The Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant returns to the neighborhood for its 20th edition

[Fun With Fritz in 2018 by Walter Wlodarczyk]

After several years in exile, the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant is coming back to the neighborhood for the 2019 edition, said to be the 20th annual*.

Reverend Jen, the longtime MC, is hosting again this year. She shared details about this year's event, happening March 23 at Bedlam, 40 Avenue C between Third Street and Fourth Street.

Per her media advisory:

It's time for the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant whereupon the women and gay men of New York and Parts Unknown choose one lucky man to rule the area South of Houston and East of the Bowery.

The 20th annual Pageant will prove to be an extra glamorous affair, much like the Ms. Universe Pageant, if all the contestants were hairy and liked Budweiser. To compete in this cutthroat Pageant, contestants need not live on the Lower East Side. (Because, no one can afford to anymore.) They simply must possess qualities, which would make them a proper representative of the neighborhood. (What those qualities are, we're not sure ...)

They also must prepare for the following three categories: 1.) One-Minute talent competition. 2.) Swimwear, and 3.) Evening Wear combined with Q&A. Contestants must show up no later than 8 p.m. to compete or, they can email Rev. Jen in advance.

The chosen Monarch will also receive a slice of pizza from Rosario's, a 6-pack of Budweiser and the knowledge that he has been chosen by the people. Runner-up will receive the dubious title of Mr. Tribeca and will get to wear a smaller vagina-shaped crown throughout the year.

Prizes will also be awarded for "Best Male Tits," "Best Nutsack" and congeniality. Appearances by past Mr. Lower East Sides and musical acts will make the evening especially magical.

The 20th Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant
Saturday, March 23, 8 p.m.
Bedlam, 40 Avenue C near Third Street
$10 (free for competitors)

* One Mr. LES Pageant historian is disputing this claim, noting that this may only be the the 19th-and-a-half installment of the pageant, given that the 17th edition was stopped while still in the first round.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (in Queens)

At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (in Queens)

Photos and text by Walter Wlodarczyk

Saturday saw the return of the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant — Downtown's answer to traditional beauty pageants that founder
Reverend Jen has described as being similar to Miss USA, "if all the performers were hairy and liked Budweiser."

The male-objectifying celebration of the weird is now in its 18th year, though fans might note that Saturday's was actually the 18th-and-a-half installment of the pageant, owing to the fact that the first attempt at the 17th was terminated just a few contestants into the first round, due to (in Reverend Jen's words) "reasons we won't go into."

This year's pageant was contested without issue at The Footlight in Ridgewood, which feels like a perfect home away from the Lower East Side for the event. This was the third time the pageant has been held outside the Lower East Side, the irony of which was well noted during the event. But as Reverend Jen aptly pointed out, the Lower East Side is really just a state of mind.

As always, the pageant consisted of three rounds — a one-minute talent competition, swimsuit, and evening wear combined
with question-and-answer. This year's competitors featured regular favorites (such as Tommy D Naked Man) and first-timers (artist Lisa Levy, who was crowned Miss Subways in September, attempted to add the Mr. LES crown to her collection).

Talents on display included butt painting, Barbra Streisand impersonation, and the filmmaker Dylan Mars Greenberg selling her artistic integrity in exchange for promoting their new feature film "ReAgitator: Revenge of the Parody," which you can now purchase on Amazon Video.

But it was Fun With Fritz who took the crown, having demonstrated considerable talent by making an omelette in his cod piece before having audience members roll him into a human breakfast burrito, not to mention flawlessly completing the Q&A segment by rattling off the names of numerous shuttered Lower East Side businesses.

Fritz promised to use the great responsibility of the Mr. Lower East Side crown to advocate for changing our currency from dollars to kindness.


[Josefina Concepción]


[Painting with Josefina Concepción]


[Mr. Barbra Streisand]


[Fun With Fritz]


[Fun With Fritz as a breakfast burrito]


[Reverend Jen]


[Dylan Mars Greenberg]


[Lisa Levy]


[Tim Shea]


[Pregaming with Tommy D Naked Man]


[Fun With Fritz is crowned winner]



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Thanks to Walter Wlodarczyk for the photos. Find more of his work here. Reverend Jen has an art show up at MF Gallery through Saturday.

