Taqueria Diana now open for dinner

Oh! It opened Monday for service. Anyone try it yet? On Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place (in the former Cheep's Pita Creations).

Fork in the Road recently had more details on the place.

Report: 'Jodie Lane Place' sign is gone; City says it will be replaced

[EVG file photo]

The street sign noting "Jodie Lane Place" on the northwest corner of East 11th Street and First Avenue is missing, The Villager reports today.

Per the report:

Scott Gastel, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, told The Villager he didn’t believe there was any connection between the installation of the new-style cantilever signs and the disappearance of the Jodie Lane Place co-naming sign and the other traditional-style street signs that had been attached to that pole. It looks like the signs were removed with a hacksaw — a thin, jagged strip of green from the removed signs can still be seen.

On Monday, in an e-mail, Gastel assured The Villager that a sign honoring Lane, plus the other removed signs, will be put back up on the pole.

Lane was a 30-year-old doctoral candidate at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. During the late afternoon of Jan. 16, 2004, Lane, who lived on East 12th Street with her boyfriend, was walking her dogs. She was electrocuted on a snow-covered Con Edison junction box on the southwest corner of 11th Street at First Avenue.

The street was named in her honor in the spring of 2005.

Read more about the Jodie S. Lane Public Safety Foundation here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
In Memoriam: Roger M. Lane

Noted

Spotted last night on Second Avenue and East Second Street. Do you have what it takes?

Photo by Paul Kostabi via Facebook.

Eviction inspires East Village resident to create this one-woman play

[Victoria Linchong's former home on Avenue C]

I amended parts of the section on her childhood. I was wrong on the chronology.

After a tumultuous eviction process from her apartment of nearly 20 years, Victoria Linchong did something that was very natural for her: The director-writer-actor wrote a play.

"DISPOSSESSED" is a one-woman play about finding and losing home that runs July 19-21 at the HERE Arts Center on Sixth Avenue.

From the press notes:

"DISPOSSESSED" is more than a lament over my eviction; it's also about the history of apartments ... specifically the history of apartments in NYC, and our relationship with our possessions. There are ruminations about the community within cities and tenement housing from Jane Jacobs and Luc Sante. Clayton Patterson and Paul Garrin have contributed some video ... And at the end of the play, everyone gets a book from my ridiculously extensive library.

Linchong was born in Stuy Town on Avenue C and East 20th Street. Her family moved away when she was 3, and they spent time in Taiwan and parts of Queens. In the fall of 1988, at age 17, she ran away from Queens and took up residence in the basement of Theater for the New City, where she had been working part time since age 14.

Linchong answered a few questions via email about the play and her life in the East Village.

What was it like living in the basement of Theater for the New City?

Uncomfortable. I lived in one of those cages downstairs that used to be vendor storage back when the place was a market. It was like 5 by 8 and the floor was cement. I slept on some limp foam thing and tried to prop it up with a couple of milk crates since the floor was disgusting. Next door was a guy from the Living Theater. I was slightly jealous of him since he had a real bed and a bigger cage. He smoked a lot of pot and talked to the television. I remember being woken up one night by him saying, "Oprah, you REALLY have problems."

Did your passion for theater develop at this time? Or had you been interested in the arts earlier in your teens?

I was a 17 when I lived in the basement of the theater but I'd started working there four years earlier. Out of sheer masochism, I've wanted to be in theater since I was 5 years old.

What were the circumstances that led to your eviction from your apartment of 20 years in 2011?

That's a long story and it's one of the threads of "DISPOSSESSED." Basically, it's just hard to hang onto an apartment during a recession when you are a struggling artist, especially if the landlord is all about kicking out rent-stabilized tenants.

So the play is more about losing your home. What other themes are you exploring here?

Living in apartments is so part of life in Manhattan that most people take it for granted, but it took more than 60 years for apartments to become acceptable housing for the middle- and upper-class. Apartments were originally housing for the poor — if there's such a thing as vernacular architecture in New York City, the apartment is it. There's text by Luc Sante about how apartments developed from tenements in the 1830s and I also use text by Jane Jacobs about community within cities.

