Checking out the new International Center of Photography at Essex Crossing

The International Center of Photography (ICP) opened in its new four-story home in Essex Crossing on Jan. 25.

I finally had the chance to check out the space (I missed the media preview!) at 79 Essex St. between Delancey and Broome the other evening.

The four opening exhibits, with links to their descriptions, are:

• Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good

• CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

• James Coupe: Warriors

• The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection

And here are a few random photos of the photos and exhibits...













The space is much better suited to the work than its rather unwelcoming home of a few years on the Bowery, which featured dimly light basement galleries. The new building reunites the ICP school and library, and will also offer public programming. (A cafe is coming soon too.)

The current exhibits are up through May 18. The ICP is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (to 9 p.m. on Thursdays). They are closed on Tuesdays. You can find admission price and other details at this link.

Curb alert! Your chance to score free items from the now-closed Obscura Antiques and Oddities

Mike Zohn, co-owner of the now-closed Obscura Antiques and Oddities, is cleaning out the basement of the shop at 207 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

This afternoon (Monday, Feb. 17), he'll be putting out a few items on the curb for anyone to take. Up for grabs: Some folding chairs from Cafe Pick Me Up, a 2015 Avenue A casualty.

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

Sunday's parting shot

King of the hill today in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg...

Week in Grieview

[Table to go via Derek Berg]

Posts from this past week include...

Updating: FDNY battling 3-alarm fire on the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Monday) Fire-damaged Via Della Pace unsure about reopening on 7th Street; Cafe Mocha in bad shape (Wednesday)

Dun-Well Doughnuts is done with St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Things that go boom in the night: As Bush Tetras prepare for their 40th anniversary show (Friday)

A Visit to Stanton Street Yoga (Tuesday)

For now, both entrances to the 1st Avenue L-train station are located at Avenue A (Saturday)

Japanese variety store Teso Life coming to the former St. Mark's Market space (Thursday)

Houston House shapes up on East Houston Street (Thursday)

Window watch: 11 Avenue C (Wednesday)

Another look at the incoming tech hub (Monday)

It is alive: Bait & Hook is returning — under new management (Tuesday)

Village Crêperie coming soon to 9th and A (Monday)

Openings: Strings Ramen on 2nd Avenue (Monday) Openings: Lovenburg on 6th Street (Monday)

Promoting the Stokes on 2nd Avenue (Sunday)

... and as previously reported, the Duane Reade by Walgreens on Third Avenue at 10th Street closes on March 2...



Ahead of that, the Hair Color section has already been cleared out...



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Last day for Dun-Well Doughnuts on St. Mark's Place

[Photo by Steven]

Dun-Well Doughnuts concludes its three-plus-year run today at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

As we first reported on Tuesday, the vegan doughnut purveyors decided to shut down this outpost to work on other areas of the Dun-Well business.

Here's the official announcement on Instagram:

In order to focus upon new endeavors at our flagship Brooklyn location and to expand our wholesale operations, we have decided to close our St. Mark's location this month. This is a bittersweet decision as we have loved being part of the St. Mark's community over the past few years. We hope you’ll continue to support us as we move into our next chapter!

Dun-Well can now be found in almost 20 NYC locations including several Whole Foods Markets and cafes throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens and we plan to expand our reach to bring our doughnuts to an even larger community.

Christopher Hollowell and Dan Dunbar opened the first Dun-Well in East Williamsburg in 2011. They debuted on St. Mark's in July 2016, shuttling in fresh doughnuts daily from their Montrose Avenue HQ.

The posted hours today are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., though you should likely get there sooner rather than later...

Saturday's parting shot

A scene on Union Square today via Derek Berg ...

For now, both entrances to the 1st Avenue L-train station are located at Avenue A

The L train's new Avenue A north entrance — for Eighth Avenue-bound commuters — opened this past Monday.

For the next few months, you'll need to use the Avenue A entrances for all L-train action. (The Brooklyn-bound side arrived this past Nov. 4 at Avenue A.)

This morning, workers boarded up the north entrance at First Avenue.



This side is expected to be closed for repairs until May.



The south side entrance at First Avenue is expected to reopen in April...



Once the MTA complete the First Avenue entrances, the ones at Avenue A will close again so workers can add the finishing touches. No word just yet from the MTA about when all four entrances — two at First Avenue and two at Avenue A — will all be accessible at the same time.

When all the construction is wrapped up, the revamped 14th Street First Avenue station will have four entrances — including the two on either side of 14th Street at Avenue A as well as two new platform-to-street ADA elevators that will be ready for use this summer. (Find more details on this MTA advisory.)

Noted

ICYMI: Someone turned the fixed bollards on Houston at Orchard into Hershey Kisses for Valentine's Day...





I recall this happening here in previous years as well...

