EVG Etc.: NYPL funding restored; gunshots or fireworks?

Photo Monday from Avenue A and St. Mark's Place 

• Advocates and lawmakers frustrated by late City Hall report on homeless encampment sweeps (City Limits... previously on EVG) 

• A woman was killed in a hit-and-run on the FDR Drive near East Houston (CBS 2) ... Family blames construction signage from the East Side Resiliency Project for the fatal hit-and-run (Daily News) 

• NYCHA steps up evictions on tenants (The City) 

• Where top New York politicians stand on Gov. Hochul's congestion pricing pause (New York Focus)  ... 7 Years, $700M wasted: The 'stunning collapse' of congestion pricing (The Wall Street Journal, sub required) 

• Nearly united City Council votes 46 to 3 to approve fiscal year 2025 budget (City and State) ... NYPL funding restored amid threats from the Mayor's budget cuts (NY1 ... CNN) 

• A housing lottery launched this week for 196 affordable apartments in a new rental building on the Lower East Side — 165 Broome St. (6sqft) 

• And the EV/LES lags in affordable housing options (City Limits) 

• The city accuses the owner of Gelatoville on First Avenue and 10th Street of allegedly running illegal short-term rentals (Crain's ... W42st. ... City of New York) 

• Lucy Sante remembers James Chance (The Baffler... previously on EVG)

• Lyft has jacked up the price for bike-share members to ride pedal-assist electric bikes for a second time this year (Streetsblog) 

• A review of Spice Brothers on St. Mark's Place. Pete Wells says it's "a showcase for the power of cinnamon, turmeric and other flavors of the Middle East." (The New York Times) 

• Tompkins Square Bagels opening an Upper East Side outpost (Patch) 

• An expanded Pier 42 reopens along the East River (PIX 11 ... official press release)

• In case you want to watch the Macy's 4th of July fireworks on the WEST side (West Side Rag ... NBC 4) 

• Helpful: Were those fireworks or gunshots?????? (Gothamist) 

• How to keep your dog calm during fireworks shows (Axios) 

• A Denys Arcand crime trilogy (Anthology Film Archives)

• On July 5, catch an interactive screening of kitschy classic "Piranha" in the company of Hedda Lettuce (Village East by Angelika)

RIP Anton van Dalen

Photo by Anthony Lindsey from the documentary, "Anton: Circling Home"

Longtime East Village-based artist Anton van Dalen passed away in his home on June 25. He was 86.

P·P·O·W, the gallery that had represented him over the years, announced that he died of natural causes in his sleep. 

Some background on his life and work:

Van Dalen was born in Amstelveen, Holland, in 1938 to a conservative Calvinist family during World War II. He began rearing pigeons at 12, seeking solace in the companionship of a community outside the instability around him. 

Enraptured by the magic of their flight, van Dalen saw his own migration journey, from Holland to Canada and ultimately to the United States, reflected in the migratory nature of the birds.

After arriving in New York's Lower East Side in 1966, before ultimately settling in the East Village, van Dalen served as witness, storyteller, and documentarian of the dramatic cultural shifts in the neighborhood.

While active in the alternative art scene in the East Village during the 1980s, van Dalen began his career as a graphic designer. Working as a studio assistant to Saul Steinberg for over 30 years, van Dalen learned the stylization and design aesthetics that would ultimately ground the visual language he used to discuss the culture around him.

Van Dalen became known for his Night Street Drawings (1975–77), a monochrome series of graphite drawings documenting the surrounding Lower East Side with tenderness and empathy, including vignettes of car wrecks, sex workers, crumbling buildings, and more.

As poet and critic John Yau wrote, all of van Dalen's work arose "out of a meticulous draftsmanship in service of an idiosyncratic imagination merged with civic-mindedness."

Van Dalen lived at 166 Avenue A — the PEACE house — between 10th Street and 11th Street since 1971. He documented the changes there in this post for EVG. 

His flock of snow-white pigeons from his rooftop loft were a common site in the nearby skies. (Photo from 2015 by Grant Shaffer.)

