All being down under the watchful eye of the NYPD...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Tropical weather
A rather tropical feel in Tompkins Square Park early this morning while workers watered some plants and what not....
All being down under the watchful eye of the NYPD...
All being down under the watchful eye of the NYPD...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Week-end self-serve
I'm not one for weeks in review and what not ... but it did seem to be a busy week... As always,thank you for your comments... and news tips
So! A quick recap of a few of the posts....
• We looked at Allen Ginsberg's former apartment
• We called for a new bandshell for Tompkins Square Park.
• We watched Ray featured on CNNmoney.com.
• We discovered that "Party Girls" who like to be victim's of "sexy humor" were needed.
• We looked at night-time photos of the Copper Building (31 comments)
• We watched a video of the "underground" grilled cheese peddler (18 comments)
• We looked back at Shepard Fairey's mural on Houston and the Bowery
• We helped The East Side Community School compete for $500,000
• We learned that Red Mango closed
• We took pity on a sick Barney
• We met the former East Village "hipster" who may or may not owe the IRS big bucks
Blog mafia vs. Mafia Wars
Our friends in the local blogging community have been busy posting on the viral/littering ad campaign on our streets by Zygna, a San Francisco game developer based with investment from the locally owned Union Square Ventures. I'm sure you've seen those fake dollar bills plastered on sidewalks and other surfaces, particularly on Second Avenue
East Village Feed has been contacting Zygna and Union Square Ventures... Also, NYC the Blog has contacted the city about this. Per NYC the Tumblr:
Just got off the phone with the Sanitation department. They were not pleased to hear about the latest advertising campaign in Manhattan for Mafia Wars, by Union Square Venture backed Zygna.
In addition to requesting the locations of the illegal ads, (I gave them two I was sure of) Sanitation wanted the name and number of the company responsible.
Anyway, East Village Feed reports now that Zynga’s agency, Davis Elen, has responded and has committed to clean up the Mafia Wars campaign within a week.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Behind the East Village "blog mafia" joke
[Photo via East Village Feed]
Friday, August 27, 2010
Concern for Barney on St. Mark's Place
As this photo from Bob Arihood shows, Barney isn't looking so good now on St. Mark's Place. Gone is that friendly, optimistic attitude that we've all seen. He will still dance, though only for change.
At Ray's: 'A 77-year-old runs the night shift' (And Jesus is f'ing metal — woo!)
On Wednesday, via Bob Arihood, we told that Ray would be featured on CNNmoney.com...
Well, the clip is now online (and there's no embed — WTF CNN?)
(Oops! Stupid Grieve. Thanks Matt!)
You can watch it here. The segment is titled, "A 77-year-old runs the night shift."
And I'm sure some CNN viewers will love this customer's hoodie!
Ha! Awesome! FU CNN censors!
Well, the clip is now online (and there's no embed — WTF CNN?)
(Oops! Stupid Grieve. Thanks Matt!)
You can watch it here. The segment is titled, "A 77-year-old runs the night shift."
And I'm sure some CNN viewers will love this customer's hoodie!
Ha! Awesome! FU CNN censors!
Taqueria gets signage on First Avenue
More progress on the former Western Union location here on First Avenue near 10th Street....
Last evening, EV Grieve reader Leesy snapped a shot of the taqueria's new signage...
And I wonder what Paquito's across the way thinks of this....
Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Western Union now delivering tacos
Last evening, EV Grieve reader Leesy snapped a shot of the taqueria's new signage...
And I wonder what Paquito's across the way thinks of this....
Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Western Union now delivering tacos
Tompkins Square Park is way past due for a new bandshell
There are two high-profile events this weekend in Tompkins Square Park... a free punk show tomorrow headlined by Star Fucking Hipsters .... and the Charlie Parker Festival on Sunday... So, in preparation for these gigs, people will have to build up and tear down a stage....just like they have to do every time there's an event like this in the Park.
So, I know this has long been a point of discussion, but it seems like a good time to bring up the subject again.
For starters....last year, the city completed a $1.5 million upgrade on the main playground in Tompkins Square Park that took 11 months to complete.
Before that, the city unveiled the new dog run, which underwent a $350,000 renovation ($30,000 of which was funded privately by the dog run group).
This is all well and good...However, that's about $1.8 million for these things... Though, personally, I don't have kids or a dog... So, why doesn't the city now fork over some money to rebuild the Tompkins Square Park bandshell? That the city destroyed in 1991, of course. I won't get into the whole history. You can read about it here. Chris Flash (and others) at The Shadow has been a tireless advocate on this subject.
