Cary Abrams

One of the blessings New York City residents enjoy is living in one of the few places in America where it is possible to exist without owning an automobile. In fact, three out of four Manhattanites do not own a car. They miss out on the city’s fabled alternate side of the street parking rituals. They are unable to experience the jolting sensation of driving over the current epic crop of potholes making the streets an urban minefield, and fail to become apoplectic, sitting in lengthy traffic jams or searching for one of those few rapidly disappearing relics, a gas station.

A byproduct of Lower East Side gentrification has been the demolition of the many of the gas stations that once lined the heavily traveled Bowery and Houston Streets. The Bowery Hotel towers over the site of a two story building formerly housing a gas station and taxi garage that some claim is still haunted by the spirit of a German shepherd who roamed there protecting unoccupied taxis. B Bar, the restaurant with an outside dining terrace at East Fourth Street and the Bowery, capitalizes on its former life as a Gulf gas station. The gleaming metal clad Adidas Store on Houston Street and Broadway occupies the narrow sliver of land where the Whale of a Wash car-wash and gas station once had cabbies lined up to ride the conveyer belt through the gyrating stiff bristle brushes, ermerging for a final polishing by some guy with a towel.

After hearing the daily news reports of rising gas prices, nearing the dreaded $4 per gallon, I visited the three remaining East Village gas stations to do some comparison shopping. I found my sticker to be in marked contrast to the complacency of many of the drivers I spoke with. One was unfazed by his $62.31 tab of $4.23 per gallon high test gasoline that he pumped into his Lincoln SUV at the Mobil station on Avenue C and Houston. He related that his usual tab had been in the $50 a fill up range as he shrugged, “I’ve got to drive.”

The prices at the Mobil station were higher than at the other two East Village stations. Both the BP station across from the Puck Building at Houston and Lafayette and the Gulf station at Second Avenue and First had identical prices of $3.79 per gallon for low test and $4.09 per gallon for high test gasoline (Mobil charged $3.93 for low test). These prices are for self serve customers paying cash. Credit card prices are approximately fifteen cents a gallon higher, and full service high test nears the shocking $5 a gallon mark, selling for $4.95 at the BP station. A driver from New Jersey who I spoke to summed it up as we discussed the lower Jersey gas prices: “If you’re going to run out of gas, you’ve got no choice.”

Of course, these were last week’s prices. Gas might be even more expensive today.

Jeanette Chi in Tompkins Square ParkClaire Glass

In a particularly secluded part of Tompkins Square Park — on 10th Street between Avenues A and B — Jeanette Chi, 53, a nurse at an area hospital, practices an ancient form of Tai Chi, to channel her Chinese heritage and find a personal sanctuary within the East Village.

What’s this form of Martial Arts called?

This is Chen Tai Chi Quan. It’s supposed to be the oldest style of Tai Chi, the one off of which all of the other styles are based. It’s practiced in the Chen Village in Henan.

A General named Chen Wang Ting, decided to study medical Qigong, which concentrates on breathing exercises. His objective in the new form was to develop a form of movement that would combine meditative awareness with combat technique. So, the practitioner can develop wisdom and fight.

How did you become interested in this particular form?

I started many years ago with a teacher in California in 1982. From there I studied with another teacher and now found another teacher here named Yu Guo Shun who I feel have taught the most.

I thought it was really beautiful and wanted to learn something traditional that was also applicable to self-defense. Read more…

Hadas Goshen

Like a dusty chalkboard, the future of East Village teachers has been wiped over and rewritten several times in the weeks following Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget cuts, which could lead to 4,600 teacher lay-offs across Manhattan and affect East Village schools disproportionately. As politicians debate which policies will actually take shape, the district’s education officials remain calm, and say political pandering is just another lesson in history.

“We don’t want to overreact to the mayor’s scare tactics. We’re waiting to see what position to take—we don’t want to be manipulated,” said Lisa Donlan, president of District 1’s Community Education Council.

Last week was a turbulent one for the district’s education officials. On Monday, a list revealing the city’s proposed teacher lay-offs under the long-standing “last in, first out” law showed an average of 10 percent of Lower East Side and East Village school teachers would be fired based on their recent hire status, while more senior teaching positions across districts remained safe.

But by Tuesday’s close, the State Senate had voted 32-27 to amend the legislation, concerned by the inordinate number of teacher lay-offs across New York, particularly at newer schools or those with greener staffs—like those in the East Village.

One such school, P.S. 19 Asher Levy Elementary School, would lose city funding for nine out of its 32 teachers (28 percent) under the “last in, first out” law, while similar schools with seasoned staffs would lose none. Read more…

The Local is proud to announce the members of the 2011 New York Times/NYU Hyperlocal Digital Reporting Internship class. The interns were chosen after a national competition and have been selected to participate in The Local’s paid, 10-week summer internship program.

