Pamela Inbasekaran

Good morning, East Village.

The Local spotted the above on the steps of Mary Help of Christians. This morning passersby – mostly students from neighboring East Side Community High School and Girls Prep – used chalk to request a city that was “fun,” “cleaner,” “more green,” “more like me,” and (our favorite) “dominated by Liam.” A woman sweeping the sidewalk outside of the church added that she wished the city was “full of Salesians. MHC.”

An attorney tells The Post that, in response to recent bottle brawls, nightclubs may start asking asking their patrons to sign waivers and landlords may require clubs to sign lease-termination clauses.

The Observer reports from a party for Molly Ringwold’s new book. The actress, writer and musician made an East Village appearance last weekend as part of NYC Lit Crawl. “The minute Ms. Ringwald walked in the room, everyone fell silent as camera phones were raised in a sort of luminous shrine.” Read more…

Today, we tip our hat to a couple of locals who are making the East Village a greener, cleaner place.

Steven Burke Christine Datz-Romero

At the Union Square Greenmarket one Saturday morning, Christine Datz-Romero milled around the back of her utility van, handling clear bags of what looked like dirt. Wearing airy gardening clothes and a friendly smile, she moved with a calm energy and a spryness that belied her age of 53.

The material in the bags was compost. Ms. Datz-Romero, Manhattan’s mystic of food waste, was there to sell it, teach about it, and collect materials to make more of it.

Since 1994, Ms. Datz-Romero and the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which she co-founded 25 years ago, have run a collection service that takes local kitchen scraps, diverts them from landfills, and turns them into compost – a rich organic material that helps to provide plants with nutrients and to sequester carbon when added to soils.

The group currently collects four tons of food waste per week, from 1,500 households. Read more…

Suzanne Rozdeba The current Salon Champu.

The East Villager who has owned Body Beautiful for 16 years and Salon Champu for two years is combining both spots and moving a few blocks south.

“It’ll be saving me about $4,000 a month in rent,” said Richard Cacace, who’s relocating to 199 East Fourth Street and opening in October. “We’re expanding to make the businesses better.”

Suzanne Rozdeba Body Beautiful

Mr. Cacace said he’s been doing well, but it made “more sense to combine everything and have more of a full-service business.” The duo follows Taureau in departing East Seventh Street, between First Avenue and Avenue A. Read more…

Dana Varinsky

Blue Owl, which got a good deal of hype back in 2006 but has since been overshadowed by countless other haute cocktail-bar openings (the latest: Pouring Ribbons), is up for sale.

A listing indicates the bar’s liquor license and “classic speakeasy decor” is available for $195,000, with the “below market” rent costing an additional $10,700 per month. The venue is described as “perfect for jazz, piano lounge, hooka bar.”

Helen Demetrious, a broker at New York Commercial Real Estate Services, confirmed the business is for sale, but said she expects a seamless ownership transition and doesn’t anticipate that the 1,400-square-foot basement space at 196 Second Avenue will be empty at any point.

When the owner of Opaline opened Blue Owl in February 2006, the nouveau speakeasy got no small measure of attention, with its obligatory lack of signage (that changed soon enough) and its “secret” back room. Every two weeks the bar hosted Brazilian and Latin music and dance, but according to Blue Owl’s Twitter feed its last “Tropical Tuesday” was Sept. 4.

Today, we tip our hat to a couple of locals who are making the East Village a greener, cleaner place.

Photos from “East River and the Sanctum we walk” by Alan Gastelum.

Alan Gastelum Garbage collection this past weekend.

Some people go to the park to photograph birds, while others document trees. Alan Gastelum photographs garbage. This past weekend, he and 20 volunteers filled almost two dozen industrial-sized bags with trash gathered on the banks of the East River.

The cleanup effort at the East River Promenade was organized by the photographer along with Partnerships for Parks and the Lower East Side Ecology Center.

Almost two years ago, Mr. Gastelum, 31, an East Village resident who enjoyed relaxing in the park, began taking pictures of stray items that washed ashore: broken marine rope, dirty T-shirts, bottle caps, baseballs and toys. With every new tide, different items would wash onto the rocks, he said. Some of them, he kept: he has collected ceramic coffee mugs, wooden planks, single sneakers and plastic relics beaten smooth by the East River. Read more…

Daniel Maurer Sunday, workers transported items from the church
to their new home at Immaculate Conception.

