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.

Laura E. Lee Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

Fighting crime — on the Internet or on the street — takes community cooperation, said Manhattan’s district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who spoke to residents at the 9th Precinct Community Council meeting Tuesday night.

Addressing a crowd of about 40 people at the precinct stationhouse, Mr. Vance said individuals have to be diligent about protecting personal information from identity theft. “The Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century,” he said.

While cybercrime is a real threat, Mr. Vance said the 500 attorneys in his office are continuing to collaborate with the local precincts to combat the more traditional crime involving “guns, gangs and drugs.”

Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr, commanding officer for the precinct, emphasized the need for citizens to take preventative action against crime as the weather grows warmer.

He warned the audience of some of the daily hazards in the summer, like leaving a window open or not keeping a careful eye on personal items at sidewalk cafes. Residents should be on the lookout for any unknown individuals on fire escapes and alert officers to their presence, he said.

Several residents voiced concerns about criminal activity in the region, mostly focused on underage drinking and drunken activity in the early morning hours.

“Underage drinking is a tremendous problem for us,” Inspector Lehr said. When police tested local bars for serving minors, 64 percent passed, he said.

The Council does not meet in July or August.

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.

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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NYPD Surveillance images of the suspect.

The police are searching for man nicknamed “Dante” who is suspected of choking and robbing two victims in Union Square and Chinatown in the last three weeks.

The first incident occurred on May 30 at the corner of Third Avenue and 16th Street. The suspect first chatted up his 27-year-old victim at around 4:30 a.m. before suddenly choking him and robbing his jewelry and money.

The second attack occurred on June 13 in the lobby of a building on the border of Chinatown and Little Italy. In that case, the suspect attacked his 30-year-old victim and robbed his wallet at 7:15 a.m. The police did not reveal the exact location of the crime.

The authorities noted that in both cases the suspect befriended his victims before making his move.

Investigators said that “Dante” is roughly 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. He has a tattoo of a star under his eye, another tattoo on his neck, and writing on his chest.

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

Dreading another 4 a.m. hotspot full of rowdy, liquored-up party-goers, 16 East Villagers spoke out against a proposed music performance space at 34 Avenue A during last night’s Community Board 3 State Liquor Authority committee hearing. Another 11 locals said they support the venue, adding that it could help revive the East Village arts scene. The board will decide the fate of the space later this month. In case you missed it, The Local’s Laura E. Lee had more on the meeting earlier today. And The Lo-Down is on the story, too.

Other signs of neighborhood change have also left long-time residents feeling disgruntled. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York blog reports that a new real estate agency has finally inhabited the 113 East 12th Street, former home to Footlight Records. And the Manhattan retail news site Paper & String recently Tweeted that, after a 10-year run, Elaine Arsenault will close her handmade handbag store at 305 East Ninth Street.

But there’s hope yet that some change has carried the neighborhood’s creative legacy into the digital age. The Next Web says thatFoursquare, a location-based startup conceived at an East Village kitchen table, has now reached 10 million users. According to The Post, Bianca Caampued and Mallory Blair — founders of the party-planning and marketing company Small Girls, Big Business who also met in the East Village — have already garnered tens of thousands of followers via Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Laura E. Lee Board members at a recent meeting.

After a contentious two-hour discussion in front of more than 100 people, the licensing committee of Community Board 3 took no action regarding a liquor license for Piney Woods, a proposed venue at 34 Avenue A. No majority emerged during three votes on potential resolutions so the committee turned the matter over to be considered by the full board.

The venue is the work of Todd Patrick, an indie music organizer commonly known as Todd P., and Phil Hartman, Two Boots Pizza owner. Mr. Hartman also owned Mo Pitkins, a venue at the same address that closed in 2007. The space ultimately became the bar Aces & Eights in 2009.

