Good morning, East Village.

Hypervocal points to a trailer for “This Is My Home,” Mark Cersosimo’s documentary about Anthony Pisano, whose East Village apartment of 32 years is a virtual curiosity cabinet. Watch it above.

The paparazzi stalking the shoot of “A Case of You” yesterday apparently got the goods: Gossip Center posts a photo of Evan Rachel Wood.

Is it finally the end for embattled Life Cafe? EV Grieve spots a “retail space available” sign on the window. Read more…

Noah Fecks The porchetta sandwich at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria. Click on the image for a super close-up.

When chef Sarah Jenkins opened Porchetta in a tiny East Seventh Street storefront in 2008, the general reaction was: great sandwich, but wow – $9? Porchetta’s signature dish – that rolled, herbed pork roast served on ciabatta that has been called one of the ten best things to eat in New York City – will now set you back $10 plus tax. But it hardly seems expensive any more.

Four months ago, Il Buco (where Ms. Jenkins was once chef) opened an offshoot Alimentari & Vineria, and it’s doing insane business on Great Jones Street thanks to an adulatory New York Times review last week. On the lunch menu is a porchetta sandwich that costs no less than $16 plus tax. And yet it’s regularly selling out. Read more…

Evan BleierPaparazzi perched on Bond Street.

Goodbye Coens, hello Mac guy: This morning, more than 20 paparazzi were gathered outside the Gene Frankel Theater at 24 Bond Street, where the forthcoming romantic comedy “A Case of You” was being filmed. They were hoping to snap a photograph of Sienna Miller and Justin Long, rumored to be inside. Shortly after noon, their lenses were trained on the three trailers parked on the south side of the street: a shutterbug said one of the film’s stars, Evan Rachel Wood, had been spotted going inside and had to come out sooner or later.

According to Variety, “A Case of You” centers around a young writer who has to live up to the online profile he created for himself in order to impress a girl. With Justin Long as a co-producer of the film, we’re assuming the profile was created on a Mac.

Stephen Rex Brown The Local now shares a light pole on Second Avenue with other neighborhood blogs.

A phone call from “Mosaic Man” Jim Power brought our favorite news of the week: The Local has been immortalized in tile form on a light pole on Second Avenue at St. Marks Place.

The Local shares the pole with other neighborhood media outlets like Bowery Boogie, EV Grieve, Neighborhoodr, East Villager, Neither More Nor Less, and The Village Voice (our Cooper Square neighbor is next to us on the pole as well).

“If you want information about the neighborhood, that light pole will tell you,” Mr. Power said. Read more…

Mary Reinholz Bill Weinberg in his home office.

Bill Weinberg is a nocturnal creature, generally writing from midnight to just before dawn in his Fourth Street apartment, a second-floor walk-up with a bathtub in the kitchen and a bathroom in the hallway. He’s lived in the book-lined space since 1989, and has lately been engaged, he said, in “the nitty gritty of defending my apartment as one of the last rent-stabilized holdouts in the building.”

The political journalist and left-wing anarchist is no stranger to such fights: last March his long-running show, the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, was canceled by WBAI-FM (99.5), the “free speech radio” station where he had discoursed for nearly 20 years on topics such as the war in Iraq, the Arab Spring, and the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riots. The station, part of the Pacifica radio network, has not offered any official comment on the cancellation. But Mr. Weinberg said he got into hot water with management for disrespecting fellow producers on air, including Gary Null, a health guru whom he had denounced as a quack and an AIDS denier.

Nearly a year after his ouster, Mr. Weinberg keeps busy by maintaining the World War 4 Report, a Website dedicated to “deconstructing the war on terror” (he also edits the Global Ganja Report and New Jewish Resistance). In two weeks, he’ll go to Peru, on assignment for The Progressive, to cover a national movement for water rights at the U.S.-owned Conga gold mine project. The subject is part of his long languishing manuscript for a book about indigenous and ecological struggles in Latin America. Read more…

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

Add another one to the more than 80 crimes we brought word of yesterday: The Post reports that two men were caught sneaking into Il Bagatto on East Second Street on Feb. 13 and one of the perps admits to having broken into Spice Cove and Landmark Vintage Bicycles.

