Lois will close on Sunday with hopes of reopening in the spring

Lois, the low-key wine bar at 98 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, will close on Sunday... with plans to return in the spring of 2021. 

Owners Nora O'Malley and Phoebe Connell discussed the decision in an Instagram post:

We've had a blast the last few months, hanging with you on our "patio." If you've dined with us this summer, you know that we've changed a few things while still trying to keep the Lois vibe alive, and, most important, all of our Lois family safe and happy.

After careful consideration, we've decided that indoor dining as it stands today does not meet our standards of safety, so we will be closing for the winter to regroup. Hopefully that will put us in a position to come back in the spring for outdoor dining.

Let's be honest, things are changing every day and no one knows how they're going to change next. We understand that @mayordiblasio and @nygovcuomo believe that year round outdoor dining + 25% indoor can save this industry, but the reality is much more complex.

We are truly a small business, and we currently do not have the financial resources to upgrade our ventilation system or build private igloos. We support every incredible operator in this city, however they choose to run their businesses — this is simply our reality.

 We deeply hope that we’re able to return again in the spring, and dreaming of drinking with you again is what will get us through the winter, but the reality is that we just aren’t sure. That’s as transparent as we can be with all of you who have made the past 5.5 years a dream come true. Please come out and help us say so long, not farewell.

Lois opened in March 2015... Grub Street named it one of the neighborhood's best bars in 2016. 

Image via the Lois Facebook page. H/T Vinny & O!

The UPS Store delivers a grand opening on 1st Avenue

Oh, and the UPS Store (aka store #7339!) is now open at 108 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (First menitoned back on Aug. 18.)

This outpost is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week, with shorter weekend hours (8-6 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday). 

Until March 2018, this storefront next to the McDonald's had been a chronically empty Subway® (sandwich shop) for six years. 

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

City Gourmet Cafe has not been open lately

An addition to yesterday's post-PAUSE status check.

Word from 14th Street regulars is that City Gourmet Cafe has closed here at 238 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

There hasn't been any official notice about a closure, though the phone is out of service. 

City Gourmet Cafe opened back 1989, and had been a reliable spot for all-day breakfast, smoothies, sandwiches and Middle Eastern staple like lamb shawarma. 

(H/T Pinch!)

Grant Shaffer's NY See

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 NYC ... and, more recently, observations on current events...

Documenting 166 Avenue A through the years

I always enjoy receiving correspondence from Anton van Dalen, the artist who has lived on Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street for decades. Here's the latest dispatch:

Sending you photos of our home at 166 Avenue A, of its over the years evolving facade appearance. The photos cover a span of now almost 50 years of my observing and documenting our neighborhood.

Came to this address in 1971. Before we lived at 123 Rivington St. near the corner of Essex Street.

Initially I just watched and listened to the street life, its sidewalk theater with joyous salsa music. It was not the New World that I had imagined as child growing up in Holland — no streets here paved with gold. Rather streets paved by the colors of many cultures. 

On first arrival our new home looked abandoned, hardened by history, burned out house next door. And by contrast, a storefront church on the other side, often crowded with multigenerational Puerto Rican families. 

Today our Puerto Rican community is marginal, as neighborhood's demographics radically changed. As my below succession of photos illustrate, the creeping ongoing gentrification of our neighborhood.

I consider myself a documentarian of the East Village, yet I am a participant and spectator to its evolution. Began documenting my street surroundings in 1975, urged on by wanting to note and remember these lives. Came to realize I had to embrace wholeheartedly, with pencil in hand, my streets with its raw emotions. 

Also the everywhere discarded bloody heroin needles on sidewalks stunned and urged on my thinking. The drug dealers, the junkies, the police, the firefighters, were then the unquestioned royalty of our neighborhood. 

Then came hopeful efforts by gardeners in garbage-strewn abandoned lots, squatters, community organizers. They were able to redirect our devastated neighborhood toward again being a community for many. 

So my documenting became more and more informed by the stories of my neighbors' acts of activism. And a commitment on my part to be true to those lives, of their raw heartfelt emotions, birthed on the street. 

