Remembering when it snowed

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A post shared by Gregoire Alessandrini (@newyork1990s)

A few snow shots from the Instagram account @newyork1990s (thank you Gregoire Alessandrini!)... above on Houston at Avenue B... and below on Astor Place...

 

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A post shared by Gregoire Alessandrini (@newyork1990s)

Instagram follow of the day

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@frangosnyc ❤️ Open for takeout and delivery every day from 12pm-11pm

A post shared by EVIMA (@evimanyc) on Apr 17, 2020 at 10:16pm PDT

The Instagram account for the East Village Independent Merchants Association — @evimanyc — has been providing updates on local businesses that remain open... or ones that could use some support via online sales.

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@sakayanyc ❤️ Currently open with much needed goods to get you through all of this!

A post shared by EVIMA (@evimanyc) on Apr 16, 2020 at 9:54am PDT

Instagram follow of the day

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"I was cast first. And then they told me about this pop star that was just blowing up while [the casting] was happening. Suddenly it was like, “Who’s this beautiful girl singing this pop song?” I remember watching her in the “Lucky Star” video and just going, “Oh my god.” It was electric. Everybody at that time fell in love with her. Including me. I remember her cool outfit — I’d just got one too, and I wasn’t wearing it, but the Agnes B. pencil skirt. Her whole look, with the black rubber bracelets — she just had this whole vibe. She was very much like, [affects Madonna voice], “Hi stranger.” Exactly like it was at the end of the movie" Did you and Madonna get close during filming? "We were very bonded during the movie. Very close during the making of the film. We’ve kept in touch through the years. I have lost touch with her, but a few years ago I went to Madonna’s Oscar party with Laura Dern, and saw her for a minute. The year Guillermo del Toro won. I haven’t seen her since, though. I missed her shows. I wanted to go, but I was out of town." Did you reminisce at all? "No, no. She was in her party mode. We didn’t get a chance to really talk. I see her from afar, like everyone"- @rosannaarquette 🎬❤👑💃 @madonna #madonna #madonnamovies #susan #dss #goodgoingstranger #intothegroove #iconstyle #desperatelyseekingsusan #madonnamusic #queenofpop #madonnastyle #80smadonna #madonna80s #allhailthequeen #madonna80squeen #susanthomas #madonnafans #madonnasrevolution #iconic #bossbitch #madonnaphotos #rebel #madonnapictures #whenmadonnaruledtheworld #desperatelyseekingsusan1985 #80smovies

A post shared by DesperatelySeekingSusan1985 (@desperatelyseekingsusan1985) on Apr 2, 2020 at 11:43pm PDT

If you are a fan of the 1985 Rosanna Arquette-Madonna caper filmed, in part, in the East Village, then this account is for you... you'll find a mix of trivia and anecdotal details about "Desperately Seeking Susan" on this fan site by someone who really likes Madonna.

Also, RIP Mark Blum, who played Arquette's husband, spa king Gary Glass...

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A post shared by DesperatelySeekingSusan1985 (@desperatelyseekingsusan1985) on Mar 26, 2020 at 5:14pm PDT

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-&-A with Susan Seidelman, director of 'Smithereens' and 'Desperately Seeking Susan'

Instagram follow of the day

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Nirvana, 1989, NYC. 📸 by Steve Double. Kurt Cobain (2.20.67 - 4.5.94) #ripkurtcobain #april5th #1994 @kurtcobain #nirvana #kurtcobain #kristnovoselic #chadchanning @thechadchanning

A post shared by sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʙɪʀɴʙᴀᴜᴍ (@sbirnbaum1) on Apr 4, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT

@sbirnbaum1 takes archival photos of musicians around NYC and matches them up to the same setting today, such as this pre-Dave Grohl shot of Nirvana at the East River Park bandshell.

Also, today (April 5) marks the 26th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.

And one more...

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Joe Strummer of The Clash, March 1980, East 14th Street NYC. 📸 by Roberta Bayley @bayley1950 #joestrummer #TheClash @joestrummerofficial @the_clash #robertabayley

A post shared by sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʙɪʀɴʙᴀᴜᴍ (@sbirnbaum1) on Feb 27, 2020 at 2:28am PST

Instagram follow of the day

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1980 & now: 5 Saint Marks Place. #nycthenandnow

A post shared by NEW YORK CITY: THEN & NOW (@nyc.thenandnow) on Apr 3, 2020 at 10:30am PDT

Check out New York City: Then & Now, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like ... find the account here.