We had the great pleasure of meeting van Dalen several times, first over a dinner at Odessa. We appreciated his kind, thoughtful manner and deep affinity for the East Village. He shared several dispatches with us over the years (see the end of this post for a selection). 

Van Dalen was especially upset about the 2013 demolition of the Mary Help of Christians church, school, and rectory on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street, which made way for the block-long Steiner East Village condoplex. 

He shared this photo and sketch for a post in August 2013.

The  neighborhood's transformation was a common theme in his work, as seen in his one-man performance piece "Avenue A Cutout Theatre," which featured "a portable model of his house, which he uses as a staging ground for telling the story of the evolution of the East Village."

He first performed the Avenue A Cut-Out Theatre in 1995 at the University Settlement House on the Lower East Side. The performance has been shown at numerous institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and The New York Historical Society. 

As he wrote in a post for EVG in October 2020: 

I consider myself a documentarian of the East Village, yet I am a participant and spectator to its evolution. Began documenting my street surroundings in 1975, urged on by wanting to note and remember these lives. Came to realize I had to embrace wholeheartedly, with pencil in hand, my streets with its raw emotions.

Van Dalen is survived by his older brother, Leen van Dalen; his two children, Marinda and Jason; their spouses, René van Haaften and Ali Villagra; and three grandchildren, Cleo, Aster, and Diego.

P·P·O·W said that memorial service announcements will be forthcoming.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• One East Village family's protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine 

• Documenting 166 Avenue A through the years

• Anton van Dalen, drawing in isolation

• Anton van Dalen's Avenue A Cut-Out Theatre 

• Down On Avenue A, 1922 

 • On St. Mark's Place, 'this parable of neglect' 

• Anton van Dalen's pigeons, connecting us back to nature above Avenue A 

• The 'senseless shocking self-destruction' of Mary Help of Christians

A visit to Cakes by Klein on St. Mark's Place

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Cakes by Klein debuted last month at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

I stopped by the other day to talk with proprietor Hanna Klein, who has lived in the East Village and now the Lower East Side in recent years ...

As I snapped photos of Klein meticulously decorating a blue hydrangea-themed bridesmaid cake, the air was filled with an unexpected calm. It made me curious — was the silence for my benefit, or was it her usual ambiance?

When I asked, she revealed that her typical soundtrack wasn't silence but rather the chilling narratives of serial killer podcasts!

This is her first retail location (she was a home baker before this). During the week, the space operates as a commercial kitchen where Klein fulfills custom orders. 

While this is a made-to-order business, given the foot traffic on the block, Klein will host occasional popups on the weekends when her husband is available to assist her. (She was married in the spring, and yes — she made her own wedding cake.)

Her menu includes iced coffee, slices of cake, and cookie sammies...

The pop-ups also provide her with an opportunity for customer feedback, such as favorite flavor combos, etc., which she uses to shape her menu and improve her offerings. 

"I like turning people's ideas in their brains into cakes," she said. "Everything is better with cake." 

For the latest updates about our weekend hours, follow the Cakes by Klein Instagram account. You can also visit the Cakes by Klein website for more information.

Emma Rogue is opening an events space on Houston Street starting this weekend

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Vintage clothing entrepreneur Emma Rogue is expanding her Lower East Side presence with an events space at 313 E. Houston St., between Clinton and Attorney.

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 1-7 p.m.), the storefront debuts hosting a collection by Italian designer Son Ludo. (Details on Instagram here.) 

Rogue started selling clothes from her childhood bedroom on Depop and opened her first shop stocked with Y2K and 90s vintage and secondhand at 53 Stanton St. in June 2021. She recently relocated to a larger space nearby at 154 Allen St., where she also showcases other up-and-coming designers. (You can read more about her in this Teen Vogue feature.) 

At 313 Houston St., she plans to have an e-commerce area and a space to host events and pop-ups. (Perhaps she'll do another collaboration with her friend and fellow East Village store owner, Bella McFadden's iGirl.)

Rogue says she's happy in the new storefront and looks forward to meeting her neighbors.

Rogue says they'll return with more events after this opening collaboration. You can follow the shops via @roguegarms.

