Mural by @PhoebeNewYork...
Saturday, March 2, 2024
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, March 1, 2024
Beyond the 'Sea'
Our past few Fridays-at-5 posts have featured bands on tap for the New Colossus Festival, taking place in LES/EV venues next week.
Up next, the French shoegazers Sarakiniko. The above video is a live version of "Fade it Away into the Sea."
The band will bring their firepower to Rockwood Music Hall on Allen Street next Friday night (set time: 11:30).
Find the full New Colossus schedule here.
About the Every Woman Biennial 2024 at La MaMa Galleria
Details:
The salon-style exhibition features painting, photography, installation, sculpture, video art, textile, and multimedia works, activated by performance, dance, music, poetry readings, theater, and film.
After tomorrow, you can check it out Thursday through Sunday from 1-7 p.m. through March 24.
A visit to Veselka, as the East Village institution celebrates 70 years and another week for its documentary at the Village East
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
It's late Tuesday afternoon, and there's a noticeable energy at Veselka, the 70-year-old East Village institution on the SE corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street.
Tom and Jason Birchard, the second and third-generation owners of the Ukrainian restaurant, are amid a media whirlwind. They are in high demand to discuss the newly released documentary, "Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World," directed by longtime patron Michael Fiore, which looks at how the war in Ukraine impacts the family and staff here.
The must-see film opened last Friday three blocks up Second Avenue at the Village East by Angelika. And the Birchards have just heard the news that the film will be held over for a second week here. (The documentary is also playing in several other markets, including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.)
There are still traces of makeup on Tom's face and neck from a TV interview as we sit down to chat. However, between longtime customers coming up to congratulate him on the film and listening to the fascinating stories of Veselka from "back in the day," it's challenging to keep the interview on track.
You likely know Tom's journey. He began his career here in 1967, working alongside his father-in-law, founder Volodymyr Darmochwal. In 1975, he took the reins, steering Veselka through decades of change and growth. His son Jason carries on this legacy, taking over the ownership just before the pandemic. (The film provides a concise yet compelling history of Veselka, which means rainbow in Ukrainian.)
We'll get to the rest of the tour later in this post.
For now, I settle back to enjoy hearing some Veselka-related stories about classic East Village figures, like La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart getting invited into the "inner sanctum" Ukrainian Blue Room and 2nd Avenue Deli owner Abe Lebewohl and his generosity in feeding the community (the Birchard family clearly follows that precedent by being active in charitable concerns in the neighborhood).
We also share our own experiences with Veselka. I shame-facedly admit that I stole a plastic Veselka coffee mug as a teenager. Thankfully, I'm offered absolution ("You've confessed; now eat 10 pierogies, and all is forgiven," Tom offers). Now, for-sale ceramic versions of those mugs (plus plates and bowls) are available. Jason tells me new merchandise will be added soon, including an old-fashioned original-logo tote bag for the 70th anniversary and a throwback T-shirt.
Talk turns to the war and its impact on the community both here and in Ukraine. Jason tells me that this past Saturday, CNN was at the restaurant doing a feature on the second anniversary of the start of the conflict when they cut to Chief International Anchor Christiana Amanpour interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Veselka has become a focal point when discussing the war in this neighborhood with a large population of Ukrainians. Through Jason and the staff's tireless efforts — along with the generosity of the local community — the restaurant has raised $600,000 for the resistance with borscht sales, blue-and-yellow cookies, and supply drives.
I'd learned much of this from covering the news locally in the past two years but also from the documentary I watched a few nights earlier at the Village East. Jason tells me he's donating the net proceeds from the film to Razom for Ukraine.
Here are some Q&A highlights from my conversation.
How does it feel to have the film extended for another week?
Tom: We're on cloud nine. We hope a steaming service will pick this up so we've got a larger distribution. We're hoping in our own small way to influence the war's positive outcome and reenergize American support. The response has been really gratifying…my mailbox is flooded.
