Opening the Edge: A new green space for residents along Avenue D

Photos by Stacie Joy 

A new community space is now open outside the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D at Third Street ... the result of a long, resident-led effort to bring life to a patch of lawn that had sat fenced off and unused for years. 

Last week, neighbors, NYCHA residents and the Design Trust for Public Space gathered for a ribbon-cutting for Opening the Edge, a project first proposed more than a decade ago by artist Jane Greengold.

She said she was inspired to pursue this project after seeing fences around the green spaces at NYCHA housing, and then residents bringing their own chairs to sit on the sidewalks outside these areas.

Since 2014, residents and local partners have held community meetings, workshops and walk-throughs to imagine what this space could be and how it should function. 

The finished design, created in collaboration with Davies Toews Architecture, The PARC Foundation and NYCHA, includes new benches, tables, lighting, and a small raised platform for performances. 

Paths now run through the site, and the biggest change of all: the fence is gone.

You can read more about the history of the project here.

Housing lottery underway at 644 E. 14th St.

Photos from Saturday 

A housing lottery is now open for 60 mixed-income apartments at The East (aka "The Beast of the East"), the 24-story residential building at 644 E. 14th St. and Avenue C. 

The building offers 197 studio to two-bedroom units and amenities like a roof deck, co-working space, and fitness center. 

Eligible New Yorkers earning 70% to 130% of the area median income can apply for the affordable units, with rents starting at $1,777 per month for studios and up to $4,315 for two-bedroom apartments. Find the details here. Qualifying New Yorkers can apply for the apartments until Dec. 16.  

The East, developed by Madison Realty Capital, was constructed through the 421-a Tax Incentive Program of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Preference for 25% of the units is given to NYCHA residents. 

Madison Square Realty is the third owner of the previously long-empty lot since 2009. Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020. Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 from Brooklyn's Rabsky Group for $23 million. 

Plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building had already been approved, though no affordable units were attached to that version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing. Plans for the larger development were first unveiled in June 2022. 

No updates on the neighbor west of The East

Meanwhile, the full demolition order for the building next door, 642 E. 14th St., remains on hold, dated from July 18, 2024, as per DOB records. 

The lawyers for 642's landlord, reportedly Second Avenue Deli owner Jeremy Lebewohl, told the Times last November that the costs to make necessary repairs exceed the building's value. 

For their part, 644's developer, MRC, cast blame next door, telling the Times that "the landlord had neglected the property and did not support Madison's efforts to make the building structurally sound." 

As for the tenants at 642 who had rent-stabilized apartments, the Cooper Square Committee worked with MRC to find units in its portfolio of East Village properties. 

One of the former 642 tenants told EVG earlier this year that they were initially given temporary lease agreements for four months, commencing at the end of February 2024, with the actual leaseholds set to begin on July 1, 2024. 

As far as the 642 tenant knew, none of the former residents had been offered any of 644's 197 units. 

As we reported here, Madison Realty Capital is now in foreclosure on Raphael Toledano's one-time 17-building portfolio.

The single-level R&S Strauss auto parts store closed on this lot in 2009. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Displaced 14th Street tenants seek support after city orders them to vacate their building

Reports: Early morning shooting injures 3 outside Lillian Wald Houses

The NYPD is investigating an early-morning shooting outside NYCHA's Lillian Wald Houses on Sixth Street near Avenue D. 

Police and media reports say three men standing outside the complex were hit when someone opened fire around 3:30 a.m.

EMTs took the victims — ages 35, 37 and 41 — to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where they are expected to recover.

Police have not released a full description of the gunman. Tips can be shared confidentially with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or online. 

Find coverage at: 

• The Post

• CBS 2

• NBC 4

• ABC 7

• PIX11 

• The Daily News

Screengrab via ABC 7/YouTube

On Tuesday, a District 2 City Council Candidates Forum on housing

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Three local organizations, Cooper Square Committee, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), and This Land is Ours CLT, are co-sponsoring a District 2 City Council Candidates Forum. 

Per organizers: Find out where the candidates stand on housing issues, including rent-stabilized housing, NYCHA housing, and homelessness. Candidates will also discuss the need for more funding to preserve and develop deeply affordable housing as well as housing counseling and legal services to protect tenants' rights.

