Ai Weiwei installation work underway at Cooper Union, Washington Square Park

[Photo by EVG reader Ronnie]

In recent days Ai Weiwei's two-dimensional banners arrived on parts of Cooper Square and the Bowery... ahead of Weiwei's citywide installations titled "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" that debuts on Oct. 12 (and on view through Feb. 11, 2018)...


[Photo by EVG reader Ronnie]

Around here, installations (called "site-specific interventions") will be on view at 48 E. Seventh St., 189 Chrystie St., 248 Bowery, Cooper Union and the Essex Street Market. (Read more about all this here.)

According to The New York Times, "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" is "a reflection on the growing hostility toward immigrants and the rise of nationalism throughout the world."

Work continues on the installation at the Cooper Union Foundation Building ...



The work here is titled "Five Fences," and "will fill the open arched spaces on the north portico façade of the building, simultaneously covering these open spaces but remaining porous," according to the description at the Open Art Fund.



EVG reader Ronnie also sent along a shot of work at the arch in Washington Square Park...



As the Washington Square Park Blog first reported, some members of the Washington Square Association are upset about the placement of the installation in the arch. Community members contend that the installation will compromise the arch’s own artistic integrity and disrupt the annual holiday tree lighting, a tradition since 1924.

In the end, Community Board 2 reportedly voted last month in favor of erecting Weiwei's work under the arch. The Park's holiday tree will be moved closer to the fountain for this year.

The installation was commissioned by the Public Art Fund in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

3rd & B’Zaar Holiday Market now open for the season

The 3rd & B’Zaar Holiday Market has opened its doors at 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... offering "unique gifts at affordable prices." A group of local merchants, artists and designers are behind the venture, which will remain open through Dec. 24.

The Market, which debuted yesterday, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.  Guests are limited to a few at a time indoors (masks are required to enter).

Earlier in the week, Stacie Joy stopped by while some of the vendors were prepping the festive space...  (from left): Delia Anne Parker, Sara Ann Rutherford, Frank New, Delphine Le Goff, Maegan Hayward and Alex Carpenter...

And the list of artists, makers and merchants currently signed on to vend here:

• Maegan Hayward/East Village Vintage Collective 
• Delia Anne Parker/Delia Anne Art 
• Delphine Le Goff/Display By Delphine 
• Frank New/Man Your Style 
• Sara Ann Rutherford/Greenwell Goods
• Alex Carpenter/Art by Carpo 
• April Howard/Kingdom of Brooklyn
• Ariana Valdes/RiRiPurpose
• Chad Johnson/Tiki Billy
• Charles Branstool/Exit9 Gift Emporium 
• Cira Reyes/Cira Vintage Finds 
• Colton Ackerman 
• Corey Woods 
• Darkin Brown 
• Jackie Rivera/Jackie Hates You
• Jane’s Exchange 
• Kadidja Kabore Lamport/Kadidja Handmade Collection
• Kate Goldwater/AuH2O
• Kate Wollesen/K Styles)
• Katie Monahan/Found 
• Laura Texter/St Marks Masks 
• Lynn Freidus/Random Accessories
• Nora Balaban 
• PJ Cobbs Arts 
• Rebecca Duckert 
• Robert McIntyre/Robert Austin Designs 
• Ron Holtz/Printopia Gallery
• St Vincent 
• Stephanie Fleck/Grandmother Goods 
• Vanessa Monsalve/Eclectic Wolf Fashion 
• Vorachon Roongsri/Vintage Vorachon 

For those about to Cookie Walk

In case you didn't see the signage up at St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church on Avenue A at East 10th Street ... the 7th annual Cookie Walk is happening here next weekend...



Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Dec. 13 from noon to 3 p.m.

