The warmth of the (winter) sun

Second Avenue and East Third Street via EVG regular jdx.

Why the East Village is like Ireland

Columbia University's New York World has released a study that compares every NYC precinct's homicide rate with a UN member, as the Post noted today.

Researchers set out to learn: How does a plunging New York City murder rate look from a global perspective?

So, in 2012, New York finished the year with 419 homicides — an average of 3.8 killings per every 100,000 residents. The high end of the report: East Harlem reportedly had 21 murders per 100,000 residents, which mirrored the rate of Brazil. And here in our 9th Precinct? The 2012 homicide rate was 1.31 per 100,000 residents, comparable to Ireland's rate. (The 7th Precinct on the Lower East Side saw 0 murders last year — just like Iceland.)

You can read the methodology and find the interactive map and all that at New York World.

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: Mike Bakaty
Occupation: Tattoo Artist, Owner Fineline Tattoo
Location: 1st Avenue between 1st and 2nd
Time: 4 on Friday, Feb. 8

I grew up in Miami. I moved to Houston and Bowery in 1970 to try it out for a year or two. I was 34 when I got here and I’m 39 now. I was the same handsome, charming young man that I am now.

When I moved here East First Street was ravished. First Street between Bowery and Second Avenue looked like fucking Dresden, literally. Particularly right here where we sit was like junkie heaven. I remember one building between B and C or C and D, where there were junkies lined up down the block and some guy with a string in a burned-out building would take the money up in a can and drop down the dope in the can. In wintertime like this there were 55-gallon drums burning at every corner with guys huddled around it trying to keep warm.

Fame and fortune brought me here, like everybody else. Why the hell else? If I wanted fun in the sun, I’d have stayed in Miami. I was pursuing a fine art career and had some pretty good fortune with it. I was making sculptures out of fiberglass and polyester. My first one-man show was 9 months after I got here and I had one every year after that until I started tattooing. It was my intent when I first started with the tattooing to tattoo and do the sculpture on the side, but I soon discovered that you can’t serve two maidens.

I made the transition very carefully and slowly. I had tattoos from when I was a kid and when I was in the Navy, so I looked around the city and there was nothing here. Tattooing was banned in the city from 1962 to 1997, when we moved into this shop. At the time, the nearest place was up in Yonkers called Big Joe’s. I spent two years going up there, hanging out, watching and gleaning information. I was in the process of getting my old work covered up and I’d be asking questions and everybody would shut up. They didn’t give up the information. And the more they shut up, the more interested I became. Fortunately, there was a guy visiting up there that became a key figure in modern tattooing, named Zeke Owen, who was the first to give me any real information. And by 1976 I started tattooing.

I worked out of the loft I lived in on Houston and Bowery. I lived there for 34 years. I advertised in the back pages of The Village Voice even though it was illegal at the time. I never had any problems but I must admit that when I first started I’d jump every time the phone rang.

One day the buzzer rang and I went to the box and said, “Who is it?” “It’s the State Police looking for Mike Bakati.” I said, “Oh shit, it’s all over.” I quickly put on a long sleeved shirt and went downstairs. They asked if I was Mike Bakati and asked, “Do you do tattooing?” A long pause, and then finally, “Yeah, I do tattoos.” “Well good, maybe you can identify these for us.” So they showed me a bunch of tattoos relating to a guy who was murdering prostitutes working on Eldridge Street and some of them had tattoos. They thought perhaps I could identify the tattoos, if nothing else. By the time we finished, I asked the guy, “You knew I was here?” And they said, “Oh we know everything... and by the way, I might be back to get this tattoo fixed.” I felt better after that.

We had to move out of the loft about 8 years ago, because the building was replaced by a glass and steel apartment building. The building was 295 Bowery, which should have been a historical landmark. We tried to save it. It had been a notorious bar and whorehouse in the 1890s called McGurk’s Suicide Hall, because a lot of prostitutes committed suicide there. It was a notorious and nasty place.

