Showing posts sorted by date for query fire. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query fire. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Week in Grieview

Posts that past week included (with an EVG photo outside McSorley's the other evening)...

• RIP Steven Englander (Monday

• The wild project is fundraising to purchase its home on 3rd Street (Wednesday)

• Housing lottery is underway for 21 apartments in the East Village (Tuesday

• A few thoughts on SantaCon 2024 (Monday

• A sidewalk bridge for the fire-damaged 328 E. 9th St. (Wednesday

• About Night Club 101, taking over the former Baker Falls and Pyramid space on Avenue A (Monday

• Book-Off will bring its discounted goods to Astor Place (Wednesday

• Openings: Sushi Counter on 12th Street (Wednesday) ... Pasta Rullo on 9th Street (Monday

• 50-64 3rd Ave. is going, going... (Monday

• Cookie Puss alert! The Cinnabon/Carvel carb-heaven combo coming to 14th Street

• 'The Jonathan Larson Project' is up next at the Orpheum Theatre (Friday) ... 'The Big Gay Jamboree' packs it in early (Tuesday)

• Signage alert: Compton's Sandwich Shop on 1st Avenue (Monday

• The retail space — the former Sidewalk Cafe — at 94-96 Avenue A is for lease (Tuesday

• Danny & Coop's slinging Philly cheesesteaks from 151 Avenue A this weekend (Saturday)

• EVG turns 17 (Friday)

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

A sidewalk bridge for the fire-damaged 328 E. 9th St.

Photo by Steven 

Workers erected a sidewalk bridge yesterday outside the fire-damaged 328 E. Ninth St. 

A fire broke out on the fourth floor this past Saturday. It was a dramatic moment on a busy holiday afternoon as flames shot out of a front-facing window on the block between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

There were no reports of injuries. While the cause has been speculated, we haven't heard anything official from the FDNY. 

Several of the residential units are currently uninhabitable. At street level, the two retail shops — an.mé and Pillow-Cat Books — were largely unscathed and have since reopened.

Unfortunately, the same wasn't true for retail neighbor Jane Cookshop. The home goods store sustained major water damage and will be closed indefinitely. 

Fans of the business who want to support owner Jen Ro can shop online. Orders placed by 5 p.m. today will be delivered by Dec. 25. People can also pick up orders at East Village Postal, which Jen's parents own on First Avenue.

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo by Derek Berg of the mural for "A Complete Unknown" on Ludlow and Delancey)... 

• Report of a fire at 328 E. 9th St. (Saturday

• City launches community engagement campaign for '100% affordable housing' on 9th Precinct parking lot (Thursday

• St. Marks Veterinary Hospital is closing this month (Wednesday

• Scrooged: 14th Street Trader Joe's employees say their hours are being cut this holiday season (Thursday

• Strand employees reach tentative agreement, return to work pending ratification vote (Wednesday) ... Strand Books employees go on strike in bid to increase minimum-wage salaries (Monday)

• At Day 1 of the Cookie Walk (Sunday

• At the 33rd annual Tompkins Square Park Holiday tree lighting (Monday

• The curbside dining structure is coming down at Il Posto Accanto (Tuesday

• Openings: Noona's Ice Cream & Bakeshop (Wednesday

• Lower East Side cafe puts a Pause on laptops and iPads (Tuesday) • 9 Bleecker St. is for sale — and rent (Wednesday

• The former Rockwood Music Hall is for rent on the Lower East Side (Monday)

• Checking in on the former 7-Eleven on Avenue A (Monday

• This place on 1st Avenue is going to be Bananas (Tuesday)

• Signage alert: Tipsy Shanghai on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) ... Tiki Tiki on 1st Avenue (Monday

 ... and a few days later — Blowin' in the Wind...

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Report of a fire at 328 E. 9th St.

Photos by Steven 

The FDNY is responding to a fire that broke out this afternoon on the fourth floor of 328 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Witnesses reported seeing flames shooting out of a front window...
The FDNY was on it quickly...
There's no word at the moment about the extent of the fire, its cause, or any injuries. (Preliminary word is no injuries.) 

