Melvin FelixGood morning, East Village.
As you can see above, the construction team at 74-84 Third Avenue has fenced off the sidewalk on the corner of 12th Street and Third Avenue and construction on the nine-story apartment building designed by Karl Fischer is set to begin. Update | 11:25 a.m. We’ve updated our photo: a digger was on the scene this morning. Looks like construction has commenced.
A sign on the window of The Bean’s forthcoming location at 147 First Avenue and East Ninth Street indicates that it opens Thursday, and you can score a free coffee by downloading the Level Up app.
The Daily News endorses Nydia Velazquez for reelection, since “she has represented her district,” which includes part of the East Village, “as a reliable Democratic foot soldier while rising through the ranks in seniority — the most important attribute she now offers the city.” Read more…
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Brad Hoylman has announced that he’ll run for Tom Duane’s state senate seat. His announcement, reprinted on Politicker, touts his record as chair of Community Board 2 and a Democratic District Leader: “I have helped secure two new public schools; won concessions from developers to scale back and mitigate inappropriate proposals; advanced landmarking and rezoning efforts that preserved historic buildings and neighborhoods; created an innovative legal defense fund for rent stabilized tenants; and brokered a deal that allowed for the long-stalled renovation of Washington Square Park.”
The Lo-Down reports that the LES Business Improvement District is planning a spin-off group called the Lower East Side Development Corp, a non-profit entity that would focus on “initiatives that involve capital expenditures.” A small business incubator is one idea and the East Village may be included in its coverage area.
Fourth Arts Block tells The Local it’s holding a fundraiser raffle at The Standard East Village on June 19. $45 gets you entry into the penthouse party, $85 gets you four drink tickets and a chance to win a Pennsylvania farmhouse stay, and $150 gets you perks like an open bar and more. You can purchase tickets here. Read more…
Suzanne RozdebaGood morning, East Village. As you can see above, plywood just went up at 37 Avenue A. Angelina Cafe is moving there from across the street.
The CBGB festival got some new additions yesterday and now the Hollywood Reporter announces that the CBGB movie got some new cast members as well: Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins will play Iggy Pop, Evan Alex Coe will play Richard Hell, and Steven Schub will play Dee Dee Ramone.
Flaming Pablum is disturbed by the site of Trash & Vaudeville, the CBGB-era boutique, devoid of its longtime coat of flyers, stickers, and graffiti.
But worry not, there’s still the occasional punk on the Bowery: a mohawked man wandered into a photoshoot with Shalom Harlow at the Bowery Hotel and got flashed by the supermodel. Fashionista has the photos to prove it. Read more…
Scott Lynch Memorial to Roxi SorinaGood morning, East Village.
The Hole tells us that at its latest show, “Portrait of a Generation,” opening June 7, “over 100 artists who make up the art scene here will pair up and exchange portraits with each other.” Erik Foss, the owner of Lit Lounge and Fuse Gallery tells us he’ll exchange portraits with Clayton Patterson, and other participants include Glenn O’Brien, Yoko Ono, Olivier Zahm, Jim Joe and more.
Chloe Sevigny’s home may be up for sale, but she still loves the East Village, apparently: The Daily Mail spotted her strolling the neighborhood with an Obscura bag on her shoulder.
Elsewhere in celebrityville, The Post hears that model Jessica Hart, who also lives in the East Village, is moving in with Stavros Niarchos. Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-CopeGood morning, East Village.
Hope you had a good Howl! Festival. The Allen Ginsberg Project wishes the poet a happy birthday and notes that the flowering dogwood that was planted at St. Mark’s Church in 1999 is flowering in his honor once again. You can still enter to win a tour of the poet’s longtime East Village apartment by signing up for The Local’s free newsletter.
The Times reports that State Senator and gay rights champion Thomas K. Duane, whose district covers part of the East Village, will not seek reelection. “It’s not that Albany isn’t a lovely place, but it’s not home,” he tells The Times after 14 years of service. “I always knew that I was going to have another chapter in my life, and it’s time for me to start that new chapter.” Possible successors: State Assembly members Deborah J. Glick and Brian Kavanaugh, or Brad Hoylman and Corey Johnson, the chairmen of Community Boards 2 and 4.
