Signage alert on the SW corner of Avenue A and 6th Street

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Workers are installing the signage on the new market coming to the SW corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street — say hi to (if we're reading this correctly) Healthy Choice Foods Market. (Perhaps they will be just Healthy Choice for short?)

The market — featuring an ooh la la chandelier inside — is tentatively set to open this month.

As noted, Benny's Burritos closed here on Nov. 29, 2014, after 27 years in business. The storefront remained empty in the years since then.

Breaking! (so to speak): City finally repairing 6th Street sinkhole

Well! 

A city crew is on the scene this morning to make repairs on the tree-pit sinkhole outside 338 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Goggla shared the above photo and noted the work in progress.

As we've noted many times previously: The sinkhole formed during the drenching rains from Tropical Storm Ida on Sept. 1.

Since then, a makeshift barrier including parts of Awash's outdoor dining space and other found objects have been guarding/blocking the sidewalk. Pedestrians had to walk on Sixth Street on the south side of the street to bypass the sinkhole. The sinkhole claimed the tree here in early December. 

No word on why it took four-plus months to have this repaired ... even with numerous residents calling this in to 311 and other various city agencies. 

Today in freebies on 3rd Avenue

As seen this morning on Third Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...

A single boxing glove for a lefty only! Thanks to Steven for the pic.

The March Hare is closing so the owners can focus on health and family

Photo from November 2020 by Steven 

After a little more than a year in business at 321 E. Ninth St., The March Hare will be closing in the days ahead. 

As we previously reported, Karen McDermott, who runs the whimsical toy shop with her husband Jason McGroarty, was diagnosed with colon cancer last fall. 

Running a business and navigating the challenges of chemotherapy was too much, and they decided to close down the shop here between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... with the hopes that someone may have an interest in taking it over. 

Here's part of an email to EVG from last evening:

As you may be aware my wife and co owner of The March Hare was diagnosed with colon cancer in October last year. We have been amazed by the outpouring of love and support from everyone in the village since then. However we have made the decision to close our little store in order to focus on our battle with cancer. 

I would love to say it wasn't an easy decision to make but it was easy, for health and family should always come first. It has been a wonder to own and operate a store on the very block we live on. The need for a quirky little village toy store focusing on creativity, early development and good ol' classic wonder is alive and well. 

So, if anyone would like to carry on the legacy much like we did after Dinosaur Hill, we are open to offers. I believe it would be a shame to let the story end with us but our part, much like a chapter in your favorite book, has come to an end. This is a great turnkey retail opportunity for the right person, if you feel the calling much like we did (and still do), get in touch. 

Until that day comes we will be selling our remaining stock. Pop by and grab a few goodies while they last. Remember, things never really end, they simply change. You will still see us strolling around the village as usual so feel free to wave or stop for a chit chat.

There's also a crowdfunding campaign to help the couple pay for medical and living expenses. (McDermott just started her fifth round of chemotherapy.) You can find that link here. 

The March Hare opened in November 2020. The shop was carrying on for Dinosaur Hill, the 37-year-old toy store on the block where McDermott had worked. Dinosaur Hill closed in 2020 after owner Pamela Pier retired.

We wish all the best to Karen and Jason!

Thursday's parting shot

A moment today in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Derek Berg...

DiGiorno Pizza Rat debuts in Tompkins Square Park

Hi. How has your day been? 

Meanwhile, as seen this afternoon from Tompkins Square Park. Hello DiGiorno Pizza Rat! 

(And thanks to Goggla for the clip!)

 

Exit9 reopens on Avenue A after fire next door

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Exit9 Gift Emporium reopened yesterday — just two days after the two-alarm fire destroyed neighboring business Essex Card Shop late Monday afternoon here on Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the shop yesterday, where she found a thankful co-owner Charles Branstool in the retail space in the base of the 13-floor Ageloff Towers... 

"I feel incredibly grateful and lucky to have been spared such an unthinkable tragedy. It was difficult to comprehend the surreal events as they unfolded....watching Exit9 remain virtually untouched while witnessing the destruction of my neighbor's family business," he said. "Thanks to the solid construction of the Ageloff Towers, the fire could not spread so easily. The outpouring of love and support from this community has been both humbling and heartwarming." 

However pleased Branstool was to be back open, his thoughts remained with his neighbor to the south. Essex Card Shop relocated next door at 47 Avenue A in June 2020. However, like Exit9, the Card Shop has been an Avenue A mainstay for more than 20 years.

"Let's not forget the real tragedy here is the loss of Essex Card Shop. My heart goes out to Muhammed and Jay and their family. I can't imagine what trauma they must be experiencing at this moment," Branstool said. "If there's one thing this community has taught me is that we know how to be resilient. Let's help them rebuild." (He then mentioned their GoFundMe effort. "Every little bit helps during times like this.") 

Given the dramatic photos at the scene on Monday, it's incredible that Exit9 remained intact, free of any water damage. A faint odor of smoke hung in the air. (There's an air purifier running in the shop.) A fire official told Stacie that the solid cement ceiling and brick walls in the storefronts served as a firebreak and prevented further damage to the building. 

