The Spring Zine Fair is underway on St. Mark's Place, and in community gardens

The Spring Zine Fair is underway now on St Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue ... happening until 7 p.m. (Thanks to Steven for the photo!)

Printed Matter/St. Mark's and 8-Ball Community teamed up for this event.

Also! Don't sleep on the collaborative events at these neighborhood community gardens...   

Unofficial-looking signs now note a 10 p.m. curfew in Tompkins Square Park

Updated 6/13: There wasn't any curfew on Saturday night, and the Park remained open...

These homemade signs about a 10 p.m. curfew are now posted at entrances around Tompkins Square Park.

Last Saturday, the Park suddenly had a 10 p.m. curfew (instead of the usual and unofficial midnight). As Gothamist reported, the NYPD had at least two officers stationed at all nine entrances to Tompkins. Importantly: "The decision was made without any notice to the Mayor's Office, the local Council Member, or the public."

This came on the same night as riot-gear-clad NYPD officers clashed with park-goers in Washington Square Park over enforcement of a 10 p.m. curfew there. Union Square Park was also shut down at 10 p.m. last Saturday.

While there's now apparently a 10 p.m. weekend curfew in Tompkins Square Park, the one for Washington Square Park has been suspended, NY1 reported this morning. 

Meanwhile, it is not immediately clear who placed these unofficial-looking signs around the Park. (And one reader thought that "Park closes at 10 p.m." would be better than "Park closed at 10 p.m.")

This is the latest effort by the NYPD to crack down on everything in the Park from amplified music to zine sales.

Happy Record Store Day (and Always Support Your Local Record Store Day)

Today is the first of two Record Store Days set for this summer (the other being on July 17). 

You can find some RSD titles at a few of the local shops ... or you can pay them a visit anyway at your leisure... 

• A-1 Record Shop — 439 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue

• Academy Records — 415 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue

• Limited to One Records — 221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue

• Manhattan45 — 220 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue

• Stranded Records — 218 E. Fifth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square

And a special shout-out to Downtown Music Gallery, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last month. The shop got its start in the East Village, first on Fifth Street then the Bowery. Find them now at 13 Monroe St. in Chinatown.  

Free COVID-19 vaccines in Tompkins Square Park this weekend

The city is setting up a free COVID-19 vaccination center this weekend in Tompkins Square Park... no appointements needed today or tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ...

Thanks to @EastVillageNY for the info!

Capitol gains

 

Putting this up in honor of the new exhibit that opened today at the Museum of the City of New York.

"New York, New Music: 1980-1986" features groups-musicians including DNA, Arthur Russell, the Cramps, 3 Teens Kill 4, Bush Tetras and the band seen here — Bad Brains, with a live clip for "Banned in D.C." from CBGB in 1982...

Remembering Penny Rand

Friends of Penny Rand gathered early last evening at the Tompkins Square Park dog run to celebrate the life of the longtime East Village resident.

Rand passed away suddenly on May 12. She was 71. 

Rand was a regular in the dog run with Leeluu, who's now staying with a relative.

Photo by Stacie Joy

A zine fair on St. Mark's Place and in community gardens tomorrow

Printed Matter/St. Mark's and 8-Ball Community are teaming up for a Spring Zine Fair taking place tomorrow (Saturday!) on St Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

In addition, there'll be a series of collaborative events at community gardens throughout the neighborhood. 

Some details via the EVG inbox...

Join us as we come together after many months apart and gather local independent publishers and zine makers to honor the East Village's rich DIY and countercultural history.

Engage with the 40-plus New York-based exhibitors who will be tabling at the fair and browse an exceptional array of creative and experimental artists' zines and publications. Throughout the day, nearby community gardens will be hosting various programs, including composting workshops, poetry readings, concerts, leaf pressings and more! 

As we celebrate the East Village's artistic past and present, we're so excited to collaborate with local community gardens in acknowledgment of the grassroots reclamation of the Lower East Side’s unused space by gardeners, squatters and artists. Our fair guide will be in the form of an East Village Fanzine spotlighting local businesses, organizations and stories.

This link has many more details. 

And in the gardens...

New music now (1980-1986 edition) at the Museum of the City of New York

An EVG reader shares this about a new exhibit opening today up at the Museum of the City of New York titled "New York, New Music:1980-1986" ...

The exhibit features rare videos of several bands and musical groups including KONK and Bellhead at the Tompkins Square Park band shell, DNA, Arthur Russell, the Cramps, Tish & Snooky, Kid Creole, Richard Hell, the Del-Byzanteens, Bad Brains, 3 Teens Kill 4, Bush Tetras, James White, John Zorn ... and tons of ephemera and photographs. 

Yes! Road trip to Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street! Read more about it at this link.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday (though today the doors open at noon).

H/T Mr. Baggs! Image via Museum of the City of New York

Catch the latest video premiere from Pinc Louds tonight at La Plaza Cultural

Pinc Louds, fresh off a rousing set at La Plaza Cultural on Saturday evening, returns to the community garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street for a video-viewing party tonight of the band's new single.

"Aire Acondicionado" officially drops tomorrow, but you can check it out tonight. The screening starts at sundown, though the gates will be open earlier.  

Photo Saturday by Stacie Joy!

Updated 6/11:

Check out the new video below...

 

All along 1st Avenue with Neil Goldberg

Text and photos by Stacie Joy 

Like so many New Yorkers, especially those of us who live in the East Village, I was deeply moved by local resident Neil Goldberg's op-ed piece "Hallelujah Anyway, Anyway" in The New York Times earlier this spring.

A video piece that speaks of his experiences watching shopkeepers all along First Avenue rolling up their gates each morning, and how the city and our neighborhood have changed since he first started videotaping merchants in the early 1990s. A meditative piece dealing with twin viruses, first AIDS and now COVID, Neil reflects on change, impermanence, resiliency and hope. 

I recently met up with the artist and we walked along First Avenue from Houston to 14th Street on both sides and revisited some of the storefronts featured in his story. We even visited his former apartment building, where his name remains on the buzzer. 

We chatted about old favorites long gone like Baby Jake's, Black Forest Pastry Shop and Foot Gear Plus, and marveled at places that are (thankfully!) still here, such as Speedy Lock & Door, Gizmo and Cosmo's Launderama ...

You can keep up with Neil here ... and tune into his podcast, "She's A Talker."

8 a.m. old-timer Milano's returns to service on East Houston

Longtime (circa the 1880s!) daytime-drinking favorite Milano's reopened this week over at 51 E. Houston St. between Mott and Mulberry. 

Milano's had been closed since the PAUSE of March 2020. And now they're back to their longtime 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. hours. 

The same ownership also operates the Library (7 Avenue A), Doc Holliday's (141 Avenue A) and d.b.a. (41 First Ave.) — expect those bars to also reopen soon. 

Thanks to Martin Mahoney for the pic yesterday!

Avenue C stalwart A & C Kitchen is back open

A & C Kitchen, the affordable and reliable quick-serve Chinese restaurant these past nearly 30 years, is back open at 136 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. (Thank you Eden for the tip!) 

A&C had been closed throughout the pandemic, and people wondered if the place was done for good. Yelpers thought so.

They will be expanding their hours and menu items as business returns. 

EVG file photo

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Revisiting A & C Kitchen on Avenue C