The debate over bike lanes in the East Village continued in the form of a demonstration tonight as roughly two dozen people on both sides of the issue took to the streets to weigh in.

Organizers had planned the gathering on First Avenue and 14th Street as a protest against what they said were unsafe conditions in bike lanes. But a large contingent of bike lane supporters turned out for the event, too. Ultimately, supporters of the lanes ended up outnumbering detractors.

The two sides held up signs and loudly exchanged opinions. Those in favor of the lanes argued that bikes were environmentally friendly, and that roads should be shared among motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Those against the lanes, led by Leslie Sicklick, who organized the protest, said that redesigned roadways were hazardous for pedestrians, disrupted traffic, and were an impediment to businesses.

NYU Journalism’s Helen Zhang and Spencer Magloff spoke with some of the demonstrators about the benefits and drawbacks of bike lanes.

Timothy J. Stenovec Officers Edward Thompson (left) and John Sivori were honored at a ceremony Thursday night saluting officers of the Ninth Precinct.

A loaded .22 caliber semi-automatic weapon, eight daggers and a silencer.

Those are the items that Officer Edward Thompson and Officer John Sivori, both of the Ninth Precinct, discovered on a burglary suspect in the East Village early one morning in March.

The officers, who are also Marine veterans and have served in Iraq, were two of the 34 police officers who were recognized last night for their “outstanding service to the safety and well being of our community” at the annual Ninth Precinct Recognition Ceremony.   The Ninth Precinct Community Council, a volunteer organization focused on strengthening the relationship between the community and the police, put on the event, which highlighted specific instances in which officers had acted with exceptional bravery.

“Not a lot of people know what we do on a daily basis, and it’s nice for my guys to get the recognition,” said Sergeant Elias Miranda, who supervises the unit that includes Officers Sivori and Thompson.
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Tania Barnes Supporters of the anti-smoking measure address Community Board 3 Thursday night. One board member called the plan “over-legislation.”

Smoking is allowed here – that was the message Community Board 3 sent to anti-smoking groups Thursday night by refusing to endorse legislation that would broaden the city’s ban on smoking in public.

Staff from the American Lung Association in New York and Asian Americans for Equality asked the board for a resolution supporting City Councilwoman Gale Brewer’s proposed expansion of the smoking ban. In their request, the anti-smoking groups cited the high rates of smoking in the district: 18.3 percent vs. 15.6 percent citywide.

Councilwoman Brewer’s proposal would extend the existing ban at restaurants and bars to such outdoor locations as parks and beaches.

The resolution from the board would have largely been a symbolic gesture: it would indicate to City Council that the district’s leadership supported the legislation.

But when asked if they wanted to make a motion, board members were conspicuously silent. A motion must be made before a vote on a resolution can take place: no motion, no resolution.

“The government is crossing the line – it’s over-legislation,” Community Board member Tom Parker said in an interview after the meeting, explaining his refusal to support the resolution. “Look, both my parents died of smoking. But it’s an outdoor activity. Where are people supposed to go?”

Still, Lisa Spitzner, of the American Lung Association in New York, remained optimistic, saying that one of the group’s main goals Thursday night was to get the word out to the community about smoking cessation programs. “This is the best way to do it,” she said.

What do you think about the plan to extend the smoking ban?

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Here’s a brief roundup of reads in the local blogosphere: Bowery Boogie has a post about a spontaneous shrine that has emerged near a mural on East Houston Street. EV Grieve has a quick riff about a feature on The Mars Bar in The Wall Street Journal. Over at City Room there’s a nice piece on the Central Art Supply. And The Local Fort Greene-Clinton Hill has a post about the death of a Brooklyn woman who worked at an Orchard Street jewelry shop. Sara Campbell, who was 34, collapsed while she was jogging in July and officials were puzzled about what caused her death until earlier this week.

