118 1st Avenue still for rent

[Photo Friday by Steven]

Vacant Storefront Week continues... new for-rent signs recently arrived on another prime corner spot — 118 First Ave. at Seventh Street.

The asking rent for the space — 900 square feet with another 900 in the basement — is $13,000, per the listing at KSR.

Golden Food Market closed here in the summer of 2017 after 35 years in business. According to a reader who spoke with the Golden Food Market (aka Ali's) staff, the lease was up for renewal and the new landlord wanted an increase that was more than the store could manage.

As for the new landlord, an LLC with a West 11th Street address bought the building in the spring of 2017 for $5.8 million, per public records.

A tapas-wine bar was in the works for the space in April 2018, but those plans never advanced past the Community Board stage.

Yes, the Tang has closed, but something else is on the way

While on the topic of 118 First Ave. ... The Tang, the Chinese noodle bar and its neighbor to the north at 120 First Ave., closed in early October ... an event that I forgot to note...



Here's part of the closing message from Team Tang on Instagram:

After three years of serving the neighborhood, we are sad to announce that The Tang EV will be closing on Monday, October 7.

Since we have found a new home at Upper West Side, to be more consistent with our brand, we are shutting down our East Village location. However, please stay tuned on our upcoming project, which we are very excited about. It will be a brand new concept that we will turn this space into.

We want to thank all the neighbors for your continuous support and all the employees who have worked here.

Last month, reps for The Tang appeared before CB3's SLA committee for an alteration to their existing license. CB3 approved the extended hours. Per the official minutes of the meeting:

[T]his is an application for an Asian noodle restaurant with a certificate of occupancy of seventy-four (74) people, six (6) tables and twenty-two (22) seats, no bar, proposed hours of operation of 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Sundays through Thursdays and 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 A.M. Fridays and Saturdays, a kitchen open during all hours of operation...

No other word on what this new concept might be...

Tuesday's parting shot

Thanks to EVG reader Cajsa for sending along these photos of this evening's spectacular sky at sunset... as seen from Fourth Street and Second Avenue...

Late afternoon Park view

Photo from Tompkins Square Park via Vinny & O...

[Updated] Closing arguments expected to start today in the 2nd Avenue gas explosion trial

[Aerial photo of 119-123 2nd Ave. from March 27, 2015]

Closing arguments are expecting to begin today in the Second Avenue gas explosion trial, WABC-7 reports.

The trial, which started on Sept. 9 in Manhattan Supreme Court, was expected to last three months.

Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis are standing trial on a variety of charges, including 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.

"Unbeknownst to the people who were walking down the street, driving down the street, there was a virtual bomb lurking under the East Village," Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clarke said in his opening statement.

The defense has attempted to shift the blame away from the three, putting the responsibility on Con Edison and others.

Here's part of a trial preview from the Times from Sept. 9:

Under New York law, prosecutors will have to prove that Ms. Hrynenko, Mr. Kukic and Mr. Ioannidis were aware that they were acting recklessly, and disregarded the potential risk of death to others. Prosecutors would also have to show that the risks were not something that a reasonable person would have ignored.

“Being aware of a substantial risk would seem to be inconsistent with maintaining their property and obtaining tenants, making it challenging to prove that level of reckless intent,” said Kevin McCarthy, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who previously worked as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

Updated 8 p.m.

Attorneys for the defense made their closing arguments today. Per CBS New York:

Hrynenko’s lawyer said she hired people to do work and knows nothing about an illegal gas line.

Her attorney gave the first closing argument, saying prosecutors are missing evidence, including some piping and the main shut-off valve.

All three defense attorneys have argued the explosion happened in the kitchen of the sushi restaurant on the first floor, not the basement like prosecutors allege.

Family and friends of the defendants packed one side of the courtroom. On the other side were family members of those killed.

“I hope that the jury will decide these people’s fate in the right way, you know, that they all go to jail for what they did,” said Nixon Figueroa, whose son died in the explosion.

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

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

With City Council vote looming, NYCHA residents speak out against East Side stormproofing plan

[Along East River Park]

The City Council's final vote on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), the $1.45 billion proposal to protect the East Side from future storms and rising sea levels, is expected on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, this morning, the City Council Committee on Land Use will weigh in with a vote at 11.

Ahead of these crucial votes, the community pushback continues. Late last week, a group called NYCHA Speaks circulated a letter and petition "to speak out against the lies that are being told at our expense. We are not in favor of the demolition of our park!"

Their letter, sent to local elected officials, states in part:

These petitions are being submitted to you on behalf of nearly 2,000 NYCHA residents of Lillian Wald, Jacob Riis, and Baruch Houses.

