Happening today: The 4th Annual Lower Eastside Girls Club Comix Fest

Via the EVG inbox...

The 4th Annual Lower Eastside Girls Club Comix Fest!
Saturday, May 18
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
At the Lower Eastside Girls Club, 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D.

Meet the women (and men) who write and illustrate some of your favorite characters, including our host Fly Orr, Javier Cruz Winnik, the Fearless Feminists, Isabella Bannerman, Katherine Arnoldi, Women in Comics NYC Collective International, Bronx Heroes, the Spicy Mangoes & more artists & creatives TBA!

Comix Market:
Discover the coolest comics and zines available for sale.

Workshops:
Stop by our comics workshops and drawing stations led by NYC comic art professionals, Girls Club instructors and members (for kids of all ages!)

Learn how to make mini comics, create characters, develop story ideas, get drawing tips or just have fun reclaiming your power and creativity with crayons and sharpies!

Saturday: Santa at the 9th Precinct; pet adoption at Boris & Horton; cookies at the Girls Club

Three activities tomorrow via the EVG inbox...

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The Community Council of the 9th Precinct is holding its annual Children's Christmas Party tomorrow outside on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue from 9 a.m. to noon. (Rain or shine...)



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The Animal Care Centers of NYC will be at Boris and Horton, 195 Avenue A at 12th Street, "with great cats and dogs available for adoption" from noon to 4 p.m. ACC adoptions include vaccinations, spay/neuter, a pre-registered microchip, an identification tag, a collar and a certificate for a free initial exam at a participating veterinarian. Details at this link.



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The Lower Eastside Girls Club is hosting the Cookie Bake-Off and Holiday Sweet Sale from noon to 3 p.m. at Girls Club HQ, 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D.

Per the invite: "We have over 20 bakers competing for the best holiday cookie, and guests get to take them home. Just fill an empty tin ($20, $35 or $50) with delicious “Angel Baked” homemade cookies while our celebrity judges (including Amy Sedaris, Amirah Kassem and Connie Girl Fleming, to name a few) taste the cookies and crown the Cookie Queen."

Today: Holiday Gift Fair at the LES Girls Club; ceramics sale at the Sirovich Senior Center

Via the EVG inbox...from the Lower Eastside Girls Club

Join us from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for our Fair Trade & Girl-Made Holiday Gift Fair

Items for everyone on your list: Featuring hand made products from the Lower Eastside Girls Club and our sister partners around the globe.

Potholders, aprons, handcrafted soaps, jewelry, ornaments, dog and cat beds, cards, art, baby gifts and more, more, more…shop with us! And all for a good cause: girls and women worldwide.

Address: 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D.

Meanwhile, a reader shared this... Day 2 of the ceramics sale over at the Sirovich Senior Center on 12th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

A moment with former First Lady Michelle Obama on 7th Street

[Video screengrab]

Earlier today, former White House chef Sam Kass was thought to be the main event in a talk on healthy eating over at the Lower Eastside Girls Club on Avenue D and Seventh Street.

Then!

[A]s Kass detailed the former first family's nightly dinners, Michelle Obama entered, and the girls screamed, cheered and embraced in excitement.

Obama and Kass then served food to each individual girl before the group sat down for lunch and conversation.

That passage was from ABC 7. (This Vanity Fair piece has more details on the event.)

View this post on Instagram

#TFW a legend walks into your space! @michelleobama words cannot express how much today meant to us. TY for the heartfelt conversation and continuing to be an incredible inspiration to us. And @samkassdc TY for a delicious lunch w the best surprise guest we could ever hope for! #michelleobama #blackgirlmagic 🖤💪🏾👑

A post shared by The Lower Eastside Girls Club (@girlsclubny) on Dec 1, 2018 at 12:38pm PST

Yesterday, the Crown Publishing Group announced that Obama's memoir, "Becoming," has sold more than 2 million copies after 15 days, reportedly making it the year's best-selling book.

Also yesterday, Obama signed copies of the book at the Barnes & Noble on Union Square.

Meanwhile, around the Girls Club, word spread about the special guest (Obama, not Kass) ... and a crowd gathered outside. East Village resident Angeline Rodriguez shared this video clip...



"It was a really nice community moment, with everyone meeting or recognizing neighbors and talking about how much they admired Mrs. Obama's work," Rodriguez told me.

'Tough Broads' take the screen this weekend at the Lower Eastside Girls Club

In case you haven't seen this...the Lower Eastside Girls Club is hosting its first Tough Broads Film Festival this weekend.

The festival started last night and continues today and tomorrow with "films featuring feminist icons — women of a ‘certain age’ who have led full lives starting with early forays into activism which only deepened over time."