Two eyewitnesses reported that a group of SantaCon revelers made a joke at the scene ("We can keep warm by the fire") before taking a fire selfie. 

Updated 4:30 p.m.

The FDNY remains at the scene... UNOFFICIAL word is a space heater is to blame.
Updated 5 p.m. 

There doesn't appear to be much damage to the retail spaces here... waiting to hear more from the owners tomorrow... 
Updated: Unfortunately, there is significant water damage to Jane Cookshop, and the busiess will be closed for the foreseeable future (their online shop is open) ... an.mé and Pillow Cat Books had some clean up but are OK, per their Instagram accounts...

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

The day before it was to rain all day

There is/was a strange energy in NYC today — a buzziness before tomorrow’s all-day rain. It feels a bit like the anticipation before a snow day — like work and school will be canceled. 

And we need the rain. Per Bloomberg
The dry fall of 2024 was unprecedented, with only 1.59 inches of rain recorded in Central Park in September and October. October was the driest calendar month on record in Central Park, with only 0.01 inches of rain. 
And for tonight into tomorrow evening...

Monday, November 18, 2024

On tonight's CB3 docket: New homes for B Cup Café and B-Side

Here are a few items on tonight's CB3-SLA committee meeting (there are more applicants for places below Houston). 

New Liquor License Applications 

• Corp to be formed by Drew Popkin, 29 2nd Ave (op)

For starters, this makes the Bad Hombre closure official (photo above). 

The owners of Cask on East 33rd Street and Bar Bonobo on Eighth Avenue are looking to open an Italian restaurant bar called Bambino between Second Street and Third Street. 

Find the Bambino application (PDF!) here, which includes a sample menu showing their brunch and dinner offerings. 

• B Side (Flam Able LLC), 131 Ave C (op/removal from 204 Ave B) 

After a fire at 204 Avenue B in June 2023, B-Side and the building's landlord parted ways later that fall. 

B-Side's owners want to open a new bar at 131 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street.

No. 131 has been vacant for some time. As far as we can recall, Babel Lounge & Hookah Bar was the last tenant, closing in 2017. (Babel had the storefronts at 129 and 131.) 

You can find the B-Side questionnaire at this link. B-Side debuted on B in 2003 ... with the new owners taking over in January 2021.

Items not heard at Committee
• Alison St Marks (Disfruting Two LLC), 110 St Marks Pl (wb) 

Alison St. Marks is the name of a full-service restaurant that will serve lunch, dinner, and brunch at this spot between Avenue A and First Avenue. This link has the questionnaire. 

Ownership also runs Alison on Lexington Avenue in East Harlem. 

At No. 110, David's Cafe closed without any notice to patrons over the summer after nearly nine years in service. 

Photo of No. 110 by Stacie Joy 

• G&I Food Hospitality LLC, 204 Ave B (wb) 

As previously reported, B Cup Café is moving to a renovated 204 Avenue B, located just several storefronts south of its longtime home on the SW corner of 13th Street. 

B Cup owner Guy Weizmann told us they will be expanding the café's menu and have later hours with the addition of a beer-wine license here at the former home of B-Side. 

Tonight's meeting is at 6:30. Find the Zoom link here. This is a hybrid meeting, and there is limited seating available for the public — the first 15 people who show up at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Saturday, November 9, 2024

It's not just you — the whole area smells like smoke. Here's why.

People were asking if there was a fire overnight in the East Village... No, the smoke you smell is due to wildfires in New Jersey... and probably Prospect Park...

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

B Cup Café is on the move on Avenue B

After 18 years on the SW corner of 13th Street and Avenue B, B Cup Café is moving to a new home — and just a few storefronts to the south. 

Café ownership recently announced the news in an Instagram post, citing that their landlord did not offer them a lease renewal.


They will relocate to 204 Avenue B between 12th Street and 13th Street in the months ahead. (The photo below is courtesy of EVG reader Russell.)
No. 204 underwent a gut renovation after a June 2023 fire at B-Side, the bar in the building's retail space. (B-Side and the building's landlord parted ways in the fall of 2023; B-Side hopes to reopen at 131 Avenue C.) 

