A new tree nest for El Jardin del Paraiso

In recent weeks, several EVG readers shared the news that a new tree nest is under construction in El Jardin del Paraiso, the community garden on Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Back in the summer, the octagonal treehouse that East Village resident Roderick Romero created in 2003 was removed...


[Photo by Roderick Romero]

Apparently a garden committee member thought the 16-year-old structure had become decrepit. (This article for the Times in 2003 has more background on Romero's structure.)

Romero is not behind this new work, which he complimented in an email.

Monday's parting shot

From the Instagram account (@lesecologyctr) of the Lower East Side Ecology Center: A bald eagle was spotted perched near the Houston Street baseball fields this morning in East River Park.

Also, as previously reported, you can sign the petition to help save the Center's community compost program at this link.

Get well soon, Ray!

[Photo from Friday morning]

Ray Alvarez, the tireless proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A, was admitted to the hospital this past Thursday morning for emergency hernia surgery.

Several Ray's regulars have said that he's resting comfortably and doing fine. Word from the shop is that Ray, who just turned 87, wants to return as soon as possible (like, today).

And it sounds as if he's OK. According to Peter Brownscombe, who paid Ray a visit at Beth Israel: "Apparently his first action on coming out of the anesthetic was to get on his phone and order more potatoes for the store."

H/T Dave on 7th and Stacie Joy!

Factory Tamal bringing its freshly made tamales to 4th Street

Factory Tamal, which offers a variety of popular tamales, egg sandwiches and panini from a small take-out space on lower Ludlow Street, is opening an outpost at 63 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

The signage arrived a little earlier this month with an expected soft opening on Friday. (And this is a second location — they're keeping the current space at 23 Ludlow St.)

Owner Fernando Lopez makes his own masa — "faithful to the ancient Mayan way," as the Times put it in an August 2017 feature. And the result of his hard work? "Mr. Lopez’s tamales are beautifully fluffy, clingy and crumbly at once, a texture that calls to mind the airiest of poundcakes."

Check out this Eater video from Jan. 2 for a behind-the-scenes look at the process...



No. 63 previously housed Miscelanea NY, the Mexican cafe-market that closed back in June after owner Guillaume Guevara decided to return to his native Mexico.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photo!

Kissaki debuts on the Bowery this week

Kissaki opens on Wednesday here at 319 Bowery between First Street and Second Street. (We first reported on this arrival back on Sept. 3.)

Mark Garcia, a former chef and partner of sushi bar Gaijin in Astoria, is among those behind this venture that features a 16-seat Omakase bar and a small dining area. There's a cocktail lounge coming soon.

According to the Kissaki website, they'll offer lunch and dinner service. The omakase menu in the evening runs $160 for 12 pieces of seasonal nigiri, three kaiseki-style prepared plates and one dessert.

As previously reported, the restaurant is the first retail tenant for the former Amato Opera. In January 2009, Anthony Amato, the company's 88-year-old founder, announced that he had sold the building that was home to the opera since 1964. Amato Opera staged its last performance in May 2009. (Earlier history: The four-story brick building was a cigar factory from 1899 to 1926.)

Steve Croman bought No. 319 in December 2008 for $3.7 million. The retail space had been on and off the market since at least 2012.

The retail listing had originally asked $34,995. A post on @TradedNY noted the 1,800-square-foot space went for $200 per square foot.

No. 319 also features three luxury residences, with monthly rents between $8,995 and $10,995.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Life after the Amato Opera

• Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

• Amato Opera looks to be getting an encore as city OKs residential use

• Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

• Residential rentals at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery start at $10,995

• 2nd acts: Sushi counter for the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

Avenue A storefront watch

Obscura Antiques and Oddities has officially closed, and a for rent sign now hangs in the storefront at 207 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

A variety of factors led to the closure. "Our lease is up at the end of February and we are a bit burned out," co-owner Mike Zohn told us back in November. "The business has changed as has the neighborhood, plus the expense and overhead are high."

The asking rent for the space is $4,995 — all uses considered, per the listing.

And on Avenue A at Ninth Street... a for rent notice is up at the recently shuttered Arepa Factory. The listing hasn't made it online just yet.



Meanwhile, the corner space — the former Gelarto — has been leased. The brokers didn't disclose who the new tenant is, however.

These spaces, overseen by two difference landlords — Icon on the corner and Steve Croman next door — were home to Cafe Pick Me Up until May 2015...



One last nearby storefront to note... Three Seat Espresso is now officially closed (as of Jan. 19) at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street...



No word on what might be coming to this space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• A visit to Obscura Antiques and Oddities, closing soon on Avenue A

• After 20-plus years in the East Village, Obscura Antiques and Oddities is closing

• Arepa Factory closes up on Avenue A

• Three Seat Espresso will close by the end of 2019 on Avenue A; founder blames Starbucks

Addiction NYC space for rent on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Steven]

For rent signs recently arrived at 18 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Now the tenant, Addiction NYC, the tattoo parlor and smoke shop, is closing. There are sales...


[Photo from Thursday via @EdenBrower]

The business, on the block since 2003, was previously across the street at No. 27. They moved in March 2017.