Today's screenings: "The Rest I Make Up," "Dolores" and "BadddDDD Sonia Sanchez."
Sunday's screening: "What Happened Miss Simone?" and "Chavela."

Each screening opens with a documentary short, "Meet My Grandmother," produced by a Girls Club member.

Find the festival program with more info at this link. And ticket info is here.

The screenings are FREE and at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, 402 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D.

The Girls Club Comix Fest is happening NOW

Support Girls and Women Artists at our Girls Club Comix Fest Today 11am - 5pm. Workshops, panels, vendors and a special #comix #hackathon!!! Plus an exclusive #Girl made animation premiere!!! 👩🏿‍🎨💪🏾

A post shared by The Lower Eastside Girls Club (@girlsclubny) on Mar 24, 2018 at 6:11am PDT

Apologies for the very late notice... but if you are out and about today... until 5 p.m at the Girls Club, on Avenue D at Eighth Street.

This Saturday from 11AM to 5PM join us for the Third Annual Lower Eastside Girls Club Comix Fest!!! Hosted by Fly @fly_peops !!! Presentations by: Sabrina Jones @sabjones, Regine Sawyer @rslockettdown, Javier Cruz Winnik @thelearningcurv, Ray Felix @bronxheroes !!! Comix Market featuring member-created zines “The Big Storm Game” and “Our Time”. !!! Comix #Hackathon!!!Workshops!!! Premiere of our member created short animation: “The Wonders of the Lower Eastside” !!! Readings of girl-written spoken word poetry!!! 👩🏿‍🎨 All fun- All day! #comix #art #girlpower

A post shared by The Lower Eastside Girls Club (@girlsclubny) on Mar 21, 2018 at 11:29pm PDT

Here's Arabella 101 on Avenue D

The Post yesterday noted the arrival of Arabella 101, the rental building that sits atop the new Lower Eastside Girls Club on Avenue D between Seventh Street and Eighth Street.

And the leasing office opens next week. Arabella 101 has 78 apartments (half of which are market-rate, the other half affordable).

Per the Post:

"Starting prices [for market-rate units] are about $2,500 for a studio, $2,900 for one-bedrooms," says Drew Spitler, director of development for the Dermot Company, Arabella 101’s developer. "And they're going up from there."

And the Arabella website has more details on the units... as well as the amenities like gym and roof deck...

Here are photos of the apartments from the website...

As we understand it, the Girls Club space is 30,000 square feet... while the residential portion of the building is 50,000 square feet. The main entrance into the Club will be on East Eighth Street while their cafe-bakery will have an entrance on Seventh Street, per Girls Club executive director Lyn Pentecost.

And the Girls Club is not developing or managing the residential component of the project, according to their website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Passion and progress at the new home of the Lower Eastside Girls Club

Why there's an Airstream trailer inside the new Lower Eastside Girls Club home

Here is the new home for the Lower Eastside Girls Club

Tyra Banks goes up on Avenue D

On Avenue D yesterday, workers put up the sign for the Tyra Banks TZONE, which will be housed at the new Lower Eastside Girls Club Center for Community on Avenue D... Per the TZONE website:

The Tyra Banks TZONE at the Lower Eastside Girls Club will be a leadership development center within the Girls Club. Through a rich mix of career development workshops, mentoring, experiential learning opportunities, financial literacy initiatives and community-wide events, hundreds of preteens and teens will build self-esteem, achieve greatness in their lives, and prepare for life as entrepreneurs and change-makers in the world.

The New York Times wrote about Banks and the TZONE back on June 13.

"What I don't want to be is Tyra, the 'celebrity girl,' coming here and the girls being excited when they see me," she told the Times. "I want them to be numb to me. I can do normal work here and they can see me, to know that this is what a business is."

TZONE launched in 1999 as a series of summer camps to build self-esteem among young girls with the Lower Eastside Girls Club, the article noted.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Here is the new home for the Lower Eastside Girls Club

[ Elise Shin/HPD via Facebook]

Last Thursday, workers removed the sidewalk bridge along the front of the new Lower Eastside Girls Club Center for Community on Avenue D...

And here's how it's looking as of yesterday...









The 30,000-square-foot building will include 78 affordable and market-rate rental residences, a community facility and retail space ... not to mention an Airstream trailer... and Tyra Banks.

(Here's the official news release from 2010 with more details on what the HQ will house.)

On Oct. 29, 2010, the Lower Eastside Girls Club held their official groundbreaking here between Seventh Street and Eighth Street.

More details on all this later.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Passion and progress at the new home of the Lower Eastside Girls Club

Why there's an Airstream trailer inside the new Lower Eastside Girls Club home

The third annual Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball is Tuesday

From the EV Grieve inbox ... This year's Mardi Gras king is writer-actor-performer-Warhol-star Taylor Mead... Living Theatre founder Judith Malina is queen ...

