Go on a free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park this Friday afternoon

[Photo from March 31 by Peter Brownscombe]

The Tompkins Square Park Library is hosting another free walking tour of Tompkins Square Park (the one on March 31 was quite popular) ... happening this Friday at 1 p.m.

Per the NYPL website:

Enjoy a visually informative one hour walking tour of Tompkins Square Park with your hosts, East Village street photographer Michael Paul and Tompkins Square Library Manager Corinne Neary, through the East Village's gathering place for picnics, festivals and community events ever since it opened in 1837.

In the mid 19th century the Square offered reprieve from a hard life for our country's new immigrants, in what was once the most densely populated neighborhood in America. See the statues, memorials, landmarks and yes, the trees that currently play home to our park's 21st century residents, the red-tailed hawks Christo and Dora [Ed note: and Amelia]!

The walking tour starts promptly at 1 p.m. (rain, shine or heatwave — oh, and bring water) in front of the Tompkins Square Library, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. RSVP here. This neighborhood walking tour is part of Jane's Walk at Municipal Art Society.

Speaking of Tompkins Square Park and the library... here's a photo by P.L. Sperr from the NYPL Digital Collections ... from Avenue B at Seventh Street circa April 1935 ... with the Empire State Building in the background...


[Click to go big]

As we noted in this EVG post from April 1935, the cart on the corner was the last to sell churned buttermilk before being replaced by yet another peanut vendor.

The Earth School Spring Party and Auction is Saturday night

This Saturday evening, the Earth School (on Sixth Street and Avenue B) is holding its largest fundraising event.

With the Department of Education cutting funding for enrichment programs like P.E., music and overnight camping trips several years back, the Parents Association turned to raising funds to help make up for the deficit.

Here are details via the EVG inbox...

The Earth School Spring Party & Auction

Venue address: Saint Nicholas Hall 157 Avenue A (corner of 10th Street)
Event dates and times: Saturday, May 5, 6-10 p.m.
Event prices: Admission is $30 (pre-sale at link) and $40 at door.
Age range: Adults 21+ only

This isn't just any adult school fundraiser. This is an underground party with plenty of food & drinks to get you warmed up, live and silent auctions, and a DJ for dancing the night away! Some of the items up for grabs during the silent and live auctions: Bowery Hotel one night stay plus Gemma restaurant gift certificate, 3-year Select Membership to Equinox, a VIP Tour of the David Bowie Exhibit, gift certificates to Veselka, Hearth, and many other local restaurants and much more. All proceeds benefit the kids at the Earth School.

In addition, the Parents Association is raffling off a pair of "Hamilton" tickets for $5 each. All proceeds go to the Earth School. Details here.

Pile driving phase over (for good?) at 11 Avenue C

[Photo from yesterday]

After another month of noisy construction on Avenue C and East Houston, the pile driver departed the lot over the weekend.

EVG reader IzF, who lives nearby, shared the news. Now there's hope among neighbors that this is it for the pile driving. There was nearly a one-month reprieve from March 2 to March 29, when the foundation support work started up again, which IzF described this way: "It feels like my bed is being kicked hard by a giant. Horrible."


[Photo from yesterday]

As previously reported, a 10-floor building with 45 luxury rentals via BLDG Management will rise in this triangular lot. (This previous post has a summary of what's been happening here.)

... and from earlier this spring ... someone paid tribute to the NEKST tag (read more about Sean “NEKST” Griffin here) that was visible above the now-demolished gas station here...







Previously on EV Grieve:
Pile driving resumes at the site of the East Village's last gas station, where a 10-floor building will rise

The demolition of the Mobil station and full NEKST reveal


[Photo from September 2016]

Meryl Meisler's Lower East Side of the 1970s and 1980s

[On the Bowery in 1977]

NYC-based photographer Meryl Meisler's work will be on display starting tomorrow in an exhibit coinciding with Lower East Side History Month.

"LES YES!" showcases some of Meisler's photography taken on the Lower East Side during the 1970s and 1980s.

The opening reception is tomorrow night from 6-9 at the Storefront Project, 70 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand. The exhibit is up through June 3. Find more details here.

Meisler was born in the South Bronx and raised in North Massapequa, Long Island. After college in Wisconsin, she returned to NYC in 1975. Here's part of a recent feature on Meisler in the Times:

"I felt like I belonged," she said. "I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, even though I had a teaching degree. Maybe because the city itself was out of joint. I had just come out as a lesbian, but I felt like I belonged here. I felt safe.”

