6 posts from May

[Fleet Week on 1st Avenue at St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg]

A mini month in review...

• Say hi to Sam, your new Ottendorfer librarian (May 29)

• [Photos] Dancers in the Park: DanceFest 2019 (May 18)

• Trader Joe's finally confirms that a Trader Joe's is opening on 14th Street at Avenue A (May 15)

• Sidewalk bridge collapses at explosion site on 2nd Avenue; box truck culprit, witnesses say (May 10)

• A visit to Gem Spa (May 10)

• RIP Felicia Mahmood (May 3)

It is alive

Run Around The Sun, the new LP by the Glasgow-based duo Sacred Paws, is out today on Merge Records. The video here is for "Almost It."

EVG Etc.: Construction zone protections for cyclists; 'Punk Lust' at the Anthology

[The Miracle Garden on 3rd Street]

• LES/East Village takeaways from the NYU Furman Center's annual report, The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods (The Lo-Down)

• AG's office announces the second round of restitution funds for current and former tenants of landlord and convicted felon Steve Croman (Patch ... previously on EVG)

• Thanks to a bill via local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, construction firms must now create a safe, alternative route for cyclists if they block a bike lane — or have their permit revoked (amNY ... Streetsblog)

• Pride Guide for June (Grub Street)

• The city will create a permanent Greenwich Village monument to honor LGBTQ activists and Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) founders Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera (Curbed)

• The casting director for "Russian Doll" explains how she put together the ensemble for the Netflix series set in the East Village (Backstage)

• Some history of 4 St. Mark's Place (Flaming Pablum ... previously on EVG)

• Starting today at noon, the MTA says OMNY readers will go live at 16 stations along the 4, 5 and 6 lines, starting the long goodbye of the MetroCard (Gothamist ... previously on EVG)

• Remembering the Eighth Street Bookshop (Ephemeral New York)

• The 1954 version of "A Star Is Born" with Judy Garland plays Monday (June 3) at the City Cinemas Village East on Second Avenue and 12th Street (Official site)

• This series starts tonight ... cutting and pasting: "In conjunction with the Museum of Sex’s exhibition “Punk Lust: Raw Provocation, 1971-1985,” the Anthology hosts a related film program that expands on the exhibition by surveying how Punk culture used the language of sexuality – both visually and lyrically – to transgress and defy, whether in the service of political provocation, raw desire, or simply to break through the stifling gender norms and social expectations of its time." (Anthology Film Archives)

• Beach Boy/noted asshole Mike Love releases a cover of "Rockaway Beach" (Billboard)

And via the EVG inbox...



Neville Dance Theatre in the premiere of "53 Movements"
Saturday, June 1 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St.
Tickets: $30; $18 for students
Reservations here.

Neville Dance Theatre will premiere director/choreographer Brenda Neville's 53 Movements, set to composer Terry Riley's musical masterpiece "In C," June 1. Often referred to as the founding composer of music minimalism, Terry Riley's pioneering 1963 work "In C," consists of 53 short, set musical phrases played by the musicians with improvisational choices.

I don't see you over there — yes, you!: Zoltar is MIA outside Gem Spa

A shocking sight is in store for visitors to Gem Spa on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place.

ZOLTAR IS MISSING.


[Photo yesterday by Steven]

So are the newspapers.

We reached out to ownership to learn why Zoltar is not at his post, where he has told fortunes and offered wisdom on this corner starting on Sept. 23, 2012, not that we've been keeping track.

An employee told EVG Animatronic Fortune Telling Machine correspondent Steven that the 'tar — as no one calls him, tbh — will be back in a few days. We'll believe that when we see him again and insert our $2 to learn who he likes in the Belmont Stakes.

Meanwhile. Enjoy this EVG video flashback to September 2012...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Zoltar arrives on St. Mark's Place, sees 'a great deal of happiness' in return for $2

Zoltar is the greatest thing to happen to St. Mark's Place since ______________?

Zoltar awaits a service call; fortunes, wisdom on hold

Nobletree Coffee abruptly shuts down on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place

[EVG photo]

After five-plus months in business, Nobletree Coffee abruptly closed yesterday on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

An EVG tipster told us that the move took staff by surprise yesterday morning — "not even shop manager was warned."

A sign on the door for Nobletree's "beloved customers" offers thanks ... along with a reason for the closure: "Because of the slow foot traffic at this location we were forced to close."


[Photo by Steven]

Slow foot traffic on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue?

This prime corner space will be back to vacant, as it was the previous three years — ever since DF Mavens closed in January 2016.

Before the Mavens, we had the cafe Eastside Bakery (.net?). And there was Roastown Coffee before that. And the Gap a long time ago.

Updated 7:30 a.m.

Nobletree brass forgot to cancel the pastry order...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Nobletree Coffee is the next tenant for 37 St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue

Films on the Green coming to Tompkins Square Park for two Friday nights this July

The 2019 Films on the Green season begins tonight with the first screening in a summer-long lineup that "focuses on female directors in French and Francophone cinema through a selection of 13 movies."