A third thread in the play is a rumination about possessions. When you're forcibly evicted from your place, you lose a lot of your things and for me at least, it led to an investigation into what makes something valuable. I mean, I've always considered myself not particularly material — I don't have any interests in owning anything and I'm not a hoarder or even a collector — but the loss of various random things hit me really hard. Like a set of hand-made bamboo steamers from my great-aunt... the passport I had when I was 3 years old... stupid things that no one else would value except for me.

And the thing that I realized is that your possessions are valuable to you for how they shape your identity, how they inform your history. So losing certain things is like losing a piece of yourself.



What was your favorite thing about this particular apartment?

I lived in that apartment for 19 years so it really was like I had a longtime relationship with it. I was used to its creaks and dings and drips. I tore off three layers of linoleum and sanded and stained the floor myself. Which is why my friends often got splinters in their feet.

There were a lot of problems with the place, but since it was rent stabilized, it was like the amazing partner every artist dreams of. It was completely and utterly supportive of my work. I had cheap rent that allowed me to spend time on art that didn't necessarily pay. I had the central location where I could have meetings whenever I wanted, where I was never lonely, and inspiration or a much-needed coffee break was always around the corner. Plus the place had a huge outdoor area, really the roof of the building next door, which was supposed to be a fire escape, but I had countless nights of just sitting with a drink and looking at the sky.

Is there room for a struggling artist in the East Village of today?

The East Village used to be affordable, which is why there were so many artists. All you needed to do was find part-time work or get two or three paying gigs a month, and you could pay rent and eat out almost every night. But now everyone either has to work a full-time job or really hustle, so you don't have the time or brain space to do the work you really need to be doing. This is why everyone is moving out to Ditmas Park or Bushwick.

Do you still feel a sense of community in the neighborhood?

There's still the facts on the ground — the gardens, the squats, the evidence of how community action has shaped the area. There's still the small scale of the buildings and streets, and the Park in the middle of it all, which encourages people to walk around and creates great sidewalk life.

But a lot of the newer people come from places where they have to get into a car to go anywhere and their nearest neighbor is a mile away, so they don't have the same sociability. They don't look at anyone in the eyes or talk to people on the street.

I mean everyone always came from elsewhere to New York, but there used to be an extant culture here. And people from other places would get hip to that in a few weeks and start behaving like a New Yorker. But now, all the New Yorkers are leaving in droves because they can't afford living here anymore, so the new people coming in are less likely to get the lightbulb realization that "Oh, right, frat parties with people vomiting off the fire escape does NOT make me cool in New York."

Jane Jacobs said this pretty well in "The Death and Life of Great American Cities,"...Constant departures leave, of course, more than housing vacancies to be filled. They leave a community in a perpetually embryonic stage... The age of buildings is no index to the age of a community, which is formed by a continuity of a people."

You were born and raised in the neighborhood. What is the one constant that you have experienced here through the years?

Whew that's hard... OK, here's something, which really needs to be preserved. Corporate culture has yet to invade the East Village. The neighborhood is still predominantly mom-and-pop shops. You can count on the fingers of one hand the major national chains — there's MacDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Urban Outfitters, 7-Eleven and Subway.

So what has always been in the same is that you still know people in the shops, you can still leave your keys at the bodega. We haven't been bludgeoned into homogenous consumerism here. We still have a choice. I'm afraid that a lot of the newer people don't know or value this, which is why the 7-Eleven coming to Avenue A is so worrisome. The playing field isn't level and letting these giant behemoths onto it it is pretty risky.

What do you hope that people take away from "DISPOSSESSED" (aside from a book!)

I suppose part of what I want to express in the play is what I value about East Village: the beautiful, catalytic and extremely rare convergence of artists, activists and immigrants in the neighborhood, which is rapidly being eviscerated. I hope this crystallizes a deeper understanding of what is really at stake in the gentrification of the East Village. Maybe if enough people understand this, it'll help keep what's left of the heart and soul of the neighborhood intact.

-----

"DISPOSSESSED"
July 19-21
Fri & Sat at 7pm, Sun at 2pm and 7pm
HERE Arts Center
145 6th Ave, New York City
(enter on Dominick St., one block south of Spring St).
General Admission $15
Find ticket info here.