The bells – alarm bells, that is – sounded at a recently shuttered church on East 12th Street.

Around 11 p.m. last night, a security alarm went off at Mary Help of Christians, seemingly in the rectory. The sirens sounded the same day acts of apparent vandalism were discovered inside of the church, but were no cause for concern: a police car pulled up in front of the church only to depart minutes later.

Jo Messina, a secretary at Immaculate Conception, told The Local there was no break-in. “Sometimes the sensors will detect if there are rats or mice,” she said.

Yesterday a source told The Local that the church’s alarm hadn’t been set when – sometime between Sunday and Monday morning – marble around the main tabernacle was smashed, a smaller tabernacle above the side altar was also damaged, and a hole was punched through the wall in the sacristy.

Suzanne Rozdeba contributed reporting.

Ria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

DNA Info previews the New Museum’s exhibit honoring artists of the 1970s and 80s Bowery and notes that Curt Hoppe, a painter and photographer featured in the exhibit, still lives and works at 98 Bowery. “It has been just a very cool building,” he tells the site. “There is something special about this building, but I don’t know what it is.” The piece he contributed to “Come Closer” was a collaboration with fellow 98 Bowery artists Marc Miller and Bettie Ringma.

Cinebeasts has curated a “Films of the Lower East Side” night at Anthology Film Archives. Among the films shown will be short by D.W. Griffiths that was “surreptitiously shot on the streets of the Lower East Side” and “features a combination of Biograph players and honest-to-G-d denizens of the ‘ghetto’.”

You’ve likely seen those Lost Parrot posters around the neighborhood. DNA Info reports that the bird was found on East 14th Street and returned to its owner. Read more…

A tabernacle above the side altar was vandalized.

Vandals broke into Mary Help of Christians over the weekend, though the church’s precious relics had been moved out earlier in the week.

“There was vandalism at the church, but we don’t know exactly what happened,” said a secretary speaking on behalf of John Matcovich, parish manager at Immaculate Conception. “There was nothing major stolen. We don’t know anything more than that.”

Mr. Matcovich confirmed that the marble around the main tabernacle was smashed, a smaller tabernacle above the side altar was also damaged, and a hole was punched through the wall in the sacristy, a room where sacred vessels and vestments are normally stored. A church tabernacle is a fixed box where the Eucharist is kept. Read more…

Alexa Mae Asperin 170 Avenue A today.

Alexa Mae Asperin

The space that held Bar on A for 15 years is becoming a 7-Eleven, according to a construction worker at 170 Avenue A today.

Benjamin Shaoul, who is listed as the building’s owner on an application to renovate the space, could not be reached for comment, but the same Department of Buildings paperwork identifies a representative of Harrison French and Associates as the job applicant. The architecture and engineering firm builds 7-Elevens, according to its Website, and installed the chain’s 14th Street location, according to Department of Buildings records. Read more…

While the New Museum prepares to honor the artists of 1970s and ’80s Bowery with its exhibit, “Come Closer: Art Around the Bowery, 1969–1989” (the opening reception is tomorrow night), the Theater for the New City Gallery is presenting works by two artists, some of which draw on found images of pre-1940s East Village, according to a pitch that just came in via our Virtual Assignment Desk. You know the deal: If you’d like to cover the exhibit, please do so by volunteering at the Open Assignments page (remember to filter by pitch). Here’s the information you’ll find there.

“APP ART: Painted Paper” and The First Avenue Bearded Lady
There are over one hundred works by Peter J. Ketchum and Chris Georgalas at the scruffy alternative gallery TNC 155 First Avenue through October 25th including several using found images of pre-1940’s denizens of the East Village.

“APP ART: PAINTED PAPER” looks at human behavior as it is reflected and encapsulated in older comic books, advertisements, postcards, matchbooks, manuals and, particularly, black and white found or discarded photographs. For the appropriation and repurposing of these works, the artists have coined the phrase APP ART, or appropriated art. Read more…

Sanna Chu Ann Humphreys, 42, hoola hoop teacher

City Room reported that 124 people were arrested near Wall Street earlier today, on the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Gothamist noted that several of the arrested were in wheelchairs. Meanwhile other protesters are amassing at Liberty and Foley Square for public assemblies.

