Despite the impending arrival of upscale Brooklyn chain Union Market, finding good quality food in East Village supermarkets can be difficult.

Health and nutrition coach Magdelena Wszelaki, who runs tours of supermarkets, offers some advice on what to look out for at Key Foods on Avenue A and East Fourth Street.

Carolyn StanleyMoishe Perl.

“What, no bread? Nothing?” balked one customer upon entering Moishe’s Bake Shop Monday afternoon, greeted by bare bread cubbies and stark glass cases typically teeming with doughy Jewish treats. “What’s going on here?” another disappointed patron wondered aloud, stumbling out of the empty store.

But for many regulars of Moishe’s on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street, the shop’s temporary transformation is nothing new, and certainly no cause for alarm. The bakery, which locked its doors on Monday in observance of the Jewish holiday Passover, will reopen at the end of eight days, in accordance with Kosher law.

So why does Jewish law forbid bread during Pesach, and what does Moishe Perl do when he’s not allowed to bake? The Local met up with Mr. Perl hours before sundown and the first night of Passover to find out.

Why does Moishe’s Bake Shop and other Jewish bakeries shut their doors during the Passover holiday? You’re required to remove all of the Chametz, or leavened products, right?

As you know, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 210 years, and the Pesach holiday, and its meals, are in remembrance of that. According to the bible, when the Israelites finally left Egypt during the Exodus, they were in a hurry and had no time for their bread to rise. Today, to remember their journey, Jews eat unleavened bread, called Matzah, and to follow Kosher law, we clean everything of Chametz. The shop bakes Chametz, so we spent all last night and this morning cleaning out everything, and at home we do the same. We’ve been preparing for the holiday for weeks.
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Mariko Osanai cupped her cell phone away from her mouth and whispered “Just one second, I’m on the phone with my sister in Japan – there’s been another big earthquake, and they’re having a blackout. Can you believe it?” She shook her head, visibly upset, and stepped outside Dlala salon on Avenue A to smoke a cigarette, taking deep drags and pacing as she listened to the news.

Weeks after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, Ms. Osanai, like many other Japanese living in the East Village, continues to spend much of her time on the phone, reaching out to friends and relatives from the hard-hit coastal regions.

But for Ms. Osanai and a handful of Japanese East Villagers, making phone calls is not enough. A group of local Japanese artists have designed a logo – emblazoned with the words “Love Save Japan” in capital letters – to draw attention to the crisis in Japan and which has already helped raise thousands of dollars for the relief effort.
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For those locals who took a quick glance at accident statistics for New York City compiled by Transportation Alternatives, it probably came as little surprise that the East Village is home to two of the city’s most perilous intersections.

The intersection of Third Avenue and East 14th Street tied for the fifth most dangerous intersection in Manhattan with 66 crashes involving pedestrians from 1995 to 2005.

Bowery and West Houston Street tied for the most dangerous intersection in the entire city with 29 crashes involving cyclists.

Now that Transportation Alternatives has unveiled a plan that it believes will help make streets safer, The Local decided to pay a visit to 14^th Street between Second and Third Avenues to talk to residents and business owners about the area’s dubious place as one of the city’s most treacherous stretches of asphalt.

NYU Journalism’s Claire Glass reports.

M.J. Gonzalez Giano, 126 East Seventh Street.

One morning not long ago, Paolo Rossi, the co-owner of Giano, an Italian restaurant at 126 East Seventh Street, was having his coffee when he was struck by an inspiration for “a new caprese for 2011.” The caprese is a classic Italian sandwich with tomato and mozzarella.  Paolo is fond of the classics but also, as a worldly Milanese, of the newest of the new. The caprese of 2011, now available on Giano’s menu,  would feature a basil-flavored soft bun wrapped around a paper-thin slice of tomato and buffala mozzarella ice cream.

After more than 10 years in New York, Paolo’s English is pretty good, but I thought I had misheard him. Ice cream? “It’s a ‘Wow’ effect,” Paolo explained. “I can ask Simone to make you one.” Simone Bonelli is Giano’s new chef.  He had, Paolo proudly told me, “worked seven years next to the number six chef in Italy” and had recently left the terribly pricey Per Bacco to cook at Giano. It was the middle of the afternoon, and Simone had just arrived on his Vespa; his  helmet, bright orange with a white racing stripe, was sitting on Giano’s curving, fan-shaped white bar. I felt like I had walked into a Fellini movie.
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Rachel Citron

Good morning, East Village.

