The annual 9th Street Block Party is tomorrow (Saturday — on 9th Street)

The annual 9th Street A-1 Block Association Block Party — one of the best around — is coming up tomorrow (Sept. 14).

Both residents and merchants along the block — Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue — will have items for sale. Expect some live music too.

In addition, look for the return of Clayworks Pottery for the day. Helaine Sorgen will have items left from her Ninth Street shop, which closed after 44 years in 2017 thanks to Raphael Toledano.

Find all this — and more! — from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There isn't a rain date — so don't let it rain!

Thursday's parting shot

Say hi to Simeon. Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg ...

Grant Shaffer's NYC

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.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Parks officials say they will NOT be putting down a synthetic turf in Tompkins Square Park; skateboarders rejoice

Gem Spa is now a 'Schitibank'

The down-but-not-out Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place has been transformed into a "Schitibank" — "A New concept bank, in New York's bohemian East Village," per the new signage. (Thanks to the EVG reader for the photo!)

A nice touch ahead of the #SaveNYC cash mob here Saturday (Sept. 14) from noon to 2 p.m.

There have been rumors that the landlord here is interested in a Citibank for this venerable corner. More background in the links below...

Updated 8:30 a.m.

Ah! Jeremiah Moss has much more on this "vivid dystopian vision of the new St. Mark's Place."

The Schitibank project features bohemian East Villagers — Jean-Michel Basquiat and Patti Smith (on Schitibikes), Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, Ted Berrigan, the New York Dolls, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Gem Spa's own Candy the Cat (smoking weed).

[Photo by J. Moss]

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A cash mob Saturday at Gem Spa (Sept. 10)

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

• 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)

8th annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival begins on Saturday

More than 100 events are scheduled in the neighborhood's community gardens starting Saturday (Sept. 14!) as part of the LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival.

This year's Festival now spans nine days in 50-plus gardens, each featuring a variety of performances, concerts, workshops and other related events.

Check the LUNGS website here for the garden-by-garden schedule.

Remembering Robert Frank

As you likely heard, legendary photogapher Robert Frank died on Monday. He was 94.

According to published reports, he was in Inverness, on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. He split his time between there and his home at 7 Bleecker Street just west of the Bowery.

EVG regular Dan Efram shares these photos of people leaving flowers and tributes outside his building on Bleecker Street, where he was often spotted sitting outside.















Here's more on Frank via The Associated Press:

The Swiss-born Frank influenced countless photographers and was likened to Alexis de Tocqueville for so vividly capturing the United States through the eyes of a foreigner. Besides his still photography, Frank was a prolific filmmaker, creating more than 30 movies and videos, including a cult favorite about the Beats and a graphic, censored documentary of the Rolling Stones’ 1972 tour. Black-and-white Super 8 pictures by Frank were featured on the cover of the Stones’ “Exile On Main Street,” one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most acclaimed albums.

Meanwhile, have been many tributes to Frank on social media... here's a small sampling...

View this post on Instagram

Robert Frank, gone from us - but his extraordinary vision, his films, & the details of daily life he captured with a little camera in his hands will continue to resonate through our shared consciousness. Long live Robert Frank, one of the greatest artists ever. & thank you Robert for the gifts you’ve given us all. (photo: Allen Ginsberg)

A post shared by Jim Jarmusch (@jim.jarmusch) on Sep 10, 2019 at 7:36am PDT

View this post on Instagram

I think I’ll always walk by his building hoping to see him sitting in his chair. RIP Robert Frank #robertfrank

A post shared by Michelle Rick (@villagegirl) on Sep 10, 2019 at 9:33am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Rest In Peace - Robert Frank. Thank you for all you’ve left us. This photo was from a chance encounter downtown in 1980 at a Larry Clark exhibition. The second shot was outside on Lafayette after my friend got a laugh out of him. Robert Frank, 1980. 📷@GODLIS

A post shared by Godlis (@godlis) on Sep 10, 2019 at 4:12pm PDT

Kidical Mass ride on Saturday will help raise awareness of Avenue B bike lanes

Some East Village families are coming together on Saturday for a bike ride from Tompkins Square Park to the East River in support of the proposed Avenue B bike lane and in opposition of the current plan to close East River Park next March.

