Sunday, December 12, 2021
Reminders: The Tompkins Square Park tree lighting is TODAY
2022 Mulchfest signs arrive before some people have even bought trees
Signage is up now outside Tompkins Square Park for the two-day event set for Jan.8-9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As always, Tompkins is also a chipping site, which means residents can take home a bag of fresh mulch for gardens, tree beds and stir fries.
Before dropping off your tree, please remember to remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel and stands. Perhaps to save time, don't bother putting anything on the tree this year.
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Saturday's parting shot
East Village businesses focus of this 'Neighborhoods of New York' episode
Producer Alan Goldsher has teamed up with the East Village Independent Merchants Association to help small businesses "spread the word to shop local" in a 30-minute "Neighborhoods of New York" feature on ABC's Localish tomorrow (Sunday, Dec. 12) morning at 8:30.
The episode, hosted by Cristina Cote, features Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, Rivington Guitars, Elisa's Love Bites, East Village Vintage Collective, Random Accessories, J. Antonio Gallery, Studio duArte and La Sirena Mexican Folk Art.
You can find Localish on Optimum Cable Channel 110, Verizon Channel 467 and Spectrum channel 1240.
Find more details here.
Image courtesy of Alan Goldsher
Witnesses: City continues to cut down trees this morning in East River Park
In addition, according to activists who have been speaking out against the city's current plan to floodproof the park, the Department of Design and Construction is showing documents that day the TRO has been lifted. The paper is not valid, activists say...
Capt. Luis E. Barcia, Commander of the 7th Precinct was on-site where construction workers entered at 6:30 this morning. Park Activist Tommy Loeb said that Barcia acknowledged that he has a copy of the court order that should stay the work. It's from the Appeals Court, the highest court in the state.However, according to Loeb, "He has been told by higher ups that he's supposed to let the construction workers in.” Protesters have been unable to stop the work. Harriet Hirshorn and Alice O'Malley were arrested yesterday trying to deliver the Temporary Restraining Order to supervisors of the demolition inside the construction fence.Attorney Kathryn Freed said that the document the police were using to allow the demolition to proceed was "an internal memo" from the Department of Design and Construction. "They're taking that as more important as the highest court in the state."Activists, who have been protesting as work proceeds, say that the city is trying to demolish as much as they can before Monday, when the Court of Appeals will act on the contempt citation East River Park Action attorneys sent to Albany.
From NY1's coverage from yesterday:
In a statement, the city said that the order from appeals court Judge Rowan D. Wilson on Wednesday did not amount to an order to halt work at the park pending a final ruling.
"The City has reviewed the Court's written order and we do not believe it prevents us from continuing work on this vital resiliency project," Ian Michaels, the head of public information for the Department of Design and Construction, which is overseeing the project, said.
You can read find more coverage at The Village Sun and CBS 2.
Activists scheduled a press conference today at 1 p.m. at the Houston Street entrance to the park.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared this photo from yesterday... where there was an active construction site.
Read our previous posts for more background on the ESCR and the opposition and controversy over the city's current plan.
East River Park Action and other activists say they will continue to fight for alternatives to preserve much of the park and provide interim flood control.
Top photo by @1000people1000trees
Friday, December 10, 2021
Report: City continues cutting down trees in East River Park despite Temporary Restraining Order
According to East River Park Action, who has been opposed to the city's current plan for the park, the TRO remains in effect at least until the next hearing on Dec. 20.
However, despite the TRO, activists at the construction site just south of Houston Street report that city-contracted workers continue to cut down trees today. (There are also reports from people at the scene that police have arrested several of the activists.)
Top photo by @jeremoss
A rally for Casa Adela
As previously reported, the building's landlord — a Housing Development Fund Corporation — is looking to increase the rent from $1,350 to, eventually, $6,750, a number that the current owner Luis Rivera, the son of founder Adela Fargas, says is not feasible.
Rent negotiations are underway, though the two sides haven't reached an agreement, said Frank Gonzalez of Loisaida Realty, who helped organize the Save Casa Adela Committee.
Adela Fargas started serving her Puerto Rican cuisine here in 1976. She died in January 2018 at age 81.
Image via @loisaidarealty
Thursday, December 9, 2021
A visit to the new East Side Ink on the Lower East Side
Text and photos by Stacie Joy
The shop recently moved to a spacious yet cozy second-floor loft at 88 Rivington St. between Orchard and Ludlow. 
I dropped by to talk with owners Jen Terban-Hertell and Josh Lord (the third partner, “shop mom” Yadira Mendez-Firvida, was off at the time of my visit) about the move, their new location and the shop’s history in the neighborhood. Josh was busy inking, so Jen answered my questions.