It’s tax day. If you haven’t filed yet, better get down to the post office quick sharp. If that’s not encouragement enough, an EV Grieve reader spotted this friendly warning.

In better news, Passover begins at sundown. Last week, The Times reported on the growing trend of eating out for the traditional Seder meal. East Village spots JoeDoe and Octavia’s Porch will be offering their take, and JoeDoe co-owner Jill Schuster put together a playlist to remind guests of a old-fashioned family Passover.

Hot on the heels of incredibly popular Tompkins Square Park ping pong table, which has seen action from all ages, DNAinfo reports that the planned facelift for Dry Dock Park will include domino tables. The $1.2 million restoration will also repair dilapidated basketball courts and install better lighting.

EV Grieve notes that traffic lights on Cooper Square are new, after originally wondering if they had been covered as part of a prank. That will probably come as welcome news to anyone used to madly dashing across the Square in the face of buses and cabs coming from all directions.

And finally, The Times reported on Friday that the Hot Chicks Room sign that had so irked some residents will find a new home in a Governors Island chicken coup.

After a blustery weekend, things are looking up: highs of 60 degrees are in the cards today with a few spots of cloud. Have a good week.

C. Ceres Merry on stitching together compelling images in New York.

“The date 10/10/10 was the day of the online event called One Day On Earth. When I saw Land’s End LES I decided not to just snap a pic but take a photograph. I truly changed that day from just taking many quick snaps to seeing the city as collected works of art and really learning how to take better photographs.”

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Tim Milk The developer of 35 Cooper Square has been cited by the Department of Buildings for the condition of the historic structure’s roof, which is pictured above in a February photo.

City officials have ordered the developer of 35 Cooper Square to take immediate steps to repair the roof of the historic structure, which has been the subject of a campaign by preservationists to keep it from being razed.

On Wednesday, officials with the Department of Buildings issued a citation to the developer of the site, Arun Bhatia, ordering him to make the repairs.

Since February, city officials have issued four citations concerning work at 35 Cooper Square, all of which are still open. In addition to this week’s notice regarding the roof repairs, Mr. Bhatia has been cited for failure to safeguard property, performing work without a permit, and failure to post a permit.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings said that the citation regarding the roof repairs “means that we had previously issued a violation for the condition of the roof and the property owner has not corrected that condition. What the property owner should do now is obtain permits to perform the necessary roof work. In this case it would be to close off the roof.” A hearing on the roof violation is set for June.

Asked about the gaping hole in the roof and whether the developer would be required to cover it, she said, “We issued a violation for the roof. To bring the site into compliance, the owner should obtain a permit for the necessary work.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Bhatia, who met with preservationists on Tuesday to discuss the building’s future, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

We at The Local have spring fever. And as we scoured the streets for this week’s Street Style, we noticed that the warm weather is starting to take effect on fashion. Whether in the first shorts of the season, white denim or light jackets, plenty of East Villagers are taking hold of fashion’s ubiquitous denim and stylin’ it up for spring.

The students of The Hyperlocal Newsroom (from left): Claire Glass, Kathryn Kattalia, M.J. Gonzalez, Crystal Bell, Rachel Ohm, Ian Duncan, Grace Maalouf, Greg Howard, Mark Riffee, Kenan Christiansen and Hadas Goshen.

Today, we would like to extend our appreciation to the students and community contributors who have joined our experiment in collaborative journalism in recent months.

They have joined so many others who have shared their talents and energy with the blog. The site could not exist without them – and all of you who read and engage with The Local.
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Phillip Kalantzis Cope

Good morning, East Village.

We begin the day with talk of bicycles. A community meeting was held Thursday night at St. Mark’s Church In the Bowery to discuss bike lanes. And in other two-wheeled news, DNAinfo reports only 0.6 percent of New Yorkers ride bikes to work, according to census figures. The post notes that Department of Transportation figures show that cyclists in New York City increased by 66 percent between 2007 and 2009.

Second Avenue Saga checks in this morning with an update on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. Work has been underway for four years on the line, which runs from 125th Street to the Financial District, but the MTA is currently facing a budget shortfall of $10 billion, which could potentially affect its completion.

Help find Harry! EV Grieve reports that a Chihuahua by the name of Harry is missing in the East Village and needs his medication. There’s a $2,500 reward if found.

Today’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 53 degrees. Happy Friday, East Village!

