Good morning, East Village.

Vice spends the day with documentarian, gallerist, and neighborhood historian Clayton Patterson. His tour of the Lower East Side is above. After going to an opening at a neighborhood gallery he says, “I will guarantee that none of the people that grew up around here, none of the kids from down here, none of the people like Jesus that we met will ever set foot in that gallery; they will never feel welcome, they will never be welcome, and they will never go in there. So that then means, is that really art or is that gentrification?”

The Obama fundraiser that Mickey Boardman of Paper and others threw at Eastern Bloc raised over $10,000, according to the Washington Post. “The crowd of about 150 Obama supporters was cordial and relaxed, a mix of friends and fashion types, partying alongside male dancers wearing Obama ’08 boxer briefs (or, as one did, an American flag-themed thong) stuffed with the requisite $1 bills.”

Paper has some shots from ThreeAsFour’s Fashion Week show at The Hole. The designers “decked the models out in Spock-esque unibrows and chunky shattered-glass platform shoes, giving the whole collection an alien-priestess-meets Carnaby Road feel.” Read more…

G.V.S.H.P.

A real estate listing spotted on Sotheby’s (also noticed by Curbed) indicates that Beethoven Hall, a chic condo in a onetime concert hall, is back on the market, this time at an elevated price of $25 million.

Built by German immigrants in 1860, 210 East Fifth Street served as a social hall for performances, community meetings and celebrations. As The Lower East Side History Project noted, it became a primary gathering place for unions, with appearances from high profile leaders like Emma Goldman and William Randolph Hearst. Andrew Berman shared more history in his roundup of buildings that may become part of an East Village-Lower East Side Historic District.

This hall hosted a number of important events including the 1880 funeral for six victims of a fire that broke out at a wedding at nearby Turn Hall; the 1890 meeting of the American Bowling Congress which standardized rules for the game and initiated national competitions; a boxing match between featherweight and local hero Joe “The Pride of the Ghetto” Bernstein and Tommy Daly; and the 1915 formation of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. By the 1940s the building became a television studio and then later, Mother’s Sound Stages, a film studio; episodes of “The Honeymooners” are purported to have been filmed there.

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Suzanne Rozdeba

Care for some lamb brains?

Jehangir Mehta, best known as a memorable contestant on “The Next Iron Chef,” is planning to serve the gamey delicacy with an onion confit when he opens Graffiti Me next to his restaurant of five years, Graffiti. He said preparing brains is “as easy as slapping together a ham and cheese sandwich.”

The Local spotted a fresh coat of bright orange paint today on the 10th Street storefront that previously held bridal boutique Atelier Muse. Mr. Mehta is transforming the narrow space into a casual-cozy restaurant that he said would “literally look like your living room.” Though no graffiti will adorn the walls, chandeliers will create a “Bohemian chic” vibe. Lobster soufflé and bone marrow with fennel relish will be among dishes included on the three-course, $30 tasting menu. Read more…

Photos: Suzanne Rozdeba

With the close of the Mary Help of Christians flea market last weekend, Bernarda Ortiz, the market’s matron for the past 15 years, is concerned about its move to Immaculate Conception Church.

“I worry we’ll lose half the vendors,” said the sprightly 85-year-old Puerto Rico native. Depending on what’s decided when Monsignor Kevin Nelan returns from vacation next week, the flea may relocate to the cafeteria and inner courtyard of the church on 14th Street. “I worry people won’t see it and won’t come,” she said.

Samantha Balaban

While she awaits the move in October, Ms. Ortiz has a month to clean out a garage brimming with old records, dresses, kitchen supplies, and even a copy of “Pornogami” (don’t ask) perched atop a mountain of stuff for sale (whatever isn’t sold will go to the Catholic Worker or Salvation Army, she said). Today, she sat in the lot at 11th Street and Avenue A, surveying the goods. A man walked by and asked through the fence, “When does it open? When can I get in?” Ms. Ortiz shook her head and said, “Closed.”

If you’re looking for some collectibles and antiques to sift through this weekend, the 10th Street & Stuyvesant Block Association is hosting its 41st annual Block Fair on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on East 10th Street between Second and Third Avenues. A flyer promises antiques, collectibles, food and music.