Brooklyn will now host the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant

[Photo last year by Walter Wlodarczyk]

Funny thing happened on the way to the 16th annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant — it's moving to the Lucky 13 Saloon in Gowanus.

Here's more from the Pageant's creator, Rev. Jen, on Facebook:

Sadly, the infamous Mr. Lower East Side Pageant, which was originally scheduled for January 31st at Cake Shop was cancelled at the last minute due to the "fun police" and fear of penile exposure. So in a bizarre turn of events it's moving to Brooklyn! This is OK, given the Lower East Side is a state of mind and frankly, the Lower East Side can suck it, as all creative activity has been exiled from the neighborhood due to greedy landlords. (Landlords recently almost exiled me from the LES in housing court!) I'm pretty sure that someday, the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant will be held in New Jersey.

You can find more details and the rest of Rev. Jen's announcement on the Facebook event page.

H/T The Lo-Down!

There will be balls: At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant

Reverend Jen hosted the 14th Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant last Thursday evening at the Cake Shop on Ludlow Street. Competitions included "best male tits," "congeniality" and "best nutsack."

EV Grieve Facebook friend Walter Wlodarczyk shared some photos, even blocking out the privates where necessary for our family-friendly website ...

















Jugger-nut provided the musical entertainment. (Watch a video at the band's Facebook page.)





...and here he is... this year's Mr. Lower East Side — Johnny Bizarre, who, among other acts, hammered a nail into his pee hole.



Slum Goddess has a lot more photos and videos here, which may be NSFW.

And here's a video that the New York Post produced...

At the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant

Reverend Jen's 15th Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant took place Friday night at the Cake Shop on Ludlow Street… So much drama! Talent! Man meat! (That means chest and like abs, right?) Slum Goddess has many of the gory details and photos and video right here.



The two photos here are by EVG Facebook friend Walter Wlodarczyk. If you're on Facebook (or not), then you can find a whole lot more of his photos from Friday night here.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Jacquelyn Gallo
Occupation: Public Relations, Curator, Bartender
Location: Avenue A between 6th and 7th
Time: 8:15 on Friday, Feb. 17

I’ve been in New York for 10 years. I still fall in love with this city every single day. I’m from satanic, KKK, crazy-town Florida and every single day I see stuff here that I’ve never seen before.

I’m from Fort Myers, which is a big town now, but there was nothing to do, so I started listening to music. Escapism is very important when you’re young and that was how I got into music. I wasn’t a drug person and I wasn’t into that type of escape. I did what I could there. I ran a record shop for four years and held club nights and brought bands to town. I brought Iggy Pop and Flogging Molly and a bunch of cool groups.

I had wanted to move to the city since I was eight. I studied writing at the New School, which I loved and I’m probably going back next year. I worked in the photo industry as a post-production producer. I was also doing casting, production, and I did a lot of photo production for Barney’s and Sephora.

Then, about a year and a half ago, I joined this very strange, theatrical punk rock band called Jugger-nut. The band is 12 members. We have every caricature. There are five main dancers and some extras that come. I’m a dancer/performer and I do a nunchuck routine. We’re playing in the Mr. Lower East Side contest [tomorrow night] at Cake Shop. It’s Rev Jen. She has this annual male pageant where the men have to compete against each other. There’s talent and swimsuit. It’s hilarious and a really big honor to play there.

Something about joining the band. I was like, “I can’t live these two lives anymore.” Working in fashion and judging girls by how expensive they looked didn’t sit well with me. So I just started doing public relations and not taking the other jobs. I also wanted to get more involved in art curating, so I started doing shows. I prefer to use interesting spaces instead of traditional galleries to hold shows. The last show I co-curated was called CREEPERS!.

About six months ago, I was combing the streets of the Lower East Side and East Village looking for a cool place with a sense of humor and I thought of the Pyramid Club. I’ve been working here ever since. A very nice family runs it and we immediately had a good relationship. They asked if I wanted to bartend as well.

The Pyramid is an institution and a new forum now. RuPaul started here; Red Hot Chili Peppers played here; Nirvana played here. This place has such a great history. People still come in here and are like, “I haven’t been here in 25 years.” They tell these amazing stories and I’m like, well, guess what happened last week?

