Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.The Gathering of the Tribes building at 285-287
East Third Street.
The blind poet behind Gathering of the Tribes is on the hunt for a wealthy benefactor who will buy his building on East Third Street near Avenue C — a move that would, in theory, stop his pending eviction.
In an e-mail forwarded to The Local, Steve Cannon urged his supporters to spread the word that his landlord, Lorraine Zhang, wishes to sell the building.
“Ultimately, what we were told was Lorraine wants to get rid of the building,” wrote Mr. Cannon. “Is there a possibility of any interest in investing/buying the building and making it all Gathering of the Tribes and getting someone to run it?” Read more…
Photos by Baruch Herzfeld: Cars involved in a collision on FDR Drive were towed to Delancey Street between Ridge and Pitt Streets.
A driver heading the wrong way on FDR Drive led to a three-car pileup that left two dead and two others injured early Sunday morning.
The police said that a 26-year-old man was driving a Nissan Maxima at 2:52 a.m. against southbound traffic when he collided with a Dodge Caravan. A Mazda then collided with the wreck near Houston Street, injuring the 22-year-old driver, as well as her 31-year-old passenger.
The 52-year-old driver of the Caravan and the driver of the Maxima were both pronounced dead at the scene. The passengers of the Mazda were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, the police said. The police have not yet released the names of the victims.
A fire broke out this morning on the first floor of a building at 17 St. Marks Place, between Second and Third Avenues. A Fire Department spokesman said the blaze – which was not thought to be major – was reported at 6:45 a.m. and was under control by 7:11 a.m.; one person was taken to New York Hospital with a minor hand injury. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
I’m originally from Paris, so I’m fascinated by New York in the snow. I’ve lived here for almost 13 years now, but like a child, I’m still the first one out when it snows. For the first storm of 2012, I left my apartment in the East Village to capture the pristine landscape before it got spoiled by traffic. The hardened conditions turned the streets into a desert, with people like the ones above looking for a warm, dry refuge. Read more…
Stephen Rex BrownFirefighters at 710 East Ninth Street.
A construction worker fell around 15 feet after scaffolding collapsed underneath him at a building on East Ninth Street at Avenue C.
Battalion Chief James Costello said that the worker was on scaffolding near the roof at around 2:50 p.m. when the structure collapsed, sending him plummeting to a stairwell landing below. Firefighters then removed him through a window on the top floor using a ladder. A Fire Department spokesman said that the worker suffered injuries to his head and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Read more…
An opportunistic garbage collector swiped an iPad from a closed restaurant this morning after being let in to use the bathroom, the police said.
A spokesman for the police department said that the sanitation worker, Michael Maldonado, was on duty at around 11:40 a.m. when he asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use the bathroom. After the owner of the undisclosed eatery let the 38-year-old Mr. Maldonado in, police said he swiped an iPad and then went back to work. Read more…
Want to live in one of the most controversial apartments in the neighborhood? Here’s what the layout of your new pad will look like!
Earlier today, The Local got hold of the blueprints for 315 East 10th Street, the building that got the go-ahead for a rooftop extension literally hours before the Landmarks Preservation Commission declared it within a historic district along Tompkins Square Park.
The completely new, 1,523-square-foot fifth floor will feature a pair of one-bedroom apartments (accessible by elevator!). The exterior will have a new “historic” touch, too: a spokeswoman for the Landmarks Preservation Commission said that the owner of the building, Ben Shaoul, has pledged to build a replica of the existing cornice on top of the new floor. Read more…
As Valentine’s Day approaches, The Local is celebrating East Village couples. We’ve already heard the story of Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff of the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. Today, meet James Sanderson and Veronica Marquez.
Though born in New York, James was raised in England, and didn’t return to the United States until he was an adult. Veronica was born and raised in Venezuela, and came to the United States for college. In 2005, they met in a real estate office while they were both looking for an apartment. Four years later, James proposed at the same office; the couple now lives together, in a loft on East 13th Street.
Watch The Local’s video to hear how they turned a chance encounter into an East Village love story.
An elderly man was taken to Beth Israel a little after 5 p.m. today after having difficulty crossing Avenue A near 14th Street and causing a traffic delay. The man, who said his first name was Henry, was crossing the street with the assistance of a walker when he became immobile. Concerned passersby (including this reporter) came to his aid and helped him walk to the corner, where he sat down.
