Photos by Bobby Williams.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
About the First Street Green Cultural Park
Now that the BMW Guggenheim Lab has moved on to confront comfort in Berlin, what's happening to the lot? Gothamist got the scoop yesterday from the volunteers at First Street Green:
The lot-turned-park will host dance, sculpture, painting, readings, music, performance, film, and annual competitions to build temporary canopies to house all of those things.
There's a kick-off party on Dec. 10 ... as Gothamist noted, First Street Green will unveil a "wishing wall" ... where you can suggest ideas for the space. (And preferably ones that don't involve liquor licenses ...)
Bobby Williams took the photos here yesterday... workers are putting in a new gate and what not.
Ave. A Deli & Food is now open
And now, 893 posts about Graceland later ... Here at Second Street, the corner deli opened on Thursday night... bringing closure to the drama that included Graceland closing, Frank's fast-food eatery not getting CB3 approval and 7-Eleven threat theatrics...
We'll have complete live team coverage — Assignment: Ave. A Deli & Food — all weekend, though I wouldn't count on it.
And now, a photo of the floor that I accidentally took...
Breaking: Workers removing more scaffolding at St. Brigid's
A note from our far-flung correspondents
From Dave on 7th, walking on 14th Street:
I just need to report that at 1:30 on Friday night, the IHOP is basically full.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Today in photos of model Kate Upton in Tompkins Square Park
Shooting a commercial today with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model ... thanks to @MichaelTSanchez for the photos...
Quantum Leap is closed
Rggulars of Quantum Leap on First Avenue passed along word this week that the vegetarian restaurant would have to close after getting socked with a rent hike. Yesterday was their last day.
@robbyohara passes along word (and the above photo) that the restaurant has been closed all day ... there's no note for customers... and that workers were removing supplies from the basement...
Frances Goldin could kick a cop in the balls and not get arrested, probably
Frances Goldin, founder of the Cooper Square Committee and catalyst for getting the rent reduced at the St. Mark's Bookshop, was among the many Occupy Wall Street protestors yesterday. The 87-year-old literary agent is a longtime activist who has been arrested nine times. She is quoted in a feature at MSNBC today:
"And I was sure I'd be arrested today, but the cops were determined because of the bad publicity for them, to not arrest an 87-year-old woman."
"I said [to an officer], 'What if I socked you in the eye?,' and he said, 'I'd give you a free shot,'" Goldin said. "'Well, what if I kneed you in the groin?,' and he said, 'No, you're not going to get arrested!'"
And here she is on NBC New York...
EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
Helping Caffe Vivaldi (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
Occupy Wall Street's Day of Action yesterday (Daily Intel ... Runnin' Scared ... The Gog Log)
Clayton Patterson at the Zuccotti Park evacuation (BoweryBoogie)
How the NYPD doles out credentials to the press (The New York Observer)
Danny Hoch on Broadway, gentrification (Gothamist)
You guide to New York City's hidden mews (Curbed)
Here comes Santa Claus.... right down Avenue A, sort of
I was the only one who noticed a man in a Santa hat sitting near a holiday movie ad today. A reader submitted the above shot...
Prepare to welcome The Standard East Village
Page Six has the following news today (via Eater):
André Balazs is turning the Cooper Square Hotel into The Standard East Village. Sources say the high-flying hotelier’s deal to buy the beleaguered East Fifth Street Cooper Square gem will close today. Sources added that, under Balazs and his partners, the 105-room hotel's public spaces will be reconfigured, its rooms refurbished and its restaurants overhauled over the course of the next year. The property will be The Standard's more "intimate and residential" location than its boisterous site straddling the High Line...
And, in an exclusive, we have obtained The Standard's plans for renovations right here... Not yet confirmed for authenticity...
Is this finally the end for the Mary Help of Christians Catholic church on East 12th Street?
From a parishioner at Mary Help of Christians on East 12th Street:
There are rumors that the church and school property are being sold by the Spring ... I'm afraid that NYU is buying it and going to build dorms.
We haven't heard much about this space in the last three years. Those in the know in the community are most certain that NYU isn't involved. (We asked NYU spokesperson John Beckman, though we haven't heard back just yet.)
Still, there is some precedent for the worry. In February 2004, the archdiocese sold St. Ann’s on East 12th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue for a reported $15 million. There is now a 26-story NYU dorm at the site. But that was before the 111-block rezone.
Let's go back a few years. In May 2007, The New York Times reported that the 109-year-old Roman Catholic church would close as part of a realignment by the Archdiocese of New York. Per the Times:
While this East Village church will continue to have two Sunday Masses for the immediate future, they will be overseen by a different church, Immaculate Conception on 14th Street and First Avenue.
In September 2008, The Real Deal reported that "Two thirds of a 15,000-square-foot East Village playground ... is under contract in a quiet, all-cash sale for $10.4 million."
The playground — home to the weekend flea market — is divided into three ownership lots, according to The Real Deal. Two of the parcels are (or were) owned by a Roman Catholic order called the Salesian Society. The Archdiocese owns the church located on a 13,000-square-foot lot.
