Tuesday's parting shot

A sunset shot from Avenue B this evening courtesy of @cecilscheib ...

Meanwhile, on Avenue B...

Report: the M14A tops the slow-bus charts

The M14A, a familiar route for East Village residents that connects the LES to the West Village, was cited as having the slowest bus service in the city.

As amNY reports, the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and TransitCenter announced today that the M14A is the recipient of the 2019 Pokey and Schleppie Awards, which highlight the slowest and least reliable bus service in the city.

Per amNY: "With an average speed of 4.3 miles per hour, the M14A moves slower than a manatee, which can glide through water at a crisp pace of 5 mph."

It's possible that those M14A times will speed up with the July 1 introduction of Select Bus Service along this route.

Mount Sinai Beth Israel offers more details on new East Village hospital, plans for the former Rivington House

[Where the new 7-floor hospital will rise on 13th Street]

Mount Sinai Beth Israel officials yesterday released more details on their "$1 billion downtown transformation."

For starters, they have submitted an application to the state Department of Health to close and relocate Mount Sinai Beth Israel from its current location on First Avenue and 16th Street to Second Avenue and 13th Street.

As previously reported in the fall of 2016, the Mount Sinai Health System is in the midst of its years-long project to rebuild Mount Sinai Beth Israel, transitioning to a network of smaller facilities throughout lower Manhattan.

The plans include an expanded facility on 14th Street and Second Avenue, which includes a new 7-story hospital on 13th Street on the lot where a now-demolished 14-floor building that housed training physicians and staff once stood.

Per the Mount Sinai Beth Israel news release yesterday:

Demolition for the planned site of the new Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital was completed earlier this year and, pending approvals, Mount Sinai anticipates breaking ground in early 2020.

Expected to open in 2023, the new hospital will feature all private inpatient beds, cutting edge cardiac and neurologic interventional services, an operative platform, and a state-of-the-art emergency department. It will be integrated with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, allowing for enhanced Ophthalmologic and ENT clinical services, including a 24/7 eye trauma emergency department, and access to state-of-the-art imaging, pharmacy, and laboratory services. In the meantime, the current MSBI hospital and emergency department will remain fully open and accessible until the opening of the new hospital.

And a new rendering of this facility — this is the view of Second Avenue from 13th Street... showing existing structures as well as the revamped current facilities and new hospital...



Also announced yesterday, more details about use of the former Rivington House:

Included in the $1 billion Downtown plan is a $140 million commitment to create a comprehensive, community-oriented behavioral health center: The Mount Sinai Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center.

The new facility, located at the site of the current Rivington House, will offer downtown residents a holistic approach to mental health and become a one-stop location for psychiatric, addiction, physical health, and social service needs. ... The site will not include methadone treatment services.

The sale of the Rivington House, a six-story, 119-year-old building at 45 Rivington St., "represents one of Mayor Bill de Blasio's biggest black eyes," as Gothamist once put it.

In February 2015, the Allure Group paid $28 million for the property, promising that 45 Rivington — the former Rivington Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation — would remain a health facility. In November 2015, a city agency lifted the the deed in exchange for the Allure Group's $16 million payment to the city. Allure then reportedly sold the property for $116 million to a development group with designs on a condoplex for the property that overlooks Sara S. Roosevelt Park, unleashing an outpouring of outrage.

The condo plans never moved forward. Crain's first reported on Mount Sinai's plan to lease the space last December. (The move caught Rivington House advocates by surprise.)

In reporting on yesterday's expansion news, Crain's noted that since acquiring Beth Israel Medical Center in a deal with Continuum Health Partners in 2013, "Mount Sinai has lost a significant amount of money on the medical center's East Village and Brooklyn campuses." How much? "Those campuses lost $104.6 million last year on $904.9 million in operating revenue. That was an improvement from a $124.2 million loss in 2017."

Find more info on the Mount Sinai Beth Israel restructuring at their FAQ page.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An empty lot awaits the future home of the new Mt. Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on 13th Street

Permits filed to demolish Mount Sinai's 13th Street residential building

Mount Sinai Beth Israel files plan for 7-story hospital on 13th Street

Coffee and Calexico for 2nd Avenue

Get ready for a Coffee and Calexico combo on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. (To be clear, these are separate businesses who are just new neighbors.)

The new outpost for the Calexico chainlet that we've been writing about this past year (here and here) at No. 99 is ready to open. Signs on the front note that the Cal-Mex restaurant is closed for private parties at the moment...



Updated: A reader says that Calexico is now in soft-open mode.

Meanwhile next door, the 787 Coffee shop is coming together... the Coffee signage just arrived (H/T Steven!) ...

