Recommended: 'Brighton Beach' at Anthology Film Archives

Anthology Film Archives is screening the U.S. theatrical premiere of "Brighton Beach," a long-lost documentary from 1980 by directors Susan Wittenberg and Carol Stein. 

Set against the iconic Coney Island boardwalk, "Brighton Beach" is a neighborhood in constant re-formation. This 1980 documentary offers a vérité portrait of the immigrant communities that changed the Brooklyn neighborhood — mostly Soviet Jews and Puerto Ricans — as they mingle on the boardwalk with long-time residents, eye one another, and coexist around a shared sense of uprootedness. 

Here's some analysis from Hyperallergic: 

The documentary is not just a peek at the neighborhood during that time — its inclusion of archival footage and photographs from throughout the 1900s renders it a 20th-century retrospective. Brighton Beach neighbors Coney Island, which for decades was New Yorkers' epicenter of summertime recreation. Footage spanning every era depicts different generations of beachgoers, bygone rides like the Parachute Jump or Human Pool Table in action, performers like the Barry Sisters at the Amphitheater, or more niche events like a beauty contest for elderly women. 

It's catnip for history nerds, and the visual conversation between past and present makes for a fascinating study in how neighborhoods evolve. That more than 40 years have elapsed since the initial release only deepens this conversation — now, the entire thing is a period piece. 

The 60-minute film is playing through Thursday. Details here.

Reconnecting with 'Past Lives'

Top image via A24 

"Past Lives," one of 2023's more celebrated films, was recently made available to stream. 

Writer-director Celine Song's generation-spanning film follows two childhood friends from Seoul to the East Village. This neighborhood is the backdrop for the adult characters (played by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) and former sweethearts as they contemplate what might have been... and maybe could be.

Locations here included First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

... and the Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's Place. 

Here's an interview with Song and Steve Buscemi at the Angelika, discussing the climatic last scene on First Street ... and how she found this block (thanks to FocusPulling for this clip)...

   

"Past Lives" received two Oscar nominations: best picture and original screenplay... and likely deserved more.

And you can see it still on a big screen at Cinema Village on 12th Street between University and Fifth Avenue.

Saturday's parting shot

Photo by Derek Berg 

A moment this evening with Twisted Wrist in front of the Bowery Mural Wall...

Remembering when it snowed (part 3)

The high on this Feb. 10, under mostly cloudy skies, will reach 60, according to the Weather Channel and a look out the window. 

Meanwhile, EVG reader Terry Howell shared the above photo, taken in January 2011 from the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place... looking at 51 Astor Place, the old Cooper Union engineering building and the Film Academy Cafe. 

The cafe had a short life, closing in 2011, a year after replacing the somewhat redundant Starbucks in 2010. All this was demolished to make way for this — (the new) 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/the Death Star/CVS.

A smash & grab at the Grab & Go on Avenue B

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

It was more like Smash & Grab at the newish (and unlicensed) Grab & Go Convenience at 23 Avenue B. 

Last Sunday morning, someone smashed the front door here between Second Street and Third Street...

A store employee told me the thief stole some weed (mostly prerolls) and "not too much stuff" but was "caught already." 

Meanwhile, there's plywood treatment at the space, now with a rolldown gate in place as of Wednesday.

Saturday's opening shots

Day 8 of Sophie's being obscured by these oil-processing trucks on Fifth Street just east of Avenue A... part of the never-ending transformer work at the Con Ed substation along Avenue A between Fifth Street and Sixth Street. 

The sidewalk also remains closed on the north side of the street (just past Sophie's at No. 507). Con Ed security hires helpfully tell pedestrians to walk in the street.

And Sophie's opens at 3 p.m. daily.

Today in enormous cluster of sunspots

Felton Davis of the Second Avenue Star Watchers shared this dispatch today...

After a long month of almost non-stop clouds and rain, the crowds came out for this afternoon's stupendous 120,000-mile wide cluster of sunspots. Lucky for us, it was not pointing directly at the U.S. when the coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted. Stay tuned for an almost-total eclipse of the Sun on April 8, and lets hope for another clear day!

In the 'Mood'

 

The Chicago-based Dehd has a new record due out May 10 on Fat Possum. 

Ahead of that, they released this video-single "Mood Ring." (If you want to skip the setup, the song starts at the 2:25 mark. And this Dehd video is still my fave.)

Today in notes for traffic enforcement

Photo by Stacie Joy 

Spotted on Ninth Street near First Avenue... "Pregnant with morning sickness. :(  I'm sorry I had to leave the car..."