The forum is from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. Please RSVP here.

The NYC primary voting day is June 24 ... with early voting beginning on June 14. 

Questions? Visit the NYC Board of Elections website.

Report: Residents of the Jacob Riis Houses will vote on their funding future

EVG file photo

Interesting story about the future funding of the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D. 

City Limits has the story: 

NYCHA announced on Feb. 11 that residents at the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village will head to the polls and decide on which funding model they feel can make for the best investment moving forward. But there's a twist. 

Unlike other developments where NYCHA has held votes in recent years, residents at the Jacob Riis Houses will choose between only two options: the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program and remaining in Section 9, the current federal program it’s funded under. The decision comes after TA leadership at the Jacob Riis Houses requested putting PACT as an option on the table to get repairs done, according to NYCHA. 

Residents can vote starting on Thursday. 

Jacob Riis Houses I and II have 1,769 units in total. The complex has "a combined capital repair need of $940 million," per City Limit. 

The Jacob Riis Houses were in the headlines in 2022 over news of arsenic in the water. Mayor Adams later said the positive test was a false alarm resulting from a lab error by a private testing company.

EVG Etc.: Long live St Mark's Place; this is radio Clash

Sky view from 2nd and A 

Local stories of interest from other sources this past week include... 

• 100 immigrants arrested in week 1 of ICE raids (The City) 

• At St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, rallying against the new federal directive that strips longstanding protections from immigrant New Yorkers (amNY)

• AG James says NY hospitals — including NYU Langone Health and the Mount Sinai Hospital System — must continue offering gender-affirming care to minors (The Associated Press ... City & State ... CBS News) 

• Cooper Union wins legal fight over the Chrysler Building (Gothamist) 

• NYCHA residents can apply for grants to fund resident-led community projects that promote a healthy environment (City Limits)

• Mayor Adams does not feel the need, the need for speed for NYC bike lanes (Streetsblog)

• Various folks — Lucy Sante, Tish and Snooky, Danny Orlin, Ada Calhoun, Jason Diamond, Barbara Sibley, (and EVG!) — talk about the past and present of St. Mark's Place (Punch)

• Opening Saturday at the Hole on the Bowery: tinyvices archive 20th-anniversary exhibition (Official site) 

• Thoughts on "Discrimi-NATION: Guerrilla Girls on Bias, Money, and Art," the mini-retrospective of posters by the Guerrilla Girls currently at Hannah Traore Gallery on Orchard Street (Hyperallergic) 

• Tickets remain for the David Lynch series at Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue at 12th Street (Offical site) 

• Checking out the Tex-Mex at Wayne & Sons on Second Avenue (Eater ... previously on EVG) 

• Inside Bar Kabawa, a Caribbean spot in Extra Place via team Momofuku (Robb Report ... previously on EVG)

Today (Feb. 7!) is the annual International Clash Day 2025 on KEXP. Stream it online here.

EVG Etc.: Election Day the day after

Sunrise from 3rd and A today

• Where Donald Trump's policies are likely to affect New Yorkers (Gothamist)

• How Trump's mass deportations and tariffs would impact NYC's economy (The City) 

• Mayor Adams vows to fight for rights of New Yorkers after Trump election victory (ABC 7) 

• Adams was way off the political radar last night (Politico) 

• How your NYC neighbors voted in the election (The City) 

• NYC voters approve most local ballot measures (CBS News) ... Voters approved four of the mayor's five ballot proposals in a blow to City Council (Politico) 

• NYCHA tenants, including at the Riis Houses on Avenue D, sue the city, saying the agency does not disclose hazards such as lead and rats (Gothamist) 

• Village Preservation study finds high housing growth policies like "City of Yes" tend to make neighborhoods more white (PDF here)

• ICYMI: SNL spoofs EV resident and Assembly Member Harvey Epstein (City & State ... NBC)

• A curbside dining farewell tour (The New Yorker) 

• Book Club Bar turns 5 on Saturday (Official site... previously on EVG) 

