Oyama has apparently closed for good on 1st Avenue

We don't know many details, but the inexpensive sushi restaurant at 188 First Ave. between East 11th Street and East 12th Street has apparently closed for good.

Slum Goddess first pointed this out to us on Friday evening… and Oyama was closed all weekend. The phone goes unanswered … and they are listed as "not currently open" on Seamless.

New Brick Lane Curry House space (finally) shaping up

[EVG file photo]

More than three years has passed since we heard that Brick Lane Curry House was going to relocate from East Sixth Street to 99 Second Ave. between East Sixth Street and East Fifth Street.

Workers recently removed the graffiti/poster-attracting plywood on Second Avenue …



… which now provides a look inside at the renovation progress…



No word on the actual relocation. Back on April 21, Fork in the Road reported that the move would likely happen in three to four weeks … looks like the Brick Lane folks have a little ways to go.

Previously, the address was home to Sea Salt, the short-lived fish place that remained intact for several years after closing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Brick Lane Curry House still planning Second Avenue expansion

World's largest Brick Lane Curry House slated for 99 Second Avenue

New for East 6th Street: barber shop, dry cleaners with cafe

Several readers have told us that Ace of Cuts barber shop (with an actual barber pole!) opened last Wednesday mid-block at No. 518 here between Avenue A and Avenue B ...

The proprietor, we're told, is an industrious 20 year old named Alex ...



Meanwhile, right next door ...



... a cleaners and cafe is officially opening this week ...



We don't know too much about this concept yet (paper was still up on the windows when we went by yesterday). Unlike the Wash House over on East First Street, this place will not be serving beer and wine. Not sure about grilled cheese.

3 storefronts down in the ongoing demolition of East 14th Street

Just noting a milestone of sorts in the ongoing demolition of a good chunk of East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B… Workers have now taken out the former ABC Animal Hospital, Petland and Bargain Express.





Next up: The former Rite Aid, Blarney Cove, et al., to the west.



This is all to make way for two, 7-floor retail-residential buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units

Joe Strummer and Father's Day

The Joe Strummer mural on the side of Niagara on East Seventh Street and Avenue A looked quite vibrant in the morning light today…

And being Father's Day, I was reminded of this video of Joe Strummer's daughters, Jazz and Lola, talking about being … well, the daughters of Joe Strummer…



And now… if your daddy was a bank robber…

Week in Grieview

[Avenue D]

RIP Hayne Suthon, owner of Lucky Cheng's (Wednesday)

Gabay's Outlet is on the move (Thursday)

Bank branches bank branches EVERYWHERE (Monday)

Those damn hippies on St. Mark's Place in 1968 (Friday)

Ex-cop leaves gun behind after barfing at the Phoenix (Friday)

Ryan's Irish Pub making way for the Copper Still (Thursday)

Launderette has closed on Second Avenue (Wednesday)

Gut renovating 324 E. Fourth St. (Monday)

Bugs closed for now on East 12th Street (Monday)

Hey, Funkiberry opened (Friday)

R&S Strauss prepped for demo on East 14th Street (Tuesday)

Out and About with Anthony Rocco (Wednesday)

Honoring poet Frank O'Hara (Tuesday)

More $1 pizza (Monday)

What's up with those bright lights on the Bowery? (Tuesday)

Love for the Stage Restaurant (Monday)

Purple Rain on Avenue A (Monday)

Video of a fistfight on St. Mark's Place (Sunday)

347 Bowery ready for the wrecking ball (Monday)

4th Avenue water tank gets some STIK figures (Thursday)

Moving day for this piano (Thursday)

… and we really enjoyed J and the 9s yesterday in Tompkins Square Park …


[Photo by Cheryl Pyle via Facebook]

Liberation day for the Tompkins Square Park lawn!

[Memorial Day 2014]

The great grassy knoll in Tompkins Square Park has been sorta officially off-limits this spring and early summer due to the "newly seeded lawn."

Still, that didn't stop some sun-loving anarchists from hopping the fence on weekends!

@evgrieve @ChrisFaile well the gates are still locked but me and about 30 others hopped the fence. Fuck the Man! pic.twitter.com/5rybVWCo3P

— Eden Brower (@edenbrower) May 26, 2014

Anyway! That won't be necessary moving forward … as of yesterday afternoon, the signs are gone… the grass is cut … the cocoa butter (or whatever people use for sun!) is waiting!

