Happy MC61

MC5 co-founder Wayne Kramer turned 61 yesterday. There was a birthday party for him last night at Manitoba's. It was thrown by John Varvatos.

Ray still trying to get his Social Security

Scoopy has an update on Ray Alvarez at Ray's Candy Store and his ongoing battle to get his Social Security ... In this week's issue of The Villager (fourth item in Scoopy's Notebook): "In a new development ... Alvarez said he’s now got two lawyers helping him. They’re trying to track down a copy of his long-lost Turkish Navy ID that he used to get his green card when Reagan granted amnesty to illegal immigrants back in the 1980s. 'It takes 10 to 22 months to get those papers — I may die before I get them,' Ray explained fatalistically as he mixed up a cherry slush for a customer last Saturday night."

As always, check in with Bob Arihood at Neither More Nor Less for photos and updates on Ray.

[Photo via The Villager/Jefferson Siegel]

Gold Street still telling people that it's temporarily closed for renovations

Gold Street at 2 Gold Street in the Financial District closed last month...but you may not know it from the signs that are still up....



The space is becoming Harry's Italian....

The corner of Delancey and Attorney is ready for development

Last September, we did a post titled The last frontier on the LES? In which we wondered how long before Attorney Street would see more development.



Maybe not much longer. As Patrick Hedlund reports in this week's issue of The Villager:

A prime corner property on the Lower East Side with residential development capabilities of nearly 20,000 square feet has hit the market with an asking price of $3.2 million.

The site, at 178 Delancey St. at the corner of Attorney St. near the Williamsburg Bridge entrance, allows for 13,500 square feet of development under the area’s new R8-A zoning designation.

Massey Knakal Realty Services has been retained to sell the 25-foot-by-100-foot site, which currently houses a vacant one-story structure.

With a voluntary inclusionary-housing bonus, which requires 20 percent of a planned project to be allocated to affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families, the residential floor-to-area ratio could allow for up to 18,000 buildable square feet. With a community facility, the F.A.R. would allow for 16,250 buildable square feet.

Here's the corner for sale:



A commenter wrote the following on my post from last September:

i live on this block, and it's a nightmare. despite the downside of developments "taking away from the LES" i gladly welcome them to come into this street and build. it's better than what's currently there.

due to the traffic patter of attorney street (one way, dead end street, that's hard to get to) it welcomes petty crime from car break-ins, to building vandalism, and dumping in that abandoned lot.

nobody cares about the street, as evident by the torches motorcycles, piles of dog shit, and broken car glass littered throughout the sidewalk.

there have been two fires set in that abandoned lot in the past month. if that's not dangerous enough, the twisted scrap metal that hangs off the boarded-up entrance will surely put your eye out. Conveniently, this all occurs within 20 feet of an elementary school.

I have called 311, the police, and the department of sanitation over a dozen times, and nothing seems to get done. I would gladly welcome developers coming down and cleaning up that street - certainly the city is in no rush to do it.

Related:
Clinton Papaya gutted (BoweryBoogie)

What's happening at the Umbrella House?

There is plywood and a "store for rent" sign up at the Umbrella House, the former squat -- named for its leaky roof -- at 21-23 Avenue C between Second Street and Third Street.




I was curious about what tenant might be coming to this space. I contacted the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), the nonprofit that has acted as a liaison between the tenants and the city throughout the renovation process of the former LES squats.

Here's what UHAB spokesperson Jess Wisloski told me: "Despite the for rent sign on the building, Umbrella has found a tenant -- a local barbershop is planning to expand their business. We hope to see it open for business in the next few months once their renovation of the space is complete."

Previously...before the plywood...







There's a lengthy, complicated backstory on the renovations of the former LES squats. Too much for a blog post. The Dec. 31-Jan. 6, 2009, issue of The Villager explores the issue in-depth in an article titled "Former squats are worth lots, but residents can’t cash in." An excerpt:

In a series of high-profile clashes — particularly on E. 13th and E. Fifth Sts. — the city forcibly evicted many of the squatters in the 1990s. But in 2002, City Hall took a radically new approach: Eleven of the 12 remaining East Village squats were sold for $1 apiece to the nonprofit Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. Under the agreement, the squatters, with UHAB’s guidance, would bring their buildings up to code within one year, then buy them — for just $250 per apartment — and the buildings would become permanently affordable, Housing Development Fund Corporation, or H.D.F.C., co-ops.

