At the NYC Cannabis Parade

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was in Union Square yesterday for the annual event … in which an estimated 400 people (that number via the Post) marched down Broadway from 32nd Street to Union Square for an afternoon of festivities…








[Hello Dana Beal]

















From the Post:

[T]he cops adopted a tacit all-toke, no-action policy.

“We have zero arrests, and we don’t plan on having any,” one sergeant told a Post reporter.

Advocates praised the cops’ mellow take on toking as the latest sign New York was inching toward decriminalization.

Last month, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson warned the NYPD in a memo obtained by The Post that his office would no longer prosecute people caught possessing — or even smoking — marijuana in public.

5:15 a.m.

Photo by Bobby Williams

Trees arrives for Icon Realty's newest roof deck

There was a lot of activity this morning outside 154 Second Ave., Icon Realty's new residential building between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street where rentals range from $4,500 to $9,500.

EVG reader Dan Theisen noted that workers were hoisting some trees and bushes up to the landscaped roof deck…







… roughly right here….



Perhaps this will be a more tranquil rooftop experience. There are reportedly an "endless barrage of rowdy DJ dance parties" on the roof deck at the Icon-owned 205 Avenue A, as the Post put it last August.

Blue plastic tarp comes alive on Avenue A

Photo by Grant Shaffer

At the former 121 Second Ave.

As of yesterday, there are now two small bouquets of flowers and crosses in the lot where 119-123 Second Ave. once stood.

Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa died during the gas explosion at 121 Second Ave. on March 26.

A #SAVENYC show tonight at Arlene's Grocery

Via the EVG inbox…

The #SaveNYC Concert will be taking place TONIGHT, Saturday May 2, at Arlene's Grocery. This event's primary mission is to create public awareness of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. We have Penny Arcade and DeeDee Luxe on board along with Joe Hunt. Ann McDermott will be there to speak about our mission.

Find more information about #SaveNYC here.

Arlene's is at 95 Stanton St. between Ludlow and Orchard.

Get your 'Uncommon Plants' today on East 12th Street

Today from 10 am to 1 pm
El Sol Brillante Community Garden
522-528 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B

Details here.

May Day march down 2nd Avenue

[Photo by Bill the Libertarian Anarchist]

Two protests came together this afternoon, the May Day Parade and Rally and a demonstration by Disarm NYPD, which included a protest in solidarity with demonstrators in Baltimore speaking out against the death of Freddie Gray.

The rally started in Union Square ... then headed south down Second Avenue toward Foley Square... EVG reader Michael Rosenthal photographed the different groups who made up today's march from Second Avenue and East Ninth Street ...

























As Newsweek reported earlier this evening, "Barricades were used to keep protesters from taking over the entire street and there was a notable police presence. At least one person was detained by officers, though whether or not they were charged for any wrongdoing remains unclear."

Updated

Here are a few more photos of the May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights/Freddie Gray Rally leaving Union Square ... via James and Karla Murray…

Hot hot heat

Here's "Fan the Flames," the new single from Philadelphia's Sheer Mag. Look for them on a bill at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn on May 9.

Sign's up at Mars Bar replacement NatureEs, opening May 11

The organic cafe on East First Street opens on May 11, according to an employee… the sign has arrived too…



NatureEs is located in Jupiter 21, the residential building that rose from the grave of the Mars Bar and several other businesses here between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Not much is known about the cafe just yet, aside from it will serve organic, all-natural, fresh juices and what not. (The NatureEs website still appears to be under construction.)

BoweryBoogie first reported on NatureEs' arrival on April 20.

Previously on EV Grieve:
NatureEs calls: About the organic cafe coming to where Mars Bar 2.0 was in the works

Annual May Day rally at Union Square will include Freddie Gray protesters

You probably noticed the barriers that the NYPD put up yesterday along Second Avenue…



It was done ahead of the annual May Day rally, which has expanded this year to include Freddie Gray protesters...



The rally starts in Union Square.

According to CBS New York:

The May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights is organizing Friday’s rally and march in Manhattan. The rally will take place at 3:30 p.m. and be followed by a march to Foley Square at 5:30 p.m.

“We stand in solidarity with Baltimore in the wake of the most recent killing of Freddie Gray at the hands of Baltimore police. We are still trying to come to grips with the savage killing of Walter Scott killed in South Carolina, shot in the back running away from a police officer who decided to murder Scott in cold blood,” said Charles Jenkins, co-coordinator of the May 1st Coalition.

“This year’s event is dedicated to the struggle against police terror given the deep crisis for black and Latino youth,” said Teresa Gutierrez, co-coordinator of the May 1st Coalition.

Find more details at the Facebook event page.

