At DanceFest 2016

DanceFest photos in Tompkins Square Park today by EVG contributor Stacie Joy...

Report: NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force investigating fake Donald Trump sign

[Photo on Avenue from Monday by Karts]

That fake sign declaring that "Muslims Must Wear Identity Jackets At All Times" and signed by "Donald J. Trump, President of the United States" lasted about two days on Avenue A near East Ninth Street before someone removed it.

There was also one on Orchard Street, per The Lo-Down ... as well as other parts of the city.

Last night, WABC 7 reported the following:

The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating a potential ant-Muslim harassment case after an outrageous sign was discovered on the Upper East Side.

Police are looking for the suspect who hung the sign that read, "Muslims must wear identity jackets at all times," and placed a yellow jacket next to it.

The sign was found near the ambassador of Yemen's residence.

Police have canvassed the area with signs asking for any help identifying who put that sign there.

Added: H/T to anonymous commenter on the previous post!

[Updated] Nara is missing

Nara is a black-and-tan Shiba Inu. Last seen last night heading east on Houston at Second Avenue... details on the flyer.

Updated 5/22

There is now a $1,000 reward for her return...



H/T Steven

Updated 5/23

Unfortunately, there isn't a happy ending to this search. The Daily News has the tragic story.

How about that moon last night

...Early evening from East Sixth Street...


[EVG]

...and later from a telescope...


[Grant Shaffer]

Feelings

Wednesday marked the 36th year since Ian Curtis, the frontman of Joy Division, committed suicide at age 23...

"Disorder" remains one of my favorite Joy Division tracks.

EV Grieve Etc.: Remembering an early Beastie Boy; migrating birds in Tompkins Square Park

[Moving art on 7th Street via Derek Berg]

RIP John Berry, an original member of the Beastie Boys (Flaming Pablum)

A look at a Section 8 renovation at Campos Plaza (WNYC ... Daily News)

A man in his 30s was fatally struck by a Q train at Union Square (Gothamist)

Steve Cannon — "keeper of the multicultural flame and flavor of downtown Bohemia" (Off the Grid)

A look at the potential fallout from an L train shutdown (The Real Deal)

Spring migration in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

Activities around the LES this weekend (The Lo-Down)

From May 18, 1977: WPIX commentator does NOT appreciate the Sex Pistols (Dangerous Minds)

NYC's best thrift stores (Gothamist)

Will Rivington Street condo debacle topple de Blasio? (The Village Voice)

The rise and fall of Fairway (The Commercial Observer)

The affordable housing crisis (Curbed)

More J.G. Ballard and the Cinema this weekend (Anthology Film Archives)

C&C Prosperity Dumpling on Clinton Street appears to be closed (BoweryBoogie)

... and tomorrow...Houston and Second Avenue ...

A photo posted by Peter Missing (@petermissing) on May 19, 2016 at 3:25pm PDT

The 10th Annual Dance Parade & Festival is tomorrow (Saturday)

Several readers have asked about the Dance Parade ... and subsequent Dancefest in Tompkins Square Park tomorrow given the iffy weather forecast.

Here's the latest missive from the organizers, edited for length, via the EVG inbox...

Finally — the world's largest display of diversity, Dance Parade kicks off at 1 pm THIS SATURDAY!!

For many it will be the best day of the year — despite the rainy forecast. Why? Because there are few places on earth where so many proudly express, through movement, their freedom and artistry. Dance Parade serves to keep dance alive in New York City!

We will shine bright even if it's a little wet here and there ... don't let the excuse of some grey skies keep you away. Come out and join the fun ....

Greg Miller
Executive Director
Dance Parade, Inc.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. at 21st and Broadway (see the map above)... and eventually heads east on St. Mark's Place into Tompkins Square Park for DanceFest, which runs from 3-7 p.m. You may find all sorts of pertinent info at the Dance Parade website.


[Photo from DanceFest 2015 by Stacie Joy]

Reader report: Have you heard Verizon test its emergency generator on 2nd Avenue?

Via the EVG inbox...

I live on Second Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. Verizon has been testing their emergency generator on the roof of 204 Second Ave., between 12th and 13th streets for the past year or so. The noise from the generator is incredibly loud, like the sound of a jet engine at close range.

