Starts at 10. Here are the details.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The lights are back on inside St. Brigid's
As noted yesterday, the renovation of St. Brigid's has begun -- the sidewalk shed along Avenue B is back ... And, last night, we had to walk over to check on the progress ... and we saw one of the loveliest scenes that we've seen in many years (since the church closed in 2001?) ... the lights inside St. Brigid's were on last night...peeking through the boarded-up windows... the photos here really don't do it justice...
Friday, September 4, 2009
Construction crew spotted at St. Brigid's
A reader said that he/she noticed a construction crew at work behind St. Brigid's. Like real work, moving big chunks of stuff. Hmm. Photos to come...
Previously.
Previously.
Get your Howl! program
East Village Howler has the complete Howl! 2009 program.
And they're available at the following locations:
The Bowery Poetry Club,
45 Bleecker Street Theater, St. Mark's Church
in-the-Bowery, Millennium Film Workshop,
St. Mark's Books,Nuyorican Poets Cafe,
Think Coffee, Sunshine Theater,
Bluestockings, Pianos, Living Room, Cake Shop,
Trash and Vaudeville (upstairs),Mission Cafe,
Anthology Film Archives, Sidewalk Cafe,
Lakeside Lounge, Life Cafe and more...
Theatre 80 to remain a community theater; new cafe to open in memory of William Barnacle Scott
As I noted back in late May, The Pearl Theatre Company, which has had a residency at Theatre 80 the past 15 years, was relocating to Midtown for its 2009-2010 season.
Lorcan Otway, whose parents built and operated Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place since 1964, said in an e-mail to us at the time that "we intend to keep the East Village a vibrant arts community."
Indeed, that is certainly the case. Good news, finally, for a neighborhood overrun by beer pong, keggers and chain stores. This coming Thursday (Sept. 10), Theatre 80 begins its next life as a community theater. A local theater group is mounting a production for the next month; another group is booked for another month after that... (Stay tuned for the specifics...)
In addition, Lorcan will open a nautically themed cafe in the former Pearl Theatre's concession area.
The spot will be called William Barnacle Scott, named in memory of the late Tompkins Square Park regular who passed away in May. There will be no TVs. No Internet jukebox. And the cafe will close at 6 p.m. As the sign out front promises, "A quiet cafe where people can hear each other talk, and you can hear yourself think."
The cafe will be serving coffee and tea for theatergoers in the short term. Eventually the space will be open to the public, and will likely sell beer and wine.
And what a tour. Despite the heavy workload in preparing the space for next week, Lorcan was gracious with his time, and showed me the entire theatre. In the cellar, he pointed out the foundation to the farmhouse that was in this spot dating back to the late 1600s.
And! I saw the original beer cooler that belonged to Scheib's Bar & Grill, the former speakeasy that operated in this space until Lorcan's father, Howard, and his mother, Florence, bought the building in 1964. (Lorcan's mother is 89 and still lives above the theatre.)
I had to take some photos of the beer cooler...
And Lorcan told me the story about one of the two safes they found in the basement. The safe pictured below was opened in 1964 after being sealed up since the Prohibition. When Howard Otway and Mr. Scheib, who came up from Florida for the honor, opened the safe, they were overcome by fumes and passed out. As Lorcan said, inside: Beer-soaked $100 bills that were picked up off the bar in a hurry and bundled inside the safe. The bills became moldly through the years. (Lorcan said with a chuckle that the Otways never received a finder's fee for the nearly $2 million in moldy bills that Mr. Scheib eventually were able to clean...)
The upstairs area will include a photo of Howard Otway, a Broadway actor, whose inspirational vision for an arts-oriented community lives on with Lorcan today. (Mr. Otway passed away in 1994.)
Anyway, here's Lorcan talking about the new cafe. (And, due to a technical glitch, the last 10 seconds got caught off -- apologies.)
If you're interested in rental information for Theatre 80, then please contact company manager Lori Singleton at: lori.theatre80@gmail.com.
For further reading:
Barnacle Bill dies
Theatre 80 to remain a theater: "We intend to keep the East Village a vibrant arts community"
Pearl Theatre relocating; what's next for 80 St. Mark's Place?
It’s the final curtain for theater company on St. Mark’s Place (The Villager)
Quiet cafe — what a concept! (Scoopy's Notebook; last item)
Lorcan Otway, whose parents built and operated Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place since 1964, said in an e-mail to us at the time that "we intend to keep the East Village a vibrant arts community."
Indeed, that is certainly the case. Good news, finally, for a neighborhood overrun by beer pong, keggers and chain stores. This coming Thursday (Sept. 10), Theatre 80 begins its next life as a community theater. A local theater group is mounting a production for the next month; another group is booked for another month after that... (Stay tuned for the specifics...)
In addition, Lorcan will open a nautically themed cafe in the former Pearl Theatre's concession area.
The spot will be called William Barnacle Scott, named in memory of the late Tompkins Square Park regular who passed away in May. There will be no TVs. No Internet jukebox. And the cafe will close at 6 p.m. As the sign out front promises, "A quiet cafe where people can hear each other talk, and you can hear yourself think."
The cafe will be serving coffee and tea for theatergoers in the short term. Eventually the space will be open to the public, and will likely sell beer and wine.
And what a tour. Despite the heavy workload in preparing the space for next week, Lorcan was gracious with his time, and showed me the entire theatre. In the cellar, he pointed out the foundation to the farmhouse that was in this spot dating back to the late 1600s.
And! I saw the original beer cooler that belonged to Scheib's Bar & Grill, the former speakeasy that operated in this space until Lorcan's father, Howard, and his mother, Florence, bought the building in 1964. (Lorcan's mother is 89 and still lives above the theatre.)
I had to take some photos of the beer cooler...
And Lorcan told me the story about one of the two safes they found in the basement. The safe pictured below was opened in 1964 after being sealed up since the Prohibition. When Howard Otway and Mr. Scheib, who came up from Florida for the honor, opened the safe, they were overcome by fumes and passed out. As Lorcan said, inside: Beer-soaked $100 bills that were picked up off the bar in a hurry and bundled inside the safe. The bills became moldly through the years. (Lorcan said with a chuckle that the Otways never received a finder's fee for the nearly $2 million in moldy bills that Mr. Scheib eventually were able to clean...)
The upstairs area will include a photo of Howard Otway, a Broadway actor, whose inspirational vision for an arts-oriented community lives on with Lorcan today. (Mr. Otway passed away in 1994.)
Anyway, here's Lorcan talking about the new cafe. (And, due to a technical glitch, the last 10 seconds got caught off -- apologies.)
If you're interested in rental information for Theatre 80, then please contact company manager Lori Singleton at: lori.theatre80@gmail.com.
For further reading:
Barnacle Bill dies
Theatre 80 to remain a theater: "We intend to keep the East Village a vibrant arts community"
Pearl Theatre relocating; what's next for 80 St. Mark's Place?
It’s the final curtain for theater company on St. Mark’s Place (The Villager)
Quiet cafe — what a concept! (Scoopy's Notebook; last item)
Sidewalk shed returning to St. Brigid's; restoration to follow? (Meanwhile, Matt Dillon also returns)
Back on May 26, the sidewalk shed in front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street came down... At the time, Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, told me that the scaffolding was interfering with testing that needed to be done inside the church.
This morning, the sidewalk shed is ready to return....
And I never had the chance to truly appreciate the weed tree thing that started growing from the foundation....
However, as much as I'll miss seeing the front of the church, the return of the sidewalk shed likely signals the beginning of the restoration process. Otherwise, it has been awfully quiet at the church this summer. Earlier in August, I asked Torres for an update. According to Torres: He was told by the site's construction manager that the city was holding them up. Several violations needed to be cleared up before they got the go ahead to start. "The work should have started Aug. 3," Torres wrote in an e-mail.
I took a look at the DOB Web site. There seems to be an open complaint dated from Sept. 1. And what is it for?
FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BUILDING. MAJOR CRACKS, BULGING, AT REAR OF BLDG. FACADE. WITH SEPARATION AT BASE
Um, isn't that why they're restoring the church, to fix these things? Issuing a complaint only holds up the renovation process...
And all this is happening when St. Brigid's supporter Matt Dillon has moved back to the East Village. (Fourth item in Scoopy's column in The Villager.) COINCIDENCE? (Which explains why I've seen him so much the last few months...)
Previous St. Brigid's coverage here.
This morning, the sidewalk shed is ready to return....
And I never had the chance to truly appreciate the weed tree thing that started growing from the foundation....
However, as much as I'll miss seeing the front of the church, the return of the sidewalk shed likely signals the beginning of the restoration process. Otherwise, it has been awfully quiet at the church this summer. Earlier in August, I asked Torres for an update. According to Torres: He was told by the site's construction manager that the city was holding them up. Several violations needed to be cleared up before they got the go ahead to start. "The work should have started Aug. 3," Torres wrote in an e-mail.
I took a look at the DOB Web site. There seems to be an open complaint dated from Sept. 1. And what is it for?
FAILURE TO MAINTAIN BUILDING. MAJOR CRACKS, BULGING, AT REAR OF BLDG. FACADE. WITH SEPARATION AT BASE
Um, isn't that why they're restoring the church, to fix these things? Issuing a complaint only holds up the renovation process...
And all this is happening when St. Brigid's supporter Matt Dillon has moved back to the East Village. (Fourth item in Scoopy's column in The Villager.) COINCIDENCE? (Which explains why I've seen him so much the last few months...)
Previous St. Brigid's coverage here.
Posts that I never got around to posting: I guess Izod sweaters are in this fall
Metropolis on Third Avenue.
Posts that I never got around to posting: Gold Street roadblock
On Gold Street in the Financial District.
Posts that I never got around to posting: This issue of The Onion was pure garbage
At Houston and Bowery.
Posts that I never got around to posting: Craigslist ad of the day
A man such as me should not be going to bed without a kiss - m4w - 29 (Lower East Side)
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Date: 2009-08-16, 3:04AM EDT
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Beautiful summer night....I am in my home, alone. I have been alone for sometime, and did not mind it at all, for some time. But I seriously miss laying with a special her, smelling her scent and kissing her so passionately everytime, that we both have soaking wet pants in minutes. Smelling her hair....rubbing my finger tips all over her back side.....
Those nights were great and should be replicated tonight. I can not sleep cause I have dreams about it and wake up dissappointed I didn't say something before. So I am saying something, reply! I am 29 from manhattan can host. Not a weirdo at all, just a nice busy guy. I am half latin and half european and look white. Baby faced, short light brown hair, dreamy light brown eyes, 5"9 with an athletic build. 150lbs.
I have picture and will not go to sleep till about 4:30. I'll have to use a sleeping pill to replace my "sleeping pill" (hint: YOU).
It's 3:00 am on a Sunday morning. I am pretty sober. i have some wine and 420. And a nice bed i can not enjoy without you. I am a perfect gentleman, and maybe this can lead to much more. i am just in a rush tonight. I have pictures, so should you. This not about sex (it could be if its right). This is about sensual kissing and not being alone when the sunrises till tomorrow evening! It's Sunday, lets worship each other, stranger.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2009-08-16, 3:04AM EDT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beautiful summer night....I am in my home, alone. I have been alone for sometime, and did not mind it at all, for some time. But I seriously miss laying with a special her, smelling her scent and kissing her so passionately everytime, that we both have soaking wet pants in minutes. Smelling her hair....rubbing my finger tips all over her back side.....
Those nights were great and should be replicated tonight. I can not sleep cause I have dreams about it and wake up dissappointed I didn't say something before. So I am saying something, reply! I am 29 from manhattan can host. Not a weirdo at all, just a nice busy guy. I am half latin and half european and look white. Baby faced, short light brown hair, dreamy light brown eyes, 5"9 with an athletic build. 150lbs.
