About Red Room Projects, a new art and performance space on East 4th Street

In January 2013, the news hit that the Red Room, the 32-seat performance space/black-box theater on East Fourth Street, would close in March. The Horse Trade Theater Company had operated the space located upstairs from the Kraine Theatre and KGB Bar.

The building's landlord reportedly wanted to repurpose the space.

So here we our one year later… and there's a new Red Room — the Red Room Projects. Here's more about the space from the new operator's website:

After a complete makeover which pays homage to the history of the building it has called home, as well as the block and the neighborhood, the Red Room will soon open again: as a performance space, an art salon, a meeting room for artists, poets, authors, playwrights, philosophers and friends – to share their work, hold seminars, meetings and art classes; as a catering hall; and as a low key lounge for friends to meet with friends. The room itself has been a meeting hall, its purpose, its designation, since before 1922.

The space quietly debuted late last month… Ongoing shows now include a residency featuring Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, a Jazz-Age dance orchestra on Thursday evenings. (Ticket info here.)



The Red Room Projects is also featuring the drawings of Christian Johnson.



In addition, as the Red Room Projects website points out, the Kraine Gallery, established at the address in 1983, will finally have a more viable exhibition space than the hallway corridor to the women's bathroom.

The building went up in 1838 … and, in its history, served as the headquarters for the Woman's Aid Society and The Ukrainian Labor Home.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: The Red Room to close on East 4th Street

7A 2.0 looks to keep the sidewalk cafe

[Photo by Crazy Eddie]

We don't know many, if any, details about the new version of 7A, the Avenue A mainstay now sitting empty since it closed on on Jan. 26.

CB3 documents show that Paul Salmon, one of the restaurateurs behind Miss Lily's, the Jamaican bar and restaurant on West Houston, and Joe's Pub, will be overseeing the new restaurant's day-to-day operations.

Here's one thing we know, though: New management plans to keep the sidewalk cafe. There's a notice about a public hearing to continue with it next Wednesday...



Not sure who'd oppose this. Maybe residents living in the pricy new penthouses upstairs?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Some part of 7A will stay in the new 7A's name

Details emerge about what's next for former the 7A, Odessa Cafe & Bar spaces

[Updated] Reader report: 7A will close at the end of the month

This East 10th Street home comes with the tiniest roof deck — and lawn

A fine-looking apartment arrived yesterday on Streeteasy … for a one-bedroom unit with a private roof deck on East 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Here's part of the listing via City Connections:

Can be furnished, partially furnished or unfurnished. This renovated apartment has a marble bath, exposed brick, hardwood floors and granite kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a dishwasher as well as a washer/dryer!

Check out the roofdeck... with that plot of green ...



The putting green/Astroturf/lawn appears to extend into the bedroom as well...



The not so tiny price: $2,890 a month.

Oh, that laundro-cafe concept really happened on East 1st Street

Dang, been meaning to point this out... remember the laundro-cafe concept for 44 E. First St. between Second Avenue and First Avenue that we first wrote about in February 2013?

CB3 wasn't crazy about the idea, and... well, long story — but The Wash House is a reality.

Lady Grand first reported that the space opened for business last Thursday. She filed a report for BoweryBoogie here, who noted: "you can drop your shit in the back, and they clean it with '100% organic detergent,' all while you sip suds."


[Photo by Lady Grand]

Here is their official About via Facebook:

Grab a glass of beer or wine or even a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich while hanging out with friends and getting your laundry done...

So... anyone try out The Wash House yet?

Previously on EV Grieve:
A 'laundry bistro' in the works for East First Street

Black Hound New York closing Sunday after 26 years in the East Village

This is the official word this afternoon from the dessert/bake shop's Facebook page:

After 26 years, our East Village store will close this Sunday, March 9. But you can still enjoy your favorite Black Hound New York treats. For our NYC-based customers, you can order for pick-up by appointment at our Greenpoint bakery and for local messenger delivery. We’ll still be shipping with UPS throughout the continental USA. We hope to open another retail shop in NYC in the near future. We’ll continue connecting with you through Facebook, emails, friends@blackhoundny.com, 800.344.4417, and www.blackhoundny.com. Thanks to our loyal customers and friends for your support!