Daniel Maurer

The shuttered East Village Farm, which has lately served as a pseudo homeless shelter, has now turned into an animated billboard. Last night around 11 p.m., The Local shot this video of a huge Heineken ad being projected onto the old theater space on Avenue A, above the former grocery store.

And this afternoon another audacious ad went up above B Bar, as you can see at right. The hand-painted signs of the old Bowery look all the more quaint by comparison.

Nevermind those pesky rats in the park; the latest pitch to come in via the Virtual Assignment Desk is unsullied natural splendor. The folks at LUNGS (Loisada United Neighborhood Gardens) are jazzing up the neighborhood’s community gardens in October, with an arts festival we’d like you to photograph. If you’re up for some garden-hopping, sign up to cover the story for The Local using our Open Assignments page. Here’s the information we received.

The “Harvest Arts Festival in the Gardens” will take place the first weekend of October in community gardens on the Lower East Side. The Festival will kick off with an opening night party Friday evening, October 5. The Festival will continue in community gardens Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7, from noon until 5 p.m. Each participating garden is designing its own unique and multi-dimensional arts program, with music, dance, performance, the visual arts and more planned. The Festival is free and open to all. The following gardens have already signed on, and more are expected to participate. Read more…

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

The Wall Street Journal thinks Alphabet City has gone from being a “a no man’s land” to “a kind of Epcot version of the city’s coolness.” The president of DSA Realty says, “We’re seeing a lot more young women come to the neighborhood, I’d say a 70/30 split,” with new residents working in fashion, tech and media.

The co-owner of D.L. Cerney, who plans to close the 28-year-old boutique to focus on her art and writing, has noticed the changes in Alphabet City: “Back in the 1980s and into the 90s,” Linda St. John tells Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY, “this whole neighborhood was just filled with creative people. Now, nobody’s left. The way Rudy cleaned up the neighborhood was awesome, but now it’s too clean. When did those French bistros end up on Avenue D?”

According to The Times, The Stone is celebrating the centennial of composer John Cage’s birth with a “Cage100 festival” that kicked off Tuesday. “The Stone is a proudly humble space,” Anthony Tommasini writes of the venue, “just a black room with chairs for at most 50 and a big whirring air-conditioner that has to be turned off during concerts, even when the humidity is as thick as it was on Tuesday night.” Read more…

Lauren Carol Smith

Here’s one more item to add to your Fashion’s Night Out itinerary: Buffalo Exchange, at 332 East 11th Street, between First and Second Avenues, will Bedazzle your clothes free of charge. The magic continues till 7 p.m. tonight.

Suzanne Rozdeba The church parking lot.

Parishioners at Mary Help of Christians worry they’ll have to worship in a basement chapel – or worse yet, a conference room – after the church holds its final mass this weekend.

The church, which is expected to be sold, is holding its final Spanish-language mass at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Next week the mass will move to Immaculate Conception Church, which has overseen Mary Help of Christians since 2007. But according to John Matcovich, the parish manager, it’s unlikely services will be held in the church’s main space. “We don’t think it’s going to be at the church, at least in the near future, so for now we’re going to keep it somewhere else in the facility,” he told The Local. “We haven’t worked it out logistically yet.”

Immaculate Conception Church is a Gothic-style complex that has been described as “a little French village.” According to its Website, the church boasts soaring ceilings, stunning stained glass windows created by 19th-century artists, and a fresco of The Heavenly City.

Mr. Matcovich said that some of Mary Help of Christians’ most valuable relics – including items from the altar, religious vessels, and statues of Mary Help of Christians, the Pieta, and Jesus and the Tomb – will be moved to a chapel that’s expected to open in the basement of Immaculate Conception in May of 2014, and that several Blessed Mary statues would go in the church’s school. But some worried that during the chapel’s construction, Spanish-language masses would be confined to what parishioners described as a small conference room. Read more…

Dana Varinsky

An old refrigerator caused some trouble at the Standard East Village today. About a dozen fire department vehicles surrounded the hotel this afternoon. Fire Chief Michael Kendall said a leaky refrigeration unit in the basement had caused elevated levels of Freon and sulfur dioxide. The staff and guests from the first few floors evacuated the building for over an hour.

According to Chief Kendall, somebody from the building called the fire department to report the leak, and the first trucks arrived at 2:05 p.m. Firefighters removed the refrigerator and vented the building until the leak was dissipated. Crews searched for any other sources of gas and declared it safe to go back inside a little over an hour after they arrived.

