[Updated] Ready to celebrate the Dead's 50th anniversary in Tompkins Squre Park

As noted on Tuesday, there's a free show in Tompkins Square Park today from 2-6 p.m. commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's first show here in June 1, 1967... EVG contributor Steven shared these photos showing prep work for the show...



Find the Facebook event page here with more details.

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Jerry showed up...



... as well as a nice-sized crowd ...



Photos by Steven

Updated 7 p.m.

EVG regular peter radley shared these photos...





Per peter: "And fun was had by all. A very happy vibe, nice to feel, on this beautiful day."

Updated 6/2

Slum Goddess has thoughts and videos here.

Out and About in the East Village

In this ongoing 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: Roberta Bayley (and Stella)
Occupation: Photographer
Location: St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue
Date: Tuesday, May 23 at 3:15 p.m.

I was born in Pasadena, Calif. I went from California to London, where I lived for three or four years, and then I came to New York in 1974. I came here because I had a one-way ticket from London to New York. I didn’t know anybody here, but I had to get out of England fast — nothing illegal, romantic. New York was where the ticket was. My friend ... said, ‘I have a one-way ticket to New York,’ and I said, ‘I’ll take it.’

I had a list of names in New York that people had given me in London. Everybody I met was really great. Some people let me stay with them, and then I found an old friend in Brooklyn from San Francisco, and I just stayed. I came to the neighborhood right off the bat, to East 12th Street.

The people I met when I came here were involved in the rock 'n' roll scene, so I got to know people like the New York Dolls and Richard Hell and the Voidoids. In the midst of all that, I was working at CBGBs — I would take the money at the door. I also had a very strong interest in photography, but I hadn’t been doing it, so I bought a camera, and then I started taking pictures of the bands. And that’s what I’m still doing.

I loved the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, the Voidoids. I liked some bands that never made it. The Miamis were one of my favorites. They were the first band I saw in New York. And a band called the Marbles — they were kinda cute but they didn’t make it.

The other lucky thing, besides working at CBGBs with all these new bands that didn’t have record labels or anything and needed pictures, was that I also went to work for a magazine called Punk, which sort of became the engine of the scene. That allowed me to not only photograph the bands, but also to photograph them in really weird situations. We used to do these things called fumettis, which is like a comic in photos, with little word balloons, but you take the pictures — it’s like a little movie.

It was great because to shoot photography that way, I’d always say this looks terrible, and they’d say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll color the background in later,’ because that’s what it was. You could draw stuff in, so it made things pretty easy and fun. We had a lot of fun. We got to do wacky things like Mutant Monster Beach Party — we had a big shootout at Coney Island, and so some people were the surfers and some people were the bikers. Lester Bangs was a biker, Debbie [Harry] was a surfer, and they had a big battle on Coney Island. We all went out there and really acted it.

Debbie probably was my favorite person to photograph because she was so easy to photograph, and she was always such a nice person. We got to put people like Debbie Harry and Joey Ramone in situations they would have never really been in in real life, but those are some of my best-selling pictures — Joey with the surfboard is my top number one.

I like where I am. You can still eat for very cheap, and there are a lot of little quirky stores with interesting people running them. It’s a quirky neighborhood. It just has more grit to it, but St. Mark's has gotten pretty weird with all the empty storefronts. It’s like this weird ghost town. It has to be the greedy landlords are just asking for too much. The only thing that seems to make money on St. Mark's is cheap food, $1 pizza and Mamoun's.

I mean the place on the corner, they were going to serve vegan ice cream – you can’t make the rent with that. The Gap was there and they couldn’t pay the rent. It was funny when the Gap came in — it was all undercover. These big things were blocking it, and then one day they just came down and the Gap just kind of appeared intact. Now it would probably fit in a little better.

The big fire [on Second Avenue] was traumatizing ... the idea that your apartment would catch fire and you would lose everything. That was a really fast fire – I was across the street in a café when it happened.

One thing I really don’t like are the travelers, when they come. My last dog was killed by one of those travelers’ dogs. When they start showing up, it just gives me the creeps. I feel bad for them, but it’s sort of by choice.

I’ve been in the same place since 1975. My rent was $125 a month, so I wasn’t going anywhere. The neighborhood was cheap – that was the main thing back then. It was just very relaxed. Everybody talks about the city being so dangerous and horrible — I never really experienced that. I mean, I got mugged, but I didn’t think that was because of the city being bankrupt. I didn’t walk around feeling scared. I just thought it was great. That’s why I stayed — I connected with a scene that was happening here, which I hadn’t really been part of, just slightly in London and slightly in San Francisco. Here, though, it just felt like something new was happening, and it was exciting. Everybody was broke and everybody was trying to make it. It’s a fun time in your 20s. Wouldn’t go through it again, but I enjoyed it.

