Laura Kuhn After major changes last month along the M15 bus route, MTA officials are putting new measures in place this week to improve efficiency along the line.

Last week, the MTA entered the second phase of service changes to the M15 select bus line. The move came about two weeks after changes to the First and Second Avenue express line that require riders to purchase their tickets before climbing aboard.

At first, reactions to the changes ranged from skepticism to downright anger but now the MTA is making adjustments that it believes will improve service. “Initially there was definitely confusion,” said Kevin Ortiz, spokesman for the MTA. “But we’ve had personnel to show riders how to use the machines.”

This week the MTA shifts its focus from educating riders about the new line to improving its efficiency. While cutting the number of employees helping riders at individual stations, the MTA has added three buses to its fleet of about 40 on the line. Additionally it installed an undisclosed number of cameras that will issue traffic tickets through the mail to cars and other vehicles parked in the bus-only lanes along First and Second Avenues.
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Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

We’d like to welcome the new blog on the block, EV Transitions, which made its formal neighborhood debut via EV Grieve. (Grieve playfully noted that a intellectual property rights fight might be on the horizon because the author appropriated “EV” for the blog’s name.)

Transitions is a wonderful look at neighborhood history using archival maps and photographs juxtaposed with contemporary images. It is well worth a visit and we at The Local look forward to stopping by and sending viewers to the blog often. We’ve added Transitions to our blogroll and if you would like your blog added, too, please e-mail us.

In other neighborhood news, Bowery Boogie reports that “On The Bowery” – Lionel Rogosin’s iconic 1957 documentary which had a local showing in September – is returning Nov. 19 for a one-week run at the Film Forum.

And we’d also like to remind you that we’ve begun our search for The Local’s next community editor, who would start work just after the new year. We’re accepting applications until Dec. 3, and you can find additional details here.

Kim Davis.

The Community Editorship at The Local East Village was conceived as a rotating position, which means that the end of my term is in sight. Beginning early in the New Year, the next Community Editor will bring his or her own special angle and experience to the task of building a bridge between the Web site’s operations at NYU and the East Village community itself, a project which I’ve tried to put on a firm footing but which is by no means complete.

The Community Editor, as an East Village resident, provides advice and guidance on covering the neighborhood and is to some extent the face of the Web site in the community. Hands-on editorial work is an important part of the job – receiving pitches from community contributors, assigning writers and photographers, editing copy, gently enforcing deadlines and – yes – picking up mistakes. In effect, the Community Editor functions as an additional line editor and serves as an advocate for the blog’s readers, working closely with the site’s editor, Richard G. Jones.

Reporting is part of the profile, too. As an independent contractor, the Community Editor is responsible for providing objective coverage of NYU’s activities to the extent they impinge on the East Village, as well as for developing and writing stories reflecting his or her own interests.

The Community Editor should live within the blog’s coverage area – from 14th Street to Houston, Broadway to the East River – and needs to know the neighborhood and care about it. The editor will be responsible for compiling an aggregation of blogposts each morning and a willingness to run on breaking news stories when needed is a definite plus. The editor should have experience as a writer or editor, be happy to work with a very diverse group of contributors, and be able to make his or her voice heard above the hubbub of producing a daily blog. A working knowledge of WordPress is essential and it also helps to have flexible working hours.

The Local will be accepting applications for the position until Dec. 3. If you’re interested, please submit a resume and cover letter to Mr. Jones.

Kim Davis is the community editor of The Local East Village.

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

As we return from a relatively quiet weekend, we were struck by this story in The Post, which describes how some Lower East Side businesses are considering using uniformed off-duty police officers to patrol the area between Houston and Delancey Streets to help cut down on noise complaints. If the move is approved by the police, could a similar plan be in the works for the East Village?

EV Grieve has a then-and-now look at life on Avenue A using historical photographs from the New York Public Library’s photo archives. Ephemeral New York also offers a look at World War II era photos, these from Fifth Street between Avenues A and B.

DNAinfo has an obituary for Howard O’Brien, the beloved bartender over at Sophie’s on East Fifth Street.

And NYU Journalism’s own Dave Winer reports that shooting will take place on the Bowery Wednesday for the new Chris Rock film, 2 Days in New York.