UPDATE 7/26: 787 is now open



As reported on July 8, this marks the second 787 outpost for the East Village. The shop, which grows and roasts its coffee in Puerto Rico, arrived on Seventh Street near Avenue A last October.

Chinese Graffiti has not been open lately on Avenue A

Multiple readers have noted that Chinese Graffiti has not been open during announced business hours of late. They were closed the past two weekends.

There isn't any message on the door here at 171 Avenue A about a closure — temporary or permanent. Yelp lists the Asian-American gastropub as closed as does Resy. Chinese Graffiti's phone is not in service and its website is offline. Nothing on its social media properties either.

Chinese Graffiti just opened here between 10th Street and 11th Street on March 8. It drew praise from Gothamist, who noted Chinese Graffiti's more offbeat menu items such as the Pork Belly Cotton Candy.

No. 171 may be ready for doomed restaurant location status. Recent ventures here include Chao Chao, which closed without any notice to patrons in May 2017 after six months in business. Chao Chao evolved from Soothsayer, which opened in January 2016. Soothsayer, from the same operators, also closed without any notice to patrons at the end of September 2016.

And because someone always brings this up... No. 171 was once the home of Rat Cage Records and 171A, the illegal club-turned-rehearsal studio that produced records by Bad Brains and the "Polly Wog Stew" EP by the Beastie Boys.

Pizza Rollio has closed on 9th Street

[Photo by Steven]

Pizza Rollio has closed after 10 months in business, and the space is for rent here at 437 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. The shop had been dark in recent weeks, and the real-estate signage arrived last week to make it official.

The pizzeria specialized in super-thin, arugula-topped pies served in long strips. The owners operate similar establishments in the Philippines. They also have outposts on West 18th Street and in the Plaza Hotel Food Hall.

This storefront on Ninth Street was previously the longtime home of the salon Crops for Girls.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pizza Rollio bringing its skinny slices to 9th Street

RIP Paul Krassner

Paul Krassner, who "epitomized a strain of anarchic 1960s activism," per the Times, died yesterday at his home in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. A cause of death was not revealed by his family. He was 87.

The Brooklyn native, the founder The Realist, one of the earliest underground humor magazines, had deep roots in the East Village.

From his obituary in the Times today:

Encouraged by [Lenny] Bruce, Mr. Krassner often took to the stage, delivering comic monologues at nightclubs like the Village Gate. He and his East Village friends also dreamed up pieces of public tomfoolery.

In one, in 1968, a group of 60 hippies chose to turn the tables on tourists streaming into the East Village to gape at its scruffy, longhaired denizens. With cameras dangling from their necks, the hippies hired a Greyhound bus for a sightseeing tour of the tidy middle-class neighborhoods of Queens.

In 1967, Mr. Krassner, [Abbie] Hoffman and friends formed an organization to meld hippies and earnest political types. Mr. Krassner dreamed up the name Youth International Party — Yippie for short.

And from the Associated Press:

An advocate of unmitigated free speech, recreational drug use and personal pornography, Krassner’s books included such titles as “Pot Stories For The Soul” and “Psychedelic Trips for the Mind,” and he claimed to have taken LSD with numerous celebrities, including comedian Groucho Marx, LSD guru Timothy Leary and author Ken Kesey.

Check out a few highlights from his long, active life over at Boing Boing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Last day for the Yippies at No. 9 — for now

Ruby’s Cafe bringing its Australian vibes to the former Martina space on 11th Street

Ruby's, the popular all-day café with two NYC outposts, will open a new location at 198 E. 11th St. at Third Avenue — in the former Martina space.

There's a Community Board 3 notice on the door now for an upcoming SLA committee meeting (no date has been released for the August meeting). The Australian-inspired Ruby's Cafe is applying for a beer-wine license for the space. (Martina also had a similar license)...



A rep for Ruby's confirmed their arrival here in an email to me, noting: "We can't wait."

Ruby's first opened in 2003 on Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring (they expanded next door in 2014) ... with an additional cafe on Third Avenue between 30th Street and 31st Street arriving in 2016.

Martina opened in August 2017 in this newly created space at 55 Third Ave., aka Eleventh and Third, the 12-floor residential building on the corner. The pizzeria, from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, never caught on, and closed this past March.

Thanks to the anonymous reader who shared the news of the Ruby's CB3 notice!

Nolita Pizza debuts on 2nd Avenue

Nolita Pizza debuted over the weekend at 128 Second Ave. here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

EVG regular Lola Sáenz shared these photos from Saturday...



We're told that Tony Salihaj (far left), one of the owners here, was also an owner of the well-regarded Bleecker Street Pizza. (He made headlines in September 2015 for creating a papal pizza ahead of the Pope's visit to NYC.)