These signatures have been collected over the past weeks to show that the vast majority of NYCHA residents do NOT support Option 4 of the ESCR plan. The East River Park has been a vital part of our community for generations, and the demolition of our park will have a devastating impact on the health and stability of our families.

To name just a few of our many concerns:

· The release of contaminants into the air during the demolition and landfill phases. We already suffer a high rate of asthma in our community.

· The negative effects of the loss of much of our local green space (including almost 1,000 mature trees) during the many years of construction. There are thousands of NYCHA families that depend on the East River Park for recreation, school sports, relaxation and family gatherings — in a community that has few alternatives.

Because this plan to demolish and bury the East River Park has received widespread opposition from the community overall, it has been particularly troubling to see how the DDC and City officials have used a very small handful of NYCHA representatives as their “vote of support.”

The staged appearances of these same 2 or 3 individuals in almost every ESCR Town Hall and Public Hearing has slowly created an outrage among NYCHA residents. These individuals are not speaking truthfully for their community! This petitioning effort is a reaction to what we considered was false representation on our behalf.

The Lillian Wald, Jacob Riis, and Baruch Houses suffered the impact of Hurricane Sandy firsthand, and we are aware of the need for flood protection. However, we do not want to sacrifice our park. We see the City’s push to demolish and bury the East River Park as an assault on our history, and on our continued presence in this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. We understand that construction will need to be done to protect the neighborhood from flooding, but do not support the current plan that the City has chosen.

Last Monday, the City Council Subcommittee on Landmarks, Sitings and Dispositions voted for the plan.

Before the subcommittee vote, Mayor de Blasio announced the formation of a new community advisory group that will provide input on the design and construction progress in East River Park.

No word on who exactly will be part of this "community advisory group."

On Thursday night, officials from the Department of Design & Construction are scheduled to present updates on the plan before Community Board 3's Parks, Recreation, Waterfront & Resiliency Committee. That public meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in the BRC Senior Services Center, 30 Delancey St. between Chrystie and Forsyth.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Dutch consultant files report on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (Oct. 11)

• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)

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

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for 1st Avenue?

Renovations are now underway inside the long-vacant 39 First Ave. here between Second Street and Third Street.

According to sources on the block, a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will be the new tenant.

There's nothing on the recently issued work permits mentioning Popeyes by name. The architect of record does mostly work with fast-food properties.

So chalk this up to a rumor for now.

Popeyes has enjoyed a resurgence since the release this past summer of its pandemonium-inducing fried chicken sandwich ... which was recently re-introduced to a spate of violence at several outposts across the country.

There are currently 15 Popeyes locations in Manhattan, per the company website.

As for No. 39, the retail space has sat empty for nearly four years after NY Village Deli moved to a smaller storefront on the block.

The storefront was also tagged again in recent days.



Updated

In other local Popeyes news... the Post reports that an East Village resident found half of a joint from a chicken sandwich he bought last week at the West 14th Street location.

Foxface now selling sandwiches 6 days a week with addition of Tuesday service

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

Foxface continues to expand its hours of operation.

The unique sandwich shop inside the William Barnacle Tavern at Theatre 80 is now open on Tuesdays...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Foxface (@foxface_nyc) on Nov 11, 2019 at 7:17am PST

So moving forward, Foxface is open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m., then 5:30-9:30 p.m. ... and noon to 9 p.m. (or when they sell out!) on Saturday and Sunday.

East Village residents Ori Kushnir and Sivan Lahat opened Foxface, 80 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue, late last year. Pete Wells is among the fans of Foxface.

H/T Steven!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Longtime East Village residents open Foxface, now serving sandwiches at Theater 80

Former Percy's storefront gets a fresh coat of paint

[Photo by Steven]

Several readers have noted the recently painted exterior of the former Percy's Tavern on the northeast corner of Avenue A and 13th Street... which led to questions about whether a new tenant is on the way in here.

Block association sources are unaware of any business in the works at the moment. The space has been vacant for more than two years after Percy's Tavern closed.

In September of 2017, Community Board 3 did not approve the Late Late’s James Morrissey's application to open Honey Fitz at this address.

As BoweryBoogie reported at the time:

Sick of the “broken promises,” the Avenue A block associations spoke of how Percy’s is detrimental to quality of life. They further alleged that bringing in Morrissey with a 4am liquor license, and who has a terrible track record with VYNL and The Late Late, would only exacerbate an already saturated area. Indeed, the latter operation is considered one of the worst offenders in the district, and carries a report card of more than thirty 311 complaints. Residents on East 1st Street regularly complain about noise, which first has to travel past a clamorous Houston Street and then through First Park.