Lions for Lula at 132 St. 1st Ave.

The Lions Bar & Grill is slated to open this month at 132 First Ave. on the SE corner of St. Mark's Place.

The folks at Endless Hospitality Group (The Wayland, Goodnight Sonny, Madeline's Martini, etc.) are behind this straightforward concept with food from Chef/partner Luigi Petrocelli. 

Per the EVG inbox: 

The Lions is a back-to-basics American bar and grill. We serve classic cocktails, frosty mugs of beer, and all-night food centered around a house-ground burger, a fun and thoughtful bar menu, and weekly specials. 

More details to follow. 

The Lions takes over the space from Endless Hospitality Group's Bar Lula, which had a two-plus year run here and closed after service on New Year's Eve.

Tree rescued from concrete on Houston

Photos by Salim

A quick follow-up to a post from a few weeks back, when we noted the new sidewalk bridge along 280 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B, the site of an incoming 12-floor mixed-use building. 

In creating this, the workers entombed a tree near Avenue B in concrete. 

However, as these photos (thanks, Salim!) show, the construction crew drilled out the concrete that filled the tree well... allowing it to take in water now...

As for the new development, it will contain 224,809 square feet of space — for residential, commercial and community use. The residential portion will total 211,028 square feet for 157 apartments, per DOB records. The retail section will feature 12,000 square feet, while the community facility is 1,300 square feet.

Thursday's parting shot

EVG reader Ms. Wildflower share this photo from Fourth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, noting: "Our block is notoriously disgusting. Looks like someone finally had enough!"

An evening of classical music at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer

On Saturday (Feb. 10), the Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity Parish on Third Street hosts another evening of free music. 

Per the EVG inbox: 

Join us for a relaxing, family-friendly evening of classical cello, piano and vocal music at Most Holy Redeemer Church! 

Reverberant acoustics, a beautiful space, and your favorite masterworks by J.S. Bach, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Faure, Manuel De Falla, and more make for an unforgettable evening. 

The event, free and open to the public, starts at 7:30 p.m. at the church, 173 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. Find more details here.

Exclusive: Lucy discusses the future of her iconic East Village bar

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, I met with Ludwika "Lucy" Mickevicius at her namesake bar at 135 Avenue A. 

Lucy greeted me with a smile and a wave at the front door here between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

She contacted EVG to discuss what was happening with the bar (aka Blanche's Lucy's Tavern) she has owned since 1987. 

As we first reported on Monday, attorneys for the new landlord served her with a 30-day Notice of Termination with a demand to vacate the space by the end of the month. 

Her lease expired in May 2015, and she was on a month-to-month arrangement with the previous landlord.

She led me to a table where she had been reviewing some paperwork...

For starters, she showed me her new liquor license (it had expired in late November, on top of a DOH closure notice for not having a Food Protection Certificate for an employee).

The paperwork has been settled, but her future running the bar is anything but.

She told me that her previous rent was $8,000 per month, and the new landlord, as of late December (West Lake 135-139 Avenue A LLC), is asking for $25,000, though there might be some willingness to negotiate.

So what are the alternatives? Perhaps she would find a new location for the bar? Not likely, she said. 

Retirement? Maybe. She stressed, however, that she wasn't done here and would welcome a partner or investor. 

"Right now, I have no idea. How do I go on? I have no employees. I must find a bartender. You must teach them, and they must have a permit from the health department. Last time, they did not have a permit, and I got in trouble. Big trouble," she said.

Lucy said she would be ready for retirement if that's how it plays out at 135 Avenue A. But she only wants to continue on at this spot.

"I don't think about this now, a new location, because I'm not finished here," she said. "I would like to sell the business or have a reduced role, a partnership.

"I have paid the January and February rent, but I didn't open because I am afraid of the new rent ... we have alcohol, but maybe not enough, and I don't have money to buy the good alcohol, so people have different choices to drink," she continued. "I have beer — lots of Miller High Life — and regular alcohol, but not the good stuff."

After we talked for a while, Lucy let me look around the dark, quiet bar that hadn't seen a customer inside in three months... everything was as it had been through the 1990s and beyond...

Before making my way back into the dusk falling on Avenue A, Lucy talked about all her customers through the years.

"Here, drinking people come from everywhere. Canada, Australia, Argentina and Brazil. Albany and Chicago. Washington, Washington state, California ... and Texas," she said. "But most of all, people are from New York. The best people. You know, NYC — the best."

I left Lucy with her paperwork. I paused and turned around, wondering if this might be the last time I'd ever be inside the bar as we've known it all these years...