Elisa LagosState Senator Daniel L. Squadron discusses Hayley and Diego’s Law, a measure that makes it easier for prosecutors to seek penalties against careless drivers. The law goes into effect today.

Traffic accidents are nothing new in a neighborhood like the East Village where pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists rush along the road. But a new state law that goes into effect today aims to prevent and punish careless driving.

The law, called “Hayley and Diego’s Law,” will impose a $750 fine, a 15-day jail term, and suspension or revocation of a driver’s license for reckless driving that injures pedestrians and bicyclists for a first offense. A second offense could have the same consequences and land a driver in jail for a year.

“Every driver in New York State should know driving carelessly is not just something to fix next time,” said State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, who represents the East Village, the Lower East Side and parts of Brooklyn. “Driving carelessly is not a minor problem that you should laugh about. Driving carelessly puts people at risk. Driving carelessly can have devastating consequences.”

Senator Squadron sponsored the legislation in the State Senate following the deaths of Hayley Ng, 4, and Diego Martinez, 3, in Chinatown last year. The two children were struck and killed by a delivery van that had been left in reverse as the driver stepped out.

“To all the careless drivers out there across New York, I know you’re busy, I know the phone is ringing, the Blackberry is buzzing, the coffee is spilling but focus on the road – do it for the safety of all the other users of the road,” the senator said at a news conference on the corner of Essex and Delancey Streets. That intersection is one of the 10 most dangerous for pedestrians in the city, according to an analysis of crash data by Transportation Alternatives.

Prior to “Hayley and Diego’s Law,” prosecutors could only charge careless drivers with minor traffic violations or a more serious charge of criminal negligence. There was no middle ground. In the crash that killed Hayley and Diego, that meant the driver of the delivery van was not charged after the children’s deaths. The new law will make it possible for prosecutors to charge drivers in similar circumstances.

“Careless driving already exists in the law,” Senator Squadron said. “The problem is we don’t have any penalty structure to distinguish it from non-careless driving and this law will fix that as well. There is standard due care that must be exercised.”

It’s hard enough to make it in New York, much less as a coffee house or cafe in a neighborhood where a basic search for “East Village, coffee” brings up 2,130,000 hits in .28 seconds.

So many East Village cafes are trying to get a cup up on the competition by adding alcohol service to their menus.

One could debate the merits of serving alcohol in a neighborhood already overrun by bars. But the recession prompted a spate of cafes to apply for a license to serve beer and wine in an attempt to separate themselves from the competition. (Hair salons and barber shops have also gone that route.) And longtime residents know that the cafe-plus-soft-alcohol model has worked in the East Village for years.

“There is certainly economic motivation to serve alcohol,” said Alex Clark, one of the owners of Ost Cafe. “If you’re running any service you look for the highest kind of profit and the least amount of time that you spend doing it. In the morning you’d go get coffee, in the evening you’d go and have a drink, it serves that function.”
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Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

A quick look at what we’re reading today: EV Grieve has a nice post about a report on NY1 about a landmark dispute on East Fourth Street. Bowery Boogie has a piece about how the producers of a new HBO series are scouting the Bowery for shooting locations. And be sure to check out this time-lapse sunset from East Village Feed.

Suzanne Rozdeba Amy Sidney, inside her St. Marks Place store earlier this month, said that she was threatened Saturday by someone who was apparently upset at the space’s previous tenant, the artist James De La Vega.

Street artist James De La Vega was used to getting threatened in his St. Marks Place museum store. He chalked it up to people not liking his quirky art or his bold messages. But now the new tenants of his former storefront say that they, too, have gotten a taste of those old threats.

Amy Sidney, the co-owner of Junk on St. Marks Place, said a man recently walked into her shop on Saturday and threatened her because he was apparently upset at Mr. De La Vega.

Mrs. Sidney said that a clean-cut looking man, in his late 20s or early 30s, came into the thrift shop at about 8 p.m. and asked if this was “De La Vega’s new place.” Mrs. Sidney said that after she replied no, the man threatened her.

