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

Melvin Felix Cat Cabral carves a candle.

When Enchantments opened in 1982, the “witchcraft, goddess, and nature religion” store was “narrow, dark and kind of creepy, which was fun because it looked like a witchcraft store by movie standards,” said Cat Cabral, manager of seven years. In 2003, employee and lifelong witch Stacy Rapp bought the store and in 2008, she moved it down the block to 424 East Ninth Street – a sunnier, airier space where the rent is $6,500 per month (up roughly $1,000 over four years). Sunlight has been good for business. “It’s helped people realize our shop is a positive thing and not about black magic,” said Ms. Cabral. The Wiccan accoutrements are flying off the shelves – and not as the result of spells. Even in challenging times, said Ms. Rapp, the store sells well over 50,000 candles a year. We asked Ms. Cabral how the magic happens.

Can you describe to the curious yet unfamiliar what Enchantments is all about?

It started out primarily as a Wiccan and pagan supply shop, a community center selling books on different Wiccan and neo-pagan alternative systems. It also specialized in Afro-Creole-Caribbean religions like Santeria and kabbalistic, hermetic magic, different systems of European magic. We’ve grown over the years to cater to so many different spiritual and magical paths. I think of it as eclectic like New York is – full of people raised in different religions and now on various different paths of discovery and interested in hidden knowledge. Read more…

Blackbird, the bar that was set to fill the former Lakeside Lounge space next week, will be opening a little earlier than expected, according to Maria Devitt, the longtime CBGBs bartender who’s a managing partner. The one and only Jonathan Toubin, of the popular “New York Night Train” parties, will spin sounds from the 60s on Sunday.

As previously mentioned, the new bar won’t have live music. If that’s got you bummed, check out footage that hit Vimeo yesterday, of Jim Keller – best known for scoring a hit, “867-5309/Jenny,” with the band Tommy Tutone – performing his own song, “Soul Candy,” during Lakeside’s final days.

Mattron Chico’s mural at the former Nice Guy Eddie’s.

Good morning, East Village.

Add Kickstarter to the long list of businesses in the neighborhood that have packed up and moved to Brooklyn. The New York Post reports that the fundraising site is spending $7.5 million to buy and renovate a landmarked former pencil factory in Brooklyn. That means Kickstarter will soon bid farewell to its current location at 155 Rivington Street. A few other local businesses that decided to open outposts in Willyburg: Mama’s (it was short-lived), Cafe Mogador, Norman’s Sound & Vision and Vanessa’s Dumpling House.

DNAInfo takes a look at Ruff Club, the new dog social club coming to 34 Avenue A. The space will have free wi-fi, and its owners hope that it will turn into a gathering place for dog-lovers, as well as their dogs. “We really want people to come in and meet other people,” said Simon Frost, one of the owners. “The only other place is the dog park, which isn’t that friendly when it is 10 degrees out.”

Bowery Boogie notes that cars traveling southbound on Essex Street can no longer make a left turn onto Delancey Street. The traffic pattern tweak is part of a wave of safety improvements that were expedited following the death of 12-year-old Dashane Santana, who was crossing Delancey Street earlier this year. Read more…

Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong continue sorting through their archives of punk-era concert footage as it’s digitized for the Downtown Collection at N.Y.U.’s Fales Library.

At CBGB, it was a crapshoot what you would hear on a given night (maybe folk rock, maybe noise bands) and we, the audience, said bring it on. If the music was good, we listened to it. But over in England, there was a culture war raging that was alien to most variety-loving New Yorkers.

Teds were the original “rebel teenagers” of the late 40s and early 50s, with their own unique clothing style and love of early rock and roll. They endured as a niche group for years, enjoying a resurgence in the 70s. They held on to their sartorial and musical traditions – and with it, an unfortunate penchant for violence, a behavior certainly fanned by the British tabloids. Though the gritty details remain debatable, it seemed inevitable that the conservative, volatile Teds would pick a fight with the publicity-loving, anarchic punks. The natty Teds didn’t like safety pins and they sure didn’t like the Sex Pistols.

Leee Black Childers remembered going to a rockabilly show in London in 1977 while touring with the Heartbreakers as their manager during the “Anarchy in the UK” tour. “When the lights went up, Teds suddenly descended on us and threatened to beat us up for being punks,” he said. “This kid, Levi Dexter stepped up and stuck up for us and we were saved.” Childers asked him if he had any friends, because with his looks he could start up a band. Levi recruited childhood friend Smutty Smiff and a few others and Childers became their manager. Read more…

Sarah Darville Work at Blackbird earlier today.

Blackbird will open in the former Lakeside Lounge space next week with seasonal cocktails on offer and a longtime CBGB bartender at the helm.

As The Local revealed last month, the new bar’s principal owner is Laura McCarthy, an original partner in Lakeside who also helps run Bowery Electric, HiFi, and Niagara. Her operating managers will be Maria Devitt, a neighborhood bartender for over 15 years, including a 10-year stint at CBGB; Jesse Malin, who is also a partner in Niagara and Bowery Electric; and Mr. Malin’s bandmate in D Generation, Danny Sage.

During a stop-in earlier today, it was clear the former Lakeside space was getting a major makeover (ongoing construction has delayed a friends-and-family opening planned for tonight). Ms. Devitt said a new black-and-white look, which she described as “60s rock and roll,” would appeal to a broader audience.

“I said, ‘Let’s make it a place where girls want to go – have bathrooms that work and don’t smell horrible,’” she told The Local. “People say, ‘I love a dive bar. I love that it’s dirty and all that.’ And I enjoy it too – but I have to be pretty drunk to enjoy that.” Read more…

Two weeks ago, the police announced the arrest of 33 people suspected of being involved in a crime ring that stole motorcycles from the East Village and other neighborhoods. If such things give you pause about parking your vintage Puch on the street, we’ll let you in on a quasi-secret: the Rising Wolf Garage. For 15 years, the motorcycle-only garage has been hiding within plain view on East Ninth Street. Watch our video to have a look inside.

An East Villager’s surveillance camera caught a gloved burglar snooping around inside his apartment on August 6.

The police said that the burglar entered the abode at 516 East 11th Street at 3:35 p.m. and stole “some personal items.”

A police spokesman did not have further information on what type of video camera captured the suspect, or what valuables he swiped. But the camera sure did get a good look at him.

The Daily News brings word that operators associated with upscale nightclubs in SoHo, West Chelsea and the Meatpacking District are eyeing the area around East Houston Street. The soon to be vacant spaces at Sutra and Lucky Cheng’s are the most desired locations of the bunch. The prospective tenants have roots in the “Pink Elephant, Greenhouse, Hudson Terrace, Acme, 1Oak and Electric Room,” according to the paper. And a real estate agent reiterates what The Local has reported for months: that the the up-scaling of the Bowery has opened the flood gates to higher-end clubs further east.

Mark Connell, last seen in The Local coping with his landlord, has plans for an upscale establishment in the former NoLita House. Bowery Boogie, reporting now on a Community Board 2 meeting last month, says that Mr. Connell was stymied by the board due to concern that the revelers in his bar, Botanica, would mix with customers in the new establishment.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the thriving tattoo scene in Williambsurg, “the neighborhood that lured tattoo shops from Manhattan’s higher-rent ink havens like the Lower East Side and East Village” a decade ago. Not all of them have been lured away, though. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Medics tend to the cyclist.

A cyclist was hit by a cab after running a red light at East Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue shortly after 6:30 p.m., witnesses said.

The cyclist was traveling west-bound on East Ninth Street, went through a red light and then managed to avoid one cab before being nailed by a second, Katarina Kojic said. “Luckily, I don’t think he hit his head,” she said.

The victim was treated by Fire Department medics and put in an ambulance.

“He came across. There was too much traffic, I didn’t see him,” said the cabbie, Hardyale Singh. “I hit the bike, not him. It wasn’t my fault.”

This is the second accident at that intersection that The Local has recently stumbled upon. In June a pregnant cyclist was hit by a cabbie at the very same spot. Read more…

Melvin Felix Nicoletta got handed lemons and is
making lemonade.

Michael White has yet to respond to the harsh reviews of Nicoletta that have been the talk of the food world (and the cat world) for the past 24 hours. The star chef was unavailable for comment when we tried him yesterday, though he has now retweeted a few messages from supporters, including this one: “@pete_wells A bitter note seeped into your review. Ambitious owners? Long lines? Well-designed tables? Thick crust? Fine by me.”  

It remains to be seen what, if anything, Mr. White will say for himself. But looking at how East Village restaurateurs have responded to criticism in the past, it’s clear he has some options.

1. Respond in the comments
In March, Tompkins Square Bagels owner Christopher Pugliese replied to a none-too-positive assessment of his “bagel burger” special by saying the joke was on the reviewer, Josh Ozersky: “I probably put more thought into what color chalk to use on the special board than to that burger,” he wrote in the comments. During the ensuing exchange with Mr. Ozersky, the bagelsmith conceded, “I should not have responded so strongly because this fellow Josh was just doing his job,” going on to explain, “I am very passionate about my bagels. To call them light, airy confections and poke fun at my clientele, got me riled up.” Read more…

Sarah Darville Construction at 58 Avenue B.