A 'Red' letter day

NYC's own Pom Pom Squad dropped a timely new single yesterday for "Red With Love." There's a video too ⬆️

resolve

resolve

we are just a shadow

cast across life

all that does disturb us

heartbreak and strife

all our assumptions

getting in our way

let us become the light

a shadowless day

would it be enough

to love another

is that enrichment or bluff

loving yourself is harder

taking a greater time

self forgiving ardor

becoming the one

that you love

•

peter radley

EVG Etc.: NYC's pink buildings; Fiona Silver's 'Hot Tears'

[Valentine's eve on 3rd and A]

• Study finds that the rate of poverty in NYC remained eight points above the national average (Gothamist ... Fast Company)

• Opposition to the proposed Hotel Special Permit Requirement for the area south of Union Square (CityLand ... Village Preservation)

• Behind the scenes at Veselka (6sqft)

• A feature on residents who live in pink buildings, including at 218 E. Fifth St. (The Post)

• Looking at the architectural cherubs in the East Village (Off the Grid)

• Local singer-songwriter Fiona Silver has a new EP out today (Official site) Watch her new video for "Hot Tears" here.

• Amelia and Christo work on filling the nest (Laura Goggin Photography)

• The ongoing Director's Cup series at the Village East includes "The Big Lebowski," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Do the Right Thing" (Official site)

• And depending on your mood, the Quad is offering up "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" and "Sid and Nancy" tonight for Valentine's (Official site)

• The newish Wegmans in Brooklyn now offering delivery to parts of Manhattan (NBC New York)

• Remembering Punk magazine’s “Patti Smith Graffiti Contest” from 1976 (Dangerous Minds)

... and the newest attraction in Tompkins Square Park — a (at-the-time steaming) compost pile that arrived yesterday...


[Photo by Derek Berg]


[Photo by Steven]

Things that go boom in the night: As Bush Tetras prepare for their 40th anniversary show

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

There’s another band practicing in Rivington Music Rehearsal Studios at 188 Stanton St., Room 3 on Friday night at 6, which is when NYC legends Bush Tetras are supposed to begin their own two-hour rehearsal.

The four members of Bush Tetras are prepping for their upcoming 40th anniversary show at le Poisson Rouge on Feb. 21 with 75 Dollar Bill opening.

The post-punk no-wave band, with roots in the East Village, is Dee Pop, Val Opielski, Cynthia Sley and Pat Place. While waiting for the room to open up they decide to sign a copy of their 2018 album Take the Fall.





I get a sneak peek at the big show’s potential setlist before Dee alerts the current members of Room 3 that they are officially over time.



Once inside, Cynthia sets up some percussion instruments on a shelf and tosses down a pack of cough drops while Pat tries out her new guitar strap and sets up her foot pedals. Val takes off her shoes and pads around the space barefoot setting up her much-loved bass, which she tells me she once left on the subway accidentally (it was returned!). Dee peels some tape off the drum kit to help Cynthia hold up the show flow and they all settle in to start the business of rehearsal.


[Cynthia Sley]


[Dee Pop]


[Pat Place]


[Val Opielski]

The space is tiny, and the time is limited so after snapping some shots (and one quickie video clip of “Snakes Crawl”) I head out. Room 3 isn’t soundproofed, so I get to hear the band as I walk toward the front door, stopping to take a photo of the band’s RMRS portrait, which hangs in the hallway.









You can keep up with the band at this link. And you can hear them live on WFMU's The Evan "Funk" Davies Show next Wednesday night at 9.

Thursday's parting shot

Counter view at Veselka via Rainer Turim...

Japanese variety store Teso Life coming to the former St. Mark's Market space

[Photo by Steven]

Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, has signed a lease to open an outpost at 19-23 St. Mark's Place. The shop will be located in the former St. Mark's Market, which closed here this past October between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Per the Teso Life Instagram account, the shop "offers the widest selection of quality accessories, beauty and lifestyle products from Japan."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Teso Life (@tesolife) on Sep 10, 2019 at 10:46am PDT

This will be the fourth NYC location for Teso Life. And they'll have some nearby completion with Kosumosu, which sells Japanese beauty and health-care products at 37 St. Mark's Place. (It took over the space from the like-minded Shibuyala, which left after less than a year.)

As for No. 19-23, St. Mark's Market opened in 2003 in the mall-like building that replaced layers of history at the address that included the Dom, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (featuring the Velvet Underground as the house band) and the Electric Circus.



Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Market is dead

Houston House shapes up on East Houston Street

Construction at the Houston House, 298 E. Second St. just west of Avenue D, continues...



There's a lot more information about the 8-story condplex — "inspired by environmentally friendly passive house standards" — at the HH website since our last visit.

For instance:

Interiors were designed to maximize space and natural light, and many of the units have dramatic, unobstructed views of One WTC and Lower Manhattan. Amenities include breathtaking views, part-time doorman, a state-of-the-art Butterfly Mx virtual doorman system, bicycle storage, and a package room.

