A whole lot of brass-band action happened today in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon... as part of the Make Music New York thingy day... Bobby Williams took these photos of the brass action...
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And from EVG regular peter radley...
Friday, June 21, 2013
Making music in Tompkins Square Park
A whole lot of brass-band action happened today in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon... as part of the Make Music New York thingy day... Bobby Williams took these photos of the brass action...
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And from EVG regular peter radley...
Death Star Public Plaza — now open!
EVG reader John let us know that the public plaza is open at 51 Astor Place... and people are taking advantage ...
Making music tonight on East 8th Street
From the EVG inbox ...
Green Oasis Community Garden is hosting a series of free concerts as a part of the Make Music New York festival. The Garden is on East Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D. Organizers tell us that they'll also be a silent auction with donations from neighborhood merchants and friends of the garden.
Brass action today in Tompkins Square Park
From the EV Grieve inbox... from 4-8 in Tompkins Square Park today...
Submerge yourself in the lush, euphoric sound of brass!
Produced by Sara Valentine for Make Music New York.
Musical Direction and Consultation by Frank London.
This free, four-hour event celebrates and elevates the brass tradition in one of New York's most notable parks.
Featuring:
Shinbone Alley Stilt Band
Human Jukebox Brass Band
Lucky Chops Brass Band
Brooklyn Wind Symphony Double Brass Quintet
A Directed Improvisation by Tom Zlabinger
A Sonic Massage presented by Wollesonic Labs
PitchBlak Brass Band
Extra Action Marching Band
Scaffolding arrives for demolition of Mary Help of Christians
EVG reader Greg Masters notes that crews are putting up the sidewalk shed and scaffolding outside Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church and rectory on East 12th Street this morning.
Developer Douglas Steiner bought the property last fall for an unspecified residential complex.
On May 23, local preservationists called for a complete archaeological evaluation of the grounds below Mary Help of Christians Church on East 12th Street. The site was once home to a cemetery, and the groups are concerned that some burial plots may remain.
Looks as if there won't be any archeological review here.
The church opened in 1917.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Permits filed to demolish Mary Help of Christians church, school and rectory
Preservationists call for archeological review of former cemetery at Mary Help of Christians site
Campaign launched to raise money for gravely injured East Village Farm and Grocery worker
[The flowers outside East Village Farm and Grocery this spring. Photo via Creature]
CB3 member Chad Marlow has organized the following crowdsourcing campaign...
Help raise money to help pay the medical and other costs of flower shop operator Akkas Ali, who was mowed down by a speeding driver on 6/19.
On June 19, 2013, a speeding, intoxicated driver racing down Second Avenue slammed into the flower stand outside East Village Farms & Grocery on 2nd Avenue and 4th Street. The driver struck and greviously injured Akkas Ali, the 62-year-old flower shop operator who had been working at that location for 22 years. Mr. Ali has a wife and three sons, and they all need our support in this time of terrible tragedy.
Whatever money we can raise will help defray Mr. Ali's medical cost and lost income while he attempts to recover from his injuries. Raising money for Mr. Ali will also help give him piece of mind that his family is being taken care of. Please, let our caring East Village community, the City of New York and all others with generous hearts show our love and support for Mr. Ali and his family by rallying around them during this incredibly diffcult time.
Said Marlow in an email announcing the launch: "I went through this same thing with my father when he was just 4 years younger than Mr. Ali, and one of Mr. Ali's sons is the same age as I was when my father was stuck and seriously and permanently injured by a speeding, intoxicated driver. So I know how much this kind of support would help him and his family."
You may find the GiveForward site here.
As for Ali ... Matt at neighborhoodr! spoke with the East Village Farm and Grocery folks yesterday.
Ali’s son stopped in earlier with an update on his father:
He had two broken bones in his leg, femur and shin. He also had internal bleeding inside his skull. He underwent surgery yesterday. He’s still on a respirator and isn’t communicating.
Read the rest of his post here. WABC has a report here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Car smashes into East Village Farm & Grocery on Second Avenue; 6 reported injured (60 comments)
How can I really be expected to post today when the first day of summer is here?
[Into the forest of St. Mark's Place yesterday]
Didn't prepare much for class today, being the first day of summer and all. (And something about a "solstice.") Was going to try an Open Thread Friday (so 2006!) kinda thing on summer Fridays. CAPTCHA is off. Talk about anything! See where it goes! But that's probably a really bad idea!