The Times points out that a new Website, 1940s New York, has reprinted a real estate market analysis of New York based on the 1940 census. In it, the Lower East Side (as the East Village and its neighbor to the south were collectively known) is said to be in transition. “Its more than 100,000 foreign-born population gives the Lower East Side a tinge that is essentially alien,” reads the guide. “But the district is changing. It has lost nearly 40,000 foreign-born since the last census.” It goes on to note new parks and big housing developments. Read more…
Suzanne RozdebaGood morning, East Village.
DNA Info attended the historical plaque ceremony at Justus Schwab’s former saloon on East First Street. The Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation, along with Phil Hartman of Two Boots, plan to install similar plaques at least once a year, and Mr. Hartman is hoping to commemorate the former home of Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable at 19-25 St. Mark’s Place.
Speaking of Andy, The Times reviews “Jukebox Jackie,” based on the life of Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis. Charles Isherwood says that at times the new production at La MaMa “comes close to mimicking the foggy ramblings of someone on an intense trip,” but Justin Bond “most naturally embodies the Curtis who bloomed briefly before drug addiction felled him at the age of 38.”
The folks at the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative tell us that on Sunday at 1 p.m., theater historian Cezar Del Valle will lead a tour of the East Village’s Yiddish theater district, once known as the “Jewish Rialto.” As part of the tour, an architect involved in the restoration of Village East Cinema will talk about the theater that opened in 1926 as The Yiddish Art Theater. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on Sunday, and can be reserved here. Read more…
Nadja Popovich Good morning, East Village.
The above photo was taken during “casserole night” yesterday, part of what organizers hope will be an ongoing international movement to show solidarity for students protesting tuition hikes in Quebec. According to a reporter for The Local, over 100 protesters made their way from Washington Square Park to Union Square and then uptown, some of them banging pots and pans as they headed up Broadway.
Crain’s reports that the Jehovah’s Witness Hall that was such a headache for Nublu is now on the market. “The 3,050-square-foot, two-story property located at 67 Avenue C, at 5th Street, is up for grabs, according to Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, which was retained to market the building on behalf of the Witnesses.”
The Post reports that one of the men accused of attaching skimming devices to ATMs in Astor Place and Union Square has been sentenced to three years in prison. His brother and alleged accomplice remains at large. Read more…
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
After the departure of David Cross, it looks like the neighborhood is losing another longtime celebrity resident. Remember that $1.7 million apartment that had been featured in House & Garden? Maison 21 notes that it belongs to actress Chloe Sevigny and posts photos of the listing along with the magazine spread.
Paper magazine has new details on the CBGB movie. Malin Akerman will play Debbie Harry and Joel David Moore will play Joey Ramone. Meanwhile The Guardian talks to Joey Ramone’s little brother, Mickey Leigh, about the rocker’s new album. “Downtown New York had been on the decline since the 50s,” he recalls. “Alphabet City was a notorious drug haven, the Bowery was all hookers and alcoholics – it was dangerous. It took an area like that for something like [Ramones] to be able to happen. CBGBs was a place where you could make your own character. Everything else was discotheques and rich people.”
The Post has more on the woman who was struck and killed by a dump truck while crossing Broadway near 14th Street last week. Roxana Sorina Buta was a 21-year-old aspiring actress who was heading home from her waitressing job that day. Read more…
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Neighborhoodr posts a photo from Sunday’s Loisaida Festival on Avenue C while Off the Grid looks back at the festival in 1987, as photographed by Marlis Momber.
Real Deal notes that the East Village and Lower East Side saw a 47.8 percent residential sales growth in 2010, the most of any neighborhood.
Curbed admires a two-bedroom coop a block from Tompkins Square Park that’s going for $599,000. “It might be a little on the small side, but the layout, location, and price all seem pretty decent.” Read more…
Scott Lynch Work at the Mars Bar site is coming along.Good morning, East Village.
The Post informs that Geoffrey Bartholomew, a longtime bartender at McSorley’s and a poet, has published a new volume of “The McSorley’s Poems,” entitled “Light or Dark?” and featuring gems such as “Restaurant Inspection.”
Speaking of local men of letters, the St. Mark’s Bookshop sends word that Ed Sanders will read from his memoir, “Fug You,” next Tuesday. Mr. Sanders, of course, was part of our East Village Other retrospective, the entirety of which you can find online at the newly launched EastVillageOther.org.