Here's more about what to expect via the EVG inbox:

This 12th edition pays tribute to “Women Behind the Camera” in honor of Agnès Varda, feminist filmmaker and pioneer of the French New Wave, who passed away earlier this year.

This year's selection highlights the diversity of French and Francophone cinema, featuring movies from Lebanon, the Ivory Coast, Mexico and Turkey, and shines a light on well-known woman filmmakers as well as emerging ones.

Films on the Green is a free outdoor French film festival produced annually in New York City parks by the French Embassy, FACE Foundation and NYC Parks.

And there will be two screenings each in Washington Square Park and Tompkins Square Park:

• June 7 - Washington Square Park: WHERE DO WE GO NOW? (Et maintenant on va où?)
Directed by Nadine Labaki, 2011, PG-13, 1h 40, France-Lebanon

• June 14 - Washington Square Park: IN SAFE HANDS (Pupille)
Directed by Jeanne Herry, 2018, 1h 47, France

• July 5 - Tompkins Square Park: TOMBOY
Directed by Céline Sciamma, 2011, 1h 22, France

• July 12 - Tompkins Square Park: AYA OF YOP CITY (Aya of Yogoupon)
Directed by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie, 2010, 1h 24, France-Ivory Coast

And a season-preview video that I whipped together for you ...

Happy returns: Anna's new East Village storefront debuts today

[Photos by Steven]

As we noted back on May 2, Anna is returning to the East Village.

And today is the Grand Opening Day for the womenswear boutique over at their new home at 304 E. Fifth St. just east of Second Avenue.

Here's their announcement via Instagram:

We are delighted to announce the grand opening of ANNA ... in the East Village!! We had a great time popping up in Brooklyn while we found the perfect spot for us back home. ANNA will open on Friday, May 31st and the store hours are every day 12-7.

Anna originally left the neighborhood for the West Village (and then Brooklyn) nearly two years ago.



Designer Kathy Kemp first opened Anna in 1995 on Third Street near Avenue A. Anna relocated to 11th Street in 2012. Read more about Anna and Kemp in this Out and About feature from 2014.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Anna returning to the East Village

Demolition watch: 99-101 E. 2nd St. (Stop Work Order edition)

Here's a look at what was 99-101 E. Second St. just east of First Avenue...



This two-story space housed several short-lived restaurant concepts in recent years, including Bento Burger ... Marfa... and Waikiki Wally's.

No. 99-101 and its property mate, 24 First Ave. (below), are coming down to make way for a 7-story, 22-unit residential building called 101E2 via developer Sergey Rybak.



Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, we spotted a DOB honcho outside the plywood speaking with a worker... telling him that he needed to have — something to the effect of — the proper paperwork for the property.

The official then slapped a full Stop Work Order on the site...



According to the DOB website: "STOP ALL WORK, PROVIDE FENCE AS PER SSP [Site Safety Plan], PROVIDE MONITORING PLAN/REPORT."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that housed Lucky Cheng's on 1st Avenue now on the auction block

Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property sell for $12 million

7-story residential building pending at the former Lucky Cheng's space

Demolition permits filed to bring down former Lucky Cheng's building on 1st Avenue

MAD Toast House bringing bubble tea and toast to 9th Street

[Photo on May 16 by Steven]

A new cafe called MAD Toast House is coming to 332 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The Toast House, which serves a variety of bubble tea, sparkling water and toast-related creations, is having a soft-opening today ahead of a grand opening on June 10, per the shop's Instagram account.

Speaking of Instagram, a look at some of their offerings...

View this post on Instagram

Kumquat lemon spritzer🍋#kumquatlemonjuice##kumquat##lemon##tea##teatime##spritzer##金桔柠檬##金桔柠檬汁#juice#

A post shared by MADtoasthouse (@madtoasthouse) on May 23, 2019 at 2:31pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Creme brulee toast#toast##honeytoast##hightea##afternoontea##teatime#

A post shared by MADtoasthouse (@madtoasthouse) on May 22, 2019 at 11:26am PDT

This space was home for 44 years to Clayworks Pottery, which was forced to close in the fall of 2017 thanks to predatory landlord Raphael Toledano.

Thursday's parting shots (aka It Takes a Swiss Village)

Swiss Village art (circa 1975) discarded on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



Photos by Derek Berg.

A free staging of 'Room With Stars,' about growing up as a radical teen on the LES in the 1960s

An item of interest via Facebook... this reading of "Room With Stars" is happening tomorrow (Friday, May 31) at 8 p.m.

Join us for a free staged reading and talkback at the Catholic Worker’s theater, 55 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

A new one-act by Nina Howes on growing up as a radical teen on the Lower East Side in the 1960s ... directed by Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado. Light refreshments will be served.

Find more info at the Facebook event page.

Noted : )

A reader shares this sign for the thief :) from outside Arka, the Ukrainian shop on Second Street just east of First Avenue.