Their truth telling kept my work honest, brought authenticity to my documentation, so critically important. That my work needed to join the raw birth, speak for, this sad beauty born on our streets, and not to forget.

Postscript:

One of Anton's drawings, titled "Street Woman on Car" (1977) and posted at the top, has been acquired by the Whitney. That drawing is included in a show there now titled "Around Day's End: Downtown New York, 1970-1986." This exhibit closes on Nov. 1.

Anton is pictured below with the exhibit's curators, Laura Phipps (left) and Christie Mitchell (photo by Grace Keir).

And details on the drawing: "Street Woman on Car" (1977). Graphite pencil on paper, sheet: 22 3/4 × 29in. (57.8 × 73.7 cm). Purchased with funds from the Drawing Committee 2016/7. © Anton van Dalen

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Anton van Dalen, drawing in isolation

Post-PAUSE status check

Seven months have passed since Gov. Cuomo's PAUSE order went into effect on March 22.

By late June, bars and restaurants were allowed to launch sidewalk and curbside dining. (And bars had to start serving a "substantive" meal.) By late September, these establishments could start serving indoors — at 25-percent capacity.

Many bars and restaurants have had to close permanently, with dwindling revenues, scant clarity and leadership from elected officials and city agencies and, in some cases, unforgiving landlords. We've documented many of these closings.

However, there are still many places that remain closed — perhaps continuing to wait it out ... or having closed without making the news public.

The following list features places that EVG readers have specifically asked about in recent weeks/months. It's not meant to be a comprehensive rundown of every bar-restaurant currently not open in the neighborhood. 

This list also doesn't mean a closure is permanent. (The Library, for instance, continues to be active on Instagram, looking forward to days ahead.)

• A & C Kitchen, Avenue C

• Bar Veloce, Second Avenue (above)

• The Belfry, 14th Street

• Blue & Gold, Seventh Street

• Brindle Room, 10th Street

• Champion Coffee, 14th Street

• City of Saints Coffee, 10th Street

• Crocodile Lounge, 14th Street

• d.b.a., First Avenue

• Doc Holliday's, Avenue A

• Double Down Saloon, Avenue A

• Drexler's, Avenue A

• Drop Off Service, Avenue A

• Drunken Dumpling, First Avenue (Google says permanently closed)

• Finnerty's, Second Avenue

• The Library, Avenue A

• Little Poland, Second Avenue

• Madame Vo BBQ, Second Avenue (Madame Vo is open on 10th Street)

• Milano's, East Houston

• Nostro, Second Avenue 

• Paper Daisy, St. Mark's Place

• Prune, First Street

• San Marzano, Seventh Street 

• Thirsty Scholar, Second Avenue

• Tile Bar, First Avenue

• 310 Bowery, the Bowery

• Tom & Jerry's, Elizabeth Street

• Williamsburg Pizza, 14th Street (other locations are open)

There's another Avenue B flea on Saturday

Back by popular demand! Local residents and business owners will come together again on Saturday for a neighborhood stoop sale... happening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Avenue B from 10th Street to 13th Street. 

Once again, you can expect to find some handmade jewelry, books, records, vintage clothing, etc. This link has the full list of vendors. (And yes — I ❤️ ANARCHIST JURISDICTION NYC will be selling t-shirts.)

The first Avenue B flea was held on Oct. 10. You can check out Stacie Joy's photos from the afternoon right here.

Openings: All The King's Horses Cafe on 12th Street

All the King's Horses Cafe made its debut yesterday at 521 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The cafe is currently serving Partners Coffee as well as pastries from King Street Baking Co. in Brooklyn and Balthazar. 

Next spring, the owner has plans to expand the cafe service into the space next door. 

For now, the hours are Tuesday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an 8 a.m. start on weekends. You can find their Instagram account here.

Noted

And some people worry about bike lanes...

Lucy's is back open on Avenue A

Blanche’s Lucy’s Tavern — aka Lucy’s — reopened last week here at 135 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. 

