Life Cafe is temporarily closed

Last evening on 10th Street and Avenue B. No mention of a closure on their website or Twitter feed.

I'm running out of headlines to explain the continued alterations to the Shepard Fairey mural

Painted black today.

Previously.

Marshals seize brand-new Cafe Hanover on St. Mark's Place

Wow. That was fast. The Cafe Hanover on St. Mark's Place has been seized by the marshal's office...




Many thanks to EV Grieve reader Ryan for the shots... no word on the fate of the U2/2U karaoke portion of the empire here at the former Mondo Kim's.

The grand opening was just last month!



Previously on EV Grieve:
2U (or U2) Karaoke is now open on St. Mark's Place; Hanover Cafe coming soon

Tonight at the Mars Bar

Cooper Union puts the brakes on its skateboarding bank

Cooper Union brass have apparently had enough of gleaming the coop... As Quartersnacks point out, the bank has been skatestopped with spiked metal bars running across the entire surface. "Drunk people will still climb on it, but skateboarders will not."



Well, balls.

And here is the review of the spot from QuarterSnacks:

Spot: Clearly a display of “progressive” architecture, this retarded appendage of the new Cooper Union building quickly turned into one of best skate spots in the area. The bank is an upwards triangle, fairly mellow, and made out of ridiculously smooth, polished concrete. It is narrow, and you will need to dip in and out of the corner when skating it, or simply pop a wallie over one of the many slanted pillars also extending from the building.

Bust — ♦♦♦♦♦ / Almost Immediate: Your time here typically will not last longer than five minutes, but forces greater than all of us have been known to intervene and grant sessions that last for up to a half hour. The spot is positioned right next to the front security desk, so odds are inevitably against you. Oh, and white people with liberal arts degrees will often stop by and ask you why you’re destroying such a magnificent work of art.

How will the Coop entertain us now?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gleaming the Coop

New on 98 Bowery: Basquiat, Haring and ART/new york

[Photo via 98 Bowery]

Marc H. Miller has told me about another major addition to the 98Bowery site.

ART/new york; A Video Magazine on Art
(1981 - 1985)

Between 1981 and 1985, Miller and Paul Tschinkel collaborated on 17 ART/new york programs containing interviews with more then 50 artists. Miller wrote the narration and conducted the interviews. Tschinkel produced the series and worked the camera. The tapes were co-directed. (Tschinkel continues producing ART/new york programs.)

This is the story of the early years of a pioneering effort to provide video coverage of the New York art world. 98Bowery now includes segments from historic video programs with artist interviews and rare footage of exhibitions. Among the footage that you'll find:

-- Richard Serra & the Tilted Arc Controversy (1982-83)
-- John Ahearn, "We Are Family", Public Sculpture Dedication, South Bronx (1982-83)
-- Graffiti/ Post Graffiti – Opening at the Sidney Janis Gallery; Collaborative -- Painting Demonstration at the New York Society for Ethical Culture (1985)
-- Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Fun Gallery (1983)

There are also audio excerpts from interviews with Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brice Marden, Nam June Paik and Cindy Sherman.


[Photo of Haring via 98Bowery]

As you can imagine, there are stories behind every video here... I asked Miller to share an anecdote about one of the interviews...

"The posting of the Jean-Michel Basquiat tape is in part an attempt to reclaim my credibility. It is the original program that Paul Tschinkel and I made in 1982 and it captures a 21-year-old Basquiat just as he was coming into his own. It includes footage from his phenomenal Fun Gallery exhibition and about four minutes from a 40- minute interview. This may have been the happiest and most upbeat moment of his life.

"Unfortunately, after Basquiat died in 1988, my interview with him was released in its entirety without any editing. In retrospect, this was an incredibly naive and foolish thing to do. Buried within the interview were a few clumsy moments and exchanges in which I played the devil's advocate to elicit lively responses. Over the years, these are the moments that have received the most attention. It's something I've had to live with. I'm just happy after 20 years that I can get the original tape back out there."

Here's an excerpt of ART/new york program no. 30A: JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: An Interview, uploaded to YouTube by Tschinkel.



By the way, the new Basquiat documentary by Tamra Davis, "The Radiant Child," opens tomorrow at the Film Forum.



For further reading on EV Grieve:
Life at 98 Bowery: 1969-1989

Revisiting Punk Art

Q-and-A with Curt Hoppe: Living on the Bowery, finding inspiration and shooting Mr. Softee

Voices from 98 Bowery's past

Avenue A icy/icee wars

A few weeks back, The Scoopinator reported that the new NYC Icy on the other side of Avenue A has taken half of Ray's business (according to Ray) ... so... Slum Goddess yesterday noted that Ray is now selling -- icees...




Thanks to Slum Goddess for letting me borrow the photos! And be sure to read the rest of her post, which features a headline that I hope someone in the mainstream media borrows: Just read my fucking shit.

Anyway, will NYC Icy now start serving hot dogs or egg creams?

Bedbugs inspire local artists

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Dan N. for the photo here on St. Mark's Place near Second Avenue... As he noted, "This kind of makes having bedbugs look like one wacky experience that all New Yorkers should love."

And the Summer of Bedbugs continues...

Sidewalk shed partially down on Seventh and A

Since March 10, workers have been repairing the facade on the building at Seventh Street and Avenue A... which meant a sidewalk shed for Yuca Bar and Ray's... Yesterday, workers removed the sidewalk shed on the Seventh Street side...





Still more time for shenanigans on A, though, near Ray's and the World Famous Pee Phone©.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Scaffolding to cover Ray's, Yuca Bar

The name Gruber mean anything to you?

Speaking of Seventh Street and Avenue A... almost time for the annual viewing of "Die Hard With A Vengeance," the Best Worst Bruce Willis movie... as you may or may not know, this cheeseorama includes a scene filmed in Tompkins Square Park and on Avenue A...

Hard to keep a good plywood peepee down

Someone (Hello, Penistrator!) really wants to draw a big dick on Shepard Fairey's mural on Houston and the Bowery... here's the latest...





Previously!

July 12!

[Photo credit: DNAinfo]

July 13!


July 18!


July 19!


Previously on EV Grieve:
Shepard Fairey plywood penis getting painted over

The street has a message for Shepard Fairey

We'll always have Craigslist

Seeking Sexy TOPLESS Female to deal poker at my party - Sat. 7/31** (East Village)
Date: 2010-07-19, 5:10PM EDT

Hey there. About 10 of my good friends and I are getting together on the night of SATURDAY, JULY 31 to play some poker and smoke cigars, and thought it would be a nice gift to my friends to hire a young, sexy woman to deal for us - TOPLESS. We are nice, respectful, fun (and funny) 28 year olds from Long Island. Looking for a fun girl who can handle a deck of cards and would deal texas hold'em poker for TWO HOURS (10PM-Midnight) on Saturday July 31. $100 cash for the 2 hours - easy money! Liquor and a cigar are included!

If you think this would be fun and are down for a sexy and funny night, then email me! PLEASE INCLUDE PICTURES! (Face + body).

Thanks guys...