The Feast of San Gennaro starts tonight: Do you care?

[EVG file photo]

Or maybe the question is, Will you go?

Anyway! I haven't been since 2009, and that was before anything was open for the day.

Also, Eater has a food preview here. The official Feast site is here.

That Cadillac that we've long admired on East 2nd St. now has a stuffed tiger on the front seat

Yes, this one on East Second Street. It has been for sale, and the addition of the stuffed tiger makes it all the more...

Thanks to EVG reader Ann for the photo.

5 pretty amazing photos of Tompkins Square Park in 1904

Thank you to esquared™ for pointing out these photos of Tompkins Square Park from the Museum of the City of New York... these photos date to 1904, and are from an "Arbor Day" celebration in the Park ...











Can we get that overhead seesaw thing back?

And head on over to the Museum's website for more photos... they are available for purchase as well as gawking...

Avenue A is for... Avoid?

Well, no. But we have talked with a lot of people in the last month who are dreading the Construction Hell that awaits parts of Avenue A ... between the new residential complex at 181 Avenue A, aka the former Mary Help of Christians lot between East 12th Street and East 11th Street ... and the impending destruction of 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street ... which will yield a new residential building and retail space...



And for good measure... there's the out-of-place-looking 7-Eleven opening soon enough on East 11th Street...



Not to mention the loss of the familiar — the Odessa Cafe and Bar, which had been around since 1965. At least the Joe Strummer mural is coming back to East Seventh Street and Avenue A.

Updated: Brownstone Bar & Grill bringing Caribbean/Southern food to former Affaire space

Affaire, the French bistro and lounge, closed at 50 Avenue B last August. According to documents (PDF!) filed ahead of Monday night's CB3/SLA meeting, new owners are looking to open a venture called Brownstone Bar & Grill.

Proposed hours are noon - 2 a.m. Monday to Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday to Sundays. The application lists a menu of "Caribbean/Southern food," including burgers, ribs and chicken. As for the ample space here for various DJs, weekly burlesque performances, etc., the application simply notes "There will be events, but no covers will be charged."

Before Affaire, China 1 prompted a whole lot of noise-related complaints from neighbors.

Updated 5 p.m.
This item has been removed from the September meeting docket.

Neighbors complaining about the trash at newly opened Taverna Kyclades

The East Village outpost of Astoria favorite Taverna Kyclades opened for business last week at 228 First Ave. By most accounts, people are very happy to have the chance to eat their Greek fare in the neighborhood.

However, some neighbors here between East 13th Street and East 14th Street are already grumbling about the restaurant's trash.

Here is one claim by an affected party, who sent along the photos:

"They dump really stinky fish trash not in front of their restaurant but outside of neighboring business properties and next door to the local street fruit market seller ... causing horrible stenches."



Neighbors have called 311 to complain, though it is not clear if they have reached out directly to restaurant management to resolve the issue.

World Famous Pee Phone™ now with lending library

New amenity on Avenue A and East Seventh Street, of course.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Miracle on Avenue A™: World Famous Pee Phone™ has a phone again

Out of order: World Famous Pee Phone™, others, face a future without quarters, whiskey

All is well at the World Famous Pee Phone™

Hot town, September in the City

Photo by Bobby Williams

It's still swimsuit season in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Also, the latest look for "Serendipity," the life-sized sculpture of Christopher Gamble's silhouette in Tompkins Square Park.

By the way, the current temperature is 168 degrees.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The street-smart style of Serendipity in Tompkins Square Park

Rosie Mendez wins the Democratic primary for District 2 City Council

A quick note from yesterday's primary election... in the race for District 2 City Council, which includes the East Village, part of the Lower East Side and Union Square, among other neighborhoods, two-term Councilmember Rosie Mendez defeated Pastor Richard Del Rio 81 percent to 18 percent. The Lo-Down has more details on other local races of interest.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Sven Furberg
Occupation: Video Engineer
Location: 1st Street between 1st and A
Time: 4:20 on Sunday, Sept 8.

I came here from Sweden, from Stockholm in 1979 to listen to music and I ended up staying. I came here in 1979 the first time and moved here in 1980. I was 23.

My good friend had gotten an apartment on Ridge Street and it was $135 a month for a five-room apartment. From one window you could see the Chrysler Building. It was funky — very primitive. Those days are gone. So I arrived in a cab and there was so much going on on that block. We got below Houston and I asked him to take another circle around the block to see what was happening before I got off with my suitcases.

