Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a rainy Wednesday evening photo from Second Avenue)...

• D.A. Bragg announces indictment of suspect in 2 March shootings In Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday) 

• NYPD searching for hockey-stick-wielding suspect who whacked woman in the leg on 6th Street (Friday) 

• Honoring the late downtown legend Patti Astor at Astor Place (Wednesday)

• At the march to Save Beth Israel (Monday) 

• Openings: Pimbeche Vintage on 3rd Street (Wedensday) 

• Ray's Candy Store in miniature (Thursday) 

 • Openings: Gnocchi on 9th (on 9th) (Monday) 

• News to dry for: La La Laundry is back with gas on Avenue B and 11th Street (Saturday) 

• Remembering Joey Ramone on the anniversary of his death (Monday) 

• Blossom bonanza: Cherry trees paint TSP pink (Tuesday) 

• The Marshal has seized Atomic Wings on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

• Cakes by Klein takes 102 St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• Construction watch: 280 E. Houston St. (Wednesday)

• Signage alert: The Onion Tree Pizza Co. on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

• PARTIAL brick reveal at 1 St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• Reader report: Alphabet Grocery hasn't been open lately (Thursday) 

• Today in awkwardly phrased crime alerts on the Citizen app (Sunday) 

 ... and we caught up with Alex Garland's incendiary "Civil War" (still talking about Jesse Plemons!) at the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue and 12th Street...

... the film includes two perfectly placed songs by Suicide (one half of the duo, Martin Rev, still lives in the EV).

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Thursday's parting shots

Photos by Peter Brownscombe

Danny Cortes presented Ray with a miniature Ray's Candy Store today outside the shop at 113 Avenue A...

The miniature/diorama artist has also created versions of the Mars Bar and 57 Great Jones St.

Friday's parting shot

Major league: Seeking some comfort food at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, late this afternoon...

6 posts from February

A mini month in review... (with a photo from Avenue A on that day it snowed) 

• Longtime East Village sewing business Gizmo needs a new home (Feb. 26) 

• Village East by Angelika is serving up the Veselka documentary (Feb. 23) 

• DA's office mulling charges against tow truck driver in the death of longtime East Village resident Merle Ratner (Feb. 15) 

• Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar (Feb. 8) 

• Man who attacked Ray outside Ray's Candy Store sentenced to 10 years in prison (Feb. 7) 

• On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater (Feb. 1)

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo on Avenue A by Stacie Joy)... 

• Façade repairs next door have prevented kids at this East Village school from using the playgound (Tuesday) 

• Addressing the asylum seeker crisis; city to update Community Board 3 next week (Thursday) 

• A visit to the new home of Archie's Press on 10th Street (Wednesday) 

• Boris & Horton hopes to raise money through subscription boxes and crowdfunding to stay open (Friday) ... 'Something big is happening' at Boris & Horton, the dog cafe set to close next week (Thursday)

• Flashbacks: A wedding at McSorley's Old Ale House! (Monday) 

• RIP Flaco (Saturday)

• The East Village outpost of Chinatown favorite Dim Sum Go Go has closed (Tuesday) 

• Sidney's Five is calling it a day (Tuesday) 

• Catch some emerging bands at the New Colossus Festival this March 6-10 (Monday) 

• Village East by Angelika is serving up the Veselka documentary (Friday) 

• For sale: the all-new 180 2nd Ave., where a restaurant is in the works (Wednesday) 

• Renovation watch: 175 E. Houston St., soon to be home to a retro space via team MáLà Project (Wednesday) 

• HBD Physical Graffiti (Saturday) 

• A moment with mighty Christo, 1 of the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Tacos El Porky on Avenue A (Friday)

... and a moment Stella, Ray and Maria at Ray's Candy Store yesterday (photo by Stacie Joy)...

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Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a sunrise photo from 4th and A)...

