Noted

Here's how NYU Local covered the recent bust of the so-called "Spider Man" thief of the LES:

Around junior year, many NYU students make a mass exodus to the East Village, where they pay $2500/month to live in filthy, creaky 6-floor walkups, but can at least smoke weed without towling the door. Recently a rather elegant acrobat has been burgling the East Village, somersaulting through windows or lowering himself through skylights and striking fear in the hearts of those of us with windows facing the street. The police recently posted signs on all of the buildings on E. 13th street warning us of this talented thief, and I have spent the past few nights waking up every 10 minutes to make sure he’s not perched on my fire escape. Luckily ... Mr. Spiderman has been caught! Rest easy, East Villagers. Your laptops and iPods and drug money are safe… for now, at least.

Good news: Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen to reopen next week

Slum Goddess passes along good news about Peter Silvestri's Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which has been closed for renovations since Aug. 14:

I talked to Peter today..They should be open around the 23rd of this month..some bullcrap with his "company" name or something..he had no real health code violation problems..but I went in there today and he was in there and they really did a lot of work on the place! All freshly painted, polished and gleaming..he was stocking the shelves and they had new menu signs hung up-bigger and brighter ones..It wasn't all fro-yo'd upped and gross though..still looks like good old whole earth-just spiffed up! I told Peter we were all worried and he was flattered and eager to reopen for business next week!

Previously.

Photo via.

Looking at "Fear in Alphabet City"

Matt Harvey's cover story this week in NYPress -- titled "Fear in Alphabet City" -- provides a more detailed account about the murder of Eric "Taz" Pagan on Avenue A this past Aug. 23. For instance, according to the article, Louis Rodriguez, the man police have charged with the murder, had been tossed out of Forbidden City by Pagan, a former bouncer there, earlier in the evening. (Someone from Rodriguez's East Harlem neighborhood describes him as "a cold-blooded fucking idiot.")



As the article points out, the shooting shouldn't have been a surprise: "Bullets are more common in the neighborhood than most people want to believe."

Craig Lopez, one of the first people who came upon the murder scene, has lived in the East Village since the early 1990s.

Back then the moniker for the 45-square-block area south of 14th Street and east of First Avenue sent shivers down middle-class spines, conjuring up images of drug zombies and muggers. During the last decade, the term fell into disuse as wealthy new arrivals arrived, along with college bars and bistros. When the term finally ceased to register any fear, the rich claimed the Alphabets for themselves. In its 2007 Best 'Hoods issue, Time Out awarded Alphabet City the dubious honor of being the "#1 Best Hood."

Here's more from Lopez:

Despite the turnaround, Lopez says he preferred the lonely streets and coke bodegas to the loud "frat boy" parties that have invaded his neighborhood. "On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it's really bad," he says, before breaking into an almost-apologetic smile. "I prefer the old way. I felt safer."

Lopez's crack about frat boys, however, masks darker fears. "Was I concerned that someone got killed?" he asks rhetorically, then shrugs. "Yeah. But I can’t say I was really surprised. There are shootings around here all the time."

Other highlights from the article include an interview with Bob Arihood, who has chronicled the East Village longer than anyone.

Arihood paints a perfect storm of social, economic and political factors, which combine to insure that successive waves of incoming NYU students, and upper-middle class tenants, remain ignorant of how bad things are in the 'hood — thereby continuing to splurge on tuition and "million-dollar condos."

Previously.

"East Village residents of all ages, races and classes worry that bullets are flying with increasing frequency these days"

Matt Harvey's NYPress cover story this week also talks with residents about the increase in gunshots around the neighborhood in recent months. As he notes:

East Village residents of all ages, races and classes worry that bullets are flying with increasing frequency these days.

Many have lived east of First Avenue for 10 years or more, so they know what a gunshot sounds like. Some claim that the crime statistics released from the local Ninth Precinct do not adequately tally all the shootouts. Others express fear that the uptick in violence will serve as an excuse for police to curb the civil rights of the locals.

I've heard from several readers the last six weeks regarding an increase in gunplay. In several cases, the details were rather vague -- "did you hear about a shooting somewhere along Avenue C the last few nights?" -- to do much with.

