Wednesday, January 25, 2023

A look at the currently closed Mermaid Inn on 2nd Avenue

Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, an EVG tipster told us that workers were removing the contents from the currently closed Mermaid Inn on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

A look inside reveals an almost-empty restaurant ...
After a 7-week encore, Mermaid Inn went gone dark in October. At the time, the official word was a temporary closure for the season. 

Door signage still points to a seasonal shutter...
Despite this, two MI employees told us last fall that this closing was permanent. 

Meanwhile, the East Village location is no longer on the MI website. We'll see what transpires.

Mermaid Inn closed here during the pandemic. Co-owner Daniel Abrams and partner Cindy Smith decided to shut down the seafood restaurant in the wake of failed attempts to reach a workable rent deal, Eater reported

Then came a (delayed) triumphant return last September.

The Mermaid Inn arrived in the East Village back in 2003, with several outposts to follow... most recently a massive space on 10th Avenue in December.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Tuesday's parting shots

Oscar nominations were announced this morning... and, FWIW, several of those films are playing at the Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue at 12th Street... where three of the EVG f2022 avorites are — "Tár," "Aftersun" and "Decision to Leave" ...
Somehow, "Decision to Leave" wasn't nominated in a single category. Also, the Academy didn't nominate any women directors despite plenty of worthy films. (See Sarah Polley, "Women Talking" ... Gina Prince-Bythewood, "The Woman King" ... and Charlotte Wells, "Aftersun," among others.)

At the opening of New York's second legal weed dispensary

Photos by Steven Walker 

New York's second-state licensed cannabis shop debuted this morning on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. 

Smack LLC also marks the first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license in New York operated by an owner with a prior marijuana conviction. 

Here's more about the owner, Roland Conner, via the press advisory
Prior to receiving this license, Roland Conner owned and operated property management businesses in New York City for 15 years. He currently manages a transitional housing facility providing shelter for two dozen men in The Bronx. Mr. Conner is opening Smacked LLC with his son and wife. In applying for his license, Mr. Conner received support from the Bronx Cannabis Hub, which was founded by the Bronx Defenders and the Bronx Community Foundation to support individuals applying for the first round of CAURD licenses. 

"I am so excited to become a part of history as the first individual to open a legal cannabis dispensary in New York City. Given my experience with cannabis, I never could have imagined that I would be opening a store like this. I'm grateful for the opportunity to open a business with my son and wife at my side... But this is not just about me and my family. This is about everyone who was harmed by the draconian drug laws of the past. New York's commitment to righting those wrongs through the law is inspiring. I am proof of that commitment because I'm standing here today." 
East Village-based photographer Steven Walker shared these photos from the grand opening...
... which garnered quite a bit of media attention...
Smacked LLC is at 144 Bleecker St. near LaGuardia.

The Housing Works Cannabis Co. store — New York's first legal recreational marijuana market — opened to great fanfare and long lines on Dec. 29 on Broadway at Eighth Street in a former Gap retail space. 

Check out these 'Creatures of the Night' at Theater for the New City

"Creatures of the Night," a new group art show curated by MarcusGlitteriS, opens tonight in the gallery space at Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. near 10th Street. 

The show, up through February, explores NYC nightlife from a variety of perspectives. 

The opening is 5:30-8:30 this evening with a few special guests. 

If you can't make it tonight, the gallery space is generally open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — later when there's a performance at TNC.

La Mama to celebrate the reopening of its renovated home at 74A E. 4th St.

The La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club family will welcome the return of its renovated original home on Fourth Street with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 9. 

Restoration work has been ongoing the past few years at the landmarked building at 74A E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. (The sidewalk bridge and construction netting were removed back in the fall.) 

La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart bought the building as the off-off-Broadway institution's first permanent home in 1967.
When Ellen Stewart purchased 74 East 4th Street, the building had no roof, no flooring, and no back wall. She founded La MaMa with the belief that space is vital to the creative process and art can be a powerful vehicle for communities to come together. That belief is at the heart of La MaMa’s mission. 

Today, this building that Ellen rescued from demolition decades ago, is a New York City landmark undergoing a major capital renovation. This renovation fundamentally shifts how La MaMa and other arts and cultural organizations interact with their communities across the U.S. and beyond.

