Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Report: 'World's most wanted hacker' lived on Avenue D

There are reports today that the suspected ringleader of the Anonymous offshoot group LulzSec had been living a rather under-the-radar life at 90 Avenue D in the the Jacob Riis Houses.

According to the FBI, 28-year-old Hector Xavier Monsegur, an unemployed computer programmer and father of two children, is Sabu, "the head of LulzSec, and the de facto King of Anonymous — easily the most notorious and influential hacker alive today," as Fox News put it.

Earlier today, the feds announced charges against the last members of the now-defunct LulzSec, accusing them of orchestrating an online assault against corporations, defense contractors, security firms and government sites, including the CIA.

As multiple outlets have reported, Monsegur had been working as a government informant since the FBI charged him with various hacking crimes last August.

Gizmodo has a lot more here .... and here... Gawker's coverage is here.

More later...

David Schwimmer vs. The Coen Brothers on East Sixth Street

Been a busy few days on East Sixth Street between Second Avenue and First Avenue... The Coen Brothers are back filming "Inside Llewyn Davis." The trucks and all that are parked along East Sixth Street. (The crew seems to be filming inside 110 Second Ave.)

[Yesterday, by Bobby Williams]

Meanwhile, construction continues at Chez Schwimm... where the pallets of cinder blocks await ....

[Early this morning, via EVG]

After the various work crews arrived today for their respective jobs, a resident along here noted, "The street is practically nonexistent as the Haddad's vans (where is Justin Timberlake?) are taking over from the Schwimmer cranes, making it impossible for [the construction workers] to close the street at will, as they often do – for deliveries, etc."

The Coen Brothers crew will also be filming tomorrow, then the street can be returned to the Schwimmers.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[East Second Street yesterday via Bobby Williams]

Phillip Retzky on the life and death of Little Rickie, the East Village (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Remembering Janet Freeman (Save the Lower East Side!)

Brooklyn foodies threaten mom-and-pop shops on Eastern Delancey (BoweryBoogie)

The Tenement Museum hosting an opening reception for Rebecca Lepkoff's "Life on the Lower East Side" (The Lo-Down)

Expect to see the East Village slide condo on reality TV soon (Curbed)

An appreciation of th East 11th Street Baths (Off the Grid)

And starting tonight at the Dorian Grey Gallery on East Ninth Street...

About Bikinis (sandwiches!) slated for Avenue C

In looking over the March CB3/SLA docket, one item jumped out at us: Something called Bikinis slated for 56 Avenue C. What the bartenders will be wearing on duty?

Heh. Nope! CB3 has now posted more information about the applicants. We reached out to Petrit Pula, one of the principals for the new establishment.

He provided some background.

"Bikinis is not the attire of choice — not at all," he said via email. "Bikinis is a style of sandwich from coastal Spain. It's similar to a grilled cheese sandwich, but we are expanding that concept. We will be creating a Barcelona-style eatery with a vintage American diner feel. It will serve Bikinis (sandwiches), soups, salads, coffee, fresh juices and a few dishes."

Pula has been involved with Nublu Records the past six years, most recently as president/A&R. The space for Bikinis at 56 Avenue C is the former Nublu Records office. He is on the recording side, and not with the Nublu music club.

"I saw an online petition against our request for beer and wine license, and that petition has connected us to Nublu," he said. "This automatically makes people think loud music, late night, etc. We are not doing any of that. We are a restaurant with a full menu, background music and regular restaurant hours."

According to the application (PDF) on file with CB3, the hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursdays; to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturday.

He is opening Bikinis with his fiancé, Karina Correa, who is the main principal in the restaurant.

Said Pula, "Once the neighbors find out what it actually is, I think they will be at ease."

[Pula and Correa have launched an online petition for signatures in support of their restaurant. You can access that here.]

Edi & the Wolf team aims to open bar-lounge on Avenue C

Also on this month's CB/SLA docket:

• 116 Avenue C Restaurant LLC, 116 Ave C (op)

According to the application (PDF) posted on the CB3 website, Edi & the Wolfe partners Eduard Frauneder and Wolfgang Ban are aiming to take over the former Lava Gina space here between Seventh Street and Eighth Street. (Edi & the Wolf is the well-regarded Austrian restaurant/wine tavern that opened in late 2010 at 102 Avenue C.)

