Oh, thank God — the new phone books have finally arrived

Actually they arrived maybe a week ago on my block. (Shocker: They are still sitting in front of my building, unopened.) But I noticed a few hundred thousand of them were waiting on stoops this morning along East Seventh Street...



Seriously — will anyone actually use one? (And not to, say, prop up a table, build a bookshelf or burn.)

It's OK if you do use one — just curious.

Early reaction...

@evgrieve Wasteful! When I need a phone number I just log on to AOL with my 2400 baud modem.

— Pinhead (@EVPinhead) December 11, 2013

Report: Hells Angels in legal fight for rights to their East 3rd Street clubhouse

[EVG file photo]

Members of the Hells Angels are reportedly locked in a battle over the rights to their longtime NYC clubhouse on East Third Street, according to the New York Post.

The story dates back to 1983, when then-New York Chapter president Sandy Alexander changed the building's deed to name himself and his family as rent-free tenants. Members of the Hells Angels are now suing Alexander's remaining heirs to prevent them from possibly taking over the building. (Alexander died in 2007.)

Per The Post:

A source told The Post that the members have no immediate plans to sell 77 E. 3rd St. — which is on the periphery of New York University's $6 billion expansion plan and in a once-crime ridden neighborhood where one-bedrooms now rent for $3,500 a month — but they wanted to clear up the "cloudy deed."

The decades-old agreement, obtained by the Post, says that Sandy's heirs 'shall receive half of the proceeds" from the sale of the six-story building that has around 10 apartments on the top five floors.

The U.S. government unsuccessfully tried to seize the building starting with a drug bust in 1985. The feds charged that the clubhouse was used to make drug deals. However, a jury ruled against the forfeiture in February 1994, per The New York Times.

The Hells Angels have lived in this building since 1969.

NYPD's Interactive Map lets you track crimes block by block

In case you haven't seen the interactive map that the NYPD released this past weekend…

As Gizmodo noted:

The map sticks to the major New York State felonies: Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, Felonious Assault, Burglary, Grand Larceny and Grand Larceny Motor Vehicle. Though the site uses data available on the NYPD website, it was developed by Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

You can check out the map here for overall trends in crime by Precinct … and by address…

Here's a snapshot of our own 9th Precinct from January through October of this year…



The map also has a zoom-in to see where, roughly, each crime was committed…



Overall, according to 9th Precinct statistics, crime is down in the major categories by 76 percent from 1990 to 2012. (Find that PDF of the stats here.)

[H/T to EVG readers Creature and RyanAvenueA]

Holiday benefit for Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless

Via the EV Grieve inbox...

The annual Cool Yule raises funds to support SAFH (Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless) which operates a soup kitchen, community pantry and referral center that serves the homeless population of lower Manhattan.

Your $40 donation includes admission, a terrific open bar and gourmet hors d'oeuvres.

SAFH, located on East Ninth Street and Avenue B, "is a separate non-profit 501(c)3 organization with its own budget and board established to provide emergency food and services to the homeless and low-income residents of New York City. In 2012 we served nearly 200,000 meals.

Find ticket info here.

Noted

An EVG reader passed along the above photo of the Pub Crawl Santa suit, noting with suitable disgust — "Fuckin' Ricky's!" (The photo is from the Sixth Avenue location. Both East Village stores have the suits in the window as well.)

Anyway, for a bargain price of $25 at Ricky's you can get yourself a genuine Pub Crawl Santa suit — hat, beard, pants, etc.



Of course, there's no price on your reputation...

Mind the flash, please

EVG reader olympiasepiriot spotted this red-tailed hawk lounging around a fire escape this evening on East Ninth Street… the hawks usually reserve the photo opps for Tompkins Square Park…

Winter wonderland, pretty much

Early this evening in Tompkins Square Park… photo by Bobby Williams

The story about the city shutting down Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place actually gets worse

[Photo via Jeremiah Moss]

As we reported earlier today, the city shut down the newsstand that Jerry Delakas has operated on Astor Place since 1987.

