An injured opossum on Avenue B

Photos and report by Mark Cyr...

Last night, the NYPD found an opossum lying on Avenue B, near Seventh Street along Tompkins Square Park, where a car had been parked. The opossum was alive and looking around at onlookers, but making no effort to move. In the words of the NYPD officer holding back the crowd of onlookers, "He is playing possum. We don't know what he might do."



An NYPD Emergency Services Unit (ESU) was called to deal with the opossum.

An NYPD officer explained that the NYPD's job was to remove any wildlife found at ground level. The ESU officers waited for an animal crate to be brought and then they dropped a loop over the opossum's head and moved him into the crate. The ESU officers said the opossum did not resist.







The ESU officers said that the opossum appeared to have a broken leg. They thought he had probably fallen asleep under a parked car and gotten hurt when the car drove away. They said the opossum would be taken to animal rescue for evaluation. The crowd applauded as the opossum crate was carried away.

This opossum was gray, not white. This does not seem to be the same opossum I photographed in Tompkins Square Park, in December.

FLASHBACK... to December


[Photo by Mark Cyr]

So to recap, the opossum the NYPD took away last evening is NOT Nicodemus Punch Sugarpop aka Parachute ChingChing Yanoonoo aka Opie...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The opossum has pretty much made Tompkins Square Park her/his home now

The opossum of Tompkins Square Park — now on video

Opossum where art thou?

Opossum drama in Tompkins Square Park

Funny business: Comedy club replacing comedy club on 4th Street

The coming soon signage is up on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery for New York Comedy Club.

They are taking over the former home of EastVille Comedy Club, who moved out to Brooklyn last month.

This will be the second location for the New York Comedy Club, which opened in 1989 on 24th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

"We're very excited about being part of such a vibrant neighborhood full of all kinds of other arts and performance venues," Amy Hawthorne, the club's director of operations, told me via email.

As of now, the club is looking at a mid-July debut (though they may have a soft opening before then).

"We'll be renovating the space to be more in keeping with the look and character of our original Gramercy location — darker room, brick wall background for the stage, and an audio system custom designed for the space by our co-owner, Scott Lindner, who is also a professional audio engineer," she said.

Lindner and Emilio Savone bought the New York Comedy Club in 2014 after years of working in entertainment marketing and live comedy production.

You can find more background on New York Comedy Club here.

Moxy East Village arrives at the lobby level

Right there... (bonus Jim Joe underlined)...



And a look through the blogger portal on the plywood...



Anyway, it's the 13-story, 285-key Moxy hotel going up at 112-120 E. 11th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

According to the Moxy website, the hotel opens at the end of this year...

Hot Box looking ready to debut on 2nd Avenue

The coming soon signs are up in the windows at 77 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street... the home of Hot Box.

Here's the About via the restaurant's Facebook page:

Blending together a mix of East Asian broth, noodles and topped with the freshest ingredients, Hot Box serves deeply flavorful combinations on a signature burner system for a longer-lasting "fresh off the stove" taste.

And here's their menu from the recent soft opening...



And via Instagram...

A post shared by Hot Box Restaurants (@hotboxnyc) on Apr 26, 2018 at 9:19am PDT

A post shared by Hot Box Restaurants (@hotboxnyc) on Apr 11, 2018 at 7:17pm PDT

The restaurant's owners are on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting agenda for a new beer-wine license. However, this item will not be heard at the meeting.

Ciala, which briefly served Georgian cuisine before switching to French food, had an inauspicious five-month tenure at the address. Before Ciala, Ballaro had a seven-year run, closing in February 2016.

16 Handles returns all glown up

16 Handles recently returned from its closed-for-renovations state on Second Avenue between Ninth Street and 10th Street with new signage that no longer looks like 16 Hindles.

Here's more on the new look via the EVG inbox from Friday...

In celebration of the brand’s 10th birthday, 16 Handles East Village has a fresh new look, complete with custom neon signs, the brand’s signature bold colors, and exposed brick, giving the East Village store the ultimate glow up. The brand will also be working with local artists to paint murals to amplify the space.

The store has also incorporated an entirely new element — #TreatsBy16 counter-serve Fro-Yo, ice cream, and desserts — by bringing a soft-serve machine behind the counter. The very first product to launch with this new concept is the #GalaxyCone ... a deliciously sweet combination of Cotton Candy and Sweet Taro Pie frozen yogurt, served in a cotton candy cloud cone with stars and galaxy-themed hues of blue, pink, and purple.

Don't be surprised to see a human take your order (and cash) at the Astor Place Shake Shack

The Shack Shack at 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/Death Star debuted this past October on Third Avenue and Ninth Street.

Let's quickly revisit the press release about this opening of Danny Meyer's growing burger empire:

A reflection of Shake Shack’s relentless focus on excellence, experience and hospitality through innovation, the Astor Place Shack will introduce a new guest flow at the restaurant ... the Shack is designed to enhance operations and guest experience and will feature kiosk-only ordering, a cashless environment, and an optimized kitchen for greater throughput.