The shop is located at 170 Second Ave. near East 11th St.

Ashes to go on Astor Place

[Photo by Roger Jack Walters via Facebook]

In honor of Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent today, folks from the St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery are offering ashes to go on Astor Place... it's the first year that they've offered this to-go service...

And now, 'Liquid Lent: 40 Days of Beer'

Speaking of Lent... via the EVG inbox...

East Village to Celebrate "Liquid Lent: 40 Days of Beer"

Inspired by a blogger who decided to live on beer for Lent, Beer Sessions Radio™ will team with seven East Village craft beer establishments to celebrate Lent with a series of tasting events and dinners that focus on Trappist and Monk’s brews. From Ash Wednesday (March 5th) through mid-April, Beer Sessions Radio™ will join the following establishments for events and tastings:

• ABC Beer Co., Burp Castle, dba East Village, Eastwood, Jimmy’s No. 43, Malt & Mold, and Top Hops will each host a featured event plus tastings

Beers will include a selection of Trappist ales from Orval, Westmalle, Rochefort and La Trappe, along with the St. Feuillen/Green Flash collaboration brews. Plus, Timmermans Lambics, Empire’s Aphro White, Finback Brewing’s Double Sess, Ommegang/Duvel, Nøgne ø Tiger Tripel, and many more TBA.

More information can be found here.

Get a Taste of East 7th Street this weekend

Via the EVG inbox...



Find more info about the tickets and the participating restaurants right here.

Out and About in the East Village, Part 1

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: Eric Danville
Occupation: Managing Editor, Penthouse Forum Magazine. Author of "The Complete Linda Lovelace"
Location: Sophie’s on 5th between A and B
Time: 6:45 on Thursday, February 27

I am originally from Hazlet, New Jersey, but from the time I was 18, I’ve been mostly living in downtown New York. I went to school at Pace University — the same college that Al Goldstein went to. I was a journalism major. I knew early on that I would have something to do with writing and I started doing music reviews for the paper. I dug it. I was obsessed with Hunter Thompson and I read "Hell's Angels" when I was like 8 years old, so I had that whole thing with me.

The only magazines I ever wanted to work on, and I knew this from a very early age, were Mad Magazine, National Lampoon or High Times. And when I was a journalism major, I said, ‘I have to work for Al Goldstein.’ Right before I graduated, there was a payphone outside the dorms and I called up Goldstein’s Screw Magazine office one day and said, ‘Look, I go to Pace University, I’m graduating with a BA in English, a writing degree,’ and I told them I wanted to interview for a job. Surprise, surprise, I didn’t get a call.

After college, a couple friends of mine who were friends with John Holmstrom, who was working at High Times, told me that High Times needed someone for a photo shoot. They said, ‘Yeah, Eric will probably do it.’ They were doing a photo shoot at a bar where there was supposed to be this big party scene and different people were different gags. I was someone who was having a bad trip on acid and they bring me out of it by dumping a pot of spaghetti on my head. So I sat there with a pot of spaghetti on my head and they took pictures. Holmstrom thought it was hilarious. I asked him if I could send him my resume and a couple months later they hired me. They asked me in the interview, ‘Do you smoke pot?’ I think he saw this ‘oh, shit’ look in my face and he told me, ‘This is the one place you are allowed to answer the question honestly.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but I hadn’t gotten high in a year.’ They didn’t hold that against me. So yeah, it was actually worth it having a pot of spaghetti stuffed on my head.