How did it feel to watch the film?
Jason: It's hard to see myself. I'm a very private person, and I think Tom would state the same. It was initially going to be a short documentary as an homage to my father and all the years he spent here. And then it turned into a lot more. We didn't know there was going to be a pandemic, we didn't know there was going to be a war — we started the film before all of that.
David Duchovny is the film's narrator. What is some of his history with Veselka?
Tom: David grew up on 11th Street and Second Avenue. David's mom was a client of my wife [former St. Mark's Veterinary Hospital vet Sally Haddock Birchard]. My wife came home one day and said, "Oh, I met this really nice lady. She lives on Second Avenue. She's really concerned about her son, who's pursuing an academic career at Princeton, but now, all of a sudden, he wants to go to Hollywood. She's worried sick about him." It turns out that was David Duchovny.
About 20 years ago, a location scout approached me and said a Hollywood director wanted to shoot a film ["Trust the Man"] scene with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup…and David, too. Well, I said we would do it because of the connection between his mom and my wife. When I finally agreed to let them shoot the film, they all came, and the director, Bart Freundlich [married to Julianne Moore], took me aside and said, 'Thank you so much for letting me shoot this here. The scene is crucial in this film.'"
Was there anything from the film that didn’t make the cut you wish had?
Jason: The film director, Michael Fiore, had interviewed many of our key people here, including a woman that we called the Queen of Borscht. She had been eating here for 30-plus years. We also sat down with employees. We did little in-depth interviews that I wish would have made it. I mean, the movie could be a lot longer!
We also had some celebrities, like Liev Schreiber, and some Ukrainian boxers who weren't very comfortable around the cameras. So, a lot of that footage didn’t make the final cut.
Following the conversation, we take a walk around Veselka. After a warning that "it's a working kitchen, it's not pretty," we descend the steps to the restaurant's lower level ...
I also meet Dima Prach, a line cook whose family story is part of the documentary. 
He was able to bring his mother and aunt (twins, seen below) over from Ukraine thanks to Jason's sponsorship. They both now work at Veselka.
That's all for now for Gizmo
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
For the first time in 32 years, the storefront at 160 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street is no longer home to Gizmo.
As we've been reporting (here and here), the sewing supply shop was not offered a lease renewal by their landlord (this on top of rent increases that made it increasingly difficult to stay here anyway).
Rosa Malmed and Hossein Amid were ready to sign a lease at 319 E. 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. However, at the 11th hour, they learned that the building had been sold and no lease would be granted to them.
So, over the past few days, they packed up their full-to-the-brim shop and placed everything in storage.
Rosa thanked everyone who called and messaged... and stopped by the shop.
She and Hossein haven't found a space yet, but they hope to start looking again after taking a few days to breathe and destress from putting everything in storage.
Hossein will continue to make house calls for sewing machine repairs.
As we've reported, the couple wants to continue in the neighborhood: "A small storefront, with easy accessibility for differently-abled patrons."
Contact info for them: (212) 477-2773 or email: gizmocorp@aol.com.
The city's first public e-bike charging site for delivery workers unveiled on Cooper Square
... activated the first of five public e-battery charging locations as part of the city's new six-month pilot program to test safe, public charging of lithium-ion batteries by an initial group of 100 delivery workers. The first charging site is located in Cooper Square ... and is a key component of the administration's overall “Charge Safe, Ride Safe: New York City's Electric Micromobility Action Plan" to support safe e-bike use and prevent deadly lithium-ion battery fires. New York City is among the first major cities in the United States to launch a public e-bike charging pilot program.
Per the Times:
During the pilot program, up to 100 delivery workers can volunteer to use the charging hubs for free and provide feedback to the city. The program will cost about $950,000 in city funding. Its results will inform the city’s efforts "to expand safe and affordable e-battery charging to all New Yorkers," city transportation officials said.The new charging sites come amid ongoing concerns over fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries.