The ride is part of the citywide Kidical Mass. Interested participants can sign up at BikeReg here. (You need to register by midnight tomorrow.) The Facebook Events page is here.

The cyclists will meet at Tompkins Square Park at 9:30 a.m., departing at 10.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local elected officials urge the DOT to explore bike lane options on Avenues A, B, C and D

March and rally for East River Park on Sept. 21; another public hearing set

The Boilery in soft-open mode on 3rd Avenue

The Boilery has made its debut at 58 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

For now, the sign out front is advertising 20-percent off during this soft opening.

As the name suggests, the restaurant offers communal seafood boils and a variety of grilled seafood. Find the menu here.

The Boilery is now in expansion mode. There's a location up on Amsterdam Avenue, with new restaurants opening here, Chelsea, Midtown East, Danbury, Conn., and Las Vegas.

Perhaps the owners have what it takes to make this space work. As previously noted, this address has been three restaurants — Jin Kitchen and Bar, Shu Han Ju II and Mulan East — in the past four years.

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Report: Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz sell East Village residence

The Post reports that Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz have sold their East Village residence for $6 million.

Jennifer Gould Keil notes that this was the same price they paid for the 15th-floor unit in the New Theatre Building at 240 E. 10th St. at First Avenue in 2012.

The couple apparently bought a townhouse in Brooklyn early last year.

Current residents of the New Theatre Building have been enduring the sanitation department's parking lot along 10th Street this past year.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking for where James Bond star Daniel Craig lives in the East Village

A Daniel Craig moment outside the Theater For The New City Building

Precious metal: Howl! Happening presents the work of Linus Coraggio

Tomorrow (Sept. 12) night, Howl! Happening opens its fall season with an exhibition featuring the work — sculpture, painting and mixed media — of Linus Coraggio.

Here's more via the EVG inbox...

Howl! mounts its most ambitious installation to date. Linus Coraggio is a central figure in downtown New York’s early period of explosive art experimentation and cross-pollination of cultural ideas. Street artist and New York City native, Coraggio is best known for his abstract metal sculpture.

The current exhibition surveys Coraggio’s entire body of work, including paintings in expressionist and graffiti style, mobiles, furniture, neon, sculpture, mixed-media collage, and both classic and 3-D graffiti. The exhibition will also include recent collaborations with well-known downtown artists, and an installation of his painted and “sculpturalized” car that has become a recognized cultural fixture on the streets of New York City over the last 10 years.

Coraggio is a founder of the Rivington School sculptors group. He welded a massive post-apocalyptic sculpture garden of rusted metal that was a landmark at Forsyth and Rivington Streets in New York’s Lower East Side. Coraggio was also the architect of the Gas Station, a performance space, after-hours club, and sculpture garden that sat on Second Street and Avenue B well into the 90s. These seminal downtown art spaces were the vanguard of wild autonomous art activism in the face of rapid gentrification.

The opening for the show, titled "Ramifications," takes place from 6-8 p.m. tomorrow. You have until Oct. 10 to see the exhibit. There's also a special closing event on Oct. 12.

Find more details at the Howl! website. The gallery is located at 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

You can also find some of his work in the sculpture garden behind the Kenkeleba House on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...

Detroit slice city: Artichoke bringing an outpost of Lions & Tigers & Squares to 2nd Avenue

[Photo Saturday by Steven]

The owners of Artichoke are using the former location of Nicoletta on Second Avenue and 10th Street for the next NYC outpost of their Detroit-style pizza shop Lions & Tigers & Squares.

Here's more about the concept via the EVG inbox:

Lions & Tigers & Squares was conceived in 2018 by Artichoke Basille’s Pizza co-founders and pizza aficionados, Francis Garcia and Sal Basille, who were inspired to open a Detroit-style pizza shop after visiting Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit ... They were impressed by the quality of pizza and wanted to bring a taste of Detroit to New York City, thus deciding to open a shop dedicated to the Motor City’s signature square pan pizza with a crunchy, caramelized cheese crust. While LTS is a Manhattan-located pizzeria, it’s also an ode to all things Detroit: Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, and Detroit-style square pizza.

