Friday, March 5, 2021
Friday's parting shots
'Lux' living
Local band Pom Pom Squad released "Lux" this week... which features a "Virgin Suicides" tribute video of singer-songwriter Mia Berrin's dreams.
Also, today is Bandcamp Friday, in which the platform foregoes its revenue and gives the bands all the $$$ from the day's sales. You can download "Lux" here.
About Open Data Week in the East Village
Join EVCC for this week-long festival of FREE community events in celebration of New York City's Open Data Law. From family-friendly live events on the Ave B Open Street, to fun and informative virtual events, there's something for everyone here!
Highlights coming up tomorrow (Saturday!) on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Eighth Street ...
1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Join artist Jen Ray and data designer Jason Forrest for an engaging and not-entirely-serious interactive data-art performance on the Ave B Open Street. You've never seen data presented like this!
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Join artist Cindy Stockton Moore in Shadow Tag for Open Streets, a creative family-friendly experiment in chalk. Come play with data!
Engaging with the WhatsOpenEV.com MapBuilt by BetaNYC & maintained by volunteers, the WhatsOpenEV.com map has everything you need to safely Shop Local. We created the map to assist our community and support local merchants during the COVID-19 shutdown. What started as a band-aid grew into a labor of love.Discover East Village businesses, help support your favorites, and add your contributions to the map. Find the latest hours, specials, fundraisers and more!
Visit the EVCC website for more details.
ICYMI: Arts and entertainment venues can reopen starting on April 2
And those numbers can go higher — up to 150 people indoors — if the venue offers a rapid COVID-19 test on entry.
Either way, all attendees must wear masks and be socially distanced.
Despite the positive step forward after a year-long closure, some venues said they would not be reopening just yet.
From Gothamist:
"Obviously any news about a path forward, even a limited capacity one, is great considering where we were just over a month ago," said Dennis Dennehy, spokesperson for AEG Presents and Bowery Presents, which manages bookings at Forest Hills Stadium, Terminal 5, Webster Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Music Hall of Williamsburg and more. "That said, we remain focused as of right now on fully reopening when we can do shows at 100% capacity. It just doesn’t make sense for us to do anything with limited capacity."While he left open the possibility that some individual artists might decide to eat their losses to do a couple of one-off shows at big venues, he said it ultimately wasn't efficient for them to be back until they can play to full houses.
From the Times:
Michael Swier, the owner of the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, two of New York's best-known rock clubs, said that the state's order that venues require social distancing and mask-wearing means that the true capacity at many spaces may be much lower.
"Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable," Mr. Swier said.
Report of a fatal fire on 5th Street
Updated 3/7: the fire was at 335 E, Fifth St. The resident was identified as Wendy Schonfeld. Read about her here.
An early-morning fire on Fifth Street reportedly killed an 80-year-old resident in the building.
According to @FDNYalerts, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of 335 E. Fifth St., a five-story building between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The report came in at 12:55 a.m., according to @FDNYalerts ... and was deemed under control by 1:24 a.m.
At 3:36 a.m., the Citizen app reported the following: "An official update from the FDNY has confirmed that an 80-year-old woman found inside the apartment was declared deceased after EMS transported her to a local hospital."Manhattan All Hands Box 0430, 337 E 5 ST, Multiple Dwelling 'A' Fire, 4TH FLR, Under Control
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 5, 2021
Three other injuries were reported.
No other information is available at the moment regarding the conditions of the victims or the cause of the fire.
Updated 5 p.m.
Steven shared this photo... as you can see windows on the fourth and fifth floors have been board up...
Top photo via Citizen
Meeting Chef Wayne from the Bowery Mission
Interview by Mackenna Caughron
Wayne is a chef at the Bowery Mission, currently working across their Bowery and Tribeca campuses to serve New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
I met Wayne while he was in the throes of dinner preparation. His meals look outstanding — no surprises there, as his food fuels thousands of hungry New Yorkers and counting. It’s apparent why he’s so effective at his job — not only is he an expert in the creation of hot meals, but also his presence emits warmth. Spending an hour with Wayne (without even tasting his food, mind you), I felt lifted.
I asked Wayne several questions to learn more about his journey to the Bowery Mission and the recent impact of the pandemic.
What is your first memory of The Bowery Mission?
In 2012, I experienced temporary homelessness. I was staying at a nearby shelter, not far from the Bowery Mission’s flagship campus at 227 Bowery. At the time, I’d go to The Bowery Mission to get food, get clothing, but I didn’t know much about the organization overall. For two years, I held occasional jobs but was having a hard time finding steadier work and housing.
