Leigh LedareThanks for the help, Mr. Levitt.He may have started out in Los Angeles, but musician Alain Levitt, one half of NYC synth-pop duo Bubbles, has called the East Village home for a solid decade. “The neighborhood has changed quite a bit,” he muses via e-mail in between recording sessions. “There’s good coffee now, some nice restaurants and lots and lots of college kids.” Having recently wrapped a “mini East Coast tour” with Gang Gang Dance, he’ll likely see more of those college kids when he hits the road again. For the moment, however, he found time to tell us about his favorite local hangs.
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Susan KeylounGood morning, East Village.
Here’s something to consider if you’re considering snatching up one of those rogue cans of Four Loko: Gothamist picked up a study from the Annals of Emergency Medicine that revealed 11 patients under the influence of the banned beverage (10 of them underage) were treated in the Bellevue emergency room in the four month period in late 2010. One patient had fallen onto subway tracks and five others were found unconscious in public places.
The Post’s police blotter (via EV Grieve) has news of a high speed getaway from Tompkins Square Park by a suspected drug dealer. After nearly careening into a sergeant in the stolen minivan he was driving, Robert Ball briefly escaped before hitting traffic and was apprehended.
Also from the Post, word that Jimmy McMillan, who ran for governor on a platform of “the rent is too damn high,” is facing eviction from his $872.96 rent-controlled St. Marks Place apartment. Mr. McMillan’s landlord claims he is in violation of his lease because he actually lives in Brooklyn. Mr. McMillan has vowed to fight the case. Read more…
Leila Samii Earlier this week, the Daily News pointed to the intersection of Essex and Delancey Streets as one of the deadliest in the city. Where bicycle accidents are concerned, it isn’t the only dangerous street crossing on the Lower East Side. In fact, data shows that the neighborhood boasts many of the intersections most prone to bicycle crashes.
The Local obtained records from the New York City Department of Transportation of cycling accidents in 2008 and 2009, the most recent years available. The records reported all intersections where four or more cycling accidents occurred in 2008, and three or more in 2009.
Of the 33 intersections on the list, nine are on the Lower East Side (three of those nine are on Houston Street, the border of the East Village). The data reported a total of 45 crashes at those intersections.
Midtown was the second most sketchy neighborhood with 38 crashes across its accident-prone intersections.
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Kim DavisRoberta’s staff had time on their hands while patrons were locked out.Yesterday, two downtown residents were surprised to be turned away at the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the self-described “part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space.” Following the first story about a woman and her dog, here’s the second— about a man and his stomach.
Yesterday’s launch of the cafe at the BMW Guggenheim Lab was a wash-out, but not because of the rain.
The cafe is operated by Roberta’s, a Brooklyn-based restaurant with a dizzying buzz factor. Opened as a casual wood-fired pizza joint in a former garage in a bleak, industrial corner of Bushwick, Roberta’s has steadily built a reputation not only for more ambitious food (think tripe and sweetbreads) but for a locavore ethic including herbs grown on the roof, home-baked bread and a Heritage Radio studio in the backyard. A collaboration between Roberta’s and a project to promote “innovative ideas for urban life” must have seemed a no-brainer.
So why did Roberta’s fans find themselves locked out of the compound last night, peering through the railings in the driving rain? The answer given by a door-tender around 6pm was that the screening of “Blank City” in an adjacent tent was sold out. “But we don’t want to go to the screening,” people cried. “We want to eat at the cafe.” Read more…
Michael LefkovitsOn Tuesday, a follower of The Local East Village’s Twitter page tweeted about how some East Villagers had helped a missing man back to his home. Seeing a counterpoint to the tragic death of Eason Alonzio, we asked her to tell us the whole story here.
On Tuesday night, my husband Ben and I settled in at Standings. The low-key sports bar has become the default home for one of our “integrate into America” projects: acquiring a love of baseball, or at the very least starting to work out what all the fuss is about. It’s not the most straightforward endeavor for a couple of Aussies raised to believe cricket is the best game on Earth. Becoming Mets fans has helped, though; we are culturally wired to support the underdog, and they fulfill the role with aplomb.
