For more than three decades, Marlis Momber has chronicled the changes that have occurred in the East Village and the Lower East Side – Loisaida. She reflects on 30 years of observing a community in transition.

“I hope we will learn from this having lost against gentrification, but it was inevitable,” said Ms. Momber in her East Fourth Street apartment as she sorted through photos, such as this image from 1986. “There’s this sense now that we must reconnect — preserve and continue — or all the earlier stuff will be for naught.”
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Kim Davis.

My last day as Community Editor of The Local East Village finds me looking back on what has been a long and eventful journey. For me, the journey didn’t begin with a phone call from Rich Jones, or even with the friendly interrogation to which I was subjected by Jay Rosen and his Studio 20 journalism class.

The journey, for me, began more years ago than I would like to think, still living in London and devouring everything I could read about downtown New York. The history, the legends, the tales of the artists and poets. Books by Joseph Mitchell and Ronald Sukenick, photographs by Fred McDarrah. I even subscribed to “The New Yorker” – not uncommon, I know, but I used to check “Goings on About Town” and plan what I might do with my evening if only I wasn’t 3,000 miles away. Danny’s Skylight Room at the Grand Sea Palace sounded like the most exotic joint on earth.

Almost 15 years ago, I saw my chance and seized it, moving first to Midtown with a temporary job, before settling in the East Village and beginning the process leading to residency and something like permanence. My daughter was born in New York, has grown up in the East Village, and will have the memory of it always. Call me a romantic, but one day she will realize what a wonderful gift that is.

Although I’ve been a writer of one kind or another as long as I can remember, I could hardly have imagined when I set out on this trip that I would have the opportunity to help edit and even modestly shape a site like this. That will be a great memory for me going forward: like celebrating my green card by going out and buying a Yankees jersey (number 42), this has been another ritual of arrival in the pre-eminent city of arrivals. Thanks to The Local, to Rich and the rest of the team, for giving me this home. And you haven’t heard the last from me.

All the best, of course, to Colin Moynihan in taking this all to the next level.

Kim Davis is the founding community editor of The Local East Village. He blogs at www.pinkpignyc.com.

Simon McCormack Investigators with the City Commission on Human Rights have begun looking into an allegation of bias at the Continental bar.

The City Commission on Human Rights has begun investigating an allegation of racial discrimination against the owner of the Continental bar, who has been accused of denying admittance to African-American patrons.

The commission, which is charged with examining civil rights complaints in the city, has been looking into an allegation of bias at the bar for the past month. A spokeswoman for the commission confirmed that an investigation is underway but, citing confidentiality concerns, declined to provide any additional details.

The owner of the bar, Trigger Smith, said that he intended to cooperate fully with the commission’s investigation and denied that there was anything improper about the admittance policy at the Continental.

“There’s not a prejudiced bone in my body,” Mr. Smith said in an interview with The Local earlier today. Mr. Smith acknowledged that the commission had conducted another investigation into allegations of bias at the bar several years ago. However, he said, that case was closed. Mr. Smith, who is white, said that his own review of the bar’s policies led him to believe that there were “a fair mix of colors” in the bar.
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Suzanne Rozdeba Hung-Ry, 55 Bond Street.

In the course of my first lunch at Hung-Ry, a neo-noodle restaurant at 55 Bond Street, I used my chopsticks to tweezer from my bowl a rather odd black wedge-shaped object, walked it over to the chef, Michael Hodgkins, who was standing behind the counter and said, “What’s this?”

“That’s the gizzard,” Mike explained. “It filters the soil which gets into the chicken’s system and gives it a. . .” He searched for the word.

“Soily?”

“Earthy flavor.” A lot of people, Mike added, regard a gizzard with deep suspicion. I had, too. But by the time I had reached the bottom of my duck breast noodle soup, I was hunting everywhere for those cushy, earthy bits of innard.

