James Gray

At the Marrakech International Film Festival, one thing was clear: Parisians love James Gray.

Asked if it’s because he has European sensibilities, the Queens-born director disagreed. “I’m a very American director,” he said. “But I should have been making films in 1976. Coppola, Kubrick, Scorsese, Altman — American film was the best in the world then. But we lost that.”

As a child of the ’70s, Mr. Gray became obsessed with the era’s cinema. Like the works of that time, his movies show an “obsession with social class” (or so his wife says). And that obsession will be on full display next year, when he releases his fifth feature, tentatively titled “Lowlife.”

The film, set on the Lower East Side and Ellis Island in the 1930s, was filmed in part in the East Village last February as well as on a Bronx street that resembled the Lower East Side during its grittier days. But the work has nothing to do with Luc Sante’s Bowery-focused history, “Low Life.”

“‘Moron,’ ‘cretin,’ ‘lowlife’ were actual Ellis Island designations. You didn’t want to be a lowlife,” Mr. Gray explained.
Read more…

Sasha von Oldershausen

Two men were arrested after a Thanksgiving-weekend stabbing, according to a police source familiar with the case.

Juan Santiago, 26, was arrested on Nov. 23, the day of the incident. A second suspect, Luther Wright, also 26, was arrested four days later.

After being stabbed at 64 Baruch Drive, in the Seventh Precinct, 26-year-old Jonathan Flores walked north across Houston into the Ninth Precinct, where the crime was reported at 950 East Fourth Walk, in the Lillian Wald Houses. He was treated and released within two days of the incident, according to our source.

The report, filed with the Seventh Precinct, cited robbery and assault. Investigators believe the incident was drug-related, our source said.

Daniel Maurer

If you welcomed the news that Mile End is again delivering its smoked meat sandwiches, boy are you going to love this: you can now order lunch and dinner from Katz’s.

Traditionally, if you wanted to get delivery from one of the last of the old-school delis (R.I.P., Stage), you had to get the whole office in on it: there was an order minimum of $80 and a $20 fee for delivery to the East Village. But in recent days, Katz’s joined Seamless, where the order minimum is a mere $15 and the charge for delivering to the East Village is $2.95. (The delivery fee jumps up to $7.95 if you live in the West Village and goes up from there, depending on neighborhood.)

According to an employee, Katz’s quietly joined GrubHub a couple of months ago (the delivery minimum is a mere $10 there) and is now serving Seamless customers as well.

We ordered lunch earlier this week and within half an hour got a pastrami sandwich with a couple of pickles, a wooden spoon for smearing mustard, and, thankfully, a big ol’ stack of napkins.

Now if only Russ & Daughters would deliver?

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

The 67-year-old woman who met Jay-Z in the subway last month and became the star of a viral video is Ellen Grossman, an East Village artist. [NY Daily News, City Room, Media Decoder]

The folks at Michigan’s Ghostly International record label have converted Odin’s East Village store into a pop-up shop selling “art, design, t-shirts curated by Ghostly alongside a slew of vinyl releases from the label, including the new Matthew Dear (recommended).” [Selectism]

Mr. Throwback will celebrate its grand opening with music, 10 percent discounts, and giveaways Saturday night. [Mr. Throwback]
Read more…

Earlier today Cooper Union students stormed a board meeting and then headed over to Cooper Triangle to deliver messages, by balloon, to eleven colleagues, plus a New School student, holed up in the school’s Peter Cooper Suite. We now have video footage of the air-mail operation.

After writing messages on index cards, stringing ribbons through them, and floating them up to the eighth floor, about 20 students marched in circles while chanting: “Where’s our president?” The group formed a ring held together by reams of plastic wrap that group spokesperson Audrey Snyder said were meant to “demonstrate our need for transparency.”

The commanding officer of the Ninth Precinct, Deputy Inspector John Cappelmann, briefly looked on along with Detective Jaimie Hernandez of the precinct’s Community Affairs department.
Read more…

The minds behind “Richard 3,” a Shakespeare-meets-punk standout of the Fringe Festival, have now tackled “A Streetcar Named Desire,” mixing a modern, party-fueled interpretation of the Tennessee Williams play with the stories around its conception.

Some fans might be familiar with the theory that Blanche was modeled after the playwright’s sister Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and lobotomized. That backstory is essential to the Less Than Rent production “Desire! (A Varsouviana),” in which selections from “Streetcar” proper are bookended by scenes of Williams in the process of imagining it, and struggling to separate fact from fiction.

The real story here is the playwright’s guilt over failing both his sister and his lover. The first connection is clear enough, as Rachel Buethe’s manic and melodramatic Blanche easily slips into the role of Rose at the end. But Natalie Kropf’s double stint as Williams’s lover and a young reporter is more confused than clarifying. Luckily, her brief appearance as his mother is an absolute showstopper.
Read more…

The cafe launched a fundraising campaign in May.