• Remembering longtime East Village resident Merle Ratner, killed by a tow truck on 10th Street and Avenue C on Monday evening (Tuesday) 

• DA: Man who attacked Ray outside Ray's Candy Store sentenced to 10 years in prison (Wednesday)

• Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar (Thursday) ... New landlord serves Lucy's with a termination notice on Avenue A (Monday) 

• City unveils the final rules for the permanent outdoor dining program (Monday) 

• "Goodbye to the Brick and Mortar" at the Tompkins Square Library (Wednesday) 

• These East Village tenants held a dance party to call out their landlord's sewage treatment (Sunday) 

• The long-empty 6 Avenue B set to begin a new residential era as The B (Tuesday) 

• Report: East Village home with the Cape Cod-style cottage on its rooftop is in contract, dammit (Tuesday) 

• Jolene set to close on Great Jones (Tuesday) 

• Lions for Lula at 132 St. 1st Ave. (Friday)

• A smash & grab at the Grab & Go on Avenue B (Saturday) 

• Tree rescued from concrete on Houston (Friday)

• Yuca Bar returns to service after renovations (Wednesday) 

• Today in notes for traffic enforcement (Friday) 

• A pop-up no more, Apollo Bagels opening first outpost in the East Village on 10th Street (Tuesday) 

• Untitled building now with more Untitled (Monday) 

 ...  and from late Friday night, the crowd arriving for DJTM.8's Dark '80s night event at Gama Lounge on Avenue B (photo by Stacie Joy) ...

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DA: Man who attacked Ray outside Ray's Candy Store sentenced to 10 years in prison

Photo by Stacie Joy

Luis Peroza, arrested and charged for the late-night assault of Ray Alvarez outside Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A on Jan. 31, 2023, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison this afternoon, Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced. 

Peroza, 40, was also charged with two other attacks in the East Village on that night. This past Dec. 14, Peroza pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to three counts of Assault in the First Degree. 

Here's more from Bragg's office: 

According to court documents and statements made on the record, on January 31, 2023, at approximately 3 a.m., Peroza approached the 90-year-old owner of Ray's Candy Store, who was standing outside of the store on Avenue A. Peroza asked if the owner would purchase canned drinks from him, but the owner declined. As admitted in the defendant's guilty plea, Peroza then struck him in the head with a hard object, breaking his jaw, fracturing his facial bones and giving him a black eye. 

Approximately half an hour later, Peroza demanded money from a 33-year-old man as he left a deli on Avenue C. The man said he did not have money and, as admitted in his guilty plea, Peroza struck him in the face with a hard object, breaking his orbital bone and causing a severe laceration to his face. 

Several hours later, Peroza approached a 51-year-old man on Avenue B and, as admitted in his guilty plea, repeatedly struck the man in the head with a hard object, lacerating his face and head, knocking out a tooth, and fracturing his facial bones.

EVG was the first media outlet to report on the assault. The story later made headlines in the U.S. (via CNN) and the UK. 

Following his arrest on Feb. 4, 2023, Peroza was described as "a career criminal," with 10 prior arrests dating to 2001 for robberies, assaults, criminal mischief and petit larceny, according to The Daily Mail. 

The Daily News reported that Peroza served five years in prison after he was convicted of an assault in the Bronx in 2003. A source told the News that the suspect is "next-level crazy."

Police also arrested Peroza's alleged accomplice, 55-year-old Gerald Barth. As previously reported, Barth's erratic behavior earned him the nickname "Insanity Claus" in Tompkins Square Park after he donned a discarded SantaCon suit. He was charged with first-degree assault and two counts each of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery. 

According to the DA's office, Barth was found unfit to stand trial. Last August, Barth was transferred from the Department of Corrections to the custody of the New York State Office of Mental Health. His case will move forward if/when he is found fit, per the DA's office. 

With reporting by Stacie Joy

H/T Steven

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A timeline of events after the assault outside Ray's Candy Store

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from 7th Street at 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg) ...

• Longtime East Village sewing shop Gizmo will be relocating in early 2024 (Wednesday) 

• 2024 marks the 50th year in business for Ray's Candy Store (Monday) 

 • The remains of the fire-damaged Middle Church structure have been removed (Friday)

• 2 NYPD officers sustain minor injuries after line cutters cause skirmish at reticketing outpost for asylum seekers on 7th Street (Saturday) 

• 2024 development watch: 33-37 1st Ave. (Tuesday) ... 42-46 2nd Ave. (Wednesday) ... 50-64 3rd Ave. (Thursday)... 280 E. Houston St. (Friday) ... 

