Suzanne Rozdeba The 7A Cafe, a neighborhood mainstay, re-opened this week after extensive renovations. “We haven’t remodeled since 1986,” said the general manager, “and the owner thought it was time.”

After a two-week closure for renovations, 7A Cafe is back open for business with a new, eclectic, jungle-meets-50s-diner look.

The 24-hour restaurant, a favorite in the East Village for brunch, re-opened on Jan. 18. It now has a green and beige color scheme with jungle and bamboo-themed wallpaper, spacious diner booths, a zinc bar with faux bamboo lighting hanging overhead, and an overall more open feel.

The décor was chosen by Mark Wilson, a SoHo artist who is a friend of the owner, Moshe Hatsav. “Mark was in Brazil in the Amazon, and he said, ‘Let’s do something with the Amazon, green with bamboo,’ and I said, ‘O.K.!’” Mr. Hatsav told The Local. “We wanted to give it an upscale-diner look. The look before was from the 80’s. I’m very happy with the changes. Green is the thing.”

Mr. Hatsav said customers are enjoying the new look. “Customers who have been coming for years really like the changes. The food is the same because the customers really like our food.”

The delicious, $13 brunch on weekends continues to include choices like Shrimp and Avocado Benedict, Smoked Mozzarella Frittata, and Brioche French Toast. The price includes coffee or tea, and your choice of freshly-squeezed orange juice or an alcoholic drink such as a Mimosa or Bellini.

Doug Rochelle, the general manager, told The Local, “Everyone else is remodeling in the neighborhood, or opening something new. We haven’t remodeled since 1986, and the owner thought it was time.”

Mr. Rochelle called the new design “diner-like with a twist. It’s an eclectic mix of things. There’s a new zinc bar, the bathroom has cartoon characters on the wall, there’s the jungle theme in the back, and the café feel in the front. We’re blending all of those different flavors.”

7A Cafe, East Seventh Street and Avenue A. 212-475-9001.

Michelle Rick

Good morning, East Village.

We heard from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg last night in his State of the City speech. The Times reports that he focused on small-scale local initiatives and spoke little of education, and didn’t even mention last month’s blizzard.

While the mayor made his address, a Village Voice blogger was busy teaching a lesson to every young person in the “greatest city in the world.” In response to a girl’s complaint of getting overcharged by a locksmith, blogger Joe Coscarelli said getting ripped off here is inevitable, and recalled his decrepit past East Village apartment. Perhaps you can relate.

Meanwhile, tenants on 13th Street are scrutinizing their building’s facade for its constant graffiti. DNAinfo reports on the “tagger’s paradise” that some suggest should become a mural.

And though cops have monitored the wall, many will be on a bigger mission today: one of New York’s largest Mafia arrests.

Bernardo After closing his museum store on St. Marks Place in September, the artist James De La Vega says that he is moving toward a “digital experience” for his work and that he is no longer selling his art. Below: Some of Mr. De La Vega’s work.

When last we heard from James De La Vega, he had just closed his museum store on St. Marks Place and was answering questions about why someone was threatening the proprietor who replaced him.

Now, four months removed from the East Village, the iconic street artist told The Local earlier today that he is moving into a new “digital experience,” and that he is no longer selling art.

“America’s moving in a bad direction, in a deeper sense than economics. Right now, we have to focus on building trustful relationships with people,” said Mr. De La Vega. “There’s no interest in selling anything. I’m not doing that now. We are committed to a more powerful message, one that was given to me.” Mr. De La Vega said he’s instead been giving away his art – which is frequently adorned with his slogan “Become Your Dream” – as gifts.

As for plans for another New York store, he said, “We have too many enemies out there. There is no store. For all of 2011, De La Vega will totally be a digital experience. De La Vega will explain his work in a language that you will understand.”

His message, he said, still resonates with his followers. “The De La Vega message is a bigger thing. People are identifying with this concept as a form of fighting,” he said. “It reminds people that they can be powerful and they go out there and create. They don’t have to live within the uniform that life imposes on them.”

He and his team are in “a total planning process. Right now, I’m building a powerful team to continue into our next phase. There’s a story going on.”

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

There’s an online outcry over the design of the proposed Bowery Hotel, which was unveiled by Curbed. One commentator said the project “looks like the winner of a contest where crazed architects are asked to design their weirdest fantasy buildings.” Brokerage Eastern Consolidated announced that Paris-based Louzon Group will build the 72-room boutique hotel and restaurant at the old Salvation Army building, bought by the group for $7.6 million, at 347-349 Bowery.

Meanwhile, in his 10th State of the City address this afternoon, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will reiterate his agenda amid criticisms of “a battle over his new schools chancellor, an $80 million fraud scheme involving the city’s payroll system and a botched effort to deal with a crippling snowstorm last month,” reports The Times. He’s expected to propose a plan to make it legal to hail livery cabs and announce plans for changes to the pension system.