Fourth Arts Block, the nonprofit that supports arts organizations on East Fourth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, is closing its FAB Cafe, according to a press release reprinted below. The artist-run cafe, which opened in January of last year, will close after a party on Dec. 14 and will reopen as FAB Lab, a “shared creative workplace and hub for community events and programs.” Full details below.

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc), a nonprofit arts organization serving the cultural community of the Lower East Side, announces the closure of FAB Café at 75 East 4th Street in Manhattan, New York. FABnyc will be holding a Closing Holiday Party, open to all 5-7PM on December 14, 2012, theCafé’s last official day of service. 
Read more…

Daniel Maurer

Students barged into a meeting at Cooper Union’s new academic meeting this morning, sobbing dramatically in front of president Jamshed Bharucha as the school of art’s board members discussed controversial new programs.

Saar Shemesh, a student in the school of art, was among an estimated 65 students who chanted in the basement hallway outside of the meeting. Three of her colleagues, she said, managed to gain entry before maintenance workers were instructed to block the door.

Ryan Cullen, a sophomore, was one of the three who entered the board meeting. “At some point we just walked past everyone and walked through. After a few students got in they made a wall,” he said, referring to the security detail.
Read more…

Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong continue sorting through their archives of punk-era concert footage as it’s digitized for the Downtown Collection at N.Y.U.’s Fales Library.

Ritz Furs

“You don’t need a million to look like a million!” So went the tagline touting Ritz Furs in a ubiquitous late night commercial that ran throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Ladies were urged to sell their skins or buy them second-hand at a fraction of the price because, like the man said, “Some women ski in St. Moritz; other women just look that way.”

Cynthia Sley, lead singer of the Bush Tetras, got to live the dream. One night, she found a full-length fur coat lying on an East Village street. She picked it up, dusted it off and the next day sold it to Ritz Furs. The cash allowed her to live another month in New York, pursuing her art instead of a paycheck.

The choice of art over commerce has been a thread running through the history of the Bush Tetras. A staple on the New York music scene since 1979, their sound has been described as both danceable postpunk and no wave, two utterly different styles that they somehow made work together. The original Bush Tetras lineup consisted of guitarist Pat Place and keyboardist Adele Bertei, both freshly departed from The Contortions, as well as bassist Laura Kennedy, who had been their roadie. Dee Pop, a drummer with a taste for jazz as well as punk, rounded out the mix.
Read more…

Above a nondescript clothing store on at 652 Broadway, between Bond and Bleecker Streets, you’ll find Alexandre Gertsman’s apartment. The loft doubles as an art gallery where for five years the former architect has exhibited works of contemporary Russian art.

“If I want, my gallery becomes my very large living room,” he told The Local during a recent visit.
Read more…

Sasha von Oldershausen The manager of Rudy Volcano
unpacks new merchandise.

A month after Sandy, and with the deadline for federal and city-wide emergency loans looming at the end of December, East Village businesses are still struggling to get back to normal — and many of them aren’t getting assistance.

Several businesses contacted by The Local said they were still dealing with technical and equipment issues, limited phone lines, the cost of replacing lost merchandise, loss of business, and damage from mold, not to mention the red tape of applying for loans.

Some, like The Sunburnt Cow on Avenue C, are still contending with gas and electricity problems. Last Friday, the restaurant’s manager, Matilda Boland, said she was still without gas, and was only open for weekend brunch. “We’re currently cooking on what’s essentially camping equipment,” she said.

Ian Pearl, owner of Royale on Avenue C, has been dealing with his own equipment issues. “Stuff keeps breaking. The power surges blow, then it’s the compressors. There’s all that to deal with on top of the refrigeration, which was ruined, and all of the ruined inventory.”

Mr. Pearl, who estimates a $100,000 loss of business, has applied to a number of emergency loans without much luck. The city’s Department of Small Business Services, which offers emergency loans and a matching grant program, rejected his application; now he’s waiting to hear back from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around it. It’s really a lot. With all this combined, it’s just not a good time,” he said.

Several small-business owners complained about heavy paperwork and unanswered applications, where loans program were concerned.
Read more…

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

Imre Meszesan, who was arrested last November after he followed a woman into her apartment and attempted to lift up her skirt has been sentenced to five years in jail. [NY Post]

Erik Foss, owner of Lit, tells The Local that on Dec. 8 the bar will be throwing its first Art Basel party in Miami, with Paul Sevigny, Paul Sevigny, Brian Degraw, Carlo McCormick and others as hosts.

“Taavo Somer and Kent Kilroe of the Freemans empire plan to take over 8 Rivington Street, the former home of The National. Based on diagrams submitted to the board, it looks like they want to expand Freemans Sporting Club (their upscale men’s clothing store) into the ground-floor space and add a bar with small plates and appetizers on the lower level.” [The Lo-Down]
Read more…

Alexa Mae Asperin At today’s press conference.