I was the managing editor at High Times for three years. It was the first real job that I had in magazine production and the first job that I really liked. It was a lot of fun to work there and you could smoke pot in the office. Everyone thinks that High Times is a bunch of stoners, which they are, but they are really good for giving young people who are ambitious and have something to offer a good slot at doing something. They teach them how to do it. John Holmstrom taught me a lot of what I know about the publishing business, copy, flow, and managing. He gave me a good work ethic.

There were so many stories from working for High Times — going to pot rallies and almost getting busted. I remember being at these rallies and looking out the window or down the street and seeing guys in rubber soled shoes and white ties taking pictures of me. One time it took us 11 hours to drive in a fucking psychedelic Ken Kesey style school bus out to the University of Michigan for their Hash Bash pot rally. 11 fucking hours. There was like a hole in the bottom of the bus by the end. It was a mess. The bus actually broke down and we all had to find our way back to New York. I had to get to Cleveland to fly home. I don’t even remember how I did that. There were a lot of stories like that.

The favorite piece I was involved with back then was on something called Syncro-Energizers. They had a brief shining moment in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. We were always looking for different ways of achieving an altered consciousness. They are in the same family as sensory deprivation tanks. Syncro-Energizers are a set of goggles that don’t have lenses. They have lights that go around your eyes and the lights blink in different configurations. You then put on these headphones and you hear different beeps in different combinations that go along with the lights. Then you just lie down. It was a big studio that you would get it done in and there was a machine that was a foot by eight inches that was very expensive. It would allow the person to control what type of meditation you wanted to experience. Did you want to get really deep down? Did you want to stimulate your creativity? Did you want to relax? They would have different settings for that.

They were fucking awesome. I swear to God it was one of the greatest drugs I’ve ever done. You put those things on you and you think you’re waking up two minutes later and you’ve been out for an hour. You are so relaxed. It was explained to me that it takes you to a level of theta brain activity that it takes yogis 20 years to attain. Amazing devises. They had a good run in the weird health-conscious late ‘80s and then they just disappeared.

Working at High Times took its toll on me and after three years I was unemployed, for a year. I was applying everywhere, even Modern Bride. I got a job at a ‘men’s adult sophisticated magazine’ called Hawk, which I worked at for six months but that was way too corporate. You had to wear the suit and tie and if you were good it was no tie Friday. I hated the shoes and the whole nine yards. I was there and biding my time until a friend of mine called up from Screw and told me an editor job had opened up. I petitioned hard for that and they chose me.

I wound up working for Screw for seven years. That’s a long time for Screw — for dealing with the insanity that was Al Goldstein. Screw was more or less The Village Voice of sex; a sex newspaper that started in 1968. It was around 80 pages long with about 20 pages of editorial and 60 pages of hooker ads. Goldstein wanted it to be a dirty Mad Magazine, and basically it was.

We had great cartoonists and you couldn’t get a gig writing there unless you were a good writer. It was hilarious. Playboy was these airbrushed really nice shots, while Screw was just the dirtiest, black and white, gritty fucking pictures, that he apparently bought by the pound. Someone was selling thousands of pictures of old hippies fucking and he’s like, ‘I’ll take them all.’ There was the photo morgue that we’d go over to and they were all broken down into categories, like ‘Male Female in Bathroom,’ ‘Male Female in Library,’ ‘Male Female on the street.’ It was hilarious.

The magazine covered every personal vendetta that Goldstein wanted to carry out. It covered politics, music, art and culture. When they started cleaning up Times Square, that was a big part of what we wrote about. It was very political and very funny and it was either totally irreverent or just so of the moment. I’m so proud of having worked there. It was a great gig because I got to review porn and get paid for it. That’s always a good thing. I started meeting and hanging out with porn stars and directors and any of Goldstein’s celebrity friends. You got to meet interesting people.

I only say this now because he’s dead, but he really was the best boss that I ever had. He was incredibly, incredibly hard on people. If you fucked something up, first off, it was grounds for firing. The guy whose job I got was fired for a typo. He was the type of boss that would demand 110 percent perfection from you and that makes you raise the bar for yourself. I’m normally very hard on myself anyway but I started taking a lot of pride in what I did.

