Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Westville East debuts its sidewalk cafe

Speaking of sidewalk cafes...



As you may recall, Westville East (WE) applied for a sidewalk cafe in the spring... and it didn't go so well.... the drama included posting a note on their door calling out their "mean-spiritied neighbors." (Doing so in a 29-word run-on sentence, no less!)

Anyway! Long story! And now WE has debuted the tables....



Oh, and there was more drama... we heard that Councilwoman Rosie Mendez intervened to help get the number of tables reduced for neighbors who are upset over the sidewalk cafe... (Updated 9:29 a.m.: Mendez's office confirmed this.)

Perhaps with fewer tables, WE can spring for some barriers to block out the ample pedestrian and vehicular traffic...


Avenue B loft with Corinthian columns is apparently "every hipster's dream"



Oh, disregard that top photo. Those are the Corinthian columns out front of my apartment, which were given to me by late great-great grandfather, Zeus Grieve...

Now back to the post....

Well, when we last checked in at the former Newsboys' and Bootblacks' Lodging House and Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys and Industrial School, Children's Aid Society .... Jeez, OK — you know, that place where Matt Dillon has been living on Avenue B and Eighth Street...



...we were checking out a loft with a stage ...

Now, another milestone loft is on the market in the building, which was erected in 1887...

Per the listing:

Live and work in this huge, open loft . Facing Tompkins Square Park, on Avenue B, in the most incredible landmark East Village building. 12 foot ceilings and huge windows, this 2 bedroom corner loft apartment is every hipster's dream! Live totally "outside the box" in every way and wow your friends as they enter this one-of-a-kind space. Corinthian columns. Great south and west light. Steps to the best of the East Village. Nothing else like it. Video intercom system. Sorry no shares.







And hipsters — keep dreaming... the rent is $7,000.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Remembering the Revolutionary

Or if that dump on East Eighth Street is too fancy for you, then try this one...

Monday, August 16, 2010

Religion and weather together on the 8's



On 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

One rather lousy photo from this evening's monsoon



On First Avenue.

Madonna and Sean Penn got married on this date in 1985

Just felt like mentioning that...



And you may already know this story... Andy Warhol and Keith Haring collaborated on this painting as a wedding gift...


[©The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts]

By the way, three years later, someone stole the painting from one of Madonna's homes... The FBI was on the case... The Smoking Gun posted all the details on the case back in 1999.

Anyway, happy 25th anniversary!

The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game


To help pass the time during the dull stretches of community board/state liquor authority meetings... we started getting stupid(er), like, given the boozy topic, maybe we should create a drinking game to play ...

So! You have to do a shot every time an applicant says:

"I just want to be part of the community."

"I'm just a guy from the neighborhood."

Someone speaking against a proposed bar/restaurant says, "I like the concept, just not on this block."

Someone speaking against a proposed bar/restaurant uses any of the following words: fraternity, sorority, hell, zoo, spring break, Bourbon Street or woo woo.

The applicant wears a Bluetooth throughout his or her presentation.

Two shots if:

A priest speaks for the applicant.

The applicant's previous restaurant experience was working as a club DJ or promoter.

The applicant has 500 signatures in support, though only 3 of the residents actually live on the block in question.

The applicant says that his or her new place will be an upscale restaurant that will be open until 4 a.m.

The applicant says that the new place will be for the neighborhood, with entrees starting at $32.

They just want the license to pair wines with dessert.

The applicant's attorney says, "This is New York City -- it's supposed to be noisy."

Supporters of the applicant suggest that, if opponents don't like noise, they should move to, or move back to, [Ohio, Delaware, Schenectady, et al]

Three shots if:

The bar name is a nod to homeless people, welfare recipients, alcoholics or serial killers.

The applicant says that he or she is willing to work with the community, and to prove it, the restaurant/bar will close at 1 a.m. on Sundays.

The applicant uses the words "artisanal" or "gastro."

Four shots if:

The applicant uses the words "artisanal" and "gastro" together.

You're told dear old mom from the Old Country will be the chef.

The applicant says if he or she doesn't get approval, the space will likely become a chain store, bank or halfway house for pyromaniacs.

The applicant says that the restaurant will sponsor art classes for kids in the neighborhood.

Chug if:

The applicant gives each committee member an envelope with cash.*

The applicant promises to keep the spirit of the previous owner's establishment alive by having the now-deceased owner stuffed and mounted over the bar.

* We're not suggesting this has ever happened...