Seven students at NYU Journalism direct The Local’s social media effort, including our Twitter account.

Here at The Local, we’d like to introduce you to the members of our team who are helping to promote digital innovation on the site through social media.

They are a group of students in the Studio 20 graduate concentration at NYU Journalism and for the past several weeks they have assumed the task of interacting with readers and extending the reach of our reporting through a range of social media, including The Local’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The students are:

• Blair Hickman @amandablair on Twitter; Ms. Hickman also manages The Local’s Facebook page.
• Nasry Esmat @nasry; Mr. Esmat handles photo submissions.
• Chao Li @cli6cli6, who Tweets for The Local (@nytlev) on Mondays.
• Dave Holmes @david_m_holmes, who Tweets on Tuesdays.
• Colin Jones @colin_jones, who Tweets on Wednesdays.
• Chelsea Stark @chelseabot; Ms. Stark is The Local’s Social Media Editor and she Tweets on Thursdays.
• Todd Olmstead @toddjolmstead, who Tweets on Fridays.

One way that the team has already added value to the blogosphere is through their creation of a series of East Village-related Twitter lists (including a list of neighborhood bars and restaurants).

We hope that you will submit your own ideas for the lists, and send along breaking news tips, interesting photos, and just about anything else that crosses your mind that you can sum up in 140 characters.

Hannah Rubenstein Alan Bounville, who took part in a 36-day vigil outside Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s local office, began a hunger strike earlier this week to draw attention to the American Equality Bill.

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the work of QueerSOS, a gay rights group that was taking part in an ongoing vigil outside of Senator Gillibrand’s campaign office. At that time, activists Iana Di Bona and Alan Bounville had slept on the West 26th Street sidewalk for nearly four weeks, vowing to continue until the senator introduced the American Equality Bill to Congress, which would introduce the phrase “sexual orientation and gender identity” to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

After 36 days standing vigil, incurring arrests and disorderly conduct summons, but no response from the senator, the activists decided that something more had to be done to bring attention to their cause. On Election Day, QueerSOS morphed into a new incarnation: the Civil Rights Fast.

Senator Gillibrand has declined to comment on the protest.

In a video Bounville explained his decision to begin a water-only fast, vowing to continue until the American Equality Bill is introduced.

Hannah Rubenstein Members of Civil Rights Fast etch sidewalk messages in chalk to bring attention to their cause.

“I know that Senator Gillibrand may never file this bill,” he said. “But I would rather live a short life that was full than a long life never knowing what it was like to walk down any street in America holding the hand of the person that I love without fear or trepidation, looking over my shoulder.”

Mr. Bounville and Ms. Di Bona are beginning a series of public appearances in the city to draw attention to their struggle: Friday afternoon outside Senator Gillibrand’s office, and Sunday at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York and Queer Rising meeting at the 14th Street Y. More information is available on their website.

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Last week, we wrote about Phil Schoenberg, the Queens College history professor who runs a service that leads tours of neighborhood houses that are reportedly haunted. EV Grieve raises the question of whether ghosts might also be inhabiting an abandoned house on East 13th Street.

Bowery Boogie has an interview with the creators of a two-minute video of trick basketball shots that was filmed on eight courts on the Lower East Side.

And after last week’s fatal stabbing on East Seventh Street, The Villager has prepared a compelling report on the accused killer, Jairo Pastoressa.

Daniel L. Squadron.

State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, re-elected Tuesday to represent the 25th District, which includes the East Village, said that he has plans for an ambitious agenda in his next term that will continue to emphasize neighborhood issues such as reducing noise and increasing pedestrian safety.

Senator Squadron, who spoke to The Local the day after the midterm elections, said he will continue to help craft legislation focusing on those issues and others, including better living standards in public and affordable housing.

Like any other political watcher, Senator Squadron has followed the legislative seachange in Congress with deep interest and he remains hopeful that his fellow Democrats will stay focused on President Obama’s agenda.

He talked with The Local about his plans in Albany, his hopes for the new Congress and his appreciation of East Village-made dumplings.

Going into your new term, what are your priorities right now for the East Village?