It was around 10:30 p.m. when we finished watching the Mets throw away their 8th-inning lead against the Marlins. Defeated and more than ready to be home, we crossed Second Avenue over to St. Marks, Ben pushing his bike ahead of me. In my peripheral vision I caught only a fleeting glimpse of what seemed to be a hunched figure leaning up against a tree trunk; it wasn’t until I had gone several feet further that the image even registered.
“Wait up,” I said to Ben, handing him my backpack as I returned to investigate.
An elderly man, perhaps 80 years old, was struggling to reach the walking cane he had dropped on the pavement. I picked up the cane and put it in his hand. He started talking in Mandarin. Within a few moments it became clear he spoke no English, but by this time he was holding my hand.
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Go figure: The East Village has made AM New York’s list of “5 Manhattan nabes you can actually afford,” along with Chinatown, Yorkville, Morningside Heights, and Washington Heights. The roundup assures that “decent” one-bedroom apartments go for a thrifty $2,500 to $3,500 per month. A bargain, say you?
Emily ArmstrongYesterday, two downtown residents were surprised when they were turned away at the BMW Guggenheim Lab, the self-described “part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space.” Here’s the first story, involving a dog named Finn McCool.
I went to the Guggenheim Lab this afternoon, hoping to get a coffee and sit for a while on their picnic benches. I was barred from entry because, here’s a shocker: “Sorry, no dogs allowed.”
The explanation was that there is a cafe on the premises, hence no dogs.
“What about the recently closed and sadly missed Little Veselka down the block in First Park?”, I asked. “Dogs were welcomed there. They even sold a dog biscuit for fifty cents and left out bowls of water for thirsty pets. And, that was also on parks department, New York City property.
The Lab was far from crowded and there was plenty of room for me and Finn McCool (that’s his name).
The guy at the door said they would look into it.
A spokesperson for the Lab told The Local that “dogs are allowed in the park area but not the structure.” Is that the policy which is actually being implemented? What do you think? Should dogs be allowed into the think tank?
Update | 4:30 p.m. A spokesperson for the BMW Guggenheim Lab says that as of yesterday afternoon, “dogs are allowed to come into the park area but not the structure.”
Read No Quarter at the Guggenheim Lab, Pt. 2: Rebuffed at Roberta’s
Two late-night dining institutions are getting ready to unveil their new incarnations: Fork in the Road reports that Sidewalk Cafe, which closed for renovations in March, will reopen by mid-August with “reclaimed barn wood from upstate New York,” “housemade” potato chips, and other flourishes. Meanwhile EV Grieve notices that the long in-the-works second location of Veselka, on the Bowery, has put out chairs and is now hiring.
Vivienne Gucwa Good morning, East Village.
A 1993 Lower East Side rape and robbery case came to an end yesterday when a convict pleaded guilty to the crime, DNA Info reports. Alberto Barriera, now 47, was first linked to the crime when his DNA was added to a Virgina database. Mr. Barriera is serving a prison sentence in that state on a separate felony drug conviction, and will be transferred to a New York prison when it is completed.
EV Grieve notes that 34 Avenue A is on the rental market again. Community Board 3 recently rejected a plan by Todd Patrick, a concert promoter, for a bar and music venue in the space.
Grieve also brings a short interview with artist Legacy Russell. She will be at Tompkins Square Park with her typewriter today, asking residents for their memories of the neighborhood. Ms. Russell has been posting snippets of the memories to Twitter and they present an intimate picture of the East Village.
Finally, Girlie Girl Army opines that Harlem is the new East Village. However, a quick search reveals a number of contenders for that crown, ranging from Williamsburg to Philadelphia. One food blogger trumpeted Spanish Harlem as the new East Village as early as 2008, so who’s to know for sure.
Angela L. Tu
We’ve now received more information about the disturbance that occurred at the 7th Precinct’s National Night Out yesterday. According to a police spokesman, a man fleeing the scene of a gang assault made an unlucky wrong turn and ran right into police listening to the precinct’s commanding officer as she addressed a crowd of local residents and elected officials.