Head over to the official site for more details. But basically:

This is not your average church bake sale!
Let us transport you back in time.
As you enter the Cookie Walk, you will be greeted with the smell of baking cookies made from only the best ingredients. We have been baking non-stop for days so that tens of thousands of fresh baked cookies await you. There is nothing hi-tech here - just holiday goodness and old-fashioned fun.

Take a walk through our Cookie Wonderland and fill a box with your favorites from over fifty varieties of homemade confections. There are two sizes of boxes: $15 & $25 plus special Gluten Free options at our yummy Hot Chocolate Bar! And, the hot chocolate - no mix here - a secret recipe that is hand-stirred for a half hour and topped with marshmallows, whipped cream or both!

After the last cookie is packed, be sure to visit Tinseltown a holiday gift market for everyone on your list.

Perfect for young families! At our Little Elves Bakery & Workshop, children 10 and under can create their own sweet masterpiece to take home – no charge except to have FUN! Santa will also visit through the day for pictures at our awesome Photo Booth.

Let's hope that the wrong Santa doesn't show up on the 12th...

The East Village Holiday Crawl is underway

The East Village Independent Merchant Association (EVIMA) and Cooper Square Committee have teamed up for an East Village Holiday Crawl for five weeks this November and December. 

There's a theme to each week highlighting different types of specialty businesses — now currently in the "books + music" week.

The organizations are encouraging residents to shop locally to support independent businesses that have had a very challenging year during the pandemic.

You can check out this link to see participating merchants and the deals they're offering through Dec. 13.

And the EVIMA Intagram account will provide daily updates. 

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Tompkins Square Park the other day via Derek Berg]

Manhattan Borough President: Gigi Li's leadership at CB3 wasn't biased (The Villager)

RIP Faith Seidenberg, the attorney who made McSorley's open to women (The New York Times)

Hey, Sheldon Silver was arrested (The New York Times)

Video of former art gallery space 2B, now home to a Duane Reade (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A last look at SPURA before the mega Essex Crossing development (BoweryBoogie)

Rev. Billy suing the MTA (Runnin' Scared)

See some French classics from the 1930s-40s (Anthology Film Archives)

The condofication of University Place (The Real Deal)

Seward Park trench collapse (The Lo-Down)

50 years of historic preservation (Off the Grid)

When Lou Reed collaborated with Kiss (Dangerous Minds)

Billie Holiday's NYC (The Bowery Boys)

Allen Ginsberg sets the record straight about LSD (The Paris Review)

And in time for Valentine's — the Death Star necklace (BoingBoing)

... and EVG reader Karen Loew spotted a discarded holiday tree trying to escape from Manhattan at Stuyvesant Cove the other day...

About a Holiday PopUp on 7th Street

There's a Holiday PopUp today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to support local artists and rescue.org. 

Per the listing, you can find handmade paper flowers, ceramics, jewelry, handknits, and gifts of all kinds. 

It's taking place at ILevel, 37 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

More details about Friday night's shooting at Campos Plaza (The Lo-Down)

Q-and-A with some of the holiday tree vendors in the East Village (NY Post)

Hotel Chelsea trying to boot residents (DNAinfo)

Good news for some Coney Island boardwalk businesses (Amusing the Zillion)

Another victim in the ongoing High Line luxurification slaughter (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

You can't copyright yoga poses (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

MJ Armstrong's closes on First Avenue and 19th Street (NY Post)

The holiday windows at old-timer Zitomers (Nonetheless)

Dinner at Gallagher's Steak House (Marty After Dark)

Beloved Chinook RV still transporting precious holiday tree cargo

[Back in March via Andréa Stella]

Back in March, we noted the above holiday-tree-carrying Chinook RV here along East 14th Street near Avenue A.

Fast-forward to today, when a special EVG correspondent spotted the Chinook on the road (Avenue B and Third Street) ... still with the [much deader] tree on top...



Per the EVG special correspondent: "Note that the tree is tied on firmly with red cord — as if it’s really important or something?"

Is that a question?

