RIP Tim Lomas

By Maggie Dubris 

Updated: A memorial of his life is set for May 20.

Tim Lomas, artist, musician, teacher, photographer and longtime East Village resident, died suddenly at home on Feb. 17.

In many ways, Tim was the quintessential East Villager, living in his top-floor apartment on Avenue B since the early 1980s. He had a plot in the 6th and B Garden, played at the Pyramid Club and 8BC with his band Mercury Mile, and walked his beloved Ginger in Tompkins Square Park. 

Tim’s art and ceramic work graces scores of apartments in the neighborhood, and the dinners he hosted sparked lifelong friendships, creating a tribe that spans borders and generations. 

Tim once said, “The greatest artwork you’ll ever make is the one you make with your life.” His life was truly a masterpiece. In addition to his songs, painting and ceramic work, and many collaborative creative projects, Tim was a talented teacher, serving for years as an inspiration to children at the Third Street Music School and the Ideal School.

In 2005, he traveled to Thailand to help in the tsunami relief effort, and there the seeds of his foundation, The Global Children’s Art Programme, were first sown. He went on to spend nearly every summer bringing the joy of art and creativity to underserved and traumatized children in Thailand, Greece, Turkey, and Cambodia. He worked with artists worldwide to create a network of local programs in Africa, India, and throughout Asia. 

Tim’s death sparked an outpouring of both grief and gratitude. Grief for the sudden loss of this precious spirit, and gratitude for his having touched and changed so many lives.

If you get a chance, walk by the 6th and B Garden, and look for the small plot filled with sculptures and outlined in twinkling lights. It’s one of Tim’s many contributions to the East Village that he loved.

A visit to Aliens of Brooklyn on 9th Street

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

It’s 7 p.m., and I’m meeting Joseph Angel Tijerina, the artist/owner behind the Aliens of Brooklyn clothing and accessories brand, which recently opened its first storefront at 305 E. Ninth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, as he closes up for the day. 

It’s his birthday, but he’s agreed to chat with me about the history of the pop culture brand, his Mexican heritage, his ’90s-era Taco Bell inspiration, and his love of collabs with other brands — all before heading out to celebrate.

What is the origin of Aliens of Brooklyn? How did you arrive at the name, and what was the inspiration behind the brand? 

As a child of the ’90s, I recall watching the original “Ghostbusters” movie, going to my mother and telling her that I would live in New York City one day. And she then would shoot me down with a simple “No.” I would ask why, and she would say, “It’s too far and too big.” Plus, she’d miss me too much. But in my mind, all I did was dream big. 

I would later graduate from Wade College art school in Texas, and my mom would pass away from a heart attack. That was the catalyst that led me to move to New York. I had never even been to the city, just watched movies and dreamt about it.

Aliens Of Brooklyn came alive the moment I moved to Crown Heights in 2012. The culture, the vibe, the space where an artist could complete their puzzle of whatever it was that they couldn’t convey anywhere else. All my puzzle pieces were finally connecting. I was finally healing. 

The people in Brooklyn were so vibrant, and everyone dressed however they wanted. I never knew I could come to a place where trends were ever-changing and there felt like no rules. I think this is what they meant when they said to find your tribe. And I have no idea who “they” are. 

This brand is absolutely inspired by the people I’ve met and the ones I people-watch. I did Google to see if actual aliens were living in Brooklyn, and some articles popped up about sightings. I sort of knew this name was special, and so it stuck. 

It’s something about constantly feeling like an outsider and creating a world where everyone is actually invited to the party. Being in Texas was great, but I realized being in NYC was better. I could be OK with where I came from, who I’ve become, and who I was becoming. 

And although there is so much more to me than my race and sexual orientation, I absolutely embrace that I’m a Mexican American and an LGBTQIA+ brand. It makes me brave, and it might make people struggle to be brave too. I think the thing I’m really proud of is that I’m a Mexican who owns a successful business. I’ve always wished my mom could see me at this stage of my life because of how far I’ve come. I’d like to think that she’s around working through me somehow. 

You recently opened a shop in the East Village. How has a brick-and-mortar location differed from your pop-up and Artists & Fleas vending background? 

