A note from Cesare the dog

Spotted on the front door of an East 12th Street apartment building. Photo by Andrew Adam Newman on Avenue C.

The Cake Shop is open for now...

Grub Street has an update this morning on Cake Shop, the Ludlow Street cafe-bakery-bar-music-venue that was in danger of shutting down this week. (First reported by Brooklyn Vegan last Friday.)

Co-owner Nick Bodor told Grub Street's Jenny Miller that "several generous individuals" had chipped in with the $10,000 that the space needed to stay open.

However, as Grub Street points out:

Because of some real-estate taxes the landlord is passing on, plus fines and legal fees, Cake Shop needs to come up with almost $50K by June 20, or it could be curtains. "We're looking for an equity partner," Bodor said. "We want to sell a part of the company off to the right partner."

Q-and-A with Andrew Kotliar, festival director for Kinofest NYC

[A Soviet-era monument as seen in "The Other Chelsea"]

Kinofest NYC is a film festival that celebrates independent cinema from Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries. As the Kinofest website puts it, the festival "is organized by a grassroots group of East Villagers who have a passion for film, storytelling and the creative arts."

The third-annual festival starts tomorrow night and runs through Sunday, and will include four feature films, three of which are premiering in New York City, and 21 short films. This year's Kinofest NYC takes place at The Ukrainian Museum on East Sixth Street and Anthology Film Archives and Second Avenue at East Second Street. (Go here for schedule and ticket information.)

Festival director Andrew Kotlier answered a few questions for us via email on the eve of this year's Kinofest.

Did you foresee this becoming an annual event? How would you rate the success of the previous Kinofests?

Yes, the idea from the begining was to try to make it become an annual event, and to keep it based in the East Village, tapping into both the local arts scene and the Ukrainian community. The previous two Kinofests were quite successful, as we have been able to pull together high-quality diverse programs, involve various community sponsors and individual volunteers, and bring in a selection of qualified guest speakers. We've been seeing lots of interest and positive feedback from our audience, along with good dialogue along the way.

Do you consider this more a celebration of Ukrainian culture or independent cinema in general?

Kinofest is a celebration of independent cinema in general. Our program director [Damian Kolodiya], a Brooklyn-born East Village resident, has many contacts with filmmakers from Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union. We've been very fortunate to be able to tap into that network, and through our festival to provide a new generation of "post-Soviet" filmmakers a voice here in New York City.

[Shakhtar Donetsk fans as seen in "The Other Chelsea"]

Tell us a little about the opening film, "The Other Chelsea," which plays Friday night at 7:30.

"The Other Chelsea" is a revealing film that explores the links between sports, business, and politics in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. It is home to Shakhtar Donetsk, the winning Ukrainian football (soccer) team, home to Ukraine's weathliest billionaire and football supporter, Rinat Akhmetov, and home base for Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych. The filmmaker Jakob Preuss illustrates the social and political decline that Ukraine's new elite have entrenched in their country, and in a humorous way tells the story of the discordant worlds of increasing wealth and poverty by following two ardent Shakhtar Donetsk fans – a coal miner and well-to-do politician.

Their worlds meet in the Donetsk football stadium where, despite their differences, they are united by their strong ties to the nostalgia of their Soviet past. Preuss, who lives in Berlin, will be in New York to present his film. He's flying to the United States to take part in Kinofest, and is in the States for a two-week roadshow of his film.

What do you hope that people take away from Kinofest?

We hope people will hear and learn about perspectives and narratives from a tough part of the world that has seen a lot of transition these past two decades. We are flying in four filmmakers from Kyiv, one of whom won top prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, so we also hope people will meet and mingle with our guests, and see what the new discussions and exchanges of ideas may lead to.

And now, let's start digging into the New York City Municipal Archives Online Gallery

Last week, the Department of Records unleashed images from its database — 870,000 digital photos of New York City dating back to the 1850s... the culmination of a four-year photo-digitalization project by city archivists, as The Wall Street Journal put it.

But! The overwhelming demand crippled the website... and no one could access the photos...

However! I randomly checked late last night, as I've been doing every 90 seconds the last eight days. Or so. ... and everything was up and running. Woo!

So, for starters, this was a rather quick and random search ... I just grabbed stuff as if I was ransacking Key Food before a hurricane...

These photos of workers in Tompkins Square Park are dated May 1941... (and nice to see that workers stood around then too — kidding!)

...in the top photo, you can barely make out the Avenue A street sign in the upper right-hand corner...

This shot in the Park looking west toward East Ninth Street wasn't dated...