In 2014, I signed up for the Bowery Mission’s men’s residential program. By October of that same year, I had graduated from the program and secured a job at the organization’s Avenue D Campus.
How did you transition from program participant to staff member?
When I first got into the program, we had daily tasks. It gave us something to do, but it also taught us skills. I spent my time in the kitchen, working with the chefs and volunteers.
It wasn’t easy at first. We serve a wide variety of people dealing with extreme circumstances. To be on the front line of serving food while monitoring interactions could be tough. Some folks direct the challenges of their day toward you. Over the years, I’ve better understood where they’re coming from and why they act this way.
In my time working at the Bowery Mission, I’ve also worked at their Mont Lawn Camp and Retreat Center in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, which was an incredible experience. It is beautiful, 200-plus acres with a retreat center, a gym, basketball court, rock climbing wall — the works. Compared to the city, there are no sirens, no city noises. Seeing the organization’s full-circle impact makes me feel more strongly about working at the Bowery Mission.
On a personal level, I’ve learned that serving a person a great meal does a lot. Initially, I cooked to keep busy and develop my skills. Now, I look for the relief on a client’s face. I see in their demeanor when I’ve removed the worry of having to feed themselves.
I also learned to communicate thoughtfully. If I’m met with aggression, I temper the conversation to encourage different behavior.
All our locations operate differently, some campuses are more focused on emergency shelter, some are focused on residential programming, but my focus is always to make a good meal.
Do you notice changes in donations during recent times?
Being in the food industry myself, I’ve seen how hard it is for restaurants right now. They’re not receiving the same customer base. But it’s amazing how our donation partners have pulled together and said, “even though we’ve been affected by this negatively, that shouldn’t put a damper on what the Bowery Mission is trying to do.”
People are still trying to gather as many resources as they can to help. We’re now getting packaged food. Companies and organizations are preparing meals and putting them in containers and bringing them to us, hundreds at a time every day.
Not only does it make our job a little bit easier, knowing that we have people supporting us, but it allows us to go full force in serving people who really need it. We are able to execute a battle plan so that we can best serve guests, who, unfortunately, can’t shelter in place like many New Yorkers can.
How do you get a feeling of appreciation in this work?
When I go home from work, I see many of the people we serve on my commute. When they see me, they give me a shout-out, “Hey Chef!” That feels good.
Also, if I do see a person asking for food, I get to tell them about the Bowery Mission. All they have to do is be on time to receive a meal.
I was very appreciative that all staff and volunteers were offered resources through the Bowery Mission to isolate and safely navigate COVID-19.
What is the lesson learned from COVID-19?
Among New Yorkers, the issue of homelessness can be divisive. Some folks want to help, while others think people should be “on their own.” The pandemic has proved anyone can fall on tough circumstances. You get behind on bills, you can lose your job, and you can lose your housing.
We all need help sometimes, and whatever events happen in this country, we can all try to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
New Yorkers can catch flak for being “rude” or “brash,” but when things go down, we know how to come together.
About Nudibranch, bringing a pop-up tasting menu to 130 1st Ave. this month
Eater had the scoop yesterday on what's been happening here.
Two Momofuku Ssäm Bar alums have teamed up on an exciting, new tasting menu pop-up that's running in ... through the end of this month. Nudibranch ... is a collaboration between chefs Victor Xia and Jeff Kim, and the first solo project for the duo.
Kim and Xia met working at Ssäm Bar several years ago, and teamed up on Nudibranch last year to create a menu that paid homage to all the kitchens they've cooked in around the city as well as the food they love eating everyday.
While the menu incorporates several Asian ingredients in various dishes, the chefs don't want that to be the defining factor of the project. "We hate the term Asian fusion or pan-Asian," says Xia. "That is how a lot of people just want to describe food like this. But if you look at the menu you won't really be able to tie it down to any particular cuisine. Not having to label it is something we really enjoy."
Visit the Nudibranch website here for more details.
Nightmarket, a quick-serve Taiwanese restaurant specializing in braised beef noodle soup, opened in July 2019, taking over from NuNoodle.
Photo from January by Steven
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Noted
Grant Shaffer's NY See
The Union Square Food Emporium looks to be closing at the end of May
While the closure of the supermarket isn't a complete surprise, its timing is. In February 2020, Lois Weiss at the Post reported that Target has signed a lease for the 32,579 square feet here on 14th Street. However, the Food Emporium was said to stay here through the end of April 2023.
Sources told Weiss that, despite the wait, Target wanted to lock in the location along 14th Street. The nearly 16-year lease had an asking rent of $183 per square foot, she reported.
