Dieci closes on 10th Street

Dieci closed at the end of September on East 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. EVG regular Blueglass notes that the space has been cleaned out.

The owners took to Facebook to post a brief goodbye message: "Unfortunately Dieci has closed its business. We hope to open again in the near future. Thank you for your patronage and we will keep you updated."

The owner and chef here are Japanese, but they served Italian fare that critics found interesting.

Dieci opened in this small, subterranean space in 2006.

East Village Burritos & Bar and Apna Masala haven't been open lately

It has been dark of late at East Village Burritos & Bar and its sister establishment next door, Apna Masala.



A sign on the restaurants here on First Avenue at Sixth Street mentions a closure for "construction work" — today.



Perhaps connecting the dots, the FDNY responded to a report of a fire at the building, 97 First Ave., on Sept. 25...roughly the last time we saw these places open...





There wasn't any word of damage to the building. (Witnesses said that they smelled smoke, but never saw any actual fire.)

Neither of these places haven't been setting any dining attendance records, save for nice evenings when a few patrons will take advantage of their sidewalk seating (under the sidewalk bridge for a good part of the summer).

After Banjara left the corner in 2013, Figaro Villaggio, an Italian bar-restaurant, opened in January 2014. They later changed the name to Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill and, by November 2014, gave up part of the space to an Apna Masala. (All from the same owners, as we understand it.)

Then in March 2015, Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill changed its names/concepts to La Esquina Bar & Grill ... then the name evolved to La Esquina Burritos and Bar ... and eventually East Village Burritos & Bar.

There's nothing on file with the DOB about renovations/construction on the space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Banjara space yielding to Figaro Bistro Grill, 15 comments

Banjara moving soon to the Haveli space on Second Avenue

Indian cuisine returning to the corner of 1st Avenue and East 6th Street

Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill is now La Esquina (not that one) Bar & Grill

La Esquina Burritos & Bar signage up on 1st Avenue

6th Street switcharoos: Another name change for La Esquina Burritos and Bar; Spice Cove exits

Sunday's parting shots

At the Tompkins Square Park dog run (above) ... and outside Sidewalk on Avenue A and Sixth Street...



Photos by Derek Berg...

Taste Wine Co. celebrates first year in business

Taste Wine Co. is having a 1-year anniversary celebration from 4-8 p.m. today at 50 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. There will be giveaways, refreshments and, of course, wine tastings, per the Facebook invite.

"Most new businesses don't make it a year, but every month we've had has been better than the last so we'd love to celebrate that with our neighbors," Gary Landsman, founder of Taste Wine Co., told us via email.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More about Taste Wine, coming soon to 50 Third Ave.

[Updated] Noted

You've probably seen those stenciled ads for the new Green Day record (the band's 12th!) on sidewalks and plywood seemingly everywhere.

An EVG reader wondered if the marketing folks could have spared putting three of them on the fence outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery ...

Updated 5 p.m. 10/10

Several readers sent emails to the Green Day Fan Club ... and they responded:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, it is being removed immediately.
Thank You,
Green Day - Idiot Nation Team

As of 4:45 p.m... the stenciled ads were still on the church's fence...



Updated 5:45 p.m. 10/11



Updated 10/12



Updated 10/13

Noted

Real-time marketing on Avenue A with the We-Vibe van...

A video posted by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on Oct 9, 2016 at 6:04am PDT

Saturday's parting shot

A downtown view tonight view Bobby Williams...

Today is Cassette Store Day

#CassetteStoreDay is back again. We won't have any of the new releases but we will have some interesting titles as usual.

A photo posted by A-1 Record Shop (@a1recordshop) on Oct 7, 2016 at 8:38pm PDT

Read all about it at the official Cassette Store Day site.

A-One Record Shop at 439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue has some older titles for sale. They are open from 1-9 p.m.

Long live cassettes!

Noted

Photo on Avenue A this morning by Derek Berg... (and this ride was for a young girl's birthday party...)

InGardens celebration at First Park this weekend

Some weekend music (and dance) action at First Street Green Art Park... on First Street at East Houston and Second Avenue.

Jazz guitarist Bern Nix along with bassist François Grillot and drummer Reggie Sylvester start things off today at 2 p.m.

'Dead Man's' curve

EVG favorites Thee Oh Sees will be playing the Bowery Ballroom next month. The show on Nov. 11 is sold out. Tickets for the Nov. 12 concert went on sale today.

Here's the video — with a bit of a Harmony Korine vibe — for "Dead Man's Gun" from the band's new release, A Weird Exits on Castle Face Records.

