Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

A moment this evening with Twisted Wrist in front of the Bowery Mural Wall...

1 St. Mark's Place enters its blue phase

Whenever we post something about the 22-story building at 360 Bowery, people inevitably ask about the other new office project four blocks to the north. 

So here's a look at the 9-story office building on the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place (we've seen alternative addresses for 1 St. Mark's Place and 3 St. Mark's Place). 

Currently, the east-facing wall is covered in some sort of blue construction materials...

... the color reminded us a bit of a former heralded (and long-gutted) building at 19-23 St. Mark's Place...

Per its rendering, 1 St. Mark's Place has a July 2024 completion date. 

More back story here.

On 14th Street and Avenue A, Posse in Effect with the Beastie Boys

Photo by Edmund John Dunn

Here's a day 2 work-in-progress look at Posse in Effect featuring the Beastie Boys, a new mural going up on the SW corner of 14th Street and Avenue A (on the east-facing wall of 436 E. 14th St.).

Shepard Fairey, in collaboration with the Lisa Project NYC, is working on the wall... from a photo by East Village-based photographer Glen E. Friedman. The work is part of the ongoing celebration of 50 years of hip hop.

Fairey, the Lisa Project and Friedman last joined forces on the Bad Brains mural last December on Bleecker at the Bowery. 

Saturday's opening shot

New work up on the Bowery Mural Wall at Houston... wheatpaste panels by Tomokazu Matsuyama... with piano accompaniment this morning via Kristopher Hull. 

Not sure at the moment if this is an officially commissioned work (probably: updated confirmed YES) via Goldman Properties. 

After the art kept getting bombed in the spring of 2022, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall, put the space on hiatus. And the street took over in the interim. 

H/T @catscoffeecreativity

Updated 9/3

 

Someone quickly tagged the collage of murals...

A tribute to Sinéad O'Connor on Great Jones

Top photo via EVG from July 15 

A few nights ago, someone did a somewhat half-assed job of buffing out the storefront at 57 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette. 

So last evening,  artist Adrian Wilson (under his @planndalism account) stopped by to fix the crown that he added earlier this month to the former home-studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat (thanks to EVG reader Uli for the photo below)...

While there, Wilson and Erin Ko added a tribute to Sinéad O'Connor after news of the singer-songwriter's death earlier in the day at age 56.

The wall now includes a quote from a 2014 interview with O'Connor: "If you live with the devil, you find out there’s a God."

As previously reported, Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space this fall for designers and artisans in the space here called Atelier Jolie. 

Thanks to Adrian for sharing the photos!

RIP to the 'RIP ST MARKS' tag

The steel frame is going up on the NW corner of Third Avenue and St Mark's Place... where a 9-story building — 53,000 square feet of office space and some 8,000 square feet for retail — is slated for the all-new 1 St. Mark's Place. 

Soon to fade from view: the obituary on the west-facing wall of 5 St. Mark's Place that someone painted here in the summer of 2019 — RIP ST. MARK'S...

And while we're here, a progress check four blocks to the south... where 360 Bowery at Fourth Street recently topped off...

When the two buildings are complete, nearly 30 floors of office space will be added along the corridor. 

On this topic... New York magazine's current cover story explores how commercial landlords are scrambling to stave off a real-estate apocalypse as developers try to downsize their office space, from the Financial District to Hudson Yards.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Tompkins Square Park by Steven) ...

• Tuesday is the last day for East Village mainstay Ink on Avenue A (Sunday) 

• East Village staple New Double Dragon has closed (Tuesday)

• The Upright Citizens Brigade is returning to NYC — and the East Village — with a new theater (Monday) 

• The East Village Fine Wine & Champagne's sign has a new home (Wednesday)

• High Vibe looking for some help to continue spreading the love (Monday) 

 • Chrissy's Pizza announces itself on 9th Street (Thursday) 

• Angelina Jolie is creating a collaborative space for designers and artisans in Basquiat's former studio on Great Jones Street (Saturday)

• Openings: Rosemary Home on 9th Street (Friday) 

• After 20-plus years on 13th Street, Keybar is relocating to Bushwick (Thursday)

• Coming attractions: Cabin on 9th (Thursday) 

• When the lights flickered on Wednesday night (Thursday) 

• Mystery solved? Avenue A residents track down source of the incessant 'loud mechanical sound' (Wednesday) 

• Eros is still 'temporarily closed,' and now fully empty (Monday) 

• Full reveal: 699 E. 6th St. (Thursday)

 ... and the latest via Optimo at the Bowery Mural Wall... which has been on "pause" from officially sanctioned murals since May 2022...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics. 

