Friday, December 19, 2025
Friday's parting shot
A very Banshee Christmas
A Christmas classic to share... here is Siouxsie and the Banshees, featuring Robert Smith looking as if he's in a Lost World on the cymbals, covering a traditional French Christmas carol called "I'l Est Né Divin Enfant" ("He is born, the divine child.")
The cover was a B-side released in 1982.
The final Saturdays of Bluestockings
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Bluestockings Cooperative is down to its last days in operation.
As we noted, Bluestockings is inviting the neighborhood to stop by for a series of final closing sales to both offset the shop's remaining debts and raise funds for a prisoner-solidarity organization.
The sale continues tomorrow and Dec. 27 from noon to 5 p.m., at 116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey. (Masks are required for entrance.)
Organizers describe the events as a chance to "celebrate and grieve" the closing of the long-running, community-minded space. And nearly everything is up for grabs: books, appliances, merchandise, furniture — it's all gotta go, per their announcement.
We stopped by last Saturday and found an array of books and periodicals — many half off... and many for as low as $1. A variety of fixtures are available, too. There's also a shelf of freebies.
Here's a look.
As we first reported on Nov. 28, the storefront is now for rent.
The listing at the Meridian Capital Group website notes that all uses will be considered for the 2,500-square-foot space, "perfect for comedy club, wine bar, gallery, vintage clothing, or fitness." Asking rent: $13,950
Bluestockings announced on Sept. 22 that it would be closing as a business at the end of 2025, marking the end of a 26-year run as an independent feminist bookstore, café, and radical community space. The retail space closed in September, while the online shop remained in operation.
In a statement, the worker-owners and staff said daily operations were no longer sustainable, citing health, financial and structural challenges. There was pushback to that narrative, as reported here.
Whatever the circumstances, it was tough to see such a longstanding cultural hub reduced to a going-out-of-business sale.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Art where you can find it
Photos by Stacie Joy
It was another one-night-only pop-up group show, Bring Your Own Art, highlighting work that exists outside the city's traditional gallery system.
For a few hours the other evening, this East Village space filled with paintings, drawings, and mixed-media pieces that were immediate and personal — art meant to be seen, shared, and talked about among friends.
While it's fun to just happen upon a show like this, the organizer did invite us... and everyone here gave explicit consent to be photographed...
The show drew a crowd of young artists and friends. There was an easy, communal energy to the night, with people swapping stories, trading feedback and taking in a wide range of styles and ideas.
It was less about the setting and more about the moment — a reminder that the city's art scene still thrives in temporary, DIY spaces that exist for a night and then disappear.
Final day of Howliday shop at Howl! Arts
We stopped by here last weekend, and they have a nice selection of books (and other items) of interest to a downtown NYC audience.
Today (Friday!) from noon to 6 p.m. at 1 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
The former Spice Brothers space is for rent on St. Mark's Place
Photo by Steven
A for-lease sign now hangs on the storefront at 110 St. Mark's Place, officially marking the end of the Spice Brothers here.
The quick-serve restaurant offering Eastern Mediterranean street food had been closed all this month, prompting concerns about its future.
Spice Brothers opened here between Avenue A and First Avenue in September 2023, and earned positive notices, including a rave from Pete Wells at the Times in July 2024.
For 20 years, Crooked Tree served up crêpes and other cafe fare here until February 2019.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Last days for ‘Cancel This Show!’ at the Clemente
Photos by Stacie Joy
You have a few days left to catch "Cancel This Show!," a group exhibition at the Clemente that asks where artists fit in during a time of rising authoritarianism, ultra-nationalism and cultural "cancellation."
Drawing inspiration from historic activist exhibitions of the 1960s-1980s, the show, curated by Olga Kopenkina and Gregory Sholette, brings together works that confront xenophobia, racism, urban militarization, classism, queerphobia and attacks on democratic institutions.
Selected work below includes "Overthrow Dictators" by Dread Scott...
The Clemente Center is on the SW corner of Suffolk and Rivington on the Lower East Side.
Dec. 18
It looks pretty dead already, and whoever decorated it went with ... a pumpkin on top. Bold choice.
Thanks to Jennifer Toth for the photo!
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
The secret life of Key Food’s holiday decorations
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
As you've likely noticed, Key Food on Avenue A is officially in full holiday mode, including 24/7 Christmas music … and this year, we somehow got a peek at how the magic actually happens. Or at least where it's stored.
Key is always one of the more festive stores around, with a surprising number of inflatable characters who look like they've been caffeinated since October.
We also caught an employee in mid-artistry, hand-lettering one of the store's signs. Watching those block letters take shape: part calligraphy, part performance art, all Key Food.
So enjoy the holiday cheer...there's plenty to go around...
P.S.
We did have permission from the office to take the photos!
Mark Bittman’s Community Kitchen wraps up Lower East Side pilot
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Community Kitchen, the sliding-scale restaurant project from food writer and activist Mark Bittman, closed this past Saturday.
The restaurant, located inside the Lower Eastside Girls Club at 281 E. Seventh St. and Avenue D, announced the closure via Instagram, thanking neighborhood residents for their support during their three-month run.
"To our neighbors in the Lower East Side, thank you for welcoming us, dining with us, and sharing your feedback with us," the post reads. "You have made this pilot an incredible experience. While our pilot restaurant will be closing on December 13, we hope to stay in touch with you, continue to hear your thoughts, and build with you for the future of Community Kitchen."
We stopped by for dinner on the restaurant's final night.
When asked about the decision, Bittman (below) told us that the concept may return.
"We may come back," he said, adding that the project ultimately needs more space.
Community Kitchen opened to much press in September as a limited pilot designed to explore what a nonprofit, values-driven restaurant could look like — one focused on sustainability, fair wages and accessibility, while removing profit from the equation.
The restaurant operated on Wednesday through Saturday evenings.
Menus were created by James Beard Award–winning culinary director Mavis-Jay Sanders and emphasized seasonal, local, plant-forward dishes.
Pricing followed a sliding-scale model, with diners selecting a fee — $15, $45 or $125 — based on their income.
From the outset, the pilot was intended to inform a future permanent location, with plans previously pointing to an opening in early 2027.
Did anyone from the neighborhood eat here? If so, what was your experience?
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