In a nutshell from the article, some homesteaders are upset that the lengthy renovations were financed with what they call unfair loans that have saddled them with debt.



Despite some tension between the sides, a UHAB official told The Villager that "four to six of the former squats will be converted to co-ops sometime between now and February," with the Umbrella House being the first to convert.

I asked Wisloski about this timetable: "The Umbrella House has not converted yet, but we hope it will be in the next few months."

One question that I didn't ask: The owner of the barber shop will then pay his/her rent to the newly formed Umbrella House co-op?





For further reading on the Umbrella House:
In Images, the Lower East Side of Starker Days (The New York Times)

Squatters' rights (City Limits)
The article has details on the three-day standoff in 1989 between the Umbrella House squatters and the city...with the cops blocking off C between Second and Third Streets...

A brief history of New York City's Squats (City Limits)

Sweat Equity Pays Off (The Brooklyn Rail)

Squat the world! (Not Bored)

"I fucking hate the changes that have happened. I’d prefer drug dealers and criminals to the yuppie shit that goes on here now"

This week's Time Out features "Great Walks," the best outdoor treks in the city. They select a stroll through the East Village, dubbing it the "Public Eye Watch." Good people watching, you know.

Here's one of their stops:

If there isn’t a swarm of roaring motorcycles outside the cute little brick facade of the Hells Angels’ HQ (77 E 3rd St between First and Second Aves) — rumored site of drug deals and racketeering since 1969 — there’s probably at least a pair of grizzled bikers watching the leggy denizens of nouveau East Village go by. “I lived here 25 years,” croaks one yellow-toothed Angel who declined to give his name before almost literally throwing us off his turf. “What do you mean people-watching? I fucking hate the changes that have happened. I’d prefer drug dealers and criminals to the yuppie shit that goes on here now.” Hurry on to Second Avenue and don’t look back.

P.S.
You may also do the "Sweet Tooth Walk" on the LES.

[Photo via Forgotten NY]

What becomes of Pork Village during the swine flu pandemic?

Back in December, the Times noted the following:

In the East Village, local cuisine is quickly whittling down to a single food: pig. With new pork-bun outlets and ramen shops, porchetta and hot dog specialists, plus bacon peanut brittle as a local bar snack (at The Redhead), the area is all bellied up.

On Tuesday, the Times had the following article titled "Pork Industry Fights Concerns Over Swine Flu." The lead: "The swine flu is producing global hesitation over eating pork."

The same article goes on the say:

Medical authorities say that people cannot contract the swine flu from eating properly cooked pork. There is no evidence so far that the people who are becoming sick were in contact with pigs. In fact, authorities are not even sure how susceptible pigs are to infection with the new flu.

Still, does pork sound good right now? One writer had this on his mind. At BlackBook.com, Ben Barna wrote a piece titled "Will Swine Flu Fears Affect New York’s Banh Mi Boom?"

He wrote:

Yesterday, amid fears of a global pandemic, I checked out the new East Village rendition of Baoguette — yet another entry in New York’s out-of-nowhere (but understandable) banh mi hysteria. But while normally I’d order their signature sandwich — a baguette stuffed with pork terrine, pate, and pulled pork, among other things — fears of sore throat, fever, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly death overcame me. So I ordered the BBQ chicken. If swine flu paranoia is already stopping one New Yorker from porking out on a traditional banh mi, how long before the entire Saigon Sub industry feels the side effects of a possible pandemic?

Although he did go back the next day for the signature sandwich, he admitted.

Donning a mask, this intrepid reporter walked by Porchetta on Seventh Street (pictured, above, in a shot taken on another night) to see what was what. Three people were digging on swine inside. Another person was walking out with some pork to go.

To be continued....possibly.

For further reading:
Will Swine Flu Finally Kill the Pork-Belly Trend? (Grub Street)

P.S.
You no doubt already tested yourself to see whether you have swine flu.

P.S.S.
I'm wondering whether the business at Porky's may suffer too.

Keith Hernandez is back

Second day now that I've seen the Keith Hernandez street art...this one is new on the plywood on St. Brigid's along Avenue B...



Part of a renewed "I'm Keith Hernandez" marketing campaign?

