Citing lack of support, Jimmy McMillan retires from the Rent Is Too Damn High Party

Jimmy mcmillan founder of the rent is too damn high movement/ party Quit - walking away due to the lack of support of the people.

— JIMMY McMILLAN (@Rentisto) December 10, 2015

Speaking of high rents... East Village resident Jimmy McMillan has announced his retirement from politics, specifically the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, under which he ran for mayor, governor and, for a moment, president.

According to The New York Times:

In a news release infused with misspellings and other errors that was dated Tuesday, Mr. McMillan said voters had been “totally brainwashed” and criticized Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, for not securing “a rent reduction for the people in the cities of Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan and Queens.”

“Rent is too damn high is an international crisis,” he wrote. “There are many questions the people should ask themselves. I which them the best — I’m out.”

And we're not sure about what came of the eviction battle over his rent-stabilized apartment of 38 years on St. Mark's Place. We saw him get in his car on the block earlier this week.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 29, McMillan published this Merry Christmas message/song on YouTube...

Oysters coming to the former Bourgeois Pig space on East 7th Street

We'll continue to look at some of the applicants on CB3's SLA committee meeting for September.

There's a new applicant looking to take over the former Bourgeois Pig space at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. According to paperwork (here's the PDF) at the CB3 website, Joseph Marazzo, who owns Virgola over on Greenwich Avenue, is opening a second location of his oyster-and-Italian-wine bar here. He is seeking a beer and wine license.

The questionnaire on file at CB3 shows daily hours of 11 a.m. to midnight ... with room for eight tables (seating 29) and a bar for 17 patrons. The paperwork includes a sample menu for Virgola...





Marazzo told DNAinfo that the East Village location will have the same vibe as the original — "with a dimly lit, black interior similar to the Greenwich Avenue bar and a new steel bar."

"It’s dark and sexy, more of an aphrodisiac style of an oyster bar," he said.

Virgola will have some oyster competition here, as Desnuda is across the street ... not to mention Good Night Sonny, which recently opened on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

The Bourgeois Pig closed for good in late January, moving to a new location on MacDougal Street. As Eater reported back in November, a rent increase was behind the 10-year-old bar's East Village departure.

The SLA meeting is at the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Rent reduction at the former Bourgeois Pig space on East 7th Street

As previously noted, the former Bourgeois Pig space at 111 E. Seventh St. has been on the rental market. According to a listing, the storefront between Avenue A and First Avenue had been asking $10,500.

Perhaps a prospective tenant found the price too high? This message appeared on the door the other day...



Interestingly enough, the rent was recently reduced ... down to $7,750 monthly...



The Bourgeois Pig closed for good in late January, moving to a new location on MacDougal Street. As Eater reported back in November, a rent hike was behind the 10-year-old bar's East Village closure.

Report: Jimmy McMillan facing Feb. 5 eviction from St. Mark's Place apartment

[Photo from February 2013 by James Maher]

To the Daily News:

McMillan, founder of the fringe political party called The Rent Is Too Damn High, has filed suit in Brooklyn Federal Court seeking to stave off the eviction, which is scheduled to be carried out by a city marshal Feb. 5. Acting as his own lawyer, he is also demanding $1.3 million in monetary damages.

The 68-year-old Vietnam War veteran has been embroiled in a legal battle with the landlord, who claimed the one-bedroom flat on St. Marks Place wasn’t McMillan’s primary residence, and that he actually lives in Brooklyn.

McMillan is reportedly paying $872 a month for the apartment on St. Mark's Place. He says the Brooklyn address is for office use.

Find the full Daily News article here.

Jimmy McMillan wants to wear his karate uniform for an upcoming gubernatorial debate

[Photo from February 2013 by James Maher]

Catching up to this piece in The Wall Street Journal Saturday on St. Mark's Place resident Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is 2 Damn High Party.

He plans on running for governor again, though it hasn't been easy.

It's not clear whether Mr. McMillan will be on the ballot come November. His petitions have been challenged by Mike Welch, a Schenectady science teacher who alleges Mr. McMillan photocopied signatures to meet the 15,000 required for a spot on the ballot. Mr. McMillan says Mr. Welch didn't follow proper procedures filing his objection. The Board of Elections is expected to rule [this] week.

And!

He's already selected an outfit if he is included in a coming debate — his karate uniform. And he sees no need to go out campaigning.

His most convincing campaign literature, he tells people, is their rent receipt: "If you can't see that your rent is too damn high, don't pay me no mind."

You can read the Journal article here. (Subscription may be necessary.)

The snow is too damn high

St. Mark's Place this morning. [Via @evgrieve]

Noted

EVG reader R Dub spotted this note on Jimmy McMillan's "Rent is too Damn High" mobile on St. Mark's Place...





Noteslinging from one of the other mayoral candidates, perhaps?

For your consideration

Jimmy McMillan campaigning on St. Mark's Place this afternoon. Photo by James Maher.