Saturday's opening shot

At the ever-changing Bowery Mural Wall ... on Houston at the Bowery... Style Wars via Optimo. 

It has nearly been a year since the wall has been on "pause" for commissioned work. Background here.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo — "make your best offer" — from 14th Street by Daniel Efram) ... 

• A new home and name for Café Cortadito (Monday)

• 3rd & B'zaar's new market will feature the work of women-owned businesses (Wednesday) 

• May the farce be with you: 'The Empire Strips Back' is next up at the Orpheum Theatre (Thursday) 

• A new era for the old Bad Pussies wall on 3rd Street and Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Fire jumping returns (Saturday) 

• Revisiting a transformative Sunday on Avenue A (Friday) 

• What's happening on this block of 5th Street? (Tuesday)

• CM Rivera addresses 'operations improvements' for Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Openings: The York on Avenue B (Tuesday) 

• Corner spaces for lease along Houston at Elizabeth and the Bowery (Tuesday)

• Report: The Astor Place cube will be ready for a spin once more this summer (Friday) 

• Corner development battle: 360 Bowery takes commanding lead over 1 St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Ghost signage on 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• On the rental market: 118 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• March madness! Key Food continues to up its St. Patrick's Day game (Monday) 

• First sign of Raising Cane's on Astor Place (Thursday) 

• Gelato 1st and 10th (Monday) 

• Report: Angel's Share has a new home (and what of its old home?) (Monday) 

... and on First Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street, the short-lived Healthily Deli is now going as Top1 Convenience (thanks to Steven for the photo)...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Monday's parting shot

The latest addition to the Bowery Mural Wall on Houston... "Love Is," corrugated letters by @imkman00 ... @emergence.arts ... and @the_mr.man ...

 H/T @catscoffeecreativity

La Mama to celebrate the reopening of its renovated home at 74A E. 4th St.

The La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club family will welcome the return of its renovated original home on Fourth Street with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 9. 

Restoration work has been ongoing the past few years at the landmarked building at 74A E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. (The sidewalk bridge and construction netting were removed back in the fall.) 

La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart bought the building as the off-off-Broadway institution's first permanent home in 1967.

 

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A post shared by La MaMa ETC (@lamamaetc)

Here's more via the La MaMa Instagram account: 

When Ellen Stewart purchased 74 East 4th Street, the building had no roof, no flooring, and no back wall. She founded La MaMa with the belief that space is vital to the creative process and art can be a powerful vehicle for communities to come together. That belief is at the heart of La MaMa’s mission. 

Today, this building that Ellen rescued from demolition decades ago, is a New York City landmark undergoing a major capital renovation. This renovation fundamentally shifts how La MaMa and other arts and cultural organizations interact with their communities across the U.S. and beyond.

ADA accessibility to all floors, an enlarged lobby area, dedicated community space, an outdoor terrace, and a building-wide data network will allow La MaMa to maintain two versatile sound-separated theater spaces that host performances and art experiences as well as create expanded opportunities for community-driven and educational programming. 

We are excited to welcome you into the building. We want you to experience the new spaces, and see how artists and audiences can engage through new models of connectivity that exponentially increase access to the arts for all.

 

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A post shared by La MaMa ETC (@lamamaetc)

Four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, who got his start at La Mama, recently pledged a matching grant to support 74A.

The 21-story building that replaced B Bar & Grill begins its ascent on the Bowery

Since our last update at the start of the year, the framework for the first level of the future 21-story office building has made its debut on the SW corner of Fourth Street and the Bowery.

As we've been reporting, the 110,000-square-foot building — with ground-floor retail — is at the site of the former B Bar & Grill (1994-2020).

And before you know it, this will be here at the new address — 360 Bowery... 

Here's more about the project via the website of architect Morris Adjmi:

360 Bowery is a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional glass office tower. Standing taller than most nearby structures, the new commercial building's tiered volume subtly twists, drawing reference to the different scales within its historic urban-industrial context while also responding to the neighborhood’s newer additions.

And!

Designed to maximize views, 360 Bowery's façade is essentially a field of openings. The custom-built, high-performance unitized curtain wall system features dark gray painted aluminum frames and blush-colored GFRC spandrel panels in a fluted pattern that gets tighter as it moves up the building. Single-pane windows, measuring roughly 5’x10’, are inset within 10” metal fins. These deep, dark frames add a layer of shadows, further articulating the façade. As a lighter counterpoint, the building's corners are open and airy with a structural joint hidden behind the glass.

Terraces are also a defining feature of the tower. While the building's massing was largely influenced by zoning restrictions, the tiered volumes create opportunities for ample outdoor amenity space with views north and east, looking out over the Bowery and onto one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods.

