Ainsworth eyes former DBGB space on the Bowery; Ruffian team to the Eddy

Here's a quick look at several more of the applicants on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting docket. These are existing East Village operators looking to expand...

• Ainsworth to the Bowery

Ainsworth, the growing chainlet of upscale sports bars, has applied for a new liquor license for 299 Bowery in the Avalon Bowery complex between First Street and East Houston Street. (Questionnaire here.)

This outpost of Ainsworth (there's also one on Third Avenue at 11th Street) will be open for lunch and make use of the sidewalk cafe that DBGB tried to muster enthusiasm for.

DBGB closed here nearly two years ago, with chef-owner Daniel Boulud citing "erratic" patronage on this corridor during the week. Perhaps Ainsworth, a SantaCon hotspot, can bring in a steady stream of patrons.



• Ruffian Wine Bar owners taking the Eddy space on Sixth Street

In a sale of assets, the owners of Ruffian on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue plan to open an "American/Italian" restaurant called Kindred here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Questionnaire here.)



The Eddy closed last month after five-plus years at the address.



• The Woodstock in the works for 99 Third Ave.

The owners of The VNYL across the Avenue here between 12th Street and 13th Street have plans for a Neapolitan pizzeria called the Woodstock for this address. (Questionnaire here.)



The previous occupant, Thaimee Table, was seized by the Marshal in early May.

Tonight's CB3-SLA committee is at the Perseverance House Community Room, 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Nightmarket is the new name for NuNoodle

[Photo from June 30 by Steven]

NuNoodle has been closed at 130 First Ave. since late June.



Workers have given the space a new look... and name. (Photos by Steven)



NuNoodle's owners are also behind the new concept here — Nightmarket, which debuted over the weekend...



Haven't seen the revamped menu here just yet.

The quick-serve NuNoodle, serving a variety of noodle dishes, opened here near St. Mark's Place last October. There's a lot of competition nearby for similar food, with buzzy places like Hunan Slurp, Ho Foods, MáLà Project and The Tang located within one block.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Rainbow Music shop will be a Chinese restaurant

Sunday's parting shot

Christo on the lookout in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Steven...

A campaign to co-name part of 6th Street after Donald Suggs Jr.

Donald Suggs, a longtime resident of Sixth Street, died in October 2012 from an apparent heart attack. He was 51.

His friends and loved ones have a campaign underway to petition the city to co-name the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Avenue B Donald Suggs Jr. Way. (There was a similar campaign in late 2012, though those plans didn't materialize.)

Suggs lived for years at 526 E. Sixth St. There are petitions up along the block here between Avenue A and Avenue B for people to sign...



Some background on him from a Donald Suggs Jr. Street Naming Project website:

Donald was a senior editor at The Village Voice, a former associate director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and a program director at Harlem United Community AIDS Center.

His work as an organizer included an early campaign against homophobia in the music industry that was the basis for the British Broadcasting Company film by Isaac Julien, "A Darker Shade of Black."

Through numerous appearances on "The Ricki Lake Show," he became nationally known for his witty commentary as a relationship expert and for his scathing critiques and rigorous insight into modern white backlash against people of color and LGBTQ communities’ decades before “Alt-Right” rebranding and Trumpism.

He penned the first major article about the transgender Harlem Ballroom Scene in New York for The Village Voice and his writings from The Advocate to The New York Times and his activism, which began as a pro-feminist undergraduate at Yale University, led to ground breaking discourse on black LGBTQ people around the world.

Donald was former board chairman for the public access cable network Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). In 2001, he founded People Using Media to do Prevention, or the PUMP project, which taught young people from neighborhoods decimated by HIV how to produce HIV prevention videos to combat the spread of HIV within their communities ... His work continues to be cited for changing the landscape of American HIV messaging campaigns.

The petitions will be imp through tomorrow (Monday) on Sixth Street.