No. 18 had been on the retail market since November ($158 per square foot!). Per the listing:

• The block is trending with new exciting retail with new building development on the corner in the near future.

• Access to high density student & younger population. Cannot miss on this block!

Meanwhile, I already know what everyone is thinking about for this retail space: BRING BACK CHERRIES! (RIP 2011)

Sunday's parting shot

A reader spotted this on 12th Street east of Avenue A.

Paul Richard just so happens to have a solo show at 212 Arts at 523 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B through Friday...

Week in Grieview

[In Tompkins Square Park Friday via Derek Berg]

Posts this last week included...

• 2nd Avenue gas explosion trial recap (Tuesday)

• Soft opening for Baji Baji on 1st Avenue (Monday)

• A new East Village home for Social Tees (Thursday)

• Discarded flower power (Monday)

• Former Crooked Tree transforming into Isabella on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

• Bait & Hook has closed (Tuesday)

• Picture this: Details on how you can be part of an East Village photo club (Thursday)

• Report: Half of the units in Raphael Toledano's former East Village portfolio remain vacant (Wednesday)

• Sanpoutei Gyoza & Ramen debuts on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

• Construction watch: 799 Broadway (Wednesday)

• City Council bill will make sure that your cash is good at all businesses (Friday)

• The artists will run Performance Space New York in 2020 (Friday)

• The Sunshine Cinema closed 2 years ago on this date (Tuesday)

• This East Village view greets visitors to new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York (Saturday)

• La Mia Pizza coming to 4th Avenue (Wednesday)


[Nice addition on 1st Avenue — photo by Derek Berg]

• Chase unveils its Coffee Shop-replacing sign on Union Square (Tuesday)

• Today in vehicles with diplomatic plates on 6th Street (Friday)

• S'MAC is now open until 5 a.m. on weekends (Friday)

• iSouvlaki Greek Grill on tap for 139 E. 12th St. (Tuesday)

• Police looking for 5 suspects in robbery inside building near 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

• NYPD officer pinned between vehicles during traffic stop on Houston and Avenue D (Tuesday)

• Bites of Xi'an looking to make its mark on 10th Street (Wednesday)

• Evening Dew Spa rides off into the sunset on 9th Street (Thursday)

• A random appreciation: the Immaculate Conception Church on 14th Street (Monday)

• Citi Bike docking station arrives on 12th Street at Avenue C (Tuesday)

• Room rental of the day (Monday)

... and a random sunrise photo along Avenue A today...



---

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

Retirement road

On Friday, Chief of Housing James "Jimmy" Secreto retired after 40 years with the NYPD.

And he chose NYPD Police Service Area 4 on Avenue C at Eighth Street for his sign-out ceremony.

EVG contributor Stacie joy shared these photos of his retirement ride, this vintage Plymouth ...





Police Service Area 4 serves 25 New York City Housing Authority developments in the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th precincts in Manhattan.

Saturday afternoon's rainbow spectacular

For a moment around 3:45 this afternoon... the above shot is from Avenue A... and a few other vantage points... via Salim...



... and Jeanne Krier...



... and @TimHayesNYC...

This East Village view greets visitors to new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York

"Collecting New York's Stories: Stuyvesant to Sid Vicious" opened this past week at the Museum of the City of New York.

Per the museum, the exhibit "features highlights drawn from the hundreds of additions to the Museum’s permanent collection over the past three years, running the gamut from the colonial era to the recent past. A gallery of historic and contemporary photographs, currently open, showcases works by both well-known and emerging artists..."

As Lindsay Turley, vice president of collections at the museum, told Gothamist: the exhibit gives people the opportunity to see how New Yorkers have interacted with a city changing "physically, culturally, economically, and aesthetically over more than the past century."

East Village-based photographer Sally Davies has three shots on display. However, her photo titled "Rearview" is the image that greets visitors outside the museum on Fifth Avenue and at the start of the exhibit...



"I had no idea that they were going to use my image to represent the whole show," Davies said via email. "I was absolutely gobsmacked at that 12-foot reproduction that greets you as you walk in... lucky me."

The photo, from 2018, is officially titled "Rearview, From My Apartment on East 5th Street."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by sally davies (@sallydaviesphoto) on Jan 22, 2020 at 10:34am PST

The show remains up until Dec. 31. The museum is at 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd Street. It's open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Things to do on the Bowery this weekend

On the Bowery at Fourth Street...

Throw your phone at this sign as hard as you possibly can.

See don't you feel better now?

Photo by Vinny & O, who did not throw their phones at the sign.

Today in vehicles with diplomatic plates on 6th Street

Thanks to Salim for this photo between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Updated: Thanks to the commenter — this is the Mercedes G63 6×6 AMG featuring six-wheel drive running on 5.5L, 536-hp, 561-lb-ft twin-turbo DOHC 32-valve V-8 AMG engine. The vehicle has five electronic differential locks, which can deliver 100% lockup of all six wheels, operated by three switches on the dashboard. (I cut-n-paste that from Wikipedia!)