East Village-based Travel Agency of Change, which uses hip-hop travel to influence at-risk youth, “has taken about a dozen young people from all over the city to experience Berlin’s hip-hop community and is currently raising funds to bring several more 18- to 25-year-olds to Barcelona, Spain in April.” [DNA Info]
A sobering assessment of the Upright Citizens Brigade: “As it has grown, the theater has chosen to keep ticket prices low and has put money into renting real estate (its East Village space led to $1 million in debt) and not to paying for onstage talent.” [NY Times]
“Orchard Street between Canal and Grand streets has emerged as the epicenter of the Lower East Side’s gallery scene in recent years, but that stretch seems to be extending to the north, especially with the arrival of two more players on the strip: Brooklyn transplant Muriel Guepin Gallery at 83 Orchard, and New Jersey-based newcomer Broadfoot and Broadfoot at 155 Orchard.” [Art Info] Read more…
Under a proposed redistricting, the boundary lines of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd districts wouldn’t change much, even though population in that area grew tremendously in the past 10 years. “This means that residents of the Village, East Village and the other neighborhoods in these three districts would be among the most underrepresented in the City Council under the proposed new plan.” [Off the Grid]
Damaris Reyes of Good Old Lower East Side addresses the housing authority’s plan to allow developers to build on public-housing parking lots: “People are concerned about losing trees and space and parking,” she says. “What’s next? Will you sell our buildings? Those are the fears.” [NY Times]
“Here are the first renderings of the hyper-modern condo building soon to rise above 100 Norfolk Street, right across the street from the Lower East Side’s most controversial glass tower. ODA Architecture is building the 12-story, 38 unit residential complex, which will loom over Delancey Street. [The Lo-Down] Read more…
More details have emerged about the 19-year-old who died after walking into a lobby on East 12th Street early Saturday: “She had been drinking heavily with pals at Webster Hall, law-enforcement officials said. Her father, Richard Pascucci, said she had an adrenal gland disorder. He said he thought someone had slipped drugs in her drink.” [NY Post]
“The four-story East Village townhouse that actor John Leguizamo bought in 1995 for an undisclosed amount has just hit the market for $3.995 million.” [Curbed]
More on Jared Kushner’s East Village buying spree: ““[Kushner] love[s] the East Village because there are a ton of people looking to rent there and under 1 percent vacancy,” says an industry source. “[It is] now likely the largest landlord in the East Village with all [its] acquisitions, and will continue to buy more.” [The Real Deal]
Alec Baldwin got in another tiff with a photographer on East 10th Street, and this incident led to both him and the photographer filing harassment complaints. [NY Post, Daily News] Read more…
“Muji is something that is going to help transform the area,” says a broker involved in the deal we broke news of nine days ago. [The Real Deal]
A penthouse unit at 250 Bowery has sold for around $3.9 million. “Douglas Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund, who is handling sales at the building with his colleague John Gomes, uploaded an Instagram photo of the apartment yesterday, noting that the contract price is a price-per-square-foot record “for the area,” meaning the Bowery.” [The Real Deal]
Clayton Patterson on today’s Lower East Side: “Gone are the days of political outrage, mass political gatherings, inspired firebrand speeches. Today if a youth gets murdered, the most we can hope for is an hour of speeches and maybe a six-block memorial walk.” [The Villager] Read more…
“For more than a decade now, Manhattan performance artist and former Warhol starlet Penny Arcade has been doing her part to preserve the legacy of fellow downtown artists—a legacy that continues to be gradually erased as the East Village and the Lower East Side march toward total gentrification.” [Capital NY]
