Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Christopher Meloni brings 'Law & Order' to Astor Place
Gallery Watch: 'My Snake Is Bigger Than Your Snake' at Freight + Volume
Text and photos by Clare Gemima
Rebecca Goyette's My Snake is Bigger Than Your Snake
Freight + Volume Gallery, 97 Allen St.
My Snake is Bigger Than Your Snake is definitely a sight for sore eyes from the instant you stand in front of Freight + Volume on Allen Street.
Visible before entering the gallery, a video of humans in dog suits giving birth, humping and licking all sorts of different things invites onlookers shamelessly into the space.
Regardless of this show’s potent R18 feel, colors explode playfully throughout the gallery as you experience the artist’s multifaceted skill set displayed through illustration, soft sculpture, video work, and in her most exciting execution, ceramics.
Reading about this show, I discovered so much extrapolated narrative attached to it that I would like to encourage readers to visit and interpret the art for themselves. I say this because often the charm of a great show is rubbed away by some forceful and didactic description that 1) an average gallery-goer may never read in the first place and 2) is a load of just utter, out-of-touch bullshit.
I think the conflict I face regarding this show is that the work is outstandingly attractive to me, yet it presents a dense amount of self-involvement and inaccessible self-consciousness that it becomes less about the beauty of the objects and more about the artist’s lived experience. I can’t tell if this is a good thing or not, but there is so much going on — a successful mind-fuck above all else.
There is strong authorship in the show that guides viewers through a personal story of Goyette involving the sale of her father's house after he had passed away. The new home-owner turned out to be a right-wing and starchy bum-hole Trump supporter who is crafted (life-size) for a full-on confrontation as you enter the space. He’s grotesque to look at, drowning in snakes and dressed in politically indicative attire.
This recurring "Snake Man" debuts as No. 1 enemy to our hero and protagonist, Rebecca Goyette, aka Lobsta Queen. The dogs have human dicks, the humans each have two dicks, a group of sausages throws a party, and the art of sex is celebrated positively, strikingly, abjectly.
Evidence for an aforementioned mind-fuck of a show is particularly blatant in Goyette's collection of ceramics, which are by far the most enticing part of My Snake is Bigger Than Your Snake. Her drawings are particularly tantalizing as well (think animal kingdom stampeding through a Grayson Perry tapestry).
Go inside the mind of a tortured artist who chooses to torment her audience for fun with child-like and extremely perverse make-believe scenarios.
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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
Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe owner eyes new concept for 2 St. Mark's Place
The owner of Ray's Pizza & Bagel Cafe on Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place has plans to open an Italian restaurant-bar in the adjacent space at 2 St. Mark's Place...
The previous tenant at 2 St. Mark's Place, Eliza's Local, didn't make it out of the pandemic, closing late last summer after a little more than 18 months in business.
Before Eliza's, No. 2, next to the entrance of the St. Marks Hotel, was previously Ayios Greek Rotisserie, which quietly closed at the end of 2017 after 16 months in business. St. Mark's Ale House had a 21-year run until July 2016. And once upon a time, it was the second location of the Five Spot Cafe.
Tonight's virtual CB3-SLA committee meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link here.
Another Tony's Pizza for the East Village, this one for the former Vinny Vincenz space
Tony's will be taking over the space from Vinny Vincenz, the 18-year-old pizzeria that quietly closed last month — much to the dismay of its regulars.
And this marks the second Tony's Pizza to be arriving in the East Village ... signage showed up outside 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place earlier this month...
Still no word about who this Tony might be. There was some speculation (or perhaps hope?) that this might be related to the Tony's out on Graham Avenue in East Williamsburg, though the logos don't match up. (We messaged them to ask anyway.)
The Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place has not been open lately
Updated: Reopened as of May 17.
Signs on the door simply note, "Our store is temporarily closed," with instructions to visit the nearest Starbucks.
Calls to this branch result in an outgoing message stating, "your call cannot be completed at this time."
While two neighborhood Starbucks outposts have closed in recent years (Second Avenue at Ninth Street, Broadway at Ninth Street), this isn't believed to be a permanent shutter. This location has been closed from time to time, like in July 2019 for an electrical issue.
