Daniel Maurer Good morning, East Village.
The sidewalk outside of The Hole was more or less impassable yesterday. Inside, André Saraiva, graffiti artist and owner of the chic Le Baron nightclubs, was debuting “Andrépolis,” his exhibit consisting of mini neon-splashed New York City nightspots.
Speaking of reproducing downtown bars: The Savannah Morning News has shots from the set of the CBGB movie, and reports that the club’s toilets and bar will be flown down to Savannah, Georgia for the shoot. Plus, the Bowery will be recreated for exterior shots. “People keep asking, ‘Why Georgia instead of New York?’” says the movie’s creative director. “New York is so expensive, so there’s a real incentive here.”
CBGBs will also be recreated in play form, apparently. In a preview of the East Village Theater Festival at Metropolitan Playhouse, The Villager mentions that Anthony P. Pennino’s “Posers” will revisit the CBs of the 80s, while “Alphabet City, VIII” is “the latest installment of an ongoing project that puts the words of local residents, verbatim, into the mouths of monologuists.”
And here’s another downtown bar in an unlikely place: The Post visits the new Asbury Park outpost of Max Fish. Owner Ulli Rimkus is digging the boardwalk locale: “You can smoke [on the deck] and you can dance and [nobody’s] going to stop you,” she says.
The Villager reports that opponents of a hotel going up next to the Merchant’s House Museum are concerned that, as it turns out, two members of the team that will develop the hotel have in the past been convicted of illegally removing asbestos and misleading a grand jury. “We have engaged licensed professionals of the highest caliber to respect the integrity of the Merchant’s House Museum,” says the owner of the proposed hotel. “Unfortunately, our neighbor to the west [25 E. Fourth St.], who will lose some lot-line windows, seems unwilling to accept the changing nature of New York streetscapes and has seen fit to taint our project through guilt by association.”
Speaking of preservation, Off the Grid tips its hat to City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, another Village Award winner. “In the East Village, in particular, Rosie has had a tremendous influence in expanding landmark protections and speaking up for endangered historic sites.”
The Observer reports that Borough President Scott M. Stringer is upset that the City Planning Commission didn’t force N.Y.U. to stand by some of the modifications that it made to its expansion during its negotiations with him. “I am disappointed the commission did not ratify N.Y.U.’s commitment to eliminate a portion of the ‘zipper building’ to protect light and air for neighboring residential buildings,” writes Stringer, “nor did it remove one story of university uses below the proposed public school to assist in reducing density-related impacts. This makes no sense, especially in light of fact that NYU agreed to these changes.”
After at least two previous robberies, the Metro PCS store on 14th Street has been hit yet again. This time, the thief made off with $1,700, according to The Post.
Neighborhoodr has shots from the Neighborhood School’s “Save the Library Day” at The Bean.
The Forward reports that Clayton Patterson is negotiating with printers to produce his latest book, “Jews: A People’s History of the Lower East Side,” and it should be finished in a couple of months. “I’m not sure if most Jews are aware of how diverse the Jews are,” says Mr. Patterson. Meanwhile, the gallerist and historian tells The Local that, as part of his Candy Darling exhibit, he’s screening “Beautiful Darling” at Clayton Gallery & Outlaw Art Museum, Saturday at 6 p.m. Seating is limited so arrive early.
Good news and bad news from Tompkins Square Park: EV Grieve notes that another tree has come down, and The Villager has the lineup for this summer’s movies in the park.
And in celeb-land, US magazine says Justin Long was spotted in the East Village with Kate Mara, who “held on to Long’s arm as they went for a stroll.”