The man was disoriented and his face was extremely bruised. When a small pool of blood began to form around his left leg, emergency services were called. He told police officers that he was 88 and lived alone in Stuyvesant Town but was unable to say what caused his injuries.
Photos: Noah Fecks. Cocktails, in order: Friend of the Devil (two photos), Gin and Juice (three photos), Manhattan, Lady of the Night (three photos), and J. Crusteau at Booker and Dax; I Hear Banjos (two photos) at The Wayland; Beetnick, Manhattan on Draught, Bowery Fix, and Yankee Mule at Saxon + Parole; Flor de Jalisco, 1890, Bitter Mule, and Pimm’s Tonic at The Wren; and G.P. Spritz and The Last Cocktail at Prima.
Jason Mendenhall, a partner in the new cocktail bar on Avenue C, The Wayland, knows the East Village has long been a drinks destination. “I’ve heard people refer to the neighborhood as the cocktail ghetto,” he recently told The Local. Lately, mixologists like Mr. Mendenhall have been raising the proverbial bar on tired old speakeasy drinks, with twists that have nothing to do with lemon rinds: we’re talking red-hot pokers, smoke capsules, and centrifuges.
Take Mr. Mendenhall’s most popular creation, I Hear Banjos. The mixologist roasts apples to make bitters for the corn-whiskey and applejack drink (he’s also working on umami bitters, made from various mushrooms). But that isn’t the impressive part. For campfire effect, the drink is capped with an upside-down snifter full of applewood smoke. Mr. Mendenhall is planning an entire line of smoked drinks (and a line of drinks incorporating vegetables like kale and beets, as well), and he also hopes to create smoked ice.
At Booker and Dax, the recently opened bar at Momofuku Ssam, partner Dave Arnold is going one step further than using a smoking gun – he’s wielding a red-hot poker. “It has an internal temperature of 1,500 degrees Farenheit,” he said. “We shove it into the drink to create burnt-caramel flavors that you can’t get by making a hot drink on the stove.” Read more…
The East Village has Fringe Festival (applications for next summer’s are due next week), and in the winter it has Frigid Festival. Founded in 2007 by San Francisco’s Exit Theatre and our own Horse Trade Theater Group, it runs from Feb. 22 to March 4 this year. Earlier this week, “snapshots” of 13 of the festival’s 30 shows – all produced by independent theater companies – debuted at Under St. Marks. Five of them stood out.
“Rabbit Island”
Chris Harcum was without his cast, but if his charisma is any indication, his play in which a talkative Canadian mime navigates New York will be one to watch. Of Frigid, Mr, Harcum said, “I think it’s better than the New York Fringe festival, personally, because you get to see five shows each night and all the money goes back to the artists.” Many in the room echoed his sentiments. Read more…
Of course the party didn’t stop after yesterday’s ticker tape parade. The Post reports that the New York Giants Super Bowl victory celebration continued into the night, with Justin Tuck, Mario Manningham and other G-Men taking a party bus to the Village Pourhouse and then heading to SideBar at Union Square.
The area around the Village Pourhouse was flooded with carousers after the big game on Sunday, as the above YouTube video shows. Other videos show hooting and hollering at the 13th Step and outside of Croxley Ales.
The owners of Tompkins Finest Deli say they hope to open the store sometime in the next ten days, and about two months from now, they’ll open a Middle Eastern café at the corner of First Avenue and Second Street.
Adeeb Ghamem, a resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Ahmed Alzabair, of the Upper West Side, were busy stocking shelves with Vitamin Water and PopChips earlier today, in a space that has been considerably gussied up from the time it housed Avenue A Mini Market. Mr. Ghamem, who is also a partner in East Village Finest Deli (on Avenue B) and First and First Finest Deli (you can guess where that is), said that he was opening another store in the East Village because “people are nice. Nobody gives nobody a hard time. Everbody’s polite here.” Read more…
Moving is a drag; as Off the Grid pointed out yesterday, even Allen Ginsberg had to do it a whole bunch (heck, your editor lives in one of his old apartments – found it on Craigslist). Maybe you’re looking for new digs in the neighborhood? The Local would like to show you some! Don’t worry, our apartment tour won’t take long; and you’ll get to tell us what you think of each place on camera. Fun, right? Okay, so send an e-mail telling us what you’re looking for and let’s talk. Who knows, maybe you’ll snag Iggy Pop’s old place…
Citybiz reports that the hotel at 151 East Houston Street is going for $21 million. The building’s marketer notes that its “rooftop area and basement level could easily accommodate a restaurant, bar, lounge or a combination of all three, and preliminary architectural designs for such space have been completed.”