Real Deal notes that Ashkenazy Acquisition has ramped up its marketing efforts to sell 235 East 14th Street for an asking price of $14.5 million. According to the item, the building got an IHOP because Ben Ashkenazy is a managing member of Trihop, which owns IHOP franchise rights in the tri-state area.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the bi-annual Antifolk Festival will be at Sidewalk Cafe from Feb. 22 to Feb. 26. American Songwriter also sits down with booker Ben Krieger, who confesses he misses a couple of things about the old Sidewalk: “There was this smokin’ hot Southern waitress that used to work the back room on Mondays. I miss her. And I’ll never forgive [management] for killing the salmon burger.” Read more…

With the premiere last week of Angelina Jolie’s film about the Bosnian War, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” conflict in the Balkans is once again making headlines. Last week, Serbs in northern Kosovo voted against that region’s autonomy four years after its declaration of independence from Serbia, a country that is vying for E.U. status. Clearly, the past has left divisive wounds for many in the region, but in the East Village, Vladimir Ocokoljic, a Serbian ex-pat who has made the neighborhood his home for the past 21 years, says that all are welcome at his restaurant, Kafana.

Mr. Ocokoljic describes himself as a proud Serbian, but he says that many of his customers come from across the Balkans. Watch The Local’s video to find out more about the “little piece of Belgrade” that he has carved out on Avenue C.

With this post, The Local concludes its recap of the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. We started with beat-downs, brawls, and blades, then continued on to burgled businesses and stolen rides. After that: Robberies and cell-phone snatches. And now: Purse pinches and bag snags. Plus: Click on our crime map, which will be constantly updated and can always be found on the right-hand column of The Local’s homepage.

View Crime Report in a larger map

• A club-goer left Nublu with the blues on Jan. 21. A thief swiped a bag containing a laptop and jewelry that the victim had left unattended in the club between East Fourth and Fifth Streets at around 2 a.m.
• A quick-handed thief snatched a woman’s bag on Jan. 14. The 49-year-old victim said she was inside her building on East Fourth Street between Avenues C and Dat around 4 p.m. when she placed her bag (containing $2,281-worth of items) on the ground. That’s when the thief made his move and fled towards East River Park.
• A thief snatched a man’s bag on Jan. 16. The 25-year-old victim said that he had placed his bag down at around 10 p.m. at Avenue B and East Seventh Street when the thief grabbed his bag and ran into Tompkins Square Park. The bag contained a laptop, camera and sunglasses worth $2,281.
• A not-so-sweet thief snatched a woman’s bag from Jane’s Sweet Buns on Jan. 16. The victim told police that she set her bag down by the front door of the store on St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A at around 3 p.m. and went downstairs to work. When she returned the bag, containing an assortment of credit cards, was gone.

Read more…

Today, we’re looking back on the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. Earlier it was beat-downs, brawls, and blades. Then: Burgled businesses and stolen rides. And now: Robberies and cell-phone snatches. 

Daniel Maurer Metro PCS on Jan. 6

• At last, the incriminating words uttered by the man who twice robbed a Metro PCS store on 14th Street have been revealed. An employee at the store between First and Second Avenues told police that when the suspect showed up on Jan. 20, he said, “Give me the money, I was here before,” and simulated a gun. The man then told the victim to go downstairs into the basement, and he made a run for it.
• Three perps pushed a woman down and snatched her shopping bag on Jan. 22. The victim told police she was at Second Avenue and East Ninth Street at around 8:30 p.m. when she was shoved and robbed.
• An attempt to hold an iPhone ransom went sour on Feb. 11. The 22-year-old victim told the police that when she realized her phone was missing she called it at around 2:30 a.m. and was told she could have it back for $150. The suspect instructed her to meet him at East First Street and Avenue A. When they made their rendezvous an officer pounced from behind, leading to a struggle on the street. The officer eventually arrested a 46-year-old man and recovered the woman’s bag and iPhone.
• A teenager snatched a woman’s phone on Jan. 24. The 26-year-old victim told the police she was on East Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenues at around 10 p.m. when the suspect put her arm around her neck, covered her eyes and grabbed the phone. Police are on the hunt for a 17-year-old woman.

Read more…

Today, we’re looking back on the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. Earlier it was beat-downs, brawls, and blades. Now: Burgled businesses and stolen rides.

