Corners

First Avenue at Fourth Street (top) and Second Street...

Updated: Man in hockey mask shoves reporter to the ground during live broadcast on Delancey Street

Police are looking for a man who confronted then shoved CeFaan Kim, a correspondent for ABC 7, during a live broadcast on Delancey and Norfolk last night, as Patch reported.

Kim tweeted a clip of the incident this afternoon...

This is the man who attacked me last night during a live broadcast. If anyone has seen him around please give the 7th precinct a call. pic.twitter.com/enkqQe0mxC

— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) March 4, 2017

A man in a hockey mask is seen shoving Kim to the ground. The man, who takes off his mask on live television, then says Kim attacked him.

Updated 3/6:

The Post talks with the mask-wearing man, Key Jonta Foster, who goes by the stage name Majesty Da Rebel.

“The reason I did it was because I knew I’d get negative feedback from it,” Foster told The Post. “I can always flip that. I saw an opportunity and took the opportunity to promote my video and mixed tape. From the beginning, it was friendly — I put my arm around him, and then he pushed me, grabbed me.”

Updated 3/7

Foster turned himself in, DNAinfo reports.

A winter in the life of an abandoned salt spreader on Avenue A

In other important stories... this winter, a salt spreader has been locked up on the east side of Avenue A between Fourth Street and Fifth Street



Even during the rare snowfall this winter, the salt spreader remained locked in place...



Then last week, the salt spreader made a brief appearance above the van that had been parked on Fourth Street at Avenue A...



... and now the salt spreader has returned to the street, though this time locked up on the west side of Avenue A opposite of its former home...

Finnerty's returns from spring cleaning

Finnerty's, the Bay Area sports bar at 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street, closed in February for a spring cleaning, as noted here.

It was originally meant to be a two-week closure... but the original Feb. 17 reopening date was pushed back...



To yesterday... and Finnerty's is back ... I've never been to Finnerty's, so I can say what is different...



So here's the word from them via Twitter...

Higher ceiling ✔️
Energy efficient AC's/lights ✔️
Custom murals ✔️
Bigger TV's ✔️

The last time the bar will look this good ✔️ pic.twitter.com/NnneKMmvTy

— Finnerty's (@Finnertys) March 4, 2017

EV Grieve Etc.: Attempted rape on the LES; Essex Crossing housing lottery underway

[Photo by Derek Berg]

Police looking for this suspect in attempted rape in building on Norfolk and Rivington (ABC 7)

Mayor de Blasio claimed he had nothing to do with the recent firing of the city official who lifted the deed restriction at Rivington House (DNAinfo)

How de Blasio stacks up against Bloomberg on rezoning (The Real Deal)

The annual CineKink NYC Film Festival starts March 14 at several EV theaters (Time Out)

NYPL's Library for the Performing Arts acquires Lou Reed's archives (Gothamist)

The U.S. English language premiere of Guillermo Calderón’s "Villa" on stage through April 1 at the Wild Project on Third Street (Official site)

Cholo Noir, a forthcoming West Coast-style Mexican restaurant and art gallery, opening with or without a liquor license on Sixth Street (DNAinfo ... previously)

Villanelle, serving "serving vegetable-forward fare," opens on 12th Street between Fifth and University (The New York Times)

A look at the 1980s zines of Raymond Pettibon (Dangerous Minds) ... and his retrospective at the New Museum on the Bowery continues through April 9 (Official site)

Essex Crossing Site 5 affordable housing lottery is open (The Lo-Down)

"Citizen Kane" this weekend at Anthology Film Archives (Official site) ... while Ingmar Bergman's "Shame" plays at the Metrograph down on Ludlow Street (Official site)

This week's hawk action in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

It's the 'End of the Week'

Here's something from Merchandise's sixth studio album (and second for UK imprint 4AD), A Corpse Wired," which came out last fall.

The video is for "End of the Week." Merchandise is touring now, but no upcoming NYC dates as of now.

1 week left to apply for the Stuy Town Lottery

Via the EVG inbox...

The StuyTown Lottery, a middle-income affordable housing lottery at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, has one week left to run.

