EVG Etc.: Comedians let their hair down at 2nd Street barbershop; plus, winter raptors!

The Third Street Music School Settlement is hosting a free community celebration tomorrow in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. featuring a drum circle, a sing-along and more (RSVP here)

The Original Barbershop on Second Street doubles as a comedy club at night (The Post)

If you ever wondered what decoupage artist John Derian's East Village home looked like (Architectural Digest)

After 121 years, the storied LES-based Jewish-American publication The Forward is ending its print run (NPR)

A roundup of the winter raptors spotted in the neighborhood (Laura Goggin Photography)

The seemingly overlooked drama "Leave No Trace," which scored 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, has a return engagement at the Metrograph (Official site)

Hope for Loft Law advocates (Gothamist)

Map things: Listicle of restaurants and bars around Union Square (Eater)

More about the Integral Yoga Natural Foods Store closure last month on West 13th Street (The Villager ... previously)

Diversions: About that Iggy Pop guest spot that never aired on "Miami Vice" (Dangerous Minds)

Weather upstate KOs Greenmarket at Tompkins Square Park today

Info posted on Facebook yesterday...

Saturday's parting shot

A shell game on Third Street ... thanks to EVG reader Aaron Wilson for sharing the photo today...

Nobletree Coffee debuts on 2nd Avenue at St. Mark's Place

That Nobletree Coffee outpost is now open on the northwest corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place... EVG regular Lola Sáenz shared these photos this afternoon...



The Brooklyn-based Nobletree has several locations in NYC, including in the Dekalb Market Hall and Westfield World Trade Center.

Here's more about them via their website:

Nobletree’s name reflects the coffee tree’s alluring history and is a nod of respect to those who first transported coffee trees from their native home in Ethiopia to the tropics of the Atlantic. Today, Nobletree Coffee continues that tradition of respect by valuing everyone involved in growing, roasting, and preparing coffee as team members united in working toward the common goal of delivering a superior product to the most discerning consumers.

This prime corner space has sat empty for three years ... ever since DF Mavens closed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nobletree Coffee is the next tenant for 37 St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue

The return of Grant Shaffer's NY See

After a late-December break, happy to welcome back NY See, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's comic series — an observational sketch diary (now with a splash of color for 2019!) of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood ... and NYC.

The Troll Museum briefly checks into the Ace Hotel

[Photo courtesy of Rev. Jen]

Reverend Jen's Troll Museum has been enjoying a return engagement this week... in partnership with the Outsider Art Fair, pieces from the Troll Museum are on display in the Ace Hotel lobby on 29th Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

The Times has a piece in today's paper on Reverend Jen and the museum's history....

For 16 years, Reverend Jen managed a sprawling version of this installation in the cramped living room of her sixth-floor apartment on Orchard Street. She called it the Lower East Side Troll Museum, and it became a wacky downtown landmark accessible by ringing her buzzer. Fans of the kitschy dolls, which became popular in the 1960s, made pilgrimages from around the world to visit her collection. But when she was evicted in 2016, the museum abruptly closed, and an oasis of strange vanished from the Lower East Side.

...

“The troll museum is probably the silliest idea I had in my life,” she said. “But people responded to it, so I have to keep it going. If more people carried out their silly ideas, then the world would be a more interesting place.”

...

Reverend Jen also seemed pleased to bring the trolls out of retirement, even if her exhibition space is located awkwardly behind the hotel’s front desk. “I’m really excited to be doing this because the last few years haven’t always been so great,” she said. “When I ring buzzers at my old building, I realize no one I know is left. It feels like an anvil on my chest.”

She is living in Sheepshead Bay these days.

Trolling a Hotel will be on display through tomorrow.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reverend Jen departs her LES home, and Troll Museum, for now

Wall to wall

The completed new work at the Bowery Mural Wall... Here's more on it via photographer Martha Cooper, who has been documenting the wall work this past week:

A blast from the past. TATS CRU is honoring the history of the Houston Bowery wall by creating a mural based on a photo of one of the very first walls painted here and inviting 80s writers to collaborate. Crash, Daze, Zephyr & Dez are among the legends who have dropped by to add their names.

The work includes a tribute to Tony Goldman, real-estate developer and proprietor of the Bowery Mural Wall. He died in 2012 at age 68.

And a time-lapse titled In a New York Minute...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Goldman Global Arts (@goldmanglobalarts) on Jan 18, 2019 at 6:46pm PST

Red alert

Debi Martini, bassist and vocalist of Red Aunts, died this past week at age 50. A cause of death was not released. The band, from Long Beach, Calif., came together in 1991 and released five records. They last played in the area back in June at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.

The clip here features SIX promo videos from their Saltbox release from 1996.

P.S.
RIP Lorna Doom

January Christmas miracles: The holiday tree lights are back ON in Tompkins Square Park

EVG reader boxysean brings us this breaking news today:

The Christmas tree lights are on! It's a New Year's miracle!

The workers were talking about how they were changing the ballast.