The WARN filing says that the Food Emporium lease is expiring. The closure will impact 50 employees, per the notice.
In December 2015, Key Food acquired the Food Emporium banner name and related intellectual property assets, per published reports.
This will mark the departure of yet another traditional grocery store in the area. Associated closed on 14th Street in Stuy Town in December 2019.
H/T Bayou! EVG file photo.
It's nearly show time as NYC theaters prep for reopening
However, don't expect to see all of the local movie houses up and running right away.
Here's what to expect, starting with the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue at 12th Street (marquee photo above by Doug) ... which will have a new name...
Before the pandemic, the Village East Cinema showed movies that originally opened at the Angelika Film Center. Plus, the Village East Cinema is owned by City Cinemas, a branch of Reading International. The Angelika is also under the Reading International umbrella. So they're keeping it all in the Reading family.We’re reopening Friday March 5, and we are excited to welcome @CityCinemasNYC to the Angelika Film Center family, as Village East by Angelika and Cinema 123 by Angelika!
— Angelika Film Center (@AngelikaFilmNY) February 26, 2021
For more information, visit us at https://t.co/K3mu1MJiw8.
See you at the movies! pic.twitter.com/T1W311Xu6p
Find the cinema's website here.
Elsewhere in the downtown film community... (and masks are required to be theaters)...
• Angelika Film Center., Houston Street. Opening on March 5. Website here.
• Anthology Film Archives, Second Avenue at Second Street. No reopening date. Will continue with virtual cinema.
• Cinema Village, 12th Street. The small theater is hoping to reopen around April 1, per the Post.
• Film Forum, East Houston. Opening on April 2.
• IFC Center. Opening on March 5. And per IndieWire: "Mandatory mask-wearing at all times, no concession sales, and no eating and drinking allowed in theaters."
• Loews Village 7, Third Avenue at 11th Street. Opening March 5. Website here.
• Metrograph, Ludlow Street. No reopening date yet. Will continue with virtual programming.
• Regal Cinemas, Union Square and Essex Crossing. No return date just yet.
• Quad Cinema, 13th Street. Opening on March 5. (Updated)
Hub Thai debuts new Avenue A space
The new space is larger, with more room for dining (just 35 percent inside for now)... look for a few sidewalk seats as well.
Hub Thai is open daily from noon to 11 p.m. The menu is here. And the phone: (212) 228-8221.
Until this past weekend, Hub Thai was at 105 Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.
As for its new space: No. 50 had been hosting a variety of pop-ups this past year... this after Villa Cemita held forth here for five years until June 2020.
A Downtown State of Mind Saturday courtesy of the Tompkins Square Library branch
The Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B continues to offer free virtual programming... here are two events of possible interest this coming weekend (descriptions via the NYPL) ...
• Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m.: A Downtown State of Mind celebrating the launch of LiVE MAG! #17 The CoViVid Issue. Zoom Afternoon of Art, Poetry and Inspired Palavar. Jeffrey Cyphers Wright has been publishing art and poetry for decades. His vision has a decidedly downtown slant and the new issue of Live Mag! is true to its East Village roots.
(Related program: Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. — A Downtown State of Mind part II.)
Register here.
• Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.: Lower East Side Art + Activism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon. Help the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), Interference Archive, Tompkins Square Library and Wikimedia NYC expand Wikipedia's coverage of the Lower East Side at the Museum's second virtual Wikipedia edit-a-thon!
In keeping with the MoRUS mission to preserve the history of grassroots activism and promote community-based urban ecologies, we will expand Wikipedia's coverage of the community gardens, community centers, grassroots movements, galleries, clubs, squats and homesteads that have contributed to our neighborhood's oversized cultural impact. No experience needed; we'll help you create a Wikipedia account and teach you how to edit content. The edit-a-thon runs from 2-4 p.m., but you can stay for as long (or as short) as you like.
Register here.
Like other NYPL branches, the Tompkins Square Library is currently only open for grab-and-go service from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
New York residents ages 13 and older can get a digital library card through the NYPL's online card application and gain access to an array of digital resources.
Catch a wave at this incoming Asian restaurant on 6th Street
They opened in February 2020 and had about six weeks in business before the PAUSE went into effect, and the Lovenburg feeling was lost.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
The first opossum sighting of 2021 in Tompkins Square Park
A much-needed beach day for Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street
Like many of us perhaps, Miss Kita the Wonder Dog seems to be hitting a wall in terms of social distancing and pandemicness generally. She particularly misses our rich neighborhood nightlife. When we woke up this morning Miss Kita declared Tompkins Square Park insufficient for her needs and demanded a beach day. It's still a bit windy out here and she says it's not yet prime seagull chasing season but a quick trip out of town to catch some fresh sea air was just what the doctor ordered.