”The guy said, ‘If we find out you have anything to do with him, we’re going to break your windows,’” she recalled. “I was startled, but I tried to play it cool, and said, ‘Go ahead, I have insurance.’ The guy said, ‘Then we’ll keep breaking your windows,’ and walked out.”
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We wanted to bring your attention to work of our visual storytellers here at The Local.

Along the right side of this page, you’ll find a box that plays videos produced by our community contributors and the students at NYU Journalism.

Each Friday, a new video will begin a week-long run in the space.

This week’s selection (which also plays above), by NYU Journalism’s Maya Millett, tells the story of an institution that is familiar to animal lovers around the neighborhood – the Social Tees Animal Rescue.

Laura Kuhn Isaac Lankin prepares to board the new M15 Select Service. Some riders have complained about the new payment system.

The M15 bus line that runs up First Avenue and down Second Avenue started its Select Service on Sunday with much fanfare from the MTA and an equal degree of anticipation from customers.

But if the early days of the new service are any indication, the new system is a long way from offering the easy use that transit officials predicted.

With the new service, riders now pay fares – using coins or a Metrocard – at street machines. Instead of swiping Metrocards while boarding the bus, riders present receipts to the driver.

The idea is to save time not only by pre-collecting the fares but also by making fewer stops (only two each way in the East Village) and using an express lane.

But the system has already hit a few bumps. Despite the intermittent presence of MTA officials on the street, some riders were having trouble using the machines.

On Sunday, one man, who declined to give his name, had to insert his payment into the machines three times before receiving his receipt, only to realize the bus had left without him at 14th and Second. He stood muttering on the sidewalk while the bus heaved down the street without him.

Other riders were furious about confusing rules regarding transfers. Some worried about stops that had apparently been moved (“They changed my stop,” said one rider, Gwen Trombley, as she stood at First Avenue and 14th Street Tuesday afternoon. “I was waiting at Houston and the stop moved up to Second.”)

And already some riders were trying to figure out a way to manipulate the receipt process, which largely relies on an honor system (as one rider, Syd Lazarus, put it, “This is New York”).

Despite the $150 fine for fare jumpers, riders noted that it would be easy not to pay, especially because they can also enter at the back of the bus. “You just show your receipt,” said another rider, Isaac Lankin, as he waited for the local line at a stop on 14th Street and Second Avenue. “You could keep it for a week.”

Regardless of the complaints, some riders saw parallels between the learning curve for the new system and another new process implemented by the MTA not long ago. “It’s exactly like the Metrocard,” said rider David Lukomnik, a neighborhood resident since the 1960s. “At first everybody was still using change and it would take 20 minutes to get on the bus. But, eventually they all learned.”

What do you think of the new M15 bus service?

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Here’s what we’re reading today: EV Grieve has a post about the Celebrate Cafe’s move to Avenue C. The Times offers more details about the possible origin of the explosives that were discovered Monday in a cemetery on East Second Street. And this post from Bowery Boogie describes an unusual ban at a bar on East Houston Street.

Timothy J. Stenovec The Sin Sin Lounge, where a clubgoer was fatally shot in August, will shutter its nightclub operations later this month and re-open as new type of venue.

The Sin Sin lounge is undergoing a major makeover.

The Local has confirmed reports that the lounge, the scene of a fatal shooting of a clubgoer in August, will close its doors at the end of the month to undergo renovations and re-open as a new type of venue with a different theme.

Sin Sin had become a focal point for neighborhood complaints about violence and noise at bars after the shooting death of Devin Thompson, who was 43, outside the club on Aug. 22. No arrests have been made in connection with Mr. Thompson’s death although the police want to question two men who were at the club the night that he was killed.

A post Tuesday on EV Grieve was one of the earliest indications that changes might be coming to the bar. Posts on other blogs offered similar reports.
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Kim Davis.

