Earlier this week, students from across the country arrived at 20 Cooper Square for the first of two six-week sessions of The Local East Village’s Hyperlocal Newsroom Summer Academy, a program that gives college and high school students at all levels – from rank beginners to seasoned reporters and multimedia producers – an immersive journalism learning experience for college credit from NYU and the opportunity to get published on The Local.
The first session is underway but there are still places for session two, which begins July 2. See the Hyperlocal Newsroom site for specific details and the NYU summer site for how to apply and register.
“Pool (no water),” by British actor, playwright, and journalist Mark Ravenhill, ends its run at the 9th Space this weekend. If you’re in town, you may want to make your out-of-town friends jealous by catching One Year Lease Theater Company’s production of the 2006 play tonight or tomorrow.
Envy, after all, is what this excellent work is all about. In it, a group of artists divulge the story of a friend who, having found the critical and commercial success they haven’t, invites them to her new mansion to party like old times. This friendship is called into question when she gravely injures herself from jumping into a pool with, well, no water.
The group sees artistic potential in their friend’s condition, which leads to thoughts of profit. They photograph her discolored body, even moving it into the light of the hospital window. Yet they insist (and not without credibility) that they still love her. Most shockingly, she starts to recover — and says she’d love to work with their photographs. Read more…
Construction workers at 35 Cooper Square were preparing to pour concrete for a new sidewalk this afternoon, but knew nothing about any plans for the closely watched lot. Last year preservationists fought a losing battle to save the Federal-style building built around 1825 that once stood there.
We’ve heard from the DJ, the musician, and the drag queen. Today: meet Liam Wager, a bar manager at Sidewalk Cafe. He’s one of the people who keep the East Village popping.
The construction shed at Iconic Hand Rolls, which got memorably defaced last month, has come down; earlier today, workers were painting the facade of the building on Second Avenue near St. Marks Place. Seems everyone’s in a painterly mood: Calliope was sporting new colors earlier this week, and yesterday we spotted work being done at Michael White’s forthcoming pizzeria, Nicoletta, at Second Avenue and 10th Street. Here‘s how it looked today.
Aziza isn’t the only new hookah lounge in the neighborhood. Sahara Citi opened on 13th Street earlier this month. The restaurant sells about 30 flavors of tobacco and Mediterranean cuisine (see menu below). An inspirational message on the wall reads, “It is what it is…but it will become what you make it,”which might well be a reference to the casual ambiance and modest decor. Another small sign reads: “Wine me up and watch me go!” Unfortunately, despite a last-minute blessing from the community board, Saraha Citi’s beer-and-wine license is still pending, so alcohol won’t be served for at least another month. See the menu…
An “aerial circus,” poetry, burlesque, plenty of theater and even talk show legend Joe Franklin are part of this weekend’s Lower East Side Festival of the Arts.
The free festival, celebrating its 17th year at the Theater For The New City, starts on Friday and will feature outdoor performances on East 10th Street near First Avenue.
Other highlights include excerpts from productions by local institutions La Mama ETC and Horse Trade Theater Company, a film festival dedicated to the neighborhood, and a performance by the experimental dance group from the Children’s Workshop School. The theme for the over 100 participating arts organizations is “Legalize Freedom: Art as Activism.” Read more…
Don’t worry, they’re not real! The brain-noshers above are part of a promotion for the video game Zombie Swipeout at the Bleecker Street station this morning. Similar photo ops are taking place all over the city. A contractor working on the renovations to the subway station was overheard joking that he better alert a safety inspector on duty.
If this sort of thing annoys you, you may want to steer clear of the L train Sunday.
A truck struck and killed a 21-year-old woman crossing the street at Union Square early this morning and then fled the scene, the police said.
The truck was traveling eastbound on East 14th Street at around 1:15 a.m. when it made the turn onto Broadway and hit the victim, who was crossing Broadway, according to the police. The name of the victim, who was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital, has not yet been released. The police have not made any arrests for the incident.
In an example of particularly grim timing, a new short video by Karen Loew, who lives near East 14th Street, highlights the particularly dangerous intersection with First Avenue, only three blocks away from the fatal accident. Read more…
We’ve introduced you to the DJ and the musician. Know who else keeps the East Village popping? Linda Simpson, the self-declared “multimedia drag queen artiste” who with fellow legend Murray Hill hosts Monday Night Bingo at the Bowery Poetry Club. She tells The Local what it was like living in the East Village when it was the epicenter of New York City’s drag scene and clues us into some of her current favorite places to walk on the wild side.
Stephen Rex BrownGelato Ti Amo, prior to its opening.
So what’s with the symbol that popped up in the window of 136 Second Avenue, near Ninth Street, recently? Is that a frothy head of steamed milk, indicating a new coffee bar on the horizon? Is it a scallop, meaning a seafood spot?
Neither. A construction worker told The Local that a gelato joint is bound for the space, a mere five blocks north of Gelato Ti Amo, which opened in the last week. (And, it should be noted, a block from where Timi’s Gelateria Classica quickly went out of business.)
The battle between Gathering of the Tribes and its landlord rages on.
Yesterday the founder of the art space at 285 East Third Street, Steve Cannon, was served with a formal “10-day notice of termination” for “continued use of the premises as an office and art gallery, which is contrary to the lawful usage permitted by the certificate of occupancy for the building.”
