Daniel MaurerOne Twenty-Two

More changes on the First Avenue restaurant strip. South Brooklyn Pizza, which filed for bankruptcy protection last August, is still slinging pies. It had once planned to expand into the former Rubens Empanada space next door. Instead, we have a new contender, One Twenty-Two First Avenue.

Daniel MaurerEfendi

Meanwhile, the unusual taco-gyro-falafel haven, Mediterranean Grill and Tapas has morphed into Efendi. It looks like a reasonable bet that the space has resolved its identity crisis by plumping conclusively for the Middle East: “efendi,” of course, is Turkish for lord and master, and the eagle-eyed will notice that hookahs have entered the equation.

Annie Fairman

Ghostly at Odin, the retail pop-up space at 330 East 11th Street, was robbed at approximately 5:30pm yesterday. The suspect, who a police source described to the Local as a white male, approximately 30 years old, robbed the proprietor of $500 before fleeing in an unknown direction.

An employee of Odin, the menswear store at 328 East 11th Street, who declined to give his name said that a coworker was working with police on a description of the suspect, and that such an incident had not occurred in his two and a half years at the store.

The employee stipulated that he was not at the store when the robbery took place. However he did confirm the general story received from police, including that the man browsed the store and brought a few items to the register to purchase. He added that, when the clerk handed the suspect change from the cash register, the suspect said that he was carrying a weapon and demanded cash. According to police a firearm was not displayed in the incident.

The Michigan-based Ghostly International record label opened a pop-up store on December 2nd in Odin’s next-door retail space. Their website described the collaboration with Odin as “A holiday affair featuring the art, design, and music of Ghostly International, co-curated by Odin.” The pop-up store is scheduled to close this Sunday, January 6th.

Despite reports that a TD bank branch would occupy the ground floor space in the building occupying Mars Bars old Second Avenue lot, it seems a return of Mars Bar is not ruled out. The Commercial Observer is reporting that there are two retail spaces available, one of which could take on Mars Bar’s name–and its liquor license.–Kim Davis

Annie Fairman

Customers, friends and employees of the New York Copy Center returned to the re-opened store after the final day of religious rites were performed for Sunando Sen, who died on Thursday evening in Queens after being pushed onto the subway tracks.

Annie FairmanAt New York Copy Center.

On Sunday, a yellow rose and handwritten sign were spotted outside of the store that read: “Sunando Sen A Beautiful Good Soul in Heaven Your Kindness Good Soul Gentle Heart Remembered Always!” As of today, others had written notes of regret and condolences on the paper, and a photo of Mr. Sen was posted along with text on the store’s front door. The outdoor vigil, composed of candles, cards, and flowers, had been moved inside to the front counter because of weather.

Helen, a resident of the East Village for over fifty years who declined to give her last name, has been a customer of the store since it opened roughly 16 years ago. “They had so many, but this place, with Sunando, he knew exactly how to handle everything graphically,” she said.

“I mean he really had a good touch,” said Helen, adding that they drew many of the neighborhood’s graphic artists to the store. “We are all mourning. We are very sad.”

Bidyut Sarker, 55, opened New York Copy Center in late 1995, and Mr. Sen helped him set up the businesses computer systems before they opened their doors. Though he had “no institutional education” in computers, Mr. Sarker said he taught himself complex software, often staying at the store until two or three in the morning working on the computer. After opening his own copy store on the Upper West Side, Mr. Sarker said the two would still call one another frequently for help. Smiling, Mr Sarker recalled how Mr. Sen would phone the store with any problems from the copy machine equipment, and Mr. Sarker would respond in kind with all computer questions. Read more…

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

In one of the more extreme transformations to hit the neighborhood, word comes that a branch of TD Bank will occupy the ground floor space of the 12-story apartment building under construction on Second Avenue at East 1st Street. An answer, at last, to the question: what could possibly replace Mars Bar?

