Sunset photo by Bobby Williams... #nofilter
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Overhead projector trying to be part of this harvest display on 1st Avenue
Outside the Fern near 10th Street... photos by EVG regular Daniel...
It blends in pretty well, so if this helps to spot the projector...
Christo and Dora cross paths
Christo and Dora were hanging out this afternoon atop the St. Nicholas of Myra Church on Avenue A at 10th Street... where Steven took a few photos of the red-tailed hawks before Christo took off ... perhaps to check out the rat scene in Tompkins Square Park...
Today in markdowns in Tompkins Square Park
The dog stroller quickly went from $40 to $35 to $30 to $20 to $10 to free in no time at all. (Dog not included.)
Photo by Derek Berg
Out and About in the East Village
In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village or Lower East Side.
By James Maher
Find Part 2 with Siobhan Meow next week...
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
By James Maher
Name: Siobhan Meow
Occupation: Anything I could get
Location: Avenue C and Second Street
Date: Friday, Oct 20
I’m from Brooklyn. Coming here was a matter of my becoming homeless. I was living in Avenue U in Brooklyn, and I used take the train into the city all the time.
I decided to live in the city, and when I got here I got an SRO, but I couldn’t afford the rent. I went through a period of unemployment, I ended up homeless, and I came down here in 1988 because I met some people at ABC No Rio. They let me sleep in the basement, and that’s how I met Geerta Franken because we were both modeling for drawing classes. We went to Seventh Street and met Michael Shanker, who is a wild pirate electrician who hooked us up, and I picked a building because it was around the corner from my best friend’s house.
We opened a squat called Umbrella House. It was an absolute ruin. There were holes in the roof, holes in the floors, all the way down to the first floor, except for the main hallway. The two storefronts were filled to within two feet of the ceiling with old appliances and rubble and stuff, and this is a 12-foot ceiling. We had to dig it out.
We called it Umbrella House because when it rained or snowed, and it was a six-story building, it would go all the way down to the first floor. It was not so dangerous, more like kind of fun. The three flights of stairs in the middle of the building were out so we had to use the fire escapes to go to the top floors.
And of course there was no heat. Winter we spent in a very small room in sleeping bags to stay warm until we hooked up a hot electrical wire that Con Ed didn’t turn off, and then we had minimal electric where we could run heat for free and also power tools. We actually went 17 years without heat, which fortunately for me I was into cat rescues, so I had cat heat. They kept me warm, and also a big Carharrt suit, which is like a sleeping bag you walk around in.
We had to put in our own sewer line. We weren’t legally allowed to do it even though we got a permit for it. We got the permit and we had a licensed plumber overseeing the job, but as soon as we started digging down into the sidewalk, somebody who didn’t like us called up the city and they shut it down.
Fortunately we had started this on a Friday and so we covered the hole with boards and made like we weren’t working on it, but we went into the basement and broke through the wall and literally tunneled under to the sewer main. We had to put boards up because every time a truck or bus went over it, it would cause rocks to fall. That was dangerous and we’re lucky no one got killed, because we did it 24 hours straight for like four days with a chain of people with buckets. Once we got that it was easy to hook up the water
In the first year they tried to evict us and the whole block was closed off with cops. We had a three-day siege, where we stood in the windows to prevent them from knocking our building down. The guy who was working the wrecking ball, he saw us in the window and he got out of the wrecker. He didn’t want to be responsible.
But the more we got things legal, the harder it became for them to evict us. We did most of the repair work by scrounging and pilfering construction sites because there was a lot of construction going on at the time. This was mostly for cement, old joists, and steel beams that they would throw out. And over a period of 20 years we brought it up to where it’s now a legal low-income co-op that we own shares in.
Find Part 2 with Siobhan Meow next week...
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
SLA says East Village resident's drunk brunch suit doesn't belong in court
Last month, East Village resident Robert Halpern sued the State Liquor Authority (SLA) over a loophole in the 1999 law that allows bottomless brunches (drunk brunch, drunch, etc).
As the Post reports, the SLA has responded to the the Manhattan Supreme Court suit. They don't think much of it, and asked the court to dismiss.
“Halpern’s motivation behind alleging these complaints is his self-interest against increased noise and crowds in his community,” the SLA says in court papers.
“Halpern substitutes his own personal judgement for that of the Authority. … Halpern’s remedy, simply put, cannot be found within the walls of this Courthouse.”
Here's how The Real Deal first reported on the lawsuit last month:
“There are too may people running around drinking all the time,” Halpern told The Real Deal. “It’s become more and more of a drinking culture here.”
Halpern’s argument is that bottomless brunches are prohibited by a provision against selling unlimited alcohol for a set time and a set price. The Liquor Authority’s legal counsel has previously taken the position that “brunch specials” are considered special events and exempted from the provision. The suit makes the case that weekly bottomless brunches should not be exempt.
I asked Halpern, a lawyer and longtime resident of the East Village, what the next steps are with the suit.
"Next step in this case is for me to reply to motion to dismiss, and the papers get submitted on Dec. 6," he said in an email. "A motion to dismiss is a commonplace tactic. I don't think there's much merit to the motion, especially considering I am not asking for money, but for a ruling that the Liquor Authority is wrong.
