Ki Smith Gallery revisits hip-hop’s 'Golden' era through rare photographs

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

In case you haven't had a chance to check it out yet ... Ki Smith Gallery's latest exhibition, "Golden," offers a candid look at 1990s hip-hop culture through the lens of four photographers — Danny Hastings, T. Eric Monroe, Erik Elijah Brumfield, and Koi Sojer. 

Per the press notes: "...this exhibition reveals hip-hop at its most unfiltered, untamed, and unforgettable. Before the internet. Before the algorithms. When the lens was the only witness." 

I've long admired Koi Sojer's work, and seeing it here, up close, only deepened that respect. Self-taught and sharp-eyed, she captures moments that feel at once specific and iconic.

Also featured is Erik Elijah Brumfield, whose work I wasn't as familiar with. The visuals are striking: young subjects, off-stage or off-guard, rendered with a mix of vulnerability and edge.

Featured performers on the walls include luminaries such as Run-DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu, Tupac, Salt-N-Pepa, and LL Cool J, among many others.

And thanks to owner-founder Ki Smith (below) for a recent look after the gallery had closed for the day...

"Golden" is on view through May 25. The gallery, 170 Forsyth St. between Stanton and Rivington on the Lower East Side, is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.

Today in overthinking discarded objects

EVG reader Chris Rowland shared this photo today from Stuyvesant Street. 

This is, obviously, a commentary on consumer culture or waste. The odd, decaying form of the object sitting atop a discarded or secondhand chair may be intended to critique how we discard objects and ideas that don't fit mainstream aesthetics.

The texture, embedded objects (like beads or buttons), and exaggerated form also point toward commentary on material excess or bodily abstraction.

Rite Aid is closing its remaining New York stores, including on 1st Avenue in the East Village

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

As part of another Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, Rite Aid is reportedly closing (or selling) all 184 outposts in New York State, including 81 First Ave. at Fifth Street. 

A spokesperson told ABC 7 in Buffalo that "the company is still in the process of selling its stores and assets and all locations will not necessarily close next month. The company says the sale process is fluid, and some stores could be acquired by another company that would allow them to remain open."

Employees at the East Village location learned the news on Monday. 

"Your prescriptions will be transferred to a chain pharmacy nearby, probably either CVS or Duane Reade, whichever company buys the prescriptions from us," a store employee told us.

Also, currently: "We may not be able to get stock, so you should think about transferring your prescriptions soon." 

As for closing signage, there weren't any as of early yesterday afternoon.

"We just found out, so we haven't made any signs yet, but they should start going up," the employee said. "Rite Aid is closing all up the seaboard, not just here."

Here is some background on how Rite Aid got here via The Associated Press: 

Philadelphia-based Rite Aid had been closing stores and struggling with losses for years before its first bankruptcy filing in 2023. The company says its "only viable path forward" is a return to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. 

The company said in letter to vendors that it has been hit with several financial challenges that have grown more intense. Rite Aid and its competitors have been dealing with tighter profits on their prescriptions, increased theft, court settlements over opioid prescriptions and customers who are drifting to online shopping and discount retailers.

No word on an official closing date. 

Back to the AP: 

Stores will remain open for now, but the company isn't buying new inventory so bare shelves are likely become more common. 

"I think what we'll progressively see is the stores will become more and more spartan," said retail analyst Neil Saunders. 

The shelves at the First Avenue Rite Aid have been mostly barren for over a year, though this store made it through the previous company turmoil.

The one-story First Avenue location sits on a prime East Village corner, and developers would likely pay top dollar for another sliver of luxury housing. However, we're not sure what air rights remain after the construction of the 8-story cantilever condominium next door.

H/T EVG reader Elissa

Tuesday's parting shot

From early this morning down on Pike Street (at Monroe) headed toward the East River with a Manhattan Bridge view...

May 6 (as first spotted on May 5)

An EVG reader spotted this last evening (Happy Cinco de Mayo!) on the SW corner of Second Avenue and 10th Street...

When someone dumps an industrial-size fridge on Avenue C

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

On Monday, someone left a large industrial refrigerator near the southbound M9 stop on Avenue C between Second Street and Third Street.

It was not an item to be easily discarded. The appliance, left outside the former storefront of "Store on Ave C" — a now-shuttered smoke shop and florist — was reportedly dumped after the business closed. 

This morning, a city Sanitation crew temporarily halted traffic on this stretch of Avenue C to remove the item. 

"We gotta do this quick," a Sanitation worker said.

After some careful maneuvering, the crew managed to lift and load the fridge onto a truck. Bus riders and passersby applauded as the street was cleared. 

As for the storefront, it's now empty...

Stripped to the studs: former church on 4th Street sees full gutting

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The gutting of the former Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel at 256 E. Fourth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C appears complete.