“These are among the most talented and promising student-journalists in the country,” said Richard G. Jones, editor of The Local. “They have demonstrated a commitment to digital storytelling and hyperlocal news. We very much look forward to working with them this summer.”

The members of the intern class are:

Khristopher J. Brooks.

Khristopher J. Brooks is a student in the Literary Reportage master’s degree concentration at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Mr. Brooks, who came to NYU after working as a reporter at the Bristol Herald Courier and the Omaha World-Herald, is a graduate of Central Michigan University. He has held internships at the Associated Press bureau in Louisville, Ky. and the Lansing State Journal. He has also filed on-air reports for WJHL-TV in Johnson City, Tenn.

Joshua Davis.

Joshua Davis is the Roy H. Park master’s fellow in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A veteran videographer and editor, Mr. Davis began his coursework at UNC after holding a range of production positions at the Travel Channel, PBS Frontline and Rollingstone.com. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Mr. Davis has taught digital video editing at Rutgers, NYU and UNC. He is also an Apple certified instructor for Final Cut Pro.

Ian Duncan.

Ian Duncan is a student in the master’s degree program in Journalism and International Relations in Global and Joint Program Studies at NYU Journalism. An international student from England, Mr. Duncan is a graduate of St. Anne’s College at Oxford University, where he served as editor-in-chief of Cherwell, a weekly student newspaper. Mr. Duncan, who has also studied at Fukuoka University of Economics in Japan, was a Rupert Murdoch Scholar during an internship at The Times of London and he has also held an internship at The Birmingham Post. Mr. Duncan’s work has appeared on The Local.

Meghan Keneally.

Meghan Keneally is a student in the master’s degree program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Ms. Keneally has held internships at The New York Observer, The Washington Post and The Sunday Times of London. A graduate of Georgetown University, she has studied at the University of Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, France and is also the creator of a restaurant review blog.

Laura E. Lee.

Laura E. Lee is a student in the master’s degree program at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland College Park. Ms. Lee went to Maryland after earning a law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and working as an attorney and consultant. Ms. Lee, who also earned her undergraduate degree at UNC, currently works as a political reporter for the Capital News Service in Washington, D.C. She also reports for Patch.com, The Washington Blade and the Prince George’s Sentinel and has held an internship with National Public Radio. Ms. Lee is a member of the bar in North Carolina and the District of Columbia.

Chelsia Rose Marcius.

Chelsia Rose Marcius is a student in the Reporting the Nation master’s degree concentration at NYU Journalism. She has held reporting internships at the Chicago Sun-Times and Fox Chicago News and is the editor of Pavement Pieces, an online publication featuring work by Reporting New York and Reporting the Nation students. A graduate of Loyola University-Chicago, Ms. Marcius holds bachelor’s degrees in both journalism and international studies and minored in Italian. Ms. Marcius, who has also studied at The John Felice Rome Center in Italy, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her work has appeared on The Local.

Michelle Rick

Good 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.

Gabbi Lewin

The sign read, “Free advice from Francisco: Relationships, Sex & Dating.”

Spotted at the foot of the East Village near Astor Place, Francisco Ramirez sits face-to-face with anyone who wants to take a seat. For three years, Ramirez has been offering advice on relationships, sex and dating for no charge (no donations are accepted either). He views this opportunity as an innovative method to provide a public service to a diverse audience—including sexual partners, individuals and the homeless. He told me that this is his opportunity in life to connect with people. He offers everyone the same educated responses on how to stay healthy as those who would often pay high prices might receive.

With a Master in Public Health, concentrating in sexuality & health from Columbia University, he provides well-researched information. This community-based educator doesn’t stay in one place either, offering his free services every weekend, whether it is in Washington Square Park or Union Square. Ramirez is also a global consultant for HIV and sexual health at the United Nations and a contributor to MTV’s “Staying Alive” campaign, continuing his 15-year dedication to the education of public and sexual health issues.

It is becoming more and more rare these days to find anyone with as many credentials as he has offering his time and expertise free. Find out where Francisco will be next, or write to him at his website. Better still, just stumble across him on the streets when you have something on your mind.

Rachel OhmJanette Brown holds a copy of the letter she and six other residents sent to the state Attorney General in an effort to fight against the purchase of 390 East Eighth Street, a low-income housing building, by Tower Brokerage.