Perhaps less jarring, the Lower East Side Ecology Center has laid out a proposal for a wetland at East River Park–which, after all, is very wet a lot of the time. The plan calls for fencing off part of the area already used for composting, and would use naturally filtered water generated by the composting process.

By the way, do you call 311 to complain about rats in the ‘hood? Hardly ever, according to this interactive map. I guess we just got used to them.

Community activist and Save the Lower East Side blogger Rob Hollander is calling for protests against the 7-Eleven store which appears to be coming to the former Bar on A location, on Avenue A at 11th Street. In an email circulated today, Mr. Hollander said “We’re drawing the line of suburbanization here.” A meeting is planned for January 16, at Father’s Heart Ministries, 545 East 11th Street. —Kim Davis

We caught up with the Palenque food truck on East 14th Street before the holidays. The crew is taking a break through mid-January, but follow their schedule to find out when you can next get organic arepas in the East Village.

Some activity observed around the neighborhood over the holiday.

Kim Davis131 St Mark’s Place.

Nino’s, the fixture pizzeria at the corner of St Mark’s Place and Avenue A, was shuttered by the Health Department last month, then seemed briefly to re-emerge as a Lebanese takeaway. A more substantial refurbishment was underway over the weekend: scrawled notices suggested it would become a pizzeria called The Spot. “New menu come 2013.”

Kim DavisBoulton & Watt

Boulton & Watt, the industrial revolution-styled gastropub at the bottom of Avenue A looks closer to opening with each passing day.

Kim DavisThe Burger Shop–or is it The Village Joker?.

Meanwhile, also on St Mark’s, the strange Burger Shop stand-off continues. It’s open, the Burger Shop sign still hangs, the menu and beer selection remain the same–but the garish Village Joker signage also glares. An identity crisis? The burgers are good, anyway, so shield your eyes and step inside.

Kevin FarleyDawn on Avenue C.

Good morning, East Village.

Amid all the giddy talk of a pill-based solution to the bedbug problem, it’s not all good news this morning.

For example, not the happiest of New Years for artists Thomas Nozkowski and Joyce Robins, evicted from occupancy of a former synagogue, built in 1860, on Hester Street. They had been residents there since 1967. The future of the building, which was sold last week, is uncertain.

Nor for patrons of the Living Room, the live music venue on Ludlow Street which is packing its bags after ten years. A rent hike, as usual, is the cited reason, but the owners have started a campaign to fund a new space.

If you’re still feeling jittery, Atlas Café on Clinton Street makes Gothamist’s “Best Hangover Foods” list: an everything bagel with lox and “the works” is the prescription.

But not all is greyness and gloom, even if–at time of writing–it does feel like 17 degrees Fahrenheit out there. Youngsters still have chance to learn that there were bohemians before Allen Ginsberg, as Amore Opera presents a mini version of Puccini’s “La Bohème” at East 4th Street’s Connelly theater this Saturday.

If nothing else, they’ll learn a song about their tiny hands being frozen.

Police are still hunting the perpetrator of an attack on a jogger at East River Park around 11.30 am Thursday. They released a sketch of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).–Kim Davis

N.Y.P.D.

Michael Natale

As we prepare to dim the lights at The Local–until the morning of January 2, 2013, news willing–here are a few more ideas for painting the neighborhood red.

In the world of noise, Blonde Redhead plans to a thunderous New Year’s Eve at Irving Plaza. The Punch Brothers have taken over Patti Smith’s regular New Year’s Eve spot at the Bowery Ballroom. They sold out in advance, just like she always did.

If you insist on making a complete night of it, here are the bars licensed to stay open for the duration. At higher cost, party through until dawn at Webster Hall’s New Year’s Eve Ball.

Soothe sore heads at the Poetry Project’s 39th Annual Marathon Reading on New Year’s day. Or celebrate in vintage style, of course, at Merchant’s House Museum, which invites you to pay New Year’s calls just like 1850–after holiday punch and some canapés.