She eventually spent 31 years as a NYC public school art teacher.

Here's a sampling of the LES photos that will be on display...




[On East Houston]


[At the Henry Street Settlement]


[At Famous Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse]

In a recent interview with Bedford + Bowery, she said that she still sees some of the old LES here despite all the changes. "It’s busy and alive and yet, there are still people on the street that are true New Yorkers. New York is always changing, but I still see the essence of it there."

All photos by Meryl Meisler ... and courtesy of The Storefront Project & Stephen Kasher Gallery. Reprinted with permission.

Former New York Central Art Supply store serving as a temp home for the Brunch Theatre

New York Central Art Supply, which closed in September 2016 after 111 years in business, is the home for the fifth season — titled "Black Coffee" — of the Brunch Theatre Company.

Haley Jakobson created the collective in 2015 "as an initiative to bring young people back to the theatre, and to give millennial actors, writers, and directors an opportunity to create new work."

Their three-week run, featuring seven new plays, starts on Saturday here at 62 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.



Here's more about the season via the Brunch Theatre website:

We'd love to invite you to our opening celebration, Sunday May 6th. Specials will include bottomless mimosas, raffle items, live music, and a talk back with the artists.

The world is ending, and Brunch Theatre has taken refuge in an abandoned art store in Manhattan's East Village. Brave the apocalypse with us for our wildest Brunch experience yet. We've partnered with NYC food trucks to provide rations (vegan and gluten free options available) and we'll keep the champagne flowing because the waters run out.

We cater to your stomach and your short attention span. Don't ditch your weekend brunch plans, make them an experience.

You can find more details about the plays as well as ticket info here. The collective's last slate of plays were staged at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe on Third Street.

Meanwhile, there hasn't been any activity at the former New York Central Art Supply. The Steinberg family, who operated the art supply store for three generations, cited "poor business conditions" and the pending sale of the building as the primary reasons behind the closure.

According to public records, the building sold for $9.3 million to an LLC in 2016 with an address of 62 Third Ave. However, a work permit from last year for a sidewalk bridge lists Jakobson Properties as the owner. Their intentions for the property haven't been made public yet.

Mochii is a new rice flour dessert shop on 7th Street

A recent opening to note... Mochii opened last month (grand opening was April 21) at 116 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Here's their description via Facebook (and Instagram): "Rice flour dessert shop offering a healthier alternative while being affordable in a cozy, relaxing environment."

And they serve a variety of Chinese and Japanese desserts, such as mochii ice cream, daifuku (mochi stuffed with red bean paste), Japanese sweet dumplings and Chinese sweet rice balls. You can find their menu and shop hours here.

Have you gotten your daily dose of mochii yet? 😁 PC: @tsering.gurung.925

A post shared by Mimi Lau (@mochiinyc) on Apr 27, 2018 at 12:10pm PDT

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon by Lola Sáenz...

A visit to Anyway Cafe

The New Yorker's Bar Tab feature heads to Anyway Cafe on Second Street near Second Avenue in this week's issue.

An excerpt:

In this cavernous subterranean space, the chairs are filled with East Village denizens out for an evening of Russian music and appropriate refreshments; chilled carafes of vodka and plates of pelmeni (Siberian dumplings) are scattered on the tables, consumed dreamily to the sound of an accordion.

Empty corner storefronts on Avenue A

Someone spray painted this message — "Tax Commercial Vacancies" — over the weekend on the side of the former Benny's Burritos space on Sixth Street and Avenue A.

In late March, Mayor de Blasio told the following to WNYC:

"I am very interested in fighting for a vacancy fee or a vacancy tax that would penalize landlords who leave their storefronts vacant for long periods of time in neighborhoods because they are looking for some top-dollar rent but they blight neighborhoods by doing it."

Anyway, by my count, there are currently six corner storefronts sitting vacant on Avenue A between Houston and 14th Street. (This doesn't count the new retail space for lease in Steiner East Village at 11th Street ... or the incoming Target at 14th Street.)

• Southeast corner of A and Second Street. The Chase branch closed here in November 2015. The space has had six or seven brokers since then. Last October, EastVille Comedy Club looked at taking part of the storefront. However, CB3 denied the application, citing, among other reasons, that this address was never licensed before and that it exists in a saturated zone.

• Northwest corner of A and Third Street. Landmark Bicycles closed here back in October.