So what will this be the summer of? The Summer of Complaining About/Loving Citi Bikes? The Summer of High-Waited Denim Shorts?
I'm going for The Summer of the Tire Left In Front of Your Door. This will be a thing.
[The New York Times expands its automotive coverage]
See, this is what happens when you take away parking spots. People start spreading their car parts everywhere.
See you after Labor Day.
Previously on EV Grieve:
How can I really be expected to post today when 78 degrees™ is on the way?
How can I really be expected to post today when the Storm of Feb. 8™ is on the way?
How can I really be expected to post today when heavy thunderstorms are likely on the way?
La Vie has closed; neighbors rejoice
The long battle between East First Street residents and La Vie has finally come to end. The club has officially closed.
As we first reported on June 11, the 1st Department of the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court upheld the revocation of La Vie's liquor license. Although that decision was handed down on June 6, the club remained open.
However, last evening, a tipster on the block told us the following:
"They are moving all of the red velvet seating out to a Budget truck out front right now! The block is rejoicing."
La Vie owners left the following message on the club's Facebook page:
Dear friends, Thank you for all your support during the past couple of years. Unfortunately La Vie will close due to certain circumstances. We hope you all enjoyed La Vie while it was around. We will miss you all!!
Neighbors have long complained that La Vie was operating as a club under the guise of a restaurant. According to residents speaking out at past CB3/SLA meetings, the dance music emanating from the club was loud and disruptive to their quality of life ... and they claim there was often chaos in the streets as patrons entered and exited.
Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] La Vie closed for now on East First Street
New York Supreme Court upholds revocation of La Vie's liquor license
Jillery is moving to 7th and B
Jillery, the jewelry and home accessories shop, is moving from its current home on East 10th Street to the corner of East Seventh Street and Avenue B, most recently home to Amaran.
Artist Jill Fagin launched her business in 1987. (Read more about that here.)
We originally reported that a yoga studio was taking over the space on Seventh and B, though that business was just one of the possibilities for the corner.
As for Jillery signing a lease here, Anna Pastoressa, president of the board of directors of the co-op at 184 E. Seventh St., told us the following:
Our co-op is very proud to have rejected chain stores, banks, bars and loud food establishments. We are proud to have chosen a local business like Jillery who has been in the neighborhood for many years and we wish Jillery great success in our corner.
After some cosmetic renovation on the space, Jillery is eyeing an end-of-August opening.
Thanks to Bill the libertarian anarchist for the initial tip!
zPizza finally opens on First Avenue
Here's some info via zPizza:
Our dough is made from certified organic wheat flour prepared fresh every day, hand-thrown and fire-baked until uniquely crisp. We combine select ingredients such as certified organic tomato sauce, part-skim rBGH-free cheese from grass-fed cows, MSG-free pepperoni, and additive-free sausage. Even our fresh produce sets us apart. Exotic delights like Cremini and Shiitaki mushrooms, roasted eggplant, pili pili and truffle oil, pine nuts, artichoke hearts, roasted bell peppers and caramelized onions assure you'll never experience a boring pizza. The same holds true for our gourmet salads and sandwiches. That said we hope you enjoy our unique and authentic recipes as much as we enjoy making them for you.
I tried a slice and liked it. Enough to get it again if I was in that particular area. (Disclosure: I like most all pizza that costs more than .99 cents. Or $1. Or that comes from a microwave.)
This is the Laguna Beach, Calif.-based company's second NYC location... right there with Terminal 4 at JFK...
Schwimmergate
[peter radley]
Several readers noted the arrival yesterday of a chain-link fence around the almost-done-on-the-outside-looking David Schwimmer home on East Sixth Street. No word if this is just temporary until workers dig the moat.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Why your Con Ed bill will be going up next month
That damn sinkhole on Avenue A near East Third Street claimed two more cones, who drowned. When will it end?
Ready for 'Rushmore'
Wow. A Thursday night and it's not raining. The inflatable screen is up for "Rushmore" tonight. People are showing up on the lawn. (Or so I'm told.)
Also, you'll find a pair of safety glasses and some earplugs under your seats. Please feel free to use them.