The DEP told me that by code, the emergency generator must be tested at least once a month. The tests last an hour or more each time. There is no predictability when the testing will take place. Verizon has turned the generator on very early Sunday mornings, and sometimes in the middle of the day. On Monday, the generator came on twice, once at 5:30 in the morning, which woke us and other neighbors up, and then again around noon. Wednesday night at 7 just as we sat down for dinner, the generator went on again for about an hour.

I have taken to calling the DEP each time the generator goes on and they have offered to come to my apartment to monitor the noise level. The DEP needs to take a reading when the generator is on and when it is off to get the ambient sound level in the apartment. If there is more than a 10db difference between the two then we have a case and Verizon could be ordered to do some sound attenuation to bring the generator noise below the threshold set by code.

The DEP has been very helpful, however so far we have been unsuccessful in getting them here with a meter while the generator is running. I have taken readings on an iPhone app and have found the sound of the generator to be over 10db from the ambient noise level in our apartment.

I am wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has taken any action. Thanks for your help!

The noise is coming from the metal chimney shown here on the south side of the Verizon Building roof.

The Neptune's new breakfast special to go on 1st Avenue

The always-reliable Neptune diner on First Avenue has a new to-go breakfast special... and in this era of the $12 breakfast bagel, it's a good deal... an EVG reader shared this photo, which points out the specials, such as two eggs on a roll with coffee or tea for $2.50. The priciest item appears to be a Western omelette with cheese on a roll for $4.50.

The Neptune is at 194 First Ave. between East 11th Street and East 12th Street.

Guaco Taco now open on East 2nd Street

A quick post to note that Guaco Taco just opened on Second Street, just east of First Avenue. We didn't have time to stop to check out the place... but at first glance, it looks inviting... for now they're advertising a breakfast burrito with potatoes for $3.50, from open to close...



We'll stop by again later to try some food... there's some staunch quick-serve competition not too far away with the Tacos Morelos Cart on Avenue A and Second Street ... and Downtown Bakery on First Avenue between Fourth Street and First Street... and El Diablito Taqueria on East Third Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

Icon Realty providing free space for Celebrity Catwalk events this weekend

[152 2nd Ave. via the Icon website]

Via the EVG inbox... edited for length...

Icon Realty Management is working with Celebrity Catwalk to provide free space for adoption and fundraising events at available retail spaces in New York City.

Celebrity Catwalk works with local animal rescue organizations to help with fundraising and awareness of national animal rescue. Celebrities include Jamie Foxx, Nicole Richie, Heather Mills and Melissa Rivers.

Icon Realty Management owns and manages over 1,800 apartment units located throughout the City and also has retail space. Icon feels it is important to give back to the NYC community and local neighborhoods and helping save lives of NYC homeless pets is a great addition to our community work.

“We are excited to work with Celebrity Catwalk to provide free space for adoption and fundraising events for animals,” said Terrence Lowenberg, Principal at Icon. “We are committed to giving back to the neighborhoods we are part of in as many different ways as we can and we are proud to do that here.”

Celebrity Catwalk will be hosting a weekend of events called “Paws in the City” including a “Pink Paws for a Cause” reception on May 20th 7-9 pm with an on-site veterinarian doing cancer pet screenings, which will take place at an Icon building. Additionally, on May 21st 5-8pm there will be the “Paws and PJ’s” event, which will also be held at an Icon building.

According to the release, Icon has been working with Celebrity Catwalk for the past four years.

Both events will take place in the vacant storefront at 152 Second Ave. between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street. The dress code for tomorrow evening's event is "Pajamas, Sleepwear, Loungewear."

Find more details on the events here.

As DNAinfo put it in their coverage of this: "The events will occur as Icon’s reputation in the neighborhood stands on shaky ground."

Stabilizing NYC, a coalition of City-funded tenant advocates and neighborhood organizations, named Icon Realty as one of the city's worst landlords last year.

During a rally outside two Icon properties on May 9, Cooper Square Committee and several elected officials accused Icon of employing "construction-as-harassment" tactics to displace rent-stabilized tenants.

Previously

Look at the babies!

In recent days, at least two of Christo and Dora's 3-week-old offspring started poking their heads out from the duplex nest in Tompkins Square Park (inside the Eighth Street entrance off Avenue B) ... Bobby Williams got a few photos of the nestlings ...