I had my first slice of pizza at Rosario’s Pizzeria on Houston Street. I remember they asked me if I wanted it to go or to eat there and I didn’t know what to say. They all laughed. I still eat there. It’s moved to Stanton.

My first thing for money, I found a couple of TVs on the street, fixed them up and sold them. I’ve always been a technical person. I was a bench tech for a while, doing video, doing shows, lights. There’s a similarity between electronics and music in some ways for me. I had that interest in electronics and so I applied it to my career. Now I’m a video engineer.

I play the Mandolin. I like to play music in the parks. I like this little community park on 5th Street. I came here to play music. I’ve played music all my life. There was a lot of interesting music going on when I came. And there still is, but it’s not quite the same. Talking Heads was one of my favorite bands to see. I saw everything. I loved to go see Latin music. There used to be a lot of music in the streets, just people playing. The first night I came to New York I went to CBGB to see DNA. DNA was an experimental avant-garde group at the time. The guitarist Arto Lindsday was in it.

So many people went away in the AIDS crisis. I had a lot of friends who died. That was the 80s. The whole club scene was much wilder and much different before all that. In 1979 when I got here it was crazy, it was so much wilder. Then in the 80s there was a big party scene. I remember clubs like 8BC on 8th between B and C.

I had a nice moment when that hotel went up on Rivington. Before they finished the penthouse it was a raw space and me and my friends, we just asked, ‘Can we go up?’ and they said, ‘Sure, no problem.’ So we went up and hung out there and had a party up there. And then we asked, ‘Well can we come back again?’ ‘Oh, sure.’ So we came back the next night with wine and cheese and everything and had a big party up there with a 360-degree view of the Lower East Side that you never saw before.

It’s been a rich life here. I don’t regret coming here. It’s a beautiful neighborhood but I kind of miss the way it was. There was a sense of a real edge. Back then you had to be much more street smart. It was tricky, funky, you had to be careful. There was a sense of reality. Now it’s not the same kind of reality. It feels unreal."

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Help CB3 assess the needs of the neighborhood

Bill LoSasso, treasurer at Community Board 3, passed this along...

CB3 Public Hearing — Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Priorities

Monday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Board 3 Office, 59 E. 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

This is an opportunity for organizations and residents to tell the Community Board their budget priorities.

What parks need reconstruction? What programs need funding? Help us assess the needs of our community.

Every year the Community Board submits a list of capital and expense budget priorities to city agencies. This hearing is your opportunity to have input into these district budget priorities. Tell us how money should be spent in Community Board 3.

Organizations, groups and individuals representing all segments of the community are encouraged to participate.

Nino's unveils gluten-free pizza option

Slum Goddess passes along this photo. We mention it because a) we love Nino's b) in case you are in the market for gluten-free pizza and c) well, there isn't actually a c.

Anyway! We are very happy that the original Nino's is back here on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place. We're still waiting for the Christmas decorations to return.

In the meantime, the random 19th-century horse lithography will have to suffice...





Horsey pics by Dave on 7th

Exciting business opens on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Now open at the former Cohen's Optical space...

A Verizon Wireless store...

We were hoping a theater would open here again... (Perhaps in an alternate universe.)

Hold on — it still feels like summer

Scenes from a summery Tompkins Square Park today via Bobby Williams.

Scaffolding arriving for demolition of 100 Avenue A

[Photo by Katie Reifman]

Workers arrived this morning to start erecting the sidewalk bridge and various other things needed to demolish 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street ... The city OK'd a demolition permit in June for 98-100 Avenue A, which housed East Village Farms until Feb. 7, 2012.

Developer Ben Shaoul purchased the former theater turned market in May for $15.5 million, according to public records.

We don't know specifically what will be here... as with 181 Avenue A, Shaoul reps filed the plans in the hub self-service... and they will not be made public until the city approves them.

However, a listing for the retail spaces that we noted in May provides an idea of what Shaoul and company have in mind ... a large retail space with 40 residential units above...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

Asbestos abatement continues at 98 Avenue A, Ben Shaoul's latest East Village trophy

An East Village resident's effort to make bike helmets a little more fashionable

After buying her first bicycle in college, Danielle Baskin quickly realized that most bike helmets are pretty dorky looking. (Functional, yes.) So she decided to start creating her own... Her Belle Helmets are hand-painted and vinyl-printed designs for cyclists. We're all for entrepreneurship (and we like the helmets) ... so we asked the East Village resident, an illustrator by trade, about her burgeoning Belle Helmets business.

