Johnny Pérez

Good morning, East Villagers.

If you’re looking for some retail therapy and happen to have a few extra millions on hand, our very own Cooper Square Hotel is on the market, the Post reports today. EV Grieve points out its potential “rebranding” — any suggestions for a new theme?

Meanwhile, next door, 35 Cooper Square is still on the chopping block and we’re watching. Preservationists may be mourning its loss, but they’re also on to the next project: a hearing to create historic districts in the East Village will go before the Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow. Stay tuned to the Local today as we’ll bring you an in-depth look at the proposal and what it means for the neighborhood.

And make sure to check out this video about Story Corps, which Neighborhoodr brought to our attention; the East Village roots of the listening and recording project go back to its founder’s run-in with recovering heroin addicts on Seventh Street. He was inspired to tell their stories, and now his non-profit interviews and tells stories of hundreds more.

In weather news, there (mercifully) is none. The sun is still out and shining, so enjoy a warm Wednesday.

Francisco Daum

Good morning, East Village.

Here at the Local and elsewhere, we in the neighborhood are keeping an eye out for the next step in the saga of 35 Cooper Square, as demolition looks like it could start soon. Pleasetweet us a pic if you see any changes.

Other changes in the area include the closing and opening of a spate of new shops: some chocolate is saying goodbye, some new cocktails are saying hello, more gelato might be on its way and a well-loved coffee joint is being welcomed back.

Speaking of welcomes, Nicholas Forker’s astronaut mural got tagged soon after its arrival on Houston, Bowery Boogie reports. Any artistic additions today may want to add an inhaler or antihistamines for the poor fellow — it’s just as warm and sunny as yesterday, but pollen’s up.

The Department of Buildings has issued a new permit that would allow the full demolition of 35 Cooper Square. The permit, which was issued May 6, clears the way for the destruction of the historic site; a second permit was also issued for fencing for the site, where scaffolding now obstructs the view of the three-story house. Despite preservationists’ attempts to keep the building standing, the developer has said he will not maintain it. —Suzanne Rozdeba

Rachel Citron

Good morning, East Village.

And welcome to what promises to be a beautiful week. Highs today will creep up to 70, and the sun should stay out till Friday.

On the heels of a cloudy weekend, that sounds pretty good. Hope you found your way outside in the last couple days to enjoy some of the street festivals and/or buy flowers for your mom.

As we reported earlier, a rat-infested lot in the East Village is set to host a traveling art project from the Guggenheim. Now the museum has revealed its plans to build a hovering “toolbox” platform for art exhibits while a “community gathering space” below, according to DNAinfo.

Meanwhile, animal rescue workers are concerned after a new addition to the family of Violet the hawk, who has been nesting on an NYU building. Because of a metal band on the bird’s leg, the wildlife workers may try to capture the hawk through the window of NYU’s president’s office.

And if you’re out and about this afternoon and want to rest your legs, stay away from this stretch of Bond Street, where what EV Grieve has dubbed “fanny fenders” just went up to keep “sitting on a window ledge” off your to-do list. Happy Monday, Villagers.

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

Welcome to the weekend, that is, unless you started things early with Cinco de Mayo celebrations last night. East Village bars, restaurants, and even delis got into the festivities.

Keep out those calendars out for some more memorable dates; Sunday is Mother’s Day, and for all you naughty children who forgot to make plans, DNAinfo put together a nice list of “outside the box” ideas, like East Village and NoHo History and Dessert Tour at Twilight.

For Yiddishe Mamas, perhaps a walking tour chronicling the “beloved balabustas” of the Lower East Side and sharing rugelach with the Eldridge Museum? While you jot down your plans, make note of the the annual Ukrainian festival coming up next weekend and spanning Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenue.

And in other neighborhood news, it seems the much loved ping pong table in Tompkins Square Park has been “defaced, kind of,” according to EVGrieve, despite its graffiti-resilient design of polished steel.

It’s been bad luck lately for the neighborhood’s outdoor sports fixtures: Grieve also reports that the basketball hoop on Extra Place has been removed; the why remains to be seen.

Today’s sunny high of 69 will make a quick dip for rain tomorrow, then back to the high 60’s and sunny skies on Sunday.

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

A sampling of reader reactions to recent posts that have appeared on The Local.

Two recent posts regarding development in the neighborhood — Suzanne Rozdeba’s article about the developer of 35 Cooper Square’s refusal to maintain the historic site and Mark Riffee’s interview with Anne Guiney, the director of the Institute for Urban Design — resonated with readers who are concerned about the changing face of the neighborhood.