As The Villager noted in February 2006, a quick paragraph of history:
[T]he band shell’s days were numbered. By the late 1980s, it had become a homeless shelter, with 40 to 50 people sleeping in it, as well as Alphabet City’s largest urinal. In addition to the homeless, it was increasingly used by neighborhood activists and squatters as a rallying point. Following a major riot in 1988 over imposing a curfew on the park and another big one in 1991 that started at the band shell — which some accuse police of instigating — a few months after the last riot, the park was closed for a year for a renovation. One of the first things done was to demolish the bandshell.
[Bandshell photos via Flickr]
And, this is subject to some speculation, the Grateful Dead's first-ever New York City gig was in Tompkins Square Park on June 1, 1967.
In any event, bandshell or not, people still sleep in the park... Is that so surprising? A bandshell is beneficial to nearly everyone in the community... for concerts, theater... community groups, religious organizations, etc.
Is the NYPD really worried about patrolling this? I recently saw six police cars swoop in on one fellow with an open container. About 10 police officers stood there for 20 minutes while one officer wrote the man a ticket. It's about time the city give the people here something else that they want and need.
So, I know this has long been a point of discussion, but it seems like a good time to bring up the subject again.
For starters....last year, the city completed a $1.5 million upgrade on the main playground in Tompkins Square Park that took 11 months to complete.
Before that, the city unveiled the new dog run, which underwent a $350,000 renovation ($30,000 of which was funded privately by the dog run group).
This is all well and good...However, that's about $1.8 million for these things... Though, personally, I don't have kids or a dog... So, why doesn't the city now fork over some money to rebuild the Tompkins Square Park bandshell? That the city destroyed in 1991, of course. I won't get into the whole history. You can read about it here. Chris Flash (and others) at The Shadow has been a tireless advocate on this subject.
As The Villager noted in February 2006, a quick paragraph of history:
[T]he band shell’s days were numbered. By the late 1980s, it had become a homeless shelter, with 40 to 50 people sleeping in it, as well as Alphabet City’s largest urinal. In addition to the homeless, it was increasingly used by neighborhood activists and squatters as a rallying point. Following a major riot in 1988 over imposing a curfew on the park and another big one in 1991 that started at the band shell — which some accuse police of instigating — a few months after the last riot, the park was closed for a year for a renovation. One of the first things done was to demolish the bandshell.
[Bandshell photos via Flickr]
And, this is subject to some speculation, the Grateful Dead's first-ever New York City gig was in Tompkins Square Park on June 1, 1967.
In any event, bandshell or not, people still sleep in the park... Is that so surprising? A bandshell is beneficial to nearly everyone in the community... for concerts, theater... community groups, religious organizations, etc.
Is the NYPD really worried about patrolling this? I recently saw six police cars swoop in on one fellow with an open container. About 10 police officers stood there for 20 minutes while one officer wrote the man a ticket. It's about time the city give the people here something else that they want and need.
Meet the new entryway into the East Village
That long-rumored 13-story office building at 51 Astor Place designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki will be a reality, pretty much. Yesterday, Curbed reported on this from a Wall Street Journal piece.
According to the Journal, 51 Astor Place, formerly the Cooper Union engineering building at St. Mark's and Third, is due to be torn down and replaced by a new office tower. Construction will start next summer, and is expected to be completed in 2013. Or so.
Guess this means no one should get too attached to the new Film Academy Cafe currently calling the former Starbucks space here home....
Second Avenue's Mission Cafe on the Block
On the Bond website:
Prime East Village/2nd Ave. TURNKEY OPPORTUNITY!
Well-established East Village Cafe with BEER/WINE LICENSE. 9 years left on lease. TURNKEY. 990 SQ FT + 300 SQ FT Basement. VENTED, COOKING OK. PRIME East Village Location on 2nd Ave & 5th St.
Price: $180,000. I thought the the Mission, which has been around a good 10 years, was already under new ownership? Not a place that I know much about....
Cat days of August
Oops, forgot to run this feature last Friday! So this is from the one store on Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street that I can't remember the name of right now.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Work under way at the Deitch wall
A crew is currently prepping the wall at Houston and the Bowery for a work by Barry McGee (aka Twist) ...
And I hope it's not an ad for this... currently parked across the Bowery...
Help the East Side Community School win $500,000
Over on 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, students and teachers are outside with computers to get people to vote online so that the school can win $500,000 in the Kohl's Cares for Kids contest. Per the reader who sent me the photos and tip: "It's pretty cool to see them all out there doing this." The students and teachers will be out until later this evening. (Hoping they get in before the zombies arrive!) You can also vote from home. If you go to www.eschs.org, then you'll find more details.
What's next for the Deitch wall?
A reliable source passed along word that Barry McGee (aka Twist) is up next on the Deitch wall on Houston and The Bowery. Deitch alum Kathy Grayson is now apparently serving as the curator.
Here is some of his recent work, via the Deitch website:
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