cat55’s Flickr Good morning, East Village.
About 40 local residents met last night to discuss the onslaught of 7-Elevens. “Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club and the ‘No Chains on the Bowery’ campaign, brought the performance art to the meeting, draping himself in chains that he rattled defiantly during his speech. Tired of corporations trying to ‘Pringle-ize our population’ with chains that are ‘boring and bland and not New York,’ Holman defiantly declared that ‘we refuse to fit in the tube.’ [Gothamist] A 7-Eleven spokesperson says its “nice, fresh and new stores” are helping to fill empty storefronts. [DNA Info]
Clayton Patterson wants to know why three locals couldn’t get support for their liquor license application. “I know that getting a liquor license is tied to community politics. Even recently, I have been surprised as to who gets and who does not get.” [East Villager]
“Police arrested a man who allegedly punched a panhandler in Union Square around midday on Thurs., Jan. 10.” [East Villager]
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Gloria Chung Good morning, East Village.
Hatem Farsakh has been charged with beating a man nearly to death on MacDougal Street, but he denies it. “I was eating a falafel sandwich at Mamoun’s — you guys know Mamoun’s? Great sandwich.” [NY Daily News]
“The police released surveillance video of a man who allegedly sexually assaulted and robbed a woman at the Lorimer L train station on Sunday morning.” [Gothamist]
St. Mark’s Church will host a concert in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Sunday. [Off the Grid]
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Suzanne RozdebaGood morning, East Village.
A Christmas tree caught fire outside of Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on East Third Street. [Gamma Blog]
Check out a video that’s “the art of idiocy at its finest, showing a group of young men whom we can only assume are tourists, and whom we can only assume had some alcoholic beverages that night, partying on top of a moving party bus (albeit, a slow moving one).” [Gothamist]
Mariann Marlowe of Enz’s isn’t sweating newcomer Bettie Page: “My customers refer to the Bettie Page store as the pin-up Forever 21.” [Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY]
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Gloria Chung Good morning, East Village.
The St. Mark’s Historic District turned 44 yesterday. [Off the Grid]
John Cale is at BAM this week: “On Wednesday, he’ll present ‘Life Along the Borderline,’ an all-star tribute to his late bandmate in the Velvets, Nico — a singer both lauded and ridiculed for her sky-high cheekbones, haute Germanic scowl and ruinous heroin habit. On Friday and Saturday, Cale will perform in its entirety his classic 1973 album “Paris 1919,” a work informed by dramatic events from throughout the 20th century.” [NY Daily News]
Photos and video from the annual No Pants Subway Ride, which ended at Union Square. [Gothamist]
51 Astor successfully divides “the energetic grime of the East Village and the gentrified civility of the West Village.” [Wall Street Journal]
Speaking of clown porn: you can sometimes find it playing at Double Down on Avenue A. [Gothamist]
Morrissey was spotted on First Avenue. [Bowery Boogie]
Scott Lynch Good morning, East Village.
“The teen charged with murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Raphael Ward last week said he gave the gun used to kill the young victim to another person who pulled the trigger, according to the criminal complaint.” [DNA Info]
A fire broke out in Heather Graham’s Union Square apartment when candles ignited some clothing near a bathtub. [NY Post]
Whole Foods Bowery was evacuated Sunday. “Fire in Whole Foods,” tweeted one customer. “Not a single customer took the alarms seriously until the sprinklers came on.” [Gothamist]
A 57-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man were struck by a Fung Wah Bus at the intersection of Bowery and Canal Street. [NY1]
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Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Timothy Montalvo, the 16-year-old who was charged with murder and weapons possession in the killing of Raphael Ward was “arrested for having the weapon, carrying the weapon and giving it to the shooter,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. The alleged shooter has now been identified as Walter Rodriguez, 20, and the shooting was due to “a dispute, possible retaliation, over jackets being stolen earlier that evening,” according to Kelly. “The victim may have been involved in a theft of a jacket.” [NY Times] Hundreds of mourners turned out Thursday to mourn the slain teen. [DNA Info] A basketball tournament will be held in his honor tonight at 6 p.m., at Grand Street Settlement. [The Lo-Down]
Here’s more on why a judge ruled against the city’s bid to install a restaurant in the northern pavilion of Union Square Park: “The pavilion restaurant’s proposed prices would make broad swaths of the public think twice before entering,” wrote the judge in his decision. [NY Times]
Reciprocal Skateboards is one of the city’s pinball domains: “The owner, Jon Ehrlich, added an annex to the skate shop that has let him install 9 machines from his collection of nearly 50. On Saturday the shop will play host to Pinferno, the seventh edition of a tournament that originated in Mr. Ehrlich’s apartment and now attracts top players from all over the United States.” [NY Times]
210 Bowery, which served as the Monroe Hotel in the 1930s and now houses a restaurant supply company, has been sold for $7.5 million. [National Real Estate Investor]
“86 year old Judith Malina and the Living Theatre will be moving out of their home on Clinton Street next month, but not before putting on one last show for us. Their latest production, Here We Are opens tonight and will run through February.” [The Lo-Down]
The Momofuku restaurants held a mustache contest among employees. [Momofuku Long Play]
Annie Fairman Aida Salgado marked the anniversary of her son’s
death in October.As the investigation into the shooting death of 16-year-old Raphael Ward continues, a trial date in the alleged killing of another area teen, Keith Salgado, remains elusive.