We peeked at the interior the other day and didn't see much left. 

"It's all gone, all the windows, everything on the inside, it's completely empty," a worker on the scene said.

As we previously reported, the city has a partial demolition permit on file. A few parts of the existing building will remain in place, as the four-story structure will receive two additional floors to accommodate six condos. 

Project architect Stephen Conte told the Post in March that the original facade could not be saved, as decades of water damage rendered the already-thin front walls unsafe. Other elements of the previous houses of worship here were also deemed unsalvageable. 

The plywood rendering lists a spring 2026 completion date.

Village Preservation continues to call for expanded landmark protections in the East Village, including swaths of Avenue B and Avenue C (more info here). Despite similar designations in other neighborhoods, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission has ignored the proposal. 

Our post from Feb. 10 has more info on this building's history.

Almost a full reveal at the all-new Barrier Free Living building on 2nd Street

We nearly have a full reveal at the new state-of-the-art facility for Barrier Free Living at 270 E. Second St. between Avenue C and Avenue D...

The 12-story new building with a twisting façade will be known as "Freedom Village." 

Barrier Free Living works with survivors of domestic violence with disabilities. The new complex will include 75 affordable and supportive apartments for homeless adults needing services and seniors transitioning out of nursing homes. 

Gov. Hochul's office funded $6.9 million for the project in July 2022. Funding for related services and rent support will come from the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative. 

Foundation work for the 65,000-square-foot facility started on the site in the summer of 2023. 

Workers demolished BFL's previous structure here in 2020.

The hit Hulu series 'Rafael's Interiors' (nudge, nudge) is filming in the East Village on Friday

Filming notices are up around Tompkins Square Park and Fourth Street between Avenues A and C for the Hulu series "Rafael's Interiors." 

The shoot will take place sometime on Friday...

Like when "Russian Doll" filmed around here as "Black Gumball" in 2021 ... "Rafael's Interiors" is code for a hit Hulu series that rhymes with "Only Birders in the Quilting." 

This will be season 5 for the show that stars Slate Marvin, Bartin Snort and Elena Fauxmez.

Book readings: Artist-activist Ben Morea reflects on 'A Life of Rebellion'

There's a new memoir from Ben Morea, a central figure in the 1960s Lower East Side anarchist guerilla-theater collective.

His bio includes the following: 

"As the unseen hand of the 1960s revolutionary underground, Morea is infamous for shutting down MoMA, forcibly entering the Pentagon, occupying the Fillmore East and Columbia University, and dumping the neglected garbage of the Lower East Side into the fountains of Lincoln Square. He was the force behind the 1960s art/anarchist collective Up Against the Wall Motherfucker and the legendary anarchist zine/broadside Black Mask." 

On Thursday evening at Printed Matter in Chelsea, Morea is in conversation with political theorist and anticapitalist activist Sabu Kosho to launch "Full Circle: A Life in Rebellion." 

The evening includes an informal jazz performance from Marc Mommaas and Kenny Wessel. 

Thursday, May 8

6-8 p.m. 

Printed Matter, 231 11th Ave. (at 26th Street) 

More details here.

Today in LinkNYC factoids

As seen today along First Avenue. 

And for anyone invested in yesterday's pigeon kidnapping post.

More details emerge on Corner Bistro's proposed East Village location

Photo by Stacie Joy 

As we reported this past Friday, NYC classic Corner Bistro is eyeing an expansion to the East Village. 

There is more information about what to expect at its new outpost, 94 Avenue A at Sixth Street, via the questionnaire now online at the Community Board 3 website. 

The EV Corner Bistro would have daily hours of 11 a.m. to 4 a.m., with 17 tables seating 50 diners. The proposal also shows a 31-foot bar with 15 stools.

Unlike the previous tenants, Corner Bistro only plans to use the ground floor for customers, with the basement reserved for storage and food prep. 

Corner Bistro opened in 1961 on West Fourth Street in the West Village. Elizabeth McGrath — daughter of Corner Bistro's original owners, Bill and Lorraine O'Donnell — took over the business in 2015.

 

This wouldn't be the burger institution's first time branching out. Corner Bistro opened a location in Long Island City in 2012, which shuttered in 2020 due to pandemic-related pressures. An outpost at the Gotham West Market food hall in Hell's Kitchen also closed in 2020. 

The most recent tenant at 94 Avenue A, the sports bar Offside Tavern, closed late last year. Before that, August Laura had a brief run beginning in October 2019 but faced a stop-start schedule during the pandemic and finally closed in December 2021. 

The address is best known as the longtime home of Sidewalk — the restaurant, bar, and live music venue (and host of the Antifolk Festival) that closed in February 2019 after a 34-year run. 

And as we noted in Friday's post, an application doesn't guarantee a concept will move forward — as we saw in December 2023 with the Paulie Gee's outpost that never materialized at 107 First Ave., now home to Adda Indian Canteen (among other examples).

