Get your $3 Trash and Vaudeville T-shirts

Speaking of Trash and Vaudeville.... here's a store ad from March 1980...



Via Ephemeral New York.

Rally today to save to East Fourth Street townhouses

We've written about the historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D destined for the wrecking ball and condo afterlife... Today at noon, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC), Councilmember Rosie Mendez, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, the Historic Districts Council, and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy are holding a rally and press conference .... Read more here. And check out some photos at Untapped New York.

'Gossip Girl' guys try to act natural walking by Doc Holliday's

Thanks to the readers for pointing out that Dan and Nate (or is it Nate and Dan?) were shown in last night's episode of "Gossip Girl" walking by Doc Holliday's on Avenue A and Ninth Street...





I wonder where they were headed. San Loco?

Previously on EV Grieve:
'Gossip Girl' returns to the East Village, a headline that may score me some awesome SEO!

The Times goes to the Mars Bar with one of those guys who's in "Gossip Girl"

Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen

Noted, 'Joy to the Juicy' edition

McDonald's on First Avenue near Sixth Street.

Reminders tonight: The past, present and future of the Bowery

Tonight at 6:30, the Tenement Museum is holding a discussion titled, "Bowery: Past, Present & Future" with David Mulkins, co-founder and chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors. Free admission — and co-sponsored by Bowery Boogie!

[Image via Bowery Alliance of Neighbors]

Diablo Royale Este owner blasts the 'blasphemous lies' of residents, invites the State Liquor Authority to investigate

A discussion of Diablo Royale Este prompted a heated exchange during tonight's CB3/SLA subcommittee meeting between owner Jason Hennings and Avenue A residents.

Hennings and his attorney were present to discuss a review of the stipulations that the bi-level Mexican-themed bar and eatery at 169 Avenue A agreed to upon being approved for a liquor license. The restaurant opened in May. Among other things, it is stated the bar must closes its 18x20 backyard space by 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekends.

Several Avenue A residents were on hand (many carrying signs reading "Northern Avenue A says No More") to discuss ongoing issues with the bar, including noise and overcrowding. (And several people brought up the Sept. 5 Boats 'N Hoes bash!) Residents also claim that the backyard stays open beyond its stated hours.



Several residents spoke in front of the committee about the crowds on the sidewalk. Avenue A resident Shawn Chittle recounted how he had to walk on Avenue A to catch the 14A because the sidewalks were so full. When he turned to look, the bus' rearview mirror clipped him in the forehead, causing a deep gash. Upon hearing this, Hennings was seen smiling, laughing and shaking his head, which prompted an angry reaction from Chittle.

Avenue A resident Andrew Coamey said that during the bar's Halloween party, Hennings allegedly approached him on the sidewalk ... that he would see him in 10 years and Coamey "would still be complaining about gentrification." At the time of the confrontation, Hennings was dressed as a gladiator.

After hearing a handful of residents speak out, Hennings called their claims "blasphemous lies." He apologized to the committee for being so upset, but that sitting there and hearing the residents was "angst provoking."

"I'm laughing at some of the stories that I hear." He said that not only does he own Diablo Royale Este, but he also manages the space. He estimates he's there 100 hours a week.

Hennings said that he has only ever received one complaint from residents. He said the Boats N' Hoes bash wasn't their party; that an NYU student had rented out the space and misled the bar on his intentions.

Hennings later singled out Coamey, who he described as a "full-time activist." Coamey quickly stood up and noted that the is the senior vice president for housing and chief financial officer of Housing Works Inc., overseeing 600 employees and a $50 million budget.

Acting committee chair Herman F. Hewitt asked Hennings if Diablo Royale Este operates as a restaurant. He said that they did, and he had his executive chef on hand as well. Hennings estimates that he spends 20 hours a week working on new recipes for the restaurant with his chef.

The committee decided to recommend sending a letter to the State Liquor Authority to investigate Diablo Royale's various stipulations and claims. Committee member David McWater asked Hennings if he would voluntarily agree to stop using the backyard. If he did so, then the committee wouldn't send a letter to the SLA.

"I'm happy to be investigated," Hennings said. He wanted the fact that he welcomed the investigation to be noted in the letter. Several times Hennings mentioned that he had surveillance cameras in the backyard, and that the committee could review the video.

