First President of Japan's wonderfully weird Halloween in Tompkins

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A little appreciation for first president of Japan, who brought their wonderfully chaotic mix of punk, garage rock, and absurdist humor back to Tompkins Square Park for a Show Brain show on Halloween. 

Led by the irrepressible Non Kuramoto, dressed as a sea nettle, the Brooklyn band tore through a set that included crowdsurfing, caterwauling and plenty of audience participation... and an operatic grand finale in front of the Hare Krishna tree. 

Kuramoto, who once trained as a clown, handed out handmade masks of her own face to the crowd... while the keyboardist came dressed as an AI bubble. 

It was gloriously ridiculous, unpredictable and exactly the kind of performance that makes these free afternoons in the park so much fun.

This is Show Brain's final free concert for the year in Tompkins... there's one more show tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon in Washington Square Park with Big Girl, Laveda, Dallas Wax and Grace Bergere.

Long-lost Georgia O'Keeffe painting found in an East Village closet could fetch $3 million

Image and information via Christie's Press Centre. 

An East Village apartment closet turned out to be hiding a valuable piece of art. 

According to Christie's Press Centre, a long-lost Georgia O'Keeffe painting, Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I, was recently discovered in the closet of a longtime neighborhood resident. 

The 1930 landscape had been a graduation gift to the woman in the 1960s. Her mother purchased it for $3,800 in 1963. 

The painting hung in her apartment until the mid-1980s, when she became concerned that a guest at a bridge game was taking too much interest in it. 

So she packed it away in its original wooden box, where it remained for roughly 40 years. Earlier this year, while her niece was helping her sort through belongings, the woman casually mentioned, "Oh, by the way, there's a Georgia O'Keeffe in the closet." 

The painting, previously known to art historians only through a 1931 photograph, is now expected to fetch around $3 million at Christie's Nov. 17 auction. 

Before then, the public can see it for free at Christie's, 20 Rockefeller Center, from Saturday through Nov. 17. 

The woman, whose family has requested anonymity, died shortly after the painting was rediscovered.

'No Picnic,' Phil Hartman's look at the 1980s East Village, is now streaming on Criterion

In case you missed it during its 12-week run at Film Forum, "No Picnic" is now streaming on the Criterion Channel. 

Written and directed by Phil Hartman, the 1986 black-and-white film follows Macabee Cohn (David Brisbin), a down-and-out jukebox operator searching for a mysterious woman through the tenements, dive bars and streets of downtown Manhattan. The cast includes Richard Hell, Steve Buscemi and Luis Guzmán, along with an assortment of downtown personalities. 

Cinematographer Peter Hutton won a Sundance award for his work on the film. 

The film, largely unseen for decades, resurfaced earlier this year with a new 4K restoration that screened at MoMA and Film Forum.

In an April interview with EVG, Hartman, also a co-founder of Two Boots Pizza, discussed his efforts to capture a neighborhood that was already disappearing in the mid-1980s. Rather than confining the production to a few locations, Hartman filmed more than 100 characters in more than 100 locations. 

As Hartman told us, "We were truly blessed to capture a time and place that deserve to be celebrated, not forgotten." 

According to Filmmaker Magazine, "No Picnic" made $123,000 during its 12-week screening, making it one of the Film Forum's top repertory runs of the decade, beating out Federico Fellini's "8½" ($120,000), Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" ($103,000), and nearly equaling Satyajit Ray's "Days and Nights in the Forest" ($127,000). 

You can read our full interview with Hartman here.

Saturday's opening shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

After a day of on-and-off drizzle, the skies started clearing late yesterday afternoon, revealing a large double rainbow over NYC. 

These views come from Seventh Street and Avenue B, where the colorful display offered a welcome end to an otherwise gray Friday... though we do enjoy otherwise gray Fridays...

To 'Die' for

 

Brooklyn-based band Nine Perfect Lives, featuring Helena Straight and Stella Wave from the on-hiatus Hello Mary, have released their debut single, "Die," along with a new video. 

The release follows the band's signing with London-based label AD 93. (Pitchfork's 2025 label of the year.) 

We caught the band, also featuring Cooper Ladomade of Rocket and musician/audio technician Jeanne Hill, at Irving Plaza in May, just four shows into their existence. Stacie Joy photographed a set filled with swirling guitars, distortion and sharp pop melodies.

Finding more tiny life-like treasures in Tompkins Square Park

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The search for Tompkins Square Park's mysterious bronze litter continues. 

Since our first report (here) on the tiny sculptures scattered throughout the park, we've been keeping an eye out for more. 

And we've found about a dozen additional pieces, including a pair of workout gloves, tree bark, a remarkably perfect leaf, peanuts, a bag of chips, a Capri Sun-type juice packet (or possibly a nutcracker?), assorted bottle caps and what appears to be a pile of dog poop.