According to ABC 7 and other media outlets, 18 people died, and 150 people were injured in 268 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in NYC last year.
Last Friday, 27-year-old journalist Fazil Khan was killed and 22 others injured during a fire in a six-floor apartment building in Harlem. FDNY officials said the fire started in an apartment shared by six delivery workers charging lithium-ion batteries.
Meanwhile, the Times pointed out that the city received "a $25 million federal grant last year to install 173 outdoor charging stations for e-bikes and other e-mobility devices at 53 of the city’s subsidized public housing complexes, but none have been built yet."
It will likely be months before you see any signs of these, The City reported.
And another angle brought up in Streetsblog's coverage:
When it comes to electric charging infrastructure for cars, DOT has been able to install 100 chargers at sidewalks in all five boroughs within 18 months, and the agency is eyeing tens of thousands more in the coming decade, Streetsblog reported.Nevertheless, the asked why it appeared to be easier for the agency to accommodate electric cars than e-bikes, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Commissioner contended it was not more challenging to set up the e-bike infrastructure.
Photos courtesy of the DOT
Apollo Bagels opens today
Photo by Steven
Opening hours: Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m. until sold out.
Joey Scalabrino and his business partner Mike Fadem started making and selling bagels from their Williamsburg pizzeria, Leo, in 2020... before launching Apollo Bagels as a pop-up at Fanelli's in 2022.
Previously, per Grub Street's Chris Crowley:
The bagels are crispy and chewy on the outside, baked to a shade of deep brown, with little blackened patches. And, as one recent fan put it, they've got "a good fluff-to-crunch ration." Made of sourdough, they're less dense than they look, bubbly on the outside with an airy interior.The 800-square-foot storefront is divided by a long counter for ordering. Seating is outside only, and the menu will remain tight: Sandwiches included smoked salmon with capers, red onion, and dill; whitefish salad; and a summertime tomato with olive oil. (Bagels will also be sold by the half-dozen and dozen, straight from the oven, with the standard spreads like cream cheese available.)
No. 242 was most recently home to Pink's Cantina.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Thursday's parting shot
Photo by James Chambers
A (disarming?) piece by Captain Eyeliner with help by Billy Barnacles on 13th Street at Avenue A...
6 posts from February
• Longtime East Village sewing business Gizmo needs a new home (Feb. 26)
• Village East by Angelika is serving up the Veselka documentary (Feb. 23)
• DA's office mulling charges against tow truck driver in the death of longtime East Village resident Merle Ratner (Feb. 15)
• Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar (Feb. 8)
• Man who attacked Ray outside Ray's Candy Store sentenced to 10 years in prison (Feb. 7)
• On the Job: Talking with playwright Max Wolf Friedlich at the Connelly Theater (Feb. 1)
A visit to the Unprofessional Variety Show
Photos and text by Stacie Joy
The Unprofessional Variety Show is a quarterly cabaret in the back room at the Parkside Lounge on Houston and Attorney.
East Village resident Maya Seuss launched the ongoing variety act in February 2022. (Read more from Maya below.)
Here are a few scenes from the evening...
"Allied Productions exemplifies one of the things I love about this neighborhood, which is the diverse legacy of experimental queer and radical art and performance," Maya said. "At the Unprofessional Variety Show, I try to make the programming truly intergenerational. I love introducing younger performers to the legendary performers from the neighborhood."
She continued....
"I moved to the neighborhood after being accepted into Umbrella House, and becoming part of the Lower East Side community has truly changed my life. My Umbrella House neighbors always come to my show and even perform, such as when musician Mamie Minch accompanied my ant character, who sang a folk song celebrating collectivity, and who could forget the cameo by Sibohan Meow, our local cat woman and caretaker of critters? I'm honored to have an opportunity to contribute to the rich creative history of this neighborhood."
The next Unprofessional Variety Show happens on May 18 at the Parkside.
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