Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

More developments about 35 Cooper Square were reported by The Local this morning, but that’s not all that’s happening in local construction news. It seems Seventh Street may be getting a facelift with discussions about a new parking lot between Avenues C and D. There’s also word of a new coffee and ice cream shop to fill the vacant storefront, formerly occupied by City Copies, between First and Second Avenues.

And in a twist on the long-running debate over whether graffiti is blight or art, one East Village teacher has decided it might be something else: a learning opportunity. She’s using the neighborhood’s murals and street art as part of the curriculum in her English classes. She was inspired to do so after learning that a neighborhood mural of President Barack Obama had been painted over.

In other news, the East Village will be receiving its very own Union Market on Houston Street and Avenue A. This store promises to be larger than its predecessor in Brooklyn and is expected to open in the fall.