Laura Kuhn After major changes last month along the M15 bus route, MTA officials are putting new measures in place this week to improve efficiency along the line.

Last week, the MTA entered the second phase of service changes to the M15 select bus line. The move came about two weeks after changes to the First and Second Avenue express line that require riders to purchase their tickets before climbing aboard.

At first, reactions to the changes ranged from skepticism to downright anger but now the MTA is making adjustments that it believes will improve service. “Initially there was definitely confusion,” said Kevin Ortiz, spokesman for the MTA. “But we’ve had personnel to show riders how to use the machines.”

This week the MTA shifts its focus from educating riders about the new line to improving its efficiency. While cutting the number of employees helping riders at individual stations, the MTA has added three buses to its fleet of about 40 on the line. Additionally it installed an undisclosed number of cameras that will issue traffic tickets through the mail to cars and other vehicles parked in the bus-only lanes along First and Second Avenues.
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Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

We’d like to welcome the new blog on the block, EV Transitions, which made its formal neighborhood debut via EV Grieve. (Grieve playfully noted that a intellectual property rights fight might be on the horizon because the author appropriated “EV” for the blog’s name.)

Transitions is a wonderful look at neighborhood history using archival maps and photographs juxtaposed with contemporary images. It is well worth a visit and we at The Local look forward to stopping by and sending viewers to the blog often. We’ve added Transitions to our blogroll and if you would like your blog added, too, please e-mail us.

In other neighborhood news, Bowery Boogie reports that “On The Bowery” – Lionel Rogosin’s iconic 1957 documentary which had a local showing in September – is returning Nov. 19 for a one-week run at the Film Forum.

And we’d also like to remind you that we’ve begun our search for The Local’s next community editor, who would start work just after the new year. We’re accepting applications until Dec. 3, and you can find additional details here.

Gloria Chung La Palapa, 77 St. Marks Place.

The East Village has any numbers of spots which would be recognized in New York’s more prosperous neighborhoods as restaurants. Most of them, however, are closed during the day. No conspiracy is at work: the Village’s day-time population of students, freelance writers, unemployed graphic designers and denizens of the street cannot afford nice lunches. A very different, and more elegant, crowd, descends on the neighborhood at night — and the nice places open up. Fortunately, for those of us who work here, and care, perhaps all too much, about our lunch life, there is La Palapa, at 77 St. Marks Place, just east of First Avenue.

I discovered La Palapa on one of my daily rambles, and was at first put off by the fact that, though it seated at least fifty, absolutely no one was inside. Still, I thought, it looks so nice. And the menu seems so terribly nuevo Mexicano. What could be wrong? Nothing, I soon learned: La Palapa serves an extremely refined cuisine. I once asked, as diplomatically as possible, “How do you guys survive?” And Drew Doallas-Baxter, the day-time wait staff, an amiable stringbean with a hipster chin-beard and a skinny braid, explained that the restaurant packed them in at night; and since Domingo Torres, the indefatigable chef, comes in at mid-day anyway, they might as well open up for the occasional lunch-time stray.
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Kim Davis.

The Community Editorship at The Local East Village was conceived as a rotating position, which means that the end of my term is in sight. Beginning early in the New Year, the next Community Editor will bring his or her own special angle and experience to the task of building a bridge between the Web site’s operations at NYU and the East Village community itself, a project which I’ve tried to put on a firm footing but which is by no means complete.

The Community Editor, as an East Village resident, provides advice and guidance on covering the neighborhood and is to some extent the face of the Web site in the community. Hands-on editorial work is an important part of the job – receiving pitches from community contributors, assigning writers and photographers, editing copy, gently enforcing deadlines and – yes – picking up mistakes. In effect, the Community Editor functions as an additional line editor and serves as an advocate for the blog’s readers, working closely with the site’s editor, Richard G. Jones.

Reporting is part of the profile, too. As an independent contractor, the Community Editor is responsible for providing objective coverage of NYU’s activities to the extent they impinge on the East Village, as well as for developing and writing stories reflecting his or her own interests.

The Community Editor should live within the blog’s coverage area – from 14th Street to Houston, Broadway to the East River – and needs to know the neighborhood and care about it. The editor will be responsible for compiling an aggregation of blogposts each morning and a willingness to run on breaking news stories when needed is a definite plus. The editor should have experience as a writer or editor, be happy to work with a very diverse group of contributors, and be able to make his or her voice heard above the hubbub of producing a daily blog. A working knowledge of WordPress is essential and it also helps to have flexible working hours.

The Local will be accepting applications for the position until Dec. 3. If you’re interested, please submit a resume and cover letter to Mr. Jones.

Kim Davis is the community editor of The Local East Village.

Helen Zhang Now 81, Barbara Shaum has been making sandals at her East Village shop for five decades.

Summer has faded into memory and trips to warm climes are still months off, so having just ended her busiest season, the celebrated sandal maker Barbara Shaum can take some time to sit and chat.

