Sink your teeth into this new signage on Avenue A

As noted back in August, an outpost of Kids Dental is opening on Avenue A and Fourth Street... and this past weekend, the full-on storefront signage arrived... (not sure what font that is...)

Anyway, Kids Dental is what it sounds like — a dentist for kids (children! Not like Kids.) The practice also has outposts in Washington Heights and Bensonhurst. 

A Santander branch was here on the southwest corner until April 2018. Between full-time tenants, ChaShaMa — a nonprofit that partners with property owners for pop-up galleries — was using the space.

Rumba Bar & Grill announces itself on Avenue C

Workers put up the signage yesterday for Rumba Bar & Grill at 185 Avenue C.

The bar-restaurant with a Latin-influenced menu has been in the works for awhile here between 11th Street and 12th Street... we first mentioned it in September 2019 when the applicants, who also run Salome Latin Cuisine on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, were to appear before CB3.

With the arrival of the sign, it appears they are getting closer to opening.

There has been a lot of turnover in recent years at this address. The last tenant, Bar Taco, which closed in early 2019, took over the space from a short-lived venture called Malcriada, a "Latino Gastropub" ... which arrived after Kaz, another short-lived venture that lasted seven months.

Cafecito, the Cuban-style cafe, had a good run here, closing in early 2016 after 14 years in business.

Thanks to Vinny & O for the photo!

Monday's parting shot

An evening view of the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... thanks to Jeff for the photo!

Tile Bar returns

From the EVG tipline: Tile Bar is back open now at 115 First Ave. at Seventh Street... as you can see, there are several outdoor tables ... as well as a few seats available inside the open door...

Last night's high winds damage outdoor dining spaces on St. Mark's Place

Given the gale-force winds last night (and that rare tornado warning!), we wondered how the neighborhood's outdoor dining structures fared... a quick survey this morning found some damaged spaces along St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... 

... though, to be honest, these spaces often look similar on any given Sunday morning... thankfully the damage didn't appear to be any worse than this around the neighborhood (please let us know in the comments if you noticed other storm-related damage) ...

Gothamist has a recap of the storm's wrath right here.  

Bluestockings hosting limited-capacity opening this holiday season in new LES storefront

Bluestockings, the volunteer- and collective-run bookstore and activist space, will host a soft, limited capacity reopening this Thursday (Nov. 19!) in the new space at 116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey.

Bluestockings will be open — foyer-only hours this holiday season — on Thursdays to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Dec. 20.

Meanwhile, the build-out continues at No. 116. Bluestockings launched a crowdfunding campaign to help "keep providing vital resources to our queer, trans and SWing community." (Find the GoFundMe here.)

Bluestockings opened at 172 Allen St. between Stanton and Rivington in 1999... before moving on at the end of July. 

You can follow the Bluestockings Instagram account for updates.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Today is the last day for Bluestockings on Allen Street; new LES location in the works

A glimpse of the 10-story condoplex to come to 14 2nd Ave.

A rendering has arrived on the plywood outside 14 Second Ave., offering a glimpse of what the 10-story condoplex will look like here between First Street and East Houston...

Preliminary work started here in January 2019, which marked the first signs of the condoplexing ahead for Treetops, the name of the residential building that will rise here ... the completion date is now listed as July 2022...

... and here's a look inside the lot adjacent to First Street Green Art Park...

This site has been vacant for years, last housing Irreplaceable Artifacts until its demolition by the city in July 2000. There's a lot of back story, which the links below cover...

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Workers remove artifacts from the vacant 14 2nd Ave., fueling speculation of new development

• Development watch: 14 2nd Ave.

• Vacant lot at 14 2nd Ave. sells for $7 million; will yield to 10-floor condoplex 

• More about Treetops, the name of the condoplex coming to 14 2nd Ave.

Former psychic medium hits the rental market on 2nd Avenue

A for-rent sign arrived late last week at 73 Second Ave., bringing an end to the long-operating Clairvoyant Psychic here... (one listing had this business name as Clairvoyant Psychic, though it looks more like Clairvoyant Psychic Psychic based on the signage.)