The caption: "Old men and women seated on bench. Women wear babushkas and hold canes."

And here is the north side of Delancey Street west of Clinton Street dated June 7, 1906 ... There are a lot of Delancey shots from this time period.

Here are two random tax photos, which were taken some time between 1980 and 1988... (There are a lot of tax photos, though the images are very small...)

And some tax photos on the Bowery... You may recognize a few spots ...

... such as the former 9-17 Second Avenue, where the Mars Bar was eventually on the corner...

...and the current home of Gemma and the Bowery Hotel...

...7-Eleven is the third storefront in... in the bowels base of the 52E4 condo...

And some tax photos on East Houston....

...current home of the Ludlow...

...the Sunshine...

OK, going back in for more... Meanwhile, you can search yourself right here.

[All photos courtesy NYC Municipal Archives]

Video from yesterday's Occupy Lower East Side

Participants from Occupy Wall Street/May Day gathered yesterday afternoon in Sara Roosevelt Park on East Houston at Chrystie... (The Lo-Down has a report on it here.)

There were some skirmishes with the NYPD... captured here on this video now making the rounds...

Fighting a 7-Eleven on the LES; waiting for one on East 14th Street

Down on Grand Street, Seward Park residents are fighting the arrival of the dreaded double whammy — a 7-Eleven and a Dunkin' Donuts. (You can read reports on this at BoweryBoogie and The Lo-Down.)

Part of the online petition:

We are concerned that corporately-owned chain stores in the Seward Park retail strip is inconsistent with the independent retail establishments that populate our properties.We are concerned that chain stores will have a chilling effect on property values as the establishments degrade the character and appeal of the neighborhood for both longtime and new residents.

Meanwhile, on IHOP Way, as we first reported, the incoming 7-Eleven is getting closer to arriving... workers recently removed the big blue Exquisite DVD Video store awning...

Previously!

Now!

Dixon Place unveils its new gallery space tonight

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Dixon Place is pleased to introduce its new in-house exhibition space, The Gallery at Dixon Place. The gallery’s inaugural show, HOTSHOTS, opens Wednesday, May 2, and features six photographers who journey where no lens is safe to bring you all of the blood, guts and glitter of live rock 'n' roll.

The group exhibition, curated by Jacquelyn Gallo, focuses on the theatrics and spectacle of live performance, and is presented in conjunction with Dixon Place’s show The Talking Band's: The Peripherals, a rock musical opening May 3.

"By converting our lounge area into an official gallery space, Dixon Place is proud to include visual arts in our myriad of programs," said Ellie Covan, the founder/artistic director of Dixon Place.

Learn more via the Dixon Place website here.

May Day this afternoon at Union Square

Well, all sorts of various Occupy Wall Street May Day marches eventually filtered into Union Square this afternoon for a "permitted" rally and musical performances ... there are reports of arrests throughout the city ... Here is Tim Pool of TimCast with streaming live video ...

Meanwhile, The Lo-Down has a report here about Occupy Lower East Side, where the NYPD reportedly arrested several people.

The photos below are by Bobby Williams ...

Public Housing May Day Rally starts at 2

From the EV Grieve inbox...

We are sick and tired of decisions about the future of our homes being made without our input! Join us as we march up Avenue D through the public housing developments from Houston to 14th St. to raise awareness about the New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) plan to change many policies that will affect the future of Public Housing. Upon reaching 14th St, we will veer left to meet with masses at Union Square for the 4 o'clock May Day Unity Rally.

Noted

Avenue C and East Sixth Street today via EV Grieve reader Steven...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

[The Bowery and East Third Street]

Live coverage of Occupy Wall Street's M1NYC (Runnin' Scared)

The last night at the Lakeside (The New York Times/City Room)

The Living Theater tries to stay alive (The Lo-Down)

Another specialty shop closes on Eighth Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

The Lower East Side Heritage Film Series continues at the Seward Park Branch Library (BoweryBoogie)

Off-duty NYPD officer arrested for DWI after crashing car on Second Avenue and East 11th Street (Daily News)

The New York of the Psychedelic Furs (Flaming Pablum)

An 'End of Chelsea Hotel' art bash (Living With Legends)

And via Gothamist, the trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises," in which the Williamsburg Bride blows up at the 50-second mark...

Per Gothamist: "At least we still have the L train!"

Q-and-A with Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare

As we first reported back in March, the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on East Fifth Street at Avenue B will close this summer.