At age 81, Ms. Shaum, who seems to call everyone “darling,” has been fashioning custom-made leather sandals for the last 50 years in her store at 60 East Fourth Street. She arrived in New York in 1951 from a small town in central Pennsylvania with a dollar in her pocket and not a clue of what she wanted to do, except that she wanted to work with her hands.
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After years of drug use, Acacia Cruz decided it was time to kick her heroin habit. Ms. Cruz is currently a regular client at the Cooper Square methadone clinic, and she hopes to complete her program soon.

NYU Journalism’s Sarah Tung reports.

Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

As we return from a relatively quiet weekend, we were struck by this story in The Post, which describes how some Lower East Side businesses are considering using uniformed off-duty police officers to patrol the area between Houston and Delancey Streets to help cut down on noise complaints. If the move is approved by the police, could a similar plan be in the works for the East Village?

EV Grieve has a then-and-now look at life on Avenue A using historical photographs from the New York Public Library’s photo archives. Ephemeral New York also offers a look at World War II era photos, these from Fifth Street between Avenues A and B.

DNAinfo has an obituary for Howard O’Brien, the beloved bartender over at Sophie’s on East Fifth Street.

And NYU Journalism’s own Dave Winer reports that shooting will take place on the Bowery Wednesday for the new Chris Rock film, 2 Days in New York.

Home to posh boutiques and hip vintage stores alike, the East Village is one of the most style-savvy neighborhoods in New York. So earlier this week, The Local roamed the area with one question in mind: What are the latest trends that locals are following?

Our findings were less than conclusive. Turns out East Villagers put their own spin on even the trendiest clothes, and know how to mix high and low with aplomb. The clothes ran the gamut from a Valentino trench coat to a leopard-print Target dress and everything in-between.

NYU Journalism’s Sally Lauckner and Sophie Hoeller take a look at some of the neighborhood’s most distinctive styles.

Joe Puglisi Rue B, 188 Avenue B.

Rue B has been serving up cocktails and live jazz for almost 10 years, but it feels much older. It’s a bar that emulates the décor and demeanor of a speakeasy, although anyone is welcome to walk in.

Avenue B has been home to many bars over the years, of course, and the stretch between 11th and 14th Streets is still home to some modern age holes-in-the-wall, not to mention a certain notorious karaoke bar.

Those seeking a little more finesse can settle down at Rue B for one of their retro cocktails, or just a simple glass of wine and some exceptional live jazz nearly every night of the week.
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Seven students at NYU Journalism direct The Local’s social media effort, including our Twitter account.

Here at The Local, we’d like to introduce you to the members of our team who are helping to promote digital innovation on the site through social media.

They are a group of students in the Studio 20 graduate concentration at NYU Journalism and for the past several weeks they have assumed the task of interacting with readers and extending the reach of our reporting through a range of social media, including The Local’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The students are:

• Blair Hickman @amandablair on Twitter; Ms. Hickman also manages The Local’s Facebook page.
• Nasry Esmat @nasry; Mr. Esmat handles photo submissions.
• Chao Li @cli6cli6, who Tweets for The Local (@nytlev) on Mondays.
• Dave Holmes @david_m_holmes, who Tweets on Tuesdays.
• Colin Jones @colin_jones, who Tweets on Wednesdays.
• Chelsea Stark @chelseabot; Ms. Stark is The Local’s Social Media Editor and she Tweets on Thursdays.
• Todd Olmstead @toddjolmstead, who Tweets on Fridays.

One way that the team has already added value to the blogosphere is through their creation of a series of East Village-related Twitter lists (including a list of neighborhood bars and restaurants).

We hope that you will submit your own ideas for the lists, and send along breaking news tips, interesting photos, and just about anything else that crosses your mind that you can sum up in 140 characters.

Hannah Rubenstein Alan Bounville, who took part in a 36-day vigil outside Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s local office, began a hunger strike earlier this week to draw attention to the American Equality Bill.

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the work of QueerSOS, a gay rights group that was taking part in an ongoing vigil outside of Senator Gillibrand’s campaign office. At that time, activists Iana Di Bona and Alan Bounville had slept on the West 26th Street sidewalk for nearly four weeks, vowing to continue until the senator introduced the American Equality Bill to Congress, which would introduce the phrase “sexual orientation and gender identity” to the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

After 36 days standing vigil, incurring arrests and disorderly conduct summons, but no response from the senator, the activists decided that something more had to be done to bring attention to their cause. On Election Day, QueerSOS morphed into a new incarnation: the Civil Rights Fast.

Senator Gillibrand has declined to comment on the protest.

In a video Bounville explained his decision to begin a water-only fast, vowing to continue until the American Equality Bill is introduced.

Hannah Rubenstein Members of Civil Rights Fast etch sidewalk messages in chalk to bring attention to their cause.

“I know that Senator Gillibrand may never file this bill,” he said. “But I would rather live a short life that was full than a long life never knowing what it was like to walk down any street in America holding the hand of the person that I love without fear or trepidation, looking over my shoulder.”

