East Village Cathedral stars alongside Angelina Jolie in 'Salt'

Waaaaay back in May 2009, Angelina Jolie, the former semi-crusty of Tompkins Square Park, came to the East Village while filming "Salt," the mineral-turn-CIA thriller....



The crew filmed on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue inside the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection. In honor of the movie opening today... let's take a look at the role the Cathedral played in the film...



First! Woo! Angelina over here! Here she is on Second Street!



With the ball-in-chain in tow on the Cathedral steps...



Anyway, according to the website, the crew used the Cathedral to replicate the interior of the Makariev Monastery in Russia when it was an orphanage in 1970s Soviet Russia. You see, Angelina plays a spy who may or may not be Russian...so this might be some flashback scene or something...






No idea whether these scenes made it into the movie... Perhaps I'll by a pirated DVD from that guy on the corner for $5 to see.

Also, curious about what kind of location fee the Cathedral received...

Updated: A Scouting Life shares a "Salt" review with us... "It took years, but 'The Last Boy Scout' finally has competition for the most ludicrous action film ever made."

Ouch! That's seriously bad.

And I asked if the Cathedral made the cut. Yes, but!: "They did shoot the orphanage but the scenes there were all pretty soft focus and dreamlike so you didn't see much of it."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the paparazzi will be in the East Village tomorrow (OMG! Angelina!)

I hope that "Salt" is a more exciting movie than these photos

About Angelina Jolie's "semi-crusty phase" in Tompkins Square Park

Everyone getting in on the Russian spy hoopla

Speaking of Russian spies, have you noticed how some people are trying to cash in on the recent alleged-Russian-spy hoopla in the tabs? (Steve Cuozzo sort of did at the Post — he wrote a piece on it the other day...sort of — work with me...)

Which brings me to Flashdancers... you may recall their cab ads featuring the Hooters-waitress-from-Orlando-looking, uh, model in the campaign....



... and now, the new Flashdancers cab ads have a harder, Natasha-cold-war-spy model type...

It's nice to see Ray's again

Hey now, workers removed the sidewalk shed on the Avenue A side too... Melanie has a shot of the workers in action here...


Previously on EV Grieve:
Sidewalk shed partially down on Seventh and A

Scaffolding to cover Ray's, Yuca Bar

Rag & Bone early contenders for John Varvatos preservationists of the year

Back in March, I noted the for lease signs going up on the southeast corner of Houston and Elizabeth above the cozy Cafe Colonial, which opened here in 1994... this is what the landlord was selling the space as... (thanks Keith McNally!)



Now, the new tenant here -- Rag & Bone -- is opening shop today... as I witnessed from the sidewalk, they had a pizza/beer preview party the other evening... (Is that pizza from Pulino's?)




In any event, Racked has more on the new store, include a message from ownership not to take the change in businesses personally... Per Racked:

A company rep did emphasize to us that Rag & Bone "did not swoop in" and kick Café Colonial out with capacity to afford higher rent payments. The beloved restaurant already lost its lease before talks even began, but now at least the nabe gets a shiny new store as opposed to a sad empty storefront. Rag & Bone did make a strong effort to keep many of the iconic signature from ye old Café Colonial, including the lovingly-worn blue and white tile floor, the white kitchen wall tiles and the white painted pressed tin ceilings.

This reminds me of Jeremiah's essay last week titled Faux-dora, in which he wrote:

More and more, beloved icons of the city are getting their guts ripped out for revamping, given over to the wealthy, made exclusive, though the husks are kept intact for the cultural cachet they bring to the new owners, who pride themselves on their dedication to preservation, and receive praise for saving the old holes in the wall from turning into banks.

Well, Cafe Colonial doesn't qualify as a beloved icon, but the trend continues...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Future of 276 Elizabeth apparently doesn't include the Cafe Colonial

The early reviews of 'Salt' are in

Oh, c'mon... I'm kidding...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the paparazzi will be in the East Village tomorrow (OMG! Angelina!)

I hope that "Salt" is a more exciting movie than these photos

About Angelina Jolie's "semi-crusty phase" in Tompkins Square Park

Reminders: Saturday in Tompkins Square Park

As mentioned earlier for this Saturday...

The SHADOW Presents: The Headless Horsemen, David Peel + The Lower East Side, Rapid Deployment Force, Sexual Suicide, BANJI and *Star Fucking Hipsters* [Surprise speakers and more bands to be announced]

Noted, and ugh

Verizon fights back against cupcake graffiti

We've been documenting the back-and-forth with the brown paint alongside the Verizon building on 13th Street at Second Avenue.... these appeared the other today...



And, courtesy of EV Grieve reader evilnyc, we see that Verizon has quickly struck back today...




