Report: Dahlia's busted after cops find 43 minors drinking inside locked restaurant

[EVG photo from 2014]

The State Liquor Authority (SLA) has yanked the liquor license from Dahlia's on Second Avenue and East Fifth Street after the NYPD found more than 40 teens drinking inside the Mexican restaurant on Jan. 30, the Post reports.

After reportedly serving teens, the SLA served up an emergency liquor license suspension. The restaurant, known as Mary Ann's until 2014, can still sell food, but not alcohol.

Here's some passages from the Post:

[C]ops found the exits locked and more than 40 well-heeled teens — one only 15 years old — quaffing “monster margaritas” and mojitos.

And!

Cops from the 9th Precinct arrived at Dahlia’s after receiving a 911 call reporting underage drinking. At the crowded bar, they documented that 43 patrons were younger than 18, including five 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old.

Most of the teenage drinkers were from monied Westchester suburbs like Scarsdale and Larchmont, officials said. None had been asked for ID.

SLA officials also said that the holder of the liquor license, Huascar Then, and five servers were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, unlawfully dealing with a child and criminal nuisance.

SLA Chair Vincent Bradley issued this statement: "In addition to demonstrating a total disregard for the law by blatantly catering to minors, this licensee further jeopardized the health and safety of these young patrons by crowding them into a locked bar to avoid detection by law enforcement."

As you probably know, the 9th Precinct is a 1/2 block from the restaurant.

Updated 10:45 a.m.

I walked by Dahlia's this morning... you wouldn't know that the restaurant isn't serving liquor... see next update below...








Updated noon:

The gates are up now at the restaurant... and the suspended license legalese is posted...





Thanks to EVG correspondent Steven for the photos.

Updated 3:30 p.m.

Several readers (including Vinny & O) mentioned that Dahlia's is not open today. Also, maybe randomly, one of the Dahlia's signs was lying on Second Avenue in front of the restaurant ...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Updated 7 p.m.

The restaurant is open this evening. An EVG reader who looked inside said there were three patrons...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Slowly but surely the exterior of the former Mary Ann's is becoming Dahlia's

Moons dreams

Last night via Grant Shaffer

Baker's Pizza in soft-open mode on Avenue A

The pizzeria at 201 Avenue A between East 12th Street and East 13th Street is now serving... as you can see, the hours for now are noon to 10 p.m., Monday-Saturday...



One EVG reader chimed in with an early review in the comments: "I had a slice at Baker's Pizza: a white slice with caramelized onions and a little sausage — very unique. It was delicious. Bravo to the baker!"

At the beginning of the year, East Village resident Jordan Baker bought the business from the folks who ran Nonna's Pizza here.

1 month (or so) after the Blizzard of Jan. 23, this snow refuses to leave East 1st Street

Oh... sorry. This snow...



At least I think it's snow... Didn't taste like any snow that I recall tasting... (likely just the tar crust...)

East Village Smoke Shop & Grocery now open on Avenue A

The small shop is up and running at 89 Avenue A near East Sixth Street... aside from the smoking-related supplies, they sell the usual deli fare (sodas, gum, snacks, etc.)

The former tenant here, D-Lish Pita, closed last summer.

H/T EVG reader Perri Silver

An evolution in yarn at La Plaza Cultural

[Photo by Bill LoSasso]

This yarnbomb collaboration between @madebylondon and Frank Ape on East Ninth Street at Avenue C arrived outside La Plaza Cultural on Thursday...


[Photo by William Klayer]

...replacing the dinosaur that had been here. In terms of evolution, we're progressing — dinosaur to ape to...

All together now

Bloc Party are back with a new record and lineup... the UK-based quartet will be playing Governors Ball this June... ahead of that you can see them at Irving Plaza on March 16. And you can see them in the above video with "So Here We Are" from their 2005 debut.

Next stop?

St. mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue this afternoon...