Custom-designed by Shake Shack, the Shack kiosk was developed to allow Shake Shack to serve more guests at peak times – whether in-Shack, for pickup via the Shack App, or even delivery – resulting in fewer lines, less wait time and quicker speed of service at every channel. Several kiosks will line the Shack and team members known as Hospitality Champs will be stationed around the kiosks to assist guests with their orders and answer any questions.

Apparently this kiosk service didn't reflect so well with patrons. During an earnings call with analysts this past Thursday, Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti reported that humans will be put to work taking orders here moving forward.

Business Insider had the story on Friday:

[A]fter receiving complaints from furious customers who wanted to pay with their hard-earned legal tender, the burger chain is reversing course and adding cashiers to cashless locations going forward, its chief executive officer told analysts.

"Some of the things we've clearly seen is that our guests do often want to pay with cash,” CEO Randy Garutti said in response to an analyst’s question. "In the first rollout at Astor Place, we did not accept cash at all, and there are people who have told us very clearly 'we want to pay with cash.'"

"So in this next phase, we're going to go ahead and have cashiers as well as kiosks," he continued.

Otherwise business is quite good for the chain here and elsewhere. Shake Shack posted first-quarter earnings that topped analyst expectations.

Meanwhile, to help re-acclimate anyone on how to interact with a human in this situation, here are some tips on what to say:

• Hi (or hello or, perhaps, hey)
• How are you?
• Is Danny here?
• Thank you!

H/T Eater and Edmund John Dunn!

Sunday's parting shot

Photo at the Tompkins Square Park dog run by Derek Berg...

Informational meeting Tuesday for HDFC homeowners

HDFC homeowners in the neighborhood are holding an informational session on Tuesday night from 7-9 at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. The above flyer has all the details.

Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:

This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.

The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.

For more background, you may visit the HDFC Coalition website here ... and the East Village/Lower East Side HDFC Coalition website here.

Week in Grieview

[Photo on 9th Street by Steven]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

City Council investigating claims of tenant retaliation at NYCHA properties (Tuesday)

Here's what the new condoplex at 118 E. 1st St. will look like (Friday)

Joe & Pat's now open on 1st Avenue (Monday)

Empty corner storefronts on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Films on the Green to play in Tompkins Square Park on 2 Friday nights in July (Friday)

Neighbors at First Street Green Art Park (Sunday)

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

L.A.-based ramen shop opening outpost on 1st Avenue (Monday)

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

Sales office vacated as Ben Shaoul reportedly sells Liberty Toye; building to return to rentals (Thursday)

Moving day for Bareburger (Monday)


[Wisteria in bloom on 10th Street by Sarah Greenwood]

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

Plant-based chef Matthew Kenney's Arata opens today on 2nd Avenue and 4th Street (Friday)

Film Forum now closed for renovation, expansion (Thursday)

Unwrapping the future Swiss Institute on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Monday)

A return of the East Village Tavern? (Thursday)

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

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

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

EastVille Comedy Club has left 4th Street for Brooklyn (Monday)

The boozy Taco Bell on Broadway doesn't appear to be happening (Thursday)



And Derek Berg took this photo of Debbie the gardener in Tompkins Square Park earlier this week ... as she was planting two new (cherry blossom?) trees in the section called No Elm Island...



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At the NYC Cannabis Parade & Rally 2018

Several hundred participants took part in the annual Cannabis Parade & Rally today ... starting in Herald Square and wrapping up in Union Square, where EVG contributor Stacie Joy took these photos...

























The rally aims to "end cannabis prohibition, stop racially motivated arrests and expand and improve the state’s medical marijuana program."

Today's parade participants included gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, who issued a statement saying, "I believe it’s time for New York to follow the lead of eight other states and DC and legalize recreational marijuana."

Updated 5/6

The Daily News has a recap here ... including a photo of Nixon speaking with Aron "Pie Man" Kay.

A 2nd Avenue Street fair tomorrow

In case you didn't see the posted No Parking signs, um, posted along Second Avenue this week... tomorrow (Saturday!) marks one of the better street festivals around... sponsored by the Middle Collegiate Church.

Per their website:

Join us for our annual Second Avenue Street Fair from 12-5pm! Children and families can enjoy activities like a bounce-house, tie-dye t-shirt making, sidewalk chalk, bubble station, art projects, and more! From 1-5pm, hear live music on the Middle Church stage featuring celebrated East Village musicians, including the Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir and Village Chorus for Children & Youth. Voter registration and election information will also be available on our block. It’s an all-day party with Middle Church, filled with art, justice, and music — you won’t want to miss it!

Shadow play

The video is for "Disarray," a track from the most recent (March 23) record by Preoccupations, a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary.