A moment at the community fridge on Bleecker

A reader shared this photo from Thursday at the community fridge outside Overthrow Boxing Club at 9 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery. 

Miguel (left) and Power from Artists Athletes Activists were stocking the fridge. 

Per the reader: "Seeing them is a good reminder that the fridge is stocked around 2 p.m. on Thursdays. On Sunday, they offer cooked meals from East Village Love NYC." 

The city's first plant-based community fridge arrived here in February 2021.

Find a map of all the NYC community fridges at this link.

City's first plant-based community fridge is up and running outside Overthrow on Bleecker Street

Yesterday saw the debut of what organizers are calling the city's first plant-based community fridge outside Overthrow Boxing Club at 9 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery.

Power Malu, a community activist and organizer, and Eloísa Trinidad, executive director at Chilis on Wheels New York and Vegan Activist Alliance, are spearheading these efforts here with the help of many volunteers as well as Overthrow.  

In a statement on Instagram, the organizers stated: 

This pandemic has forced us to take a deep look at the effects of food insecurity in our communities and the health disparities that have plagued our families for decades. We are really excited to collaborate with great people who understand the importance of offering healthy alternatives to our communities in need. This will be the first plant-based fridge in NYC and definitely not the last.

The fridge is open 24/7. People can drop off donations, including new or gently used (clean) clothes, at Overthrow from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the week and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. 

Here are some common plant-based foods in high demand ...  (per the organizers: no meat, cow, goat milk/cheese or heavily processed foods):

Fresh produce (ALL greens, fruits, and vegetables )
Plant-based milks
Peanut Butter
Fruit preserves (jam)
Whole wheat bread or other whole grain bread
Plain dry pasta
Plain Tomato Sauce or Marinara Sauce
Plain Canned Veggies
Plain Rice
Beans, lentil and other legumes (canned or dried)
Applesauce

Clothes:
All sizes, all genders. (Please no fur coats.)
Coats
Socks (new)
Undergarments (new)
Gloves
Sweatshirts, sweaters and other long sleeve shirts
Pants
T-shirts OK, but no other summer clothes such as dresses, tank top etc.
Thermals
Winter Hats
Water resistant clothing
Boots
Sneakers
Backpacks
Sleeping bags
Hygiene Products/Toiletries

People can volunteer to clean the fridge or help sort clothes and nonperishable foods by signing up via the QR code:

You can also use this email: plantbasedcommunityfridge@gmail.com

There's a link here to donate to a GoFundMe to help maintain this community fridge as well as one in the Bronx and Queens.

The fridge has an Instagram account here. Artist Andrea Acevedo painted the fridge. And thank you to Danielle for the top photo and information.

This also marks the second community fridge in the neighborhood. The East Village Neighbors Fridge debuted last fall outside S'MAC on the northwest corner of First Avenue and 12th Street.

Movement underway to reoccupy the Yippie Museum

Several EVG Facebook friends shared this campaign with us... Yippie activist Dana Beal has launched a crowdfunding effort to take back the group's longtime home at 9 Bleecker St.

Here's some of the info via GoFundMe:

For over four decades, #9 Bleecker Street has been the headquarters of American and even international counterculture. It is the official home of the Yippies, (Youth International Party) a group of late 60's activist pranksters initiated by the legendary Abbie Hoffman working to create positive social change by mocking and subverting the establishment.

In 2006, the space was converted into The Yippie! Museum and Cafe. a space devoted to preserving the history of American activism and providing a location where young activists can mobilize – such as the Occupy Wall Street movement who used it to stage meetings and hold fundraisers.

In late 2013, the Yippie! Museum was snatched away by unscrupulous real estate developers who specialize in gentrification. They used deceptive and outright illegal tactics to take possession of the space and shut it down, robbing the national activist community and the world of a vital one-of-a-kind resource and historic location.

We are asking for ALL who read this message to join our crusade to Re-Occupy The Yippie! Museum by making a donation!

As of last night, there were two donations for $38 ... with a $50,000 goal. The money would go to pay "legal bills, maintain the museum's objets d' art, artifacts and documents — including irreplaceable Yippie! archives."

The three-story brick building at No. 9 has been the centerpiece in a long-running foreclosure battle. (Read this story in the Times from January for all the legal wrangling.)

As the Times reported in June 2013, Steven L. Einig, a lawyer for Centech, which holds the building's mortgage, "stated that Yippie Holdings, which bought Number 9 along with a nonprofit called the National AIDS Brigade, had failed for more than five years to make payments on the $1.4 million mortgage."

For their part, a lawyer for Yippie Holdings, said that the group was "compelled into foreclosure with payments being rejected" by Centech as part of a scheme or plan to take over the building.

The Yippies had to be out this past Jan. 17 for new tenants while the fight continued about No. 9's ownership.

The new tenant, Overthrow, named for one of the countercultural newspapers that the Yippies published here, is a boxing gym/training facility/party spot.

In an interview published Nov. 18 at Bedford + Bowery, Beal said, "We’re still fighting the case. We're trying to get a group of people together to pay off a foreclosure, and then we'll have the building – we’ll have the title. And then I'll be renting to [Overthrow]."

Beal also said that he was glad that the space was being rented to some "Yippie-flavored people" who appreciate No. 9's counterculture history.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Yippie Museum Cafe is in financial trouble

The Yippie Museum Cafe will reopen next Wednesday

A bad sign at the Yippie Museum

Last day for the Yippies at No. 9 — for now

Fights of a different kind coming to 9 Bleecker St., longtime home of the Yippies

About Overthrow NYC, the boxing gym coming to the former home of the Yippies at 9 Bleecker St.

The changing of the facade at 9 Bleecker St.

Signage is up now at the former longtime home of the Yippies here near the Bowery.

The new tenant, Overthrow, named for one of the countercultural newspapers that the Yippies published here, aims to be a boxing gym/training facility.

This past week, Throwback NYC partner Joey Goodwin, aka "the Soho Kid," a Golden Gloves contender, sent us information about the club's Indiegogo campaign (looking to raise $50k).

The crowdfunding page includes a lot of details about what to expect from the space, such as:

Overthrow New York will create a brand and a flagship location, which offers a high intensity anaerobic workout based on classes using boxing as a foundation. overthrow nyc provides a base for those in need of a high intensity work out in an equally cool and historical venue.

Stemming off of the neighborhood’s long history, Overthrow New York will take cues from CBGBs, the Bowery, underground boxing fight club Friday Night Throwdown, and 9 Bleecker street’s own rich counterculture history.

The club

The main level at Overthrow is the first impression for both the fascinated taste-maker and the intrigued passerby. The walls are adorned with framed counterculture and underground posters celebrating the activist history of 9 Bleecker and the punk scene on the Bowery. The main floor will feature the boxing club which will include a branded ring, unique heavy bags and one of a kind speed bags. This area will allow members to check in for group class, shop the Overthrow New York retail concept, grab a juice, or workout with a private trainer.

The locker rooms

Overthrow New York's locker rooms allow members to change and shower before or after their workout. The steamed glass wall dividing the men's locker room from the women's locker room makes for one of the cities sexiest yet grittiest bathrooms.

According to the Indiegogo campaign, the Overthrow folks are currently pitching "Off the Bowery," a television show about the building, concept and team, to production companies.

After a protracted legal battle, the Yippies had to vacate their home of 41 years this past Jan. 17.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Yippie Museum Cafe is in financial trouble

The Yippie Museum Cafe will reopen next Wednesday

A bad sign at the Yippie Museum

Last day for the Yippies at No. 9 — for now

Fights of a different kind coming to 9 Bleecker St., longtime home of the Yippies

About Overthrow NYC, the boxing gym coming to the former home of the Yippies at 9 Bleecker St.