Commodities is under new ownership on 1st Avenue

Tipsters galore have shared the news that Commodities Natural Market at 165 First Ave. has a new owner, as the sign posted on the front door notes...



EVG correspondent Steven met the new owner, Ashok Patel ...



Patel said that the store's current healthy focus will remain, though its name will change to Commodities Health Foods in the near future.

Michael Hughes opened Commodities here between 10th Street and 11th Street in 1993. Hughes and his wife Audra opened an outpost in Vermont in 2015 (there are now two there). Leading up to that Vermont debut, Michael's brother Ed took over the East Village shop.

In any event, the arrival of new ownership will likely put to rest those persistent rumors that circulated last fall about the store closing, based in part on the under-stocked shelves... apparently patrons asked this question of the staff enough to lead to these signs at checkout ...


[Photo from last fall via Steven]

Meanwhile, no word on what the new owner has in mind for those wily sparrows that flew in a few months ago when the front doors were open for a delivery...



Employees have tried to shoo them out, but it hasn't worked.

H/T Linn, Bill, Daniel and dwg!

Wara looks to open in early February on 1st Avenue

As noted earlier last month, Wara, a Japanese izakaya restaurant and dinner theater, is coming soon to 67 First Ave. at Fourth Street.

The storefront now boasts some subtle Wara signage...



Wayne Yip, who owns Jebon Sushi at 15 St. Mark's Place and Clay Pot at 58 St. Mark's Place, is behind this venture.

Wara will include a Batsu theater, in which a comedy troupe takes part in slapstick challenges "to avoid electric shocks, paintballs, a giant egg-smashing chicken, and many more hilarious and jaw-dropping punishments!"

Jebon currently hosts the shows. According to the Batsu website, tickets purchased for dates after Feb. 8 will be at Wara.



The Korean cafe Space Mabi closed here without any notice to patrons in November after a year in business.

A Midwinter closing on 2nd Avenue

A quick closure to note outside the usual coverage area. An EVG tipster shares the news that Midwinter Kitchen closed after service on Sunday at 327 Second Ave. at 19th Street. The owners left this message for patrons on the restaurant's website:

We have had three formidable years here at Midwinter Kitchen. It has been such a privilege to bring our farm to table project to life in this community. Even more inspiring for us has been the experience of sharing the fruits of our labor with all of you. Your participation, appreciation and loyal patronage has been a true blessing to us.

Sadly the reality of a profoundly labor intensive farming and restaurant operation are at odds with the current economic climate and it is with a very heavy heart that we have decided that Midwinter Kitchen and Midwinter Farm will close their doors as of January 27, 2019.

The restaurant took its farm-to-table mission seriously, serving food from its very own Midwinter Farms in Ancram, N.Y.

Midwinter took over for Mezcla, a short-lived Latin bistro.

Before this, Capucine's Restaurant managed to stick around the address for 33 years before they were rent hiked in 2013.

Noted

Checking in on those sidewalk repairs on First Avenue near 10th Street ... just outside Gizmo...

Perfect!



Hopefully there was room left for you to leave your initials or foot prints...



Thanks to Steven for the photos!

La Plaza's temporary closure for new fencing postponed; farewell to the Winter Flowers

La Plaza Cultural, the community garden/green space on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C, was expected to close to the public after this past Thursday.

However, word circulated yesterday that work on the installation of the new fence got pushed back by about a month due to a contract issue. For now, La Plaza will remain open to about Feb. 24.



As noted back in the fall, to accommodate the new fence, garden volunteers removed the Winter Flowers, the handmade sculptures that Rolando Politi created from recycled materials starting in 2000.

The sculptures, which numbered nearly 350, adorned the top of the fence along Ninth Street and Avenue C, and was one of the more unique public art installations in the neighborhood.

This photo is from the fall...



And back to the current state of La Plaza...





Politi published a book of his work titled "Winter Flowers" ... this flyer has more details...



You may email Politi here to order a copy.