Well, the locals are this tight-knit community who basically have welcomed my brand with open arms, which is something I’ve always needed. We don’t always have to be pushed away. We can treat each other with respect and kindness. It shows with the East Village, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think they might recognize that I’ve come with an interesting point of view. And to me, art is exactly that. In my eyes, the East Village is always a place where the artists migrate, and I find that sacred and want to honor the history already created here. 

Pop-up markets can be really hard but also fulfilling once you hit your sweet spot of being satisfied with your brand, and it’s not always about the money. I think those are big lessons that many artists struggle with because what you love may not pay the rent at first, although it can. You just have to go back to the drawing board and problem solve for a bit. 

Doing markets for almost 10 years gives you a lot of experience. I’m so happy that the customers helped the brand become so successful by buying hats and beanies at our pop-ups. But having a hit item in markets doesn’t always translate to having a hit brick-and-mortar store. I am still learning, but with a store, I get to have a fully realized concept and aesthetic. I’m enjoying every moment of it.

Your Instagram teased the inspiration for your shop décor was ’90s Taco Bell. Has that come to fruition? 

[Laughs] A picture of Taco Bell in the 1990s was actually on my vision board for the store. I was inspired by the pastel motif, so I painted those exact colors on our walls. My brand is known for neon colors and tie-dye, but it is always evolving and ever-changing. 

I love the 1980s, 1990s and Y2K era. So, Taco Bell walls one day, and then we might be inspired by Blockbuster the following week. Who knows? I just know I’m going to try to make the customers smile and laugh when they walk by. 

You have done some collabs with other brands. Do you foresee future collaborations? And what’s next for the brand?

Collaborations are so fun and a lot of work as well. But it is great working with other small businesses or artists and cross-promoting your audiences. You gain all these wonderful people who only discovered you because of that collaboration.

I for sure can see myself doing many more collabs in the future. I will always pay it forward — some of my first gigs were popping up in front of another small business boutique and selling hats outside their front window on the sidewalk. 

I want to grow the business in a way that customers can customize anything they see in the store. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” So, to me, that leaves space for all of us to make things happen. 

And there’s still so much art to be made and work to do. I can’t wait to see what happens next with the brand!

You can keep up with what’s happening with Joseph and the shop here.

Aliens of Brooklyn is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Delphine le Goff on her East Village storefront art and love of the neighborhood

Back on Oct. 1, I featured the whimsical storefront illustrations that local artist-designer Delphine le Goff created during the height of the pandemic this past spring. I followed up with her to learn more about her inspiration and feelings about the neighborhood... photos by Stacie Joy...

What initially inspired you to create illustrations East Village storefronts this past spring? 

As many of us, I became jobless. I normally work in visual merchandising and do store installs and windows so it's not something I can do from home. 

I am super bad with computers — I don't even own one! So, when I want to share window design ideas with a client, I do a little sketch. Being without my professional activity during lockdown, on a rainy day, I sketched my apartment. I posted it on social media. People reacted very well. 

So I asked my friends to send me a picture of their favorite wall. It's how it started. 

Then, I got sick of sketching interiors. So, during my long walks in the deserted streets, I took pictures of the buildings — the storefronts with the gate closed. It was sad but beautiful at the same time. I started to sketch the buildings. 

Then, when businesses started to slowly reopen, my friend Meagan from East Village Vintage Collective talked about me on an East Village Independent Merchants Association call. She told on a Zoom meeting that I will sketch the businesses in exchange of being tagged on social media and if they wanted to buy it or trade I was cool with it. It's how it started! 

It was so amazing to see that people were excited about it, liked my drawings and that made them happy! It was warmth for the heart. On both parts. 

Is there something in particular about a storefront that might catch your eye? 

First of, I love this neighborhood. It's a community here. I am a EV resident for six years now. And it's like Montmartre in Paris where I used to live. Everybody knows more than less of each other. I think it's more a sentimental thing than an esthetical thing. 

Plus, as a European, I love those brick buildings with the fire escape on the facade. (Dream comes true, I live in one of those buildings.) So, I would say, the sentimental aspect. And when you take the time to look at thise buildings, you discover that the window frames are sometimes different from one floor to another. 

I also observed more of the beauty of the buildings walking in empty streets, or making line in front of a store. We are used to be so fast all the time here. I take pictures of buildings and things I want to sketch. I became obsessed with trash cans lately. I started a series. It's called Trash in the City. Making something ugly into something pretty. I like that. 

