Michelle RickGood morning, East Village.
The Lo-Down and Bowery Boogie report that the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors have succeeded in getting the New York State Review Board to include the Bowery in the State Register of Historic Places. Now they’ll gun for the national register.
According to the Post, Andrew Hanson has pleaded not-guilty to stealing books from the New York Public Library and attempting to sell them to bookstores. As The Post reported earlier this month, he was nabbed by Donald Davis, the owner of East Village Books.
Also from the Post: Anthony Lindsey has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for three violent muggings in the East and West Village in Nov. and Dec. of 2008. Read more…
Emily Canal Residents enjoy Tuesday night t.v. on a roof deck at 10th Street and First Avenue.Today at 10 a.m., residents of 515 East Fifth Street – with the support of Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Good Old Lower East Side, and others – will protest an addition to their building that was deemed illegal by the Board of Standards and Appeals in November of 2008. In a press release reprinted by Curbed and EV Grieve, they say the Department of Buildings has yet to decide about the matter.
Is this a sign of the apocalypse? “Handsome Dick” Manitoba has declared Pat Buchanan a “likeable fellow.” The punk rocker turned bar owner writes about an encounter with Mr. Buchanan on his Tumblr: “Told him I was a liberal, Jewish, NYC Democrat, who disagrees with MOST of his politics, but I find him likable, well-spoken and entertaining.”
The Post names B&H Dairy one of the best greasy spoons in town. But we already knew that. Read more…
Michelle RickThe Local reported that a man was shot near 12th Street and Avenue C early Sunday morning. According to the Post, the 17-year-old died in Bellevue Hospital. The Post names him as Donovan Salgado; the Daily News says relatives identified him as Keith.
The Local also reported yesterday on a demonstration at Washington Square Park. Washington Square News informs that fourteen protesters were arrested in all. Meanwhile, in Tompkins Square Park, protesters “super-glued the locks on the park gates and climbed limousines,” John Penley tells the paper.
Sunday marked the 95th anniversary of St. Cyril’s Church on St. Marks Place. According to the Slovenian Press Agency, the Slovenian Ambassador to the U.S. was in attendance. Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba L.E.S. Jewels and John Penley at Occupy Wall Street.Runnin’ Scared interviews the bloggers behind EV Grieve and Save The Lower East Side to get their thoughts on why, as Save The Lower East Side pointed out yesterday, Grieve’s commenters are so dismissive of John Penley’s plans to occupy Tompkins Square Park this weekend. Says Grieve, “Some of the newer residents seem to be more interested in finding the perfect drunk brunch, tweeting about cupcakes and going out and watching, say, the Oklahoma-Texas game in sweatshirts and jerseys. Social movements are for the history books.”
Brooklyn Based notices, as have we, that Williamsburg is becoming “East Village East,” with outposts of Mama’s and Vanessa’s Dumpling House due to open later this month, and an offshoot of Cafe Mogador planned as well. “The recession really hit the East Village pretty hard and we saw our clientele dropping,” explains Jeremiah Clancy, the owner of Mama’s. “It pushed the last notion of young people out because the rents were so high.”
Speaking of Mama’s, the southern food trend continues: EV Grieve notices a Facebook update indicating that Double Wide, a “bar and southern kitchen” will open this weekend at 505 East 12th Street. Their sloppy Joes “bear only the finest ingredients.” Read more…
Susan KeylounSave The Lower East Side pens a lengthy thought piece about why exactly the “new breed” of East Village resident feels threatened by Occupy Wall Street: “This new breed of Lower East Sider comes to enjoy a sense of urban authenticity in Manhattan. Of course, it’s not authentic at all, but a kind of faux authenticity, pretend authenticity: the EV feels like it’s hip, it imagines itself to be hip, it has lots of youth who style themselves as hip, but in reality, they are just children of wealth seeking $700 a month more hipness and urban pretend-authenticity than they would get in Queens.”
