Ian Duncan

A fire at the Con Edison plant on East 14th Street, which started at approximately 2:19 this afternoon when a tranformer caught fire outside the building, resulted in an “all hands” FDNY call. Heavy smoke conditions were reported to be affecting the FDR Drive. The fire was declared under control at 3:52.

According to Chief John Sarrocco, “There was an explosion in a transformer outside of the Con Ed building. The transformer has been de-energized and we put some foam on the transformer. No one was hurt.”

There were a total of 27 units, approximately 125 firefighters on scene, the authorities said.

Update | 3:54 p.m. Firefighters are working to put out a blaze at the Con Ed plant at 14th Street near Avenue D. Fire officials said that the blaze began at 2:19 and that it has gone to two alarms with an “all hands” call for more firefighters. Reporters from The Local are on the scene and we will bring you a fuller post when more information becomes available.—Crystal Bell

The Local has confirmed this afternoon that a Stop Work Order is no longer in place at 35 Cooper Square, where preservationists have been fighting to keep the federal-style building from being demolished. “It has been lifted,” Jane Crotty, a spokeswoman for the property developer, said referring to the order. Asked when work will resume at the site, Ms. Crotty said, “As soon as they can, hopefully tomorrow or the next day.”—Suzanne Rozdeba

Ian Duncan Sutra lounge, owned by Community Board 3 member Ariel Palitz.

Community Board 3 should be taking a rest from conflict. Last week, in a vote meant to end five months of debate, it finally passed a set of reforms to the way it makes recommendations about licenses to the State Liquor Authority. But bar owners who sit on the board are not satisfied and have vowed to challenge the new rules and investigate why they were banned from voting on the reform package.

Shortly before last Tuesday’s meeting, a complaint was made against David McWater, a board member who owns three bars on the Lower East Side. Susan Stetzer, Community Board 3’s district manager, referred it to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. In a written response, COIB officials recommended that the three bar owners on the board be barred from voting on the reform resolution, as they had a direct financial stake in the vote.

At the meeting, Ariel Palitz, a board member who owns Sutra Lounge on First Avenue at First Street, called the recommendation an “eleventh-hour attempt to gag” bar owners. Mr. McWater, who was recovering from a fall, was absent from last week’s meeting.
Read more…

C. Ceres Merry

Good Morning, East Village.

Bessie’s back at the Sunburnt Cow on Avenue C, DNAinfo reports.  After being stolen from the East Ninth Street bar in October, the owner has finally replaced its neon mascot, and to celebrate, he’s inviting patrons to help “brand” Bessie by writing their names on her.

Brooklyn’s eco-friendly Union Market is coming to Manhattan, and it has found a 6,000-square-foot space at 240 East Houston Street, on Avenue A, to call home. Racked NY reports that this will be Union Market’s largest endeavor, and similar to the Brooklyn outpost, it will offer a beef aging facility and personal shopping services. Union Market is also know for offering neighborhood-themed coffee blends, so what do you think the East Village blend packaging will look like?

In other news, EV Grieve has noticed that Junk, a thrift store on St. Marks, has closed its doors for good after opening them this past September.   This isn’t the first vintage store to close on St. Marks in recent months.  As we reported, Physical Graffiti, a vintage clothing store,   between First Avenue and Avenue A, closed its doors after 16 years because of the bad economy.

As for today’s weather, it’s a little chilly this morning, expect some clouds and a high of 57 degrees today.

Kim Davis.

We at The Local are happy to announce the return of a face that is familiar to many of our community contributors: Kim Davis, the site’s founding community editor, will today begin a six-month rotation as associate editor of The Local. In that role, he will use his deft editing touch to oversee the day-to-day coordination of The Local’s roster of community contributors.

Design by Andrew and Nicholas Hunt The Local asked neighborhood designers for their vision of how a vacant lot of East 13th Street (below) might be transformed. Above is the design by architects Andrew and Nicholas Hunt, whose plan includes a farmers market, community garden space, a restaurant and residential units.

Rachel Trobman

Over the past 40 years, the lot on 13th Street east of Third Avenue has been many things: a home for stray animals, a showcase for street artists, a resting place for the homeless, a dumping ground for clothes.