In November, we noted that developer Ben Shaoul was the mystery buyer of Cabrini. The building's previous owner was an unnamed family trust who, according to the Lo-Down, sold Cabrini for $25.5 million. Plans to turn the facility over to a for-profit operator never materialized. (Here's more background on the story and the sale.)

We reached out to Patricia Krasnausky, president and CEO of Cabrini Eldercare, to see how the closure was proceeding. She agreed to answer some questions, done via email.

Where is Cabrini now with the relocation plans for patients at the facility?

Since mid-March, we have been working with the residents and their families to determine their preferences for relocation. We provided lists and facilitated the applications. The biggest challenge is geography. Almost everyone wants to stay in Manhattan and there are not enough places to take them all. We have made an arrangement with a nursing home in Brooklyn that is reopening 156 of Cabrini's beds in Borough Park, and will welcome that number of residents who would like to go together to a newly refurbished environment. They will also hire 60 employees, so that residents and employees may be together again. We are also hosting job opportunities for the staff, and working with the union to facilitate employment.

What has been the general reaction from families, employees about the closure?

The general reaction from the families was anger, naturally. There were promises of protests. Residents and families needed to be helped with their anger and grief. We provided psychologists to assist with this. Employees of course are anxious and grief-stricken as well. We are assisting them and celebrating their service through service awards and parties.

How do you think the closure will impact the neighborhood?

The neighborhood is changing. There are so many rentals and condos, and so few nursing homes in Manhattan. Unfortunately, that is a message to those who need such services. No one is looking forward to more construction on East Fifth Street. It has been a mess for years now.

Have you officially heard what will be coming to the space?

I don't have official information, but I believe the building will contain one-bedroom rentals.

-----

The nonprofit, 240-bed nursing home — sponsored by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — provides health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village. The location at Fifth Street and Avenue B opened in 1993. This location serves 240 patients and employs nearly 300 people.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

Report: Local politicians reach out to Ben Shaoul as re-sale of the Cabrini Nursing Center seems likely

More details on Cabrini's closing announcement

Tough times for Avenue B

[March 25 outside the former Life Cafe]

Well, it has been a difficult few months for some longtime businesses along Avenue B. Last night, the Lakeside Lounge wrapped up its 16-year run near East 10th Street.

Let's take a look at the recent carnage:

• Life Cafe closed last Sept. 11.
• Kate's Joint closed on April 17.
• The Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at East Fifth Street will give way to residential usage this summer.
• Mainstay Max at 51 Avenue B will close this spring after it opens a new branch in Williamsburg, per Eater.
• The Hare Krishnas moved out of their home at 96 Avenue B last summer, as BoweryBoogie first reported.
• M&M Variety Hardware near Houston closed last fall. (One reader thought that a hardware store had been in the space since the 1950s.)

(I didn't include the liquor store on the corner of Houston... that closed in the fall of 2009...)

Meanwhile, expect more change on Avenue B.

Word is that Wafels & Dinges will open its first café on the southeast corner of Second Street ... based on the same concept as the food trucks in circulation around the city.

And big changes are rumored for the stretch of storefronts that once housed Le Souk. In the rumor stage at the moment. One tipster hears that a two-story addition is coming to the building. However, there aren't any permits on file with the DOB to support the rumor. (The "for lease" signs are off all the empty storefronts, though.)

[Photo from February via EVG reader Ron Z.]

Finally, permits are still pending for the long-empty 185-193 Avenue B at East 12th Street. There is a demolition application on file already with the city (dated Sept. 20). And, according to the DOB, plans for a mixed-use seven-story building with 44 units are in the making. (You can read a short history of what's happening with the space here.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
There are more than 20 empty storefronts along Avenue B

2 scenes from Union Square this morning

Police barricades are up around Union Square pre-May Day events... the barricades stretch east to Irving Place.

Via the EV Grieve Twitter account.

Here is a schedule of all the "Permitted and Unpermitted May Day 2012 Actions" via the Occupy Wall Street site.

A mural grows on St. Mark's Place

And a new mural is going up on the formerly green wall here outside Foot Gear Plus on St. Mark's Place at First Avenue... it's an ad for Village Kids Footwear, which is around the corner closer to First Avenue...

...speaking of green, this addition has already been painted over...

Top photos by Bobby Williams.

EVG respost: St. Mark's and First Avenue, 1993

Speaking of St. Mark's Place and First Avenue... I posted this four years ago ... dug it out again... per the YouTube description: "a time lapse of that corner in NYC back in '93 or so from a 3rd floor window..."

Noted

And the band played on... At the Verizon wall early last evening on East 13th Street...