The new restaurant, expected to open before year’s end, will have indoor and outdoor seating ... with a menu showcasing four-slice Detroit-style square pies featuring pepperoni, baby meatball, black olive and their Mustard Pie with spicy brown mustard and cheddar cheese. (This is the neighborhood's second Detroit-style pizzeria following Emmy Squared's arrival in July 2018.)



The first Lions & Tigers & Squares opened in the spring of 2018 on 23rd Street in Chelsea. Over at Eater, Robert Sietsema noted their "greasy but solid pies." (As for Artichoke, he writes in the same post that they're "a local pizza chain that turns out some awful pies as far as I’m concerned — especially its vaunted artichoke slice, which tastes like someone poured cream of artichoke soup in its canned and concentrated form on the pie.")

The ever-expanding Artichoke started its empire in the East Village in 2008 on 14th Street. They moved to a larger space across the street in June 2017.

Nicoletta closed last December at this address after six-plus years in business. They are still delivering pizzas from an undisclosed location.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Artichoke Basille’s Pizza vying for former Nicoletta space on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

Social Tees has closed for now while looking for a new home; 'don't freak out'

Social Tees Animal Rescue has moved out of its space on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (H/T Eden!)

For now, the 501c3 nonprofit animal rescue is on the lookout for a new home.

Per their Instagram account the other day:

OUR OFFICE IS MOVING!!!! We don't yet know where we're going tbh, but it won't be far, don't freak out. Just giving you all the heads up because we'll be in limbo for a little while, so please have patience if you are trying to reach us and we're a little slower than usual — we'll have a lot going on and a lot to coordinate, and we'll really appreciate your understanding!!! Since all of our critters are in foster homes anyway, business will mostly proceed as usual. We won't be able to accept material donations for a while, but there are plenty of other amazing rescue groups in the city who'd be more than happy to have your generosity in the meantime. This is super exciting for us and a little stressful, and we're so grateful you guys have our back through this process. We'll be making more announcements soon as things unfurl!!!!

Social Tees has had several storefronts in the East Village, including on Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue and Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. They moved into the former Gimme Gimme Records space in early 2013.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Out and About with Robert Shapiro, founder and director of Social Tees

Off to La La land for this Avenue B laundromat

[Top photos by Steven]

In laundromat news, Spin City is now the lyrical-sounding La La Laundry on Avenue B at 11th Street...



Not sure at the moment if the place is under new ownership... or if they just decided on a name change.

Meanwhile, La La Laundry might have just overtaken Bubbles N Go on Second Street as the neighborhood's wackiest-named laundromat...

March and rally for East River Park on Sept. 21; another public hearing set

The above flyer has all the details about the march and rally for East River Park coming up on Sept. 21. (More info here.)

By now you likely now the story behind the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), a coastal protection initiative jointly funded by the City of New York and the federal government, aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea-level rise. ESCR is the first element of the city’s "Big U" plan to protect Lower Manhattan from surges like those seen during Superstorm Sandy.

As part of the project, city officials, starting next spring, plan to close East River Park for three-plus years, elevating it with 8- to 10-feet of soil and chopping down trees, etc., from Montgomery Street to East 13th Street.

Some residents, referring to it as the Kill Our Park Plan, have asked for the demolition and reconstruction of East River Park to take part in phases so that they continue to enjoy some of the amenities that the public space provides.

And the residents will make their voices heard on Sept. 21.

Meanwhile, there are two more public meetings about the project in the days ahead:

• CB3 Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee Meeting
Thursday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m. (billed as an "update")
BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth

• SAPA (Substantial Action Plan Amendment) Public Hearing
Tuesday, Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m.
Manny Cantor Center, 197 E. Broadway between Jefferson and Clinton

Patch has more details here about the Sept. 17 hearing, which is required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development after the previous plan was changed without public input nearly one year ago.



The City Planning Commission is expected to vote on the plan on Sept. 24 before it heads to City Council this fall.

Updated 9 a.m.