For those of us who take the M15 bus, your ride is up to 16 minutes faster with the new system, according to The Daily News.

And if you’re concerned about the amount of pollution in the air while you’re out and about, check out these new high-tech sweatshirts, designed by two NYU graduate students, emblazoned with lungs and hearts that turn blue when you’re exposed to dirty air.

Suzanne Rozdeba Jimmy McMillan.

Jimmy McMillan, the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High party, may have failed in his bid for governor but that’s done little to quash his ambition – or his opinions.

Mr. McMillan, who’s 64, still has a broad and ambitious plan for change through his party, which includes banning bike lanes, cutting taxes and, of course, lowering rents. And then there is his most grand  – and quixotic – plan of all: a run for the White House in 2012.

“We have bird-brained economic leaders,” he told The Local in an interview. “People need money to spend. And it boils down to one thing: the rent is too damn high.”

Mr. McMillan spoke with The Local about his lingering ambitions, his plans for the future – he’s planning to hold a news conference in Tompkins Square Park next week to officially kick off his presidential bid – and his deep ties to the East Village.

What’s the first thing you’ll do for the East Village as president?

We need new leadership. The first thing I would do is meet with the governor and direct Cuomo to reduce the property taxes. Property taxes in the East Village are crazy.
Read more…

The authorities have arrested a man and charged him with attempted murder in connection with a shooting along East Second Street last week. The man, Claudio Daniel, 31, also faces assault and weapons charges in the incident, which occurred Jan. 12 at 225 East Second Street and left a 33-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The victim, whom the authorities did not identify, is listed in stable condition.—Meredith Hoffman

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

If you’re feeling neighborhood-nostalgic, you might turn to the site Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, where a local laments her move from East Village to West, after a decade on “buzzing” Avenue B.

If you’re interested in gearing up for Sunday’s Jets game, you can still turn to a local source, East Village Radio, which this morning aired a discussion with football experts.

Meanwhile, amidst our city’s ongoing bike lane debates, EV Grieve has an amusing post on a biker who was ticketed for riding on the sidewalk. On this morning’s ice, you probably won’t want to be cycling at all. Even NY1 calls it a “slippery, messy start,” and says rain will continue through the afternoon.

And today’s weather makes The Village Voice’s video of the 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride even more entertaining.

Meredith Hoffman Years after coming to East Village soup kitchens for help, Jeremy Jarvis now works as a volunteer helping those who are homeless.

Jeremy Jarvis has lived at opposite ends of the social spectrum. About 20 years ago – his life in a spiral of homelessness and alcoholism – he found himself standing in line at East Village soup kitchens.

Now, his is a life transformed and he works as a volunteer serving those who are in as much need as he once was.

And earlier today, as others gathered at ceremonies across New York and the nation to honor the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Jarvis paid tribute to the civil rights icon in his own quiet way: serving those in need.

“If I’m living with more than I need, when other people don’t have enough, I’m doing an injustice,” said Mr. Jarvis, glancing at a portrait of Dr. King in the soup kitchen of the Catholic Worker on First Street near Second Avenue.

As Mr. Jarvis gazed around the room, he recalled eating his “first bowl of soup in this room, at one of these tables” amid his troubled youth. Traveling “from handout to handout,” he found few places that consistently wanted to help him — or even cared about him.
Read more…

Suzanne Rozdeba Workers with the American Red Cross earlier today at the scene of a small fire in Stuyvesant Town.

A small kitchen fire broke out in a woman’s apartment in Stuyvesant Town, just after 1 p.m. today, and was under control in 20 minutes at the building located at 535 East 14th Street between Avenues A and B.

Officials said that the resident of the apartment sustained minor injuries. She was treated at the scene for a minor injury, but refused to be taken to the hospital.

Three American Red Cross officials were also at the scene. The officials said the woman residing in the apartment turned down any assistance, saying she did not require it.

One person sustained minor injuries this afternoon in a fire at 535 East 14th Street. The blaze, which began around 1 on the eighth floor of a 13-story building, was under control in about 20 minutes. Reporters from The Local are on the scene and we will post a full report as soon as we have more details. —Suzanne Rozdeba

Samantha Ku Carey Pulverman, the “worm lady” of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, shows off her red wigglers. The worms are an essential part of composting process.

Bugs and insects are an apartment dweller’s nightmare. But some East Village residents are embracing a creepy crawler as an ally in urban composting: the red wiggler worm, a.k.a. Eisenia foetida. With the right mix of worms, newspaper and food waste, combined with about four months’ worth of patience, you can end up with several pounds of the moist, sticky brown compost known to green thumbs as “steroids for plants.”

