Per the Corcoran listing:

Enter from your own private landing into this sunfilled corner loft with direct Empire State and Thompkins [sic] Square Park views from every room. This boutique Pre-War elevator building has been masterfully transformed into 1,850 square foot full-floor 3 bedroom 2.5 baths homes offering condo level finishes, 11 Floor-to-Ceiling windows, and exposed brick throughout. Open kitchen with Viking range, Bosch dishwasher, and poured concrete coutertops. Individual climate control in every room. Gracious 12' x 25' master suite with walk-in closet, marble baths with radiant floor heating, separate laundry room.

And here's a floor plan for you:



The two listed units are going for $16,995 and, for poorer people, $14,995.

The view you'll get for the $$$$....



Public records show that the University of the Streets sold the building to Park Corner Development, LLC in September 2011 for $5 million.

CB3/SLA October highlights: Artichoke taking over the Hat; taker for Max Fish & Motor City spaces

The big news from the October CB3/SLA committee meeting agenda is that Artichoke Pizza has designs on taking over neighborhood staple El Sombrero (aka The Hat) on Stanton and Ludlow. CB3 released the agenda last evening.

BoweryBoogie quickly reported the following:

We spoke with the Mexican restaurant and confirmed that the Hat, on the block since 1984, is indeed set to close. However, the Artichoke deal is reportedly not yet finalized. Apparently the owner has, in so many words, had enough and simply decided to cash out the business.

Sad but not surprising news... going back to Jeremiah Moss' post in February, in which he spoke with Regina Bartkoff, a waitress at The Hat since 1988.

"The rent has been steadily going up and they have a lease for a few more years, but in 2012 we took a nose dive. We have been losing our regular customers steadily, due to them not being able to pay the rents on the LES and being forced out. It just keeps going down."

We asked Bartkoff via Facebook last night for an update. She said she originally heard that they'd close in November. But the end will likely come sooner. "I think it's just the last days and I'm going down with the ship."

On the topic of Ludlow Street mainstays closing ... there is an application on the agenda for the Max Fish space. Not much is known right this moment about the mystery applicant:

• To be Determined, 178 Ludlow St (op)

Know anything about the applicant? Let us know via the EVG email.

Updated 10:18

Oh! And there's also a taker for the former Motor City space. Missed that on the first pass. (H/T The Lo-Down!)

Here's the info for now on that:

• JMDR 127 Ludlow LLC, 127 Ludlow St (op)

As for the meeting:

SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, October 7 at 6:30 pm and 8:30pm (two sessions)
Community Board 3 Office - 59 East 4th Street

We'll take a look at the rest of the agenda later...

[Image via]

Today in videos lampooning Citi Bikes

Posted last Thursday by the folks at Above Average. And filmed in the East Village.

May have been funnier (or more relevant!) back in, say, early June.

Still...

H/T THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.

How green is your street or building?

From the EVG inbox...

I thought your readers might enjoy Rentenna's new NYC Green Heat Map which shows the density of trees in Manhattan, as well as the borough's biggest parks and all of the current active farmer's markets.

Rentenna ranks every rental apartment building on a scale of 1-100, based on a multitude of factors, including transit, amenities, and now our new Green Score which takes into account the apartment's proximity to parks and farmers markets. The Green Map takes it a step further by incorporating the tree density per block so renters can find that beautiful tree-lined street they always wanted.

Here is the site if you're interested.

And from the look of the mappy thing, the East Village is pretty green. Now if we could only get MORE parking spots for cars! (Bwahahaha)