EVG Etc.: The fate of Raphael Toledano's bankrupt EV portfolio; the free fitness classes on Avenue B

• In $153 million deal, Madison Realty Capital closes on Raphael Toledano's bankrupt East Village portfolio (The Real Deal ... previously on EVG) 

• A long read on the reconstruction plans for East River Park (Curbed) 

• Mayor de Blasio signs Open Streets bill into law (amNY ... previously on EVG) 

• New Yorkers on the CDC's new mask guidelines (Gothamist) 

• An East Village-focused look back at the pandemic's darkest days (The Nation) 

• The new show at the Housing gallery on the LES pays tribute to Steven Cannon, founder of the East Village-based A Gathering of the Tribes (Hyperallergic ... previously on EVG) 

• A list of the free fitness activities on the Open Streets of Avenue B (Instagram ... flyer) 

• Joyface reopened on Avenue C and Seventh Street this past week (Instagram) 

• Rough Trade's new NYC home — after seven years in Williamsburg — will be in Rockefeller Center (Official site) 

Photo of a familiar car around the neighborhood from Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D

Checking in on the grocery cart garden

The grocery cart garden that arrived last spring on Fourth Street at the Bowery ... has survived is first year... and as these photos from today show, the garden is thriving...

As the sign says: "Please do not remove plants!"

Sunday's opening shot

For anyone keeping track, the Blondie mural on Bleecker at the Bowery has been restored ... this after being tagged last month... after being restored back in December.

Shepard Fairy's mural has been here since August 2017.

Saturday's parting shot

Thanks to Steven for this photo of the young hawk watchers in Tompkins Square Park... the resident red-tailed hawks, Amelia and Christo, have three chicks in the nest this spring...

May 15

As seen today on Fourth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... thanks to Carol from East 5th Street for the photo!

Crate digging!: A soft reopening today with sidewalk sales at A-1 Records

A-1 Records is closer to in-store shopping again... ahead of that today (Saturday!), the Sixth Street mainstay will be holding a sidewalk sale featuring "tons of cheap LPs and 45s." 

The shop has been online only for sales during the pandemic (with curbside pickup too). 

A-1, which opened in 1996, is at 439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Image via Instagram

The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place will be 'opening soon'

Updated: Reopened as of May 17. The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place remains closed (10 to 14 days now?)... however, there is an addition to the "temporarily closed" signage... a handwritten note with a smiley face stating "opening soon" ...

Starbucks opened at this spot in August 2017.

Bring it on

 

We've featured the music of local band Pom Pom Squad several times in the past... they recently released "Head Cheerleader" (video above!) from their first LP, Death of a Cheerleader, out on June 25. 

And Pom Pom Squad will be supporting Bully out on tour later this summer.

Who's on 1st? East Village Flea

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

The flea market started on April 3 (relive that one here!) ... and they're running every other Saturday for now. In case you haven't been yet.

Why you might see Art in Odd Places on 14th Street this weekend

Via the EVG inbox...this is happening today through Sunday...

Art in Odd Places (AiOP) 2021: NORMAL, curated by Furusho von Puttkammer, invites artists to critique and dissect the American Mythos for AiOP’s 16th annual public art and performance festival taking place from Avenue C to the Hudson River along 14th Street ...

Visit the AiOP website for more details and a list of participating artists.

This East Village Easter footage from 1966 includes a crucifixion in Tompkins Square Park

James Maher, our longtime blog friend (and creator of this now-retired EVG series), shared a 3-minute video clip with us. His grandparents and mother were born and raised on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

The video below is from Easter Sunday 1966 in the East Village. It starts on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. You'll also see some scenes in Tompkins Square Park where, at the 1:40 mark, the kids are treated to an interpretation of the crucifixion of Jesus. 

James' cousin Donna, one of the girls in the video, provided some narrative: 

My dad shot these videos. We were all going to Easter Mass at Most Holy Redeemer then to Nana Julie's and Grandpa Walter's for Easter lunch. We were waving to my Grandma Anna in the window. Others on the street were are family friends and neighbors all getting together for Easter. 

The hippies had moved into the neighborhood and basically took over the Park. On Easter, they built their version of the crucifixion with human skulls, etc. It didn't last long as some of the local guys knocked it down because it upset their wives and mothers. 

The street-front store is next to the Chic Choc bar [now Sophie's]...it belonged to Willie Silverman. He and his son Sidney bought closeouts from department stores and wholesalers. Every night the neighborhood would gather in front of his hole in the wall to see what crap bargains we could get. These were great times!"  

See for yourself... (and there is no sound on the clip)...

 

Video shot by John Sagan!

The Ukrainian Museum is back open on 6th Street

The Ukrainian Museum reopened on May 5 at 222 E. Sixth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square ... back for the first time since the PAUSE in March 2020. 

Among the current exhibits: "In Bloom: Nature and Art," which "explores the impact of the flower motif through the prism of Ukraine’s folk art traditions and the works of its preeminent artists of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries." 

The museum, founded in 1976 by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

There is a limited capacity for now and masks are required. You can check out the visitor info page for more details.

Coyote Ugly makes it official on 14th Street

The Coyote Ugly signage went up yesterday at their new saloon at 233 E. 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Thanks to Pinch for the photo!)

No mention yet of an opening date here on IHOP Way.

As we first reported this past September, Coyote Ugly permanently closed its home of 27 years at 153 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (That space is currently going under a gut renovation for lord knows what.)