Week in Grieview

[A view from Avenue A]

Posts this past week included...

RIP Steve Cannon (Tuesday)

Petition to "Save Tompkins Square asphalt!" closing in on 19,000 signatures (Monday ... now up to 24k)

RUMOR: The Boys' Club building on 10th and A has a new owner; will remain in use as a nonprofit (Wednesday)

Sioné is the name of Samy Mahfar's residential building at 255 E. Houston St. (Monday)

A visit to East River Park (Wednesday)

Café Social 68 coming to Avenue A (Monday)

787 Coffee for 101 2nd Ave. (Monday)

A rendering and vintage erotic playing cards (NSFW) at the under-renovation (and mysterious!) 84 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

P.C. Richard is gone on 14th Street; preservationists want answers about tech-hub commitments (Tuesday)

Through the years of the 4th Street Photo Gallery with Alex Harsley's "Entanglements" (Thursday)

Closings: Pie by the Pound wraps up 17 years on 4th Avenue (Thursday)

Irving Plaza is now closed for renovations (Thursday)

The sandbox in the Tompkins Square Park playground is nearly out of the all-important sand (Friday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

The Marshal seizes Chouchou on 4th Street (Monday)

Neapolitan Express comes to a halt for now on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday)

Prepping 183 Avenue B for demolition (Wednesday)

A food delivery for the former/future Sidewalk Cafe (Monday)

Kikoo Sushi's second 1st Avenue outpost is now open (Thursday)

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea coming to former CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice space on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

24 1st Ave. has been demolished (Monday)

Another reminder that a Calexico outpost is opening on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

... and thanks to EVG reader Annabelle for this shot from Wednesday as Esperanto was opening for the evening on Avenue C and Ninth Street...



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Report: Fatal shooting outside the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D

A man was shot and killed early Saturday morning behind the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D near Third Street, according to published reports.

The victim, 35, whose identity has not been released, was shot in the face around 2:45 a.m. He died at the scene, per the Daily News.

The Villager reports that the NYPD are checking surveillance cameras they may have captured the shooting and a possible suspect.

The plot thickens with cliffhanger signage at Starbucks on Avenue A

After a brief closure for electrical issues on Friday, the Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place closed again late yesterday... with a mysterious note greeting potential customers — "Something went wrong..."



The sign is just begging for an ending.

An EVG reader reports that workers are inside this morning... and it appeared they would be opening. Or not.

H/T to EVG reader Toni Pole!

At the WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire

The eighth annual WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire took place today on Astor Place from Lafayette to Broadway... EVG contributor Steven shared these photos from the event, which included a variety of mystical energies...







---

And via Derek Berg...







... and also on-hand... not part of the actual Street Faire, but drawing attention ...

Remembering Steve Cannon

Steve Cannon, the writer and poet who founded the East Village-based magazine and gallery A Gathering of the Tribes, died this past Sunday. He was 84.

There's a celebration of his life tomorrow at the Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery between Bleecker and Houston. Here are a few details via the Facebook invite:

A gathering to remember Steve Cannon and collectively mourn his loss will be held this Sunday, July 14, at the Bowery Poetry Club from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A more formal memorial service/celebration of life will be held in October, so that those who live out of town, or who are currently traveling for the summer may attend. Details about the memorial service in October will be announced soon.

On Sunday, in addition to featured speakers, a sign-up sheet will be available at the Bowery Poetry Club for those who wish take the stage and share a story of remembrance, a poem, a song or dance, or anything of your choosing, in honor of Steve.

We ask that all who take the stage keep their artistic remembrances to under three minutes in length, respecting the large number of people who will wish to share.

The WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire is today on Astor Place

The WitchsFest USA — A Pagan Street Faire is happening today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette. Here's what to expect via the WitchsFest website:

On July 13 please join us ... as we present in its 8th Year, WitchsFest USA – A Pagan Street Faire: Join us for a Magickally Enchanted day charged with mystical energies in the heart of New York City’s East Village ...