I moved to the East Village – in fact to Alphabet City, as it was then called – when my daughter was a year old. All her schooling has been here (she’s in middle school now) and as a parent I’ve been happy with every bit of it. I share the surprise expressed by some residents in The Local’s report Monday. I just don’t recognize my daughter’s school in the Department of Education’s findings.

East Village education began for her at the Emmanuel Day Care center on Sixth Street, with its smart, friendly and in some cases very long-serving staff. I was staggered by the Center’s ambition, watching them introduce pre-schoolers not only to reading and writing, but sophisticated math and science topics.

I had always assumed she would progress from there to P.S. 364, a nearby public school. Her mother had ideas about a private Catholic education. Thankfully we never had to debate it. One day, browsing among the stalls at the Loisaida street fair, we came across flyers for an all-girl charter school, not yet open. At the time I had no idea what a charter school was, although I did notice that it was free. I think we all know about charter schools now, and the debates about sharing space with city schools, about non-unionized teaching staff, and the lottery admission system – but that’s another story.

Anyway, that’s where my daughter went – Girls Prep on East Houston – and she’s been happy and successful there ever since. I read the report card with amazement. A and B for environment and student performance, a C score overall, but F for student progress. As a parent, I shrug my shoulders. (Full disclosure: her mother is employed by the school as a teaching assistant; she’s usually more critical of it than I am.)

The report card doesn’t really explain how this was measured. My daughter and her sharp, alert, articulate friends are making plenty of progress as far as I can see. It just makes me nervous for the school and the staff. Monitoring school performance is a great idea. Clarity and transparency in the reporting could be improved.

For what it’s worth, P.S. 364 got an overall D.

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

Tell us how you feel about the latest evaluations of neighborhood schools.

Ben Chislett

Good morning, East Village.

A quick look at what we’re reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York has a nice riff on the proliferation – and high prices – of various Bowery-themed clothing and apparel. EV Grieve writes about the arrival of the Hotel Toshi chain on East 10th Street. And after the discovery of explosives in a cemetery on East Second Street Monday, a few outlets have offered follow-up pieces this morning. The Daily News and The Times are among those who offer up a theory that the explosives might be related to a nearby clubhouse of the Hells Angels.

Jenn Pelly The bomb squad was called to the New York City Marble Cemetery this morning after a report of a suspicious package.

Jenn Pelly Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly (right) said that the explosives could not have gone off because there was no detonator.

A volunteer at an East Village cemetery discovered a stash of old military explosives this morning setting off a chain of events that brought out the police department’s bomb squad and jarred nerves around the neighborhood.

At a news conference near the cemetery this afternoon, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the explosives were potentially deadly but that there was no danger that they would go off because there was no detonator.

Commissioner Kelly said that the explosives – eight sticks of C4 – had originally been found last year by a caretaker at the New York City Marble Cemetery, on Second Street near First Avenue, who unearthed them and placed them next to a tree at the rear of the property.

“He placed the bag next to the tree,” Mr. Kelly said. “The bag stayed there up until yesterday.”

That’s when a volunteer at the cemetery found the explosives and asked the police to remove them.

In a separate incident, police officers also discovered two notes – a rambling note with religious overtones that was written on a sheet of paper and had been placed on a patrol car Sunday and another one written in chalk on the street in front of the cemetery that read, “I really hope one of you finds this.”

The authorities initially believed that there might be a link between the notes and the explosives but dismissed that possibility after investigating further and now believe that the incidents are unrelated.

“It would be difficult to tell when the chalk note was written,” Commissioner Kelly said. “We will look at cameras in the area to try to see if there’s any indication to who wrote that and when it was written.”

The authorities received a call about 10 a.m. this morning reporting that the package had been found in the cemetery on Second Street between First and Second Avenues. The cemetery, which is usually closed to the public, had been open during the weekend for the eighth annual Open House New York weekend.