It was also the first building in Manhattan to have a neon sign. By the time I first moved in, the ground floor was still operating as a wino bar, run by a great big old guy named Henry Davis. He had been the manager of a very famous burlesque house on Bowery below Houston Street called Sammy’s Bowery Follies. He was a nice but big and fearless old dude. He must have been in his early 80s then and I had seen him more than once grabbing guys by the throats and throwing them again the walls. When my older son was like 3 years old he asked me, “How come you’re living down here with a little kid like that with all this bullshit going on,” and I said, “Henry, I’d rather him see all this bullshit now than see it for the first time when he’s 30.” And he looked at me and said, “Oh yeah, I see whatcha mean.”

Tattooing is a truly democratic form of expression. It crosses all socio-economic and religious boundaries — even more so now. Back then there weren’t as many black people or women getting tattoos. Now for women, it’s like 50-50. That’s been the most interesting change. That and the popularity of it. In the 70s and 80s, it was not as exposed as it is now.

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

RUMOR: New York Health & Racquet Club taking over the space above Gracefully on Avenue A

[Via Off The Grid]

We've long been curious about the space above Gracefully at 28 Avenue A between East Second Street and East Third Street. It's a fascinating building with those block letters that read Burger-Klein. We don't have any idea what, if anything, is upstairs.

But, perhaps there will be a big new tenant. A tipster hears that New York Health & Racquet Club is taking over all of the floors above the grocery. Again, just a rumor. (Gracefully will remain in place.)

Nothing at the DOB to note this conversion. But, in October 2011, the city approved plans to convert the "existing commercial 5-story with cellar to mixed use, commercial and residential." Estimated cost: $1.1 million. DOB records show 12 residences in total. But apparently this project is in limbo.

Regardless of the incoming tenant, it's likely going to change in appearance soon enough. Off the Grid completed a thorough history of the building back in July 2011. The building dates to 1871. And in its early days, it was part of Little Germany, serving as a German ballroom known as Concordia Hall.

Later, per Off the Grid:

The earliest evidence of furniture seller Burger-Klein occupying the building is from 1939.

In 1959, a four-alarm fire destroyed the roof and top floor of the building, resulting in a significant alteration of building’s façade, most likely the face of the building we see today. It is noteworthy that the owners chose to replace what had once been an architecturally significant facade with a mid-century modern wrapping that in its own way and for its own time is as extraordinary as the 19th century face of the building.

The Burger-Klein building’s uniqueness in the streetscape is a big part of what inspires so much curiosity about it.

Read the whole post here.

51 Astor Place — all glassed up and...

Just because it has been nearly an entire month since mentioning 51 Astor Place...



...glassed up except for the very tippy-top, which will house the hypermatter reactor ... you can notice the tippy-top (descriptive!) on the Third Avenue side...



OK, OK — here.



Anyway. Getting used to seeing it now here?

More about Pink Pony and Motor City Bar closing on Ludlow Street

As we first reported on Monday afternoon, the 18-year-old Motor City Bar on Ludlow Street would be closing this spring. Their current lease expires at the end of the month. It was all but a done deal, a tipster told us.

Co-owner Francesca Romeo confirmed this to The Lo-Down yesterday, noting that the bar's landlord "did not give the option of renewal."

Also on Monday, BoweryBoogie had the scoop that the Pink Pony on Ludlow had also closed for good. In a follow-up piece, Cara Buckley at The New York Times reported that the cafe closed, in part, because the landlord increased the rent from $14,000 to $20,000 a month.

The owner, Lucien Bahaj, who also runs Lucien on First Avenue, said that the landlord "had been reasonable and patient, and was merely asking for market rent." Plus: "[H]is cafe had come to seem out of step in a neighborhood sprouting condominium towers, boutique hotels, mixologists and sports bars."

Here's more from Buckley's piece:

The bar captured a fast retreating moment in the evolution – some may say devolution – of the Lower East Side, a time when patrons read those books and flocked for documentary screenings and poetry nights.

Bahaj said this to the Daily News yesterday:

"It's not a tragedy. It belonged to an era and the era changed and I changed with it. All my customers have left or changed. The neighborhood used to be full of creative types — painters, writers, filmmakers. We don’t have that anymore."

