Monday, May 24, 2021

An organic grocery for the Bowery

A coming soon sign for an organic grocery is now on the window here at 352 Bowery between Fourth Street and Great Jones. 

The sign promises an assortment of "produce, beer, breakfast, lunch, convenience, fresh juice, milkshakes, smoothies." And it might give the 7-Eleven directly across the Bowery some convenience competition. 

Signage for a COVID-19 rapid-test site arrived here in December, though that never materialized. 

The Sage Kitchen restaurant space closed here last year. Their catering business is still in operation from another location.

A follow-up to the fire on Bleecker Street late Friday night

Here's a follow-up to the five-alarm fire reported at 163 Bleecker St. between Sullivan and Thompson late Friday night. 

The smoke was so intense several East Village residents thought the fire was a little closer to home. (This is outside our usual coverage zone, though we received a lot of questions about it.)

There was a report of two firefighters sustaining minor injuries at the scene. And, unfortunately, the business here, Uncle Ted's Modern Chinese Cuisine, was destroyed.

 Here's their message to patrons on Saturday via Instagram:
Amazing 8 years, oh man, we've been through the hardship of pandemic, we were ready to fully reopen to a reunion with all the friends, we were so excited to see our city back, we were trying so hard to make it happen……now it's time to say goodbye. Thanks to all the brave firefighters battling for us last night, thanks for everyone who supported and loved us. Thank you! It's extremely hard for us but we will be back! 
The second floor of the building housed a yoga studio.

The fire remains under investigation, per NYI.  

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Sunday's parting shot

NYC Is Back, as seen on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue ... created yesterday by @degrupo and @thecreator.nyc ... 

And this is the former St. Dymphna's, space... they are now open at 117 Avenue A.

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week include (with a photo by Derek Berg from Second Avenue)... 

• Woman dies after falling from Avenue A rooftop party; Rivera demands review of building enforcement procedures (Saturday) ... Neighbors address the rooftop parties at this 6th Street building (Wednesday

• Details on the 34th annual Loisaida Festival (Thursday

 • Police searching for suspect who punched an Asian woman at the 2nd Avenue F stop (Friday

• A new era for Good Time Pilates (Monday)

• Nest watch: The red-tailed chicks are growing up quickly in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

• The remains of the Gem Spa can now be found in homes (and a barn) across the U.S. (Tuesday

 • On Union Square, Food Emporium makes the upcoming closing official (Monday

• New sidewalk debuts on the northwest corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Monday

• AuH20 Thriftique is returning full time to 7th Street (Friday

• A-1 Record Shop reopens for in-store shopping (Saturday)

• Blackout along East River Park (Wednesday

• A new single from Hello Mary (Friday)

• Trading places: Are you ready for some Unregular Pizza? (Tuesday

• A little love for Little Poland (Tuesday

• St. Mark’s Comics is reopening this summer (in Brooklyn) (Thursday

• A look at the under-renovation Ideal Glass space on 2nd Street (Wednesday) • Renovated Irving Plaza announces slate of 40-plus shows (Monday

• Viewing the found art of Zbigniew Zolkowski on Avenue C (Saturday

• Openings: Soda Club on Avenue B; Jolene on Great Jones Street (Thursday)

• Oh hi there's a rat in your car (Wednesday

• Electric Burrito debuts on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

• New Bagel Boss location now with Bagel Boss signage (Monday

• Brooklyn Dumpling Shop makes its long-awaited automat debut (Wednesday

• Good night: Mattress Firm closes up shop on East Houston (Tuesday

... and in the jerk move of the week...

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

A bike ride for a safer Avenue B-Clinton Street

Some local residents are coming together tomorrow (Monday!) morning to rally for a Safer Avenue B/Clinton Street for cyclists and pedestrians. 

As bike advocates have noted, too many vehicles are speeding on Clinton Street and blocking the bike lane.

Here are details about tomorrow via the EVG inbox... (and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera is said to be joining the ride)...
Monday, May 24 at 7:30 a.m. Clinton Street and Grand Street, southwest corner next to the Citi Bike station. We'll ride up north on Clinton Street and continue on Avenue B. Stop in front of Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office on Fourth Street for a few words and then continue to the schools in time for the 8:30 a.m. start time Wear yellow shirts so we are visible. (School spirit shirts preferable.)
Advocates had previously asked for protected bike lanes on Avenue B.

In late April, City Council voted on the bill that Rivera introduced to make the Open Streets program permanent. (Mayor de Blasio later signed off on it.) 

Avenue B between Sixth Street and 14th Street is part of the Open Streets program, hosted locally by the Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition.  

