Michelle Rick

Good morning East Village,

Last week, lawyers began making their closing arguments in the case against two East Village police officers on trial for rape, burglary, and official misconduct. The Times reported that on Friday Kenneth Moreno’s lawyer called on the jury to acquit his client, citing a lack of physical evidence. Closing arguments are set to resume today in the Manhattan Supreme Court.

Also, a search for missing 14-year-old Queens resident, Chetsea Williams, has spread to the East Village. Yesterday, the EV Grieve spotted these flyers, posted in Tompkins Square Park. The girl’s mother told The Local this morning that her daughter has not been seen since going to school on Friday and that local authorities are involved in the search. If you have any information, please contact the numbers listed on the flyer.

In happier news, changes on the restaurant scene mean much is afoot for local flavor.  Last week, Ssam Bar reopened the space at its adjunct, previously Momofuku Milk Bar, and posted a fresh menu, headlining their new duck-featured lunches.  Japanese burgers have immigrated to Second Street.  And while the Acme Bar & Grill fell into the hands of new owners, Luke’s Lobsters threw in with the food truck trend, christening their new portable food counter the “Nauti.”

Heartonastick Tom Verlaine performing at Central Park Summerstage, 2007.

There are certain artists one wishes one could outgrow. They belong to one’s youth, after all, and perhaps they should remain there, along with all the other youthful things one is relieved to have outgrown. But for me, the music of the CBGB’s-era band Television, and in particular its singer and songwriter, Tom Verlaine, is one of those youthful enthusiasms which (so far, anyway) threads its way through my life with embarrassing persistence. Occasionally it disappears for long periods while other, more novel interests take hold, but then, like mosquitoes in Spring, back it comes, nipping at the senses as tenaciously as always, only in this case the result is intense pleasure rather than irritation and blood marks.

Television was, or is — no one seems to be sure of its exact current status — the band best known for inaugurating the CBGB’s scene in the mid-1970’s; for having to this day a small but ferociously loyal group of devotees; and for having been eclipsed, at least in terms of popularity, by other bands of that era such as Talking Heads, Blondie, The Ramones, et al. Even by the monstrously egotistical standards set by most rock stars, they seemed weirdly indifferent to fame and record sales, but like the Velvet Underground their musical influence remains pervasive and lives on in a variety of formats which now include amateurishly filmed but invaluable concert clips put up on YouTube.
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The “maxi” dress, as its name implies, represents the fact that it’s cut at the maximum length possible. While often form fitting at the top, the maxi dress and the similar maxi skirt is long and flowy, covering up the legs and letting the toes peek out. As these East Villagers noted, the conservative cut lends well to funky patterns and its name also supports another of its virtues — maximum comfort! On the street the Local was not surprised to see these East Villagers looking stylish while staying cool and summer-minded!

NYU Journalism’s Rachel Ohm and Claire Glass report.

Violet the red-tailed hawk feeding her hatchling this morning. Click the image above to view live pictures from the Hawk Cam.

On Thursday, we told you about a plan by animal rescue workers to capture and treat Violet, the red-tailed hawk nesting high above Washington Square Park, whose leg is badly swollen by a metal wildlife band. After several hours of deliberations, workers decided against a rescue attempt — Violet is doing well enough, they said, and the risks of intervening, for both Violet and her recently hatched baby hawk, were too great. Visit The City Room blog of The Times for more updates.—The Local

Tim Schreier

Good morning, East Village.

And welcome to the weekend. It might shape up to be a rainy and cloudy one, but it’s here. Brave the weather and wander a bit south for the second weekend of the Hester Street Fair. Bowery Boogie has a list of the vendors and a take on the saga of one pickle-seller’s return.

If you didn’t catch it last night the neighborhood seemed rather supportive of the city Landmarks Preservation Commission’s plans to create historic districts in the East Village. There were a few reservations, but lots of thumbs-ups from preservationist groups and longtime Village residents.

And for an artsy (and studied) take on the cultural obsession with preservation, you can wander over to the New Museum for a new exhibit on how we build and maintain and remember. If you make it over, Gothamist has some helpful tips for how to behave. Don’t point!

Happy Friday.