What places and people — past or present — have inspired you? 

I don't want to sound like a cliché, but I would say family and friends. My parents did something super awesome — they are in France and I miss them. When I became jobless, I was very cautious about my expenses. I wanted and needed markers to sketch. Those art markers are expensive. There was this box of 72 for almost $200! My parents sent me money on PayPal so I could buy them. 

My brothers have been supportive too. My best friend, who has a corporate job and never stopped working, offered me markers too. It was great help! And it pushed me to draw even more! 

And my EV tribe! I would not have made it without them. We all have looked at each other during this tough time. 

Your Instagram posts are refreshingly upbeat during such a challenging time. How do you manage to stay focused on the positive? 

 

I am glad you are asking this. Well, I am a very lucky person. I see the glass half full! I am not going to lie, I had a meltdown when everything closed one by one. When all my gigs disappeared. But well, what can we do? You can be miserable, or kick your butt and carry-on! It's how I have been raised. Luck won't knock at your door. You have to find it, chase it. And try to keep it. 

I started to sketch. It kept me busy in a positive way. I had long walks. As a joke, I dressed up every day. A little provocation to people who were saying they didn't shower and wore sweat pants. I dressed up for myself. It makes me happy. And I took pictures. People loved it. So I kept doing it. It's as simple as that.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Delphine le Goff (@displaybydelphine) on May 19, 2020 at 9:28am PDT

With Frank New, my good friend in the neighborhood, we dressed up to just walk to Tompkins Square Park or East River Park. We even dressed up for Easter! I had already made my hat for the Bonnet Parade that got canceled. 

One day, I put my brain on happiness mode. And I tried to keep it this way. Call it being in the denial, but it works. I also do not own a television. I don't watch the news. I just know the big titles that I need to know to be a good citizen. That helps. I am not saying I am right, but it works for me. There always something beautiful and positive (in most things). 

An other tip to be positive: say yes to (almost) everything. Support your friends. If someone ask you to join them at a art show, a concert, a whatever, just say yes and go! Life can be beautiful and full of experiences. Look around you, contemplate life. Even watching a bird. A weird bug is cool! I have a friend who sometimes mocks me because I am too positive!

What is your favorite part of living in the East Village? 

The people. The old-school vibe. The solidarity. The spirit. The independence. The trash. The graffiti. The filth. The artists. The bars. Tompkins Square Park. My block. The East River Park. The hippies. The punks. The misfits. The fact that I run into everyone in the street to chit-chat. The bohemian spirit. The brick buildings. The fire escapes. The fact to be part of something. My neighbors. The red-tailed hawks. My nest. The feeling to be in the best neighborhood you can possibly imagine. 

I will get the zip code tattooed one day. 

If you like her whimsical work, then you can check it out in person... she'll be one of the vendors tomorrow (Saturday!) at the Avenue B flea between 10th Street and 13th Street. You can also browse her Etsy shop here.

A Visit to Stanton Street Yoga

Text and Photos by Stacie Joy

The people at Stanton Street Yoga, 196A Stanton St. between Ridge and Attorney, welcome me with hugs to what is billed as a kirtan love feast on a chilly January Friday night.

It’s my first experience with kirtan, which I’m told is a “dynamic form of chanting meditation with sacred mantras in a call-and-response rhythm to unite mind body and soul.” This is to be followed by a house-made Ayurvedic vegan dinner, which features cauliflower pakora, and is open to all levels of yogis and meditators.





I arrive early because I’m not sure what to expect. The yoga studio is kitted out with bolsters and blankets, people are drinking spiced chai made by sanctuary director of operations Mario Cornejo, and there is a candlelit space set up for the facilitators to play instruments (the harmonium, karatalas cymbals and mridanga drums) and chant.








[Mario Cornejo]

Cofounder Dhyana Masla and studio manager and senior teacher Ira Ruiz answer my questions about the studio and its community before Ruiz sits down to lead the event.

What is Stanton Street Yoga’s history, and why choose the Lower East Side for its home?