"A judge could rule that the bottomless brunches are illegal under the statute, and the Authority could still decide not to to anything about them, though they are obligated to investigate complaints," Halpern said.
A look at some of the Night Mayor candidates
Nightlife is part of the soul of our city. The Office of Nightlife will make sure it stays that way for generations of New Yorkers to come. pic.twitter.com/hUNIZOVBJv
— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) September 20, 2017
As you may recall from September, Mayor de Blasio announced the formation of the city's Office of Nightlife, where a soon-to-be-appointed Night Mayor will reign.
A quickie recap via DNAnfo:
The new appointee will field complaints and mediate disputes between nightlife establishments and city and state agencies, as well as residents with complaints and concerns.
The administration is in the process of interviewing candidates for the job, which is expected to be filled by the end of the year.
Brooklyn City Councilmember Rafael Espinal sponsored the legislation.
The Observer has more on the search in an article posted yesterday:
Espinal said hundreds of people have applied for the job, including from community boards, the artist community, industry folks and business owners as well as artists who are flame throwers, dancers and musicians. He said he would prefer someone from outside city agencies and the administration.
He noted that the city has seen a 20 percent decrease in the number of music venues over the last 15 years and that that stems from city enforcement and displacement because of real estate.
The Observer looks at a few of the Night Mayor candidates who have emerged.
Candidates include Bronx native Gerard McNamee, the former director of operations for East Village nightclub and concert venue Webster Hall before it was sold to Brooklyn Sports Entertainment in April; Brooklyn resident Brendan Sullivan, a DJ, producer and author; and Matthew Demar, who rapped in the 1990s under the moniker “Kid Panic” and a supporter of President Trump.
Sullivan, 35, who grew up in Connecticut, said his experience includes serving as bartender and head bartender at The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art and deejaying at the Beauty Bar in the East Village for five years. He also worked at Pianos NYC and deejayed at St. Jerome’s, where he met Lady GaGa and eventually became her DJ, touring with her and starring in her first music video.
Sullivan reportedly has already had several interviews with the city.
And...
Demar, 49, who grew up in Westchester, Manhattan and Long Island, has been in the nightclub and restaurant business for more than 30 years. He worked for his first nightclub, the Roxy — which was later renamed 1018 — at the age of 13 hosting high school teen nights, managed his first nightclub at 17 and brought one of the first foam machines to the city from Mexico. He ran clubs such as Coco’s and Mirage Glow.
In the 1990s, he toured the country with Boyz II Men, Big Daddy Kane and MC Lyte. He also developed a nightclub in Utica and owned the Hollyrock nightclubs in Herkimer, Utica and Sylvan Beach.
“I’m the only person — unless I’m wrong — but I think I’m really one of the only people that has entertainment, that has nightclub and hotel experience,” he said.
Demar said that he has not heard from the city. McNamee did not respond to a request for comment from the Observer.
And lastly...
The mayor’s office said many people have applied for the position but that neither the names of candidates nor the number of applicants are public information yet and that the salary likely will be $130,000. Eligibility requirements include at least five years of experience working closely with the nightlife or music industry, with city government regulations governing the nighttime economy or health and public safety and understanding city politics and government structure.
Previously on EV Grieve:
ICYMI — Mayor forms Office of Nightlife (38 comments)
Punjabi Grocery & Deli going green
[EVG file photo]
Punjabi Grocery & Deli, 114 E. First St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, is changing the way they serve you their delicious and inexpensive vegetarian food.
The team at the 24-year-old mainstay took to Instagram yesterday to announce they are doing away with the Styrofoam...
More lit!
Project Renewal celebrating 50 years with Fall Festival, park dedication
Info via the EVG inbox...
This afternoon at 3, a handful of local elected officials will join Project Renewal at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new community garden outside the organization's Third Street Men's Shelter.
The ribbon-cutting will kick off Project Renewal's Halloween-themed block party on Third Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery for community residents, with costumes, a pumpkin patch, food, games and more.
Going forward, the garden will be a venue for horticultural therapy and other programming for clients of the Third Street Men’s Shelter which, in 1991, became the first homeless shelter contracted by the New York City Department of Homeless Services. Today, the shelter offers a wide range of health, recovery, and job training services to homeless men with substance use disorder histories.
Project Renewal started as the city’s first medical detox clinic on the Bowery in 1967, and has since expanded to serve over 16,000 men, women and children annually.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
It's really windy out
Some casualties include a partial awning down at La Contrada on Second Avenue at Fourth Street ... and sidewalk-cafe blockade toppled over at Yuca Bar on Avenue A and Seventh Street...
The wind advisory is effect until midnight... no word on any tree damage in Tompkins Square Park or elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Photos by Derek Berg
9th Precinct looking for information on the recent Avenue C shooting
[Photo by Bobby Williams]
Detectives from the 9th Precinct continue to investigate the late-night shooting on Avenue C at 11th Street. The $2,500 reward posters arrived yesterday.
There is very little information about the shooting in circulation. According to previous reports, a 29-year-old man was shot multiple times as he was riding a bike along Avenue C. He took himself to Bellevue Hospital, where he was initially in serious but stable condition. He was reportedly cooperating with the police. The only description of the shooter: He was wearing a black hoodie and black ski mask. It was not clear if the cyclist was the intended victim.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)