Report: Drinking or urinating in, say, Tompkins Square Park, no longer a criminal offense

Last March, the city and DA's office announced a new initiative to change how individuals who commit low-level offenses are processed in Manhattan.

As NY1 reports, a number of offenses will now (as of yesterday) be handled in city administrative court rather than as criminal cases. The NYPD will issue civil summonses for quality-of-life offenses. The new summons policy mandates that offenders then appear at the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings — OATH!

Per NY1:

Violations with less serious penalties now include urinating or drinking in public, spitting, littering, making excessive noise in a park or breaking park rules.

But!

You may still have to go to criminal court under some circumstances.

That includes a person getting three civil summonses for quality-of-life offenses, ignoring them, and then getting a fourth summons.

The new guidelines do not apply to those with open warrants, prior felony arrests, or who may be on parole or probation.

The Daily News reports that about 96 percent of patrol officers have been trained on the new guidelines.

NYPD officials estimate that this will reduce the number of criminal summonses issued a year by about 100,000. The idea is that the initiative will enable the NYPD to devote its resources to investigating serious crimes, while further reducing the backlog of cases in Criminal Court, among other reasons.

Hawklet watch: Going out on a limb

[Photo by Dennis Edge. Reposted with permission]

On Monday evening, the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawklet fledged... longtime bird watcher Dennis Edge captured the moment in the above photo.

So be prepared for some possible erratic flying in the days ahead as Christo and Dora's lone 2017 offspring continues to develop into a lean, rat-eating machine. (Be sure to check out Goggla's site for more in the days ahead.)

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, EVG reader Cheyenne shared these photos from the Park... showing Christo keeping cool in the heat...



...and hanging out on a favorite spot...

Out and About in the East Village

In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village or Lower East Side.



By James Maher

Name: Miss Joan Marie Moossy
Occupation: Performer
Location: Clinton Street
Date: Monday, June 12 at noon

I’m from New Orleans originally. As a child, our family moved all over the place. My dad was a doctor and academic physician, so he taught in medical schools, and we lived in Europe because daddy was the head of a cerebral vascular study, an international study. During his career, he was instrumental in separating psychiatry from neurology, because in 1950 when he graduated, it was all one big department.

I was coming here in the 1970s — I was a dancer in Washington D.C., and then I went to Pittsburgh for Law School. I was coming to New York all the time, and that’s when I got the apartment and moved here. I was a go-go dancer. I did it for six years in my 20s. I never worked as a lawyer. I have covered court cases for magazine articles, that kind of stuff, but I never worked as a lawyer.

The first time I ever walked up to this building, there was a guy throwing up on the stoop and two little girls walking by all dressed up like they were having a birthday party, and I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to live here forever.’ For some reason that was the first thought that crossed my mind.

It was really different then. I guess you could say it was more dangerous, but I think New York is always dangerous. I don’t think you’re wise to let your guard down ever in New York. But it was an exciting youth. There was a lot going on in terms of nightclubs and performance and so many opportunities to participate in that – it was a very open scene in terms of diversity of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, everything. You could meet somebody of every stripe at any party or nightclub, so that was wonderful. So you had friends that were every age, from every country, every color.

All these buildings that you see across from us on Clinton Street were boarded up, and there was a big heroin trade up the street. That moved up and down the street. Across the street, they had put concrete blocks in all the doorways and windows, and I guess the heroin business had dug out a hole and somebody would be sitting inside the building. The junkies would line up, they’d put their money in, and they’d get the heroin out. And you want to talk diversity, I’m telling you, junkies come in every stripe. When you’d sit here and look out the window and watch an entire line of them, it was the stereotypical junkies, it was the guys in suits, it was the women in nice shoes.

You couldn’t get a taxi to bring you down here. The furthest place you could get a taxi was First and First. There was a restaurant there called the Baltic, which was open 24 hours a day. They would drop you there and you’d walk the rest of the way, so frequently you’d run. Somebody’s chasing you, you run.

I’ve had some experience in the housing movement – we were almost illegally evicted from this building. They would say that your building was about to collapse, then everybody would run out and they would tear the building down. That’s what they did on Stanton Street, on Fifth Street. So that’s what happened here too, and we didn’t leave, obviously.

