New brief says city must stop plans to raze East River Park

Opponents of the city's plan to demolish East River Park provided an update on their lawsuit in a new brief filed yesterday.

Via the EVG inbox:

Without state oversight, New York City could demolish East River Park and build a levee but would not be obliged to return the entire 1.2 mile riverfront to parkland. The city could also exceed its five-year construction timeline.

Those are two of the reasons why state oversight is needed for the massive $1.45 billion flood control project, says a brief filed July 20. The document is a response to the city’s argument that state approval is not needed.

The lawsuit, East River Park Action et al v City of New York, originally filed in February, asks to halt the East Side Coastal Resiliency project that is scheduled to begin this fall. It also asks to declare the City Council vote last November approving the project “null and void.”

Attorney Arthur Schwartz with the nonprofit Advocates for Justice argues in July 20's 42-page brief that the city is required to seek Alienation from the state. Alienation is the use of parkland for non-park purposes, even for brief periods.

Schwartz notes that "Closing the East River Park, whether completely or in phases, will disproportionately affect the health and well-being and recreational opportunities of low-income New Yorkers who live in the neighborhood around the Park."

Schwartz, a West 12th Street resident, previously filed lawsuits against the city's 14th Street Busway.

You can read more about Alienation of Parkland, the basis of the lawsuit, at this link.

Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is now expected to start this fall.

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Meanwhile, tomorrow night, there's a candlelight vigil set for the Park.

Via the EVG inbox:

"We are gathering in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, specifically against the ecocide that continues to harm Black and Indigenous lives globally; to grieve the thousands of lives, neighbors and loved ones lost to COVID'19; and to come together in protection of land, trees, and the wellness of our community on the Lower East Side,” says vigil organizer Emily Johnson, an artist in residence at Abrons Arts Center and a land and water protector from the Yup'ik Nation.

"In the center of a pandemic the city will destroy the Lower East Side’s only large outdoor green space for wellness and exercise, raise toxic dust and cut down 1,000 trees, reducing air quality and putting residents — especially elders and those who are immunocompromised — at greater risk for and with COVID-19," says Johnson.

The procession starts at 7 p.m. at the Abrons Arts Center amphitheater. Details and directions at this link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Opinion: COVID-19 + Storm Surge = Catastrophe for the Lower East Side and East Village (Feb. 7)

• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River Park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3, 2019)

• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21, 2019)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4, 2019)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10, 2019)

'11 Minutes of Hell' on the Lower East Side

Via the EVG inbox ...

The LES Dwellers, a grassroots community group of residents of the Lower East Side, released videos [yesterday] that illustrate how bad the Lower East Side's Hell Square continues as late night bars and clubs continue to foster a SantaCon-style environment of binge drinking, public urination and vomiting, brawls and arrests every weekend.

The rampant party and hoards of drunks in the area drains police resources, forcing them to focus their time and attention to thousands of people who descend on the Lower East Side every weekend to party without regard to the local residents and businesses.

What is depicted in the videos is not outside the norm but is the norm. The bars, lounges and "restaurants" in this area over serve alcohol creating a dangerous environment.

The LES Dwellers called on Community Board 3 to address the issue immediately by working with the NYPD, the State Liquor Authority and local bar and business owners to resolve the recurring problems in Hell Square, which is the area bordered by Houston and Delancey, and Allen and Essex streets on the Lower East Side.

"This weekend was an outrage — ranking as one of the worst on record: It was SantaCon without the costumes," the group said in a statement. "Assaults and crime are up in our neighborhood due solely to the proliferation of late night liquor licenses in the neighborhood. And what's worse, on a day when NYPD lost two officers, the last thing the city needs is for the police to spend time and resources policing a man-made mess of debauchery. Police resources are wasted every weekend to babysit a bunch of drunks," the group said.

One video, filmed for a continuous 11 minute period at 3:30 am EST on Sunday, Dec. 21 on Ludlow and Stanton Streets, features a group of drunks stumbling north on Ludlow street and approaching Piano's Bar to enter. They're told that the bar is closing and they can't enter, so they leave the bar yelling obscenities and stumbling into the wall when the cops show up. Disregarding the police presence, the group gets into a knock-down brawl in the intersection of Stanton and Ludlow and police arrest 2 of the fighters. The video's hashtag is #11minsofhell.

Dozens of police arrived at the scene where the video captures a woman who has fallen and hurt her leg on the street and is struggling to get back up, followed by music blaring out of the front door of the Dark Room bar. Then, as the police continue to deal with the fight, a man is seen within 15 feet of the police urinating in a boutique clothing store's doorway and virtually falling asleep standing up.

And now for your viewing pleasure...



And!

1st look at the Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest from MoRUS this summer

From the EVG inbox...

Female rebellion, the humanity of the homeless and struggles of immigrant workers are among the themes of the initial offerings of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space's (MoRUS) Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest kicking-off Aug. 1, with a screening every evening at various indoor and outdoor venues through Aug. 9.

Opening night (Aug. 1) will feature "What About Me," which Billboard described "as much a bohemian time capsule as it is film art." Using Tompkins Square Park and its environs as a backdrop, with a procession of downtown legends including Dee Dee Ramone, Rockets Red Glare and Johnny Thunders in cameos, director/actor Rachel Amodeo traces the steps of a woman’s decline after she loses her apartment.



"What About Me" will screen at Anthology Film Archives at 8 PM.

"Your Day Is My Knight," a documentary sharing stories of immigrant residents of a “shift-bed” apartment in New York’s Chinatown, will screen on Aug. 2 at Orchard Alley Community Garden, 350-54 E. 4th St. The film’s director, Lynne Sachs, as well as other participants in the film, will be in attendance to introduce the screening with an informal Q&A afterwards.