Tensions ran high among the crowd gathered for the meeting at the Green Residence on East Fifth Street. At one point, chatter from audience members prompted Alexandra Militano, committee chair, to scold the spectators for “heckling” when opposing viewpoints were presented.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Patrick said the space would bring back some of the neighborhood’s musical and cultural history lost to gentrification.

“We are looking to be a place that harkens back to what brought us all to this neighborhood in the first place, which is the quality artistic legacy of this community,” he said.
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Michelle Rick

Lindsay Wengler

Good morning, East Village.

As we told you last week, East Villagers will have their final chance today starting at 10 a.m. at The Great Hall at Cooper Union to address the Rent Guidelines Board before board members vote on increasing rent citywide. Renters will band together after the hearing at 4 p.m. to march in a rally for fair rents.

In other news, EV Grieve shared photos of a Mars Bar mural via local blogger Melanie Neichin. We’ve posted an image of the mural by community contributor Lindsay Wengler, the smaller image above and right. Grieve wonders if this will be the last mural to adorn the walls of the iconic bar before it closes in August. Crain’s business reported last week that the tenants living above Mars Bar tenants will only be charged $10 for rent – that is, after the building is demolished and rebuilt, which will take an estimated two years to complete.

While the days might be numbered for Mars Bar, Off the Grid posted pictures of other well-known East Village buildings over the weekend, including  the Umbrella House at 21-23 Avenue C, between East Second and Third Streets, showing a colorful array of umbrellas poking out of windows and fire escapes.

Meghan Keneally The 310 Deli Corp V.

Earlier today, EV Grieve reported on the police-ordered closure last night of an East Village convenience store. We now have more details about what led the authorities to shutter the store — the police said that the shop’s owner was arrested and charged with possession and sale of narcotics.

The authorities said that undercover officers bought narcotics from the store on five occasions and the police issued a warrant May 28 for the store’s owner, Saleh Fadhel.

Mr. Fadhel, 31, owns 310 Deli Corp V on the corner of East Fourth Street and Avenue C, and that is where he was arrested Thursday night; the police said that four bags of narcotics were recovered at the scene. The authorities did not indicate what kind of drugs were seized.

The store remained closed today with two duct-taped signs displaying a court order and restraining order. Mr. Fadhel is scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on June 20.

The successor to the beloved Amato Opera, the Bleecker Street Opera, is closing its doors after two years of existence. One of the founders of the itinerant company, John Kim, wrote in an e-mail message that he and he his wife were recently “forced to leave our residence on City Island, which had been purchased and run jointly by the Amato family;” Mr. Kim said that the “home had been the headquarters of the Amato Opera for more than 40 years, and was the cradle of the Bleecker Street Opera.” The opera began as an effort by former Amato employees to carry on its legacy, and staged several performances that garnered favorable reviews.—Stephen Rex Brown

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

Some new names and familiar faces will be added to the menu of restaurants in the East Village soon, with the eventual opening of Tre Scalini restaurant on St. Marks Place. Vegan restaurant Quintessence is due to reopen today after being shut for a health code violation on Wednesday. And finally, a neighborhood jokester plays on the gentrification fears of many in the neighborhood with a mock sign advertising just what everyone has been waiting for: a faux Chase bank and Starbucks location replacing Café Centosette on 10th Street and Second Avenue.

While the crusties may not have returned to Tompkins Square Park, the pianos have! The charity Sing for Hope, which benefits artists throughout the city, has retuned to the city this summer and plans to place 88 pianos around for public use (a jump from last years 60 pianos). One of the 88 was spotted in Tompkins Square Park, but will not be officially unveiled until tomorrow.

Continuing the park’s cinematic tradition, free movies will be shown every Thursday night this summer, starting in two weeks time with “Raging Bull.” The event will be sponsored by a number of neighborhood bars, Two Boots Pizza and Epix films.

Though the Marriage Equality Bill continues negotiations, Lady Gaga has turned into the ringleader of support, both inside and outside of the State Senate offices. The popstar was quoted in the State Assembly when they were debating the bill (which they eventually passed) and at the New York City Council’s Gay Pride event last night. She’s done her part as well, urging her little monsters to call undecided state senators.