Why did you leave Avenue B for Rivington Street?
Everybody knows the pandemic year was a struggle for most businesses. We were sad to see so many closed.
However, because of our amazing artists and clients, we survived. We learned a lot about what our clients and artists want for the future of tattooing. So, we created a space that was private and warm yet open and inviting. We were all separated for so long that we just wanted to be together again. Safely. We wanted a studio that worked better for the artists and their needs. A studio that supports the artistic growth and privacy of our clients. We wanted a studio that was for us, our little artist family.
You mentioned this is your fifth location (since inception) in the neighborhood. Why is the East Village/Lower East Side area vital to you?
Well, besides being respectful of our original name…the East Village/Lower East Side has nurtured art, diversity and culture. Growing up in NYC, I remember being genuinely inspired by the scene in the East Village and Lower East Side. The art, music and fashion you could find on most blocks in the East Village were like nowhere else in the world. East Side Ink has been a part of that culture since the 1990s.
Even if the rents get high and the landlords don’t respect the neighborhood’s culture, it will always be our home, and we will prevail.
Were all your artists able to make the move with you to the Rivington Street shop?
Yes! And both the artists and clients have expressed how happy they are in the new studio, and they even say they like it better. It was difficult to physically and mentally move, so we couldn’t be happier with everyone’s reaction and support. It was important that the artists feel at home at the shop. We considered every detail to make a space our artists would be inspired to create in. We want to support them as best we can to give each client and tattoo the attention it deserves.
How is the new space different from previous ones, and has the clientele changed?
Our clientele has always been diverse, from Oscar-winning celebrities to locals on the block. Unlike our previous locations, our new studio provides a sense of inclusion and warmth. A professional coziness. I could describe the artwork and the wood floors and the lighting, but really, it’s a vibe.
What can we expect from East Side Ink going forward?
You can expect us to grow old! We are not going anywhere. We have always been ahead of our time in the tattoo industry, leading the way with how a shop looks and feels. We are a close-knit little artist family. We’ve been through 9/11, hurricanes, flooding, blackouts and pandemic. We prevailed!
Over the last few years, we’ve grown, we’ve gotten married, we had babies, we’ve broken up, moved on, and moved up! You can expect to see us for a long time. Come visit: bring your dogs and your kids. We have made it this far because we have always had the support of our artists, clients and neighbors.
Here are the proposed locations for new Citi Bike docking stations in the East Village
That presentation is online now right here. (The DOT is making presentations to other Community Boards this month, and find all that via this link.)
According to the presentation, "demand shows 1,804 docks [are] still
needed in CB3." For now, though, the proposal calls for an installation of 683 docks ... with more capacity coming by extending existing
stations.
The maps below (click on the images for more detail) show where the infill is slated. The green dots are extensions at existing stations (the only EV extension on the map is at 13th Street and Avenue A) ... while the red circles denote new stations (11 in total, with an "equipment swap" on 10th Street between A and B) ...
A study by the DOT and Citi Bike found that the ride-sharing service was falling behind in keeping up with the cycling demand of New Yorkers.
As Streetsblog reported on Nov. 2:
Citi Bike announced that it needs the DOT to provide it with sites for an immediate Lyft-funded infusion of docks and bikes because the system is under "added stress [in] its original service area, which serves a disproportionate number of the total rides."In other words, too many people are either showing up at docks that are empty or trying to return bikes to full racks. Even as it is breaking its own records, Citi Bike estimates that it lost 4 million rides in 2021 because customers are getting frustrated. The company cited the ridership increases as well as "unpredictable commuting patterns as a result of the pandemic."An unbalanced system results in riders finding empty or full docks during periods of peak demand," a problem that cannot be totally mitigated through rebalancing or Bike Angels, the company said.
Stories of Citi Bikers wandering around for 30 minutes looking for an open dock — or just a bike — in the evening have become common in recent months. (East Village resident and cycling advocate Sophie Maerowitz wrote an op-ed on the topic for amNY on Nov. 15.)
The Times checked in with an article on the topic as well the other day, reporting that through Nov. 17, Citi Bike had recorded 25.2 million rides in 2021, 4 million more than in all of 2019. (Citi Bike debuted here in 2013.)
But!
[A]s the city has sought to accommodate the surge in both bike-share use and overall cycling by adding hundreds of miles of bike lanes, it has provoked a backlash from drivers and some elected officials who complain that parking and driving are now more difficult.
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