Tuesday, April 4, 2023
A new corner of the 'Star Wars' galaxy
And a sneak preview of what's to come... a work that includes Grogu, aka Baby Yoda...
RIP Leonard Abrams
Photo from March 23 by Stacie Joy
Leonard Abrams, the editor and publisher of the East Village Eye, the legendary magazine published from 1979 to 1987 that covered the neighborhood's arts, politics and social currents at the time, died suddenly on Sunday, according to several of his longtime friends.
Abrams, who started the publication at age 24, had recently announced — much to his delight — that the Eye's archives, consisting of documents, manuscripts, artworks, videos, ephemera and a complete run of the original printed publication, had been purchased by the New York Public Library. (This article in The New Yorker has many more details about the archives.)
On March 23, Abrams presided over a celebration of the acquisition at the Bowery Electric, an evening that included a performance by the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.
His friends shared some thoughts on social media about his death...
My friend & former editor Leonard Abrams passed away suddenly yesterday. We met in 1990 when he was the US editor of Soul Underground. I'm in shock; he and I were just writing one another a few weeks ago and now he's gone. https://t.co/19WRYjCB2d @lithub @villagevoice pic.twitter.com/NY0mfpmqRO
— gonzomike (@gonzomike) April 3, 2023
Could EVEye publisher Leonard Abrams really be dead of a heart attack? He was only last week celebrating the NYPL getting the Eye archives. He was a true Tom Sawyer with that thing, getting us all to work for an apple core - but it wouldn’t have happened without him.
— Walter Robinson (@walter10065) April 3, 2023
His post-Eye career included opening Hotel Amazon, which brought warehouse-style parties to a former LES school featuring, among many others, De La Soul, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. He also made the documentary "Quilombo Countr," narrated by Chuck D, about a community founded by escaped slaves in Brazil.Saddened to wake up to the news that #eastvillageeye Publisher, #LeonardAbrams has passed away. As a documentarian, I am so thankful of his rich documentation of the East Village Art Scene through his paper. And, he was such a wonderful, giving person.
— Make Me Famous Movie - ART documentary (@famousartdoc) April 3, 2023
However, in recent years, his main ambition was to find a home for the Eye archives.
As he wrote:
NYPL's acquisition of the East Village Eye archive is the perfect outcome of our years-long search for the best home for these materials. I can't think of another institution with the breadth and depth of interest, the institutional strength and the dedication to the common good that compares to the New York Public Library — not to mention where it lives. New York deserves to keep this essential trove of materials. It covers a time when it wasn't always easy to love New York City, but we always knew how important it was to bring these voices to the public and to preserve them, even if it meant dragging them from one storage space to another for some 35 years.
In a 2012 interview with EVG, he discussed the legacy of the 72 issues of East Village Eye.
I'm most proud of having gotten so many of them out. And hearing someone say something like "I moved to NY because I read the Eye in my home state." I was gratified to have published columns by David Wojnarowicz and Glenn O'Brien and Cookie Mueller and Richard Hell. And to have been told that the term "hip hop" was first printed in the Eye. And to have presented so many idiosyncratic voices in such a deadpan manner, as if what they said was as obvious as the weather. That was fun.
Food City coming to Avenue D
Photos by Stacie Joy
Workers are stocking shelves for Food City, a new supermarket to open this spring at 85 Avenue D between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...
Not sure at the moment if this Food City is any relation to the longtime shop that closed on the UWS in 2013.
This space was previously a Rite Aid, which closed late last spring.
Avenue D could use another grocer after Uncle Johnny closed in February 2022 at Fifth Street last year to make way for a new 13-floor development.
Food City will be just steps away from the Food Emporium on the SW corner of Avenue D and Sixth Street...
Captain Cookie takes a break on Astor Place
In a message to EVG, a company spokesperson said:
We have taken a step back from retail after our past year of serving East Village and Times Square and appreciate all the fans who came out to share our joy of cookies! We hope to be back in NYC with shops in the future...
NYC Captain Cookie fans can order for delivery on the company's website.
The Washington, D.C.-based mobile business operated by Neil Hershman serves "fresh-baked cookies, local milk, and made-to-order ice cream sandwiches." There are storefronts in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, N.C.
They opened here at the end of April 2022.
Monday, April 3, 2023
Monday's parting shot
ICYMI: Superiority Burger debuts in new East Village home
ICYMI, EVG contributor Stacie Joy got the first look at the space, the former Odessa Restaurant. You can check out our post here from yesterday for more.
For now, SB is open from 5 p.m. to midnight, Thursday through Monday. They plan to expand the hours in the weeks/months ahead to include lunch and, one day, breakfast service.
And about the sign: Tamara Shopsin designed it. (She and her husband Jason Fulford also created the SB placements and menus.)
At the incoming Panda Express, the lights are on but there's no Orange Chicken
Updated 4/5: June is the new target date for the opening.
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The latest development: THE LIGHTS ARE ON...
This comes two weeks after a ladder inside the quick-serve chain's space moved from one spot to another.
We're 16 months into the first report of the PE opening on this corner.
As previously noted late last summer, there were issues with permits — as in waiting for the city, Con Ed, etc., to approve them. A PE rep told The Village Sun that this outpost wouldn't open until the first quarter of 2023. (One tipster told us that management here was very late in turning in the necessary paperwork for the various licenses, etc.)
Anyway, we're now at the start of the second quarter of 2023. We reached out to PE for an update on the opening status.
In any event, the PE still looks ready for Orange Chicken action ... though this location hasn't appeared on the PE website.
Panda Express launched in California in 1983 ... with more than 2,000 locations today, including a handful around NYC.
H/T Steven
[Updated] Expired health permit temporarily sidelines Joey Bats Café
Photos by Stacie Joy
Updated 4/4: Joey Bats reopened today after paying the fines.
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A posted notice from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene noted that the business was operating without a permit.
Owner Joey Batista (aka Bats) responded with a message for patrons:
"I forgot to renew the health permit and it expired (Doh)! This means that despite my 'A' rating, I have to stay closed until Monday when the fine can be paid..."
On Avenue A, Two Hands turns over to Korean Street Foods
Details are scarce about the establishment between Ninth Street and 10th Street.
The new signage arrival comes on the heels of the closure of Two Hands in recent weeks. (A note on the door pointed to a "technical issue" for what was to be a temporary situation.) The Korean corn dog specialists — part of an expanding chain — opened in April 2021. Their other NYC outposts remain in service.
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