EVG reader juan TRED spotted this today at East 9th Street and Stuyvesant Street...
A VIP pass for the Foreigner show last night at Citi Field. Obviously the bearer of this badge lost it. Because who would purposefully discard this keepsake?
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Feels like the first time that you lost your VIP Foreigner pass
EVG reader juan TRED spotted this today at East 9th Street and Stuyvesant Street...
A VIP pass for the Foreigner show last night at Citi Field. Obviously the bearer of this badge lost it. Because who would purposefully discard this keepsake?
At Gem Spa this morning
At 8:30 or so this morning... LES Jewels is passed out in front of Gem Spa.
A man walks up, looks at Jewels and says "It's Harry. Harry Hippie."
He leans down. "Harry. Harry! HARRY! HARRY HIPPIE."
Jewels doesn't move.
"Harry Hippie."
The man moves on, and explains to the hat crew outside Gem Spa that the person on the sidewalk is Harry Hippie. Harry, he says, has been working a lot lately and is tired.
The man, who is wearing headphones and listening to loud music, keeps walking west on St. Mark's.
"Harry Hippie" he says one last time, shaking his head.
He then stops a group of tourists who look to be in their 60s and tells them that he is from Ireland and Scotland. The group looks confused and continues walking.
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Wow! Nearly an entire month has passed since Third Avenue has seen a street fair... anyway, cancel those weekend plans! Fun awaits! Right here on Third Avenue! At this hour of the morning an hour ago ... vendors were just starting to arrive...
...ditto for the NYPD...
We expect that you will be able to expect the usual....
Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
June 14
And we're back. EVG reader OlympiasEpiriot spotted this beauty last evening on East Sixth Street. While there isn't anything to date the photo, we happened to see it ourselves, which means we get 90 percent of the prize money, all things being equal. We would forward this to Gruber MacDougal, spokesperson for the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring and Summer (ICTTSS), though there isn't Internet access where he is seeking asylum.
Friday, June 14, 2013
The NSA needs your support!
At least according to these flyers on St. Mark's Place. After pledging support, will people need to see "After Earth"?
[Photo by Chloe Sweeney McGlade via Facebook]
Essex Street sinkhole now threatening to swallow this 'Village Voice' box
Back on Monday, BoweryBoogie reported on the sinkhole that formed at the southwest corner of Essex and Stanton Streets following Tropical Storm Andrea...
There's progress to report. Not so much in favor of pedestrians, cyclists or motorists (or newspaper boxes) though...
[Photo by EVG reader Riad]
Lunch at Katz's today
EVG reader Riad asks, "I'm not usually around these parts during the day on a weekday, but is this common for Katz's on a Friday?"
Good question! I'm never around these times either. And don't know if there's usually a line now...
Summer Friday Tourist Season?
Ray gets a new lease, an A rating (and a new shirt) on the same day
As we first noted yesterday, Ray has a new one-year lease for Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A. There had been some speculation that he might face a stiff rent hike, though, as it turns out, that wasn't the case.
As if that wasn't enough... the DOH paid a visit the other day... and Ray is now proudly showing off his new A rating...
Because you know, it hasn't always gone so well here... whether with the DOH ... or the lease...
Shawn Chittle, who took these photos, talked with Ray last night... Turns out there are other new things in Ray's life aside from a lease and an A rating...
The Birdman of the East Village
[Photo by Jessie Auritt]
Thanks to a pile of crappy CDs, we now have a documentary short about one of the neighborhood's more intriguing shops — and shopkeepers.
A few years ago, Jessie Auritt lived on on St. Mark's Place. She had some used CDs to sell. She first tried the nearest CD store near her apartment — Rainbow Music at 130 First Ave., where the stacks of CDs, videos, cassettes and records are precariously stacked to the ceiling. The trip didn't go so well. The store's curmudgeonly owner thought her CDs weren't worth a thing.
However, that visit inspired Auritt, a filmmaker who now lives in Brooklyn, to make a short about the store's 70-year-old owner nicknamed The Birdman. She answered a few questions via email about her award-winning short, "The Birdman."
Tell us about the first time you went into the store.
Well actually, the first time I set foot in Rainbow Music was a few years back before I was even interested in making a documentary. I was attempting to sell some used CDs and Birdman told me he wasn’t interesting in buying any of them. He turned me away!
What compelled you to document the shop?
I was initially interested in making a documentary film about the changing nature of the music industry. I was curious about how all of the small independent music stores in the East Village were able to stay in business with illegal music downloading and people buying songs on the Internet. Rainbow Music was naturally the first place came to mind because it's so unique. After talking to Birdman, I instantly knew that I wanted to make a documentary about him and his store. He’s such a quirky and interesting character, I felt he deserved his own film.
What was his initial reaction to your request?
When I first asked Birdman if I could film him for my documentary, he told me that it was okay for me to film in the store but that he didn’t want his face shown on camera because he is a very private person. I shot and edited the film with the hopes that we would like it and change his mind. Luckily he did.
How do you think this store has been able to survive, not only with what's happening in the music biz, but also the local economy?
To be honest, I don’t think the store would survive if Birdman wasn’t so passionate about what he does. As he says in the film, "I don't need the money, but I like the work." Judging by the massive amounts of CDs that are crammed floor to ceiling in the store, I believe him.
What's your favorite thing about Rainbow Music?
Just the fact that it simply exists. I used to live in the East Village. Now every time I am in the neighborhood, I am astonished by how much it’s changed in only the last few years with new businesses cropping up everyday. I really appreciate unique mom-and-pop shops, which sadly are becoming few and far between. Hopefully Rainbow Music will be able to stick around for a long time to come.
"The Birdman" is just one of the documentary shorts that will screen tonight as part of Rooftop Films Summer Series. The films are shown at the New Design High School (formerly Open Road) at 350 Grand St. Find tickets and more details here.
Oh, and the Birdman's real name? Bill. He never divulged his last name.
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