Walk with Little Amal tomorrow on the Lower East Side and East Village

Photo by @respectivecollective via Instagram 

You've likely read about Little Amal, a larger-than-life representation of a young refugee from Syria. 

Little Amal, who symbolizes hope for displaced refugees, has been in NYC this month on a 17-day tour. 

Tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 28), Little Amal will be on the Lower East Side and the East Village. The itinerary for "The Walk" starts at the Tenement Museum at 1 p.m. and Clemente Soto Vélez Center at 4 p.m. The 12-foot puppet will then be at La Mama on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery at 7 p.m. for a procession over to Washington Square Park. Details here. 

Per the Walk With Amal website: 

It takes four puppeteers to bring Little Amal to life: one on each arm, one supporting her back and one inside walking on stilts. This fourth puppeteer also controls "the harp," a complex tapestry of strings that animate Little Amal's face, head and eyes. 

Little Amal Walks NYC is a co-production between The Walk Productions and St. Ann’s Warehouse in association with Handspring Puppet Company.

At long last, workers remove the sidewalk bridge from around Mariana Bracetti Plaza

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Last Tuesday, workers started removing the sidewalk bridge from around the Mariana Bracetti Plaza, the 7-story NYCHA-run housing complex on Third Street and Fourth Street along Avenue C.

The removal brought cheers from residents, as PIX11 noted. Residents who EVG contributor Stacie Joy talked with were thrilled it was gone, and that in the past eight years or so, the workers had only repaired a few bricks. 

Tenant advocates have blamed the longstanding sidewalk structures for the increase in illegal activities here in recent years — not to mention more rats and unsanitary conditions from use as a public restroom. 

According to DOB records, permits for a sidewalk shed date here to December 2000. (Reason: "loose brick.") There are records of permits for installing a sidewalk bridge in March 2003 ... April 2004 (for "remedial repairs") ... August 2015 ... and October 2017. (A Google Streetview shows a structure in place continuously back to 2016.) 

Hopefully, the sidewalks will remain free of other structures. There was a fake-out here in March 2021 after workers took down the sidewalk bridge before rebuilding it several days later. (They were replacing some rotting wooden planks.)

So the views for now...

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Local elected officials, NYCHA reps get firsthand look at the problems at Mariana Bracetti Plaza 

• Residents say dangerous safety conditions at Mariana Bracetti Plaza lead to illegal and hazardous activities 

• Another look at conditions in and around the Mariana Bracetti Plaza public housing complex

• PSA 4 providing increased security at Mariana Bracetti Plaza

345 Cantina takes over for Tableside on 6th Street

The 345 Cantina is up and running now at 345 E. Sixth St. just west of First Avenue. (Thanks to the reader tips on this!)

The 345 serves up tacos, beer and cocktails. You can find an online menu here. And an Instagram account here. 

This arrival also marks the end of Tableside ... the Italian restaurant closed on Aug. 29 after five-plus years in business. Ownership did not provide a reason behind the closure in an Instagram announcement.   

The P.F. Chang's outpost opens Friday on University Place

The P.F. Chang's outpost on the SE corner of 13th Street and University Place is slated to open this Friday, per the restaurant chain's website. (The brand's horse mascot has been under wraps here for the past few weeks.) 

As previously reported, this will be P.F. Chang's first sit-down restaurant in NYC — and a large one with three floors of space. 

The company opened several P.F. Chang's To Go outposts during the pandemic ... there are more than 300 locations worldwide. 

Italian restaurant brand Vapiano was previously in this University Place space. 

Thanks to EVG reader Doug for the photos!

Monday's parting shot

Power washing the graffiti off the ping-pong table in Tompkins Square Park this morning... photo by Derek Berg...

This week in paving (but not milling)

It looks like paving only tonight and tomorrow night on Third Street from Avenue D to the Bowery...

Seventh Street is also on the docket for paving from Avenue D to Cooper Square ... though it appears that just the section between Second Avenue and Cooper Square needs the new surface...

You can check the DOT schedule here. 

The milling on these streets commenced on Sept. 6.

Thanks to Stacie Joy for the top pic!

New cat owner opens Cosmic Cat Cafe on 2nd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Cosmic Cat Cafe opened last week at 170 E. Second St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...