When I say that Hung-Ry practices neo-noodle cuisine, I mean that Mike has adapted the Chinese convention of broth, noodle and meat for a different world, and a different palate. Mike’s own training is French — he says that he worked for people who worked for Alain Ducasse, which I suppose is something like jamming with someone who once jammed with Bono — and he has infused into this ancient and rather tired staple a thrilling intensity of flavor and a commitment to fresh and exotic products. The duck breast in my soup had been exquisitely grilled and layered atop a bed of thick noodles which Chen, the noodle-man, had just finished stretching and twisting and yanking and then chopping. The broth was so redolent of distilled essence of duck that I couldn’t bear to order a dessert for fear of dispersing the flavor.
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Colin Moynihan.

We at The Local are happy to announce that Colin Moynihan, a reporter who during a period of 12 years has written about the East Village for The Times, is joining the blog as its next community editor.

Mr. Moynihan, who has also written for The New Yorker, New York magazine, and The
Village Voice, succeeds Kim Davis, who recently completed a six-month rotation as the site’s founding community editor.

“I’m looking forward to joining in the intrepid journalistic experiment that The Local began five months ago,” said Mr. Moynihan. “The East Village has a rich history and a legacy of great reporting and writing. It will be exciting to be part of a project that will try to contribute to that legacy while helping to write the next chapter in the neighborhood’s history.”

Richard G. Jones, the editor of The Local, praised the depth and breadth of Mr. Moynihan’s journalistic experience.

“We are extremely fortunate to have an editor of Colin’s caliber who brings an understanding of The Times’ standards and values, an innate knowledge and appreciation of the East Village’s distinct culture, and absolutely impeccable reporting chops,” Mr. Jones said.

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

After getting about four inches of snow overnight, the last of the flakes have fallen as we make our morning commutes. The Sanitation Department was out in full force to make sure that no street was left behind in our fifth snowstorm this winter, reports NY1.

In architecture news, there’s an updated version of the design for the proposed Bowery Hotel from The Observer, which says of the plan, “it has light up balconies that will shimmer at night, bringing a bit of that dance-club flare back to the cleaned up thoroughfare.” The comments aren’t any more flattering than when we first saw the design for the hotel, which will stand on the site of the old Salvation Army building. One commentator on Curbed wrote: “Looks more like it’s ‘festering’ than ‘shimmering,’” while another said, “Is restraint really uncool?”

Meanwhile, the bike lane debate keeps getting hotter. At a Brooklyn community board meeting last night, residents argued with Department of Transportation officials, saying that the agency inflated numbers of cyclists using a Prospect Park lane, according to The Post. Our own bike lanes debate continues, and if Jimmy McMillan had any say in it, he’d do away with them all.

And if you’re planning on watching the Jets play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night with a berth in Super Bowl XLV at stake, The Post has an in-depth championship game preview. But if you’re not feeling the football love, EV Grieve suggests some bars without TVs where you can drink, minus the football fanatics.

The Local is pleased to announce that Colin Moynihan, a reporter who has written about the East Village for The Times over a period of 12 years, will join the blog as its next community editor. Mr. Moynihan succeeds Kim Davis, who recently completed a six-month rotation in the position. We will have more details and a fuller post tomorrow. —The Local

Courtesy David Amram David Amram will celebrate his 80th birthday with a fundraiser at the Bowery Poetry Club Jan. 30.

The rapidly altering Bowery landscape might prove disorienting to someone who first performed at the fabled Five Spot jazz club in 1956, then located on the Bowery at Fifth Street. For David Amram this isn’t the case, as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday at a fund raiser for The Community-Word Project on Jan. 30 at The Bowery Poetry Club. A long-time downtown resident, Mr. Amram has continued to create music, perform and remain vital over the past half century. He explains that “It’s important for young artists to see it’s possible to lead a creative life in the arts.’

