Celebrating the life of David Joffe

Friends will be coming together tomorrow evening (Nov. 22) to celebrate the life of longtime East Village resident David Joffe, who died on Nov. 1. He was 81. (Thank you Eden for the flyer.) 

The memorial takes place outside at Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on the SE corner of Ninth Street and Avenue B starting at 5 p.m. The evening includes some complimentary food, including hot dogs and fries from Nathan's. (In case of rain, the memorial will move inside Trinity.) 

Even if you didn't know Joffe, a flea market vendor, you likely saw him on Avenue A or in the Tompkins Square Park dog run (RIP Cookie) wearing one of his many goofy and/or provocative T-shirts ("Oh No! I'm Becoming My Mother!")

 

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Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from Union Square by Derek Berg) ...

• The in-person tree lighting ceremony returns to Tompkins Square Park; save the date for Dec. 12 (Wednesday) 

• Shoring up the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

• Random Accessories celebrates 25 years (Thursday)

• Dress Shoppe II will close in early January (Tuesday) 

• Q&A with local band cumgirl8 (Thursday)

• Gallery Watch: 'If Death Ever Learn' at Someday Gallery (Wednesday) 

• Your chance to check out Jimmy Webb's collection of iconic music photography (Tuesday) 

• Someone painted 2 swastikas on the barrier surrounding the 6th Street sinkhole (Monday) 

• Sidewalk bridge arrives ahead of planned demo of former Red Square storefronts (Wednesday) 

• A visit to Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive on the Bowery (Friday) 

• Surf's up for Patagonia on the Bowery (Monday) 

• Jiang's Kitchen is in soft-open mode on St. Mark's Place (Monday) 

• The Irish breakfast makes a triumphant return to St. Dymphna's (Thursday) 

• Openings: Bar Lula on 1st Avenue (Thursday)

• The longest partial moon eclipse in 580 years as seen from 2nd Avenue (Friday)

• Boarding up Papaya Dog (Monday) 

• A tradition like no other returns this holiday season on 9th Street (Sunday) 

• Drunken Dumpling returns (Tuesday) 

• Beyond Sushi will not be reopening on 14th Street (Tuesday) 

• Sweet Village Marketplace opens on 1st Avenue (Sunday) 

• At Key Food: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more (Monday) 

• Blank Street debuts on Avenue A today (Friday) 

• A new florist for Sunny & Annie's (Monday)

... and a new mural arrived the other day on the NE corner of Sixth Street and First Avenue (outside the Dunkin') ... "Rise by lifting others" by Aída Miró ... thanks to Goggla for the photo...

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Update: the alarm on the BMW outside Sophie’s at 507 E. 5th St. near Avenue A in the East Village is still going off — now 24 hours in. People egged the car, stole the NJ plates and left a passive-aggressive note. pic.twitter.com/wQcRY8oCAr

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) November 15, 2021

Sunday's opening shot

On the Bowery at Rivington this morning...

True 'Blue' — lost Dennis Hopper classic finds its way to the Metrograph

The new 4K restoration of Dennis Hopper's 1980 forgotten classic "Out of the Blue" is now playing at Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St. 

You may know the backstory. "Blue" premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival but reportedly didn't get a proper release because it was considered too bleak for U.S. audiences. Thanks in part to a campaign by Chloë Sevigny and Natasha Lyonne, "Blue," a grim, unsettling film featuring an extraordinary performance by a teenage Linda Manz, is receiving a theatrical release.

The thumbnail plot via IMDB: "A young girl whose father [ed note: played by the very Dennis Hopper-y Dennis Hopper] is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene." 

And it may be the most punk rock movie ever made. Per a 2019 essay by Sheila O’Malley at Film Comment:

"Out of the Blue" howls from the center of the whirlwind. Up through its violent and inevitable ending, the film takes punk rock at its word

And...

Our culture rarely welcomes a vision as nihilistic as "Out of the Blue." But the film has a tremendous and frightening power. The most punk rock thing about it is that it stares "into the black" — and it doesn’t blink.

 

I haven't stopped thinking about the film since seeing it yesterday. You can find the Metrograph showtimes here. The film is also part of Metrograph's "Punks Don't Go Home for Thanksgiving" series.

A memorial for 2 longtime Tompkins Square Park regulars

Longtime East Village activist John Penley has organized a memorial this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park for two longtime friends and Park regulars who died this year — Faith Laugier and Roger White. 

The event, to be held in the center of the Park, is also a response to the recent sweep of Seventh Street, in which city officials removed the makeshift housing that had been between Avenue A and Avenue B in recent months. 

Penley, who now lives in Las Vegas, is putting this together via Facebook. Per the invite:

It looks like the Prime time to go is all afternoon and early evening on Saturday ... please bring FLOWERS, CANDLES and FOOD for Houseless people and warm clothes too. Leave them in the Park. Peace and Love to all.

White, a local musician, and artist, died on Nov. 8. He was 50 or 51, according to friends. An official cause of death was not released. You can read more about Laugier here.

Friday's parting shot

Christo v. Squirrel with nut in Tompkins Square Park today... photo by Steven...

'Tomorrow' never dies

 

In case you were looking for some new dream pop ... the Swedish quintet Makthaverskan just released a new record titled För Allting via Run For Cover. 

The audio track above is for "Tomorrow." 

Hopefully, the band will be back around these parts someday.

Free coffee alert: Blank Street debuts on Avenue A today

Blank Street has opened an outpost at 149 Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (Thanks to the reader for the pic!)

There's free coffee today. (Friday!)

This makes the third EV outpost top open in recent weeks for the fast-growing company ... joining the one at 36 Third Ave. and in the Bowery Market. 

Blank Street also carries products from local brands, including King Street Baking Co. and King David Tacos. 

Our previous post (here) has more background about Blank Street.

This storefront was previously Susan Nail & Spa.

Sinkhole still life

In early October, we bid farewell for the time being to the sinkhole on Fifth Street and First Avenue. 

The former sinkhole has been receiving ample attention in the past week. (Thanks Eden for the initial tip!) 

The intersection here at Rite Aid Way now has steel plates covering the new subterranean cavern. Goggla shared the top pic today, still life with a shovel and leaves but no workers or utility vehicles in sight... 

Meanwhile, the Sixth Street sinkhole with the swastikas remains in a sinking state.

A visit to Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive on the Bowery

Photos by Stacie Joy

In September, Howl Arts debuted a 7,000 square-foot facility at 250 Bowery. (Howl! Happening, which opened in 2015 at 6 E. First St., will remain in use as a gallery.) 

The new space goes by Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive, which "expands upon Howl! Happening's innovative exhibitions and public programs and focuses on the thriving multi-dimensional artistry and history of the East Village/Lower East Side." 

Earlier this fall, EVG contributor stopped by the space between Houston and Stanton for a look around... courtesy of Jane Friedman, Howl Art's founder and executive director ...

East Village-based artist Scooter LaForge was also on hand...

The space includes three exhibition galleries, a library as well as screening and reading rooms. It also serves as the headquarters for Howl Arts, which purchased the commercial space here in 2018.

Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can check out their website for a list of exhibitions and other info.