Curbed reports the city is getting an independent review of its plan:

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera announced Monday that they have heeded locals’ calls for an outside expert to assess the East Side Costal Resiliency (ESCR) Project, hiring Hans Gehrels of the Dutch environmental consulting group Deltares.

“We’ve heard the requests of the community for an independent review before this goes into effect, and we listened,” Brewer said in a statement. “Dr. Gehrels will bring his vast experience and expertise to his analysis of this project, and I look forward to seeing the results of his review.”

This week, Gehrels is conducting interviews and surveying the current and former plans put forward by the de Blasio administration, which last September suddenly scrapped 70 percent of the project in favor of a new proposal that will bury East River Park with at least eight feet of fill. This would avoid tricky nighttime highway closures, but require the heavily-used park to go offline for some three years.

Residents may submit public comments to Deltares via email.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 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)

Day 1 recap of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion trial; opening statements and emotional testimony from Nicholas Figueroa's father

[CBS 2 at 119 2nd Avenue via Steven]

Opening statements were made during Day 1 of the trial yesterday of landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis in Manhattan Supreme Court on Centre Street.

The three have been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the March 2015 explosion at 121 Second Ave. that killed two men and injured nearly two dozen people. They illegally tampered with the gas line at No. 121, where the restaurant Sushi Park was the retail tenant, then failed to warn those in the building before the blast, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Here's The Wall Street Journal:

“There was a virtual bomb lurking beneath,” Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clarke Jr. told a jury during opening statements.

“All it took was 23 minutes to cause all this damage and destruction,” Mr. Clarke, the prosecutor, told the jury. He said the defendants’ actions were motivated by financial greed and a desire to rent the newly renovated apartments.

Lawyers for the defendants said their clients weren’t responsible for the blast.

“This is a tragic accident,” said Michael Burke, a lawyer for Ms. Hrynenko. He said his client was an inexperienced landlord who tried to do things right and hire the right people.

Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Mr. Kukic, said evidence suggested the fire could have started in the kitchen of Sushi Park and not in the adjacent basement. He said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove prosecutors’ theory of the case.

A lawyer for Mr. Ioannidis, Roger Blank, told the jury that Sushi Park had a history of gas issues in its kitchen.

Nixon Figueroa, the father of Nicholas Figueroa, one of two men who died that March 26, 2015, took the stand. The Post has his emotional testimony:

[He] recalled how his wife waited nearly three agonizing days after the March 26, 2015, blast to learn that the body of their 23-year-old son was recovered from the rubble.

“That’s the day I died,” said the 56-year-old, choking up. “I have a picture of my son’s face in the moment when he’s flying through the air and the anguish that he had and the pain when he knew he wasn’t coming back…it broke my heart.”

You can also read recaps at the Daily News and The Daily Mail.

And via the local TV stations: CBS 2 ... PIX 11 ... NBC 4 ... and ABC 7.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue

Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner

Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street

Jury selection starts for defendants in 2nd Avenue gas explosion that killed 2 men

A cash mob Saturday at Gem Spa

As we've been reporting in recent months, Gem Spa has been struggling of late, in part due to its temporary ban on selling cigarettes and lottery tickets as well as various landlord issues.

On Saturday from noon to 2 p.m., the folks at #SaveNYC are hosting a Cash Mob at the shop on Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place to help support the longtime business. Per the official invite:

Come prepared to spend some money — egg creams, pretzels, t-shirts, toothpaste! — and take your photo with a surprise work of guerrilla street art, as an acclaimed group of cultural activists and designers radically transform Gem Spa into a dystopian vision for the new St. Mark’s Place.

This is the latest act of kindness that neighbors have shown for the shop, which Parul Patel has been running for her ailing father Ray, the owner since 1986.

Here are some other ways that people have been helping out:

• St. Mark's Place resident David Godlis donated prints of a Madonna photo outside Gem Spa in 1984 during filming of "Desperately Seeking Susan." Postcards are available at the shop.

• Kiehl’s donated lip balm that the shop is including with sales of Gem Spa t-shirts.

• V and Paper gifted the shop copies of its magazines to sell at 50 percent off the cover price.