As previously reported, CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358-360 Bowery, a gas station before its conversion into the bar-restaurant. B Bar owner Eric Goode, who owns a handful of hotels, including the Bowery Hotel across the way, assembled air rights to build the more extensive development on this corner space. 

As for the B Bar, the one-time hot spot (circa the mid-1990s) was expected to close for good in August 2020. However, the place never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020.

We first reported on this project in January 2021. 

Bad Brains on the Bowery with Shepard Fairey and Glen E. Friedman

Photos and reporting by Daniel Efram

Five-plus years after debuting the Blondie mural on Bleecker Street, Shepard Fairey, in collaboration with the Lisa Project NYC and Glen E. Friedman (below right), has completed a new mural in tribute to Bad Brains.

The mural, located directly across the street from CBGB at the Bowery and Bleecker, honors the D.C. band that broke new ground during the 1970s and 80s with its hard prototypical reggae-punk. 

Bad Brains also helped pay tribute to the club that championed its unique sounds by performing a trio of goodbye shows in 2006. Additionally, the location is special to Fairey as his first NYC solo art shows took place at the CBGB 313 Gallery, then curated by Jonathan Levine.

Friedman, the acclaimed East Village-based photographer known for his work with cultural icons, skaters and musicians, including some of Fairey's favorite artists, such as Public Enemy and Run-DMC, provided the photographs that Fairey compiled for the large-format piece.

"All of the photos in the collage were made at CBGB during the holidays in 1981 or 1982," Friedman says. "The Bad Brains annual Xmas matinees became a great thing for all us punks who didn't care or didn't have a place to be during the holidays. We'd all go and congregate there and see some of the best shows of our lives."

The mural's location was secured by the Lisa Project, a program dedicated to beautifying the community via mural art. Several members of the public had grown attached to the Blondie mural and wondered why it was being replaced. According to sources on the scene, the wall is supposed to be refreshed every three years but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.

"After the Bad Brains left Washington, D.C., they moved to New York and were living here on the Lower East Side. They played CBGB a lot. In fact, their music came into its ultimate highest power when they were living and playing here," Fairey tells me about the project's roots in the East Village and Lower East Side community. 

"[They were] a defining band in terms of the sound of hardcore but a unique band in that they were all Black in a white genre," Fairey continues. "It's incredible to have Bad Brains get some love here because they have such a strong connection to NYC and CBGB. They recorded their first album at 171-A in Alphabet City." 

The four-person crew — (from the left) Fairey, Rob Zagula, Praxis and Osk — installed the mural on Monday and Tuesday ...

Here's a look at the elaborate work that took place this past week...

Daniel Efram is an East Village-based photographer-curator. He is the producer of "The Steve Keene Art Book."

Checking in on the Bowery mural wall

How the mural wall is looking here this morning on Houston at the Bowery.

As previously noted, people had been tagging the motorcycle mural by David Flores, the last commissioned art for the space. 

This prompted Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall, to issue a statement on Instagram in late May:

The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...

Since then, the motorcycle has been covered with layers of new tags. 

Friday's parting shot

A moment at the Bowery Mural Wall this evening ... via Lola Sáenz...

Why Blank Street Coffee seems everywhere, and maybe that's not a good thing

Photo on Avenue A from last fall

ICYMI: Several EVG readers passed along this piece from the Times last week titled "It's Not Just You — Blank Street Coffee Is Suddenly Inescapable." 

Four outposts (Avenue A, First Avenue, Third Avenue and the Bowery Market) have arrived in the East Village since last fall. 

Per the Times:

The rapid expansion has piqued the interest of New Yorkers, who became especially alert to changes in the streetscape during the pandemic. When word got out that Blank Street is not an independent chain like Variety or Bean & Bean, but an enterprise with global ambitions backed by private equity financing, many became curious — and sometimes suspicious.

And...

To fuel that growth, Blank Street raised $67 million last year; investors include high-profile venture capital funds like General Catalyst and Tiger Global, the founders of Allbirds and Warby Parker, and the real estate giant Tishman Speyer 

With that kind of backing, [co-founders] Mr. [Issam] Freiha and Mr. [Vinay] Menda had anticipated rapid growth. They did not anticipate that by debuting in Williamsburg and advertising their support for local business, they would invite the kind of scrutiny normally reserved for Met Gala outfits and Mets pitchers. Skeptics, who see Blank Street as an avatar of gentrification and automation, and resent the use of Wall Street money to compete with local businesses, have aired their objections on social media.

@livlaskowski i physically can’t stop myself from commenting on niche coffee news I’m sorry #blankstreet ♬ Just a Cloud Away - Pharrell Williams

Back to the Times... 