Michelle Rick

Would-be messages from the East Village, in 140 characters or less.

First Steps Toward Marriage

The 1st time they met, she listened. The 2nd, she spoke.
The 3rd, they crossed swords over Sushi, & fought until
their chopsticks broke

Welcome to the Three-Day Week

Monday to recover, Friday to prepare. Then comes the
Insanely Unseemly Weekend – leaving only Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, there

Maids Gone Wild

Bar maids & chamber maids, old maids & French maids,
going on drink-raids, jumping on beds made, dancing
like demons in a big hotel
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Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

We begin the day with a bit of good news that you might not have seen Wednesday: Alexander Vorlicky, a 14-year-old who had gone missing from his East 10th Street apartment Sunday, was found unharmed. News that Alexander, who attends the Friends Seminary on East 16th Street, was found and safe, was announced via Twitter by a friend of the Vorlicky family.

More news on 35 Cooper Square: EV Grieve reports that a notice of Violation and Hearing was taped onto the building, citing the exposed roof and noting that a hearing is scheduled for June 1.

Dry Dock Park at 10th Street and Avenue D has long been the object of complaints, with those who live nearby noting how the park — with its cracked pavement, peeling paint, and broken basketball hoops — has fallen into disrepair, according to DNAinfo. The local tenant advocacy group Good Old Lower East Side has been working to raise money to improve the state of the park, and the Parks Department plans to unveil a reconstruction proposal this week. City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and local residents have worked toward securing $1.2 million toward the project.

German boutique Personal Affairs on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A is going out of business. The shop’s owner announced that the store could close as early as Sunday. Guerilla Shopper says the store will be holding a sale before it shutters for good.

As for the weather, today’s forecast promises sunshine and a high of 65 degrees.

Ian Duncan Ruth Christie at home in her Lower East Side II apartment. Residents of the public housing project complain of damaged facilities and strong smells of sewage.

Ruth Christie was staying in wearing her pajamas and watching movies on VHS. She finds it hard to go out as she must constantly be attached to her oxygen tank to deal with her emphysema.

She has a motorized wheelchair but struggles to maneuver it out of her cramped apartment by herself. “Walking does a number on my breathing,” Ms. Christie, who is 59, said.

Ms. Christie said her condition worsened after she moved to Lower East Side II eight years ago. Residents of LES II complain of dark brown water coming from their taps. When washing machines are running, wastewater finds its way into the pipes, they say.

Residents also complain of intermittent heat and a smell of sewage. As early as February this year the smell was strong and according to Ms. Christie it gets worse most summers.

The Obama Administration turned on the stimulus tap just over two years ago, dedicating funds to improving the quality of public housing. $423 million was given to New York City to fix up its projects. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan chose the Rutgers Houses on the Lower East Side to announce the New York package in March 2010. “It’s probably the most significant preservation action in the history of public housing,” he said at the time.

Of the total, $1 million reached LES II and was invested in roof repairs. That work was completed last fall. The problem is that what the project probably needs is a new plumbing system, Marquis Jenkins, then a community organizer at Good Old Lower East Side, told the Local in February.

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C. Ceres Merry

Good morning, East Village.

The meeting to discuss the fate of 35 Cooper Square was held yesterday at the National Preservation Center, and DNAinfo reports preservation activists are optimistic about keeping the landmark building intact.

Despite the onset of spring, police are already taking precautions for potential complications caused by weather next winter. Gothamist reports the NYPD is training a dozen officers to use tow trucks in case drivers are snowed in during future snow storms, after Bloomberg admitted the city’s response to this year’s blizzard was unacceptable. As part of the plan, police will be able to get into locked cars, prepare vehicles for towing, and operate trucks, according to the Associated Press.

While a dozen police are being trained for potential snow storms, however, budget cuts are driving Bloomberg to delay the hiring of hundreds of New York City Police Department recruits for several months. NY1 reports the class of 540 recruits scheduled to begin training in April will now begin training in July. Concern has been expressed that with the lowering of police recruits, crime rates will rise.

In more safety news, the Village Voice reports police are searching for missing teen Alexander Vorlicky, 14. Mr. Vorlicky was last seen in his East 10th Street apartment last Sunday wearing black jeans, white sneakers, and a black jacket, and is roughly 115 pounds, and 5 feet, 5 inches tall. Tipsters may contact Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) with information.

As for the weather, 55 degrees with a chance of showers. Stay dry, EV.