Who do we have?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader report: Motor City Bar is closing on Ludlow Street

[Image via Tripping With Marty]

Creepy Craigslist ad seeks '4 sexy hot bartending robots'

A reader pointed our attention to this Craigslist ad...

looking 4 sexy hot bartending robots (Lower East Side)
Popular LES soul jazz bar/tavern is looking for asexual stage performing robots, models r3710 thru r3710-2.0, to entertain curious onlookers on a brightly lit stage, with witty repartee' and story telling, while fetching & mixing alcoholic beverages, at their command. Most current drivers for brightest, friendliest, openiest, sexiest robot communication skills that 99.99999% of humans have been genetically program to find appealing, by what ever God they believe in, if any, required. Race, Creed, Sexual Orientation, Age, Sex, Robot or Bar Code status UNIMPORTANT.

All tips are pooled and divided evenly. Restocking will be required. Obscure, but legit, constitutionally protected, soul sucking ritual, will be performed, involving chicken feet and body fluids (you don't want to know) to determine your level of MOJO. (please include return address for soul or return cannot be guaranteed) A picture of your robot self, lock of robot hair and/or robot fingernail clippings, with resume, will be required for ritual or there is a small but still significant chance you will become a face eating, end times, zombie robot. If interested please reply.

Perhaps someone's idea of a joke, though it's not really funny. (Of course, robot humor is tough to pull off...) Probably fake? Or, perhaps, it's real...?

FDNY responds to abandoned truck on First Avenue

The FDNY is on the scene now on First Avenue and East 10th Street... there's an abandoned pickup truck on the west side of First Avenue ... witnesses say that the gas tank is dangling from under the truck, or something like that. The firefighters are currently trying to move the truck. Thanks to Christopher Pugliese for the above video...

Checking in on the lonely, melting snowman of East 14th Street

Yesterday we noted the snowman who was locked inside a Stuy Town playground facing East 14th Street...

Flashback!

EVG reader Michael followed up today ...

Perhaps he'll be back again as soon as tomorrow night, when the forecasters are calling for up to inches of snow...

Report: Upper West Side old-timer Emerald Inn will likely close for good this spring

Stepping away from the neighborhood for a minute. The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side saloon that has been serving up drinks since FDR was in office, looks like a goner, again. A huge rent hike nearly killed it a few years back, but the landlord couldn't find a tenant who'd pay $35,000 a month for the 800-square-foot space during the recession.

Now, though. The West Side Rag reports this afternoon that the landlord has already been showing the space to other prospective tenants. As they report: "The unpretentious bar now has some very tony neighbors, including high-end retailers like Helmut Lang and Club Monaco, and rents have escalated."

The current lease is up May 1.

Previously.

H/t Eater

Ev Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Via EVG reader Raquel Shapira]

The plan to build three towers around St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery — in 1930 (Curbed)

Why yes — building luxury developments on public housing property is the worst idea ever (Gawker)

Kindergarten choices in the East Village/Lower East Side (DNAinfo)

Big crowd at yesterday's SPURA RFP information session (BoweryBoogie)

Dining with a hawk in Tompkins Square Park (The Gog Log)

At the 2013 Firecracker Festival (The Lo-Down)

Bloomberg aims to crush Styrofoam (Runnin' Scared)

RIP Memory Keeper on 14th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A look at the Costume Institute's punk exhibit (Racked)

Madonna is posting photos of her boobs on Instagram (Gothamist)

The latest indignity for Times Square — Señor Frog's (Eater)

And via Shawn Chittle this morning on St. Mark's Place... the Tanks A Lot truck...

And you say, "You're welcome."

OK, I'll be over here...

If you're traveling on Avenue C this morning...

... then please mind the gap here at East Sixth Street... and there are unconfirmed reports that brokers are already showing the property.

Photo by EVG reader Steven Matthews.

This morning

[Click image to enlarge]

Looking south from the East Village... a beautiful morning ... plus, making up for the dead rat on the windshield photo a little further down on the site today.

