Thursday's parting shot

St. Mark's Place and Second Place on this Thanksgiving night...

A campaign to co-name St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue 'Club 57 Way'

There's a campaign underway to co-name St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue "Club 57 Way" — after the seminal nightlife venue (1978-1983) at 57 St. Mark's Place.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently met Stanley Strychacki, Club 57's founder, and the petition organizers, East Village residents Dany Johnson (in Club 57 shirt below) and Ande Whyland... 

The organizers, via Club 57 Artists Fund, a nonprofit organization, are looking to collect signatures (the petition is here) of support from residents who live in this immediate area to present to Community Board 3 for consideration.

"Usually, they consider the naming for people who have died. But we figure that many artists and performers who came out of Club 57 have died, most from AIDS," said Johnson, the resident DJ at Club 57.  "Instead of trying to get a co-naming for one person, this would be a great way to bring attention to that part of the history of the East Village."

Club 57 was housed in the basement at the time of the Holy Cross Polish National Church. Workers refurbished the building last year, adding a plaque commemorating Club 57.

The subcultural heyday of the venue received significant attention in the fall of 2017 with the MoMa exhibit titled "Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978–1983" — "the first major exhibition to fully examine the scene-changing, interdisciplinary life of this seminal downtown New York alternative space."

You can find the co-naming petition at this link.

The process of co-naming a street within the confines of Community Board 3 is explained in this PDF.

At the Spring Zine Fair on St. Mark's Place

On Saturday afternoon, Printed Matter/St. Mark's and 8-Ball Community teamed up for a Spring Zine Fair along St Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

More than 40 local independent publishers and zine makers lined the block, which was closed to traffic. (There were also several collaborative events at community gardens throughout the neighborhood.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to browse the array of creative and experimental publications... 

... and the organizers (from left to right) ... Mia Greenberg, Emmett Pinsky, Johanna Reitveld, Em Brill and Hayley Earnest. (Not pictured: Ryan Vasta.)

The Spring Zine Fair is underway on St. Mark's Place, and in community gardens

The Spring Zine Fair is underway now on St Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... happening until 7 p.m. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

Printed Matter/St. Mark's and 8-Ball Community teamed up for this event.

Also! Don't sleep on the collaborative events at these neighborhood community gardens...   

A zine fair on St. Mark's Place and in community gardens tomorrow

Printed Matter/St. Mark's and 8-Ball Community are teaming up for a Spring Zine Fair taking place tomorrow (Saturday!) on St Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

In addition, there'll be a series of collaborative events at community gardens throughout the neighborhood. 

Some details via the EVG inbox...

Join us as we come together after many months apart and gather local independent publishers and zine makers to honor the East Village's rich DIY and countercultural history.

Engage with the 40-plus New York-based exhibitors who will be tabling at the fair and browse an exceptional array of creative and experimental artists' zines and publications. Throughout the day, nearby community gardens will be hosting various programs, including composting workshops, poetry readings, concerts, leaf pressings and more! 

As we celebrate the East Village's artistic past and present, we're so excited to collaborate with local community gardens in acknowledgment of the grassroots reclamation of the Lower East Side’s unused space by gardeners, squatters and artists. Our fair guide will be in the form of an East Village Fanzine spotlighting local businesses, organizations and stories.

This link has many more details. 

And in the gardens...

Reader report: Damage from last night's revelry on St. Mark's Place

A Saturday morning report from EVG reader Allen Semanco:

A walker lies smashed by a drunken crowd of revelers, largely underage, on Saint Mark's Place last night. My neighbor used it every day for walks around the neighborhood, greeting all with a friendly smile.

The walker was locked to a bike stand, and was broken away from it here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Wednesday's parting shot

A moment on St. Mark's Place during that hailstorm this afternoon... photo by Derek Berg...

Activity at the former Khyber Pass

There has been activity in recent days over at 34 St. Mark's Place ... the former Kyber Pass here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...

Not sure at the moment what's happening with the space. Permits point to some plumbing work.

The Afghani restaurant that dated to the mid-1980s quietly closed during the pandemic. (Reported here in June.) Given its longevity on the block, some readers felt as if Khyber Pass deserved more press following its closure.

The storefront is currently for rent. 

Thanks to Steven for the photos!