Gallery Watch: 'Last Supper' at LatchKey Gallery
Last Supper at LatchKey Gallery
Group Show, 323 Canal St.
Canal Street for a new-ish comer is so hustle and bustle that it is often easy to miss the hidden gems amongst the light stores, plastic museums and fake Louis Vuitton’s lining the sidewalk.
LatchKey Gallery offers a refreshing respite to this, an incredibly large and open space with a dedicated ethos toward advocating overlooked artists. In this week’s Gallery Watch, I am excited to provide insight into this nomadic contemporary art space that is challenging the status-quo on several different levels.
The powerhouses behind LatchKey Gallery are Natalie Kates and Amanda Uribe. I was lucky enough to meet Natalie at Silo6776 in New Hope at Scooter LaForge’s exhibition Beef Jerky late last year. I could tell Natalie was an enthusiastic and passionate art lover, but it wasn’t until I had come to learn about her Artist Residency Program that she spearheaded with her husband Fabrizio Ferri that I really got the gist of her dedication to emerging artists.
Scooter kindly passed on a Zoom invite to Natalie in conversation with Dana Robinson, (a previous artist in residence), which is how I came to learn of LatchKey’s current exhibition Last Supper.
The show, curated by Tamecca Seril showcases the works of 12 Black female artists, referencing the significant event of the show’s title where Jesus and his apostles gather and consecrate around a banquet feast.
Last Supper celebrates fellowship and organized radical thinking amongst the curated group of artists. The show positions their work within a contemporary context, in turn creating a discourse around what it means to be Black, female and creative while inevitably disrupting the art world’s tiresome and often gross institutionalized normality.
Last Supper showcases the works of Shervone Neckles, Ify Chiejina, Turiya Magadlela, LaToya Hobbs, Kimberly Becoat, Nkechi Ebubedike, Josie Love Roebuck, Jennifer Mack Watkins, Dana Robinson, Dominique Duroseau, Ariel Danielle and Ashante Kindle.
The pieces by Shervone Neckles are photographic and hanging from the ceiling, offering something I have never seen before in a gallery space. History, time and torture are suspended in her golden-framed objects and these works were definitely what excited me the most.
Other works that stood out for me: Jennifer Mack-Watkins’ majestic and sweet prints, Turiya Magadlela’s stunning sewn fabric work at the entrance of the space and Dana Robinson’s charming dappled painted transfers on panel.
As I was watching videos, admiring large-scale paintings and pestering the extremely hospitable and lovely Amanda, I noticed a large back-space to the gallery. Unbeknown to me, this was the studio hosting Kates-Ferri Project artist residency.
The divide from gallery to artist studio space was raw and generous for the average gallery-goer. Once stepping inside the residency quarters, I was enthralled by another young maker’s world. February’s artist in residence was the beautifully spoken and gifted Eric Manuel Santoscoy-Mckillip, who has filled the space with painted sculptures, freshly designed rugs and a working studio that I was delighted to receive an invitation to tour.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Eric plays with ideas of overlapping and blurring — subjects that seek to reflect the in-between space of the U.S. and Mexico border. His work is rich in color, crazy with texture and so bold and confident to the point of intimidating.
At first glance, it looked as though the work was made with 100 percent pure pigment, but thanks to the nature of the studio space, I learned he was using flashe. The artist has built a lexicon around their work that is felt, heard and seen. Eric pays homage to a complex history and identity in the way he uses, as an example, stucco as both a protectant layer and texture creator.
He has an invested interest in design, derivative colorways and has an explorative and deeply personal practice that pays respect to its roots. He moves between painting and sculpture and has been producing experimental work during his time in the residency. To see more of his work, you can visit his website here.
Last Supper will be showing at LatchKey’s Canal Street and Industry City locations until March 20. To book an appointment, please visit their website. A special thanks to Eric and Amanda for having me.
Last Supper will be showing at LatchKey’s Canal Street and Industry City locations until March 20. To book an appointment, please visit their website. A special thanks to Eric and Amanda for having me.
Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com
Checking in on Meat + Bread on Allen Street
The quick-serve establishment serving a variety of burgers, sandwiches and snacks is owned and operated by brothers Azi (below left) and Yamoni Bari and Yamoni's wife, Khadija Bari.
Meat + Bread is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. Phone: (607) 228-3441. You can find their menu here. And on Instagram here.