Speaking of “the never-ending push and pull between New York’s past and present,” The Times tours Bowery House, a shabby flophouse turned chic hotel where some of the old residents are still bunking up for $10 per night. One of them (who may or may not know that he has a room named after him) apparently isn’t a fan of the conversion, and is said to have twice smashed the hotel’s neon sign.
Elsewhere on the Bowery, Bowery Boogie finds out that Bowery Coffee, the café from the owner of the adjoining lighting shop B4 It Was Cool, will open on Monday.
Oh, and The Local noticed, as did EV Grieve, that a new clothing boutique, Riff, now occupies the space that once held Morrison Hotel Gallery. Read more…
Alexis Lamster Good morning, East Village.
Despite Community Board 3’s disapproval, Heathers managed to snag a renewal of its liquor license from the State Liquor Authority, according to a Facebook post picked up by EV Grieve.
Apparently there’s a new hawk in Tompkins Square Park. Grieve has photos.
Since Times critic Charles Isherwood might be taking a break from Adam Rapp, L magazine chimes in with a review of the playwright’s latest, “Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling.” They’re certainly bigger fans than Mr. Isherwood is: “The terrific ensemble finds empathy in even the most caricature-compatible characters, so that by the end we share their long-defered dreams of flight and too-real fears of falling.” Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba Good morning, East Village.
Did you see this mysterious sky writing on Sunday? City Room explains that it was part of an art project sponsored by Friends of the Highline.
WNYC shows some love for Filipino spot Maharlika and offers up their barbecue sauce recipe.
The Times casts an eye on the state of the Bowery, noting that preservationists are requesting that two blocks be labeled a historic district.
City Room profiles Jason Shelowitz, the man behind all those urban etiquette signs.
Read more…
Suzanne Rozdeba Good morning, East Village.
Actress Kirsten Dunst was spotted in the East Village yesterday, as she took some time off from promoting her new movie, “Melancholia.” Meanwhile, Paula Deen stopped by the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop on East Seventh Street. The store hinted at the news via a tweet about a “certain food celeb with a butter-loving mama” and a photo of a film crew.
The plywood came off of Cooper Craft and Kitchen on the corner of Second Avenue and Fifth Street, as photos on EV Grieve show, but the shutter went down on Georgia, a beauty shop on East Houston Street, reports Bowery Boogie. The company plans to move to an as-yet-unannounced location in Manhattan and become a global business.
According to The Times, the Merchant House Museum is holding an exhibit on spirit photography from now until Nov. 28, and tomorrow Dan Sturges will talk about the parapsychological studies he’s conducted. Read more…
Daniel MaurerGood morning, East Village.
It seems Bob Arihood (the above tribute to whom was painted by Chico yesterday) wasn’t the only one to tend after injured squirrels. On East Seventh Street near Second Avenue, we spotted a sign explaining that an orphaned baby squirrel has gone missing, and must be returned to a “federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator” because it is too young to crack nutshells for itself.
If IHOP’s new sidewalk canopy leaves you cold, and you’re more a fan of the “Eat Me” sign above Crif Dogs, take note: In honor of the hot dog spot’s 10th anniversary, everything is $1 today, and, according to its Facebook page, there’ll be a party with free rum shots tonight.
Just in time for Game 5 tonight, former Yankees and Mets right fielder Darryl Strawberry will be signing autographs between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Village Pourhouse, reports Bowery Boogie. Read more…
Liv BuliGood morning, East Village.
If you’re looking for a not-so-humble abode, EV Grieve points to a 4-story townhouse on East 12th Street going for $18,500 a month. It may not be John Legend’s old apartment, but it’s still impressive.
If you’re in the market for a bargain, you may be out of luck: According to a study cited in Washington Square News, rents in the East Village have jumped up 7.7 percent since Sept. 2010.
After some renovations, Joe’s Pub is back in action. It reopened yesterday, and CBS explains that more seats and better sight lines will make it easier to enjoy the Country Music Association Songwriter Series tomorrow and Friday. Read more…
Scott LynchGood morning, East Village.
