EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Outside Middle Collegiate Church, photo by James Maher]

Press conference tomorrow to tell Scott Stringer to vote "no" on NYU's proposed expansion plan (Off the Grid)

Found! The old Jade Mountain neon sign (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The latest on protection of the Bialystoker Nursing Home (The Lo-Down)

Zum Schneider is opening a branch in Montauk this summer (Curbed Hamptons)

More Sons of Essex late-night menu ads (BoweryBoogie)

The basement comedians of the East Village (NYU Local)

NPR piece on community garden power struggles includes Campos Community Garden (NPR)

Thoughts on Five Napkin Burger on 14th and Third (Eater)

NYC King Kong murals (Flaming Pablum)

...and posters are up for "Girls," the new HBO series that Judd Apatow executive produced and filmed on the Lower East Side... (Flavorwire likes it...)

[Shawn Chittle]

'And the screams continue'

In January, a resident told us the following:

I live on Second Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth Street, and this is the second night since last week that I've heard bloodcurdling screams around 12:30 a.m. outside of my window toward Sixth Street.

Readers had some theories — the sound of the neighborhood dying, Lana Del Rey, etc.

But the screams continue. A reader left this at 12:56 a.m.:

We hear it also, and the screams continue...I hear it pretty much every night now. Last night someone actually responded by yelling "shut the f#%* up!". The night before I was woken up every hour from around 1 to 4. It is getting ridiculous and I don't know about other people, but I wake up every time because it is so disturbing. I reported it to the 9th precinct today but all they could say is call them when it actually happens. It's so hard to pin point where it is coming from though because it is relatively short, and usually when I'm sound asleep. If it is a person, which it sounds like it is, I really hope they get caught. If it is cats, I hate to say it, but they should be euthanized. Someone please help all the restless neighbors, it is getting very tiresome.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking for an explanation about those bloodcurdling screams

'Trouble' in mind: Q-and-A with director Michael Knowles

"The Trouble With Bliss" opens Friday at the Village East Cinemas on Second Avenue at East 12th Street. The movie is based on the novel "East Fifth Bliss" by former East Village resident Douglas Light, who lived at 343 E. Fifth St. for several years.

"Dexter"/"Six Feet Under" star Michael C. Hall plays the title character in this darkly comic tale about 35-year-old Morris Bliss who's stuck in a state of inertia.

[Michael C. Hall]

Morris longs to travel, but he never leaves the East Village. He doesn't have a job and he lives with his widowed father (Peter Fonda). For good measure, he starts a relationship with the 18-year-old daughter (Brie Larson) of his former classmate (Brad William Henke) and tries to avoid his over-eager neighbor (Lucy Liu). Anyway, trouble.

Director Michael Knowles and his cast and crew filmed around the neighborhood during the spring of 2010. (We covered some of this here and here.)

[Hall with Michael Knowles]

Knowles answered a few questions for us via Facebook ...

Why was the novel "East Fifth Bliss" something that you wanted to adapt into a movie?

There were a a number of reasons I wanted to adapt "East Fifth Bliss" into a movie. The first was that I laughed a lot while I was reading it so I thought it would be fun to make into a movie and share with as wide of an audience as possible. Second, I loved the overall message, which to me was basically "live your life. Stop putting things off and do what you say you're gonna do." This is a story and a message that, if told well, can really resonate with most people.

I also felt that we could make a great movie from the novel because of how unique the characters, humor, tone and world Doug had created were.

Morris is a bit of a sad sack, yet you find yourself rooting for him. How did you strike a balance to make a character that moviegoers will ultimately find likable?

Naaaaaaa. Morris is.... Okay, yeah, you're right, he is a bit of a sad sack but he never complains about his life or feels sorry for himself. On some level, Morris is living a life of Bliss. He, for some reason, has accepted his life as it is and it isn't until things start happening to him that he realizes that he as been a bit rudderless for the past 20 years or so. I think that since Morris doesn't feel sorry for himself it makes it easy to like him ... and he is on the receiving end of a lot of jokes in the novel as well as the movie.

How did you find the experience filming in the East Village?

I loved filming in the East Village. Before I moved to Los Angeles 4 1/2 years ago, I lived in New York for about 13 years and 11 of those years in the East Village. So for me it was perfect to come back and film in a neighborhood I knew very well.

Any memorable moments from the shoot?

There was one night that we were filming in front of the Blue & Gold Tavern on East Seventh Street and we knew it was supposed to rain. So we had to get the scene shot as quickly as possible. As soon as we started rolling, firetrucks came around the corner with the horns and sirens blaring —and it started to pour. We cut and I remember standing under this tent we had set up and watching three firetrucks come to a stop right where we were filming.

Turns out a neighbor had called the fire department on some neighbors who were barbequing on the street nearby. The whole scene was funny since it was so far out of our control. Ultimately, after a handful of starts and stops we did manage to get the scene shot. The whole cast was a bit punchy from being up all night. It was magical.

