At the 9th annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival

This last weekend saw two days of arts and events in participating East Village community gardens... as always, the annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival — an abbreviated and socially distant version compared to previous years — brought out the best in the neighborhood (art, music, creativity, community, etc.) 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these images from the weekend.

"Sounds of our Ancestors" HOWL Arts at La Plaza Cultural on Ninth Street and Avenue C ...

"The Contemplative Garden: Nature is Healing" at Le Petit Versailles on Second Street...

Penny Arcade reading from "Front Row Seat At The Apocalypse" at La Plaza Cultural ...Michelle Shocked at De Colores Community Yard & Cultural Center on Eighth Street...

Dance to the People in Tompkins Square Park...

   

 Kuki Gomez at El Sol Brillante on 12th Street ... Elizabeth Detjens Maucher in "From Microbes to Metropolis" outside Grace Exhibition Space on Avenue C...  Nora Balaban and some mbira music plus her drawings at La Plaza Cultural...

Samone Leona showcasing her art at La Plaza Cultural ...

Ian Dave Knife at Tompkins Square Park...

 

Live Music from VC, featuring musician/gardeners Victor Weiss and Carmine D’Intino at 6 & B Community Garden ...

Reminders: The 9th annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is this weekend

An abbreviated version of the annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is taking place this weekend in participating community gardens around the East Village.

Check out this link for the full list of performances, which includes a reading by Penny Arcade at La Plaza Cultural and music by Michelle Shocked at De Colores Community Yard & Cultural Garden.

And an overview via the EVG inbox...

It's 2020 and we are all stuck inside somewhere ...  This year's festival is dedicated expressing our situation through art ...  sharing the reality of what is going on in our lives

All the exhibits will take place behind the garden fences with the audiences on the sidewalks.

The audience will be moving, fluid. The art stationary. We want to foster our wild variety of sentiments through our art. We are all politically bent, given the times and election. Vote with your ART too. Let people know how you feel.

This as an Art exhibit and the gardens are the Green Museum.

It's perfect for touring audiences to visit and enjoy our community gardens.

Perspectives on feeding the homeless in the neighborhood

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

This spring, I had the opportunity to document an East Village-restaurateur family's efforts (here and here) to feed the neighborhood's homeless.

The married couple, who own a restaurant that's currently closed during the COVID-19 crisis, have made two deliveries to date of boxed meals that they've prepared — a number that has increased thanks to donations from EVG readers.

On a recent day in May, I met up with them again for what will be the third delivery. We’ve learned a bit from our previous two runs and we have music on hand to make the rhythm of the work flow easier. (I’m partial to The Cramps and the three of us find a lot of in-common musicians to keep us company.)

We soon establish a plan, and map out how we hope the day might go. We’ve done all the shopping and the couple has done some of the meal prep the day before. We have contact info from a local resident in need whom we’d hoped to meet up with on the prior trip, and a special request or two, including dog food, which we didn’t have last time as well as extra sanitary supplies.

The delivery goes well, and after days of shopping and planning and hours of prep, handing out all the meals and kits is over in less than 90 minutes. We manage to meet up with the friend of a reader who made a donation in his honor, got the dog food to the couple and their puppy, and spent only a bit over what we had allotted.









This time, when we’re out making deliveries, I ask if the husband can answer a few of my questions. I’m curious about how he feels about the project and if his thoughts vary from his partner’s.

How has this experience been for you?

We came up with the idea for this project at the very beginning of the statewide PAUSE order. There have always been homeless people in the East Village and Lower East Side, but there has been a level of support for them in people who they can panhandle from.

When the city shut down, that interaction disappeared, and the homeless and their plight became much more visible. As business owners, we tried to help individuals by giving them food from the restaurant, but then they started coming back looking for more, and that was difficult for our staff to navigate.

Whatever efforts the city or other organizations implemented wasn’t noticed by us, so we felt we had to come up with a plan to address the problem on our own.

Having grown up in the EV/LES area in the 1970s and 1980s, hanging out in Tompkins Square Park and on St. Mark’s Place, I have seen homeless people all my life. Throughout the years I have thought of ways to help but I always just end up giving someone the change in my pocket or my leftover dinner from the restaurant where I just ate.

As we live our busy lives, balancing work and raising a family, rushing from one place to the other, sometimes it’s easy to let the homeless blend into the background. If we don’t think about them, they can become fuzzy shadows existing only in our peripheral.