If you were wondering how the students who seized the eighth floor of Cooper Union’s Foundation Building were going to get hot meals, here’s your answer: this afternoon, supporters delivered pizza to them by stringing it up with dozens of balloons.

According to Joe Riley, a junior in the art school who is one of the twelve currently barricaded inside, the Two Boots pizza (fancier than his usual fare) was sent up by the Bruce High Quality Foundation, an artist group made up of Cooper Union alums. “The pizza delivery today was really just a show of a support,” he said. “We didn’t really need it. We came in here with plenty of food.”

Nevertheless, the students were happy to snag it. “They just made the catch,” said Tyler Paige, another occupier.

The delivery, photos of which appeared on Twitter, came shortly after a press conference in which senior art students Rachel Appel and Audrey Snyder, speaking on behalf of the occupiers outside of the building, said tuition would be “the end” of the art school.
Read more…

Zen 6, the ramen and dumpling joint from the owners of Sushi Lounge and Noodle Cafe Zen, unveiled itself on East Sixth Street yesterday, and is now open daily from noon to 11:30 p.m. You can enjoy the menu items below with a Sapporo ($5), plum wine ($5.50), red or white wine ($7 by the glass, $24 by the bottle), or sake ($9.75 to $15). Check out the cozy space via our slideshow.
See the menu…

Alexa Mae Asperin

Proceeds from the sale of this
shirt will go to Sandy relief.

East Village surfers, here’s something to tide you over while you wait for Patagonia Surf to open on the Bowery: Liberated China will open a pop-up store, Panda Diplomacy, at 206 East Sixth Street this Friday.

The pop-up, between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, will feature the label’s surf-, skate- and street-inspired apparel and accessories including limited-edition longboard decks, hand-knitted surf beanies and cotton tees emblazoned with the brand’s mascot, Genghis.

The store, open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Christmas Eve, will also offer the one-eyed panda’s favorite snack (bamboo) in the form of Timber sunglasses, Sprout watches and ibamboo iPhone speakers.

Courtesy of Lina McGinn

While eleven Cooper Union students, along with another from the New School, occupied the eighth floor of the art school’s Foundation Building last night, a group of first-year students banded together and camped out on the fourth floor to protest the possibility of undergraduate tuition.

“In a mass, we thought we could basically sleep there overnight without locking ourselves in but still resist requests for us to leave,” said Lina McGinn, who organized the group.

Around midnight, about 20 students armed with sleeping bags entered the studio space four floors below their colleagues. Because the studio closes at 2 a.m., they were asked by security to vacate the premises but refused.

“They went back downstairs and basically just sat outside the door the rest of the night,” Ms. McGinn said of the security guards. “They didn’t call the cops.”
Read more…

Care for a Malibu Barbie with that plate of frickles? You can now order just that on St. Marks Place.

Its red-and-gold exterior may be loud, but Saints Tavern opened rather quietly last week, boasting 20 beers on tap, cocktails with names like The Grapeful Dead, and a touch of Americana (a pinup photo of Marilyn Monroe faces a replica of Joe DiMaggio’s Yankees uniform).

Alfonso Londono, who owns the tavern along with partners Richard Romano and Aida Levinshon, comes from a restaurant family. He opened his first place Hoops, a college sports bar, at the age of 21, and went on to operate a Mexican restaurant and an Asian fusion concept as well as The Copper Barrel in the Financial District.

Mr. Londono thought the American vibe would help distinguish Saints Tavern from its Asian neighbors. He and his partners scoured flea markets and local shops such as Obscura Antiques to find decor such as a bear head with boxing gloves and a big fish with a soda can. On the ground floor customers can draw all over tables made of chalkboard.
See the menu

Photos: Suzanne Rozdeba

Suzanne Rozdeba New communal tables at Nino’s.

Check out the latest from Nicolina, the East Village artist who does the holiday windows at The Bean, among others (though apparently not Nino’s this year; the pizzeria is getting a new look, complete with wooden communal tables).

We’d like to think that’s EV Grieve in the NYU sweater. Hey, if it can happen to Scrooge…

Update | 11:15 a.m. We’ve now heard from Nicolina, who said that she and Walker Fee painted the windows Friday night. She also did the windows at Two Boots, complete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cameo (take that, Homer!). In all, Paint the Town does about 40 holiday windows around the city each season.

If you’re looking for gifts that were made in the East Village, look no further than a holiday cookie tin from the Lower Eastside Girls Club. This year, Sandy flooded the basement of the organization’s Sweet Things Bake Shop, ruining a boiler and electrical boxes and forcing the mother-daughter baking teams who rely on them to find new facilities. The Local dropped into Astor Center, which generously donated its kitchen, to see how things are going this year.