We invite you to come dressed in your favorite costume of the woodland creatures of the Realms of the Fae, Nymphs, Satyrs, and much more. For a Magickally Witchey day of workshops meant to expand your knowledge of the Arts of Practical Magick and Witchey performances that will keep you spell bound throughout the day, culminating with a Summer Blessing Ritual.

Feel the Magick, feel the power, feel it here as it begins with the Gathering of Witches, Voodoo Priestess, Warlocks, Psychics, Pagan Information Groups and other teachers of their own Crafts, from within New York and around the United States as they share their wisdom with us. You’ll enjoy shopping from our many array of magickally enchanting vendors where you can purchase books signed by your favorite authors, jewelry, enchanted ritual tools, spells handmade by true beings of their own spiritual Crafts, and much, much, more!

Noted

Photo from Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C via Dave on 7th.

Flashback to Wednesday at the same spot...


[Photo by EVG reader Jill]

'Gold' standard

Here's the French dream-pop band Marble Arch with "Gold" from their spring release "Children of the Slump."

Shocker: Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place closed 'due to electrical issues'

Updated: 7/13: They are back open.

The Starbucks outpost on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place is closed for the moment... signage points to an electrical issue...



Meanwhile, in non-electrical news, Starbucks will no longer sell copies of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal or USA Today at its stores nationwide starting in September, per the Post.

Updated 7/13

CLOSED AGAIN!





Thanks to Steven for the photos!

The sandbox in the Tompkins Square Park playground is nearly out of the all-important sand

The sandbox in the playground along Avenue A and Ninth Street in Tompkins Square Park is looking a little light on the sand these days.



The sand level is low enough that you can see the foundation...





Parent Choresh Wald, who shared these photos, noted: "It is the lowest I've ever seen it."

No word on what happened to the sand. Stolen? Eaten? Climate changed?

'Aya of Yop City' screens for free tonight in Tompkins Square Park via Films on the Green

The 2019 Films on the Green series — focusing this year on female directors in French and Francophone cinema — returns to Tompkins Square Park tonight for a free screening.

The selection is "Aya of Yop City," an animated film (based on the graphic novel) from 2013 directed by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie. It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film at the 39th César Awards.

The synopsis!

In warm Ivory Coast's working-class district of Abidjan or Yop City, the 19-year-old aspiring doctor, Aya, dreams of finishing her studies despite her father's opposition. But, Aya lives in a poor West African township during the 1970s, where getting married to a rich man and starting a family is every girl's aspiration — at least, that's what Aya's best friends, Bintou and Adjoua, are hoping for. Under Yopougon's bright sun, three girls, three different destinies and three parallel lives intertwine, as life keeps going.

And the trailer...



The film will start at dusk (give or take a few minutes). There was a nice turnout for last week's screening of "Tomboy" in the Park...

Beat happening: the 7th annual Nuyorican Poets Café block party is tomorrow (Saturday!)

Nuyorican Poets Café is hosting its seventh annual block party tomorrow (July 13) on Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Per their invite: "The Block Party will feature exciting activities including a DJ, bouncy houses, sumo wrestling, inflatable boxing, open mic, poetry, as well as free food and refreshments! Come join us as we come together as a community for a day of summer fun!"

You can check out the 2018 edition of the block party via these photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy.

Recent openings: Tsukimi on 10th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Tsukimi opened in late June at 228 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

This Kaiseki-inspired restaurant's menu, via executive chef Takanori Akiyama, offers an 11-course tasting menu. Here's more via a preview at Eater:

The meal can start with nori and fluke, progress to a dish with bluefin tuna, goldeneye snapper, and bigfin reef squid, and end with olive oil yogurt, according to a sample menu (see it below). Of the 11 dishes, three will be sweet. They’ll all be served within a 14-seat space that’s divided in half by an aisle, with two seven-seat counters facing each other, a space designed by Brooklyn-based Studio Tack.

