A pop-up holiday market and open mic at the East Village Playhouse

This market is happening at the East Village Playhouse, 340 E. Sixth St. just west of First Avenue.

Via the EVG inbox...

Join us and shop from local women-owned business while enjoying Open Mic evenings.

Dec 12 & 13, 5-10 p.m.
Dec 14, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

On Saturday, join us for a flower making workshop, more shopping with conscious vendors, and bask in our lineup of diverse performances from dance to ukulele.

Partial proceeds benefit the CityKids Foundation and the Listen School, housed in the East Village Playhouse, former home of Tribal Soundz.

[Click on image for more detail]

A call to cancel SantaCon

Steven spotted this poster this morning on the former Bean space on First Avenue and Ninth Street... a call to cancel SantaCon, which takes place this coming Saturday at unknown locations. (Their party yachts plan sunk.)

The poster ask several questions, including: "Sick of drunken Santas throwing up and urinating everywhere?"

If so, then there is a Cancel SantaCon petition that you can find here.

The posters are from @tglnyc, who brought us the "McTrump Value Meal" yesterday at McDonald's.

Netflix issues Winter Weather Advisory for Tompkins Square Park

Crews for the new Netflix series "Dash & Lily" are setting up for a shoot in Tompkins Square Park this morning... and adding to the dusting of snow that is expected today.

EVG reader Mark Cyr shares these photos, as crew members are rolling out their own snow, deploying Styrofoam snowmen and sprinkling fake snow on the real snow...







"Dash & Lily," an eight-episode holiday romantic comedy series set for Netflix in 2020, has been filming around the neighborhood in recent weeks. The show is based on the young-adult book series "Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares" from authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

You can read this article for more background on the series, which stars Austin Abrams and Midori Francis.

Updated 9:50

Some more photos via Derek Berg...

CB3 hearing tonight about the air-rights transfer for new office building on St. Mark's Place

Tonight, CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public & Private Housing Committee is holding a public hearing on the special permit to transfer air rights from the landmarked 4 St. Marks Place to increase the size of the proposed office building across the street.

As you likely know, a 10-floor office building is in the works for the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place. The total size of this new building has yet to be officially determined. Real Estate Equities Corporation (REEC) wants to transfer the air rights from the landmarked Hamilton-Holly House to add more square footage, which is 20 percent larger than current zoning allows.

This marks the second stage for the application. In round one, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to support the plan in June, and issued a report to the City Planning Commission to allow the proposal under a specific zoning resolution. The opposition to the application included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, as well as Community Board 3, Village Preservation and other community groups.

Stage two's route as part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure eventually includes a trip to the City Planning Commission and City Council, who will have the final vote at a future date.

REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties here for nearly $150 million in November 2017. Their development plans call for a 68,224-square-foot building with eight floors of office space, a fitness center, roof deck, and 7,886 square feet of retail.


[A rendering of 3 St. Mark's Place]

REEC is reportedly eyeing rents in the area of a Midtown-esque $150 per square foot.

And these types of rent and development are the reasons that Village Preservation remains opposed to the plan. As they write:

[W]e do not want to see an even larger tech-related office tower rising at this location. This project has already resulted in the demolition of a nearly 200 year old house containing residential units. The replacement of low-rise, historic, and often residential buildings in this area south of Union Square by high-rise office towers is part of the city’s plan for this area in the wake of the approval last year of the Mayor’s 14th Street “Tech Hub,” with the support of Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

Tonight's CB3 committee starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Meltzer Senior Center, 94 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Demolition permits filed for northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

End is nearing for the businesses on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

New building plans revealed for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Concern over potential air-rights transfer for new office building on St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue

Developers of 3 St. Mark's Place are looking to increase the size of their proposed office building at 3rd Avenue to 10 floors with air-rights deal

The lobbyists behind the air-rights transfer and zoning variance for 3 St. Mark's Place

Final demolition phase for 1 St. Mark's Place; more questions about lobbyists attached to project

Report: LPC approves transfer of air rights across St. Mark's Place

Financing comes together for the office building planned for the gateway of the East Village

Maharlika closes after 8 years of serving Filipino cuisine on 1st Avenue

EVG reader Trevor J. shares the news that Maharlika has shut down on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

The note on the door that he discovered thanks customers for their patronage ... followed by: "Unfortunately, we have made the decision to close Maharlika's doors for service as of Dec. 8, 2019."

However, despite the Dec. 8 date, the restaurant was open for an encore presentation last night...