-------------

Also, folks from the movie will give a few EV Grieve readers a free set of tickets for any screening of "The Trouble With Bliss." We've never done this kind of thing before, so ... the first few people to send EV Grieve an email this morning can get the tix. Just need your name. We'll pass on your name and email to the publicist who will make it all official from there. Well, wasn't sure what to expect with this. But several people quickly sent along an email for tickets...more than the allotment. Thanks for the interest!

Previously on EV Grieve:
About the building that inspired the novel "East Fifth Bliss"

Q-and-A with 'East Fifth Bliss' author Douglas Light

[Photos Courtesy 7A Productions]

11-17 Second Avenue is starting to rise from the bowels of the Mars Bar

Early last evening. Before you know it, a 12-story apartment building will be here. And then?

Bonus photos from yesterday of the bendy thing...

Bendy photos by Bobby Williams.

About the Boiler Dilemma

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Beware — The push is on right now to get all buildings in NYC to convert their boilers to Natural Gas.

Don't let this happen to your building! As we all know, East Village buildings are increasingly populated with at least a few, and usually with a majority of young business-oriented tenants with a strong sense of entitlement who care little about the future of the neighborhood. When decisions are made about the maintenance and preservation of their buildings, the only criteria they consider is immediate cost, convenience and mainly the future sale price of their domiciles.

ConEd is giving New Yorkers the option to switch to #2 heating oil boilers — OR offering substantial discounts for conversion to gas burning boilers. Both options continue our dependance on the use of fossil fuels. There ARE alternatives, but ConEd and Bloomberg are both pushing natural gas. ConEd is the sole supplier as well as deliverer of gas — unlike the current heating oil or alternatives, so the switch to gas will add billions to ConEd and Oil and Gas Corporations' already outrageous profits.

The City’s new heating oil rules require buildings to stop using heavy oils by 2030, (and if your boiler uses #4 or #6 oil, you mush switch soon). Building owners are tempted to convert to gas, due to its current low price. But what is the true cost of “cheap” gas, when fracking could ruin our air and water, and bring radon-laden shale gas to our stoves? Are conservation, solar thermal and biodiesel realistic alternatives?

More info here.

Report: 99-year lease in play for 74-84 Third Ave.

[From November 2011]

The Real Deal reported last night that a development company called YYY Third Avenue signed a 99-year ground lease "that requires payments each year of about $1 million" for 74-84 Third Ave.

The site is currently home to a in-progress demolition of the former Yummy House and Nevada Smith's. As The Deal Deal noted, Karl Fischer is architecturing an 82,000-square-foot, nine-story residential building with 94 units here. (The permit is still pending for all this.)

A YYY Third Avenue rep said that the site would be a rental building with studios, and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. "He declined to comment on the annual rental payment or elaborate on the project."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Those persistent rumors about 74-76 Third Avenue and the future of Nevada Smith's

The East Village will lose a parking lot and gain an apartment building

Workshop tonight on rodents and pests

Workshop starts at 6:30 p.m. at 535 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Via EV Grieve reader Steven.

Spring

[The New York City Marble Cemetery]

[East 10th Street and Avenue C]

[Matthew Silver at Astor Place]

Photos by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Bobby Williams]

Last-ditch efforts to landmark the Bialystoker Nursing Home (BoweryBoogie)

Visiting Anthony Pisano on Seventh Street (Tripping With Marty)

An excerpt from Johnny Ramone's autobiography (New York)

A buyer for historic 25 Stuyvesant Street (The Real Deal)

Zombie spring! (The Grumbler)

Something to read while texting: 'How to Roll A Blunt For Dummies' (Runnin' Scared)

Get your fried pizza on Ludlow Street (Eater)

The Hoodie Shop opens on Orchard (The Lo-Down)

The classic Carmine's at the Seaport still sits empty after a rent hike forced them out two years ago (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Breaking: Large dead lobster spotted in Tompkins Square Park

Just now via Jose Garcia.

Uh, explanations?

More from Jose:

"Definitely not alive but clearly had a rough night. Maybe missed the party bus or something. Who knows?"

More about the lease renewals at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St.

Last Thursday, a resident told us that Abart Holdings LLC has sold (or is selling) the buildings at 50, 54 and 58 E. Third St. on this block between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Another tipster has shared a copy of the letter that some residents of the three buildings received...

Per the letter: "It has been agreed with the impending new owners that your lease will not be renewed and that you will be expected to vacate at the expiration of your lease."

Per the tipster:

"There are definitely much older families who live in the building, and suddenly they've been unceremoniously thrown out. The building is terrible as it is — several break-ins, terrible staircase, the entrance is poorly maintained — and now they are kicking everyone out."

But the residents are getting organized.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Three apartment buildings sold on East Third Street

Know your rights: Help with understanding NYC rent laws

Another makeshift shelter arrives along the Liz Christy Garden

As we reported on March 7, city officials dismantled and discarded the makeshift shelter that a homeless man had been living in the past three months on the Bowery at East Houston...