ADA accessibility to all floors, an enlarged lobby area, dedicated community space, an outdoor terrace, and a building-wide data network will allow La MaMa to maintain two versatile sound-separated theater spaces that host performances and art experiences as well as create expanded opportunities for community-driven and educational programming. 

We are excited to welcome you into the building. We want you to experience the new spaces, and see how artists and audiences can engage through new models of connectivity that exponentially increase access to the arts for all.
 

Four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, who got his start at La Mama, recently pledged a matching grant to support 74A.

Bluestockings reopens after a 2-week closure for sidewalk repairs

Photos by Stacie Joy

Bluestockings Cooperative, the collectively-run activist center, community space and feminist bookstore at 116 Suffolk St., reopened yesterday after a two-week closure to repair the sidewalk outside the storefront here between Rivington and Delancey.

The work was originally expected to take just two days.

During the temp closure, fans of Bluestockings helped support the space by ordering books online and becoming members.
Meanwhile, in-person events return here next month, including author talks.

Bluestocking, which debuted on the LES in 1999, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (with a 1 p.m. start on Mondays). 

Monday, January 23, 2023

Worker bricks up tribute mural at the former P.S. 64/Charas site on 10th Street

A longtime EVG reader alerted us to the 10th Street side of the long-vacant former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

As part of the effort to seal up the building, a worker used cinder blocks to cover part of a Charas tribute/LES history mural here — one that included part of a former doorway.

By early evening, work had stopped for the day...
So far, only one of the murals has been disfigured by the building work. 

The murals first arrived in late November ... a PIRAGUA art space initiative in partnership with by the Thrive Collective, Loisaida Inc., the Clemente, LES Community Concerns, MoRUS and La Plaza Cultural, among others.

At the end of 2022, Gregg Singer's nearly 23-year tenure as building owner ended. 

On Dec. 23, New York State Justice Melissa Crane ordered the foreclosure and sale of the building with a default, including penalties and interest totaling approximately $90 million. (You can read Crane's 20-page decision and order here.)

The order could send the property back to auction within 90 days.

Rent hike forcing Café Cortadito to close on 3rd Street

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

After 18 years in business, Café Cortadito (210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B) is closing at the end of the month. 

Ricardo Arias and Patricia Valencia, the husband-and-wife owners of the popular Cuban restaurant, say they can't afford the landlord's rent hike from $8,000 to $15,000 a month. The last day is this coming Saturday, Jan. 28. (There was also an issue with a large water bill passed along by the landlord during the pandemic. The matter ended up in court, and a judge sided with the landlord.)
The Cortadito team also said that they would be dismantling the curbside dining structure and donating salvageable parts to the nearby community garden and to people who requested a souvenir from the restaurant...
On the positive side, the owners said they would like to stay local and are hoping to relocate elsewhere in the neighborhood — they've already looked at a few available spaces on Second Avenue. 

As for what's next for this space, there's speculation that corner tenant Poco may take over this lease.

Crossroads Trading opens Friday on 2nd Avenue

Crossroads Trading opens on Friday (Jan. 27) at 122 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. 

Ahead of the grand opening, the signage arrived this past Friday. (H/T Steven!)

As we reported back in September, the buy-sell-trade-consign retailer for men's and women's clothing and accessories has more than 30 locations across the country, with several outposts in NYC — including on West 13th Street and West 26th Street. 

The company, founded in 1991, works like this: "Customers sell their current, on-trend clothing and accessories for cash or trade credit." 

Crossroads will be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with a 7 p.m. close on Sundays.

The previous tenant here, Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy, is now operating out of the Sixth Street Community Center. 

The 21-story building that replaced B Bar & Grill begins its ascent on the Bowery

Since our last update at the start of the year, the framework for the first level of the future 21-story office building has made its debut on the SW corner of Fourth Street and the Bowery.

As we've been reporting, the 110,000-square-foot building — with ground-floor retail — is at the site of the former B Bar & Grill (1994-2020).

And before you know it, this will be here at the new address — 360 Bowery... 
Here's more about the project via the website of architect Morris Adjmi:
360 Bowery is a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional glass office tower. Standing taller than most nearby structures, the new commercial building's tiered volume subtly twists, drawing reference to the different scales within its historic urban-industrial context while also responding to the neighborhood’s newer additions.
And!