We're also learning a little more about how the pieces got there, though the identity of the artist — or artists — remains a mystery. 

While photographing the gloves near the calisthenics bars, we spoke with a regular who recalled arriving one day to find the gloves freshly attached to the ground with epoxy. They were still soft and pliable, he said, and could have been moved easily. Over time, they hardened. He estimated that they had appeared a few weeks earlier. 

Meanwhile, one reader shared an intriguing account: 

"My friend saw three (masked) men who seemed to be in their 30s attaching one of the sculptures to the ground the other day. He approached them out of curiosity but they must have thought he was a cop and they all scattered in three different directions! So I think more than one person is behind the art…" 

An anonymous commenter on our original post offered another possible lead, mentioning two artists, a garage in Bushwick and installations dating back roughly two years. 

The commenter also alluded to a possible falling-out between the artists. 

We haven't been able to verify any of those details, but we're certainly curious. 

And we have questions. Lots of questions. Are the pieces cast in bronze? How are they made and attached? Why these particular objects? Are the installations carried out under cover of darkness? Do the artists ever hang around to watch people discover their work?

And what's the story behind that apparent dog poop sculpture? Is that a boot print? A Timberland, perhaps?

We'd also love to hear what the artist or artists think about litter, public spaces and the idea of leaving small, unexpected works of art for people to discover. 

If you're behind these tiny treasures — or know who is — we'd love to hear from you. 

In the meantime, we'll keep looking. There may well be a Part 3.

H/T to eagle-eyed Hot Chocolate Jen. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The everyday artwork hiding in plain sight in Tompkins Square Park

Hamilton Fish Park Library reopens today after $19 million renovation

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The Hamilton Fish Park Library reopens today (Nov. 6) following a $19 million renovation that kept the branch closed for nearly three years. 

The New York Public Library branch, at 415 E. Houston St. near Pitt Street, closed on Dec. 30, 2023, for the extensive overhaul. 

Improvements include a new ADA-accessible entrance, replacement windows and roof, updated lighting and furnishings, and a new heating and cooling system. Inside, patrons will find new book collections for adults, teens and children, dedicated spaces for younger readers, an expanded community room and improved bathroom access.

The renovation also includes new computers, stronger Wi-Fi, facade improvements and landscaping outside the building.

This past June, the NYPL announced plans for a $30.2 million comprehensive renovation of the 122-year-old Carnegie branch on 10th Street. 

The project is currently in the design phase, with construction projected to be completed by Dec. 22, 2028.

Exclusive: Bonnie Slotnick's Harry Styles pop-up arrest case nears possible dismissal

Interview and photos by Stacie Joy 

East Village cookbook seller Bonnie Slotnick returned to court yesterday morning in connection with her September arrest outside her shop with a security guard from the Harry Styles-themed Together Together pop-up on Second Street. 

And while the case isn't officially over, she left feeling optimistic. 

Slotnick, 72, was arrested on Sept. 18 following a confrontation with a member of the pop-up's line-management team outside her longtime business. 

The dispute involved a bicycle-lock key that Slotnick acknowledged holding near the woman's face and neck. Among the four charges were one count of second-degree menacing and criminal possession of a weapon (a bike lock key). She spent roughly 12 hours in custody, first at the 9th Precinct and then at Manhattan Central Booking, with a stop at Bellevue Hospital after her blood pressure spiked. 

The incident followed weeks of complaints about the crowds and lines outside the merchandise shop at 22 E. Second St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery. (Background here.) 

Speaking exclusively with us after the court appearance, Slotnick said the complainant had not submitted a supporting deposition, leaving the case without the documentation needed to move forward.

"It was pretty much a non-event," she said. 

According to Slotnick, there's a 90-day window from the incident to file the necessary paperwork. If that deadline passes without the deposition, she said, the case could be dismissed. 

Slotnick said she doesn't know why the complainant has not submitted the paperwork. For now, she's hopeful the case will soon be behind her.

Her attorney explained the situation during a brief conversation outside the courtroom yesterday morning. They then appeared before the judge, who set the next court date for Jan. 11. Slotnick said her attorney may be able to handle that appearance without her, depending on the status of the case.

As for how she feels about the possible resolution?

"The resolution that sits on the edge of the cliff and is hanging. It's a hanging chad," she joked, referencing the disputed ballots from the 2000 presidential election. 

For now, she's happy to have some peace and quiet back on the block following Monday's departure of the Together Together Store, which drew large crowds of Harry Styles fans during its two-month run at 22 E. Second St. while the singer hosted a 30-night residency at the Garden.

"I'm glad to just have the block back," she said.

Slotnick also shared that Will Morgan of Glass Studios, which hosted the pop-up, stopped by her shop about three weeks ago to apologize. 

"He said he never imagined that ... it would be anything like that, and he would never do anything like that again," she recalled. She said Morgan told her he would rather make less money than host another event that disrupted the neighborhood.