Suzanne Wasserman's "Sweatshop Cinderella: A Portrait of Anzia Yezierska" will screen on Aug. 3, also at Orchard Alley Community Garden. This short film mixes archival stills and footage, silent film excerpts, letters, newspaper clippings, and interviews to provide a sense of the Jewish Lower East Side in the 1920s through the 1950s and the life of the critically acclaimed Jewish-American novelist. Director Suzanne Wasserman will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film.

Closing night on Aug. 9 brings feminist tour de force "Born in Flames," a comic fantasy set in America 10 years after a Second American Revolution. Filmmaker Lizzie Borden will be in attendance.

A limited supply of all-inclusive passes for $20 are now on sale at Eventbrite or by visiting MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets during hours of operation. Admission to each individual screening will otherwise require a suggested donation of $5.

Further details regarding the MoRUS Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest, including film lineups, venues and collateral events will be updated as available here.

There's also an amateur film competition this year.

Details!

MoRUS is calling for amateur filmmakers to compete for a spot in the festival. Submissions must tie into the “Women of the Lower East Side” theme and can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes duration.

The competition is open to filmmakers of any gender, any age and at any experience level who submit either a link to their film or a DVD copy of the film along with a brief artist’s statement and $10 entry fee to morusfilmfest@morusnyc.org or mail to MoRUS Film Fest, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, 155 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, July 18 at 5 PM ET. A jury comprised of local business owners, artists, activists and MoRUS volunteers will determine which films will be publicly screened on Friday, Aug. 8 at a venue to be determined. First, Second, and Third-Place Winners will be selected by the audience and awarded monetary/in-kind prizes. In addition, one film will receive the MoRUS Choice Award.

Shopping woes on the Lower East Side

Crain's checks in today with an article titled Lower East Side's fashion faux pax ... here are a few excerpts of the piece by Adrianne Pasquarelli:

Initially expected to be the next SoHo or West Village, the Lower East Side is getting an F as a shopping destination. Since February ... several other apparel shops, including trendy In God We Trust, have given up on the Lower East Side. Others, such as accessories purveyor Bag and fashion boutique Convent, have announced their imminent closures. Businesses complain that landlords, anticipating completed developments, have been jacking up rents, though several construction projects are still stalled with recession-related woes.

And!

The influx of nightlife has only driven up rents, making the area even less appealing for emerging boutiques. In the past 18 months, asking prices in the neighborhood have jumped, increasing 20% following recession-related drops. Now, asking rents on prime streets range from $100 to $150 a square foot, while secondary areas are closer to $65 a square foot, according to brokers.

And!

“If I was a landlord, I'd want to fill the block with cool local stores so the foot traffic is cool—we don't need another NoLIta or SoHo,” said Julie Noyce, In God We Trust's general manager. “The Lower East Side has always been for artists and rock 'n' rollers — if you get rid of that local flavor, then it's just Steve Madden and a bunch of bars.”

[Updated] "Artists, filmmakers, movie theaters — we're getting pushed out of Manhattan"

That's Ray Privett, programmer at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater. In a New York Sun feature today, Privett discusses his latest project: the Queensbridge Theater. According to the article, "As envisioned, Queensbridge will occupy an entire building in Long Island City housing a restaurant, a dance floor, and a space for concerts and performances. Mr. Privett said the venue, which is scheduled to open in the fall, will ideally remain open for 20 or 21 hours a day and cater to both Manhattanites and local residents."

More from the article:

It is yet unknown whether Mr. Privett's decision to remain involved in the local film scene will help to assuage mounting fears that Manhattan is no longer a place where independent artists can thrive. Queensbridge, for starters, has left the borough entirely.

"This is all definitely part of the general trend," Mr. Privett said. "With Queensbridge, I'm working with a lot of people from the Lower East Side who can no longer continue having things on the Lower East Side. People in the film world are going to Texas and Germany. Artists, filmmakers, movie theaters — we're getting pushed out of Manhattan, and my evolution is yet more proof of that."

[Updated] Ray Privett left a comment to this post...He had posted a few clarifications to the Sun article:

The Pioneer is still open. My departure from the Pioneer did not close the Pioneer, nor did the two things coincide. Indeed, my successors booked the three films mentioned in the first paragraph of Mr. Snyder’s article. Clearly, the Pioneer can do interesting things without me. Hopefully they continue to. Good luck to them.

Moreover, the Lower East Side’s gentrification did not cause me to leave the Pioneer. I have never claimed it did.

I left the Pioneer because professional opportunities emerged at the Queensbridge Theater - which is not a movie theater but a performing arts club, and which is now where the bulk of my efforts have shifted. Meanwhile, in film related endeavors, I felt I could be more effective as my own boss.

However, while gentrification did not cause my shift to Queens, that shift does coincide with the general trend of Lower East Side arts people relocating to the outer boroughs. For example, several of my colleagues in Queensbridge have tilted much of their work to the outer boroughs.

Nonetheless, they still sometimes put on shows in the Lower East Side and elsewhere in Manhattan. Many will continue to do so; from time to time, I know I will, too.

Q&A with Colin Simpson, aka reggae artist Ras Redemption

Interview and photos by Stacie Joy 

I recently talked with Colin Simpson, an aspiring reggae artist who goes by Ras Redemption. He lives and works on the Lower East Side, overseeing maintenance as a superintendent for a residential management company. 

He told me about his recently released single, "Brethren," and how the neighborhood reminds him of his hometown in Guyana. 

Tell us about your journey to the Lower East Side.

I was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana, and moved to the United States in 2007, living first in Brooklyn. I moved to the Lower East Side in 2011 for work and have lived here ever since. 

I have a video about my journey on YouTube if you want to check it out for more about me. 

How do you describe your music? 

My music is uplifting, redeeming, inspirational and universally friendly. Reggae is righteous music; it's about awakening and knowing yourself. It frees you from whatever tribulation is going on in life, and it's music to keep you grounded and focused. 