Internationally known as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor and author, Mr. Amram has composed more than one hundred orchestral and chamber music works, along with film scores such as those for “Splendor in the Grass” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” He has collaborated with a vast legion of performers including Charles Mingus, Willie Nelson, Dizzy Gillespie, Langston Hughes, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and scores of others. In 1966, Leonard Bernstein chose him as the first guest composer-in-residence of The New York Philharmonic.
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Suzanne Rozdeba The 7A Cafe, a neighborhood mainstay, re-opened this week after extensive renovations. “We haven’t remodeled since 1986,” said the general manager, “and the owner thought it was time.”

After a two-week closure for renovations, 7A Cafe is back open for business with a new, eclectic, jungle-meets-50s-diner look.

The 24-hour restaurant, a favorite in the East Village for brunch, re-opened on Jan. 18. It now has a green and beige color scheme with jungle and bamboo-themed wallpaper, spacious diner booths, a zinc bar with faux bamboo lighting hanging overhead, and an overall more open feel.

The décor was chosen by Mark Wilson, a SoHo artist who is a friend of the owner, Moshe Hatsav. “Mark was in Brazil in the Amazon, and he said, ‘Let’s do something with the Amazon, green with bamboo,’ and I said, ‘O.K.!’” Mr. Hatsav told The Local. “We wanted to give it an upscale-diner look. The look before was from the 80’s. I’m very happy with the changes. Green is the thing.”

Mr. Hatsav said customers are enjoying the new look. “Customers who have been coming for years really like the changes. The food is the same because the customers really like our food.”

The delicious, $13 brunch on weekends continues to include choices like Shrimp and Avocado Benedict, Smoked Mozzarella Frittata, and Brioche French Toast. The price includes coffee or tea, and your choice of freshly-squeezed orange juice or an alcoholic drink such as a Mimosa or Bellini.

Doug Rochelle, the general manager, told The Local, “Everyone else is remodeling in the neighborhood, or opening something new. We haven’t remodeled since 1986, and the owner thought it was time.”

Mr. Rochelle called the new design “diner-like with a twist. It’s an eclectic mix of things. There’s a new zinc bar, the bathroom has cartoon characters on the wall, there’s the jungle theme in the back, and the café feel in the front. We’re blending all of those different flavors.”

7A Cafe, East Seventh Street and Avenue A. 212-475-9001.

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

We heard from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg last night in his State of the City speech. The Times reports that he focused on small-scale local initiatives and spoke little of education, and didn’t even mention last month’s blizzard.

While the mayor made his address, a Village Voice blogger was busy teaching a lesson to every young person in the “greatest city in the world.” In response to a girl’s complaint of getting overcharged by a locksmith, blogger Joe Coscarelli said getting ripped off here is inevitable, and recalled his decrepit past East Village apartment. Perhaps you can relate.

Meanwhile, tenants on 13th Street are scrutinizing their building’s facade for its constant graffiti. DNAinfo reports on the “tagger’s paradise” that some suggest should become a mural.

And though cops have monitored the wall, many will be on a bigger mission today: one of New York’s largest Mafia arrests.

Bernardo After closing his museum store on St. Marks Place in September, the artist James De La Vega says that he is moving toward a “digital experience” for his work and that he is no longer selling his art. Below: Some of Mr. De La Vega’s work.

When last we heard from James De La Vega, he had just closed his museum store on St. Marks Place and was answering questions about why someone was threatening the proprietor who replaced him.

Now, four months removed from the East Village, the iconic street artist told The Local earlier today that he is moving into a new “digital experience,” and that he is no longer selling art.

“America’s moving in a bad direction, in a deeper sense than economics. Right now, we have to focus on building trustful relationships with people,” said Mr. De La Vega. “There’s no interest in selling anything. I’m not doing that now. We are committed to a more powerful message, one that was given to me.” Mr. De La Vega said he’s instead been giving away his art – which is frequently adorned with his slogan “Become Your Dream” – as gifts.

As for plans for another New York store, he said, “We have too many enemies out there. There is no store. For all of 2011, De La Vega will totally be a digital experience. De La Vega will explain his work in a language that you will understand.”