In an effort to be more “green,” Richard Carlsen, 53, a public school teacher, bought a worm bin 18 months ago to use in his East Ninth Street apartment. “I thought composting was out for me not having a yard, but after researching vermicomposting, I was like, ‘Oh, let me give it a try,’ and it’s worked out great,” said Mr. Carlsen.

He uses the rich fertilizer excreted by the worms on his houseplants, and he gets rid of food leftovers. ”I’m proud of my worms,” he said. “It’s amazing, you stick something in there, and in a week it’s gone.”

As a result of keeping the worm bin in his living room, Mr. Carlsen has put up with some extra insects like mites, fruit flies and gnats. He uses frequent vacuuming and fly traps to control the pest population.

For recyclers who can’t abide by worms in their homes, outdoor composting is even more passive. You can visit one of four official demonstration sites at community gardens in the East Village (see map below) to dump select food scraps into bins filled with various plant clippings.

Once every few weeks, someone in the garden will give it a good toss for aeration. In several months, it will become the nutrient-rich compost and potting soil that make avid gardeners shell out the big bucks.

There are other places to compost, including The Lower East Side Ecology Center, which has a community compost drop-off in the northeast corner of the Union Square Greenmarket for local residents.

Robert Appleton, a teacher on sabbatical who lives in the East Village, brings his compost to the Union Square Greenmarket and the 4th Street Food Co-op when he does his weekly grocery shopping.

“I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, so anything left over I just bring here in a plastic bag, usually twice a week,” said Mr. Appleton. “My apartment’s too small for me to do my own composting.”

Each week, the large black garbage bins at the compost drop-off site are filled with the rotting, moldy, smelly piles of New Yorkers’ apple cores, eggshells, and coffee grounds. The Ecology Center, in turn, uses the donated scraps to create compost and potting soil, which sells for $7 per 5 pound bag three months later at the same stand in Union Square.

Learning More About Composting

The Department of Sanitation’s NYC Compost Project also operates demonstration sites at the following community gardens:

• La Plaza Cultural, East Ninth Street and Avenue C
• Dias y Flores Garden, East 13th Street between Avenues A and B
• El Sol Brillante Garden, East 12th Street between Avenues A and B
• Earth School Garden, East 6th Street and Avenue B

View NYC Compost Project Demonstration Sites in a larger map

Tim Schreier

Good morning, East Village.

As we remember Martin Luther King Jr., today, check out one of the many celebrations around the city honoring the civil rights activist. There are documentary screenings, concerts, and walking tours, reports The Daily News.

Today, EV Grieve also remembers Jodie Lane, a Columbia grad student who lived on East 11th Street and was electrocuted by a Con Edison junction box in 2004. Her father, who died last month, worked tirelessly to push the electric company to improve its procedures.

In development news, the Guggenheim Museum is planning a community center for a rat-infested lot on East First Street, reports DNAinfo .

If you’re curious about what our neighborhood looked like in 1770, the Brooklyn Historical Society this week will unveil a rare, restored map of Manhattan by Bernard Ratzer, the “Da Vinci of cartography,” according to The Times.

In the world of culinary controversies, a waiter at the soon-to-be-shuttered Mercadito Cantina has written an open letter to EV Grieve and Community Board 3. The waiter defends the restaurant, which is reportedly closing because of mounting debt after it was denied a liquor license, and says residents should be sensitive to the fact that 25 people will lose their jobs.

And don’t put away those snow boots just yet. According to NY1 there’s a chance of snow tonight that will turn into slush, just in time for your morning commute.

After two neighborhood shooting incidents this week, and amid the nationwide gun control debates provoked by the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, The Local sought out the reactions and opinions of East Villagers.

NYU Journalism’s Meredith Hoffman reports.

Meredith Hoffman Paul’s Da Burger Joint, 131 Second Avenue.

Here’s a test: You come back to your office with your lunch, peel the silver-foil rim off the cardboard lid, and behold a very large hamburger slathered in a layer of sauteed mushrooms and onions so vast that it carpets the container; the combination of grease and a plasma of melted American cheese has rendered the bottom bun so soggy that the whole mass can be held only with great care, and the assistance of many napkins. The test: Do you think “Gross!” Or do you think “Yes!”?

If you fall in the first camp, there is no good reason to go to Paul’s Da Burger Joint at 131 Second Avenue, between Saint Marks Place and Seventh Street. You probably should stop reading this article right here. Only the hard-core carnivores still with me? Okay, let’s proceed.

In days of yore, the East Village was full of joints — pizza joints, burger joints, beer joints. Today the neighborhood is given over to the Danish open-faced sandwich and the Japanese pork butt — which I, for one, am happy to celebrate. But a place without neighborhood joints is hardly a neighborhood at all. Paul’s, founded in the remote era of 1989 and bearing the accumulated grit of years of honest service, is the kind of place Jane Jacobs would have celebrated in “The Death and Life of Great Cities.”
Read more…

Vivienne Gucwa

Good morning, East Village.

