Make we merry, yes, but maybe not too merry. Look at the calories in this stuff.
But before the party starts, Lucky’s Famous Burgers is feeling out of place on East Houston–imagine–and is looking to “Houstanize” (sic) its design.
If there was ever a reason to scamper across neighborhood boundaries: heart-throb Zac Efron is filming in Little Italy today and tomorrow.
Still making plans for the holiday week? Consider “music from the Carpathians, a Baroque Nativity folk opera and carnivalesque Goat Songs by a punk group from Toronto” brought to La Mama by Yara Arts Group.
Finally, we turn to courtesies of the season. Happy fifth birthday today to EV Grieve, and to all our readers–those who celebrate these holidays and those who do not–may your days be merry and peaceful until The Day returns again.
Courtesy La MaMaPreliminary work on La MaMa’s white roof.
The building that houses La MaMa got a new mural back in May, and now it’s getting another paint job – but not in the name of art.
The White Roof Project laid down a first coat of white paint on the theater’s rooftop on Wednesday, adding another 7,000 square feet of solar-reflective white roof to the neighborhood in an ongoing effort to reduce carbon emissions and encourage energy efficiency.
Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza, the project’s founder, told The Local that the Lower East Side is one the heaviest energy users in the city. “Our efforts there get you more ‘bang for your buck’ every time a roof is coated white,” he said, adding that he wanted to have contiguous rooftops along East Third and Fourth Streets between Bowery and Second Avenue painted white by the end of 2013. Read more…
The above photo was taken during “casserole night” yesterday, part of what organizers hope will be an ongoing international movement to show solidarity for students protesting tuition hikes in Quebec. According to a reporter for The Local, over 100 protesters made their way from Washington Square Park to Union Square and then uptown, some of them banging pots and pans as they headed up Broadway.
Crain’s reports that the Jehovah’s Witness Hall that was such a headache for Nublu is now on the market. “The 3,050-square-foot, two-story property located at 67 Avenue C, at 5th Street, is up for grabs, according to Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, which was retained to market the building on behalf of the Witnesses.”
The Post reports that one of the men accused of attaching skimming devices to ATMs in Astor Place and Union Square has been sentenced to three years in prison. His brother and alleged accomplice remains at large. Read more…
From 1980 until 1996, John Leguizamo, the actor, comedian, writer and producer behind such hits as “Mambo Mouth” and “Ghetto Klown,” lived on East Seventh Street. He now resides in the central Village, but he still has roots in Alphabet City: his production offices are headquartered in his old brownstone there; and last month his wife Justine, who sits on the board of the Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation, spoke at a hearing that resulted in the landmarking of a block on East 10th Street.
Mr. Leguizamo told The Local that the East Village “will always hold a special place in my heart.” Of course, things have changed since the days when “you’d see Eric Bogosian at the bodega, Steve Buscemi buying a coffee, Iggy Pop at the health food store, Quentin Crisp tottering down the street,” as he wrote in his memoir. Over e-mail, he said, “The neighborhood used to be alive with all different kind of artists. Musicians, poets, painters, actors, singers, dancers. But the rich came in and all the squatters left and went to Brooklyn.”
So what’s there still to love about the “East Vill”? Mr. Leguizamo reflected on some of his past and present favorites. Read more…
A performance of “Golem.”
This month, the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater will perform “Golem,” which retells the Jewish legend about a golem created by a revered rabbi to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks.
Vit Horejs, the director of the musical, which features eight performers handling puppets that are roughly four-foot tall, said that the story is a classic in the Czech Republic. He expected a big crowd for the performances, starting Nov. 17 at La MaMa theater on East Fourth Street.
“Every Czech child will know it,” said Mr. Horejs, 61. “People come from all walks of life to see it. A lot of people are interested in Golem.” Read more…
Who’s this walking south on First Avenue, just one face among thousands enjoying the East Village on a crisp fall evening? Here’s a hint: The native New Yorker (recently seen at Café Orlin) got her start as an actress at La MaMa before going on to achieve global fame alongside Matt Damon in the Bourne trilogy. Global fame or not, Julia Stiles went largely unnoticed as she waited at a traffic light on 12th Street and First Avenue at about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
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 »
Scott Lynch
