Clint McMahonGood morning, East Village.
Today in potential changes of ownership for Village property, EV Grieve worries about the fate of the experimental theater Under St. Marks, in the basement of the building at 94 St. Mark’s now up for sale. And in similar but somewhat opposite news, the old Amato Opera house on the Bowery is still waiting for a new tenant, DNAinfo says. In the meantime, it’s the most recent participant in East Village tagging. You’re it!
Also, today the trial begins of two police officers accused of raping an East Village woman in 2008. The woman was returning from Brooklyn and the police officers were allegedly helping her get to her 13th Street apartment before taking advantage of her.
It’s another sunny, cold and windy day here in the city, which apparently is the perfect weather for this new Village resident.
Also liking the climate enough to venture out of doors? A friendly Union Square gator If you run into him (or the escaped and popular Bronx Zoo cobra) today, tell them Happy Tuesday.
Alexis LamsterGood morning East Village,
The unpredictable March weather is at it again. Highs today will reach just 34 degrees, and reports expect a snowfall.
The one hundredth anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, a tragedy that killed nearly 150 garment workers, arrives this Friday, City Room reports. To commemorate the horrific event, which exposed the horrors labor conditions in the city at the time, many will gather at Cooper Union Hall. Find more information here.
Last night’s Community Board 3 meeting featured many voices speaking out against demolition of 35 Cooper Square. Most remembered an older East Village, in their minds memorialized in the structure. EV Grieve references the Bowery’s grittier past in a post this morning.
Finally, more from the world of street art as artist KATSU hits the Lower East Side, replacing legitimate phone booth ads with his own work. Bowery Boogie reproduces the evidence, courtesy photographer JDX whose work has also featured on The Local this week.
Vivienne Gucwa Good morning, East Village.
Make sure to spend time in the great outdoors today as spring will be on hiatus tomorrow.
The heavily relied upon Chinatown bus circuit is subject to crack downs after two fatal crashes killed 17 people, according to DNAinfo. Senator Charles E. Schumer is spearheading the call to audit drivers’ licenses.
More details have emerged in the case of two East Village police officers who have been charged with sexually assaulting a 27-year-old East Village woman they escorted home. DNAinfo tallies the criminal counts against the officers at 26, up from the original 15.
In news affecting the entire city, landlords may see limits on rent hikes and deregulation for vacant apartments, according to The Wall Street Journal, with the current standards under review. Nearly 100,000 apartments lost their rent regulation from 1994 to 2009.
Next time you’re passing a phone booth — yes, they still exist — check out its advertisement panel. You might be surprised to find street artist Katsu’s name beneath the protective glass. No, companies haven’t teamed up with this alternative artisan. Rather, Katsu has been swapping his artwork for advertisements, Bowery Boogie reports.
This post has been changed to correct an error; an earlier version misstated the effects of rent regulation.
Chelsia Rose MarciusGood morning, East Village.
More change to come for the East Village after ACME Bar & Grill, located on 9 Great Jones Place, announced that they were closing their doors yesterday. However, it’s only temporary, and after several confusing reports and confirmations, EV Grieve confirmed the news that ACME Bar & Grill is only closing for renovations. The Cajun-style restaurant, which has been an East Village staple for 25 years, will be back in business in a few months.
Meanwhile, across the invisible border in Greenwich Village, New York University apparently postponed yesterday’s big reveal of the so-called “Greenwich Village 4,” the four large buildings planned around the core campus, including the as-of-right development which will replace the Morton Williams supermarket now that the “Silver Sliver” plan has bitten the dust.
As for today’s weather, grab your umbrella before you leave today. It’s going to be a rainy day with a high of 56 degrees.
Bruce Monroe Good morning, East Village.
The Upright Citizens Brigade are gearing up to make their debut in the East Village by putting signs up around local mailboxes, reports EV Grieve. The comedy theatre troupe recently caused a stir among some locals with their “Hot Chicks Room” sign, located at the Upright Citizens Brigade HQ on Avenue A and Third Street. The sign refers to one of the brigade’s comedy skits. However, one local has started a petition to have the sign removed.
In other news, more artists seem to be leaving their mark in the East Village. Not only are there more manuscript pages handing on lampposts, but locals have also spotted finger sculptures protruding from posts. So far EV Grieve reports sightings on 11th Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A, and on 10th Street, between Avenues A and B. Have you seen any in the East Village? Tweet us your pics if you see any today.
Another piece, referred to as The Hipster Trap, was spotted on the corner of Avenue A and Sixth Street. An unknown artist baited a steel-jaw trap trap made of cardboard with a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a pack of American Spirit cigarettes, a bike chain and neon pink Wayfarers. The person who made the trap has yet to be identified.
As for the weather, aside from the partly cloudy morning, it looks like today will be mostly sunny with a high of 49 degrees.
Michelle RickGood morning, East Village.
We begin with some hard news today.
A court case against two police officers charged with raping an East Village woman last year has been delayed another two weeks after prosecutors failed to present a key piece of evidence before a grand jury yesterday, the New York Post reported yesterday. The trial is reset for March 21.
