Khristopher J. Brooks

A tiny crowd of photographers and birdwatchers has gathered outside NYU’s Bobst Library trying to spot Pip, the red-tailed hawk who flew for the first time earlier today. Many in the the crowd of onlookers were excited that the 49-day-old hawk made a successful take off, but were bewildered about where she went during the flight. Visit The City Room blog of The Times for more updates.

Khristopher J. Brooks Ann Green, who lives in Washington Square Village, looks at Pip’s parents, Bobby and Violet (top photo) through binoculars.

Courtesy of Lizzy Plapinger Lizzy Plapinger and Derek Davies.

Instead of trying to break into the music industry with new technology, one record company is looking back to the technology of the past to introduce new acts.

Lizzy Plapinger and Derek Davies started producing limited edition 7-inch vinyl singles for new and emerging bands through their record label, Neon Gold. Since starting in August 2008, when the now-23 year olds were only juniors in college, they have been credited for much of the early success of a number of indie bands and recently partnered with Columbia Records.

Ms. Plapinger and Mr. Davies are childhood friends, having spent summers together at camp in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. When summers came to a close, they returned to school in London and Washington, D.C. respectively but kept in touch about new music.

“It was always a pipe dream,” Ms. Plapinger said of their early talks about starting a record label together.

Though they had both held internships in the music industry and searched for new talent out of habit, they decided to start their specialized company in 2008 even though they were in the middle of college.

“We couldn’t really let this opportunity pass us by,” Mr. Davies said.
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Stephen Rex Brown A new gallery exhibit by Jesper Haynes chronicles 20 years of living in the East Village.

Plenty of longtime locals love talking about the good old days in the East Village, but Jesper Haynes can point to his photography as proof of what a great time he had in the neighborhood.

“St. Marks: 1986-2006” is an exhibition of Mr. Haynes’ photographs taken inside his two-and-a-half bedroom apartment at the corner of First Avenue and St. Marks Place that is opening this evening at Gallery Onetwentyeight on the Lower East Side. A diverse group of close friends, pretty girls and kooky characters are shot in various states of undress, intoxication, and exuberance.
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Todd Olmstead Some of the selection at Van Daag.

For many coffee drinkers, the morning brew is a ritual, an essential start to the day whether consumed at home, work, or somewhere in between. But for coffee geeks, the experience is so much more than adding fuel. It’s a precise, scientific process in which beans cultivated with care on small farms in far away countries are ground specifically for that single, perfect cup. Many are coming to drink coffee with the same attention as fine wine.

Joining the movement is Van Daag, with a new coffee menu featuring beans from two renowned Scandinavian micro-roasters.

“Van Daag wanted a coffee program that would be something different, something that New York hadn’t seen yet,” David Latourell of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea told me. He helped assemble Coffee Collective of Copenhagen and Tim Wendelboe of Oslo along with Ecco Caffe, a small California roastery that Intelligentsia owns.

One patron described the former World Barista Champion as “godlike,” but Mr. Wendelboe, who is tall and has boyish features, doesn’t carry himself like a star. This event felt more like a gathering of old friends – though they were also happy to dispense their considerable coffee wisdom to anyone eager to slurp the brown nectar.
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When John Vaccaro’s loft is torn down this August he will not be sad. When asked what he will miss, “Absolutely nothing,” is his immediate response.

Mr. Vaccaro is one of four tenants, in addition to the Mars Bar and Joe’s Locksmith, being pushed out of 11-17 Second Avenue this summer as the building’s owner, BFC Partners, moves ahead with plans to build a luxury high-rise.

Mr. Vaccaro came to New York in 1961 and enjoyed a successful career as a theater director. Back then, he says, “We all knew each other,” referring to the artists and musicians — Andy Warhol among them — that roamed the East Village in its bohemian heyday.

Now, looking down from his fire escape just above Second Avenue, Mr. Vaccaro says that those days are gone.

“Who are these people down there?” he protests. “I don’t know any of them.”
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Laura E. Lee An empty classroom at Ross Global Academy.

With the end of the school year just around the corner, students at Ross Global Academy are eagerly awaiting the start of summer. But some families face uncertain futures when the academy permanently closes its doors at the end of the month.

