EV Grieve

Monday, May 2, 2011

To no surprise, 35 Cooper Square will be torn down

On Friday afternoon, we posted photos of the new scaffolding at 35 Cooper Square. EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams was also on the scene. Bobby tried to ask one of the crew members what they were doing. The worker's reaction was all we needed to hear about what would be happening next: "It ain't me."

In a nonshocker, crews will soon begin tearing down the 186-year-old building. Both Jeremiah and the Local East Village posted the letter from developer Arun Bhatia (via an attorney) to council member Rosie Mendez about his final decision on the fate of the historic building:

"Unfortunately, it was concluded that it would not be feasible to develop the site with the building or any significant portion of it remaining."

Meanwhile, the developer will be making a financial contribution to the Landmarks Conservancy to help document the histories of Federal buildings such as 35 Cooper Square for which "creation of an historic record is all that can be done," as Jeremiah reported.

Let the condo/hotel/dorm building begin!

Previously on EV Grieve:
35 Cooper Square, 'this much-beloved little building,' dies at age 186

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

On Saturday, workers began clearing out what remains inside the now-closed Amato Opera on the Bowery. (Read our post from Saturday here.)

Meanwhile, Michael Maren was on hand to document the stage props that were coming and going...

See more photos on his Tumblr — he even went inside...

Tony and Sally Amato, pictured here, opened the opera house in 1948. The Amato Opera closed in May 2009.

A Royal corner of the East Village

During the weekend, Chico worked on a new Kate-William mural on Houston at Avenue B. (See our pictures from Saturday here.)

Chico was finishing up the mural yesterday afternoon...

[Top photo by Bobby Williams]

As BoweryBoogie noted in his coverage yesterday, Harlem-based liquor depot Branson B. Champagne is sponsoring the mural, which will only be up for three weeks.

The new murals replaces the Loisaidas album art...

...which at least one person took issue with...

Fourteen years earlier, Chico memorialized William's mother here on the same corner...

...art that was eventually vandalized...

Sign campaign against the Boiler Room on Second Avenue

Spotted near Third Street... the bar is on Fourth Street just east of Second Avenue...

An end of an era at Pyramid — so long 1984!

Per WNYC:

It's the last night of 1984 in the East Village.

For 18 years, fans of '80s music have flocked to the storied Pyramid Club on Avenue A nearly every Friday to enjoy songs by artists from the Smiths to Cyndi Lauper spun by the party's promoter and D.J. Chip Duckett.

But now Duckett said he is pulling the plug on the party and moving on to other projects.

"Honestly, it's just time for me to move on to something different," Duckett said. "1984 has lasted almost twice as long as the '80s lasted. People who can drink legally now were three-years old when this party started."

And now, something obvious...

On its 1-year anniversary, the Horsebox thanks neighbors by throwing a toga party

Saturday night here on Avenue A between 13th and 14th Street... sorry we missed it.

Avenue A Sushi is now...

Avenue A Sushi closed last spring...

And reopened as something else... and then closed again...

I've lost track of the various incarnations of late... In any event, there's a new sign now...

Hmm. "Mexican-Italian Infusion." (!?)

Meanwhile, during the weekend, a bartender there allegedly smoked crack and locked himself inside the Bistro. Bob Arihood has that story here at the much-welcomed return of Neither More Nor Less.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Signs of spring: Peter Corbin, aka the Bike Man

Back on the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue A. (Read more about him here. BoweryBoogie recently noted the return of another bike repairman, Natividad Zirate.)

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Today at the New York City Marble Cemetery

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

[Dave on 7th]

Previously.

A celebration for Coney Island

East Village-based photographer Stacie Joy sent along some photos from Electric Eden, a Gala Fundraising Benefit in support of Coney Island USA that took place this past Thursday at Amnesia on West 29th Street.... featuring the cast of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. (Read more about it here.)

May 1

OK! Roger_Paw made this discovery today on East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

And she is quite excited about this. "I rushed over to the nearby gas station and bought a paper to prove authentication. The thing still had lights and ornaments on it!"

Gruber MacDougal, spokesperson for the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring (ICTTS), was his usual reserved self.

"We applaud Roger_Paw for paying $1.25 for today's New York Post," said MacDougal, who's attending the beatification ceremony for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square. "In our estimation, the paper was only worth 87 cents."

Week in Grieview

Talking with John Linnell of They Might Be Giants (Friday)

Mara's Homemade sets closing date (Monday)

"Gossip Girl" invades Velselka (Tuesday)

An Avenue B now and then (Wednesday)

We hung out with Vincent D'Onofrio, kind of (Wednesday)

We learned why Pangea has been closed (Friday)

We looked at the CB3/SLA May meeting docket (Thursday)

The Bluebird Coffee Shop was sold (Wednesday)

Wai? Cafe is relocating to Avenue B (Tuesday)

Why the summer of 2011 is ruined (Tuesday)

And at the Mars Bar...