I have a lot of the same priorities I had in the previous term. We need a state government that does a better job responding to people’s needs so that the people have more faith in their community. We have to keep fighting for the community. We need effective laws on nightlife and pedestrian safety, which is very important to the East Village.
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Sarah Tung

Good morning, East Village.

Earlier this week, we wrote about the sparsely attended protest at Tompkins Square Park where even the organizer, John Penley, failed to appear. EV Grieve publishes a post that offers a cryptic explanation for Mr. Penley’s absence.

“Some pretty heavy stuff came down on me the night before Halloween,” Mr. Penley wrote on his Facebook page, according to the Grieve report. “I got maced and someone else close to me got a baseball bat to the face. I have gone into hiding for awhile.”

The Post reports that one of the neighborhood’s most notorious underground culinary options, Bread.Butter.Cheese., is shutting down its daily service. The reason? Its chef apparently has a new job at a mainstream restaurant.

And in other neighborhood news, The Times visits Peels at the Bowery and East Second Street.

Sarah Tung

Good morning, East Village.

We in the neighborhood will always claim the poet Allen Ginsberg, a longtime resident of East 12th Street, as one of our own, despite his New Jersey roots. Ephemeral New York has a post about Gregory Corso, another Beat Generation writer, who was reared a bit west of us over on Bleecker Street and is noteworthy for his extensive ties to the Village.

EVGrieve posts a report that the actress Cynthia Nixon is buying a house on East Sixth Street that Andy Warhol once called home.

And, following Tuesday’s election, Gothamist posted an item about a new complaint from city voters.

In an Election Night appearance on NYU News, Suzanne Rozdeba, who covered the key local political races, discusses how neighborhood issues such as noise complaints, liquor licenses, bike lanes and pedestrian safety played a role in Tuesday’s balloting.

Results of Local Races

Voters cast ballots for candidates in seven local races — three for U.S. representative, two for State Senate and two for State Assembly — and by overwhelming margins returned every incumbent to office.

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With just hours until the polls close in today’s general election, NYU Journalism’s Molly O’Toole and Clint Rainey offer an analysis of tonight’s likely winners and losers in races involving the East Village.

C.C. Glenn

Good morning, East Village.

Community Board 3 is “a lion’s den,” according to an attorney quoted in the Wall Street Journal today. The fairness with which Community Boards treat restaurant and nightlife industry license applications is under scrutiny in the article, which singles out CB 2 and CB 3 as the city’s fiercest battlegrounds.

One step forward, one step back. The M15 select bus may be running just fine, but EV Grieve has a photo of what happens when the ticket machines stop working.

Finally, from the history which didn’t happen department, shocking evidence from Curbed that an abandoned 1916 plan to fill in the East River would have left the East Village indistinguishable from Brooklyn, thus making L train journeys much less of a rite of passage.

Andrew Reid Kristin M. Davis.

Kristin M. Davis, the former escort service madam who is running for governor, is a constant source of one-liners – many of which are scarcely fit for publication. She tries to take the sting out of a gay slur by using it to underline her support of same-sex marriage. And her supporters are treated to a range of brothel humor on her Facebook page. But at the same time, Ms. Davis, who is also the former vice president of a hedge fund, says that she and her four-prong platform — legalize marijuana, prostitution, gay marriage and casino gambling — are no joke.

During the Eliot Spitzer scandal, the authorities shut down her escort service. Ms. Davis, 35, then spent four months on Rikers Island reading fellow libertarians Ayn Rand and Ludwig von Mises before mounting her bid backed by 50 Cent and California pot growers to run the Empire State. The Anti-Prohibition Party candidate chatted with The Local about learning from her past, living in the East Village and why she’s the only real “pro-freedom” candidate.

What do you like about the East Village? Have you ever visited?

I actually used to live in the East Village, when I first moved to New York, off First Avenue above Karma. It’s one of my favorite areas. If you’re into food, you can get anything and everything in the East Village. I used to spend a lot of time at Karma. I’m very disappointed that Waikiki Wally’s is no longer around. My friend, Eric, owns Lit. I used to go to Dolphin Fitness, off Fourth Street. Veselka is my favorite place for goulash — I call it stroganoff, but whatever.
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Janko Puls

Good morning, East Village.