In court yesterday, the District Attorney and Mr. Smith’s lawyer set late February as the date to determine when the trial will be held.
Hockeem Smith, who is alleged to have shot the 18-year-old a little over a year ago, winked at the gallery as he entered the courtroom.
Sitting in the row behind Mr. Smith’s mother and wearing a pin with her son’s photo, Aida Salgado said she was “a little bit discouraged” that a trial date hadn’t been set.
The grieving mother said Raphael Ward’s killing, so similar to that of her son, “really brought me back to the beginning” of the healing process.
“It completely, completely reopened every wound,” she said.
As with the Salgado slaying, some have speculated that Mr. Ward’s killing might be linked to longstanding antagonisms between public housing complexes above Houston Street, including Campos Plaza and Riis Houses, and those located below, such as the Smith and Baruch Houses.
Bahram Foroughi Good morning, East Village.
Activists traveled to Tarrytown to picket the offices of Whole Earth Bakery’s landlord. [East Villager]
The Juice Press has opened a 1,500-square-foot flagship in the meatpacking district, “the first step in the company’s plans to cover New York with cold-pressed, vegan, organic juice, from the Upper West Side to Williamsburg.” [Grub Street]
Short-rib and bone marrow toast, chicken potpie and duck confit carbonara are some of the items that will be served at Boulton & Watt, in the former Nice Guy Eddie’s space. [NY Times]
At The General, EMM Group’s new restaurant on the Bowery, you’ll find “dim lighting, gold-and-red-brocaded wallpaper, candlelit lamps—all in all, a pretty Asian-y scene.” [UrbanDaddy] On the menu: “sushi rolls (spicy tuna, salsa verde; spicy king crab, mango sauce, wasabi honey) and small plates (roasted duck salad, Philly pepper steak sticky buns).” [Daily Candy] You can see some of the dishes and the complete menu at Grub Street.
At L’Apicio, “crowd-pleasing food isn’t chasing trends or setting them, but with its bold, layered flavors, it has enough personality to match that quirky wine list.” [Timeout]
“The Department of Transportation is shelling out nearly $2 million to turn 12,000 old parking-meter poles into bike racks.” [NY Post]
C Ceres MerryGood morning, East Village.
Neighbors and acquaintances gathered at a vigil for Raphael Ward, the 16-year-old who was gunned down near his home in the Baruch Houses Friday night. [Fox 5 News] His funeral is Wednesday. [The Lo-Down]
Friends describe the teenager as a “good kid.” [Wall Street Journal] He posted a mysterious Facebook update reading “I’m dead” hours before the shooting, which may have been over his winter parka. [NY Post]
Others in the neighborhood believe the shooting “could have stemmed from a simmering feud between youths living in the Baruch project and the nearby Riis Houses.” [NY Times]
A friend of the victim reiterates that “these projects and Baruch, we’re targets to all these other projects. They don’t like us.” [WABC]
Responding to criticism from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the public housing authority says it’s on track to install security cameras at 85 developments by the end of the year. [WABC]
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A 16-year-old was shot and killed on the Lower East Side last night.
Raphael Ward was found shot in the chest at the intersection of Rivington and Columbia Streets at around 9:10 p.m., the police said. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Beth Israel Hospital.
State Senator Daniel Squadron, who in October called for increased gun control after a shooting in Campos Plaza, tweeted that he was “heartbroken” by this latest incident and issued a statement reiterating the need to curb the “scourge of gun violence.”
“From stronger gun laws to improved safety at NYCHA developments,” he said, “we are reminded far too often that the time to act is now.”
The victim of last night’s shooting was a resident of the Baruch Houses, one of the public housing complexes that Mr. Squadron and other politicians say are in need of security improvements.
Sources tell the Post that, before collapsing, the teenager ran into a deli and said that a group had demanded his coat. There have been no arrests in the homicide case.
Annie FairmanFirst Avenue at East 12th Street.Good morning, East Village.
Pizza joints play musical chairs on East 14th Street, with the brown-papered Naked Pizza reportedly making way for the first branch of Carmine Street’s Joe’s Pizza.
Some belated silent nights recently for folks around Avenue B and East 12th Street, where the Department of Buildings finally hit the pause button on an apartment construction site which was making life generally miserable with its noise and vibrations. Here are the details of the violation, and a hearing on February 7th.
Remember Ruff Club, the dog spa on Avenue A? Turns out they’re screening possible canine guests for issues like “toy aggression” and inability to share. “We’re not trying to create a master race of dogs,” owner Danny Frost assured the New York Times.
Finally, if the well of inspiration ran dry on New Year resolutions, how about some unusual diet options? You needn’t stray far from the neighborhood to find raw food at Pure Food and Wine on Irving Place, or a paleo diet (cave-dweller goodies) at Hu Kitchen, a block from Union Square. Enjoy!
