"Your balloon needs to be all fro-yo'd up, bitches!"

The Urballoon made an appearance in Tompkins Square Park last evening as part of the Conflux Festival.





As Gothamist noted: "The Urballoon consists of a large helium balloon with a video projector and a wireless laptop that projects user-generated content onto public spaces. It floats above its tethers in parks or plazas and displays the video onto the ground, encouraging people to gather around a digital bonfire. People will be asked to address the theme 'What is New York?'"

Interesting idea, though I didn't stick around long enough to read any responses...





Slum Goddess didn't stick around too long either.

I knew if I didn't leave I would start texting offensive things to their balloon project..like "Your balloon needs to be all fro-yo'd up, bitches!" or "Let's all have a fucking crack binge tonight NYC!"..so I just wandered off. It didn't seem very exciting anyway.

Noted

Avenue B under the St. Brigid's sidewalk shed.

CB3 licensing meeting follow-up

The CB3's liquor licensing meeting from Monday night just ended about five minutes ago. Well, it was a seven-hour meeting. And Eater correspondent Gabe Ulla bravely sat through all of it.

Here's his report. A highlight:

Heather's Bar, which was under renewals with complaint histories, was by the far the most contested application of the night. The community came out in full force (signs reading "NO TO HEATHER'S BAR") to explain why they believe the owner is negligent and the space is a detriment to the neighborhood. Critics point to an overwhelming amount of noise and smoke, as well as Heather's inability to tackle any of these problems effectively. The owner of the space insisted that she has done everything to satisfy neighbors and comply with community board stipulations, but that it "doesn't seem to be enough." The fact that the establishment is on a side street only makes matters worse. The board agreed to hold off on a vote until the residents and the bar owner set up a meeting to attempt to work out their problems.

The Lo-Down was there as well at the meeting...

Previously.

Sweet Dreams

Because I have been reading a lot about ZE Records lately.

The Brooklyn Bridge as a bar code for toilet paper

We were so busy comparing brands of toilet paper earlier... we didn't even notice the bar code here... Thanks to Goggla for pointing this out...

Your face is going to hell

Lots of people are reporting on this now... I read it first at The Vulture:

MTV Games has released the first frightening images of Iggy Pop as a Lego mini-figure from November's Lego: Rock Band. At least they got the crotch right.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

RIP Galaxy Diner (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

It's Park(ing) Day NYC (Transportation Alternatives)

A tree etiquette sign (BoweryBoogie)

A gutted Bouwerie Lane Theater on the market (Curbed)

NYC unemployment rate hits 10.3 percent (Gothamist)

Devo coming to NYC (Flaming Pablum)

Matt Damon endorses Bloomy (Runnin' Scared)

A 19th Century pub crawl (The Lo-Down)

Here's the Coney Island Film Festival poster (Kinetic Carnival)

First look at "Alphaville"

Yesterday's big news was, of course, that there was some window washing happening at E2E4. Also! It was reported that Robert DeNiro and Spike Lee were teaming up to produce a TV show called "Alphaville" set in the East Village. As Reuters noted:

Set during the 1980s, the drama will re-create the neighborhood's mix of struggling artists and musicians living alongside Puerto Rican and black families. Along with its growing bohemian and celebrity population, which also included graffiti artists, break-dancers, rappers and DJs, the neighborhood was plagued by illegal drug activity and violent crime.

Perhaps it will be a little like 1984's "Alphabet City," but a little more Spike Lee-er-er.



However, based on this reel that DeNiro and Lee created to pitch the network executives — given to me exclusively — the series promises to have more of a German synthpop feel.

Is a giant praying mantis feasting on East Village apartments?

I recently came across this rather innocuous listing for an apartment on 10th Street and Fourth Avenue... I can see why someone moved out (or worse...)... LOOK ON THE BALCONY!



THEY'RE HERE! RUN!



NO!

A quick note about stuff from EV Grieve

Well, we made a few (subtle!) changes on this page... and the EV Grieve site loads much more quickly now... my apologies for any hang ups earlier. I just thought it was my crummy computer and Internet(s) connection at home...

Tough choices at Duane Reade

Hmmm.... The 5th Avenue Preferred is so tempting...

And this...

Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Well, given the previous post, might as well just post this too

On 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

At this point, I'm not even trying anymore

FANCY portapoopers were brought in for the overflow crowd at the Spin/ John Varvatos bash the other evening on the Bowery. So much for just peeing in Extra Place.

Noted

Red Dress Run XII is this Saturday afternoon...



Oh, don't know how to hash In New York City? The HashNYC Web site explains:

We r*n around the streets, alleys and parks of the NYC metro area in our never-ending quest for beer, food, good times and beer. Hashing . . . it's a mixture of athleticism and sociability, hedonism and hard work; a refreshing break from the nine-to-five routine. Hashing is an exhilaratingly fun combination of r*nning, orienteering, and partying, where bands of Harriers and Harriettes chase Hares on eight-to-ten kilometer-long trails through town, country, jungle, and desert, all in search of exercise, camaraderie, and good times.

Thanks to our old pal Esquared for this...

Howl!'s film highlights

The Howl! Festival is still going strong... East Village Howler has the complete program. There are many interesting films on the docket tonight through the weekend. Tonight, Jack Smith and the Lower East Side (as seen by Ken Jacobs).

And tomorrow night: "B/Side" and "What About Me."

I wrote a post on "What About Me" last December.

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