In brief, the waxing crescent moon

Via local astronomy buff Felton Davis and the Second Avenue Star Watchers...

Thanks to all who stopped by for last night's brief showing of the waxing crescent moon ... Craters Theophilus, Cyrilus, Catharna, Polybius and Piccolomini stood out in their extraordinary jaggedness as they only do on the fifth day of the lunar cycle.

Sadly the moon is still below the celestial equator, and disappeared behind the buildings by 8:15 pm. If it's clear tonight, then I'll be back out on Second Avenue and East Third Street at around 8 to show the moon passing through the center of the galaxy and into the constellation Sagittarius.

EV Grieve Etc.: Ex-super sues Steve Croman; Black Flag gets the $265 T-shirt treatment

[Photo at the First Street Green Art Park by Derek Berg]

Pols: The de Blasio administration is completely mishandling the homeless crisis (Daily News)

Former Croman superintendent claims he’s owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime (The Real Deal)

How did Black Flag t-shirts end up at Barney’s for $265? (The Wall Street Journal)

Met Foodmarket for rent on Prince and Mulberry (BoweryBoogie)

The U.S. theatrical premiere of "Homeland," which captures everyday life in Iraq leading up to war in 2002 (Anthology Film Archives)

Booker & Dax closing Oct. 15 for an indefinite amount of time (Eater)

Video: The band Science live in Tompkins Square Park in 1981 (Flaming Pablum)

Queer 90s film series underway (Metrograph)

Christo and Dora on the hunt for dinner in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

Protesting the eviction of Beyond Martial Arts on the LES (The Lo-Down)

Best doughnuts in NYC listicle includes Dun-Well on St. Mark's Place (Gothamist ...previously)

Landmarks Preservation Commission launches the NYC Archaeological Repository (NY Yimby)

Ramones Way for Queens (Gothamist)

BBC documentary on NYC in 1971 featuring Patti Smith (Dangerous Minds)

...and tomorrow is the 31st annual Harvest Festival at the 6th & B Community Garden (rain date is Sunday)...

Chipping away 112-120 E. 11th St. to make way for a Moxy hotel

Sounds of demolition have been coming from inside 112-120 E. 11th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... as you know, these five former residential buildings are coming down to make way for a 13-story hotel for Marriott’s Moxy brand.

From the street it's difficult to tell just what's going on inside here... But from above...an EVG tipster shared these photos ...




[Click to go big]

...our tipster said that this "roof stripping" has been going on all week...



To date, we haven't seen any renderings for this 300-room hotel aimed toward the Millennial set. Stonehill & Taylor are the architects of record. They designed the one going up in Chelsea.

For some idea of what we might be in for here... check out the rendering for the West 28th Street location...


[Rendering by Stonehill & Taylor]

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the rally outside 112-120 E. 11th St.

Protest reminder about 112-120 E. 11th St.; plus concerns over asbestos removal

6-building complex on East 10th Street and East 11th Street sells for $127 million

Report: 300-room hotel planned for East 11th Street

Preservationists say city ignored pitch to designate part of 11th Street as a historic district

Permits filed to demolish 5 buildings on 11th Street to make way for new hotel (58 comments)

New building permits filed for 13-story Moxy Hotel on East 11th Street across from Webster Hall

There will be several eating-drinking choices at the incoming Moxy hotel on 11th Street

NYC's 'first playground' coming to 12th Street

There's been work going on inside the New York Central Art Supply's former warehouse space on 12th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

Yesterday, the signage went up for the new tenant: Switch, described as "New York's First Playground." (Also, "Forget the gym. Come play.")

There's a website where you can sign up to receive more info.

According to the Commercial Observer, Switch Playground is a South Africa-based group fitness concept. The company is opening a location in Soho too.

Its website says that Switch "combines carefully selected aspects of cardiovascular training, functional training, boxing, plyometric training, core stability and power-flow yoga to create a perfectly balanced playground for the body and soul." They have two locations in South Africa.

Here's a sneak preview of Switch life...



And we need to add this to the list of EV gym options...

That rather nondescript building on 12th Street houses an 'East Village beauty'

I've walked by the residential building at 407 E. 12th St. on my way to and from Academy Records between Avenue A and First Avenue so many times ... and I never thought much of it.

But apparently it's pretty nice on the inside, based on a new listing for this two-bedroom condo. Bond New York has the listing, which describes the home as an "East Village beauty":

Not–to-be-missed gorgeous two bedroom, two bath, condo beauty in the heart of the East Village. This home is a must-see embodying all that a hip, cool, understatedly elegant apartment has to offer, not to mention EXTREMELY LOW MONTHLY CHARGES!!