Proprietor Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius had been on her usual late-summer hiatus (though slightly longer this time around)... EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the other night and found Lucy stationed behind the bar...

... and assisted by Luke, who was helping distribute the variety of new food offerings, including sandwiches, pizza and mini-croissants (Lucy also really likes deviled eggs!) ...

Lucy says that she's thrilled to be back ... and she plans on being open at the mandated 25-percent capacity daily from 5-11 p.m. ... oh, and no pool for now...

Best Price Deli & Grocery closes on Sunday, and they can use some help emptying the store

As reported last week, Best Price Deli & Grocery is closing here on the southeast corner of First Avenue at 12th Street. Sunday is their last day after 15 years in business.

An EVG reader and Best Price regular shared this about the situation at the shop:

They’re an awesome grocery with great owners and staff and will be very missed!

Everything is currently buy one, get one free, which you can’t beat. The — very unreasonable on all fronts of the situation — landlord has told them they want the place completely empty when they move out, which means they not only need to get rid of the inventory but also the shelves and fixtures, 

So here's a shoutout to help them clear their stock and maybe find a new home for their shelving, counters, refrigerators, etc. They will need to trash anything that is left over, which is not only wasteful but also costly for them when they’re already getting the short end of a shitty stick.

About the Mask-Querade event on 7th Street Halloween afternoon

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality company is hosting a socially distanced Trick-or-Treat Halloween festival for children ages 12 and under. 

It's happening on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 2-4 p.m. on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

A few details via the EVG inbox...

Children accompanied by a parent or guardian are invited to trick or treat safely and socially distanced, with masks being required. Adults will be able to sit in designated viewing stations to watch children with complimentary mulled wine and spiced cider. 

Costumes are welcome, but not required. Masks and social distancing protocols will be enforced by volunteer community members as well as staggered entrance and exit times for participants.

We are looking for volunteers to hand out candy. If anyone is interested, then please send us an email at Speakup@OverthrowHospitality.com. 

DeRossi owns several restaurants on that block, including Avant Garden and Ladybird.  

Teso Life signage arrives on St. Mark's Place; T-swirl Crêpe makes an EV return

As we first reported back in February, Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, signed a lease to open an outpost at 19-23 St. Mark's Place. And yesterday, the temp signage arrived here 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.

Meanwhile, next door, signage also arrived for a familiar name: T-swirl Crêpe ...

The Crêpesters previously had a spot on 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. That outpost — part of a small chain with multiple NYC locations — never reopened after the PAUSE. T-swirl will also be sharing part of the space of the former St. Mark's Market, which closed here in October 2019. 

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

2 new floors for 21-23 Avenue B

You've likely noticed the gut-renovating action taking place at 21-23 Avenue B in recent months.

Workers are adding two new floors to the existing structure here between Second Street and Third Street, as the rendering on the plywood sort of shows...

Documents filed with the Department of Buildings show approved permits (dated July 1) to "split existing old law tenement building into two separate buildings."

The approved work permits also show that the residential space for No. 21 and 23 — to feature seven units in each building — will increase to 6,300 square feet (condos?)...  In total, there will be 2,000 square feet for commercial tenants.

According to public records, Icon Realty picked up the properties in the fall of 2018 for $10.3 million.

Beetle mania: Tim Burton-themed bar-restaurant expands on 6th Street

Beetle House, the Tim Burton-themed bar-restaurant on Sixth Street, is expanding its footprint here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Reps for the place virtually appeared before the CB3-SLA committee on Monday night. According to the questionnaire on file at the CB3 website, Beetle House will move into the adjacent space at the address.

Zach Neil opened Beetlehouse in 2016 ... and later expanded in other markets (Los Angeles, New Orleans). 

Beetlehouse has been closed since the PAUSE went into effect in March. However, their Instagram account promises that they "will be open by Halloween."

