Court date for 47 E. Third St. tenants/landlord

Showdown in court today over the fate of 47 E. Third St. (New York Post)

The EV Grieve 47 E. Third St. archive.

The New York Post on John Penley: "quite possibly New York City's cuddliest anarchist"

The New York Post profiles John Penley today.

And we begin:

AS the unofficial leader of what is known as the East Village "slacktivist" movement, John Penley routinely protests: real estate developers, wine bars, wine bars owned by Bruce Willis, landlords, Republicans and the evergreen that is yuppie scum. "Frat boys throwin' up or takin' a p - - s on your building," he says. "Drunk, blockin' sidewalks, not lettin' baby carriages pass . . ." The 56-year-old Penley also enjoys shouting down obnoxious NYU students, inserting himself into neighbors' landlord disputes and making daily calls to newspapers and networks about area goings-on.
Penley is also, quite possibly, New York City's cuddliest anarchist: a burly 56-year-old Vietnam-era military man and ex-felon with two gold front teeth, lots of tattoos and a deep affinity for children, animals and the writings of Thomas Wolfe. He was married once, briefly, but doesn't like to talk about it.
One of his roommates was rock star Cat Power, who moved out and on long ago, but still pays her third of the share on Penley's $600-a-month apartment on Avenue B, where he has lived the bulk of his 25 years in the city. (His other roommate is a graphic artist.) Penley is something of a local on-call baby sitter, and is quick to dispense loose change or cigarettes to anyone who asks.

Read the whole article here.

Here's a quick video clip of Penley from the protest at 47 E. 3rd St. from July 11.



For further protest reading on EV Grieve, here's where to go.

At the Bowery Wine Co. protest Friday night

Here are a few videos from the Bowery Wine Company protest tonight. (Apologies if they look as shaky and grainy as Cloverfield. Still learning the ways of the camera.) Not sure how much narrative you need, though I'll likely add some later...The fellow in the first and third video was the lone dissenter. He kept yelling "pussies go home." He also repeated, "We're republicans, and we're here to stay!" No word yet whether he was an official representative of the New York Young Republican Club.













As I note in the post above this, I was only able to stay for the first leg of the protest, which, as Jeremiah reports, continued on to CBGB/Varvatos, the Bowery Hotel, 47 E. 3rd St., then down to Avenue A, through Tompkins Square Park, and finished at the Christodora House. His Flickr pool is here. Bob Arihood was also with the group the entire time. He took many compelling photos, as usual.

Bring it on (aka GOP Hard)

The Battle of the Bowery continues...On Page Six. Yesterday, we learned the New York Young Republican Club held a monthly social event at the Bowery Wine Company, which Bruce Willis has something to do with. In response to comments made by John Penley in April, one young GOPper told Page Six, "Needless to say, we're going to fill his neighborhood whether he likes it or not. We're coming with briefcases and BlackBerrys in hand to stake our claim."

And today?

The Bowery turf war between yuppie Republicans and local lefties will resume next Friday, when East Village gadfly John Penley will lead a demonstration in front of the Bowery Wine Co. with the Rev. Frank Morales of St. Mark's Church. Besides protesting "right-wing Republicans [a reference to Bruce Willis] opening yuppie wine bars in our neighborhood," as Penley put it, the rabble-rousers will blast the court decision allowing the owner of the tenement at 47 E. Third St. to evict his tenants so he can use the building as a one-family mansion. The New York Young Republican Club, which just held its monthly social at the Bowery Wine Co., is invited to counter-demonstrate - but, Penley told Page Six, "they have to show up in suits carrying briefcases so we can tell them apart."

Anyone know what time the demonstration will take place next Friday...?

Earlier on EV Grieve:

"We want to show our opposition to right-wing Republicans opening yuppie wine bars in our neighborhood"