We know it’s cold out, but this weekend if you’re yearning for a peaceful stroll you should head to the East River Park promenade, nearly completed after five years of renovation. The Villager describes the progress so far.

DNAinfo also reminds us that today at 5 p.m. is the deadline to apply for membership to our local community board, communty board 3. If you’re looking to get more involved in local decision-making, you might be interested. And EV Grieve offers a humorous take on local celebrity Chloe Sevigny’s decision to join or not to join the board.

In housing news, The Village Voice tells us that yesterday Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg vowed to “close a slumlord loophole” and require landlords to pay for repairs that they’ve neglected to pay. The Voice reports that landlords owe the city a total of $19 million in emergency repairs made since 2007.

This morning we’d also like to bid a fond farewell to Ellen Stewart, iconic founder of the LaMaMa Theater on East Fourth Street. She died yesterday at age 91, and The Times and DNAinfo gives us a glimpse of her full life.

Courtesy of Eric Felisbret Eric Felisbret.

After an MTA representative went to Eric Felisbret’s school to speak to his class against subway graffiti, his curiosity was immediately sparked. Despite being warned of the consequences of what his school called “vandalism,” Mr. Felisbret began exploring the culture of graffiti writing and dove headfirst into the world of street art. In the mid ‘70s, he tagged local streets and painted subway cars with his pseudonym DEAL, eventually becoming a member of the infamous writing crew known as Crazy Inside Artists. Now as the author of Graffiti NYC and co-founder of the old school graffiti website at149st.com, Mr. Felisbret talks to The Local about how he continues to document the best works of past and present generations.

What is the difference between graffiti and street art?

Graffiti is almost exclusively letter-based, with a focus on signatures, bubble letters, and different letterforms. In street art, if an artist wants to use stickers or wheat pasting for a collage on a wall, they can. It’s a different kind of medium.

What made you want to document he graffiti you saw in your book and on your website?

I really wanted to let the younger generation of graffiti writers and the general public to get a bigger understanding of the history behind the movement. I wanted the public to understand that it’s not just vandalism, but a community of thoughtful organized artists. Read more…

A reporter on the scene for The Local says that parts of East 10th Street were cleared between Avenues B and C shortly before 4 this afternoon and that firefighters have entered the fourth floor of a building by ladder. We are continuing to track the story.—The Local

This post has been changed to correct an error; an earlier version misstated the extent of the evacuation effort along East 10th Street.

Al Kavadlo The author during a recent workout in the snow at Tompkins Square Park.

This snowy weather may be keeping many East Village residents cooped up indoors, but it hasn’t stopped me from doing my usual workouts at Tompkins Square Park. In fact, the snow makes my routine a lot more fun!

In addition to my standard regimen of pull-ups and dips, I also did some parkour
training. After all, parkour is about overcoming obstacles and the snow is just another obstacle to work around!

If you’re serious about getting in shape or improving your fitness, there is no reason that you can’t make time for exercise no matter what craziness is going on with the weather. Even if you have to fit in a quick at-home workout with no equipment, you can always dedicate at least a few minutes a day to improving your body.

I’m not saying you have to go out in a blizzard, but once you get moving out there in the snow, you might be surprised how fun and invigorating cold weather workouts can actually be.

Al Kavadlo is a personal trainer, freelance writer and author of the book, “We’re Working Out! A Zen Approach to Everyday Fitness” (Muscle-up Publications, 2010). For more information visit www.AlKavadlo.com.

Two years ago, Dave Ahdoot and his childhood friend Ethan Fixell (who together form comedy duo Dave and Ethan) went on a “man date” that was so much fun it got them wondering “why don’t we take girls on something like this?” They put an ad on Craigslist and linked it to a YouTube video asking for submissions for pairs of girls wanting to go on a double dates.

Thousands of responses and more than 200 double dates later, the pair have become dating experts and gained a wealth of knowledge about what to do, and more importantly what not to do on a date. Some of their filmed double dates have been made into a YouTube video series.

The response to the series led to monthly performances at The Peoples Improv Theater, re-enacting some of the dates, singing songs about first date fouls and even conducting spur of the moment dates live on stage. Recognizing that college students need their instruction the most, Dave and Ethan have started touring college campuses across the nation imparting their wisdom into the porous minds of today’s youth. In 2011 alone, they are scheduled to perform at more than 50 colleges and as long as people date, there seems no sign of a slowing demand for this kind of expert advice.

I sat down with Dave Ahdoot, until recently an East Village resident, to get some tips and play some games.

Allison Hertzberg is owner and head designer at Accessories by ASH.