Each apartment boasts private outdoor space and an array of high-end fixtures and finishes. Specific features include private keyed elevator access, gorgeous wide plank hardwood floors, triple glazed floor-to-ceiling windows with northern and southern exposure, high ceilings, Energy Recovery Ventilator Systems, Miele washers/dryers with heat-pump technology, and stunning kitchens equipped with eat-in peninsulas, statuary quartz countertops, a matching backsplash, custom Italian cabinetry, pantry space by ALTA, and a suite of fully-integrated Miele appliances.

A new East Houston landmark, Houston House is just steps from numerous parks and public gardens and a continually evolving collection of restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops. It is close to the brand new Essex Crossing development, and is a short walk to the East River Promenade...

Another time we'll note the "evolving collection of restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops" that are "just steps" from this building.

HH features several floor-through units with either two or three bedrooms. The one residence listed online starts at $2.8 million. There are interior renderings galore at the site.

As for the outside ...


[Zakrzewski + Hyde Architects]

This property was most recently the Houston Street Beer Distributors. The parcel fetched a little more than $7 million in the fall of 2015, per public records.

Houston House will have a new neighbor one of these days. Construction started in the empty lot next door back in November on a 14-story affordable housing complex. The building will include 45 rental apartments affordable to low and middle-income New Yorkers.

Previously on EV Grieve:
298 E. 2nd St. latest development site up for grabs

East Village now minus 2 beverage distributors

Something brewing (demolition) for former beer distributor on East 2nd Street


[Photo from August 2016]

A new tenant for 157 2nd Ave.?

[Photo by Steven]

There are hints of activity at the rather beleaguered restaurant space at 157 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

The for rent sign has been removed... and paper now covers the front windows. We haven't heard any info on a new tenant just yet.

As noted in previous posts on No. 157, this has been a challenging space to make work for any length of time.

Last August, the Marshal seized Savor Por Favor, the Mexican restaurant-bar that opened in October 2018. The previous tenant, Yuan, which shut down in July 2018, also didn't make it to a 1-year anniversary.

Before Yuan, Biang! — the sit-down Chinese restaurant via Xi'an Famous Foods owner Jason Wang — closed in March 2017 after 15 months in business.

The previous tenant, Wylie Dufresne's bistro Alder, called it quits after two-and-a-half years at the end of August 2015. (There was a rumored rent increase, per Eater.) Other recent restaurants here (before 2013) included Plum and Cafe Brama.

Would be nice if the new venture lasted more than a few months...

Noted

Today in sad discarded flat-screen TVs on Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg

'David Vega’s East Village'

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Solas Studio-Liam Cotter Photo (@solasstudionyc) on Jan 24, 2020 at 8:02am PST

An EVG reader just shared this with me... The Solas Studio, 117 E. 24th St. (2nd floor) between Lexington and Park, is presenting a 1980s photo exhibit titled "David Vega’s East Village."

The opening is tomorrow (Feb. 13) night from 6-8. Otherwise, the exhibit is open by appointment from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays until March 13.

The exhibit coincides with a new book of his photography, "Look Back East Village 1984-1987."

And a few of his 1980s photos ...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Solas Studio-Liam Cotter Photo (@solasstudionyc) on Jan 21, 2020 at 8:02am PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Solas Studio-Liam Cotter Photo (@solasstudionyc) on Jan 14, 2020 at 8:00am PST

Fire-damaged Via Della Pace unsure about reopening on 7th Street; Cafe Mocha in bad shape

[Photos yesterday by Steven]

A day after the three-alarm fire tore through 48 E. Seventh St. at Second Avenue, residents and business owners faced the grim task of assessing the damage.

The owners of Via Della Pace on Seventh Street posted this message on Instagram about their very uncertain future:

We are deeply saddened that our restaurant, Via Della Pace, was involved in a fire yesterday. Everything was completely destroyed, and we were unable to salvage our precious items. We are holding onto the good memories of serving our wonderful clients and will always remember the fun times we shared over a good meal.

As of now, we are unsure whether we will continue with our restaurant business. We will keep you updated, and we are so thankful for your support and love.

The rustic Italian cafe opened in 2001.

Meanwhile, on the corner, Cafe Mocha, which opened in 2008, looks to be in bad shape with extensive water damage...









[Updated 5 p.m.] The restaurant, with a sidewalk cafe that draws a crowd in warm-weather months, posted this update to its website:

Due to a fire above Cafe Mocha we will be temporarily closed while we assess the severe damages. For our neighbors and customers, we appreciate your loyalty all these years. We remain hopeful that we will reopen to continue serving our friends and families.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries. None of the residents were said to be injured. One tenant of the building said on an EVG Facebook post that "all tenants and animals are safe and sound."