But when we carried out our project, we got a glimpse of who they are. We found people from many different countries, many different ages, many different races, and genders. Putting them in the forefront, we discovered they were all people, who, for whatever reason found themselves in a difficult situation living rough on the streets.

Overall, my experience has been mixed. I am shocked there are so many homeless out there — just in our neighborhood. I am heartbroken to see that some are so young. Most people are receptive, some are hostile, some won’t look at me, some talk to themselves, some are in withdrawal, some ask for drugs, some ask for money, one woman asked for underwear, one man was distressed because he needed to use a bathroom, some are panhandling, some are sitting on the sidewalk in a tent or a cardboard box.

At the end of each day, I am physically and emotionally drained. Sometimes it’s hard to deal with reality, but I guarantee that whatever I’m feeling pales in comparison to how these people live every day. And it always leaves me feeling like there is much more work to do.

The community response from the initial story was overwhelming, with lots of people reaching out to privately donate funds and/or goods for this project. How did that inform your decisions about what to buy, how to shop, what to serve, and how best to deliver food and goods to those in need?

I will be eternally grateful to the folks who had the faith to donate, without an idea of who we were, or what we would do with the money. That we included feminine hygiene products and socks seemed to resonate with your readers, so we expanded in that direction.

Due to the virus, we asked for masks, which we included in each package. We included toothpaste and a toothbrush. So many people asked for a second meal, for a friend or relative or themselves, so we rethought the menu and created packages that could easily be two or three meals and easy to eat. We put everything into one paper shopping bag for efficiency. We were able to really stretch each dollar we received.

Being in the restaurant business, we bought unprepared food in bulk as well as containers at a restaurant supply market, and the rest of the items we bought at Costco and a dollar store.

We filled a paper shopping bag with all of these items, at a cost of about 10 bucks per bag.

In personally delivering these grab-n-go bags to people, you received feedback from the recipients. Anything that you’d care to share?

I discovered that people are much less wary if I approach them wearing an apron. Otherwise, I’m just some random tattooed guy walking up, and people can be understandably defensive. But when we get through that initial wariness and the guard drops, most everyone is receptive, happy that someone would give them something without question.

What stays in your mind from this experience? What might you tell other people who may be interested in helping?

What has really stuck in my mind was the last stop. We found a large community of homeless, 20 or more, and were able to give bags to all of them — except one. We were packing up and closing the car door when a young man walked up and asked for a bag. But we had already given out the last one.

My heart dropped — we searched the car and were able to give him a fruit salad, which was meant for someone else, and the rest of the sandwich I was eating for dinner, but I could tell he was disappointed, looking at everyone else smiling, taking things out of their bags. I was devastated and felt I failed him as I couldn’t look him in his eye to tell him we had no more to give.

So, my takeaway is this: whatever it is that we are able do, there is much more work to do. What we did — two full days of shopping and preparing 72 bags, which filled our car — was handed out in one and a half hours. It was over so quickly! What we did was a drop in the ocean. There is a serious problem out there, which has been exacerbated by this pandemic, and I hope that any new relief package includes help for all these people in need.













Previously on EV Grieve:
• Anonymous East Village restaurant owners continue to feed those in need of a meal

• Anonymous East Village restaurant owners distribute meals to neighbors in need

Parkside Lounge owner Christopher Lee talks about his recovery from COVID-19

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I almost don’t recognize Christopher Lee when I see him hop off his bike at the corner of Houston and Attorney Street, right by his bar, Parkside Lounge.

He’s wearing a mask, and so am I; additionally, it’s humid out, which has caused my glasses to fog up. When we finally make eye contact there’s a shared smile that can be seen even under our face coverings.

Chris is happy to be healthy, out and about again, and I am happy to see that’s he’s survived his battle with the coronavirus that has taken so many people in its viral path.



The bar, at 317 E. Houston St., is, like most in NYC, shuttered right now due to the COVID-19 crisis, which is deeply personal for Chris. He lost a friend and performer to it and also did a lengthy stint fighting it off.





We step into the closed-up lounge and, from a safe distance, we talk about what happened, how it happened, what COVID-19 felt like, and what may be next for Chris — and for Parkside.

First off, I’m relieved you are feeling better. And I appreciate your willingness to share your story! That being said, what happened? Can you walk us through it? Any ideas about how you may have contracted the virus?