Chief Kendall estimated the leaky fridge to be about 70 years old, making it 69 years older than the swanky new hotel it served until today. “It was an old unit,” he said, “it just broke.” The Standard’s management declined to comment.

Leila Samii

Yesterday we spotted a cyclist looking none-too-thrilled as he was ticketed while riding in the bike lane and today, on First Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets, we noticed two police officers – one on a scooter, the other on a mountain bike – ticketing two cyclists. As we passed the scene, a pedestrian called out, “It’s a speed trap!” We circled the block and, sure enough, yet another bike rider was being ticketed at the same location.

We’re not the first to notice what may be a crackdown on scoffing cyclists: in February, Bowery Boogie witnessed three bikers getting pulled over at the intersection of Delancey and Bowery  – “a rarity on the Lower East Side.” Seems the police department is making moves to insure the downtown area doesn’t turn into “Premium Rush.” Read more…

Scott Lynch

Curbed shines a spotlight on the coolest crib you’ll never visit: the penthouse apartment at 12 East 12th features a water tank that has been converted into a cottage. The mini-dwelling has 24-foot ceilings, stylish windows, cable, and air conditioning. The two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms are just a bonus. It can all be yours for the modest sum of $3.6 million.

WABC has a few quotes from last night’s community board meeting about bar noise. “You often hear screaming or yelling or singing sometimes cheers,” says district manager Susan Stetzer, “sometimes I’m surprised that people who should [have] grown up act the way they do.”

The Post reports that Observer publisher Jared Kushner has closed on what will be eight walk-ups in the East Village, SoHo, and the West Village, to the tune of $53 million. The East Village properties include 267 East 10th, 435 East Ninth, 311 East 11th, 311 East Sixth, and 99 East Seventh. Read more…

Daniel Maurer

A couple of troubled establishments on Avenue A have closed, and it’s uncertain whether they’ll reopen. A sign on the window of Diablo Royale Este indicates the Mexican spot is closed “until further notice” and redirects patrons to the West Village original. And a reader uses our Virtual Assignment Desk to express concern about Bar on A, also between 10th and 11th Streets: “The last couple times I’ve walked by it’s been closed,” writes the tipster. The bar’s outgoing phone message indicates, without explanation, that it is indeed “temporarily closed.”

Both businesses had a troubled history. Bar on A’s owner, Bob Scarrano, died in 2010 after surgery to address esophageal cancer, and his widow fell behind on the rent, according to an associate of the bar who spoke to The Local in May. That associate said at the time that an upstairs neighbor had called 311 numerous times in an attempt to shut down the bar. The neighbor said she was only trying to resolve “excessive noise” issues. In July, EV Grieve noticed a listing indicating that bar’s space was on the market.

Diablo Royale’s headaches were similar: during an acrimonious community board meeting last November, neighbors who had been complaining of noise since 2010 accused the restaurant of “contributing to turning Avenue A into a booze-filled entertainment zone.” Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Porsena’s bar back in July.

Porsena’s next-door bar will open tomorrow for lunch and dinner. The Local spotted chef-owner Sara Jenkins prepping Extra Bar this evening, and a Tumblr page lists the small plates (e.g. lemon potatoes with caviar and Surryano ham with spicy greens) that will comprise the “fleeting and changing menu, reflecting inspirations from the Mediterranean, random travels by Sara, and found ingredients.” Ms. Jenkins said the narrow space, which is made up mostly of a bar and boasts a map of Rome on one wall, won’t be ready for photos until Friday; in the meantime the chef has been posting images of dishes such as yellowfin tuna puttanesca, gulf shrimp and black spaghetti, and a salad of yellow zucchini, tomatoes, lemon vinaigrette, pecorino Romano, herbs. See Porsena’s Twitter feed for more.

When we last updated you on Porsena’s annex in July, Ms. Jenkins had a few words for Porchetta.Hog, the relative newcomer that she said was “so pathetically copying” her other joint on Seventh Street, Porchetta. Well, guess what? A sign on the door of that fine establishment indicates, without explanation, that the place is “temporarily closed.” A call to the restaurant went unanswered.

Further down Seventh Street, Greek favorite Pylos is also temporarily closed – “for renovation,” according to a sign on the door. Work was being done at the restaurant this evening and an outgoing phone message indicated it would reopen Sept. 8.