Enjoy–and we’ll see you back here next year.

From bagel burgers to shot dogs, from day care centers to donkey movies — these are the stories that got readers of The Local worked up this year.

Daniel Maurer FDR Drive near East 10th Street after Sandy.

1. Pit Bull Still Alive, Had History of Attacks: “I don’t think that this dog having a history of biting people warranted a cop pulling a gun out and shooting it. There are restraint polls. Mace. Pepper Spray. They could have easily neutralized the dog. Also what if the cop missed and shot someone in the crowd that had amassed? What if the bullet ricocheted? This was police brutality and excessive use of force.”— joshua pape

2. The Bagel Burger Bombs: “Josh must not have gotten this burger for free so he was confused, enraged and lashed out at the burger/bagel maker.”— Captain Read more…

A month-by-month rundown of what our readers were most interested in this year.

Konstantin SergeyevClean-up at MoRUS after Sandy

JANUARY

1. Last Call at Holiday Cocktail Lounge
2. Japadog Opens on St Mark’s
3. New Year Begins With Occupy Arrests, Motorcycle Accident
4. In Little Ukraine, Christmas Is Still Around the Corner
5. Death on L Train Tracks

FEBRUARY

1. Obscura Antiques to Reopen on Avenue A
2. The East Village Other Culture
3. Coen Brothers Take Second Street Back to 1961
4. Is This Porchetta Sandwich Now the East Village’s Best?
5. John Leguizamo’s East Village

Read more…

For every East Village business that’s opening or closing, dozens are quietly making it. Here’s one of them: Dinosaur Hill.

Photo courtesy Pam PierPam Pier, owner of Dinosaur Hill, listens to a yodelling pickle.

You don’t have to be a kid to be dazzled by the shop-o-tainment that Dinosaur Hill provides; you just might want to be a little tiny bit careful. “We’re just 450 square feet,” says owner Pam Pier. “So we try to cool excited kids down but just showing them how things work first. There’s a lot of laughter coming out of this place.”

Those who enter Dinosaur Hill, a masterfully curated toyshop at 306 E.9th Street are seeking something thoughtfully amazing; not the made in China big box Toys R Us experience. “That’s a meaningless place to me,” says Ms. Pier. “Small toys stores are so few and most have come and gone. I’m sticking around until they have to carry me away in a box!” We spoke with the “purveyor of fun and wonderments” about how she’s managed to hang in there all these years and keep the neighborhood playful purchasing.

How did Dinosaur Hill come to be?

I started Dinosaur Hill in March of 1983. It’s going to be 30 years in March. I was working at the crafts and art store that was here on 9th Street. It was called Muddy’s and the owners were divorcing so I was able to take over their lease. There was only about $600 in inventory left so it was easy for me to take over and start over. I changed the name to Dinosaur Hill.

Where does that name come from?

It’s named after a place in Rapid City in South Dakota where I’m from. It’s a mountain and they created Dinosaur Park where there are like [seven] life-size dinosaurs they made for tourists to visit and kids to enjoy. I had gone there a lot as a kid. Kids love dinosaurs.

Why a specialty toy store?

I used to be a pre-school teacher, and I also was a freelance artist who was making things that fell somewhere between art and craft, that I sold in Washington Square.

Have you always been here?

We’ve moved twice within the building. It’s a big building we share with Veselka restaurant, and people move in and out, and Veslka has taken more space, and I have moved around that.

The early 1980s was a rough and gritty time for the East Village. Was there much demand for a whimsical toy store?

I have a real loyal neighborhood base. When it started becoming a destination tourist place, I got more and more interesting items for the store. I am a little ambivalent about the changes in the neighborhood though.

In what way do you feel ambivalent?

The changes have helped the store, but it means the neighborhood seems a little less open than it used to be. The infusion on N.Y.U. students makes it more of a bedroom neighborhood than one with local people living and working in the neighborhood. I miss the good old neighborhood camaraderie.

