Tim Schreier Good morning, East Village.
First up: Bowery Boogie spotted a call for help from the family of bike repairman Natividad Zirate on this old City Room post. The commenter said she is Mr. Zirate’s niece and that he has had no contact with his family back in Mexico. Head over to Bower Boogie for details of how to reach Mr. Zirate’s family if you have any information.
ArtNet has a report on graffiti artist LAII – real name Angel Oritz – who was supposed to be at a gallery opening in L.A. this week, but was instead languishing in Riker’s Island after being arrested for daubing on the Kenny Scharf mural. The space at Houston and Bowery is a regular target for Mr. Oritz, who appended his own images to an earlier Keith Haring work at the site. According to ArtNet, Mr. Oritz was also caught painting his own mural across Urban Outfitters on Second Avenue, despite being – ironically enough – an official Urban Outfitters artist.
City Room has news that assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries is proposing a law that would ban realtors from making up neighborhood names. While developers of the newest luxury apartment tower might be peeved, with the East Village besieged by SoHo, Nolita and NoHo, a moratorium on acronyms could be a welcome relief.
The second Taste of Seventh Street festival starts today and runs until Friday. The social media savvy restaurant owners on the block have partnered with deal site Scoop St to offer discounts on food at Luke’s Lobster, Butter Lane, Dumpling Man, Wechsler’s Currywurst and Cowgirl’s Baking. Based on yesterday’s EV Grieve report on empty storefronts on the street, it seems as though it could use a boost.
The Tribeca Film Festival also opens today, and with films showing at Loews on Third Avenue and East 11th Street, the East Village can stake a claim to a bit of the action.
Before we go: the weather. Highs of 69 degrees but thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon, so take care. That’s a wrap.