The retail listing is not yet online for the space between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
 

Meanwhile, right next door, a for-rent sign recently went up at the now-shuttered Nostro Ristorante, which debuted here in October 2019. They had reopened briefly for takeout and delivery back in the spring, but closed soon after. 

There has also been an ever-increasing encampment outside these storefronts in recent months. The city moved them along, though they have returned... and just out of the view of this photo on the right.  

Ugly Kitchen makes closure official on 1st Avenue

Ugly Kitchen, a self-described gastropub serving Asian fusion and Filipino cuisine, had not been open since the summer here on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. In recent months, the Ugly Kitchen name had been removed from the awning.

This past Friday, Ugly Kitchen chef/partner Aris Tuazon shared an official closing announcement in an Instagram post: 

It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of Ugly Kitchen. Due to the insurmountable challenges of the pandemic, we have come to the sad and difficult decision that we have no alternative but to close our doors. We want to thank all of our wonderful guests and employees for supporting us ... You have truly become a member of our family and our bonds will surely continue in the future. 

We could have not have achieved our success over the past few years without you and we are confident that our cherished memories will continue anywhere we gather. Perhaps one day, when the time is right, Ugly Kitchen will rise once again. Until then, we bid our farewell.

The restaurant opened here in September 2011.

Photo from Oct. 1 by Steven

A moment with Manny today

Multiple readers/residents asked about Manny the Peddler today... overnight, someone ransacked his wares here along Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street ... word is some of the items turned up for sale along the ramshackle flea market on 14th Street near First Avenue.

In any event, Manny is OK... and he could use some folding tables if anyone has a one to spare.

Manny, aka Emmanuel Howard, has been selling second-hand items here for more than 40 years.

Thank you to @brianboulos for the photo today...

Week in Grieview

Post from this past week inlcude... (the above photo of Daddy Long Legs is by Stacie Joy from the Avenue B Flea yesterday)

• Concerns over COVID-19 prompt cancellation of the annual Cookie Walk (Monday) 

• Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A continues on without gas — or help from the city (Friday)

• A visit to FlyeLyfe on 11th Street (Thursday) 

• A visit to Fit Ritual on 6th Street (Tuesday)

• Book Club turns the page on 1st anniversary (Monday) 

• A new mural for RBG underway on 11th Street (Tuesday) 

• Gallery watch: Total Running Time by Jibade-Khalil Huffman at Magenta Plains (Wednesday) 

• Gov. Cuomo sets new curfew for NYC bars and restaurants as COVID-19 cases rise (Thursday) 

• JR's tribute to Eric garner and BLM on 5th Street (Tuesday) 

• Dion Cleaners is closing after 35 years in business on 14th and A (Tuesday) 

• On 3rd Avenue, Feast exits, Yellow Rose arrives (Monday) 

 • This week's NY See panel (Thursday) 

 • "Say Their Names" at the Public Theater (Wednesday)

• The Whiskey Ward reopens on Essex (Monday) 

• Taste Wine returns as Taste Wine on 3rd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• J-Spec, specializing in waygu beef, opens on 5th Street (Wednesday) 

• MIN Sushi coming to St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

... and a (mini) Christmas tree sighting on Avenue A and Third Street...

... and in the background, you can see one of the seemingly hundreds of these posters that went up around the neighborhood last night...

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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Noted

Writer Anna Merlan uncovered this Craigslist posting... which is now making the rounds on Twitter.

So if you need a laugh... or a job.
 

Pretty simple instructions: "My sister is having an outdoor wedding in New Canaan ct in May. I want someone to be naked in the woods and to run through the wedding in order to ruin it. I will protect you from my family."

And New Canaan is said to be nice in the spring.

H/T Stacie!

Celebrating Diwali

Yesterday marked the third day of Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights ... EVG Grieve contributor Stacie Joy shared this photo of Pria Chouhan, who was celebrating at her restaurant Desi Galli on Avenue B yesterday...

