Test drilling along an empty stretch of East 14th Street

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

A crew has set up shop over on East 14th Street...outside the strip of recently vacated buildings between Avenue A and Avenue B ... The workers are testing water levels and the composition of the soil ... steps to take before any construction can start here...

A still-unspecified new development will eat up much of the block. As we first reported last December, eight parcels consisting of 222 Avenue A and 504 - 530 E. 14th St. (excluding No. 520) were leased for a 99-year period by the respective owner of East Village 14 LLC. As The Real Deal reported, city property records show that Gary Barnett of Extell Development signed a 99-year lease worth $35.14 million to rent eight Sol Goldman-owned properties.

No word on any construction timeline here either. Back in November 2012, we spotted a drill outfit at the former Mary Help of Christians, which was eventually demolished last month.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Bargain Express has closed on East 14th Street

East 14th Street corridor now nearly business-free ahead of new development

About the Female Hysteria tonight at Parkside Lounge

By Stacie Joy

We sat down with Calamity Chang and Coco Te Amo to talk about Driver’s Seat, a burlesque mentoring project helmed by Jonny Porkpie, Jo “Boobs” Wheldon and Chang.

Jonny and Calamity have been mentoring new producers toward their own shows, all held at Parkside Lounge. Tonight’s show is Coco Te Amo’s new production, “Women on the Edge,” which explores the myths surrounding female hysteria and madness.



Interview with Coco Te Amo

What is it like to undergo the mentoring experience with experienced producers like Jonny Porkpie and Calamity Chang?

Well, it's like any opportunity to sit down with more renowned people in your field that you have looked up to: equal parts intimidating, wonderful and exciting. Calamity herself is someone I hold a deep amount of respect and admiration for. She's an incredible example of what it means to be both a successful artist and businesswoman. She's a hustler!

Johnny is also a great producer and performer, but he is more the sensei dropping nuggets of wisdom that can completely change the way you look at something. They bring an incredible balance to Driver's Seat and provide different perspectives, while trusting you to execute your vision.

How has this process affected your skills as a performer and as a fledgling producer?

It has brought more thoughtfulness and a sense of commitment to my own work as a burlesque performer. As a performer, you want to be the best you can be — to get it right by you. As a producer, your mind is in a different place than it is when you are just simply trying to get stage time. It sheds light on many of the things you don't think about as a performer and also makes you realize that putting on a show ain't for the weak of heart. Your perspective becomes wider, if not more informed. You respect the details and the little things more. You become a better performer to work with by taking these details into your working life.

What do you think of the art scene in the East Village?

When I came to New York a decade ago, I remember very specifically seeing an article in the New York Times proclaiming that the East Village was dead or no longer the major player art scene, something sort of dramatic like that.

I get very suspicious of statements like those, but on the other hand, I also don't know what it is like to have lived through such upheaval as an artist in the decades before, and then to see your home so radically cleansed of what it used to symbolize. I only know what I see now, which is vibrant performers, dedicated to making things happen, even if the landscape and demographic of what the East Village has been and still is rapidly changing.

What is it like to perform downtown vs. in other areas of the city, the state, the country?

Performing downtown is like going home. This isn't to say that performing in other places isn't joyful or even wonderful — they give you a fresh look at what happens outside your own bubble, your regular audiences.

But when I'm downtown, there is a freedom here to just do you. Look, I'll always feel at home in any back room with a few naked ladies putting on drag and getting ready to make magic on stage. But downtown New York, and specifically, the NY School of Burlesque, is the place that opened the door to burlesque for me and gave me the life I have now. I can never be grateful enough for that.

What direction do you think the live entertainment/performance art scene will take in the East Village in the next five or so years?

I'm unsure. There are so many new shows popping up, and that makes me hopeful, but seeing places like the Slipper Room alive and kicking is also good. I think New York makes the future very hard to predict, unless we are talking real estate. Sometimes I see landmarks of the city disappear, only to have a condo go up and it does make me feel anxious about being an artist here, as well as sustaining a healthy artistic life.

But to encounter the artists in the East Village is to encounter people doing what it is they need to do, in spite of all the obstacles you can face here. I tend to get very worn down by the pace of New York, but it is always seeing the artists, specifically the burlesque community around me, that give me that reinvigorated breath to keep going and keep creating. If we aren't going to keep creating magic, who else will?



Interview with “the Asian Sexsation,” Calamity Chang

What inspired you to create (or co-create) the Driver’s Seat mentoring program?

It happened over the course of a few conversations I had with Jo “Boobs” Wheldon and Jonny Porkpie where we were talking about the lack of female producers in the burlesque scene. No one can deny that burlesque is a woman’s space and it made no sense to the three of us (and a lot of others I’ve come to realize) that the women were not taking the reins in controlling how their images as performers are presented.

How has the process affected you as a producer, and if at all, as a performer?

One of the most surprising things that I’ve learned from Driver’s Seat and from teaching my Producing Burlesque class (through the NY School of Burlesque), is that there is a lot of information that I take for granted as obvious or “everyone knows that” but in fact is very interesting to other people. I’ve also found that everyone is uncomfortable talking about money or the financial negotiation part. I’m not. Maybe cause I’m Chinese?

How are East Village-based performance locations and audiences different than those in other places?