An NYC now and then

Here's a photo compilation by Cora Drimus that compares "old and present-day New York City."

The current photos that Cora used here are from April.

Find more details about this project at YouTube.

Unparalleled parking on East 7th Street

Photo by Derek Berg

2nd Avenue, 8:44 a.m., June 15

Welcome to New York

Earlier today on Avenue A, Kristen from Norway, spending her second day in NYC, was busking with an electric guitar on Avenue A between East Second Street and East Third Street.

After about, oh, 20 minutes, two police officers, driving in an unmarked vehicle, arrived on the scene. She was singing a song about Saturday, a pleasant alternative-rock (for lack of a better description) sounding number.

The officers waited until the song was over, then told her that she needed to leave.

She protested a little, explaining that she has busked throughout Europe the past 10 years without incident. The officers nodded and said that she was done for the day. She asked if she could play one more song. No. In a firm yet polite tone, they reiterated that she had to pack up and go.

As the officers returned to their car, several passersby explained to Kristen that the amplification was the problem in the estimation of the NYPD.

Did she have an acoustic guitar?

No.

Could she play the electric guitar without the small amp?

No, it will sound weird.

She thought she could just move up to the next block.

Hmm, no — not a good idea. The officers will certainly drive by again … and probably issue a ticket for something.

Her haul this morning: Two single $1 bills, and a handful of coins that looked to amount to $1.50.

Noted

Spotted on East Houston near the Bowery… in case you are in the market for a bike tire…

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Oh, we happened to be at Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place at the exact time (8:20ish) that a seemingly random person pulled the police barricades across the street to mark the start of a — ding! ding! — STREET FAIR/FESTIVAL … actually, The Cooper Square Committee Street Festival, per the signage.



Anyway!





We were also there in time for an exclusive first look at today's porta-potties … (these will do!)



We also heard swear words from motorists who suddenly made u-turns, nearly driving into fools taking photos of porta-potties…



And for all you complainers out there who think there are street fairs like every 20 minutes around here… there hasn't been one of these since May 17, which is like a month in street fair years.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

This afternoon in Tompkins Square Park

Here are the set times:

2 — Running Thoughts
2:30 — Srotakin IV
3 — J and the 9s
3:30 — SOS NYC
4 — Tragic Anti-Hero
4:30 — Spacebeard
5 — Hail Action
5:30 — The Nuclears

As we understand it, there will be some vendors there too, including Our Lady of Perpetual PMS with her affordable art and punk crafts.

You can head to the Facebook events page for more on each of the bands.

A panoramic view of last night's incoming storm

[Click on image for a better view]

Photo by Dan Celio via Facebook.

A little sky before it rained a lot late this afternoon

A view from East Seventh Street via EVG reader Elle Sturm...

A place in the 'Sun'

Here is "Sun Glass," something new from Fucked Up … who released "Glass Boys" last week on Matador.

Look for them at Irving Plaza on Sept. 6.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo at The Library on Avenue A by Ricky Knapp]

CB3 problems loom large in chairperson race (The Villager)

Some love for Big Bar on East Seventh Street (The New York Times)

East Village Radio's sendoff (The New Yorker)

3 LES community centers in danger with city budget shortfall (The Lo-Down)

This East Village co-op comes with a home recording studio (Curbed)

Video feature about Donostia on Avenue B (Vimeo)

Not an episode of Portlandia: The long lines at Shake Shake for a truffle-topped burger (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Video from 2008: Thurston Moore on the No Wave scene (Dangerous Minds)

Rising real-estate prices force longtime LES fencing school to close (DNAinfo)

Parking garage on Kenmare boarded up to make way for luxury housing (BoweryBoogie)

A look at the legendary BC Studio in Gowanus (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Williamsburg is turning into a high-end mall (The Wall Street Journal, sub. may be required)

And … here's another video from East Village resident Stephen Nangeroni … who did the lovely "Snow Day" last year. His latest is "One Day in New York City," and was made for the "One Day on Earth" filmmaking initiative. The aim of the piece was to capture the ebb and flow of activity on a lively, spring day in the city, and it was largely filmed in and around East River Park.

A comment from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it

[Photo from the going-away party this past Saturday]

As you might know, the 1978 Cadillac Sedan Deville — aka, the Cadillac with the Tiger in it — has left its 22-year-home on East Second Street.

Ernest, who works nearby as a custodian, is the proud new owner. This past Saturday, the owner of the Cadillac with the Tiger in it presented the car to Ernest.