Previously on EV Grieve:

• A visit to Desi Galli on Avenue B

EVG Etc.: Looking for holiday volunteers; Remembering Aldo Tambellin

• The Bowery Mission and City Harvest need volunteers this holiday season (FOX 5)

• Remembering Aldo Tambellini, the pioneering filmmaker and artist who in the 1960s opened the Gate and the Black Gate in the East Village, screening films by Kenneth Anger and Yayoi Kusama, among many others (The Guardian ... ARTnews) 

• East Village restauranteurs talk about the possibility of the state suspending indoor dining (Gothamist) 

• An analysis of the ZIP codes New Yorkers exited between March 1 and Oct. 31. Topping the list: Upper West Side, 10023 — 3,368. At No. 20: East Village, 10009 — 728 (The Post)

• East Village resident Douglas Stuart discusses his acclaimed debut novel, "Shuggie Bain" (New York) 

• The Landmarks Preservation Commission is reviewing proposals to renovate and refurbish the façade of Bathhouse Studios on 11th Street (NYY ... previously on EVG) 

•  A positive review (it "wows") for Mokyo on St. Mark's Place (Forbes)

• A preview of the new Half Japanese record (Dangerous Minds) 

• "Dash & Lily," an eight-episode holiday-themed romantic comedy series, debuted on Netflix this past week to positive notices (100% on Rotten Tomatoes!).  As you may recall, the crew filmed quite a bit around the neighborhood in late 2019 (here and here for instance). In the trailer, you can see the locations include Two Boots on Avenue A and the Strand...

RBG mural work resumes

After a few days of rain, @ellestreetart is back at work on the RBG mural on the southwest corner of First Avenue and 11th Street (first reported here) ... she started on Monday...

Earlier this month, workers removed Shepard Fairey's "Rise Above" mural that had been on this space for the past four years.

Fall ensemble

Goggla shared these photos on Tuesday... showing the spectacular fall foliage in Tompkins Square Park... (the recent rains and winds have removed some of these leaves from the trees ... but many are still holding on...) 

Report of a maintenance hole explosion on 1st Avenue

Here's an early reader report... this happened on First Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street:

Last night aprox 3 a.m. there was a HUGE series of explosions rocking the entire block. What sounded like extremely loud electrical crackling was booming as a sustained series of explosions that lasted 10-15 minutes as giant clouds of acrid smoke rose from a vent in the street near the bike lane directly in front of 87-89 First Ave. 

The bizarre crackling/buzzing/explosion sound had me thinking we were under attack again (9/11 flashback). Either that or some kind of "Cloverfield" situation... Multiple firehouses and emergency agencies arrived. 

Con Ed and other emergency crews are on the scene this morning... no official word on what happened. According to the Citizen app, the FDNY described this as a maintenance hole explosion.

It's a heartache

 

Something a little different ... this is "Something on Your Mind," a song from 1971 by Karen Dalton from the folk blues singer's second and final studio album. 

Although Bob Dylan once called her his favorite singer from the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1960s, she was mostly forgotten until some years after her death in 1993 at 55. 

She is the subject of a new documentary (produced by Wim Wenders) titled "In My Own Time: A Portrait of Karen Dalton" that's featured at DOC NYC this month.

New music from SUSU, the Compulsions

Today, local band SUSU, led by Liza Colby and Kia Warren, released "Slow Death," a Flamin' Groovies cover from their new debut EP, Panther City.

They'll be at the East Village Vintage Collective today from 4-8 p.m. selling music and merchandise. The shop is at 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Find more info on SUSU here. 

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Also today, East Village-based guitarist and vocalist Rob Carlyle and his band, the Compulsions, are releasing their third full-length studio album, Ferocious.

The record includes the contributions of guitarists Earl Slick and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.

Look for more about the Compulsions here.

Workers removing the sidewalk bridge from around the explosion site condoplex

Workers this morning are removing the sidewalk bridge from around 45 E. Seventh St., the 7-story, 21-unit condoplex on the northwest corner of Second Avenue...

In recent years, this corner has been a gathering spot in the summer-fall for travelers/crusties. In October 2018 (pre-sidewalk bridge), for instance, the NYPD set up a light tower here to deter anyone from congregating and camping out.