As a result, I got involved in activism. I talk to other tenant groups when they’re at risk and that type of thing. I learned a lot about the neighborhood and the people who live here. There’s nothing like talking to people. You can sit in your house all day and look on the Internet and watch the news on TV, and it’s really not quite the same thing as going and talking to the people that are affected by it. That’s been an invaluable lesson.

We'll have more from this interview with Joan next week, including her time working at the Limelight in the 1980s and continuing to love NYC today.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Becky's Bites bringing cream cheese creations to 7th Street

The coming soon signage has arrived at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, where renovations are underway to open Becky's Bites later this summer...



According to the shop's Facebook page: "Becky offers a range of novel cream cheese based bites from bagels & parfaits to tiny tarts & cookie sandwiches."

The Becky's website has more info on the operation, with photos of some of her creations. (The shop is also hiring.)

No. 122 previously housed the Verdigreen vintage furnishings boutique.

Another barber shop for Avenue A?

A tipster tells us that a barber shop is opening at 115 Avenue A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

Work permits on file with the city show a business name of Bonefade Barbers.

If true, then this will be a competitive area for barbers. There is Ben's Barbers at 217 Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street and Three Seat Espresso & Barber at 137 Avenue A between St. Mark's and Ninth Street. There are three barbers/salons on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, Ace of Cuts on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, and Neighborhood Barbers at 439 E. Ninth St between Avenue A and First Avenue. Probably among others.

The space was last home to a sales office for Blink Fitness. The last full-time tenant at No. 115, the gift shop Alphabets, closed here in February 2014, merging with their newly opened location at 64 Avenue A between Fifth Street and Fourth Street.

Also on the topic of new barbers... Best Barber has opened at 228 Avenue B between 13th Street and 14th Street...



They also have a location on 10th Avenue.

Base camp: Looking at the Bowlmor Lanes-replacing 22-story condoplex

While walking on University Place the other day, we had time to take in the nearly block-long base and first three levels of developer Billy Macklowe's 22-floor retail-residential complex here between 12th Street and 13th Street. (This is the former Bowlmor Lanes parcel.)

In case you haven't seen what's on its way up...


[Rendering via Selldorf.com]

Bloomberg had an update yesterday (H/T to the EVG commenter for the link) on what Macklowe is calling 21E12. For starters, about 65 percent of the condoplex's 52 units reportedly have buyers, including the sale of two duplexes to a single buyer listed for a combined $23.5 million.

And apparently this won't be a place for the foreign super-rich to buy under the guise of shell companies with anonymous assets.

Macklowe told Bloomberg that most of the buyers to date are native New Yorkers.

"It is a New York building, for New Yorkers, and the people buying are going to live here.”

So far, the lowest-priced deal here was for $2.43 million. The building is expected to be ready for occupancy at the end of 2018.

In November 2015, local elected officials, preservation groups and even actor Ed Norton rallied to have this area rezoned to put height limits on new construction along this corridor. Mayor de Blasio wasn't apparently too interested in the proposal.

Bowlmor Lanes closed in July 2014 after 76 years in business.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Bowlmor Lanes will convert to condos, like everywhere else around here

76-year-old Bowlmor Lanes closes for good today

Bowlmor says goodbye

Bowlmor Lanes replacement: 23-floor residential building

Major changes coming to University Place and East 13th Street

How about some more condos for University Place

Here's what's left of the block of University Place that once housed Bowlmor Lanes

Oh hi: The 22-floor Bowlmor Lanes-replacing luxury building

Poop Bag PSA

New on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... an empty milk jug poop-bag holder if the need arises.

Thanks to @RatedRuwan!

Meanwhile, at the Tompkins Square Station...

Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C... it doesn't always look this way...

Photo via @artisanmatters

Ciao for Now screening 1993 East Village indie 'What About Me' on Thursday night

On Thursday night, Ciao For Now on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B is hosting a screening of "What About Me," a film shot around the neighborhood in the early 1990s and released in 1993.

Here's more info via Ciao For Now:

The film follows a young woman (played by Amodeo, herself) who wanders homeless in the East Village. “I took a walk around Tompkins Square Park to come up with an idea”, says Amodeo, “it was during the homeless encampment, where there were a lot of shanty houses at the time. I struck up a conversation with a few of the residents there and came to find out that a lot of people there had a series of breaks through uncontrollable circumstances. My idea was to make a story about a homeless couple who get swept up into the drama of living on the streets.”