Since then, several people have asked how things were going. We don't really know, though the Cadillac with the Tiger in it left this comment on Wednesday night:

I thank all of you who have expressed interest in my stories. I made it safely to my new location and Ernest is taking good care of us. Soon I will update you all with photos and info about the farewell gathering, which was wonderful. But the tiger and I need to rest a little first — we've had a long journey and a lot of excitement the past week!

Previously on EV Grieve:
That Cadillac that we've long admired on East 2nd St. now has a stuffed tiger on the front seat

And now, stories from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it on East 2nd Street

And now, another story from the Cadillac with the Tiger in it on East 2nd Street

Alas, the end is near for the Cadillac with the Tiger in it on East 2nd Street

Everything that you wanted to know about the Cadillac with the Tiger in it

Also! The Cadillac with the Tiger in it now has its on website. Find that here.

Report: Retired detective leaves gun behind after throwing up in The Phoenix

[EVG file photo of the Phoenix]

In an "exclusive" today, the Post reports that former NYPD Detective Eric Reynolds left his Colt. 38 behind after drinking for six hours at the Phoenix on East 13th Street.

Specifically:

Reynolds placed his cellphone and pistol on the sink while worshipping the porcelain god, picking the phone back up only when he took off at around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, the sources said.

He and a buddy had made it all the way to Union Square when Reynolds patted his gun holster and realized his epic mistake.

The NYPD is checking surveillance video to find who may have taken the misplaced gun.

According to an unnamed owner of The Phoenix:

“We all make mistakes. Maybe he had been drinking. He made a mistake,” said the woman, who would not give her name. “Maybe he shouldn’t have brought a gun with him.”

The Post also sent a reporter to Reynolds' home, and note that he "answered the door with his Chihuahua and declined to comment."

Meanwhile on St. Mark's Place in 1968….

[Click on image to enlarge]

Here's a photo that EVG reader George Cohen took in 1968 "of the hippie scene on St. Mark's Place between Third and Second Avenues, looking east."

How did these people survive without $1 pizza along that corridor?

Ipswich Watch & Clock Shop has moved to East 11th Street

Ipswich Watch & Clock Shop has a new home at 434 E. 11th St. just west of Avenue A.

The shop had previously been subletting space from Archangel Antiques on East Ninth Street. However, Archangel's owners are retiring after 21 years at the end of June.

Meanwhile, if things work out, then Ipswich will have a new neighbor soon in the form of Royal Tailor Shop. Gino DiGirolamo says that he will be moving here from East 14th Street in the coming weeks…


[At the Royal Tailor Shop on May 31]

With this and the upcoming Gabay's Outlet move to Avenue A, it's nice to have some positive small-shop news for a change.

Desi Shack opens today on 4th Avenue

After a lunch trial run the past two days, the quick-serve Indian-Pakistani restaurant here near East 13th Street opens for good today.

This is the second Manhattan location for Desi Shack.

You can find their menu here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Desi Shack signage arrives on Fourth Avenue

Hey, Funkiberry is now open on 3rd Avenue

Another FroYo choice as of yesterday here at East 12th Street.

Can you feel the excitement?

This is the third Funkiberry location in NYC. And according to the Funkiberry website, they are — apparently for real — opening locations in Moscow, Rome, Kiev, Paris and Fuzhou.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Stuff that you can't make up: More FroYo for the East Village

Ghost signage uncovered on Third Avenue and East 12th Street

DOUBLE ghost signage discovered at 88 3rd Ave.

Hey, the Funkiberry sign is up on 3rd Avenue

What it takes to move a Steinway baby grand piano into an East Village townhouse

Today at 410 E. Ninth St., movers were on the scene between Avenue A and First Avenue to get a Steinway baby grand piano off the truck and into the condo duplex ...



This maneuver required a crane ...



... and the removal of the window frame on the third floor...







All told, one of the crew members told EVG reader dbs, who took these photos, that the whole job likely cost some $20,000. A small price for some beautiful music?

Say goodbye to the temporary fire truck garage on East 14th Street

[EVG file photo from August 2013]

Workers today disassembled the temporary structure outside Engine Company 5 on East 14th Street near First Avenue. For the past 10 months, the pen had been housing the truck from Ladder Company 3 on East 13th Street near Fourth Avenue ... while that station house underwent repairs ...


[Photo by EVG reader Pinch]

Previously on EV Grieve:
This open, airy, East Village studio seeks $2,600 a month