Yesterday, we noticed a new 24-hour convenience store on 14th Street near First Avenue. PcvstBee has more about Adam’s Deli & Convenience. Read more…
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
The CBGB Festival isn’t the only one that announced details of its lineup this week: The Howl! Festival has posted its lineup, and what do you know, in addition to the usual opening reading of Ginsberg’s poem on June 1, CBGB favorites like Deans of Discipline, Bowerty Tones and Sic F*cs will be playing. The closing ceremony on June 3 will involve a “be-in of love and glitter” staged by Jackie Factory’s, Chi Chi Valenti and Johnny Dynell, and will celeberate “the world-changing explosion of East Village culture from 1966-1972 and pays homage to movements and supernovas of the time like The Exploding Plastic Inevitable; Jack Smith; The Fugs; the Yippies; and the Bowery-raised Warhol Superstar, Jackie Curtis.”
Speaking of Ginsberg, The Associated Press notes that the character he inspired in “On The Road” is played by Tom Sturridge in a new film version of the Kerouac novel. Viggo Mortensen plays the William S. Burroughs character and the film, produced by Roman Coppola, also stars Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Elisabeth Moss and Alice Braga. The Allen Ginsberg Project has a rundown of reviews of the film, which premiered at Cannes and will open in the U.S. in the fall.
The Daily News reports that two teenagers have been charged with firing a pellet gun at a custodian at Public School 2 on the Lower East Side. According to ABC News, the police found a blow dart gun, nun chucks, two BB rifles and knives in their apartment. The Post has more on the story. Read more…
Clayton Patterson sent the above photo of over 100 people marching down Broadway, near East Ninth Street, in a show of solidarity for students protesting tuition hikes in Quebec. Another tipster sent us video of protesters heading down Bowery. Around 8 p.m., The Local spotted police cars racing down 12th Street and up and down Avenue A in an apparent effort to head off the march at Tompkins Square Park. It ended in Union Square.
A representative for Bantam tells us the Stanton Street lounge will open a 30-seat tented patio after a preview party tomorrow. It’ll be open at 17 Stanton Street, Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for happy hour and then the door will get more selective after 11 a.m.
With the former Van Tassell & Kearney Horse Auction Mart building now a landmark, Off the Grid takes a closer look at its history, noting that it also served as an assembly-line training center for women during World War II. Read more…
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Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Above, a look inside the “Core 77 Open: All City All Stars” exhibition at 350 Bowery, near Great Jones. It’s part of NoHo Design District and features artists from all five boroughs.
The Real Deal reports that at 72,000 square feet plot at 79-89 Avenue D is on the market for $22.5 million. The current owners bought it for $3.6 million in 2005.
The Lower East Side History Project has won a 2012 Village Award from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, according to the L.E.S.H.P.’s blog. Other winners, according to the G.V.S.H.P.’s site, include Sixth Street and Avenue B Garden and City Council Member Rosie Mendez. Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba
Suzanne RozdebaGood morning, East Village.
Take note, pet owners: the flyer above and another at right went up around the neighborhood recently.
The Post reports that Kenneth Moreno, the former police officer who was acquitted of raping a woman on duty but fired after being found guilty of official misconduct, is thinking about suing the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for allegedly planting incriminating evidence.
You’ll recall baggies of heroin were found in Mr. Moreno’s locker, and woes at the stationhouse continue: The Post hears from a source that the last of four 9mm pistols stolen from the locker room was swiped after officers were assigned to patrol the room.
Speaking of guns, The Daily News reports that two teens were arrested at the Union Square station when police officers who stopped them for evading the fare found a pair of guns and two bulletproof vests on them. Read more…
Scott Lynch Good morning, East Village.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, “The Dictator,” opened last night. Anyone else notice that when the titular despot is driving up Third Avenue, Blue 9 makes a brief appearance as Haffezi’s Burgers?
Speaking of the East Village on the big screen, Broadway.com reports that the CBGB biopic starring Alan Rickman as Hilly Kristal will begin production June 25 in New York and Georgia and should be released next year. Theater Mania adds that “the film will focus on the life of Kristal, who died in 2007, during the club’s early years in the 1970s. Several rock figures with ties to the club are expected to make cameo appearances.”