• How Frank Kabatas, the owner of East Village Pizza, spends his Sundays (The New York Times)

• East Village well-represented in the best-coffee-in-NYC listicle (Eater) 

• A listicle of the East Village's best restaurants (The Infatuation) 

• Elbow Bread now open on Canal and Division (The Infatuation)

• The Berlin-founded Cabin Gallery debuts on Henry Street (artnet) 

• An Insomnia film series includes "Taxi Driver" and "Fight Club" (Metrograph)

The 24-floor building rising on 14th and C appears to be one-third of the way home

The new 24-floor residential building on the SW corner of 14th Street and Avenue C is rising quickly, and workers appear to be already on the eighth floor.

The 234-foot-tall building, going as 14+C, will include 197 residential units, "a state-of-the-art fitness room," a yoga studio, and a rooftop deck. Information about the number of "affordable" units included in 14+C, one of the stipulations for being allowed to build a more extensive (by nine floors) building, has not been made public. 

Madison Square Realty is the third owner of the long-empty lot (since 2009) in the past eight years. Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020. Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 from Brooklyn's Rabsky Group for $23 million. 

Plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building had already been approved, though no affordable units were attached to that version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing. Plans for the larger development were first unveiled in June 2022. 

The plywood rendering lists a February 2026 completion date. 

The status of 642 E. 14th St. next door seems to be in limbo. In July, the owner of No. 642 filed plans to demolish the currently vacant pre-war building. According to Crain's New York, Jeremy Lebewohl, owner of the Second Avenue Deli, filed the paperwork with the Department of Buildings (DOB) on July 10. 

Last November, as we first reported, No. 642's residents — many in rent-stabilized units — were abruptly vacated after excavation next door destabilized the building. 

According to the Department of Buildings, "Structural stability of building compromised due to construction operations at 644 E. 14th Street. Heavy cracks in the exterior and interior in addition to separation noted at door frames and floor from wall..." 

Lebewohl's attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told Crain's that "multiple engineers have now said the building is dangerous and needs to be torn down entirely." 

According to a spokesperson in July, the DOB was reviewing the application but had yet to issue an emergency demolition order for the property, per Crain's. 

As of Friday, the request for a demolition permit remained "on hold," per DOB records. 

EVG Etc.: Broken mailboxes at the Riis Houses; Erewhon-like smoothies at East Village Organic

Reader-submitted photo from along 7th Street 

• NYCHA mailboxes vandalized and broken for months at the Jacob Riis Houses on Avenue D without fixes (PIX11) 

• ICYMI: Cancer-causing chemicals still lurk under the Jacob Riis Houses 19 years after detection (The City)

• A last-ditch effort to stop Beth Israel closure (Gothamist)

• Mayor Adams on his low-profile DNC trip (City & State) 

• State greenlights NYC evicting more migrant families from shelters (The City) 

• The Sun Shy Spa on Sixth Street near Second Avenue accused of being a brothel (The Post) 

• East Village Organic on First Avenue is selling a similar "Coconut Cloud Smoothie" as those from Erewhon Market, the L.A.-based grocery chain (Gothamist) 

• How those Olympic muffins made their way to the East Village (Gothamist... previously on EVG) 

• About Odre, a new Korean restaurant from Hand Hospitality at 199 Second Ave. near 13th Street (Eater) 

• Props for Bungalow, the newish Indian restaurant at 24 First Ave. (The New York Times ... previously on EVG) 

• Writers, poets, musicians, et al, wanted for the open mic Saturday from 2-5 p.m. at 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden (Instagram link) 

• "Good One" is one of the best movies of the year — EVG ... Saturday's 7:30 p.m. screening includes a post Q&A with director India Donaldson (Village East by Angelika, 12th and 2nd)

 

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The new 24-story residential building on 14th and C begins its ascent

Construction is ascending on 642 E. 14th St., the new 24-story building along the eastern border of the East Village at Avenue C. 

The structure now stands several floors above the corner plywood...

The 234-foot-tall building, going as 14+C, will include 197 residential units, "a state-of-the-art fitness room," a yoga studio, and a rooftop deck. Information about the number of "affordable" units included in 14+C, one of the stipulations for being allowed to build a larger (by nine floors) building, has not been made public. 