Masla: In 2011, my sister Syama and I moved to NYC to start Stanton Street Yoga. Invited by the owners of Sanctuary Guest Suites, the accommodations above Stanton Street Yoga, the vision was to create a retreat center for traveling guests — a sanctuary to come home to after a day of touring NYC where you can rest, attend yoga and meditation classes ... a real spiritual oasis.

The foundation of the studio was built upon the desire to offer the culture, lifestyle, and deep teachings of yoga that, if applied, bring about life transformation and actual happiness. We live in a society where most people approach yoga as exercise, though it’s so much more than that.

Syama and I taught every class on the schedule for the first year, before launching yoga teacher training (which happens twice per year in the studio) and gradually built the team of teachers we have now.


[Ira Ruiz]


[Yoga instructors Alexis Zaccone and Naushin Rahman]

How do you describe the community of people at Stanton Street Yoga?

Ruiz (who answered this and the rest of my questions): All-inclusive and deeply rooted in building lasting relationships, something that in NYC is hard to find as everything is always changing and people are always coming and going.

Throughout the years we were gifted with steady seekers that are invested in their own personal journey to health and healing. From their desire and commitment to find connection, we have been able to step forward into our dharma (purpose/duty) of sharing not only the physical practice of yoga, which gives us so many benefits that improve our emotional, mental and physical health, but also the deeper teachings, which offer spiritual growth and transformation.







Do you see an influx of people in search of health and wellness at the start of the new year? Do people usually stick with it, what help can you offer to encourage folks to stay, and what do you tell someone who believes they’re just too busy to try yoga?

Every new year brings a desire to complete what one wasn’t able to the year before. New Year’s resolutions bring a lot of new faces through our doors as people are perhaps reconsidering their patterns and habits that may no longer serve them.

I encourage realistic goals! Setting yourself up for success means that you meet yourself where you are, and our tribe is devoted to meeting you where you are in order to build a sustainable practice that allows you to stay committed. We believe in progress not perfection, therefore I encourage individuals to always set long-term goals, but focus more on the little things we can do each day to move forward toward the best version of ourselves.

Do you find yourself competing for people’s time and attention who could be swayed to try the increasingly popular HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and CrossFit classes as well as the plethora of fitness apps?

While there is a large group of fitness classes and offerings all over NYC, we believe each individual belongs somewhere, and your vibe attracts your tribe. At Stanton we offer more than just physical and alignment-based classes, we offer an opportunity to connect to something deeper and beyond the external.

What’s next for Stanton Street Yoga? Any expansion plans?

We are soon to inaugurate our brand-new healing and treatment space, which will be used for Ayurveda consultations, private healing sessions such as reiki, sound baths, breathwork and bodywork. We also have further teacher trainings including breathwork facilitator trainings in Florida, and 300-hour teacher trainings in India.

EVG Etc.: Dedicated bike lanes for Delancey Street; films about or involving Basquiat

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Report from NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer says that Airbnb has cost renters in New York City $616 million (The Real Deal)

Dedicated bus and bike lanes coming to Delancey (The Lo-Down)

Check out the schedule for Lower East Side History Month (Official site)

This series brings together a selection of films about or involving Basquiat (Anthology Film Archives) Also: Basquiat’s New York (Vulture) Also: Art collector sues Sotheby’s to stop sale of $30 million Basquiat painting (Daily News)

La MaMa to receive Tony Award for regional theater (Variety)

Should we be worried about the new ownership for Eisenberg's? (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Bruno Pizza on 13th Street serving pizza ice cream (New York Post)

Info on expanded ferry service along the East River (Town & Village)

Remembering the Ritz (pre-Webster Hall) on 11th Street (Off the Grid)

Back issues of Tribe magazine now available (A Gathering of Tribes)

Producer claims he was swindled out of millions by Jeff Koons and Larry Gagosian (New York Post)

Q&A with Danny Fields on "My Ramones" (Mother Jones)

Photo essay: Exploring the last dry docks in Brooklyn (Curbed)

The 10th annual Lower East Side Health and Wellness Fair & Walk-A-Thon is tomorrow... more details here.



...and returning yesterday for the fifth season...

@evgrieve COME ON pic.twitter.com/XtnQV8m0S8

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) May 3, 2018

Scenes from National School Walkout

Thousands of students across the country today took part in #NationalSchoolWalkout, a growing movement to protest gun violence in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

In a show of solidarity, students at several East Village schools took part at 10 a.m., walking out of the classroom for 17 minutes — one minute for each person murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one month ago today.