As previously reported, the lights went dark several days before Dec. 25, and remained off the entire holiday season. It makes sense that they are working again on this Jan. 18.

Meanwhile, the mysterious hole near the tree remains in place, mysteriously.

Updated 2:18 p.m.

Here some closeups via Goggla...





Updated 5 p.m.



Previously on EV Grieve:
At the 27th Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lightning

Pre-storm prep in Tompkins Square Park

Ahead of Harper's arrival this weekend, the squirrels of Tompkins Square Park are stocking up on essentials, including peanuts ... peanut butter ... bananas ... pizza ... Hershey's Cocoa ... Toaster Strudel ... coconut drinks ... and don't forget spoons.

Photo today by Derek Berg.

Morning reports: The MTA apparently cool with Cuomo's revised L-train rehab plan

The MTA says that it's onboard with Gov. Cuomo's plan to do away with a full shutdown of the L train between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue.

This announcement came yesterday, just two days after board members called for an independent review of the new proposal.

You can read quickie recaps at the Daily News ... amNY ... and the Post, who noted that "[a]n MTA insider said the announcement had Cuomo’s fingerprints all over it."

As for that announcement, here's the official MTA news release issued last night:

As you know the MTA had previously scheduled a complete shutdown of the L Subway train beginning April 27. The disruption of service was to allow reconstruction of the two tubes between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Late last year a design review team of international experts was brought in to review the final plan, and they proposed new construction alternatives and technology which have been used effectively in other countries and industries. The new methods and means include laser light technology to determine structural defects, smart fiber optic sensor technology, and carbon fiber wrapping to reinforce components. Some of these alternatives have not been used by the MTA before and the design integration would be an innovation for the MTA.

The design firm managing the L Subway train project from the beginning has been Parsons Brinckerhoff (now called WSP). WSP has done extensive work studying the new design alternatives and has informed the MTA (and discussed at a public meeting on January 15) that the proposed construction design alternatives are indeed applicable to the L Subway train and can significantly reduce construction time and thus the inconvenience to our riders. Therefore, the total shutdown of both tunnels and all service scheduled for April 27 will not be necessary. We do anticipate a shutdown of one tube on nights and weekends, however service both ways (between Manhattan and Brooklyn) would be scheduled 24/7.

This project is a major priority for the MTA and reconstruction will be supervised by MTA Capital Construction and overseen by MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim. The MTA will also hire an independent consultant to oversee safety operations that will report directly to the Board. The MTA is now working with the various contractors on a new final construction schedule and contracts which delete some elements of the initial construction plan and add the new design alternatives. We do not believe the cost of reconstruction will increase, and given the tremendous benefits to the riding public, reduction in the volume of traffic and savings from the traffic mitigation efforts, it is a clear positive alternative and in the public interest.

We expect the formulation of the final construction schedule and contract completions to take several weeks. The current construction estimate is 15 to 20 months. As soon as we have more definitive information we will provide it to our customers and the public.

So no word yet on cost or the new construction schedule and other aspects of the L-tube work, such as its impact on residents who live along 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue B. Cuomo's new plan calls for repairs to occur on nights and weekends, when workers will close one tube at a time with trains running every about 20 minutes or so.

At the MTA board meeting Tuesday, Manhattan Borough President "seemed exasperated over the many unanswered questions." Per the Times: "This is better than ‘Law & Order,’ which we all watch on a daily basis, in terms of intrigue," she said.

So who know what will happen next. As amNY reported:

The MTA appears to be confidently moving ahead with the plans, even though the MTA board will have to approve any material changes to the contract for the work, which has long been set with contractors Judlau and TC Electric. During a public hearing earlier this week, board members expressed discomfort about voting on any redrafted contract before an independent review of the proposal was competed.

Previously on EV Grieve:
L-train non-shutdown fallout: Bike lane battle shaping up along 12th and 13th streets (54 comments)

Reminders: Here's how you can apply to be a Community Board member

Application season continues for the 2019-2021 class of Manhattan Community Board members (it started in early December). So this is your your chance to be part of your local Community Board (CB3!).

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office sent out a reminder yesterday about the applications, which are due Feb. 8. Per the EVG inbox:

Interested in what gets built in your community and how government works to deliver services in your neighborhood? Apply to join one of Manhattan's 12 Community Boards.

Every Community Board has 50 seats which are filled for two-year terms by volunteers, who are selected by the Borough President and local City Council members. Half the seats are up for appointment or reappointment every year.

Community Boards get a seat at the table in high-stakes land use, real estate, and zoning negotiations, and they work directly with city agencies to influence how government services are delivered at the neighborhood level.

If you'd like to serve as a member of your Community Board, apply online here! You can also print the application and drop it off by mail or in-person. The deadline is Feb. 8, 2019.

Per the application: "Community board members must live, work, go to school or have some other significant interest in the community board in which they want to serve."

Back in November, voters said "yes" to Proposal 3, which imposes term limits for the volunteers who sit on Community Boards.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game