Ruh-roh! Scooby-Doo looks extremely angry here on St. Mark's Place

Looks like we've got another mystery on our hands. Here's the new-ish Scooby-Doo mural on the rolldown gate at Min Sushi at 32 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

And why is Scooby looking supremely — and uncharacteristically — pissed?  

Saturday's opening shot

City crews were out this morning salting roadways for the anticipated winter weather expected this afternoon... to the National Weather Service for some ALL-CAPS forecasting...

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM EST SUNDAY... 

WHAT...Mixed precipitation including freezing rain expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch. 

WHERE...Portions of northeast New Jersey and southeast New York. 

WHEN...From 1 PM this afternoon to 10 AM EST Sunday. 

IMPACTS...Difficult travel conditions are possible due to icy roadways, especially this afternoon through tonight

Quest to co-name part of St. Mark's Place after Jimmy Webb continues

As we first reported on Oct. 5, there's an ongoing campaign to co-name part of St. Mark's Place after the late Jimmy Webb. 

The online petition is nearing 4,500 signatures, including Jimmy's friend Slash from Guns N' Roses. 

Tomorrow (Sunday!), employees from Webb's former boutique, I Need More, will be on St. Mark's Place to collect more signatures to co-name the block between Second Avenue and Third Avenue Jimmy Webb Place 

Webb, a familiar figure in the East Village during his long tenure as the manager and buyer at Trash & Vaudeville, died on April 14 of cancer. He was 62. 

He started working at his dream destination, Trash & Vaudeville, in 1999, and remained there until the shop relocated from 4 St. Mark's Place to Seventh Street in 2016.  He opened I Need More on Orchard Street in October 2017. That store closed this past summer.

The process of co-naming a street within the confines of Community Board 3 is explained on this PDF.

Last night's high winds damage outdoor dining spaces on St. Mark's Place

Given the gale-force winds last night (and that rare tornado warning!), we wondered how the neighborhood's outdoor dining structures fared... a quick survey this morning found some damaged spaces along St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... 

... though, to be honest, these spaces often look similar on any given Sunday morning... thankfully the damage didn't appear to be any worse than this around the neighborhood (please let us know in the comments if you noticed other storm-related damage) ...

Gothamist has a recap of the storm's wrath right here.  

A campaign to co-name part of St. Mark's Place after Jimmy Webb

There's a fledgling campaign underway to co-name part of St. Mark's Place after Jimmy Webb. (Thanks Cheryl for pointing this out!)

The online petition is here. The process of co-naming a street within the confines of Community Board 3 is explained on this PDF.

Webb, a familiar figure in the East Village during his long tenure as the manager and buyer at Trash & Vaudeville, died on April 14 of cancer. He was 62. 

He started working at his dream destination, Trash & Vaudeville, in 1999, and remained there until the shop relocated from St. Mark's Place to Seventh Street in 2016.  He opened I Need More in October 2017.

UPDATED 10/6

Apparently there are multiple campaigns underway. This one has nearly 1,500 signatures. 

Photo from 2013 by James Maher

Making their mark on St. Mark's Place

A look at the new murals that went up Thursday on the north side of St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue...


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St. Mark's Place seems a little more St. Mark's Place-like with the return of the sidewalk vendors

The sidewalk vendors returned to St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue on Monday... as these curbside operations are OK'd in the Phase 1 reopening. (You'll have to wait for any body piercings, though!)

Steven passed along these photos ... and as you can see, the open-air shops are well-stocked with the usual sunglasses, hats and scarves...

A Brazilian journalist searches for trends on St. Mark's Place in 1985

First, a thank you to our friend Alex at Flaming Pablum for uncovering this gem: A 13-minute clip in which a Brazilian journalist named Ernesto Varela does some reporter-on-the-street interviews to uncover the latest happenings along St. Mark's Place circa 1985 ("Desperately Seeking Susan" era!) ...











And it goes as expected at times...



The East Village portion commences near the 5-minute mark as Varela arrives in the East Village, "the most trendy place in New York nowadays." Look for excursions into Trash & Vaudeville and Astor Place Hairstylists. Other highlights include someone looking for a safety pin to pierce Varela's ear and the reporter asking people if they are capitalists...