Leave the hustle bustle of the vibrant East Village behind as you enter this pin-drop quiet home. The unit boasts a comfortable and spacious living room with an open kitchen and gracious dining area perfect for entertaining or just cozy, quiet nights at home. The entire apartment is outfitted with remote controlled ceiling fans and air conditioners in every room for perfect room temperature preference.

The kitchen has been newly appointed with custom made touches that lend a homey country feel with built-in shelving for your favorite cookbooks and nick knacks. The butcher block counter is a wide planked, two toned, deconstructed Cherry wood kitchen island with extra deep, quiet-close drawers. A washer/dryer is included for convenience.

There's also shared space out back and on the roof...





Asking price: $1.75 million. There's an Open House Sunday from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Images via Bond New York

A debut exhibition for the Modern Love Club on 1st Avenue

[Image via Facebook]

In recent weeks the storefront at 156 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street has been transformed into the Modern Love Club.

The space is the work of Amy Van Doran, who has operated a longtime matchmaking service. (You can read an interview about all this here.)

During the day, Van Doran and her business partner, Emily Lesser, run the matchmaking company from the space. And on the weekends, it moonlights as the Love Museum.

And tomorrow (Saturday!), Van Doran is hosting the Love Museum's first exhibition, titled "Girls I Love." Per the Facebook invite:

It's a show featuring the work of some of my most favorite ladies, and we can't wait to share space and the love with you.

Offical opening Oct. 8 5-9 pm
Show ongoing until Nov. 5.

There will be paintings, performance art by Bode, tarot readings by Sarah Moran, Pornkus by: Margaret Meehan, champs, DJ's AndrewAndrew, Featuring the work by: Kirsten Bode, Jenna Gribbon, Loretta Mae Hirsch, Sarah Moran, Carly Silverman, and Sera Sloane
Curation by: Marina Press and Amy Van Doran

In an email, Van Doren said that the Modern Love Club "bridges my East Village dreams, love of durational performance art, community, weirdness, chaos, and the obsession for connection."

You can read more about the storefront here.

The address was previously home to a different club — the Deep End Club, which closed in July after a three-year run as a pop-up shop of sorts.

[Updated] Have a heart: A surprising find outside the Riis Houses

A man found what may be a human heart in the trash this morning outside the Riis Houses on the FDR Drive and Sixth Street, according to published reports.

As DNAinfo reported, the man reached into the trash to retrieve a discarded potted plant and found the organ inside a pink box.

Per the Daily News, who first reported on the discovery:

The heart appeared to be human, but police brought the item to the city Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm.

Updated 10/13

Likely a pig's heart, per DNAinfo.

Tats Cru getting fresh on 2nd Street

Tats Cru created a new mural today on the wall on Second Street at Avenue A... it's an ad for GrowNYC’s Healthy Exchange Project ... specifically the local Greenmarkets that accept SNAP/EBT...



There's more space reserved for the mural specialists ...



The members of Tats Cru have created several murals here in recent years, including one of Jeremy Lin... this wall has also seen at least two marriage proposals. Here and here.

Thanks to @billspector for letting us know about the new mural!

Report: EMT subdues knife-wielding man on 14th Street and Avenue B

JUST IN: EMT squad spots, disarms knife-wielding attacker while responding to unrelated call in East Village https://t.co/K3kkjrcuIu pic.twitter.com/zUzc7m6XZB

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 6, 2016

Oh yeah. The Daily News reports that two EMTs were responding to a 911 call on 14th Street and Avenue B last night around 9 ... when, unrelated to their call, EMT Bruce Fonseca and his partner "heard loud screams for help."

Per the News:

The duo ran to the source of blood-curdling screams and found two men in a fight — one of them armed with a very large knife.

Fonseca radioed for help while his partner took on the angry assailant.

The EMT was able to get the weapon away from the attacker while Fonseca subdued him.

The article doesn't mention what the two men were fighting about... or what the original 911 call was about...

Report of a fire at the 1st Avenue L stop

A reader shared this from 14th Street and First Avenue... there was a report of a fire on the tracks... service is currently suspended after Lorimer and in Manhattan...

#ServiceChange
Due to FDNY activity at 1 Av, there is no [L] train service between Bedford Av and 8 Av in both... https://t.co/EL7hKN7BJc

— L Train NYC (@mtanowl) October 6, 2016

Gothamist has more here.