Saturday, May 22, 2021

[Updated] Woman dies after falling from Avenue A rooftop; Rivera demands review of building enforcement procedures

According to several nearby residents, a woman attending a rooftop party at 202 Avenue A fell to her death early this morning. Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office confirmed the tragedy.

Rivera's office stated that it was "a dangerously overcrowded rooftop party" here between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Following the death, Rivera is calling on City Council to address tenant and landlord neglect of rooftop events, "as well as for an official review of the lack of agency enforcement by DOB, DEP, FDNY and NYPD of dangerous rooftop parties in Manhattan."

Earlier this week, East Village residents noted the ongoing disruptive rooftop parties at 330 E. Sixth St., prompting other reports of addresses holding similar events. 

According to a media advisory from Rivera's office late this afternoon:
[T]his event is just the latest in a string of documented and reported weekly parties that far exceed safe occupancy levels and often feature concert-level amplified sound on a series of East Village rooftops. Partygoers have even recently been reported to be jumping from rooftop to rooftop during these gatherings. 
Electeds have sent letters to City Hall and building managers, but agencies have failed to respond to these hazardous conditions. Community boards have followed up directly with the appropriate agencies but have received inadequate answers.
Rivera is working on two bills to address this issue — one introduced that would require tenants to sign and acknowledge their understanding of the city's noise codes. Another that is planned to be introduced soon requires better oversight of rooftop use and capacity.

Tomorrow morning at 10, Rivera, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, reps from Community Board 3 and the local block association will gather outside 202 Avenue A to discuss the new bills. 

The NYPD continues to investigate last night's rooftop death. The victim's name has not yet been released. 

--

Update: According to the Post, the woman was 24 and lived on Delancey. She was reportedly climbing from 202 Avenue A to 200 Avenue A  around 3:30 a.m. when she lost her footing and fell between the buildings.

Update 2: Published reports identified the woman as Cameron Perrelli, a Connecticut native who worked in finance in Manhattan. 

Cameron’s father Louis Perrelli said, "It's not like her to be a risk-taker. She's not one to take those risks. I don’t get it. We don’t really know a lot. We got three stories — that she was jumping from one building to the next, and we heard that she was walking on an air-conditioning vent, and then somebody just said she slipped. Don't they have a fence on top of the building? They allow parties?"

--

As previously reported, workers added a horizontal and vertical enlargement of the existing 4-floor structure at 202 Avenue A, doubling the total square footage from 5,334 to 10,920. There are eight residences here at The Topanga. The penthouse units, featuring rooftop access, are renting for $12,000 monthly, per Streeteasy.

Highpoint Property Group bought No. 202 in a deal that closed in late 2017 for $6.75 million. 

Viewing the found art of Zbigniew Zolkowski on Avenue C

Trocha Gallery is now open at 55 Avenue C at Fourth Street (the former Avenue C Studio).

The pop-up space is serving for now "as a cathedral" of Zbigniew Zolkowski's art

Here's more about him:
Zbigniew Zolkowski, known to his close circle of friends as Joey Baby, was born in Poland in 1950. Although tens of thousands of passersby have undoubtedly witnessed his art,  Zolkowski himself is all but invisible to the public.  

Among street artists, however, Joey Baby was one of the first renegades who pioneered the street art movement by risking arrest and in some cases being jailed for criminal trespass. That said, by no means does Joey struggle in obscurity. 

Rather than struggle, Zolkowski exalts in his defiance of municipal authority by transforming the industrial wastelands, deserted waterfronts and empty lots of New York City into an exhibition space always open and always free to the public. 
 
Zolkowski finds, collects and creates his trans-dimensional pieces by sifting through trash and scavenging the streets. His foraged work sets up a statement regarding the post-consumer wasteland, to be found on the curbside of urban society.  
This solo show, "Wings of Desire," opened on Thursday evening. EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these images, starting with the artist himself...
... and some gallery scenes...
It also happened to be Zolkowski's 71st birthday ... 
His friend, Pawel Trocha, presented the cake...
Trocha Gallery is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. The exhibit will be up through the end of May — possibly through the middle of June.

Reader report: Damage from last night's revelry on St. Mark's Place

A Saturday morning report from EVG reader Allen Semanco:
A walker lies smashed by a drunken crowd of revelers, largely underage, on Saint Mark's Place last night. My neighbor used it every day for walks around the neighborhood, greeting all with a friendly smile.
The walker was locked to a bike stand, and was broken away from it here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Report of a 5-alarm fire at 163 Bleecker St.