Madison Square Realty is the third owner of the long-empty lot (since 2009) in the past eight years. Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020. Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 from Brooklyn's Rabsky Group for $23 million. 

Plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building had already been approved, though no affordable units were attached to that version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing. Plans for the larger development were first unveiled in June 2022. 

The plywood rendering lists a February 2026 completion date.

Meanwhile, there is no word on the status of 642 E. 14th St. next door. The new development extends to the third floor of the five-story tenement. 

Last month, the owner of 642 E. 14th St. filed plans to demolish the currently vacant pre-war building.

Per Crain's New York, Jeremy Lebewohl, owner of the Second Avenue Deli, filed the paperwork with the Department of Buildings (DOB) on July 10. 

Last November, as we first reported, 642's residents — many of them in rent-stabilized units — were abruptly vacated after ongoing excavation next door destabilized the building. 

According to the Department of Buildings at the time, "Structural stability of building compromised due to construction operations taking place at 644 E. 14th Street. Heavy cracks in the exterior and interior in addition to separation noted at door frames and floor from wall..." 

Lebewohl's attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told Crain's that "multiple engineers have now said the building is dangerous and needs to be torn down entirely." 

According to a spokesperson last month, the DOB was reviewing the application but had not issued an emergency demolition order for the property, per Crain's. 

As of yesterday, the request for a demolition permit was "on hold," per DOB records. 

The rendering, which does not seem to scale with the surrounding structures, shows No. 642 still in place...

A look at the ongoing renovations at First Houses

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

We've fielded several queries about the extensive renovations at the city-owned First Houses on Avenue A between Second Street and Third Street, both in the residences and above the strip of retail spaces.

For starters, a little history of the eight four-story and five-story buildings with the residential entrances on the south side of Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. First Houses was the first publicly funded low-income housing project in the U.S., opening in December 1935 under the auspices of the just-created New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). 

Per Village Preservation: 

First Houses was originally planned to house 120 to 122 families, and all apartments had steam heat, hot water and were equipped with the modern amenities typically found in middle-class housing. Within two months of opening a rental office for the project, the Housing Authority received between 3,000 and 4,000 applications. Prospective tenants were carefully selected by a team of social workers, with preference given to the inhabitants of the worst slums and relatively small families. All but one of the families chosen were residents of the Lower East Side. 

First Houses became a NYC Landmark in 1974. 

In recent decades, the buildings have shown their age, revealing ongoing bureaucracy issues plaguing the NYCHA.

In 2011, City Limits documented many of the residents' issues here. There were stories of mice eating their way through the worn floorboards and a resident battling the NYCHA for 15 years over a persistent leak. 

Fast forward to the start of the renovations last year. According to an architect working on the $24.8-million roofing replacement and exterior restoration:

[The] project is for restorative work throughout all of the facades of buildings within the complex, including rebuilding brick parapets in kind, repointing masonry and replacing brickwork, precast coping stones and metal lintels. 

Entrance porticos will be temporarily removed to allow for the replacement or restoration of green-painted cast iron columns and railings. Work on porticos includes the replacement of portico copper roofs, copper cornices, new concrete entrance stairs, landings, and footings, and replacement of nearby concrete or asphalt pavers pathways. Roofs of all buildings will be replaced with new liquid-applied roofing membrane over new insulation. 

In addition, the construction site manager told us: "We are replacing the roof and doing masonry restoration. We've also started on the interior work, which includes drywalling and lead and asbestos removal." 

Here's a look around the complex earlier this summer...

As you may have noticed, many tenants have moved out, including the local folk hero known as The Chillmaster, known for blasting classic R&B from his open window (year-round).

Local Assemblymember Harvey Epstein told us that tenants were temporarily relocated to other complexes, including the Jacob Riis Houses and the Wald Houses, and some public housing further away from the Lower East Side. 

Epstein said that all tenants can return to the First Houses upon completion of the work, set for 2025, per the posted signage.

A visit to Groove Garden, a community music studio on Avenue C

Photos and story by Stacie Joy 

You can't miss the brightly painted, all-green slender storefront at 89 Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. 