Daniel Maurer A burglar struck Angels and Kings on
Jan. 16.
• A burglar struck Angels and Kings on East 11th Street on Jan. 16. An employee told the police that as he left his apartment in the morning he noticed the gate of the bar near Avenue A was lifted up and the cash registers were empty.
• A burglar snatched a 46-inch television from the Haven Plaza community center on Jan. 22. An employee told police that she arrived for work at the center near Avenue C and East 12th Street and noticed the padlock to an entrance on the floor. Another door was locked from the inside, and the television was missing from its mount on a wall.
• Someone stole $300 from Baohaus on Jan. 23. An employee of the restaurant on East 14th Street between Second and Third Avenues told the police that the bandit must have entered through a rear bathroom window, which had a broken lock from apparently being forced open.

Read more…

Last month, The Local unveiled its inaugural weekly police blotter. Subsequent changes at the Ninth Precinct caused delays, so today we’re playing catch-up and presenting the past month in crime, in four handy installments. First up: Brawls, beat-downs and blades.

• Four teenagers are accused of beating up a 50-year-old man as he was parking his car on Sept. 14. The victim told the police — on Feb. 7 — that he was parking near Avenue D and East Seventh Street at around 1:30 a.m. when the four perps picked a fight. He said that one slapped the hood of his car with a t-shirt, and when he got out of the vehicle they pounced, punching him and causing multiple fractures in his face.
• A man is accused of stabbing another reveler at a rowdy party on Feb. 1. The police said that they entered the building on East Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenues at around 1:05 a.m. after receiving three noise complaints about the bash. When they arrived they came upon a 24-year-old in the hallway of the fourth floor shirtless and bleeding from a finger. Cops arrested both the victim and the alleged slicer.
• A brawl on Broadway resulted in an 18-year-old man and two 19-year-olds being arrested on Feb. 7. The 48-year-old victim told police that three teenagers tried to rob him near East Fourth Street at around 5:48 p.m. and that he resisted, resulting in the youngsters hitting him with two metal ladders and a chair.

Read more…

Earlier this month, and then again in a preview of gallery openings, The Local reported that Steve Cannon was planning an exhibition to raise money for his legal battle against the landlord who is attempting to push him out of his apartment and art space, Gathering of the Tribes. On Friday, The Local visited the opening of “Occupy Tribes Now” and came back with this video.

Daniel Maurer

Good morning, East Village.

Your “neighborhood” Starbucks opened today in the Bean’s former home at First Avenue and Third Street. Hours are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday (it closes at 10 p.m. on Sundays) and wireless won’t be installed for another few weeks. So much for our plans to liveblog the coffee shop’s first day. And three blocks north, the Subway between Sixth and Seventh Streets has opened.

On Friday night, Marco Canora, the owner of Hearth, tweeted, “Yes that’s a cab that just ran into the corner of HEARTH restaurant. Scared the hell out of our guests.” According to Eater, there were no injuries.

Pavement Pieces speaks to Larry Jackson, a 56-year-old homeless man who sells cigarettes in Tompkins Square Park and sleeps on the banks of the East River. “After losing his ‘dream job’ as mortician in sunny Los Angeles, Jackson hitchhiked across the country, arriving in New York City on his last dollar and dying hope for work just eight months ago.” Read more…

Kathy Streem Lynda Crawford, 1971

Breathless — not just from the late-night climb up 11 flights to the EVO office on East 12th Street, or the astonishing art by the likes of Yossarian, Spain, Little Moon, Joe Schenkman, Brad Holland, R. Crumb, Kim Deitch, Trina Robbins, and Fred Mogubgub, or by Dean Latimer‘s gorgeous prose, or the thrill of reading Ray Schultz, or from the stunning reportage of Jackie Friedrich, Pat Morris, and Claudia Dreifus, or the amazing true life adventures of Coca Crystal (subduing a would-be attacker with a tune on her guitar) and Steve Kraus, or the Krassner interview by Kathy Streem, or the wondrous music reviews by Richard Meltzer and Charlie Frick (and Charlie’s magical layouts), or Tuli’s poetry and songs, Vincent Titus’ fables, Honest Bob Singer’s film writings, Rex Weiner’s off-off Broadway reviews (he was homeless and theaters were warm), Tim Leary’s communiqués from Algeria, A. J. Weberman‘s illuminating investigative portraits, or the vocal harmonies of Steve Heller, Latimer, and Schultz; but also from EVO’s coverage of the major events of the time: efforts to stop the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers, the Panther 21 trial, American Indian Movement protests, the murder of George Jackson, the Attica uprising, and Bob Dylan’s 30th birthday party, all produced at high intensity under editor Jaakov Kohn‘s benign leadership.

