This post from January has more information about her Soda Bread Shop ... as well as the shepherd's pies that she makes for city agencies to share with residents in need.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
A St. Patrick's Day moment at Mary O's
Gallery Watch: 'Once, Twice' and 'Memories are Weapons' at the Hole
Text and photos by Clare Gemima
Once, Twice, Hanna Hansdotter and Ry David Bradley
Memories are Weapons, Kevin Christy
The Hole, 312 Bowery
The Hole, once again, presents a fresh, new and cutting-edge show. The three artists in the space work across multi-disciplinary arenas that include glass blowing, tapestry making and painting.
While the art world begins to go absolutely crazy for NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as the newest cryptocurrency darling in the blockchain, (a .jpg made by Beeple just sold for nearly $70 million at an auction), it is fascinating to understand that Ry David Bradley's tapestries in Once Twice will be available for purchase both in-person and online, in USD and in Ethereum.
This may all sound way too confusing, but the Hole is jumping on the bandwagon proudly here, along with some other galleries in the East Village who are preparing to embrace this super bizarre digital market. Smart.
Bradley's tapestries are created in rebuttal to the contemporary notion of visibility and surveillance, forming unique bio-morphic bodies and faces that are flat, and thus, unidentifiable through the use of woven thread.
The work is created digitally in grayscale but physically created in the color mode of RGB, this only became apparent when you are up close to the pieces. The interaction with the work and the methodology incorporated by that of the artist presents a body of work that is literally Once Twice, existing both as tokens and as real-life objects.
The tapestries are complemented by the show's collaborator Hanna Hansdotter and her incredibly sensual and erotic hand-blown sculptures. Screaming with highly saturated hues and reflective tones, the five works of hers test your eyes' ability to process color, as you look across fine threads on the wall, to curvaceous, mirror-plated glass glorified on pink-painted plinths. I haven't been able to stop looking at photos of new works Quilted, Tiffany, Baby Baroque, Incommodious and Kiss My Lips.
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The solo-show in the back room of the Hole features 19 new oil paintings by one of my new favorite artists, Kevin Christy. His paintings are dark and haunting, grappling with ideas of memory and how details diminish over time in our ability to recall events and happenings as a symptom of the human experience.
The paintings echo isolated memories that the artist has visually recalled during the beginnings of the pandemic — dream-like and vague while being intricately and laboriously detailed. His tenacious survey in Memories are Weapons has produced recurring motifs, beautifully painted hands and a stunning technical take on surrealism.
Both Once Twice and Memories are Weapons will be on view until March 28.
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Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com
Report: Lowest bids for East River Park construction are $73 million over budget
The lowest construction bids for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) will cost $73 million more than the $1.45 billion budget — and they’ve barely started, according to the latest mailing from advocacy group East River Park Action.
The group breaks down the bids, which they say doesn't include the new "parallel conveyance" for the enhanced sewer system, or other major components of the plan:
• Project Area 1 (PA1). It includes East River Park, below 14th Street. This is the section that the city intends to raze and then bury under eight feet of fill. There were only two construction bids for this massive, presumably lucrative, job. Both bids exceeded the city’s estimate. The contract has not yet been awarded, but the low bid, from IPC Resiliency Partners, is $1.272 billion.• Project Area 2 (PA2), the waterfront area from 14th Street to 25th Street. The low bid for this section was over $163 million, and the contract was awarded to Perfetto Contracting Company. Work is already underway. Asser Levy Park is being torn up and trees have been removed. The Northern section of the greenway has been closed, leaving cyclists and runners without a safe alternative.The bids for PA1 and PA2 total $1,435,287,143. In addition, the city has already spent more than $90 million in "planning." That comes to $1,525,287,143, which is $73 million over budget and doesn't include key components.
As East River Park Action points out, the ESCR plan was scheduled to start in the spring of 2020. The bid deadlines for PA1 were extended six times. Questions remain: Why? What are the problems? Where will the city find these additional funds, and how will the growing price tag affect NYC’s other coastal neighborhoods?
Per the group: "The wildly unrealistic budget is just one of the reasons we argue that the East Side Coastal Resiliency plan is not workable in its present form."
As previously reported, the group's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request and an appeal finally unearthed the three-year-old value engineering study. However, the study — the oft-cited factor behind the city's change of plans in September 2018 to bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet — is heavily redacted.
On March 2, the group's attorney, Jack L. Lester, appealed to the Department of Design and Construction, the Office of Management and Budget and NYC Parks to see the entire value engineering study, not the mostly blacked-out version.
The city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, will raze the 57.5-acre East River Park, bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise.
In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reports, the city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be complete in 2025.
The start of the long-delayed construction is slated to commence this spring, according to a recent presentation the city made.
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You can donate to the East River Park Action legal fund here.
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For further reading: East Village-based musician Matt Sweeney wrote an essay on Medium. "I wrote this in the hopes that NYC journalists will investigate the proposed plan to destroy NYC’s best park." You can read the piece at this link.