I paused to admire the façade before heading inside to talk to musician and songwriter Rob Taube, owner of community music studio Groove Garden.

He's surrounded by kids, all participating in the Song Camp program. Some are tucked into the sound booth, a couple at the drum kits, and even more crowded around a mic. 

It's a hot, swampy summer day, but the energy in the small space is contagious. I took a few photos and waited until the recording session ended before chatting with Rob about what brought him to this location, his passion for music, and why he loves the neighborhood.

On his start as a music teacher: 

Somewhere in the 2010s, I decided to take on a few music students and produce some recordings to help make ends meet. I had no idea what the resulting influx would be, and soon, I had more students and musical clients than I could handle in our tiny apartment, which was now constantly overflowing with players and singers. 

On finding a home for Groove Garden: 

Funds were tight, but the NYCHA rental guy guided me to this small space tucked between two brick buildings on Avenue C. It was naturally soundproofed due to the bricks, and it had an old closet space in the back with some odd pieces of wood and junk in it, which I immediately saw as a potential sound booth. It was kind of an "if you build it, they will come" moment. 

And over the last seven years, they have come to take music lessons, write and record songs, rap, and jam — so much so that it's hard to keep up. I'm not here 24/7, but I am more like 12/7, teaching them, recording them, and performing with them live and on their tracks. 

On spreading the word about his business: 

100% of my business comes from word-of-mouth or from people who walk by and say, "What is this place?" So often, they are creative artists who need a place to create, and the fact that I'm right here in a storefront makes the whole process so accessible they actually can wind up with their stuff out there in the world when otherwise it would have died in the vine as they went about their lives. 

On being in this neighborhood:

For me, this could only happen in the East Village, where there is such a crazy quilt of businesses and characters that someone like me, who has lived as an outsider, can thrive.

Even when I lived elsewhere, I loved this neighborhood for its eccentric characters, and now I'm one of them — how amazing is that?

 

You can hear some of the finished products from the studio at this link... and this link.

Visit the Groove Garden website here.

Report: East Village building owner plans demolition amid ongoing controversy and litigation

The owner of 642 E. 14th St. has filed plans to demolish the currently vacant five-story pre-war building next to the construction site on Avenue C, according to media reports and public records.

As Crain's New York first reported, Jeremy Lebewohl, owner of the Second Avenue Deli, filed the paperwork with the Department of Buildings (DOB) last Wednesday.

On Nov. 28, as we first reported, 642's residents — many of them in rent-stabilized units — were abruptly vacated after ongoing excavation on a Madison Reality Capital-owned 24-story development next door on the SW corner of Avenue C destabilized building. 

From the Department of Buildings at the time: "Structural stability of building compromised due to construction operations taking place at 644 E. 14th Street. Heavy cracks in the exterior and interior in addition to separation noted at door frames and floor from wall..."

 

Lebewohl's attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told Crain's that "multiple engineers have now said the building is dangerous and needs to be torn down entirely."

According to a spokesperson, the DOB is reviewing the application but has not issued an emergency demolition order for the property, per Crain's.

With the help of Mobilization for Justice and Take Root Justice, several tenants filed an HP Action against Lebewohl and had their first court appearance on Feb. 9. They allege that Lebewohl, who has owned No. 642 since 1984, was aware of the building's structural issues but never took any action to make repairs. 

Paul Messick, an attorney for the tenants, told Crain's that the ongoing litigation should prevent the demolition from taking place. Lebewohl's attorney disputed this claim, saying that the structure was damaged beyond repair.

Meanwhile, next door at the construction site, the work that was temporarily halted in late November and limited to shoring up 642's foundation has been picking up pace in recent months. The first sight of concrete reinforcing bars is (barely) visible above the plywood.

Madison Square Realty is the third owner of the long-empty lot (since 2009) in the past eight years. Madison Realty Capital paid Opal Holdings $31.3 million for the property in May 2020. Opal Holdings bought the parcel in June 2016 from Brooklyn's Rabsky Group for $23 million. Plans for the latest development were first unveiled in June 2022. 

