Scenes from 'Independent Thinkers' at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The annual "Framing the Village" exhibition returned to St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery last night with an opening reception for its 2026 installment, "Independent Thinkers." 

Curated by Marc Kehoe (below), the group show features work by roughly 65 independent local artists.

Here are a few scenes from the reception...

The exhibition continues through Sept. 30 in the Parish Hall at St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue. Regular viewing hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. 

To find the Parish Hall, enter through the gates and follow the path on the right to the back of the church.

Mayor Mamdani joins Lower East Side tribute to Chino Garcia at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

A packed St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery hosted a memorial service Saturday afternoon for longtime Lower East Side activist Carlos “Chino” Garcia. 

Before the service, Mayor Zohran Mamdani met privately with Garcia's family, the Revs. Anne-Marie Witchger and Amanda Hambrick, and David Soto. 

He later addressed the gathering, speaking about Garcia's life, family and decades of community work — and the responsibility of carrying that legacy forward.

After his remarks, Mamdani spent time greeting and comforting Garcia's loved ones and other attendees.

The afternoon also included remarks from elected officials and community members, along with a slideshow, music, food and fellowship. 

Among those attending here on Second Avenue and 10th Street were actor and LES native Luis Guzmán, former City Councilmember Margarita López, Councilmember Harvey Epstein and many longtime residents.

Garcia, who died on July 24 at age 80, co-founded CHARAS and was a pioneering neighborhood organizer. 

His decades of work included housing advocacy, sweat-equity rehabilitation, community gardens, environmental initiatives, the arts and the continuing campaign to preserve the former P.S. 64 for use as a community center.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Good Friday Blues at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is marking the 25th anniversary of its Good Friday Blues service this week.

The annual Good Friday program blends blues music, drama and dance to recount the Passion story. The service is directed by Jeannine Otis and includes guest sermons from the Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings, the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas and Nell Gibson. The St. Mark's Choir will also take part.

The service runs from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday at the church, 131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue.

Admission is free.

Vigil planned for Renee Nicole Good at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

There's a small memorial for Renee Nicole Good on the 10th Street outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery at Second Avenue. 

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three originally from Colorado, was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday. 

Church officials are inviting neighbors to leave a prayer or flower in her memory — and in memory of others currently in ICE detention — on the 10th Street fence. 

"A vigil for lament and hope" will take place on Monday at 7 p.m. at St. Mark's Church. The event is being sponsored by Middle Church, Trinity Lower East Side and Judson Memorial Church.

Trump administration officials described Good as a domestic terrorist who attempted to ram federal agents with her car. Local and state officials disputed federal authorities' narrative of events, calling the shooting unjustified. Her ex-husband said she was a devoted Christian and that he had never known her to participate in any protest. 

Top photo via @stmarksbowery

Wednesday's parting shot

Outside St Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue...

Pop-up food market at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery tomorrow amid SNAP uncertainty

With uncertainty over SNAP food benefits, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is hosting a pop-up market tomorrow (Wednesday) to provide assistance to local residents in need. 

According to the organizers, "We're responding to the food crisis spurred by the government shutdown by offering food and supplies to our neighbors." 

The market takes place in the Parish Hall starting at 11 a.m. The church is at Second Avenue and 10th Street. 

This event is in conjunction with the East Village Community Coalition, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, educator-activist Katrina T. Monzón, and Middle Church. 

You can volunteer to help here... or donate here.

Good Friday Blues returns for its 24th year at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery

Info via the EVG inbox...

Staying true to its long history and commitment to justice and mercy through worship and the arts, poetry, dance, and historic preservation, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery announces plans for its annual Good Friday Blues on Friday, April 18 from noon to 3 p.m. 

This service was conceived more than two decades ago by Bishop Catherine Roskam, and Jeannine Otis, director of music at St. Mark's, in collaboration with the Saint Mark's Choir.

WHO: Featuring members of the St. Mark's Choir, and a cast of distinguished actors, singers and instrumentalists. 

The church is on 10th Street at Second Avenue. You can also catch a livestream via YouTube. 

An info session for community and faith leaders on protecting immigrant New Yorkers

Via the EVG inbox... 