In an email, Salihaj said that Bleecker Street Pizza was sold, and that he was very happy now to be in the East Village.

Aside from pizza, they offer dishes such as baked ziti and chicken parm and a variety of salads. You can find their website here with more menu items. (The website lists a Kenmare Street location as well.)

Kati Roll Company closed here in April after two-plus years selling Indian street food.

The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who took over as the landlord. (You can read that background here.)

Updated 7/26

The signage has arrived...


[Photo by Steven]

1st sign of the San Loco signage on Avenue C

As a reminder — San Loco is opening soon at 111 Avenue C between Seventh Street and Eighth Street... the San Loco sign is now out front...



We first reported on the news in late April. You can find more background at that post.

As previously noted, the quick-serve Tex-Mex restaurant debuted on Second Avenue in the East Village in 1986. Owners Jill and Kimo Hing recently posted about that first San Loco on Instagram... here's a photo from 1986 at 129 Second Ave. (and next to B&H)...



San Loco would later move across Second Avenue to this spot.

Previously on EV Grieve:
It's official: San Loco is returning to the East Village

San Loco plotting an East Village comeback?

1st of 2 Flamingos Vintage Pound shops has opened in the East Village

The Flamingos Vintage Pound opened this past weekend here at 143 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

In an interesting move, this is the first of two Flamingos outposts to open in the East Village. Another one is coming soon to 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



Apparently they are opting for smaller storefronts as opposed to opening in a larger, more expensive space.

These are the latest locations for FVP, which as the name implies, sells vintage clothing by the pound. FVP opened on Stanton Street last summer. The company, now in its 10th year of business, has multiple stores in Europe, as well as in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Brooklyn.

Until December 2017, the First Avenue space was home to the bar-restaurant portion of Paquito’s. The quick-serve Mexican restaurant still operates a newly remodeled outpost next door.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looks like a Flamingos Vintage Pound is coming to 1st Avenue

Bruno Pizza won't be reopening after fire upstairs last November

Last Thanksgiving weekend, an early morning fire broke out in the top-floor apartment at 204 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. No injuries were reported in the blaze. (A cause has not been publicly revealed.)

The fire caused extensive water damage to Bruno Pizza on the ground floor. At the time, owner Demian Repucci told me that he was hopeful to get the restaurant up and running again.

Now, nearly eight months later, Repucci has decided that reopening the space wasn't feasible. He shared the news via Instagram earlier this month. Here's part of the message:

It is with a heavy heart that I bring you this news. The plethora of adversity that normally comes with running a restaurant was always made up for with the myriad amazing relationships I developed with you, the restaurant’s friends, neighbors, and pizza lovers. ...

But the water damage to the restaurant that resulted from the fire in the building upstairs has proven to be too much to overcome. After several months trying to figure out how to get the restaurant back on its feet, it seems recovery moved beyond my grasp.

So the difficult decision to close Bruno Pizza had to be made. The writing was on the wall. Or, rather, no longer on the wall (er... window). Thank you to everyone who came in, ate pizza, talked, drank, listened to my crazy stories, ate more pizza, and gave your love and support in spades. I appreciate it so very much.

I’m not sure another restaurant will ever be in my future, but pizza eating certainly will. As well as great conversation. So please do keep in touch.

[Photo from July 1]

Bruno Pizza, which milled its own flour, opened in July 2015. This was the first food establishment for Repucci, a restaurant designer-consultant.

Eater critic Ryan Sutton gave the restaurant's nouveau-Neapolitan pies high marks, with a post headlined "Bruno Is the Best Thing to Happen to Neapolitan Pizza Since Roberta's." Pete Wells at the Times was not so kind, dropping zero stars on the place. Two years after that punishing review (and after Bruno's original chefs left), Repucci offered to return the 0-star review to the Times.

In May 2016, Bruno Pizza won a judgment against a petition of eviction by landlord Steve Croman’s 9300 Realty.

14th St. Candy & Grocery has not been open lately

The 24/7 deli on 14th Street at First Avenue has been closed for the past week.

As you can see, someone plastered pages from the (July 16) Post on the front window and door. Not sure at the moment if this is a permanent closure or temporary renovation.

Signing off with a descriptive 5-star Yelp review of the store from 2011:

I started coming here after the place on the corner burned down..

VERY nice people.. and GOOD PRICES

There is always funny ass shit going on too. Like a lady coming in complaining about pain in her moller [sic], and some dude demanding he be given two free plastic cups...
and the cat, that crosses the street by herself.
And the orange trannys that walk around shamelessly

I once came in and this guy was screaming so loudly,
and i looked over, he was bleeding from his head so bad..

I dont know, but every time i come in its like another drama..
but its so funny.. and the owner handles it well

feels like home now..