From the EV Grieve Amity, Long Island Bureau

"Jaws" turns 35 this summer. (Christian Science Monitor)

Kingpin

Last August, we posted the six-minute documentary about Jimmy Tarangelo, aka the Man in the Van who has lived in his 20-foot-long Boise Cascade Aristocrat in the West Village for eight years.

Now, Brooklyn-based filmmaker Sean P. Dunne is back with another fascinating NYC character called "The Bowler," about a guy from Staten Island who hustles bowling for a living.

The Bowler from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Life of the bike party

13th Street near Avenue A.

Love story

A look back at Avenue A and Second Street

Well, we've had a lot of discussion this week about the future of Avenue A and Second Street where Graceland called home for 20-plus years... Many thanks to EV Grieve reader BaHa for this photo from the early 1980s... this is looking north on Avenue A at Second Street....



How about another upholstery shop here now instead of an Italian eatery, bank or 7-Eleven?

Inside 193 Avenue B

The Rev. Carlos Torres, senior pastor of the Elim Pentecostal Church, recently gave me a tour of 193 Avenue B, which was nearly lost during a fire in October 2006. This space between 11th Street and 12th Street was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou, then the Charles. The theater closed in 1975. At that time, Torres' uncle bought the space to use as a community center and place of worship.

Since the fire, Torres and his congregation have been renting space at another church on Avenue A. Here's a look inside the currently unoccupied building, which opened as the Bijou in 1926...




















There have been several plans to rebuild or redevelop the space. I'll have more on the future of this space another day. Thanks to Rev. Torres for the tour.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B
Inside the Charles
Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

Pool at Sophie's, 1988

Been awhile since we posted any photos by Michael Sean Edwards ... So! Here are a few from Sophie's circa 1988....




He has several more here on Flickr.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The East Village in photos from 1978-1985

Posts that I actually forgot to post: Warren the Ape slanders Warren

These are all around... saw them last weekend... and, uh, forgot to post...

So hot

On the Bowery. Hot Cheese Nachos. Perhaps the name of the band that I will never form.

Hope that AT&T's "more bars" campaign won't be used here

EV Grieve reader Michael Fivis notes the progress of the incoming AT&T store next to Lulu's Nail Salon on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place...

NYU's future ...rated T for Terrifying

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Lisa for this link from NY1.

See NYU's proposed future here.

(Fixed the links!)

Your August 2011 -- planned!

East Village Feed and several readers have pointed out the new teaser for the upcoming Smurfs movie.... which comes out in August 2011. Plan accordingly. No sign of the East Village yet....

Group doesn't want street fairs to suck as badly as they do

From the inbox!

Concluding that the vast majority of New York City street fairs are bland and repetitive, and in need of wholesale changes, the Center for an Urban Future today published a report that features ideas for improving these staples of summer from two dozen innovative New Yorkers, including the founders of successful markets like the New York City Greenmarket, Union Square Holiday Market, Brooklyn Flea and Chelsea Market.

The study, titled “New Visions for New York Street Fairs,” starts from the premise that the city’s current system of street fairs desperately need a makeover. It argues that large numbers of New Yorkers are dissatisfied with street fairs for a variety of reasons: there are so many of them that they quickly blend together (there were 321 of them in 2009); a majority of the vendors sell the same bland merchandise, such as tube socks, sunglasses and gyros; a handful of neighborhoods are inundated by the fairs, with a new one popping up almost every week; and with nearly a dozen street fairs on some weekends, the multiple street closures make driving or taking a cab through the city a nightmare. The study seeks to jumpstart a discussion about how to make these public events less generic, more interesting and better reflective of what’s unique about New York.

“New York’s street fairs have been a disappointment for too long,” says Jonathan Bowles, director of the Center for an Urban Future, a Manhattan-based think tank. “It’s time to throw out the cookie-cutter approach and create street fairs that better reflect this incredibly unique and diverse city. There’s no reason to see the same vendors selling tube socks and gyros at almost every fair when New York has so many one-of-a-kind entrepreneurs and artists.”

A PDF of the full report is available here (PDF)

Looking at affordable homes in the East Village

A reader said that while she enjoyed gawking at the pricy condos with over-the-top amenities that I list on EV Grieve, I would be providing a valuble service by listing more affordble homes.

That's a good idea. So let's take a look!
























OK. I couldn't find any. Price is subjective, of course. Still. Not many or any bargains around.