But one thing it has never been is developed.

And, according to land owner Builtgross Associates, a subsidiary of Milstein Properties, that’s not going to change in the near future as no solid plans are in the works.

“We’re examining several alternatives but haven’t formalized anything yet,” said Anthony Bergamo, vice chairman of executive planning for Milstein Properties. “We’re looking for something that would be good for the community and area businesses.”

For many years, the massive, 23,000-square-foot site, which stretches to 14th Street and is formally known to the city as Lot 15 on Block 469, did serve the community. It was once B.F. Keith’s vaudeville theater and then, later, a single-screen movie called the RKO Jefferson. While it closed in the 1970s, the building’s shell was not demolished until late 1999. It has remained vacant ever since.
Read more…

Tim Milk As the historic site at 35 Cooper Square faces the prospect of demolition, the building’s last tenants – Hisae Vilca, and her granddaughter, Rachel Lindenberg (below), who operated the 35 Asian Pub – recalled their memories of working and living in the oldest building on Cooper Square.

Suzanne Rozdeba

As preservationists make last-ditch efforts to keep 35 Cooper Square standing, its last tenants, Hisae Vilca, and her granddaughter, Rachel Lindenberg, retraced their own history in the little house and the pub Ms. Vilca ran on the ground floor for the past five years while she lived upstairs.

“I love everything old, including me. I love antiques, and I loved that building,” said Ms. Vilca, 77, who came to New York from her native Japan five decades ago and who customers fondly called “Grandma.” She opened the bar, a neighborhood favorite, in 2006. “I had a very sentimental attachment to the house. Some of the other people were just tenants. But for me, it was a different kind of attachment,” she said.

The federal-style house, built around 1825, is under threat of demolition after the developer Arun Bhatia began construction there on Feb. 4. A Stop Work Order has been in place since Feb. 14 because of a broken fence at the back of the site, and inspectors found two violations, for failing to publicly display a work permit and failing to properly protect the public and nearby property.

Closing day on Jan. 29 brought customers and staff to tears, Ms. Vilca said. “They were all crying. I had customers, young and old, who would come every day, rain or shine. The last day, everybody’s crying and getting drunk,” she said, “I had to go upstairs.”
Read more…

Michelle Rick

Last week, we asked for your opinions on the recent decision by Community Board 3 to change the rules governing the transfers of liquor licenses when local businesses are bought and sold.

David on 14th Street described how, as a parent of two children, he was particularly sensitive to the raucous atmosphere surrounding local bars. He wrote:

“I know I’m not living in Iowa — nor do I want to — but walking home with them at 9pm on a Friday or Saturday is akin to showing them an R-rated movie.
Additionally, living on 14th street, the amount of drunken noise, swearing, and fighting that comes through the window on those nights is appalling.
Anything that makes it harder to open a bar in the East Village is fine by me. There are way, way too many as it is already.”

Kim Davis, the founding community editor of The Local, wondered about the potential negative effects of a possible exodus of bars:

“Indeed, there are altogether too many dark storefronts east of First Avenue as it is. It’s optimistic to suppose that landlords will slash prices in the short-term to the extent required to attract Mom-n-Pop type low profit businesses.
In the meantime, dark storefronts and empty streets – as Jane Jacobs knew – are magnets for crime.”

Dina questioned Mr. Davis’ perspective, noting that the East Village has relatively low crime rates despite its vacant storefronts:

“Some nightlife businesses are desired. But imbalance leaves streets gated and empty during the day.”

Join the conversation: What’s your take on the community board’s decision?

Cary Abrams The poet Bob Holman performs at a tribute to Janine Pommy Vega at the Bowery Poetry Club Sunday.

Friends of poet and teacher Janine Pommy Vega, who died in December, gathered at a reading tribute Sunday at The Bowery Poetry Club to remember her.

Poet and author Hettie Jones, a Bowery resident of over 40 years who helped organize the event reminisced about their first meeting at a 1960’s party.

Ms. Vega moved to the Lower East Side from Union City, N.J. after graduating high school at 16, having read ‘On The Road,’ and been inspired by the Beat lifestyle. She met the poet Gregory Corso at The Cedar Tavern, a fabled Village artists’ haunt, who introduced her to Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, with whom she later shared an apartment on Avenue B.