Sam offered a defense of the developer of 35 Cooper, writing:

“This is absurd.

I’m all for the preservation of historical buildings to retain the charm, character and elegance of previous generations.

But this man owns this property and at the end of the day, he should be allowed to do what he wants with it.

If people cared so much about 35 Cooper, they should have done something about it before it became an eyesore and, more importantly – public hazard.”

Read more…

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

As we offer you our daily greeting, we pause to ask how you’d greet a neighborhood Wal-Mart?

At Wednesday’s Community Board 3 meeting, Wal-Mart representatives expressed a wish to open up shop on the Lower East Side as part of an effort to stake its presence across Manhattan. DNAinfo reports that a coalition of groups opposed to the retailer called Walmart Free NYC asked the Economic Development Committee to vote against any future developments that could adversely affect small businesses.

But in a recent poll of New York City voters by Quinnipac University, 68 percent of respondents said that they’d shop at Wal-Mart. Would you? Let us know in the comments section below.

A vision of our community’s future is being offered through the weekend with the first Festival of Ideas for the New City, a collaborative project featuring downtown organizations with conferences and events, and a “Streetfest” along the Bowery.

The festival, which began Wednesday and carries on through Sunday, highlights the history of the Bowery with local voices, including Rob Hollander of the Lower East Side History Project, who’ll be giving a walking tour entitled “The Bowery: How It Got There and Where It’s Going,” beginning on Astor Place.

If you plan on going, you may want to bring along an umbrella: Today’s mix of clouds and sun will most likely give way to rain by Saturday.

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

For some who attended last night’s meeting at Cooper Union, it may not be such a good morning. Protestors booed and jeered as the New York City Rent Guidelines Board took a preliminary vote to increase rent stabilized apartments between three to 5.75 percent for one year apartment leases, and up to nine percent for two year leases, with an additional one percent for oil-heated buildings, DNAinfo reports.

The board approved the increase with a 5-4 vote, citing the need to keep up with the growing operating costs for building owners. What’s next? Two more public hearings on June 16 and 20, before a final vote on June 27. Will you be in attendance? Let us know.

But hey, at least British royalty can still afford the neighborhood. On Saturday, the East Village tipped its hat to the famous newlyweds, with a fresh mural of Prince William and Kate Middleton holding court on the corner of East Houston and Avenue B. According to BoweryBoogie, Lower East Side artist Chico offered up his congratulatory message (only up for about three weeks) after being commissioned by Branson B. Champagne, a Harlem based liquor company.

And the rain, rain won’t go away–at least not for another day. Expect wet weather with a high of 55.

Adrian Fussell

Good morning, East Village.

Sunday’s news of Osama Bin Laden’s death left many in our community reflecting on the significance of the event; from East Village firehouses to local Muslim shops–even Twitterers shared their thoughts.

While some took to the streets to celebrate, one local community contributor worried that the jubilation could lead to more divisiveness:

“I am not Muslim but my first reaction to viewing the celebrations in Times Square, WTC and the White House was concern. I was kind of appalled at the reaction of the people. It looked to me like a sporting event celebration. I worried that the loss of life in NY, DC and PA as well as the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would be overshadowed. I was and remain equally concerned for the Muslim communities throughout our world. I can only hope and pray that this does not lead to more unjust treatment of Muslims and Islamic people who are very important to the very fabric of what New York is. Peace.”-Tim Schreier

As the celebrations subside, how do we move forward without forgetting what has past? We welcome your thoughts.

As for the weather, expect a mix of clouds and sun with highs in the mid 70s.

Kathryn Kattalia For many in the East Village’s Muslim community a sense of closure after the death of Osama bin Laden still seems far off. Below: While much of the world watched news reports of Bin Laden’s killing, patrons at the Little Pakistan Deli watched a cricket match.

On a newspaper stand outside the Little Pakistan Deli on Second Avenue, bold headlines announced the news many Americans have waited 10 years to hear: Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden is dead.

But inside the deli, manager Safdar Zaidi said it was business as usual as several customers crowded around a small television in the back of the store. “They are watching the cricket game instead of the news,” Mr. Zaidi, 45, said. “Pakistan is playing the West Indies.”

While thousands of New Yorkers rushed to Times Square and Ground Zero last night to celebrate news that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan by American forces, members of the East Village Muslim community were hesitant to join in, saying closure is still some way off. Mr. Zaidi, whose store has been in the East Village between East 12th and East 13th Streets for more than ten years, said that many of his customers are Muslim cab drivers who stop in during their lunch break.