Sure enough, the Astor cube got stripped of its sweater yesterday. Luckily its installation was videotaped for posterity so we can remember the Alamo in crocheted form – Bowery Boogie has the footage.
On Untapped New York, “Downtown Doodler” Bernadette Moke goes on an Urban Design Week tour of the Bowery and offers up a history of the buildings complete with sketches.
Elsewhere on the Bowery, EV Grieve finds an online listing of crooner John Legend’s apartment at East Fourth Street. Amenities include a “landscaped building entrance, parking garage, roof deck and an exterior spa-swimming pool.” Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-CopeGood Morning, East Village.
Villagers continued to mourn the passing of photographer Bob Arihood on Friday. EV Grieve shares a collection of Mr. Arihood’s photographs, and Runnin’ Scared offered its own tribute over the weekend. A vigil is planned for Tuesday night in front of Ray’s Candy Store, one of Mr. Arihood’s favorite haunts.
From one artist to another, Antonio “Chico” Garcia completed a mural for The Children’s Workshop School on East Twelfth Street over the weekend. NY1 reports that the veteran graffiti artist now plans to “cap his spray cans for good.”
Garcia began his painting career 34 years ago — not long before the band Blondie started playing CBGB. The San Francisco Chronicle writes that the band has stayed true to its East Village roots with its latest release.
Read more…
Ian Gordon A street performance by the Theater for the New City.Good Morning, East Village.
Hot on the heels of Michael Moore’s rallying cry for St. Mark’s Bookshop, the East Village book scene notches another victory. The New York Post reports that East Village Books owner Donald Davis helped apprehend a notorious New York City library thief in a sting that included the use of wrestling moves. This would make a great movie or, well, book.
City Room has run a collection of photographs by Leland Bobbe, a regular in the Downtown scene of the 1970s who shot the likes of Patti Smith, Mink DeVille and The Ramones.
The International Business Times takes a look at the Occupy Wall Street protests and finds a few similarities with the Tompkins Square Park Riot of 1988. Do you think the two have much in common?
Read more…
Stephen Rex Brown Yesterday on Astor Place.Good morning East Village, and happy Rosh Hashanah.
The National Review’s Katrina Trinko checks out Ron Paul’s speech at Webster Hall on Monday and finds a crowd that “skews more hipster than hip replacement.” In her piece, she dubs the contrarian Libertarian the “The President of the East Village.”
Further south, City Room has the latest twist in the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests: Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna may have used pepper spray in a second incident.
Back in our neck of the woods, EV Grieve spotted a noise complaint outside of UCBeast, the Upright Citizen Brigade’s recently opened East Village outpost. Anyone else think noise in front of the club is no laughing matter?
Read more…
Francisco Daum Good morning, East Village.
EV Grieve notes that Michael Moore will appear at the St. Mark’s Bookshop this Thursday. He also stopped by Zuccotti Park to lend his support to the Occupy Wall Street activists, as did Susan Sarandon and Dr. Cornel West, per Gothamist. The Daily News suggests that few of the protestors are familiar with the film “Bull Durham,” or any of Ms. Sarandon’s work for that matter.
Bowery Boogie hears that Lillian Wald Houses is getting a new park. A press conference and garden planting will occur at Avenue D and Fifth Street next Monday.
Next month, the Sixth Street Community Synagogue will open The Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy, “an ambitious program of classes, concerts, films, poetry readings and performances.” Leading the program is rabbi, saxophonist and all-around hep cat Greg Wall, who George Robinson profiled yesterday in The Jewish Week. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown today, just FYI. Read more…
Meredith A. Bennett-Smith A performance at FAB! Festival on Saturday.Good morning, East Village.
Last night, new information surfaced regarding the protests that ran from Wall Street to Union Square on Saturday. The Daily News reports that the hackers collective known as Anonymous has identified the officer who pepper-sprayed a demonstrator as Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna. The group also targeted Mr. Bologna with an “ominous but vague online warning.” Meanwhile, City Room reporter Corey Kilgannon toured the demonstrating group’s encampment in Zuccotti Park.