"As for Exit9, she is a survivor. We just needed one day to rest and freshen up. We've cleaned up our floors and shelves, and a HEPA air filter is scrubbing the air," he said. "New Valentine's Day windows have already been installed. A fluffy feather baby cradled in a giant white heart, so things are already looking up for us."

Exit9, now in its 27th year, is at 51 Avenue A. Store hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with Sunday hours of noon to 6 p.m.

For further reading on EVG: 

• Downtown Yarns hopes to reopen in a week

• Assessing the fire damage at Essex Card Shop

Downtown Yarns hopes to reopen in a week

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Late Monday afternoon, Leti Ruiz stood on the east side of Avenue A below Third Street, anxiously watching the FDNY battle the two-alarm blaze that started inside Essex Card Shop across the street.

Downtown Yarns, housed in a sliver of a storefront, is next door to the south of the Card Shop, where thick smoke was billowing skyward. 

She thought that the fire would destroy the homey shop she's owned for three-plus years. 

Miraculously, Downtown Yarns — like Exit9, the Card Shop's neighbor to the north — escaped any significant damage. As previously noted, the stout cement ceiling and brick walls in the storefronts of the 13-floor Ageloff Towers served as a firebreak and prevented further damage to the building and adjacent businesses.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday as a rep from Servpro, which provides fire and water cleanup, finished his space assessment. Thankfully, there wasn't any harm caused by water.

He said that it would take about a week to thoroughly remove the smoke odor so Ruiz could reopen. Right now, Ruiz is using Febreeze, which she doesn't like, baking soda, and the industrial air scrubbers that the building has supplied.

Ruiz is grateful for the outpouring of support, including homemade signs of encouragement that students at the Neighborhood School around the corner placed on her storefront. 

In a further show of support, she noted that "so many people stopped by offering to buy the stinky yarn, but I don't want to sell smelly yarn to them."

You can follow Downtown Yarns on Instagram here for reopening information.

For further reading on EVG: 

• Exit9 reopens on Avenue A after fire next door

• Assessing the fire damage at Essex Card Shop

Assessing the fire damage at Essex Card Shop

Photos by Stacie Joy

A fire destroyed the Essex Card Shop at 47 Avenue A late Monday afternoon. Thankfully there weren't any injuries.

And we're starting to get an idea how badly the fire damaged the storefront here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

FDNY officials returned to inspect the space yesterday. EVG contributor Stacie Joy was also there...

Owner Muhammad Aslam and his oldest daughter Mehnaz Noreen, the shop's retail sales manager, were on hand.

The two are awaiting the fire marshal's report to submit to the insurance company to begin the process of reopening. (Longtime manager Jayant "Jay" Patel previously said that he smelled smoke coming from the bathroom in the rear of the store and immediately called the FDNY.) 

The father and daughter wished to express their gratitude for the outpouring of support from the community. (The GoFundMe launched Monday night has exceeded $50,000 to help the family pay for additional expenses and lost income.)

They were particularly heartened by the handmade signs that students from room 205 at the Neighborhood School left for them on the storefront's rolldown gate...

Aslam then inspected the remains of the shop, which opened here in June 2020 after more than 20 years at 39 Avenue A.

A few items, such as a ledger, somehow survived the fire...

And in case you were wondering about the ATM here... a technician arrived to remove the cash...

While Stacie was there, multiple residents stopped by to wish Aslam and his family well ... including the owners of the adjacent businesses, Leti Ruiz of Downtown Yarns and Charles Branstool of Exit9...

We'll keep you posted as Essex Card Shop starts the challenging reopening process. You'll likely see Aslam around. He told Stacie that he "doesn't wish to stay at home."

For further reading on EVG: 

 • Exit9 reopens on Avenue A after fire next door 

• Downtown Yarns hopes to reopen in a week

Solving the Great Santa Claus Mystery of Tompkins Square Park

Late last night, the rando Santa Claus looked all aglow in an upright position under the holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park, as these photos by EVG reader Jake Bowling show...

As we've been noting this week (here and here), someone brought this Santa figure to the tree in the park sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. 

At one point, Santa was standing proudly... other times, he was flat on his back, per hijinks. 

And through some detective work (our fee: $200 per day plus expenses) and some reader comments, we learned how Santa came to town to the park. (Early reports that Santa was nabbed from a lobby turned out to be incorrect.) 

This Santa had been holding forth outside East Village Social on St. Mark's Place this past holiday season. 

On Sunday night, someone from the bar transported SC to his new resting place... here's a video via Instagram showing Santa on the move (to the gentle strains of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by East Village Social aka EVS (@eastvillagesocial)

Sadly, the trail ends here. Steven, our secret Santa correspondent, reports that there's no sign of the Claus in the Park today...

Hopefully, he'll be back again some day (or is that Frosty?).