Starbucks opened at this spot in August 2017.
The previous tenant, Nino's, had to close on Oct. 21, 2015, due to a gas leak in the building. On Nov. 17 of that year, Nino's received an eviction notice. Owner Nino Camaj had said that the gas was shut off in the building without any notice to him.
In late November 2015, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly talking with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they weren't open due to the gas leak. Camaj still had 10 years left on his lease and had been in court with the landlords.
He accepted a buyout in February 2016, after having been closed for nearly five months. Camaj told DNAinfo that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent.
In late November 2015, Camaj's lawyers were reportedly talking with landlord Citi Urban Management to dispute the rent charged for the month during which they weren't open due to the gas leak. Camaj still had 10 years left on his lease and had been in court with the landlords.
He accepted a buyout in February 2016, after having been closed for nearly five months. Camaj told DNAinfo that he could no longer afford the $14,500 monthly rent.
Photo by Steven!
Opinion: The overlooked stakeholders and potential bias in the Open Restaurants program
Today, the Department of City Planning and the Department of Transporation are inviting "key stakeholders" to a virtual presentation on bringing a permanent Open Restaurants program to life.
According to the invite, this is the "key first element of ... an amendment to the Zoning Resolution that will begin a public review in June."
A longtime East Village small business owner, who is not in the food-beverage industry and feels as if other retail establishments have been overlooked in the city's plans, shared some thoughts about the potential impact this might have on a neighborhood and its residents ... consider this a mini op-ed (opposing viewpoints are welcome) ...
The biggest stakeholders are actually the residents who live above or beside these sheds and must put up with them so that landlords, restaurants and bars can increase their profit margin at the expense of residents' ability to live peaceably in their homes.
These real stakeholders have been left out of the process at every turn. It creates another tale of two cities whereby those able to move and/or insulate themselves in their high rises or in areas where the COVID sheds don't exist are quite happy with the program while those who do not have that privilege must bear its burden.
And the same goes for small business and retail diversity; why would a landlord rent to a retail shop when they can rent to a cafe or bar or restaurant that will have the ability to annex additional square footage in the street? More space equals higher rents equals a bias toward renting to businesses in the hospitality industry versus retail shops.
The Open Restaurants initiative came about in June 2020 to allow the hard-hit restaurant industry to open safely with outside seating while indoor dining was prohibited. It became a major lifeline for the restaurant industry during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, in late April, City Council voted (39-8) to make the Open Streets program permanent.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
There are 3 (!!!) chicks for red-tailed hawks Amelia and Christo in Tompkins Square Park
You can see the three nestlings in the top photo with Amelia.
Per Goggla: "This marks the second year in a row that the pair have produced three offspring, and they are all looking lively, which is great news."
NYPL plans to expand services at all branches by mid-July
New York Public Library (NYPL) officials announced yesterday that they plan to reopen all available branch libraries with expanded service by mid-July.
This means that you can expect "the full complement of services such as general space use, programs and classes incrementally reinstituted as quickly as circumstances allow," per the NYPL's announcement.
In addition, starting yesterday, officials said that they expanded service at select locations to include limited browsing and desktop computer use. The Seward Park branch on East Broadway is the closest location with these additional offerings.
The Tompkins Square Library on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B still has its grab-and-go service. (The Ottendorfer Library on Second Avenue between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street remains temporarily closed.)
Tompkins Square also continues to offer an array of online programming. Check out the free offerings here.
The NYPL closed all branches in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. The limited grab-and-go service commenced in August.
32 Avenue C is now shorter
Once upon a time, there were development plans for this parcel... with the filing of permits with the city in July 2005 for a new 6-floor residential building. The city disapproved the plans in May 2006, and nothing more happened with the project... and the building sat in disrepair.
Years later, the landlord filed a permit in the fall of 2017 with the DOB to "rebuild exterior walls; replace windows and sistering of floor joists to address" the various violations on file.
And now — several years after the initial repair work? According to recently issued work permits, plans call to "partially demolish the building" ... specifically the "second, third and roof floors." It wouldn't be entirely surprising if there are new permits filed one of these days to add a second and third floor.