So, my music and lyrics mirror that — it mentally takes you to a different place.

You live and work on the Lower East Side, whose locales appear in your music videos. How has the neighborhood influenced your work? 

It has influenced me in a positive way. I come from a place where, from the moment you're awake to when you're out in the street, you greet everyone in a warm and friendly manner, and I get that same response from living in this neighborhood — it reminds me of home. 

Living on the Lower East Side inspires me to write positive music, making me want to extend/show that same kind of warmth and gratitude to the world. 

Where can people see and hear you perform? 

I’m in the studio working on my first EP and some new singles. So, for now, if people want to hear more of my music, I’m on all digital platforms and social media. 

You can find Colin's social media and videos at this link.

A clarification about the 'no pizza' petition on the Lower East Side

As we first noted last Thursday, an 18-year-resident of the Lower East Side created a petition "to promote diversity in low to mid-priced food options for New York City's Lower East Side."

Via Change.org:

Are you sick and tired of pizzerias opening up all over the Lower East Side? With the closures of so many restaurants in the neighborhood, our low to mid-priced food options are dwindling. Pizzerias have over-saturated this part of Manhattan. Sign this petition and maybe Community Board 3 will take notice. *Enough of the L.E.S. pizzeria takeover!*

The person behind the petition, who goes by No More L.E.S. Pizzerias, made an amendment to the petition to help set the record straight. This is NOT about calling for an end to $1 pizzerias (misinformation that we helped spread).

To clarify the point of this petition: It is not an anti $1 slice pizza petition. We're sick of ALL pizzerias. No more $1 slice pizzerias. No more expensive brick oven pizzerias. NO MORE PIZZERIAS!

Despite a lot of media attention (NPR, CBS 2, among outlets), there have only been 27 signatures added to date.

And here's the report from CBS New York...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Petition calls for an end to so many 'shitty' pizzerias opening up on the Lower East Side

Residents continue to speak out about living conditions in Jared Kushner's 170-174 E. 2nd St.

[EVG file photo]

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) and the Cooper Square Committee issued the following news release yesterday regarding the ongoing drama at the Jared Kushner-owned 170-174 E. Second St.

What follows is an edited excerpt:

Countering the common narrative that artists drive gentrification, many East Village artists are actually long-time residents, fighting to remain in affordable housing with their neighbors, reported Cooper Square Committee, a 50-year old tenant advocacy organization.

Like many buildings in the East Village, 170-174 East 2nd Street has long been home to writers, painters, sculptors, and musicians, including beat poet Allen Ginsberg. However, since December 2013, when Jared Kushner purchased the buildings, 70 percent of the 170-174 East 2nd Street's 45 units have been vacated. Of the 9 remaining tenants, half are working artists with deep roots in the neighborhood, including Tony Feher, Richard Weinstein and Dianne Bowen.

"Unfortunately this situation is not unique. I frequently work with artists who live here in the Lower East Side who are being pushed out by profit-driven speculators," said community organizer Brandon Kielbasa from Cooper Square Committee. "These aggressive efforts to create luxury housing in communities like the Lower East Side are wiping out the affordable housing, homogenizing the diversity, and picking apart at the cultural assets of the neighborhood,"

"The arts and culture are such an important part of the life and identify of the East Village and Lower East Side," said Tamara Greenfield, executive director of Fourth Arts Block. "Historically, artists joined with other low income residents to advocate for and build affordable housing in this community. As important as it is to create new affordable housing across the City, we have to work equally hard to preserve existing affordable housing from being lost."

In December of 2013, Jared Kushner purchased 170-174 East 2nd Street buildings for $17 million, and quickly followed the purchase with the distribution of eviction notices to tenants of the two buildings. During the past nine months under the ownership of Kushner, tenants of both buildings were subjected to lengthy and severe construction work which has resulted in ceiling collapses, eroded floors, broken tiles, cut off gas service, and unannounced hot and cold water interruptions. Impacts on artists in the building range from fear of displacement, to damage of artwork, and compromised ability to do creative work under the stress and noise of construction.

"The constant barrage of emergencies for 7 months — water shut offs, violent levels of noise from jack hammering, missing steps on the stair, building floods, fire department safety inspections — create extremely challenging and draining conditions for living and working creatively," said musician Cypress Dubin. "Under these extreme circumstances and to marshal my creative resources, I made the choice to focus deeply on community organizing. As the communications director of our tenants association, I spend hundred of hours a month working to channel that same energy, integrity, and creativity that is foundational to my work as a vocalist, producer and yoga educator into protecting our homes, and preserving this part of the city that continues to be a thriving and diverse community of artists."

"The overwhelming, lightning-fast, rapid gentrification and over-development of the Lower East Side and East Village raises a great concern for the cultural heritage of an iconic NYC neighborhood," said painter Richard Weinstein.

"Gentrification in New York City has never been so aggressive and destructive as it has been in the past 8 years," added multimedia artist Dianne Bowen. "The bottom line is profit; value is a monetary term with no regard or connection to human beings or the life of the city created by all that inhabit it."

Ironically, the buildings' creative history is now being included in its marketing:

"Built in 1899, this beaux-arts building dovetails modern comfort with an older East Village - that same collision of grit and grace that inspired the likes of beat poet Alan [sic] Ginsberg, who called this building his home from 1958-1963."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside a classic East Village tenement before the whole building is renovated

Jared Kushner not done buying every walk-up in the East Village

Two East 2nd St. buildings sell for $17.5 million; will new owner still honor Allen Ginsburg?

Tenants claim: Kushner and Westminster want to destroy this building's beautiful garden

Reports outline how Kushner Companies is aggressively trying to empty 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Local politicos join residents of 2 Jared Kushner-owned buildings to speak out about poor living conditions, alleged harassment

Report: Local politicos criticize Kushner's treatment of tenants at 170-174 E. 2nd St.