[Updated] Reopenings: Ladybird, Lucy's, Phebe's; Josie's, Mona's and Sophie's return on Friday
This is an update to a post that we first published on March 7.
The recent reopenings include:
• The Ainsworth, 64 Third Ave.
• Avant Garden, 130 E. Seventh St.
• Barcade, 6 St. Mark's Place
• Cherry Tavern, 441 E. Sixth St.
• Empellón Al Pastor, 132 St. Mark's Place at Avenue A
• Huertas, 107 First Ave.
• KGB Bar, 85 E. Fourth St.
• Ladybird, 111 E. Seventh St.
• Lucky, 168 Avenue B
• Lucy's, 135 Avenue A (photo of Lucy below by Lola Saénz)
... and upcoming:
• Mary O's, 32 Avenue A (open for a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast)
• The Penny Farthing, 103 Third Ave.
• Phebe's, 361 Bowery at Fourth Street
• Proletariat, 102 St. Mark's Place
• Ruffian, 125 E. Seventh St.
• San Marzano, 117 Second Ave.
• Saramsam, 111 E. Seventh St.
• Superiority Burger, 430 E. Ninth St.
• Tarallucci e Vino, 163 First Ave.
• Tile Bar, 115 First Ave.
• Indochine, 430 Lafayette — March 30
• Josie's, 520 E. Sixth St. — March 19
• Kindred, 642 E. Sixth St. — April 7
• Mister Paradise, 105 First Ave. — March 18
• Mona's, 224 Avenue B — March 19
• Sophies, 507 E. Fifth St. — March 19
• Van Da, 234 E. Fourth St. — April 1
Pitch in for this community cleanup on Saturday
Per the flyer, residents will be focusing on Avenue B and Tompkins Square Park.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Sisterly Love in Tompkins Square Park
Text and photos by Stacie Joy
Abbess Sister Jewdi Clench officiated at the ceremony that ordained a novice Sister, welcomed spring and sprinkled glitter in an aspersion blessing.
I spoke with organizer Sister Gladiola Gladrags (top photo) who said, "Our mission as Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt. We spread that message by 'manifesting' (appearing in habit) in our community, and holding various kinds of events, fundraisers, protests, rituals, etc. to raise awareness and help where it’s needed."
And why Tompkins Square Park as the site for this ritual event?
We have a long "sistory" with the community, especially the annual Drag March that begins in Tompkins. Along with the Church Ladies for Choice, we have been organizing, facilitating, and participating in the march since its inception during Stonewall 25 in 1994. So, it's natural that we would hold this ritual here. Many people in our community have been suffering so much pain and strife in the last year, we feel that by bringing people together, even if at a social distance, it will help and give hope to those needing it.
A sign of spring in Tompkins Square Park
Zooming in on the iconic work of East Village-based photographer Roberta Bayley
East Village-based photographer Roberta Bayley is the guest tomorrow night (March 17!) for the Coney Island Museum's Ask The Experts on Zoom series.
The evening includes a screening of the 33-minute documentary "Roberta Bayley: She Just Takes Pictures," which highlights her iconic punk-era photography from 1975 to 1986 (like the shot of Debbie Harry above!) ... and a Q&A session with Bayley and Beth Lasch, the film's director.
Tickets are $5 and support the Museum and its arts programming. The session starts at 7 p.m. Find viewing details here.
Dian Kitchen has closed on 9th Street
The quick-serve restaurant specialized in rice noodles and other small dishes from China's Yunnan province.
The Instagram message from the owners is below... they say they are moving out of NYC and hope to reopen Dian Kitchen where they land...
Photo from 2018 by Steven
36 St. Mark's Place for rent again as Joe's Steam Rice Roll closes
Last week we reported that workers had emptied out Joe's Steam Rice Roll at 36 St. Mark's Place.
It wasn't immediately clear if this meant a closure — or renovation. After all, the quick-serve shop between Second Avenue and Third Avenue closed for seven weeks without any public notice in the fall of 2019.
Unfortunately, it looks like a permanent closure — the address is now on the RIPCO website. The rent is available upon request.
Joe's debuted in the East Village in June 2019 ... and it seemed poised to break the curse of concepts that couldn't make it work in this space. This was the first standalone location for the business, described as a "cult favorite" by Eater, which got its start in a tiny storefront in Flushing.
No. 36 has seen a variety of openings and closings in recent years, including Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.
Photo by Steven; H/T Upper West Sider!
Hot dogs? How about Korean-style corn dogs for 147 Avenue A
Well! That's sorta accurate. Turns out "corn dog store" would have been an even better descriptor.
As Steven points out, there's now a QR code out front ... taking you to the website for Two Hands — "Seoul fresh corn dogs" ...
This looks to be the first NYC location for the expanding company that has franchises in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Here's a look at what to expect with their varieties of corn dogs...
Monday, March 15, 2021
Monday's parting shot
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