A Valentine’s chat with Pilar and Walter La Rosa of Pilar Jewelry Repair on East Seventh Street: “This adorably cute couple hail from Lima, Peru, and have been coworkers for the past 20 years at this East Village storefront, which is an accomplishment in itself. What is even more astonishing is that they’ve been married for the past five decades!” [Runnin’ Scared] Read more…
“A report released by the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday charged that downgrading Hurricane Sandy to a post-tropical cyclone limited the warnings that weather forecasters could issue.” [NY Times]
“With Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to leave office at year’s end, there is concern that the city’s next leader will end a period of bike-friendly programs and policies.” [NY Times]
Lucien Bahaj explains the closing of the Pink Pony: “I serve high quality food at lower prices and that market is not there anymore. My prices cannot be maintained with that kind of rent and I don’t want to raise my prices,” he says. “It’s not a tragedy. It belonged to an era and the era changed and I changed with it. All my customers have left or changed. The neighborhood used to be full of creative types — painters, writers, filmmakers. We don’t have that anymore.” [NY Daily News] Read more…
Ludlow Street fixture the Pink Pony has closed. “The owner, Lucien Bahaj, a Moroccan-born Frenchman who took over the Pink Pony in 2001, said he closed it partly because of his health – he is 68 and diabetic – but primarily because the landlord wanted $20,000 a month in rent, up from the current $14,000.” [NY Times]
And another Lower East Side longtimer, Motor City, will follow it. The owner says the lease is up at the end of the month. [The Lo-Down]
“Tom Cruise is in contract to sell his condominium unit at the American Felt Building in the East Village for $3 million.” [The Real Deal] Read more…
District 1, which includes the Lower East Side and East Village, is “one of the only places in the city where parents can send their children to any elementary school in the area, rather than being guaranteed a seat in a local zoned school.” [DNA Info]
And we also have a lot of cafes: “The East Village ZIP code of 10003 has the highest number of shops with 49, closely followed by Midtown/Hell’s Kitchen (10019) with 47. Midtown East (10017) and SoHo (10012) each have 41, and Tribeca/Chinatown (10013) has 40.” [NYC EDC]
Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar made a cooking demo parodying an 80s workout video. [Eater] The sweets shop is now offering baking lessons. [Gothamist] Read more…
As you probably know by now, a major storm is expected to intensify in the next hours and could leave 10 to 14 inches of snow by early Saturday afternoon. During a press conference this afternoon, Mayor Bloomberg urged New Yorkers to go home early today and stock up on supplies and medicine. Low-lying areas may experience moderate coastal flooding as the tide rises a foot or two, he said. Underground subway service should run “close to normal,” though bus service will be reduced as the storm picks up. Alternate-side parking is suspended citywide through Sunday.
With the white stuff coming down fast, The Local called up establishments around the East Village to see how they were preparing for the storm. If they were preparing at all.
N.Y.U.
All classes, activities, offices, and operations are cancelled after 4 p.m., with the exception of this evening’s events at Skirball and Kimmel. The school will reopen tomorrow at 9 a.m., according to an e-mail.
Associated Supermarket
Norman Quintanila said they were well-stocked and hope to stay open through the weekend.
Whole Foods Market
Shaquarry Williams said people are picking up “more items than usual, but nothing serious.”
CHP Hardware
According to Monica Pedreros, “it’s not, like, crazy.”
La MaMa E.T.C.