The suspect was part of a group of seven who allegedly assaulted a 24-year-old man at Ridge and Stanton Streets at around 5:45 p.m. The suspect fled the scene, according to the police, but ran right into the gathering of around 70 people at Attorney and Stanton Streets.
As shown in the Local East Village’s video from the scene, the incident interrupted Deputy Inspector Nancy Barry’s welcoming speech mid-sentence as officers swarmed the suspect.
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Laura Lee While the 7th Precinct’s National Night Out was disrupted, the 9th Precinct’s event (above) went off without incident.On the Lower East Side last night, a man allegedly armed with a gun ran past crowds and momentarily disrupted the 7th Precinct’s 28th Annual National Night Out, a community event aimed at reducing crime by bringing police and neighbors together.
Less than ten minutes into Deputy Inspector Nancy Barry’s opening speech, screams were heard on Attorney Street – around fifteen feet away from where she was speaking. Moments after, people began fleeing past Barry’s stage. The speech broke abruptly.
“He had a gun,” said a witness who was standing between Attorney and Stanton Streets when the commotion erupted.
Another witness said it was a “street fight.”
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Lauren Carol Smith In exactly an hour, at 6:15 p.m., The BMW Guggenheim Lab will kick off its film programming with a screening of Blank City. The Local talked with Paul Dallas, the project’s film curator, to see what’s in store for the neighborhood.
Q.
How does Blank City reflect the history of the neighborhood?
A.
The film is really a document of the “No Wave” and “Cinema of Transgression” arts scene that happened in the East Village and Lower East Side in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was the time when people were squatting in buildings, before the real-estate boom of the eighties, and the moment when artists could live in close proximity and foster this anti-establishment sort of art scene. It shows what was happening in music and art at the time through rich moments that have had an effect on artists and filmmakers since.
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Courtesy of Bryan WatermanWith over 80 titles now published in the acclaimed series “33 1/3” (book-length critiques of particularly esteemed pop records running the gamut from “Electric Ladyland” to “Kid A”), it has fallen to Bryan Waterman, a NYU professor, to dissect Television’s 1977 recording, “Marquee Moon.” His study, which shares a title with the album in question, weighs in at a portly 222 pages (most of the books in the series are much shorter), and will delight both Television fans and nostalgists of seventies punk-era New York. Mr. Waterman explains why the album just might be the prize catch to emerge from the glory days of CBGB.
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Didn’t get your fill of abandoned subway tunnels after reading last week’s post about the 18th Street station? Paper magazine points to some MyBlockNYC footage of Steve Duncan, the urban explorer behind Undercity, traversing a “labyrinthian tangle of stuff” below the Second Avenue F-train station.
Tim MilkThe Church of the Nativity has for many years serviced the less fortunate with their basement food pantry at 44 Second Avenue. Last week bilingual signs were posted advising locals that due to state and federal budget cuts, “The Food Pantry will be closed until further notice.”
Contrasts abound in the East Village. On one hand we see a fashionable epicenter with its glittering night life. But on the other one finds a place haunted by desperation. As families struggle to make ends meet, as unemployment takes its toll, as food prices rise, it is all the more regrettable to see a neighborhood food pantry shut for lack of funds.
It puts a very personal, poignant perspective on the rather circus-like proceedings in Washington over the debt ceiling. One has to wonder just how many food pantries must be closed in order to narrow State and Federal deficits.
Let us know what you think about the closure.
Rachel Citron The 7th Precinct has been targeting bar owners for serving drinks to minors.The police crackdown on bars in the Lower East Side resulted in a dramatic increase in charges of underage drinking against business owners, data provided by the State Liquor Authority shows.
During a three-month stretch of intense enforcement early this year, the S.L.A., which acts on recommendations from the police, handed down 39 charges of underage drinking in the neighborhood, compared to 31 charges issued during all of 2009 and 2010.
Bar owners in the three zip codes that, taken together, include the East Village and Lower East Side faced 230 charges of serving minors from 2007 to 2011, resulting in $1,034,800 in fines. The data shows that large numbers of charges come during intense periods of enforcement, and bars in the Lower East Side in particular have faced an unprecedented and disproportionate amount of scrutiny this year.