This is a tough one. I was in rehearsals in Midtown every day in addition to being around at the bar all the time. I could have caught it on the subway or from a CitiBike, but I probably picked it up at the bar when I was battening down the hatches on Monday, March 16.

I also want to throw in a “who really knows?” The subway seems to be ideal for spreading germs. We had musician Alan Merrill perform at Parkside the weekend [March 8] before the shutdown and he ended up passing away due to COVID [on March 29], so we know it was in the bar. We found that out before I even got my test results back.

At what point did you think that you may have COVID-19? What was the diagnostic process like?

When I first got sick, I dismissed any notion that I had COVID and thought instead it was a nasty flu. I thought about the possibility [of COVID-19] but dismissed it as paranoia. Then two things happened.

My initial symptoms of fever and aches went away pretty quickly — less than 24 hours. I knew from my staff that the flu was putting people in bed for at least a week and took everyone significant recovery time. I have a strong immune system [but] I probably couldn’t kick the flu that fast. It was a bad sign.

When I got my test for COVID-19, they also tested me for the flu. My doctor said it was a way of ruling out COVID without having to wait who-knows-how-long for that test to come back. It was both nostrils for the swabs — the right for flu, the left for COVID. If the flu test came back positive, I could dismiss the COVID concerns. Well, I got the flu test back and it was negative and this is when I knew I had COVID-19. I also had pretty much kicked it by then so it was just a matter of quarantine until I got the official test results back.

What were the worst of your symptoms?

The headache was incredibly intense. Days of just excruciating pain anytime I looked at anything. During the “double tap” — after I had been symptom-free for nine days and thought I was in the clear — my fever was 103 for three days and the sweat was not something I even thought my body was capable of producing.

My entire nervous system was affected. My skin felt like someone had given me a rubdown with sandpaper but there wasn’t any irritation apparent. My sense of smell went pretty early on. That’s happened to me before, back when I was younger and had the flu so I wasn’t shocked. My taste buds — this was bad. I woke up and it honestly felt like I had fallen asleep with a handful of garlic in my mouth and then tried to wash it down with liquid copper. It was overwhelming.

I also experienced blurry vision along with the crazy headaches as well as an acute sensitivity to light. I couldn’t find my mouse cursor on my computer monitor at one point. I ended up wearing sunglasses inside for a couple of days for some relief. I was usually on the couch half sitting up with my eyes closed. Never comfortable. There was no position I could get into that allowed for restful sleep. Enter the NyQuil!

What has been the worst part of the experience?

The worst part of the experience is the complete lack of understanding of what we’re really dealing with. The White House has been contradicting the medical community. Meanwhile, those folks don’t seem to understand COVID either and they’re blaming it on China not telling us everything.

I was told by my health-care provider that after three symptom-free days I could break my quarantine and go outside. Really? Because after nine fever-free days without any real symptoms I was laid up worse than I was the first time around. Apparently, that was common in the outbreak in China but why wasn’t that communicated to us? Seems like a really good way for a pathogen to get passed on.

I’ve been completely symptom-free now for eight days and I’m second-guessing every little ache/pain I feel. It’s allergy season and I’m allergic to the cats in my apartment as well. You get to feel like COVID is just something that’s always going to be part of you, which I know is not true but the paranoia is real.

Another horrible part of this whole thing is worrying about all the people I’ve come into contact with. I’m terrified I passed it on to my wife but so far, she’s had no symptoms whatsoever. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she’s part of that small percentage with some immunity because she spent practically a month locked in quarantine with a very infected person. Side note: she’s been incredible throughout this whole thing.

Any upside to this experience

There’s always a silver lining somewhere! I’m ecstatic that I’ll be able to help people in need recover. I’ve got an appointment at the New York Blood Center to donate my plasma for antibody treatment. I’m hoping after the double-tap from COVID I’ll have a strong antibody count and will be able to give support to somebody else fighting this asshole of a virus.

I’m glad that I got sick instead of any member of my staff or family. I mean, the buck stops with the owner, right? Rather than have my staff endangering themselves battening down the hatches of the bar when it was time to close up for quarantine, I did it. It’s completely unreasonable to put people in that position and I’m Exhibit A.

How has your recovery been?

Recovery has been full of trepidation. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop — again. Every little sniffle, every hint of a sore throat from allergies, every sore muscle from exercise makes me wonder if I’m about to get sick again. That shouldn’t be possible, but then again, I really don’t think we know anything close to the whole story on COVID-19.

What helped get you through the experience?