Several EVG readers have asked about the strong smell of smoke in the neighborhood early this morning ... wondering if there was a fire in the East Village. 

The fire was further to the west. The @FDNYalerts Twitter account first reported the fire at 12:36 a.m. at 163 Bleecker St. between Sullivan and Thompson. 

It eventually became a 5-alarm fire, which the FDNY declared under control at 5:33 a.m. Photos via the Citizen app show extensive damage to the retail tenant there — Uncle Ted's Modern Chinese Cuisine.
The Citizen app also reported that a firefighter sustained minor injuries.

A fire on April 19 on the corner of Bleecker and LaGuardia Place reportedly destroyed the storefront belonging to GMT Tavern.

Friday, May 21, 2021

The 'Wild Culture' Saturdays on 3rd Street

This month and into the summer, Wild Project, the nonprofit arts venue at 195 E. Third St., hosts a series of outdoor performances and events on Saturday afternoons. 

The series, which takes place outside the Third Street venue between Avenue A and Avenue B, is called Wild Culture.
Wild Culture's purpose is to facilitate cultural sustainability and help support our artists and venue by bringing the East Village neighborhood together to overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic through art and performances. 
Throughout the summer Wild Culture will produce downtown artists across music, spoken-word, poetry, dance, and theater and more to our E. 3rd St. block, just outside our venue to help revive, with our neighborhood partners, the East Village, and our city.
This Saturday (tomorrow!), Wild Culture is hosting the Spring Into Pride fashion show with neighbors 3rd & B’Zaar, as well as a musical performance. 

While the performances are free, there is a suggested donation of $10 to help Wild Project, which has been shuttered these past 14 months during the pandemic.

You can learn more about tomorrow's activities as well as purchase tickets via the Wild Project website.

'Something' to talk about

 
The new single from local band Hello Mary is out today... check out the video here for "Take Something."  

You can find their Bandcamp page here... or the EVG feature from a few weeks back here

Hello Mary is playing a sold-out show this evening at Bowery Electric.

About the Champagne Diet pop-up boutique this weekend on 9th Street

This weekend, East Village resident Cara Alwill is hosting a pop-up for her The Champagne Diet brand at 434 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

There will be a selection of vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories for sale on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for a quick sneak preview the other day...
You can also schedule an appointment here.

Police searching for suspect who punched an Asian woman at the 2nd Avenue F stop

The NYPD has released a sketch of a suspect they say punched an Asian woman on the F stop platform on Second Avenue at Houston. 

According to police, the attack occurred on April 28 at 6:40 p.m. 

From the PIX 11 report:
A 47-year-old Asian woman was walking on the southbound platform when a man approached her and punched her in the face before fleeing, police said. The woman fell to the ground and sustained bruising to her face and head, leg pain and lacerations to both hands, police said. 
No words were exchanged before the attack, according to police.
The suspect's description, per amNY:  "A 30-year-old man with a dark complexion, a full beard and short dark hair, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hat, blue jeans and white t-shirt."

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the attack.

Hate crimes involving Asian-American victims soared in New York City this past year. This Curbed post has details on some of the crimes.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.

AuH20 Thriftique is returning full time to 7th Street

Last Friday, we reported that AuH20 Thriftique was making an encore presentation over the weekend in the shop's former home at 84 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Turns out that things went quite well with the pop-up weekend... so much so that owner Kate Goldwater is reopening the space. 

Per an Instagram post:
It's been unbelievable seeing everyone this weekend and we're overwhelmed by the support. We're fortunate to have such great customers, employees and a landlord that's so willing to work with us, this past weekend and now moving forward. So we're reopening! 
For the time being, AuH20 will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m. while Goldwater figures out the particulars.

Goldwater closed the shop last fall after 14 years of selling stylish women's vintage clothes and accessories. You can keep tabs on the reopening via the AuH20 website.

A-1 Record Shop reopens tomorrow (Saturday!) for in-store shopping

A-1 Record Shop will reopen tomorrow for in-store browsing/shopping for the first time since the PAUSE of March 2020... this following last Saturday's soft-opening sidewalk sale.

This year, A-1 Record Shop celebrates 25 years in operation. Come celebrate this milestone with us as we re-open the shop to the public this Saturday, May 22! New store hours: 12-8 p.m., every day. Masks required in the store, limited capacity, BYOH (bring your own headphones), fresh bins filled with heat and deals. 
The heat is on! 

A-1 is at 439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Thursday's parting shot

Photo from Fourth Street at Second Avenue by Derek Berg...

