Good morning, East Village.
Per an obituary in The Times, Swami Bhaktipada, a controversial ex-leader of the American Hare Krishna movement, has died near Mumbai at the age of 74. A Times article from 2004 tells more: “Mr. Bhaktipada was one of the first American followers of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, an Indian holy man who opened a temple in the East Village in 1965. His organization, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, was seen by young members of the counterculture as a thrilling novelty. Known as Hare Krishnas, his followers were famous for dancing around Tompkins Square Park in saffron robes, beating drums and chanting.”
The Post reports that a man was arrested after posing as a realtor and getting a woman to hand over $3,500 for the key to an East Sixth Street apartment. Problem was, the apartment was occupied and the key didn’t work.
Speaking of property disputes, Bowery Boogie points to an interesting BlockShopper item: It’s reported that the Charles D. Saulson, the sculptor turned developer who was accused of flinging feces at an art gallery next door, has sold his condo at 259 Bowery for $2.321 million.
EV Grieve points out that Jonas Mekas’s documentary about Mars Bar will premiere at the Greenpoint Film Festival on Thursday. The filmmaker and co-founder of Anthology Film Archives describes “My Mars Bar Movie”: “[Mars Bar] was always open, there was always the juke box, and very often there was no electricity, and it was old and messy and it didn’t want to be any other way — it was the last escape place left downtown New York. So this is my love letter to it, to my Mars Bar. Mars Bar as I knew it.”
While Mr. Mekas mourns his local dive, Myles Tanzer of The NYU Local laments the complete disappearance of caffeinated Four Loko: “Maybe the toxic chemicals in Four Loko rewired my DNA,” he confesses, “but drinking just hasn’t been the same since the ultra poisonous light went out of my life.” Apparently all those leftover cans have disappeared from the neighborhood. Or maybe not: A commenter writes, “They still sell caffeinated ones at one store within a 4 block radius of campus. Go be journalists and find them!”
According to All Media NY, St. Mark’s Bookshop stayed open till 12:30 a.m. this morning for the release of a book. No, it wasn’t the latest installment of Harry Potter, but rather the 900-plus-page translation of Haruki Murakami’s “IQ84.”
Eater informs that Sauce, the new restaurant with in-house butcher from Frank Prisinzano of the Frank, Supper, and Lil’ Frankie’s empire, is set to open at 78 Rivington Street tonight. As The Local pointed out, it’s the restaurateur’s first effort below Houston Street.
