Hello, my name is John Elsasser and I have been running this website for the past eight years or so.
There are a few people involved with EV Grieve — some of them are anonymous, some of them are not. Regardless, I oversee everything.
I've been thinking about using my name on the site for several years. However, I resisted. It's not a personal website, and the blog isn't about me or what I had for dinner last night or what I did this past weekend. It's a news site about the neighborhood, for the neighborhood. Everyone has a voice and the opportunity to share a story, photo or tip, discuss a liquor license application or the latest Citi Bike seats. At least that's how I see it.
But I've dragged my feet with the announcement. I was waiting for a good moment. A blog anniversary maybe? Or when I retired the site. And the years passed. However, it seems easier now to make this disclosure, helped in part that a news site has designs on publishing a "Who is EVG?" article in the days/weeks ahead. After much prodding from the reporter, I eventually agreed to answer some questions via email for the story, but only once I felt convinced that the outlet wasn't trying to out me. I was ultimately wrong.
In the EVG story, you may learn more about me, such as that I grew up in Ohio, and served as the editor of my high school and college newspapers. I also spent a few years working as a reporter after graduation. Today I edit publications for a nonprofit association.
I started this blog in
December 2007 after reading in Page Six that Mona’s and Sophie’s, two bars that I spent some time in, were for sale. For some reason, I got the idea to maybe document the end of days at the bars via a blog.
Anyway, before much more happened, with both the blog and the bars, we learned in early 2008 that Mona’s and Sophie’s would remain open.
And that was that. I wrote in a post that the bars were safe, and the site was going away. However, for some reason,
Jeremiah Moss of Vanishing New York found the blog. He encouraged me to continue, to focus on other closings and activities in the neighborhood. So I did, changing the name of the site to EV Grieve.
I've always loved this neighborhood, for better or worse, and I probably always will. That sounds corny, but it's true. That drives me more than anything.
I'm not sure really what's next for the site. We'll see how this goes. [Updated: I'm not planning on shutting down the site right this moment ... I'll keep posting for the time being...]
I apologize to my friends, acquaintances and neighbors as well as various bartenders who were unaware that I was behind the site, especially when you asked me "Did you see this at EVG...?" I wanted to say, "Funny you should mention that…" but it always seemed so awkward. (Having had to do this several times, it was.)
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to visit the site, to leave a comment, pass along a tip. And thank you to all the people who have been contributing on a regular basis through the years (Derek Berg, Dave on 7th, Michael Sean Edwards, Stacie Joy, James Maher and Bobby Williams, among many others).
See you around, though hopefully not while I'm carrying my FroYo in a hoof.