Jeremiah Moss walked by today to find Jerry standing, rather bewildered, in the snow outside the newsstand.

He showed me the broken padlock he found and said, "I just got here. I thought someone broke in." Someone did. It was the city that broke Jerry's lock and put on a lock of their own so he could not open for business today.

Jerry has 11 days to appeal the recent ruling that he vacate his space.

As mentioned earlier, the Department of Consumer Affairs decided in November that in order to have the license, Jerry has to pay $37,000 within a month. Has the city considered that it might be difficult to make that payment if he can't open for business?

Head to Jeremiah's Vanishing New York for more on this development.

Early indications show that local weather forecasters may be right about some snow today

A little while ago on East 10th Street.

Photo via Bobby Williams

City shutters Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place for 'operating illegally'

The city continues its assault on Jerry Delakas and the newsstand that he has operated on Astor Place since 1987. The latest: The city shut it down yesterday for "operating illegally."



You probably know the back story by now: He has operated the stand here for 25-plus years. However, he's not the legal license holder. He has been subleasing the newsstand from the family who held the license. Per previous published reports, it was the dying wish of the woman who held the license to allow him to operate the stand and designated him as heir.

But that has never sat well with the city, who has spent a lot of money arguing over and over again that Delakas isn't a family member, so he doesn't have succession rights.

According to a Nov. 26 post at the Save Jerry page on Facebook:

I just received bad news ... unfortunately [the Department of Consumer Affairs] decided that in order to have the license Jerry has to pay $37,000 within a month.

Back in February, he was denied his license again by the State courts. They granted him the right to remain at the newsstand until the end of this mayoral administration.

That is now looking less likely.

Update: Ugh. Here's some more on the story.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Expect to see Jerry's Newsstand on Astor Place through Mayor Bloomberg's last term in office

Someone is vandalizing the glass at 51 Astor Place

The other day, EVG regular Terry Howell noticed that workers were gluing sheets of clear plastic to the ground-floor windows on the Fourth Avenue side of the currently empty 12-story office building ...

"I asked them what's the purpose of the sheets, thinking that maybe the owners wanted to tone down the blinding glare and reflections from the building," said Terry, learning that "nothing civic minded was going on."

Turns out that people are scratching graffiti and what not on the windows. The sheets are a "protective covering" to prevent such acts from happening again in the future...







Apparently the abandoned building look isn't really in fashion here…

SantaCon organizers tweet helpful hints about being a good Santa (spoiler: 'No means no')

SantaCon is fast approaching (Saturday!) … and the SantaConning organizers have been taking to Twitter to remind participants of the proper decorum while staggering around dead-ass drunk enjoying the festivities.

The tweet advice included!

Dirty ol' Santa or Ho Ho Ho, just remember No Means No. #TheSantaCode #NYCSantacon

— santacon (@santacon) December 9, 2013

And!

Don't fuck with KIDS. Don't fuck with COPS. Don't fuck with BAR STAFF. Don't fuck with NYC! #TheSantaCode #NYCSantacon

— santacon (@santacon) December 7, 2013

And!

You better not puke. You better not pee. You better be good on the streets of NYC! #TheSantaCode #NYCSantacon

— santacon (@santacon) December 7, 2013

Helpful? We'll find out! The group is reportedly starting SantaCon this year in Tompkins Square Park at 10 a.m.

[H/T Eater]

Here's how you can apply to be a community board member

Do you like long meetings? Do you enjoy having your name or photo appear on local blogs? Do you like neighborhood block associations? Then do we have a job for you!

No, no — we kid because we love… here's your chance to be part of your local Community Board … and be "representative voices" of your community.

From the EVG inbox yesterday...

The Manhattan Borough President's Office is currently accepting applications for community board membership. Community boards represent their neighborhoods on crucial issues such as development, land use, historic preservation and city service delivery. Serving on a board is an incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of sound community-based planning.

