Andrew Carmellini is aiming to open his lounge in the mezzanine of the refurbished Public Theater in time for a star-studded ribbon-cutting on Oct. 4, a spokesperson for the chef has confirmed. Fans of Locanda Verde and The Dutch – and, for that matter, of Joe’s Pub, which Mr. Carmellini’s partner Josh Pickard helped launch – can hope for The Library to open in the first week of October, barring construction delays. Meanwhile the French restaurant that Mr. Carmellini, Mr. Pickard and Luke Ostrom are opening at 380 Lafayette Street by the end of the year is still without a name, said the spokesperson.
Melvin Felix 
Stephen Rex Brown A peak inside Mr. Carmellini’s new restaurant
on Lafayette Street.Does Mayor Bloomberg have an East Village trip penciled into his schedule?
A spokesperson for Joe’s Pub let slip that the mayor would be attending a ribbon-cutting at the Public Theater on Oct. 4. In a subsequent e-mail she said she couldn’t confirm Mr. Bloomberg’s attendance (mayoral plans are fickle, after all), but it’s clear the re-dedication ceremonies are going to have some star power. The theater broke ground on what was expected to be a $40 million renovation project in March. Earlier this month, ArtsBeat reported that the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust, founded by the parents of Eliot Spitzer, gave $4 million to the theater.
It’s uncertain whether Andrew Carmellini’s hotly anticipated mezzanine lounge, The Library, will be in full swing for the celebrations, which come exactly a year after an upgraded Joe’s Pub reopened; the chef didn’t respond to an e-mail inquiry. This week, Eater reported The Library would open in the second week of October.
Just one block south on Lafayette Street, work continues on Mr. Carmellini’s somewhat mysterious French restaurant in the former Chinatown Brassiere space, as you can see in a photo we snapped earlier this week.
The sixth annual Make Music festival celebrated the first day of summer with free concerts around the city yesterday. Here in the East Village, Joe’s Pub took its programming out to Astor Place. Watch our video to see the harmonicas, banjos, and gospel choirs in action, and hear more about the festival from the director of Joe’s Pub, Shanta Thake.
Michelle Rick Good morning, East Village
The sounds of the citywide free festival Make Music New York could be heard in the East Village yesterday. The Village Beat found a small outdoor concert in Astor Place, hosted by the local live performance venue, Joe’s Pub.
The performance artist Liu Bolin camouflaged himself into the Kenny Scharf mural yesterday near the intersection of Houston Street and Bowery. The Wooster Collective shared photos of the wall’s transformation.
But more outdoor art might be put on hold this week; The Weather Channel predicts several days of off and on thunderstorms, making the jump into summer a wet one.
Mateusz Stankiewicz/AF Photo Aga Zaryan, a multi-platinum jazz singer from Poland, will make a pair of rare New York concert appearances this weekend, including one in the East Village Sunday.Aga Zaryan is performing at Joe’s Pub for her second concert in the East Village, a neighborhood she calls “the heart of Manhattan.”
“I love that area, just taking walks around there,” said Ms. Zaryan, 35. “It’s a fascinating place.”
The multi-platinum singer, one of Poland’s top, contemporary jazz musicians, last performed there in 2007 in front of an audience filled with Americans and Poles, many of whom live in the East Village. She’s back for another concert on Sunday.
“I like so many clubs in New York, but this one is so interesting because it’s not just about music; you have all different kinds of people coming in,” she said. “You have musicians that play different styles of music. It’s a very open place for creative musicians. I enjoyed performing there.” Tonight, she’s also performing at The Kosciuszko Foundation, a Polish cultural organization on the Upper East Side.
Ms. Zaryan, who was born and lives in Warsaw, feels at home when the audience is filled with Poles, many of whom live in the neighborhood. “I’ve been visiting New York a few times, and I’ve made a group of Polish friends that I try to meet with every time I’m there,” she said. “They always come and support me when I play, which is really great.”
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