• Jen the bookseller closes the book on her Avenue A vending days (Thursday) 

• Le Dive owners looking to take over the Boiler Room space on 4th Street (Thursday)

• About those New Year's Eve fireworks (Monday) 

• Glizzy's has left St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• Closings: Milk Burger on Houston (Tuesday) 

• Patis Bakery bringing the bread to Broadway (Tuesday) 

• Yuca Bar closed for renovations on 7th and A (Thursday) 

... and an EVG reader shared this photo from the dog run in Tompkins Square Park yesterday... titled Dogs Frolicking In 1st Snowfall of 2024...

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2024 marks the 50th year in business for Ray's Candy Store

2024 photo by Peter Brownscombe 

At Ray's Candy Store, 2024 started with an anniversary as the shop officially turned 50. 

Ray Alvarez reportedly bought the shop at 113 Avenue A near Seventh Street in 1974 for $30,000. 

Also, this month, Ray celebrates his 91st birthday. (The day seems to be celebrated both on Jan. 1 and Jan. 25!)

So a happy anniversary and birthday to Ray!

Wednesday's parting calamari shots

Photos by Peter Brownscombe

Ray recently (re)introduced breaded calamari rings — served with fries, as the paper-plate signage notes...

Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A near Seventh Street, yes.

Everything's gone Green

We are behind in noting all (and there are a lot) the recent comings and goings with smoke shops, like which ones closed, which ones closed and reopened, and which ones closed and reopened under a new name.

The smoke shop opened up next to Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A near Seventh Street nearly a month ago, though the signage for Green World only just arrived.

The sidewalk board (pic from Oct. 31, before the new signage but with festive balloonage) shows items for sale including flowers, edibles and pre-rolls...

The business was, until May, known as East Village New Deli ... then they returned in June without the deli counter... only to close again and reopen as another exotic snack shop/weed shop. 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo of Ray at Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A by Roflo) 

 • Iconic gay dive bar the Boiler Room is closing later this year ahead of a move to a new East Village space (Tuesday) 

• About The Pastry Box, now open on 12th Street (Thursday)

• The Regal Union Square multiplex is not closing after all (Monday) 

• Openings: Caffe Corretto on 12th Street (Tuesday) 

• At the start of the 2023 Drag March in Tompkins Square Park (Saturday) 

• Someone placed an ad for AMC's 'The Walking Dead: Dead City' over the George Floyd mural on Houston and the Bowery (Monday)

• At MoRUS, a new exhibit explores the network of community fridges in NYC (Friday) 

• The arrival of the smart composting bins in the East Village (Thursday) 

• The Zine Fair has been rescheduled to July 8 (Friday) 

• Salter House bringing sustainable housewares and clothing to 2nd Street (Thursday) 

• Residents eager to track down the source of this 'loud mechanical sound' in the East Village (Saturday) 

• "Make Me Famous," a documentary on 1980s-era East Village-based painter Edward Brezinski, debuts  (Monday) 

• Watch Kim Petras (or her stand-in!) walk around the East Village in medieval-style armor (Wednesday) 

• A subway ride from Union Square to Coney Island on this day in 1987 (Tuesday) 

• Chrissy's Pizza taking over the former Superiority Burger space on 9th Street for its first pizzeria (Thursday) 

• Lower East Side venue Rockwood Music Hall crowdfunding to stay alive (Saturday) 

• The East Village Panda Express is hiring (Tuesday) 

• Reaching the top of the 21-story 360 Bowery project (Tuesday) 

• More unlicensed cannabis shops busted in the East Village (Thursday) 

• 1 St. Mark's Place looking a little close to beaming up (Wednesday)

• Closings: Sauced Up! on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• About the new tenant at 37 Avenue A (Wednesday)

• A Smoke House for Avenue A (Friday) 

• A transformation for the Ugly Duckling on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street (Tuesday) 

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Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a new line era underway at the Orpheum on 2nd Avenue via Steven)...