Local residents and activists founded La Plaza in 1976. It was renamed in honor of Armando Perez, a community activist who was murdered in 1999, in 2003.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A fall day to remove the Winter Flowers from La Plaza Cultural

Ravi DeRossi plans vegan diner in former Bar Virage space

Ravi DeRossi is looking to expand his vegan empire with a new concept — the Dollface Diner.

The East Village-based restaurateur is on the February CB3-SLA committee docket (the meeting is Feb. 11) for a new liquor license for the former Bar Virage space on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

To date, just the preliminary application is on file at the CB3 website, so there aren't many details yet on what to expect.

We reached out to DeRossi for more details on the concept, which was first mentioned during a #EatForThePlanet with Nil Zacharias podcast in the fall of 2017.

At that time, DeRossi described Dollface as a 24/7 vegan diner, a "family-friendly space" with pastries, ice cream, milk shakes and egg creams. (In the same podcast, he discussed plans to take this concept, along with Avant Garden Sandwich Co., a plant-based sub-sandwich shop, national.)

If the Dollface application gets approval, then this will make DeRossi's fourth establishment along Seventh Street, joining Ladybird, Fire & Water and Avant Garden.

Meanwhile, he's currently changing concepts at Cienfuegos, which is undergoing a revamp to a plant-based Texas BBQ joint called called Honeybee's at 95 Avenue A and Sixth Street.

Bar Virage closed in late December after 20-plus years in business. No reason was cited for the closure.

Photo by Steven

Construction fencing set for incoming condoplex at 14 2nd Ave.

Workers have set up construction camp at 14 Second Ave. between First Street and First Street Green Art Park ... the first signs of the condoplexing ahead for Treetops, the name of the 10-story residential building that will rise here...



New owner Daniel Vislocky (of development firm Station Companies) told Curbed last month that he "expects prices to be in the $2.8 million to $3.5 million range" for the building's units, where residents will have access to ground-floor storage and a gym.

Vislocky also said that he'd be working with a consultant to take the appropriate steps to remedy the Stop Work Orders dating to 2000 and 2009, which was long before he owned the property.

This site has been vacant for years, last housing Irreplaceable Artifacts. There's a lot of back story, which the links below cover...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Workers remove artifacts from the vacant 14 2nd Ave., fueling speculation of new development

Development watch: 14 2nd Ave.

Vacant lot at 14 2nd Ave. sells for $7 million; will yield to 10-floor condoplex

More about Treetops, the name of the condoplex coming to 14 2nd Ave.

Headed south: Mr. White has apparently closed on St. Mark's Place

Word is circulating that Mr. White, the upscale, New Orleans-themed restaurant at 123 St. Mark's Place, has closed ... a chain lock was on the front door when Mr. White was scheduled to be open on Saturday evening...



The restaurant's phone is out of service and its website is offline... Yelp reports that Mr. White has closed.

Mr. White opened last February here between Avenue A and First Avenue. The space was gutted and fitted to evoke a Southern mansion, complete with fireplace and velvet curtains. Menu items included chargrilled oysters, collard green spring rolls, smoked duck, shrimp and grits, and brûlée bananas.

The address was previously home to the Belgian Room, which the state seized for nonpayment of taxes in April 2015. The reconfigured Mr. White space also includes the former Ton-Up Cafe.

Spicy Moon brings vegetarian szechuan to 6th Street

Spicy Moon has been in soft-open mode since Jan. 17 here at 328 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue in the former Zen 6 space. (The owners of Zen 6, a ramen spot, are also behind Spicy Moon.)

Per the restaurant's Instagram: "Spicy Moon is 100% Vegan and 100% devoted to serving our guests the best #plantbased flavors in NYC."



You can check out their menu via Seamless here.

And Vegan NYC likes it so far...

Mi Casa Latina debuts on 14th Street

Mi Casa Latina is now open at 250 E. 14th St., just west of the Colonel on the corner of Second Avenue.

The sidewalk chalkboard signage touts quick-serve a.m. items like coffee and muffins for the commuting crowd... the menu includes a variety of fresh juices and bowls of açaí ... there are also steam tables with daily lunch specials such as the pork and rice for $10...



No. 250 previously housed PokéVillage, which closed in March 2018 after 16 months in business.

Previously.