When you say you have COVID most people’s first question is, “how are your lungs?” What seems to be the most deadly aspect of the virus is people getting pneumonia and their lungs failing. There are breathing exercises that popped up all over the internet from doctors dealing with COVID patients in ICUs. I can’t stress doing them enough. Breathe deeply. Regularly. If you can do it in a hot shower with eucalyptus oil, even better. I took very long hot showers!

During the first round I tried not to take any fever reducers so my body could burn out the virus and we went pioneer-style and just used a cold washcloth on my forehead to try to give me some relief. But during the double tap when my fever was higher and the head and body aches were worse an important tool for me was inarguably NyQuil. NyQuil was my best friend. It allowed me to sleep and for the most part, I did wake up feeling better than I did the night before. I also drank water with electrolytes to help replenish what I lost from the fever sweats.

Any thoughts/concerns about the future of the bar?

I’ve always had a good relationship with the Parkside’s landlord. Hurricane Sandy really put us in a hole but we worked through that and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to do the same with this pandemic.

Our lives have all changed and the social environment we knew is probably permanently altered. Right now, we’re not even allowed to be open so there’s no money coming in to pay rent. When society does open up, I expect bars to be one of the last businesses the city allows to open their doors. I’m sure it will include capacity restrictions that will slowly get back to normal as the virus infection rates wane.

On top of that, the Parkside is a venue and I don’t see the city letting live music events happen for a long time. DJs, private parties, burlesque shows, live theater, film screenings — these are a huge part of the business model for not just the Parkside but also the entire nightlife industry in New York City. Even worse, and harder to anticipate is how society as a whole will adapt. Will people still want to go to bars at all?

I know landlords citywide are expecting their rent. It’s their business just like the nightlife is ours and at the end of the day, it’s about money. I’m cautiously optimistic that the Parkside will be able to find a way to keep being the Parkside by coming to an agreement with our landlord. We’ve all got to communicate and agree that the next few years will be completely different for our industry than the previous 10.

Downtown NYC has suffered for years because landlords have been getting tax breaks on their boarded-up businesses. Hopefully, this will be the impetus that is needed for City Hall to weigh in to discourage those tax breaks. Then we — and the neighborhood — will be in business.

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

[1st Avenue location photo by Steven]

Regulars were shocked to learn that the seemingly always-busy Bean locations on First Avenue and Ninth Street and Second Avenue and Third Street shut down after service yesterday.

A tipster told us about Bean employees thanking regulars for their patronage. (Another tipster said that the store employees received little warning about the closure.)

"It is sad but true that we are closing those stores. It is a very hard day for us," owner Ike Escava confirmed via email. "Due to rising costs the decision to close was unfortunately the only one we could make."

Moving forward, the coffee shop will maintain the location on Third Avenue at Ninth Street and the incoming spot on Broadway and Ninth Street. (The Bean on Broadway and 12th Street closed earlier this month ahead of the move to the larger space on Broadway.)

"We hope to continue to see our loyal customers at those locations and to continue serving the East Village for a very long time," he said.

The Bean has had a presence in the East Village since 2003.

The outpost on Second Avenue and Third Street debuted in December 2011.


[Photo from 2011]

The First Avenue and Ninth Street shop opened in June 2012.

Bagel bummer: DOH temporarily shutters David's on 1st Avenue

A variety of concerned reader emails arrived in the EVG inbox in the last 24-48 hours about David's Bagels.

Here's one:

On Saturday, I stopped by the always excellent David's Bagels on First Avenue and 16th Street and found it was closed with the gate pulled halfway down. Even in the 30 seconds I stood there I met four or five people who loved David's and were shocked that it was closed.

This week, the gate was lifted high enough for people to see the familiar yellow notice from the Department of Health... several readers shared photos of this...


[Photo via EVG reader Doug]

According to public records, the Department of Health closed the establishment following an inspection last Friday that turned up 60 violations points.

The top-three sanitary violations noted by the DOH were:

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours.
3. Live roaches present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.

Public records show that David's has never run afoul of the DOH before... last inspection, from June 13, turned up just 9 violation points.

As the readers said, hopefully David's will be back open soon. Calls to the shop went unanswered yesterday.

Updated 11 a.m.

A reader says they are back open...

