Monday, April 19, 2021

ICYMI: Starting tonight, you can stay out until midnight at a bar or restaurant

Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced that closing times for restaurants and bars will be extended from 11 p.m. to midnight statewide beginning today. 

Per Eater
It's a minor win for restaurant and bar owners who have been calling on elected officials to lift the state's pandemic curfew for months and seen only incremental change. 

"It's great news," says one south Brooklyn bar owner, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. "No curfew would obviously be better, but we do have to watch out for 'Cinderella Covid' which only comes out at midnight."

As Thrillist pointed out: "Subways are still out of service from 2 to 4 a.m., too, which could pose a challenge for hospitality workers trying to get home once the new curfew goes into effect."

And the reaction from Andrew Rigie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance:

In February, Cuomo moved the closing time from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Also,  the governor said that spectators will be allowed at horse and auto races at 20 percent capacity, beginning on Thursday... which is also the opening day for the spring season at Belmont

Image by WindAwake

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Sunday's parting shot

This afternoon, the Loisaida Center hosted a "spiritual cleansing ceremony" featuring the amazing bateria drumming of Batala NYC at La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C and Ninth Street ... 

Derek Berg caught the group as they first performed on Avenue B.

P.S. 

We'll have photos from today's March to Save East River Park later on...

[Updated] Report of a trash fire outside Saifee Hardware

The FDNY responded to a trash fire on the sidewalk on the Seventh Street side of Saifee Hardware at First Avenue just before 8 p.m. ... firefighters were quickly on the scene and extinguished the blaze... no word on the cause at the moment. 

Thank you to Susan Schiffman for the photo...

Updated:

Around the same time a short distance away... there was a report of a dumpster fire on Avenue A at Fifth Street ... thanks to @quinnfoconnor for this photo...

Week in Grieview

Posts from the past week included (with a photo outside Restoration Antiques on 12th Street by Derek Berg) ... 

• RIP Arthur Farrier (Wednesday

• A visit to Leopold Masterson’s 'Diamonds, Razors & Champagne' (Thursday

• The artist who captured the sounds of East Village community gardens during the pandemic (Tuesday)

• Ukrainian East Village restaurant is back (Friday)

• Ditto for Little Poland! (Friday

• Gallery Watch visits the new group show at the Hole (Wednesday

• That first awk apartment get-tother post vaccines in this week's NY See (Thursday

• Remembering Joey Ramone (Thursday) ... and Jimmy Webb (Wednesday

• La Cabra opening a Scandinavian coffee roastery and sourdough bakery on 2nd Avenue (Monday

• Reader report: It's 'rats galore' at this long-empty 1st Avenue lot (Monday

• On the CB3-SLA docket: Tiger Lily, Lamia's Fish Market, Little Rebel (Wednesday

• Openings: Burrata Pizza on Avenue A, Sal's Pizza II on 14th Street (Monday

• Cooper Union's Urban Umbrella (Tuesday)

• A new home for this Citi Bike docking station (Friday)

• A campaign to help 'Clean Up' CB3 (Friday

• Pizzeria primed for 128 2nd Ave. space (Wednesday

• Gong Cha debuts on St. Mark's Place (Monday) ... while Two Hands debuts on Avenue A (Tuesday

 ... speaking of Two Hands — the Seoul-style corn dogs are proving to be popular so far... a reader shared this photo of the line from Friday at noon here on Avenue A at Ninth Street ...
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The return of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot; happy No. 457 William!

In case you're making plans for next weekend... via the EVG inbox...
Will Shakespeare turns 457 on Friday, April 23. 
So on April 23 and 24, from 7 to 8 p.m. members of The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot Company will mount "Happy Birthday Shakespeare-457" in the parking lot of The Clemente Soto VĂ©lez Cultural & Educational Center, 107 Suffolk St. at Rivington. 

Hamilton Clancy, artistic director of The Drilling Company, home of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, writes, "It's essential to get our theater professionals back to work and to bring live theater safely back to the City. Who better to lead the way than William Shakespeare?"
The tickets are free but limited to 50 participants for each show. For them at this link

Per the organizers: Masks and temperature checks required; social distancing observed.

Sunday's opening shot

The cherry blossoms are blooming on Third Avenue at Ninth Street...

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Saturday's parting shot

A moment from the Street Riders NYC's Justice Ride XXII on First Avenue ... the ride started at the Barclays Center. Photo by Derek Berg

Open days for the New York Marble Cemetery on 2nd Avenue

The circa-1830 New York Marble Cemetery, 41 1/2 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street, will be open to the public tomorrow (Sunday) from noon to 4 p.m. ...
Thanks to Pinch for the tip and pics from the first open day a few weeks back.

Here's the schedule through September...
Sunday, April 18: noon – 4 pm

Saturday, May 1: noon – 4 pm
Sunday, May 2 – Annual Reception & Owners Meeting: noon – 4 pm
Sunday, May 30: noon – 4 pm
Sunday, June 27: noon – 4 pm
Sunday, July 25: noon – 4 pm

Sunday, Aug. 29: noon – 4 pm

Sunday, Sept. 26: noon – 4 pm

The New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue does not have any open days scheduled yet.