• More artists/photographers are donating work inspired by Gem Spa that will be available for sale at the shop.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Gem Spa (@besteggcream) on Sep 3, 2019 at 9:51pm PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
• 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)

171 Avenue A ready for another restaurant

[Photo by Steven]

A for rent sign is up now in the front window at 171 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street.

The broker signage notes "Newly built restaurant fully vented."

As documented here, restaurateurs have had a challenging time making anything work in the space in recent years.

Chinese Graffiti went dark in July without any notice of a closure — temporary or permanent. The Asian-American gastropub had just opened here in early March, drawing praise for its offbeat menu items.

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.

B.A.D. Burger made it work here for four years until early 2015 — and without a liquor license.

The listing for the address is not yet online.

Jell & Chill coming soon to 7th Street

Coming soon signage is up in the storefront at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue for Jell & Chill...



The shop's Instagram account notes that they will be selling "Traditional Handcrafted Bīng Fěn Ice Jelly," a Sichuanese cold dessert jelly.

Here's one description of it:

Bing Fen is the iconic Chengdu summer snack. A sort of jello made (originally) from Konjac, it is refreshing, cool, sweet and fruity. The clear jello is mixed with ice, molasses, and a variety of toppings. These can include dried fruits, diced watermelon, mung beans, fermented rice porridge, mini sticky rice balls, and rose jam. It is a great example of the term ‘Shuang 爽’ which means cool, refreshing, and revitalizing.

View this post on Instagram

Fresh mango 🥭 icy jelly with sticky purple rice #jellandchill #freshmango #icyjelly #summerdessert

A post shared by Jell n Chill (@jellandchill) on Aug 26, 2019 at 5:12pm PDT

This Seventh Street storefront was previously Atino Eyewear Optical, which closed last November after eight months. The owner said that his business dropped by 60 percent after last summer, giving him no choice but to close.

Monday's parting shot

This is either traveling or a double dribble. Your call!

Photo on Fourth Street today by Derek Berg.

Today, we say goodbye to the KFC's Cheetos Sandwich mural on 2nd Avenue and 14th Street

[Photo from June 28]

You likely have taken in that Chester Cheetah-Col. Sanders mural on Second Avenue at 14th Street. (Takes a minute.)

The mural arrived in late June to coincide with KFC's Cheetos Sandwich, the limited-time-only, colon-friendly menu item. The East Village location of KFC was picked to launch the sammy with a special menu featuring Cheetos hot wings, Cheetos-loaded fries and Cheetos mac and cheese. (Sorry — forgot to cover this in late June!)

Anyway, given the limited-time-offer nature of the KFC's Cheetos Sandwich, the mural was only going to be here for a short period of time.

And that time has come... a reader shared this photo...

A visit to the TF in Tompkins Square Park

On Saturday afternoon, the skaters on the court (aka TF — for Training Facility) in Tompkins Square Park were in a celebratory mood.

A rally had been organized to protest the city's plan to place a synthetic turf on this space in the northwest corner of the Park. However, less than 24 hours before the going-viral rally was to take place, the city announced late Friday that it would no longer carry out those plans, which were quietly revealed during a Community Board committee meeting in May.

"Tompkins Square Park has served as the epicenter of NYC skateboard culture for decades, as such, we have decided to leave the area previously proposed for synthetic in the park as is, and will not move forward with creating a synthetic turf area there," Parks Department spokesperson Crystal Howard said in a statement to Patch.

On Saturday, Mitchell Silver, commissioner for the New York City Parks Department, also stopped by the TF. (He spoke to CBS 2 in this report.)

East Village resident Adam Zhu (pictured below), who grew up skating here, launched a petition in late June to spare the asphalt from the fake turf ... and eventually gathered more than 32,000 signatures from people who wanted to preserve this important part of the skate community and youth culture.



EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the TF on Saturday and shared these photos...

















































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The turf project will still happen at several area parks as a result of the city's flood-protection plan that will close East River Park next March for 3.5-plus years. The city needs to find space for the sports teams and youth leagues who use the fields along East River Park.

There's a march and rally for East River Park on Saturday, Sept. 21. Details at this link. We'll be posting much more about this event in the days ahead.