EV Grieve

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Joy awaits you on East Second Street

Hurry!

Spotted outside Le Petit Versailles near Avenue C.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

[Photo by Curt Hoppe from March 2013]

Arturo Vega, the artistic director for the Ramones who created their iconic logo, has died. He was 65. Legs McNeil first reported the death on his Facebook page:

RIP: ARTURO VEGA: 1948-2013 Sleep gently my dear friend, you were the must optimistic, jubilant and fun pal anyone could wish for. I don’t know what the world will be like without, nor do I want to even imagine it… But I know you will find eternal happiness wherever you end up….I love you Arturo.

No other details are available at the moment.

At least 1 participant in the World Naked Bike Ride took a Citi Bike

So today was the annual World Naked Bike Ride day... and EVG contributor peter radley took a few shots of the riders on Second Avenue ... and at least one pants-clad participant took advantage of the Cite Bikes bike share program for the ride.

Oh, and there's video too... via EVG reader Kevin...

Below the clouds

A relaxing afternoon at the New York Marble Cemetery

Open Day today at the New York City Marble Cemetery on East Second Street... Bobby Williams stopped by for a moment to check out the peaceful easy feeling...

'Roofstock' tomorrow at 6th & B Garden

There's a "raise the roof" party tomorrow afternoon from 1-6 at the 6 & B Garden on Avenue B and East Sixth Street...

Per the 6th and B Garden website:

The garden was struck by high winds during the hurricane which brought down our beloved six story tall willow tree which has been a centerpiece of our garden for almost 20 years. Also our stage which has been host to hundreds of free performances for the community lost sections of the roof which exposes it to rain and snow damage.

The willow was cut into pieces by garden members and neighborhood volunteers and the branches and leaves were removed by the NYC Parks Dept. Unfortunately the massive logs from the willow remain in the garden and our stage roof is still broken and must be replaced.

Garden members are raising money to buy materials to replace the roof... For tomorrow's event, several local restaurants donated food (Gruppo, Veniero's, Veselka, among others) ... and there will be music all afternoon... Suggested donation is $10.

Find more info on the Garden's website.

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After Sandy.

[Photo by Mat Gundell]

The New York City Marble Cemetery is open until 5 today on East 2nd Street

Per The New York City Marble Cemetery Facebook page:

We are open today! The rain stopped, the sun came out and the birds are singing. And the cemetery is looking extra green & lush. Come and explore the beautiful cemetery today between 11am 'til 5pm. (Well behaved dogs & children are welcome. Pack a blanket & a picnic, but we do ask that you don't bring frisbies & balls due to the delicacy of the stonework.) We very much look forward to seeing you.

East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

About the trees at the New York City Marble Cemetery

On the topic of the New York City Marble Cemetery... as we noted Tuesday, workers removed three diseased trees from the historic cemetery on East Second Street...

The Cemetery's Facebook page (funny that doesn't seem so weird) has an explanation about the tree removal:

All three trees were damaged during Super Storm Sandy last October, especially the one leaning over the sidewalk which lost most of its crown. At the time we got specialists in to save the tree and were warned that it might have trouble thriving or even surviving as it would be difficult for it to get enough nourishment from its remaining leaves. We decided it needed to be given a chance. but basically with its immune system so compromised it soon began to show signs of illness losing bark and developing large bare patches on its trunk. Neighbors contacted us to let us know it was in trouble. The other two trees had been showing signs of disease even before the hurricane. the smaller one nearest the gate was hollowed out by disease and the third, the larger one leaning towards the houses, had a problem at its base.

We really hoped that the problem would be small and slow-growing but, when we ordered special tests to check, the results that came back from the lab were that it had a fast growing pathogen attacking it and was, because of the position of the disease, likely to fail. So, very sadly, after spending thousands of dollars in an attempt to save these trees, we ended up having to spend thousands more dollars having to take them down — for safety reasons. Because of the increased danger of them coming down during a storm and their position next to the street we had no choice but to be cautious. We have plans, funds permitting, to plant some new trees in the fall.

We are gladly accepting donations towards the purchasing and planting of new trees — you may visit our website for details of how to donate via Paypal or cheque.

Thank you for understanding, and please know we did everything we could to save those trees. We loved them too!