Sources say that Christo and Dora's other six kids feel as if this 2016 class is pretty spoiled growing up in a large nest in an actual tree as opposed to a stupid air conditioner, like in 2014 and 2015.

Goggla has some great shots of the nest and Christo and Dora being red-tailed hawks right here.

[Updated] McDonald's remains closed on 1st Avenue after 'the accident'

Just after 7 this evening, an EVG reader noted that there was a fire at the McDonald's on First Avenue near Sixth Street. We're not sure about the extent of the fire — it didn't make the cut for the @FDNYalerts on Twitter.

There doesn't appear to be any visible damage in the restaurant. However, this location remains closed for the evening. Signage on the door refers to "the accident."



Updated 5/20
The restaurant is back McOpen.

Also, per Giovanni in the comments, there was a grease fire in the kitchen. (Perhaps the employee unwittingly sat on this East Fifth Street tree guard?)

Today in (possible) Rivington House mis-deeds

More headlines about the controversial sale of the former Rivington House on the Lower East Side.

Another top de Blasio aide was also involved in talks concerning Rivington House as early as January 2015 (New York Post)

LES resident quizzes de Blasio about the Rivington House during Brian Lehrer's "Ask the Mayor" segment (The Lo-Down)

The Mayor must now sign off on any future deed lifts (The New York Times)

To the usual recap: In February 2015, the Allure Group paid $28 million for the property, promising that 45 Rivington — the former Rivington Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation — would remain a health facility. In November, a city agency lifted the the deed in exchange for the Allure Group's $16 million payment to the city. Earlier this year, Allure then reportedly sold the property for $116 million to the the Slate Property Group, a condo developer who plans to create 100 luxury residences in the building that overlooks Sara S. Roosevelt Park.

The 40th annual St. George Ukrainian Festival is this weekend

One of our favorite neighborhood activities (traditions?) is this weekend... here are some highlights of the 40th annual St. George Ukrainian Festival via the EVG inbox...

This year's festival on East Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square will run from Friday evening, May 20, through late afternoon Sunday, May 22, with stage performances featuring folk dancing and singing beginning at:

Friday 5/20 - 6:30 pm
Saturday 5/21 - 2 pm & 6 pm
Sunday 5/22 - 1:30 pm & 4 pm

Admission: Free

A KidsZone will be active on Saturday and Sunday, with activities for children including Ukrainian art-making stations and face painting.

Tens of thousands of sought-after Ukrainian dumplings have been prepared in advance by church volunteers (see Dumplings for the Lord) and in addition to these "varenyky," there will also be plenty of cabbage rolls (holubtsi), beet soup (borsch), sausage (kobasa) and sauerkraut for sale. NYC mainstays Veselka Restaurant and Korchma Taras Bulba will also be on hand all weekend long with some of their favorite Ukrainian menu items.

Saint George Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at 30 E. Seventh St., was founded in the East Village in 1905. The church has sponsored an annual festival since the very first one in 1976, then officially a co-celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial and 100 years of Ukrainian immigration to America. The historic parish will open the church to the public in between stage shows on Saturday, and four Divine liturgies will be celebrated on Sunday beginning at 8:30 am. Visitors will be able to enjoy the breathtaking church ornamentation, paintings, and incredible mosaics in the Byzantine-Ukrainian style.

Find the official Facebook event page here. (And you can find our previous coverage here.)

The festivities officially begin Friday at 4 p.m. And let's hope the weather holds off for Saturday. (Ditto for the Dance Parade, which will post about later.)

The Tang bringing Chinese noodles and wraps to 120 1st Ave.

Over on First Avenue next to the International, a new restaurant is in the works...

EVG correspondent Steven spotted friendly signage up from the proprietors behind The Tang, "a contemporary Chinese noodle bar" ...



The Tang expects to be open in late July here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. The previous tenant, Wechsler's Currywurst and Bratwurst, closed in December 2014 after nearly five-plus years in business.

Historic 25 Bleecker St. one step closer to being demolished for a 6-story building (w/ penthouse)

Over in the NoHo East Historic District, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a proposal to demolish the existing 25 Bleecker St. to make way for a new mixed-use building, as New York Yimby reported.