Slotnick also confirmed that she was reimbursed for the damage to her bicycle tire. (Someone slashed her tire.) 

One unexpected bright spot in the ordeal was the support she received from friends and neighbors who submitted character references on her behalf. 

"Some of them cc'd me when they sent them in. It was like being at my own funeral," she said. "I hope these people are around to give my eulogy because they talked about things about my life that I haven't thought of for years ... nice things that I've done." 

She doesn't know whether the judge has read the letters, but she appreciated the outpouring of support.

And the bicycle key involved in the September arrest? 

"The key's always here because I'm always riding my bike," she said.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• East Village business owners discuss life alongside the Harry Styles pop-up on 2nd Street 

• The Harry Styles pop-up shop wraps up its 2-month East Village run

Signage alert: Bocabierta on 3rd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

The sign is up for Bocabierta, the incoming independent Spanish-language bookstore coming to 138 E. Third St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The shop will specialize in Spanish-language books and English translations, with a selection of new, used and rare titles, including works from independent publishers.

The shop is from the team behind Codex Books, the curated used bookstore over on Bleecker at the Bowery. 

No word yet on an opening date. 

Here's a look inside...

You can find more about Bocabierta on its website... or Instagram.

High Vibe closed in this storefront in 2023 after nearly 30 years in business.

Saturday night bingo, Linda Simpson-style

From left: host Linda Simpson and 

spokesmodel Babette Glamoure at H&H Cantina 

Photo by Stacie Joy 

For anyone looking to add a little bingo to their first Saturday of the month... longtime East Village drag performer and nightlife fixture Linda Simpson hosts Linda Loves Bingo! at H&H Cantina, 103 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

The monthly games run from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring food, drinks and suitably quirky prizes. There is no cover or order minimum; $20 gets players two game boards good for the evening. H&H doesn't handle reservations. Players must contact Simpson directly at linda@lindasimpson.org to reserve a spot. 

The H&H residency is just one stop on Simpson's broader bingo circuit. She hosts events across the city and beyond, including regular dates at Nordstrom on West 57th Street. 

Her full upcoming schedule is available at Linda Loves Bingo!

Academy Records to sell music critic Robert Christgau's extensive record collection

Image via Instagram

Academy Records, 415 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, has acquired the record collection of longtime music critic Robert Christgau. 

The shop announced that it has been sorting through Christgau's extensive collection, which spans nearly every musical genre and includes plenty of well-known and obscure titles.

Christgau, often referred to as the "Dean of American Rock Critics," is known for decades of music criticism, including his influential Consumer Guide reviews and longtime tenure at The Village Voice. 

Academy will bring a limited selection of singles and LPs from Christgau's collection to the WFMU Record Fair, taking place Friday through Sunday at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St. 

After that, the store plans to gradually put more of Christgau's collection up for sale at its East Village location over the coming months. 

"It's been an absolute privilege to go through these records that had such a notable impact on music culture through Robert's ears," Academy wrote on Instagram.

The everyday artwork hiding in plain sight in Tompkins Square Park

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

Unexpected little treasures are scattered around Tompkins Square Park. 

And unless you're looking closely, you might walk right past them. I'm talking about tiny bronze sculptures of everyday litter that look like they belong on the ground. Except these are solid bronze, bolted or epoxied into place. 

I first learned about them when a friend asked if I knew about the miniature sculptures hidden throughout the park. I didn't! So we set out to find them. 

Our first discoveries included a crushed can, cigarette butts and a pack of gum. Intrigued, I went home and spent a good amount of time searching online for information about the artist or artists responsible. I found very little.

The next day, we were back at it, scouring the park for more. This time, we spotted a condiment packet and a cup with a lid and straw.

We started joking about what else we might find cast in bronze around the park. A syringe? A dime bag? A pack of cigarettes? A condom? 

Lo and behold, over the next few days, we found those too!

And there were more: a tiny airplane bottle of booze, a flattened water bottle, a bottle cap and even a slice of pepperoni pizza and an overturned paper plate.

All cast in bronze. All blending into the park's landscape. Rogue art sculptures hiding in plain sight.

I have no idea who created these sculptures, how long they've been here or when they were installed. 

So far, there's precious little information available online. Our search also brought a few encounters with some of the park's less artistic inhabitants, including several particularly hefty, dog-sized rats. 

And then there was this moment: I was crouched low to the ground, staring intently at the dirt and leaves for another miniature sculpture, when a clearly intoxicated guy on a nearby bench offered unexpected encouragement. 

"Yeah, sis, I see them too…" 

So, a little Tompkins Square Park mystery. Who is responsible for these tiny bronze tributes to the litter of everyday life? And how many more are out there?

If you're the artist — or know who's behind them — I'd love to hear from you. 

H/T to Hot Chocolate Jen.