Dog Labor Day afternoon

Photo from Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams.

Oh, and we got gypped on a rainbow this afternoon during that rain-sun period.

Today in Tompkins Square Park

Hello! Photo via The Philosophical Zombie.

Did anyone NOT move out this past weekend?

Well, sure seemed like a lot people were coming (but mostly!) going the past few days... seemed like more than the usual end-of-summer exodus... we saw plenty of piles of left-behind crap... like above at East Seventh Street and Avenue C... but this shot by Dave on 7th at East Seventh and Avenue B is the winner so far...

Protest against 'Paradise: Faith' at the Village East; 'a terrible pornographic attack on Jesus’ crucifix'

A group of protestors are outside the Village East City Cinemas on Second Avenue at East 12th Street this afternoon, per this photo via @RTSNYC.

The film in question is "Paradise: Faith," from Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl. Here's the Rotten Tomatoes recap:

In "PARADISE: Faith" Ulrich Seidl explores what it means to bear the cross. For Anna Maria, an X-ray technician, paradise lies with Jesus. She devotes her vacation to missionary work, so that Austria may be brought back to the path of virtue. On her daily pilgrimage through Vienna, she goes from door to door, carrying a foot-high statue of the Virgin Mary. One day, after years of absence, her husband, an Egyptian Muslim confined to a wheelchair, comes home. Hymns and prayers are now joined by fighting. "PARADISE: Faith" recounts the stations of the cross of a marriage and the longing for love.

(Read the review in the Times here.)

According to Wikipedia, "the film has been named as a favourite of director John Waters, who presented the film as his annual pick within the Maryland Film Festival 2013."

There was a similar protest of the film in Hollywood this past week. According to a blog by the executive director of America Needs Fatima:

The movie Paradise: Faith, by Ulrich Seidl, is a terrible pornographic attack on Jesus’ crucifix.

EXTREME CAUTION

The NY Times (8/22/13) reports: Speaking of the main character in the film, “…Later in the movie, she m*****bates with the same crucifix.” [redaction ours: Ed.] Other press reports contribute… A woman…“m*****bates using a crucifix.” “it is right to show her m********ing using a cross, as she is making love to Jesus,” responds the director Ulrich Seidl when asked about it.

The protest consisted in praying the fifteen decades of the rosary, some other prayers (especially the St. Michael prayer) and the Litany of Our Lady. Our people spread out single to double file to cover the entire front of the cinema.

We were very happy and consoled to be able to offer this public act of reparation against such a terrible pornographic attack on the Holy Crucifix of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, there haven't been any protests over "We're the Millers," also playing at Village East City Cinemas, for being billed as a "comedy."


[EVG reader John]

Week in Grieview

A reminder about feeding pigeons in Tompkins Square Park (Tuesday)

Out and About with Angel “Petroleum” Luis Roman (Wednesday)

Grand opening date for Davey's Ice Cream (Thursday)

Plywood message outside Mary Help of Christians (Monday)

Glass truck accident on 10th and B (Thursday)

Amore Bakery will not be reopening on Avenue B (Thursday)

RIP Odessa Cafe and Bar (Monday)

Bike-rack removal on Astor Place (Thursday)

"Ross is not cool" (Wednesday)

Photo Tech leaving East 13th Street (Monday)

The windows work at the Jefferson (Tuesday)

Lyric Diner returning to Lyric Diner space (Monday)

Velvet Cigar Lounge on the move (Tuesday)

The wall that housed the Joe Strummer mural the past 10 years (Monday)

Step right up....

A good day for Zoltar ... though he did pick UMass to cover the spread against Wisconsin.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Minor Threat at CBGB 1982

If you're interested... head on over to Dangerous Minds, where they have a (muddy) video from this Minor Threat show at CBGB circa Dec. 18, 1982.

This is the good stuff.

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Ahem! Please pause your Saturday. There is a — surprise! — Street Fair ("street fair"?) to report... on Fourth Avenue from East 14th Street down to, oh — who cares! We spotted workers assembling the usual displays of sunglasses, belts and wieners.

Hurry, because you won't have the chance to see this stuff again until tomorrow, when the same people set up on Broadway!



Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Last call for the Odessa Cafe and Bar tonight

As we've been reporting, the Odessa Cafe and Bar at 117 Avenue A signs off for good tonight. Odessa co-owner Mike Skulikidis has been running the place since 1980. (The Odessa dates here to 1965.)

Skulikidis tells DNAinfo's Serena Solomon that he was hit with a 50 percent rent hike. (Current rent is $10,000 a month.) He will continue to operate the Odessa Restaurant next door.

But he sounds less than optimistic about the future.

Looking ahead, Skulikidis plans to continue working at Odessa seven days a week and said he has no interest in closing it or making major changes — but eventually he will have to move on.

"Everything is for sale at the right price anytime," he said.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Odessa Cafe and Bar for sale on Avenue A

Is the end nearing for Odessa Cafe and Bar on Avenue A?

Former GM from Tribeca's Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs part of team to buy the Odessa Cafe

Reader report: Odessa Cafe closes for good after Aug. 15

Reader report: Odessa Cafe and Bar will remain open through Sept. 6

Imagine a sunny holiday

Always a nice little end-of-summer (sob!) song ...circa 1980... the Marine Girls... featuring Tracey Thorn.