He ruled by fear but he also had these flashes of humanity. He would send you out or take you out to dinner when you did something good. He would reward you with food and it was like you were a trained dog… here’s a treat. One time he said, ‘bring a date along and we’ll go out to dinner.’ We went to the Tribeca Grill and it was Al, me, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, Bernie Goetz, and one or two other people at this huge table. We’d be sitting there and someone would go, ‘Al, fuck you!’ Somebody sent over a bottle of champagne to Debbie. There was a point where I realized I was sitting in between Debbie Harry and Bernie Goetz. It was the most bizarre dinner party of my life.

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

Next week, Eric Danville on writing a book about Linda Lovelace.

New residential building for 222 E. Seventh St. lives

[Via Google]

Back in October 2011, we first heard about Villa Capri, a new residential building coming to 222 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue C…

[October 2011]

And we never heard much more about it… and the sign eventually disappeared.

However, this project apparently lives, as Dave on 7th hears … Indeed, the DOB signed off on the new building late in December.

Plans show that the current single-family residence will nearly double in size… with an additional two floors on the way. The plans show eight dwelling units in total.

Not sure at this point if this is project is still Villa Capri (such a jaunty name for this block…).

As pointed out previously, the address was the onetime studio of famed sculpturist Louise Nevelson.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Villa Capri condos coming to Seventh Street

On St. Mark's Place, 400 years of 'There goes the neighborhood'

[South side of St. Mark's Place between 3rd Ave and 2nd Ave circa 1975]

Tomorrow afternoon (March 6), author-journalist Ada Calhoun will discuss her forthcoming book about the street she was born and raised on (uh, St. Mark's Place) at the New York Public Library.

Per the announcement:

Those who appreciate the street for its essential role in the beatnik, hippie, punk, hardcore, and hip-hop scenes of the past sixty years insist that St. Marks Place — now home to some of the priciest rental apartments in the city — is dead. But Calhoun notes that people have been saying that about this particular piece of land at least since the seventeenth century. She will argue that the street is only as dead as it ever was.

The talk is from 1:15 - 2:30 p.m. Find the building info here.

Her book for W.W. Norton & Company is titled "St. Marks Is Dead."

We spoke with Calhoun about the in-progress book last March. Seems like a good time to revisit part of that interview.

Any common themes emerging so far?

"The thing that I kept running into [were] people saying that there was this golden moment on the street when St Mark's was really itself and reached its full promise on this date and for these five years there was no better place in the entire world. It was the heart of culture — the center for music, art and poetry," she said. "People would describe passionately how it was so vibrant and they were so alive, then it died this horrible death."

For instance, Jack Kerouac biographer Joyce Johnson said that St. Mark's was all over in 1974 when someone flipped a cigarette into her son's stroller.

Another person Calhoun interviewed said that the scene died in 1974. Someone else said that all started in 1974. She also heard that the block reached its peak in 1978. Not to mention 1980. And so on.

"I'm really curious what's going on now. Basically my theory right now, based on doing this book, is that everyone was wrong. Everyone who thought it was dead was wrong," she said. "So people who think it's dead now are probably wrong too. My theory is that people coming out of karaoke bars or yogurt shops ... this is going to be some new wave of culture that we don't know about and won't even know about until it's over."

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Mark's Place is dead! Long live St. Mark's Place!

Chalkboard commentary outside Veselka

Second Avenue and East Ninth Street…



Photos yesterday by Bobby Williams…

Please note that this apartment building is NOT the new Post Office retail outlet on East 14th Street

It is confusing, seeing as the building shares the same address with the new USPS retail outlet that opened next door at 333 E. 14th St. … and both buildings have mailboxes in the lobby…



If this helps…



Right here.



