She says she'll be here today until the rain arrives later this afternoon.
You can follow Jen on her VorteXity Books Instagram account for updates. (And this photo is via her Instagram.)
Sunday, May 9, 2021
Book smart: the return of Jen the bookseller on Avenue A
Week in Grieview
• Volunteers at East Village Loves NYC prepare meal for Ramadan; celebrate 1st anniversary (Wednesday)
• A look at local vaccination progress (Wednesday)
• RIP Madelaine (Dee) Ferro (Wednesday)
• An afternoon out with Hello Mary (Friday)
• Cure Thrift Shop will have a new high-profile corner space (Monday)
• Repairs finally for the "warped" intersection of 1st Avenue and 7th Street (Friday)
• Watching 21-23 Avenue B merge and grow (Tuesday)
• Reconstruction of the McKinley Playground appears to be winding down (Thursday)
• Tan lines in this week's NY See (Thursday)
• Empty 1st Avenue lot enters the surveillance era (Monday)
• Sly Fox is open for REAL now (Thursday)
• May Day (and Night) in the East Village (Sunday)
• Wine bar in the works for this former dry cleaner on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)
• Hot dog!? Crif Dogs reopens on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)
• In the run-up to reopening, Short Stories is renting its bar by the hour for private drinking sessions (Monday)
• Go Fish: Osakana sets up for sushi on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)
• Tony's Pizza signage arrives on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)
• On University Place, Agata & Valentina has closed ahead of building demolition, condo construction (Thursday)
• Intellectual property: Thirsty Scholar giving way to the Long Pour (Tuesday)
• Openings: Rosemary's East, an Italian restaurant at 350 1st Ave. (Tuesday)
• Unhappy returns: A one-week respite from a sidewalk bridge (Monday)
... and Pinch points out the nice-looking sidewalk cafe now up outside Little Poland on Second Avenue near 12th Street...
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Broadway in Bloom
And we're told these bouquets of flowers will be free for the taking at 11 a.m. on Broadway at 8th Street...
EVG Etc.: A pool finally for the East River; a fundraiser on 3rd Street for Off-Broadway
• There is finally a city-approved spot for the long-proposed floating Plus Pool to drop anchor in the East River — just north of the Manhattan Bridge (Curbed)
• Revisiting this oral history with community organizer Carlos "Chino" García (Off the Grid)
• The "public and impermanent work" of East Village artist Tom Manco (Pavement Pieces ... previously on EVG)
• Rachel Brosnahan bringing a one-act play to the Wild Project on Third Street to help benefit the Off-Broadway theater community (Deadline)
• Thoughts on Precious Okoyomon's installation that is ending its run at Performance Space 122 (ArchPaper)
• Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is being sent back to federal prison after a request for community placement was denied (NBC 4)
• New Michelin stars include one for Tsukimi on 10th Street (Eater) A map of Michelin Bib Gourmands is here.
• Diversions: Revisiting Downtown — MTV's animated, cinéma-vérité-style series about New York in 1999 (Vulture)
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Check out the solar-paneled tree lights on 3rd Street
Block Association reps say these lights will be up indefinitely.
Thanks to Kathleen Keene for the photo!
Another look at DJ Mother May in Tompkins Square Park
Steven took these on Thursday evening when the Mother's Day-related work first arrived...
DJ Mother May, complete with a detailed deejay booth, is expected to be up through this weekend here at Temperance Fountain...
The Regal Union Square returns to movie-showing action
The theater chain's phased reopening started last month nationwide... NYC locations were originally going to open on May 7, though that timeline was pushed up. The multiplex at Essex Crossing on Delancey and Essex is also up and running.
Other area theaters, including the Loews Village 7, Village East by Angelika and the IFC Center, all returned on March 5 with mask requirements and assigned seating.
Theater capacity in NYC is currently at 33 percent, per Gov. Cuomo. However, the capacity restrictions will be lifted on May 19... though theaters will still need to stick to 6-foot-distancing rules. Which theater operators are scrambling to interpret.
Friday, May 7, 2021
Friday's parting shot
Dog day afternoon
Local band Earth Dad — featuring at least two lifelong East Village residents — recently released a single titled "Good Dog" ... check out the above video with some very familiar locales.
You can find their music on Bandcamp. (And today is Bandcamp Friday — where the music platform waives its revenue share for the day.)
Bake news: The annual plant and bake sale is this weekend at the 6th & B Garden
Our annual fund raiser to help bring you events for the rest of the open season. Delicious home-made baked goods and lots of plants for you to grow at home or in your backyard are available for sale.
The sale is Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the garden on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Avenue B...
An afternoon out with Hello Mary
On that day, the band will also be releasing a new song/video — "Take Something."
Their first record, the 7-track EP titled Ginger, came out in December 2019. In an interview with Loser Zine last year, the three described Ginger as a collection of everyday experiences.
"A common theme recurring throughout the album is social anxiety, and the obstacles that come along with it, as well as the boredom that erupts from the monotony of high school." (A fresh topic, as Helena and Mikaela, both 17, are finishing up high school.)
Since then, Hello Mary has been working on songs for a new record... perhaps some of that unreleased material will get a sneak preview at Bowery Electric.
The other day, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spent part of an afternoon with the band as they strolled around the East Village. (Stella's parents, Charles Branstool and Christy Davis, co-own Exit9 Gift Emporium on Avenue A. Christy herself is an accomplished percussionist. She plays drums for Gold, who's also on the bill on May 21.)
On the walk, Hello Mary and Stacie talked about COVID-19 vaccines, strong women and role models. And they had a really good time...
You can find Hello Mary on Bandcamp here. (On the first Friday of the month, Bandcamp waives their revenue share, so bands receive all the profits.)
The video here from last spring is for Ginger's title track...
Repairs finally for the 'warped' intersection of 1st Avenue and 7th Street
It took a while for these more substantial repairs. The "fucked-up street surface," as one nearby resident called it, has been a topic of frustration in conversations on the East Village Neighbors Facebook group (and in the EVG inbox) this late winter and early spring.
In the weeks/months after the breaks, there was a patchwork of quick fixes on the wonky-looking intersection...
Said one resident: "Basically, the second water main break warped the avenue ... They come out to jackhammer constantly, make a hole, fill it with dirt, and then it caves in. "
Then another sinkhole would form.
And after residents file a complaint: "They come, throw some asphalt onto a sunken hole, leave and nothing is fixed."
Said the previously quoted resident: "The trucks wake me up at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 a.m. and I've started getting migraines, which I've never had."
Hopefully, the repairs that started this week will prevent any future breaks and stabilize the roadway — and put an end to the various headaches.
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