Update | 11:00 p.m. Porsena has sent over its lunch and dinner menus, below.

Opening Lunch Menu

Opening Evening Menu

Melvin Felix Got a driveway for this?

Back in June, “Boardwalk Empire” filmed inside the soon-to-close Mary Help of Christians Church. Then, in August, cameras rolled again on East Fourth Street. Now, the Emmy Award-winning television series could come to your apartment.

According to flyers posted in the neighborhood, HBO is looking to film scenes for the third season “inside a period appropriate apartment and outside a period appropriate apartment building.” The flyer reads, “We can look past fixtures and furniture and can work around a modernized kitchen; however, not dropped ceilings or fluorescent lighting.”

If your apartment has high ceilings and “original details” from the 1920s, call Orit Greenberg at the number posted on the flyer.

N.Y.P.D. The suspect.

The police are on the hunt for a woman who stole a purse from Arlene’s Grocery on August 7.

The suspect allegedly swiped the bag hanging below a bar inside the music venue at 12:50 a.m. Police said the bag contained a cell phone, wallet, cash and credit cards.

Fashion Week might cater to the magazine editors, power bloggers and models but Fashion’s Night Out is all about the hoi polloi. Tomorrow night, anyone can enjoy free drinks and nibbles as well as discounted merchandise while rubbing shoulders with designers. Of course the coolest events are happening in and around the East Village.

Aesop
232 Elizabeth Street, (212) 431-4411
Aesop is collaborating with Wilder Quarterly, a publication for nature lovers, to create a sensory installation: plants and flowers will appear to be growing out of the walls to highlight the plant-derived ingredients in the antipodean skincare company’s products.

Barbara Feinman Millinery
66 East 7th Street, (212) 358-7092
Sneak a peek at the workshop where Barbara Feinman makes one-of-a-kind hats using traditional methods and materials. Enjoy champagne and cookies while browsing the new fall-winter collection and receive a free pair of sunglasses with purchase of a full-price hat. Read more…

Samantha Balaban

The film crew spotted outside Mary Help of Christians church last Thursday was working on a comedy called “Growing Up (And Other Lies).” Katie Mustard, an East Village resident who is producing the flick, told The Local the crew was using the church as a holding area while shooting at the Phoenix on 13th Street. She said the comedy was “about four guys who walk from the top of Manhattan to the bottom in one day to relive an event they did in their 20s and they’re now in their early 30s, and they’re trying to do this greatest walk of all time.”

The guys are played by actors Adam Brody, Josh Lawson, Wyatt Cenac and one of the film’s directors, Danny Jacobs. The film also stars Lauren Miller and former East Villager Amber Tamblyn.

The actors were surprised to discover that the Phoenix, where they were filming a fight scene, was a gay bar. “We almost thought our location manager was playing a joke by booking a gay bar,” said Ms. Mustard. “The scene is not a gay bar scene. The guys are very heterosexual, and it just added amusement to filming that scene.”

Joann Jovinelly

Good morning, East Village.

A lengthy piece in The Observer detailing the trials and tribulations of the city Housing Authority features neighborhood city Councilwoman Rosie Mendez defending its embattled chairman, John Rhea — guardedly. “I didn’t think we needed a banker, but I have to say, he’s done a good job. We’re seeing progress, but I don’t know if it’s enough. Given the situation we’re in, I don’t know if any one person could fix it.” The councilwoman also recalls growing up in the Williamsburg Houses during a more hopeful time for public housing. “Even when the city started to get really bad in the ’70s and ’80s, NYCHA still had it all,” she said.

The Wall Street Journal previews tonight’s Community Board 3 committee meeting, which will discuss the possibility of a special nightlife district in the East Village. “As the neighborhood once known for its intimate night life is transformed into what some deem a multi-block frat house, community leaders are looking for ways to control the scene that are more subtle than simply quashing liquor-license applications.”

Of course, while the debate picks up steam at C.B. 3, bars will keep opening. The Times reports that “Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the East Village (arguably the city’s two best neighborhoods for drinking) will become even richer in saloon life, welcoming new places run by some of the best bartenders in the business.” The paper singles out the soon to open fancy cocktail joint Pouring Ribbons on Avenue B.
Read more…