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

City approves co-naming the northwest corner of 7th Street and 2nd Avenue Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way

The northwest corner of Seventh Street and Second Avenue will be co-named Moises Locón and Nicholas Figueroa Way for the two victims of the gas explosion here on March 26, 2015.

A volunteer who helped with the co-naming efforts told us that City Council approved the bill on May 24. As we understand it, there will not be a mayoral signing ceremony for the legislation, and it will go into law on June 23. It then usually takes the Department of Transportation six weeks to prepare the new street blades.

Members of CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee and the full CB3 board signed off on the proposal last month.

Organizers behind the co-naming hope that the street sign bearing the names of the two men will both help commemorate their loss and serve as a warning against unscrupulous landlords.

In February 2016, the DA charged landlord Maria Hrynenko and her son, Michael Hrynenko Jr., with involuntary manslaughter ... as well as contractor Dilber Kukic and an unlicensed plumber, Athanasios Ioannidis. (A fifth person, Andrew Trombettas, faces charges for supplying his license to Ioannidis.) All pleaded not guilty.

Authorities have said that siphoned gas at the Hrynenko-owned 121 Second Ave. was to blame for the explosion, which killed Locón and Figueroa, and injured two dozen other people. The blast also destroyed three buildings.

Figueroa, 23, a recent graduate of SUNY Buffalo State, was at Sushi Park with a co-worker. Locón, an employee at Sushi Park, was 27.

In a story at DNAinfo last month on the co-naming proposal, Ana Lanza, Figueroa's mother, said, "It's not going to bring him back — nothing is going to bring him back. But at least this brings a little bit of comfort, that he's going to be remembered somewhere, somehow. That his life wasn't taken in vain. That he meant something."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'

Memorial for Mary Spink tomorrow

RIP Nicholas Figueroa

RIP Moises Ismael Locón Yac

The Pride Ribbon Project at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery

In honor of Pride Month, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery has placed ribbons along Second Avenue at 11th Street to remember LGBTQ prisoners who are incarcerated in facilities throughout the country ... the St. Mark's community "is inviting prayerful attention to the situations of LGBTQ people in prison."

The accompanying signs note that "LGBTQ people in prison face a greater risk of physical and sexual victimization. They are more likely to experience assault and abuse by corrections officers as well as other prisoners, and less likely to have support from family and friends on the the outside due to their sexuality or gender identity."

The former Caffe Bene space is actually for rent on St. Mark's Place

[Photo from May 5]

The Caffe Bene outpost at 24 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue closed back in April after 17 months in business.

A for rent sign arrived on May 4 ... however, there hasn't been a corresponding listing online at broker Eastern Consolidated ... meanwhile, the for rent sign has fallen down.



After lying in a heap for several weeks, someone put the sign back up yesterday...



Before Caffe B, the address was a Pinkberry. The space was on the market for nearly six months before Caffe Bene signed a 10-year lease in August 2015, with a reported asking rent in the $240 per-square-foot territory.

Wednesday's parting shot

A sunset view this evening via Bobby Williams...

Report: Suspect in 6th Street slashing seeking a sentencing deal in court

The man facing charges for slashing a social worker's face on Sixth Street in January 2016 attempted to bargain with a judge yesterday for a better deal, according to published reports.

Per the Daily News:

Francis Salud, 29, balked at the offer of 14 years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea made by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser even though prosecutors had argued for an additional four years and five years parole.

Salud made a desperate push for less time in the slammer, even blaming his attorney for his bad spot. He had demanded new counsel in a letter to the court.

His counter-offer was for 10 years.

Konviser told Salud that 14 years was her final offer, and gave him two weeks to think about his decision.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2016, Anthony Christopher-Smith, a social worker from Newark, N.J., was walking on Sixth Street east of Cooper Square to meet a friend when someone came up from behind him, shoved him down and cursed. His face and back were slashed in the process. Smith reportedly underwent eight hours of surgery, and needed nearly 150 stitches for the wound from his right ear to his lips.

Salud was arrested several days later at an apartment on Fourth Street and Second Avenue. He was previously arrested and charged for a slashing that happened Oct. 18, 2015. He was out on bail at the time of the second attack.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Man's face cut in random slashing on East 6th Street

Report: East 6th Street slashing suspect blames victim (and the government) for attack

Suspect in custody for East 6th Street slashing

Mermaid In (the trash)

EVG reader Jennifer Kellow shares these photos from First Avenue and Second Street from yesterday afternoon...