B Cup owner Guy Weizmann said they will be expanding the café's menu and have later hours with the addition of a beer-wine license. 

While he'll miss the corner space, he said he was happy to relocate nearby and "tried to do the best for the community, our customers, and our staff." 

If you're on Instagram, you can follow the B Cup account for updates.

Thursday, October 24, 2024

Op-Ed: The back of our ballot in NYC


Op-Ed by Pat Arnow 

Even the most informed NYC voters might overlook key proposals tucked on the back of this year's ballot. These measures are significant, so don't forget to flip your ballot and make your voice heard. 

Here’s what's up as early voting begins on Saturday: 

Proposal 1 

VOTE YES on the State Equal Rights Amendment to the state Constitution.

Equality for all under the law seems like it would be straightforward and popular, but big money is being spent to defeat it. 

Opponents warn that "the law would undermine 'parents' rights' and allow transgender kids to participate in girls' sports teams. The nonpartisan 
New York City Bar Association 
says those claims are false," according to Gothamist.   

Proposals 2-6

VOTE NO on NYC Charter proposals. 

"Mayor Adams rushed revisions to change NYC's charter (our constitution) to give the current and future mayors more unchecked power, weaken checks-and-balances, and make it harder for city government to deliver for New Yorkers. The proposals came out of the most rushed and undemocratic charter revision process of the past 20 years and should never have been fast-tracked to our ballots." (from the Grand Street Democrats

Here's the text of Proposal 1, the ERA to the NY State Constitution: § 11. a. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in [his or her] their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law

Proposals 2-6: They sound innocuous, even beneficial, but they're destructive and a power grab by the mayor. 

Proposal 2: "This proposal would amend the City Charter to expand and clarify the Department of Sanitation's power to clean streets and other City property and require disposal of waste in containers." One of the several problems with this initiative, according to The City, is increased ticketing (harassment) of street vendors and small businesses. 

Proposal 3: "This proposal would amend the City Charter to require fiscal analysis from the Council before hearings and votes on laws, authorize fiscal analysis from the Mayor, and update budget deadlines."

According to The City, "Opponents of Prop 3 say that requiring the executive branch to submit a budget estimate before a public hearing on a bill is held will just delay lawmaking processes that already take years...Jason Otaño, general counsel for the City Council, testified at one of the Charter Revision Commission hearings that Prop 3 would give the mayor's office a 'de facto veto' of proposed legislation…"

Proposal 4: This proposal would require additional public notice and time before the City Council votes on laws respecting the public safety operations of the Police, Correction, or Fire Departments.

According to The City, "City and State reported that opponents felt that the Adams administration was pushing this proposal in direct response to two specific laws passed by City Council earlier this year: one that requires the NYPD to report on lower-level encounters with residents and another which bans solitary confinement. Adams vetoed both those laws, and the City Council then overrode him."

Proposal 5: "This proposal would amend the City Charter to require more detail in the annual assessment of City facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines." 

From No Power Grab NY: "The mayor's charter commission claimed that Proposal 5 was based on a recommendation from the city’s Comptroller (the city’s top financial executive)." 

Comptroller Brad Lander’s statement reads in part: "Requiring the Citywide Statement of Needs to include additional detail on facility condition is meaningless for capital budget planning purposes — since these are in fact the projects that the City has already decided need to be improved and to invest funds to do so…"

Proposal  6: "This proposal would amend the City Charter to establish the Chief Business Diversity Officer (CBDO), authorize the mayor to designate the office that issues film permits, and combine archive boards." 

From No Power Grab NY: "Proposition 6 is a collection of three totally unrelated items. It claims to support Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), but really only renames and largely restates the role of a mayoral office. This gives the illusion of change without additional concrete support for MWBEs." 

For more on what these proposals will do and objections to them, here are several resources and published reports cited above:

• A Guide to the Six Ballot Questions New Yorkers Will Vote on in 2024 (The City

• Why New Yorkers Should Vote 'No' on Proposals 2 Through 6 (NYCLU)

• 2024 NYC General Election Ballot Proposals (New York City Council

• VOTE NO on Props 2-6 — What You Need to Know (No Power Grab NYC, PDF)

So be sure when you vote to flip your ballot and vote on these propositions! 