The liquor license, which includes Morrissey's name, is currently inactive for the address... and it expires at the end of January, according to the State Liquor Authority.

It's also possible the interior was damaged during the fire upstairs in the building back in March. Here's a look inside...



The bar-lounge Fat Buddha just reopened next door after post-fire renovations.

45 E. 1st St. vacant again

Skinny Buddha, a vegan food business with outposts in Scarsdale and Mt. Cisco, has wrapped up its three-month pop-up cafe at 45 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

So now the space is tenant-free at the moment. The storefront had been the coffee bar Cocoa Grinder for a few months. The business never took off, in part because their opening coincided with the (now concluded) months-long water-main work on the block... not to mention the ongoing condoplex construction on the corner of Second Avenue blocked off half of the street for a few years.

The address previously housed the bar-restaurant Joe and Misses Doe.

Today's transit of Mercury from 2nd Avenue

Exciting day for fans of the planet Mercury, which passed directly between Earth and the Sun in an event that won’t happen again until 2032.

As this photo by Derek Berg shows, Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers was set up near the F stop... from here, you could spot the small silhouette of Mercury moving across the Sun. (A very thick black filter blocked out 99 percent of the Sun's light, and made it safe to view.)

Here's a photo that I took with my iPhone via NASA today ...

When the 'Fifth Street Boys' came home

In honor of Veterans Day today... here's part of an EVG post from Nov. 10, 2010. EVG contributor James Maher shared these photos. His grandparents and mother were born and raised on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's a celebration of the "Fifth Street Boys" returning home from World War II.

Per James on the photos below: "I spoke with my Aunt who tells me that the photo was taken around 1945 to celebrate the end of the war. I don't know exactly which building, but apparently my grandma and relatives had three apartments in the same building on 5th Street between Avenue A and B, which is where this photo was taken from. My grandmother and all of her sisters are most of the girls that are looking up at the camera in the second photo."

The MTA closes the 2 Brooklyn-bound L-train entrances for upgrades on 14th Street at 1st Avenue

[Photo via the MTA]

The two new L-train entrances on 14th Street at Avenue A — for Brooklyn-bound commuters — debuted last Monday. (First reported here.)

Starting today (Nov. 11), the MTA is closing the two Brooklyn-bound entrances on 14th Street at First Avenue. The MTA is replacing all of the structural beams and redoing the walls and tile — with a scheduled April 2020 completion date.



Workers have board up the entrances on the south side of 14th Street (h/t Pinch!)...



So here's what that means, via the L Project Newsletter:

• On weekdays between 5 a.m. and 9:45 p.m., use the new Avenue A south entrance for Brooklyn-bound service.
• On nights/weekends, use the First Avenue north for service in both directions.

Here are more details from the newsletter:

1) Other parts of the First Avenue Station improvements are also ahead of schedule, including the elevators.
The two new elevators, one on either side of 14th Street near Avenue A, were originally supposed to open in November 2020. Now, we're estimating a June 2020 completion.

2) The new Avenue A north (Manhattan-bound) entrance will open later, sometime in 2020. The First Avenue north side will close then, just like the south side entrances. We're phasing the entrance work so we can always have two entrances open at all times, one on either side of the tracks.

3) Street restoration is ahead of schedule, too. Originally, the street restoration wasn't supposed to be completed until May 2020. Now, most of it will be done by January. We'll be pouring new sidewalks and getting rid of or shrinking our worksites. Reduced barricaded areas will stay around the two elevators and on the north side of 14th Street by the Avenue B substation. All work will be underground except for the elevators and reconstructed entrances.

Preliminary work on the Avenue A entrances in July 2017.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

Behold your new Avenue A L-train entrances!

Odd Eye closing 5th Street shop; going online

After nearly three years at 524 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, Odd Eye NYC is closing up shop.

The owners of the design store are moving their business online...



In an upbeat closing notice on Instagram, the owners note:

What a ride but guess what?
It’s time to adapt. We’re going 100% digital! 🤳🏼

Everything is on sale! Come make an offer/score a deal!

Been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work! Excited to see what ODDEYE has in store for you in the future but until then come buy some shit! 🤗

And thx for the awesome opportunity and the best landlord anyone could ask for! C U on the internet!

Odd Eye will be open through this month. You can find their website here.

A look at the northwest corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue

The Duane Reade on First Avenue just north of 14th Street closed last Wednesday, one of many DRs around the city to do so.

This (mostly) single-level strip of commercial buildings on the northwest corner has long drawn reader interest ... mostly because someone hasn't gobbled up these properties for new development.