Public forum set to discuss special business district in the East Village

Community Board 3's Economic Development Committee is hosting a public forum on June 7 to discuss a proposed special district in the East Village "to encourage retail diversity and promote small and independent businesses."

Here's more via a Q-and-A on the CB3 website on the issue:

Why a special district in the East Village and why now?

CB 3 has experienced a dramatic loss of small “mom & pop” businesses in the past 10+ years, and a resulting decrease in the diversity and affordability of local goods and services. Driven by a combination of high commercial rents and real estate taxes, competition from an over-proliferation and concentration of destination nightlife businesses and national chain stores who can afford exorbitant rents, and a lack of daytime foot traffic, the loss of small businesses has been sustained in recent years.

What are the goals of a special district in CB 3?
• preserve the unique, individual character of our neighborhoods
• facilitate a diverse, affordable, and appropriate mix of retail and service providers that meet local needs
• encourage daytime businesses that do not have a disruptive effect on residents
• support existing businesses serving local needs
• limit the ground floor presence of inactive street wall frontages
• promote strong and affordable neighborhoods that are inviting to all New Yorkers, especially families

How will a special district affect certain uses?

The special district is not meant to push out existing businesses and nightlife establishments. Rather, the effort is to strike a balance and create a level playing field for small businesses. In the current proposal, eating/drinking establishments, banks, and chains would have restrictions on maximum total size (2,500 square feet) and maximum street wall width (25 linear feet). They would also be prohibited from combining storefronts across separate buildings.

Additionally, there would be restrictions on how much of a block’s street frontage can be occupied by a particular use — for example, no more than 25 percent of any given block’s street frontage can be occupied by eating/drinking establishments and there cannot be more than 1 chain store or bank per block.

I am thinking of opening a business in the East Village that does not meet the parameters of the special district. Does your current proposal take exceptions into consideration?

In the current proposal, applications for exceptions will require a mandatory review process and referral to the Community Board for a recommendation.

Based on the current proposal, where will the special district be located?
• 14th Street to Houston; 2nd Avenue to Avenue D (excluding N/S sides of Houston and 14th)
• St Marks between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue

The meeting is Wednesday, June 7, from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Sirovich Senior Center, 331 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Ramen Setagaya reopens today after renovation on St. Mark's Place

The St. Mark's Place branch of Japanese chain Ramen Setagaya has been closed for the past few weeks... with brown paper covering the windows.

But there is a note (as well as new signage) here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue... noting a reopening today...



There's also a reopening event this weekend... where the already-affordable student-friendly menu will offer two $5 specials...

Report: Morton Williams won't be taking over the 14th Street Associated after all

[EVG file photo]

After learning that a Trader Joe's was coming to the new development at the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on 14th Street, Morton Williams has decided not to sign a lease for the nearby Associated, according to a report yesterday in Town & Village.

So for now, Associated will continue on here between Avenue A and First Avenue. The supermarket's lease is up at the end of the year.

Per Town & Village:

Asked about Morton Williams’ decision to withdraw from negotiations, Rick Hayduk, general manager of Stuyvesant Town, said no lease had been signed. Last week, he mentioned this as well, though he confirmed there were negotiations.

“Associated continues with their lease,” he added. “No final decision has been made with respect to the tenant for this space on a go-forward basis.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Associated owners not having any luck shopping for a lease renewal on East 14th Street (34 comments)

Petition drive underway to help save the Stuy Town Associated on East 14th Street

Report: New Stuy Town owner pledges to keep a grocery story on East 14th Street, but it may not be Associated

Report: Morton Williams will take over the Associated space on 14th Street (27 comments)

Against the Grain yields to sustainable omakase restaurant on 6th Street

Against the Grain, the beer annex of Grape and Grain on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, has closed to make way for Mayanoki, a sustainable omakase restaurant that has been operating as a pop-up spot in Brooklyn the past five years.

According to Eater, Mayanoki co-owners Josh Arak and David Torchiano are subletting the small space "with the expectation that it will become a long-term arrangement."

Per Eater:

Mayanoki’s $95, 15-course menu will serve varieties such as squid, black sea bass from New Jersey, Spanish mackerel, scallops, oysters, albacore tuna, grouper from Florida, and more. The varieties will change based on what is in season and sustainably available, and the restaurant will work with organizations such as Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and Ocean Wise to guide sustainability choices. To fit in with the local theme, there’s also an all-New York wine and beer list, though sake will be flown in from Japan.

The restaurant officially debuts tonight on Sixth Street. (They had a soft opening this past weekend.) Mayanoki is open Wednesday-Sunday, with seatings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.