The document (below) goes on to cite a violation from the Department of Buildings, as well as parties that have “disturbed the quiet enjoyment as well as affected the safety of other tenants in the building” as other reasons for the notice. Read more…
Stephen Rex BrownThe arborists prepare to climb trees at Astor Place.
Tree-climbers are searching for the dreaded Asian longhorned beetle at Astor Place today. An arborist at the scene said that no beetles had recently been spotted, but that the area was contaminated about four years ago, so investigators are being “extra careful.”
The climbers typically look for circular, pencil-diameter holes in the trees, the signature of the Chinese beetle that first appeared in the city — and in the U.S. — in 1996. When a beetle is found, it spells the destruction of the infested tree and usually many of the other trees nearby in an attempt to quarantine the insect.
The tree-climbers are a fairly common sight in the neighborhood. Late last year they were spotted on Avenue A.
A program that serves needy East Village and Lower East Side immigrants is in peril, as a significant chunk of its funding will disappear when its sponsor, the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, closes next month.
After last-ditch efforts to keep the Cabrini Center open fell through and the new owner of its building at Fifth Street and Avenue B, Benjamin Shaoul’s Magnum Realty Group, announced in March that it would go ahead with redevelopment plans, it became apparent that the nursing home’s 240 residents would be forced to relocate.
Those elderly residents won’t be the only ones affected by the closure on June 30. The Cabrini Center also sponsors Cabrini Immigrant Services, a Lower East Side organization that, according to its director Sister Kelly Carpenter, feeds about 16,000 people a week. City, state, and federal grants totaling $94,000 pay for most of the meals, but the cost of administering them has, to this point, been covered by the center. Read more…
Arts Beat has the latest on the lineup of bands scheduled to play the inaugural CBGB Festival July 4 weekend, including War on Drugs, a stable of New York bands and plenty of throwbacks like MxPx.
Local venues like Otto’s Shrunken Head, Lit Lounge, The Bowery Electric, Local 269, Webster Hall and Joe’s Pub are among the 30 that will host shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The Local has also discovered that the Upright Citizens Brigade will curate a series of “rock and roll comedy and improv shows” at the UCB East Theater. A new documentary, “The Rise and Fall of the Clash,” will premiere during the film portion of the festival. See ticket prices, film and conference lineups…
Stephen Rex BrownThe scenes at Bistro Cafe & Grill and Joyful Nail, both of which opened today.
As The Local predicted yesterday, the Bistro Cafe & Grill is now open and serving a wide range of deli fare, plus gyros, kebabs, falafel and hummus. The new eatery at First Avenue and East Second Street is owned by the same folks behind Tompkins Finest Deli. And just a block away at 35 Avenue A, Joyful Nail also opened today. It’s the second nail salon to open in recent weeks. See what they’re offering below. See the menus for both…
Grub Street reports that Sho Boo, a former chef at one of the neighborhood’s finer sushi spots, Jewel Bako, will open Bugs at 504 East 12th Street in July. The fifteen-seat restaurant will serve “sushi and Japanese small plates like chicken saikyo yaki.” Elsewhere in the sushisphere, Iconic Hand Rolls is now hiring.
The smell of bacon on East 14th Street will soon be snuffed out.
Following more complaints of a greasy odor emanating from IHOP, The Local contacted the owner of the eatery to get the latest on the installation of a ventilation unit to neutralize the smell.
“As an IHOP franchisee, we are committed to being a good neighbor,” owner Ed Scannapieco wrote in an e-mail. “We are awaiting delivery of the equipment within the next 10 days, and we have a commitment from the contractor that it will be installed seven to 10 days after delivery.”
That will come as good news to neighbors of the restaurant who have complained since late last year about a nauseating smell that lingers around the clock.
“The odors and noise are still a problem, and the so-called ‘roof’ still looks like a garbage dump,” wrote Sandy Berger, who recently posted flyers asking her neighbors to join an IHOP victims committee.
“I had hoped that the owners would have corrected the problem by now, but right now I’m gagging on bacon fumes,” wrote another neighbor, Mary Beth Powers, to Community Board 6.
If you happen to spot the installation of the most intriguing ventilator unit since that noisy air conditioner on East 13th Street, send us a photo.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post referred to the ventilation unit as a “smog-hog.” That reference has been deleted since the term is a brand name and Smog Hog says that it did not manufacture the unit in question.
Jum Mum, a restaurant specializing in steamed buns, has opened in the former Hottie space at 5 St. Marks Place.
The business, which sells two pork belly buns for $5.50, is run by the owners of Spot Dessert Bar a few doors down. Several other varieties of buns and rice dishes are available as well.
Jum Mum is open from noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and noon to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. See the menu…
Julia PasternakDiana Beshara as Cavale and Geoffrey Pomeroy as Slim in “Cowboy Mouth.” The roles were originally filled Patti Smith and Sam Shepard.
The building housing Lucky Cheng’s will get a “Sleep No More”-style makeover. “Cowboy Mouth,” a play written by Patti Smith and Sam Shepard during their whirlwind romance in a ransacked room in the Chelsea Hotel, will be revived in a room in which the audience sits on sofas next to needles, trash, liquor bottles and a drum kit. The roughly 25 audience members will even have to “find” the room by inquiring at the bar of Lucky Cheng’s and then being directed to an out-of-the-way set of stairs.
“It’s going to have an apartment-feel,” said Leah Benavides, the director. “There’s not going to be a definitive line between the audience and the stage. The audience is going to be really in it.” Read more…
The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »
