Nicole Guzzardi

Yet another retail chain is set to open its doors tomorrow morning on Houston Street.

Civilianaire, a clothing store with multiple locations in and around Los Angeles, will open its very first New York outpost in the former La Cocina Deli space.

“We love the neighborhood,” said retail director Erik Schnakenberg, in town to assist in the opening of the store at 53-55 Houston Street, on the corner of Mott Street. The brand, launched by the founders of Lucky Brand Jeans, opened its first store in 2011 and specializes in “American-made Japanese selvage denim, military pants, woven shirting and a range of classic utilitarian work-wear staples with a focus on quality and simplicity,” according to its Website. Prices range from $46 to $235.

Mr. Schnakenberg expected the store to have a soft opening tomorrow morning, with something more formal in a few weeks. Store hours will be Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Civilianaire isn’t the only retailer to take over a deli space in the “Nolita/Bowery” area, as it’s called on the brand’s Website. The former Steve’s on the Bowery was dismantled in November. Betty Paige opened nearby that same month and Patagonia, Anthropologie, and Intermix are expected to follow.

It’s another case of retail roommates!

A couple of collectors of vintage clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories have moved into an itsy-bitsy storefront on East Sixth Street (right next to the new Mosaic Lamps store).

Katie McDonnell is used to sharing space with others: she has sold vintage apparel at places like the old Chelsea Flea Market and the Antiques Garage, also in Chelsea. Now her business, Nomad Vintage, is sharing a considerably more intimate space with David Brockman, a longtime friend and East Village resident who previously owned Honeymoon Vintage, with locations in the East Village and the Lower East Side.

The collectors have similar styles, so the clothes blend well, said Ms. McDonnell: “We both like a lot of print, a lot of interesting shapes. We do like a lot of ’20s and ’30s, ’60s and ’70s style.”
Read more…

Daniel Maurer

This is going to sound crazy. Really. But last night we were strolling through Washington Square Park and became convinced that there’s a dog in this tree. No, not up the tree (the tree has actually been sawed in half) but right there in the actual trunk.

Can you see it?

Just in case, we’ve superimposed a photo of an actual shaggy dog.

Now, maybe you’re thinking, “So what? The tree looks kind of like a dog. It’s not like it’s the Virgin Mary. It’s not like it’s ‘Lou Reed’ on a lion.” But the fact is, Edgar Allan Poe, who lived right off of Washington Square Park, once penned a story, “The Business Man,” about a swindler named Peter Proffit who has his dog rub up against people’s shoes just so Proffit can then offer to shine them. Here’s the passage. Read more…

cat55’s Flickr

Good morning, East Village.

About 40 local residents met last night to discuss the onslaught of 7-Elevens. “Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club and the ‘No Chains on the Bowery’ campaign, brought the performance art to the meeting, draping himself in chains that he rattled defiantly during his speech. Tired of corporations trying to ‘Pringle-ize our population’ with chains that are ‘boring and bland and not New York,’ Holman defiantly declared that ‘we refuse to fit in the tube.’ [Gothamist] A 7-Eleven spokesperson says its “nice, fresh and new stores” are helping to fill empty storefronts. [DNA Info]

Clayton Patterson wants to know why three locals couldn’t get support for their liquor license application. “I know that getting a liquor license is tied to community politics. Even recently, I have been surprised as to who gets and who does not get.” [East Villager]

“Police arrested a man who allegedly punched a panhandler in Union Square around midday on Thurs., Jan. 10.” [East Villager]
Read more…

>Nicole Guzzardi Construction of Hi Collar.

The original location of Rai Rai Ken, which recently moved down two doors, will soon become Hi Collar, a Japanese café and bar.

Bon Yagi, the owner of Rai Rai Ken, said the ramen joint’s replacement would offer “unique” Japanese-style coffee and espresso drinks — some of them brewed with soy beans and siphon coffee makers.

“This type of coffee is more personalized,” said the neighborhood’s “ambassador for Japanese cuisine” (Mr. Yagi also owns Cha-An, Curry Ya, Decibel, Hasaki, Otafuku, Shabu-Tatsu, Sobaya, and Robataya).

A small food menu will offer Japanese-style sandwiches during the day and tapas that go well with drinks at night.

The narrow space at 214 East 10th Street, between First and Second Avenues, will be decorated to evoke Japan’s “taisho” period in the 1920s, an era of increased westernization similar to our own flapper movement.

Mr. Yagi expects Hi Collar to be open in about a month and a half, seven days a week from noon to midnight.

Nicole Guzzardi

After Sandy hit, the Big Apple Barber Shop had to close its doors for six days due to power outages. The owners reached out to their landlord to ask for a rent break, but were told nothing could be done, according to a manager who goes by the name of Mr. Y.

Even after taking a hit, the barber shop at 426 East 14th Street decided to come to the aid of its neighborhood. “Everyone is doing something and we decided we should do something to help, too,” said Mr. Y. And so, customers who say they are victims of Sandy and call (718) 532-6135 to book a day in advance can receive complimentary cuts Monday to Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Victims of the storm don’t even have to offer proof that they’re still recovering. “There’s no requirement. We’re taking their word for it,” said Mr. Y, who believes that what comes around goes around. “It’s sort of a chain reaction,” he said. “When they do better, we will do better.”
Read more…

Nicole Guzzardi Future home of Ton-Up.

You’ll soon have a couple of new options for sippin’ vino: a sign on the door of 438 East Ninth Street, where Turkish fast-food chain Cigkoftem came and went, indicates that one Wineshop LLC has taken over the space.

And a block over, at 127 St. Marks Place, the nook that was briefly occupied by San Matteo Panuozzo is becoming Ton-Up, a bar specializing in wines from Italy, France and California.

Frederico Lopez took over the boxy space near Avenue A with Riccardo Pierioni, co-owner of Antica Pesa in Williamsburg. True to its name (“ton-up” is slang for acceleration beyond 100 miles per hour) it’ll have a motorcycle theme, with a famous saying painted on the wall: “Remember when sex was safe and motorcycles were dangerous?” Mr. Lopez said jovially. “It will be like our tagline.”

A small menu will include mac-and-cheese pizza and Italian-style sandwiches with ingredients like mozzarella and prosciutto. Delivery will be available, and free WiFi will entice sit-down customers.

Ton-Up is expected to open Feb. 15.

Time for some more fun at the run. Here’s this week’s Dog Run Duo.

Nicole Guzzardi

Nicole Guzzardi

The Master: George Smol, 60, has lived in the East Village for 30 years, likes to keep to himself and devotes most of his time and energy to his dogs.

The Dog: Cassie, a seven-year-old English Mastiff. Full name: Cassie California Dreamin’. Nicknames include Castle, likely because she weighs in at about 140 pounds.

Tricks: “You’re lookin’ at it,” Mr. Smol laughed, petting Cassie as she sat next to him on a park bench. “She’s pretty laid back, just wants to be near me.”

Favorite Food: People food — or garbage, but Mr. Smol doesn’t let her get into that kind of stuff. And he doesn’t dole out treats. “She’d become treat-obsessed,” he said.

Claim to Fame: Cassie is proud mother of Mr. Smol’s three two-year-old puppies. “She had a litter of eleven,” he said. “It was amazing.” Mr. Smol kept three of them, two of which are already considerably larger than their mom.

Ecco Press

Time for another installment of rock stars reading!

Mark your calendars: Richard Hell’s long anticipated autobiography, “I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp,” comes out March 12. The punk-rock pioneer best known for his work with Television, the Voidoids, and the Heartbreakers is reading at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square two days later, on March 14, and he’ll appear at Bookmarc, in the West Village, March 19.