Former Kingsley space now for rent

Kingsley went dark back in early September without any notice to patrons — at the restaurant or online — here at 190 Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Someone emptied out the restaurant in late December, and the for rent signs arrived this past week, officially closing the book on Kingsley, which served "seasonal, local ingredients with a contemporary French-American menu," per its website.

Chef-owner chef Roxanne Spruance opened the space in December 2015, and received some attention given her past work in well-regarded kitchens such as Blue Hill and WD-50.

The restaurant took over the space from Back 40, which closed in December 2014 after seven years in business. Chef-owner Peter Hoffman told Eater that "a difficult landscape and lease uncertainty" led to the closure. Not sure if we ever moved past the "difficult landscape."

That was Life

In honor of the hoopla around Fox's live production of "Rent" tonight... here's a look in the EVG archives... Michael Sean Edwards took these photos outside Life Cafe, where Jonathan Larson spent time when he was writing the musical, in the weeks leading up to its closure in September 2011 after 30 years in service on 10th Street and Avenue B...








[Click to go big]

Week in Grieview

[1st Avenue steam out]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

RIP Jonas Mekas (Wednesday ... Thursday)

There was a slight decline in the number of NYC chain stores this past year (Monday)

A visit to Miscelanea NY on 4th Street (Thursday)

A look at where Citi Bike is expanding in the East Village (Wednesday)

1st signs of the construction to come at the 2nd Avenue explosion site (Friday)

Joe’s Steam Rice Roll heading to 36 St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Cheska's pizza now serving in the Bowery Market (Tuesday)

Today's Urban Etiquette marijuana sign of the day (Sunday)

A session for tenants to learn how to fight back against construction as harassment (Thursday)

Former Nicoletta space for rent on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street (Tuesday)

Report: The L-train's weekend repair plans would mean exit-only stations on 1st and 3rd avenues (Thursday)

On the Mark Cleaners now open on 13th Street (Tuesday)

Checking in on the under-renovation Ottendorfer Library (Wednesday)

'Fear and misinformation' on 4th Street: Developer sues over rejected hotel plans (Thursday)

This is what the Sunshine Cinema looks like today — 1 year after it closed (Monday)

Whatever happened to ... Donostia? (Thursday)

... and over on Broadway and 13th Street, someone made an addition to the ad for Success Academy Charter Schools... writing in the annual salary of founder and CEO Eva Sarah Moskowitz ...



On this topic, the East Village Community School PA is hosting a screening of the documentary "Backpack Full of Cash," which explores the cost of privatizing America's public schools, free of charge and open to all, on March 6 at 6 p.m.

Thanks Choresh Wald!

---

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Grant Shaffer's NYC See

Here's this week's NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood ... and NYC.

Ghost signage reveal on 5th Street

Workers renovating 317 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue uncovered this ghost signage today ... Derek Berg spotted this earlier today... Wines & Lager Beer (early BEER STORE?)... I can't quite make out the first name (Cosrt?)...



Updated 1/27

I looked at the city tax photos for this address ... a business is in the space, though it doesn't have this wine/lager signage...



Can't quite make out the sign ...

The West African fare at Golody Halal Buffet on 1st Avenue

Over at Eater, Robert Sietsema visits Golody Halal Buffet at 222 First Ave. (between 13th Street and 14th Street) in his latest Cheap Eats series.

The longtime food writer likes what he found. A sampling from the buffet:

Choices include popular dishes from Senegal, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, and the selection changes daily. The cashier told me, for example, that a fermented cornmeal mash from Ghana called kenkey would be available on Wednesdays ... The day I went, there were several types of rice available, and a Guinean sauce de feuilles made with sweet potato leaves, a Nigerian okra sauce dotted with beef, and a Senegalese chicken yassa ... It helps to know this food already, but you’ll do quite well just loading up your plate with things that look good to you. The cost is $5.99 per pound, which is a great deal.

Sounds like a much more interesting cheap eats option than the previous tenant here — the $1 slices of Joey Pepperoni.