The sliver of a storefront — previously a hair salon — offers up a selection of coffee drinks (and some teas)...

Owner-barista Sonam Chorda is a first-time cat parent ... and recently received two cats from the same litter. He loves them so much, and says "cats are out of this world, so Cosmic Cats it is."

And despite the name, there aren't any actual cats on the premises.

Daily hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thanks to the EVG readers who first told us about this opening!

La Pizza Italiya taking over the Baker's Pizza space on Avenue A

Signage is up for La Pizza Italiya at 201 Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The awning notes Pasta, Gluten Free and "Krunchy Chicken." (Quotes ours!)

La Pizza takes over for Baker's Pizza. Some recent history there: A "Permanently Closed RIP" message was posted atop the pizzeria's website in January. However, several weeks later, the pizzeria reopened (though not by original owner Jordan Baker). BPII didn't last, though, long as the gates came down and a closed/Department of Health notice arrived on the door dated March 31. A for-rent sign arrived in the summer.

Baker's arrived in February 2016 and quickly built a fervent fanbase.

No word yet on an opening date for La Pizza Italiya.

Kenneth Cole reopening Bowery outpost with a 'Temporary' concept

Now that the J. Crew Men's store is all settled in at 316 Bowery... Kenneth Cole is making a comeback a block to the north where signage shows a new concept on the way called Temporary...

Cole signed a 10-year lease here at Bond Street in 2015 ... the shop had been closed since the start of the pandemic, though the space has hosted several pop-up events. 

According to its website, Temporary will focus on men's essentials.

In 2016, the company announced it was closing all but two of its U.S. brick-and-mortar stores to focus on "its e-commerce and international business." The Bowery outpost was one of two that remained in service.

Buka bringing Nigerian cuisine to 1st Avenue

Photos by Steven

The Brooklyn-based Buka is bringing its homestyle Nigerian cuisine to 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street ... 

This will be a second outpost for Buka, which has a new location on Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy after launching in 2010. (This piece at Eater offers more details about what to expect from Buka.)

Per the Buka Instagram account, this East Village spot is expected to open on Oct. 1 with hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can find a menu here.

The space was previously home to Drunken Dumpling, which debuted in the fall of 2016 and received favorable press for its gigantic soup dumplings created by the mother-son team here. The restaurant was closed for a good part of the pandemic, reopening back in November before going dark again in the spring. 

Yaki Sushi takes over for Hawkers on 14th Street

There's a concept change at 225 E. 14th St. 

A new venture called Yaki Sushi, featuring a lengthy menu for the venue's lengthy bar-like set-up, has taken over the storefront here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... marking the end of Hawkers, which offered Southeast Asian street-style food since its 2010 debut. 

A Parish Picnic outside St. Stanislaus on 7th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

Today, St. Stanislaus — New York's oldest (and only) Polish Roman-Catholic church — hosted a Parish Picnic on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy and shared these photos from the family-friendly event outside the church, which is celebrating its 150 anniversary... 

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo on Avenue A by Derek Berg) ... 

• Big changes are coming to the iconic skate spot in Tompkins Square Park (Monday) 

• Community groups advocating for low-income housing on these 2 East Village sites (Tuesday) 

• Ella Funt & Club 82 looks to bring food, film and theater to storied 4th Street venue (Monday) 

• The [plant-baked] retail space is closing on 7th Street this Sunday (Friday) 

• The former Uncle Johnny grocery slated for demolition on Avenue D and 5th Street (Wednesday) 

• The great First Avenue Laundry Center is closing for renovations this fall (Thursday) 

• Good Beer has closed (Monday) 

• Crossroads Trading bringing the resale and vintage clothing to Second Avenue (Friday)

• Openings: Monsieur Vo on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• New York State is selling off the contents of Matthew Kenney's restaurant Sestina (Thursday) 

• Pretty much a full reveal at the incoming Empanada Mama (Wednesday)

• Former Tarallucci e Vino space for rent (Thursday) 

• Former Los Tacos space now a 787 Coffee training facility on 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• Longtime bar space at 68 2nd Ave. hits the rental market (Tuesday) 

• 1 guess on what is coming to this empty storefront on Avenue A and 13th Street (Monday) 

• Signage alert: Chomp Chomp Thai Kitchen on 1st Street (Friday) 

• New 6th Street psychic apparently didn't summon psychic powers before taking this space (Thursday)

• A Link5G tower for Avenue A (Tuesday) 

... and speaking of Link5G towers, on Friday, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted workers erecting one on Clinton Street between Houston and Stanton... 