Feb. 29 is the last day on St. Mark's Place for Trash and Vaudeville ahead of move to East 7th Street

[EVG photo from last July]

As we exclusively reported last July 28, Trash and Vaudeville is leaving its home of 40 years at 4 St. Mark's Place ... to new space at 96 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The store has taken to social media to announce that their last day on St. Mark's Place is Feb. 29. They will reopen in their new home in early March.

Hey Ho Lets Go... to 96 East 7th street! After over 40 years at 4 saint marks place, Trash & Vaudeville will be relocating to 96 East 7th street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A (just a few blocks away!) We'll be on Saint Marks till Feb 29th. We would love to see you here before we move and we look forward to seeing you on 7th street in early March! We'll keep you updated with confirmed dates. Any questions please email or give us a call, customerservice@trashandvaudeville.com / 212-777-1727 ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏

A photo posted by Trash and Vaudeville (@trashandvaudeville) on Feb 19, 2016 at 8:35am PST

Here's some of our conversation with store owner Ray Goodman from July:

"I love St. Mark's Place. There's no doubt it. There's something magical about it. This just isn't any block," Goodman told us on the phone. "The decision wasn't something that I took lightly. From a business perspective, we saw a shift in the clientele. The block is not as conducive for fashion shopping as it once was. Now it seems as if it's all food — fast food — and bongs. Even stores that aren't bong stores sell bongs."

He said that the changing business environment on the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was just one of many factors that played into the decision to relocate.

"The retail world is so different today," he said. "So much of it is done online."

And increasing rents are always a culprit.

"The rent is creeping up," said Goodman, who is a minority partner in the ownership of the historic Hamilton-Holly House at 4 St. Mark's Place. "Rent was a factor, but it wasn't the sole reason."

Last November, 4 St. Mark's Place, the landmarked building whose first owner in 1833 was Alexander Hamilton’s son, arrived on the market. Asking price for the building that includes Trash and Vaudeville: $11.9 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: After 40 years, punk rock mainstay Trash and Vaudeville is leaving St. Mark's Place

Minca Ramen Factory is back open next Thursday

Good news if you're a fan of Minca. The popular ramen shop on East Fifth Street just west of Avenue B had been closed since mid-December for some unspecified gas-related issue.

However, as you can see in this photo via EVG reader Alexis, Minca returns this coming Wednesday, Feb. 25, here at 536 E. Fifth St.

Updated:

Despite what the sign says, Minca will reopen on THURSDAY, Feb. 25...

3rd Avenue penthouse cottage returns to market as a $17k monthly rental

[EVG file photo]

Last Aug. 27, the penthouse home(s) atop the building that houses Kiehl's on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street caught fire...

Fire on 13th & 3rd. NYFD handling it. Hope no one is hurt. pic.twitter.com/MMblm6oU40

— Connor Scalleat (@connorscalleat) August 27, 2015

Despite how it looked, the damage was minimal to the cottage that had just sold for $4.4 million.

You still have a chance to live here, though. As the Post reported, the 1,972-square-foot rooftop duplex (apartment 4CD) with three bedrooms and three bathrooms is now available as a rental — for $17k a month.

Here's part of the listage action via Corcoran:

An open kitchen features stainless steel appliances including Miele dishwasher and Wolf range, along with a dramatic Thermador vented range hood. Hand-painted Victorian-era aluminum casted balusters line the staircase leading up to the stunning master bedroom suite.

Enter this second level through the spectacular solarium, sun-flooded during the days and great for stargazing at night through its numerous skylights. This well-designed suite is complete with a spa-like master bath featuring a deep-soaking tub and separate steam shower, a windowed study/dressing area, and corner fireplace. The two spacious terraces flank the second level, the larger featuring an outdoor wood-burning fireplace, retractable awning, and four exposures with views of the Empire State Building. There is also a new irrigation system in place.

To refresh your memory...







The unit is available is furnished or unfurnished.

As for the cause of the fire, the Post heard that it was a faulty hot tub on the roof.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Live in tranquil cottages overlooking … 3rd Avenue (but still)

Updating: Fire reported on the rooftop at Kiehl's on 3rd Avenue

Do you have any opinions about noise in the East Village?