Join New York Immigration Coalition and the Lower East Side Community Care Coalition to learn how your organization can be an ally in the fight to protect our neighbors. Attendees will be taught how to identify valid vs invalid warrants and the rights your organization has in an encounter with federal authorities. 

March 8 2-4 p.m. 

St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery 

131 E. 10th St. at Second Avenue 

Sign up at this link.

Last week for the East Village-wide exhibit 'Energies' at the Swiss Institute

You have until next Sunday to see the ambitious, East Village-wide "Energies" exhibit at the Swiss Institute. 

Here's more about the show, which opened in September: 

"Energies" is "an international group exhibition that unfolds throughout the entire building at 38 St. Marks Place and expands into numerous partner locations in the surrounding East Village community. The exhibition includes influential historic artworks alongside contemporary positions and new commissions that address ecological affordances and effects, social formations, and political arrangements attached to energy past and present." 

One of the pieces includes Gordon Matta-Clark's "Rosebush," which has been restored at its home since 1972 outside the St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street and Second Avenue. 

 The Art Newspaper recently published a piece on "Rosebush:" 

In a brief yet prolific career that ended with his death at age 35 in 1978, Gordon Matta-Clark responded to the neglect of New York City's urban environment with radical interventions, most famously colossal cuts in abandoned buildings. Much of his work was meant to be ephemeral, and little of it survives, especially in the places it was created. An exception is a small, rusted steel cage outside St Mark's Church in-the-Bowery. For years, it has stood unmarked and empty of the flowers it was intended to hold. 

"It is, we believe, the only existent work in an outdoor public space of Gordon's," says Jessamyn Fiore, co-director of the Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark. 

The reactivation event this past fall was a collaboration between the Swiss Institute, the Poetry Project, Danspace Project and St. Mark's Church. Read more here. 

The Swiss Institute, on the SE corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, is open Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday from noon to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. 

There is no admission fee.

About the St Mark's Community Rummage Sale on Saturday

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is hounsing a community rummage sale tomorrow (Saturday). 

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., you'll find clothing, jewelry, antiques, household goods, etc., with all proceeds supporting the church's Welcome Center, "a place respite for our neighbors." 

The Welcome Center is open on Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and recently expanded its offerings to include haircuts. 

Tomorrow's event is at the church on Second Avenue and 10th Street.

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by William Klayer 

A set late this afternoon by Twisted Wrist outside St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue and 10th Street... (check them out some time...) 

St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery highlights gun violence this Holy Week

Once again this Holy Week, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery installed an Anti-Gun Violence Memorial in the East Yard here along Second Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street. 

An EVG reader shared these photos from this past week.

Per the signage: 

Our commemoration this year is represented by the deaths of Women of Color who encountered violent and fateful interactions with law enforcement, and gun violence in general...

Wednesday's parting shot

Side view early this evening outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue...

Friday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

A visiting juvenile red-tailed hawk enjoys a squab lunch at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue and 10th Street today...

A celebration of Three Kings Day

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A coalition of community organizations, faith communities and local residents came together yesterday to celebrate Three Kings Day (Los Reyes Magos).

The festivities started with a procession — featuring the Batalá New York percussion ensemble — from the Loisaida Community Center on Ninth Street and Avenue C.

The procession stopped outside the former P.S. 64/Charas/El Bohio Community Center on Ninth Street, which included an appearance by longtime neighborhood activist Chino García, co-founder of Charas...

The final destination was St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue at 10th Street ...

... for a production of "Gifts of the Magi," written by local activist Angie Hernández, which tells "a story of the nativity that celebrates Puerto Rican culture and the rich history of Loisaida."

And making a return appearance on this occasion was the crowd-pleasing Chesney the camel...

This event was produced by a team of volunteers from the community with support from St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, Henry Street Settlement, L.E.S. CommUnity Concerns, the Loisaida Center, Save Our Storefronts, Trinity Lower East Side, JoeyBats Cafe, The March Hare, CONBODY, Exit9, La Sirena and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein's office, among others.

A walk among the trees on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The Tree Riders have the most picturesque seasonal workspace in the neighborhood ... on Second Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street outside the historic St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery.

The vendors recently started their 12th year here... EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently walked through the 24/7 tree stand for a little holiday spirit ...

The list of other local tree sellers includes vendors on Astor Place (at Lafayette), Essex and Houston, and 14th Street at First Avenue.