• A new record and lineup for Bush Tetras (Wednesday)

• A new name and (familiar) owners for the currently closed Downtown Bakery (Thursday) 

• Pour one out for the champagne of East Village storefront signs (Monday)

• Porta potties arrive in Tompkins Square Park for use during field house renovations (Tuesday)

 

• On Astor Place, the cube will BRB to spin again (Tuesday) 

• A visit to a Ketamine-assisted therapy practitioner (Friday) 

• Inside Don Ceviche, opening soon on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

• More details about the new home for Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse on the Lower East Side (Monday) 

• At Ray's Candy Store, you can now pay for those beignets and deep-fried Oreos via Venmo (Monday) 

• Stand back, here are photos from Night of 1000 Stevies at Irving Plaza (Thursday) 

• Signage alert: Village Works on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• &Beer is a new pop-up concept on 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• The fruit vendor returns to Astor Place (Wednesday) 

• Someone artfully wrapped this drinking fountain in Tompkins Square Park with aluminum foil (Thursday) 

• East Village Pizza and Beron Beron remove its curbside dining structures (Monday)

• Gorin Ramen has closed on 14th Street (Monday) ... Beloved Cafe has closed on the Lower East Side (Thursday)

• Openings: Offside Tavern on Avenue A (Monday) 

• The Laurels takes over for Bait & Hook on 2nd Avenue and 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• The former Mighty Quinn's space is for rent (Tuesday) 

• Gotham — NYC's 'first cannabis concept store' — debuts today on Third Street (Thursday) 

• 'The Legend of Zelda,' bus edition (Wednesday) 

• A J Crew for NoHo (Thursday)

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At Ray's Candy Store, you can now pay for those beignets and deep-fried Oreos via Venmo

Photo by Peter Brownscombe 

There's a new era here at Ray's Candy Store ... customers can now use Venmo to pay for purchases at the 49-year-old shop at 113 Avenue A near Seventh Street...

Rain delays: Today's free show in Tompkins Square Park with Madball is being rescheduled

The all-day rain expected today has prompted the cancellation of the free concert in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon featuring HC headliners Madball and Murphy's Law. 

The Tompkins gig will be rescheduled ... there's also a free show today (without Madball or Murphy's Law) at the Meadows in Brooklyn for fans who made the trip to NYC (or anyone who wants to go). Organizers will still collect money to benefit Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A. 

Here's the official notice via Madball's Instagram account... 

Unfortunately, due to the weather, the park show will be postponed. There’s a smaller show happening in BK, for those who are in town… so go show some support! It's a Free show but donations are welcomed. Proceeds will go to Ray's Candy store… as well. Info is on the flyer. We're all bummed but the park tradition will continue. New date coming soon! Thanks!

Hitting a high note

 

"Little Stoner" is a new track from a recently released record by singer-songwriter Max Stalker-Wilde. 

The video, filmed on 16mm by Jonas Bishop Hayes, was shot around the East Village, where Stalker-Wilde was born and raised. And Ray's Candy Store, where Stalker-Wilde has worked for the past few years, has a starring role. 

"In fact, I had to make a couple of milkshakes and egg creams during the shooting just so I could get the foot traffic moving faster for production's sake," he told us. 

Check out more of Stalker-Wilde's music at Bandcamp.

EVG etc.: The fries at Ray's Candy Store; the martinis at Madeline's

Sunrise view of the Christodora House and Con Ed plant the other morning... 

• NYC libraries could end weekend service with the mayor's budget cuts (Gothamist) 

• Economic trouble signs emerge for NYC (THE CITY) 

• The Children's Workshop School on 12th Street is holding its annual Schoolapalooza 2023 online fundraiser this week (Official site) 

• The fries at Ray's Candy Store are some of the best around (Eater) 

• Tied vote stymies union effort at the Trader Joe's at Essex Crossing (NY1) 

• Owners of the Wayland open Madeline's Martini at 171 Avenue C (Time Out ... previously on EVG)

• Save the date May 31 for an unveiling of a plaque to honor jazz icon Charles Mingus on the building in which he lived and planned to launch a school on Great Jones (Village Preservation) 

• Thoughts on Adam Zhu's photography book "Nice Daze" (The New Yorker... previously on EVG) 

• The Old School Kung Fu Fest is back (Metrograph) 

• A model claims she was drugged and scammed at Little Sister Lounge in the Moxy Hotel on 11th Street (The Post) 

• Inside an East Village apartment redesign (Design Milk) 

• Podcast: How the Lower East Side's history shaped NYC (Travel + Leisure) 

• Iggy Pop covers "Walk On The Wild Side" for the first time as new tour commences (Stereogum)

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (and enjoying the summery spring outside 3rd & B'zaar by Stacie Joy)... 