Carlos Baez has been a resident of 390 East Eighth Street for over 30 years. Rachel Ohm

For 36 years Carlos Baez, 63, has called 390 East Eighth Street home. The two bedroom apartment that he shares with his niece on the first floor of the building holds his large collection of VCR tapes, which includes every Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Bronson movie ever made. Because he used to be the super of the building, Baez’s apartment is bigger than most and is conveniently located on the first floor, the perfect spot because his 14-year-old dog, Little, has arthritis and can barely walk up stairs.

And yet he’s thinking of moving.

On Feb. 25, 390 East Eighth Street, a dedicated low-income housing building, was sold to Tower Brokerage, an East Village real estate developer with plans to put in market-rate apartments.

The HDFC, the tenant-owned and operated corporation that currently owns the building, finally conceded to the sale seeing no way out from a financial debt that accumulated during the years the building was being run by a non-profit called Interfaith Adopt-a-Building.

The building “owes the city about $1.2 million in water bills and taxes,” said Robert Perl, president of Tower Brokerage. “This sale is the only way to pay the city funds.”
Read more…

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

EV Grieve reports that renovations continue on St. Brigid’s Church on East Eighth Street and Avenue B after workers put new scaffolding up last week. Repairs to the landmark church began in 2009 after a mysterious donor saved the historic church from demolition. Read more about it here, here and here.

While one church gets a facelift, another one celebrates its 165th anniversary on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Grieve also points us to residents at 97 East Seventh Street, who are hoping for a miracle of their own after having gone 17 days without gas for cooking, though word is that management will have the problem fixed by today.

In other news, a man who punched a woman and nearly killed her over an East Village parking spot apologized yesterday after being charged with second-degree assault, DNAInfo reports.  Read more about what sparked the feud here.

Yesterday marked the beginning of National Procrastination Week. It’s only fitting that you start celebrating today. Or tomorrow, for that matter.

And it’s another beautiful day in the East Village, with sunny skies and temperatures expected to reach a high of 46 degrees.

Dayna Clark

Last week, we shared the story of how parents at Girls Prep Middle School are upset at the abrupt dismissal of the school’s principal, Kimberly Morcate.

The post struck a chord with many readers.

Cary Abrams questioned the school’s poor performance on recent standardized tests, commenting:

“The fact that a school is able to drop from the 82nd to the 13th percentile in a year is highly circumspect, more indicative of the unreliability of the evaluation process than other factors.”

Vilma wondered about the reasons behind Ms. Morcate’s dismissal; the board of directors declined to comment on the basis of their decision:

“I believe the Board that decided to fire Ms. Morcate did the wrong thing and they KNOW it and as much as they want to ADMIT it and bring her back, they will do no such thing. I just hope the girls do well on their tests this year and if they don’t then it will be FURTHER PROOF of the firing of Ms. Morcate with no reason at all.”

Maria A. noted how much affection students at the school felt for Ms. Morcate:

“Ms. Morcate is an incomparable, and irreplacable principal and it’s a shame that we lost a person who has a heart filled with love for all our girls. (Ms. Morcate, we love you and you don’t know how much Katie misses you. She prays and she cries for you. We wish you good luck and a lot of hugs, Thanks for your dedication and for sharing your knowledge with all of us.)”

Join the conversation: Should the board have been more transparent about the reasons behind Ms. Morcate’s dismissal?

Michelle Rick

If you had to identify one defining feature of life in Manhattan, it just might be pedestrianism. There are places where calling someone or something “pedestrian” is an insult; this isn’t one of them. Here, “pedestrian” is an identity to share and be proud of. It does occasionally need defending.

Only a minority of us have cars, but every New Yorker walks and lives near things worth walking to (no matter how often we also take taxis or Zipcars or anything else). Our street grid, formed by the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan, predates the automotive invasion of American space by nearly a century. We’re the pre-automotive Americans, by design and by history as well as by inclination. And if factors like climate change, oil shortages, energy costs, Middle Eastern warfare, and rising awareness of what cars do to human bodies all suggest that the automotive era won’t last forever, we’re ready for post-automotive life, too.

On the East Side, the human/vehicular competition is particularly intense, and with the tire tracks on people’s backs to prove it, a coalition of community groups led by the nonprofit group Transportation Alternatives (along with the East Village Community Coalition, East Harlem Preservation, Civitas, Upper Green Side, and others) has developed an East Side Action Plan to define goals for the improvement of street safety involving multiple city agencies. The East Side, particularly the East Village, is a logical place for this: the area from Chinatown up to East Harlem accounts for only 8 percent of the city’s population but 22 percent of its pedestrian commuters, 13 percent of its bike commuters – and 11 percent of its “fatal and injurious” crashes.
Read more…

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

Last week, we reported on a mysterious writer who was posting mystery pages of a manuscript on lampposts and mailboxes all over the East Village. Since then, it seems more undercover authors have chosen to take the self-publishing routes. EVGrieve spotted pictures of new pages that have popped up throughout the neighborhood, including a piece of fiction titled “The Two Little Canker Sores.” Have you seen any more?

