Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.

By James Maher

Name: Derek Berg (and Nikita)
Occupation: Photographer
Location: 9th Street and 1st Avenue
Time: 11:45 am on Monday, Oct. 8

"I've lived in the neighborhood since 1977. When I first moved in I was actually nervous on my own block. I remember people sitting in the back of Veselka at the payphones, before cellphones, with newspapers searching for jobs.

I’ve seen strippers on the street at 9 in the morning getting change. You’re never really surprised to see something you’ve never seen before. It’s kind of unusual when you’ve lived here for over 30 years to say I’ve never seen that before. It’s been very stimulating.

I used to drive a taxi. It was around the same time that they made the movie 'Taxi Driver.' I wouldn’t see it until I finished driving. I’ve been working on a serious project about taxis myself. Mine had nothing to do with passengers, just the taxis. I did pretty much all black and white until I picked up a digital camera. Black and white was my main interest. I went to digital because I kinda had to. I lost my darkroom for awhile. I now have a darkroom again so I hope to get back to it.

I also photograph dogs a lot. I love the dog stuff because I have one and they’re everywhere and fun to shoot. I’ve got a lot of dog photos in calendars and post cards and thing like that. I photograph a lot of different things. I’ve done portraits of strippers for Penthouse magazine; I’ve done weddings; all types of things. I like to keep it varied. It keeps it interesting.

Oddly enough, I didn’t do much photography around the neighborhood. There were so many homeless people or people that were having a hard time and I found it hard to point a camera at them. I mean, I have some of that stuff but it’s not what I prefer to shoot. Although now with everyone taking pictures with their cellphone, it kind of eases it up, because with a real camera it kind of looks like you know what you’re doing. There is no privacy for anybody anymore."

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

How you can help the displaced students from East Side Community High School

A parent from the East Side Community High School forwarded us this email yesterday... slightly edited for length...

Greetings from the East Side Community High School Diaspora! We're sure you've read about us in the news recently. We are temporarily locked out of our East Village location because of structural damage to our building.

As a result, we have no access to our building. We cannot get to any of our teaching, student or office supplies, technology, sports equipment, etc. While the building is being assessed and repaired, we are housed in different schools. We don't know when we can get back home.

This is a very difficult situation, but we've always been The Little School That Could — we are a community of about 650 students and teachers from some of the city's most disadvantaged populations. Yet, we have received an A on our progress report for all of the years the NYC DOE has issued them. Our students have a tremendous record of success in every realm.

We will survive our temporary situation, but it's tough. It's tough being locked out. It's tough to be a community when half of us are in Midtown and half in Chinatown. It's tough not to able to go to our library, to sit at our familiar desks ...

Our top priorities are to keep our kids' spirits high during a difficult and unsettling time and to maintain a supportive environment that is both educationally and creatively stimulating by replacing the books, materials and technology that are in the building, which is off limits until it is deemed safe.

East Side has always been rooted in the community, and we are reaching out to our community now. We could use your help, and we invite you to make an investment in our community's future.

How can you help East Side students and teachers?

• Offer food (breakfast/lunch), snacks and/or water/juice to make our kids (and/or teachers) feel good.

• Provide school supplies for our students and teachers.

• Offer your venue for a class field trip (museum, film, play, pool, bowling, rock climbing...). Our students are working out of small, tight spaces with minimal space for recreation.

• Provide use of your space for activities, recreation, or meetings.

• Make a financial donation to help us purchase necessary items for our students and teachers and to cover travel expenses for activities and field trips.

• Donate a gift certificate or item to be auctioned/raffled off to raise money

• Supply gift cards (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Staples...) to help us with necessities.

• Help with technology — many of our staff and some students will be working in hallways and very tight spaces. Laptops would allow us to be more productive and make life a little easier.

To learn more about East Side, please go to our website. To speak to someone directly, contact Jodi Caplan, Director of Community & Family Partnerships, at jodic@eschs.org

And courtesy of Pumpkin Patch, here's the direct link to the donations page.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Schools making it work while repairs continue at 420 E. 12th St.

When marching bands march: A Cavalcade of Pomp tonight on East Village streets

From the EV Grieve inbox...

The New York HONK! Festival continues tonight with the East Village Cavalcade of Pomp.

Seven bands descend upon the Lower East Side.
Step-off at 7:30 pm from seven different locations around the neighborhood.

With:
Environmental Encroachment (Chicago)
Two Boots Avenue A — 42 Avenue A and Third Street

Stumblebum Brass Band
Two Boots Pizza — 74 Bleeker Street

Pink Puffers Brass Band (Rome)
The Bean — 147 1st Avenue at 9th street

Minor Mishap Marching Band (Austin, Texas)
The Bean — 54 2nd Ave at 3rd street

Hungry March Band
Lower East Side Girls Club — 56 E1st between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave

Rude Mechanical Orchestra
Times Up /MORUS — 155 Ave C between 9th and 10th St

After Party at The Delancey Lounge with a Performance by The Himalayas
168 Delancey Street
Happy Hour prices from 8:30 to 10:30 pm with wristband
Doors: 8:30pm / No Cover – Donations Requested

The New York Times had more bout the Honk! Festival yesterday here.

A Second Avenue and East 12th Street now and then

Here's a good one from our friends at NYC Corners... Second Avenue and East 12th Street... in 1930 as The Yiddish Art Theater ... and today as the Village East Cinema...

Find more corners here.

Azaleas moving around the corner to Second Avenue

Something we've been meaning to note... Azaleas, the boutique that sells jewelry and nice froufrou things like undergarments and stuff, is moving from its East 10th Street home around the corner... (the store announced this via Facebook on Sept. 15.)

The coming soon paper is up on the windows...

...to right here on Second Avenue. Right where that helpful arrow is here between St. Mark's and Ninth Street.

This is part of the former Estroff Pharmacy space. Fresco, the gelato cafe, took over the other part of the pharmacy back in the summer.

[Updated] City approves East Village Historic District

From the EV Grieve inbox... from Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation...

I want to share with you the wonderful news that the proposed East Village Historic District was just approved with slight modifications by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, taking immediate effect! Three hundred thirty 19th and early 20th century buildings between the Bowery and Avenue A, St. Mark's Place and 2nd Street, now enjoy landmark protections.

Previously.

Updated 5:31 p.m.
A few more media outlets have filed stories... The City Room blog at The New York Times noted the The new East Village/Lower East Side Historic District (official name!) passed by a 6-1 vote.

Margery Perlmutter, the lone dissenter, "said before the vote that most of the tenements in the district were not worth preserving."

And per Curbed:

[Perlmutter] also questioned the characterization of the historical significance of the neighborhood, saying "What brought it to prominence is that Jack Kerouac lived there as opposed to the immigrants."

Per a commenter at Gothamist: "Thank goodness ... Toy Tokyo at 91 Second Avenue can now look like that forever!"

You can find coverage at Crain's here. ... and NY1.

EV Grieve Etc. Mourning Edition

[Saturday in Tompkins Square Park. Photo by Bobby Williams]

Looking at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C (Slum Goddess)

Suspect named in the murder outside an LES barber shop (The Post)

More details about the new bar from the B-Side folks opening on East Broadway (The Lo-Down)

Fire at 157 Rivington (BoweryBoogie)

Scary things happening at formerly historic Jefferson Market (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Postcard of the old Third Avenue El (Ephemeral New York)

S'MAC opens in Murray Hill; eatery is 3X larger than the East 12th Street location (Gothamist)

And Morrissey on his "Ramones are Rubbish" review from many years ago (Billboard):

When I bought the Ramones first album on import, I was enraged with jealousy because I felt they had booted the Dolls off the map. I was 100% wrong. Three days after writing that Ramones piece, I realized that my love for the Ramones would out-live time itself. And it shall. Well, it virtually has already. If the Ramones were alive today, they'd be the biggest band in the world. It takes the world 30 years to catch on, doesn't it? I mean, look at poor Nico. Every modern teenager now seems to love Nico, yet while she was alive she couldn't afford a decent mattress.

Despite plea, landlord doubling rent on East Village family with cancer-stricken 2 year old

On Sept. 22, members of the community came together to organize a fundraiser called "James Day" in First Park in support of James Panitz.

Shortly before his 2nd birthday this past spring, doctors diagnosed James with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer often found in children. He has been undergoing intensive chemo and radiation therapy, and while the results are encouraging, a long course of treatment remains ahead of him. The related medical expenses have been overwhelming for his family.

James' father Damian Panitz, a longtime East Village resident who is a teacher and technician at NYU, said that while the event was a success and raised funds to help with medical expenses, the family now faces a new challenge.

Damian and his wife Kate Perry recently learned that their landlord, Steve Croman of Croman Realty/Croman 9300, is nearly doubling their rent on East First Street from $2,100 to $4,100 a month.

"We absolutely cannot afford this price bump," Damian told me. "And to move in the middle of my son's treatment could be disastrous to his health."

[Photo of James courtesy of Damian Panitz]

So, when paying the October rent in person at the Croman office on Broadway, Damian's wife Kate outlined the situation to a Croman rep, explaining that they needed one more year until James is healthier.

Per Damian:

She explained that we could not possibly sign a lease for $4,100 but pleaded that if our rent were to raise would he be so nice to consider a 10 percent raise? His attitude was snarky. He said they are running a business and not a charity and he could possibly find something cheaper for us somewhere else.

She explained again that moving out in January could be detrimental to his condition, not to mention we work nearby and the ability to check on our son during our breaks is essential. He then said "so you want me to do you a favor?" She said no, do a favor for a 2 year old boy with cancer. It's just one more year.

Damian says they were planning on moving after Croman bought the building 18 months ago. However, James' illness has complicated any move.

"We figured we would wait out the lease and go. However, since our son has been ill, it is suggested we keep him where he is until he hopefully regains his health."

The family hopes to continue to plead their case to Croman. As a backup, they'll try to quickly find another affordable apartment in the neighborhood, where Damian and Kate want to stay.

"My mother's family emigrated to St. Mark's Place in the early 1920s from Bratislava, Slovakia," Damian said. "My uncle has lived in the East Village for 45 years," he said. "And now I would like to raise my son here."

RIP Donald Suggs

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

Donald Suggs, a familiar face around the neighborhood, died this past weekend. He was 51. A friend said that he had suffered a heart attack. There's no word yet on a memorial or celebration of this life.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared the following:

Donald was my friend and an all-around great guy. An activist, a journalist, long-time EV resident, a queer role model, and a wonderful human being.

He also worked at Exit9 on Avenue A. The store had this message yesterday on its Facebook page:

We, at Exit9, would like to express our sincere condolences for the loss of our most caring friend and associate, Donald Suggs. You will be missed not only by us, but by the many customers who looked forward to your endless smile and contagious laughter.

His bio on Facebook reads like this:

I've been in the neighborhood nearly twenty-five years and miss the days when people actually made or did something interesting — rather than swiping their cards and waiting to be entertained. But I still prefer it to anywhere else on the planet!

NLYU Yogurt has closed and everything — and we mean everything down to the Fruity Pebbles — must go

EVG regular William Klayer points out the not surprising news that NLYU Yogurt on First Avenue near East 10th Street has closed...

We first saw the sign in April... And we don't recall seeing any patrons inside — ever...

Anyway. Everything must go.

Now is your chance to load up on Fruity Pebbles.

Reminders: East Village/Lower East Side Historic District vote is today

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote this afternoon on designating portions of the neighborhood as historic districts (the areas outlined in red above).

By most accounts, this is expected to pass. Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the plan, such as church leaders who believe even simple projects like fixing a roof will become more expensive and bureaucratically time-consuming, as the Times noted in January.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has been helping lead this push. You can read all that they have to say about it here.

You can read our previous coverage of this here.

For other news coverage:
NY1
Gothamist
amNY

GRAND OPENING WINE AND LIQUOR ALERT

@robbyohara notes that the new St. Marks Wine and Liquor is now open at 16 St. Mark's Place. Have any of you been yet? Any early scouting reports?