Joseph Zwilling, spokesperson for the New York Archdiocese, didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
Meanwhile, for whatever reasons, the parishioners are hearing the rumors of the church's demise once again. Perhaps with the continued progress at St. Brigid's on Avenue B — one optimistic estimate had the church's renovations complete by the end of next summer — Mary Help of Christians is becoming expendable.
The church in 1920 via the NYPL Digital Gallery ...
St. Brigid's is looking oh so 1848
So, as you probably know, some of the construction netting and plywood came down Tuesday on the north wall of St. Brigid's on Avenue B and Eighth Street... Yesterday, workers peeled back just a little bit more of the netting... exposing even more of the under-renovation church... Bobby Williams took a look...
As The Villager reported this past July, the church will have its original 1848 look... Per the paper:
Bobby also sent a view of the new roof...
And as a bonus — a view of the church from Tompkins Square Park circa the early 1870s ...
Here's the caption for the photo from The Villager:
As The Villager reported this past July, the church will have its original 1848 look... Per the paper:
Both the west and north facades (what everyone from the street sees) of the building are going to be sheathed in cast brownstone slabs, more or less restoring the look of what was there when the church was first built in 1848. They are working on this now, and roughly a quarter of the north wall has already been installed. The original north wall had to be completely demolished and rebuilt as part of the process of restoring structural stability to the church. This necessitated filling the entire church interior with scaffolding in order to support the roof during this reconstruction. But it was a big improvement over the original repair plan to simply re-stucco the existing facade.
Bobby also sent a view of the new roof...
And as a bonus — a view of the church from Tompkins Square Park circa the early 1870s ...
Here's the caption for the photo from The Villager:
A photo from around the early 1870s showing St. Brigid’s Church with its spires on Avenue B and, in foreground, a gazebo in Tompkins Square Park. Around this time, the park was stripped and leveled to turn it into a parade ground for the 7th Regiment. The gazebo had been likely the reviewing stand for the military brass. After much public outcry, in 1878, Tompkins Square was redesigned and rebuilt as a public park.
Extra Place's transformation into 'Artist Alley'
Two Fridays ago, we cut-and-paste the news release posted the information on Artist Alley @ Extra Place. Well, let's just post the thing again:
And Bobby Williams has been keeping tabs on the progress for part of the week...
Sunday!
Monday!
Tuesday!
All this explains that "birthplace of punk" art.
Anyway, doesn't seem like too long ago when workers were removing the street art/graffiti from here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Extra Place now officially a Dead End
Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage
Perhaps he just saw Extra Place for the first time in 15 years or so?
Looking at Extra Place
On Saturday, November 19, Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) will present Groundbreak, the inaugural exhibit in a rotating public art program for Artist Alley @ Extra Place. This exhibit is the latest in a series of temporary art installations in atypical locations in the East Village/Lower East Side through FABnyc's ArtUp program.
FABnyc recognizes Extra Place as a cultural marker in New York City's Punk and No Wave scene and its potential as fertile ground for a new generation of creative exchange. Abe Lincoln Jr., Jon Burgerman, and Ellis Gallagher are New York based artists who will reclaim the concrete sidewalk as their blank canvas.
And Bobby Williams has been keeping tabs on the progress for part of the week...
Sunday!
Monday!
Tuesday!
All this explains that "birthplace of punk" art.
Anyway, doesn't seem like too long ago when workers were removing the street art/graffiti from here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Extra Place now officially a Dead End
Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage
Perhaps he just saw Extra Place for the first time in 15 years or so?
Looking at Extra Place
On Avenue C, Bobwhite is hiring; and what exactly is Bobwhite?
Over at 94 Avenue C near East Sixth Street... work continues at Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter...
... and they are hiring now...
We've talked with several nearby residents who have high hopes for the restaurant, which will serve Southern-style comfort food ... the owner, Virginia native Keedick Coulter, received approval for a beer and wine license from the CB3/SLA committee last month...
Anyway, they have a website here ...
Here's a description what's coming here (early next year):
Chico whipped up some bobwhites for the rolldown gate...
[Thanks to Dave on 7th for the top two photos]
... and they are hiring now...
We've talked with several nearby residents who have high hopes for the restaurant, which will serve Southern-style comfort food ... the owner, Virginia native Keedick Coulter, received approval for a beer and wine license from the CB3/SLA committee last month...
Anyway, they have a website here ...
Here's a description what's coming here (early next year):
Bobwhite Counter is a small restaurant with big aspirations. We want to make seasonal, responsible food something you can afford to enjoy on a regular basis. Maybe we’re biased, but we think that the spirit and soul of Southern cooking is a perfect way to do just that. Whether you want to sit down for a friendly meal or take something home, we hope you’ll enjoy our Southern-style chicken suppers, sandwiches, and seasonal vegetables all made from responsible, high-quality ingredients.
Chico whipped up some bobwhites for the rolldown gate...
[Thanks to Dave on 7th for the top two photos]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)