Today at Temperance Fountain

A reader shared the above photo from Tompkins Square Park from earlier this afternoon... and this evening... East Village resident Tom Manco of Manco Studio set up his latest upcycled cardboard installation... this one in honor of Mother's Day... photo by Steven...

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 the neighborhood and elsewhere...

Take part in this Jacob Riis Art Walk today

Local artists Lee Jiménez and Joalis Silva are giving a tour this afternoon of their artwork currently on display outside the Jacob Riis Houses...

The art walk starts at 1 p.m. in the roundabout on 10th Street between Avenue D and the FDR (Jiménez's photos taken during 2020 are hanging in this area). 

If you can't make it today, then take the time on another day (it should be up all summer) to check out their work inspired by the Riis community.

Photo of Joalis Silva via Instagram. The top pic in the post is part of the Lee Jiménez display.

Reconstruction of the McKinley Playground appears to be winding down

Here's a look at the reconstruction of the McKinley Playground on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... where work started last September here adjacent to The Neighborhood School (PS 363) and Star Academy (PS 63). 

Workers have put in a new playground and spray shower as well as safety surfacing, benches, lighting, play equipment, etc.

And there's a new "comfort station"...

And a view through the fence...

And for more details on the final product...

The NYC Parks website states that the project is 84-percent complete. There's a September completion date, though the rendering onsite lists a summer finish.

Sly Fox is open for REAL now

Back on April 16 we were today that Sly Fox was reopening at 140 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street — first time serving since March 2020. 

Unfortunately, a bicycling mishap involving the bartender pushed back that opening. 

However, now... the bar in the Ukrainian National Home is up and running nightly at 6 (as of May 1).

Go say hi to Andrej behind the bar...

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Hot dog!? Crif Dogs reopens on St. Mark's Place

Crif Dogs reopened yesterday — for the first time since the PAUSE of March 2020 — here at 113 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The hot doggery is now in its 20th year, having debuted in 2001.

Hours: Wednesday-Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Find their Instagram here.

H/T Vinny & O. Old photo by EVG.

On University Place, Agata & Valentina has closed ahead of building demolition, condo construction

Agata & Valentina, the specialty grocery store at 64-66 University Place between 10th Street and 11th Street, has closed. April 26 was its last day here. 

The date was a few weeks earlier than some folks expected. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the New York State Department of Labor in February stated that the store would permanently shutter on May 12. (H/T Bayou for that tip earlier this year.)

Argo Real Estate paid $30 million for the building in 2019, city records show. There isn't any public record of what they have planned for this space a few blocks from Washington Square Park. In March, Village Preservation reported that a 12-story building is possible. 

Efforts to landmark No. 64-66 were not successful: Demolition permits were issued for this four-story building back in February, per the DOB. (The tenant on the upper floors, the Institute of Audio Research, closed in 2017.) 

Agata & Valentina, which opened here in 2012, will continue on from their original (1993) Upper East Side location.

Go Fish: Osakana sets up for sushi on St. Mark's Place

Signage/branding is up now for Osakana at 42 1/2 St. Mark's Place just east of Second Avenue...

This will be a second location for the Brooklyn-based (Graham Avenue!) Japanese-style fish market and education center, which offers a variety of cooking classes and demonstrations. 

Aside from a seafood market, they'll be offereing a variety of fresh-fish and ramen options for pick-up or delivery. (Details here.) 

Osakana, a spin-off operation from Japanese restaurant Okonomi//Yuji Ramen, first opened in Brooklyn in the summer of 2016.

This space was previously Zoku Sushi, a delivery-only service.

Photos by Steven

Wednesday's parting shot

A moment on First Avenue by Daniel Efram...

EVG Etc.: Celebrating Lower East Side History Month; Reopening restaurants to full capacity

• Woman punched in the head in a robbery while exiting the L train on 14th Street and First Avenue (PIX 11)

• A Q&A with Eric Sze, the co-owner of 886 on St. Mark's Place and founder of the grassroots initiative Enough Is Enough (Eater) 

• Events for Lower East Side History Month (Official site) 

• Asian American history in the neighborhood (Off the Grid) 

• The number of NYC pedestrian fatalities is up 65 percent in the first four months of this year (Gothamist) 

• Subways coming back to 24/7 schedule (Jalopnik) ... with restaurants hitting full capacity on May 19 (Eater NY) 

• Sheldon Silver returns to the LES after early release from prison (NY1) 

• Why Bagel Boss is expanding with locations on 14th Street and East Houston (Forbes... first on EVG)

• Amelia feeds her red-tailed offspring in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography) 

... and thanks to Nat Esten for letting us know that the Bean's new awnings arrived yesterday on Second Avenue and Third Street...

A look at local vaccination progress

This Gothamist headline yesterday read that "Most Of New York City Remains Undervaccinated." 

Vaccine hesitancy and barriers to access are cited as among the top reasons why more residents haven't received at least one dose of the vaccine. 

Per Gothamist:

About 44% of New York City residents have received at least one COVID-19 shot, and about 32% are fully vaccinated. But some neighborhoods are much further along than others. In wealthier and whiter zip codes, more than two-thirds of residents are at least partially vaccinated (one zip code in the Financial District is at 89%). Most neighborhoods in upper Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island are well below half their populations being fully vaccinated.

The article includes a map of vaccinations by zip code via statistics by the NYC Department of Health. 

Here's a look at zip codes in this area: 

10009 

Partially vaccinated: 58 percent 

Fully vaccinated: 42 percent 

10003 

Partially vaccinated: 62 percent 

Fully vaccinated: 45 percent 

10002 

Partially vaccinated: 60 percent 

Fully vaccinated: 43 percent

As of late April, appointments are no longer necessary at city- and state-run vaccination sites. The COVID vaccine finder is here. 

You can also schedule an appointment for certain vaccination sites by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692). Free transportation to vaccination appointments in NYC is available for city residents 65 and older and those with disabilities who have no other way to get to a vaccination site. To arrange for transportation, call 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).

Mayor de Blasio has set a goal of vaccinating 5 million New Yorkers by July 1.

Wine bar in the works for this former dry cleaners on 1st Avenue

Work continues at the former Exquisite Cleaners, where a wine bar is in the works here on the southwest corner of First Avenue and Third Street. 

Jorge Arias is on this month's CB3 SLA committee agenda Monday evening for the unnamed bar "specializing in small, handmade wines." (This item will not be heard in front of the committee.) 

The questionnaire (PDF here) on the CB3 website shows that the space will have five tables for 30 guests and a six-seat bar. The proposed hours are noon to midnight daily. 

Arias operates several like-minded businesses, including the Wine Hut on Sixth Avenue and, closer to home, Urban Wine & Spirits a few storefronts away. 

Exquisite Cleaners closed last summer ... one of 10 dry cleaners in the East Village to close during the pandemic.