Noted

EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted the sign along Tompkins Square Park this morning...

[Updated] A makeshift memorial on 2nd Avenue for those who died during the uprising in Ukraine

Members of the local Ukrainian community created a memorial outside 136 Second Ave., which houses the Ukrainian American Youth Association in this building between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street…



Al Jazeera America reported from the scene here:

They expressed sadness and anger over the violence that left at least 77 people dead in the bloodiest week since anti-government protesters took to the streets of the capital Kiev in late November, furious with President Viktor Yanukovich for rebuffing a deal with the European Union to strengthen old ties with Russia.

No one who spoke to Al Jazeera expressed support for Yanukovich, who was dismissed by parliament on Saturday. Many said he should face stiff punishment for the deaths of demonstrators.

Updated 2:15

A reader shared these photos from the site today… where U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and other leaders held a press conference…





All the media outlets seemed to be on the scene… we'll link to one of them once the recaps are online… (Here is the report from WCBS.)



Updated 2:25

This photo from EVG reader Dan Efram shows how the memorial is growing…

East Village Ukrainian community mobilizing as fighting continues in Kiev

The violent clashes in Kiev — where the death toll reached 75 today, according to Reuters — have mobilized the Ukrainian community in the East Village.

Per amNY:

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, located in the East Village, announced a protest in front of the Consulate General of Ukraine, 240 W. 49th St., at 2 p.m. Sunday, with a march to the Russian Embassy.

"Everyone is extremely worried and concerned. Things seem to be escalating so fast — on a minute by minute basis," said Elizabeth Szonyi Donovan, UCCA Assistant Director. Local Ukrainians, she said, are glued to coverage of Kiev on the news and via social media

Father Bernard Panczuk, pastor for the East Village's St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church, where about "3,000 souls" worship, announced that he would hold a "requiem memorial service following the Sunday's noon liturgy for those who have been killed in Maidan," the city plaza where riot police have clashed violently with protestors.

At the Daily News, Denis Hamill talked with Irene Bracero, St. George's secretary.

"My phone doesn’t stop," she says. "Calls from my father, who is 74. My grandmother. My two sisters text me all night. Things are so bad in Ukraine. All we want is peace."

She stands. She paces. She checks her phone. She sits. She drops her head in her hands.