Reminders: March and rally for East River Park tomorrow; 'Bury the plan not the park'

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

As previously reported, community group East River Park Action has organized a march and rally tomorrow (Sept. 21) to protest the city's plan to bury East River Park with eight feet of landfill starting this March as part of protecting the east side against future storms and rising seas.

Here's part of the advisory via the EVG inbox...

“We support a plan that will provide much-needed flood protection. At the same time it should expand the park and reduce greenhouse emissions in response to the climate crisis,” says Howard Brandstein, director of the Sixth Street Community Center and a rally organizer.

The flood plan will have devastating consequences for residents in NYCHA housing and other low-and-middle income apartments bordering the park.

“Dust and other pollution from construction will affect air quality. Neighborhood residents already have high levels of asthma and 9/11-related upper respiratory illnesses,” says Lower East Side resident Pat Arnow, who is an organizer of the protest. “NYCHA buildings are undergoing heavy resiliency construction now. Some of their areas look like a war zone.”

The closure of the park for at least three and a half years will rob residents of critical green space, ball fields for team sports, and areas for community gatherings.

“An earlier HUD-funded plan, designed with the community over four years, was summarily scrapped by the city last year,” says Brandstein. “This plan was far more comprehensive. It provided flood control and resiliency without destroying the park, which has long been an oasis for our diverse Lower East Side and East Village neighborhoods.”

The march begins at noon in Tompkins Square Park. Demonstrators will wind through the neighborhood across the Sixth Street footbridge to East River Park. At 1:30 they’ll rally at the Labyrinth (north of the Williamsburg Bridge) followed by a parade down the promenade to a burial site beneath a tree with a 10.5 foot circumference. (Find more info here.)

ICYMI: This is all part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), a coastal protection initiative jointly funded by the city and the federal government aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea-level rise. ESCR is the first element of the city’s "Big U" plan to protect Lower Manhattan from surges like those seen during Superstorm Sandy.

As part of the project, city officials, starting next spring, plan to close East River Park for three-plus years, elevating it with 8- to 10-feet of soil and chopping down trees, etc., from Montgomery Street to East 13th Street.

City officials have said that this is a better course of action compared to the previous plan that was in the works with community input before Mayor de Blasio's team changed course last fall. Among other things, city officials claim that the new plan will shave nearly six months off of the projected timeline and will be less disruptive for residents living in the area.


[Illustration via East River Park Action]

The project is now undergoing a third-party review by a Dutch consultant hired by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the City Planning Commission is expected to vote on the plan in the next step of the public review process before it heads to City Council for a final vote this fall.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Last week to comment on the city's plans to close East River Park (Aug. 27)

• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)

• City Planning Commission will hold its hearing on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project tomorrow (July 30)

• Next steps in the plan to rebuild East River Park (July 19)

• This week's public meeting about stormproofing East River Park (July 16)

• A visit to East River Park (July 10)

• Here are the next meetings for you to learn more about stormproofing plans for East River Park (June 3)

Matzo madness as Streit's documentary by East Village resident debuts at the Film Forum

"Streit’s: Matzo and the American Dream," the documentary by East Village-based filmmaker Michael Levine, starts its week-long run today at the Film Forum.

The film follows the last family-owned matzo bakery in America during their final year in their factory on Rivington Street. The factory moved out of the city in 2015 after 90 years in that location. Condos are on the way.

The Los Angeles Times liked the film ...

Levine shared a few thoughts about the documentary, Streit's and the neighborhood with us on the eve of the film's NYC theatrical debut...

On the appeal of the Lower East Side and Streit's:

My family has had a presence on the Lower East Side in one form or another for around 100 years, and though I grew up in New Jersey, I felt compelled to come back to the neighborhood as soon as I could. I've have been here almost 16 years now — a short time in the scheme of things, I know, but long enough to have watched the systematic destruction of so many of the neighborhood institutions I knew from growing up, as well as the displacement of so many and much of the people and culture that drew me and so many others here in the first place.

When I came across Streit's, after passing by their factory on Rivington Street for years unaware of their presence, they were clearly one of the survivors: A fifth-generation manufacturing business operating with 90-year-old equipment in four tenement buildings — and I was drawn immediately to their story.

On the start of filming:

When I began filming there in 2013, it was chronicle the history, resilience and resistance of a family and their 60 union employees who had turned down millions to continue a nearly century-long legacy. They hadn't set out to the "last man standing" when it came to manufacturing in the neighborhood — they simply couldn't imagine doing anything else, anywhere else. This was their home.

But it was clear from the start that their presence their was, as one longtime worker puts in in the film, "in the balance." Despite owning the buildings since the 1930s, the factory had been losing money for several years, as the trifecta of aging, irreplaceable machinery, competition from more modern factories, and a lack of interest from the city as far as supporting manufacturing in the neighborhood finally came to a head.

During what was meant to be the last week of editing the film, the family at last made the announcement that they would be closing the factory and using proceeds from the sale of the buildings to build a new factory in Rockland County.

For another year, I continued filming as they slowly emptied the factory and began their transition to their new facility. I truly believe the Streit family has done as much as anyone could hope for, given the challenges they faced: they stuck it out as long as they could, and instead of simply pocketing the money from selling the buildings, they dove right into building a new factory, keeping it close enough to the city to be within commuting distance of many of their longtime employees, all of whom were offered jobs there.

On the factory's departure from the Lower East Side:

For the Lower East Side, though, the loss has less of a silver lining. In the next several weeks, the former factory buildings are slated to be demolished to make room for seven floors of luxury condos and retail, something that seemed unthinkable – though I suppose shouldn't have been — when I started this film three years ago.