Around 1 p.m. Union Square, the site of many previous demonstrations, was relatively quiet. Volunteers manning the Occupy table were redirecting people downtown for scheduled events. But one woman, a hoola hoop teacher, was doing her part: Ann Humphreys, 42, was offering free hoola hoop lessons in what she hoped was the spontaneous and joyful spirit of Occupy. “I see the hoop as a way to bring the pressure down,” she said.

Based in North Carolina, Ms. Humphreys travels the country espousing the uplifting benefits of the hoop. She spent a few days at Zuccotti Park last October. “Back in the early days,” she said, “I noticed just the presence of hoop dance – the fun and levity – brought smiles to everybody’s faces.”

Dana Varinsky It was either this or a shot of him spinning the cube.

The college kids are back – in droves. Maybe you remember what it was like to be an innocent in the East Village. If not, meet Jonathan Krohn, a member of N.Y.U.’s class of 2016. Actually, you may already know him: he was a “Time 100” finalist at the age of 14, and just two years later wrote his second book, “Defining Conservatism.” His thinking has evolved since then, but like any freshman he’s still got a lot to learn. And you, oh jaded Villager, could learn a thing or two from him. Hence, his weekly column about life as a neighborhood newbie.

“Welcome to the East Village.” Something no one said to me when I first arrived here.

My first night in the East Village went a little something like this: About thirty minutes after I left my dorm on Third Avenue a balding, stocky middle-aged man attempted to get me to hold his keys, wallet, license, and wedding band in exchange for me paying him gas money. I ran off. An hour later I encountered a scantily clad woman (I was told she was a prostitute) who was very high. She rolled around on the ground, screaming that someone was coming for her, and threw her backpack into the little pond in the center of Washington Square Park. I left the park with some nice jazz musicians from Brooklyn who took me up MacDougal Street, where I was then hit on by a transsexual. I screamed at some point around there. We don’t have these things in the suburbs of Atlanta. Or at least, we don’t have all of them in one neat little area. Read more…

Daniel Maurer 55 Avenue D

A developer said to own multiple East Village properties has purchased four adjacent lots at the corner of Avenue D and East Third Street, with plans to tear down the existing buildings and replace them with 80 residential units. The news comes as a broker for another new building on Avenue D confirms that Kim’s Video plans to open a pizza parlor there.

Rash LLC, which bought 53 Avenue D in 2007, has now spent $3.6 million to acquire adjacent plots at 55 Avenue D and 746-748 East Fifth Street, according to the broker who closed on three of the properties, Tamir Daniel of Daniel T Enterprises (the fourth was acquired in foreclosure proceedings). Mr. Daniel said the developer, which owns “a lot of rental buildings in the East Village,” is seeking approval for a building that would boast a gym, roof deck, outdoor areas, and studios as well as 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments.

The corner is currently home to the Lora Deli, where a mural was painted by schoolkids in May.

Citing a luxury rental building planned for Avenue D and East Second Street as well as a plot for sale between Sixth and Seventh Streets, Mr. Daniel said change was finally coming to an avenue that has seen relatively little of it over the years. In the meantime, he didn’t think upscale renters would balk at the idea of living amidst public housing, bodegas and Chinese takeout joints. “I have no concern about filling out the units over there,” he said. “I believe Avenue D is going to be a beautiful area to live.” Read more…

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

Protests and celebrations marked the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street over the weekend, and continue to do so today (Gothamist is liveblogging the proceedings). Above, Jimmy McMillan made an appearance in Foley Square. You can see Scott Lynch’s photos of a march down Broadway in The Local’s Flickr pool. According to The Times, it appeared that at least 15 arrests were made during the march from Washington Square Park to Zuccotti Park.

The Local spotted icons and other effects being removed from Mary Help of Christians over the weekend. A worker said they were being relocated to Immaculate Conception, where Spanish-language masses are now being held. Late Friday, we reported that the church was cleared to be sold for $41 million, and evidence points to Douglas Steiner of Steiner Studios as its mystery buyer.

The Times reports that Tony Goldman, a real estate visionary who revitalized SoHo, died at 68. Freshness Mag remembers him as the proprietor of the Bowery Mural on Bowery and East Houston Street. Read more…

Alberto Reyes Last mass at Mary Help of Christians

The Archdiocese of New York has been authorized to sell Mary Help of Christians Church for $41 million, and evidence points to Douglas C. Steiner, a developer of luxury residences and the owner of Steiner Studios, as the church’s prospective buyer.