See you back on Tuesday! We're off to Montauk (have you heard of it?) for the weekend. Four more places there where we haven't thrown up yet!

Oh, that's not true. We'll be right here. As always.

Report: Extortion claims highlight Croman suit vs. former Warhol muse

There's legal drama involving four neighborhood buildings. The Real Deal has the scoop about Croman Real Estate suing socialite and former Warhol muse "Baby Jane" Holzer.

According to the suit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, Croman reached a deal with Holzer in December 2012 to buy four rental apartment buildings she owns — 60 Avenue B, 159-161 Stanton Street, 193-195 Stanton Street and 343 East 8th Street — for a total of $40.1 million.

But Holzer is now threatening to rent out 18 empty rent-stabilized apartments in the buildings unless the buyers pay her an additional $2.5 million, Croman claims.

Croman claims Holzer is trying to extort millions of dollars from them.

Read the whole article here.

H/T Curbed

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

There is talk about 128 Second Ave. near St. Mark's Place. Word is the building is in contract... A resident with knowledge of the situation here said that the building is being sold "to a group of four relatively young guys" ... who were heard "talking about 'clearing out' the shop in the front — which is the Stage."



The Stage has been serving delicious and inexpensive Eastern European cuisine since 1980... While all this is far from official, the resident remains worried. "I can't stand another one of our wonderful places going down." And if you're a Stage fan, then the resident figures it's time to show them some more love.


[Photo by freelance photographer Michael Seto]

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation: Breakfast at Stage

The street-smart style of Serendipity in Tompkins Square Park

Back in June, we saw the arrival of "Serendipity," the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette in Tompkins Square Park. The silhouette is in honor of Gamble, who was homeless for nearly 28 years. Fanny Allié's creation will be in the Park through November.

And throughout the summer, someone saw fit to add a few accessories to the sculpture, from the always dashing caution-tape scarf...



...to the Duct tape waistband-headband combo...



... to the Master Lock choker...



Here today, on Project Runway Season 14 in a year or two...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

There was something about Mary

Photos from yesterday of the late Mary Help of Christians complex by Dan Efram.





Previously.

Noted

And an incident to report over in Stuy Town... via the Town & Village Blog's Police Watch:

A resident of 310 First Avenue reported that her apartment was broken into last Friday at 4:09 p.m. She told police that when she entered the apartment, she saw a man inside her bedroom without permission to be there. He was also naked in her bedroom and when she went in the room, she saw him putting on her skirt. She said that she was unsure if she had locked the door and there was no forced entry. No arrests have been made.

There was not a description of the man provided in the report.

H/T Crazy Eddie

New business now open on Second Avenue

Meant to mention this earlier in the week... Twister, a family owned and operated, self-serve frozen yogurt shop, is now open on Second Avenue near East Seventh Street. (First spotted the sign at the former Spa Belles location back in January.) The employees handing out free samples outside were very nice.

And to head this off at the pass in the comments, Twister does NOT serve anything in a hoof. So no FroHoHo™. (Frozen Hoboken Hoof.)

Also making headlines, David Schwimmer

And in the last 36 hours or so, there was some media interest in the EVG post about someone painting "Ross is not cool" on the plywood outside David Schwimmer's new home on East Sixth Street. (Supermarket tablet The Globe will have it in its next print edition. Really.)

And because several people asked: We did not receive any compensation for the photo, which came from Marc, a neighbor. (Also, no one actually offered us money for the shot.)

Also, while the story did attract media attention, the number of page views paled in comparison to high-profile posts here that featured topless women. Like this one. Or this one. So, the takeaway? Celebrity sells, but you need boobs apparently.

Hey! There's a free surprise screening of 'Easy Rider' tonight in Tompkins Square Park

Hey now! From the Films in Tompkins website:

TONIGHT! Join us for a special surprise screening of EASY RIDER! That's right, we couldn't let a beautiful Thursday slip by without reviving one of our screenings that was rained out earlier. Gates open in 15 minutes and the film will start at sundown. Music before the film by MR. REED!

IT'S A THURSDAY AND IT IS NOT RAINING!

Workers are setting up the screen now.

Photos by Bobby Williams

Breaking (yes): Glass truck accident on 10th and B

Oh. @RTSNYC passes along these photos from East 10th Street and Avenue B just now... some sort of collision that wiped out the cargo on half of this glass truck... no word on any injuries at the moment.



Watch those bike tires later.

Updated 12:58

More from @RTSNYC:

"I think the glass shifted and shattered when the truck made the turn. No injuries that I could see. Woman in that SUV looked pissed."

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Quiet early morning in Tompkins Square Park]

More on the rent hike that may KO Army & Navy Bags on East Houston (DNAinfo)

More about the 51 Astor Place parody account (Commercial Observer)

About the sale of Kossar’s Bialys (BoweryBoogie)

13 Portals hooks up with Clayton Patterson (The Lo-Down)

Weighing in on Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken on Second Avenue (Eater)

Third Avenue survivor gets a new neighbor (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Fast Food workers strike (Gothamist)

Union Square West now and then (Flaming Pablum)

Belated birthday salute to Charlie Parker (Dangerous Minds)

Sometimes East Village resident Daniel Craig greets the paparazzi outside Gemma on the Bowery (E! Online)