[Smurf #woo circa 2010]

Then have we got a survey for you! (And you!)

Via the EVG inbox...

Dear New Yorkers:

The New York State Comptroller's Office is conducting a survey on noise in New York City neighborhoods and would like you to take the survey.

Research has demonstrated that noise can adversely impact public health. For example, noise can disturb sleep and increase stress levels.

We want to learn about your experience of noise in your community and solicit your ideas for reducing noise.

Toward that end, we are asking all community residents take the survey by March 15, 2016.

Thank you!

State Government Accountability
New York State Comptroller's Office

You may access the English version of the survey here. (The survey is also available in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.)

P.S.

Remember! If you don't like noise, then move to _______________

Report: Higher rent helped doom Nino's; owner wants to open another pizzeria in the East Village

[EVG photo from yesterday]

On Wednesday, the signs on the door at Nino's stating that the pizzeria would reopen were removed... along with the help wanted signs...

As reported on Tuesday, owner Nino Camaj accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his remaining 10-year lease and surrender his longtime space on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. However, a Citi Urban representative at the time told Bedford + Bowery that Nino owed rent for previous months — not just for the month without gas.

DNAinfo spoke briefly with Camaj, who said that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent. "I’m not making any money before I closed," he told DNAinfo in a story published yesterday. "I’m breaking even."

Camaj said that the rent for the corner space was $3,500 when he opened in 1989. (Nino sold the business in 2012, which produced a short-lived pizzeria. He returned and reopened Nino's in July 2013.)

Camaj told DNAinfo that he would like to continue running a pizzeria in the East Village — if he can find a more affordable location.

Meanwhile, James Morrissey, who owns The Late Late on East Houston, had been after the Nino's space to combine with the former Hop Devil Grill next door to create The Honey Fitz, a destination serving a grab-and-go breakfast in the morning along with high-end cocktails by night... with WiFi and printers for freelancers and others to use during the day.

However, facing a denial for a liquor license from CB3's SLA committee on Tuesday night, The Honey Fitz team withdrew their proposal for the time being.

Morrissey said Wednesday that he "remains interested in the location, assuming all outstanding lease issues have been resolved," per DNAinfo.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A (54 comments)

Gas leak closes Nino's for now

Nino's and Yoshi Sushi served with eviction notices on Avenue A

Encouraging signs at Nino's

Report: The Honey Fitz on hold; and RIP Nino's

Pork Pie Hatters is closing on East 9th Street

[Image via Facebook]

After nearly five years on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, Pork Pie Hatters is packing it in. (They announced it on Facebook on Saturday. No reason given for the closure.)

The shop was an outpost of JJ Hat Center on Fifth Avenue, which has been around since 1911. The flagship store isn't going anywhere.

The last day for is March 10. Until then, everything in the East Ninth Street shop (No. 440) is 50 percent off.

[Updated] EVG on EVR

As previously noted (here and here), I'll be hosting some shows on East Village Radio.

Tomorrow morning (Feb. 19!) from 10-noon ET, I'll be talking with photographer Marcia Resnick and writer Victor Bockris, who collaborated on the recently released book "Punks, Poets, and Provocateurs: NYC Bad Boys, 1977-1982."

The book is also the subject of an exhibition at Howl Happening!, 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery, through March 2.

Later in the program, writer-blogger-teacher Gala Darling will be joining me.

And throughout the program, we'll be playing a few songs via the subjects in Resnick's book (i.e., the New York Dolls, Brian Eno, Richard Hell, James Chance and the Contortions, etc.)

Listen in via dashradio.com/EVR or the Dash Radio app.

Updated 2/19

The show will be rebroadcast tomorrow (Saturday the 20th!) from noon-2 p.m. ET

ICYM, @evgrieve with @marcia_resnick and with @galadarling, Listen Saturday from 12p-2pm ET | 9a-11am PT on East Village Radio.

