144 Second Avenue Building Date : 1914-15 Original Use : Commercial Original Owner : Philip & Benjamin Menschel Original Architect : Louis A. Sheinart Description & Building Alterations This three-story brick building was originally erected between 1914 and 1915 as a movie theater with office space, designed by architect Louis A. Sheinart. In 1928, the building was converted to retail and office use. It was part of the Yiddish Theater District/Jewish Rialto during the early 20th century, and has housed the Ukrainian restaurant Veselka since 1954. The west rusticated stone facade features a bracketed thin cornice above the storefront’s segmental-arched window opening, framed by festive garland decorations. The north facade features patterned brickwork, simple rectangular window sills, and glass brick on top of the storefront.

Veselka (Ukrainian for “rainbow”) was established in 1954 at the intersection of Second Avenue and 9th Street, by Ukrainian immigrant Wolodymyr Darmochwal. It was originally a candy shop and newsstand. At the time, the East Village was home to one of the largest expat Ukrainian communities in the world. Veselka evolved as the neighborhood did; it became a hangout not only for Ukrainian immigrants but also for the bohemian counterculture that flocked to the East Village in the 1960s. Veselka survives today, in its original location. In the late 1980s, it became a 24-hour establishment.

Touring the streets surrounding Tompkins Square Park, we look at moments in time where the actions of neighbors, activists and local organizations helped change the course of history, letting personal recollection guide us through these sites. Learn how constant advocacy through zoning, historic districts and landmarking efforts helps ensure the survival of small businesses, spaces of community, and architectural identity in the East Village.

The East Village has long been a richly diverse immigrant neighborhood. It has also served as a hub for cultural movements: the Beats, punk rock, bohemians, Hare-Krishna…the list goes on. Take a walk through the area that was considered the center of counterculture in New York.

Veselka, ca. 1980. Established in 1954 in a small storefront—as a candy shop and newsstand— Veselka was founded by Ukrainian refugees Wlodymyr and Olha Darmochwal. The new business was named for the Ukrainian word for rainbow. In 1966 the owners took over an adjacent space on 9th Street, allowing for a full luncheonette. A family-run business, even still, Veselka has long been a curious mix of old world traditions and the modern social milieu of the East Village. They began offering 24 hour service in 1990 and expanded in size in 1996. Pierogi and borscht for everyone, whenever you want!

Hermoine Panken Mokray, daughter of beloved Lower East Side family court judge, socialist politician, and Forward Association president Jacob Panken, was also a Jewish politician in her own right as well as a Women’s Army Corps aviation cadet veteran of WWII, social worker, and activist from New York.