Thursday, June 25, 2020

A second look at Phase II dining in the East Village


[Casa Adela, Avenue C]

Phase 2 is in full swing, with bars and restaurants with the proper permits OK'd to serve food and drinks on newly created sidewalk and street spaces. (Dining inside is still off limits.)

We looked at a few of the outdoor dining options Tuesday... EVG contributor Stacie Joy checked out more of the newly deputized open spaces around the neighborhood, from cafes adding a table or two out front to artificial turf on the street ...


[Lavagna, 5th Street]


[Nowon, 6th Street]


[B&H Dairy, 2nd Avenue]


[Kafana, Avenue C]


[Takahachi, Avenue A]


[Lower East Side Coffee Shop, 14th Street]


[Khiladi, Avenue B at 11th Street]


[Il Posto Accanto, 2nd Street]


[Cortadito, 3rd Street]


[Supper, 2nd Street]


[KC Gourmet Empanadas, Avenue B]


[Hibachi Express Dumplings, 14th Street]


[Au Za’atar, Avenue A at 12th Street]


[San Loco, Avenue C]


[Buenos Aires, 6th Street]


[Gnocco, above and below, 10th Street]




[C&B Cafe, 7th Street]


[Westville East, Avenue A at 11th Street]


[Desi Galli, Avenue B]


[Lil' Frankie's, 1st Avenue]


[Veselka, 2nd Avenue at 9th Street]

A moment in the sunrise



Two views of this morning's sun show... top photo looking toward the Con Ed building on 14th Street is from Jeanne Krier... and the below shot is toward the Christodora House on Avenue B...



And some have claimed to see a face in the clouds...

Activity at the former Eleven Consignment Boutique



There was activity yesterday inside Eleven Consignment Boutique on First Avenue and 11th Street... site of a long legal battle between former business partners and owners.

The high-end used clothing and accessories store shuttered without any warning some time in late November or early December, angering customers who had items for sale inside. (Ditto for the Park Slope location.)

Someone said to be a court-appointed receiver was inside the still-stocked EV shop yesterday, continuing the claims procedure process. (This after apparently kicking in the front glass?)


[Photo yesterday by Lola Saénz]



As the Post reported in early January, a lawsuit among partners was to blame for the sudden closure.

Elizabeth Murphy, who ran the business with her husband Ben Malik Marambiri, said they were forced to turn it over to former partners, Kisito Mone and Romeo Hien, after years of litigation, which included allegations of breach of contract and misappropriation of money, finally ended in June [2019].

Murphy says Mone didn’t want to put in the work to run the businesses.

And Mone's reaction?

Mone denied the business was turned over to him, although he said he returned the keys to Murphy and Karambiri’s new lawyer, Rania Sedhom.

Sedhom said she gave the keys to a representative of the court-appointed receiver who was named to oversee the stores’ assets.

By the looks of it, that court-appointed receiver is on the job.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Eleven Consignment Boutique closes, leaving customers without their resale items

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen is open this summer


[File photo by Stacie Joy]

With all the attention on the Phase 2 outdoor dining at the moment... a quick note about Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen.

The no-frills (in a good way!) basement cafe, which generates income for the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Seventh Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for takeout.

Check out Streecha's Instagram account for ordering details...


Streecha is at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Wednesday's parting shot



Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

EVG Etc.: Primary results; fireworks crackdown


[On the Bowery]

• Preliminary results from the 2020 NY Primary (Gothamist)

• State's takeout cocktail law expires this weekend, causing more worry for bars-restaurants (Eater)

• Mayor turns alternate-side parking into a once-a-week affair (Streetsblog)

• City cracking down on illegal fireworks (ABC 7)

• Speaking of ...: Details on this year's Macy's July 4 Fireworks Show (NBC 4)

• NYC's rent-stabilized apartments receive one-year rent freeze (Curbed)

... and earlier this month, the Post reported that Avraham Adler, who had been accused of hosting sex parties in a townhouse rental on Seventh Street, had been charged with assaulting his girlfriend and taken into custody. (Previously on EVG.)

Over the weekend, neighbors here between Avenue B and Avenue C saw people removing furniture from the house, packed up in both a rental truck and dumpster (h/t Dave on 7th!)...



Checking in on Anwar Grocery



Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Anwar Hossein has owned and operated the Anwar Grocery, 106 Avenue B, since 2005.



He and his family live upstairs here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. Hossein previously owned two other stores in the neighborhood — A&H Grocery at 204 Avenue A and Ahn Newsstand and Candy store at 500 E. 12th St., both long shuttered.

Hossein says that things are difficult for the shop right now, that the lease expired this past December and that they’ve been in court with the landlord, all of which is on hold due to COVID-19-related closures. He and his family hope that they are able to hold onto the store.

We recently took a look at the grocery after it was burglarized in early June during a rash of overnight break-ins. He has also reported at least one daytime robbery since then. He stresses that things are getting bad again, he says, like they used to be.

He shows me the paperwork from when he was shot twice at his other grocery. (Surgeons had to amputate his pinky toe after a bullet shattered it during a robbery.)



The old-school-style shop has some unusual selections for your shopping needs, such as DVD copies of a Nickelback concert, blank TDK cassette tapes and VHS videotapes.

If you dig, you can also find religious amulets, sombreros, school supplies plus the usual selections of refreshments. The times I visited, Bollywood was on repeat on the TV up front. Anwar's is definitely the last of its kind in this neighborhood, and well worth a visit...












Renovations at Atlas Cafe



Updated 11 a.m.: Ownership says that they are renovating, per Derek Berg. Headline changed to reflect that.

Atlas Cafe has been dark throughout the COVID-19 pause. Yesterday, someone put the contents from the mostly-empty restaurant out on the curb here on Second Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street...



The Atlas phone number is no longer in service... and the website is offline.

The restaurant, which serves reliable vegan (and non-vegan) menu items with a Moroccan vibe, first opened in 1999.

H/T Lola Saénz!

Today is the last day for the Essex Card Shop before a move up the block



Essex Card Shop closes after today at its longtime home at 39 Avenue A... ahead of a move less than a block away to between Third Street and Fourth Street...



As previously noted, the eclectic shop is moving one block to the north to the now-vacant storefront at 47 Avenue A (the former Essex 99-Cent Store owned by the same folks).

We also noted how much we liked the shop's sign and pleasantly cluttered exterior.

The storefront has also caught the fancy of local artists, including Delphine le Goff ...



... and Joel Holland ...



As for the sign, a shop regular says that the owners are keeping the sign, but it likely won't be hanging above the new location.

Ralph’s is hiring on Avenue A



As first noted back in early March, an outpost of Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream is coming to 145 Avenue A and Ninth Street.

And this location is hiring... kind of difficult to see, but there is a handwritten sign on the front window with an email address to use if you're interested in a job here (RalphsIcesEastVillage@gmail.com)...



The business dates to 1928 when Ralph Silvestro started selling Italian ice (or water ice) from his truck around Staten Island. The first retail store opened in 1949 on Port Richmond Avenue in Staten Island. In recent years the company has franchised out, expanding to other parts of NYC as well as Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester County.

No word on an opening date yet for Ralph's, which takes over the storefront from Gelarto.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Tuesday's parting shot



A familiar summer scene on 10th Street near Avenue A ... thanks to the reader for the photo!