3rd East Village Juice Press now open

Now open on East 10th Street just east of Second Avenue ...

...as previously noted here ... and here.

'Out of Shaoul’s frying pan and into Kushner’s fire?' Super Tenants Association meeting planned

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Out of Shaoul’s Frying Pan and into Kushner’s Fire?

Are you or do you know someone who lives in one of the buildings that Ben Shaoul just sold to Jared Kushner? The tenants association of 118/120 East 4th Street is looking to get together with other tenants in the same parcel of buildings for a Super Tenants Association Meeting. The idea is to get together, talk about our past experiences, what we may have to look out for in the future and how to establish a network for support and information sharing.

Please email the organizers here

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Jared Kushner paid $49 million for 7 more Ben Shaoul-owned properties in the East Village

Ben Shaoul and company put East Fourth Street buildings on the market for $25 million

4 East Fourth Street apartment buildings hit market for $32 million

Rumors: Is Ben Shaoul selling his East Village properties?

What Lower East Side hotels have special rates for some afternoon delight?

Saw this headline fly by on Twitter yesterday morning: "Afternoon sex, affairs can be part of life on the road." Naturally, I clicked on the link to the USA Today article... about a newish website called Dayuse-hotels.com that lets people book "boutique" hotel rooms in New York City for a few hours of afternoon romance. Or rest. Or Internet. Or whatever you'd need a hotel room for from, say, noon till 4 p.m.

Anyway, I went to the Dayuse site to see if any local hotels were in their database.

There are two – the Blue Moon on Orchard and Off Soho Suites on Rivington... Randomly picked Feb. 19 to see the rates...

It's $275 for three hours at the Blue Moon...

..or $119 for five hours at the Off Soho Suites...

If this is too much, then you could always opt for the Days Inn at JFK — just $79 for six hours.

No 7-Eleven organizers are guests tonight on 'Let’s Get Real With Chef Erica Wides'

From the EV Grieve inbox... the organizers behind the East Village No 7-Eleven movement are guests tonight at 6:30 on "Let’s Get Real With Chef Erica Wides" on the Heritage Radio Network...

[Click on image to enlarge]

Here's the "Let's Get Real" Website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
'No 7-Eleven' movement goes global with BBC report

OK, who tossed the dead rat on this car's windshield?

Gruesome reader discovery yesterday afternoon on East 10th Street and Avenue A. Theories?

Chloë Sevigny had a fashion show at St Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery Saturday

Chloë Sevigny, who may or may not still be living on East 10th Street, threw a fashion show at St Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery Saturday. The Daily Mail had a report on all this yesterday.

Per the article:

Chloë Sevigny returned to her model roots on Saturday, starring in the fall 2013 presentation for her own Opening Ceremony line ... the 38-year-old actress and fashion designer stood amongst her mod-themed models with blank stares, who, like the protests staged by youthquakers in the Sixties, held signs that said things like: 'The agony of power.'

And!

Ms Sevigny showed the kinds of clothes she likes to wear herself: hip, indie, and cool. And the Sixties-style-meets-music-festival collection of thrown-on separates and mini-dresses neatly fits in with this East Village cool-girl image.

Among the musical highlights: Kim Gordon and DNA's Ikue Mori played with Bleached, the all-girl surf rockers.

And here's a snippet about the show from... MTV...

Get More:
MTV Shows

'Rarely available' A Building penthouse now available for $3.7 million

A penthouse at the pool-topped A Building on East 13th Street is now on the market. According to the Corcoran listing:

Rarely available in the luxurious modern A Building is this unique 3 bedroom/3 bath penthouse loft condominium with spacious sunny open south facing living area in the heart of the East Village. Step out from your living room onto your beautiful terrace with panoramic views of downtown and you won't want to leave. The island gourmet kitchen is perfect for entertaining and the bedrooms are large with generous closet space. This one is a must see!

Price: $3,795 million. It previously sold for $2.9 million in May 2008, according to Streeteasy.