Why do you think Dinosaur Hill keeps making it all these years?

There is a book I read when I was a little girl where there was a quote that stated, ‘I never worked and I never will.’ It’s because I love what I am doing. My work combines art and people. I’m trying to make things available to kids that promote ability. I want kids to become doers and makers and active people. I contribute with these toys that engage them. I think it’s all about my philosophy and enjoying what I’m doing. Also, I never cared much about money, although, I care more now. Money never becomes important until you don’t have any. Occasionally, I think “why didn’t I stay with teaching?” I would have pension now!

How do you go about selecting your merchandise?

I buy things that I like; things that amused me and still amuse me. I try not to think too much about what I need for this or that. I guess and entertain myself. Lately, I have been fighting harder to keep kids from being totally passive receivers of information. I really try to find an alternative to flat screen toys. I want to enhance hand-eye coordination and the ability to build and manipulate things three-dimensionally. I want people to be involved with real people, real time, and real space. Read more…

Kim DavisEvelyn Drinkery, Avenue C

When I moved to the Avenue C neighborhood more than a decade ago, cocktail choices were pretty much limited to a mojito at Esposito’s, or a cosmopolitan at the world music lounge Lava Gina. Now that the city has bartenders muddling, and measuring, and chipping blocks of designer ice, from Chelsea to the Lower East Side, and from Bushwick to the Bronx, Alphabet City (as nobody calls it any more) hasn’t been left behind.

The East Village’s most vaunted drinks may be made at Death & Co. on East 6th Street, but with The Third Man finally open, in the former Lava Gina (and Vibrations) space, Avenue C now boasts an impressive battery of cocktail bars.

Louis 649 is a step or two off the Avenue, on East 9th Street, just past Brix Wine Store. It’s a veteran of some eight years standing, although when it first opened its concentration was on live jazz, and its drink selection limited. Somewhere along the way it reinvented itself as a serious cocktail bar, offering a long list of vintage potions, like the “Last Word” as well as its own creations, all made by bartenders willing to go off-menu and improvise–a cocktail-lover’s dream.

Kim DavisLouis 649

The Summit Bar has been around a few years too. A young crowd hugs the long, curved, black bar; the music pumps; but staff will studiously pour tinctures and infusions to make the “John Lee Hooker” (whisky, lemon and bitters, topped with Lagunitas “Hop Stoopid” ale), or the “Born and Raised” (honey bush tea-infused Scotch, sweet vermouth, agave, and orange bitters).

I recall the last night of Micky’s Blue Room at 171 Avenue C, with Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith band blasting chords in the back room. Micky’s is long gone, and its successor Teneleven closed earlier this year. Haunting the two room space now is Evelyn Drinkery. Smooth jazz has taken over in the back room; rich and potent concoctions up front. I tried a Fort Watson, which–with oloroso sherry as well as Bourbon, Carpano Antica vermouth, and bitters–was a stirring elaboration on a Manhattan. Read more…

A living archive of urban activism, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space rented a storefront for its exhibits from C-Squat on Avenue C — and, like neighboring businesses, soon found itself clearing up after Hurricane Sandy.

Kim DavisAvenue B at East Fifth Street.

Good morning, East Village.

Police are still looking for the man who attempted to assault a jogger in East River Park yesterday. The woman was taken to Beth Israel hospital with minor bruising.

A “stop work” order has been posted at 108 Orchard Street, planned to be the new home of Moscot, the eyewear vendor which had been based at 118 Orchard for almost eighty years.

If you have $1.6 million burning a hole in your pocket, visit Curbed’s Real Estate Deathmatch to choose between condos in that range on East 1st and East 12th Streets.

Unfortunately, the goodies on sale from this street cart, at East 14th and Broadway, are past their sell-by date. After all, the photograph dates from 1938.