Outside the Mars Bar, a tribute to Roy

Roy, who prepped the Mars Bar in the morning for the day ahead, passed away earlier this summer... and now there's a tribute to him outside the bar...





The art is by Terry Galmitz, who had a show starting yesterday at the Mars Bar...

For more photos of Roy, visit The Gog Log.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Roy in the morning

It wouldn't be a CB3/SLA meeting without a Superdive scratch!



In the last six months, Superdive has been on the CB3/SLA agenda five times for a transfer, alteration, etc. ... and each time, the Superdivers have been a scratch... the keg-tappin' gang is now off tonight's agenda too...

They need to go for nine!



Seriously, though, I asked Superdive officials what is happening... when I last checked in with them, they were at the beach... Via e-mail:

... at the beach right now in fact!
Still undecided in regards to landlord's generous buyout proposal (he really wants a neighborhood restaurant for space)... adjourned till September. Got to roll, surf is calling!


Previously on EV Grieve:
Another month, another Superdive scratch; Plus, Avenue A bars give it another go tonight

Superdive not going 5 for 5 this CB3/SLA meeting

Breaking: "Fear not — the SUPERDIVE sign burns brightly!"

DBGB doubles up for sidewalk cafe request

DBGB is on the CB3/SLA agenda tonight for a sidewalk cafe...



...and per the sign out front, there's also a public hearing on the matter... conveniently scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 2...

Rhong Tiam still pretending as if it's open

Yesterday afternoon....



Of course, the space at Second Avenue and Fifth Street has been closed for more than a week... And, last week, owner Andy Yang told Grub Street that he has closed the East Village outpost of Rhong Tiam... yet the "closed for private party" sign emerged...and the sign was not there Friday or Saturday...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over

Scenes from a fancy new apartment


Our friend Cat Sitter in the City has a funny post from Friday evening... in which she got a glimpse across the way into one of those new buildings in the neighborhood with the floor-to-ceiling windows...there was a party going on...then!

"At one point, a couple went into the bedroom right off the living room and closed the door. Like the living room, the bedroom didn't have any blinds or drapes.

"The girl foraged through a dresser and grabbed a silky top. She was changing when the guy, who was probably her boyfriend, whipped off his khakis and underwear, threw his arms up in the air and started air thrusting. She doubled over laughing."

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Avenue B, 1:49 p.m., Aug. 15

Reminders tonight: Sensitive Skin at the Bowery Poetry Club



There's a reading tonight at 6 with Sensitive Skin magazine. There will be readings by Darius James, Christian Hunter, Drew Huebner and Rob Hardin with music by Kurt Wolf (ex-Pussy Galore) and video by Rebecca Gaffney. Details here.

Art show at the Mars Bar today



Featuring work by East Village artist Terry Galmitz...

[Via IloveEV]

20-plus years of keeping Tompkins Square Park in shape


[Photo credit John Penley]

In case you haven't already seen it... Lincoln Anderson has a nice piece in The East Villager this week on Harry Greenberg, who's retiring after more than two decades as the supervisor of Tompkins Square Park.

There are plenty of passages to highlight...

Greenberg is quick to credit his staff for keeping Tompkins clean. Actually, the number of his workers has shrunk over the years, forcing him to do more with less. In 1990, he had 15 permanent workers in Tompkins Square Park, and also managed part of Parks District 3, which is contiguous with the East Village and Lower East Side’s Community Board 3. Today, he only has four permanent workers for Tompkins, who also have to maintain 34 other sites in a portion of the district, such as the planted islands on East Houston St., for example.


And!

Although there are drugs in the park, it used to be far worse. Plus, Greenberg noted, “What park doesn’t have drugs?”

I used to come to this park early in the morning, and there were drug dealers and hookers. Now it’s normal people,” he said, though adding with a laugh, “They could be hookers and drug dealers.”

Find Philly

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Police presence in Tompkins Square Park



Seems to be more police than usual in Tompkins Square Park the last few days... Late Thursday afternoon, there were six police cars on the scene... and the only noticeable offense was a man receiving a ticket for an open container... more police cars were prowling around early Friday morning... asking some questions of a few Park regulars, such as John and Hot Dog...

NYU sets up temporary dorm on Seventh Street




Heh. OK, that was really bad. Just thinking about this story. Anyway, the castle is part of the Yorkiest Block Party on Seventh Street... where there are FREE hot dogs!

Free hot dogs on Seventh Street!




Oh, and The Yorkiest Block Party via CityLight.