Annie FairmanGhostly at Odin, the retail pop-up space at 330 East 11th Street, was robbed at approximately 5:30pm yesterday. The suspect, who a police source described to the Local as a white male, approximately 30 years old, robbed the proprietor of $500 before fleeing in an unknown direction.
An employee of Odin, the menswear store at 328 East 11th Street, who declined to give his name said that a coworker was working with police on a description of the suspect, and that such an incident had not occurred in his two and a half years at the store.
The employee stipulated that he was not at the store when the robbery took place. However he did confirm the general story received from police, including that the man browsed the store and brought a few items to the register to purchase. He added that, when the clerk handed the suspect change from the cash register, the suspect said that he was carrying a weapon and demanded cash. According to police a firearm was not displayed in the incident.
The Michigan-based Ghostly International record label opened a pop-up store on December 2nd in Odin’s next-door retail space. Their website described the collaboration with Odin as “A holiday affair featuring the art, design, and music of Ghostly International, co-curated by Odin.” The pop-up store is scheduled to close this Sunday, January 6th.
Despite reports that a TD bank branch would occupy the ground floor space in the building occupying Mars Bars old Second Avenue lot, it seems a return of Mars Bar is not ruled out. The Commercial Observer is reporting that there are two retail spaces available, one of which could take on Mars Bar’s name–and its liquor license.–Kim Davis
Gloria ChungGood morning, East Village.
In one of the more extreme transformations to hit the neighborhood, word comes that a branch of TD Bank will occupy the ground floor space of the 12-story apartment building under construction on Second Avenue at East 1st Street. An answer, at last, to the question: what could possibly replace Mars Bar?
Perhaps less jarring, the Lower East Side Ecology Center has laid out a proposal for a wetland at East River Park–which, after all, is very wet a lot of the time. The plan calls for fencing off part of the area already used for composting, and would use naturally filtered water generated by the composting process.
By the way, do you call 311 to complain about rats in the ‘hood? Hardly ever, according to this interactive map. I guess we just got used to them.
Community activist and Save the Lower East Side blogger Rob Hollander is calling for protests against the 7-Eleven store which appears to be coming to the former Bar on A location, on Avenue A at 11th Street. In an email circulated today, Mr. Hollander said “We’re drawing the line of suburbanization here.” A meeting is planned for January 16, at Father’s Heart Ministries, 545 East 11th Street. —Kim Davis
Kevin FarleyDawn on Avenue C.Good morning, East Village.
Amid all the giddy talk of a pill-based solution to the bedbug problem, it’s not all good news this morning.
For example, not the happiest of New Years for artists Thomas Nozkowski and Joyce Robins, evicted from occupancy of a former synagogue, built in 1860, on Hester Street. They had been residents there since 1967. The future of the building, which was sold last week, is uncertain.
Nor for patrons of the Living Room, the live music venue on Ludlow Street which is packing its bags after ten years. A rent hike, as usual, is the cited reason, but the owners have started a campaign to fund a new space.
If you’re still feeling jittery, Atlas Café on Clinton Street makes Gothamist’s “Best Hangover Foods” list: an everything bagel with lox and “the works” is the prescription.
But not all is greyness and gloom, even if–at time of writing–it does feel like 17 degrees Fahrenheit out there. Youngsters still have chance to learn that there were bohemians before Allen Ginsberg, as Amore Opera presents a mini version of Puccini’s “La Bohème” at East 4th Street’s Connelly theater this Saturday.
If nothing else, they’ll learn a song about their tiny hands being frozen.
Police are still hunting the perpetrator of an attack on a jogger at East River Park around 11.30 am Thursday. They released a sketch of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).–Kim Davis
N.Y.P.D.
From bagel burgers to shot dogs, from day care centers to donkey movies — these are the stories that got readers of The Local worked up this year.
Daniel Maurer FDR Drive near East 10th Street after Sandy.1. Pit Bull Still Alive, Had History of Attacks: “I don’t think that this dog having a history of biting people warranted a cop pulling a gun out and shooting it. There are restraint polls. Mace. Pepper Spray. They could have easily neutralized the dog. Also what if the cop missed and shot someone in the crowd that had amassed? What if the bullet ricocheted? This was police brutality and excessive use of force.”— joshua pape
2. The Bagel Burger Bombs: “Josh must not have gotten this burger for free so he was confused, enraged and lashed out at the burger/bagel maker.”— Captain Read more…
Kim DavisAvenue B at East Fifth Street.Good morning, East Village.
Police are still looking for the man who attempted to assault a jogger in East River Park yesterday. The woman was taken to Beth Israel hospital with minor bruising.
A “stop work” order has been posted at 108 Orchard Street, planned to be the new home of Moscot, the eyewear vendor which had been based at 118 Orchard for almost eighty years.
If you have $1.6 million burning a hole in your pocket, visit Curbed’s Real Estate Deathmatch to choose between condos in that range on East 1st and East 12th Streets.
Unfortunately, the goodies on sale from this street cart, at East 14th and Broadway, are past their sell-by date. After all, the photograph dates from 1938.