The outside doesn't look like much... but! The restaurant's interior merited a write-up at ArchPaper earlier this week...



Akiyama's NYC credits include Dieci, which was the previous tenant in this space.

The restaurant is open Wednesday-Sunday for a 7 p.m. seating. After Labor Day, seating times will be 6 and 9 p.m.

Taking the last slice

Thanks to Jess Ruliffson for sharing this photo from earlier today on Chrystie Street near East Houston...

File under Spirit Animal

Grant Shaffer's NY See

Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood.

Through the years of the 4th Street Photo Gallery with Alex Harsley's 'Entanglements'

[Photo from 2014 by James Maher]

Alex Harsley, the proprietor of the 4th Street Photo Gallery and a neighborhood resident since 1965, is the subject of a new exhibit at the Sheen Center.

Here's more what you can expect starting tonight through Aug. 4:

"Entanglements" is an ode to a community inextricably linked. For nearly 50 years, Alex Harsley has remained fixed; bearing witness to the symbiosis of life outside his 4th Street Photo Gallery. Through his classic, award-winning photography and conceptualized mixed-media pieces, time becomes textured, non-linear as the images bob between a romanticized 1970s East Village and an aged, yet still vibrant and diverse, ecosystem of present day.

Scenes revolve around the doorway and community of The 4​th Street Photo Gallery, the non-profit started by Harsley in the 1970s as a refuge for underrepresented artists, and, as Holland Cotter wrote, “he has made the city a primary subject of his classical brand of ‘street photography.’”

And...

The experience of "Entanglements" becomes a portal to the hidden connections and patterns that exist in all of our lives. It serves not just as nostalgia in remembering the past, but also as a reminder that these stories are still alive in the people, each who passed through this one East Village block, and continue to tangle themselves in love, change and community.

"Entanglements" opens tonight (July 11) at 6 in the Gallery at the Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery. Harsley will also be giving a "talkback" tonight at 7:30.

Meanwhile, you can read our two-part interview with Harsley, who turns 81 this year, from 2014 right here and here. And go visit his shop at 67 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

P.S.

And even if you don't know Alex, you will recognize his Dodge GTS Dart with traveling companions...


[James Maher]

Irving Plaza is now closed for renovations

[Photo by @thegrrlmorgan via @IrvingPlaza]

Irving Plaza is now officially closed for an eight-month rehab. The 1,200-capacity music venue on Irving Place and 15th Street closed after a show Sunday night featuring headliner Anberlin.

As for the renovations, here's Billboard with the story from this past April:

[T]he renovations at Irving Plaza will be overseen by Live Nation clubs and theaters division and include revamps of the lobby area and the music hall, new bars on all levels, the addition of a downstairs VIP lounge and remodeling of the mezzanine including a new box-seating section configuration.

Live Nation officials have said the venue will reopen in the first quarter of 2020.

There was an Irving Place Appreciation Night on July 1, a free show featuring Robert Gordon as well as local bands ElectraJets, The Trash Bags, Beechwood and The Advertisers.


[The Trash Bags]


[Beechwood]


[The Advertisers — the first band on the bill]

The venue has been in use for concerts the past 41 years. The Polish Army Veterans of America have owned the building since 1948. Here's more history via the Irving Plaza website:

Originally, the building was four separate brownstones, which were eventually combined into a hotel in the 1870s. In 1927, the building was gutted and turned into a ballroom-style theater and christened Irving Plaza.

Over the next few decades Irving Plaza would serve as a union meeting house, a performance space for folk dance troupes, and a Polish Army Veteran community center, as well as a venue for the Peoples Songs Hootenannies with Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

In 1978, Irving Plaza was converted into a rock music venue ...

As for more recent history, here are some bands that I've seen at the Irving Plaza in recent years... courtesy of the framed posters at the venue...