EVG reader Christine Champagne shared the above photo from Avenue A, where she spotted students from East Village Community School.

Per Christine:

Some of [the students] were stationed on chairs at various points along the route, holding signs with photos of the people who were killed in the Parkland shooting. I spoke with a teacher and told her how moved I was, and she told me it was all the kids. They wanted to do this, and they organized it.

Here are a few other images from the neighborhood this morning via Instagram ...

A post shared by Brian C Veith (@briancveith) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:54am PDT

500 students and teachers of my middle school alma mater Grace Church School linked hands and did a walk out. I’m so moved and proud of kids all over the country and their allies taking a stand! #GunControlNow #nationalschoolwalkoutday #EnoughisEnough #marchforourlives

A post shared by Julie Sharbutt (@jcsharbs) on Mar 14, 2018 at 11:13am PDT

12th St scene - Students of East Side Community High School walking out to protest gun violence in schools #noguns

A post shared by Academy Records NYC (@academyrecords) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:29am PDT

A post shared by JANE lafarge HAMILL (@janelafarge) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:22am PDT

Go TEENS, GO! #nationalwalkoutday ✨ 📷 courtesy of David Mack @buzzfeed

A post shared by The Women Tribe (@thewomentribe) on Mar 14, 2018 at 12:21pm PDT

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Yehuda Emmanuel Safran
Occupation: Professor of Architecture at Columbia University
Location: 7th Street and Avenue B
Date: Thursday, May 15 at 4 p.m.

I was born in Palestine, but I’m officially French. I became French in 1989. I lived 20 years in London, a few years in Paris, and 18 years in New York, in Manhattan. I lived in the West Village, up in Columbia housing, and then seven years ago a colleague who was living on the corner of 7th and C invited me to stay for a month. That convinced me. The next thing I did, I found myself a place.

I’m a professor of architecture in Columbia’s School of Architecture. I also have a magazine called Potlatch. You know what potlatch means? It’s a word used by Indians from the northwest, near Seattle, to describe a very ancient ritual of giving presents. One tribe would give a great deal of presents to another tribe. My magazine is dedicated to the gift of art and architecture.

Seven years ago I established Alphabet City as a site for my project at Columbia. The project invites the students to write the program for some type of contribution to Alphabet City. There’s one library here ... there’s only one Turkish bath. There are no sports clubs. So we have been working for the last seven years, every autumn, doing different projects. We meet at Esperanto at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C every Sunday evening at 8:30. The students decide. It’s difficult to say what the most interesting project was, because there are so many, from a boxing arena, to a kind of new type of housing, improving on the large housing down there on Avenue D, or a project to establish a swimming pool in the Park.

The East Village attracted me because it’s the least kind of consumer-oriented part of Manhattan and there are a lot of young people here and a lot of different people here. There’s a mixture. It’s more lively and more interesting, in my experience at least.

There are too many [new apartment buildings] and they are too ugly. I think the main problem is the ugliness and the inappropriate development. It’s troubling. Not enough attention is paid to the quality of the designs. It’s driven by real-estate consideration. Ultimately we cannot ignore it, but when it becomes a dominant feature, it doesn’t add anything to the quality of life here.

The problem here of course is the rent went up dramatically over these years. Landlords are very greedy and when they sniff out a chance to make more they jump at it. On the other hand, in 2008, the crisis was a good thing for Alphabet City and the East Village because until then there was a real threat of development, especially from NYU and private development. They were moving in very fast. The local people got threatened by it. They thought that the rent would become out of their reach, and they were right, except the economic crisis stopped this rush of development, which meant that I could even go to my landlady and negotiate the rent down. It came down for a couple of years, but then they picked up.

I think cheap housing is very important. It’s vital. That is a very lively problem in Alphabet City and the East Village in general, because there is a high average of low-income people. I think that is something to cultivate and not to stamp it out.

The East Village has a lot of the general kind of poverty, but poverty all the same. I feel more comfortable among poor people than among well-off people. I know many artists, writers, and so on. I live here because I’m attracted to the kind of ordinariness. This kind of ordinariness and low-key nature is very attractive to me.