Mr. Bounville and Ms. Di Bona are beginning a series of public appearances in the city to draw attention to their struggle: Friday afternoon outside Senator Gillibrand’s office, and Sunday at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York and Queer Rising meeting at the 14th Street Y. More information is available on their website.

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

Last week, we wrote about Phil Schoenberg, the Queens College history professor who runs a service that leads tours of neighborhood houses that are reportedly haunted. EV Grieve raises the question of whether ghosts might also be inhabiting an abandoned house on East 13th Street.

Bowery Boogie has an interview with the creators of a two-minute video of trick basketball shots that was filmed on eight courts on the Lower East Side.

And after last week’s fatal stabbing on East Seventh Street, The Villager has prepared a compelling report on the accused killer, Jairo Pastoressa.

Sophie Hoeller The cow in question, prior to its abduction.

Have you seen this cow?

If you’ve strolled around the East Village in the past two weeks, you may have seen the “Missing Cow” flyers plastered on lamp posts and telephone poles. The cow in question, named Bessie, was stolen from its home on the awning outside The Sunburnt Cow, an Avenue C bar, in the early hours of Oct. 17. The theft has left the tavern’s owner, Heathe St. Clair, to wonder, where’s my beef?

Mr. St. Clair is offering a $500 reward for the safe return of the plastic light-up cow, which marked his bar and served as a distinctive beacon near the intersection of Avenue C and East Ninth Street. The two-foot tall orange and black bovine hung from the bar’s exterior, emitting an orange glow that, Mr. St. Clair’s posters attest, “lit the way for party people and seekers of great Australian food and booze.” Bessie was “a tiny landmark, a bright light on a once dark street.”
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On a recent Saturday, the line at Perfection Barbershop on Avenue C near East Third Street extended from the leather bench inside, through the door jam, all the way to the curb where men leaned on parked cars.

When the shop’s co-owner, Hubert Phillip, 27, takes a break to talk he leans on a car and five or six passing customers offer their fists for a pound. The scene is repeated almost daily at Perfection, a barber shop that is as bustling as any nightclub. But here, it seems like just about everyone already knows each other.
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After working 20 years as a crane operator on barges, Jim Scileppi has learned to love the East River. Employed by the New York Parks Department, Mr. Scileppi and his crew work from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day in all types of weather conditions.

This week his barge parked at 12th Street to finish adding stones to the East River walkway’s erosion-protection wall. According to Mr. Scileppi, the Parks Department project is wrapping up its fourth year of working to fortify the wall and restore the bike lane overlooking the river.

NYU Journalism’s Meredith Hoffman reports.

Daniel L. Squadron.

State Senator Daniel L. Squadron, re-elected Tuesday to represent the 25th District, which includes the East Village, said that he has plans for an ambitious agenda in his next term that will continue to emphasize neighborhood issues such as reducing noise and increasing pedestrian safety.

Senator Squadron, who spoke to The Local the day after the midterm elections, said he will continue to help craft legislation focusing on those issues and others, including better living standards in public and affordable housing.

Like any other political watcher, Senator Squadron has followed the legislative seachange in Congress with deep interest and he remains hopeful that his fellow Democrats will stay focused on President Obama’s agenda.

He talked with The Local about his plans in Albany, his hopes for the new Congress and his appreciation of East Village-made dumplings.

Going into your new term, what are your priorities right now for the East Village?

I have a lot of the same priorities I had in the previous term. We need a state government that does a better job responding to people’s needs so that the people have more faith in their community. We have to keep fighting for the community. We need effective laws on nightlife and pedestrian safety, which is very important to the East Village.
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Sarah Tung

Good morning, East Village.

Earlier this week, we wrote about the sparsely attended protest at Tompkins Square Park where even the organizer, John Penley, failed to appear. EV Grieve publishes a post that offers a cryptic explanation for Mr. Penley’s absence.

“Some pretty heavy stuff came down on me the night before Halloween,” Mr. Penley wrote on his Facebook page, according to the Grieve report. “I got maced and someone else close to me got a baseball bat to the face. I have gone into hiding for awhile.”

The Post reports that one of the neighborhood’s most notorious underground culinary options, Bread.Butter.Cheese., is shutting down its daily service. The reason? Its chef apparently has a new job at a mainstream restaurant.

And in other neighborhood news, The Times visits Peels at the Bowery and East Second Street.

NYU Journalism’s Rachel Wise describes taking pictures in the East Village.

“The changing leaves and crisp autumn air make the East Village irresistible this time of year. I could spend every day outside enjoying the scenery. As I looked up to admire this particular tree, a gust of wind blew, sending leaves cascading down on me and my camera. It reminded me of the possibility of serene moments, even against the backdrop of a buzzing East Village.”
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The students of NYU Journalism’s Reporting New York and Reporting the Nation graduate concentration took to the streets of the East Village to ask a simple question: Do you think the recession is over?

Are you doing better this year than last? What do you think when you hear people say that the recession is over?