— East Village Radio (@EVRadio) February 19, 2016

Photo of Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and William Burroughs by Marcia Resnick.

No-frills gym debuts on East 6th Street

Between Avenue A and First Avenue. To keep costs down, patrons have to bring their own seat and take turns moving the garbage.

Photo today by Derek Berg

The Bowery street sign returns without the David

[EVG photo from Jan. 25]

Back during the Great Blizzard of Jan. 23®, a group of Bowie fans (the Little Italy Street Art Project) added David to the street sign on the Bowery at East Houston.

The city moved surprisingly quickly to amend the offending Bowery Bowie-ed sign. The city removed it in early February, as BoweryBoogie noted.

And today, a new sign has returned – without the David — to guide travelers on this storied NYC thoroughfare...

LinkNYC OFFICIALLY launches TODAY

[Photo from January by Stephen Popkin]

After about six weeks of beta testing (starting with a handful of kiosks on Third Avenue) ... the city's free Wi-Fi hubs will be launched this afternoon by Mayor de Blasio

Let's go to Curbed for details:

When the four hubs went live last month they only had the free Wi-Fi capability. But with the public launch today, all the other functions of the kiosk will also go live.

Customers will be able to use a touchscreen, or a Link tablet as they are known, to make free phone calls to anywhere across the United States. They will also be able to look up directions, and find out about other city services. The kiosks also come with two free USB charging ports to charge devices.

The city is expected to have more than 500 kiosks up and running by July... with a goal of 7,500, each replacing a pre-existing phone booth, over the next eight years.

You can read more background about the LinkNYC project here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another Wi-Fi hub arrives on 3rd Avenue

Looking to carry on the legacy of St. Mark's Bookshop

The other night, I stopped by St. Mark's Bookshop, where the cash-only, 50-percent-off clearance sale continues here on East Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

To some surprise, the store still has items on the shelves ... and the recent visits haven't been quite as depressing as anticipated. (Less like a funeral and more like a co-worker's going-away luncheon.) A few curiosities remain two weeks after the last-ditch effort began at the beleaguered shop.

So in case you have travel plans to Iraq...



If you look long/hard enough, then there are a couple of decent titles left. (There's a copy of Thomas Hardy's "Mayor of Casterbridge" that will be $3 and change after the discount. As an example.)

Anyway, by now you probably know what the store is up against: A mountain of debt, including back rent, fees to publishers and wholesale distributors... not to mention unpaid sales tax.

For more background, you can read recent posts at DNAinfo ... Bedford + Bowery ... and at The New Yorker, Ada Calhoun wrote a piece published last Friday titled "What went wrong at St. Mark's Bookshop." (Spoiler: A lot.)

Even the store's most ardent supporters have said that this is truly the end for the the Bookshop (or that this should truly be the end...), on its fourth location since opening on St. Mark's Place in 1977.

I haven't heard when the shop might actually close for good. When a patron asked the other night how much longer they'd remain open at 136 E. Third St., owner Bob Contant said "I don't know."

Meanwhile, as you may have read (The Awl and Jeremiah's Vanishing New York), there continues to be a movement afoot to keep a new bookstore like St. Mark's Bookshop in the East Village ... a counterpart to crucial used shops like Mast on Avenue A and East Village Books on St. Mark's Place.

Rafael Khalid, a Brooklyn resident and bookstore lover, and longtime St. Mark's Place resident Charles Fitzgerald (once the landlord of St. Mark's Bookshop), have been working to raise money for such an endeavor.

Khalid answered a few questions on his involvement and hopes for a new bookstore in the East Village:

Why did you get involved in helping St. Mark’s Bookshop?

When I first moved to NYC, a friend introduced me to St. Mark's Bookshop. It became my favorite bookstore. I felt I could make a difference in the community and help my favorite bookstore at the same time. I joined a committee of 13 friends of St. Mark's Bookshop that volunteered to help the store survive and continue. I was asked to lead the effort and continued getting results (like moving to a new location).