It’s still here, it just needs the young people to re-awaken it. It’s important to have a space where this stuff can happen. This space brings in a lot of interesting people from all over. We’re trying to do something very different. We have a monthly black light fantasy dance dance party called Last Unicorn down in the basement. We book two performers a month and we also try to get people who don’t normally perform to do something interesting.

I remember when I first moved here and everybody was like, “The East Village has changed so much.” It’s the normal gripe, which I understand, but am not a supporter of. Come in and do something here. We have an open forum. That’s the thing — it’s the people. There’s no building that’s haunted by the ghost of coolness. Yes, Mars Bar was great. I loved it and went almost every day. Amy who worked there now works across the street [at Sidewalk]. Plenty of the Mars Bar people go there. I mean, it’s not the same thing, you can’t get naked and light stuff on fire, unfortunately, but if you like that then create another space. Things change all of the time ... you can’t just kill the energy. You just have to keep blowing on the embers and eventually the fire will start again.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Recognition for composer Julius Eastman; props for Szechuan Mountain House

[C.H.U.D. 3? Photo on 1st Avenue by Derek Berg]

Homeless woman on First Street awaits reunion with her pit bull named Red (Daily News)

28 years after his death, composer Julius Eastman, who lived in the East Village, gets a publishing deal (The New York Times)

A former top city official sues Mayor de Blasio for $5 million-plus over claims he was illegally fired for blowing the whistle on alleged City Hall corruption (The Post)

More about the clay pot cooking at Clay Pot on St. Mark's Place (Eater ... previously)

A visit to Spark Pretty on Ninth Street (Nylon ... previously)

How did the subway delays get so bad? (The New York Times)

A Q-and-A with East Village-based author Arthur Nersesian (Convicts ... previously)

Boubouki closing in the Essex Street Market next week (The Lo-Down)

NYU prez apologizes after dining hall serves Black History Month meal that included red Kool-Aid and watermelon-flavored water as well as ribs and collard greens (Washington Square News)

Roland, auctioneers of antiques, leaving its home in the St. Denis building at 11th Street and Broadway (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The films of Iranian documentarian Mehrdad Oskouei (Anthology Film Archives)

Cop Shoot Cop alumni news (Flaming Pablum)

More pics from the Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (Slum Goddess ... previously)

"Way Out West" with Sonny Rollins (The Village Voice)

Three stars for Szechuan Mountain House on St. Mark's Place (Eater)

The Who’s 1968 Live At Fillmore East — the former concert venue on Second Avenue at Sixth Street — has been fully restored and mixed for an April 20 release (Addicted to Noise)

5 Pointz owner plans to appeal $6.7M settlement verdict (Curbed)

The building that used to house Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s Karpas Health Information Center on First Avenue at 18th Street has been sold and will soon be demolished (Town & Village)

Airbnb and the unintended consequences of "disruption" (The Atlantic)

And watch bearded drag queen Levonia Jenkins performs Fergie's recent rendition of the National Anthem at Club Cumming on Sixth Street (via Hornet)

Week in Grieview

[Spotted on East Third Street]

At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (Tuesday)

Boca Chica is closed for now (Tuesday)

Here's Bowery Poetry (Thursday)

Fire at Village View (Friday)

Still no explanations for those noises Tuesday night (Wednesday, 34 comments)

Ads for The Jefferson mock your lousy apartment (Monday)

Former Cedar Tavern becoming a European Wax Center (Wednesday)

CB3 rescinds its approval of Lolita Bar takeover (Wednesday)

New liquor store for East Houston (Monday)

When you shoplift at Rite Aid (Tuesday, 34 comments)

Out and About with Reverend Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church (Wednesday)

Our two-part interview with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine (Thursday ... and Friday)

Bishops and Barons has closed on East 14th Street (Friday)

Look at the Flea Market Cafe now (Saturday)

Tepito closes on First Avenue (Friday)


[Sky over Tompkins Square Park this morning]

Week in Grieview

[St. Patrick's Day weekend on 2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Good Records NYC is closing, though the shop will continue to sell vinyl as Stranded Records (Monday)

A visit to Sixth Street Specials (Friday)

Photos: 'Best Wishes' from Harley Flanagan at the Pyramid Club (Wednesday)

A Repeat Performance, until July 31 (Wednesday)