One thing probably doesn't have to do with the other... but the timing made a few readers curious... DBGB set up its sidewalk cafe four days after workers removed the shelter, which sat about 30 feet from the southern edge of the cafe...

In any event, we noticed that the man, who a Liz Christy volunteer said is from Cuba, has set up a much smaller space not too far away from where he was... so far, nothing more than a chair and a few bags...

[Bobby Williams]

Workers continue 7-Elevening the former J.A.S. Mart on St. Mark's Place

As you may unfortunately remember, we reported that a 7-Eleven will soon open on St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue in the the former J.A.S. Mart. (The official address is 133 Second Ave.)

Workers have been molding the 7-Eleven into shape, as this shot from yesterday by Bobby Williams shows... expect the sign and awning any day or two now ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven continues to feast on the East Village; next up, St. Mark's Place

Today is the first day of spring

Read somewhere that NYC received 4.5 inches of snow this whole winter (December-January-February).

[Via ~ Joan, Jan. 21, 2012]

Did you miss it a little?

Updated: Live look-in at the CB3/SLA meeting; 200 Avenue A denied

One of the agenda items tonight at this month's CB3-SLA committee meeting — Bikinis at 56 Avenue C. Petrit Pula, one of the principals for what he called a Barcelona-style eatery that will serve a type of sandwich from coastal Spain, shared details with us here.

By Shawn Chittle's account, 13 people tonight spoke out against the proposed establishment, including seven from 56 Avenue C. There were three who spoke in favor. The Bikinis folks were looking for a closing time of midnight on weeknights; 2 a.m. on weekends. Per Shawn, CB3 said they'd approve midnight seven days a week, but the Bikinis folks balked at the reduced weekend hours.

Updated 8:24 p.m.

The committee unanimously voted against the proposed art gallery-restaurant at 200 Avenue A, the former Superdive home.

DOH temporarily shutters Japadog on St. Mark's Place

EV Grieve reader AC noted that the DOH temporarily closed Japadog here on St. Mark's Place... The inspection must have happened late this afternoon — the report isn't on the DOH website just yet. The popular hot doggery opened between Second Avenue and Third Avenue on Jan. 5.

Meanwhile, unrelated, EV Grieve reader Venya noted that someone borrowed/stole/swallowed the J in Japadog a few weeks back...

Workers replaced the J in due time...

A more civil St. Patrick's Day-related celebration in Tompkins Square Park

Bagad Plougastell, who have been in town for the St. Patrick's Day Parade and gig with the Chieftains, performed this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. The musicians-dancers are from the Celtic nation of Brittany....

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Why some people think Billy Leroy is dead

As you know, Billy's Antiques and Props as we know it is gone over on Houston near the Bowery... the former home of Billy's tent is drawing some curious onlookers... many of whom believe that Billy himself died.... helped, in part, by that missing s in the homemade RIP Billy sign... (it should read "RIP Billy's")

... not to mention the workers on the scene who may be playing along with the death rumor ... In any event, the casket lying in state, as BoweryBoogie put it, continues to draw curious onlookers...

Perhaps this will become the next stop on the Dead Apple Tours...

Out of order: World Famous Pee Phone, others, face a future without quarters, whiskey

Well, to no surprise, it appears the end is nearish for the World Famous Pee Phone (above) on Avenue A at Seventh Street and other pay phones in the neighborhood. According to the Post today, the city is ready to welcome the next generation of pay phones:

New Yorkers stuck with a battery-drained iPad or BlackBerry will soon be able to turn to the city’s newest “pay phones” — computer kiosks that let users buy access to the Web, e-mail and various apps.

The Jetsons-style setup — dubbed MIKE, or My Internet Kiosk Everywhere — will soon replace every single antiquated pay phone throughout the city, The Post has learned.

The Post reports that workers will install 100 MIKE systems (MIKE? Really?) around the city, starting at Penn Station.

A California-based company called Pacific Telemanagement Services took over Verizon's stock of public pay phones "after the communications giant decided it wasn’t making enough money off them."

Thanks Verizon. Now where are people supposed to hang their dry cleaning?

Going to the former Chapel, and we're gonna get three new floors

The scaffolding and construction netting is now in place at the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel on Second Avenue between 10th Street and Ninth Street.

As Off the Grid first reported last summer, there are plans on file to "Remodel the existing three story building and add 3 stories on top."

According to the DOB, city officials have approved those plans on Jan. 10. Here's the DOB language:

REMODEL EXISTING THREE STORY BUILDING AND ADD 3 STORIES ON TOP OF EXISTING BUILDING. SECOND AND THIRD FLOORS TO BE CONVERTED TO RESIDENTIAL ONLY. FIRST FLOOR TO BE USED AS A COMMERCIAL USE.

And yes — we've run out of headlines.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'