What is your current plan?

I have given everything I have to save and help St. Mark's Bookshop. But now, the plan is to raise $200,000 for a new store that carries on the legacy of St. Mark's Bookshop. There will be a new management committee, new books, and new energy. But it will carry on the best traditions of St. Mark's Bookshop, like having any author put books on consignment at the store, giving local writers, poets, and activists a voice to be heard, and having a gathering place for the community.

I'm just a facilitator who gets things done. I would love to partner with a local indie bookstore to complete this vision. Then I can move onto helping other bookstores and literary projects.

The store has been holding a clearance sale. Do you know what the next steps are for the store as it exists now?

I'm no longer involved with the store. Bob Contant has always been and always will be in charge of St. Mark's Bookshop as owner of the store. He all of the decisions and was responsible for all of the outcomes related to those decisions.

Why do you think it’s important to have a bookstore like St. Mark’s Bookshop in the neighborhood?

New bookstores give authors, poets, and writers a voice to be heard, not just in the community but in the world. Historically, people come from all over the world to the East Village to discover new talent that might not be heard or be able to breakthrough all the noise and clutter. My goal is to continue the legacy or best parts of St. Mark's Bookshop while adapting to today's environment.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: St. Mark's Bookshop prepping fundraiser ahead of possible move to Avenue A.

Is this the new home for the St. Mark's Bookshop?

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop signs lease for East 3rd Street space

Renovations at the future St. Mark's Bookshop on East 3rd Street

St. Mark's Bookshop seeking buyers with an ownership interest

Report: Last stand for St. Mark's Bookshop

Report: Latest woe for St. Mark's Bookshop — possible eviction

[Updated] These are likely the last days for St. Mark's Bookshop

At Cacio e Vino on 2nd Avenue

Words and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy

I stopped by neighborhood restaurant/wine bar Cacio e Vino, 80 Second Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street, before service the other night. I met owner Giusto Priola and manager Christine Ehlers and checked out the newly redesigned space.




[Priola and Ehlert]

The restaurant has undergone a few changes since it opened in 2006. Originally a pizzeria, they changed the menu to focus on fresh fish and plated seafood dishes, then heeding neighborhood suggestions, reverted back to being a mainly Sicilian-style pizza restaurant. Cacio e Vino also refocused on what the locals and fans of the place wanted — a concentration on the famed Italian oak-wood-burning oven pizza (cooked at a strict temperature of 700 degrees) and regional dishes from Sicily, where the owner grew up and where his family still resides.

Regarding Ballaro, their now-former sister space across Second Avenue, Priola and Ehlert said that it wasn’t a landlord issue that made them shutter the space. In fact, their landlord extended the amount of time for payment and was lenient in terms of the rent. So what happened? It was the ever-increasing costs of payroll, purveyors, some staffing issues, and that the space “wasn’t the best fit for the neighborhood.” Ballard was within 500 feet of a church, as is Cacio e Vino, and therefore not eligible for a full liquor license. They were able to sell beer and wine, but the people who frequented the space in the evening hours wanted liquor and spirits.

Ehlers also mentioned the students who flock to the area for the nightlife. She told of a recent visit in which 12 students wanted to split their bill onto 12 separate credit cards, which prompted a change to the language on the menu regarding the check.

Back at Cacio e Vino, where old timers from Little Italy still come for supper, including a 102-year-old regular who demands dishes in the Palermo style of her youth, they source ingredients from Italy as much as possible, and offer house favorites like the spinach arancina rice balls ($8), the pizze quattro formaggi ($16), and the anelletti alla Palermitana ($15), which is baked under a dough dome and offers an amazing presentation.




[The anelletti all Palermitana]


[Making the spinach arancina rice balls]

The restaurant/wine bar offers delivery and catering. You can also visit their original neighboring spot, Cacio e Pepe, at 182 Second Ave. between East 11th Street and East 12th Street, which has a full liquor license and traditional Roman cuisine.