The 24-story, 234-foot-tall building will be known as 14+C and include 197 residential units. There is no word on how many "affordable" units will be included in 14+C, one of the stipulations for being allowed to build a larger (by nine floors) building. (The Rendering below is via Fischer + Makooi Architects.)

There were already approved plans for a 15-floor mixed-use building, though no affordable units were attached to that version. As revealed in the spring of 2021, several developers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby the city for NYCHA air rights to make this a larger structure with more housing. 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Residents ordered to vacate after excavation next door destabilized this 14th Street building 

• Displaced 14th Street tenants seek support after city orders them to vacate their building 

• Crowdfunding help for the residents displaced by Madison Reality Capital construction on 14th Street

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)

EVG Etc.: Report: NYCHA mishandled Riis Houses arsenic crisis; Beth Israel patient care lagging

Morning view of Astor Place

• Watchdog report: The NYCHA bungled its response to concerns about the water at the Jacob Riis Houses two years ago (Gothamist) ... NYCHA failures led to panic over nonexistent arsenic (The City) 

• 19-year-old Riis House resident on Avenue D arrested for alleged role in killing 16-year-old Mahki Brown in Soho (The Post)

• With Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital winding down to close, patient care suffers (The New York Times)

• Human service professionals discuss what's needed to reduce homelessness in NYC (NY1) 

• Harvey Epstein to run for City Council District 2, currently represented by the term-limited Carlina Rivera (City & State)

• E-bike shops are blowing off the city ban on unsafe batteries (The City) 

• Police arrest man who has allegedly been menacing neighbors for years along Avenue C (The Post) 

• The red-tailed chicks are GROWING in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography) 

 • Lower East Side History Month continues (Official site)

• Pastrogi: When you merge Katz's Deli pastrami and Veselka pierogi (1010 WINS)

• New single by Scottish alt-rock band Travis pays tribute to the now-closed Black & White on 10th Street (Billboard ... previously on EVG)

• A feature on East Village Pizza at 145 First Ave. (NBC 4) 

• Sietsema checks out the boba pancakes and Japanese souffles at Little Uluh on 14th Street (Eater) 

• Revisiting the sincere glamour of Candy Darling (Document Journal) 

• Out of the shadows! See "The Third Man" on the big screen on Monday (Village East by Angelika) 

• And a month-long trip back to the 1980s started yesterday at the Film Forum on West Houston (details)

 

EVG Etc.: NYPD arrests 56 in clearing NYU and New School protest encampments; Knickerbocker Village sells for $85 million

Sky view from St. Mark's Place 

• The NYPD clears protestors at NYU and The New School; 56 arrested (NBC News ... ABC News ... ABC 7 ... The Guardian) 

• Mayor Adams and top NYPD officials continued to blame "outside agitators" for the campus protests (The City) 

• The number of homeless New Yorkers moving into city public housing under the Adams administration has dropped to the lowest number in a decade (Gothamist) 

• Multiple NYCHA buildings going under renovation, part of the agency's PACT/RAD program, which converts Section 9 public housing into Section 8 housing operated by private landlords (Arch Paper)

• L+M buys Knickerbocker Village for $85 million (The Real Deal) 

• Assemblymember Harvey Epstein unveils pilot program legalizing basement apartments (NY1) 

• Cafe Mogador on St. Mark's Place — same as it ever was (Grub Street) 

• A new book celebrates Lee Quiñones, subway graffiti pioneer (Vanity Fair) 

• "NYC 2000-2005" at WHAMM! on Elizabeth Street features the photos of Alain Levitt (PAPER) 

• What your NYC tourist recommendations really say about you (McSweeney's) 

• Eva's Kitchen, an all-day cafe, debuts on Grand Street (The Lo-Down) 

• A collection of rarely seen work by Marguerite Duras (Anthology Film Archives) 

• Classics coming to Village East by Angelika on Second Avenue and 12th Street include "The Third Man" and "Metropolis" (Official site) 

• The new shop on Canal called Fugazi has nothing to do with the band (Brooklyn Vegan) 

• Diversions: About the new reality fashion series featuring (former EV resident) Julia Fox (Variety)