The memoir of his life up to age 34 (or the year 1983) was five years in the making when Ecco Press acquired it in 2011 and issued a press release describing the book thusly: “From his early days as a struggling writer to the opening of CBGB’s and his subsequent endless nights with the club’s denizens, such as The Ramones, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, and The New York Dolls, to Hell’s encounters with literary luminaries like Susan Sontag and his relationship with high school friend and Television co-founder Tom Verlaine, to a long procession of vividly evoked girlfriends, to the heroin addiction that threatened to derail him completely, ‘I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp’ is an acutely rendered, lyrical portrait of a life as lived in a particular city and era and the people who defined them.”

You can get more of a feel for the memoir’s content by reading Hell’s personal timeline, which starts with the young Kentuckian escaping school and hitchhiking with his buddy and future Television bandmate Tom Verlaine. It wasn’t the first time Hell ran away from home; an account of an earlier incident appeared in his autobiographical collection “Hot and Cold,” and can be read online.

As it turns out, Hell (who, by the way, recently made a cameo in Tom Tom Club’s ode to the CBGBs crowd, “Downtown Rockers”) isn’t the only endlessly influential musician who has penned a tell-all. Read more…

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Hatem Farsakh has been charged with beating a man nearly to death on MacDougal Street, but he denies it. “I was eating a falafel sandwich at Mamoun’s — you guys know Mamoun’s? Great sandwich.” [NY Daily News]

“The police released surveillance video of a man who allegedly sexually assaulted and robbed a woman at the Lorimer L train station on Sunday morning.” [Gothamist]

St. Mark’s Church will host a concert in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Sunday. [Off the Grid]
Read more…

Daniel MaurerUnique Collection’s new location on the left, old one on the right.

Speaking of very easy moves, the gem store at 3 St. Marks Place has completed its move to a smaller space next door, at 3-A St. Marks Place.

You’ll recall that the Village Dream smoke shop moved around the corner to Second Avenue, leaving its neighbor Unique Collection to take over its space. As you can see from the above photo, Village Dream’s trippy 60s-style signage is gone, and the funky 70s-style signage at Unique Collection’s old spot is sure to follow.

Now the question is: who will take over the vacant space at 3 St. Marks Place? Let the rumors fly!

Want to live in the East Village? Get a roommate! Yes, even if you’re a retail store. At 309 East Ninth Street, Musu’s handmade soaps, candles and hats now line one side of the narrow space and Marjory Warren’s clothing and jewelry graces the other.

Why did the former neighbors move in with each other? Allow us to explain.

When Musu’s lease at 305 East Ninth Street was up last year, owner Maima Sonii was forced to seek a new home for her girly gift shop. She found it just a couple doors over, in the space that — funnily enough — used to house her defunct clothing shop, Miss Sonii.

Marjory Warren, the boutique that replaced Miss Sonii at 309 East Ninth Street about a year and a half ago, happened to have some room to spare, and sharing it with the space’s former tenant seemed like a good idea. “Economically, it’s been slow, and then Sandy hit,” said Christine Warren, co-owner of Marjory Warren. “I don’t want to speak for everyone else but it was like someone pulling a rug from underneath your feet.”

Earlier this month, after a false wall came down, Ms. Sonii finished moving Musu into the elongated store, where she now gets half of its space and pays half of its rent. The store’s front sign hasn’t yet changed, but the arrangement already seems to be working. Read more…

Daniel Maurer

Someone must’ve read about the third East Village location of 2 Bros. Pizza opening within spitting distance of three other dollar-slice joints. Just check out the message that’s been slapped over the sign of Little Italy Pizza, which shuttered soon after opening across from Ray’s.

Daniel Maurer David Palau oversees the pit.

The gym on 14th Street that was once Dolphin Fitness and then Citi Fitness and then Pure Fitness has reopened as Synergy Fitness. The chain has locations around the city, but the supervisor at this one, between Second and Third Avenues, knows the East Village intimately. He was born in the neighborhood. Now he’s working on a block that his parents forbade him from going down as a child.