------

Pat Arnow is a Lower East Side resident, park advocate and founder of East River Park Action.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a throwback on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg)... 

• Live from 1st Avenue: East Village Radio continues to bolster its programming (Monday)

• A rally to landmark the historic New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (Tuesday

• After 5-month closure due to fire, a renovated TabeTomo reopens (Monday

• At the debut of Boycott Sleep, an artist-led collective aspiring to redefine live music spaces (Friday

• Can you spot the new building going up on 14th Street and Avenue C? (Tuesday

• The beet goes on: The acclaimed Veselka doc gets a streaming and Blu-ray release date (Friday)

• Celebrating the life of Reagan Youth's Paul 'Cripple' Bakija at Niagara (Friday

• Scratch that: The random songs of the 80s and 90s return to Key Food (Wednesday

• The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade will go on — or will it? Why no one seems to know. (Tuesday) ... Here's what you need to know about the Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade (Friday

• Signage alert: L&L Hawaiian Barbeque and Tōka Chef Kitchen on Allen Street (Monday

• This week in milling and paving (Thursday

• The HEYTEA brand is opening an outpost on 2nd Avenue (Tuesday

• Openings: Cuts & Slices on Houston (Thursday

• 1 St. Mark's Place gets lit (Friday

• Closings: Dora on Avenue B (Wednesday)

• Lollo Ristorante Pizzeria & Bar has not been open lately on Avenue B (Wednesday)

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Wednesday's parting shot

Photo by Stacie Joy 

The line this evening for the grand reopening of TabeTomo at 131 Avenue A. (The line went up A and west on Ninth Street.) 

The tsukemen specialty shop had been closed since an early morning fire upstairs on April 24.

And thanks to everyone who sent in line photos tonight...

Monday, October 14, 2024

After 5-month closure due to fire, a renovated TabeTomo reopens on Wednesday

Photos by Stacie Joy

TabeTomo, the tsukemen specialty shop, will reopen on Wednesday at 131 Avenue A, ending a 5-plus-month odyssey.

The restaurant has been closed since an early morning fire upstairs on April 24. According to ABC 7, five residents sustained minor injuries while fleeing the six-floor building on the NW corner of St. Mark's Place. Firefighters blamed a recovered lithium-ion battery from a residential unit.

Owner Tomo Kubo (below) gave us a tour of the renovated space this past Thursday as his team prepped for the return ... TabeTomo needed a complete gut renovation, with workers stripping the walls down to the studs. (See this post from May 17.)
The TabeTomo staff is pleased to be back... opening-day specials include $5 bowls of Ramen.
Opening-day specials include $5 bowls of Ramen.

And here's a look at the interior after staff continued opening-day preparations...

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

On Avenue A, TabeTomo sets an Oct. 16 reopening date

Photo by Steven 

Yesterday, TabeTomo announced they would return to service next Wednesday, Oct. 16. 

The tsukemen specialty shop has been closed since an early morning fire upstairs from the restaurant at 131 Avenue A on April 24. According to ABC 7, five residents sustained minor injuries while fleeing the six-floor building on the NW corner of St. Mark's Place. Firefighters recovered a lithium-ion battery from a unit, per ABC 7.

During a tour of the gutted space on May 17, owner Tomo Kubo told EVG's Stacie Joy the space needed a complete gut renovation, with workers stripping the walls down to the studs. 

"There was no fire damage — all the damage was water," he said in May. "Between the ceiling and the second floor, there was much damage to the wood, which could warp." 

TabeTomo also announced some opening specials on Instagram...

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Monsieur Vo has closed on 2nd Avenue

Monsieur Vo has closed its doors at 104 Second Ave. on the NE corner of Sixth Street. 

Google and Yelp list the well-regarded Vietnamese restaurant as permanently closed. A since-deleted Instagram post noted the following: 
We're bittersweetly announcing that Monsieur Vo Restaurant will be closing its doors after September 21st. If you've been wanting to try our unique menu or if you've been longing for one last visit, now's your chance! 

