The East Village Shuffle: Two Closings and a Relocation

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The bad news: Vigilant neighborhood chronicler EV Grieve points out that custom-made jewelry store Mirari and India-inspired clothing boutique Alpana Bawa have both closed their doors, leaving two new vacancies on the corner of 1st Street and First Avenue. The good news: Around the corner at 3rd and First, the long-empty home of Dance Tracks will soon be filled by a vintage clothing store. Which brings us to the confusing news: Is it going to be an outpost of Monk's, the thrift shop chain? All signs point to yes, but the signs themselves are convoluted—or at least filled with typos.

Actually, there's just one sign, the one hanging on the door of the branch of Monk's Thrift Shop at Avenue A and 11th. It says Monk's is relocating to "97 1st Ave. 3rd St," but that address doesn't exist. (97 First Avenue is on the corner of 6th Street, and it's currently occupied by the restaurant Banjara.) However, Dance Tracks is at 91 E.3rd Street—an address that you could easily mistake for the one on the sign. Further supporting evidence from EV Grieve: The store replacing Dance Tracks is "a vintage clothing store that buys and sells, kind of like Buffalo Exchange" (or like Monk's) and "the woman who owns the store also has other locations, kind of like Buffalo Exchange" (or like Monk's.) Armed with all this evidence and feeling like Nancy Drew, we called the Monk's on Avenue C, which confirmed our hunch. So there you have it: Monk's is replacing Dance Tracks. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're off the solve the mystery of Smuggler's Cove with our trusty sidekicks Bess and George.
· Another First Street shop shutters [EV Grieve]
· Long dormant Dance Tracks soon to be home to a vintage clothing store [EV Grieve]
· Avenue A's Monk Thrift Store relocating [EV Grieve]