I'm grateful that I had opportunity to start filming when I did, to experience the place as a still-vital piece of the community. And while the timing of the film coming out as its "main character" awaits the wrecking ball is somewhat ridiculous to consider, I hope the timing can perhaps offer a unique opportunity to appreciate a place like Streit's at the same moment it is being lost, and hopefully spark some conversation and action to protect the places like it, and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods, and remind people that the Lower East Side is still a neighborhood of resilience and resistance after all.

-----

The film's official premiere is tonight at 8. Afterward, there's a premiere party of sorts upstairs at 2A (on Avenue A and Second Street) featuring food from Russ & Daughters. Members of the Streit family and workers from the factory will be there. The party is open to anyone, not just people coming from the Film Forum.

Meanwhile, across the street...the Streit's exhibit continues (through May 5) at Art on A Gallery. The gallery is open tonight until midnight. (You can read more about the exhibit here.)



At both the gallery and at 2A this evening, Levine says that people will be able to buy tickets to the film. (Buy a ticket and receive a film poster and box of matzos.)



Previously on EV Grieve:
A celebration of Streit's Matzo Factory starts tonight on Avenue A

[Updated] Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million

Officials at the Boys' Club of New York (BCNY) are moving forward with their plans to sell the Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A.

A listing for the 7-story building is now active on the Cushman & Wakefield website.

The listing notes that the property's new owner could continue on with an "educational/recreational use," though the emphasis seems to be on the recent luxury development in the area:

The building is currently configured as a 7 story walk up building and features and expansive 119’ of frontage on East 10th Street and 71.25’ along Avenue A. The 9,067-square foot (119’ x 102.21’ IRR.) lot is split zoned as R7A/R8B with a commercial C2-5 overlay – commercial FAR 2.0, Residential FAR 3.45/4.0, with IH 4.6 community facility 4.0. The building will be delivered vacant making for an ideal conversion opportunity or continued educational/recreational use by an end user.

The 50,000-square foot building is comprised of classroom, office, gymnasium, auditorium, music studios, recreational and pool space. Every floor boasts 10’+ ceilings with many touting double height ceilings. The concrete slab construction enables virtually beamless floor plates and allows for large open rooms.

The East Village is home to a number of newly completed condo and rental developments. Many of which has already been absorbed by neighborhood demand or sold before building completion. The Steiner at 437 East 12th Street, The Jefferson on 211 East 13th Street and 100 Avenue A are among many of the condo developments that are rapidly selling in the neighborhood.

The asking price: $32 million. (The set-up PDF is here.)

As I first reported in June, Executive Director Stephen Tosh told alumni of the BCNY's plan to sell the clubhouse, which opened in 1901. The BCNY would continue to use the space through June 2019. (You can find more background here.)

According to the letter to alumni, the BCNY will look to rent space elsewhere on the Lower East Side to continue with programming for Harriman members after the closure next summer. The letter also stated that the sale of the East Village building would allow BCNY the opportunity to start new programs in other communities, including Brownsville, East New York and/or the South Bronx.

In his letter. Tosh wrote that: "The neighborhood surrounding the building has changed dramatically since Mr. Harriman built this building, especially in the past few decades."

In August, the Daily News obtained a copy of the Feb. 24, 2015, BCNY board meeting minutes, in which Tosh stated that "enrollment was actually rising sharply, based on an increase over the preceding five-year period, mainly among boys and young men from low-income families."

This past Saturday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, City Council member Carlina Rivera and Manhattan Community Board 3 officials held a press conference outside the Clubhouse to urge the BCNY board to postpone the sale until they consult with the community in "good faith."



According to Hoylman, a sale of the Harriman Clubhouse would make it "the latest casualty in the battle against gentrification in the East Village," citing the 2012 sale of the Mary Help of Christians property on Avenue A and 12th Street to developer Douglas Steiner. (During the summer of 2013, workers demolished the church, school and rectory to make way for ultra-luxury condos that Steiner named after himself.)

"More than a quarter of Lower East Side residents live below the federal poverty level," Hoylman said in a statement. "Clearly, families in the East Village and Lower East Side still need the services and programs offered at the Harriman Clubhouse. I urge the Boys’ Club of New York to identify the needs of boys and young men in our community and meet with us to try to find a solution to save this precious neighborhood resource."

As Patch reported last week, Tosh declined meeting with elected officials in a Sept. 14 letter. "Our role in the neighborhood defines us," Tosh said. "It is also bigger than any one building. Wherever our East Village clubhouse is situated, we remain a vital part of an ever-changing area."

Updated 11:45 a.m.

Upon learning of the this listing, Sen. Hoylman issued this statement:

"It’s extremely disappointing that the Boys’ Club is putting the Harriman Clubhouse on the open market for $32 million without community engagement, an analysis of local needs or concrete plans to continue their services and programs for young men and boys in the East Village and Lower East Side. The local community has good reason to be angry and confused, and will, unfortunately, see this as another example of a nonprofit selling out the neighborhood, putting real-estate profits ahead of the needs of young people and contributing to the wholesale gentrification of their neighborhood."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

During noon rally today, local elected officials will seek postponement of Boys' Club building sale

Protest planned for reconfigured Avenues

[Image via Neighborhodr]

The reconfigured First Avenue and Second Avenue (bike lanes, bus lanes, pedestrian islands, etc.) have been a popular topic in recent months... and now an LES resident is organizing a protest about the changes...

As you can see from the flyer above, there's a protest planned for Friday, Oct. 15... I contacted Leslie Sicklick, whose name appears on the signs. She's helping organize the event...

Her background:
I was born and raised on the Lower East Side. I am a third-generation Lower East Sider. My dad's parents came here from Russia and lived on the Lower East Side since the 1920. My mother's mother came to the Lower East Side also in the 1920s. Unlike many people, my parents did not move and raised me and my brother down on the Lower East Side. I grew up in the bad days of the 1970s, so I have seen the neighborhood change. I have also been a driver since 1995, often taking my mom, who is handicapped, shopping.