The Lo-Down outlines changes that the city believes will make Delancey Street more safe, including extended sidewalks, lengthened crossing times, and the elimination of left turns at certain intersections.
Stephen Rex BrownMike Zohn and Evan Michelson show off some just-purchased oddities in front of their new location at 207 Avenue A.
After a rushed departure from their former space on East 10th Street, the owners of Obscura Antiques and Oddities are aiming to reopen at a new, more spacious location at 207 Avenue A by the end of February.
Fresh from a visit to a Hell’s Kitchen building that yielded a Tibetan Kapala skull-cup, headhunter’s axe, a small replica of an electric chair, and old handcuffs, Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson touted their new store, which is nearly double the size of the previous location.
“There is room to breathe,” said Ms. Michelson. “It’s like a dream come true.” Read more…
Louie LazarBilly Lyles poses in front of a mural that depicts him playing the saxophone.
The record vendor who toured the world with a disco star isn’t the only East Villager who’s both a musician and salesman: on Ninth Street, jazzman Billy Lyles and his wife, designer Jane Williams, have owned Katinka, an idiosyncratic store no bigger than a walk-in closet, since 1979.
Mr. Lyles, 69, has performed at clubs like the Bitter End, but neighbors know him best for his impromptu saxophone, keyboard, guitar, and flute performances outside of his shop on Ninth Street, near Second Avenue. There, Mr. Lyles interacts with passers-by from his usual position near a table where scented soap and incense are sold for just a dollar. A mural by Chico featuring his likeness – white beard, attentive eyes, saxophone at his lips – adorns an adjacent brick façade. On warm days, shouts of “Billy!” echo down the tree-lined block, and people wave at him from across the street.
“It’s nice to get said hello to,” said Mr. Lyles, wearing his trademark glasses and old-fashioned flat cap. “To be a nice person, man: they don’t have that going on any more like they used to.” Read more…
Having presided over another musical moment at Luna Lounge from 1995 to 2005, Rob Sacher has some strong opinions about the possibility of a CBGB revival. Writing for WNET’s MetroFocus, the former co-owner of the Lower East Side venue — which once hosted the likes of The Strokes, The National and Elliott Smith — says that it’s best to leave the Bowery’s punk rock Mecca to the history books: “Someone may buy the name, even buy the walls, but no one can buy into a time that is glorious, though frozen in the past.”
As a founder of the influential musical group The Fugs, the proprietor of the Peace Eye Bookstore, and the publisher of a self-declared “magazine of the arts” (we won’t reprint its title here, but it’s similar to the that of his recent memoir, “Fug You”), Ed Sanders displayed a unique brand of creativity. At Boo Hooray Gallery, from Feb. 16 to March 8, you’ll be able to step back into the 1960s and view many of his East Village-based printing press’s rarest treasures. Read more…
Add Douglas Howard to the list of people who are unhappy with the permitting system at East River Park. According to The Post, the East Village resident is suing the city for revoking his permit to teach tennis due to what he says is racial discrimination. Mr. Howard, who is white, was arrested after clashing with a park employee who, the lawsuit claims, gave preference to a non-licensed Hispanic tennis instructor.
According to a Citi Habitats report released on The Real Deal, January rents were up 5% from last year. In the East Village, the average studio went for $1,881 and 1-bedrooms went for $2,616.
The Post and the Daily News report that Louise Meanwell, who is accused of extorting money from Brian Cashman, the General Manager of the New York Yankees, was told in court yesterday that she will also face charges of harassing an ex-boyfriend, Thomas Walsh, who lived in the East Village. The charges, from 2010, had been suspended but are now being revived. Read more…
The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The Gathering of the Tribes building at 285-287
