The Juicy Lucy kiosk returns to service on 1st Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

After a hiatus, the Juicy Lucy kiosk is back open on First Street at First Avenue. 

Owner Rene Henricks (below) celebrated the reopening this past Saturday...

... with a small sidewalk party during the afternoon...

The kiosk is a scaled-down version of Juicy Lucy's main location — 85 Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street — offering their most popular bottled cold-pressed combos, Acai smoothies and café con leche.

Until Henricks can hire enough staff, the kiosk will be open on weekends (though doubtful during inclement weather). The Avenue A outpost is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The Juicy Lucy at First and First opened in 1996 (the Avenue A location in 2000).  

Davey's Ice Cream officially debuts today in new 9th Street shop

Photo by Steven

After two days in soft-open mode, Davey's Ice Cream officially marks its grand opening today (Friday!) on Ninth Street. 

As previously reported, Davey's decamped from its First Avenue storefront of 8-plus years in March ... and selected 309 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue for the new shop. 

And tonight (Friday!), from 6-9, there's a Grand Opening Free Scoop. 

Davey's is open Sunday-Thursday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. ... with a midnight close on Friday and Saturday.  

Empanada Mama makes it signage-on-the-plywood official on 14th and 1st

As we've been reporting back to May, an Empanada Mama outpost is opening on the NW corner of 14th Street and First Avenue. 

As the above photo via Pinch shows, Empanada Mama has put out its first signage on the space ... some wheatpaste branding on the plywood.

No word yet on an opening date on what will be the fourth EM in the city, including one at 95 Allen St. on the Lower East Side.

Papaya Dog shuttered here last fall, ending a 16-year-run.

Previously.

Thursday's parting shot

Thanks to Michael Kramer for this sunset photo...

Little Amal made a big impression on the Lower East Side

Photos by Stacie Joy 

As part of a 17-day NYC tour to raise awareness about refugee children, Little Amal visited the Lower East Side and the East Village on Wednesday.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was on Suffolk Street outside the Clemente Soto Vélez Center with the crowds who came to see the 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee named Little Amal.

Here's more via ABC News:

Created in 2021, the puppet represents a 10-year-old Syrian refugee from Aleppo searching for her mother. In Arabic, Amal means "hope," and the hope behind the larger-than-life puppet is to make sure nobody forgets about the children fleeing war, violence and oppression around the world.

It's estimated that Little Amal has reached more than 1 million people in-person with her artistic and commanding presence, traveling over 5,500 miles and visiting over 12 countries. She began her journey on the Syrian-Turkish border, then crossed Turkey, Greece, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and even visited refugee children in Lviv, Ukraine.

Her message: "Don't forget about us."

As previously noted, it takes four puppeteers to bring Little Amal to life: one on each arm, one supporting her back and one inside walking on stilts. Little Amal Walks NYC is a co-production between The Walk Productions and St. Ann’s Warehouse in association with Handspring Puppet Company. 

Little Amal's NYC trip ends on Sunday.

A short walk with a tall man

Text and photos Stacie Joy 

Chances are that you've seen Bobby ambling around the neighborhood. And how could you not?

We recently had the chance to take a short stroll with him. It took longer than expected, as many passersby stopped us to ask if they could take a picture or a selfie with him.

Bobby was super friendly with everyone he met ... a gentle giant with the starpower of a Marvel character.

Getting to know more about Bobby was not easy. However easy-going, he was evasive about answering questions, admitting to being from "upstate" and "walking to downtown NYC" but said he didn't know his age, last name or any other pertinent information. 

He said he likes ladders, Twizzlers, carrots, trees, skyscrapers and bananas and doesn't care for rain. He also said he gets pain in his hips and knees from being so leggy at 6-2. He insists he's "just very tall."

He later attempted to prove his height by using his own homemade measuring tape. 

So we went with it and enjoyed his good-natured company, stopping in a few shops along Avenue A and Avenue B... including Ben's Deli, where he obligingly turned on the hard-to-reach ceiling fans, watered the plants and enjoyed a cold drink...

We popped by Mast Books, where Bobby seemed crestfallen when told the store didn't have any books about skyscrapers...