Two Boots has announced details of their 3rd annual Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball, a benefit for the Lower Eastside Girls Club to be held on Fat Tuesday, February 21, at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge.

The Ball is produced and underwritten by Two Boots, with all proceeds going to support the Lower Eastside Girls Club.

The 3rd Annual Two Boots Mardi Gras Ball is Tuesday, February 21 at Le Poisson Rouge, located at 158 Bleecker Street between Sullivan and Thompson Streets. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets are $20 a piece when purchased in advance – buy tickets now here; ticket price is $25 at the door. VIP tickets are available for $100 and include open bar until 10 pm, catered food by Two Boots and reserved seating.

Pop-up shop at the Lower Eastside Girls Club today

If you're brave enough to battle the brunch line at Prune, then! Today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lower Eastside Girls Club... there's the Ahkun pop-up shop featuring fair trade organizations, independent designers and sustainable brands. More info here.

Down on the farm with the Lower Eastside Girls Club

Lyn Pentecost of the Lower Eastside Girls Club passes along word that they still have a few shares left with their CSA. Pick up is every Tuesday 4-7 at 56 E. First St.

For info, contact: green@girlsclub.org
For more details, visit the Farm Girls CSA site.

You have until midnight to help the Lower Eastside Girls Club win $50,000

You have until midnight to help the Lower Eastside Girls Club win $50,000 in the 2011 DVF People's Voice Award. Vote here.

Read more here at the Daily News.

Photo of the week

I love this shot that appears in The East Villager this week by J.B. Nicholas. The caption: "Rosario Dawson, standing next to Speaker Sheldon Silver, couldn’t restrain her enthusiasm at the groundbreaking for the new Lower Eastside Girls Club headquarters."

I was trying to think of a funny headline for it, but, well, ended up with Photo of the Week. D-

Celebrate Cafe moves out of the Bowery Poetry Club

[Via BoweryBoogie]

As the sign below shows, Celebrate Cafe has moved out of the Bowery Poetry Club....



The Cafe, operated by the Lower Eastside Girls Club, is an entrepreneurial and job training program that employs local youth and young adults. The Café held its grand opening in June. As BoweryBoogie noted at the time, "A nice symbiotic relationship on the Bowery." I said as much in an e-mail to Lyn Pentecost, executive director and co-founder of the Girls Club. I asked her for a comment. “It wasn’t as good a fit as it appeared to be. We look forward to seeing our friends again on Ave.C — same great coffee and cupcakes!”

Celebrate Cafe will be moving back to 136 Avenue C, site of their Sweet Things Bake Shop.

As for the Bowery Poetry Club, no word on potential new tenants. At the beginning of the year, the East Village Visitors Center & Cafe moved after some 10 months here. They teamed up with Fourth Arts Block and the Cooper Square Committee on East Fourth Street.

Construction for new Lower Eastside Girls Club home starts next week

The Lower Eastside Girls Club is prepping for the groundbreaking next week of its new home (Center for Community) on Avenue D...

As the flyer shows, there's a meeting this Tuesday night at the Jacob Riis Community Center, 80 Avenue D, between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

A detailed presentation will be made about the construction timeline and neighborhood impact as well as information about the upcoming Girls Club programs.

Questions can be submitted in advance to:
building@girlsclub.org

For more information, go here.

Meanwhile, as we've covered here before, here's a look at the new home:




Among other things, the new building will include:

We are expanding our successful entrepreneurial social venture businesses, The Sweet Things Baking Company and Community Café, with the construction of a Culinary Education Center and commercial kitchen. These programs offer job training and opportunities for teenage girls and neighborhood women. The kitchen will also serve as a classroom for nutrition education and meet in-house food service needs. A courtyard filled with flowers, an outdoor fountain designed by artist Kiki Smith, and café tables will provide a unique oasis for dining and quiet events.

And!

In the Fair Trade Gift Shop and Book Store, items from cooperatives around the world share shelf space with girl-made crafts and artwork. Our public market space will be a home for our Farmers Market Center, simultaneously supporting New York State farmers and our community's health.

And!

A portion of this new facility will be devoted to public programming and the arts. The “Girls Out Loud” Internet Radio Station is the site for live programming, podcasting, and digital journalism activities. Simultaneously, girls will be taking their digital film, photography and IT courses, while school classes and the general public participate in film festivals and screening events in the Screening Room. The Art + Community Gallery, site of LESGC’s teen curatorial training programs, will act as a venue for a wide range of art exhibitions.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Lower Eastside Girls Club's "urban paradise" closer to reality

Reminder: East Village Community Farmers Market every Tuesday until the fall

It's the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Tuesdays 12-8 p.m. at Ninth and Avenue C.



Details.