One reader said there was a shooting outside Tompkins Square Middle School on Avenue B between Fourth Street and Fifth Street early the morning of Aug. 28. The next day, the resident let two police officers into her buidling for an unrelated matter. When asked about the shooting, an officer responded, "Which one?"

The Villager later reported that a 23-year-old man was shot at 3:25 a.m. on Aug. 28 at Fifth Street and Avenue B. The victim was struck once in the leg and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. A .38-caliber revolver was recovered at the scene.

Other incidents include the man who was shot leaving a bodega on 12th Street and Avenue C on Aug. 16.

The invaluable Bob Arihood at Neither More or Less has reported on several shootings in August. On Aug. 29 around 10:30 p.m., shots were fired in the rear yard of 507 E. 11th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

On Aug. 27, shots were fired on Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

So what do we take away from a possible upturn in violence? Are things worse than a year ago? Definitely. A return to the cliched "bad old days?" Hardly. Still, I see too many seemingly clueless people bopping around by themselves wearing Bose soundproof headphones and texting at 2 a.m. They're making it a little too easy.

Here's a quote from Bob in the NYPress piece: "NYU students and yuppies don't know what’s going on. They're only here to party."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Post notes a "90 PERCENT SURGE IN BURGLARIES" in the East Village

Window washing at E2E4

Thus proving that I will pretty much take a photo of anything outside the 15-story E2E4 tower on Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street....






I hope that they have a different system for reaching the upper floors.




Previously.

Robot lawn mower works OT at City Hall

Or so it seems! I've walked by City Hall several times of late. And each time, this damn robot lawn mower is out tooling around. How often does this grass really need to be cut? It's already like a putting green...






At least the tourists seem to enjoy the machine.

OK, who put up the 50,000 "Fight smack in the orphanage" posters?

Jesus, they're everywhere! Like this one one Seventh Street... for the spoof "Black Dynamite."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

A bland-looking boutique for the former Howdy Do space (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Save the date for Lost New York (Flaming Pablum ... Patell and Waterman's History of New York)

"You Are Here" is a new public art project by David Freeland (Gotham Lost and Found)

The sad state of Zito Bakery (Lost City)

The gentrification of Chinatown (City Room)

The classic Louis Zuflacht on the LES (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

A report from the John Varvatos/Spin show (BoweryBoogie)

The Astor Place riots of 1849 (Ephemeral New York)

Poolside atop the Bowery (Curbed)

Richard Hell party review (Stupefaction)

From the September issue of The Real Deal:

The developers of 184 Kent, the high-end rental building about to open in Williamsburg, will be hitting the streets of the Lower East Side in a van, looking to take well-to-do hipsters to the Brooklyn waterfront. They won't actually be driving them there. But the idea is to troll for arty, young Lower East Side-type professionals where they live and hang out, parking the van -- plastered in ads based on the quirky "WilliamsburgLove" mock dating site -- in front of popular clubs. "We're looking at the Avalon Bowery project on Chrystie Street in the Lower East Side as comparables," says Jason Halpern, managing partner of the building's owner, JMH Development.

Meet the Wise One at Crystal Readings on Avenue A (Cat Sitter in the City)

Benefit Thursday night for Eric "Taz" Pagan's family

The folks at Destination passed along this information...

Tomorrow night, the 3rd Annual Lesser Known Characters Circle Up fundraiser ... "Come on by to find new music, win raffle prizes, and most important let these young adults that they still have tons of love and support."

Featuring:
Seth Weinstein
Josh Weinstein of decibel.
Ali Eskandarian
Jodie Manross
Harold Barnard

Thursday, Sept. 17
7:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Mehanata
113 Ludlow St. (between Rivington and Delancey)

Info. via Facebook.

Previously.

The Post notes "a 90 PERCENT SURGE IN BURGLARIES" in the East Village

The Post reports today that a "Spider-Man"-like thief was busted after allegedly breaking into 10 LES/East Village residences in recent months. He apparently hit one East 10th Street building six times. According to the paper, the man "was busted on Saturday after he took a nap in an empty apartment in that building and was discovered by the super. He fled, leaving behind his cellphone and a T-shirt."

And tacked on in an oh-by-the-way manner at the end of the article:

Seven of the incidents were in the Ninth Precinct, which has seen nearly a 90 percent surge in burglaries in the month ending Sept. 13, compared to the same period last year.