A highlight from the excursion was the trip to Key Food, where Bobby helped manager Richie with signage installation ahead of the "Re-Grand Opening" celebration (Keyapalooza) earlier this month...

You can follow Bobby on Instagram here.

City looking for feedback about the Open Street of Avenue B

Since the spring of 2020, the Avenue B Open Street has hosted a variety of free events, including art shows, musical performances, theater, fashion events and exercise classes. 

The citywide Open Streets program was designed to ease the isolation of the pandemic by expanding outdoor public spaces. 

The Department of Transportation is seeking feedback on the Avenue B corridor, where activities take place between Sixth Street and 14th Street. 

NYC DOT has been conducting community outreach to better understand how the Avenue B Open Street is used, and how the community wants to see these corridors used in the future. 

NYC DOT is currently collecting feedback from the community for a design proposal for the Avenue B Open Street. Members of the community are invited to review the design proposal materials ... 

Here's a look at a preliminary concept...

The biggest proposed changes would occur between Seventh Street and 10th Street, which will better prioritize pedestrians and cyclists, expand public space and add amenities. Specifically, Avenue B between Eighth Street and Ninth Street would be a pedestrian plaza, with "dedicated space for programming, markets and more." 

You can find the feedback form at this link. And go here for the design proposal. Tomorrow (Sept. 30) is the deadline to submit your feedback. 

The Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition is the DOT's community partner and volunteer group overseeing the Open Street of Avenue B. 

Photo via @loisaida_oscc

Art gallery Amanita debuts today on the Bowery

Photo from Saturday when paper still covered the front windows

Amanita opens its first dedicated NYC space this evening (Sept. 29) at 313 Bowery with "Place Holder," featuring works by emerging Italian painter Leonardo Meoni.

Here's more about the first show:

The works in the exhibition are all on velvet. The marked surfaces result not from any kind of additive or subtractive process, but from something in between. This liminal state, in which pigment is not added nor are the fibers of the velvet removed, represents a mode of mark-making that is as immediate as it is indirect. 

Through this technique, Meoni has devised a refreshing approach to image-making that is the result of active, performative gestures of rubbing, brushing, pressing, and imprinting forms into the responsive velvet surface. Leo uses his fingers, unloaded paint brushes, gardening equipment, cooking utensils and construction tools to create impressions in the medium.

Tonight's opening is from 6-8. "Placeholder" will be on view here in the 3,500-square-foot space between First Street and Second Street through Oct. 30.

Caio Twombly, the son of sculptor Alessandro Twombly and grandson of the painter Cy Twombly, founded the gallery last year in Florence. 

Patagonia was in this storefront for nine years, departing back in the fall. Previously, the address was a pop-up shop for a rock-inspired clothing line called Andrew Charles created by Andy Hilfiger and Steven Tyler ... and the Morrison Hotel Gallery. And before all this: The space adjacent to CBGB housed the CBGB Record Canteen and, later, the 313 Gallery. 

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Spazio Amanita coming to the Bowery 

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg

Little Amal, the 12-foot puppet of a young refugee from Syria, was on the Lower East Side today as part of a 17-day NYC tour.

We'll have photos tomorrow via EVG contributor Stacie Joy from Little Amal's appearance. More background here.

Grab a chair: 'Free + clean' and for the taking on 2nd Avenue

As seen late this afternoon on the west side of Second Avenue near Sixth Street ... photos by Steven...

City removes tree with Dutch elm disease from Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Steven 

Parks workers were in Tompkins Square Park today to remove this American Elm between the main lawn and the dog run... unfortunately, workers said the tree had Dutch elm disease and needed to come down...

Dutch elm disease isn't a stranger to Tompkins Square Park, as we've seen through the years. 

Some background on the diseaase: 

Spread by bark beetles, the disease has decimated elm populations throughout much of Europe and North America.

The leaves on one or more branches of a stricken tree suddenly wilt, turn dull green to yellow or brown, curl, and may drop early. Young, rapidly growing elms may die in one to two months; older or less vigorous trees sometimes take two years or more to succumb. A brown to black discoloration occurs in the white sapwood of wilting branches just under the bark.

A look inside the former Gracefully storefront on Avenue A, vacant now for nearly 8 years

Photos by Stacie Joy

The sign for Gracefully remains in place outside 28 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street... even though the two-level market closed here in November 2014.