There was a great man in France in the 19th century named Proudhon. He was a difficult man, so not completely great, and he wrote the book "The Philosophy of Poverty." Marx was so unkind that he immediately published a book called "The Poverty of Philosophy."

"The Philosophy of Poverty" was interesting because it argued in favor of being poor, in the sense that there’s nothing wrong with being poor. It’s just, society has to allow the poor to be poor, and not to make their lives unnecessarily difficult.

One of the worst things about our society is that it wants to punish you for being poor. It’s easy to understand why, because capitalism thrives on the relentless effort to become richer and richer, because being rich according to this kind of world ethic means that the gods are in your favor. So people are striving so hard that they neglect their life to the extent that they really make the lives of poor people unnecessarily worse, when in fact there are many virtues to being poor. A society that punishes people for being poor is much poorer for it. So that is what I have to say.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

[Updated] RIP Bob Arihood

[Photo by Melanie via East Village Corner]

Word is spreading through the neighborhood with the shocking news that Bob Arihood has died. Several of Bob's friends have confirmed this. He apparently suffered a heart attack in his East Fourth Street apartment. We'll have more information when it becomes available.

For the past five years, Bob chronicled the comings and goings of the East Village on Neither More Nor Less. His site was essential viewing every day. He seemed to deem himself a social scientist more than a journalist at times. His work was invaluable for showing the changes in the East Village, starting with the eviction of Jim Power and others from 120 St. Marks's Place.

The neighborhood was better off with his reporting, because no one else did what he did. Documenting 3 a.m. fistfights on Avenue A. Police searches in Tompkins Square Park. Comings and goings on Crusty Row. He captured the absurd, the ugly, the every day that makes the vanishing East Village unique.

The Times featured Bob's short-term retirement from Neither More Nor Less back in June 2010:

His style of reporting was of the old-fashioned shoe-leather sort and his main subjects were the itinerant travelers, street drinkers, punks, poets and sidewalk sleepers that once proliferated in the East Village but these days make up a vanishing tribe.

L.E.S. Jewels, Cowboy Stan, Drunkenstein, Bobby Apocalypse, Swami, the Groper, Outlaw, Loan Shark Bob, Barnacle Bill and the Mosaic Man, among others, all appeared in Mr. Arihood’s blog. Some of those subjects are now dead. Others are in jail. A few have survived and moved on.

While I didn't know Bob personally, we often exchanged emails. He always had a few hunches, theories. He knew that things weren't what they seemed on the surface. He took the time to speculate, investigate. We recently talked about the NYPD scooter patrol that swept through Tompkins Square Park a few Friday evenings ago ... From an email with his unmistakable writing style.

the friday patrol in TSP was a bit strange . The cops had white-shirts going thru the bushes and ground cover .Were they looking for cached weapons ?The officers that I talked to seemed to be instructed on how to present what they were doing .Basically they lied .

In his last email to me, on Sept. 19, we talked about his new-look NMNL, and the video component that he added.

I had to change the template to fit video image window. Screwed up my counter doing that , had to reinstall that . I would have preferred the old look but the video window protruded over the archive . Its always something .

Yeah I know I have to get a smart phone don't I ? Everyone tells me that they can't get hold of me right when they have a whim to talk to me and insist that I get a cell phone at least . .I don't even have a cell phone Grieve ..and I don't want one either but some folks are really pissed so...Perhaps I'll join Jewels on the SNAP program and get my free government phone!

If I can get the video thing so that it doesn't take forever to load I'll do it regularly .I once ran big film cameras and did editing with a moveola or what ever device was available .Built some sound studios and movie theaters and screaning rooms too. I have some old film from 1972 of the EV and especially avenue A.Haven't looked at it in many years .The moving image isn't new to me .Still pictures and moving images are quite different though. It will be a return to something that completely occupied me in my youth here in NYC.

Reader comments: "we freaks will be here to forgive you"

With this ... I'm going to start highlighting comments on a regular basis... Very often, comments here deserve their own posts... As always, thank you for chiming in and being part of this conversation...



From yesterday's lively thread about the Halloween night protest at Tompkins Square Park... I give you Vagabond Beaumont...