Public records list the landlord as Abraham Benelyahou of Fairfax Management Corp. In 2014, the Daily News referred to him as "Manhattan's worst landlord."
As previously reported, residents have long complained about the drug activity on this corner. On Jan. 18, a 36-year-old man was shot and killed here. Since then, the NYPD has parked a patrol car nearby. (A vehicle from the 9th Precinct was on Third Street at the time of this photo mid-Sunday morning.)
The sidewalk bridge has helped give cover to any activity here... for the past eight-plus years.
Expanded C&B Cafe nearly ready
The C&B team is getting closer to a grand opening of the combined storefront. EVG contributor Stacie Joy got another in-progress look...
Still to be done, the new freezer installed, the custom cabinets put up and the much-anticipated return of the record player and albums.
Ali showed Stacie the plans on his phone as he pointed out the new pass-through, the marble countertops and subway tiles...
Ali doesn't have any plans for indoor dining — just increased space for him and the team and a longer to-go counter.
Meanwhile, the original cafe remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Yubu bringing Korean food and beverages to 7th Street
Abraço was here for 10 years before moving across the street in early 2017. Last summer, Suki, the Japanese curry shop, relocated to 111 First Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (Suki also opened a sushi outpost on St. Mark's Place.)
In between these two, we had Cafe Che/Benny's Burritos & Empanadas, which, unfortunately, didn't catch on ...
Monday, May 10, 2021
Cinema Paradiso looks to bring foreign and independent films to Avenue A
Updated 5/11: The CB3-SLA committee voted against this applicant's plans as presented, instead offering stipulations that Marcello Assante can only serve food-dinner during the films — not before or after, thus doing away with any necessary revenue to keep this operation viable. He plans to return to CB3 next month. We'll have more about this in another post.
Marcello Assante is on tonight's CB3-SLA agenda for a liquor license for Cinema Paradiso, a cafe-theater concept for the space here at Third Street adjacent to Two Boots. (Questionnaire here.)
Assante, a Naples native, has owned and operated a handful of restaurants through the years, including Bella Ciao, Capri Ristorante and Marcellino in Little Italy as well as Local 92 on Second Avenue. Assante has also been involved with the film industry in Italy, having worked with director Abel Ferrara.
The space on Avenue A, which is already equipped with a movie screen, stage and theater seats for 119 people, seems perfectly suited to Assante's vision of creating a "big cinema culture" — a cultural center for cinephiles to enjoy foreign and independent features.
"My big love is cinema," he said in a recent phone call.
Aside from new indie and foreign releases, he's also exploring hosting film festivals, premieres and live events, such as director Q&As, similar perhaps to, say, the Metrograph on Ludlow Street.
Cinema Paradiso will also include a cafe for people to have a pre- or post-film meal and drink. At the moment, he's not sure if he'll offer in-theater table service, such as at Alamo Drafthouse and the Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn or the iPic Theaters at the South Street Seaport. The cafe portion could be a standalone restaurant such as the Commissary at the Metrograph.
"We need a liquor license to help support the rent, which is very high," Assante said. Would he move forward if the Community Board nixes the license? (UCBeast, the previous tenant, did serve alcohol.)
"I don't know. We are trying now and we will take it from there," he said. "We are here for cinema and culture."
The business name, Cinema Paradiso, comes from the 1988 Italian drama that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
"I'm Italian... 'Cinema Paradisio' is like my story," Assante said. "It's very personal. I was 8 years old and watching movies."
Citing financial woes, the Upright Citizens Brigade closed this theater in February 2019 after eight-plus years. UCB had taken over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater with an entrance around the corner on Third Street.
The single-screen Pioneer Theater, which featured indie, underground and cult fare, closed on Nov. 7, 2008, after eight years. As owner Phil Hartman said at the time: "[I]t was always a labor of love and never commercially viable."
[Image from 2002 via Cinema Treasures]
Tonight's virtual CB3-SLA committee meeting starts at 6:30. Find the Zoom link here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• UCB East has closed; what's next for their space on Avenue A and 3rd Street?
• UCB East has closed; what's next for their space on Avenue A and 3rd Street?
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