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Eating good in Tompkins Square Park today… photo by Bobby Williams
The cultish label emerged out of a tight-knit motorcycle club in Brooklyn by the same name, limits itself to minuscule and sporadic production runs, and sells in only a few boutiques around the country.
In recent years, the label’s signature asphalt-resistant biker jeans, woven with Kevlar to combat road rash, have become a word-of-mouth phenomenon among grease-spattered gearheads and celebrities like Justin Theroux and Josh Hutcherson.
The Friends of the Lower East Side (FOTLES) and the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC) have launched a drive to advocate for the NYC landmark designation of the former H. Nieberg Funeral Home, a rare intact survivor of the many funeral homes that once served the Jewish community of the Lower East
Side.
A Request for Evaluation for the historic building at 139-141 Ludlow Street was recently submitted to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in collaboration with Friends of Terra Cotta and Kerri Culhane, architectural historian.
Many funeral homes, like H. Nieberg, evolved from livery stables, providing all the necessary arrangements, from removal of the body to burial, and were viewed as important religious structures in the community. The structure spans 143 years and reflects the growth and development of the neighborhood through its changing usage: from a hay and feed store and single dwelling to apartments and a stable, from an automobile garage and Jewish funeral home to a printing plant and high-tech company and, currently, planned for a private members’ club connected to an international network.
In 1925, Harry Nieberg handled the highly publicized funeral and burial of noted gangster Morris Grossman, attracting a crowd of more than 5,000 spectators. Described in 1937 in the New York Evening Post as “the huge and jovial Ludlow Street undertaker,” Harry Nieberg became a well-known figure in New York City during his ownership of the building. He was admired locally for his generosity.
In 1928, The New York Times reported on Nieberg’s efforts to raise funds to bury an impoverished Roman Catholic neighbor. This act of kindness was characteristic of Nieberg who offered twenty-five free funerals a year to impoverished New Yorkers.
Politically, Nieberg was celebrated for challenging the corruption of Tammany Hall, although his Congressional campaigns in 1935 and 1937 – against Christopher D. Sullivan, brother of Tammany boss “Big Tim” Sullivan – were not successful.
A developer is planning to build a 9-story hotel at 27 East 4th Street, adjacent to and towering over the Merchant’s House Museum. The new 9-story building would not only overwhelm the 180-year-old landmark Merchant’s House and be strikingly inappropriate to the historic residential context of East 4th Street within the Noho Historic District, but the construction process for a building of this scale is absolutely guaranteed to damage the house.
The potential damage to our very fragile 1832 landmark building — a federal, state, and city landmark, inside and out — during demolition of the existing garage and construction of the new hotel is huge. According to analyses performed by structural engineers, if our building shifts, even 1/4 inch — as is predicted by the developers — the original landmark 1832 decorative plasterwork, considered the finest extant in New York City and a national treasure, will be damaged.
INA is New York’s most established designer consignment store. Since we opened in 1993, we have been accepting only the finest designer clothing, shoes, accessories, and select vintage, all carefully curated by our trained staff. In addition to choosing merchandise that is only of the highest quality and condition, INA staff are attuned to current fashion trends, as well as being collectors and followers of couture history, examples of which often find their way into our stores.
The Neighborhood School (aka TNS, aka PS 363) is a diverse public school on East 3rd Street in the East Village. Over 45 percent of the students live below the poverty line. In 2011, the school’s art funding was cut drastically, which quite frankly blows. Thankfully, celebrity chef and Food Network star Chris Santos has stepped in to help — again. In 2012, he hosted a fundraiser at his restaurant Beauty & Essex; on Wednesday, he’ll be hosting one at Stanton Social (99 Stanton between Orchard & Ludlow), from 5 pm to 1 am.
Santos will donate $10 to the school for every person who reserves in advance (5pm-1am) and mentions TNS. He’ll also donate $5 for every non-TNS cover that night, PLUS he’ll match whatever the total is. The money will go toward supporting the school’s wonderful art program.
In the past, the school raised half the money for the art program itself; Title I funding and Studio in a School provided the other half. But the removal of federal assistance paired with NYS’s drastic budget cuts mean that TNS has to raise the full amount in the future. That’s why the school community is touched and honored by Santos’s commitment.
There are often tensions between diverse public schools and snazzy new neighborhood businesses; Santos is mindful of the potential divide. And TNS is grateful for his outreach. We hope everyone who values public education and tasty pre-Valentine’s-Day noshes (because going out on Valentine’s Day itself is for amateurs – it is the Whitman’s Sampler of urban dining experiences) will come on out and support the school.
To support the school: Call Chef’s Assistant Erica at 212.995.0099 or email her for dinner reservations on 2/12/14 – be sure to mention TNS when you book!