To all of those who moved into the Loisaida and were expecting the Upper East Side.... Loisaida was a place for those who wanted to live in a different way and not be harassed by outsiders or even looked at as outsiders at all... The Loisaida was a place for the freaks to gather and rub up against one another... It was a place that not only respected difference but celebrated and encouraged it... It was a community of freaks banding together to create a freak community of immense diversity...

This tribe of freaks coming together is not much different from the waves of waves of immigration of various ethnic groups that came and continue to come to NYC... Those immigrant groups looked for ethnic neighborhoods where they could feel safe and not feel like outsiders... The Jews did it, the Italians did it, the Germans did it, the Polish did it, the Chinese did it, the Puerto Ricans did it, even the African Americans (who were not immigrants) did it...

The freaks of the Loisaida were following in a tradition of gathering in a way to protect themselves and to have a place of their own... The diversity of the Loisaida and the commodification of what came out of the Loisaida (Spoken Word, Punk, Hip-Hop, Graffiti, Avant-Garde Theater, etc...) made the Loisaida a cool place for non-freaks to want to live...

So the non-freaks move in - in their 20's and because the Loisaida is a place of tolerance the non-freaks are welcome... Then the non-freaks get into their 30's and start getting married and having kids and instead of renting a studio in a 5th floor walk-up tenement they buy a $1.2 mil. 2 bedroom condo and all of a sudden what was cool @ 20 is now an annoyance @ 30 and by the time the non-freaks (who were welcomed by the Loisiaida) are 40 they are calling the cops on the freaks because of the noise and complaining to politicians about the deteriorating conditions of "community"...

The majority who live in this city now are people who want don't want freaks around... Don't want them to have a place... Don't want them to exist... Are wiping out the places where they gather and live... It happened in Soho, it happened in the West Village, it happened/is happening in Williamsburg, in Harlem, in the South Bronx... It seems that as fast as the freaks find a place the non-freaks find a way to strangle the life out of it...

But one day when NYC has finally paved it's path over us freaks and the entire city becomes a safe respected shopping mall... Then you non-freaks will have what you always wanted... A suburb without a lawn and a shopping mall @ your doorstep...

NYC the most vital and exciting and diverse collection of freaks in the world will not be able to create and as a result of that the non-freaks will not have the fruits of these freaks to commodify. Because the freaks will not exist... And you non-freaks will have to find another way to pay that $1.2mil. condo mortgage...

When you default on that mortgage and your the system starts to crumble for you and that condo building becomes an abandoned building... The freaks that were in hiding will show up... Squat your $1.2 mil. condo and generate fruits once again...

The Loisaida is not yours... You are passing through... Remember that the next time you call the puh-leez or the politrixters to complain... Your kind will not remain... And not because we freaks are going to do anything about it or ever had the power to do anything about it... You will destroy yourselves, you need no help from us... But don't worry... we freaks will be here to forgive you of your past transgressions and show you how to live another way...

[Photo by John Penley]

Some future new bars to maybe not like

I haven't even written about all the action from the last CB3/SLA meeting... and the CB3/SLA released the docket for the July meeting... and this one has a few summer blockbusters... (Eater and Fork in the Road noted a few of these last Friday afternoon...)

The big one: The historic Amato Opera on the Bowery is destined to become a bar.



Of course! I recently noted the new for rent sign on the building, which said that food was OK here... So, the owners of V Bar, a West Village beer-and-wine cafe, are taking the challenge... which might be why someone removed the commemorative plaque that was placed above the Amato Opera doorway last June.

[Update: Thanks to EV Grieve Mimi reader for pointing out there's a V Bar on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place too, at the former Tribe space. Same owners at the West Village location.]

Also! There are takers for the Butcher Bar space on East Fifth Street and Lilly Coogan's on First Avenue...

A few more highlights....

Sidewalk Cafe Applications
-- The Penny Farthing, 103 3rd Ave
-- The 13th Step, 149 2nd Ave

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades
-- Mama Bar LLC, 34 Ave B (alt/op/expand to basement space)

New Liquor License Applications
-- Justified LLC, 102 1st Ave (op) (Lilly Coogan's)
-- Teany (Teany Cafe LLC), 90 Rivington St (rw)
-- Tin Lizard LLC, 511 E 5th St (rw) (Butcher Bay)
-- La Isla (MJDD Enterprises Inc), 542 E 14th St (rw)
-- Vbar Amato (Vbar2 LLC), 319 Bowery (op)

The meeting is July 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the JASA/Green Residence - 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery. Bring a date!