Prep work continues for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

[June 30]

Workers continue to prep the properties on the Mary Help Of Christians lot for demolition to make way for a new residential complex. The scaffolding and netting arrived on Tuesday for the school on East 11th Street near Avenue A ... and workers were still erecting the scaffolding yesterday afternoon...





Meanwhile, workers have already wrapped the former rectory on East 12th Street... only the church, which opened in 1917, remains free of the demolition bondage... miracle time has likely passed, though...



Developer Douglas Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex.

H/t Shawn Chittle.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory

Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site

Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians

Alphabet Scoop still closed, waiting for steps to be repaired

Over on East 11th Street near Avenue B, Alphabet Scoop remains closed. The seasonal ice cream shop was to open back in the spring...

Back on March 19, the store's Facebook page noted the following:

Alphabet Scoop's spring reopening will be delayed due to the need to repair the steps to the store. We had an engineer examine them and they cannot be used until they are either repaired or replaced. They are the original steps, created in 1867 when the building was erected. Please pray that the project will move along quickly.

Ugh! Still no word from the engineers regarding replacing or repairing Alphabet Scoop steps! It sure feels like ice cream weather!

— Alphabet Scoop (@ABCscoop) April 9, 2013

There were some hopeful signs via Twitter...

Engineers' report in, drawings prepared, permits being drawn up, contact with NYC Landmarks and Preservation and... http://t.co/29W4M2dzdq

— Alphabet Scoop (@ABCscoop) May 6, 2013

The job (of replacing the store's steps) is out for bid! Yay!

— Alphabet Scoop (@ABCscoop) June 19, 2013

Alphabet Scoop was still closed last night... and the sign remains on the stairs...



However, according to the DOB, the city just approved the plan to replace the stoop on Tuesday. The plans were filed on May 21.

The Father’s Heart Ministries runs the shop that employs at-risk youth in the neighborhood. (You can read an article about it at The Villager here.)

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Easy Rider,' freedom

Tonight's free film in Tompkins Square Park is "Easy Rider" with Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. (It's no "C.C. and Company," but what is?)



There's pre-film music courtesy of Main Squeeze Quintet.

Of course, all this is weather permitting... If it's a Thursday, then it will rain. Check the Films in Tompkins Facebook page for updates on tonight's screening. Three of the four films have been rained out this summer. Tonight's weather is looking outdoor-movie iffy.

And upcoming...

July 18 — Drive
July 25 — The Big Lebowski
Aug. 1 — Rocky Horror Picture Show
Aug. 8 — Chico + Rita
Aug. 15 — Romeo + Juliet
Aug. 22 — O Brother, Where Art Thou

Taxi of Tomorrow gets a taste of today with a parking ticket

Heh. Spotted this evening on East 12th Street between Broadway and Fourth Avenue by @mitski Welcome to NYC, Taxi of Tomorrow!

Checking in on the Second Avenue sinkhole

[Earlier]

We've been keeping tabs on the sinking sinkhole in the middle of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street...


[Later]

Our friend @adrjeffries sent along this update today... looking slightly more sinkholier, though it's hard to say without the mangled ConEd barricades in the way...



In any event, enjoy it while you can before the celebrities arrive...

[August 2009]

[NSFW] About the topless diner at Verso Sunday night

As first mentioned here, two diners entered Verso, the Italian bistro on Avenue C and East Eighth Street, on Sunday night ... the female diner sat down and removed her top. She sat bare chested while the man with her took photos. Owner Labinot Baraliu promptly asked the two to leave.

Here's more about what happened.

East Village-based professional photographer Allen Henson contacted us. He was in Verso with Cheyenne Lutek, a model.

"It was an impromptu photoshoot. We did two that night," he said. "The first establishment loved it and interacted, the other, well — we weren't there long."

Here are the results of the first restaurant, which declined to have its name used with the photos. "They had fun with it. So did the patrons."



And here are images from Verso...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Female diner decides to go topless last night at Verso

Report: Estranged husband in custody after slashing wife on Avenue D

A resident of the Jacob Riis Houses along Avenue D needed more than 100 stitches after her estranged husband repeatedly slashed her with a razor on Monday night, according to published reports.

