[Friday's fog along the East River]
Stories posted on EVG this past week included...
The Landmark Sunshine Cinema closes on Jan. 21 (Wednesday)
JAM Paper & Envelope is closing on 3rd Avenue (Monday)
PS122 is now Performance Space New York, returns to 1st Avenue (Wednesday)
The nonpayment of rent notice has arrived at East Village Cheese (Friday)
Bella Tile showroom closes on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
Report of a stabbing on 14th Street at 1st Avenue (Thursday)
Dan & John's Wings looking to expand on 1st Avenue (Monday)
Ayios Greek Rotisserie has closed on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)
Soogil brings Korean dining to 4th Street (Wednesday)
At the opening reception of Samoa's 'Candy Coated Evil' at Howl! Happening (Friday)
Gabay's Outlet has closed on Avenue A (Monday)
The renderings for the all-new 180 2nd Ave. include Leonardo DiCaprio on a Citi Bike (Tuesday)
Unleashed by Petco is unloading its pet supplies as store is closing on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)
Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway (Thursday)
Polish G. I. Delicatessen signage comes down on 1st Avenue (Thursday)
Sweet Generation turns 3 (Thursday)
... and several people have pointed out this memorial for LES Jewels (Joel Pakela) that arrived this past week in Tompkins Square... he died in September 2013...
[Photo Thursday by Bobby Williams]
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9 comments:
I had empathy for LES Jewels aka Joel Pakela until I read about how he went home with a man he met The Urge and attacked the guy, breaking his orbital bone. He spent time in jail for the crime. As a member of the LGBTQ community, here's a reminder: Crimes against us should count as much as crimes against any other human beings. For some reason, mainstream society still sees it as acceptable for us to be treated as punching bags and worse. No need to celebrate this man in our public park.
I find the continuing minor league glorification of LES Jewels distasteful. Very interesting people have passed in the ensuing years, local painters, musicians, neighborhood fixtures, and I get that this is Grieve's blog and not a public square. But Jewels was just another obnoxious dude playing "famous junkie". Hot Dog could at least dance.
Jewels was a poet, and a damn good one.
Les Jewels ..was the new GRINGO
Re 3:21 who and when was Gringo What did he do.
@2:13pm: I felt NO empathy particularly for "LES Jewels" b/c he seemed like a skeevey person.
I would not have wanted to encounter him - and I know nothing of his poetry (@9:20pm). But "good" poetry (certainly a subjective call) does not justify or absolve him from bashing ANYONE up, regardless of him or the other person being straight, gay, or anything else.
I'm not sure why anyone tries to glorify people like him. He lived, he did whatever he did (from my POV he was not particularly an asset to the area), and he's been dead long enough to be forgotten except by his own family. I see nothing about this guy that justifies his name/image being some source of "oooh, look who we lost...".
IMO, there are plenty of better people, people who did good things for this area (and probably some who wrote poetry too), who deserve to be remembered and actually celebrated.
Was going to post, but @ 7:53 PM said all.
This guy was a POS.
@12:55 PM
This threads old but Gringo was John Spaceley, bad dope fiend and low end rock hanger on in the early / mid 80s. A movie named Gringo was made about him and there was an enormous portrait hanging over St Marks and 3rd on a west facing wall above what is now the soon to pass Continental.
I wouldn't saw Jewels, who wasn't from the LES but showed up late 90s, was in Spaceley's league for sheer junkie adventures but the neighborhood by the time Jewels showed up was already the fab East Village it has continued to become, there were just way more dwindling patches of park types, junkies, bums, crusties etc giving it a Lower East Side theme park vibe. In that regard you could say Jewels was like the junkie version of the guy in Disneyland in a Goofy suit.
The post death deification of Jewels is absolutely disgusting. Of all the extraordinary people who have lived and died in the East Village he's the last person who should be memorialized. He was a total POS and deserves nothing except to be forgotten. I won't be sad if someone tears that memorial down.
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