Tuesday, April 4, 2023
A new corner of the 'Star Wars' galaxy
RIP Leonard Abrams
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
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.
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
Captain Cookie takes a break on Astor Place
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.
Monday, April 3, 2023
Monday's parting shot
ICYMI: Superiority Burger debuts in new East Village home
At the incoming Panda Express, the lights are on but there's no Orange Chicken
This comes two weeks after a ladder inside the quick-serve chain's space moved from one spot to another.
[Updated] Expired health permit temporarily sidelines Joey Bats Café
"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..."