Daniel Maurer

A crowd of Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to Union Square in a show of solidarity with their counterparts in Oakland. The Local caught up with the crowd of about 300 people around 11 p.m., as it marched up Broadway near 11th Street, on the sidewalk as well as in the middle of the street, against oncoming traffic. At that time, police cars and vans had amassed around the perimeter of Washington Square Park, apparently expecting action there, and only a few police officers were seen escorting the march up Broadway as protesters chanted “Oakland!” and “Who’s streets? Our streets!” At Union Square, one speaker yelled out a slur against the police as about 50 officers amassed around the perimeter of the park. Within half an hour or so, after some short declarations in support of “our brothers and sisters in Oakland” and against police brutality, the marchers dispersed, many of them heading back to Zuccotti Park amidst chants of “occupy the subway!”

Though NY1 reported at least 10 arrests earlier at a march to City Hall, the march to Union Square seemed relatively uneventful, and there was even a moment of comic relief when a “human mic” announced, “There were just 400 cops waiting for us at Washington Square Park.”

Last week, the annual CMJ Music Marathon descended on the East Village and its immediate surroundings. Todd Olmstead and Laurie Kamens valiantly went a week without sleeping to bring you the highlights, the low-lights, and the psychedelic light shows, too.

Dum Dum Girls

Tuesday, Oct. 18

Wild Flag at Bowery Ballroom
Wild Flag is a sort of super-group composed of Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney; Mary Timony, former front woman of Helium; and keyboardist Rebecca Cole of The Minders. Their years of musicianship were apparent as the band brought each song to the musical brink only to reel it back in again. All the while, Ms. Timony’s entrancing femme-fatale vocals traded off with Ms. Brownstein’s Patti Smith-like guttural sounds and punk-rock screams. Ms. Brownstein, an electric presence, played her guitar over her pelvis in a phallic gesture to match any 80s hair rocker, strutting around like a mix between Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop. Though the all-female ensemble has roots in the era of post-punk and the riot grrrl movement, the quartet’s attack riffs and lengthy guitar solos were pure machismo, proving that girls can still rock.  –L.K.

Eleanor Friedberger at Bowery Ballroom
Eleanor Friedberger’s staccato, matter-of-fact storytelling stood out from all the other performances at CMJ. Known as a member of the indie rock duo the Fiery Furnaces, her solo material pulls no punches. Her husky voice and straightforward delivery lent an attention-grabbing importance to lyrics about her life in Brooklyn and on the West Coast. –L.K. Read more…

Jamie Larson St. Mark’s Bookshop owners Terrence McCoy and Bob Contant say Cooper Union will not reduce their rent. The university, however, says no decision has been made.

The St. Mark’s Bookshop’s fate may still hang in the balance — at least according to Cooper Union. Though the beloved bookstore’s owners have abandoned hope of getting a $5,000 rent reduction, a Cooper Union spokeswoman insisted today that no official decision has been made.

After a meeting yesterday with top administrators from the school, bookshop co-owner Terrence McCoy was left with the clear impression that a reduction of the $20,000-a month rent was not in the cards.

“They said they couldn’t do anything — that all they could do was defer one month’s rent,” Mr. McCoy said. “I don’t want to have more debt.” Read more…

We’re a little late to notice this (Runnin’ Scared caught wind of it the other week), but it’s so cool we just had to share. Someone has affixed strips of tape to the posts of a fence outside of 42-44 Bond Street, and the result is a rather amazing three-dimensional time-lapse tribute to Steve Jobs. Check out the video to see what we mean.

Next time you see something like this, let The Local know by e-mailing us and posting photos to our Flickr pool.

A couple of updates on two of the neighborhood’s more notorious police officers today: Kenneth Moreno, who was acquitted of raping a woman in her East Village apartment but convicted of official misconduct, told a Brooklyn Family Court judge that he’s trying to get into radiology school, according to the Daily News. That paper also reports that Anthony Bologna, the Deputy Inspector who was docked 10 days of vacation after pepper-spraying women during a protest, has been transferred to Staten Island, where he lives.

The East Village boasts the city’s oldest non-sectarian graveyard, its oldest ghost, its biggest costume store, its coolest Goth and Day of the Dead shops, and (let’s face it) its very best doggie costume parade. Obviously, this is the place to be on Halloween, so click any of the stories below to see how to celebrate this year.