When I asked Giusto, an East Village resident, what he wanted to tell people about the space, he said, “Just come and eat!”

You likely had a feeling of what is opening in this storefront on East 6th Street

There is a new tenant for the former (short-lived) organic dry cleaners-cafe storefront on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...



h/t @lauracgurf

Suffolks Arms opens tonight on East Houston

[EVG photo from Jan. 28]

We first heard about Suffolk Arms back in September 2014 via The New York Times ... in a "bars opening soon" feature...

After some delays, the cocktail bar via Giuseppe Gonzalez, whose bartending credits include Golden Cadillac, PKNY and Dutch Kills, officially opens tonight at 269 E. Houston St. and Suffolk Street.

Here's part of a preview via Gothamist:

Like its roundtable approach to the drinking, which celebrates González's inspirations, the food and decor follow suit with a who's who and what's what of New York City and Lower East Side lore. Sixty hand-drawn portraits of Keith Haring, Jam Master Jay and other notable New Yorkers like the New York Public Library lions line the wood-paneled walls and windows.

And from Time Out:

An annotated menu touts 11 original cocktails ($14) like the Tough Room, which fuses a Guinness with a whiskey sour stout, as well as a selection of 13 "Something Like Classics" quaffs ($13), which play on time-honored libations from the likes of PDT's Jeff Bell and Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Pepe Le Moko in Portland, Oregon. A third section of the menu gives spirited proof to vodka's bonafides with drinks crafted by New York bar pioneers, like a Flatiron Martini from Julie Reiner and a Grapefruit Cooler from Audrey Saunders.

The 63-seat space features a food menu, including a Russ & Daughters Smoked Fish Platter ($22) and a matzo ball soup ($8).

As previously noted, nearly three and a half years have passed since there was a tenant here. The Local 269 never reopened after a flood wiped out the live music venue's equipment in the fall of 2012. The Local 269 space was previously home to Meow Mix and Vasmay Lounge.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Plywood wraps itself around the incoming Suffolk Arms

First look at the new public toilets in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo today by Derek Berg]

The toilets are currently in beta testing.

Eventually, each toilet will include free one-gigabyte WiFi, though individual toilet-users are more likely to see upload and download speeds closer to 300 megabits per second. This is still much faster than most cellular or landline Internet connections in the United States. Range can theoretically extend up to 400 feet, as long as there are no obstacles in the way, such as NYPD Patrol Towers. (Also, toilet-goers worried about security can get a key for an encrypted connection, although this requires additional steps.)

Other features include free VoIP calls through Vonage, and a dedicated button for calling 911. Maintenance costs should be offset by two 5-inch displays showing ads and public service announcements.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Rafael Hines
Occupation: Sales Director, Morningstar, Writer
Location: Café Mogador, St. Mark's Place
Time: 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9

I moved here with my mom in 1961, to 3rd and D. My mom is Irish Catholic from North Carolina. Her grandfather was born on a ship coming over from Ireland with my great grandfather. Back then, 3rd and D was kind of a no-fly zone, but she was like, ‘Hey, we’re here.’ We had a big apartment. It was great and there were a lot of kids coming in and out all the time.

We were there until 1968. Our upstairs neighbor was trying to date my mom. She said no, so he set our apartment on fire. Everything we had was up in flames. We were coming back from Delancey Street and we saw the fire trucks outside our house and everything was gone. I was 6 years old at the time. The whole neighborhood kind of galvanized. They got us toys, clothes, and someone actually found us this apartment on St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Avenue A, where she lived until she passed away last year.

My mom and my stepfather were part of that hippie generation. They had a VW painted, and she made jewelry and clothes. He painted and made furniture. They had a hand in that whole hippie community. My father is a first generation immigrant from Panama and was raised in Jamaica. For my mom and her friends, they were always self-employed. I remember my mom would make necklaces and beads and sell them in Washington Square Park, and then she was making dresses. My stepfather was a painter and a cabinet maker, so he was always painting canvases and all these things. It was amazing to see all this life.