Burglaries are up about 32 percent in the precinct for the year.

Well, it's always dangerous to toss around crime stats out of context. Yes, there is an increase, but take a look at the numbers for yourself... Plus, um, the man the police arrested for this crime spree was responsible for SEVEN of the burglaries, presumably in that time period. (Click image for a better look. Or read the PDF here yourself.)



And look at the numbers compared to 1990...

Coming soon to Sixth Street: Vietnamese sandwiches

Gomi, the vegan/green boutique on Sixth Street near Avenue A, recently closed its doors...And thanks to these photos from EV Grieve reader Creature, we now know what's going in this space...



... "authentic Vietnamese sandwiches and other treats." Curious how this food will fare with the Cherry Tavern crowd next door...

Shockers: Something other than a noodle/ramen/FroYo shop opening on St. Mark's Place

Work continues at 33 St. Mark's Place, just a little west of Second Avenue...there has been activity here for months, but, more recently, some details have emerged. The sign on the door reads ANS Newsbar Inc. -- aka St. Mark's Burger. (A little competition now for Paul's around the corner?) The work permit shows the installation of cooking equipment and gas line, etc.



I caught a glimpse inside...and there's a bar and some tables...A liquor license is pending. (The names on the liquor license are connected with this place.)

Anyway, the space is adjacent to Rock-it Scientist Records.

P.S.

A little 1980s trivia: 33 St. Mark's served as the exterior for Ray's Occult Books in "Ghostbusters 2."

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen: Still closed

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which has operated at 130 St. Mark's Place since 1991, closed on Aug. 14 for renovations. At the time, the signs indicated the store would reopen on Aug. 18. As of last night, the gate was still closed -- no signs of life. (The photo above was taken prior to Aug. 18.) Given owner Peter Silvestri's ongoing problems with the landlord... we have a really bad feeling...

Previously.

I'm really going to miss primary season

Hot costumes for Halloween 09: Madoff, Jacko... Womb Raider?

A Ricky's Costume Superstore is opening soon for the season at Gold and John streets in the Financial District...



Among the costumes the store will be pushing to 2 Gold Street residents and others...

Flashback: Fiddling away those financial blues!

In honor of every media outlet revisiting Wall Street nearly COLLAPSING last Sept. 15, 2008, here's a look back at arguably one of my personal favorite posts hereabouts. From Sept. 15, 2008!:


About 90 minutes after the Dow closed yesterday, the big doings began at Wall and Water Streets. As Curbed reported yesterday, the Moinian Group, in some unfortunate timing, had scheduled the launch party for their Philippe Starck-designed luxury rental conversion at 95 Wall St. last night. Uh, oops? No matter! Despite a 500-point tumble (collapse?) on the NYSE, the mood was festive at the location known as Dwell95! A tux-clad musician with an electronic fiddle was on the red carpet delighting all who walked by, mostly confused tourists at the onset.

To hold space for the incoming town cars, Dwell95 planners implemented those festive "do not slip" signs indigenous to maintenance crews.

Meanwhile, here's a snippet of the energetic fiddle player's performance. (Oh, yes -- it's "La Bamba.")



I didn't stick around long enough to hear if he did "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

If Village Green is so green, why are the lights left on all night?

Here we are at Village Green, the new condo going up at 311 E. 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. It is said to be the first LEED Gold certified building in the East Village. According to the marketing copy:

It began with a belief that better living is achieved through harmony: of mind and body, of time and place, of luxury and lifestyle. Introducing 311 E 11: Village Green. Developers Michael and Izak Namer created 311 E 11: Village Green with one goal in mind: to define environmentally responsible 21st century luxury living. 311 E 11: Village Green is targeted for LEED-Gold certification and serves as the vanguard for a new wave of eco-indulgent lifestyles. From its energy efficient amenities to the sophisticated wellness center it houses, 311 E 11: Village Green is the template for what all future luxury living will be.

I realize the lights will help keep intruders at bay. And I'm certain these are energy efficient lighting that makes the place a beacon of light from the avenues every night.





Anyway, the building is shaping up. Here's a view from the rear — also known as 12th Street, home, possibly of The Penistrator.








There are 36 units in total. Corcoran has 23 of them listed — with six in contract.

UPDATE: Curbed has more on it.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Village Green ready for sales action