A way to support local bands at All the King's Horses Cafe on 12th Street

Some local bands will get a chance to sell their wares tomorrow (Sunday) during a pop-up event at All the King's Horses, the newish cafe that opened last fall at 521 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Per the flyer, reps for the bands will be selling merch — clothing! records! zines! — from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Recommended: Hennessey.)

ICYMI: Pete Davidson to play Joey Ramone in Netflix biopic

The first reaction I heard was that Pete Davidson was too short for the role. He's 6-3. Joey Ramone was 6-6. 🙄 

More details at Deadline.

Saturday's opening shot

Tagged again on Bleecker at the Bowery. The Blondie mural had been restored back in December. 

Friday, April 16, 2021

It might get 'Lout'

 
The Horrors recently released a new EP — the band's first new music in four years. 

And as you'll hear in this audio clip for "Lout," they've taken a turn into the industrial metal aisle. 

A YouTube commenter tracked the band's progression: Garage Punk --> Art Rock/Shoegaze --> Dream Pop/Synth Pop ---> Cyberpunk/Industrial.

Ukrainian East Village restaurant is back

Dang. Busy late afternoon for reopenings. The National Ukrainian Home restaurant (aka Ukrainian East Village restaurant) reopens at 5 p.m. today at 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, per Steven...
First time back for the 51-year-old mainstay since March 2020.

Breaking diner news: Little Poland reopens TOMORROW (Saturday)

After a 13-month closure, Little Poland will reopen tomorrow here at 200 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street... Steven caught the opening news...
The diner, which opened in 1985, said they'd return once indoor capacity reached 50 percent

Not sure what time they will start serving. They open at 7 a.m.! 

And the phone, for some reason: (212) 777-9728

Sly Fox is back open on 2nd Avenue

Updated: For whatever reasons, the bar wasn't open this evening... more TK. The bar reopened as of May 1.

An EVG reader shares the news (and the photo!) that Sly Fox is reopening today (6 p.m.?) at 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street ... first time serving since March 2020. 

Per the reader: "Andrej from Sly Fox on 2nd Ave texted us to let us know the Fox is back!! Please let everyone know!" 

This confirms Twitter rumors of the bar's return...

A new home for this Citi Bike docking station

An EVG reader told us that the Citi Bike docking station on the east side of First Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street has been moved (as of yesterday) ... from the sidewalk to the roadway. 

The station with 51 docks arrived here in December 2019. At the time, some residents complained that the docking station took up too much sidewalk space. 

Now, as the reader noted, the docking station takes the place of several parking spaces ... including a spot for the fruit vendor's van, which was spotted around the corner...

Reminders: March to save East River Park on Sunday

There's a "Save East River Park March" on Sunday... those who wish to join in with organizers East River Park Action can meet at noon in Tompkins Square Park. (Per the invite, at the "semicircle with the big elm tree near the southeast entrance.")

From Tompkins, the group will march to the East River Park Amphitheater for a rally at 1:30. (Details here.)
The march takes place as the city officially kicked off the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project yesterday via an announcement by Mayor de Blasio.

"Building a recovery for all of us means fighting climate change and investing in resilient communities,” he said in a press release. "This project will keep generations of New Yorkers safe from extreme weather, coastal storm, and rising sea levels — all while preserving and improving some of our city’s most iconic open spaces."

Work started in Stuyvesant Cove back in December on what is being called Project Area 2.

As for East River Park, in the city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, workers will raze the 57.5-acre plot of land. bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise. 

In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reportsthe city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be completed in 2025. 

A campaign to help 'Clean Up' CB3

On Tuesday night, flyers arrived around the neighborhood announcing that it was time to "Clean Up" the local Community Board, CB3, and remove Susan Stetzer, the longtime district manager...
The arrival of the flyers coincides with a newly launched website, which among other claims, states: "The concentration of power at CB3 has effectively silenced citizens, stifled public participation, prevented a diversity of views, and stopped real progress and representation from happening." 

The group is going by the Clean Up CB3 Community Commission. Their solution?
The local community boards must be reformed and remade into activist governing boards who actively work to influence policy development not push blatantly partisan political agendas, pursue personal agendas, or give special interest "community" cover. 
When asked to comment on the group's flyers and website, Stetzer said in an email: "One can't engage productively when people are anonymous." 

This isn't the first time that Stetzer has been the subject of a flyer campaign. In September 2012, flyers appeared around the East Village and Lower East Side accusing Stetzer of being an "assassin of New York's creativity" who is "wanted for assault on our civil liberties." In the past, she has been accused of being anti-nightlife. 

As for CB3 drama ... most recently, in January, 16 community groups and block associations within CB3 signed an open letter to local and state officials requesting an inquiry into the recent removal of Alexandra Militano and Carolyn Ratcliffe as chairs of the SLA Committee and Arts & Culture Sub-Committee.

Photos by Stacie Joy

Head on down (or up!) to 1st and 1st for the next Nexus Flea tomorrow

The next East Village Flea (aka Nexus Flea) is tomorrow (Saturday) on First Street and First Avenue (Peretz Square) from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

 Look for live music throughout the afternoon... and relive the first one of 2021 right here.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Tree down on 11th at B

We had a tree down late this afternoon on 11th Street just east of Avenue B... EVG contributor Stacie Joy happened to be by...
... it caused some damage to the vehicle...
... and the FDNY was quickly on the scene...
... and the roots appear to be rotted...
Updated 10 a.m. 

Vinny & O shared these photos from the clean up this morning...