Crain’s brings news that Hung Ry, the well-regarded but underperforming hand-pulled noodle spot at 55 Bond Street, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection owing in part to “relentless” litigation initiated by Amadeus Broger, who is identified in the filing as a former chef. The restaurant’s debt includes $79,601 in non-payment of sales taxes and $34,483 in accrued payroll taxes.

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

DNA Info and the Daily News report that, at a meeting with the St. Mark’s Bookshop yesterday, the vice president for finance and administration at Cooper Union’s arts and engineering school offered the store a deferral of a month’s rent, and also offered to work with it on selling more Cooper Union course books. But that isn’t enough for the Bookshop’s owner Bob Contant, who tells DNA Info, “They’d be willing to help us, just not financially. Our need is financial. We don’t have the money, and they’re not putting up the money.” The shop will meet with the school’s president tomorrow and the final decision will still come at the end of the month. Meanwhile, EV Grieve reprints some letters of support, including one from Salman Rushdie.

According to DNA Info, the police have identified a suspect in the shooting of Donovan “Keith” Salgado: Hockeem Smith, 24, is described as 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds.

Bowery Boogie interviews Hunter Fine, part of the team behind the “hipster traps.” These days, he’s creating miniatures of buildings that are infested with bed bugs – including a couple of addresses in the East Village – and leaving the tiny “Bed Bug & Breakfasts” outside of their real-life counterparts as a public service.

Photos: Noah Fecks.

As you can see from the slideshow above, Forcella has come a long way since The Local last glimpsed inside about a month ago – owner Giulio Adriani told us today that he’s ready to open for lunch and dinner at 334 Bowery on Thursday. He describes the décor here as “more fancy” and “more Manhattan-oriented” compared to the rustic décor of the Brooklyn original, but he assures us the menu will remain the same, and will include “authentic Neapolitan pizza” made from homemade mozzarella as well a “Montanara” pie inspired by his grandmother – it’s flash-fried and then finished in a wood-fired Acunto oven that was imported from Napoli.

Have a look at the menus here. Forcella will be open from noon till 11 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and noon till midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, with delivery ranging from Broadway to Avenue A and from 10^th Street to a bit south of Houston Street. Until the wine and beer license comes in, it’s soda only.

Rachel Ohm

A new disciplinary system at Girls Prep Middle School has left many parents unhappy at the start of the school year.

Since the dismissal of founding principal Kimberly Morcate last March, the school has gone through administrative changes, including the hiring of an interim principal and then a new principal, as well as the normal coming and going of teachers. Some parents feel that a new disciplinary system, called the “demerit system,” has only made the changes harder on their children.

“There are a lot of things these kids are going through emotionally, and it has taken a toll on them, with the principal as well as other teachers leaving,” said Ayodele Carnegie, whose daughter is in the sixth grade. “It’s a lot to transition through. I feel like they are a little too strict on rules.” Read more…

Late last month, Community Board 3 left supporters of Heathers stunned by voting nearly unanimously to recommend a denial of the bar’s liquor license renewal. But was the whole process a waste of time? Two weeks later, the State Liquor Authority — the true arbiter of the fate of businesses that sell booze — renewed the bar’s license with little fanfare, raising doubts about whether it had heeded the board at all.

Just how much stock does the S.L.A put in the community board’s recommendations, anyway? For all the blogosphere’s feverish coverage of dramatic and often-controversial community board rulings, the question is rarely addressed. To answer it, The Local combed through a year’s worth of liquor authority license applications going up to Feb. 2011 (we ignored applications after that date, since many of them are still under review). In that year, we found that the State Liquor Authority consistently granted licenses to bars and restaurants that Community Board 3 had recommended for denial.

Read more…

Jamie LarsonJamshed Bharucha and Joyce Ravitz.

With the aid of some fortunate timing, the petition asking Cooper Union to grant a $5,000-per-month rent break to the St. Mark’s Bookshop was delivered right into the hands of the school’s president, Jamshed Bharucha, shortly after noon today.