EVG Etc.: Rent reform reactions; 'Russian Doll' returns

[Photo on Astor Place by Vinny & O]

What NYC tenants need to know about the new rent reform deal (Gothamist) Reaction from the "shocked" titans of NYC real estate (The New York Times) Real-estate groups to file lawsuit (Commercial Observer)

Residents call for independent review of storm-proofing plans for East River Park (Patch ... more reaction via The Villager)

The bill that would make NYC streets safer and break up the car culture (Curbed)

City Council members Carlina Rivera and Donovan Richards byline this piece on the importance of Community Land Trusts (City Limits)

The Strand is officially a designated landmark — despite objections from its owner (NBC 4) Reaction: "The vote is a huge disappointment, as the City has refused to consider landmark designation or any other substantial protections for the nearly 200 buildings on a dozen blocks of this part of Greenwich Village and the East Village." (Village Preservation)

Seems like 2008: A bank branch for part of the former Coffee Shop on Union Square (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot turns 25, will stage Romeo & Juliet July 11-27 (Official site)

"Russian Doll," filmed in the East Village, is returning for more on Netflix (Vanity Fair)

A WorldPride calendar of events (The Advocate)

East Village well-represented in the listicle of the city's best ice cream shops (Eater)

Take a listen to Jesse Malin’s new song, featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, called "Strangers & Thieves" (Rolling Stone)

The Jarmusch fest continues through the weekend (Metrograph)

When Johnny Thunders opened for the Replacements (Dangerous Minds)

Photos: The final days of the Streit’s Matzo Factory (6sqft)

Metro Acres Market will replace the Fine Fare at 175 Clinton St. on the LES (The Lo-Down)

A NIMBY speech (McSweeney's)

... and the 6BC Botanical Garden is having one final orientation this year on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Per the garden's website:

Saturday, June 15 at 11:30 a.m.

Become a member of 6BC and help keep the garden beautiful.

Member benefits:
• Personal access to the garden. Once you have completed your membership workday and orientation, you will receive garden keys. You may then visit and work in the garden on your own schedule.
• Learn about gardening
• Have the opportunity to maintain garden plots
• Meet your neighbors
• Give back to your community

[Updated] What is happening at Gem Spa?

Several readers were shocked this morning to see that Gem Spa, a 24/7 hub of activity on the southwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place for years, was closed.

Steven took these photos just before 9.



Last week, we heard that Gem Spa was going to reduce its hours, closing from midnight to 7 a.m. Business has been off at the shop since April, when Gem Spa lost its license to sell lottery and tobacco products (with the exception of e-cigs) due to an employee twice selling cigarettes to an undercover underage buyer. The state suspended the store’s license for six months, which apparently also leaves them unable to apply for a license to sell beer.

The Patel family has owned the store since 1986. Mr. Patel has been in declining health, and his daughter Parul is handling the store’s management. EVG contributor Stacie Joy spoke with her outside the shop on Sunday. While she acknowledged some issues with the landlord (he wants a clean look out front, for instance), she didn't give any indication that the shop was in danger of closing. She had ideas on how to help business in the interim, such as offer an "egg cream happy hour."

Meanwhile, the Zoltar machine along with the newspapers were removed from outside the shop in late May. Parul said they don't make a lot of money on newspapers and so the margins are too slim (people also steal them all too often).

Another sign making regulars nervous: The everything-must-go notices outside. According to Parul, they're simply thinning out the back stock of hats, scarves and sunglasses ...




[Photo in April by Stacie Joy]

We'll update this post as soon as we learn more.

Updated 10:40 a.m.



Gem Spa is open, per Steven. Their new hours are 8 a.m. to midnight. And their iced coffee is only $2.

Updated:

Jeremiah Moss has a post on Gem Spa here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Gem Spa

The East Village-based adaptation of 'The Nutcracker' returns tonight

The fourth annual production of the alternative, East Village-based adaptation of "The Nutcracker" begins tonight.

La MaMa Experimental Theater in association the GOH Productions presents this production of "The Shell-Shocked Nut," featuring an intergenerational cast of dancers and musicians.

Here's more info via the EVG inbox...

In this unconventional take on the seasonal staple, a wandering child and a war veteran suffering from PTSD take a magical voyage through the East Village. The pair of characters visit Tompkins Square Park, Economy Candy Store, St. Mark’s Place, and other East Village landmarks while exploring themes of loss and recovery.

"The Shell-Shocked Nut is conceived and directed by Martha Tornay and co-directed by Victoria Roberts-Wierzbowski. The pair also spearhead East Village Dance Project (EVDP), a dance development program that has offered after-school classes in ballet, modern and choreography in lower Manhattan since 1997.