“Most of them aren’t sure if he’s dead because they haven’t seen a body,” he said. “They want evidence that he died.”
Read more…

Claire Glass Scores of people flocked to the World Trade Center site today in the hours after the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

From Ground Zero to Tompkins Square Park, a sampling of local reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden.

At Ground Zero

“Part of the wound has been healed but I’ll be living with this until the day I die. The images of New Yorkers leaping from buildings don’t go away. Today, I don’t have grief. I’m glad this day finally came.”
—Lenny Crisci, 63, a retired police officer, whose younger brother, Lieutenant John Crisci, was killed on 9/11.

Claire Glass Francine Morin at the World Trade Center site this morning.

“We all felt it, smelled it, tasted it, ingested it. The stress, the constant bomb threats that followed and that metallic, rotten stench — all because of this guy and what he did. This man had a direct effect of my life. My personal terrorist is dead.”
— Francine Morin, 41, who worked two blocks away from the World Trade Center and was treated for post-traumatic stress after 9/11.
Read more…

Ian Duncan Six firefighters from Ladder 11 lost their lives on 9/11. This morning, all was quiet at the station house

A single rose marked plaques remembering firefighters killed in the line of duty. At Engine 28 and Ladder 11, six in all mark those who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 – five firefighters and one lieutenant. On this milky gray morning, the station house appeared almost abandoned. The engines stood mutely inside the garage and no men could be seen through the windows. It was a sharp contrast to the frenzy of action as firefighters rushed downtown almost ten years ago.

At a ring of the station house bell, a young firefighter came to the door. He was not at the World Trade Center, he explained, and summoned his colleagues from the back of the station. Kevin Murray, a survivor of the rescue efforts was on duty, but in the hours after Osama Bin Laden’s death, the Fire Department is not permitting individual firefighters to talk to the press.

Ian Duncan At Engine 28, Ladder 11.

At the station on East Second Street, firefighters were on duty as normal and seemed in good spirits, happy to chat, if not to comment. Across the firehouse door, the slogan “We support our troops” stood as a reminder of how closely tied New York’s fire department is to the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the wars that followed.

Just a few blocks over there was a hint at the rawness of the emotions brought up by last night’s news. A tired-looking firefighter on duty at the front desk at Engine 33 and Ladder 9 told The Local that the men there were not yet ready to share their thoughts and were still processing what they had heard.

In all, 26 firefighters from the East Village’s four stations died on 9/11, according to department memorial pages. Across the city 343 members of the fire department lost their lives.

In January, Roy Chelsen, an Engine 28 and Ladder 11 firefighter who was at the World Trade Center on 9/11, died after a battle with bone-marrow cancer. His disease was linked to working in the toxic rubble of the collapsed towers.

In an statement posted on Twitter late last night, FDNY commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano said, “Osama Bin Laden was responsible for killing 343 members of the FDNY on Sept. 11, 2001. Tonight, in firehouses throughout the city, our members are grateful for the news, and thankful to all the brave members of the U.S. military that had a role in this successful operation.”

This morning a post from the Twitter account read, “Commissioner Cassano: #OsamaBinLaden’s death is a relief for the 343 FDNY families who lost a loved one on 9/11.”

Adrian Fussell

Good morning, East Village

It started at 8:46 a.m. Then again at 9:02 a.m. Two buildings stood burning — one for 56 minutes, the other 102 minutes.

Each building took 12 seconds to fall.

Since that day the world has remembered the nearly 3,000 people, who were lost on September, 11, 2001 and the families that were forever altered.

In the East Village, the tragedy brought a spirit of community to areas like 14th Street and  Avenue A, where people gathered under Chico Garcia’s mural and agreed to “remember that time we all grieved together.”

After time, though, the murals were covered and the people wondered if the man responsible for creating that scar in their lives would ever be caught.

Now, 3,518 days later, an answer, a moment of justice and, perhaps, a measure of peace.

Tim Milk The developer of 35 Cooper Square has told preservationists that he will not maintain the historic site and will move forward with an undetermined development plan.

Update | 6:30 p.m. In a blow to preservationists, the developer of 35 Cooper Square has announced that he will not preserve the historic site and will move forward with an undetermined development plan.

“Unfortunately, it was concluded that it would not be feasible to develop the site with the building or any significant portion of it remaining, and that any potential relief” — in the form of a variance — “would not remedy the site conditions which make preservation infeasible,” Stephen Lefkowitz, an attorney for the developer Arun Bhatia, wrote in a letter dated April 28 to City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez.