'Thin Man' triple feature tomorrow at the Tompkins Square Library branch

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Tomorrow, we’ll be playing Myrna Loy all day, with a Thin Man triple feature! 11am: The Thin Man (1934), 1pm: After the Thin Man (1936), 3pm: Another Thin Man (1939). #myrnaloy #williampowell #thethinman #eastvillage #lowereastside #tompkinssquare #tompkinssquarelibrary #film #free

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Jan 25, 2019 at 12:31pm PST

The first three of the six Nick and Nora (and Asta!) capers, starring Myrna Loy and William Powell, are playing tomorrow at the Tompkins Square Library branch (331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B) starting at 11 a.m.

The big Asleep

The London-based trio Big Joanie released their debut record, Sistas, last month (details here) ... the above video is for "Fall Asleep."

Some background, per Cargo Records:

Inspired by The Ronettes, Nirvana, Breeders and Jesus and Mary Chain, Big Joanie have described themselves as being “similar to The Ronettes filtered through ’80s DIY and Riot Grrrl with a sprinkling of dashikis.”

A return to 11th Street this weekend for 'McKinney Arts REDUX'

[Now and then]

Last month, Mark McKinney was walking around the East Village with his son.

From 1996-1997, he ran a gallery, McKinney Arts, at 526 E. 11th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. When he went by the storefront in December, he saw that it was a flex rental space available for pop-up shows.

"I figured, what's the likelihood of the exact same space being available 22 years later?" McKinney, who now lives and works from Belleville, N.J., told me. "So I rented the space for this weekend, tracked down a number of artists who I represented 22 years ago, and I've curated a show called "McKinney Arts REDUX."

The two-day show is tomorrow (Saturday!) and Sunday. A few details:

A pop-up show featuring art by:

Peter Bregoli, Jennie Booth, Peter Carey, Marguerite Day, Fred Fleisher, Mark McKinney, Tony Nogueira, and Brad Terhune.

Hours:
Saturday, 2-9 p.m., with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m.
Sunday, noon-8 p.m.

Before moving to 11th Street, McKinney lived on Stanton Street and ran an impromptu exhibition space there.

"The 'bedroom' was so small, I couldn't fit my bed in there, so I turned it into a gallery," he said.

TGIF, red-tailed hawk edition

Amelia and Christo, the red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, as seen here lounging in the nest ... photo this afternoon courtesy of Steven.

1st signs of the construction to come at the 2nd Avenue explosion site

A jackhammer crew has started to break up the sidewalk this morning on Second Avenue at Seventh Street ... where there are approved plans (as of Dec. 27 by the city) to build a 7-story condoplex on this corner.

The Morris Adjmi-designed residential building with 21 condos and ground-floor retail will include a commemorative plaque that honors Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa, the men who died in the gas explosion on this site on March 26, 2015.

Shaky Cohen's Nexus Building Development Group paid $9.15 million for the empty lots.

The previous owner of 119 and 121 Second Ave., Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Hrynenko (now deceased), contractor Dilber Kukic and their plumber Anthanasios Ioannidis illegally tampered with the gas line then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

According to public records, Hrynenko and the other defendants will appear in court again on March 21. Records show that Hrynenko and the other accused have appeared in New York County Criminal Court 23 times since February 2016... and the outcome was the same — "adjourned/bail continued" — since their initial appearance. There's also a new judge presiding, Michael J. Obus of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Justice Kirke Bartley had been the judge of record.

Updated 2:30 p.m.

WIP via Steven...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Soil testing underway at the 2nd Avenue explosion site

EVG Etc.: East River Park stormproofing reactions; 14th Street trapeze hoop dreams

[A note at Ben Shaoul's new condoplex next to Katz's]

As we've been reporting, City Council held an oversight hearing on the secretly revised East River Park stormproofing plan on Wednesday afternoon. Gothamist and Curbed had reporters at the well-attended hearing. Find their recaps at these links:

• LES & East Village Residents Feel 'Duped' By City's Surprise Plan To Bury East River Park (Gothamist)

• Revamped East Side flood protection plan debated at packed City Council hearing (Curbed)

