The President Trump Cheeto Volcano... spotted on Norfolk Street between Houston and Stanton... photo courtesy of Eden!
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Wednesday's parting shot
The President Trump Cheeto Volcano... spotted on Norfolk Street between Houston and Stanton... photo courtesy of Eden!
Flowers and candles for Jimmy Webb, plus a tribute from Iggy Pop
People have started leaving flowers, candles and other items in memory of Jimmy Webb outside I Need More, the boutique he owned at 75 Orchard St. on the Lower East Side...
Webb, a larger-than-life personality who worked for years at Trash & Vaudeville on St. Mark's Place, died yesterday of cancer. He was 62.
There were many more tributes to him on social media, including from Miley Cyrus, Karen O, Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Alice Cooper and Billie Joe Armstrong. Here's what Iggy Pop had to say...
I Need More's official Instagram account also posted about Webb's passing...
Masks now required to enter Sunny & Annie's
Sunny & Annie's, one of the last 24/7 delis remaining open, is now asking that customers wear a mask to enter their corner space on Sixth Street and Avenue B...
Danny & Louise, who shared these photos, did see staff turn away someone for not having a mask on when entering the deli.
On April 2, Mayor de Blasio urged New Yorkers to wear face coverings, such as cloth masks or bandanas, when going out in public to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Updated:
Today, Gov. Cuomo announced that he will issue an executive order requiring all New Yorkers to wear masks or mouth and nose coverings when they are in public.
A visit to the Interfaith Community Services Food For Life
It’s a gray day when I meet up with the team at Interfaith Community Services’ Food For Life, headquartered at 325 E. Fifth St. between First and Second Avenues, but the rain seems to be holding off for now.
Adi Purusha, trustee for Interfaith and one of today’s cooks, greets me and shows me the kitchari he’s made — this one with asparagus, cauliflower, rice and lentils. There's also banana bread with vanilla vegan icing, bowls of tangerines, sliced strawberries and a vat of jasmine tea with lemon.
The group provides approximately 2,500 hot vegetarian meals per month to homeless and those in need at Tompkins Square Park, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. I walk over to Tompkins Square Park while the van loads up and heads out.
The Food For Life team hops out of their van to set up the tent, tables, pots, and serving supplies like cups, bowls and spoons while a large line forms up Avenue A from Seventh Street through 10th Street, all the while maintaining social distancing.
Food service goes quickly, with each person getting to request their pleasure. One regular puts in a request for extra tangerines while another declines the banana bread due to his diabetes. All leave happy.
“If the cook is angry, the food will be angry too,” Purusha tells me, and smiles. “Our food is cooked with consciousness and love.”
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
RIP Jimmy Webb
[Photo for EVG by Walter Wlodarczyk]
Word is circulating that Jimmy Webb, a familiar figure in the East Village during his long tenure as the manager and buyer at Trash & Vaudeville, has died of cancer. He was in his early 60s, friends say. (An official statement about his death has not yet been issued.)
Webb, once referred to as "punk rock's unofficial shopkeeper," counted everyone from Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry to Slash and Duff McKagan from Guns N' Roses as friends. Most recently, he owned and operated the rock 'n' roll boutique I Need More on Orchard Street.
Here's more on Webb's past via a New York Times feature from 2013:
“I’m from a hillbilly town upstate where they hunt deer,” he said. “We walked to the creek with Boone’s Farm a friend’s older sister bought us and listened to ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ on a transistor radio.”
Lou Reed’s 1972 ode to hustlers, transsexuals and transsexual hustlers would alter Mr. Webb’s life. “A friend asked, ‘Do you know what it means?’ ” he recalled. “I did without knowing it. I knew I was a boy that had to leave to go somewhere.”
At 16, he ran away to New York with a pillowcase full of clothes. It was 1975. “Coming into Trash and Vaudeville my first time, I knew I’d found a home and I wasn’t crazy,” he said.
At first, Mr. Webb worked as a bar-back in a gay establishment on the Upper West Side at the height of the neighborhood’s Needle Park infamy, attended hair school (he flunked grandiosely) and was a regular at CBGB. He fell into heroin addiction for 20 years and lived in Tompkins Square Park, eventually returning upstate.
“It got worse before it got better,” he said. “They thought I was going to die. After rebuilding my body and spirit, I wanted to go back to the city I loved.”