Workers were also seen on site today erecting scaffolding around the historic building.
Read more…

Work at 35 Cooper Square is set to resume now that the site’s developer, Arun Bhatia, has been issued a new permit to install scaffolding at the site. “The owner can do work under permits issued,” said a Department of Buildings spokeswoman. As for the status of a violation issued against Mr. Bhatia regarding the site’s roof, a hearing is scheduled for June 2.—Suzanne Rozdeba

Natasha Dillon.

Natasha Dillon thinks she’s boring — but that’s not really the case at all.

Earlier this month, Borough President Scott Stringer announced the newly appointed selections to Community Board 3, which covers the East Village, Lower East Side and parts of Chinatown. Ms. Dillon, a 26-year-old East Villager and gay rights activist, was one of these new appointees, after previously serving on the board as a community member. And while some insist that this crop of new appointees seems rather eclectic, Ms. Dillon insists that she’s actually quite boring.

As a financial consultant, who’s currently working on a master’s degree in investment management from Pace University, Ms. Dillon seems like the average young East Village resident, except this activist and founder of a local East Village advocacy group, Queer Rising, has been arrested four times in the last year for her public actions for marriage equality in the United States. Her most recent arrest came earlier this month, after a group of Queer Rising members blocked traffic near Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan office on Third Avenue for nearly 10 minutes.

However, Ms. Dillon has a somewhat different, slightly less radical, agenda for the East Village. Serving on the economic development committee, her main concern is to bring life back to local businesses — and to the East Village.
Read more…

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

It’s Friday, springtime, and the East Village art scene is in bloom.

Tonight Incubator Arts Project will debut Opal, a performance project that blends voice and instruments to create archetypes of the modern, dysfunctional family. The show, created by The Nerve Tank, uses a combination of modulated voice and physical movement, attempting to make each character a distinct physical instrument. Performances will be held in Saint Mark’s Church and will run through May 7.

According to DNAinfo, a section of East Fourth Street will be renamed after an iconic member of the East Village theatre community. Last Wednesday, Community Board 3 voted to rename the length between the Bowery and Second Avenue after Ellen Stewart, the late grand dame who founded LaMaMa Experimental Theatre there in 1967.

And finally, whether you’re adventurous, a die-hard foodie, or just poorly weaned, an avant garde cheese shop on 97 Avenue C has your fix. From now until May 1, the Michael Mut Gallery will feature the artist Miriam Simun’s exhibit, “Human Cheese Shop” which is meant to highlight the critical stress current food systems are under and promote the discovery of alternatives. To convince you, the gallery has three varieties of cheese made from human breast milk, on hand for sampling.

The weekend weather forecast is sunny with a high of 68 throughout.

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

As if dodging traffic and occasionally getting stiffed weren’t enough of a hazard, now East Village delivery workers have to also worry about getting mugged. According to NY1, police are hunting for three men suspected of robbing delivery workers in the East Village in two separate incidents.  Both robberies took place on the 13th floor of 108 Avenue D and in each case the workers were caught off guard by the man who approached them, then were struck and wrestled to the ground.

Community Board 3’s May agenda is now available. The board will hear pleas from no fewer than 29 establishments seeking liquor licenses —more than a few located on Avenue B.

The board will also hear a proposal for landmark protections of two East Village study areas. According to NearSay, the Landmarks Preservation Commission recently revealed that areas on Tompkins Square North and Second Avenue have already passed preliminary considerations and have been scheduled for a public hearing before Community Board 3’s Landmark Subcommittee on May 12.

Also, be sure to check City Room, any moment now those eggs are going to hatch!

There are 39 community gardens in the East Village, with one located on nearly every street between East Houston and 14th Street. Ranging from tiny outdoor nooks overflowing with tulips to wide double lots large enough to hold amphitheaters, the gardens offer welcomed botanical getaways from the grit of the city.

But today, urban green spaces face a new threat as lawmakers in Washington D.C. continue to mull over budget cuts to federally funded community development programs including Green Thumb, which provides New York City community gardens with workshops, tools and other necessary supplies.

“Unfortunately, it’s a possibility in all aspects of the government,” said Larry Scott Blackmon, deputy commissioner of community outreach for the NYC Parks Department.

It is a crisis some gardens may be unprepared to face. Grace Tankersley, author of “Community Gardens of the East Village,” said Green Thumb has been a valuable resource for years.

“I don’t know what would happen to the gardens without Green Thumb if it was seriously cut back or destroyed,” Ms. Tankersley said. “At the moment it seems to be a little bit up in the air. Green Thumb is funded totally through the federal government so if they lose their funding the parks department may come through with funding, although they’ve had to cut back on their budget too.”
Read more…