I have picture and will not go to sleep till about 4:30. I'll have to use a sleeping pill to replace my "sleeping pill" (hint: YOU).
It's 3:00 am on a Sunday morning. I am pretty sober. i have some wine and 420. And a nice bed i can not enjoy without you. I am a perfect gentleman, and maybe this can lead to much more. i am just in a rush tonight. I have pictures, so should you. This not about sex (it could be if its right). This is about sensual kissing and not being alone when the sunrises till tomorrow evening! It's Sunday, lets worship each other, stranger.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
The return of the Fedora (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
38 Delancey ready for action! — Except for the part about not having a Web site (BoweryBoogie)
Matt Harvey talks to Richard Hell about "Destiny Street Repaired (NYPress)
A new Figaro Cafe for Bleeker? (NY Barfly)
Fight turns deadly at Project Rescue shelter on the Bowery (Runnin' Scared)
OTB is broke; has a fleet of 87 cars (The New York Times)
Former police cadet robs Avenue A bank branch (Daily News)
Crooks posed as cops for ATM holdup on 13th Street and Avenue B (NY1)
The history of Wigstock (Ephemeral New York)
The Post rips off another blog (New York Shitty)
"Kiss Loves You" plays Friday at the Anthology Film Archives (Slum Goddess)
Save the date for the Lost New York conference (Patell and Waterman's History of New York)
Old Yankee Stadium continues to be torn down (Demolition of Yankee Stadium)
The lead to yesterday's TGI Friday's feature in the Post:
It's Friday night, and an unruly parade of tipsy, young New Yorkers spills out from a popular Manhattan bar and onto the sidewalk, blocking foot traffic and drawing complaints from irate neighbors.
But this isn't the East Village, and the bar in question isn't Le Souk.
The year is 1965, and the new hot spot is T.G.I. Friday's -- Friday's for short -- on the northeast corner of 63rd Street and First Avenue.
And now on newsstands...
Volunteers needed for Howl!
Eric at the East Village History Project left this comment...
The Howl! Festival could actually use a few volunteers (no pay) this year to help put up/take down the art wall around Tompkins Square park. The hours are: 5-8 pm on fri evening, 8.30 till 11 am sat. 6pm - 10 sunday -- but any minimal hours are appreciated. If interested/available please email eric(AT)east-village.com -- thanks!
229 E. Second St. sprouts a roof deck
Here's what 229 Second St. between Avenue B and Avenue C looked like two years ago...
And, slowly, a six-floor apartment building has grown in this spot. According to the DOB, the ground floor will be used for a community facility.
Wonder if the folks at the unnamed community facility will have access to the new roof deck that recently made an appearance...
And the view from Houston...
None of the apartments have shown up in any listings, as far as I'm aware.
And, slowly, a six-floor apartment building has grown in this spot. According to the DOB, the ground floor will be used for a community facility.
Wonder if the folks at the unnamed community facility will have access to the new roof deck that recently made an appearance...
And the view from Houston...
None of the apartments have shown up in any listings, as far as I'm aware.
Butter Lane gets the neon treatment
A new sign for Butter Lane Cupcakes on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. Makes it a little easier to spot coming from Avenue B.
Bowery gets etched into E2E4
A Bowery entrance to the 15-story tower at Fourth Street. Oh, from this angle it looks as if Bowery is spelled Bow ry. But the "e" is actually there...
Previously.
Evolution looking pretty classy (so far!) for a Vegas-style bottle-flipping, fire-trickery-type new bar
At Second Avenue and Fourth Street.
For further reading:
E4volution Mach II? (Hunter-Gatherer)
Previously.
Window shopping at Quiznos
Beef dip? Toasty bullets? The torpedo? Subtle! May I suggest some other new menu items, such as the Beef Bayonet, the Pork Sword or the Smoked Meat Log? With Winkle Doodles for dessert.
Uh, sorry. On Broadway and 12th Street.
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