He started working at his dream destination, Trash & Vaudeville, in 1999, and remained there until the shop relocated from St. Mark's Place to Seventh Street in 2016.
[Photo from 2013 by James Maher]
There are many tributes to Webb on Instagram. A sampling:
Webb eventually opened I Need More in October 2017.
In an interview with EVG prior to the launch, he talked about why he decided to open his shop on the Lower East Side.
I didn’t pick the Lower East Side, or any special place for I Need More. I was very open to where the rock 'n' roll angels were leading me when I finally decided to open a store ... Loving all of New York City I was very open to anywhere in Manhattan. My heart and spirit is in ALL of New York City.
Of course the Lower East Side is a HUGE part of my life since I ran away and arrived in the city in 1975. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised when that second batch of angels ended up leading me right to 75 Orchard Street — 75A in fact! How cool is that? I take that leap of faith and run away to New York City in 1975 as a 16-year-old boy. Decades later another leap of faith leaving everything I know and ending up at 75A Orchard Street.
In late February, the shop hosted a “Footprints in February” celebration, in which Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop put their handprints, footprints and autographs in concrete on the floor of I Need More.
His exuberant, all-cap writing style on Instagram posts captured his love of rock 'n' roll and the people who are part of it ...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Jimmy Webb will make dreams come true with new rock 'n' roll boutique I Need More
An assortment of masks on East Village streets
A roundup of face masks — homemade (from a bra, as seen in the last photo) or store-bought — spotted on East Village streets by Derek Berg in recent days...
On April 2, Mayor de Blasio urged New Yorkers to wear face coverings, such as cloth masks or bandanas, when going out in public to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Report: First red-tailed hawk egg hatches this year in Tompkins Square Park
[Photo by Goggla]
It appears that at least one egg belonging to Amelia and Christo, the resident red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, has hatched.
Goggla reported this from Sunday:
Christo delivered food to the nest, and Amelia seemed to tear pieces off and feed at least one hatchling deep in the nest. We're not sure when exactly the hatch occurred, but today was the first day an obvious feeding took place.
Goggla has a video and more details here.
Commodities has reopened
[Photo yesterday by Steven]
Commodities Health Food was back open yesterday at 165 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.
The market closed after the business day on March 29 for what turned out to be a two-week break during the COVID-19 crisis.
Moving forward, their hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Commodities also accepts EBT/SNAP and offers a 5% discount for seniors.)
Meanwhile, East Village Organic at 124 First Ave. reopened this past Friday after a similar two-week hiatus.
Nowon launching takeout and delivery service today on 6th Street
[Photo from December by Stacie Joy]
Chef Jae Lee is reopening Nowon, the well-regarded Korean restaurant here at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Starting today, he'll be serving takeout items and offering delivery via GrubHub from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The restaurant is also teaming up with Frontline Foods to provide meals for health-care workers.
Nowon closed on March 15 at the start of the ban on dining at NYC restaurants and cafes.
Find more details at the Nowon Instagram account.
Reader appreciation: Root & Bone and Fonda
[Photos by Stacie Joy]
Erin shares this two-fer of Avenue B neighbors via the EVG inbox...
I’d like to recommend both Root & Bone and Fonda during this difficult time. So grateful to both for being open and providing delicious food and drinks with safety and cleanliness.
Root & Bone has fed me delicious fried chicken — as well as bottled cocktails — multiple times now. Both were expertly packed with all the trimmings ... Their staff has been extremely friendly and warm in these difficult times, and have really gone the extra mile with customer care. They also have a takeout menu for the time being featuring some very affordable specials.
Fonda is a restaurant I meet friends in fairly regularly ... and the environment from the takeout window is still welcoming. They are continuing to serve all the classics with some special pricing on margaritas and guacamole for walk-up orders. Additionally, they are cleaner than a Swiss lab, making sure to wipe down even pens and the card reader between each use.
Fonda is at 40 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street. They are open for takeout and delivery from 4 to 9 p.m. Root & Bone is at 200 E. Third St. near Avenue B. They are open for takeout and delivery from 5 to 9 p.m.
Want to share an appreciation of an East Village business that remains open? Send us an email here. (We'll see how this goes! So far so good! Thank you for the suggestions!)
Previously on EV Grieve:
• Reader appreciation: Le Fournil Bakery
• Reader appreciation: Abraço
• Reader appreciation: Post
• Reader appreciation: Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery
• Reader appreciation: Barnyard Cheese Shop
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