East Village is a lot more arty and open-minded to alternative culture compared to other neighborhoods and venues I’ve performed at and produced shows in. However, people are generally poorer (i.e.: bad tippers) in LES and East Village because a lot of people in this area are also in the art world. Artists tipping artists is not the ideal situation. You want rich people who are curious about the arts tipping artists. That’s better!

What do you think is the future of live entertainment/performance art (such as burlesque)?

It’s hard to say. I have never been good at predicting things. I never win lotto tickets. But I do see more and more artists being pushed out further out in Brooklyn (or in several cases leaving NYC altogether) because of astronomical rent increase. I see local establishments shutting down because they lost their lease. I see more and more condos, high rises and corporate developments springing up as part of Bloomberg’s “corporatization of NYC” plan... I do hope NYC will retain some of its artistic culture until then I plan on doing what I am doing!

CB3/SLA September highlights: Mee Noodle Shop, Russ & Daughters and HiFi

CB3 released its September meetings rundown back on Friday... here's a look at the always-popular booze portion with the CB3/SLA committee...

First! The meeting info:
SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 pm — University Settlement Neighborhood Center, 189 Allen St. between Houston and Stanton.

More info will eventually roll in about some of these projects ahead of the meeting... meaning for now, we don't know much about some of these...

Applicant's name follow by current owner if applicable

Renewal with Complaint History

• Caffe Prosciutteria (Ballaro Inc), 77 2nd Ave (wb)

• Heathers (Ariel Inc), 506 E 13th St (op)

• The DL/Dinner on Ludlow (93 Ludlow St Inc), 95 Delancey St (op)

Applications within Saturated Areas

• HiFi (Patty McCarthy Inc), 169 Ave A (alt/op/ windows, interior alt, extend license to backyard)

• Table 12 (188 Ave A Takeout Food), 188 Ave A (wb) (aka 500 E 12th St)

• Papaya King (PKNY II LLC), 3 St Marks Pl (b)

The Papaya Kingers were turned down for a beer license back in May. According to CB3 documents, the St. Mark's Block Association and 8 St. Mark's Tenants' Association submitted letters and testimony in opposition to this application.

• Mikes Burgers & Bar (BAC 115 Corp), 115 St Marks Pl (upgrade/op)

• Flinders Lane LLC, 162 Ave A (op)

This is the address for The Beagle on Avenue A... a tipster told us earlier in the year that the place was quietly for sale. Perhaps they found a buyer.

• Brownstone Lounge and Grill, 240 E 4th St (op) (aka 50 Ave B)

Looks like a new venture for the Affaire space, which closed last month.

• East Village Tavern (Sweendog All Stars Inc), 158 Ave C (op)

Alterations

• Cafe Khufu (Cafe Khufu LLC), 61 E 3rd St (wb/change in hours)

New Liquor License Applications

• Mee Noodle Shop (Mee Enterprise Inc), 223 1st Ave (wb)

Returning to the East Village one of these days...

• Confessional (Kingfish Group LLC), 308 E 6th St (op)

This space east of Second Avenue has been on the market in recent months.

• Caravan of Dreams (The House of Health Healing & Happiness Inc), 405 E 6th St (upgrade/op)



• To be Determined, 269 E Houston St (op)

Again, again, again.

• Bistro Jules (Bistro Jules Management Inc), 65 St Marks Pl (wb)

• Figaro Bistro Grill (La Pasta Presto Grill Inc), 344 E 6th St (op)

• Milosun Sushi Inc, 141 1st Ave (wb)

Looks like a new concept for this carousel of an address... most recently Ippin.

• Russ & Daughters Cafe (Fourthgen LLC), 127 Orchard St (op)

Interesting! A cafe from the legendary Russ & Daughters around the corner. But! Per the Lo-Down: "We checked in with R&D management and were advised that there’s really nothing to say just yet."

-----

b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations

132 E. Seventh St. sees the daylight again

On Friday, workers started taking down the construction bondage that had surrounded 132 E. Seventh St. at Avenue A since April ... DOB permits pointed to "facade repair."



We lost Joe Strummer in all this, though just temporarily ...



And Seventh and A is starting to looking a little more gussied up with the recent reveal across the street...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Unattended ladders and new bedbugs at 132 E. Seventh St.

FroYo confirmed for Avenue A

[Via EVG reader Darbi Worley]

Back in July we heard from multiple tipsters that a frozen yogurt shop was opening at 70 Avenue A (part of the storefront that previously housed East Village Pharmacy) ... the new awning is up, and the place is called Twist (not to be confused with the just-opened Twister on Second Avenue.) Not sure if this Twist is any relation to the Twist with locations in New Jersey.

Incoming: The Winslow and The Brazen Fox

The Winslow Public House at 243 E. 14th St. is ready for action... Thursday is the official opening date...

Hope you're ready for our official opening on September 5th, cause we certainly are!

— Winslow NYC (@WinslowNYC) August 29, 2013

Apparently the British-style pub has been in soft-open mode... which might explain the 4 five-star reviews on Yelp.

-----



And work continues on Third Avenue at East 13th Street... where an outpost of White Plains-based the Brazen Fox is opening this fall...



Per the Brazen Fox website, the bar-restaurant features promos such as "Ladies Night" on Wednesdays and "Suds for Scrubs," a promotion in which anyone showing a medical ID can get "$5 draughts" ... and "Detention Fridays" for teachers...

The space was previously home to Friend House.

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.