Ms. Vega began teaching writing in prisons in the 1970’s through Incision/Arts, a group that brings writers into prisons; she became the group’s director in 1987. She first introduced Ms. Jones to teaching writing in prisons and they served on the Prison Writing Committee for PEN, the association of poets, essayists, novelists and other writers, and co-authored “Word Over Walls,” a guide on starting writings program in prisons.

Andy Clausen, Ms Vega’s companion, shared reflections and anecdotes about Ms. Vega’s dedication to her writing, work in prisons and indomitable spirit. He described the memorial held recently in Woodstock, N.Y., near their home in Willow, N.Y., and plans for an annual Janine Pommy Vega Poetry Festival to be held there.

Anne Waldman remembered their readings and travels in Italy, reading from “Tracking The Serpent,” Ms. Vega’s account of her extensive travels over four continents exploring what she described as matriarchal power sites. From the outpouring of those who spoke and read, a common theme emerged: how Ms. Vega had touched and inspired many through her writing and teaching.

Rachel Citron

Good morning, East Village.

We begin the week with a look at some local restaurant comings and goings. Orologio said goodbye to the neighborhood yesterday with a farewell Sunday brunch and with a little thank you to it’s loyal patrons. EV Grieve reported the restaurant’s listing on the market back in December, and since then, Eater NY has chimed in with a note that The Beagle, a restaurant with a controversial menu, will take its place on 162 Avenue A.

Grieve also notes that 14-16 Avenue B at East Second Street is still up for grabs on the market after plans to open up a 3,000-square-foot Italian restaurant, catering company and lounge were nixed by Community Board 3.  Now the space has a brand new listing and it looks like the landlord may be hoping for a new nail salon to hit the block.

In other neighborhood news, DNAinfo reports that Lower East Side and East Village schools look to be among the hardest hit by possible layoffs of city teachers – roughly 10 percent of the teachers in the neighborhood could be affected.

As for today’s weather? Keep an umbrella handy because The Weather Channel predicts light rain throughout the day and potentially some thunder. But at least there are a few sunny, but cold, days coming our way for the rest of the week.

jdx, a community contributor to The Local East Village, discusses working the streets with a camera.

“Most of these images are captured on the streets of the East Village with a mobile, edited in-device and uploaded. A lot of their inspiration is sourced from writing and literary studies, album covers and underground novels, beat poetry and outsider art. I try not to get hit by cars.”
Read more…

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

There’s more news on Grace Farrell, the homeless woman who died last weekend near St. Brigid’s Church. Yesterday, The Daily News tracked down Ms. Farrell’s 12-year-old son, Oliver, and Al Muniz, her former fiancé. Upon learning of his mother’s death, Oliver vowed to stay clear of the drugs and alcohol that he and Mr. Muniz said doomed Ms. Farrell. Oliver also spoke of his dream to become a detective when he grows up and recalled seeing his mother last on Feb. 11. Ms. Farrell likely died Saturday night, the same night her son was baptized at East Village’s Holy Redeemer Church.

Eater NY reports that today marks the opening of a new restaurant at The Cooper Square Hotel, named The Trilby. The Trilby is the hotel’s third restaurant since opening in spring 2009.

For many East Village residents, the new restaurant’s opening may only exacerbate existing pain and nostalgia. EV Grieve reports that yesterday, the Department of Buildings issued a permit to the developers of 35 Cooper Square, which will allow them to complete a city-mandated fence repair. Once that work is completed, the developers are expected to continue moving to demolish the historic site, which was most recently used as an Asian Pub.

And according to The Weather Channel, high winds and rain should spoil today’s predicted high of 53. Expect a sunnier, colder Saturday, as highs will only reach about 40.

Tim Schreier

Would-be messages from the East Village, in 140 characters or less.