Photo by Bobby Williams.
Afternoon tweets
Inflatable screen going up for Rushmore tonight in Tompkins Square Park, as this blurry pic shows pic.twitter.com/jh5j4p3jVn
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) June 20, 2013
And, importantly.
Better than a tree @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/Exn8rKVRg2
— Eden Brower (@edenbrower) June 20, 2013
Noted
A humor bit titled "SoulCycle for the Homeless" via The Crosby Press ... filmed on East Seventh Street at Avenue A...
Oh dear
St. Mark's Place earlier today.
Updated:
Oh, a reader emailed to say that this is happening at other docking stations... is this a thing now? Or is this a way for Citi Bike to let people know not to use this particular bike? (I have no idea.. just asking...)
Updated:
Apparently I need to start reading Wired. They reported yesterday:
If a bike is suffering from mechanical issues, courteous riders have begun turning the seat around to face the wrong way, a signal to other Citi Bike users to avoid that particular bicycle. There is a built-in wrench button on the bike racks that alerts Citi Bike that maintenance is needed, but turning the seat around is a nice way to give rushed riders a quick heads-up to skip that bike and grab the next one.
404 E. 14th St.: The coolest building that you will find with a McDonald's on the ground floor
From the outside, 404 E. 14th St. doesn't look like much, right? ... especially with that McDonald's and its express window taking up the ground floor. The back of the building on East 13th Street (alternately known as 405 E. 13th St.), is more promising...
However, since the 1960s, the building has hosted and housed a dynamic community of artists, poets and filmmakers. And now, gallery artist Tom Burckhardt, who currently lives and works in the building along with wife and fellow gallery artist Kathy Butterly, have organized an exhibit showcasing the work of artists who live (or have lived) at 404. The opening reception is tonight at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave. between 56th Street and 57th Street. (The exhibit is open through Aug. 2.)
Here's some information from the show's news release:
Beginning in the 1960s, it was among the first in New York to become an artist building, and remains so today. Although stylistically distinct, the artists who have lived or worked there over the years are nevertheless bound together in their shared experience of this uniquely vibrant, artistic scene.
The exhibition will comprise paintings, sculpture, and photographs by the various artists, in addition to films, correspondence, poetry and ephemera relating to the history of the building and its inhabitants. To coincide with his current Museum of Modern Art exhibition, Claes Oldenburg will be represented by working maquettes from his collection. A selection of poet Allen Ginsberg’s last photographs, taken when he lived in the building, will be included, as well as a 1966 foam floor sculpture by John Chamberlain. Rarely-exhibited works by Larry Rivers that were created at his 14th Street studio will be on view, such as a portrait of cult writer Jim Carroll, along with a large scale work from his Bad Witch series.
The building dates to the early 20th century and originally housed a button factory. It later became a warehouse for the locally owned Bloom & Krup hardware store. The first tenants, including Rivers, Claes and Patty Oldenburg, Yayoi Kusama, On Kawara, Chamberlain, and Herb Aach, arrived in the mid-1960s. (The building made a recent notable appearance in Richard Hell's memoir, "I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp," where he discussed living here and bedding Patty Oldenburg.) Filmmaker Wes Anderson owns a space in 404, and he reportedly edited "Moonrise Kingdom" here.
Tom Burckhardt, who moved into the building in 1995, answered some questions about the exhibit via email.
Were you aware of the building's history when you moved in?
I knew Larry Rivers, of course: We bought our space from him for a pretty fair price at the time. He was quite good to us. My folks had known him from back in the 1950s on. My dad, Rudy Burckhardt, made some films with him in them. ("Mounting Tension," 1950, also with Jane Freilicher and John Ashbury.) I knew Fred Wilson and Whitfield Lovell a bit through some mutual friends. I seem to have known that Claes Oldenburg had been here, too.
[Herb Aach in his studio circa the 1970s]
What compelled you to research and put together this exhibit?
Based on that little I knew, I thought I should make time with Fred, who moved in in 1976, and tape his recollections. Somehow, as with someone so close at hand, we never got to it! I found out the name of Jean Dupuy, who had lived in our 2nd floor space in the 1970s and found an out-of-print book he published chronicling these amazing informal exhibitions he put on in the space. That was a big revelation. It explained the mysterious Golden Section spiral carved in my studio floor (by Gianfranco Mategna, in 1973).