The existing three-story structure was originally constructed around 1830, though as NYY points out, its facade was heavily altered in 1984 ... there was also the addition of a rear extension.

Plans here call for a six-story (plus penthouse) mixed-use building with three residential units. Here's a look at a rendering...



Here's more from the article:

Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron struggled with what to do here, but in the end decided the approach was “excellent” and supported it.

On the matter of demolition, Commissioner Michael Goldblum said there was still some historic material there, but not on the front. He said the only case for maintaining the existing structure could be volume, not appearance. Of course, its neighbor is seven-stories-tall. “What are you holding on to?” he asked rhetorically, concluding that the remnant doesn’t rise to the “gotta keep it standard.”

Community Board 2 recommended against the approval, as did reps from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and NoHo-Bowery Stakeholders, among others.

The plan still needs the approval of the Board of Standards and Appeals.

Head over to New York Yimby for more on the story, some renderings and a cool shot of No. 25 from the 1940s.

Previously

Formerly elusive night heron makes triumphant return to Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by @nitenateperry]

The black crowned night heron that captivated audiences around Tompkins Square Park just about this time last year ... is back!

Several readers tonight reported seeing the heron hanging out in the Park near the entrance on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place...


[Photo by Jose Garcia]

Here's more about the heron via the National Audubon Society:

Seen by day, these chunky [ed note: husky?] herons seem dull and lethargic, with groups sitting hunched and motionless in trees near water. They become more active at dusk, flying out to foraging sites, calling "wok" as they pass high overhead in the darkness. Some studies suggest that they feed at night because they are dominated by other herons and egrets by day.

The Park has been proven to be a good foraging ground... as seen here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The night heron apparently comes out at night in Tompkins Square Park

Elusive night heron becoming less elusive

Noted

EVG reader Camila spotted this flyer on the corner of Houston and the Bowery...



Who's gonna email them and fork over a $1???

Everything is waiting for you, downtown

[Click to go big]

East Village-based artist/photographer Daniel Root shared this photo looking toward the East Village from the MetLife building... They have some kind of film over the windows, which led to some distortion, but you get the idea...

Headline H/T

On this Urban Etiquette Sign, grease is the word

Goggla spotted this Urban Etiquette Sign on East Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

"Do Not Sit on the railing of the tree guard. Your weight bends the planter holder.

As a deterrent the railing has been coated with grease."

To which someone responded, "You are a freak."

You are in the East Fifth St. Tree Committee territory here. Please act accordingly. And keep your butt off the tree guard!

Report: Residents at 444 E. 13th St. will receive a $1 million settlement over claims of harassment by Raphael Toledano

[Photo from May 2015 by Stacie Joy]

Landlord Raphael Toledano has agreed to pay a little more than $1 million to settle claims that he harassed tenants at 444 E. 13th St., according to The Real Deal.

Last spring, rent-regulated tenants at 444 E. 13th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue accused Toledano, 26, and a management company he hired of harassment and intimidation. A staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center, who is representing the East 13th Street tenants, told reporters during a rally outside the building last May that "there are tape recorded conversations where the landlord is threatening to drop dynamite on the building and then let everyone 'figure it out themselves.'"

Jeffrey Goldman, an attorney for Toledano, denied the harassment claims at the time.

"I have not seen him engage in any behavior or conduct that would give rise to an investigation let alone a finding of harassment,” Goldman told the Daily News.

The settlement between Toledano and several rent-stabilized tenants at No. 444 was finalized May 6, per The Real Deal, who reports that the New York Attorney General’s office and the state Homes and Community Renewal’s tenant protection unit are continuing their joint investigation into the harassment claims.

Toledano bought the building for $6.1 million in January 2015. Later in 2015 he bought a 16-building parcel in the neighborhood.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Landlord of 444 E. 13th St. threatened 'to drop dynamite on the building'

Report: State investigating East Village landlord Raphael Toledano

Health Department to inspect Raphael Toledano's East Village properties for toxic levels of lead dust

Report: Mount Sinai Beth Israel 'will cut its inpatient capacity'

Mount Sinai Beth Israel officials are expected to make an announcement soon "that it will cut its inpatient capacity after the hospital lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past two years," Crain's reports.

This announcement is expected within the next two weeks, based on a message sent to union members by the New York State Nurses Association, per Crain's.