People are getting excited about the rumor of a floating summer pool in the East River. Even though it is being heavily hinted at by developers, this isn’t the first time that the crowds began to talk, so who knows whether it will come to fruition or not.

This post has been changed to clarify an item; the note about the opening of a new Chase-Starbucks location has been modified to reflect that it is a hoax.

Meghan Keneally Council Speaker Christine Quinn at tonight’s rally.

New York politicos gathered at Cooper Union tonight to kick off the city’s annual Gay Pride celebration, which this year is dominated by the “will they or won’t they” speculation over the State Senate’s impending vote on the Marriage Equality bill.

Though the spectacle’s Broadway-style musical numbers were lighthearted, the real focus was upstate. At last count, 31 senators publicly support the bill, falling just one vote short of the 32 needed to ensure passage. Late Wednesday night, the state assembly passed the bill — and it was the Assembly’s fourth time doing so — leaving the Senate as the final stop before the bill becomes law.

“This is finally our moment,” said Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who organized the event. “We know this is the moment again that New York can actually call itself the Empire State.”
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Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

Those who rise early to exercise can now add an extra drop of motivation to their morning protein shake as the ‘Summer in the Square’ fitness program kicks off today and continues through the summer. Every Thursday morning, starting at 7 a.m., running groups, yoga lessons and boot camp sessions will be held in Union Square. Events will also be held for children, including mommy and me yoga.

When one door opens, another begins to close: EV Grieve noted a new barber shop that opened on Avenue A between 13th and 14th Streets. Nearby, Exquisite DVD on 14th Street between Second and Third Avenues has signage hinting that they might be moving out. The storefront is apparently up for rent, which, if it leaves, will add to the list of movie rental stores that have left the East Village in recent weeks.

In spite of numerous rallies and protests, the city’s rent regulation laws expired last night. State Democrats continually called for not merely an extension of existing laws, but stronger laws all together. Neither option prevailed when legislators failed to come to an agreement.

The State Assembly passed the Gay Marriage bill yesterday, 80-63. This was actually the fourth time that the Assembly passed the bill, and surprisingly this had the smallest margin of the four. That being said, all attention is now on the Senate, who are expected to bring the issue to a vote either today or tomorrow, though it is up to Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos when it occurs. So far, 31 of the 32 senators needed to pass the bill have publicly declared their intentions to vote in favor.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg took to the microphone to push for one of his biggest pet peeves: immigration reform. At a meeting of New York’s Council on Foreign Relations, Bloomberg said that he wants to create programs allowing foreign entrepreneurs and permanent status for foreign students in top industries, along with an increase in guest-worker visas and legal guest labor visas. He later took to his Twitter to continue to the push to “honor the values that made America great, and we must embrace the new realities of the 21st century economy.”

Earlier this year, we told you about the frustrations some M15 riders share regarding local bus service. In response to rider complaints, Community Board 3 tonight voted to file a joint resolution requesting that New York City Transit and the Department of Transportation consider relocating Select Bus Service stops so they are adjacent to or combined with local stops. Board members hope that riders will have quick and easy access to both local and Select Bus Service.
— Chelsia Rose Marcius

Last week, we told you about Luca Bar’s $31,000 in back taxes, which led to it being closed by the State Department of Taxation and Finance. Now comes the news that the bar and restaurant re-opened yesterday. As for the owners’ tax troubles, bartender Anastasia Morozova told us, “It’s all been taken care of.”—Stephen Rex Brown

Ian Duncan Albert Ibrahimi in the garden at Barbone. The restaurant was closed over the weekend for health code violations.

Albert Ibrahimi was hoping to spend Thursday night celebrating the five years in business at Barbone, his first restaurant, an Italian place on Avenue B. Instead, he spent it sitting with a health inspector who was in the process of closing the restaurant down for sanitary code violations.

