Color my World

Siouxsie and the Banshees with "Song from the Edge of the World" circa 1987.

Why there'll never be a Ramones bio-pic

Marky won't let it happen.

The drummer insists former bandmate Johnny Ramone's widow, Linda, who is the driving force behind a proposed new film about the band, is not qualified to oversee such a project - because she has little insight into the band and was not around when the group formed and first started performing together in New York.

And!

But even if that project was in the works, Marky wouldn't be a part of it - because he doesn't like how his peers have been portrayed on film.

He adds, "I wouldn't allow my image to be in it... They can't get it right unless there are people involved that were there in the nucleus. I know it would be inaccurate, like The Runaways movie; that was a good indicator of how these movies go."

[Source: Express UK]

At the residents meeting for the Smith Houses

On Wednesday night, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) officials briefed residents of the Smith Houses on the Lower East Side about their plans to to lease playground and community-center space to developers within public housing areas.

As The Lo-Down reported, members of the Smith Tenant Association boycotted the meeting, in part, because residents wanted at least a 10-day notice and opportunity to review the proposals. The city pushed ahead anyway.

Six Lowa, a DJ and music producer who was born and raised in the Smith Houses (his grandmother has been a resident since the complex opened in 1953), attended the meeting to document what took place. He shared his thoughts on a newly created blog. (You can read that here.)

He concludes:

My personal thoughts are that the projects in the Lower East Side and along the FDR Drive have always been eyed at by developers for some years now. They now realize it's prime real estate next to the waterfront, all 3 bridges, City Hall, South St Seaport, World Financial District, & Police Headquarters. It all starts with the building of private housing on NYCHA playgrounds and parking lots. What's next? Whose next?

[Boycotters outside the meeting. Photos courtesy of Six Lowa]

The Daily News has coverage of the meeting here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Homeless man sets himself on fire inside the Bleecker Street Station (BoweryBoogie)

John Penley concludes his NYU campout (The Villager)

Lovals grumble about the cabs stacked up outside at the Madina Masjid mosque and Islamic Center of America at the corner of East 11th Street and First Avenue (DNAinfo)

Update on the New Amsterdam Market (The Lo-Down)

Call Martin Scorsese: Condos planned for Mulberry Street condos (Curbed, previously on EV Grieve)

A mini-documentary on Jayne County (BlackBook)

Rainy Union Square in 1912 (Ephemeral New York)

Photos of Greenwich Village in the 1950s (Gothamist)

History of 1 Astor Place (Off the Grid)

Johnny Rotten reviews "Katy Perry: Part of Me" (Dangerous Minds)

Deadline approaching to help revive Something Sweet

As we first reported on Monday, the owners of Something Sweet are looking for help to revive the longtime bakery on First Avenue and East 11th Street. The deadline for the so-called casting call is tomorrow, per the above ad.

DNAinfo's Serena Solomon was with the family yesterday when they revisited the shop, closed since last July.

[W]ithin minutes of rolling up it doors, former customers walking past came in to embrace Kathy.

"To me it was old Europe," said Anna, customer of 40 years, who declined to provide her last name. "I always said when that [Something Sweet] closes, it's over for the East Village."

Previously.

Spend Easter Sunday night with the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black

[Photo of Kembra Pfahler by Walter Wlodarczyk]

On March 31 (Easter Sunday!), there's an all-ages concert featuring a rare appearance by the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black and their brand of ferocious glam-punk as well as Youthquake and No Bra at Santos Party House on Lafayette. (Tickets are $15, and available here.)

We asked Kembra Pfahler, the lead singer of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black (and an East Village resident) for an update on the band via Facebook.

"Yes, it's a special show. After a bit of a hiatus, Samoa the originator and original guitarist is back! Gyda Gash is on bass and Michael Wildwood is on drums. We traveled last spring to England and Berlin together, but this will be the first large scale Karen Black show with this fabulous band.

"We are also working on a new album together — 'Fuck Island.' We are doing new work from the album in progress like 'Soldier of Female" and 'I Am a Big Black Cat.' I am working on a new feminist movement called 'Future Feminism.' All of the new work is related to this, and saving the world one show or song at a time.