Come celebrate with us and savor your favorite dishes one last time. Your support has meant the world to us, and we'd love to see you before we say goodbye.
We were tipped off to the closure by an EVG reader who pointed out the Marshal's notice on the front gate dated Tuesday, noting that the landlord is now in possession of the storefront...
The husband-wife duo Chef Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo opened Monsieur Vo here in September 2022. A restaurant rep told us at the time that "Monsieur Vo is the team's love letter to the Vietnamese men in their lives — including fathers, uncles, brothers — and the dishes they love to eat." 

Last fall, Monsieur Vo was one of 11 new establishments added to New York's Michelin Guide

The Second Avenue address was previously their spinoff Madame Vo BBQ, which debuted in 2018 ... though it didn't reopen after the PAUSE of March 2020. Pandemic aside, they couldn't reopen while that block was closed following the devastating fire that destroyed Middle Collegiate Church in December 2020. 

The couple still operates Madame Vo at 212 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (It's excellent if you haven't tried it yet.)

Friday, September 27, 2024

Friday's parting shot

There was a report of a fire at 50 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street late this afternoon ... the FDNY sent four trucks, and, thankfully, there didn't seem to be any sign of a fire.

Thanks to Joshua Cohen for the photo.

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included... (with a photo of the Moon and Kendall Jenner's elbow above the Bowery)... 

• Remembering Harold Meltzer (Wednesday)

• Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place (Monday

• A new East Village home for Gizmo (Thursday

• That's all for the East Village Neighbors Community Fridge on 12th Street and 1st Avenue (Tuesday

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

• Dedicating Raphael Sadonte Ward Jr. Way on the Lower East Side (Tuesday

• Why you'll be shopping at Key Food on Avenue A without hearing a random song from the 1980s (Sunday

• A second Rogue vintage clothing shop opens on the Lower East Side (Friday)

• Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street (Saturday)

• On the CB3 docket this month: a new era for Lucy's, another operator for Lamia's Fish Market (Monday
 
• Veselka reopens front counter for dining-in customers (Monday

• About the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (Saturday

• With help from some friends, The Hard Quartet pays homage to the Stones on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday

• 9th Precinct issues headphone-theft warning (Monday)

• At the annual Festival Calle 6 (Monday)

• Get well soon, Currant! (Tuesday

• Tree down on Avenue A (Wednesday

• This week in lines (Friday

• A look inside the shuttered Starbucks on Astor Place (Wednesday

• FYI: It's NYU's Welcome Weekend (Saturday

... and from our ongoing Classic Cars of Avenue C collection...

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Trash fire engulfs car on 4th Street

Reporting by Stacie Joy 

The FDNY responded to an early morning report of a sidewalk trash-bag fire on Fourth Street just west of Avenue A, which spread to a parked car.

Local Assembly Member Harvey Epstein shared these photos from around 6 a.m.
It's unclear what caused the trash fire or if someone intentionally set several stacked garbage bags ablaze.

Another EVG reader shared this photo ... after the FDNY combed through and spread out the contents of the trash bags and doused them with water... 
The car appears to be destroyed. There weren't any reports of injuries.

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Why you'll be shopping at Key Food on Avenue A without hearing a random song from the 1980s

EVG archival photo 
Reporting and videos by Stacie Joy

Shopping at Key Food has changed this past week since The Day the Music Died on Aug. 12. 

The PA system at the grocery on Avenue A and Fourth Street is out of order. 

For shoppers, you won't hear the store's playlist heavy on fringe-y late 1980s alternative hits and some other 1990s chestnuts. (I hear you, Paula Cole — and I Don't Want to Wait!

Aside from the music, the in-house intercom system is also down. So, you won't be interrupted by commands from above for Richie to pick up line 2 or calls about a delivery for the meat department.

Co-manager Dennis Acuna explained that technicians came to fix the intercom and music box (one controller unit for both systems) and found they needed to order a part for the repair. They hope the replacement part arrives soon so the system can be pumping out Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" and Stevie Nicks' "Rooms on Fire" SOON.

In the meantime, there is just deafening silence in the aisles.