This expansion also officially marks the end of Cherin Sushi N Ramen's time at the address. They had been closed since March as well.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• 'Merica dream fades as Zerza returns to 6th Street

Tuesday's parting shot

All dressed up... in Tompkins Square Park today via Derek Berg...

Reader mailbag: What to do about the dog that barks all day long

 Via the EVG inbox...

In the past few weeks there has been a dog (possibly dogs) that has been barking loudly, early, and all day from the shared courtyard toward the west side of the block between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place ... and First Avenue and Second Avenue.

It's a courtyard that is highly audible to everyone in the surrounding buildings, and people yelling outside the window haven't stopped whatever person is leaving their dog outside all day. 

Has anyone else had this problem, or know what can be done to help? Without a specific address or knowing which building is providing the courtyard access, there's no real way to report to the city through 311. Any neighborhood help is appreciated.

Image via Emojipedia!

Another mission to feed those in need in the neighborhood

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

With a healthy budget this time around ($972 donated entirely from EVG readers) combined with a more focused and streamlined setup, the anonymous restaurateur couple set out to feed and provide clothing and personal-care items to 72 of our neighbors without fixed addresses. 

Shying away from increased media attention, the couple had caught the eye of the local NBC News affiliate, though ultimately deciding to turn down the coverage in order to focus on the mission, which is helping others and not drawing the spotlight onto themselves. 

A lot had been learned from all the previous missions (here, here and here), and a better sense of how to shop, source, and set-up the service had been crafted. 

The family knew where to go and what items might be most needed. They learned how to best approach people, preserving their dignity, and how to best get assistance (harm-reduction supplies like an opioid-overdose-reversal kit) to those who may benefit. 

They learned to ask people what they may want for lunch, to approach it from a service offering rather than forcing food on them.

And with that knowledge a clearer sense of who might not be receptive to the delivering of meals and goods from the vehicle. 

The couple knew who may need some of the special stock of goods kept to the side (dog food, extra pineapple juice and cookies for those with a desire for sugar), women’s clothes and personal-hygiene kits for the women who had approached us, red-faced, before asking for underwear, bras and sanitary pads. 

When this recent day of service was completed, the couple told me they might need to recalibrate, streamline and look in the future for a way to partner with more people in the city and community to help. 

These projects are time-consuming and between planning, sourcing, shopping, prepping, cooking, assembling, packaging and serving it takes a lot out of the team. This run includes a special shout-out to Leslie Feinberg at Subject for baking 72 individually wrapped cookies, to Christopher Pugliese at Tompkins Square Bagels for making bagel chips to accompany the couple’s hummus dip, and EV Loves NYC for the gift of individual hand sanitizers sprays for the personal-care kits. 

Says the couple: "Desperation is increasing, more folks needing food, and are asking for money, food and supplies as more people lose work, their homes. The need is growing, and the situation is only going to increase."

Former Hotel Tortuga space now slinging 99-cent slices on 14th Street

A 99-cent sliceria is up and running now at 246 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... the name appears to be 99¢ Pizza with a special board highlighting 99¢ pizza. 

This space was previously Hotel Tortuga, the inexpensive Mexican restaurant that bowed out at the start of 2020 after 10 years in business under two sets of owners.

AO Bowl signage arrives on St. Mark's Place

Workers put up the signage yesterday for AO Bowl, a quick-serve, plant-based Japanese restaurant specializing in acai and rice bowls and smoothies here at 131 First Ave. (aka 82 St. Mark's Place).

We first mentioned this arrival in July 2019 (previously going as 

Eiyō Bowl). The AO Instagram account lists an October 2020 opening.

Workers have gutted this single-level structure on the corner ... and dividing the storefront into three retail spaces. The other new tenant here will be the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop.

The previous occupant, Foot Gear Plus, closed in July 2018 at this time after nearly 40 years in business.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Previously on EV Grieve:
• After nearly 40 years, Foot Gear Plus is closing on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place

• What's next for 131 1st Ave., the former Foot Gear Plus space?