“EVO is not a tit!” I remember editor Allen Katzman telling several of us when salaries were slashed to the single digits, and then disappeared, during the post–salad days of the early 1970s — my tenure.

I waitressed to pay the rent on my $51-per-month apartment on East Sixth Street and to be able to eat a little more than the nightly fare of free chicken wings and chickpeas at Max’s Kansas City that many subsisted on. The EVO piece I wrote that is most remembered came out of that gig at a deli on Christopher Street when John and Yoko happened in one night and I interpreted their relationship through bits of conversation, body language, and by dissecting leftover pieces of blueberry blintz (A. J. gave me kudos for that one); it was reprinted in the Berkeley Barb and a bunch of other papers too. Read more…

Bob Simmons Tuli Kupferberg

The funniest part of reminiscing about the uber-subversive East Village Other for The New York Times is that the latter set me on the road to rebellion before the former was even founded in 1965. I’m told I was reading by age four and within a few years the first section I grabbed when the Sunday Times arrived every weekend was the Book Review. The Grove Press ads kidnapped my imagination: Who was this Alain Robbe-Grillet guy and how do you pronounce his name?  Why was William Burroughs considered so dangerous and did his characters have meals while wearing no clothes? And speaking of clothes, how come the girls on Grove’s covers wore so little?

Obviously my nascent libido was ready for plucking, but my fascination was not simply sexual. I wanted to know why in the land of the First Amendment some had wanted to ban these books.

I bought my first issue of the Village Voice in February 1966; it contained an obituary of the abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann. Already a Dylan fan, I scanned the ads for folk clubs and was absolutely smitten by bohemia. The first girl who won my heart in elementary school was Jessica Hentoff (I don’t recall my feelings being reciprocated) and her father Nat wrote for the Voice. Soon I picked up the Voice’s competitor, The East Village Other.

No friends’ parents wrote for EVO. Scruffier, funnier and dirtier than the Voice, EVO was not simply about bohemia, it was an anarchist’s bomb in newsprint hurled at the bourgeoisie. Even at my tender age, I knew that I didn’t like the world that grown-ups had created. The troublemakers at The Other were expressing themselves in ways I could only daydream about at that point. Read more…

The only time I really ever wrote anything for EVO was when Walter Bowart, high on something, called me up and said, “Bob, you are the only straight-looking guy we have around the office. We have to do something for Leary. He just got busted up in Millbrook.” Hmm. So Walter and I cooked up this scheme. I would call up the sheriff of Dutchess County, one Lawrence Quinlan, and I would put on my regular work suit and drive up to Poughkeepsie to interview him.

Of course we knew that the sheriff wasn’t interested in talking to anyone from a hippie rag like EVO. So what did I do?  I called up the sheriff and told him my name was Bob Simmons, a stringer for Look magazine, and that my editor asked me if there was a chance I could come and do a short interview for the magazine about the arrest of Dr. Leary. You would think God had called for an audition. “Certainly,” came the reply. “Sheriff Quinlan would be happy to talk with you.”

So, there on a weekend in the spring of 1966, Walter Bowart, Timothy Leary, and Bob Simmons crammed into my Karmann Ghia VW and buzzed up to Poughkeepsie to the headquarters of the Castalia Foundation.  Read more…

In Larry “Ratso” Sloman’s 1998 book, “Steal This Dream: Abbie Hoffman and the Counter-Culture Revolution in America,” he recounts what happened the day Abbie Hoffman dragged him and Peter Leggieri out of the East Village Other office to witness the Yippie icon’s attack on Wall Street. Mr. Sloman was a lowly EVO intern at the time who credits the paper with giving him his start as a writer. The excerpt is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Read more…