The show first emerged as a studio showing in the weeks after Superstorm Sandy created as a means of brightening spirits after a challenging time for the community. “I started thinking about the cathartic process of working through a stressful situation,” Tornay said.

The sister and daughter of war veterans, Tornay was inspired to use the structure of the Nutcracker to tell a more personal story of the effects of trauma, while maintaining the accessible, family-friendly nature of the traditional ballet.

In the years following its inception, the piece has grown to a full-scale production, featuring young students from the dance program alongside an array of professional performers, artists and guest choreographers from NYC and beyond.

"The Shell-Shocked Nut" is tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20, and $15 for seniors, students and children 12 and under. You can buy tix online at lamama.org or at the box office: (212) 352-3101.

Contributor Stacie Joy, who has covered the production in the past (here and here) for EVG, shared these photos from rehearsal last night...

Illegal hotel row mural defaced again in First Street Green Art Park

Someone has twice vandalized the illegal hotel row mural since its arrival in First Street Green Art Park back in May.

The folks at the Cooper Square Committee shared this with me on Monday:

On June 27, tenants from East 1st Street rallied alongside affordable housing activists and elected officials to celebrate the completion of a community mural project, which called attention to the high concentration and negative effects of commercially operated, short-term apartment rentals facilitated by platforms like VRBO and Airbnb. These amateur muralists were shocked, but not surprised, to find that their project had been vandalized for the second time since they had begun work on the mural in early May.

On both occasions their mural was the only artwork in the First Street Green Art Park to be hit by the vandal, and the muralists allege that their messaging about the negative impact of short-term rentals on the community, as well as information on what tenants can do if they believe an illegal hotel is being operated in their building, were intentionally obscured.

A report issued in May 2018 by City Comptroller Scott Stringer notes that Chinatown and the Lower East Side are home to a high concentration of short-term rentals. Tenants living in buildings where illegal hotel operations are common allege that illegal hotels reduce affordable housing options and compromise tenant safety and quality of life — the lucrative prices that short-term rentals fetch contribute to displacement pressure on long-term tenants, and tenants' lives are often grossly disrupted by the influx of tourists and strangers who are able to access their building.

Residents in buildings where these operations are common claim they are routinely woken up in the middle of the night by confused guests ringing their buzzers and travelers carrying luggage up and down their stairs at all hours of the night. Others have woken up to find vomit in building common areas.

The tenants who worked on the mural are currently planning their response, and are looking for support from members of the community who are also concerned about illegal hotels' detrimental effects on the community.

Here's a video about the mural project...

`


[Photo from late June]

Tatsu Ramen debuts on 1st Avenue

Tatsu Ramen, with two locations in Los Angeles, opened its first NYC outpost last evening at 167 First Ave.

For now, Tatsu will be opening in the evening hours...

Mark your calendar, our doors open today, 07/24! We’ll be satisfying your dinner and late-night ramen cravings with our temporary limited hours: Sun-Wed: 6PM-2AM Thurs-Sat: 7PM-3AM · Stay tuned for our 11AM opening time in the near future: Sun-Wed: 11AM-2AM Thurs-Sat: 11AM-3AM · Until then, #LateNightsAtTatsu #SlurpOn #✌️ · 🍜 📸: @sgmphoto

A post shared by Tatsu Ramen (@tatsuramen) on Jul 24, 2018 at 8:13am PDT

Here's more about Tatsu, via their website:

Tatsu was founded by a handful of tight-knit USC family who fell in love with Tokyo and ramen. Having tasted the best, we went on a mission to find the best ramen in LA — and were terribly disappointed.

This sparked our (neon) lightbulb to bring Tokyo "home" to LA. We reimagined the typical Japanese ordering vending machine as iPads and flew multiple chefs from Japan to deconstruct the chemistry-laden recipes and have them painstakingly house-made from scratch with natural ingredients (and tough love!).

We shocked the ramen traditionalists by also offering gluten-free option, 100% chicken and vegan broth.

"Tatsu" means dragon and opened its door in 2012, the year of the dragon. It has since become an LA institution that’s frequented by A-listers, hipsters and blacklisters.

You can find the Tatsu Ramen menu here.

The last tenant in this space between 10th Street and 11th Street was Ashiya Sushi, who moved away in 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
L.A.-based ramen shop opening outpost on 1st Avenue