Updated 2:45 p.m.

#ServiceAlert: b/d there are no L trains b/t Bedford Av & 8 Av, due to FDNY activity at Bedford Av. Details at https://t.co/vhZQ2kZ2vb

— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) October 6, 2016

Mysterious blue picket fence on St. Mark's Place can now be yours (see Jeff)

A section of blue picket fence mysteriously arrived Tuesday evening on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place... outside the former Chase branch.

A reader heard a man at the scene say that he was going to erect a fence there to keep the travelers/crusties from sleeping out front. (Seems as if the fence would only encourage people to camp there....)

Anyway! There were reports that the fence moved to Second Avenue and Seventh Street. Then back to St Mark's Place. And more sections arrived.

Anyway! (Again.) The whole thing can be yours now... it is for sale...



Just look for Jeff between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Who's Jeff? He looks like this...

That 12th Street 'Kate Spade' townhouse now with $4 million shaved off the top

Back in June, we noted that this fine single-family townhouse at 215 E. 12th St. was on the market for $16 million. (The place is owned by a founder of the Kate Spade brand.)

Well, it's a good thing that you waited before pouncing on this property. According to The Real Deal, the price of the home — dubbed the "Kate Spade House" by the publication — between Second Avenue and Third Avenue has been reduced by 25 percent to $12 million. (Woo!)

Public records show that the home last changed hands for $4.3 million in 2007. Sloane Square NYC has the listing.

On the CB3-SLA docket this month: Applicants for the former Cock space on 2nd Avenue

There are a few items of interest to note on CB3's SLA committee docket this month.

Among them: There are applicants seeking a new liquor license for 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street. This is the former home of The Cock until the crew moved to the Lit Lounge space back in December.

There are not a lot of details on the questionnaire (PDF!) on file at the CB3 website.

The document shows proposed hours for the unnamed establishment as 3 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday-Friday, and noon to 4 a.m. on the weekend. Occupancy includes 18 tables that will seat 40 people... there's a menu that will feature specialty sandwiches.

While the applicants have not been licensed previously to sell liquor, the applicants have restaurant experience (Cafe Select in Soho, Toro in Chelsea, among them). One of the applicants is Maxx Starr, a co-owner of Fun City Tattoo, which opened at 94 St. Mark's Place back in 1989.

The October SLA committee meeting is Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Location: The Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Hey, the 14th Street IHOP is back in pancake biz

Just closing the IHOP-renovation loop ... the restaurant is back open (actually as of Monday afternoon, per an employee) here on 14th Street near Second Avenue (aka, IHOP Way).

The five-year-old IHOP closed for a makeover on Sept. 18.

Having never been inside the pre-makeover IHOP, I can't tell you how the place is any different. Anyone?

Target's plan to be your one-stop shop on 14th Street and Avenue A (and Tribeca)

[Photo on Avenue A from last week]

The so-called flexible-format Target store opened yesterday in Tribeca.

I mention this because this is the model for the specialty Target that is set to open on 14th Street and Avenue A in, oh, 2018... the store will anchor Extell's 7-story retail-residential complex...


[Photo from yesterday]

Follow the arrow to the Target...



Here's more on Target's new concept via an article yesterday in USA Today:

The new smaller-format stores are a way of reaching customers who might otherwise have trouble becoming Target stalwarts. Of the 15 new stores Target is opening this year, 14 will be the smaller, more curated models.

The Tribeca store features several hallmarks of Target’s overall strategy to become a one-stop shop for customers, including a section where shoppers can buy fresh, organic groceries, and an emphasis on merchandise categories such as wellness and fashion.

But each of the smaller stores also is designed to cater to the tastes and needs of the specific neighborhood where it is located. The walls of the Tribeca store are decorated with a graffiti-like mural that was drawn with a felt-tip marker.

In a dense section of Manhattan where people rely on the subway and taxis to get around, there is no automotive section, unlike many of Target’s larger suburban locations. (Lack of parking, in fact, is one of the store's bigger challenges.) And in a neighborhood full of professionals and young couples with babies, there are plenty of baby strollers, and smaller furniture that would better fit into tiny apartments.

As previously reported, Target is leasing 27,306 square feet at Extell Development's development. According to a report at the Commercial Observer back in August:

The lease — for 9,500 square feet at grade and 17,806 square feet below ground — is for 30 years, at which time Target could extend it for another 10 years, according to the source and the memorandum of lease. ... The asking rent was $2.5 million per year...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking (pretty much!): Target is coming to 14th Street and Avenue A (54 comments)

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Bobby Williams