Joann Jovenelly Good morning, East Village.
The Real Deal reports that French-American banker Olivier Sarkozy has bought a $6.2 million townhome in the St. Marks historic district, at 125 East 10th Street.
According to the Post, the “White-Glove Bandit” pleaded guilty to a string of bank robberies on the Lower East Side. He could face 15-plus years in jail.
The Times has a couple of stories about the East River today: First, Verdant Power is hoping to use the river to generate electricity. “In about five years, the company hopes to have 30 turbines arrayed in the river, each capable of producing 35 kilowatts of electricity. All told, the project would produce about as much power as one wind turbine, enough to power a few hundred homes.” And second, the future of East River Ferry service is uncertain since “it is not yet apparent that the ferries can become a daily habit for enough people to keep New York Waterway, which operates the ferry, from losing money, as it has on some other routes.”
Allen Ginsberg’s former research assistant, who has published a book about the poet, tells The Awl, “He loved the East Village and Lower East Side (where his mother Naomi grew up on Orchard Street). I remember him enjoying Tompkins Square Park. He enjoyed eating at Kiev, Leshko’s and Veselka—he loved Eastern European food, also Japanese and Korean. But he had to be careful of hot spicy dishes. He didn’t hang out at bars, he mostly entertained at home, and when he did, the bodega on the northwest corner of 12th Street and Avenue B was the place to hit.”
ArtsBeat brings word of the latest production at the Public Theater, “a new musical based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel ‘Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,’ with music by Jeanine Tesori (‘Shrek,’ ‘Caroline, or Change’) and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron (‘Well’).” It will open the fall season with a cast that includes Roberta Colindrez, Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone and Joel Perez.
In a roundup of new restaurants, DNA Info notes that the folks from Cacio e Pepe have opened Bocca, an Italian spot near Union Square that “serves fresh pastas made in-house and dishes such as pan-seared salmon with Italian couscous, and roasted pork shoulder, marinated for two days in fennel pollen and rosemary, served with broccoli rabe and red onion marmalade.”
Grub Street reports that Community Board 3 agreed to support a liquor license application for the new Nevada Smiths if it agreed to “a 2 a.m. closing on weeknights and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, increased security and cleanup detail, and a requirement that owner Patrick McCarthy meet with residents monthly to address potential complaints.”
Blackbook speaks with Matt Levine, the owner of Sons of Essex who just opened Cocktail Bodega a block below Houston Street. He says the concept represents “a strong sense of community within the Lower East Side, and with the use of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in the cocktail program at Cocktail Bodega, the name Bodega seemed like a natural fit.”
Eater notes that a new happy hour at Peels features “a number of cocktails for $9, canned beer for $5, and bar snacks like tasso potato chips and toasted almonds for $4 apiece.”