According to the Daily News:

John Woody, 40, laid in wait for his estranged wife, Patricia Woody, 33, to return to her apartment in the Riis Houses ... He apparently used slivers of wood to clog the key hole on the front door, a police source said.

As she struggled to get the door open, Woody pounced, a second source said.

“She was trying to get the door open with the key when her husband came up behind her with a razor,” the source said. “He cut her across the head, face, neck and back.”

The Lo-Down reported that at least one of her three children was present when the horrific incident took place.

John Woody, who lives on Cherry Street, was arrested yesterday. The attack violated an order of protection — the second time the suspect has violated such an order, according to the Daily News.

Out and About in the East Village — A midsummer recap

We're taking a week off to provide a quick recap...

So then! Here's a look back at our 24 subjects from 2013 ... many thanks to East Village-based photographer James Maher and everyone who has taken part in this series... we'll return next week with Out and About in the East Village ... and in December with Out and About in the East Village/Road Rules Challenge...

• Jan. 9 — Lee Schramm

• Jan. 16 — Chris Riffle

• Jan. 23 — Jane Kelton and Little Egg

• Jan. 30 — Paul Kostabi

• Feb. 6 — Cheryl Pyle

• Feb. 13 — Mike Bakaty

• Feb. 20 — Jacquelyn Gallo

• Feb. 27 — Reverend Jacqui Lewis

• March 6 — Manny Garcia

• March 13 — Annette “Mistress Evil” Moccaldi

• March 20 — Katie Kenney

• March 27 — Lucille Krasne

• April 3 — 2013 recap

• April 10 — Jasmin Olmo (and Rocko)

• April 17 — Nicolina Johnson

• April 24 — Bryan Alejandro Scott

• May 1 — Terry

• May 8 — Jeff Underwood

• May 15 — Markian Surmach

• May 22 — Edward “Eak the Geek” Arrocha

• May 29 — Matt Torres

• June 5 — Danny Lama

• June 12 — Elisabeth Diekmann

• June 19 — Yadi Maria

• June 26 — Phillip Giambri

• July 3 — Phillip Giambri, Part 2

And here is a link to our profiles from 2012.

The Smell

Jill, who lives in a walk-up building that Jared Kushner and Westminster recently purchased, has launched a new blog called Documenting the Smell.

The story begins on July 1.

Last week my bedroom started to smell. Smells are hard to communicate and harder to describe. This one is chemical — turpentine, mineral spirits, toxic, strong. My bedroom became uninhabitable.

Mt bedroom is on the top floor. Of the 6 walls we have: ceiling shared with building roof; floor shared with downstairs neighbors we've never seen; north wall has a window; east wall has the door to the living room; south wall shared with my other bedroom; west wall is brick and has nothing on the other side of it (we are a story higher than the building to the west).

At first we thought The Smell was coming from the tenant downstairs who we've never seen.

It's a compelling read... spanning now seven posts...

I've been sniffing around the bedroom so much I have a headache. And a burning in my eyes and throat. The Smell is awful. It peaks during the evening, is strong through the night, starts diminishing in the morning, is almost gone by the afternoon, and starts again. It has a pattern, but seems also inconsistent at the same time.

She considers, seriously, hiring a smell expert. (Only $750!) There are also patch tests. A visit from the super. A Westminster rep. Ultimately, it's just a frustrating experience.

There's more drama and intrigue... until the source of The Smell is identified.

But now what?

[Read all the posts to date here]

Resident curious/irked about Verizon truck idling on Second Avenue

A resident is rather irked about the Verizon truck and accompanying tent that has taken up residence at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and East First Street...

A little background from the resident:

The motor runs continuously. The truck is rarely manned and I have never seen any actual construction work occurring. The truck occupies both a bicycle lane and the initial portion of the crosswalk for pedestrians crossing westward ... it also blocks traffic, biker and pedestrian visibility. The truck has been there, motor running, for approximately five weeks now (since June 1).

The general consensus seems to be that Verizon is installing fiber optics for FiOS service... unless you have some other explanation...