Grace Maalouf Kate Daly, executive director of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, speaks earlier tonight at an informational meeting about two new proposed historic districts in the East Village.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission presented its plans tonight for creating a historic district in the neighborhood and heard from several community groups who voiced their support for the measure and also suggested extending the districts.

The presentation, which occurred during an informational meeting at the BRC Senior Services Center hosted by Community Board 3, is one of the first in a series of steps that would mean property owners in the designated areas would need commission approval before making changes to their buildings.

Kate Daly, executive director of the commission, said she has been meeting and will continue to meet with individual property owners whose buildings will fall into the designated districts, and stressed that Thursday’s meeting was merely to “get the word out to the larger community.”

She added that the commission is “very eager to move forward” in the designation process, and that the two historic districts proposed are just the beginning for the Lower East Side.
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Earlier today we told you about plans to capture and treat Violet, the red-tailed hawk whose nest is high above Washington Square Park and whose leg is badly swollen from a metal wildlife band. The City Room blog of The Times is providing regular updates on the effort this afternoon, including its Hawk Cam. At last word, wildlife workers were en route to the nest begin the rescue. —The Local

Dan Glass
Emmanuel Howard.

“Hey, buddy, I got some tools for ya,” says Emmanuel Howard from his table full of goods on Avenue A between Second and Third Streets. While helping a neighborhood acquaintance, he was greeted continually by passersby — elderly people with dogs, leggy blondes, kids, and street folk. He says he’s been selling here for 32 years.

Mr. Howard — who is known as Manny the Peddler to almost everyone — is one of the last street peddlers on the Lower East Side, infamous in the 80’s and 90’s for blocks-long stretches of people selling everything from antique furniture to dead batteries. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani eliminated much of the street vending during his terms, but Mr. Howard remains. At 70, he still hauls second-hand merchandise by handtruck, virtually all of it set aside for him by neighborhood residents, with one recent score of metal garbage cans and push brooms from Stomp, courtesy of the Orpheum Theater.

“There used to be people everywhere at three, four o’clock in the morning,” says Mr. Howard, who rarely stands still, between arranging his inventory and giving a quick pitch to anyone eyeing an item. “Not like now.”
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Michael NataleThe roof of 35 Cooper Square as it was being dismantled by workers Wednesday afternoon.

Good morning, East Village.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and like the rest of our neighbors, we’ve still got our binoculars focused on 35 Cooper Square, where the roof is starting to come down. We’ll keep an eye out for more changes, as usual. We’ll also be covering tonight’s Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing, so stay tuned to see how more changes in the area might play with building owners and preservationists.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, the rescue of a red-tailed hawk nesting on the 12th floor of an NYU building is scheduled for today. Wildlife experts who have been monitoring the bird, Violet, may try to treat her swollen leg and release her into the wild.

Over at EV Grieve, there’s a roundup of restaurant news, plus a few more changes on the menu for the neighborhood’s eateries: new delis, new names, new faces up for hire. Here at the Local, we pointed out that today is the last day of pizza parlor Enzo’s. Head out for a slice to say your goodbyes, and enjoy the weather before the rain hits this weekend. Happy Thursday.

Ian Duncan Men at work on the roof of 35 Cooper Square. Below: Views from inside the building show holes in the roof above a stairwell (top), and daylight pouring into the ground floor.

Update | 3:30 p.m. A team of three men was at work apparently tearing down the roof of 35 Cooper Square by hand this afternoon.

Behind its unlocked front door, the building had been completely stripped and holes knocked through the floors of the second and third stories. Workers threw bits of other wood and other debris down to the first floor. No power tools were heard to be in use, but a buzz saw lay idle on the roof. From across the street, workers appeared to be using hand saws on the building’s masonry.

The building’s stairs are intact, illuminated by a string of bulbs on a yellow wire, which snaked its way up to the roof.

At the unenclosed entrance to the roof, a worker in a flourescent yellow safety vest told The Local the site was off-limits.

Tim Milk

Enzo’s Pizza, famous to those who dwell near 50 Second Avenue, will be selling slices and soda up through this Thursday, May 12, Enzo’s last day of business.

Enzo’s pizza, made with fresh homemade marinara sauce and topped with real mozzarella — “not that white rubber crap,” as Enzo would put it — will be missed. His eggplant slice with farm-fresh ricotta was a masterpiece offered seasonally, and his delicious hot meatball and chicken Parmesan sandwiches were a mainstay to many in the area.

