At the 24th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade

So the 24th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade took place yesterday … EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in the thick of it…



























---

DRONE ALERT!!!



---

Nice try!

At the 24th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade yesterday… photo by Derek Berg.

A basement fire and a lot of firefighters last night on St. Mark's Place

Last night just after 7, the FDNY showed up full force on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue …

MAN ALL HANDS 115 ST MARKS PL, COMMERCIAL FIRE IN BASEMENT, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 25, 2014

Greg Nardello, who runs Augers Well at 115 St. Mark's Place, believes that the fire was in the basement next door at No. 117.


[Photo by Greg Nardello]

The FDNY quickly contained the basement fire. Smoke from the blaze momentarily filled Box Kite Coffee at No. 115 with smoke.

"My basement was also completely covered in smoke. Not too much to report except for some minor damages from the fire crews to a few businesses on the block," Nardello told us.

Box Kite was open per usual today. No word on the cause of the basement fire.

A little early Halloween punk rock today in Tompkins Square Park

A fine lineup of punk and other rock/roll in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon starting at 1:30… stick around for headliner Dawn of Humans. Perhaps they will leave their chains at home today. (Really really NSFW if you want to see.)

Noted

Graffiti of the times on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue...

Halloween at La Plaza Cultural: Shed of Horrors, Tombstone Making, etc.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C and East Ninth Street has been transformed into … Halloweenland (not the official title)… here are the activities this week, starting today...

Sunday noon - 4 pm: Pumpkin Carving, Tombstone Making, Face Painting
Thursday 5 pm - 7 pm: Spooky Storytime & Pumpkin Lighting
Friday 4 pm - 9 pm: East Village Insane Asylum with Haunted Garden, Magician, Fortune Telling, Shed of Horrors, Bat Cave & Treats! (Rain date Saturday, 11/1, 5 pm - 7 pm)

See you in the Bat Cave!

'Harvest' time today at the Children's Workshop School

The school is at 610 E. 12th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C… Festival times: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Today's hawk

It wasn't all about dogs in costumes today in Tompkins Square Park...







Photos by Bobby Williams

Staring at the sun

An update from local astronomy buff Felton Davis...

We have located the "monster sunspot," and stared it down all afternoon!

A huge cluster of spots almost ten times the diameter of the Earth appeared a few days ago, and fortunately the skies cleared in time for a long session on Saturday afternoon. Many of my fans said they were disappointed that Thursday's eclipse was rained out, but this was something new for us all. Thanks to Ranjit and Chelsea for taking spectacular cellphone photos.

Citi Bike sale apparently a done deal

[Photo by Derek Berg]

According to various published reports, REQX Ventures has purchased Citi Bike from Alta Bicycle Share.

The sale will likely see the price of annual memberships rise from $95 to about $145, though that number has yet to be confirmed.

Per Capital New York, REQX Ventures is run by people affiliated with Related Companies — developer of the Time Warner Center and Hudson Yards — and its subsidiary Equinox.

Gracefully is no longer open 24 hours on Avenue A

You'll need to check the clock next time that you have an urge for a, say, Smokey The Bear or Uncle Alex sandwich at 4:30 a.m…. the market at 28 Avenue A between East Second Street and East Third Street has changed their hours.

As of last night, the new hours are:

Monday-Saturday 6 am - 11 pm
Sunday 7 am - 11 pm

We don't know why the store stopped its 24/7 times … lack of overnight business? A cost-cutting move?

[Thanks to EVG reader Katie Mac for the tip]

It is nice out

Thankfully there is social media for these kinds of observations…


[East 10th Street looking toward 2nd Avenue]

Zoltar continues his difficult transition on the left side of Gem Spa's front door

It has been less than a week since Zoltar got the boot from his two-plus-year spot on the right outside Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

While we're waiting for the auditing financials for his take this week to compare it to previous weeks … we can say, anecdotally, that he just doesn't look happy here.

And why? To have more room to see a few more bags and hats for raves?



And Key Master sucks.