I figured I should gather all this material and one day an enterprising graduate student would write a paper on it: I'm no writer, that's for sure. My wife Kathy Butterly mentioned my interest in this stuff to Eric Brown at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery and he proposed it be an exhibition. My main excitement was to track down any past residents still around, tape interviews, and form an Rashomon-style oral history, Ã la "Please Kill Me," one of my all time favorite books.
In retrospect, it makes sense, as Tibor de Nagy represents me, my wife and the estate of Larry Rivers. Don't know why I didn't think of pitching it to them first!
[Claes and Patty Oldenburg in loft, 1965]
What was your favorite thing that you learned about the building/previous tenants?
It's hard to choose. In talking to Claes Oldenburg, he mentioned that [Warhol star] Ultra Violet would rehearse in her boyfriend at the time John Chamberlain's loft. And I though that sounded like a great parallel Warhol/Velvet Underground kinda thing. I didn't dig much more up on that, even with Ultra Violet's help. "Everybody was in a band then" she said.
I found Yayoi Kusama's description of a wild gay orgy staged in her mirrored room for German television pretty great, even if it sounds a bit unlikely in truth. Or that the wonderful body-building doc and Arnold [Schwarzenegger] vehicle "Pumping Iron" was edited in the building by filmmaker Bob Fiore in the mid 1970s. Or the huge party in Patty Mucha Oldenburg's loft, where the punch was spiked with acid, perhaps by John Giorno.
[Allen Ginsberg's last photo, 1997]
Do you think a creative environment like this can continue to exist in the East Village of today/the future?
Well, speaking for my wife and I and Fred and Whitfield and others in the building, yes, although, clearly it's not what it used to be. I think the creative types in the neighborhood tend to find each other even with the changes in the area.
I know when my kids started school in the East Village, I met a lot of artist parents who have held on, and that was quite encouraging. I grew up on East 14 Street and 3rd (over the Jefferson Theater!) in the 1970s so my nostalgia is tempered with some appreciation for the good changes. I don't miss being mugged all the time and never felt it was good for my creative juices. I still find a lot to love in the East Village.
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From 1971, Inside Dope by Rudy Burckhardt with Larry Rivers, who owned 404 E. 14th St. for many years, and Brendan Atkinson.
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The following artists will be represented in the exhibit:
GALLERY SUMMER HOURS
MONDAY - FRIDAY
10 AM - 5:30 PM
DIRECTIONS
724 Fifth Ave, between 56th and 57th Streets
12th Floor
A catalogue will be available and will feature transcriptions of interviews conducted by Burckhardt with many of the artists, poets and filmmakers who have resided at the building from the 1960s through present day.
The Max Fischer Players invite you to view 'Rushmore' tonight in Tompkins Square Park
Well, it looks as if the weather will finally cooperate for the free films in Tompkins Square Park tonight after consecutive washouts... jinx.
So tonight ... it's "Rushmore," the 1998 comedy from East Village resident Wes Anderson... which follows the travails of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and his pal Herman Blume (Bill Murray).
Arrive earlier-ish ... There's pre-movie music tonight courtesy of Batala NYC, an all-women's AfroBrazilian Samba Reggae drumming band.
And upcoming:
June 27 — Reservoir Dogs
July 11 — Easy Rider
July 18 — Drive
July 25 — The Big Lebowski
Aug. 1 — Rocky Horror Picture Show
Aug. 8 — Chico + Rita
Aug. 15 — Romeo + Juliet
Aug. 22 — O Brother, Where Art Thou
So tonight ... it's "Rushmore," the 1998 comedy from East Village resident Wes Anderson... which follows the travails of Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and his pal Herman Blume (Bill Murray).
Arrive earlier-ish ... There's pre-movie music tonight courtesy of Batala NYC, an all-women's AfroBrazilian Samba Reggae drumming band.
And upcoming:
June 27 — Reservoir Dogs
July 11 — Easy Rider
July 18 — Drive
July 25 — The Big Lebowski
Aug. 1 — Rocky Horror Picture Show
Aug. 8 — Chico + Rita
Aug. 15 — Romeo + Juliet
Aug. 22 — O Brother, Where Art Thou
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