CB3's SLA committee meets next on May 19 at 6:30 p.m.

On 4th Street, Wash Rite Laundromat cleaned out by rent increase, patrons say

Wash Rite Laundromat at 112 E. Fourth St. is closing at the end of the month. 

Several EVG readers told us about the pending closure, which they say is due to a rent increase that is more than the current ownership can manage. 

Here's the closure notice, posted over the "We ❤️ NY Small Business" poster in the window between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Patrons signed a petition urging the landlord to allow the business to stay. We stopped by multiple times, though we were always instructed to return later to speak with the owner. (The owner also did not respond to our call-back requests.) 

"The laundromat has had a petition on its counter for a few weeks and got hundreds of signatures to try to keep it open, but the landlords are demanding an obscene rent hike," a patron told us. "All of us neighbors are so upset."

Signage alerts: Yumsen Eats on 1st Avenue

Signage arrived late this past week for Yumsem Eats at 109 First Ave., just south of Seventh Street.

According to the brand's website: "Experience the taste of authentic Korean street food with Yumsem Eats, where fresh, halal-certified ingredients meet the heart of Korean culture." 

There are three outposts in Tampa and one in Newark, N.J. The First Avenue location marks the first for NYC. You can check out the menu here. 

This also marks the end of Sammy's Halal, which had been closed for months following a second go-around from the storefront. 

Next door, signage recently went up for the Pizza Daa Napoli after the former home of SenYa, which closed after 10 years in January. (Photo below by Steven.)

Sunday's parting shot

When life gives you a sidewalk bridge... create a sidewalk bridge boardwalk... First Street at Houston/Avenue A.

Reader mailbag: Uncovering the location of this Keith Haring snapshot

An EVG reader is trying to identify the location of the above photo from the winter of 1988 with Keith Haring and Piergiorgio Castellani. 

Said Castellani, who comes from a family of winemakers, in a 2012 interview: 

We met quite randomly on a sidewalk in the East Village. I was a young student from Pisa, passionate about art, Keith was at the peak of his career and I recognized him immediately and I approached him, I said goodbye and invited him to do something important in Italy. The next day I was in his studio and we started working on the creation of "Tuttomondo." 

And... 

In 1989 the Castellani Family invited Keith Haring to Pisa to realize what would become one of his most important, permanent public works, the monumental mural "Tuttomondo." 

While Castellani said the chance encounter was in the East Village, there's some thought the photo was taken in the West Village.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo of the lush wilds of Tompkins Square Park by Stacie Joy)... 

• NYC institution Corner Bistro eyeing an East Village expansion (Friday)

• About the Lower East Side Film Festival: 15 years of keeping it reel (Monday) ... At the opening night of the Lower East Side Film Festival (Friday)

• East Village mainstay Cafe Mogador celebrates its 42nd anniversary (Wednesday) 

• In Tompkins Square Park, a creative pushback against tech's reach (Sunday) 

• Last splash? Getting the Tompkins Square Park mini pool prepped for 1 more summer (Tuesday) 

• Key Food moved things around. We took notes. (Friday) 

• 14th & C development watch: The beast of 'The East' (Monday) 

• Happy Lower East Side History Month! (Thursday) 

• Celebrating the new ownership at the Phoenix (Thursday) 

• Remembering Jill Sobule (Saturday) 

• Los Tacos No. 1 coming to Union Square (Monday) 

• Openings: Irving Green on 9th Street (Tuesday)

• Closings on 14th Street: Amara Coffee, Dua Kafe (Thursday) ... Karma Bookshop has closed for now (Sunday) 

• The Alchemist’s Kitchen is opening an outpost on the Bowery (Thursday) 

• Reopneings: Fancy Juice on 1st Avenue (Tuesday) 

• Pop’s Pizza prepping for soft opening on Avenue B (Wednesday) 

• Seasoned Vegan Real Quick has closed on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Luckin Coffee, China-based powerhouse and Starbucks challenger, opening an outpost on Broadway and 8th Street (Monday) 

• Why Mimi Cheng's is temporarily closed (Monday) 

• Adda Indian Canteen is set to debut on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) 

... and if you noticed a 2014 Prius V dressed up as a Cybertruck outside LaMaMa on Fourth Street in recent days (photo by Derek Berg)...

This was part of LaMaMa's Emerging Choreographers Program from Thursday through yesterday. Synopsis! "'fame hOle' is a mobile dance opera created by Alex Romania and Stacy Lynn Smith set inside their 2014 Prius V; a conceptual roadshow on the impossible nature of the touring act of life in general in a collapsing colonial empire." 

Find info on other LaMaMa programs here.