Consumer

Noodles, nails, hair, massage, hookahs, bank, vintage,
tattoos, tacos, bar, bank, espresso, antiquities, massage,
hair, nails, noodles

Sour Ginsberg

I saw the best minds of my generation staring into
iPhones flipping thru texts & tweets & pics ordering
ramen on Ave. A

Winter Doggerel

The hedgehog has seen its shadow. Snow was welcome,
but now must go. Birds must sing and leaves come out.
That’s what I’m talking about!

East Village Blues

He would like to have a big, noble, devoted dog, who
would wait for him patiently outside cafes and stores,
but his apartment is too small

Spring Awaits Them

Winter: The girls with the tattooed limbs have
undergone a double hibernation: not just of
flesh, but of ink

Astor Place

Mr. Li is a Personal Banker but it is against corporate
policy to keep personal items on his desk. His cubicle
must be kept impersonal.

…Soon he will be transferred to another branch of the
same bank, far uptown, and we will never see him again.
Goodbye, Mr. Li!

Angels In the Airshaft

OMG OMG OMG OMG that is so funny… ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha OMG OMG OMG OM… did he really? that is
so… ha ha ha ha ha ha funny

Together Through Life

On the other side of the bathroom mirror he hears his
neighbor of 20 yrs gargle & spit. Thru the bedroom wall
he hears him groan and snore

Roku

Jobless, he sleeps by day and streams French movies on
Netflix all night. If he were a cat, which he should be,
everything would be A-OK

Bourgeois

Panting, the super arrives with (yet again) the wrong
part, the incorrect screw. To save face, we discuss his
recent trip to Paris & tip $5

Geography

Broadway marks the outer limit of the East Village. One
block over, on University Place, the real money begins

Vivienne Gucwa A selection of bottles at Mars Bar.

Earlier this week, Community Board 3 voted to amend the policies for transferring liquor licenses when local businesses are bought and sold.

Save the Lower East Side said that the move “may be the most significant vote” that the board has ever taken.

The blog theorized that the move might reverse a trend that has seen rents rise and created a dense cluster of bars in the neighborhood.

“If prospective bar owners know that they must face the community to get license approval, they will be less likely to buy that business, especially here in areas of bar density, where there will be the most community objection. If bars are reluctant, landlords can’t count on high-rent bars for their commercial spaces, and will have to settle for lower-rent businesses. That will lower commercial rents and bring commercial diversity.”

We’d like to hear your thoughts about the board’s decision. Is it a good thing that prospective bar owners may now have to think twice about coming to the East Village? Or are those businesses being unfairly targeted? Let us know. Put your response in the comments section below.

Rachel Citron

Good morning, East Village.

For many bars in our neighborhood, this week marks the start of a new era.

As we reported Wednesday, Community Board 3 voted to overhaul the liquor licensing process in the East Village and Lower East Side. Before the vote, when a bar underwent a change in management, new owners could essentially buy the liquor license from the former owner. This morning, commenters in the blogosphere have been weighing in with their reactions to the vote. Save the Lower East Side characterized the move as a “momentous vote” and wondered if it will eventually lower rents and bring more commercial diversity to the neighborhood. The Lo-Down and DNAinfo also have posts on the decision.

EV Grieve reports the famed East Village bar, Coyote Ugly, reopened last night after being shut down for over a week following a surprise Feb. 15 visit by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After scoring a 90 (an ideal score would be 13 points or fewer), the bar was ordered to remain closed following a second inspection on Friday. Coyote Ugly was finally given the green light upon third inspection on Wednesday after spending the weekend completing tasks like re-painting the walls and installing a new floor in the basement.

In today’s forecast, Accuweather predicts a high of 46. It is expected to rain through the night into tomorrow, though temperatures will climb into the 50s.

Colin Moynihan

Various forms of street art and graffiti, of course, are a familiar part of the East Village landscape, enjoyed by some, deplored by others and impossible to eradicate. Magic marker tags, murals, stickers and spray-painted shapes can be seen adorning walls, doors and sometimes even lampposts and fences in the neighborhood.

But some of the improvised canvases used by graffiti writers and painters are mobile. While roaming the streets of the neighborhood over the past few days The Local has kept an eye out for tagged vehicles. They have not been particularly difficult to find. It does turn out, though, that vans appear to be a more popular graffiti and mural target than any other type of vehicle.
Read more…