View this post on Instagram

Tomorrow we open our doors at 111 1st Avenue, one last time. Drop by to run your fingers across your favorite chair, take a photo, or relive a memory or two. We’ll be there to say thank you and paalam, Maharlika. #TheMaharlikans

A post shared by Maharlika Filipino Moderno 🇵🇭 (@maharlikanyc) on Dec 9, 2019 at 12:06pm PST

Maharlika's creative team, which includes founder Nicole Ponseca and executive chef Miguel Trinidad, will continue on with Jeepney, their more casual counterpart a few blocks to the north on First Avenue.

Maharlika opened in August 2011, in space that had been several restaurants previously, including Absinthe, Lautrec Bistro and Lingua.

'Tis the package theft season

An EVG reader reports that a package thief struck her building on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D on Monday.

It was the site of a previous theft. These flyers are now in circulation at the building...



We've also received reports of missing/stolen packages from buildings on Fifth Street and Seventh Street.

According to a recent (Dec. 3!) article in The New York Times:

In New York City, where more orders are delivered than anywhere else in the country, over 90,000 packages a day are stolen or disappear without explanation, up roughly 20 percent from four years ago, according to an analysis conducted for The New York Times.

About 15 percent of all deliveries in urban areas fail to reach customers on the first attempt because of package theft and other issues, like deliveries to the wrong house, according to transportation experts.

Some of the common sense tips to help prevent package theft includes:

• Don't buzz strangers into your building
• Make sure you close the building's front door tightly behind you
• Have your package delivered to your work
• Have your package delivered to the apartment of a relative or friend who you know will be home
• Have your package held at your local post office for pickup (If you don't mind waiting in a line and encountering surly customer-service reps)
• Request that your package has signature confirmation upon delivery
• (Someone will say don't order anything online)

The 9th Precinct offered this up last week...

If you are going to take part in #CyberMonday we ask you to consider using a drop off locker or have the packages delivered to you at work to ensure you get them. @amazon and @UPS have lockers throughout the neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/vBg9lJgLZd

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) December 2, 2019

Tuesday's parting shot

Put on a happy face. Photo in Union Square today via jdx.

Find more of his photos on Instagram.

Rain check

Rainy Tuesday evening photos of First Avenue and Tompkins Square Park via Vinny & O...

The McTrump Value Meal at the McDonald's on 1st Avenue

Spotted at the McDonald's on First Avenue near Sixth Street... the McTrump Value Meal, featuring a Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, McChicken, Cheeseburger, Extra-Large Fries, milkshake and four Diet Cokes...



Hijinks via @tglnyc ... photos via a reader.

A holiday shopping event to support Dress Shoppe II on 2nd Avenue

Purushottam Goyal, who along with his wife Saroj have owned and operated Dress Shoppe II on Second Avenue these past 18 years, died on Sept. 12.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec. 11) night from 6-8, there's a holiday sale at the shop, 82 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, that specializes in new and vintage clothes from India. The flyer states "Let's support [Saroj] by shopping for gifts at her beautiful store this holiday season."

The Goyals, who had been married for nearly 50 years, were the subject of this feature in The New York Times in August 2016...

The owner, Purushottam Goyal, has a weakness for the past, and for nearly four decades he has filled the store with intriguing relics. Amid the tunics, scarves and batik blankets, you can find 100-year-old saris made with silver thread, wooden cowbells, old kerosene lamps and vintage radios. (At home, he has a yellow taxicab from 1929.)

Mr. Goyal was born in Delhi, India, the youngest of 18 children. Before he came to New York, he worked in his parents’ textile shop and, briefly, as a customs official. In 1978, he opened a shop on Broadway. He did not have the money for a sign, he said, so he painted over part of the old one: Smart Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe.

In 2001, that building was sold, and the store moved to its present location. Dress Shoppe became Dress Shoppe II.

[Photo from October by Steven]

Rumors: Barstool Sports and Williamsburg Pizza teaming up for a bar-pie concept at the former Percy's Tavern

[Photo from November by Steven]

The start of interior and exterior renovations last month at the former Percy's Tavern on the northeast corner of Avenue A and 13th prompted speculation that a new tenant was in the works for the space.

The Pizza Cowboy did a little detective work, and shared it on Instagram yesterday:

I’ve heard from five sources different parts of the same rumor — the partnership, location, and name — that El Pres, aka David Portnoy, aka THAT Portnoy of “Everybody knows the rules” Barstool Sports Pizza Reviews, is teaming up with pizza personality, chef, and consultant Nino Coniglio (of Brooklyn Pizza Crew and Williamsburg Pizza) to open a bar pie pizzeria in the former Percy’s Tavern space ...

The rumored name: Alright Frankie, a Barstool Sports catchphrase that already has its own merch line. You can read the Best Pizza NYC post for more details.

There isn't any confirmation yet on this venture, though the Brooklyn Pizza Crew shared the Instagram post in their Stories yesterday.