As ever, Enzo could be relied upon to serve up his specialties with opinions on everything from food to sports to politics. The more poetic aspect of the southern Italian dialect was also a feature whenever an attractive lady passed by his windows.

Stop by the place for one last slice and to say goodbye. There will never be another Enzo’s.

Adrian Fussell, Vivienne Gucwa, Michael Pearce, Tim Schreier, members of The Local East Village Flickr Group share their images of the Festival of Ideas for the New City.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

If you’d like a chance to see your best shots appear on The Local, join The Local East Village Flickr Group.

Courtesy of Girls Prep Kaitlin Seaver.

Girl Prep Middle School has new principal.

Kaitlin Seaver, a veteran educator who’s helped nearly two dozen city schools develop academic curricula, was introduced last week as the school’s new principal. Girls Prep Middle had been without a permanent principal since February when Kimberly Morcate was dismissed amid declining test scores at the school.

Ms. Seaver joins Girls Prep Middle after serving as the Department of Education’s Lead Senior Instructional Coach where she worked with 21 city middle schools to create Common Core State Standards, which she described as a “consistent, clear, understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.”

Before joining the Department of Education, Ms. Seaver worked with Knowledge is Power Charter Schools as a sixth grade English teacher, a dean of students, and as a district middle school assistant principal.

She said that she believed a school mission is “to empower all students to become critical thinkers and strong leaders.”

“I am more than confident that we will fulfill this mission together,” said Ms. Seaver, who will begin work in July.

Ms. Seaver’s appointment comes after a two-year stretch in which the school has faced over-crowding issues, a move to a new location and a significant drop in its test scores.

Ian Rowe, one of the acting principal’s at the school, welcomed Ms. Seaver to the school.

“She will lead our Middle School to ensure our students are fully equipped to be accepted into- and thrive- in high-performing public and private high schools,” he said.

“It’s definitely a bitter sweet moment,” said Hilda Salazar, mother of a fifth grader. “We lost Ms. Morcate, but I’m excited to see what she” – Ms. Seaver – “will do.”

The Department of Buildings has issued a new permit that would allow the full demolition of 35 Cooper Square. The permit, which was issued May 6, clears the way for the destruction of the historic site; a second permit was also issued for fencing for the site, where scaffolding now obstructs the view of the three-story house. Despite preservationists’ attempts to keep the building standing, the developer has said he will not maintain it. —Suzanne Rozdeba

Handball washed up on the shores of New York about 150 years ago in the boats of Irish immigrants. It has since exploded in the city, as players of all backgrounds have adopted the sport as their own. When the weather breaks, tens of thousands flood the 2,500-plus handball courts in the city to take part in this fun, local game.

Players from all over the city convene in the East Village at the East First Street and First Avenue courts, citing the fierce competition, ethnic diversity, convenient location as reasons to travel to the courts. The courts are a preferred place to get in shape, improve your skills and even win a few bucks on the side.

NYU Journalism’s Greg Howard reports.

Rachel Citron

Good morning, East Village.

And welcome to what promises to be a beautiful week. Highs today will creep up to 70, and the sun should stay out till Friday.

On the heels of a cloudy weekend, that sounds pretty good. Hope you found your way outside in the last couple days to enjoy some of the street festivals and/or buy flowers for your mom.

As we reported earlier, a rat-infested lot in the East Village is set to host a traveling art project from the Guggenheim. Now the museum has revealed its plans to build a hovering “toolbox” platform for art exhibits while a “community gathering space” below, according to DNAinfo.

Meanwhile, animal rescue workers are concerned after a new addition to the family of Violet the hawk, who has been nesting on an NYU building. Because of a metal band on the bird’s leg, the wildlife workers may try to capture the hawk through the window of NYU’s president’s office.

And if you’re out and about this afternoon and want to rest your legs, stay away from this stretch of Bond Street, where what EV Grieve has dubbed “fanny fenders” just went up to keep “sitting on a window ledge” off your to-do list. Happy Monday, Villagers.

Members of The Local East Village Flickr Group discuss shooting photographs from a higher vantage point.

Adrian Fussell

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