All of the four-story 239 First Ave., where the shuttered Salt & Pepper sold Indian and Chinese cuisine from the storefront, is apparently vacant ...



Anyway, there's nothing in public records to suggest anything is afoot here. And a new Japanese restaurant is coming to the former Kambi Ramen House space there next door to O'Hanlon's...



For now it's on the Future Development Site watch. And enjoy Papaya Dog.

11 Avenue C now with bricks and glass

The 10-story 11 Avenue C (aka 350 E. Houston St.) has entered the next phase in its construction — bricks and glass...



After a sloooooow start (foundation work began in December 2016 on this triangular lot that housed the neighborhood's last gas station), there has been noticeable progress in recent months. The residential building with 46 units will include ground-floor retail.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Workers officially reach the top at 11 Avenue C, where a 10-floor building sits on the neighborhood's last gas station

Week in Grieview

[Friday morning in Tompkins Square Park via Derek Berg]

Posts this last week included...

Exclusive: After 20-plus years in the East Village, Obscura Antiques and Oddities is closing (Thursday)

A look at Book Club, the new bookstore-cafe on 3rd Street (Friday)

Enz's Boutique has closed on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

This book was due on Dec. 10, 1958. Someone just returned it to the Cooper Union Library. (Tuesday)

State pols introduce legislation to ban garbage trucks from parking overnight on city streets, like on 10th Street (Wednesday)

The incoming Trader Joe's on 14th Street at Avenue A is now hiring (Monday) ... Will the new East Village Trader Joe's open on this date in 2020? (Tuesday)

2 neighborhood Duane Reade locations closed this week (Wednesday)

Behold your new Avenue A L-train entrances! (Tuesday)

Acclaimed pastrami purveyors Harry & Ida's will close this month on Avenue A (Friday)

Haveli-Banjara has not been open lately on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

About face: The Cupcake Market has a new name on 7th Street (Wednesday)

Coming to select M14 A/D SBS stops along 14th Street: bus boarding platforms (Thursday)

Sorbet Cray Cray goes bye bye from Avenue A (Friday)

Mi Casa Latina closes after 10 months on 14th (Monday)

What's going on at Joe's Steam Rice Roll? (Tuesday)

First sign of Mokyo, a new Korean restaurant coming to St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Openings: 5 Napkin Burger Express rolls out its counter service (Monday)

... and a fallscape on 10th and B via Vinny & O...



---

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This unique bird made a migration pit stop on 7th Street the other day

This American Bittern made a migratory pit stop behind a building on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... which is where Elizabeth Cunningham spotted the brown heron hanging out in the nasturtiums ...







The bird arrived on Friday morning around 11 and left by 8 a.m. yesterday. During the bird's nearly 24 hours here, she spoke with the Wild Bird Fund, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and two wildlife rehabilitators in the city.

Here's her report:

Although rarely spotted — especially around here — I was informed it's common for them to make 24-hour stops along their way south. He didn't appear injured and the ornithology personnel told me he'd be fine overnight despite the cold snap. He settled into a bush for the night and is now presumably back on track toward warmer climes.

Former Benny's Burritos week in review

Back on Monday, we had a full reveal of the long-vacant storefront that housed Benny's Burritos (RIP November 2014) for 27 years on Avenue A and Sixth Street.

There seemed to be a lot of interest on the empty-for-five-years-now space among readers.

Con Ed did some work out front on Wednesday...



Not much happened inside, though.



There's a new roll-down gate on the Avenue A side, and someone removed the Benny's sign from the space... though part of the Benny's awning remains on the Sixth Street side...



Oh, and someone quickly tagged those new roll-down gates...



In any event, the for rent sign remains up out front... with no word of a possible new tenant. There aren't any new work permits on file for the address either.

Early Saturday morning street scene

Looking south from 7th and B early today... courtesy of Dave on 7th...

UPDATED 9:46 a.m.

Too bad Dave just missed this...

Beatles on 7th Street!
cc: @evgrieve Photo by Dave on 7th pic.twitter.com/9YwiMwpBOz

— pinhead (@evpinhead) November 9, 2019

Meet your 'Match'

The new EP via Squid — a UK-based five piece — is due next Friday (it has been out via digital platforms for the past two months). The audio track here is for "Match Bet."