This is their first restaurant, though they know the way around a kitchen: Azi and Yamoni's father owned an Indian restaurant back in the 1990s on the Upper East Side.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the other day to see how they are doing.
"We definitely knew it would be a challenge opening during the pandemic, but we also saw opportunity and potential," Azi said. "So far we have seen an incline from week to week in sales, repeat customers and also excellent feedback from the community. We do our best in minimizing wastage and reusing our inventory. Things can only get better."
This is also a homecoming for the brothers, who were born, raised and educated on the Lower East Side. These days they are residing in Queens.
"The best part of it all is coming back and opening a business in the neighborhood we grew up in," Azi said. "It's great when friends and family stop in — those who still live in the area. Overall, it has been a good experience so far and hopefully a better one going forward."
This is the new tenant for the NW corner of 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place
Yesterday, we noted that the long-vacant storefront — most recently Nobletree Coffee — on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place received the plywood treatment.
A deeper dive in public records (thanks Upper West Sider!) reveals that the leasee is the Taiwan-based Xing Fu Tang, a bubble tea chain that specializes in brown sugar boba.
The bubble tea is rather plentiful already along this corridor. And last month, we reported that Gong Cha, which describes itself as "one of the most recognized bubble tea brands around the world," is opening an outpost at 27 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Photo yesterday by Steven
Leasing underway at Stella LES on Avenue C and Houston (and 2nd Street)
Streeteasy currently lists seven units, ranging in price from $4,480 for a one-bedroom unit (587 square feet) to $8,160 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home (1,159 square feet).
And a description of the building:
Set within a unique triangular plot, Stella's architectural footprint offers studio-to-two bedroom residences with sunlit spaces and multiple exposures. Public areas are equipped with ultraviolet LED in-duct air purification systems proactively treating the air and reducing airborne and surface contaminants. With amenities such as a fitness center, roof deck and resident’s lounge, discover unmatched conveniences in a haven for Lower East Side living.
And Stella LES pays tribute to famed acting teacher Stella Adler, per the marketing materials:
Inspired by outspoken theater pioneer and Lower East Side native Stella Adler, Stella LES is a boutique 45 unit development that reflects her wildly independent spirit, her iconic status, and her fierce commitment to furthering her craft.
As previously noted, Stella LES joins the other newer residential buildings nearby bearing a single name — The Adele and The Robyn.
Foundation work began in December 2016 here on this lot that housed the neighborhood's last gas station. Architect of record Rotwein+Blake previously stated that "the narrow triangular site presented numerous challenges from its odd shape to zoning constraints."
You can find the official Stella LES website here. The leasing gallery is on the property.
The building also boasts retail space on the ground floor.
Report: The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill will be reopening soon on University Place
And there was some understandable concern that the timeless NYC steakhouse, which opened in 1977, might not be returning. (And it didn't help that there wasn't any messaging coming from the restaurant about the pandemic-related closure.)
However, Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite have reported some very good news at New York this week via managing partner Ron D’Allegro: "Not only will the restaurant be reopening within weeks, he says, but 'I'm just about to re-sign a new lease for another 12 years.' The only thing holding him up, D'Allegro says, is permits and inspections."
Turns out that they needed a new exhaust system in the restaurant, a project that took place during part of the state-mandated shutdown.
During the pandemic, the Knickerbocker received a PPP loan and raised nearly $70,000 via a GoFundMe, whose contributors include nearby neighbor F. Murray Abraham. They were also reportedly able to renegotiate a lease with the building's condo board. landlord. (See the comments for more on this!)
In the weeks ahead expect to see some of the familiar staff, who had been furloughed, including the longtime executive chef. However, no live jazz for the time being... but they will have sidewalk seating for the very first time.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Police make arrest in fatal punch on 1st Avenue and 11th Street
According to published reports (amNY, the Post), Anthony Fabriani, 60, was arguing with Anthony Larocca, 19, when the teen punched him in the left eye, knocking him to the ground.Thanks to the publics assistance and the great work of our @NYPDDetectives this individual has been apprehended. https://t.co/y456qe46Q1
— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) March 2, 2021
Fabriani, who lived in Sheepshead Bay, slammed his head on the sidewalk when he fell. He was transported to Bellevue for a fractured skull, a fractured orbital bone and swelling of the brain. He died of his injuries on Feb. 23.
Detectives, who according to amNY classified the death as a homicide, arrested Larocca on Monday. It is not believed the two men knew each other. So far there's no motive for the altercation, per the reports.
Meanwhile, on the 6 train
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