In announcing the closure, CEO and founder Lil Lovell had this to say in a video clip: "After sitting closed for six months due to COVID restrictions, we simply can't afford to pay the rent." 

This First Avenue location was the original Coyote Ugly — featuring bartop dancing, body shots and guilt for ordering water. There are now more than two-dozen global outposts.

No. 233 was previously home to the Blind Pig, the sports bar/pub, which closed in June 2019. 

A full FULL reveal on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street

OK! Here's a look at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Second Street... where workers have cleared away most of the construction materials from outside the all-new 24 First Ave., including at the Second Street side of the development.

The two buildings that made up the L-shaped parcel — 24 First Ave. and  99-101 E. Second St. — were demolished to make room for the 101 Condominium, a 7-story, 23-unit condoplex.

And here's a view from the side along First Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...

Our previous post has the 411 on the 101.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Onetime home of Lucky Cheng's and adjacent property sell for $12 million

• Demolition permits filed to bring down former Lucky Cheng's building on 1st Avenue

• The 411 on the 101 Condominium

Report: Man stabbed, robbed of his e-bike in Tompkins Square Park

A man was stabbed in his hip late this afternoon during a robbery inside the entrance to Tompkins Square Park on Seventh Street and Avenue A. 

The two men apparently knew each other. 

Per the Post:

The 55-year-old victim was sitting on a bench in the East Village park at around 4:30 p.m., and got up when a man he knew approached him, according to cops and law enforcement sources. 

"Sit your ass down, you are not leaving," the perp snarled, before grabbing the bike and knifing the victim, according to the sources.

EMTs took the victim to Bellevue, where he was reportedly treated for a puncture wound in the left hip/groin area.

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 NYC...

Checking in on 2 under-renovation properties along this charming block of 7th Street

Here's a look at the recently renovated 264 E. Seventh St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

According to the approved permit filed with the city, the owners had No. 264 gut-renovated and converted to a two-family dwelling (from three units),  leaving the building's exterior in place and adding an extension in the rear.

You can see the exterior results of this work in the top two photos... as it still fits in this row of like-minded residences.

Things didn't look so good here in September 2016, when a permit was filed with the DOB to demolish the three-level, circa 1842 townhouse.

Preservations rallied to try to have the string of pastel-colored residences considered for landmarking. However, in late October 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission refused to consider them for such a designation.

In April 2019, word came via the Village Preservation that new owners purchased the property and nixed a full demolition. (Public records show an LLC paid $7.7 million for the address.)

And as noted before, Felicia Bond lived in the garden duplex at No. 264 when she illustrated the renowned children's book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" in the mid-1980s.

Meanwhile,  two residences to the east, the three-level 268 E. Seventh St., didn't fare as well ... demolition continues here... and the insides have been gutted...

Plans, as well as owners, have changed here in the past two years. Approved permits on file with the city show that workers are adding a vertical enlargement to bring the building to six stories... which will boost the number of units to six. 

Actor John Leguizamo owned No. 268 starting in 1995. In February 2013, the building hit the market with a $4 million ask. However, as Curbed noted at the time:

It's unclear how recently Leguizamo lived in the place, or whether or not he even still owns it — the deed was transferred to an LLC in 2002, and the listing says that it was "Recently a single family residence; currently used as a 3-family" ...

Leguizamo watchers on the block say that the actor moved away about 2001 or 2002.

Highpoint Property Group is now listed as the owner... picking up the property for $4.3 million in the fall of 2019, per public records. The Group's other East Village properties include The Slater at 174-176 First Ave. ... The Topanga at 202 Avenue A ... and The Callahan at 100 Second Ave.

More pizza for a former pizzeria

Look for more pizza on the high-profile corner of Second Avenue at 10th Street.

Signs arrived yesterday for Marinara Pizza ... (thanks to Steven for the photos!)

This will be the fifth outpost for the pizzeria, which has locations on the UES, UWS, Midtown East and Park Avenue South. (I've never had their pizza. Anyone?)

Two buzzy pizza joints have been at this address (160 Second Ave.) in recent years. Lions & Tigers & Squares — the Detroit-style pizzeria from the Artichoke team — debuted in October 2019 before closing during the pandemic last summer. 

And before this... Nicoletta spent six-plus years in business here until the end of 2018.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cafe Centosette closes on Second Avenue

AuH20 Thriftique popping up for 2 days in former 7th Street home

AuH20 Thriftique is making an encore presentation tomorrow and Saturday in the shop's former home at 84 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Per an Instagram post: 

Popping up at the old storefront, 84 E. 7th St., on Friday & Saturday, May 14 & 15, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Stop by if you're in the East Village! We will also be buying! Bring your used clothes and accessories ... And we'll be bringing "wait to bundle" bags in case you'd like to pick up in person.

After 14 years of selling stylish women's vintage clothes and accessories, Kate Goldwater, who opened the storefront after graduating from college, shut down the business last fall.

She is continuing to offer items online. 

Image via Instagram 

Coffee shop slated for 194 1st Ave.

Updated June 2: Cafe Sandra is now open!

A coffee shop called Cafe Sandra has signed a lease at 194 First Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street.

Cafe Sandra already has a website. And despite what the site states, they are not yet open for business. The storefront is empty.

The previous tenant, Space 194, a hybrid tea-coffee shop-gallery, closed in early 2020 after nearly a year in service.

The address was previously the Neptune. The Polish-American diner shut down in December 2016 after 15 years in business. After their departure, the landlord divided up the restaurant into two storefronts.

Photo by Steven. H/T Upper West Sider!