EVG Etc.: Co-op accusations on 7th Street; Noah Baumbach at the Metrograph

[Sky scene from 4th and A]

• A profile of Shuho Yagi, who has been running a number of Japanese restaurants in the East Village since 1984 (City Limits)

• On Seventh Street, a co-op owner "is being accused by neighbors of having guests who shoot heroin between their toes in the lobby, have sex in the corridors — and occasionally jump out the windows." (The Post)

• Man stabbed following dispute near the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park (PIX 11)

• Citi Biker, the victim of road rage, is nearly run down on the LES; cops blame the cyclist (Streetsblog)

• Apartment dwellers, know your heat and hot water rights (Curbed)

• Five weeks til SantaCon! (Gothamist)

• As The Lo-Down noted, architecture critic Michael Kimmelman praises Essex Crossing "in a piece that makes some good points, but is also loaded with factual errors and mischaracterizations of the Lower East Side mega-project" (The New York Times)

• Builders respond to the vote that gives community boards more time to review ULURP applications (The Real Deal)

• An end to the food hall craze? (Commercial Observer)

• A Noah Baumbach residency (Metrograph)

• A retrospective surveys the career of Holly Fisher (Anthology Film Archives)

• Cornell prof finds rough versions of 12 previously unreleased songs by Lou Reed (Variety)

• A look at some early 1990s NYC music venues, including Mission on Fifth between A and B (Ephemeral New York)

... and over at the Black Emperor, 197 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street, The Truffleist is now working the kitchen, taking over for Jae Lee's six-month burger residency. (Lee is prepping to open his first restaurant, Nowon on Sixth Street) ...

View this post on Instagram

BIG NEWS! 🔊 We’re opening TODAY in @blackemperorbar NYC! We’ll be serving up our delicious Cheesesteaks every day! 🤤 Tag a friend who needs to know! Starting hours are below: 👉🏼 Mon to Wed 4pm - 12am 👉🏼 Thurs to Sat: 4pm- 1am 👉🏼 Sun: 4pm - 10pm ‼️ See you today at 4pm ‼️

A post shared by The Truffleist (@thetruffleist) on Nov 7, 2019 at 6:54am PST

A look at Book Club, the new bookstore-cafe (softly) opening tomorrow on 3rd Street

Tomorrow (Nov. 9) at 9 a.m., Book Club makes its debut at 197 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

As we've been reporting, this bookstore-cafe is the work — two years in the making — of an East Village couple, Erin Neary and Nat Esten.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday for a quick look at the space before its soft opening tomorrow...



The book portion of the storefront will carry a broad selection of adult fiction, non-fiction and a children's section ...







Book Club includes some East Village-specific reads...



The space features an area for sitting and reading ... and a cafe serving MUD coffee. (They were approved for a beer-wine license, though that has yet to be issued.) Expect some community events and readings in the weeks/months ahead. You can follow their Instagram account for updates... or their website.

Meanwhile, they'll be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Book Club — an independent bookstore with cafe — coming to 3rd Street

Acclaimed pastrami purveyors Harry & Ida's will close this month on Avenue A

[File photo]

Another day, another high-profile closure on Avenue A.

The owners of Harry & Ida's have announced that their Meat and Supply Co. will close the weekend before Thanksgiving at 189 Avenue A at 12th Street.

Siblings Julie and Will Horowitz, who are also behind Duck's Eatery on 12th Street, discussed the pending closure in an Instagram post:

We are heartbroken to announce that we will be closing up shop at the end of the month. We have so loved being part of your community, your celebrations, your lunches, your dinners, and your hearty snacks in between.

Never in a million years would we have imagined that our (not so little) sandwich, once a late night pop-up @duckseatery would receive so much attention this many years later. As painful as it is, we are proud to go out on a high note with the shop busier than ever, our pastrami still holding strong on top national lists and the support of you, our beloved customers.

While our presence on Avenue A will come to an end, we will be carrying on the H&I name with some exciting projects on the horizon. Be on the lookout for our usual array of quirky, cured and smoked products, with a little more plant and a lot less meat this time around. To our fellow delis, we are proud to have served alongside you. Keep the tradition (and the not-so-traditional) alive.

They do not cite any specific reason for the closure.

In August 2018, they shuttered their offshoot Harry & Ida’s Luncheonette in the Financial District after 10 months in business.

Harry & Ida's arrived on Avenue A in June 2015, and immediately drew raves for their pastrami. The market, which specializes in a variety of preserved foods and smoked meats, was named for their great-grandparents Harry and Ida Zinn, Hungarian immigrants who had a store in Harlem.

In October 2017, workers finally removed the sidewalk bridge and scaffolding from the Avenue A side of the Steiner East Village condoplex between 11th Street and 12th Street. For 19 months, the entrance to Harry & Ida's was obscured by all this construction. In total at the time, 19 of their 29 months in business had been under the doom and gloom of a sidewalk bridge.

Other recent closing announcements on Avenue A include Obscura Antiques and Oddities and Three Seats Espresso.

H/T Kenny and Dave!