"Youthquake and No Bra are also playing. We are all friends and are looking forward to the show."

So are we.

[Updated] Reader report: Bar 82 is closing

Word was spreading last night that Bar 82, with its ample back room for bands, poetry readings and other events, is closing at the end of this month. At least one performer with an act booked after March 31 took to Facebook last night with the news.

Several other sources confirmed the impending closure. The bar opened here on Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place in 2008... the bar was a reincarnation of sorts of Verchovyna Tavern aka George's Bar aka Bar 81, which sat for decades on East Seventh Street until a rent hike KO'd it.

We'll have more information on the closing as it becomes available.

Updated 1:31

Per Bar 82's Facebook page:

Bar 82 is going to close it's doors at the end of March. We would love to see you all before then. I'm going to keep this page open after the fact to tell everyone where your favorite bartenders might end up just to be cool. Please come by and say hello and goodbye and hello again somewhere else. It's important to us bartenders. We love you peeps.

Here's what the city has planned for open space at Meltzer Tower

This week, more details emerged about the city's plan to lease playground and community-center space to developers within public housing areas. On Wednesday, we looked at the plans for Campos Plaza.

In the image above, you'll see what's in store for the Meltzer Tower off of East First Street between First Avenue and Avenue A (via the NYCHA website):

Max Meltzer Tower on Manhattan's Lower East Side is a 20-story building exclusively for seniors with 230 apartments housing an estimated 246 residents.

Meltzer Tower has a $10.5 million unmet need for capital building improvements over the next 5 years.

Proposed Development on Land Lease Site(s)
East 1st Street Site
Site Area: 13,000 SF (Approximate)
New Construction: 121,500 SF of Residential Floor Area (Approximate)
18,500 SF of Commercial Floor Area (Approximate)
97 New Apartments

Current Uses on Land Lease Site(s)
-Landscaped Seating Area

Benefits for Meltzer Tower Residents
-Redesigned Central Plaza with resident participation
-Preference for new low-income apartments
-Emergency power generation for critical building systems
-Temporary and permanent job opportunities
-Enhanced security for development

Here's the presentation that officials gave on March 13.

NYCHA Infill Sites Presentation for Resident Meeting 3-13-13 (Meltzer Tower) from NYCHA Nyc-Housing

A reader pointed us to the FAQs for the proposal.

Wouldn’t this be disruptive to the community?
Construction would not take place forever, and would be conducted in a strictly monitored fashion. Additionally, construction would generate job opportunities for NYCHA residents. Once the new building is in place, there would also be additional, permanent job opportunities for NYCHA residents to pursue.

Heart N' Soul introducing to-go menu, Meat n' Three

A tipster spotted this to-go menu in the window at Heart n' Soul, which opened on East Third Street at Avenue B several weeks ago in the former location of Mama's Food Shop ...



Richard Freedman, who has owned the building that housed Mama's for the past 30 years, left a comment on our previous post about Heart N' Soul. In part, it read:

When Brendan and Jeremiah bought the food shop I did everything I could to help them. A couple years ago when they were running into problems I forgave unpaid rent and lowered their rent. Again and before they closed, I met with Jeremiah and his wife and again offered to lower the rent. I guess the emotional and financial commitment to the restaurant was too much, but I know they tried very hard and I wish them the best.

I don't know if I'm going to succeed, but I hope people will give us a fair chance. It is my hope to keep the best of the old mama's (classic meat and 3 menu) plus some new and hopefully interesting items.

Let's take a look at David Schwimmer's East Village mansion

Well, you can now see more of David Schwimmer's new mansion on East Sixth Street, as Curbed pointed out yesterday...

We took a photo ourselves. Still got some plywood to go for the full reveal.

Thoughts? One Curbed commenter said: "Nice windows, brick looks like burger king."

And a few other comments:

"not sure why a multi-million dollar celebrity would want to live in such an ugly building with tenements on either side."

"I heard that it's a meth lab."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is David Schwimmer the 'Friends' star who now owns the demolished 331 E. Sixth St. townhouse?

Outrage over total demolition of historic East Sixth Street townhouse

Here is David Schwimmer's East Village home