As we emerge from a weekend of costumes and revelry, we find the New York Post focused on an East 11th Street co-op where the exceptionally low priced units are currently owned by women only, including local political figures Rosie Mendez and Margarita Lopez.

Bowery Boogie has a post describing new graffiti activity at the Barry McGee mural at Bowery and Houston. So far the random alterations are nothing as destructive as those which afflicted the Shepard Fairey mural at the same location.

Ephemeral New York takes a look back at East Village art of an earlier time, reproducing an East Village Eye cutting from 1983 about the art gallery (and party) scene on Avenue B.

Meredith Hoffman A memorial to Christopher Jusko began to develop on East Seventh Street this week not far from the spot where his body was found Monday morning. Jairo Pastoressa has been charged with Mr. Jusko’s murder.

This article was reported by Claire Glass, Meredith Hoffman, Clint Rainey, Timothy J. Stenovec and Katie Wang. It was written by Ms. Wang.

The plan was to meet Monday afternoon at their favorite spot in the city near East 14th Street and East River Drive in front of the Con Edison plant.

There, Christopher Jusko, 21, a graffiti artist who used the city as his canvas, was planning to meet his friend Robert Traverzo, 19, and embark on yet another adventure together. Their meeting never took place. Hours before their appointment, Mr. Jusko was stabbed and killed in the East Village in a dispute over a woman, police said.

“I’ve called his phone everyday and left him a different voice mail every day to ask him to look over me,” said Mr. Traverzo, who considered Mr. Jusko his best friend. “I ask him to guide me in the right direction, to look over me, to make sure my family’s alright.”

The authorities have charged Jairo Pastoressa, 25, with the slaying. Mr. Patoressa surrendered to police and was arraigned on murder charges Tuesday. According to the prosecutor’s office, the dispute started when Mr. Jusko called Mr. Pastoressa after discovering his ex-girlfriend was dating Mr. Pastoressa.
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Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Congratulations to the Lower East Side Girls Club which will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony this morning for its new building, under construction on Avenue D. EV Grieve has some pictures of progress.

NYU spokesperson John Beckman, interviewed for our article on the University’s expansion plans, gets a platform at The Villager to make his case.

Would you believe that an important East Village Halloween ritual survives in Pennsylvania? You haven’t been able to get tricked out and vamped up in psychedelic gothery on Second Avenue since the store Love Saves the Day closed in early 2009 after a run of over 30 years. Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York reminds us that its out-of-town branch survives in New Hope, Pa., and will doubtless be doing big business over this weekend.

And speaking of transitions involving local icons, Neighborhoodr has a report about the fate of what may the most notorious vehicle in the East Village.

Deyva Arthur Howie Hawkins.

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for governor, isn’t bothered by recent polls showing him trailing far behind Andrew Cuomo. His main goal is to help the Greens grab a share of the political spotlight now so that the party’s candidates can be considered viable contenders in future elections. “People can help make that happen and that’ll open up the debate in the elections,” Mr. Hawkins says.

In an interview with The Local, Mr. Hawkins, 57, a UPS truck unloader from Syracuse, discussed his belief that he understands the needs of the working class more than the major candidates. He objects to the recent subway fair hikes – he believes students should ride free – and he’s passionate on environmental issues and educational reform. He also described an unusual experience during an appearance on East Village Radio.
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Adrian Mihai

Good morning, East Village.

After a week of bad news, a rainbow over the East Village on Wednesday evening was a welcome sight. We came close to having another grim report today. According to Gothamist, a bid to abduct a 4-year-old boy on East Sixth Street yesterday was foiled by the child’s nanny. ABC has the story too, with video.

Before the current craze for Tiki cocktails and pu-pu platters, there was Otto’s Shrunken Head on East 14th, serving strong potions with little paper umbrellas since 2002. Then there very nearly wasn’t Otto’s any more as a nasty fire raged through the interior at the weekend. EV Grieve has pictures. Amazingly, there are hopes of re-opening tomorrow night.

Speaking of umbrellas (…ellas), the latest excuse for bright lights and sidewalk obstruction? Rihanna, everyone tweets, is shooting a music video at East Seventh Street and First Avenue. Anyone else see that?