Avenue B Gets Its First Halloween as a Finished Street

Planters now line the Tompkins Square Park side of Avenue B. At the corners, curb extensions are held in place by granite blocks, and bike corrals sit at the ends of the blocks. Between East 7th and East 10th Streets, cars can only go north, while bikes still go both ways. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Department of Transportation announced that its Avenue B redesign was done, and DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn marked it at Avenue B and Eighth Street.

Halloween this Saturday, Oct. 31, is the street's first holiday in its finished form. Over the same weeks, the East Village's new openings have clustered on the blocks around Avenues A and B. Several long-running spots on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue have closed in that time.

What actually changed on Avenue B

The project runs along Avenue B from Fourth Street to 14th Street, EV Grieve reported. The biggest changes are on the three blocks beside the park, from Seventh to 10th. It grew out of the city's plan to make a bike boulevard along the existing Avenue B Open Street, which started during the pandemic and has stayed on the park's eastern edge since then.

Here's how the street works now:

• Traffic: from Seventh to 10th, cars go one way northbound and bikes go both ways. DOT says the goal is to discourage through traffic while keeping access for local cars, deliveries and emergency vehicles.
• Crossings: intersections have new curb extensions protected by planters, bike corrals, granite blocks and other barriers. They're meant to shorten crossings and make pedestrians easier to see.
• Deliveries: each block now has loading zones at its start and end, so trucks have somewhere to stop.
• Hours: the Open Street still runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The fall plantings won't last long. Parks employees told EV Grieve the plants and flowers can't take the cold and will be pulled in a few weeks. Mini Christmas trees will replace them.

The first big test was a dog parade

The redesigned street's first major crowd came on Saturday, Oct. 17, a few days after DOT announced the work was done. The nonprofit New York Dog Parade ran the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade that day, and NYC DOT listed it as the 36th edition.

The parade stepped off at 11 a.m. and went south on Avenue B from East 13th to East 7th Street. The new one-way blocks by the park sit right inside that stretch. The festival block was set up on East 6th Street between Avenues B and C from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DOT listed the parade's street event on Avenue B from East 3rd to East 14th Street, which covers almost the whole redesigned corridor. Saturday's Halloween events use the southern end of it.

Where the new counters are opening

The new places nearest the Avenue B corridor are small, mostly one-concept shops on the side streets between Avenues A and B or on the avenues themselves. Several more are signed but not open yet.

Two details matter if you want to go. EV Grieve noted that 20 Blocks' sandwiches often sell out early, so go at lunch. Thone changes over during the day, from coffee, pastries and Georgian breads to wine and snacks around 5 p.m.

Macario will be right on the corridor, one block north of the new one-way stretch. The Oct. 5 report on its move gave no opening day, so check before you walk over.

A little farther west, the openings follow the same small-format pattern. Boston sandwich maker Jen Royle opened Table Mercato at 214 E. 10th St. on Sept. 26, her first shop outside Massachusetts. It's a counter with no seating. Herbie's Burgers opened its first Manhattan location at 109 First Ave., with smash burgers plus vegan burgers and vegan chicken. Flamingos Vintage Pound opened a second East Village store at 199 First Ave., where used clothing sells by weight, reported at $17.99 a pound.

St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue had a different fall

West of First Avenue, the news has mostly been closings, and many were places that had been around for years.

On St. Mark's Place, the Taiwanese restaurant 886 at No. 26 closed Aug. 31 after eight years. The Japanese and Korean beauty and lifestyle shop Reiwatakiya at No. 37 had its last day Sept. 26 after more than three years. Bake Culture at No. 22 has closed too. EV Grieve reported that the chain took the location off its website and that an employee at its Bowery store confirmed the closure. The Starbucks at the northwest corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place closed the same Saturday as Reiwatakiya.

On Second Avenue, Mimi Cheng's closed its quick-serve spot at No. 179 after 12 years. Its last day was Sept. 11, and the owners said they'll focus on their frozen dumpling business. Double Zero, the plant-based pizzeria and wine bar at 65 Second Ave., also closed after 12 years. Its window notice, which EV Grieve published, cited "rising food and operating costs, the realities of our lease, and a broader slowdown in the plant-based dining trend." Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart at 166 Second Ave. has closed as well.

Second Avenue did get one new restaurant. Recente, a coastal Italian restaurant and aperitivo bar, opened at 182 Second Ave. between East 11th and East 12th. It's the first independent venture for managing partners Willem Hock and Lukas Canan, with Australian chef Monty Koludrovic consulting on the food.

On First Avenue, HAGS set Sunday, Oct. 18 as the final day at 163 First Ave. Eater reported that co-owners Telly Justice and Camille Lindsley plan to reopen at 334 Bowery in January or February 2027.

So far no replacement tenants have been announced for the empty St. Mark's spaces. The new places in the table above, open and coming, are mostly on the eastern blocks, around the street the city just rebuilt.

A Halloween afternoon on the eastern blocks

Saturday's two official events are both south of the park, on the Avenue B blocks the dog parade didn't cover. NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets list has:

• Avenue B Open Street, Avenue B from East 7th to East 3rd Street, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., run by the Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition.
• East 3rd Street, from Avenue B to Avenue A, the same day and hours, run by wild project.

DOT notes that events can be delayed or canceled, so check the list that morning.

Here's one way to spend the afternoon:

1. Lunch before the crowds. Go to 20 Blocks at 215 E. 4th St. before the sandwiches sell out. It's a block from where the Avenue B event ends at Third Street.
2. Walk the two events. From 2:30, the Avenue B blocks from Seventh down to Third and the stretch of East 3rd between B and A are both programmed, and they connect at the corner of Avenue B and Third.
3. Head to Avenue A. On your way, pass 37 Avenue A between Second and Third, where Yamadaya's sign is already up, and 138 E. 3rd St., the future home of Todos Contentos y Yo También.
4. Finish on East 6th. Thone at 501 E. 6th St. switches to wine and snacks around 5 p.m., so you can stop in during the last stretch of the events or after they end at 6:30.

On Sunday, the Tompkins Square Greenmarket runs at Avenue A and East 7th Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. GrowNYC lists it as a year-round Sunday market, with compost drop-off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and clothing collection from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

When the planters along the park switch over to mini Christmas trees, Avenue B will be heading into its first winter in its new form, with Macario and Yamadaya expected this fall and Tipsy Tie Dye hoping for late fall or early winter.

If you own on these blocks and want to know how changes like the Avenue B redesign and the new storefronts nearby show up in what your apartment is worth, John Chubet and our team will walk you through it block by block. Let's Connect and request a home valuation.