His message, he said, still resonates with his followers. “The De La Vega message is a bigger thing. People are identifying with this concept as a form of fighting,” he said. “It reminds people that they can be powerful and they go out there and create. They don’t have to live within the uniform that life imposes on them.”

He and his team are in “a total planning process. Right now, I’m building a powerful team to continue into our next phase. There’s a story going on.”

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

There’s an online outcry over the design of the proposed Bowery Hotel, which was unveiled by Curbed. One commentator said the project “looks like the winner of a contest where crazed architects are asked to design their weirdest fantasy buildings.” Brokerage Eastern Consolidated announced that Paris-based Louzon Group will build the 72-room boutique hotel and restaurant at the old Salvation Army building, bought by the group for $7.6 million, at 347-349 Bowery.

Meanwhile, in his 10th State of the City address this afternoon, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will reiterate his agenda amid criticisms of “a battle over his new schools chancellor, an $80 million fraud scheme involving the city’s payroll system and a botched effort to deal with a crippling snowstorm last month,” reports The Times. He’s expected to propose a plan to make it legal to hail livery cabs and announce plans for changes to the pension system.

For those of us who take the M15 bus, your ride is up to 16 minutes faster with the new system, according to The Daily News.

And if you’re concerned about the amount of pollution in the air while you’re out and about, check out these new high-tech sweatshirts, designed by two NYU graduate students, emblazoned with lungs and hearts that turn blue when you’re exposed to dirty air.

Suzanne Rozdeba Jimmy McMillan.

Jimmy McMillan, the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High party, may have failed in his bid for governor but that’s done little to quash his ambition – or his opinions.

Mr. McMillan, who’s 64, still has a broad and ambitious plan for change through his party, which includes banning bike lanes, cutting taxes and, of course, lowering rents. And then there is his most grand  – and quixotic – plan of all: a run for the White House in 2012.

“We have bird-brained economic leaders,” he told The Local in an interview. “People need money to spend. And it boils down to one thing: the rent is too damn high.”

Mr. McMillan spoke with The Local about his lingering ambitions, his plans for the future – he’s planning to hold a news conference in Tompkins Square Park next week to officially kick off his presidential bid – and his deep ties to the East Village.

What’s the first thing you’ll do for the East Village as president?

We need new leadership. The first thing I would do is meet with the governor and direct Cuomo to reduce the property taxes. Property taxes in the East Village are crazy.
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The authorities have arrested a man and charged him with attempted murder in connection with a shooting along East Second Street last week. The man, Claudio Daniel, 31, also faces assault and weapons charges in the incident, which occurred Jan. 12 at 225 East Second Street and left a 33-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The victim, whom the authorities did not identify, is listed in stable condition.—Meredith Hoffman

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

If you’re feeling neighborhood-nostalgic, you might turn to the site Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, where a local laments her move from East Village to West, after a decade on “buzzing” Avenue B.

If you’re interested in gearing up for Sunday’s Jets game, you can still turn to a local source, East Village Radio, which this morning aired a discussion with football experts.

Meanwhile, amidst our city’s ongoing bike lane debates, EV Grieve has an amusing post on a biker who was ticketed for riding on the sidewalk. On this morning’s ice, you probably won’t want to be cycling at all. Even NY1 calls it a “slippery, messy start,” and says rain will continue through the afternoon.

And today’s weather makes The Village Voice’s video of the 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride even more entertaining.

Meredith Hoffman Years after coming to East Village soup kitchens for help, Jeremy Jarvis now works as a volunteer helping those who are homeless.

Jeremy Jarvis has lived at opposite ends of the social spectrum. About 20 years ago – his life in a spiral of homelessness and alcoholism – he found himself standing in line at East Village soup kitchens.

Now, his is a life transformed and he works as a volunteer serving those who are in as much need as he once was.

And earlier today, as others gathered at ceremonies across New York and the nation to honor the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Jarvis paid tribute to the civil rights icon in his own quiet way: serving those in need.

“If I’m living with more than I need, when other people don’t have enough, I’m doing an injustice,” said Mr. Jarvis, glancing at a portrait of Dr. King in the soup kitchen of the Catholic Worker on First Street near Second Avenue.