Also on the docket: The committee voted down Jevan Damadian's plans to reopen 34 Avenue A, the onetime home of Aces and Eights....ditto for the "restaurant for the senses" planned in the old Superdive space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Diablo Royale Este opens today: features two bars, one screening room and spit-roast pigs in the backyard

Cafe Hanover's rather sad sidewalk sale

Cafe Hanover closed up on St. Mark's Place... and the owners are looking to make a little money off what's left.

Here's an e-mail from tonight ... from EV Grieve reader Michael:

"Cafe Hanover is selling out their inventory at $1 a piece on folding tables on the sidewalk right now.

I just bought a box of melba toast and a big tray of Oreos for $2."

Reading from 'Alphaville'

A few readers had expressed interest in this... Michael Codella, who wrote the LES crime memoir "Alphaville," will be reading excerpts tomorrow night at 7 .... at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St.

Now reading

From New York magazine this week:

NYU — The School that Ate New York. Read it here.

More on NYU's Barney Building fire

The Post has an item today on the early-morning fire yesterday at NYU's Barney Building on East Ninth Street...

Fire marshals yesterday were trying to determine what caused a blaze inside an NYU building in the East Village. The fire broke out in a third-floor art studio in the six-story Barney Building on Stuyvesant Street near Third Avenue. The blaze was contained to a small sculpture- and jewelry-design studio. NYU officials said other studios on that floor are expected to be open for classes today. There were no injuries.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Late-night fire at NYU's Barney Building

'Viva Loisaida' tonight with Marlis Momber

[Marlis Momber]

Lelaine Lau, founder of 403, a cultural salon in New York City which seeks to encourage discussion, the exchange of ideas, and action through presentations on the arts, culture and humanitarian concerns, passed along information about her latest event...which is tonight (apologies for the short notice..)

Please join me for a presentation and discussion with Lower East Side pioneer and photographer Marlis Momber as she takes us on her journey and a look back at the characters and culture of the Loisaida, and the cultural, physical, social and historical shifts which have taken place there over the last 35 years. It is a story of urban development, gentrification, affordable housing, homesteading, cultural identity, the arts, and the vibrant Puerto Rican community that once thrived there, and the invigorating, dynamic nexus of politics, music, art, and indomitable spirit of a community. Marlis Momber is a pioneer and long-time resident of the Loisaida since 1975. Formerly a successful fashion photographer, working for Elizabeth Arden, Gucci and Harpers shooting the likes of Grace Jones and Jessica Lange, her main body of work documents the struggle of the mostly Puerto Rican people in the Loisaida, and has been used to illustrate national and international publications on political and cultural topics. She is a living archive of information across 35 years.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15 FROM 7-11PM $40 ENTRY INCLUDES LIGHT DINNER AND COCKTAILS RSVP to 403rsvp - at - gmail - dot - com. The address will be provided at that time. Please note we only take cash at the door

Marlis was featured in the Feb. 18, 2008 issue of the Times:

To Marlis Momber, a German photographer who began roaming the neighborhood in the mid-1970s, that terrain provided a setting for decades of documentation. “People called it a war zone,” she said. “I grew up in Berlin after World War II, and it looked the same.”

On a recent evening, Ms. Momber strolled the streets near Umbrella House. The blocks that she photographed still exist, of course, but they have changed. The empty lots are no longer empty, and the abandoned buildings have been razed or rehabilitated. But not everyone can afford the thousands of dollars per month that the new apartments rent for. And, to Ms. Momber, the streets no longer look as compelling through a camera lens.

“Sometimes I miss it,” she said of her early days in the neighborhood. “We were all so much closer to each other back then.”

[Photo: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times]

1984 View of The Empire State Building from 334 East 4. Street @ Avenues C+D

[Marlis Momber]

You can read another feature on Marlis from The Villager here.

This is New York?

A reader notes this morning, rather unpleasantly:

"This is really for EV Heave, but there's an amazing puke pic on Second Avenue around St. Mark's, on the Cemusa bus stop, a thick cascade over an ad that says 'this is New York!'"

And, if it's OK by you, we'll just skip the pic.