Each offense results in fines of up to $10,000, and repeat offenders risk being shut down permanently. Some of the more high-profile watering holes caught in the dragnet include Mason Dixon (which eventually closed altogether) and Welcome to the Johnson’s.
The increase in enforcement came as the 7th Precinct resurrected its cabaret unit, which focuses on the Lower East Side’s booming nightlife scene, as well as the arrival of Capt. David Miller at the precinct last year. An officer with Community Affairs in the 7th Precinct would not comment on enforcement of sale of alcohol to minors.
In 2009, the East Village’s 9th Precinct disbanded its own cabaret unit, though at a recent community meeting Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr said underage drinking remained a priority.
Many bar owners say that they are being unfairly punished for an issue beyond their control.
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Ian Duncan The Avenue C poker club was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday. It has now closed. Below: a joker marks the club’s door.Six card players were robbed at gunpoint late Saturday night in a poker club on Avenue C, according to police reports. Two armed men entered the New York City Poker Tour club shortly before 11 p.m. and ushered the players into a closet before robbing them. One player – identified by owner Jeremy Martin as Michael C. – had just returned from a successful night at a casino and was carrying $4,500 in cash.
Ian DuncanThe club had closed on Saturday night, but Mr. Martin and a few other players were inside after hours. The robbers knocked at the door and were let in. They quickly rounded up the players, took their cash and left.
Mr. Martin believes that he was “set up” by one of the players, because the gunmen shook down Michael first, before ordering the other players to empty their pockets.
Mr. Martin said no one was hurt in the robbery, but according to police reports, one person was punched in the face by the attackers. The robbers escaped with $6,500 in cash, a driver’s license and a Medicaid card.
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Courtesy of Curtis Brown Curtis Brown, the former frontman of rock band Bad Wizard who became chef at Bubby’s, has left his gig at the Tribeca comfort-food standby and will open his own place at 234 East Fourth Street. Named after the bird of his home state of North Carolina (Mr. Brown was born in Asheville in 1972 and moved to New York City in 1996), The Cardinal is expected to open around Aug. 14, and will offer a “90 percent Southern” menu consisting of Memphis-style ribs, North Carolina-style pulled pork, and Texas-style brisket, as well as non-barbecue items such as lard biscuits, fried chicken, and fried pork chops with red-eye gravy. Among the restaurant’s investors is Dov Charney, the notorious founder of American Apparel.
Mr. Brown’s front-of-house partner in the restaurant is Leanne Hebert-Nguyen, who worked at the clothing company for two years (before that, she was a manager at restaurants in Montreal). “He’s a friend of hers and we were looking for investors and he got involved,” said Mr. Brown of Mr. Charney’s “hands-off” role. “He’ll be here opening night— that kind of situation. And he gives us any support he can, helping us find stuff like light fixtures for the restaurant.”
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Rachel CitronGood morning, East Village.
Neighborhood restaurants are falling behind in the cleanliness stakes. In a report marking a year since letter grades were introduced, The Department of Health announced that 69 percent of restaurants received a grade A. In the East Village, 167 received top marks – that’s around 58 percent. City Room reports that Mayor Bloomberg thinks the system has been good for restaurant owners and diners alike.
EV Grieve picks over the agenda for next Monday’s meeting of Community Board 3’s SLA & DCA Licensing Committee, noting that the renewal for Heather’s will be a likely source of tension (its neighbors have complained about smoke and noise for years). Elsewhere on the restaurant front, DNA Info reports that next month an Israeli native, Zohar Zohar, will open Zucker Bakery, featuring Stumptown coffee and “cookies influenced by her European and Middle Eastern roots.”
The BMW Guggenheim Lab, which opens to the public on East First Street tomorrow, has its media preview today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and you can follow along on its Twitter stream. Its organizers have been soliciting contributions on how to make the city more comfortable. It has achieved this in its own right, to some degree, by driving the rats from the lot it inhabits. Perhaps BMW could be induced to build a few more pop-up galleries around Tompkins Square Park and solve the problem there, too.