Last Saturday for d.b.a.'s annual holiday fair

The annual holiday fair at d.b.a. on First Avenue wraps up today ...

The Holiday continues with the cheesy promotions

What, no Jagerettes?



I'll say this again:

1) I understand the fact that the beloved Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's Place needs to make money to stay open...so why not attract the dreaded free vodka crowd.

2) Stefan never would have gone for this.

Some post-holiday cheer from the U.S. Army War College

Post business columnist John Crudele had this item the other day:

ARE you afraid that the economic downturn could get out of hand? I mean, really out of hand?
Well, don't worry.
The US Army War College is on the case -- ready to handle "unforeseen economic collapse" and the "rapid dissolution of public order in all or significant parts of the US."
And you thought we were just dealing with a recession!
In a report published Nov. 4 -- just in time for the holiday season -- the War College's Strategic Studies Institute posited a number of shocks that the country should be prepared for, including unrest caused by the economy's failure.
The report has a snappy title, "Known Unknowns: Unconventional 'Strategic Shocks' in Defense Strategy Development," and was written by Nathan Freier, a visiting professor at the college. The foreword was written by Col. John A. Kardos, director of the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute.
Freier lists a number of possible things we should worry about - because we probably don't have enough of our own -- including run-of-the-mill terrorism and the fact that China and Russia could align against us politically and economically.
"Some of the most plausible defense-relevant strategic shocks remain low-probability events," Freier soft-pedals before going on to scare the hell out of us.
The War College says "widespread civil violence inside the US would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security."
Among things Freier wants us to worry about are "deliberate employment of weapons of mass destruction. . . unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency and catastrophic natural and human disasters."

Happy New Year!

Bluestockings hosting limited-capacity opening this holiday season in new LES storefront

Bluestockings, the volunteer- and collective-run bookstore and activist space, will host a soft, limited capacity reopening this Thursday (Nov. 19!) in the new space at 116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey.

Bluestockings will be open — foyer-only hours this holiday season — on Thursdays to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Dec. 20.

Meanwhile, the build-out continues at No. 116. Bluestockings launched a crowdfunding campaign to help "keep providing vital resources to our queer, trans and SWing community." (Find the GoFundMe here.)

Bluestockings opened at 172 Allen St. between Stanton and Rivington in 1999... before moving on at the end of July. 

You can follow the Bluestockings Instagram account for updates.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Today is the last day for Bluestockings on Allen Street; new LES location in the works

Some weekend holiday pop-up events for your consideration

First posted on 12/15 See below for Sunday, Dec. 17 events...

• Metrograph 

7 Ludlow St. just north of Canal 

Details: 

Join us this Saturday, Dec. 16, as we present hundreds of vintage film books, magazines, posters, ephemera, and more in the theater lobby and bookstore from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our friends at The Paris Review will be presenting their new issue along with merch and vintage material, and the Commissary is serving brunch all day... 

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• Bluestockings 

116 Suffolk St. between Rivington and Delancey 

Details: 

Still need to find gifts for the holidays? Come visit the Reader's Wonderland Holiday Pop Up, and browse six local booksellers and zinesters all in the same place! Keep your money in your community and find something for everyone on your list. 

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• Victoria! 

235 Eldridge St. between Houston and Stanton 

Details: 

Join us for a free jewelry and accessory swap this Sunday, December 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Victoria! bar. Bring any old, new, or unwanted jewelry and accessories to donate to our huge table of treasured goodies, simply take what you like in exchange. A great way to recycle your pre-loved fashion.

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• Superiority Burger 

119 Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place 

Details: 

During Sunday brunch and Sunday/Monday dinner. Unique wares available exclusively in Fowzy's saloon. Cheap books, sweaters, obsolete musical formats, ceramics, etc. You won't want to miss it. Joint is lit up and festive. You are invited.

'Crisis' communications

 

For the holiday weekend... Holiday Ghosts have a new record out (the UK-based band's third)... the video here is for "Total Crisis."