Reports: Alleged pigeon poacher nabbed in Tompkins Square Park

EVG photo from January

This story made the round this past week: On Wednesday morning, the NYPD reportedly arrested a 67-year-old man for netting pigeons in Tompkins Square Park.

🚨BREAKING | Pigeon Kidnapper Arrested
A serial pigeon kidnapper was arrested in Tompkins Square Park this week. The man is accused of selling the birds for target practice in Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/6Du3BEc2TF

— Citizen NYC (@CitizenAppNYC) May 2, 2025

According to published reports, police spotted the suspect on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.  

Per PIX 11: 

Dwayne Daley, 67, was allegedly caught caging more than 25 pigeons in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village at around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to the NYPD. 

He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor torturing, injuring, not feeding animals and violating parks and recreation laws, according to the NYPD. Daley is known to law enforcement for kidnapping the birds and selling them for target practice in his home state of Pennsylvania, police said. 

In February 2021, Daley was wanted for allegedly attacking a man who saw him poaching pigeons near Meeker and Union avenues in Brooklyn, according to court records. 

In early April, witnesses spotted a man netting pigeons at the infamous Avenue A mucky tree pit near Sixth Street.

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A post shared by Amina Martin (@allmyrescuedbirds)

There have been reports of pigeon snatching for years, especially in the East Village.

Last day for Black Seed Bagels

If you were planning a last visit, Black Seed Bagels is closing today (4 p.m.) after 10-plus years at 176 First Ave. 

As co-owner Matt Kliegman told us a few weeks ago, the lease was up, and the company no longer needed such a large space here between 10th Street and 11th Street. When it opened in October 2015, the location served as Black Seed's commissary for five years, where they prepared their salads and spreads and operated the catering office. In 2020, they relocated that part of the business to a Bushwich address that better fit their needs. 

Black Seed was the first tenant at the address after DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffè, which had been in operation for 110 years here, decided to close in December 2014. 

Black Seed kept as many of the former business's interior architectural elements as possible, including the tiled floors and ceiling.

Hopefully, the next tenant will do the same!

Kliegman, a one-time East Village resident, told us that they will likely be back here someday in a smaller storefront. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Black Seed Bagels is closing its East Village location (but don't count out a return someday)

Saturday's parting shots

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Maypole dancers, please report to Tompkins Square Park...

Remembering Jill Sobule

Image via @jillsobule 

Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter best known for her groundbreaking 1995 hit "I Kissed a Girl," which became the first openly queer-themed song to reach the Billboard Top 20, died Thursday morning in a house fire in Woodbury, a suburb of St. Paul, Minn. She was 66.

According to published reports, Sobule was staying with friends while she rehearsed for an upcoming performance. 

In the East Village, Sobule was remembered for her storytelling and music. She was a 2023 Drama Desk Award nominee for her autobiographical musical "F*ck7thGrade," which played multiple return engagements at wild project on Third Street between 2022 and 2024.

The wild project shared the following on Instagram...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by wild project (@wildprojectnyc)

[UPDATED] The Rock Against Racism concert has been postponed in Washington Square Park

Updated 5/4: Today's rainy forecast has forced the show's cancellation. Chris Flash, one of the organizers, said they'll put on another show with today's bands later in the summer in Tompkins Square Park.

-----

Tomorrow (Sunday!) afternoon, Washington Square Park hosts the Rock Against Racism concert.

The free show, featuring six bands and several speakers, is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m.

Saturday's opening shot

Pull up a chair and take in some new murals at First Street Green Art Park (enter on First Street near Second Avenue or at Second Avenue and Houston). 

The sun will eventually give way to clouds with — just like last Saturday — a chance of a late afternoon or early evening shower or thunderstorm.

'Star' power

 

On Tuesday, The Slackers released a new single, "My Last Star," a collaboration with and tribute to Greg Lee. The co-lead singer of stalwart L.A. ska group Hepcat died in March 2024 after a brain aneurysm. He was 53. 

As you'll see in the above clip, the NYC-based band filmed parts of the video in the East Village, including the stage at Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th Street.

H/T Jill!

At the opening night of the Lower East Side Film Festival

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The Lower East Side Film Festival started last night with the opening feature, "The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick." 

The screening of the off-beat horror indie in the Jaffe Art Theatre at Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue featured a post-film Q&A with the cast and crew, among them director Pete Ohs, and stars Zoë Chao, Jeremy O. Harris, Callie Hernandez and James Cusati-Moyer. (Per RogerEbert.com: "'The True Beauty of Being Bitten By a Tick' grooves with an improvised and charmingly undefined tempo. You can't help but be enamored by its horrific, claustrophobic spell."

Here are a few scenes from the evening, including the post-screening party inside the theater's lobby at 12th Street...

Find festival info here. It runs through Monday. 

Read our Q&A with festival founders (and East Village residents) Tony Castle and Roxy Hunt at this link.