After some initial bravado on Twitter (“What’s a little snow compared to the life long memories that you will acquire from coming to La Mama??”), the theater canceled tonight’s performance of “Four Beckett Shorts.” Read more…
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has opened its long in-the-works exhibit, “Shop Life,” which recreates a German saloon that used to be in the basement of 97 Orchard Street. “The neighborhood was then called Kleindeutschland (Little Germany), and New York had the third-largest German-speaking populace in the world (after Vienna and Berlin). There are brass musical instruments on shelves (John played in a Union Army regiment), beer steins ready for the opening of a keg, plates heaped with ersatz sausages and cheeses. (Food came with the purchase of lager.)” [NY Times]
The Blueway plan proposes to protect the Con Ed plant at 14th Street by “building a new, green pedestrian bridge that would also serve as a flood wall, preventing water from inundating the plant. The plan also calls for shoring up the thin concrete bulkhead that now runs underneath the FDR with protective wetlands and new drainage to try to minimize a future surge.” [DNA Info]
Prompted by the latest exhibit at New Museum, “NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star,” Walter Robinson recalls the early ’90s art scene on the Lower East Side. [Gallerist] Read more…
At 250 Bowery, “22 of 28 units sold in just one month, with prices from $925,000 for a one-bedroom to a hair under $6 million for a penthouse. The loft-like project is attracting the likes of Scarlett Johansson and singer Paul Simon, and will house an upscale Anthropologie shop in the ground floor.” [Daily News]
Heidi Grumelot, head of artistic development at Horse Trade Theater, explains why the Red Room will close: “We’ve been renegotiating our lease since the beginning of January, and our landlord has told us that he wants to repurpose the Red Room space into something besides a theater. We’re retaining the Kraine and Under St. Marks, but starting April 1, he’s going to be using the Red Room for his own purposes.” [Astor Place Riot]
An East Villager is facing up to $30,000 in fines for renting his apartment on Airbnb. [WNYC] Read more…
Almost a decade later, the man who poured kerosene on patrons of Bar Veloce and held them hostage at gunpoint has been found guilty. Steven Johnson faces life in prison. [NY Times]
“While ‘P.S. 122: East Village’ is under construction, funded primarily by the City of New York, P.S. 122 will work collaboratively with small Brooklyn theaters, stage performances in public parks and dive bars, to bring more innovative and site-specific work to the outer boroughs and beyond.” [Theatermania]
Bummer: “Starting with the 2013-2014 school year, the Greenwich Village-based university will no longer allow first-year students to select their own roommates.” [DNA Info]
“A major orthodox Jewish New York developer wants to open up a new Jewish Lower East Side kosher restaurant to replace the old Schildkraut Vegetarian Restaurant at 171 Broadway.” [Jewish Press] Read more…
Above, footage from Saturday’s Bodega Walk, in which poets Bob Holman, Eileen Myles and other East Villagers protesting the influx of 7-Elevens. [Gamma Blog]
“Hundreds of local residents marched through the streets Thursday night as a show of unity against a spate of Lower East Side shootings in recent months, with the latest resulting in the death of 16-year-old Raphael Ward.” [DNA Info]
Jared Kushner, publisher of the New York Observer, has purchased 17 apartment buildings for $128 million. The seller was Benjamin Shaoul and Westbrook Partners. [New York Post, The Real Deal]
“Some of Joey Ramone’s leather wardrobe and some of his other personal belongings are hitting the auction block. A custom-made black leather motorcycle jacket with zebra-skin pocket flaps, cuffs and epaulets is the star item in an online sale of the Queens-raised punk rocker’s belongings.” [NY Post] Read more…
A neighborhood legend has passed: “Butch Morris, who created a distinctive form of large-ensemble music built on collective improvisation that he single-handedly directed and shaped, died on Tuesday in Brooklyn. He was 65.”
On East Sixth Street, “The Congregation Adas Le Israel Anshei Meseritz has signed over the rights to its second floor to East River Partners LLC, as part of a 99-year lease worth approximately $1,225,000, according to documents filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.” [DNA Info]
Following a New York Times article about an American Girl doll that was being lent out to patrons, the Ottendorfer library has received an outpouring of support, including a $1,000 check and five new dolls. [NY Times] Read more…
“Congress gave final approval on Monday to an emergency aid package of nearly $51 billion to help millions of victims of Hurricane Sandy, ending the legislation’s long and complicated odyssey.” [NY Times]
The current anti-7-Eleven campaign recalls the anti-K-Mart sentiment of the late ’90s. [Village Voice]
A comic strip in a very special issue of Punk magazine starred Richard Hell as Nick Detroit, with David Johansen as Mob King Tony. [Dangerous Minds]
After closing 12 years ago, dodging demolition, and undergoing a $15 million renovation St. Brigid’s church reopened on Sunday with a ceremony that drew Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and his predecessor, Cardinal Edward M. Egan. As previously reported, the parish, having merged with St. Emeric’s, will now be known as St. Brigid’s, St. Emeric’s Church.