The bomb squad was called to scene along with a police helicopter to search the area. Commissioner Kelly said that the police investigation is continuing and that the bomb squad would continue to search the cemetery for additional explosives.

Sarah Tung

Good morning, East Village.

Just above this post, we’ve published a story by NYU Journalism’s Timothy J. Stenovec in which he takes a look at recently released performance evaluations for 15 neighborhood elementary and middle schools.

The results of those evaluations were not encouraging – just four of the 15 schools received a grade of B or better. Two received A’s, one received a D.

Viewed one way, the grades might not have been totally unexpected during a year in which education officials overhauled the state’s standardized testing system. Department of Education officials acknowledged as much when they told Mr. Stenovec that part of the showing by city schools could be attributable to the change.

But that only tells part of the story of what’s happening in East Village schools.

Parents, teachers, union officials, politicians and other stakeholders often speak in general terms when discussing some of the challenges facing public education.

We’d like to hear some specifics from you.

What kind of teaching initiatives are working in your school?

Has enough been done to fix the aging infrastructure at some school buildings?

What kind of penalties should be levied against schools that under perform?

We encourage all of you – parents, teachers, administrators, students – to read Mr. Stenovec’s post and add your comments to it.

Robyn Baitcher Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer called for more measures to protect cyclists in bike lanes.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer held a news conference this morning on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue where he revealed the findings of a three-day observational study on the safety of bike lanes in the city.

The results?

“Unfortunately, chaos reigns in bike lanes across the city,” Mr. Stringer said.

Data collectors for the study cited a multitude of infractions involving bike lanes, Mr. Stringer said. They included instances in which cars encroached onto bike lanes and unmarked police vehicles cut across the lanes in non-emergency situations.

Mr. Stringer said that he chose St. Marks and Second for the news conference because it was the site of 173 traffic infractions involving bike lanes during a two-hour period. That figure makes the corner one of the most active locations for bike lane infractions in New York City, according to the study.

The intersection of 14th Street and First Avenue was also noted as being a particularly dangerous location; it tallied 76 infractions.

According to the study, the 22 hours of observation revealed over 1,700 infractions, including over 275 cases of motorists blocking bike lanes. But observers for the study reported that they only saw two tickets issued.

Mr. Stringer, who also called bike lanes “unpredictable and unprotected,” issued a set of recommendations designed to help make the lanes safer. Those steps include an awareness campaign about the perils of open car doors and creating reserved parking spaces to facilitate deliveries to businesses.

Tell us about your experiences with bike lane safety in the East Village.

Sarah Tung

Good morning, East Village.

Some of what we’re reading today: EV Grieve has a post about an exhibit at the New City Gallery by Peter J. Ketchum. Neighborhoodr writes about the arrival of the Urban Speaker in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon. And reading The Villager’s fine appreciation of Michael Shenker reminds us to point out the first-person post about Mr. Shenker that we published Thursday that was written by NYU Journalism’s Dyan Neary.

Molly O’Toole Firefighters clear debris along St. Marks Place after a downed tree branch toppled a lightpole and struck a car.

Molly O’Toole Images of the debris on St. Marks Place. Normal traffic was expected to resume along the street later this evening.

Earlier this evening, a downed tree branch toppled a lamp post on St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues closing the street to traffic while emergency workers cleared the debris. No one was injured in the incident.

NYU Journalism’s Molly O’Toole interviewed the driver of a car that was struck by falling debris.

The driver, who declined to be identified, said that he was getting out of his car around 5 p.m. when passersby began gesturing toward him to move.

“People started yelling to get out,” the driver said. “I didn’t want to move but I finally jumped out and that was it.”

The driver told Ms. O’Toole that falling debris dented the roof of his car moments later.

The fallen branch also brought down a lamp post and exposed live electrical wires, the authorities said.

The police closed off the area to allow firefighters with chainsaws and other emergency workers to clear branches and other debris.

Normal traffic along St. Marks was expected to resume this evening.