Details about the the 3rd annual Lower East Side Pride Bookstore Crawl

The third annual Lower East Side Pride Bookstore Crawl takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from noon to 7 p.m.

Here's more info via the EVG inbox:

Celebrate the diversity and resilience of the neighborhood's indie bookshops by spending a day shopping discounts, special giveaways and curated selections of queer books. 

This year's crawl features seven unique indie bookstores: 

• Book Club Bar (197 E. 3rd Street & Avenue B) 

• Pillow-Cat Books (328 E. 9th S.) 

• Village Works (12 St Mark's Place) 

• Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks (28 E. 2nd St.) 

• Bluestockings Cooperative (116 Suffolk St.) 

• Yu & Me Books (44 Mulberry St.) 

• Sweet Pickle Books (47 Orchard St.) 

Each bookstore will offer discounts and perks (such as free merchandise or snacks) throughout the day. No reservations are required...

[Updated] Family searching for Joby Joseph, last seen around Tompkins Square Park late Monday night

Updated 6/22: His family says that Joby has been found and is OK. No other information is available.

--

Friends and family of Joby Joseph have been frantically searching for the 39-year-old missing since May 12. 

His last reported sighting was around Tompkins Square Park late Monday night. 

His brother, Joshua Joseph, has been coordinating efforts to find Joby.

Per a recent Instagram post: 

He has had no contact with his family or friends. Some reports have called in stating they have seen him around Tompkins Square Park area and Ave A late Monday night, June 17th. They have described him as disheveled and out of it. 

Physical description: long scruffy beard, 6’1, 180 pounds, possibly malnourished. 

Whether these reports are true or not, I cannot grasp what mental state of mind he is in or what led him to this point. I appreciate everyone's involvement, which has led to these calls, tips and info. Hopefully, everyone's continued efforts will help us locate him ASAP and get him to safety. 

Joshua created a link on Google Maps with a rough perimeter and active locations in the East Village and Lower East Side that update in real-time according to their search efforts. 

A screengrab of the map is below. You can access it here.

Joby, who works the door at several local bars, has been known to be MIA for a day or two.

"This is the first time this has happened for such a long period of time," Joshua told the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com. "It's not unusual for him to be gone for maybe a couple of days, but nothing like this. We don't know anything."

The family filed a missing person's report with the NYPD on June 8. 

Anyone with information that could help in the search for Joby is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.

A summer movie series is returning to Tompkins Square Park

A summer film series is set for Tompkins Square Park for the first time in eight years. 

Yesterday, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein announced that he has teamed up with the Loisaida Center, the Lower East Side Film Festival, Rooftop Films and Two Boots Pizza "to bring the joy of watching summer flicks under the stars back to our neighborhood." 

Here's more about the four-film series that will take place on the multi-purpose courts/TF at Avenue A and 10th Street: 

More than simply showing movies, this crew of community leaders organized for free pizza while supplies last, along with pre-show entertainment. Each event starts at 8 p.m., and films commence at sunset. 

On June 26, "Encanto" (rated PG) will be shown along with a pre-show clown workshop by Matthew Silver and MC Bryan Fernandez. Short films "Love Letters to the Subway" (2023) and "Drumtalk" (2022) will precede the main feature. 

The family-friendly fun continues on July 28 with a screening of "Little Fugitive" (rated G). The Coney Island Circus Sideshow will provide the audience with a pre-show performance. The shorts for the night will be "Practice Space" (2024) and the Grand St. Settlement Film. 

On Aug. 29, enjoy live music and an appearance by Natasha Lyonne as we watch her in "Slums of Beverly Hills" (rated R). Director Tamara Jenkins will curate the short films. 

For the grand finale on Sept. 25, moviegoers will enjoy "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (rated R). Nuyorican Poets Cafe will present poetry, and Eden Martinez and the Loisaida Center will curate shorts. 

"Movies in the Park is about more than just movies, it's a chance to showcase local talent through our short film features and to bring people together for a positive community experience," Epstein said in a statement. "I am proud to bring this tradition back to our neighborhood."