If you haven't seen the 19-minute film by Rob Perri, here's your chance... As the synopsis goes, "Part baseball documentary, part anti drug film, part socio-political satire, I’M KEITH HERNANDEZ utilizes a version of Hernandez life as a vehicle to discuss how male identity is shaped by TV/film, sports, advertising, and pornography."


I'm Keith Hernandez from water&power on Vimeo.

This is bagel heaven?

Looks as if yet another bagel place is ready to give 283 Houston a whirl. This spot near Clinton Street has already been home to Jean's Bagels & Deli and Houston Bagel & Grill in recent years.

Noted: Bouncy rides

Thanks to Jill at Blah Blog Blah for pointing out something that needs to be pointed out: Bouncy rides. I admit that I was unaware of this...though in my defense I don't take the L train all that often...





According to the Club Animals Web site, home of the Bouncy Rides and other things related to this:

Q: What makes Club Animals relevant today?
A: Club Animals (Est. 2008) is a regression from adulthood. Obama said that now is the time to put off childish things, but we could not disagree more. In these times of job loss, government bailouts, and even a potential Depression, Club Animals has turned from adult concerns of money and finances and concentrated our minds on to those of children. Can you think back to a time when you didn't care how much money you had in your pocket? Can you remember a time when you just wanted to play? Club Animals has embraced childhood, and the time when what was valued most was fun, horseplay, and experimentation without worrying about "reality."

Saturday, May 2nd:
Free Bouncy Rides
Union Square subway
L Platform
10p-11p

Jill has a video link too.


Free Bouncy Ride L train from Club Animals on Vimeo.

Horrified? Amused?

Stiles on your dials

As a follow-up to yesterday's radio post... I mentioned this in the comments: I do enjoy listening to Danny Stiles on occasion. He has been on the radio since 1946, and will remind you of this many times over. "No one else is doing what I'm doing on the radio. This is your last man standing -- Danny Stiles."

Here's his schedule in NYC:

WNYC AM 820
8PM - 10PM Saturday Nights

WNYC.ORG STREAMING
8PM - 10PM Saturday Nights

WNSW AM 1430
10PM - 12midnight MONDAY - FRIDAY

WJDM 1530 AM
1PM - 5PM Monday - Sunday

WPAT AM 930
7PM - 9PM / Weekday Mornings 3AM - 5AM

Or you can tune in anytime via his Web site.

If you're unfamiliar with him, Stiles plays American popular standards...Sinatra, Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Cab Calloway, Jack Jones, the Glenn Miller Band, Woody Herman, Al Hibbler, Morris Albert -- you get the idea. He doesn't care for much music made after, oh, 1960. (Except for maybe Herman's Hermits...)



Sure, his jokes are bad and he's long-winded...but... I enjoy his stories. Talking about how no one stops to pick up a penny anymore. He sees people throwing them away sometimes! Then he'll say how he shared a bed with his brothers growing up. And wait till he starts on the kids with their CDs -- and worse! "Now, they download music right onto their eyeeee-pods. It's very technical." He plugs his sponsors -- John's Pizzeria, say -- often and with many details. "Hmm, and the marinara sauce!... It's the best pizza in the world!" He's also prone to calling himself a variety of nicknames: the Archangel of Archives, Ballaboos of Beautiful Ballads, Didactic Doctor of Dreamy Discology, Dean of Deja Vu, Great Guru of Golden Gramophones, Passionate Pasha of Peripatetic Platters...

With Count Basie...



He is apparently still spinning records Friday nights at Zeppi's on West 56th Street.

Finally, here's what he says about his favorite place in NYC, the Red Blazer: "A stunning, posh place. It's the former home of John Drew Barrymore, and an excellent spot for the Lindy Hop or slow drag with a pretty girl."

Like a deadbolt in your Cheerios

Well. While on the topic of NYC radio... a moment of silence for the recent anniversary of one of the worst things to ever air...



The David Lee Roth Show on 92.3. (Jan. 3, 2006 - April 21, 2006). The patsy picked to replace Howard Stern.



So how did it go? (Via Wikipedia)

"Roth's show is ... skin-crawlingly awful. ... In these days of bland Clear Channel/Infinity corporate radio, it's bracing to hear a guy who has no idea what he's doing. ... Listening to Roth, you feel actual physical pain." -- Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone

And here's some rare audio preserved from what of his shows... Panama, baby!