• Northwest corner of A and Fourth Street. The Santander bank branch closed here on Friday.

• Southeast corner of A and Fifth Street. This space shouldn't be empty for too much longer: Mast Books is relocating here from a few storefronts away.

• Southwest corner of A and Sixth Street. Benny's shut down in November 2014. The owners of the bar the Black Rose were going to apply for a liquor license for this corner, but those plans never materialized.



• Southeast corner of A and 13th Street. I don't know exactly when Percy's Tavern closed. Back in August they started opening later in the day, foregoing weekend afternoons. In September, a reader told me they were done. I walked by to see — and they were open. My guess is they closed for good at the end of September, about the time applicants for the the Honey Fitz made an unsuccessful attempt for a new liquor license here.

City Council investigating claims of tenant retaliation at NYCHA properties

[Photo of Carlina Rivera yesterday at City Hall via Twitter]

City Council members are taking action following published reports that a resident of the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D received an eviction notice after complaining about the NYCHA during a PIX-11 story earlier this month.

During a press conference at City Hall yesterday, New York City Council members Carlina Rivera (District 2) and Ritchie Torres (District 15), chair of the Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, joined NYCHA residents and advocates to rally against negligent property managers at the Riis Houses. The elected officials say that the property managers are allegedly retaliating against residents who have gone public over the lack of repairs and possible lead exposure in their apartments.

Keshia Benjamin, a Riis Houses resident and organizer of the rally, had her apartment featured on PIX-11 earlier this month over numerous unrepaired health hazards, including leaking pipes that flooded her apartment, damaged doors and bathrooms, and pest, mold, and lead exposure.

Management at Riis Houses reportedly then sent Benjamin a notice that they were examining her record to possibly begin eviction processes for unpaid rent, even though Benjamin said that she had fully paid.

NYCHA officials denied any retaliation, the Daily News reported yesterday.

Following a query by the News, NYCHA officials said that Benjamin's termination notice has been canceled. Per the paper: "It was automatically generated because she had been delinquent on rent within a 12-month period, but has been rescinded because she is now up to date, a spokesperson said."

The spokesperson also said, "NYCHA does not retaliate against residents for any reason."

City Council members claim that Benjamin's story is not the only one at the Riis Houses, and "it appears that Riis property managers are held unaccountable by central staff at NYCHA and use that power to promote a culture of silence amongst residents looking for help."

The Council’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations is now investigating reported instances of retaliatory actions at Riis Houses, as well as the grievance process for tenants and the overall accountability structure within NYCHA.

In addition to the Council investigation, Rivera is planning to introduce legislation to create a formal grievance system so that NYCHA tenants can submit their complaints anonymously and have them investigated fairly. This piece of legislation comes after the recently introduced legislation from Council member Rafael Salamanca that would mandate performance reviews for NYCHA employees.

"NYCHA seems to be focused on moving bad actors around the system whenever they are in the spotlight and not on providing accountability," Rivera said at City Hall yesterday. "This simply cannot continue — the NYCHA must explain themselves in person for these actions."

VVN’s Tea bringing art and tea to the former Neptune space on 1st Avenue

VVN's Tea will mix tea and art when the shop opens at 194 First Ave.

The proprietors, three friends who list artist and designer among their occupations, reportedly signed a five-year lease for the space here between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Here's the concept via the VVN website:

VVN's TEA is a place that not only sells tea, but also promotes a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is centered around the appreciation of tea and the sharing of art.

Every cup is an open canvas, printed with artworks by local artists. When you a cup of tea, you are not just buying the drink, you are buying the whole experience.

You get to take home with you, a tiny piece of artwork and share it with your friends on social media.

The space previously housed the Neptune. The Polish-American restaurant closed in December 2016 after 15 years in business.

The landlord chopped the former Neptune space in half. Chelsea Thai has leased the storefront on the south.

5 big events in May that you may or may not already know about

[Loisaida Festival photo by Stacie Joy]

May marks Lower East Side History Month, the annual celebration created by Fourth Arts Block and Downtown Art, with other local organizations and businesses taking part.

In addition to the activities (see the calendar here) associated with the History Month, here are a few more high-profile events this May...

• May 18-20 — Saint George Ukrainian Festival, Seventh Street. Details here.

• May 19 — Dance Parade and DanceFest, Astor Place, St. Mark's Place and Tompkins Square Park. Details here.

• May 25-27 — The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. Details here.

• May 27 — Loisaida Festival, Avenue C. Details here.