I have a feeling they're going to need a lot of brown paint.

Previously on EV Grieve:
First tag reappears on the Verizon building

Brownout: Verizon building graffiti painted over

Tea Lounge opening on East Fourth Street

That long-vacant former Moroccan place on East Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B has a new tenant...




Thanks to EV Grieve reader Collin Schwartz for the photos of the coming-soon Tea Lounge...

Looking at Crustypunks

I've been spending a lot of time lately reading Crustypunks, a blog featuring photos and first-person accounts by the many men and woman traveling through Tompkins Square Park.

Here's a portion of Illy's story...


[Photo by Steven Hirsch via Crustypunks]

"I got a forty smashed over my face. Last night. Basically a chick started calling me out saying, I was some sort of dumb ass saying I'm full of shit. So I said something I should not have said and I deserved a forty but she had no reason to cut off my dreads. With scissors. I thought she was pulling my hair. I stood and took it like a homeboy. She kicked me in the face. Smashed a forty over my head. Gave me a few punches. You know I'm not gonna hit a homegirl."

The site is the work of Steven Hirsh, a noted photographer now teaching at Pratt.

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Cary Conover for telling me about the site.

No more skateboard park at Cooper Union, but WaterWorld is still active

On Tuesday, we linked to Quartersnack's post about the Cooper Union brass placing spiked bars on the skakeboarding ramp out front...


[Photo via Quartersnack]

Anyway, in the comments, our friend NYC Taxi Photo pointed out the following about the Cooper Union:

"[I]t's also a great piss spot on the back alley of the building. I went for a wiz there, and there was another guy with a drink in a paper bag that morning, commenting on my choice location who stepped right into that corner to do his number one right after i was done.

I have to give kudos to the cooper union for destroying the classic and putting up this new thing with so many great shady crevasses for the public to utilize best."

Hmm... and we know exactly the spot that he's talking about...



Should we expect outdoor urinal cakes next?

Meanwhile, speaking of bodily fluids, we have not heard from EV Heave in some time... I fear the worst...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Cooper Union puts the brakes on its skateboarding bank

While we were discussing the First Avenue bike lanes yesterday ...

Workers were putting down the green paint ... Perhaps this will help ease some of the confusion for everyone along here...




And noted...



Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's post...jump on in...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the First Avenue's new bike lane and "floating lane"

Dear apartment hunters: Please do not bother Wiz Kid Management

Outside the Wiz Kid office on 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. And what if we are interested in getting a lock of Julian's hair?

A lot of house and yard for $1 million on East Ninth Street

I'm always on the lookout for interesting real-estate listings in the East Village... and this listing on Trulia for 735 E. Ninth St. fits the bill...



Obviously a mistake... unless someone leaked Bloomberg's vision for the area...

EV eatery etc.: Bounce Deuce's replacement; more dessert on Third Avenue

Well, the former Bounce Deuce (moment of silence -- no giggling!) on Second Avenue and Sixth Street is nearly transformed into...



Just what, I don't know. The signs last fall originally said a Pita Pan sports grill... I asked one of the workers here yesterday what kind of restaurant that we could expect... and he answered, "European." I said, "excuse me?" Then he said "German." Then he looked nervous and said that I needed to ask the owner.

Next!


And the new French creperie cafe on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A is now open...



And I no nothing about Hawkers, an eatery featuring, as the sign reads, "Southeast Asia street-style food," that recently opened on 14th Street near Third Avenue... (and only two Yelp reviews so far!)



EV Grieve reader T.E.V.B. reports that the new dessert place is now open at Third Avenue and NYU....the former site of Atlantic News...



"I picked up a menu, they serve bubble tea, shaved ice, crepes, other Asian-y snacks/desserts, etc. Similar to Saint's Alp Teahouse just up the block," T.E.V.B. reports...

And, oh, just for old time's sake!

[Update] Looking for Sammy

By now, you've likely seen the "lost dog" flyers around the East Village... and other parts of the city that tell of Sammy's disappearance ...




Unfortunately, missing (or found) pet signs are fairly common. However, there's something different about these flyers ... they're everywhere, for starters... and new flyers seem to go up daily... Several readers have asked me if, maybe, Sammy, a Pomeranian, had been found...

Unfortunately, no... the latest flyers are now offering a reward...



I finally decided to call the number to find out more about Sammy... I spoke with Sammy's owner, who, along with her sister, has been working nonstop to bring home her beloved pet. She said that Sammy was definitely stolen... and that she has received several descriptions of a young male trying to sell a dog that looks like Sammy.

Sammy was last seen on June 29 on 21st Street and Second Avenue at 11:39 a.m.