What goes better with cupcakes than, say, burritos? EVGrieve reports that Cowgirl Cupcakes, a completely vegan restaurant that specializes in both, opened its doors on East 10th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A.

And if you’re still hungry after all that, Nearsay.com offers up suggestions on where to grab a quick bite in the East Village for under $10.

The Times reports that the building housing A Gathering of Tribes, an art gallery and salon on East Third Street between Avenues C and D, is up for sale at a listing price of $2.9 million.

In other news, the Department of Education will hold a final public hearing tonight to get feedback on plans to expand the Girls Prep Charter School to a new location.

Sick of rain? Today’s weather offers us some relief from yesterday’s showers. Expect sunny skies and a high of 45.

Adrian Fussell on following his camera around the city.

“A lot of people exclusively shoot at dawn and dusk because of the lighting. I always try to carry my camera when the sun goes down. Winter skies are some of the most beautiful, and with the reflection on Trump Soho and the lighting behind the silhouettes downtown, it looked like there were two suns. “
Read more…

This week’s Street Style features menswear including sporty jackets and accessories and vibrant colors and patterns (neon in winter?) that we expect to see more of this spring.

Classics like a vintage backpack, straw fedora and tailored jackets are always in style, as are clothes that fit well and reflect personality — whether that be in a hairstyle, handmade jewelry or clothing that is so well made it has lasted years and still fits.

Street Style hits the pavement with some locals to find that in the East Village the average man on the street is anything but.

NYU Journalism’s Rachel Ohm and Claire Glass report.

Rachel Ohm Dancers rehearse for this weekend’s continuation of “Body Madness” at Danspace in St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery.

As a warm-up, Mariangela Lopez instructs her dancers to walk across the hardwood floor of St. Mark’s Church without music. They begin slowly and as they progress to the opposite end of the room their movements become more pronounced. They stretch and contort their bodies, reaching to the sky and crawling on the floor, moving around and with each other.

When the music finally comes on, they are scattered to different parts of St. Mark’s. One dancer is in the upstairs vestibule, another in the risers on the side, and some are on the floor.

They are preparing for their next performance with the Danspace Project, a contemporary dance studio that has been performing in St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery since 1974, in a space that is also home to poetry and theater projects while still being a practicing Episcopal Church.

Last year Danspace executive director Judy Hussie-Taylor started the Choreographic Center Without Walls, an effort to bring dance curators, choreographers and artists together for a series of performances she calls “platforms”. One year later and the project has become an important part of what Danspace is all about.
Read more…

Phoenix Eisenberg

Graffiti is an iconic form of artistic rebellion, whose epicenter has long been New York City.

With activities ranging from boxcar tagging to anarchistic promotion, the graffiti artist has a persona associated with intrigue and deviousness. But why the fascination with graffiti as a fine art in the last few years? Do popular graffiti artists today such as Banksy, Judith Supine, Shepard Fairey, and Dan Witz still portray rebellion?

Antonio Garcia, better known as “Chico,” started his career of spray-painting illegally, but soon found a new way to use his talents. Seeing the plain walls and brick that covered the Lower East Side, Chico saw a market. Today it is difficult to walk a block without seeing his commissioned work, whether it is a memorial or a small ad for a veterinarian business. Although Chico’s work is arguably just as skilled and creative as some of the greatest artists in the field, he has not drawn as much interest as Banksy or Shepard Fairey. Perhaps this is because, in jumping on the legal and marketable side of the art form, he risks losing the exact quality that draws so many to graffiti – the thrill of the illicit.

Greg Howard A candle burns in a makeshift alcove where Grace Farrell died Feb. 20.

Twelve days ago, the frozen body of my childhood friend Grace Farrell was found on a few sheets of cardboard in an alcove at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church on Avenue B in the East Village. It was a tragic end to a sad and troubled life.

Mary Grace Farrell came into my life when she was barely seven years old and I was 16. I grew up in Saint Vincent’s, a children’s home run by the Daughters of Charity in Drogheda, Ireland, and it was there that Grace spent three relatively happy years.

Grace was a beautiful and engaging child with a bright, sunny disposition. She was warm and affectionate and full of fun. She smiled often and loved to laugh, deeply. In many respects she was a normal child, though her early years were anything but.

Being born to a young, unmarried couple in 1970’s Ireland would make for a difficult life. Grace’s mother, realizing this, faced a Solomon’s choice of sorts. She could keep her baby and face that lonely and uncertain road together or she could give her up for adoption in the hope of a better chance. She bravely chose the latter path.
Read more…