In recent years, Tompkins Square Park has occasionally hosted family-friendly films in the Under the Stars series via NYC Parks and Films on the Green by Villa Albertine, the French Embassy, and the FACE Foundation (though not this summer). 

The last summer-long series came in 2016 via Howl! Arts and several local restaurants. Unfortunately, many of the Thursday evening screenings were rained out and rescheduled or canceled.

Two Boots was a previous sponsor for several years.

The ongoing efforts to shutter unlicensed weed shops

Local law enforcement (under the New York City Sheriff's Joint Compliance Task Force) continues to crack down on unlicensed weed/smoke shops. 

For example, this past Thursday, authorities closed Smoke City Exotics at 166 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...

...as well as the oft-busted storefront at 24 Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street...

On May 7, Mayor Adams announced the launch of Operation Padlock to Protect "to hold illegal smoke and cannabis shops accountable." 

After the first week, City Hall said that they had closed and sealed 75 shops and issued nearly $6 million in penalties. (And in the first month, the closure tally passed the 300-store mark.) 

In the past, some businesses were back in operation a day or two later, or they used evasive tactics such as removing the signage and only opening late at night when ownership figured they were safe from raids. 

The Task Force closed Hi Society at 97 Second Ave. between Fifth Street and Sixth Street on May 22. The shop, which had a velvet rope and doorman, was open the next day. The Task Force returned, and the shop has been shuttered ever since, with seven "seized" posters on the storefront.

Over the weekend, Colin Moynihan did a deep dive for the Times on the concern over the proliferation of unlicensed stores on the Lower East Side. The story includes local residents who "created a spreadsheet listing the locations of nearly three dozen unlicensed sellers, which they said they distributed to government officials, hoping to prompt enforcement." 

Some background from the article, which you can access here: 

Nearly 3,000 unlicensed cannabis stores are estimated to have opened across New York City since 2021, when a state bill was passed legalizing recreational marijuana and allowing for the distribution of retail cannabis licenses. There are 132 licensed adult-use dispensaries across the state, according to the Office of Cannabis Management, with 62 in the city. 

... and... 

... the rollout of the licensed shops has stumbled, tripped up by lawsuits, bureaucratic delays and a lack of financial assistance for retailers. At one point, policymakers promised to provide turnkey storefronts for new business owners. Those promises never came through. 

The article quotes Jeffrey Hoffman, a cannabis lawyer and legalization advocate who supports closing the unlicensed shops. Given their numbers and the clandestine actions of some of the operators, he predicted it would take months or longer to shut down all the unlicensed shops.

Meanwhile, what will happen to all the storefronts that landlords previously leased to illegal cannabis businesses? 

-----

Credit:

Photos 1 & 3 — Salim

Photo 2 — Steven

Photos 4 & 5 — EVG

The 3rd annual LUNGS Theater Festival takes place this weekend

The third annual LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) Theater Festival is this weekend at the 6th Street and Avenue B Garden. 

The free performances are scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. (Note: The program is the same each day.) For a detailed preview, visit the LUNGS website here. 

Joseph Papp began the outdoor theater tradition on the Lower East Side in 1956 when he introduced "Shakespeare in the Park" in the (now-demolished) East River Park Amphitheater. 

In 2022, LUNGS continued this part of his legacy with the free Summer Theater Festival.

40 years gone! Revisiting a classic New York magazine cover story from 1984

If you had a copy of New York magazine this week in 1984, you likely read Craig Unger's cover story, "The Lower East Side: There Goes the Neighborhood." 

Generations have said, "There goes the neighborhood," or various variations, like "The East Village is dead," and even more specifically, as Ada Calhoun has documented, "St. Marks is dead."

I first mentioned this piece on June 6, 2008, roughly seven months into EVG's existence. (It was the first EVG post that attracted much attention outside some amazing die-hards.) 

The copy below is from the 2008 EVG post. You can read the full article via Curbed here.

----

The piece begins in the early 1980s with the rotting hulk of the Christodora House on Avenue B at Ninth Street and the young man eager to own it, Harry Skydell. 