The New York City Department of Education announced the closure the charter school on East 11th Street at First Avenue in December, citing the reports of the school’s low test scores and high teacher turnover.

With the announcement, parents and staff fought to keep the school open. The school’s founder, multimillionaire Courtney Sale Ross, sent a letter to the Department of Education asserting that the Department did not follow proper procedures and requesting a renewal. Chancellor Joel Klein denied the request.

Richard Burke, executive director of the school, said that the Department has promised to place everyone by the end of the month. But some parents, still bitter about the circumstances of the closure, are angry about the reassignment process.

“We’re displaced,” said Noemi Hernandez, president of the academy’s Parent-Teacher Association. Ms. Hernandez said that although she lives in the neighborhood, she cannot register her two children at local schools without Department of Education approval.
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We’d like to welcome a new blog to the neighborhood, The Village Beat, which features the work of undergraduate students from across the country in The Hyperlocal Newsroom Summer Academy at NYU Journalism.

Yvonne Latty of NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute teaches one of the hyperlocal classes — and said that the site was created as a showcase for student work.

“We’re sending out these cub reporters and watching them grow,” she said. “They’re out on the streets, knocking on people’s doors, shooting video, taking photos — they’re hustling; we’re pushing them to be published. What you’re seeing is the future, and we’re planting the seeds.”

Other NYU Journalism professors involved in the project include Betty Ming Liu and Adrian Mihai, who designed the blog.

Be sure to check out their stories throughout the summer, and follow their Tweets, too.

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

When you think all the good ones are taken, try looking in your own backyard. That’s right East Villagers, our neighborhood ranks as the number one place for dating in New York City — or at least according to the online dating site, HowAboutWe. The Village Voice reported the findings earlier this week, noting that Webster Hall and the Strand top the list of local hotspots.

Of course there are other reasons for coming to the East Village, as we’ve seen each year with the so-called Crusties; but now it seems some of these annual squatters are not getting a warm welcome from the authorities, according to Andrea Stella, executive director of The Space at Tompkins.

But that’s not all that’s changing this summer. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York shares photos from East Villager Andrea Legge, who lives in the building next to Mars Bar; both buildings will be bulldozed by the end of August.

Earlier today, EV Grieve reported on the closure of Open Road Park. We now have more details about what led to the closure. The park was closed by officials at East Side Community High School; principal Mark Federman cited an increase in drinking, smoking, fighting, littering and vandalism on the premises as the reasons for the closure. The school will hold a public meeting next week to discuss how to improve conditions at the park — in the meantime, children will have to look for another spot to skate and shoot some hoops.
—Chelsia Rose Marcius

Joshua Davis East Village boutiques have thrived by offering low priced merchandise to its customers. Still House, 117 East Seventh Street, sells artwork and jewelry by local artists.

With reports of hard times for struggling Lower East Side boutiques, The Local paid a visit to merchants on East Seventh Street to see how their businesses are faring. But rather than echoing the frustrated voices of Lower East Side merchants, many of whom have closed or moved to Brooklyn, the East Village is holding steady and even opening new stores.

The secret: low prices.

Here is what some local shopkeepers had to say about starting up and surviving in the East Village.

Rena Reborn and Still House, both at 117 East Seventh Street

Two newcomers to the block, both stores opened within a week of another last month, and both specialize in selling goods from local artists and designers. Rena Reborn, which sells new and recycled jewelry and clothing for women, draws many of its customers with $5 and $10 racks.

“Low prices keep us in business,” says owner Rachael Rush.
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Ian Duncan Owner Sam Penix makes a coffee at Everyman Espresso. Customers now swipe their credit cards through an iPad to pay

When web designer Matt Norris wants a coffee at Everyman Espresso, he doesn’t reach to his pocket for cash or a credit card. With a quick few swipes on his iPhone and a look at the barista he has paid and his drink is on its way to being made. For the barista’s part, he just looks Mr. Norris in the face, confirms his identity and the transaction is complete.

Everyman, on East 13th Street, is an early adopter of Square, a mobile-based payment system developed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. The company’s name derives from the little square card reader that connects to a merchant’s (or anyone’s, for that matter) iPhone or iPad, turning it into a payment device, an approach a number of other companies are also taking. In May, Square launched its new product, the card case, which stores regular customers’ details and allows for flesh payments like that made by Mr. Norris for his coffee.