Designed to maximize views, 360 Bowery's façade is essentially a field of openings. The custom-built, high-performance unitized curtain wall system features dark gray painted aluminum frames and blush-colored GFRC spandrel panels in a fluted pattern that gets tighter as it moves up the building. Single-pane windows, measuring roughly 5’x10’, are inset within 10” metal fins. These deep, dark frames add a layer of shadows, further articulating the façade. As a lighter counterpoint, the building's corners are open and airy with a structural joint hidden behind the glass.

Terraces are also a defining feature of the tower. While the building's massing was largely influenced by zoning restrictions, the tiered volumes create opportunities for ample outdoor amenity space with views north and east, looking out over the Bowery and onto one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods.

As previously reported, CB Developers paid $59.5 million for a stake in 358-360 Bowery, a gas station before its conversion into the bar-restaurant. B Bar owner Eric Goode, who owns a handful of hotels, including the Bowery Hotel across the way, assembled air rights to build the more extensive development on this corner space. 

As for the B Bar, the one-time hot spot (circa the mid-1990s) was expected to close for good in August 2020. However, the place never reopened after the PAUSE in March 2020.

We first reported on this project in January 2021. 

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Sunday's parting shot

A black-and-white view from 10th Street and Avenue A...

Week in Grieview

Posts that past week included (with a shot of the neon goodness at Block Drug Store on Second Avenue and Sixth Street)... 

• Report: The Regal Union Square multiplex to close after bankruptcy filing (Thursday

• Sealing up the former Charas/P.S. 64 on 9th Street (Wednesday

• There won't be a last-minute reprieve for Commodities (Wednesday

• Openings: Caleta and Bad Habit on Avenue A (Friday

• Let's go to the Stuyvesant Casino! (Monday

• Report: Incoming legal cannabis dispensary drawing opposition on 3rd Street (Tueaday

• Döner Haus bringing 'real German kebabs' to 14th Street (Tuesday

• Current Coffee debuts in The Bowery Market (Thursday

• Superiority Burger, now with coming-soon signage on Avenue A (Thursday

• On the January CB3-SLA docket: fresh bread, vinyl records and the members-only FlyFish Club (Tuesday

• That's all for Tony's Famous Pizza on 1st Avenue (Wednesday

• Greenwich Marketplace closes on 4th Avenue (Wednesday

• Signage alert: Sushi Fan on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday

• Report: Junoon owner bringing a new Indian restaurant to the former Momofuku Ssäm Bar (Friday)

• Bait & Hook has not been open lately (Wednesday)

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Noted

Photo yesterday by Stacie Joy

The public restrooms remain out of commission (since November) in Tompkins Square Park... per previous reportsa malfunctioning boiler and a broken pipe in the basement of the fieldhouse are to blame. 

Meanwhile, as someone wrote on the sign, people would like a working restroom here.

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Saturday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The social event of the season is underway on Avenue A at the ConEd substation... where workers are putting in a new transformer here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street ...
...the Avenue is closed between Fourth and Seventh, in case you wondered why B and C were so congested... Anyway! Work continues tomorrow
ConEd sources say the new transformer will arrive on March 5.

Meanwhile, officials are warning against fake photos of the new transformers here... as seen below...

Soul mates: Meet the members of East Village-based band Sauce City

Interview and photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated 3/9: The band's single, "House of Dogs," is now on Spotify here.

----------

Sauce City is a new East Village-based indie-soul band with a history that spans back to middle school.

I met the core members as they prepped for rehearsal at guitar, trombonist and vocalist Eric Ratner’s apartment with Kirin Dombek (lead vocals) and Paul Gregg (keyboard, guitar and vocals).

Ahead of a show Tuesday night (Jan. 24) at the Mercury Lounge, the band collectively discussed their origin story as well as how the neighborhood inspires them.
[Eric Ratner]
[Kirin Dombek]
[Paul Gregg]

On the bands origins:

Paul and Eric were just middle schoolers when they met at a band camp on Long Island. They remained friends throughout Paul’s move to Singapore and later to Washington, D.C., where he started a band that toured around the country, and as Eric moved to South Korea, where he played guitar and started an open-mic charity event (proceeds supporting the MDream Orphanage and Children’s Home).