As Mr. Jarvis gazed around the room, he recalled eating his “first bowl of soup in this room, at one of these tables” amid his troubled youth. Traveling “from handout to handout,” he found few places that consistently wanted to help him — or even cared about him.
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Suzanne Rozdeba Workers with the American Red Cross earlier today at the scene of a small fire in Stuyvesant Town.

A small kitchen fire broke out in a woman’s apartment in Stuyvesant Town, just after 1 p.m. today, and was under control in 20 minutes at the building located at 535 East 14th Street between Avenues A and B.

Officials said that the resident of the apartment sustained minor injuries. She was treated at the scene for a minor injury, but refused to be taken to the hospital.

Three American Red Cross officials were also at the scene. The officials said the woman residing in the apartment turned down any assistance, saying she did not require it.

One person sustained minor injuries this afternoon in a fire at 535 East 14th Street. The blaze, which began around 1 on the eighth floor of a 13-story building, was under control in about 20 minutes. Reporters from The Local are on the scene and we will post a full report as soon as we have more details. —Suzanne Rozdeba

Samantha Ku Carey Pulverman, the “worm lady” of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, shows off her red wigglers. The worms are an essential part of composting process.

Bugs and insects are an apartment dweller’s nightmare. But some East Village residents are embracing a creepy crawler as an ally in urban composting: the red wiggler worm, a.k.a. Eisenia foetida. With the right mix of worms, newspaper and food waste, combined with about four months’ worth of patience, you can end up with several pounds of the moist, sticky brown compost known to green thumbs as “steroids for plants.”

In an effort to be more “green,” Richard Carlsen, 53, a public school teacher, bought a worm bin 18 months ago to use in his East Ninth Street apartment. “I thought composting was out for me not having a yard, but after researching vermicomposting, I was like, ‘Oh, let me give it a try,’ and it’s worked out great,” said Mr. Carlsen.

He uses the rich fertilizer excreted by the worms on his houseplants, and he gets rid of food leftovers. ”I’m proud of my worms,” he said. “It’s amazing, you stick something in there, and in a week it’s gone.”

As a result of keeping the worm bin in his living room, Mr. Carlsen has put up with some extra insects like mites, fruit flies and gnats. He uses frequent vacuuming and fly traps to control the pest population.

For recyclers who can’t abide by worms in their homes, outdoor composting is even more passive. You can visit one of four official demonstration sites at community gardens in the East Village (see map below) to dump select food scraps into bins filled with various plant clippings.

Once every few weeks, someone in the garden will give it a good toss for aeration. In several months, it will become the nutrient-rich compost and potting soil that make avid gardeners shell out the big bucks.

There are other places to compost, including The Lower East Side Ecology Center, which has a community compost drop-off in the northeast corner of the Union Square Greenmarket for local residents.

Robert Appleton, a teacher on sabbatical who lives in the East Village, brings his compost to the Union Square Greenmarket and the 4th Street Food Co-op when he does his weekly grocery shopping.

“I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, so anything left over I just bring here in a plastic bag, usually twice a week,” said Mr. Appleton. “My apartment’s too small for me to do my own composting.”

Each week, the large black garbage bins at the compost drop-off site are filled with the rotting, moldy, smelly piles of New Yorkers’ apple cores, eggshells, and coffee grounds. The Ecology Center, in turn, uses the donated scraps to create compost and potting soil, which sells for $7 per 5 pound bag three months later at the same stand in Union Square.

Learning More About Composting

The Department of Sanitation’s NYC Compost Project also operates demonstration sites at the following community gardens:

• La Plaza Cultural, East Ninth Street and Avenue C
• Dias y Flores Garden, East 13th Street between Avenues A and B
• El Sol Brillante Garden, East 12th Street between Avenues A and B
• Earth School Garden, East 6th Street and Avenue B

View NYC Compost Project Demonstration Sites in a larger map