Following in the footsteps of a reporter from Fast Company, I tried out Square at Everyman, opting for the more conventional method of swiping my card. It works pretty much as you might expect: run the card through the white plastic reader, which connects to the iPad’s headphone jack, and sign using the touch screen and a finger. That last part was a little awkward – the result was a childlike scrawl that only loosely approximated my signature, but it was apparently sufficient for my bank.
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There’s a grim report this morning from a bit south of our neighborhood: a 23-year-old man was shot and killed just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday at 85 Pitt Street on the Lower East Side; the authorities identified the victim as Jonathan Alston, of Brooklyn. The Lo-Down provided coverage of the shooting throughout the morning. The Local has reporters on the story and we will provide more details as they become available.
— Chelsia Rose Marcius

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village

The sounds of the citywide free festival Make Music New York could be heard in the East Village yesterday. The Village Beat found a small outdoor concert in Astor Place, hosted by the local live performance venue, Joe’s Pub.

The performance artist Liu Bolin camouflaged himself into the Kenny Scharf mural yesterday near the intersection of Houston Street and Bowery. The Wooster Collective shared photos of the wall’s transformation.

But more outdoor art might be put on hold this week; The Weather Channel predicts several days of off and on thunderstorms, making the jump into summer a wet one.

Music venue The National Underground will reopen tonight for the first time since June 10, said co-owner Joey DeGraw. The bar at 159 East Houston Street has been closed for over a week because of a failed health inspection, which included five critical violations for sanitation and food safety issues. The reopening of the venue, co-owned by Mr. DeGraw’s musician brother, Gavin, comes a few days later than  expected.

In 1992, Dr. Gary Chapman, a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, wrote a book called “The 5 Love Languages.” In this perennial Times bestseller, all ways humans show love for one another are divided into five key categories: Words of Affirmation (“Is that a new dress, you look great and I love you”), Quality Time (watching True Blood together), Receiving Gifts (other than just on your birthday), Acts of Service (doing the dishes), and Physical Touch (….). So as a single lady I’ve been thinking a lot about how I show affection and like to receive affection.

Admittedly, I too like girly things like receiving flowers and handholding, but the more I think about it, the more I think Dr. Chapman forgot to include a sixth love language; the mixtape.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the 90’s when tape recorders were all the rage, and one would spend hours personalizing a cassette case for that special someone. But I can’t think of a better way to communicate one’s love for another person other than through a Stevie Nicks song. Or a Mr. Big Song. Or for those not living in the 80’s, a Bright Eyes song.

Making a good mix is an art form. Getting the flow just right can take hours. But when you hit the right notes, it can set the mood, and score you major points. I’ve never been cool enough to hang out in record stores, I’m more of library dweller, but for this assignment I went to the source. This past Saturday, I parked outside three local record stores and asked East Villagers what songs they would put on their ultimate mixtape for someone they cared about. *

Check out the playlist they came up with.

Ian Duncan Two bloodgood plane trees in front of the Village East apartments on Avenue C have been cited as a danger by residents.

There they are. The pair of them, standing on Avenue C as plain as day, unaware of the trouble they’ve been causing.

They being, not two juvenile delinquents, but twin bloodgood plane trees that recently arrived unannounced on the sidewalk in front of the Village East co-op.

The issue of arboreal interlopers blew up at a Community Board 3 parks committee meeting on June 16. Anne Johnson, a board member and resident at Village East, said it was unfair of the parks department, acting with the Lower East Side Ecology Center, to plant trees without consulting residents.

“We want them placed somewhere else,” Ms. Johnson said at the meeting. “They are a danger,” she added, arguing that they present an obstacle to wheel chair users.

Currently the trees are bounded by bright yellow tape stamped with the word “caution.”

In an e-mail message, Ms. Johnson emphasized that residents were displeased by the placement of the trees and others approached by The Local last week seemed similarly miffed. Village East has its own active buildings and grounds committee and Ms. Johnson cited one resident’s concerns that the trees will distract observers from Village East’s existing planters.
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