   

"Imagine, you are [in the grocery] only for a little time," Acuna said. "We are here all the time — we miss it too." 

I spoke with a few staffers, some of whom were relieved the music was off temporarily, "It's kind of a relief; it's not as intense in here," said one cashier. Another employee said he missed stocking the shelves to music. 

For now, the only sounds are the moans of the Key Food ghosts, the relentless "please place the last scanned item on the scale" message at the self-checkouts, and the echoes of cases of White Claw being boosted.

 

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

'Make Me Famous,' a documentary on 1980s-era East Village-based painter Edward Brezinski, finally gets an East Village screening

After screenings in NYC and elsewhere over the past year, "Make Me Famous" is finally playing in the neighborhood where the documentary is set — the East Village.

Starting on Saturday, Village East by Angelika will screen the film three times at the theater on Second Avenue and 12th Street.

"Make Me Famous" is: 
... a madcap romp through the 1980s NYC art scene amid the colorful career of painter, Edward Brezinski, hell-bent on making it. What begins as an investigation into Brezinski's legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC’s 1980s downtown art scene resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist who captures the spirit of an iconic era. 
Director Brian Vincent and Producer Heather Spore will be at the following screenings with these special guests: 

• July 27, 5 p.m. 
Photographer Marcia Resnick, photographer Josef Astor, archival cinematographer Jim C 

• July 31, 7 p.m. Filmmaker and photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and curator and archivist Sur Rodney (Sur)

• Aug. 1, 7 p.m. Artist Peter McGough and Basquiat's first gallerist Annina Nosei 

Find ticket information here.
Brezinski and CLICK models for NY TALK Magazine, 1984, photo by Jonathan Postal
From 543 E. Sixth St.: B-Side Gallery Opening, 1984, photo by Gary Azon 

In the past year, I've been in touch with Spore and Vincent (past posts here). I asked them both to comment on the film's EV premiere. 

Heather 
Our dream was to open in the neighborhood, but when you do your own theatrical run with no help from a distributor, you have to roll with the punches. Our indie documentary has had an incredible yet unprecedented run in theaters going now for over a year.

Back in the 1980s, indie cinemas were more likely to take chances on local filmmakers, and films often had long runs. Does anybody remember "Basket Case"? First-time director Frank Henenlotter shot it locally in 1982 and ran for several years at the Waverly Cinema (now IFC). 

"Make Me Famous" has defied the odds in this current film landscape and maintained a presence in New York City for over a year. We might very well be the most successful film you have never heard of! I can't believe it took us a whole year to screen in the neighborhood we dreamed of starting at! 

The major New York press turned their backs on us because we had an unconventional run. This was surprising to us, considering this really is a love letter to the creativity that burst out of the Lower East Side in the 1980s. Although it would have been nice to be in The New York Times — we made it without them.

I feel like our journey of DIY distribution has been very apropos, considering the artists of 1980s East Village followed the same path, really. They did it themselves, and look at what they accomplished!

Brian
I am a Juilliard-trained actor who was too young to experience the 1980s scene. I discovered it through books like Cynthia Carr's "Fire in the Belly" about David Wojnarowicz. So, I looked for a story that explores this era, when young people made their own scene after being rejected by the mainstream.

In the 1980s, NYC was broke, rent was dirt cheap, and anyone could act out their bohemian fantasies — and they did by the hundreds! As actor Eric Bogosian recalls, "The premium was on who could do the most creative things."

In "Make Me Famous," thanks to the artists and gallerists who lived it, we return to "the scene of the crime," as the artists like to call it. And thanks to their fantastic video/artwork and photographs, the audience is immersed in the gritty action. Only we take an unusual path. Instead of documenting the famous artists for the millionth time, our story revolves around an obscure, mysterious, and charismatic painter from the scene, Edward Brezinski, whose career, in many ways, parallels the rise and fall of the scene. 

The doc is not intended to be a promo but rather an opportunity to experience what it was like to be a striving artist back then. It was a NYC moment that captured the world's attention, produced some of its biggest stars, and then exploded into history like a supernova. 

 And the official trailer...