Not a lot of information on the application. The unnamed space is being called a "bar/lounge" with proposed hours of 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. The proposal calls for eight tables and a bar that seats 15 people. They will also serve food, though there aren't any details about that just yet.

The CB3/SLA meeting is Monday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at Bowery.

Jim Jarmusch narrates audio walking tour of East Village poets and poetry


A reader sent us this last night via UnionDocs...

"Passing Stranger" is an audio walking tour of poets and poetry associated with the East Village, created by award-winning radio producer Pejk Malinovski. The tour – narrated by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, with music by new music pioneer John Zorn – provides an anecdotal, digressive tapestry of the poetry that lived and continues to live in the neighborhood.

The audio walk features commentary from key figures in the East Village poetry scene, including Richard Hell, Ron Padgett, Ed Sanders and Anne Waldman along with historical recordings of Joe Brainard, Allen Ginsberg and Kenneth Koch.

The walking tour ranges from the Bowery in the west to Avenue C in the east, Bleecker Street in the south and 12th street in the north. Stops include St. Mark's On-the-Bowery, W.H. Auden's old apartment building, Tompkins Square Park, Allen Ginsberg's old building, the Bowery Poetry Club and more. Each stop presents a montage of poetry, interviews and archival recordings relating to that particular place.

From March 10th to 11th, as a part of the Armory Arts Week's Downtown Satellite Event, "Passing Stranger" will be displayed at Audio Visual Arts Gallery in the East Village as a multimedia installation.

The Audio Visual Arts Gallery is at 34 First Ave., just east off Second Avenue. The reception is 7-9 p.m. on Friday.

Here's a lot more information about "Passing Stranger." You can also download the map and audio file here.

The campaign to 'imagine a park' at 51 Astor Place

A few weeks ago, Jeremiah first pointed out the stickers that someone put on the plywood at 51 Astor Place, one day to be home to a black-glass tower.

[JVNY]

Since then, the campaign has evolved... fewer words, same sentiment... now in sticker, marker and stencil form...



How you can help support the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space at C-Squat

Yesterday, we posted a link to the article in the Times about the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) opening at C-Squat.

In the comments, Amy pointed us to a Crowdrise page to help raise funds to launch MoRUS at 155 Avenue C. You can access that page here. (As of this morning, they had collected nearly 20 percent of their $18,500 goal.)

Per the site, "We have a storefront location, tour guides and the community's approval, we just need your support to help open the museum to the public. With every donation we get closer and closer to preserving the neighborhood's vibrant history and opening the museum..."

And here's the MoRUS website with more information.

Cotan looks closed on First Avenue


Cotan, the Japanese restaurant on First Avenue just north of St. Mark's Place, has apparently closed... Well, there's that sign on the front door...


...and when we called to check last night, we found that the number wasn't in service. The space shouldn't be empty for long: Something called Iconic Hand Rolls is on this month's CB3/SLA docket for a wine-beer license. And it's the same address as Cotan.

As you may know, Cotan took over the space after Shiki Kitchen closed at the end of 2009. (Rent hike.) Jeremiah wrote about Chef Shiki, a former boxer, and his intricate paper creations here.

Cops looking for fake cop


EVG reader Justin S. spotted this yesterday at the Delancey-Essex Street station... the man pictured allegedly flashed a silver-star-shaped badge on a chain, claimed to be a police officer, then punched the victim in the face and stole his wallet.

Naked bicycle dude replaces WĂłdka Vodka hooker ad on the Bowery


That WĂłdka Vodka ad didn't stick around too long here on the Bowery at Great Jones. We noticed it last week along with BoweryBoogie... This was the ad that got some Bronx community leaders in a snit last month... the vodka's marketing company agreed to remove the offending ad there ...

Dunno if anyone around here complained... but, as of yesterday, a new ad was in place...