A visit to the East 14th Street home of aerialist Phoenix Feeley, who is subletting her place that is outfitted with a trapeze hoop. However: "The hoop will stay in a locked closet, for use by any tenants with the proper training and insurance." (The New Yorker)

The MTA postpones its fare-hike vote — until next month (amNY)

Inside the fight over the Elizabeth Street Garden (Curbed)

What's happening in the ongoing e-bike/e-scooter debate among city bigs (Daily News)

A new development with "micro units" coming to Essex Street (City Realty)

Yep: New York’s nightlife industry outpaces rest of local economy (Curbed)

Staffers at the New Museum on the Bowery vote to unionize (Hyperallergic)

East Village-based singer-songwriter Riley Pinkerton plays the Mercury Lounge Feb. 6 (Official site)

An appreciation of the late Saul Leiter, artist, photographer and longtime East Village resident (Off the Grid)

Give 'em the hook originated on stage at this Bowery theater in the 1890s (Ephemeral New York)

"Burning," the critically acclaimed South Korean thriller from Lee Chang-dong, got snubbed in the best foreign-language film category in the Oscar race. Anyway, it's still enjoying a run at the Quad on 13th Street (Official site)

A rando ICYMI: That video of Beto O'Rourke on rhythm guitar in a onesie and sheep mask playing (with a band) "Blitzkrieg Bop" (Mother Jones)

... and if you happen to have a subscription to The Economist, then you can read a feature on Alex Harsley, the photographer who runs the great 4th Street Photo Gallery on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery. The piece is titled "Alex Harsley is an unsung doyen of New York photography."

The city has been Mr Harsley’s home since 1948, when, aged ten, he moved there from South Carolina. He took his first photograph ten years later, and became the first black photographer to work for the city’s district attorney’s office. His scintillating pictures freeze moments in New York’s evolution from the 1950s to the present.

You can also head into the EVG archives for this two-part interview with Alex from January 2014.


[Photo for EVG by James Maher]

Late-afternoon rainbow break

Thanks to EVG reader Jeanne Krier for sharing this rainbow pic looking to the East from late this afternoon around 4:30 ... no word on where the end of the rainbow was.

A memorial for Jonas Mekas outside the Anthology Film Archives

There's a makeshift memorial for Jonas Mekas outside the Anthology Film Archives on Second Street at Second Avenue. Mekas, the filmmaker, writer, poet, curator, historian as well as co-founder of the Anthology, died yesterday morning. He was 96.

Steven shared these photos...









Here are several links for more on Mekas and his impact on cinema...

Jonas Mekas: how a Lithuanian refugee redefined American cinema (The Guardian)

Jonas Mekas, Underground Filmmaker Who Cast A Long Shadow, Dies At 96 (NPR)

Jonas Mekas, RIP: Why This 96-Year-Old Legend Was Our Most Important Cinephile (IndieWire)

And among his many, many works... "My Mars Bar Movie," an 87-minute documentary on one of the filmmaker's favorite bars.

Report: The L-train's weekend repair plans would mean exit-only stations on 1st and 3rd avenues

In case you missed this Streetsblog scoop yesterday... the Streetsbloggers got a draft MTA memo that reveals some of the potential pain behind Gov. Cuomo's miracle L-train cure.

A few items of interest to residents and retailers around here...

On weekends:

• "Stations at First and Third avenues will likely be reconfigured to exit-only." ("That’s just abysmal for the East Village," said Jon Orcutt, the spokesman for TransitCenter.)

Overnight, there will be 20-minute gaps in train service (like on weekends) .. plus!

• "There will be the aforementioned need for 'metering' at L platforms at Union Square, Third Avenue, First Avenue and Bedford Avenue. If the monitoring of station crowds reveals a danger, the MTA would temporarily restrict access to the platforms."

MTA officials weren't pleased by the leak.

“The alternative service plan for the L train hasn’t been completed yet, so citing draft and outdated reports is not only irresponsible but it does a disservice to New Yorkers and our customers who need reliable, official information,” the agency said in a statement. “The MTA will work with the community to provide the service they need while keeping the L train open in both directions 24/7 and providing full, unaltered weekday service for 275,000 riders a day.”

You can read the full Streetsblog post here.