Wonder if this happened when the USPS outlet was the Duane Reade or Gristedes…

Japadog loses it letters on St. Mark's Place

Japadog, the Japanese-inspired hot dog restaurant by way of Vancouver, closed for good Friday on St. Mark's Place.

And the Japadog letters came down yesterday. We were hoping to nab the DOG. Or maybe the PA.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Japadog is closing for good after tonight on St. Mark's Place

Now THIS is a line for free pancakes

Checking in on National Pancake Day, where IHOP is serving free short stacks (of pancakes) on IHOP Way/East 14th Street … A very healthy line around 5, made up mostly of students (high school, middle school…)



The line goes back to Kings Hairstyling … about 9 storefronts to the west … it is all very orderly …



… and an ambulance remains parked nearby… just in case.

Noted

EVG contributor Derek Berg spotted the sign along Tompkins Square Park this morning...

Facing eviction, A Gathering of Tribes looks for a donor to purchase its East 3rd Street home

Facing an April 15 eviction, supporters of A Gathering of Tribes, 285 E. Third St. between Avenues C and D, are reaching out to find someone to help save the embattled 23-year-old arts and cultural organization. The following letter from Steve Cannon, the blind poet who founded Tribes in 1991, is making the rounds on Facebook:

As you may already know, our landlord Lorraine Zhang has put 285 E. 3rd St. on the market, and has taken Steve Cannon to court for what she asserts is an unlawful use of the premises. As a result, we are now subject to a legally binding agreement to leave by April 15.

Zhang purchased the building from Cannon in 2004 for $950,000. She is currently asking $3.35 million — an amount which we believe exceeds the value of the property.

We are reaching out to you now with an urgent appeal to avert the displacement of Cannon and the dissolution of this internationally recognized arts space.

A Gathering of the Tribes was founded in 1990 here at 285 E. 3rd Street. We are a 501 C3 and have received funding support from the New York State Council of the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Jerome Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation, Bloomberg LP, as well as an abundance of private donors.

Our literary magazine, which is published annually, is distributed to museums, schools and libraries worldwide. Our gallery space showcases both seasoned and emerging artists from across the US, as well as Russia, India, China, Africa and beyond. We host an average of 10 exhibitions per year, in addition to the annual Charlie Parker Festival in August. Fly By Night Press, our publishing arm, publishes poetry by writers from diverse backgrounds. Tribes also sponsors and hosts music and dance performances, poetry readings, lectures, forums, open mic’s, and other happenings. We have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, literary magazines, art journals and numerous local and international publications.

Because we’ve been established for close to 25 years and have made the East Village our home, we would like to continue to operate here and offer a base of support and community for artists in our neighborhood.

This is why we need your help. Tribes is in search of a benevolent donor to purchase this property on behalf of our 501 C3. We plan on continuing and expanding our activities on the second floor as described above (gallery, poetry and performance salon, publishing magazine bi-annually, as well as 2 to 4 books per year). And we would like to convert the rest of the building to residences for poets, writers, musicians, and artists of all stripes. Our plan is to partner with foundations, schools or other institutions that can provide stipends to artists to reside here for 3-6 months, up to 1 year periods of time. We will continue offering internships through local universities to young artists, who can get involved in our programming and be mentored by the artists we house.

In order to manage such an operation, we would expand our staff to include at minimum a full-time office manager, grant writer, program coordinator, online editor and maintenance staff.

[The cost of running this building is relatively low. Fuel is approx. $10,000 per year (heat and hot water), insurance is approx. $5,000 per year, and real estate taxes are just $3620 per year. That’s a total of $18,620 annually.]

There are many possibilities for how Tribes can thrive and grow—including leasing floors to groups that could fund such artist residences. We are open to any and all kinds of creative financing. At this point what we need is to secure the building.

If you are interested in buying the building or donating to a fund to purchase the building, please get in touch. We have exhausted our legal appeals, so we either need to find someone(s) to purchase the property or get out.