Ken Jaworowski of The Times catches “From Rags to Riches” at the Metropolitan Playhouse and finds a play that is “by turns slapdash, bewildering, rousing and ridiculous.” For those whose appetite was whet by actors Erin Leigh Schmoyer and Tod Mason’s preview performance at the FAB! Festival this past Saturday, the show will be running through October 16th.
If experimental dance is more your thing, Gia Kourlas of The Times reviews Brazilian artist Michel Groisman’s current show “Porta das Mãos” (“Door of Hands”) at Performance Space 122. Parents shouldn’t be discouraged by Mr. Groisman’s “Saw”-like appearance, as the show actively encourages family attendance. Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-CopeGood morning, East Village. The FAB! Festival and the falling tree certainly weren’t the only things that happened over the weekend.
A spokesman for the police told City Room that approximately 80 people were arrested on Saturday as Wall Street protesters marched from Zuccotti Park to Union Square. According to the spokesman, police arrested “individuals who blocked vehicular and pedestrian traffic, but also for resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and, in one instance, for assault on a police officer.” A Metro section follow-up indicates that officers, in what a spokesman for the protesters calls “police brutality,” used pepper spray. The department says it was used once, “appropriately,” in the case of a woman who was trying to prevent the deployment of a mesh barrier on East 12th Street. NYU Local has footage of that incident, and City Room posted more videos from the protest. Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-CopeAhoy, East Village! And happy Talk Like a Pirate Day.
The Times has more on the state of St. Mark’s Bookshop: Over time, the owners have had to halve their inventory from about 43,000 titles. Fun fact: The store’s rent when it opened at 13 St. Marks Place in 1977 was $375 per month. And some good news: according to Jeremiah’s Vanishing, this past weekend was one of the shop’s busiest.
Another St. Marks institution, Cafe Mogador, gets yet another celebrity endorsement: David Carp, founder of Tumblr, tells the Times that it’s his standard brunch spot.
The Times’s “At The Table” column visits Edi & the Wolf, the Austrian spot on Avenue C that “plays host to a mix of funky young Lower East Siders and buttoned-down diplomats.”
Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-Cope Good morning, East Village.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is the latest pol to voice his support for the St. Mark’s Bookshop, according to NY1. Meanwhile Runnin’ Scared wonders how many of the 27,000+ people who’ve signed the petition have actually dropped into the store to buy a book recently.
Borough President Stringer was also cheering on the new Lillian Wald Playground on East Houston Street between Avenue D and Lillian Wald Drive at a ribbon-cutting yesterday. The Lo-Down has a photo. According to a press release sent to The Local and others, renovations came as a result of $893,000 in capital funding allocated by Council Member Rosie Mendez and $361,000 allocated by Mayor Bloomberg.
Have there been playground improvements in Tompkins Square Park as well? One parent tells NY1 she has seen fewer rats. Others “say the rat problem is not entirely gone and there are still frequent rat sightings.” Read more…
Phillip Kalantzis-Cope Good morning, East Village.
According to Eyewitness News 7, a 22-year-old man fleeing police was struck and killed by a livery cab while crossing FDR Drive near 6th Street last night.
While the Bean opens two new outposts, its original location at Third Street and First Avenue is being taken over by a Starbucks, according to The Times. The Bean isn’t taking this sitting down – they plan to move right across the street. East Village baristas are quite stubborn, after all – though the owner of Ninth Street Espresso tells the Post he has loosened up on his rule of no espresso to go.
With St. Mark’s Bookshop now getting attention from the Daily News, Vanishing New York pens an open letter to landlord Cooper Union, threatening to boycott whatever replaces the store should it go out of business. Meanwhile Save the Lower East Side writes, “Frankly, I’m not convinced this neighborhood deserves to have a great bookstore… [The East Village] is a youth destination for children of means, not an intellectual or countercultural destination anymore.” Read more…
