EVG reader Noah Shannon shared these photos from First Avenue at Sixth Street...
The abandoned slicer looks too carefully placed to be randomly discarded. Perhaps the Cuomo Administration left this to remind bars and restaurants that they must offer "substantial" menu items with curbside service?
Someone placed 10 tombstone-shaped signs in Tompkins Square Park paying tribute to the unarmed black men and women who died (or were injured) at the hands of police across the country in recent years.
Represented on the east side of the main lawn are Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain, Michael Brown and Jacob Blake, who is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis.
East Village resident Adam Zhu, who grew up skating here, launched a petition in late June 2019 to spare the asphalt from the fake turf ... and eventually gathered more than 32,000 signatures from people who wanted to preserve this important part of the skate community and youth culture. The outpouring of support was enough to change the minds of the Parks Department.
Today, skaters are celebrating this anniversary by bringing in Uncle Leroy’s Sidewalk Sale (background here via Vice about these sales that have been happening at McGolrick Park in Greenpoint this summer) to the space to raise money for at-risk local businesses and BLM causes.
I'm trying to map out where to meet Gerhardt DeKunst, also known as G-man, an East Village-based costume designer, artist/activist, and martial arts instructor. I'm planning on documenting a colorful nighttime bike ride G-man is participating in late Saturday.
The ride covers a wide swath of lower Manhattan and we finally decide it might be best to connect at the starting point at the Washington Square Arch. The ride ends late, so we agree to catch up for some questions the following day.
How did this event come about?
The bike ride is titled: NYC Deep Playa Night Ride, referring to cycling around the vast “playa,” the dried-out lakebed where Burning Man is located. Saturday’s ride was the “Burning Man edition” because Burning Man was supposed to be this week and Saturday night is the climactic “burning of the man” event.
As it was not held this year, many groups were doing something as a stand-in for what they would have been doing if it was on, and for a feeling of continued engagement in the community.
Your ride is particularly tricked out. How do you find storage space for it in the East Village?
I built this bike specifically for riding at Burning Man and it has had a secondary life in NYC, participating in many parades and events like Mermaid Parade, Dance Parade and more. I am lucky to be one of the few in the city with storage room in the basement of my building. I built the bike to break down and compact for the purpose of shipping to Nevada.
What is the purpose of the group bike ride and how did you get involved?
The purpose of these rides is to generate and participate in a sense of community in this time of fractured society: to gather in a safe way — masks and social distancing required — and yet be able to convene and be part of something; to meet up with friends and the wider Burning Man community of NYC and once more feel like we are not isolated individuals oppressed by the pandemic and trying socio-political times, that we are more and can have and continue to have a sense of community.
And to be clear, this is not in the face of or in counterpoint to the protests: many of us are activists and deeply involved in the protests and support of fighting for justice and equity in society. This is in addition to that and a flexing of our creative and fun-loving sides that have been quashed in COVID-19 times.
How did people react to seeing it?
People in general are very positive seeing us ride by, especially at restaurants seating people on the street. We get cheers and whistles and clapping as we go by, because I think it cheers people up, a moment of passing fun that materializes from the darkness and dissipates, an impromptu parade of pedal-powered light-up delight.
Ace Bar returned to service on Thursday here at 531 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. They're open for curbside seating from 3-11 p.m. daily with a food menu that includes hot dogs.
Ace Bar, which opened here in 1992, is owned by the same folks who ran Bleecker Bar for 30 years. That bar closed on Aug. 30. "All of our efforts to negotiate a reasonable lease extension with our landlord have failed," the owners stated. They did leave open the possibility of a return elsewhere.
Meanwhile on Fifth Street... Tuome at No. 536 has debuted outdoor seating...
The Michelin-starred restaurant reopened on Aug. 27 for takeout and delivery. Their hours: Tuesday-Saturday 5-9 p.m.
Ace Bar and Tuome join Lavagna and Minca Ramen Factory in dining offerings on this stretch of Fifth near B.
Now if Sophie's could reopen one of these days at the other end of the block...
The NYPD is searching for three teen suspects accused of robbing then punching a 74-year-old woman Thursday evening on 14th Street at First Avenue.
According to ABC 7, one of the teen suspects snatched the woman's purse. When she realized what happened, she tried to confront the teen and was sucker punched by one of his friends.
SHOCKING VIDEO: A 74-year-old woman was punched in the face when she confronted a group of teens for snatching her purse on a Manhattan street, police say
The victim, who reportedly refused treatment at the scene, has lived in NYC since 1963. She told ABC 7 that she wants to see this stretch of 14th Street "cleaned up."
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Updated 9/12: Police have arrested the couple.
Meanwhile, the NYPD is looking for a man and woman accused of assaulting an MTA bus driver on Astor Place this past Monday evening.
Per amNY, the 35-year-old bus driver was traveling on his M2 route when he witnessed the couple threatening another passenger. He reportedly ejected the pair on Lafayette at Eighth Street.
When the driver went on break a short distance away outside 51 Astor Place, the man and woman forcibly opened the door ... the man then told the woman beat up the driver. She then punched him in the face.
There's a petition in circulation now asking for an executive order from Gov. Cuomo "to stop the City from demolishing East River Park during the pandemic."
Meanwhile, there's a crowdfunding campaign underway titled "East River Park Action Art Attack."
Here's the pitch:
We are raising money for paint and supplies for our Art Attack Project at the East River Park mid-September.
Our mission is to stop the destruction of our park by creating the biggest mural in NYC with the help of local artists, nonprofits, activists and local residents of the Lower East Side and East Village.
We plan to paint the entire promenade along the river from Montgomery to 12th Street — and the historic Amphitheater where Shakespeare in the Park began in the 1950s.
We are confident that with this Cultural Protest we plan to achieve the following:
- Buy more time for the city to to reevaluate the current plan.
- Do more intensive outreach with the community and the residents along the East River Park.
As previously reported: Last November, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Construction is expected to start this fall.
You can read more about various community efforts at the East River Park ACTION website. You can find the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency Project website here.
In 99-cent pizza news, the 99-Cent Fresh Pizza & Hot Dog shop is now open at 131 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. Let us know if you try it. (For real.)
The Keith Haring sculpture — "Self Portrait" from 1989 — is no longer on its perch outside the DeathStar, aka 51 Astor Place. It has been MIA all week. No word on whether this is a temporary or permanent departure.
We reached out to the Keith Haring Foundation (see below)... and we'll see if anyone at No. 51 has an answer.
"The sculpture has been removed for minor conservation work, and will be reinstalled after this work is complete," Annelise Ream, director of collections at the Keith Haring Foundation, told me in an email. "We do not yet have a confirmed date for the return of the sculpture, as there may be some delays in light of the ongoing pandemic."