This year, the HOWL! Festival will honor Steve Cannon by naming him the poet laureate of the Lower East Side. There is even now a Two Boots pizza named after A Gathering of the Tribes.

It would be a tragedy to lose our space in spite of such ongoing recognition of the services we provide as an arts incubator on the Lower East Side. We are one of last places left that nurtures young aspiring artists in all disciplines. Please help, or help pass the word. SAVE TRIBES!

Thank you for your careful consideration of this matter. If you would like further information about the property or any details of our legal situation, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Steve Cannon
Director, A Gathering of the Tribes aka the Blind Guy

You may find contact info here.

Cannon and Tribes have been locked in a lengthy battle with Zhang now for the past three years, including various court appearances and eviction notices. For more background on the situation here, you can read this article by Colin Moynihan at the Times from March 2011 … as well as The Local in May 2012.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Gathering of Tribes faces an uncertain future on East Third Street

[Updated] On Avenue A, Table 12 is now Au Za’atar

To be honest, we don't know exactly when the changeover occurred here on Avenue A at East 12th Street … a few alert readers pointed this out to us just yesterday … (The first Yelp review is from Sunday.)

In any event, Table 12, the former 24-hour cafe/bistro that served sandwiches, wraps, egg dishes, etc., has been turned over to Au Za'atar. Here's the restaurant's description via Facebook:

Au Za'atar is a Middle Eastern restaurant with a French twist. Our menu offers everything from Lebanon's national dish (Kibbe Kras) to classical Parisian fare with influences spreading from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean Sea.

To complement this blend of flavors we serve an extensive selection of organic wines, by the glass, and delicious craft brew beer.

For brunch our free-trade organic coffee and espresso comes from a "craft" roaster straight out of Brooklyn.

Our intimate and beautiful interior was designed and built using only recycled materials.

The hours are 8 a.m. to midnight.

Anyway, all this explains why we spotted 50 pounds of Table 12 to-go menus in the middle of East 12th Street one recent day…




Updated 2:41

A rep for the restaurant said that the Au Za’atar menus have not been finalized, and asked for us to remove the menu that we posted.

In addition, the old menus were left in the street by the carting company after they broke the garbage bag. The restaurant apparently cleaned them up after seeing what happened.

For lease: 147 E. Houston St., current home of Lucky's Famous Burgers

There's a new listing for 147 E. Houston St. According to Massey Knakal:

This retail space features highly visible frontage along the south side of East Houston Street. Located steps from the 2nd Avenue Subway Station, it is also highly accessible. Included in the space is a brand new kitchen build-out with new kitchen equipment and venting. The lease is available for review upon request.

The possession is "immediate" … the rent is listed at $10,599 a month with $240,000 key money.

Since the spring of 2011, this space here near Eldridge Street has been home to Lucky's Famous Burgers, which also has locations on 23rd and 52nd Streets. And this likely means the end of Lucky's here … we would get their food when they had the location on Avenue A next to Benny's.

HiFi launches monthly Reading Series

The HiFi Bar on Avenue A debuts a new monthly Reading Series tomorrow night at 8 with Brooklyn author Marie-Helene Bertino along with writers Michael Baptist and Julia Strayer.

Via the EVG inbox...

The HiFi Reading series brings you a selection of “undiscovered” writers, curated each month by an established author. The notion here is simple: we think great, accomplished writers have excellent taste, and we can’t wait to see whom they think we should be watching out for.

On the first Wednesday of every month, The HiFi Reading series will take place in the newly renovated back room of the The HiFi Bar. Other than the guest curator, none of the writers featured on The HiFi Reading series will have a book out…yet. These are writers at the beginning of the career, regardless of background.

Find more info about tomorrow night's readers and Series coordinators here.

Details:
Wednesday, March 5, 8 pm
FREE (1 drink minimum)
169 Avenue A