• Renovations will close the Tompkins Square Library branch for 3 months (Wednesday) 

• What you need to know about the 17th edition of the Dance Parade, happening on May 20 (Tuesday) 

• Hemingway, the sleepy window kitty of 3rd Street, has been priced out of the East Village (Monday)

• RIP Vivian Trimble of Luscious Jackson (Friday) 

• Mighty Quinn's has closed its East Village outpost (Monday) 

• The historic 64 E. 7th St. is for sale (Tuesday) 

• Basics Plus said to be closing on 3rd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• Spicy Moon preps new Bowery space with some hot pink (Monday) 

• The Village Works Yard Sale continues on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• Love for Theatre 80 as auction looms next month (Thursday) ... City issues curbside dining structure removal to Theatre 80 2 days after its owners were forced from the property (Monday) 

• Radio daze: This 1941 Zenith — featuring microstatic FM reception — needs a home (Friday) 

• Cafe Mogador turns 40 (Saturday) 

• A "rat czar" for NYC; the East Village still in the rat pack (Thursday) 

• Flag days: Ray's Candy Store repping the East Village with egg creams at Rockefeller Center (Thursday) 

 

• Black and white film classics at Village East by Angelika (Sunday)

• 2023 wisteria watch (Saturday) 

• A new pizzeria coming to the former Solo Pizza space on Avenue B (Thursday) 

• FULL storefront reveal of the future Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on 14th and A (Friday)

• Hospitality vet Curt Huegel appears to be taking the former Dallas BBQ space on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Dim Sum Go Go signage arrives on 1st Avenue (Friday) 

 ... and on Thursday, @dirtcobain and @outersource returned to freshen up their 5-year-old mural on 69 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue ...

... and added this ...

Thanks Lola Sáenz for the tip! 

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Flag days: Ray's Candy Store repping the East Village with egg creams at Rockefeller Center

The egg cream from Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A is part of the 2023 edition of The Flag Project at Rockefeller Center ... celebrating iconic NYC food (and drinks!). 

The flags will be on view from April 3-12 (missed that) and April 17-30. You can read more about the flag project here. 

The flag features art created by Peach Tao — in conjunction with the East Village-based Lisa Project — in honor of Ray's 90th birthday. The mural was on the wall outside 50 Avenue A earlier this year...

Images via @rayscandystore

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg) ... 

• D.A. announces indictment in assault outside Ray's Candy Store (Thursday) 

• Report of a fire at 136 Avenue C (Monday) ... After the fire at 136 Avenue C; A&C Kitchen damaged (Wednesday) 

• Anyway Cafe is closing; staff hopes to open new establishment (Monday) ... At the last night of Anyway Cafe (Wednesday)

• Seasoned Vegan coming to the East Village (Thursday) 

• On 1st Avenue, New Double Dragon is closing and maybe reopening (Tuesday) ... Serenity Spa remains open on corner rumored for new development (Wednesday) 

• A community art project honors the resilience of Ukrainians; it will be on display at Veselka (Thursday) 

• The return of B-Side (Friday) 

• Potty on! Restrooms randomly back open in Tompkins Square Park after a 4-month closure (Sunday) 

• Closing the book for now at Short Stories on the Bowery (Wednesday) 

• Night market concept looks to be the life of the Partea on 14th Street (Thursday) 

• Virginia's eyes a March debut in new 3rd Street home (Tuesday) 

• Hello Dolly: Incoming dessert shop on 1st Avenue has a memorable name (Tuesday) 

• A notice to remove the sidewalk dining room at the now-closed Bait & Hook (Monday) 

• A look at 'Vital Impetus' at Azure Arts (Friday) 

• From Brix to Brick on Clinton (Monday) 

• Smoke shop! (Monday) 

... and is Saquon Barkley of the NY Giants enjoying his off-season in the neighborhood? As seen in a dry cleaners on Avenue A... 

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