Despite its mediocre food, Panna II is a line-waiting smash thanks to Instagram and those twinkling lights

[EVG file photo]

Rachel Pelz files a long read at Thrillist on the growing appeal of Panna II Garden, the parlor-floor Indian restaurant at 93 First Ave. near Sixth Street, in a piece titled "One of NYC’s Worst-Reviewed Restaurants Is Also the Hottest Table in Town."

The place has been around for 30-plus years, and is mostly known for BYOB and a room full of twinkling lights that New York magazine once likened to eating inside a Christmas tree ... not to mention its competitive stair greeters battling neighbors Milon, Spice Wala and Royal Bangladesh.

However reasonably priced the menu items, the food is wholly mediocre at Panna II, as New York notes.

There are so many better places to eat. Still, of late, the lines seems to be getting longer outside.

To the article...

So why are tourists and New Yorkers beating down the door to get into a spot with middling food and coarse service? Because its luminous, rainbow-hued interior looks incredible on Instagram. The decor doesn’t just make up for the food; it justifies its existence.

Apparently singer-actress Vanessa Hudgens helped start the Instagram craze with a four-photo post to her 30.4 million followers last December.

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Just a normal Thursday night 💁🏻

A post shared by Vanessa Hudgens (@vanessahudgens) on Nov 30, 2017 at 9:07pm PST

Soon, Instagram exploded with #pannaii pictures of influencers and wannabe-influencers lit red and gold and green. The hashtag, which now has more than 2,000 posts, is an endless scroll of colorful lights with hardly a samosa in sight.

The owner's take...

"A lot of people are coming in and taking pictures. In '17, it got popular on Instagram, and it still is today. It’s still famous. You get all these international people who come because of Instagram," says Boshir Khan, Panna II Garden’s 44-year-old current owner.

And a discerning patron...

Alexandra Lacorne, who’s been waiting an hour to celebrate her 27th birthday with a group of girlfriends ... can’t wait to get inside. “It’s my first time at Panna,” she says. “I don’t care about the food. I’m in it for the lights and the drinks and that’s it.”

Oh, and how's that food?

Panna II’s late in life, juggernaut success makes it vulnerable to the internet’s seemingly unending supply of armchair reviewers. A search of its 902 Yelp reviews offers 66 results for “terrible,” 37 results for “horrible,” 110 results for “bad,” 76 for “worst,” and, blessedly, only one result for “diarrhea.”

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Kind of like Cheers, but instead of everyone knowing your name, they repeatedly insist your friends are inside. They usually aren’t. #spoileralert #also #latergram #christmasdecor #yearround #cheers #not #pannaii #christmaslights #copyright #infringement #questionmark

A post shared by Caitlin Dorman (@caitdorman) on Nov 12, 2018 at 3:36pm PST

Friday's parting Instagram post

Tompkins Square Park, as seen in the 1968 book, Miguel’s Mountain by Bill Binzen. #tompkinssquare #miguelsmountain #billbinzen #tompkinssquarelibrary #eastvillage #lowereastside

A post shared by Tompkins Square Library (@tompkins_square_library) on Jul 27, 2018 at 3:01pm PDT

EV Grieve Etc. Instagram edition

From our friends at Academy Records on East 12th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...

In case you missed it the first time - Our 12th st store will be closed this week 8/10-8/16 for sprucing up. We'll be cleaning, painting, organizing and digging hidden gems from long-buried collections out of the back room. When we reopen our bins and display walls will be teeming with fresh meat!

A photo posted by Academy Records NYC (@academyrecords) on Aug 9, 2015 at 3:01pm PDT

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And tomorrow evening at the new East Village Vintage Collective, 545 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B ...

Always nice when @flatbushbrown visits the store. Check out the chalkboard sign for our next event. Tomorrow, we're screening Valley Girl at 7:30pm. BYOB. If you have a low seated chair, you can bring that too, otherwise we'll provide blankets. See you there, it'll be totally radical. #movienight #manicmonday #evevents

A photo posted by EV Vintage Collective (@evvintagecollective) on Aug 9, 2015 at 12:26pm PDT