My experience was a little different. The cops would beat you up all the time and slap you around. You didn’t think anything of it. You would play hide and go seek and if they saw you hiding behind something, they would just smack you and say, ‘What are you doing,’ or hit you with the night stick. I think about my childhood and there was violence and a lot of other things like that, but now we go to Tompkins Square Park and it’s full of rats. It’s crazy. If you’re in playground past 5:30, it’s full of rats.

When we first moved to St. Mark's Place in 1968, there were the Ukrainian families that had been there. One of the guys had been born in the building in 1910. They’d tell me these stories about when the bathrooms were in the backyard. There was a Ukrainian deli on the block. We had no money back then. My mother would get less than a quarter-pound of liverwurst, because we couldn’t get a full quarter. You’d get just a couple slices and they’d give me the rest on credit. You always had a running tab with the local deli.

It was just such a community and everyone knew everybody. I feel blessed that I’ve been on this block and in this neighborhood for so long. Even though it was always rough, and still is in some areas, for me it was fantastic. The economy was rough, so my best friends’ families, they were all involved in those businesses. This was not cookie-cutter bad guys and good guys. People are complex and they have a lot of motivations. That’s just how life is.

So many of my memories were tied to… the groups that I really knew were the gangsters, the cops, and the combat veterans coming back from Vietnam. They all went to the same bar. The bar on the corner was Naja's and everyone would go there, shoot pool, and they had dice games in the back. It was just this congregation where they went, ‘All right, time out, we’re going to have drinks now. We’ll chase you later,’ and us kids would go in and they would have us running errands. Gamblers would come from different cities and different states to play dice and shoot pool there. I remember when I was 8, 9 years old, counting $75,000 in cash in 5, 10s, and 1s. They put it out on this huge craps table and all of us kids were like, ‘I’ll count this stack, you count that stack.’ The world was incredible for us as spectators.

For us it was normal, but for me, those guys they always said, ‘Listen, this is not for you.’ They would always tell me that, and they would look out for me. ‘Have fun, do your thing, but this is not your life.’ It was like a mentoring thing.

This block was also not like the low-level dealer's block. It was the guys who were running things. When I was a kid, you would see a green Rolls-Royce with the guy’s name in foam in the back window. The best way to describe it was that everyone was such great a storyteller. There were all these characters who were crazy on one side, but they were just so colorful and so full of life. You walked down the street and you’d be talking to someone for 10 minutes here. There was always something happening — action.

Then over the years, the sad and the dark side of that is that they were all destroyed, either by prison or by getting high on their own supply. They all became dope fiends and just destroyed themselves. There were really no survivors. It decimated an entire generation. A lot of friends I grew up with have been incarcerated their whole lives. There’s that heroin tattoo. It marks you.

In the 1970s, heroin hit full blast and I just remember the abandoned buildings were where we would play hide and go seek. We always had a joke, running around with 50-pound junkies and 100-pound rats. But you never felt in danger, at least for us, even though there were always people nodding out and there were so many killings on this block in the 1970s.

Then in the 1980s, crack hit, but I think gentrification had started. There was a little bit of a change just in the dynamic of the neighborhood. Even though crack was prevalent, and there was a lot of stuff still going on. I don’t know if it was because I was a little bit older, or I wasn’t so much in that circle, but I didn’t see the level of violence that I saw in the 1970s. That’s my experience. The 1980s were no joke, but the 1970s from my experience was the roughest stretch of road.

James will have more from Rafael Hines in the next Out and About in the East Village...

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Report: The Honey Fitz on hold; and RIP Nino's

[EVG photo from November]

As previously reported, a cocktail bar-restaurant-co-working freelance/Wifi space called The Honey Fitz is in the works for the former Hop Devil Grill and the temporarily closed Nino's Pizza storefront on St. Mark's Place and Avenue A.

The proprietors, James Morrissey (The Late Late on East Houston) and Gerard McNamee (GM of Webster Hall), pitched the concept before CB3's SLA committee last night.

