Good Morning, East Village.
In case you missed it over the weekend, there was a shooting in Alphabet City early Saturday morning. The victim refused to identify the person who shot him in the leg near Avenue D and East Sixth Street and the matter is still under investigation, precinct commander John Cappelmann told The Local.
Gothamist and EV Grieve caught wind of a “hostage situation” at 514 East 12th Street on Saturday morning. But Captain Cappelmann told The Local there was no hostage: an emotionally disturbed person barricaded himself into an apartment and was removed without injuries.
The Post reports that in order to prevent further gun thefts, two officers are patrolling the Ninth Precinct’s locker room, which now boast more locks and a security camera at the entrance.
NoHo News has some updates on stories previously covered by The Local: The former Great Jones Lumber building will go before the Landmarks Preservation Committee on May 29 and will not be seeking a food and beverage tenant when it converts into a residential building. But the site hears that the hotel bound for 708 Broadway will indeed be seeking a food and beverage operator. The site also notes that a building due to replace a garage next to the Merchants House Museum, which will be discussed by members of Community Board 2 tonight, may be an office building rather than a hotel as initially reported.
Irish Central reports that the son of disgraced Anglo Irish Bank boss Sean FitzPatrick has sold his East Village penthouse at a loss for $951,000.
Bob Holman, owner of the Bowery Poetry Club, announces that he has called off a Kickstarter campaign meant to raise funds for the club: “We are happy to report that the energy circulated around this campaign has provided us with some very exciting opportunities that will allow us to continue nurturing the community that we cherish.”
Good thing, too: The BPC is a bastion of quirky events such as the May 17 one touted by the New Yorker: a reading from Marion Jacobson’s book “Squeeze This!: A Cultural History of the Accordion in America,” with an accordion performance to boot.
Speaking of online fundraising, DNA Info profiles Lucky Ant, the Lower East Side company that the Living Theatre is using for its fundraising efforts. With just over 14 hours left, the theater has raised a little over $18,400 of the $24,000 it needs.
The Post shines a spotlight on Mosaic Man Jim Power’s current projects: “The eccentric 64-year-old artist is in the process of developing tours of his public art, recruiting sidewalk docents to lead the walks and creating a map of his mosaic trail.” A commenter grouses that the East Village “was and always will be” known as the Lower East Side: “The name changed in the mid 60’s with the Beat’s and Hippies infiltrating the neighborhood. A lot had to do with the opening of a newspaper office on Ave A between E 9th & E. 10th Sts. The ‘Rag’ was the East Village Other”
West Orange Patch notes that a new exhibit at Umbrella Arts that centers around the theme of “Home.”
Sonic Scoop catches wind of a “secret studio,” chock full of throwback analog instruments and recording equipment, tucked into a Lower East Side apartment. Yes, the landlord is perfectly okay with it, says the studio’s owner: “It’s a one-in-a-million circumstance,” he admits. “The neighbors are very cool. There’s a lot of respect. The building is very receptive to music – you can feel the energy everywhere in this place, which is probably why I started making it a studio the first night I moved in.”
From secret studios to hidden restaurants: Fork in the Road discovers Streecha, the Ukrainian cafeteria tucked underneath East Seventh Street: “It’s a cheap alternative to the neighboring Veselka. You can order the entire menu for under $20. The only caveat is that they’re only open Fridays through Sundays from 10 am to 4pm.”
Timeout reports that the Charlie Parker Festival has added a third night to its two-day festivities, which will fall on Aug. 24 to 26 this year. The Tompkins Square Park portion of the festival will feature Ernestine Anderson, Gregory Porter and more.
Also returning this summer: The Korean American Film Festival. It’ll be at Anthology Film Archives from June 5 to 10, Twitch informs .
Liquiteria lands on a Daily News list of the city’s best smoothies.
Eater films some steamy “pizza porn” at Luzzo’s, based on a publicist’s word that the pizzeria’s piemaker “likes to treat the dough like a lady – caress and massage it.”
Finally, GammaBlog has video of a music performance at 6th and B Community Garden.
Oh, and photos of Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes strolling through the East Village, anyone?