On why she's doing this:
My father raised me to get involved and, if you don't like something, take a stand, which is what I am doing. My biggest complaint is, because of the bike lanes, New York is becoming impossible for drivers. I used to go to 1st Avenue for dinner, shopping and was able to park my car. My other complaint is with how dangerous some bike riders are and how nasty they are. I was walking across the bike lane on 1st Avenue and was almost hit. I was yelled at — that I should get out of the bike lane. Who the hell are these bikers? They probably have not even been living in East Village for very long. What are my rights? I have lived here all my life.

Also, there are fewer spaces for businesses to deliver food, packages. Do bikers bring in business to the City? No they don't, and many stores are losing business because there is less space for people to park and come into the stores.



What she hopes to accomplish:
I guess what I hope to accomplish is to get the message out there to Mayor Bloomberg to change bike lanes so they are not against the sidewalks where people are trying to cross. Bikes don't stop like cars do for lights — they keep going. Bike lanes also attract people on rollerblades, skateboards, runners ... I am not saying all of them are bad.

By Mayor Bloomburg, the idiot, doing this is punishing drivers and rewarding bad behavior of bike riders. Bike riders never stay in bike lanes. Also, how many bike riders are out there compared to drivers? I'd also like to know what is going to happen in the winter when there is snow and ice. What a waste.

This is New York, not Amsterdam. I believe Mayor Bloomberg is killing New York, and changed any character it used to have. I don't miss the City being so bad, but at least it had some character.



Previously.

Closing weekend for the Women of the Lower East Side Film Fest

[Photo of EL Jardin del Paraiso by Steven Matthews via MoRUS]

It's the last two nights for the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space's Lower East Side Film Fest ... here's a quick look at what's playing via the EVG inbox:

Friday, 8 p.m.
El Jardin De Paraiso
E. 4th street (North Side) between Aves C & D
**** Lawn Seating: Bring a blanket!*****

Catalina Santamaria
UMBRELLA HOUSE
10 min
From the 1970’s to the 1990’s hundreds of buildings have been taken away from their owners in The Lower East Side/East Village because of tax arrears. But these buildings in the hands of the city have been left to collapse or be demolished. Pioneering residents took it upon themselves to move in and restore some these buildings with their own labor, giving new life and vitality to the area.

Sebastian Gutierrez
VIA GEANME
16 min
Geanme reached New York not to long after having crossed the border through Mexico. She dealt with the hardship of living as a squatter, delivering a baby and falling out of love. But her tenacity helped through the winter's cold, building her apartment all the way to the improvised delivery room. With the help of a midwife but no running water, Paula, her daughter, was born. Geanme never really got over having left her family behind in Colombia. But that void was filled by Paula and also by the camaraderie and support from the New York City squatter community.

Christina Holmes
HOME AT LA PLAZA CULTURAL ARMANDO PEREZ COMMUNITY GARDEN
La Plaza Cultural Armando Perez Community Garden on East Ninth Street and Avenue C was one of many public spaces damaged by Hurricane Irene and dealt a further blow by flooding during Hurricane Sandy. Garden members discuss the recovery process, the importance of these spaces, and the history of the garden that inspires them to plan and plant for the future.

Saturday, 8 p.m.
El Jardin De Paraiso

Lizzie Borden
BORN IN FLAMES
80 min

Fitting with the theme of the fest we will be screening the 1983 classic feminist indie film BORN IN FLAMES. Director Lizzie Borden is flying out from Los Angeles to be in attendance for the film, a gem of New York cinema, depicting a militant feminist movement in the city after a fictional socialist revolution in America. It also features vintage footage of the Lower East Side and from around New York.

Find more details about the films and the Festival here. Admission each night is a suggested donation of $5.

Next Saturday: Tour the East Village and Lower East Side Bike Friendly Business District

[Via BikeNYC]

Via Felix Salmon, we learn about this event happening next Saturday, Sept. 22, starting at 11 a.m.

Join Transportation Alternatives' Bike Ambassadors on a bike tour of some of our favorite Bike Friendly Businesses to commemorate the launch of New York City's first Bike Friendly Business District, in Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side. We'll ride through the East Village and Lower East Side stopping by our favorite Bike Friendly Businesses and arts destinations along the way, including Pushcart Coffee, Veselka and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The East Village and Lower East Side Bike Friendly Business District — the first of its kind — is a network of more than 150 businesses and cultural institutions dedicated to promoting safe bike riding and better bike infrastructure in their neighborhood. Free food provided, but bring your bike.

Find more details at BikeNYC.org. The group will meet at Veselka, Second Avenue at East Ninth Street.

And you're pleased with this...? Not pleased? Being part of the first Bike Friendly Business District and all.

This month: A lot of community garden plays and art on the Lower East Side

From the EVG inbox...

1) COMMUNAL SPACES: A GARDEN PLAY FESTIVAL

This September, five short plays inspired by and performed in Lower East Side community gardens will take place. The 2013 version of writer, director and native New Yorker Lillian Meredith's Communal Spaces marks the outdoor festival's third annual installment. Meredith, whose body of work uses site-specific productions to "explore the boundaries of performance and the role of the audience in live theater," has commissioned five 30-minute plays. Each takes place in a different Lower East Side community garden.

Fri.-Sun., Sept. 13-15, 20-22 and 27-29. Each play is 30 minutes.
For more info, visit lillianmeredith.com. Admission is FREE. No
reservation needed.

Schedule: Fridays - Sundays: Sept. 13-15, Sept. 20-22, & Sept. 27-29.