Art on A Gallery closing this summer after 7 years (Tuesday)

Report: New York Attorney General intervenes to stop eviction of tenants in Raphael Toledano-owned building on 13th Street (Thursday)

The Annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant returns to the neighborhood for its 20th edition (Monday)

The FDNY honors fire marshal Christopher T. Zanetis in plaque ceremony on 2nd Street (Friday)

Todaro Bros. is closing April 2, ending 102 years of business (Thursday)

Hanoi House expanding on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Cold case: New information sought in the 23-year-old murder of Second Avenue Deli owner Abe Lebewohl (Friday)

An outpost of Original Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches arrives on Avenue A and 13th Street (Wednesday)

Station on 10th Street along Tompkins Square Park now one of the largest in the Citi Bike system (Wednesday)

Tree Bistro is returning after October fire (Thursday)

Reminders: the Ottendorfer Library is back open (Monday)

This week's NY See (Monday)

Christmas is coming to 10th Street thanks to 'Mr. Robot' (Wednesday)

Van Đa brings modern Vietnamese cuisine to 4th Street (Friday)

Report: MTA commits to a shorter work day for the 14th Street L-train rehab (Friday)

Chinese Graffiti now open at 171 Avenue A (Friday)

Coming soon signage spotted for Plado on 2nd Street (Tuesday)

The Black Emperor has arrived on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

The building housing the now-closed Sidewalk remains for sale on Avenue A (Wednesday)

Another look at that 5th Street ghost signage (Wednesday)

1st of the new businesses at 20 Avenue A is now open (Monday)

Wattle Cafe joins forces with Pure Green at 152 2nd Ave. (Tuesday)

Perk Espresso and Coffee Bar opens this week on 14th Street (Monday)

Former No Malice Palace for rent on 3rd Street (Monday)

... and on Friday, students from several East Village schools came to Tompkins Square Park in support of the National Youth Climate Strike ...


[Derek Berg]

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Week in Grieview

[Last night at Royal Tailor on 11th Street]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Pile driving for new building on Avenue C prompts arrival of crack monitors next door (Wednesday)

At the annual Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (in Queens) (Monday)

Jimmy Carbone and Paloma Rocket collaborating on new venture for the Jimmy's No. 43 space (Tuesday)

The latest I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Friday)

Honoring actor Joseph Sirola at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Bad news for fans of Siggy's Good Food (Wednesday)

Still House relocating to 9th Street (Friday)

Clay Pot opens on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

A London-based hairdresser gave free haircuts to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Avant-Garde-Arama at Performance Space grand re-opening (Thursday)

Retail for rent signs arrive for Steiner East Village storefronts (Tuesday)

A look at the former GG's space on 5th Street (Friday)

McSorley's turns 164 (Monday)

A spin through Downtown Yarns on Avenue A (Thursday)

Awaiting repairs for a sidewalk vault on 4th Street (Wednesday)

All is quiet at 75 1st Ave. (Thursday)

Last weekend for the Stone on Avenue C (Thursday)

Report: Financial firm takes the Death Star penthouse (Wednesday)

Chat 'N Chew reboot opens (Tuesday)

...and an opossum update from last night in Tompkins Square Park...

Opossum spotting! Dog barking at poor Opie up in his tree! @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/NiXovGhM0O

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) February 25, 2018

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EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Dining at Polonia: "This place is not going to attract any douchebag crowds anytime soon, so don't fret" (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Motorino team planning eatery under the Sunshine Hotel (The Lo-Down)

A comprehensive history of Dry Dock and St. Brigid's (EV Transitions)

NYC in photos from different eras (Flaming Pablum)

5 things disappearing from New York (Blah Blog Blah)

The "ice pick bandit" has been apprehended (Runnin' Scared)

"Castle" on Canal Street (BoweryBoogie)

Taking a stand against NYU expansion (Gothamist)

Looking at Time Square's transition (Curbed)

Melanie has a shot of an @EVLambo competitor from earlier this year (East Village Corner)

Judging the Mr. Lower East Side pageant (Slum Goddess)

And the Times apparently didn't accept BaHa's online comment on the Seventh Street feature. We have accepted it:

"Ageist, youth-worshipping twaddle, standard issue for NYT reporting whenever it ventures downtown."