Last week, days before the reopening, Michael Doyle, the architect who led the restoration over the course of nearly four and a half years, gave The Local a tour of the revitalized structure on Avenue B.
A couple that lived in one of Allen Ginsberg’s old apartments decided they wanted out. “They paid around $2,400 a month for less than 500 square feet and a bit too much old-fashioned charm. The claw-foot bathtub was child-size, and the bathroom sink was in the hall. You couldn’t fit a cookie sheet in the oven. Screaming pedestrians passed by at all hours.” The solution: moving to Bushwick. [NY Times]
“A straphanger was slashed aboard an F train on the Lower East Side early yesterday, police said.” [NY Post]
A bitter divorce may mean the end of a sweets spot. “Derek Hackett and Blythe Boyd, both of Manhattan, opened Lula’s Sweet Apothecary in 2008 while still married. But they divorced in 2012, and this month Hackett filed papers in Manhattan Supreme Court demanding the business be dissolved because, he says, Boyd is hoarding profits.” [NY Post] Read more…
Guess someone hasn’t seen those “Shopping 7-11? Shame on You!” stickers.
According to the police, the man shown here used a credit card stolen from Pianos to make a purchase at the 7-Eleven at 142 Delancey Street. The unidentified individual is wanted for grand larceny.
The incident, which occurred Nov. 30, is part of a continued rise in thefts at bars and restaurants. During one weekend last month, there were three incidents at the Bowery Electric and Phebe’s. In October, arrests were made for bag boosting at Bowery Electric.
Check out the trailer for “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the Cohen Brothers film that was filmed in the East Village. [YouTube]
“The burgeoning art gallery scene on the L.E.S. is not showing any signs of slowing down — if anything, it feels like it’s speeding up. Three new arrivals – Garis & Hahn (263 Bowery), Shin Gallery (322 Grand St.) and Sasha Wolf Gallery (70 Orchard St.) have opened their doors in the last month.” [The Lo-Down]
The Bowery Mission has launched a #NoMildWinter campaign to raise awareness for homelessness. [Bowery Mission]
“From the team at Openhouse Gallery and Nom Wah Tea Parlor, OBS is a (somehow) bright, airy room settled into an abandoned Bowery subway station that’ll rotate popups pumping out dishes from a wide-open kitchen.” [Thrillist]
“The proprietors of Joe’s Pizza on Carmine Street are opening a new location in the 14th Street space that most recently housed Naked Pizza. Nobody liked that place. The drunk NYU kids wouldn’t even take that bait, and it sits right next to their dorm. This is a real trade-up.” [Eater]
Warhol legend Taylor Mead is one of the few people remaining in his building, according to Clayton Patterson: “The whole place is a construction site with all the expected noise, dust, obstacles, worker traffic, open doors, coldness and activities that come with construction.” [The Villager]
“At Han Joo, each tabletop grill uses infrared heat to cook everything to an eerie evenness. You miss the drama, but it’s hard to argue with results.” [NY Times]
Baby, it’s cold outside. Just look at this photo of a fire hydrant at Avenue A and East Fifth Street.
Community Board 3 has released its February calendar of meetings. [C.B. 3]
“A substitute teacher at an East Village junior high school stole donated books bound for Africa and sold them on eBay, city investigators have found.” [DNA Info]
A Brooklyn woman was “caught red-handed Sunday for allegedly stealing a pair of Jimmy Choo boots from Cadillac’s Castle at 333 E. Ninth St. — after biting both a store employee and a police officer who tried to restrain her, according to the clothing store’s owners and cops. [DNA Info] 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 »
Scott Lynch 