A market and deli is coming to the space where vegetarian standby Kate’s Joint closed in April.

Marcelino Castillo, a manager at Gracefully, told The Local that his store at 58 Avenue B will be called Vella Market and will sell organic fruits, vegetables, and juices, as well as a full deli menu with sandwiches. It should open by October.

“It’s going to be all-natural,” Mr. Castillo said, indicating that Vella will be similar to the Gracefully store on Avenue A, between Second and Third Streets, and its sister location adjacent Stuyvesant Town. Read more…

Sarah Darville

After a June shoot brought Model Ts to East 12th Street, “Boardwalk Empire” is back in the neighborhood. According to an employee at the Cornelia Connelly Center, the HBO drama will film in the back courtyard of 220 East Fourth Street on Monday. The building was erected before 1903, and was a Catholic school for boys before it became an orphan asylum; it now houses a Catholic middle school for girls as well as the Metropolitan Playhouse.

Next week’s shoot means production trucks will be commandeering almost nine blocks of parking along Fourth Street, Avenue A and Avenue B starting Sunday — so move your cars, unless you want them run over by one of these buggies.

Melvin Felix The new slice.

What’s more shocking than Michael White’s new pizzeria Nicoletta getting zero stars from The Times? How about 2 Bros. Pizza breaking the dollar barrier?

This week, the celebrated dollar-slice joint unveiled a larger, cheesier “supreme” slice at its 36 St. Marks Place location, where the owners of the original location a few doors down previously experimented with cut-rate Neapolitan pies. The new slice, which goes for a whopping $1.50 after tax, still has the straight-out-of-the-oven taste that draws in the late-night crowds (others, like New York magazine’s Adam Platt, aren’t such big fans.)

If that extra 50 cents is going to break the bank, relax: you can still get the dollar slice at the original location at 32 St. Marks.

Yes, the city’s bike share program has been delayed, but here’s some good news if you’re already riding: Gothamist notes that the fancy new bike paths on Allen Street from Hester to Delancey are open after months of construction, and they’ll soon be extended. We’ve also noticed that Avenue B, which for some time was perilously bumpy (seriously: there were smoother roads in “The Hurt Locker”), was recently paved over with fresh asphalt, meaning you can finally traverse it without spilling that iced coffee from Ninth Street Espresso. Whee!

Scott Lynch

The Times‘ Pete Wells paid a few visits to chef Michael White’s new pizza spot, Nicoletta, and came away unimpressed, to say the least. The critic gave the restaurant zero stars. “Warmed up a day or two later, a Nicoletta crust is just as stiff and bland as when it was fresh from the oven,” he writes. As for the toppings: “The pies are overburdened conglomerations of cheese, flour and fistfuls of other stuff; in the end, the elements cancel one another out.” Jay Cheshes of a Timeout filed a similarly negative review, though he at least doled out a couple of stars.

Off The Grid explains the historical link between the tenements at 517-519 East 11th Street and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The buildings were built by the same architects only one year apart, and share numerous aesthetic flourishes.

This is no way to start off a relationship with Community Board 3. Two weeks before it is scheduled to appear before the board, the bar in the former Lakeside Lounge space will open Thursday night for a three-day bash, according to Bowery Boogie. Most importantly: open bar from 9 to 10 p.m.

The Village Voice provides a helpful reminder that Trojan condoms will be giving out 10,000 free vibrators today and tomorrow in the Meatpacking District and on Third Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets. Read more…

Here, now, is the latest from Dean Peterson, whose video of New Yorkers tripping on subway stairs became a viral sensation (over one million views in a little over a month). This one, starring Brian Sturgill, was filmed around the East Village.

Sarah Darville Rolando Politi at La Plaza Cultural

East Ninth Street residents are used to seeing Rolando Politi’s trash art decorating La Plaza Cultural’s garden on the corner of Avenue C. Next year, the artist and “trash worship” advocate hopes that his flowers — made of bottle caps, plastic cups and aluminum cans — become as common in a part of Delhi, India.

Mr. Politi is raising funds to start a cooperative with 17 rag pickers in Delhi, who collect and sell trash by the pound for meager pay. His goal is to teach them how to transform the trash into one-of-a-kind flowers to sell to tourists. By spending less time collecting and more time creating, he said, workers could make 10 to 100 times their current wages at a lower risk to their health and safety.

“If it’s successful, the customers will be supporting ‘upcycled’ products directly from the rag pickers,” he said. “It would mean the rag pickers were getting respect and support.” Read more…

In light of this week’s news that Big City Records will close, it seems especially important to appreciate the East Village’s record stores. In the latest installment of What’s That You’re Playing?, Michael Stasiak tells us what’s on the system at Other Music.