As for the new flyers, she said there are three-four people putting up new notices every day in hopes that someone will make the connection. She has also posted signs in Chinese, such as this one on Houston at Avenue B ...



In the days and weeks after Sammy first went missing, she received a lot of leads -- many of them from the East Village ... of late, though, the calls are down to two-three a day. Many people think they've seen Sammy, but are a little vague on details...

Per the Help Find Sammy site:

--Sammy knows his name, and answers to it

--He is 3 years old

--He is cream/sandy colored

--He currently has a buzz cut

--He is an unaltered male

--He was last seen on 21st Street and 2nd Avenue at 11:39AM

--He has a GREEN Leash, and a BLUE Collar. His Dog tag is a Blue DOG-BONE
that says SAMMY and the owner's ADDRESS

--He weighs roughly 3 pounds

--He tends to bark at strangers, and is very picky about people picking him up

There is more information on the site, including flyers and photos...and a video.



"We won't stop until he comes home," she said.

Updated: 3:30 ... One of Sammy's owners checks in the comments section... she provides more background on how Sammy came up missing.... she says that he got loose, ran a block and was scooped up by a stranger... and that was the last they saw of him... "We are appreciative of those who have helped us thus far with our search. Any assistance is greatly appreciated, word of mouth or even a simple post of his flyer on your facebook or blog."

[Updated] Looking at the First Avenue's new bike lane and 'floating lane'

In recent weeks, I've had several conversations with readers about the ongoing renovations of First Avenue... in which a dedicated bike path and bus lane are going in (most people think the bike and bus lane additions are a good thing, especially among my cyclist friends, but...)

Anyway, work continued on the Avenue this past weekend...





Topic No.1

Have you looked at the parking instructions yet?



The floating lane? As EV Grieve reader Blue Glass said to me, "only an engineer could make street traffic so confusing."

Topic No. 2

The possible impact on local business. Foot traffic aside ... a lot of the stores here are the kind in which people are used to quickly parking and zipping in for the goods (especially during holidays, where cars are double-parked on 11th Street around to First Avenue for Veniero's) ... How will the stores accommodate customers who want to stop for a few minutes to make a purchase? Ditto for quick deliveries. The bus and bike lanes have removed some parking spots. Several shop owners are worried about the reduced parking options... look for a story on the topic soon from a local TV station...





Topic No. 3
Not everyone is really hip to the dedicated bike/bus lanes yet...




Here's an example of someone stopping for a quick pick up at Veniero's ... what you don't see here is the bicyclist nearly taking off the car door...



It will take some time here for everyone to learn to live with the changes... motorists...cyclists...pedestrians...merchants...cops...at least until the city paints in the green bike lane.

Updated: Noonish... As for the local news report I mentioned... NY1 has filed a report, East Village Businesses Find Fault With New Bus, Bike Lanes. To the story:

The new bus and bicycle lanes along First and Second Avenues are part of a major city traffic overhaul, but local business owners say the lanes are taking up parking spaces and creating obstacles for delivery trucks.

Business owners say the lanes, which stretch from Houston Street to 34th Street, force delivery men to walk into the bicycle lanes and forces them to run the risk of injury.

"My truck has to park away from the curb. Now my employees have to cross through an active bike lane and there's a possibility of being hit by a bicycle, and there's cyclists getting hurt. My driver's getting hurt," said hardware store owner Jim Doria.

"Should have the bike lane on the other side, the way it was before and parking would be on the same side," said business owner Jawad Rasul. "I think that would be a lot better for the bikers and for the store owners."

And the comments are getting going on this topic...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Hot tar for a hot night

The Second Avenue bike lanes: What do we think so far?

For further reading:
Matt Harvey had a piece in the Post Monday titled, Attack of the killer bikes!

Looking for where William Burroughs lived on the Bowery? There's an app for that now

West Village resident Christopher Otto has created a new app for iPhones that uses GPS to show nearby cultural locations in downtown Manhattan. It currently has almost 350 locations, with links to Wikipedia and YouTube to provide more extensive information than could be included in the app itself.

In some locations like "The Bunker" where Burroughs lived on Bowery, or Quentin Crisp's apartment, you can see the person themselves in the building talking about his or her life in archival video.

"I was inspired to make it after reading 'Low Life' by Luc Sante while staying in a historic building in the West Village and finding myself forgetting what NYC was like before places like Superdive came along," Otto said in an e-mail. "My hope is that someone shopping in SoHo might read about Gordon Matta-Clark, or discover La Monte Young, and be inspired to do something interesting."

The app is free, though it includes iAds and Otto gets a small percentage of the iTunes and Amazon sales.

The direct link to iTunes is here.

There's basic website up explaining the features.