A Thanksgiving palate cleanser with the Osees... from a recent six-song performance on Seattle's KEXP.
The Los Angeles-based band will be out at Brooklyn Made on Dec. 16-17.
Friday, November 25, 2022
Enjoy the Tree Ride!
Revisit our feature on them here.
EVG Etc.: NYCHA residents demand repair reforms; The Drunken Canal announces last issue
• NYCHA residents from the East Village and Lower East Side call on the mayor and NYCHA officials to improve its repair process and how it maintains the city's aging government housing (ABC 7 ... amNY)
• The state's cannabis regulatory board approved 36 of potentially 175 pot-selling licenses Monday — with at least 13 of them to be based in NYC (The City)
• To honor World AIDS Day, the Anthology Film Archives in Second Avenue and Second Street will present two programs as part of Day With(out) Art (Details here)
• NYC theater on a budget with some EV options (Gothamist)
• Danny Fields is giving Iggy Pop history lessons (Page Six)
• Actress Spencer Grammer recalls trying to break up a fight in August 2020 outside Black Ant on Second Avenue (People... previously on EVG)
• Recently opened Broome Street gallery champions women artists of color (Artsy)
• Anna Sorokin self-promotion tour continues from her East Village apartment (Variety)
• NYC's best wine bars are on the LES says this article (Condé Nast Traveler) ... The Times has its own list, with some EV picks, right here.
• LES history as seen through Seward Park (The Bowery Boys)
• Christo, Amelia and raptor season (Laura Goggin Photography)
... and the editors of The Drunken Canal, conceived in the East Village, announced its final issue...
THE FINAL ISSUE IS HERE, and its none other than Lucky Number 13. In a gesture to thank you for all the love, support, submissions, hate, kisses, hugs, free drinks, we are giving our farewell issue to YOU. Starting tomorrow @ NOON, you have 48 hours to send us whatever you want❤️ pic.twitter.com/cShQtvyiSu
— the drunken canal (@thedrunkencanal) November 21, 2022
Thursday, November 24, 2022
Thursday's parting shot
Distributing free turkeys to local residents ahead of Thanksgiving
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
On Tuesday, community members came together to distribute 120 turkeys to area residents who might need a little help this holiday season during these financially challenging times.
The giveaway occurred at the CLLCTV.NYC art space on Third Street just east of Avenue B. As in previous years, the sponsors included Joey Aponte and Dennis Aponte, owners of the Cabin NYC on Fourth Street, the NYPD Hispanic Society, Johnny Marines and local entrepreneur Freaky Frige.
It was a way for these residents to give back to their LES community...
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by to take in some of the Thanksgiving cheer...
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Wednesday's parting shot
Some of the very best of Donald Sutherland at Metrograph
Per the Metrograph:
Sutherland brought a contemporary counterculture sensibility to two period war films of 1970— Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H and Brian G. Hutton’s Kelly’s Heroes — and he hasn’t been long out of work since, racking up a list of credits that’s rich with classic films and unforgettable performances.
Find more info on the retrospective here.
P.S.
Not included in this series... his fine supporting role as Professor Jennings in "Animal House" ...
An Instagram account to follow
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Middle Collegiate Church seeks permission to demolish the remaining façade of its fire-damaged structure on 2nd Avenue
This morning, reps for Middle Collegiate Church will appear before the Landmarks Preservation Commission to seek approval to demolish what's left of the fire-damaged façade at 122 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (Find meeting details here. There is a livestream via the LPC's YouTube channel.)
On Dec. 6, 2020, a six-alarm fire, which started in the residential building next door, destroyed the church that dates to the 1890s.
In a 46-page report (PDF here), presented jointly by several architectural and engineering firms, church leaders say they must remove what remains on the property that lies within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. According to the report, the culmination of a review over 18 months, there is too much damage to the existing structure to integrate it into Middle Collegiate's new home, that it wouldn't withstand a full-scale rebuild on the property.
"This makes me feel heartbroken"
During a phone call last week with EVG, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church, said they spent $4 million to reinforce, stabilize and weatherproof the façade in the months after the fire.
"The six-alarm fire was devastating, and the façade was badly damaged. But when something like that survives, you think, 'Well, OK — it's telling us that the structure is good and strong,'" Lewis said. "We love our church."
She said that despite these efforts, the façade has deteriorated over time. And then, their engineering report showed that it would be best to remove what was left before building a new church.
"It felt like something died," Lewis said of hearing this news. "The building burning felt like a death — a big death. This makes me feel heartbroken. It feels like a second loss. But if we let it go, we could get back on site, get back in the space and build something."
She now wants to focus on working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to build something appropriate that honors their history and gives Middle Church a ministry for the 22nd Century in the East Village — and not in a new location in another neighborhood.
We've talked with several residents who expressed disappointment that the remains — with approval — would need to come down. Residents said that the bell tower was a sign of resilience for the neighborhood.
"We're disappointed too. And [the remaining façade] is a sign of resilience," she said. "It is a symbol that this fire couldn't conquer the building."
Disappointment aside, there is also opposition to the request for demolition.
The Village Preservation is urging the Landmarks Preservation Commission not to grant permission for demolition — at least for now.
According to Village Preservation:
We don’t believe there is sufficient documentation that alternatives to preserve the historic façade have been fully explored, nor that there is sufficient evidence at this time to justify the permanent and irreversible removal.We are calling for further examination and documentation before such a decision would be appropriate to render. We want to see the church rebuild and flourish at this location, and know that they have been through incredible hardship. But we also believe that this process must be extremely carefully considered, to ensure unchangeable decisions that could have been avoided are not made, and harmful precedents are not set for allowing demolition of historically significant structures without reasonable and achievable proof of the necessity of doing so.
In addition, Richard Moses, president of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, released this statement: "We're sympathetic to the very real challenges the congregation faces here. But this building has been a beacon for the neighborhood for over 100 years. It's one of the most important sites in the historic district. We just want to make sure that the Landmarks Commissioners have the best information and all the options spelled out before deciding on the building’s fate."
Lewis said that she understands the opposition. She has also seen a report from an engineer hired by the Landmarks Preservation Commission who paid two recent visits to the site. That report states that the structure is stable.
"We relive the fire daily and try to think about what to do with it. It's that kind of grief that just keeps coming in waves," Lewis said. "At some point, two years in, I want to be able to say to my community: We did the very best we could with this. This is not a willy-nilly, hurry-up decision. The engineer says we can't keep it, and we're heartbroken."
---
You can read more about the Middle Church Rising campaign here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A quick visit to Butterdose, now open on 13th Street
Photos by Stacie Joy
We've heard good things about Butterdose, a family-owned bakery-cafe that opened earlier this fall at 236 E. 13th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the space the other day... and checked out the variety of cream puffs, egg tarts and muffins... not to mention various coffee drinks and teas...
The shop is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can follow them on Instagram here.
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