Noted

The hand is starting to bloom on the northwest corner of Houston and Avenue A … via EVG reader Victoria...

Legends of the Fall

The Fall with "Totally Wired" from 1982. Totally.

Korilla BBQ is now officially open

After a test run in recent days, the food truckers at Korilla BBQ have opened their first restaurant at 23 Third Ave. near St. Mark's Place ... EVG reader Stephen Popkin stopped by for a look...





As we first noted, Korilla's interior includes an intricate illustration by lifelong East Village resident Terry Galmitz ...



You can check out the Korilla menu here ... we understand about 75 percent of the menu is available now as they continue to gear up...

Previously on EV Grieve:
23 Third Ave. getting its stripes

Korilla BBQ confirmed for Archie & Sons space

Updated: City deems 338 E. Sixth St. 'unsafe to occupy'

[Photo from Wednesday]

On Wednesday, the city put in a Vacate Order at 338 E. Sixth St., the building that has been undergoing a gut renovation these past 18 months.

Now more paperwork has arrived outside here between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... a partial vacate order with more details about the apparent danger...



As previously reported, Rory Denis, who has lived here since 1979, is the building's lone resident. He has been fighting to keep his rent-stabilized apartment during the 18 months of gut renovations.

Now he is out of a home... and Awash Ethiopian Restaurant in the commercial space is temporarily out of business.

According to the notice:

"The new metal staircase treads are not fully planked. Significant debris in apartment 4R impeding egress throughout all rooms. Falling debris from the facade of exposure #1 has caused an unsafe condition to the patrons of the restaurant ... These conditions have create [sic] a hazardous condition to the occupants and has therefore rendered Apartment 4R and Commercial Space unsafe to occupy."

Denis took landlord Nurjahan Ahmed to housing court last year after she switched off the electricity and water. Denis won the case in June 2013, which forced Ahmed to restore the services.

Given the history here, we can't imagine any scenario where this comes to a quick resolution.

Updated 5:30

EVG reader Michael Hirsch tells us that the Buildings Department issued a partial rescind of their order, allowing Awash to remain in the building and reopen tonight.

Photos by Michael Hirsch

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gut renovations enter 16th month at 338 E. Sixth St., where 1 tenant remains

Vacate order issued for East 6th Street building with lone resident

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo by Scuba Diva]

$250 fine for motorist accused of deliberately striking cyclist on Avenue B and East 13th Street (StreetsBlog)

Building issues at 544 E. 13th St. (The Villager)

AAA Ichiban Sushi latest Ben Shaoul-related closure on Orchard Street (BoweryBoogie)

"Eightiesville," nine minutes of 1980s NYC (Flaming Pablum)

8 p.m. at Lucy's (Eater)

Safety improvements for Delancey and Pitt (The Lo-Down)

Hell yes! INDUSTRIAL TERROR series at the Anthology through Halloween (Anthology Film Archives)

Checking out the various birds of NYC (Gog in NYC)

The old New York of the Oak Room (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

... and there's a rummage sale tomorrow at the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on East Ninth Street and Avenue B... all proceeds go to the church's soup kitchen and pantry...

Former Avenue A laundromat 'is perfect for anyone with an exciting hip concept for a bar or restaurant'

[EVG file photo]

Kim's Laundromat & Cleaners on the southeast corner of Avenue A and East 13th Street got rent hiked out of business at the end of July.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, brokers are peddling the space for a bar/restaurant.

Here's the pitch via Loop Net:

Former laundromat in the east village. Great corner space on 13th and Avenue A with 50 feet of frontage. Easily vented for a restaurant or bar. total build-out needed. Rent concession will be given for build-out, and will vary on a tenant to tenant basis. 1300 sf

Great corner in the East Village. Surrounded by college students, young professionals, and bar-hoppers, this space is perfect for anyone with an exciting hip concept for a bar or restaurant.

The space is going for $135 per square foot.

Good luck to the potential tenant securing a liquor license in a saturated zone with a business that has never previously had a liquor license…

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Rent hike washes away longtime Avenue A laundromat