Meanwhile, while Kirin was studying classical singing and opera in Washington, D.C., she met Paul in their collegiate a cappella group. They started singing together, and soon after, started dating! Kirin, Paul and Eric all moved to NYC and knew they needed to start a band together. 

After networking with a drummer and bassist, they all started jamming together in April of 2022 and Sauce City was born. Fun fact — Kirin and Paul are getting married this year! 

About the name: 

We chose the name Sauce City because we love sauces more than food and we love playing music in the various cities we’ve each lived in. 

On the Sauce City sound:

Our sound is heavily inspired by some of the greats of soul, funk and R&B: Bill Withers, Rufus and Erykah Badu to name a few, and we love to incorporate other influences from modern indie artists to give us an extra edge. 

We like to refer to our genre as indie soul. We’ve been fortunate enough to play at some great venues [Heaven Can Wait, Nublu, The Bowery Electric, Triad Theater] in our first year as a band. The reception has been really positive so far, and we’re excited to take everything to the next level in 2023. 

On playing in the East Village:

The three of us are locals in the neighborhood, so we’re lucky to have some of the most exciting venues for indie artists right at our doorstep. It goes without saying, but the East Village is steeped in American music history, so being able to perform in the shadow of that history is humbling and very unique.
On Tuesdays show and what's next:

We will be playing alongside our friends, Brass Queens, a New Orleans-inspired band with an all-female horn section. We are also excited to get into the studio this month to record our first single, “House of Dogs.” Look out for Sauce City on Spotify and Apple Music in February! And of course, we are looking forward to more exciting shows collaborating with other bands we love at venues in the city and beyond.

Jorit Agoch brings photorealistic murals of Malcolm X and KRS-One to the East Village

Jorit Agoch, the Italian street artist, has created two of his hyper-realistic murals in the neighborhood. 

Above, Malcolm X in First Street Green Art Park

And below, a work in progress of KRS-One on Second Street at First Avenue (via East Village Walls) ...
And a photo of the artist by Stacie Joy...
Per Wide Open Walls
Jorit has started to mark his portraits with two red lines or scars on the cheek that refer to ancient African rituals, like scarification. This ritual indicates the passing from childhood to adult age. Jorit is firmly convinced that the differences of race, gender, religion and social class do not mean anything with respect to the characteristics that are similar in all human beings, and give us our shared humanity. 
H/T Steven for the initial KRS-One mural pic

Saturday's opening shots

Big rig city today on Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street ... as an assortment of cranes and things are employed at the ConEd substation here... where workers have been replacing a transformer in recent weeks...
So this had nothing to do with bus stop construction 😬 ... and Avenue A is closed to through traffic (both lanes) from Fourth Street to Seventh Street through tomorrow night, per signage.

Friday, January 20, 2023

Don't worry be 'Toppy'

 

Canadian trio Men I Trust released several singles last year, including "Billie Toppy" (⬆️).  Their fans are hoping for a full-length release in 2023...

This Avenue A bus stop will be closed for construction this weekend

Updated: Oh! This work is about replacing the transformer at the ConEd substation here. Oh! The 14A SBS stop on the east side of Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street will be "closed for construction" from, presumably, 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. 

The abbreviations-heavy sign explains what bus-goers can do for service during this time. "Please use: 1st Ave. for W.B. service & Ave. C for E.B. PAT at RHE Temp. Locations." (Updated: I didn't even notice the 2003 the first time! 🙄)

And during this time, Avenue A will be closed to through traffic between Fourth Street and Seventh Street...
The updated Avenue A bus stop will include new amenities, including a wine cellar and a cigar humidor, pickleball court, a Tai Chi deck, and a spa with outdoor bath gardens, steam showers and treatment rooms.

Noted

A resident of a building on Fifth Street shares this email from the landlord of roughly three years, The Sabet Group, which offers their rationale for persistent broken front-door locks and, subsequently, stolen packages ...
Dear Residents,

You are correct, the city is no longer safe due to the bail reform and protest to defund the police. There are no consequences for stealing packages/breaking the law. The doors will be fixed again due to criminals attempting to pick and break locks. Please submit your request to the police and the city regarding safety of the city and our state. 

Thank you, 
The Management 

The resident was irked that the landlord blamed issues such as bail reform instead of shoddy maintenance practices. Per a resident: "Sabet might consider using some of the exorbitantly higher rents they collect to maintain security and protect their tenants."