The timing comes after a report in the current issue of The Villager, which, citing three anonymous nurses, reported that the facility would be closing.

According to Crain's, top Mount Sinai officials refuted that story in an email sent to faculty, staff and students... a copy which Crain's republished:

“We are well aware of the understandable stress and confusion that has been caused by an inaccurate story in today’s Villager newspaper. We are working on a plan which will enhance existing services and develop new facilities in the Mount Sinai Beth Israel community. In the meantime, there will be no disruption in any of our patient care services.”

However, as Crain's pointed out, the email doesn't directly address whether the 856-bed teaching hospital will downsize.

As Gothamist noted: "since St. Vincent's Hospital shuttered in 2010, following a series of increasing layoffs, there have been just a handful of hospitals serving Lower Manhattan, the largest being Mount Sinai Beth Israel" at First Avenue and East 16th Street.

The former St. Vincent's is on its way to becoming a luxury condo complex called Greenwich Lane.



Imagine what developers would pay for Mount Sinai Beth Israel ... with its views of Stuyvesant Square Park off Second Avenue..

This dessert continues to take the East Village by (ice) storm

[Photo by Steven]

A coming soon sign for Roll It Up ice cream has arrived at one of the empty retail spaces at 65 E. Seventh St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.



Roll It Up will join the other coming-soon shops in the East Village that will serve rolled ice cream... Pink Bear on East 14th Street and Lab 321 on St. Mark's Place. (And, in a variation, Bingbox Snow Cream Co. recently opened on Second Avenue.)

The east storefront at No. 65 was previously home to Smooth Skin Factory.

Movies at MoRUS this week

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is hosting Movies @ MoRUS, a monthly film series exploring themes such as social justice and political reform.

Playing tomorrow night:

• Thursday, May 19 — "Food Inc.," dir. Robert Kenner, 2008, 94 min. The documentary examines how big corporations influence all aspects of food production in the United States.



Also this week...there's a special screening of "The World According to Monsanto" Friday at 7 p.m. The film will be followed by a discussion and Q-&-A with the filmmakers.

The screening is a warm-up for the global March Against Monsanto, which starts at Union Square Saturday afternoon at 1.

Movies @ Morus are free to the public but a suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. Showtime is 7 p.m. at MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

Thor Equities is the new owner of Patricia Field's former retail condo on the Bowery

[EVG photo from January]

As we noted in January, a storefront-for-rent sign arrived outside the outgoing Patricia Field boutique at 306 Bowery.

Apparently there's a reason Thor Equities had the listing. According to the Commercial Observer, Thor Equities is also the new owner of the building. The $8.2 million sale closed Monday.

“The Bowery is continuing its transformation into one of Manhattan’s most vibrant shopping corridors, fueled by the area’s new residential development, boutique hotels, museums, art galleries and nightlife,” Thor Chief Executive Officer Joseph Sitt said in a statement.

Not sure if vibrant is the right word.

The John Barrett luxury hair salon shut down at Bond Street after just a few months in business. Other recent closures include Environment Furniture ... PYT and SRO Pizza ... and Tatyana Boutique. (There's not even a place for the former "Most Interesting Man in the World.")

As for 306 Bowery, there isn't any mention of the asking rent for the space that totals 6,700 square feet and features a separate entrance on Elizabeth Street. And here's a rendering of the possibilities...



Thor has also purchased 176 Bowery and 195 Bowery in recent years.

As for Field, she announced late last year that she was closing her boutique at 306 Bowery to concentrate on her film and TV work and other various projects. She operated a boutique in various locations downtown for 50 years.

As for Sitt and Thor Equities, they have been busy in Coney Island.

Hot night at Exit9

Tonight, local artist Steve Ellis was on-hand at Exit9, 51 Avenue A ... where he debuted his Ignited Lighter Project, a collection of lighters featuring an array of downtown personalities... in celebration of Lower East Side History Month.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was at the shop tonight between Third Street and Fourth Street...


[Steve Ellis, left, with Mistress Formika]


[Angel Eyedealism and Exit9 owner Charles Branstool]


[Sean Eden from Luna]

The lighters are $5, and will be for sale at the store until they run out...

Next Tuesday, Exit9 will host a month-long art show titled "LES History, More History." Find more details here.