How long have you been creating the helmets? What inspired you to do the first one?

I've had a business painting helmets for four years. My first "Belle Helmet" was actually made six years ago, when I was a sophomore in college, right after I purchased my first bicycle in New York. I didn't really want to wear a helmet, but riding a bike in Manhattan warrants one. I'm a painter and I wanted to do something with it.

My idea was to buy a helmet and make it "invisible" by making it look like a sky. I painted it shades of blue with fluffy white clouds and varnished it with a glossy finish that would reflect the actual sun. While I didn't really camouflage the helmet, I ended up making a cool, surreal object. I was excited to wear it. I painted a few for friends, then over a few years developed a small collection of ideas that would work well on a curved surface. The business turned real my last year of college when I set up a website. Which worked as the Internet does! People all over the world found me and emailed me. In my first year I was psyched to ship a few helmets to Australia, Spain and Norway.



However functional, bike helmets can be rather hideous looking. Do you think this is a reason why some people decide not to wear one?

Definitely! It's an accessory that should be modified to personal taste. The worldwide helmet market is rather small, and so the same exact designs end up appearing in every bike store, often in a limited color pallet that's been picked over. It makes sense; there's the issue of production. Small batches of varying designs are nearly impossible to create in a factory. And certain designs would be too intricate to print on a helmet's surface by a machine or the image could get warped.

There are a few helmet companies creating interesting colors and whimsical designs, but some turn out too quirky or are missing a personal touch. My goal is to get more people to wear helmets by having options that are subtle, that could be seen as a fashion accessory, or options that are just plain cool and good conversation pieces, like homunculus diagrams and phrenology charts, or options that are tailored specific to a cyclist's personality, which is why I have the choice of customizability. It's like I'm making art for your head.

Is Belle Helmets a full-time job for you now?

It's a full-time project that's also a company. A roundabout way of saying: I'll be painting and designing helmets for a long time to come, but I have a few other things that I hope to do simultaneously.

And it's just a one-person operation?

Yep. For now. I typically always have around 40 helmets in my apartment at various stages of completion. While I'm currently handling all aspects of the operation, even non-painting projects like selling helmets out of a tricycle, or making my website cooler, I'd like to one day have a small Belle Helmets team and a studio space, so more work can be made.

And we can't let you go without asking for your thoughts on Citi Bike. Three-plus months in, what do you think of the bike-share program?

Bike share is progress for humanity! It's incredible that Citi Bike has made biking as mode-of-transportation much more inclusive and popular in New York than it was pre-bike share. It has invited a lot of folks to start cycling who wouldn't have otherwise ridden a bike due to the commitments that come with owning one. Once glitches are worked out with the software, and dock distribution matches commuting patterns, Citi Bike has a promising future.

-----

Because someone may ask: The helmets are CPSC-certified, ASTM-compliant (which means they're totally safe to wear). The designs are created with acrylics, archival ink, and vinyl then treated with a non-toxic, non-corrosive, water-resistant polyurethane sealer to prevent chipping and scratching. More details here.

Banjara space yielding to Figaro Bistro Grill

We continue to look at a few of the items on this month's CB3/SLA committee meeting... here's some bad news for fans of the always reliable Banjara, the Indian restaurant on First Avenue and East Sixth Street... according to paperwork (PDF!) filed ahead of next Monday's meeting, an Italian restaurant called Figaro Bistro Grill is taking over the space.

It's from the same owner as La Pasta Bistro Grill on MacDougal ... and the same owner currently has a Figaro Bistro Grill on Second Avenue between 50th and 51st...

An appreciation: Star Shoe Shop

Star Shoe Shop has been over on Bleecker Street between Lafayette and Broadway for the past 60 years... the shop recently moved a few doors to the west... East Village-based photo Gudrun Georges stopped by late last month to document the wonderfully cluttered shop before it switched locations...





As Gudrun writes: "This is one of those places that you just have to experience ... these tiny shops might all be gone one day."

Indeed, though we're happy that this one has survived. See more of Gudrun's Star photos here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Favorite East Village places: Ink on A

Gas problems temporarily KO AlphaBet Cafe on 14th and B

Over on East 14th Street and Avenue B, AlphaBet Cafe, a fine little place for an inexpensive meal, has been closed of late... the sign out front points to a problem with the gas...



Photos by Bobby Williams.