Details on the 34th annual Loisaida Festival

The 34th annual Loisaida Festival will be taking place in a virtual format again this year... celebrated over two days — May 23 and 30.

This year’s theme, ¡Viva Loisaida!, "celebrates the Lower East Side's roots, the elements that characterize the neighborhood, and its residents’ resiliency, creativity, growth and unity."

Here's more about what to expect:
The musical lineup includes: world-renowned Mexican singer and actor Fernando Allende; Afro-Caribbean/electronic music project ÌFÉ; Puerto Rican folk singer Chabela Rodríguez; Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae All-Female Band Batalá, and acclaimed local contemporary R&B Soul-Jazz artist Duendita as well as Linda Díaz, the winner of NPR's 2020 Tiny Desk Contest.
And about this year's artwork as seen atop this post:
The official artwork for the 34th Annual [Virtual] Loisaida Festival was created by João Salomão, a local Brazilian artist also known as PIXOTE, whose distinctive style is heavily influenced by the Brazilian Pixação graffiti tradition. The commemorative poster for this year's festival was inspired by the LES punk and hip hop's NYC graffiti scene of the late eighties and nineties that helped form João's artistic practice. 
With this year’s design, the artist also pays homage to Loisaida's documentary photographer Marlis Momber, also well known as the co-producer of "Viva Loisaida," a 1978 film documenting life in the late 1970s Loisaida neighborhood.
You can find more info about the Festival and how to tune in online at this link.

Will leave you with the teaser video...

 
The first Loisaida Festival took place in 1987. You can revisit photos from the last one held in-person (2019!) on Avenue C right here.

St. Mark’s Comics is reopening this summer (in Brooklyn)


[Photo from 2015 by Stacie Joy]

St. Mark's Comics, which closed in February 2019 after 36 years at 11 St. Mark's Place, will be opening a new shop later this summer in Industry City, the retail and manufacturing hub on the Sunset Park waterfront

"We've had many offers to reopen over the past two and a half years," Mitch Cutler, one of the owners of the new shop, said in a statement. "The pandemic certainly slowed us down, but we were really waiting for the right situation. We’re tremendously excited to have found the perfect new home at Industry City."

The Brooklyn shop includes a new partner, Nick Giangarra, described as a comics professional and St. Mark's Comics veteran. 

St. Mark's Comics, which has been selling comics and collectibles online as well as appearing at the New York Comic Con in 2019, is already buying collections and stocking up to prepare for the grand reopening, currently slated for mid-summer.

Cutler said that a variety of factors, from increasing rents to changing consumer shopping habits, played a role in his decision to close on St. Mark's Place.

Land of Buddha, which specializes in Buddhist-themed antiques, jewelry, textiles, crafts and religious items, opened at 11 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in early March 2020.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to St. Mark's Comics

Openings: Soda Club on Avenue B; Jolene on Great Jones Street

Soda Club, the latest vegan concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (First reported here.) 

The restaurant is serving plant-based Italian cuisine and a large selection of natural and organic wines. You can check out the menu here

Soda Club is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to midnight. For now, they're only taking walk-ins. 

The previous tenant at No. 155, Donostia, the wine-and-tapas bar, closed in November 2018 after five years in business.

This is the third new East Village from DeRossi this year... joining Cadence on Seventh Street and Etérea on Fifth Street.

Photo by @ericmedsker via @sodaclubnyc
At 54 Great Jones St., restaurateur Gabriel Stulman has changed up concepts for The Jones, his all-day cafe that opened in August 2019 just west of the Bowery.

Starting today, the space is Jolene, which takes its name from Dolly Parton's song.

Here's more:
Inspired by the utterly charming Cafe de Flore in Paris...  Stulman has transformed The Jones into a new classic American bistro, cafe, and bar with partner and executive chef James McDuffee ... That means an extensive wine list, clutch cappuccinos, snackable bites like a "Della" tea sandwich, and satisfying mains like chopped steak frites.
Will update with the hours later. No website at the moment, but there's always Instagram.

Before The Jones, No. 54 was home to the Great Jones Cafe, which never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Meanwhile, the bust of Elvis remains from the days of the Great Jones Cafe...    

Coming soon to 9th Street: Desert Rose Cafe

For the coming-soon files... signage went up yesterday for Desert Rose Cafe here at 350 E. Ninth St. just west of First Avenue.  (Thanks to William Klayer for the pic!)

Stay tuned for more info on the new establishment. This space was last briefly O Ramen Dim Sum M, which tried to open during the pandemic without much success. And previously: beQu Juice was here until November 2019 after nearly six years in business.