According to Joyce Ravitz, president of the Cooper Square Committee, the group’s phone calls to set up a time to meet with Mr. Bharucha today had not been returned, but when they walked into the lobby of the Cooper Union Foundation Building, they found him walking towards the door. Ms. Ravitz flagged down the president and handed him a box full of comments as well as 43,789 signatures. Mr. Bharucha invited Ms. Ravitz, a couple of her supporters and The Local up to his office for an impromptu discussion. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown

A non-profit that provides housing to homeless L.G.B.T. youth had no problem gaining the enthusiastic support of members of Community Board 3 for a proposed Bea Arthur Residence on East 13th Street.

Late last month, The Local reported that the Ali Forney Center, with the help of the Cooper Square Committee, hoped to gain control of and renovate the city-owned building at 222 East 13th Street, and rename it after the “Golden Girls” actress who donated $300,000 to the organization in her will. At a meeting last night, C.B. 3’s Land Use, Zoning, Public and Private Housing committee offered its unanimous support.

“It’s a burden that we all share, fixing these kinds of things,” David McWater, the chair of the committee, said. Read more…

Scott Lynch Inside Out Project, East Village.

Good morning, East Village.

Per an obituary in The Times, Swami Bhaktipada, a controversial ex-leader of the American Hare Krishna movement, has died near Mumbai at the age of 74. A Times article from 2004 tells more: “Mr. Bhaktipada was one of the first American followers of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, an Indian holy man who opened a temple in the East Village in 1965. His organization, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, was seen by young members of the counterculture as a thrilling novelty. Known as Hare Krishnas, his followers were famous for dancing around Tompkins Square Park in saffron robes, beating drums and chanting.”

The Post reports that a man was arrested after posing as a realtor and getting a woman to hand over $3,500 for the key to an East Sixth Street apartment. Problem was, the apartment was occupied and the key didn’t work.

Speaking of property disputes, Bowery Boogie points to an interesting BlockShopper item: It’s reported that the Charles D. Saulson, the sculptor turned developer who was accused of flinging feces at an art gallery next door, has sold his condo at 259 Bowery for $2.321 million. Read more…

The Wall Street Journal reveals that playboy hotelier Andre Balazs bought the Cooper Square Hotel for $90 million, and that he is partnered with the property manager Ironstate Development Company. Mr. Balazs’s takeover of the hotel was approved by Community Board 3 last month. According to the Journal, he is not planning to change much about the hotel, but is examining the possibility of a new restaurant and bar.

Brendan Bernhard

From all of us here at CVS,
Welcome to Death.
Please pay for your medications
underneath the skeletons.

Whether a foot from the grave,
or a perky teen,
God Speed! God Save!
There’s nothing like Halloween!

Trust us: It gets good around the two-minute mark.

While hundreds gathered in Union Square for a protest against police brutality on Saturday afternoon, a smaller, more impromptu crowd formed at Astor Place to watch a most bizarre act. Matthew Silver, 32, and Cory Metrick, 20, said they decided to set up at Astor Place around 3 p.m. after the police ejected them from Washington Square Park in the wake of a march that passed through the area. “A magician that got kicked out was outraged,” said Mr. Metrick, who drums in the comedic hip-hop band Buckwheat Groats, among others. “He was like, ‘I’m going to try to talk sense into [the police],’ but to no avail.” Read more…

Khristopher J. Brooks

Don’t be too quick to believe Internet chatter about the possibility that Cooper Union might decide the fate of St. Mark’s Bookshop during a meeting today. Jolene Travis, a public relations officer at the college, told The Local that while the board of directors is still expected to come to a decision by the end of the month about whether or not to lower the book store’s rent, it won’t necessarily do so today. Another spokesperson went a step further and told Runnin’ Scared that there was no meeting of the board today.

According to Joyce Ravitz of Cooper Square Committee, the meeting is actually scheduled for tomorrow in the afternoon. “Tomorrow we’re going to hand in the petitions,” she told The Local. “I called for an appointment — we want to give them to Cooper Union officially.” She added that she hasn’t yet received a response from Cooper Union about a formal hand-off.

The petition now boats over 43,600 signatures.

Update | 1:40 p.m. Jolene Travis said over the phone that no board meetings are scheduled this week, and reiterated that “there are ongoing conversations with the board of trustees and the financial committee and a decision will be made at the end of the month in regards to St. Mark’s Bookshop.”