A rainbow in Tompkins Square Park



Earlier this morning. And you see the unicorn too right? Right! Tell me that you see the unicorn!

Noted



Avenue A at 10th Street.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The young ones

Sensitive Skin live Sunday at the Bowery Poetry Club



Sensitive Skin magazine has been revived by publisher Bernard Meisler and managing editor Tim Beckett... The print version ran on the Lower East Side in the 1990s, and published such luminaries as Richard Hell, Taylor Mead, Herbert Huncke, Bob Holman (who now runs the Bowery Poetry Club), among others.

And Sensitive Skin is having their first reading since like 1998 at the Bowery Poetry Club this Sunday at 6. There will be readings by Darius James, Christian Hunter, Drew Huebner and Rob Hardin with music by Kurt Wolf (ex-Pussy Galore) and video by Rebecca Gaffney.

Here's the first issue from 1991 ... when it was called 'Peau Sensible' (that's French for sensitive skin...)



For further reading:
Check out Jeremiah's interview with Bernard and Tim at Vanishing New York.

Oh, he's a magic man.....



Per Craigslist:

Magic The Gathering... - m4w - 27 (East Village)

I want you to tap my mana till I'm all tapped out. Be my Exalted Angel, I'll be your Dark Confidant. Take my Rod of Ruin deep into your Karplusan Forest.

Come on, baby. Let's make some magic.




Or!

The Rhong Tiam dilemma: Stay (and remodel) or go


[Photo via]

Grub Street has the official word on what's up with Kurve/Rhong Tiam on Second Avenue and Fifth Street:

"Andy Yang tells us he has closed the East Village outpost of Rhong Tiam. “It was a miscalculation,” he says of its predecessor Kurve, with its infamous Karim Rashid design." (Above!) He's also considering whether to remodel it (bringing the kitchen upstairs) and reopen it with a less off-putting décor, or to simply let go of the space, Grub Street notes.

What do you think? Remodel or let it go?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over

Good sights: Lucy's back open last night



Lucy's has been closed of late (without a note, per usual) ... Didn't get the chance to stop, though, to see what was happening ... a reader had said that she was off on her annual visit to Poland....

[Updated, sort of] The dream is apparently over: De La Vega Museum closes on St. Mark's



Per an alert reader... The De La Vega Museum, run by artist James De La Vega, appears to be closed... the store is all but empty.... (which may explain why he was giving away art recently....) We'll have more on this later...

Friday morning:

Swung by the shop/museum last evening and this morning... all closed up... Considering his penchant for signs in the window...



....I'm surprised there isn't one letting people know what happened...



Meanwhile, near the shop, an unattended mattress sits without a "become your dream" slogan.



Previously on EV Grieve:
De La Vega calling for a boycott on Cafe Mogador, for some reason

Noted


From the Post today:

For a group of NYU students this fall, the only room will be at the inn.

About 50 to 60 students returning to the Greenwich Village campus will be forced to check into a Manhattan hotel because the university has run out of dorm space.

But the young scholars can forget about raiding the minibar or dialing up room service. NYU officials say they'll limit the amenities to phone, cable and Internet service -- but, unlike the dorms, their rooms will get twice-a-week housekeeping.

The photography of Flo Fox

A friend recently introduced me to the work of acclaimed photographer Flo Fox... I asked her via Facebook if I could post a few of her photos from the 1970s and early 1980s in NYC... she agreed... and here's a sampling...








All this is even more remarkable given her background... Fox, who grew up in Woodside, Queens, was born blind in one eye.

Here's an excerpt on her from a profile in Alternative Photography:

According to her, she was an automatic photographer because she never needed to close an eye to take a picture. She lost the vision in her other eye in 1975 and was declared legally blind just at the time that she photographed herself nude for Playboy and Penthouse. It was at this time that one of Flo’s sisters was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Soon thereafter Flo began experiencing numbness in one of her hands and legs and had herself tested for MS. The results were positive. She has remained determined to not let this news change anything in her career as a fine arts photographer. This has not been easy with her direction in the medium which is predominately street imagery of people and places predominately set in New York City.

When asked how her disabilities have affected her work, Fox said that she started seeing interfering patterns in 1975 and soon thereafter could no longer focus on an image because of dead nerve endings. As her MS progressed, Flo’s muscle tone deteriorated and she went from using a cane to a motorized scooter.


Check out this interview on Tom Snyder...



You can watch part 2 here.

There are more photos on her website here. Or maybe you could friend her on Facebook.