Saturday, August 31, 2019

Saturday's parting shot



Moving day on St. Mark's Place... photo by Vinny & O

6 posts from August


[A hug for the Hare Krishna tree via Steven]

A mini month in review...

Welcoming baby Luna (Aug. 29)

I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Aug. 14)

Car making U-turn strikes woman on Avenue B sidewalk (Aug. 12)

Time capsules: The Gap of St. Mark's Place (Aug. 8)

The Sunshine is gone, and an empty lot awaits a 9-story office building (Aug. 7)

The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black in Tompkins Square Park (Aug. 5)

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.

Today in Tompkins Square Park: the New Village Music Festival



The ninth annual New Village Music Festival (aka NVMF) takes place today (Aug. 31!) in Tompkins Square Park from 2-6 p.m.

The event, billed as "New York’s hottest multicultural fusion concert," presents a variety of musicians and artists spanning several genres. Find more details on the free show at the Facebook Events page.

Updated noon



Steven shares these photos... showing workers setting up for the event...




Street scenes



Good morning from 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. Looks like a good spot (X).

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Weird! revolution continues tomorrow night at Otto's Shrunken Head



The next monthly edition of Get Weird!, the rock-and-roll party at Otto's Shrunken Head, is tomorrow (Saturday night).

The free show includes the garage-psych of the Abyssmals and the surf-roxotica the Black Widows.

Otto's is at at 538 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Orquesta Manoeuvres



A summer send-off with "Unpretentious Beauty" by the Japanese-based Clive Tanaka y su Orquesta.

The "Orquesta" has a new record out now called Pre​-​Sunrise Authority.

A climb up into the Hare Krishna tree



A tree crew showed up today in the center of Tompkins Square Park ... with the Hare Krishna tree the focus of their attention. (There were admittedly a few anxious moments while people wondered what they might be doing. You never know what the city has planned.)

However, the workers said they were there to test equipment... with one worker showing the other some tree-climbing tips, per EVG correspondent Steven ...











Thanks to Steven for the photos.

EVG summer storylines


[RIP East River Park via Dave on 7th]

Three stories that we've been following this summer and late spring...

The pending closure of East River Park

• Last week to comment on the city's plans to close East River Park (Aug. 27)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• City Planning Commission will hold its hearing on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project tomorrow (July 30)

• Next steps in the plan to rebuild East River Park (July 19)

• This week's public meeting about stormproofing East River Park (July 16)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

• Here are the next meetings for you to learn more about stormproofing plans for East River Park (June 3)

The plan to put synthetic turf at Tompkins Square Park

• No winners yet in Tompkins Square Park synthetic turf battle (Aug. 27)

• Petition to 'Save Tompkins Square asphalt!' closing in on 19,000 signatures (July 8)

• Skateboarders upset over plan to add synthetic turf to the northwest corner of Tompkins Square Park (July 2)

The ongoing challenges at Gem Spa

• Get your Gem Spa t-shirts or photos of Madonna — at Gem Spa! (Aug. 16)

• A July 4 moment at Gem Spa (July 4)

• Will you buy a Gem Spa T-shirt? (June 28)

• The Gem Spa Zoltar is alive and well and telling fortunes an L-train ride away in Bushwick (June 19)

• "Gem Spa is open!" (June 18)

• What is happening at Gem Spa? (June 11)

A visit to Gem Spa (May 10)

A Labor Day weekend book sale at Mast

Happening at Mast Books, Avenue A at Fifth Street, all Labor Day Weekend long...

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Another driver wedges car on the bike lane adjacent to the FDR


[Screengrab via PIX11]

Police are searching for the BMW driver who cruised along the bike-jogging path adjacent to the FDR, abandoning the vehicle after it became wedged between the highway's retaining wall and Con Ed at 15th Street early this morning.

Per PIX11:

Police said the driver of the car fled the scene and was nowhere to be found.

Authorities do not know where the car entered the sectioned-off path or how it got stuck there.


In July 2018, a woman driving a Porsche Cayenne managed the same feat...


Thankfully no one was injured in either reckless driving incident.

Welcoming baby Luna



On Aug. 7 at 1:48 a.m., Luna Rivera, weighing 7.2 pounds, arrived in a water bath birth at her parent's home on Third Street.

She was greeted by her mother, Juana Rivera, 33, and father, Edward Rivera, 34. She joins siblings Edward Rivera, Jr., 6, and Rex Rivera, 3.

All three of the Rivera children were birthed at home under the guidance of East Village-based midwife Cara Muhlhahn. (You may have read about her here or here.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was at the Rivera house in the days after Luna's birth. Stacie shared these photos — with the Rivera's permission — of Baby Luna's first few days at home.








[With Juana]


[With Edward]


[With Edward Jr.]


[With Rex]


[The grandfather, Eduardo Rivera]


[Cara the midwife with Juana]



The former DeRobertis building on 1st Avenue is now the Slater, where the penthouse is $15k



As previously reported, there have been ongoing renovations at 174-176 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

The residential units above the storefronts (Black Seed bagels has been in the north space since October 2015) hit the rental market earlier this summer.

For starters, the building has a new name: the Slater.



And a few building blurbs via Streeteasy...

Each apartment in this newly gut renovated building is sprawling with natural light from both Eastern and Western exposures.

The state-of-the-art kitchen touts high-end stainless steel appliances consisting of a Whirlpool Microwave, Fisher and Paykel Stove and Oven, Liebherr Refrigerator, LG Dishwasher and a Summit Wine Cooler.

And...

Additional features guaranteed not to be found elsewhere include USB electrical outlets, HD video intercoms and Latch Keyless entry system on every apartment door.

The building’s expansive furnished communal roof deck will also have a pergola, bbq station and high top bar for entertaining with 360 degrees New York City skyline views.

Together, these renovations are one of a kind and guaranteed to be the envy of the neighborhood. At The Slater, you’ll find premium finishes and the best comforts.



The penthouse, featuring seven bedrooms and four bathrooms, has an asking price of $15,125. (The fine print: "The price advertised is the net effective rent with one month free on a 12 month lease.")

This building was owned for generations by the DeRobertis family. They closed DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe here after 110 years in business in December 2014. The economy, age and health reportedly compelled the four DeRobertis siblings to sell the building (for $9.9 million, per public records).

In May 2018, High Point Property Group reportedly bought the five-story walkup for $12.1 million. The seller was a joint venture between EBMG, LLC and AMJ Equities.

The current landlord has said they'll return a refurbished DeRobertis neon signage to the storefront above Black Seed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ugh: The 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe closes after Dec. 5

[Updated] 110-year-old DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe looks to be closing once the building is sold

174-176 First Ave., home of DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffe, is for sale

Let's take a look at the DeRobertis in-house bakery

What happened to the DeRobertis neon sign on 1st Avenue?

Niconeco Zakkaya debuts on 10th Street



Niconeco Zakkaya is now open at 263 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The business, which started in 2015 as an online enterprise, sells original Japanese stationery and other handcrafted items.

You can check out their wares on Instagram...


Previously on EV Grieve:
Niconeco Zakkaya, seller of Japanese stationery and gifts, opening a shop on 10th Street