11:00am - Tim and Tuna in Town.
Written by Josh Gulotta, Directed by Jaki Bradley
Siempre Verde Garden on Stanton and Attorney Streets
(no performance on Sept. 14)

12:30pm - Extinguish Yourself
Written by Angela Santillo, Directed by Michael Padden
Miracle Garden on East 3rd Street btw Aves A and B

3:00pm - Yield!
Written by Will Arbery, Directed by Stella Powell-Jones
All People's Garden on East 3rd btw Aves C and D

4:00pm - CO . OP
Written by Patrick Shaw, Directed by Lillian Meredith
Parque de Tranquilidad on East 4th btw Aves C and D

6:00pm - Limoncello Limoncello.
Written by Alexandra Bassett, Directed by Lillian Meredith
Green Oasis Garden on East 8th btw Aves C and D

Find more details here

2) LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens)
SECOND ANNUAL HARVEST ARTS FESTIVAL IN THE GARDENS

Saturday, September 27 & Sunday, Sept. 28
24 Community Gardens
Loisaida / The East Village / The Lower East Side / The Village

WHAT TO EXPECT

A multidimensional arts festival that reflects the creative spirit of the neighborhood and the integral part that community gardens play in the culture and life of Loisaida. Scheduled events include music, dance, performance, films, photography, puppets, environmental workshops, yoga. Each garden is designing its own program, so we know it will be interesting.

In addition, The Communal Spaces Play Festival, five 30-minute plays inspired by the selected garden landscapes, will wrap up its three-week run during the Harvest Arts Fest.

We hope you'll join us for an hour, a day, or the full weekend.

WHAT IT COSTS
Nothing. Nada.

HOW IT HAPPENS
The 2013 Harvest Arts Festival in the Gardens is organized by LUNGS (Loisada United Neighborhood Gardens).

This year's festival is sponsored in part by a generous grant from The Citizens Committee for New York City.

Find more details here.

"Hanging out on the Lower Worst Side"

During my walk around the neighborhood Saturday, I came across a rummage sale in one of the community gardens on East 8th Street. (They seem to hold sales fairly often on weekends in the summer.) The garden is sandwiched between two buildings...million-dollar condos on the left, and a multimillion-dollar residence with a ground-floor apartment to help off-set the monthly bills.

By the way, 337 E. 8th Street, the address of the schmancy house, was the address of 8bc, the performance space/club/gallery that saw the likes of They Might Be Giants, Karen Finley and Steve Buscemi take the stage during its run from 1983-85. This was before my time here. So I always appreciate hearing stories about the place.

Meanwhile, here's a passage on 8bc by Cynthia Carr from the Times in 2006. The piece is titled Hanging out on the Lower Worst Side:

I remember walking down Avenue B with friends one night around 1983 when we ran into the two artists who had just opened 8BC, soon to become the East Village’s hottest club. They told us that if we wanted to perform (though none of us were performers), we were welcome. By then, I had also been invited to join a band, and I can’t sing or play.
The art world had cracked open, shaken by punk, which embraced ugliness and urban decay while putting a lot of old categories in question. What was music anymore when some of those No Wave records could clear a room? This was the era when everything could be tried, and there was space for the tryout.
This was the neighborhood I used to call the Lower Worst Side. 8BC occupied the basement of an old farmhouse. At least, that’s how people always described that building.

Meanwhile, in another piece from the Times on the Lower East Side music scene from 1988:

THE Lower East Side has often been treated as a neighborhood producing one sort of music, neatly categorizable and easily stuffed away with the dirty laundry. But when historians of the Lower East Side reconsider the facts, the 1980's will be thought of as an immensely diverse, fecund era for music. The composers and improvisers John Zorn, Elliott Sharp and Wayne Horvitz have broken out of their turf, gaining a larger audience as they reached artistic maturation. The intense and radical social criticism of rock groups like the Swans and Sonic Youth, and the once endless stream of legendary clubs (now curtailed by real-estate prices), from 57 Club and 8BC to the still-vital CBGB and the new Knitting Factory, will make the 80's sound like Eden.

Through art, East Side High students and faculty show the importance of community

From the EV Grieve inbox...

After being displaced from their building for 4 months, the students, staff and parents of East Side Community High School have come together in a show of strength to create and exhibit almost 1,000 pieces of art celebrating the importance of community.

East Side Community High School was evacuated in September after structural damage was found in the building. The 4 month-long evacuation created chaos and frustration, with hundreds of students and staff split up and relocated to other school sites in the city.

Upon returning to the school building in February, art teachers Leigh Klonsky and Desiree Borrero facilitated a massive school-wide art project around the themes of "home" and "community." Over the course of three weeks, students, parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, administration, and non-teaching staff participated in a series of art making workshops. Through writing and discussion, participants reflected on their individual experiences and relationship to the community. Their reflections inspired the creation of small mixed media artworks, using watercolor, colored pencil, marker and collage.

The artwork will be on display from April 24 – May 10 in the school's art gallery, the Loisaida Art Gallery, on East 11th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A. The opening reception is on Wednesday April 24 from 3:30 - 6:30 and is open to the public.

A selection from the exhibition will also be available online here.

-----

As a follow-up, we asked Leigh Klonsky a few questions about the exhibit.

What were you and Desiree hoping to accomplish with this project?

We had two major goals. One was to create an opportunity for everyone who was impacted by the evacuation to be able to reflect on their experience through visual art. Different classes and advisories did activities that helped us all reflect and share our experiences, but expressing yourself through visual art allows for other things to come up, things that might be hard to articulate in words. We wanted to provide an opportunity for people to visualize their experiences.

Another goal was to affirm the importance of every member of our community. By participating in one of the workshops, contributing a piece of art, or coming to the reception, you are affirming your place within our community. Although we are a small school, staff, students and families don't always interact or meet. It was a really special moment, for example, when our school psychologist, a parent and our custodian made art next to each other, after sharing their thoughts about community.

"Home" and "community" mean different things to different people. Did you see any common themes emerge from the artwork?