Mr. Ibrahimi said his restaurant was “spotless” certainly no vermin and not a single fly. His undoing was a refrigerator that failed in the strain of Thursday’s heat shortly before the inspector came knocking at 10 p.m.

“I was in shock that he was closing me down,” Mr. Ibrahimi said. “I actually planned to go out and meet some friends.”

What followed was a scramble to get a new refrigerator online and fill in the health department’s paperwork to get inspected again the next day and have permission to reopen for the weekend.
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Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Some East Village institutions may be closing down, but now people are starting to notice the complete disappearance of others: The Times reports that the traveling wanderers, known to locals as ‘crusties,’ who typically take up residence in Tompkins Square Park in the summer, have yet to be seen. One local blogger attributes the lack of crusties to the amount of summonses that they received last year.

As we told you yesterday, a group of East Villagers were among those who gathered in Albany to fight for the continuation of rent control laws. After a good deal of back-and-forth in the state Senate, the rent control laws have been extended into 2019, though without some provisions that advocates hoped will safeguard housing for some of the neediest groups.

The questioned continuation of the M15 Select Bus Service along First and Second Avenues will be the hot topic at tonight’s Community Board 3 meeting. The $60 million service was launched in October and one city councilmember expressed disapproval of the ticket machines.

A surprise six-month sweep of restaurants by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene resulted in tickets for 704 restaurants that were not properly displaying their hygiene letter grade placards. Restaurants that do not display their grades in a “clearly visible place” can be stuck with a $1,000 tab.

DNAinfo did a review of the city’s bike lanes and the East Village came up as an area with very few blockages by cars. Police cars were cited as some of the most common offenders.

Ian Duncan The festival is postponed until October.

A $29 ticket for this Saturday’s East Village Eats food festival would have got buyers a taste of 12 neighborhood restaurants as well as discount drinks and theater tickets, but there were few takers. Organizer Fourth Arts Block decided yesterday to push the event back to October, and will try to drum up more interest in the meantime.

Tamara Greenfield, Fourth Arts Block’s executive director, said that fewer than 100 tickets had been sold. The first East Village Eats, held last October, saw more than 400 foodies nibble their way around the neighborhood.

“We felt it would be more damaging to go forward with an unsuccessful event,” than to reschedule for the fall, Ms. Greenfield said.

Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s No. 43 a restaurant and bar on East Seventh Street, helped to organize the festival. In an e-mail message he said that there were a number of competing events this weekend and that without sufficient advance ticket sales, the festival could not serve its purpose of raising money for Fourth Arts Block.

Tickets will still be good for a free happy hour this Saturday at Idle Hands on Avenue B and a small Mud coffee at the FAB Cafe on East Fourth Street. The full event will now be held on October 22 but restaurant owners lined up for this weekend have not yet confirmed their involvement.
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Roey Ahram

Area bartenders discuss the closing of Mars Bar and the question of commercialization versus preservation.

Mark Trzupek, manager of Life Café, 343 East 10th Street

“I don’t have any respect for landlords who come in and try to make money off people who have been here for 30 years and who took a risk in coming down here in the first place. Evolution always comes but at what cost? It’s changing the look of the neighborhood.”

Pepe Zwaryczuk, bartender at McSorley’s Old Ale House, 15 East Seventh Street

“Isn’t it a natural progression of life? It’s like how when Henry Hudson went up the river, the Indians looked over and said ‘There goes the neighborhood!’”

Randy Weinberg, manager of The Boiler Room, 86 East Fourth Street

“I’m absolutely 100 percent for it” — closing. “It’s all criminal to me, that they make their money off all the people that other bars throw out. It’s a real seedy crowd with a lot of drunks, a lot of druggies, and a lot of pickpockets. It’s not that they’re our competition because they take everyone we throw out because they’re bad. It’s a bad scene. It’s a part of the old East Village but really it’s time for it to go.”
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