Jalen Williams, a product support engineer, stopped going to Blank Street soon after the very first brick-and-mortar shop opened on Bedford Avenue in his neighborhood. "People realized they were just here to check the Williamsburg box," he said.

As Eater pointed out in its brief — titled "The Oppressive Blah-ness of the Blank Street Coffee Chain" — about the article, Blank Street "has the potential to threaten mom-and-pop coffee shops." 

And how does it stack up against other chains? Per the Times, a 16-ounce Blank Street iced latte costs $4.25; at Dunkin’, $3.75; and at Starbucks, $5.50.

A liquidation sale at La Sirena on 3rd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

A liquidation sale continues at La Sirena, the longtime Mexican artisan shop at 27 E. Third St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

In an email about the in-shop-only sale, owner Dina Leor said: "Long story short, we have enough for four stores, and we want to empty. We'd rather you enjoy it than have it saved."

Here's more:

Everything is handmade by artisans from many regions of Mexico. Our mission has always been to help and support artisans and craft traditions.

We have a lot of embroidered clothes, textiles, ceramics, hand-carved wooden masks, jewelry (handmade silver earrings and others too), Talavera ceramics, Gorky Gonzales ceramics, home decor, wall art, tin art, leather and fabric wallets and purses, Halloween art, sombreros, good luck charms, statues of saints, Mexican wrestling masks and souvenirs, baskets, market bags, hand woven blankets, paper flowers and much more. 

She said the liquidation runs through Aug. 31.

Asked on Instagram if she was closing the shop, she wrote: "First liquidating storage and then we'll see. I believe in miracles."

The shop is open from noon to 7 p.m. daily. Questions? You can call La Sirena at (212) 780-9113. Check out @LaSirena_nyc here. 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with watercolors in the rain Thursday morning)... 

• East Village Loves NYC issues a fundraising appeal to help continue feeding New Yorkers in need (Monday) 

• Proposed plans now call for a 24-story residential building on 14th Street and Avenue C (Tuesday) 

• Essex Card Shop getting closer to reopening on Avenue A (Tuesday) 

• Remembering Maximiliano Contreras at the Parkside Lounge (Friday) ... Remembering Jose Fernandez (Monday) 

• 'Alien' nation: East Village duo the Acute release debut full-length record (Wednesday) 

• Office building for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place moving forward after developer secures $70-million loan (Monday) 

• City once again closes the area around the chess tables in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday) 

• At the book party for Ada Calhoun's 'Also a Poet' (Friday)

• 'Summer in the City' with East Village writer Jennie Willink (Saturday) 

• Suki Japanese Kitchen expands in East Village relocation (Thursday) 

• Checking in on the Bowery Mural Wall 'on pause' (Thursday) 

• Proletariat opens in new 7th Street home (Friday) 

• The all-new 360 Bowery is in the piledriving and jackhammering phase (Monday) 

• Coming soon: Ando Patisserie on 10th Street; Unique Omakase on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

• Desert Rose Café has apparently closed on 9th Street (Wednesday) ... Report: Raclette has closed on 12th Street (Monday) 

• Openings: Fries Factory on 14th Street (Wednesday)

• Team behind Ichibantei eyeing 100 3rd Ave. (Monday) 

• Sales underway at the 'bespoke' La Botanica on 6th Street (Thursday) 

And several readers noted a passed-out Santa yesterday morning outside the KFC on Second Avenue and 14th Street... he was apparently OK and sleeping off something...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Checking in on the Bowery Mural Wall 'on pause'

Here's a look at the Bowery Mural Wall at Houston this evening.

As previously noted, people have been tagging the motorcycle mural by David Flores, the last commissioned art for the space. At one point it was completely covered.

This prompted Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall, to issue a statement on Instagram in late May:

The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...

Also on the wall now: A wheatpaste of Goldman Srebnick holding a fire extinguisher, courtesy of @DeGruppo...

Tuesday's parting shot

The motorcycle mural by David Flores here on the Bowery and Houston has been completely covered...

Updated 5/25

Thanks to the readers pointing us to the statement by Jessica Goldman Srebnick, co-chair of Goldman Properties and curator of this wall. Here's part of an Instagram post from yesterday:

The creative process is an utter joy to watch. Filling a fire extinguisher with paint and spraying to destroy a work of art is not talent. It is sad and not only ruins the opportunity for countless artists, it ruins the opportunity for a neighborhood to live with glorious world-class art. The Houston Bowery wall could be just another advertising wall, but we’d prefer it to be a powerful beacon of the best of a movement.

For now, we don’t wish to wipe away what’s been done, we are simply taking a break...