Skydell's enthusiasm was indeed mysterious. The sixteen-story building he wanted to buy, on Avenue B facing Tompkins Square Park, was surrounded by burned-out buildings that crawled with pushers and junkies. It was boarded up, ripped out, and flooded...Early in the seventies, the city had put up the Christodora up for auction and nobody bid. 

The building was eventually sold in 1975 for $62,500. (Last I saw, two-bedroom units there—roughly 1,100 square feet—averaged $1.6 million or so.) 

The article discusses the influx of chain stores, art galleries and "chic cafes."

"And real-estate values are exploding" as a result. Said one longtime resident on the changes: "I've lived in my rent-controlled apartment for years and pay $115 a month. I live on the Lower East Side. The young kids who just moved in upstairs and pay $700 a month for the same space — they live in the East Village."

----

Here are a few images/pages from the cover story... the photo below is on 10th Street, steps west of Avenue B... 

Mount Sinai submits updated plan to close Beth Israel on July 12

According to published reports, Mount Sinai sent the New York State Department of Health a new plan to close Beth Israel, sticking to the previous timeline to shutter the 799-bed teaching hospital on First Avenue at 16th Street on July 12. 

Mount Sinai Health System CEO Brendan Carr said, per a letter dated May 17, that the health system will open an urgent care center at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary compound (also once on the chopping block) on 14th Street and Second Avenue to lessen the impact of the closure, as Politico reported. 

The facility would provide a broader range of services, including x-rays, ultrasounds, and CT scans, than a typical urgent care center, like the two on 14th Street at or near Third Avenue.

"In looking at the current patients using the 16th Street emergency department, I believe that this expanded urgent care will address many of the concerns and needs of current patients," Carr wrote in the letter.

The latest plan also promises to help Bellevue Medical Center expand its existing emergency department to absorb and care for at least some of the patients displaced by a Beth Israel shutdown.

In December, the Department of Health ordered Mount Sinai to immediately stop the Beth Israel closure.

Despite the updated closing plan, 16 local elected officials voiced their opposition in a signed joint letter released yesterday...

Our coalition remains steadfast in the fight to keep healthcare services available at Mt. Sinai Beth Israel. This hospital is vital to our community’s wellbeing. We urge the State Department of Health to return the application that has a closure set for July of this year. pic.twitter.com/BYbBg9E7s7

— Carlina Rivera (@CarlinaRivera) May 28, 2024

"Our offices have received notice that the Mount Sinai Health System has resubmitted their application to close Beth Israel Hospital on July 12 of this year. This elimination of services on a hasty timeline without adequate community engagement remains unacceptable, and we urge the Department of Health to return this application. Mount Sinai must engage in a robust and collaborative process to fulfill its obligations to the community in ensuring access to high-quality health care is protected in lower Manhattan." 

The Save Beth Israel and New York Eye & Ear Campaign also has concerns about the revised plan. Their letter can be found here.

The Times recently reported that patient care is suffering at Beth Israel, where cuts have meant the hospital can't care for critically ill new arrivals. 

Mount Sinai officials say Beth Israel lost $1 billion in the last decade, and only $29 million remains in cash reserves.

Beth Israel was founded 143 years ago on the Lower East Side, moving to its current location in 1929.

At the annual Loisaida Festival

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Yesterday, the 37th edition of the Loisaida Festival unfolded under sunny blue skies, as attendees celebrated the rich heritage of the Lower East Side during this annual Memorial Day weekend event. 

This year's theme was "A Cultural Mosaic." 

Here are a few scenes from along Avenue C/Loisaida Avenue, where festival-goers enjoyed live music (we saw Pinc Louds!), theater, food, a dancing F train and much more...

Days of wine and Rosé

Photos by Stacie Joy 

On a recent early Friday evening, Brix Wine Shop held its annual Rosé Gala ... this year in the courtyard at the Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on Ninth Street and Avenue B. (Brix previously held the event at La Plaza Cultural down the block). 

It was a pleasant evening with many familiar East Village friends and neighbors, including Brix owner Beatriz Gutierrez and Pastor Will with his husband Steven ... and several bottles of rosé.