“I remember when it was really shabby,” said David Palau, 45. “They sold drugs and there were hookers, even in the daytime.” Mr. Palau, who now lives in Bensonhurst, grew up taking swimming lessons at the 14th Street Y (a block from his current workplace), playing softball in Tompkins Square Park, playing hockey across from Pier 63, and bowling at Bowlmor Lanes. (He remembers Bowlmor “before it was pretty,” when “two guys from Avenue B” robbed an employee by dropping a bowling ball on his head.)

These days, Mr. Palau’s brand of recreation is a bit different: after Synergy refurbished from top to bottom, it will offer classes in yoga, zumba, and pilates. The upstairs space (formerly an aerobics area) is currently being remodeled to accommodate boxing lessons and cardio equipment, and the basement “pit” will eventually host Olympic-style weightlifting lessons and competitions.

But first, the carpets need to be ripped out. “I don’t know what the hell these guys were thinking, carpeting a gym,” said Mr. Palau. “I don’t know where their heads were. I guess that’s why they didn’t make no money.”
Read more…

Suzanne Rozdeba

Good morning, East Village.

A Christmas tree caught fire outside of Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on East Third Street. [Gamma Blog]

Check out a video that’s “the art of idiocy at its finest, showing a group of young men whom we can only assume are tourists, and whom we can only assume had some alcoholic beverages that night, partying on top of a moving party bus (albeit, a slow moving one).” [Gothamist]

Mariann Marlowe of Enz’s isn’t sweating newcomer Bettie Page: “My customers refer to the Bettie Page store as the pin-up Forever 21.” [Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY]
Read more…

Daniel Maurer

Doc Holliday’s may have upgraded its lovably dilapidated awning in recent weeks, but all that sand at the intersection of Avenue A and East Ninth Street is bringing the saloon back to the days of its namesake gunslinger. Anyone know how it got there?

Courtesy Sleep Terror Clothing Jonathan Chau

For Jonathan Chau, sleep brings terrifying bright-blue monsters, freakishly enlarged canine teeth, and half moons with huge, glaring eyes. While suffering from sleep paralysis in college, he began documenting his vivid dreams and nightmares in a journal and eventually created clothes depicting the freaks that haunted them. The 24-year-old designer launched his first line, aptly named Sleep Terror Clothing, last August, and his new winter line will be released Friday. We spoke with the East Village resident earlier today.

What was the craziest nightmare you ever had?

I was being chased by a giant troll with a lot of eyes and gigantic teeth, while exploring a crystal cave. I woke up afraid and in panic. I literally thought the troll was in the room with me.

What’s the story behind the T-shirt with the frightening blue monsters?

When I was a kid, I was always afraid that something was hiding under the bed, waiting for me to climb out of my bed so that it could grab me by the legs and drag me into the abyss beneath my bed. Before going to sleep every night, I would make sure the corners of the sheets were securely tucked in to ensure that neither my legs or arms were over the sides. To me, my bed was the only thing keeping me safe from the monsters below. Read more…

The nook that housed Obscura Oddities & Antiques just got a new tenant: MINKvixen. No, it isn’t selling taxidermied minks, like it’s ghoulish predecessor might have. In fact, one of its vintage purses is labeled 100-percent vegan.

“It’s just a place you can come and feel good and try on really cute clothes,” said owner Keri Cornachio, explaining the name. “It’s like a little mink vixen – it’s me!”

Before opening the boutique last week, the 27-year-old worked in Union Square for a beauty-and-fashion PR company. “I ended up just really hating it,” she said. “It was just very taxing on your soul, such a grind.” After a couple of years off, she looked into opening a shop in Bushwick, where she lives, but found that commercial rents in the increasingly trendy neighborhood were as expensive as those of the East Village. Read more…

Daniel Maurer

If you thought a weekly “model party” sounded trashy, just look at the place now: 308, the lounge that replaced the short-lived Litro on 308 East Sixth Street, is looking rather closed. Garbage bags have obscured the front window in recent weeks, and the phone line is going unanswered.

Anyone know what’s going on?