To find out more about Manhattan's community boards, learn how to apply for membership, or download an application, click here. Applications are due by February 1, 2014.

Sincerely,

Scott M. Stringer
Manhattan Borough President

Reader report: East Village Shoe Repair relocating to former home of David's Shoe Repair

East Village Shoe Repair closed for good at 1 St. Mark's Place last month.

However, a closure may be short-lived. Proprietor Boris Zuborev told a reader that they would reopen in the space that housed David's Shoe Repair on East Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue… high rents chased the 35-year-old David's to Midtown back in the spring...



As for the former East Village Shoe Repair… next-door neighbor Unique Collection has taken over the space on St. Mark's near Third Avenue...

How rats get fat

Noting a new sign along Tompkins Square Park… around the East Ninth Street entrance at Avenue A ... a popular site for people to dump a few tons of bread for the pigeons…

Of course, some Park regulars like the rats fat.

It was a dark and foggy day...

Looking downtown… photo by Bobby Williams

Sources: It might snow tomorrow

Item! Snow in New York... in December! Novel!

Depending on the source, we could see between 1-3 inches...

...or between 3-6 inches...

Either way, we will have a chance to rebuild the mini Straw-Through-the-Head Snowman in Tompkins Square Park.

Champagne wishes

East Houston and First Avenue last night via EVG contributor James Maher. (Find more of his photos here.)

The legal battle over the estate of Johnny Thunders

The New York Post brings news of the complicated legal battle that has taken shape over the estate of Johnny Thunders, the one-time New York Doll, Heartbreaker and Avenue A resident.

At the time of his death at age 38 in April 1991, Thunders — born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. — apparently had about $4k to his name. However, his sister in Queens, the administrator of his estate, parlayed that sum into several hundred thousand dollars through the years.

Since she died four years ago, none of his heirs have reportedly received any payments.

Per the Post:

Thunders’ half-Swedish daughter, Jamie Michelle Susanne Genzale, 26, was set to take over as administrator of the remaining $160,000 when all hell broke loose.

Jamie, a single mom working as a shop clerk in Stockholm, couldn’t afford the $75,000 bond that’s required by the court for her oversee the payments — so no one has been paid in four years, her Swedish lawyer told The Post.

But Thunders’ sons, Vito and Dino Genzale, are now suing to bar her from controlling the funds.

Vito , 36, of New York, has done stints in the state’s toughest lockups, including Attica and Sing Sing, for drug dealing.

Dino, 34, of Texas, has a rap sheet that spans 16 years and four states with charges ranging from marijuana and cocaine offenses to robbery, theft, indecent exposure and assault.

And now the sons are trying to track down their mother as well, whose last-known address was in Springfield, Ohio, to get her on their side in the ongoing legal fight.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On the phone with Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls

After 18 years, Il Bagatto has closed on East 2nd St.; but you can still get their food next door

Il Bagatto has closed on East Second Street. The restaurant took its usual summer break in late July … and never reopened.

The owners, husband-and-wife Julio Pena and Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta, made the official announcement on Friday in an email to its friends and regulars… the good news is that their sister cafe, Il Posto Accanto, remains open next door… and Il Bagatto's food is still available there for delivery.

Here is the official closure notice:

After 18 years filled with hard work, joy, so many new friends and some tears, we are closing down our first child and beloved... Il Bagatto

BUT we are all here, right next door at Il Posto Accanto!

B is still cooking, Julio is still hosting and you will recognize our wonderful family of staff that has been with us since forever both in the kitchen and on the floor.

Come to visit and support our family venture at 190 East 2nd street, have your favorite Il Bagatto dishes and let the staff help you navigate the Il Posto Accanto full menu.

I am positive you will find new favorites to add to old ones.

A listing for the Il Bagatto and Il Posto Accanto spaces at 190-192 E. Second St. near Avenue B showed up on the RKF site back in January … no word on the status of that...