The deadline to apply is March 10. Anyone with between $84,150 and $149,490 in pre-tax, combined household income might be eligible. We are offering one- and two-bedroom apartments.

More information, including floorplans, FAQs and instructions on how to apply can be found at www.stuytownlottery.com.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Lottery open for below-market rate apartments in Stuy Town

With court date looming, Babu Ji 'is taking a break' on Avenue B

The dining room was dark last evening at Babu Ji, the popular Indian restaurant on Avenue B at 11th Street.

A sign greeting patrons at the door noted that they are "taking a break." (There isn't any mention of this on the restaurant's social media properties.)



The temporary closure comes after a report yesterday by Eater's Ryan Sutton outlining details of a second wage-theft and overtime lawsuit against owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh.

Per Eater:

The first lawsuit against owners Jessi and Jennifer Singh was filed in July 2016 by two employees. By late September, the Singhs agreed to pay a total of $95,000, split almost evenly between the employees and restaurant labor attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum. The owners did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, according to public court records.

The second wage lawsuit was filed in September 2016, but an amended version from February 2017 contains newer, more incendiary allegations, accusing an owner of making profane and threatening remarks against a server and his family — including insinuations of violence in retaliation for bringing the wage suit. That owner is also accused of berating another server with an incest-laced profanity and threatening him with a countersuit. The case is set to be tried by a jury.

According to the lawsuit, Jessi Singh allegedly made threats against one of the plaintiff's relatives — "you know that in India a man paid $100,000 rupees to have someone’s family killed." Jessi Singh also allegedly threatened one of the plaintiffs by saying, "I’m going to fuck you up." The lawsuit says that he called the other plaintiff a "sisterfucker." You can head over to Eater for more details.

The parties involved in the lawsuit are due back in court on Tuesday.

Babu Ji opened in June 2015.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Babu Ji on Avenue B hit with another wage lawsuit

Former David Barton space on Astor Place will become an 'elite' New York Sports Club

Back in December, the four David Barton Gym locations in Manhattan, including on Astor Place, shut down without any warning to its members or staff.

That prime Astor Place space won't be staying vacant for too much longer. Yesterday, Town Sports International, the owners of the New York Sports Clubs brand, announced that they had bought the 10,000-square-foot space ... which will become one of New York Sports Clubs' collection of Elite clubs.

Here's more from an announcement that arrived in the EVG inbox:

New York Sports Clubs will pay homage to the rich neighborhood culture originally created by David Barton at 4 Astor Place by retaining many of the club's original finishes and signature touches while bringing in a new fresh new wave of equipment, facilities, amenities and class offerings.

The new location at 4 Astor Place will feature several new programs and will also boast Rogue rigs, Woodway treadmills, lifting platforms and expanded training zones.

New York Sports Clubs Elite membership gyms are the evolution of the Sports Clubs brand. This new tier of membership will offer customers a higher level of service, amenities, programming and partnerships as well as providing access to the nearly 150 clubs within the TSI network.

For more information about the Astor Place location, you can visit the official gym website here.

Last month, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Club Ventures Investments LLC d/b/a David Barton Gyms

David Barton arrived on Astor Place in 2009.

From Rustico to Paquito's

[Reader photo]

As noted yesterday, Rustico, the cafe at 135 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, has closed. And a source tells us that a rent increase was behind the closure.

Meanwhile, the owners were selling off what was left of the small restaurant yesterday.

And some of Rustico will be staying nearby... the owners of Paquito's, a few storefronts away at 143 First Ave., bought some of Rustico's tables and chairs...


[Photo last night by Raquel Shapira]

H/T Lola Sáenz

Blue 9 Burger is officially closed

As we noted in early February, Blue 9 Burger appeared to have shut it down at 92 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street ... we haven't seen any activity at the space... EVG reader Harry Weiner shares these photos from yesterday, showing that the quick-serve burger place has been emptied out...



Blue 9 opened in 2003... several EVG commenters noted that the place served a tasty burger, but that the quality had deteriorated in recent years.

The Blue 9 Burger on the Upper East Side has also closed.

Christo in flight

Thanks to Steven for these photos of Christo the red-tailed hawk from Tompkins Square Park today ...