The Post reports that the unidentified man who was stuck and killed by an L train at Union Square yesterday was relieving himself on the tracks when it happened. Read more…
Ria ChungGood morning, East Village.
To kick off your day, dig Joey Ramone’s new posthumous album, currently streaming on Rolling Stone’s site. Pyramid Club and Save the Robots, the legendary after-hours on Avenue B, get shoutouts in a song with the chorus “I’m proud to make my home in New York City.”
Speaking of gritty hangouts, Bowery Boogie has a look at Max Fish’s new Asbury Park outpost. Needless to say, the blog has an opinion about what’s more punk rock, skee ball or pool tables.
Commercial Observer reports that Edward Minskoff, who personally invested over $100 million in equity in his 51 Astor Place office building, is closing in on a deal with its first tenant: “Hult International Business School is in talks to take 51 Astor’s entire second floor, a roughly 55,000-square-foot space. Sources say the school could pay rents that begin in the $60s per square foot but escalate to around $100 per square foot over the life of a long term lease at the roughly 400,000-square-foot property.” Read more…
Michael NataleGood morning, East Village.
CBGB is being revived as more than just a summer festival: it will also be the subject of a biopic in which Alan Rickman will play owner Hilly Kristal. An “insider” on the project tells WENN, “We will be recreating CBGB on a soundstage as the club no longer exists. But it will be an authentic replica of the place.”
The Post reports that a woman plunged from her seven-story apartment on 11th Street near Second Avenue yesterday in an apparent suicide attempt. She died at Bellevue Hospital.
According to the AP, Sara Jenkins of Porchetta is one of 10 New York City chefs that will be cooking at a Cuban art fair in a converted shipping container: “It’s a rare culinary treat in a country where many state-run and independent restaurants serve up dull, unimaginative fare. It’s also a performance art spectacle that’s about bridging the gap between estranged neighbors and socioeconomic classes.” Read more…
Kevin Farley Good Morning, East Village.
In case you missed it over the weekend, there was a shooting in Alphabet City early Saturday morning. The victim refused to identify the person who shot him in the leg near Avenue D and East Sixth Street and the matter is still under investigation, precinct commander John Cappelmann told The Local.
Gothamist and EV Grieve caught wind of a “hostage situation” at 514 East 12th Street on Saturday morning. But Captain Cappelmann told The Local there was no hostage: an emotionally disturbed person barricaded himself into an apartment and was removed without injuries.
The Post reports that in order to prevent further gun thefts, two officers are patrolling the Ninth Precinct’s locker room, which now boast more locks and a security camera at the entrance. Read more…
Stephen Rex Brown Good morning, East Village.
Above, another newspaper box in peril. We spotted this one with a laundry bag stuffed into it on East Sixth Street. No wonder some people consider these things an eyesore.
Over at Blackbook, nightlife insider Steve Lewis is doubtful that a revived CBGBs will be the same without its original owner. “CBGB’s without Hilly is like Casablanca’s Rick’s Café American without Humphrey Bogart’s Rick.” Closing thought: “I can’t see neighborhoods in Manhattan relishing this type of venue near their bedrooms and suspect Greenpoint or Williamsburg will provide the answers. Manhattan and certainly the Bowery are not the creative cauldrons that fed the CB’s scene. Brooklyn can provide that.”
Gothamist combs the newly digitized NYC Municipal Archives for “21 photos of the Lower East Side before you were born.” Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba Good morning, East Village.
According to a tipster, signage for an “Italian restaurant bar,” Litro, has gone up in the old Zerza space at 308 East Sixth Street. Stay tuned for more.
Paper reports that Max Fish is opening an outpost on the Asbury Park boardwalk. “Max Fish at the Beach Bar, located on the boardwalk, will be open weekends starting this Saturday through Memorial Day, and then open every day after that.”
In The Times, Winnie Varghese, the priest in charge of St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, argues that churches should be tax-exempt. “Moderate and progressive religion is overwhelmingly formed in the U.S., and it is an essential voice in national and international discourse,” she says. “We are an important moral and ethical voice for society as a whole, a voice that has to be religious to respond to other kinds of religious movements.” Read more…