The screening will be followed by a Q-&-A with Amodeo and her partner Henry Jones, an animator and artist who collaborated on it with her, and both of whom remain part of the nucleus of the old East Village art scene. The film stars Amodeo, Richard Edson, Nick Zedd, Rockets Redglare, Judy Carne, Richard Hell, Johnny Thunders, Dee Dee Ramone, and Gregory Corso; with cameo appearances by Jerry Nolan, Patti Palladin, Mariann Bracken, amongst others.

The cafe's doors open at 6:30 p.m. before the screening at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $5 per person, which includes complimentary popcorn and the Q-&-A after the film. Wine, beer, coffee and a light menu of items will be available for purchase throughout the night. Seating is limited so please call the cafe to make reservations in advance at 212-677-2616.

You can read more about the film in this old EVG post from 2008.

Hear the latest on the L train shutdown tonight

[EVG photo from April]

Apologies for the short notice — I only received this info. late last night. Via the EVG inbox...

The MTA and the Department of Transportation are deep in the process of planning for the L train shutdown in 2019, and community board meetings are going on right now in which representatives from both agencies are sharing their latest plans and listening to community members' concerns and ideas.

The MTA and the DOT will be in the East Village tonight at a meeting of CB3's Transportation & Public Safety/Environment Committee, presenting their latest update on the planning they're doing:

• Fixing the L Line's Canarsie Tunnel (click here for MTA/DOT PowerPoint slides)

The meeting is open to the public, and people can ask questions and offer comments. Tuesday, June 13, 6:45-8 p.m. Downtown Art, 70 E. Fourth St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue

As previously reported, Transportation Alternatives is advocating for something they're calling the 14th Street PeopleWay. Read more about that plan here. This am New York piece has more facts, figures and proposals related to the L train.

The L train shutdown between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue to repair the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019.

Mancora has apparently closed on 1st Avenue

[Photo Friday by Vinny & O]

The gates have been down at Mancora, the Peruvian restaurant on First Avenue at Sixth Street, for the past 10 days or so. Several EVG readers noted that workers have gutted the interior, leaving some speculation of a temporary closure for renovations.

There isn't any note to patrons about the closure, temporary or otherwise. The phone kicks into an automated message about the customer not haven't set up a voicemail box.

The Mancora space was expected to yield to a "fast casual" concept called Ummburger. No update on that venture at the moment.

A sample menu for Ummburger posted on the CB3 website this spring showed a variety of burgers, including a vegetarian option ... and a fried chicken sandwich called the Southern Ummfort.

Mancora first opened in March 2003.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ummburger vying for the Mancora space on 1st Avenue

Union Square Duane Reade available for sublease

An EVG tipster shared the marketing materials with info on subleasing the Duane Reade on Union Square.

There aren't many details about leasing the 12,790 square-foot-space. The rental rate is negotiable. The possession date is this month. Find a PDF with the flyer here.

Several Duane Reades have been closing around the city, including three on the Upper West Side and one on Canal and Broadway.

Parent company Walgreens has an expanded location right there at 14th Street and Fourth Avenue, and there's a Duane Reade on 14th Street and Third Avenue and 10th Street and Third Avenue.

The Union Square Duane Reade opened in the summer of 2010 in the former Virgin Megastore.

Bali Kitchen bringing Indonesian cuisine to 4th Street

The coming soon sign is up for Bali Kitchen, which will serve Indonesian cuisine here at 128 E. Fourth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



The space, which shares an address with Lui's Thai Food, was last home to the Fantastic Tea Shop for less than a year.

Sweetgreen opening in former University Diner space

Stepping away from the neighborhood for a moment... signage is up on the corner of University Place and 12th Street for another NYC location of Sweetgreen, the healthy quick-serve restaurant that offers various custom salads and grain bowls, etc.

This corner was home for 60 years to the University Diner, which closed in 2012 over a reported hefty rent increase. Gunz Fine European Food — an upscale chocolate shop and market — arrived in 2013 and left a few years later.