Lights out: Bulb Concepts has closed on 7th Street

Bulb Concepts has closed at 13 E. Seventh St., just east of Cooper Square.

EVG regular Salim shared these photos... showing that the small shop's exterior has been cleaned out.

There wasn't any mention of a closure on their lightly used social media properties.

Jessie Lee and Anthony Wong opened Bulb Concepts in October 2013 (read our feature here), offering a nice variety of light bulbs, commercial and residential light fixtures, lamp parts and more. They also had many hard-to-find items and always provided friendly and attentive service.

The couple sold the business at some point, though the service remained the same.

Bulb Concepts was one of those little specialty shops we'd love to see more of in the neighborhood. They will be missed.

Key Food is no longer open 24/7

You will now need to rethink your spontaneous 3 a.m. excursions to Key Food on Avenue A at Fourth Street.

ICYMI: Key Food is now closing overnight from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. (Thanks to the reader for the photo!) 

We heard rumblings from employees about a late-night shoplifting problem. Plus, unrelated or not, as we understand it, the self-service kiosks stop working for system updates at 1 a.m., so all the people trying to buy, say, beer and chips at that hour have to wait in a solitary line at the only available checkout with the cashier who looks stressed out. 

In other gossipy Key news, we're told that those updates to the aisles (detailed here and here) are on hold for the time being due to the uptick in positive COVID-19 cases in NYC.

H/T Stacie Joy!

A call to revamp ABC Playground at P.S. 20 on Houston and Essex

District 1, an area covering the Lower East Side, NoHo, Chinatown, and more, is currently gathering feedback in the city's Participatory Budget (PBNYC) program. (Christopher Marte is the new City Council representative for District 1. District 2, which includes the East Village and is led by Carlina Rivera, is not in this PBNYC cycle.) 

As you may know, PBNYC enables NYC residents to propose, evaluate and vote on projects in their districts. Successful projects will be funded by Council Member discretionary funds. 

Several EVG readers are championing a revamp of the ABC Playground at Houston and Essex outside P.S. 20 Anna Silver.

Here's what is proposed:

ABC Playground, an expansive 0.45-acre space at the prime Lower East Side intersection of Houston and Essex streets, has outstanding, untapped potential to better serve its diverse, multi-generational public. Built in 1934 and last renovated in 1998, the severely under-resourced park has unresolved violations. 

The two outdated metal play structures are often in disrepair, and the large fields of cracked, uneven pavement are hazardous. All materials are dilapidated or structurally deteriorating. Drainage issues and failing plumbing infrastructure frequently create large puddles that render the center of the park unusable. ABC Playground requires significant upgrades to improve safety, satisfy building code, and realize its mission as a recreational space for education and community building. 

Requested upgrades include: two new play structures with rubber safety surfacing for ages 1-4 and 5-12; a water element for all ages; one set of adult and child drinking fountains; an asphalt track; a multi-purpose asphalt field with markings for baseball, hopscotch, and other games; a basketball court with new hoops; 15 concrete park benches to enhance accessibility and create inviting meeting areas; and 8 trash receptacles.

You can leave comments and endorse this project here. 

There are dozens of proposed projects for District 1, and find those at this link.

Another day, another smoke shop reveal in the East Village

In 2022, no one will be able to say the neighborhood is lacking in places to buy smokes and snacks.

Pinch shares this recent reveal at 223 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... where signage is up for Smokers Zone 1. The signage promises a smoke shop, snacks and drinks, and vaporizers.

This marks what seems like the 87th* smoke shop to open here in the last year.

This storefront has been vacant since Fat Cat Kitchen closed in late 2019 after 2.5 years in business.

* not an accurate number!

Tuesday's parting shot

A message of support on the burned-out Essex Card Shop gate at 47 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. (Read our fire coverage here and here.) 

The note is for the shop's longtime manager, Jayant "Jay" Patel ... seen below in this photo by Stacie Joy from June 2020 when the business relocated here from 39 Avenue A. 

Jay and everyone at the shop are fine. The storefront has been destroyed, though. The fundraiser to help to rebuild and cover expenses is here.

Chip, chip hooray! Video highlights from MulchFest 2022

EVG reader 4paul shares a rather sublime highlights video from this past Chipping Weekend, which (sob) marks the conclusion of the always-festive MulchFest season... highlights are from our own Tompkins Square Park as well as Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick. 

H/T Goggla!

Meanwhile, in Tompkins Square Park ...

An update on the decorative Santa figure that found its way underneath the holiday tree in Tompkins Square Park early yesterday — or overnight Sunday. (First post here.) 

As EVG decorative Santa correspondent Steven noted, there was a moment of joy yesterday afternoon when good samaritans propped up the Santa for a more traditional and dignified Santa stance...

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end on a happy note.

No, at some point, TBD, Santa ended up flat on his back once again... as seen this morning...

Oh, dear.

DOUBLE OH DEAR!

Thankfully, the dog did NOT weewee on Santa. 

And to be continued, probably...