• A look at 131 1st Ave., currently being divided into 3 retail spaces

Report: Locals fear the 'crumbling' former P.S. 64

 

The Daily News reports that residents and local preservationists have concerns that the long-vacant P.S. 64 building — described as "crumbling" — on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C poses a threat to the community.

Per the News:

Village Preservation executive director Andrew Berman said the building’s sorry state resembles that of 729 Seventh Ave. in Midtown — now the center of a contentious lawsuit over the death of a woman struck by debris that fell some 15 stories from a crumbling façade.

“We don’t want another situation like [that], where a combination of owner and city neglect leaves a dangerous situation unaddressed and an innocent bystander suffers the consequences. Conditions at this building are ripe for just such a tragedy,” Berman said.

Carolyn Ratcliffe, the president of the 9 BC Tompkins Square Block Association, lives next door to the building. Dreading the possibility of an accident, she makes a point to always walk on the other side of the street when nearby.

And the response from landlord Gregg Singer?

His lawyer Nicole Epstein said comparing Singer’s sorry building to the Midtown tragedy was unfair, given that he’s built a sidewalk shed at the property. Neighbors complaining about its condition had also opposed Singer’s proposals to develop the property into college dorms, she noted.

“It’s quite ironic and hypocritical,” Epstein said.

On Feb. 6, 2019, the city evacuated adjacent buildings after discovering cracks at the onetime CHARAS/El Bohio community center ... and later issued a Full Vacate Order.

City inspectors eventually determined that the building was safe, but did issue a violation to Singer for failure to maintain the exterior facade, per Curbed. 

Singer told Curbed at the time: "It’s all political. This is part of a concerted effort to put pressure on us. I was just at the building. There's definitely cracks — that we were already aware of — that will be pointed and repaired, but there’s no immediate danger."

Singer, who bought the property from the city during an auction in 1998, has wanted to turn the building into a dorm called University Square. The DOB continues to maintain a Stop Work Order — dating to August 2015 — on the building. 

Monday's parting shot

The co-owner of Ibiza (and the landlord of the building) added some JFK memorabilia to the front window here at 321 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue... we're told he had this in the basement since the 1960s...

In sink

This lineup of portable sinks arrived this morning on Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... where a crew will be filming inside the New York Theatre Workshop for a few days ... the filming is for "Finster," and it's listed as a Netflix production. (Movie? Series? Anyone?)

Anyway, lots of handwashing options for the cast and crew... photo by Derek Berg.

Updated:

The filming is for "Tick, Tick... Boom!" — a musical drama film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson. The cast includes Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, Judith Light and Bradley Whitford.

A farewell parade through the East Village for Jack Finelli

On Saturday, friends and family came together to celebrate the life of longtime East Village resident Jack Finelli ... embarking on a tour of his favorite neighborhood places...

Joshua Weeks provided a snapshot of his father's life:

The East Village lost a longtime community member, John Robert ("Jack") Finelli, this past July. Jack was born Jan. 30, 1936, in Jackson Heights, Queens. He moved to the Lower East Side in 1968, where he stayed until September 2018.

With an accounting degree from New York University, Jack helped countless local residents and businesses with their taxes through tough times, including the famous Electric Circus, Whole Earth Bakery and the Theater for the New City. 

A lifelong student of health and spirituality, he traveled to Mexico and studied macrobiotics with pioneer Michio Kushi in 1983, and was known for making tofu in his East Fifth Street walk-up, where he lived for 43 years. Jack was also a lover of acting and music, and contributed to performances and workshops at many theaters and gardens around lower Manhattan. Jack helped produce the 2007 film "To My Great Chagrin" about his longtime friend, comedian Brother Theodore.

He was a beloved member of the De Colores and Campos community gardens, where he remained active until suffering a debilitating stroke in late 2018. Jack passed peacefully in his sleep on July 24, 2020. He is survived by his sister, Judith Finelli-Thomsen and his son, Joshua Weeks.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos...

Here are a few more photos courtesy of the De Colores Community Yard & Cultural Center on Eighth Street... including from outside Finelli's longtime apartment building on Fifth Street...