A new music venue for experimental performers is coming to Avenue A, an address that was home to Aces and Eights, a bar that closed last year after replacing the performance venue Mo Pitkins. DNAInfo offers more details on the avant-garde concert space.
In other nightlife news, Grub Street reports that popular cocktail lounge Death & Co on East Sixth Street has officially reopened for business after a brief skirmish with the State Liquor Authority about the renewal of its liquor license caused a temporary shut down.
Tonight, the Department of Transportation will meet to discuss new zoning laws that reconfigure where outdoor sidewalk cafes are allowed in the city. We’re interested to see just what this will mean with for the East Village’s restaurant scene.
Yesterday’s sunshine takes a bit of a break today as the forecast calls for clouds and a high of 44 degrees.
And finally, happy belated Mardis Gras! How did you celebrate last night in the East Village? Tell us! We want to know.
Tom SchreierGood morning, East Village.
First we begin with a bit of mystery. There’s a story unfolding in the East Village, and the anonymous author behind the tale is leaving bits and pieces of a manuscript scattered here and there, The Post reports. You can find these pages posted onto telephone poles throughout the neighborhood, with each page telling you where to find the next. The Post found one on Seventh Street and First Avenue, and The Local’s very own Kathryn Kattalia found one on East Eighth Street the other day. So we here at The Local want to know, have you found any of these pages on your walk to work today?
In other news, DNAInfo reports that the NYPD patrolman accused of raping an intoxicated East Village woman back in December 2008, admitted to using a condom that night, according to a taped conversation, between officer Kenneth Moreno and the woman, that played in court yesterday. Justice Gregory Carro of State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled yesterday that the secretly recorded conversation could be played for the jury during the trial, which is scheduled to start next week.
Late last night, EV Grieve posted that sudden illness caused an accident on St. Mark’s Place and Avenue A. According to EV Grieve, the driver suffered a seizure while making a u-turn and hit the wall of the Sushi Lounge as well as the pay phone on St. Mark’s Place. Early this morning there was another crash on East Houston Street, DNAInfo reports. According to the report, the incident involved only one car and no one was injured in the accident. The driver fled the scene.
As for the weather? No need for your umbrella today. Look for sunny skies with a high of 45 degrees.
Vivienne GucwaGood morning, East Village.
With each passing day, more details surface about Grace Farrell’s life, and death, near Tompkins Square Park. It’s reported that last Thursday, when a friend, Danielle, overdosed in Tompkins Square Park, Ms. Farrell assisted in CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. If Ms. Farrell’s own death turns out to be from the cold, she would officially be the first to freeze to death in city streets this winter.
Last night’s protest at 35 Cooper Square, in which dozens of demonstrators congregated to protest its planned demolition, might have been too little, too late. EV Grieve reports that a Feb. 13 stop work order has been resolved, and that work leading to the building’s demolition could resume today.
Looking to catch Carmelo Anthony’s debut? Your best bet may be an East Village bar. Following the N.B.A. superstar’s move to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster trade on Monday night, The Daily News reports that ticket prices have tripled in anticipation of tonight’s Madison Square Garden clash against the Milwaukee Bucks. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
And today’s weather? Pretty manageable, all things considered. The Weather Channel predicts a sunny high of 43. Temperatures Thursday are also supposed to reach the mid-40s, but rain is possible.
Adrian FussellGood morning, East Village.
Hope you’re bundled up and ready for the wind, which is dropping the “feels-like” temps into single digits today.
In neighborhood notes, EV Grieve takes a look at some construction and renovation work that’s bringing changes to the Village, as well as a mysterious hole that may or may not be a harbinger of the zombie apocalypse.
Meanwhile, Lüc Carl, manager of the Lower East Side bar St. Jerome, wants to help you make good on your New Year’s resolutions, unless your resolutions are about drinking less. DNAinfo tells us that Mr. Carl, who also happens to be Lady Gaga’s boyfriend, is releasing a diet book called “The Drunk Diet,” to help you lose weight while partying like a rock star. But it won’t come out until next year, so your 2011 health efforts may have to be sans keg.
Happy Wednesday.
Gloria ChungGood 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.
Gloria ChungGood 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.
Gloria ChungGood 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.
Ben ChislettGood 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.
Sarah TungGood 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.
Sarah TungGood 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.
Sarah TungGood morning, East Village.
EV Grieve has an informative post about some of the memorials that are planned for Michael Shenker, the homesteader and longtime neighborhood activist who died Saturday. Later today, we’ll feature a post by NYU Journalism’s Dyan Neary, who offers a personal perspective on Mr. Shenker.
In other neighborhood news, Grieve also describes a noise dispute at a restaurant that has escalated into a lawsuit. Second Ave. Sagas has a post about this morning’s MTA meeting. And, while a little west of us, this post from Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York is worth checking out because it explores what might be “the perfect, ‘undiscovered’ New York street.”