People have been living under here in recent months as well, capturing the ire of the Post.

As noted previously, this condoplex is on two of the three lots destroyed during the deadly gas explosion here on March 26, 2015. 

Thanks to Steven for the photos... and thanks to Alex R. for the tip!

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Tompkins Square Bagels on Avenue A continues on without gas — or help from the city

By all accounts, it looked like business as usual yesterday at Tompkins Square Bagels at 165 Avenue A between 10th Street and 11th Street. Customers and delivery people were coming and going through the open doors. The smell of fresh-baked bagels was drifting from inside. 

However, behind the scenes, patrons may not know what owner Christopher Pugliese and his team needed to do to open.

On Wednesday, a carbon monoxide sensor went off related to the storefront's hot water heater.

"We discovered a hole in the flue that brings in replacement air. Because of the hole, replacement air wasn’t getting into the basement, thus the high carbon monoxide reading," Pugliese said. 

However, despite identifying the problem and quickly having it repaired, ConEd shut off the gas to the business. And Pugliese is angry.

"They could've disconnected the water heater. I get why they turned off the gas. It's easier ... I get that life was at risk," said Pugliese, stressing that safety is always a top concern. "But once it's determined that it wasn't a gas issue and the flue had been fixed, I shouldn't have to file permits and jump through hoops, pay fees, and be put on a ConEd waitlist. That is absolute bullshit."

For now, he's estimating a four- to eight-week period to get gas service to the bagel shop restored, a process that includes hiring a plumber, filing permits with the Department of Buildings, waiting for the city to inspect the space — all before ConEd even steps in, all for an issue that has already been addressed.

On Wednesday, Pugliese figured he'd need to close for the interim. "If we didn’t have the Second Avenue store this could've been a death blow," he said.

By yesterday morning, however, Tompkins Square Bagels, which first opened in December 2011, was up and running on Avenue A.

"Over the past 24 hours I bought three electric grills and had three 220-volt power lines installed so I could cook," he said. "They tried their best to shut me down but I am smarter and work harder than they could ever imagine." 

Total cost of the interim cooking system: $7,000

"I am open in spite of the city," said Pugliese, who noted that his shops helped feed the homeless and essential front-line workers during the pandemic's worst days in the spring. "I still did my part to help this city ... and we are all in this together? I just don't see the support on the other end."

A break in at China Town on East Houston

There was a break in this week at China Town, the reliable quick-serve restaurant at 250 E. Houston between Avenue A and Avenue B...

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos and spoke with the proprietor, who said that their cash box and other various items were stolen in the process... the proprietor encouraged patrons to order delivery or come pick up food to go ... noting that "things are difficult now."

Autumn leaves

Tompkins Square Park today...

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 ... as well as political observations on current events...

A visit to FlyeLyfe on 11th Street

I’m meeting artist and store owner P.J. O’Rourke at FlyeLyfe, 434 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Avenue A, to see what the 35-year-old East Village resident is showcasing at his 13-month-old shop.

He’s selling his original design magnets, tees, hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, masks, prints, patches, bags and caps, all printed in house. I’ve seen his stickers around the neighborhood, especially Dr. Fauci the Chronic 2020 and Wuhanalds, but it’s the Trumpkashi, a mashup of Tekashi 6ix9ine and Donald Trump that is getting the most attention while I am visiting...

O’Rourke previously sold merch in the subways via mobile art cart, what he calls his “subway hustle” and a bit of that hustle remains as he sits outside his storefront and calls out to passersby, holding up favorite designs and asking if they want to pay by cash, card or Bitcoin. “NY saved my life,” he tells me. 

“The access to foot traffic is why I am successful. I need the exposure of living in a city with a concentration of so many people. This is especially important if, like me, you don’t have money.”

FlyeLyfe has a month-to-month lease for now, and O’Rourke plans to keep the store in the neighborhood, but hopes to move to an on-the-Avenue spot for increased foot traffic and exposure.

You can keep up with the store here. The shop is open from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.