And the large space along a high-profile corridor has remained vacant these past eight years.

The other day, EVG contributor Stacie Joy toured the space with the permission of Derrick the super...

A potential tenant was to look at this space following Stacie's visit.

We don't know why this has sat empty for so long. Size? Price? Both! According to the LoopNet listing, there are 5,000 square feet on the main floor and another 3,500 in the basement ... at $80 per square foot. 

Gracefully arrived here in 1997. It was the tenant when the building — the one-time Burger-Klein furniture shop — underwent a gut renovation to look like Iron Man's helmet. 

And a little bit of Gracefully remains behind...    

Solo Pizza has closed on Avenue B

Updated: There's an auction here today at 2 p.m.

---

Solo Pizza has closed as of Monday at 27 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street. 

There's a pop-up message on the pizzeria's website...

Ownership didn't cite any reasons for the closure.

The pizzeria opened in 2007 and served up some solid slices... not to mention an eggplant parm hero. They will be missed. 

H/T Stacie Joy!

Openings: MayRee on 1st Street

MayRee has debuted at 58 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (First mentioned here.) 

The restaurant serves Southern Thai food from chef/owner Orawan Sawangphol and cocktails from industry veteran Sek Saraboon (formerly of The Met Bar in Bangkok and The Dominick Hotel in Soho). 

Here's more about MayRee via a rep:

Born and raised in Phang Nga, a small province in southern Thailand (about an hour from Phuket), Sawangphol started working in her family's restaurant at age 13, learning about techniques and spices as well as recipes from her great grandmother, eventually becoming the restaurant's chef. 

After studying hospitality, she moved to the U.S. She worked in California, Ohio, and Illinois before moving to NYC to open MayRee, her own restaurant, showcasing the Southern Thai dishes she grew up with. 

Sawangphol uses a bounty of Thai herbs and unique ingredients like garcinia cambogia (a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia, aka Malabar tamarind), along with turmeric, coconut, chilies, and more. 

You can find a menu here. And some Instagram pics here. 

And if you are curious about the name...

The restaurant's name comes from a Thai folklore story called the Twelve Sisters — MayRee is one of the sisters. Despite the misfortunes that befall her in the story, she still manages to keep a cheerful disposition and, as a result in Thai culture, she symbolizes celebration and social gathering.

MayRee is open for lunch during the week from noon to 4 p.m., with dinner 5-11 p.m. (11:30 p.m. close on Friday and Saturday). There's a weekend brunch starting at 11 a.m. Phone: (929) 989-6213.

Previously

To no surprise, 'emergency work' is necessary at the long-empty 6 Avenue B

After reading yesterday's post about workers removing the sidewalk bridge from around the Mariana Bracetti Plaza ... several readers brought up everyone's fave abandoned building — 6 Avenue B at Houston.

Yes, the sidewalk bridge remains up here — as it has been dating to 2015-16. 

And who knows how much longer it will be up here outside the long-empty 6-floor residential building.

As EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently pointed out, there are DOB notices dated Aug. 31 by the entrance... per the notice, "emergency work" is necessary "due to the disrepair of the building facade on all exposures." The repair evaluation/plan by the licensed professional the landlord hires is due by Oct. 1, 2022.     

Given that there has been 0 work done here of late... that deadline will zip on by.

As previously noted here, the liquor store in the retail space has been closed since the owner passed away in the fall of 2009 at age 89. (Chico created the tribute to her on the gate in February 2010.)

In January 2013, workers were spotted hauling out some junk from the building...  in December 2014, bricks fell from the building, breaking the foot of a passerby, as the Lo-Down reported at the time. And an SUV took out part of the sidewalk bridge in November 2018. And that's about it.

And as previously noted, this is one of the abandoned buildings owned by the estate of the mysterious team of Arthur and Abraham Blasof, now both deceased. 

Previously on EVG:

• Because you've always wanted to know what the inside of the long-empty 6 Avenue B looks like

• Let's take another look at the eerie remains of the long-abandoned 6 Avenue B 

Tuesday's parting shots

Amelia and Christo, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, taking in the views late this afternoon along Avenue B... including way atop the Christodora House (below) ... photos by Steven...