For starters, a quick recap about Nino's, the longtime pizzeria on the corner.

Nino's had to close on Oct. 21 due to a gas leak in the building, according to a sign on the door. On Nov. 17, the pizzeria was hit with an eviction notice. Owner Nino Camaj has said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.

In late November, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly in discussion with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they had to close due to the gas leak. Camaj still has 10 years left on his lease, and had been in court with the landlords.

However, before last night's CB3-SLA meeting, a tipster told us that Camaj had accepted a low six-figure amount to walk away from his lease and surrender the space. We'll have more about this development later.

As for The Honey Fitz. BoweryBoogie was at the meeting, and reports that in the face of a CB3 committee denial, The Honey Fitz team withdrew their proposal for another month.

Here are two passages from BoweryBoogie's coverage:

District Manager Susan Stetzer made sure the room understood her position that removing Nino’s for a business locals unanimously reject is unacceptable. The decades-old pizzeria has been shuttered for months because landlord Citi-Urban Management shut gas to the whole building (i.e. purported leak), and even residents are without the utility.

And!

The panel quickly filed behind Stetzer on this one, and was collectively incensed that Nino’s Pizza was not only being forced out, but that these operators were content to side with a landlord who acts in such wanton manner. Seeing the imminent denial at hand, the applicant team employed the strategy of withdrawing. Keeping the board and the opposition on ice for another month to reassess “given the situation with Nino.”

Read BoweryBoogie's full coverage here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Honey Fitz in the works for St. Mark's Place and Avenue A (54 comments)

Gas leak closes Nino's for now

Nino's and Yoshi Sushi served with eviction notices on Avenue A

Encouraging signs at Nino's

Saving$ Paradise lost on East 14th Street?

An EVG reader on East 14th Street shared this photo... showing that a "for rent" sign has arrived on the Saving$ Paradise marquee here at 250 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The inexpensive (and cluttered) shop sells a little bit of everything — housewares, school supplies, greeting cards...







...St. Patrick's Day flair...



Not sure if they have "over 10,000 items" like the sign promises, but it seems like it...

Anyway! They are not closing, according to the store's proprietor. In the weeks ahead, Saving$ Paradise will be moving a few storefronts to the west ... to No. 242... to the current home of I.Q. Decor (RIP) ...



It's a smaller space, which might mean more like "over 7,000 items" for the new Saving$ Paradise.

Monthly Movies @ MoRUS series kicks off tomorrow night

Via the EVG inbox...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will bring cinema to the people every third Thursday of the month with Movies @ MoRUS, a series of films highlighting such themes as social justice, political reform, environmental activism and Lower East Side history.

Each screening will be followed by a talk back and discussion. The first of the Movies @ MoRUS series will be held on Feb. 18. In observance of Black History Month, the first film screened will be "Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal" directed by Stephen Vittoria. The film is an in-depth examination of the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist on death-row whose conviction in the case of the 1981 murder of a policeman in Philadelphia continues to raise questions about the death penalty, the judicial system and race in America.

Upcoming Movies @ MoRUS include:

• Thursday, March 17 — "1971," dir. Johanna Hamilton, 2014, 80 min.
The second film is "1971," a documentary exploring the infamous activist burglary of a FBI office. The heist in 1971 led to the exposure of unlawful measures the Bureau had underwent in surveillancing anti-war activists, and continues to provoke thought on the ethics of our government’s intentions.

• Thursday, April 21 — "Garbage Warrior," dir. Oliver Hodge, 2007, 86 min.
In honor of Earth Day, our third film is "Garbage Warrior," about U.S. architect Michael Reynolds and his mission to introduce radical sustainable housing to the masses.

• Thursday, May 19 — "Food Inc.," dir. Robert Kenner, 2008, 94 min.
The documentary examines how big corporations heavily influence all aspects of food production in the U.S.

Movies @ Morus is free to the public but a suggested donation of $5 is always appreciated. Showtime is 7 PM at MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets.