Noted

Mrs Claus says: pull out the ole' sled & lets do it all over again on Dec 14! http://t.co/TWEBlkROLL http://t.co/9RSNY5AcVZ Happy Halloween

— santacon (@santacon) October 31, 2013

In case you missed the announcement this week... your favorite day of the year is now scheduled!

On Oct. 1, DNAinfo reported that a group of concerned Hell's Kitchen residents reached out to the event's anonymous organizers asking them to avoid their neighborhood ... and the SantaConners responded: "As far as us coming to Hell's Kitchen this year, you don't have anything to worry about."

Meanwhile, on Oct. 17, State Sen. Brad Hoylman sent the following letter to SantaCon organizers:

I am writing to express my concerns regarding SantaCon and the effects it has on the communities it visits. Each year local elected officials, community boards and local precincts are besieged by complaints as SantaCon passes through their neighborhoods.

While SantaCon may be a short-term boon to a select group of local businesses, the many adverse impacts it wreaks, such as vomiting in the streets, public urination, vandalism and littering, disrupt community members’ quality of life. I recognize that at any large event, a few bad actors may disrupt an otherwise orderly affair, but at previous SantaCons bad actors have hardly been the exception. As such, significantly more must be done to combat the neighborhood scourge SantaCon has become.

Further, no matter the behavior of the participants, the event has grown large enough to completely overwhelm sidewalks and public spaces, creating a public safety hazard for all.

I strongly urge you to work with the New York City Police Department in order to come up with a strong and effective plan to combat public intoxication and to ensure all participants are respectful of the neighborhoods they visit, as well as handling the overwhelming crowds associated with an event this size. In addition, I urge you make this plan available to the affected local Community Boards well in advance of your event so that they have time to comment and help shape it.

Sincerely, Brad Hoylman

CC: Community Boards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Precincts 1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 17, 20, Midtown South, and Midtown North

Word out of Community Board 3 is that no one from this neighborhood called 311 to complain about SantaCon. Hard to believe.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How was your SantaCon?

A few scenes from SantaCon 2012: Scourge of the city or good time had by all?

Sushi Lounge has closed

Workers cleared out the Sushi Lounge space on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon... a manager told EVG regular @salim that the space was "too expensive."

No word on what might be next for this prime piece of East Village real estate. (Bring back Alcatraz?)

Collection continues for Stromboli Pizza worker killed in a cycling accident

[Photo by EVG reader Aizaz]

As we reported on Wednesday, Cesar, a long time employee of Stromboli Pizza on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place, died from injuries he suffered bicycling home from work on Oct. 21.

A resident who has lived near Stromboli since 1985 has set up a crowdfunding campaign, which we added to the post later. So in case you missed that:

Cesar was always a smiling, sunny face behind the counter at Stromboli's Pizza, where he worked for 17 years. While biking home to Brooklyn after a shift on Oct. 21, he was struck by a delivery truck and sustained multiple injuries. He lapsed into a coma at Bellevue hospital and succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 30. This fund is to help with hospital expenses and funeral costs. Cesar was 34 years old and leaves behind a wife and three small children. Stromboli's owner, Joezef, will accompany the body back to Mexico for burial.

Find the GiveForward link here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: Stromboli Pizza worker killed cycling home from work

Tonight at MoRUS: Conversations on creating change with East Village resident Maggie Wrigley

Via the EVG inbox... another cool program at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space...

MUSEUM OF RECLAIMED URBAN SPACE to celebrate release of: THE ARCHITECTURE OF CHANGE: BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

"The Architecture of Change: Building a Better World" is a collection of essays and photos demonstrating how people from all walks of life and every socioeconomic level can create real change in their communities and beyond. These are people who refused to accept that things couldn’t change, who saw the possibility of making something better, and didn’t hesitate to act.

Bullet Space, a housing and art collective founded in the East Village in 1986, has blossomed into a “battlefield of ideas” for the global arts and activist communities. The building, its history and residents are among real-world examples found in the newly released book, which addresses issues of innovative housing, neighborhood reclamation, community empowerment, racism, aging, gentrification, displacement, and the power of social networks.

Maggie Wrigley, an East Village resident who contributed the essay and photos on Bullet Space, also serves as co-editor along with Jerilou Hammett, editor and co-founder, with Kingsley Hammett, of DESIGNER/builder: A Journal of The Human Environment, an independent and nontraditional journal that brought issues of social justice and equity to the debate over the built and human environment.

Wrigley, a familiar face on the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space’s (MoRUS) weekend walking tours, will celebrate the release of the book at MoRUS with a slide show and reading tonight at 7.

Refreshments will be served and admission is free, but a $5 suggested donation is always appreciated. MoRUS is located at 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets

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There is apparently only 1 amenity worth mentioning for this E. 7th St. studio

Here's a fine looking studio now for rent ($1,750) at 17 E. Seventh St. Close to Cooper Union. The Astor Place subway entrance. McSorley's. And there are likely things about the studio to tout. Freshly buffed floors? But per the listing... there's only one thing apparently worth noting...

Immaculate studio in the heart of Greenwich Village. 2 Blocks from Astor Place and subway. CitiBike station right across the street. Available for Dec. 1st but an earlier move in can be accommodated. $50 application fee. 15% broker fee.

But "in the heart of Greenwich Village"? Haha! Fools! Everyone knows that this is Midtown South!

A skateboard shop for East 4th Street?

The rumor on East Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D is that the long-defunct Brazilian tea shop will soon house a skateboard shop ... run by the tea shop owner's son.

H/T Steven Matthews

Scenes of Halloween on Avenue B

Thanks to EVG contributor Stacie Joy for these photos from trick-or-treating late this afternoon on Avenue B...

Halloween at La Plaza Cultural

East Ninth Street and Avenue C... Rest in Pieces... Photo by Bobby Williams

Sewage of the Dead

Here is Spike Polite and his bandmates in Sewage with a timely new video that seems appropriate to play this evening...

Director Christopher J. Ryan said that he spent $139 for the entire shoot ... the only paid person was the make-up artist, who got $30 an hour for each band member... with some leftover zombie garb from the Zombie Crawl two weeks back.

Best retro Halloween costume so far today

Via EVG regular William Klayer spotted this on the corner of East Seventh Street and Avenue A just now. With records inside! On my way.

Cool ghoul

First Avenue at East Fourth Street.

'Tis the season...

Just in to the EVG inbox...