Neither More Nor Less, June 2006-May 2010

Out of habit this morning, first thing, I went to look at Neither More Nor Less. I wanted to see what happened, if anything, last night. Because I knew that Bob Arihood would have the story. And the photos.

As you likely know, Bob decided to retire the site this past week. I'm not sure what else to say other than that I'll really miss his work... the neighborhood is better off with his reporting, because no one else does what he did....he captured the absurd, the ugly, the every day that makes the East Village unique....

The Times featured Bob's retirement ...

His style of reporting was of the old-fashioned shoe-leather sort and his main subjects were the itinerant travelers, street drinkers, punks, poets and sidewalk sleepers that once proliferated in the East Village but these days make up a vanishing tribe.

L.E.S. Jewels, Cowboy Stan, Drunkenstein, Bobby Apocalypse, Swami, the Groper, Outlaw, Loan Shark Bob, Barnacle Bill and the Mosaic Man, among others, all appeared in Mr. Arihood’s blog. Some of those subjects are now dead. Others are in jail. A few have survived and moved on.

[Photo of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place from Memorial Day 1991 by Bob Arihood via The Times]

V-Bar St Mark's now open at former Tribe space

On Friday night, V-Bar St. Mark's opened on St. Mark's and First Avenue... Looked pretty full to me when I snapped this photo...




Last March, The Villager's Patrick Hedlund reported that Danny Rivera, owner of the Crooked Tree around the corner on St. Mark's, was opening a tapas bar in this space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Peeking inside the former Tribe space

Renovation watch at the former Tribe space

Every time we walk by the former Tribe space on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place, something is just a little bit different...over the course of a few days, we saw...





...and now, EV Grieve reader dmbream noted yesterday:

Hanging copperplate this morning at Tribe. Plywood taken down. Also jack-hammering out what were covered up window openings on the St. Mark's side of the place.

Here's a shot yesterday via les pensées insouciantes:



Anyway, as far as we know, the Crooked Tree folks are opening a tapas bar in this space.

Previously hereabouts.

Peeking inside the former Tribe space

Just the other day we were talking about what's going on with the former Tribe space on First Avenue at St. Mark's.

Back in March, The Villager's Patrick Hedlund reported that Danny Rivera, owner of the Crooked Tree around the corner on St. Mark's, will open a tapas bar in this space.

The old Tribe has seemingly been quiet...but apparently not. We caught a glimpse inside last night:



Previously on EV Grieve:
From Tribe to tapas at First Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Waiting on a friend

I noticed a little artwork on the wall of the former Tribe along St. Mark's Place at First Avenue....

Sunday:




Didn't last too long.

Tuesday:




Perhaps the landlord felt as if the art "was not going to enhance the aesthetic of the building."

And as far as I know, the tapas place is still expected in this location.

From Tribe to tapas at First Avenue and St. Mark's Place

A tapas joint will open at the former space of Tribe on First Avenue at St. Mark's, Patrick Hedlund reports in his Mixed Use column in this week's issue of The Villager. According to Hedlund, Danny Rivera, owner of the Crooked Tree around the corner on St. Mark's, will launch the tapas bar in June.

"I'm a guy from the neighborhood; I've lived here for over 10 years," Rivera told Mixed Use. "My plan is to make the place for the community."

As you may recall, Dr. Tara Allmen owns the five-story building that housed Tribe, which closed in late January. As the Real Deal reported in early February:

Allmen, a physician, inherited the building from her mother, Renée Allmen, along with several other East Village properties, and recently completed renovating the four residential spaces in the building. She called Tribe "an eyesore."

"I want a classier place," she said, adding that Tribe "was not going to enhance the aesthetic of the building."

Here's what Allmen told Mixed Use:

"I'm replacing a dive bar with an elegant wine bar and tapas place. Do I think it's a plus to have a higher-class place in the East Village? I would say it's a bonus to have wonderful, quality places in the East Village."

Said Rivera, "It's a neighborhood guy that's going to open up in the neighborhood. It's in the hands of people in the neighborhood. It's not going to be a sushi spot or a bank."