The eerie splendor of an abandoned Union Square Holiday Market

The annual Holiday Market was up and running from Nov. 17 through Dec. 24... EVG reader Harry Weiner shared these photos from yesterday, showing the empty structures waiting for removal for another season...

Work starts on the Union Square Holiday Market

Staging for building the Union Square Holiday Market arrived yesterday (thanks to EVG reader Doug for these pics)...

As widely reported last month, the winter market, featuring 150 local and national vendors, returns to the southern portion of Union Square at 14th Street after a year off due to the pandemic. 

Things open here on Nov. 18 and run through 4 p.m. on Dec. 24. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. close on Sundays. Find the vendor list here.

Last night at the Holiday

The current incarnation of the Holiday Cocktail Lounge closed for business after last night... Matt LES_Miserable sent along a few photos taken in the early evening... We heard that the place was packed for a good part of the night...

And now, the speculation begins as to what is taking over the space...

Thanksgiving weekend in review: SantaCon canceled; Max Fish finished at 120 Orchard St.

ICYMI: Posts from the holiday weekend included: 

• Giving thanks at the Mariana Bracetti Plaza (Wednesday) 

• Gallery Watch: NYNY2020 by Melissa Brown at Derek Eller Gallery (Wednesday) 

• Max Fish says farewell to 120 Orchard St.; new outpost planned (Wednesday) 

• A Thanksgiving feast for neighbors in need at the East Village Community Fridge (Thursday) 

• There won't be an official SantaCon this year (Friday) 

• A visit to Hello Banana Vintage (Friday) 

• The 3rd & B’Zaar Holiday Market is now open for the season (Saturday) 

Art by @dylanegon on Lafayette ...

Walking by the Holiday

Walked by the Holiday around 6-ish last night....and the gate to the front door (locked) was up...Didn't see anyone inside. Nothing looked amiss. Everything was still where it was...Continued home...dropped off the crap that I was lugging...When I returned a little later, the gate was closed again...

Week in Grieview

[Yesterday's sunrise view from 14th Street]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Off-duty cop pistol-whipped during attempted robbery on 13th Street (Thursday)

A visit to CAVAglass on 7th Street (Wednesday)

Permits filed to demolish former P.C. Richard & Son property to make way for the tech hub (Monday)

Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery has closed on 11th Street after 9 years (Wednesday)

Restoration watch: 74 E. 4th St., the crown jewel of La Mama's theater community (Tuesday)

The completed new work at the Bowery Mural Wall (Saturday)

The former Grassroots Tavern ready for a renovation (Tuesday)

FULL full reveal at the historic Hamilton-Holly House on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Nobletree Coffee debuts on 2nd Avenue at St. Mark's Place (Saturday)

L-train non-shutdown fallout: Bike lane battle shaping up along 12th and 13th streets (Monday)

Tree-mendous fire wipes out remains of the holiday season in 4th Street pile (Wednesday)

A birthday celebration for Ray at Ray's Candy Store (Tuesday)

Rue-B's daytime service now includes CBD-infused coffee (Thursday)

January Christmas miracles: The holiday tree lights are back ON in Tompkins Square Park (Friday)

Reminders: Here's how you can apply to be a Community Board member (Friday)

The Bowery Bond closes on the Bowery (Thursday)

KC Gourmet Empanadas coming soon to 38 Avenue B (Monday)

Mandala Tibetan Store is closing on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

12 months of inactivity at 75 1st Ave. (Wednesday)

Beijing Express pulls into 3rd Avenue after Gala's quick exit (Monday)

Former Old Monk space for rent on Avenue B (Thursday)

PARTIAL reveal at 80 E. 10th St. (Monday)

...and EVG reader Trixie reports that someone placed MulchFest remains in the tree beds along 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...







... there's also fresh mulch in the skateboard planter on Seventh Street...



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