Court documents obtained by The Local indicate that on Aug. 29, the Church of Mary Help of Christians and the Trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral filed a petition to sell the church property, including the church and school buildings at 436 East 12th Street, the rectory at 440 East 12th Street, and the parking lot (formerly home to the flea market) at 181 Avenue A. A State Supreme Court order, dated Sept. 6, authorized the sale to an entity identified only as 181 Avenue A, LLC. According to the documents, a contract dated May 11 indicated that the sellers had agreed to a total purchase price of $41 million, well above a Cushman & Wakefield appraisal that valued the property between $34 million and $37 million. Read more…

Nicole Guzzardi

When we read in City Room that Lower East Side artist Jordan Eagles created his latest works using, um, blood we just had to drop into Krause Gallery to see the paintings for ourselves. They were just as eccentric (and beautiful) as we thought they might be: bold red, brown and orange-toned pieces that one might call Dexter-esque.

According to gallery owner Benjamin Krause, 38, who has worked with Mr. Eagles for over six years, the artwork has been received very well. But why blood? “The whole concept behind his work is regeneration,” said Mr. Krause. “It’s a life force, it’s an energy and that’s why he uses blood, it’s not for any other reason.” Read more…

Annie Fairman

Days after local firehouses commemorated September 11, 2001, Engine Company Five dedicated a plaque to the late Raymond Ragucci, a retired firefighter who died last year, just a week shy of the ten-year anniversary of the attacks.

Mr. Ragucci, a first responder to ground zero, died on Sept. 4, at the age of 59, from complications relating to a bone marrow transplant during treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome.

Today’s ceremony, attended by Mr. Ragucci’s family, started just after 11:30 a.m. Fire engines and black sedans lined a stretch of 14th Street between First and Second Avenues, and bagpipe players and uniformed members of several fire companies gathered in front of the station door. 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.

When the Go-Go’s arrived in New York City from the West Coast in August, 1980, they were a sweet, goofy package of pure pop in a New Wave wrapper. They provided the kind of light summer fun that can prove irresistible and were well received when they played their first night at Danceteria (see clip).

The reviews were a little harsher back in L.A. Wayzata Camerone, founder of Hollywood after-hours club the Zero Zero recalls, “They were laughed at; we thought they couldn’t play and they had insipid songs. But Belinda [Carlisle] was sweet and polite.”

The Go-Go’s had just recorded their first record for Stiff, “We Got the Beat,” and it was getting some radio play. The following year, IRS signed them and the band’s LP, “Beauty and the Beat,” was a smash. Those rough edges were sanded off and they were a viable commercial property, the first all-female band who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard charts.

You’ve got to give them their props. As Ann Magnuson cannily observes, “Success was more characteristic of the West Coast, specifically in ‘This Town’ of Tinsel that The Go-Go’s famously sang about, not so much in the dystopia that was Downtown NY in the early 80s.” She should know. Ann was one of the few – along with Eric Bogosian – who made the transition from downtown performance artist to successful professional actor. Read more…

Nicole Guzzardi 101 Avenue D

If you read this week’s Voice and thought Yongman Kim’s scheme to relocate the entire Kim’s rental collection to Sicily was pie-in-the-sky, get this: the Kim’s Video mogul tells The Local that he plans to open an “alternative and interactive pizza store” on Avenue D.

Kim’s Video Makes a Pizza, as the venue will be called, will be located at 101 Avenue D, in a new building facing the Jacob Riis Houses that is home to the Arabella 101 rental apartments (it’s also the future home of the Lower Eastside Girls Club).

Mr. Kim said the pizza parlor and wine bar would “intermix the new business and the old using the Kim’s Video mentality and personality.”

If that sounds similar to Two Boots, Mr. Kim thinks otherwise. “My restaurant would be a full-sitting restaurant where young and night owls gather and talk about music, films, art and other cultures,” he told The Local.

The switch to pizza follows what Mr. Kim said was a decline in the video business that started in 2001 and worsened in 2005. “Digital has hurt my business and so has the Internet. It is what caused me to close most of the Kim’s locations,” he said, adding that he had tried, unsuccessfully, to go digital in 1994 (well before Netflix, he pointed out). “I was preparing the Internet venture side of my business. I organized my team and it didn’t work,” he said. “It failed over and over again.” Read more…