The workshops were structured to ask 6 questions:

• How does our East Side community represent home to you?
• What did you learn from being away from East Side?
• What does home, our community, the neighborhood, the Lower East Side look like to you?
• What did you miss about our East Side community when we were relocated?
• Is there a specific person or place in our East Side community that makes it home for you?
• What is your ideal vision of a school community?

Common responses discussed the loss of space, middle school students and high school students missing seeing each other, the cultural differences at the relocation sites (metal detectors, different commute, different neighborhood, lack of windows), but the most common response was how East Siders were able to create community wherever they were.

From the students you've talked with, what are some of the things that they took away from the experience of being displaced from their home school?

"Not taking things for granted" was a repeated phrase.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Schools making it work while repairs continue at 420 E. 12th St.

Wall progress at East Side Community School

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

A look at "Bloomberg's New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City" (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

New bedbug site for NYC (Runnin' Scared)

Cuomo restores senior center funding (The Lo-Down)

Amato Opera still on the market (DNAinfo)

Life without a belt (Nadie Se Conoce)

Payless ShoeSource moving into retail space of fancy 130 Delancey building (BoweryBoogie)

Luke's Lobster opening on Wall Street (Eater)

And two events this week via the Lower East Side History Project:

"Time and Space on the Lower East Side: 1980/2010"
w/ photographer Brian Rose

Tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Mid-Manhattan Library
455 5th Avenue, NY NY 10006 (at 41st Street)
Subway: 7 to 5th Avenue or B, D, F, M to 42nd Street/ Bryant Park
FREE!

In 1980, photographers Brian Rose and Ed Faustry embarked on an ambitious project to photograph a number of buildings, storefronts and streets of the Lower East Side. Tonight at the Mid-Manhattan Library, Brian Rose will be discussing his fantastic new book, Time and Space on the Lower East Side, which offers dozens of beautiful "then and now" images.

We posted this photo by Brian last year.



On East Fifth Street between C and D. Rose was standing near Fourth Street

"The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur" Book Party W/ presentations by Eric Ferrara, Rob Hollander & David Mulkins

Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The BRECHT FORUM
451 West Street (West Side Highway at Bank Street)
New York, NY 10014
Subway: L to 14th Street
Sliding scale admission: $6/$10/$15/Free for Brecht Forum Subscribers
Refreshments served.

RIP Toyo Tsuchiya

[Image via Facebook]

Toyo Tsuchiya, a well-regarded artist and photographer who documented the Lower East Side art scene of the 1980s, died in his East Village apartment on Nov. 23. He was 69. Friends said that he died of heart failure.

Here's more about him via Howl! Happening, which presented a selection of his work in November 2016:

Tsuchiya is best known for his photographs of NYC’s Lower East Side art scene in the 1980s and as an originator of the legendary Rivington School. In these highly personalized images of New York’s Lower East Side since 1980, Tsuchiya documented what was happening around him —the people, performance art, and the Lower East Side art scene — and especially the legendary underground movement of the collaborative Rivington School.

Born near Mt. Fuji in Japan, Tsuchiya grew up in Kyushu and Yokohama. After graduating from the Kanagawa Ken Technical High School for Industrial Design he began his career as an artist. Living in Osaka, Yokohama, and Tokyo, he studied and exhibited paintings, drawings and collage within a small circle of the 1970’s art world in Tokyo. In the late 70s he turned to photography, and soon moved to New York City.

Tsuchiya was a creative force behind the No Se No Social Club, the stage for many art happenings, including the 99 Nights, a marathon of free performances and exhibitions. In his photographs, Tsuchiya captures the style, energy, and free-spirited creativity of the time, and contextualized these happenings in a fine-art lineage.

On Tuesday, fellow Rivington School artist Monty Cantsin honored Tsuchiya on an East Village rooftop, where he painted the "6 O'Clock" Rivington School logo and Toyo's name before roping the piece off with (legally acquired) police tape.


[Photo by Adrian Wilson]



The following is courtesy of Adrian Wilson:

Cantsin spent four years working with Tsuchiya to collate photographs, posters and other ephemera relating to the Rivington School artists, publishing the first comprehensive book on the oft-lamented art group. Many of the Rivington School artists spread into the East Village, notably Linus Corraggio, who ran the Gas Station gallery on Avenue B at Second Street for a decade from 1985.

Longtime East Village resident Roman Albear was working closely with Toya on a Rivington School documentary, and only three weeks ago managed to bring six of the artists together for the first time in over 30 years to discuss their memories on film.

Sadly, this would be the last time Toyo appeared on camera (far left).

[Photo by Adrian Wilson]

City strikes deal to preserve 243 Section 8 apartments in the East Village

[199 Avenue B]

Some news to note from last week ... when LIHC Investment Group, one of the largest affordable-housing owners in the country, finalized a deal with the city to preserve 669 Section 8 apartments, including 243 in the East Village.

Here are details via a NYC Housing Preservation and Development news release:

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) join LIHC Investment Group to announce the preservation of 669 units of project-based Section 8 housing in high-cost New York City neighborhoods where the majority of similar buildings have converted to market-rate.

This preservation is made possible through tax-abatements under Article XI and new 40-year regulatory agreements with the City of New York covering six different properties in Inwood, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side.

The agreements were reached through Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York Plan, which outlines commitments to protect affordable housing and created policies and programs intended to fight displacement.

And here are details about the housing in this neighborhood...

Lower East Side I & II Apartments are located at 384 East 10th Street and 199 Avenue B in Manhattan. Lower East Side I contains 152 project-based Section 8 units, while Lower East Side II contains 91 project-based Section 8 units. All units will be maintained as affordable to tenants whose annual income does not exceed 50 percent of AMI.

Co-owners LIHC and Center Development Corporation will execute approximately $7 million in capital improvements including installing new kitchen countertops and appliances; bathroom fixtures, tile floors, and fittings; laminate wood flooring, doors and lighting in all apartments.

[384 E. 10th St.]