Sidewalk stories

Yesterday, a little sidewalk work commenced on St. Mark's Place...

Today, the final product.

Much better!

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Here's your 2013 Frigid New York Festival info

From the EVG inbox today...

Horse Trade Management Group will present the 7th Annual FRIGID New York Festival, an open and uncensored theatre festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination.

In true support of theatre on the fringe of the mainstream, 100% of box office proceeds will go directly to the artists. Boasting over 150 performances and 30 shows over 12 days in 3 theaters, FRIGID New York will kick off the annual North American Fringe Circuit with a bang!

Riding the fringe of winter, the hit celebration of independent theater will run February 20-March 3 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online here or by calling 212-868-4444.

You can find the complete 2013 Frigid New York Festival lineup here.

Meanwhile, the Lo-Down has details here about three other local festivals... the Under the Radar Festival at Public Theater, Coil 2013 at Dixon Place and American Realness at the Abrons Arts Center.

Noted

East 12th Street this morning. Waking up on the wrong side of the Honda, via Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C.

Avenue A's anti-7-Eleven campaign now includes arsenal of 20,000 stickers

Well, it's becoming clear(er) that some residents aren't interested in having a big 7-Eleven on the corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street.

We received the following missive yesterday:

Attached is an image of stickers (20,000) that just came in and will be distributed throughout the East Village as part of a sticker campaign for when the 7-11 on Avenue A opens up. Basically people will be constantly stickering the door of 7-11 with these ... delicately placed next to the usual MasterCard Accepted stickers by the handle of the door entrance. The idea is to a) constantly remind consumers to turn around and shop elsewhere before going in and also to b) be a nuisance to the 7-11 store itself...

The email was signed,
@PoliticoNympho

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

First sign of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A

Meanwhile: There's a 'No 7-Eleven' meeting set for Jan. 16

From the EV Grieve inbox...

7-Eleven is coming to Avenue A at 11th Street. The residents of 11th Street won't sit for it. We're drawing the line of suburbanization here.

We have had about enough of chain stores and suburban franchises, Duane Reades, Walgreens and Chase Banks on every corner. We've chosen to fight. Join with us and let's start a city-wide resistance. Let's not sit for it any more.

MEETING: NO 7-11
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 6:30PM
545 EAST 11TH STREET
(Father's Heart Ministries, btwn A&B)

San Francisco has laws to restrict chain stores. NYC zoning laws don't prevent big box commercialism and the current mayor's planning department won't change those regulations. But a local election is coming.

Next year, this mayor will be gone — now's our opportunity to tell the coming administration that this does matter to us. If we don't raise the cry loud and clear, the new administration won't address it either.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the wholesale suburbanization and selling of New York lies in the hands of the people of New York. We've got to create the political will to fight against the death of this city. We've got to be visible and loud and persistent. New Yorkers have been sitting for it for a long time. We mustn't sit for it any longer.

There's likely a 7-Eleven near you, and if not, there will be. The 7-Eleven corporation has targeted the city for many more openings, intending to displace local commerce especially local bodegas. Don't sit for that.

Join the 11th Street resistance. Let's turn it into a Lower East Side resistance and a Manhattan resistance a Harlem and the Heights resistance and a Village and Chinatown resistance. Complacency=Suburbanization.

We're meeting on the 16th. Tell your friends. Bring your inventive ideas and your righteous indignation.

Live at 1 St. Mark's Place this summer; views of 51 Astor Place are free

This past weekend, I took photos of the "for rent" signs at the now-vacant Little Italy Pizza at 23 Third Ave. ... I've always been curious by the building that stands here on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place... long a witness to generations of new people entering and exploring St. Mark's Place and the East Village...

What's it like to live up there, behind that Falafel/Shawarma lettering? Turns out there's a new listing for a summer-only rental here. And it turns out to be much more luxurious than I ever imagined.

Check out the listing for 1 St. Mark's Place aka 23 Third Ave.:

Furnished Loft Rental – 1 Saint Marks – At Astor Place, the Heart of the Village, with views of Cooper Union and the Cube.

Enjoy loft living this summer in this spectacular Astor Place townhouse. This approximately 2000 square foot floor-through duplex features 14’ ceilings, exposed brick, original plank floors and oversize windows. There is also top of the line open kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite counter-tops. Baths are modern with marble and an en-suite washer/dryer.

AND, there is an enormous private patio, an ideal space for entertaining this summer.

Here's a shot of that patio... (and it would be better with a view of the Gringo mural)

...and the interior...

The monthly rent: $6,000, and it's only available for July and August.

Just think, by then, you'll likely be able to see new office workers arrive inside the Death Star 51 Astor Place directly across the street...

Bonus shot of the corner from 1980 via our friend Michael Sean Edwards ...

Coyote Ugly turns 20 this month in the East Village

Coyote Ugly is gearing up for its 20th anniversary on Jan. 26. Per the Coyote Ugly website:

This anniversary is extra special and will be the best ever! Open to the public at 4pm! Private party 2-4pm for our regulars from the first 10 years.

Don't think I know anyone who was (or is) a regular here at the bar at 153 First Ave. between East Ninth and East 10th Street... was only here once myself.

Anyway, per the sign out front, Coyote Ugly founder Liliana Lovell will be at the bash ... you can read the bar's history here. There are 13 Coyote Ugly bars in the United States now... and a few more overseas... (A Coyote Ugly opened in Constanta, Romania, on Oct. 11, and Coyote Ugly Saloon opened in Novosibirsk, Russia, on Oct. 3. There are four other locations in Russia.)

Meanwhile, a reader said that the bar was closed part of last week. Not sure what happened. (It was NOT related to the DOH, though that was an issue in the past.)

Finally the NY bar is up and running!! OK that is a load off my shoulders. It doesn’t matter how old you are but... bit.ly/VnOcUr

— liliana lovell (@coyotelil) January 4, 2013

What do you get for a bar on its 20th birthday?

The Wayland's expansion on Avenue C will sell sandwiches

Back in July we noted that The Wayland on the corner of Avenue C and East Ninth Street was expanding into the empty space next door that previously housed Bite Me Best.

New York magazine this week (via Grub Street) has the scoop on the space, a 15-seat shop called Animals that will serve sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Per New York:

About a dozen selections are priced between $8 and $10, including a pulled-bacon torta with refried baked beans and chile mayo, hot shrimp with harissa butter and celery slaw, and a vegetarian “kitchen sink” with jalapeño pesto.

No word yet if they will sell offbeat sandwiches such as, say, turkey with lettuce and tomato on whole wheat. Animals opens next Monday.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Wayland plans to expand on Avenue C

Elvis Presley in New York City

Elvis Presley was born on this date in 1935. On this occasion, we look at some of his time in NYC...

Here's an excerpt from a press conference he did June 9, 1972, at Madison Square Garden in the Mercury Ballroom at the New York Hilton prior to a four-show stint at Madison Square Garden. (Yes, I did post this 3 years ago.)



Here's a transcript of the press conference.

Also!

There is the Elvis-Mary Tyler Moore vehicle Change of Habit from 1969, one of the most grittily gritty movies ever made about New York and drug habits.

Per IMDB:

This movie is a stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in "Needle Park" in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves. She becomes addicted too, and life goes downhill for them both as their addiction deepens, eventually leading to a series of betrayals.

Oh wait. That's the description for "The Panic in Needle Park." Sorry.

No, Elvis is a doctor. MTM is a nun. Bring some butter for this corn. "Flapper skirts on a bride of Christ! I don't like undercover nuns." Zing! Here's the first 8 minutes (with Spanish subtitles...) showing some vintage Midtown NYC.

Work finally under way on long-awaited Tompkins Square Park men's room documentary

OK, that's a joke. I think. Just a photo of some kind of film crew in the Park today... By Bobby Williams

Today on Avenue A

By Bobby Williams.

Gangster Squad Night at Theater 80 on St. Mark's Place tomorrow

Tomorrow night, The Museum of the American Gangster at 80 St. Mark's Place (aka Theater 80) is hosting a party for the launch of the new movie "Gangster Squad," starring Sean Penn, Ryan "Don't fight in Astor Place" Gosling, Nick Nolte and Josh Brolin.

Via Facebook...

Gangster Squad Night!

Tuesday January 8th, 2013

Doors open at 6pm
7 pm Screening of the 1931 Warner Bros Gangster flick THE PUBLIC ENEMY
8:30pm Join us at the William Barnacle Tavern for Gangster Squad prizes, screening passes and $2 off Absinthe!

No ticket or RSVP required! Screening and bar capacity is on a first come first served basis.

Gangster Squad in Theater's January 11