The space has been vacant for more than two years after Percy's closed.

In September of 2017, Community Board 3 did not approve the Late Late’s James Morrissey's application to open Honey Fitz at this address.

Updated 1:30 p.m.

Eater has more on Portnoy...

Considering Portnoy’s obsession with pizza and his claim that’d try every single pizza slice in Manhattan, a pizzeria seems like a natural fit for Portnoy’s first restaurant venture.

But whether New Yorkers will embrace him is a different story. In August, Portnoy got into a Twitter spat with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after she called him out for threatening to fire any employee that discussed unionization efforts. He’s currently being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board over those threats. A Daily Beast report found that Portnoy has also allegedly threatened and harassed female sportswriters by making expletive-laden references to them either on the blog or on a podcast.

In addition, a rep for Nino Coniglio, the chef behind Williamsburg Pizza and Brooklyn Pizza Crew, told Eater that he is working independent of his other projects.

H/T Arthur B.!

The new Bean expected to open today on Broadway

The Bean is expected to open today on the northwest corner of Broadway and Ninth Street.

The coffee shop closed its outpost on Broadway at 12th Street after service on Nov. 9 ahead of this move to the larger confines of 771 Broadway.

As reported in other posts, this storefront was previously a Starbucks, which shut down here back in January ... this after a conversion from the Starbucks-owned Teavana in 2016. (Also: This corner space previously housed Silver Spurs, the diner that closed in December 2013 after 34 years in business.)

The Bean is now down to two locations (here at 771 Broadway and over at 31 Third Ave. at Ninth Street) after the sudden closures of the chainlet's locations on First Avenue and Ninth Street and Second Avenue and Third Street on Nov. 24.

Owner Ike Escava told us the following: "Due to rising costs the decision to close was unfortunately the only one we could make."

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] The Bean is taking over the former Starbucks space on 9th and Broadway

The 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue locations of the Bean closed for good yesterday

[Updated] Report of a fire at 55 3rd Ave., home of the Smith

Fire above where The Smith in the East Village is at. Whole neighborhood is covered in smoke. pic.twitter.com/vyYCnSbBjo

— Jesse Middleton (@srcasm) December 10, 2019

UPDATE BELOW

There are multiple reports coming in tonight (just after 8) about a fire on Third Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street. There are unconfirmed reports that the fire started at the Smith, 55 Third Ave.

Here's what the FDNY Twitter account has to say... confirming the address...

MAN ALL HANDS 55 3 AVE, HIGH RISE FIRE IN RESTARAUNT IN THE DUCTS,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 10, 2019

Here's another reader photo...



Will update when there's more information...

Updated 9:25

The FDNY declared the fire under control after 40 minutes...

MAN ALL HANDS 55 3 AVE, HIGH RISE FIRE IN RESTARAUNT IN THE DUCTS, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) December 10, 2019

WABC-TV reports that the fire in a duct at the Smith caused the temporary evacuation of the Eleventh and Third Apartments, the 12-story residential building adjacent to the bistro.

No word at the moment on the status of the Smith, which opened here in 2007.

Updated 7 a.m.

There doesn't appear to be any noticeable damage inside the Smith's dining room or bar area. However, signs on the front window announce that the restaurant will be closed today "due to an unforeseen circumstance" (such as a fire in the duct)...



Updated Dec. 13

The dining room remains closed... the bar is open nightly now serving a limited menu...

Monday's parting shot

A rainy (and car-free!) 14th Street near Union Square this evening... photo via Vinny & O.

Breaking: The Trader Joe's signage arrives on 14th Street

The Trader Joe's signage just went up this afternoon at 436 E. 14th St near Avenue A (thanks to Mr. Baggs for the photo!) ...

No word on an opening date, though they are hiring.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Trader Joe's finally confirms that a Trader Joe's is opening on 14th Street at Avenue A

All about EVE, the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office-replacing rentals on 14th Street

Claim: A Trader Joe's won't be coming to new development at 14th and A after all

Trader Joe's: No current plans for grocery at 432-438 E. 14th St.

Looks like there's a Trader Joe's coming to 432-438 E. 14th St. after all

The incoming Trader Joe's on 14th Street at Avenue A is now hiring

At the 28th annual Tompkins Square Park tree lighting

Community members gathered late yesterday afternoon for the 28th annual Tompkins Square Park tree lighting.

The hour-long event included the Carolers of Olde New York from Theater for the New City, music from the Mandel & Lydon Trio and refreshments courtesy of Veselka and C&B Cafe.



EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there for the festivities...


[Albert Fabozzi, founder of the lighting ceremony]






































[Professional sinkhole expert. Please do not attempt.]