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

The return of Village Voices

Photos by Steven

The 2022 edition of Village Voices, an installation of 24 public art exhibits that honor downtown trailblazers and their legacies, is up now around the East Village, Greenwich Village and Noho. 

You can find several boxes on the fence along St Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street...featuring photographer-cinematographer Helen Levitt...

... abstract-impressionist painter Joan Mitchell ...

... and jazz great Charlie Parker...

Each box has a QR code that you can scan to hear more about the individuals. (As NY1 pointed out, Jesse Eisenberg and Edward Norton are among the narrators.) 

Once again, Village Preservation is behind this new work... you can read more about the exhibit, up through Oct. 30, right here. Find a map with all the locations via this link.

NYCHA officials appear before City Council: The latest from the Riis Houses water scandal

NYCHA officials appeared before City Council yesterday in an emergency hearing to answer questions about the agency's "lethargic response" to complaints about cloudy water and positive arsenic test results at the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D (Previously on EVG)... 

• NYCHA admits knowing of "cloudy water" at Riis Houses months before arsenic scare (Daily News) 

• NYC wants answers after tainted water scare (ABC 7) 

• Lab behind botched water tests at Jacob Riis Houses not authorized to perform work in NY, public housing officials say (Gothamist) 

• NYCHA could have fast tracked 24-hour water tests. Instead, it decided to wait weeks for results. (The City) 

• Malfunctioning water tank now under scrutiny as root of NYCHA arsenic crisis (The City)

Today, @NYCCouncil is holding an emergency hearing to investigate NYCHA’s response to concerns over water safety at Jacob Riis Houses.

For weeks we have demanded accountability and full transparency from NYCHA. We expect that today.

My opening remarks ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/103nB89ZsK

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) September 23, 2022

St. Stanislaus hosting a Parish Picnic on 7th Street this Sunday

 

Photos by Stacie Joy

Tomorrow (Sunday, Sept.25), St. Stanislaus — New York's oldest (and only) Polish Roman-Catholic church — is hosting a Parish Picnic on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Signage promises Polish cuisine and products, books, flowers, art and more ... from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

St. Stanislaus is also celebrating its 150th year...  

Noted (booted-Subaru edition)

After 15 days in the bus lane on Avenue A below Third Street, the booted Subaru without plates has been removed. (And please let us know if you spot it elsewhere, like another bus lane or the center of Tompkins Square Park.)

Where to watch the David Bowie documentary 'Moonage Daydream' locally

In case you wanted to see the fever-dream David Bowie documentary "Moonage Daydream" ... it's playing at several local theaters: 

• Village East by Angelika 

• Regal Union Square

• Regal Essex Crossing 

• AMC Kips Bay 15 

Here's more about Brett Morgen's well-reviewed film via Collider: 

"Moonage Daydream" is an explosive mixture of previously unreleased archival footage of Bowie and live concert footage. It is also the first documentary about David Bowie to be authorized by his estate. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where it received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the film for its experimental, unconventional structure. 

And! 

Morgen received exclusive permission from the Bowie Estate to develop the film, the first filmmaker to receive such massive exposure to Bowie's huge litany of work. Morgen was granted unprecedented access to five million items belonging to Bowie, including paintings, drawings, recordings, photographs, films and journals.

 

Bowie, a longtime resident of Lafayette Street, died in January 2016.  

Stuyvesanthenge

From last evening... a look at Stuyvesanthenge, an event during in which the setting sun is aligned with Stuyvesant Street at Ninth Street and Third Avenue to 10th Street in front of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery...

Per Wikipedia: "Although the street runs diagonally in relation to the Manhattan street grid, geographically it is one of the few true east–west streets in Manhattan, since most of the grid runs southeast–northwest at a 28.9 degree offset."

'Foul' play

 

This is "A Foul Form," from the most recent release by Osees (aka OCS, Oh Sees and Thee Oh Sees) ... one of the best live bands around (IMO)... and they are playing tonight and tomorrow night out at Warsaw in Greenpoint.