EV Grieve Etc.: Egg watching on Avenue A; Treeman spotting on 2nd Avenue

[Photo on East 4th Street via Derek Berg]

Motorist charged with manslaughter for fatal hit-and-run of a Bowery Mission regular (BoweryBoogie)

Christo and Dora egg watch at Ageloff Towers (Gog In NYC)

About the #SaveNYC concert tomorrow night at Arlene's Grocery (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The New York Polish Film Festival is this weekend (Anthology Film Archives)

Location spotting with the New York Dolls on St. Mark's Place (Flaming Pablum)

Some things to do in May on the Lower East Side (The Lo-Down)

Box Kite introduces the "'spro and tonic" on St. Mark's Place (DNAinfo)

Looking at the condos that replaced Forsyth Street's Nativity Mission School (Curbed)

Checking out the tacos and quesadillas at Rosie's on Second Avenue and East Second Street (Grub Street)

Debbie Harry launches into a brief diatribe on nuclear power in 1979 (Dangerous Minds)

… and it's always good to see Treeman hanging around… Slum Goddess saw him (difficult to miss, of course!) Wednesday night on Second Avenue….

The Church of the Nativity is holding another clothing distribution today for displaced residents

[Photo from March by Stacie Joy]

From the EVG inbox...

Parishioners from the Church of the Nativity will be holding another clothing distribution for residents who lost their homes after the East Village Explosion.

After stopping by the clothing drive in April, a resident suggested that Nativity distribute the clothes again one month later the collapse — hoping that displaced residents would later be more situated.

If you know displaced tenants who lost their home in the East Village Explosion, please let them know about the distribution:

WHAT: Distribution of Clothes & Goods for East Village Displaced Residents

WHERE: Church of the Nativity. 44 Second Avenue between 2nd & 3rd Streets

WHEN: Friday, May 1, 4 PM - 7 PM

*Please note: We are NOT accepting anymore donations.*

The Church of the Nativity's last distribution was on April 1.

The Stage is now crowdfunding to help in its legal fight with Icon Realty

[EVG file photo]

The Stage, currently embroiled in a legal battle with landlord Icon Realty, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help the diner reopen.

A quick recap: Icon Realty has accused the Stage of illegally siphoning gas, which was the basis for a recent eviction notice in the aftermath of the deadly blast across from the diner at 128 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and East Seventh Street.

Roman Diakun, the owner of the 35-year-old diner, has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Now Roman's son Andrew Diakun has started the campaign. Per YouCaring: "In order to clear the restaurant's name, and help us reopen, we have initiated a lawsuit against the landlord. If you can and you are willing to help, we ask you to donate so that we can attempt to sort things out, open up and return to our livelihood again."

In our last post on the Stage, several readers asked if there was a crowdfunding campaign. Here is the link to the site. Stage is hoping to raise $10,000. They are up to nearly $4,000 now in the campaign that began on Wednesday.

The Stage has been closed since March 30.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The possibility that the Stage won't reopen on 2nd Avenue

City serves stop work order on Icon Realty-owned building for installing gas pipe without permit across from deadly 2nd Avenue blast zone (48 comments)

Petition to help reopen the Stage

Tenants at 128 2nd Ave. file suit against Icon Realty in housing court

Troubling talk about 128 Second Ave, and the long-term future of the Stage

[Updated] Report: Icon Realty serves the Stage an eviction notice

Stage owner Roman Diakun responds to allegations of illegally siphoning gas

Petition to help reopen the Stage

[Updated] The Stage is giving away its bulk food and supplies to charity

Report: The Stage is suing landlord Icon Realty to halt eviction process

249 E. 2nd St. is for sale, air rights included

[Image via Streeteasy]

Here is information about the building between Avenue B and Avenue C … via Streeteasy (Marcus & Millichap has the listing):

249 East 2nd Street contains a gross square footage of 7,050. The property has frontage on both East 2nd Street and East Houston and is built 25 feet by 54 feet deep (Block: 00384 Lot: 0029 ). The property is zoned R8A and contains approximately 1,650 square feet of unused air rights.

The subject property is a five story multifamily building consisting of 20 studio apartments. Of the 20 units, 16 are free market and 4 are rent stabilized. The rent stabilized units provide an investor tremendous rental upside and immense potential for future rental growth.

The property represents a rare opportunity to acquire a cash flowing multifamily asset in the booming Alphabet City neighborhood. With a going-in cap rate at 3.5%, the asset provides strong current cash flow with long-term future upside.

The building is adjacent to the former Mobil station off of Avenue C and East Houston. The station, which closed last September, will be demolished. There are plans in the works for a 10-story building with ground floor retail here.

As for 249 E. Second St., the asking price is $6.95 million.

Films on the Green return to Tompkins Square Park with 2 Friday nights in June

Films on the Green, the free outdoor French film festival in NYC parks, returns for its seventh season … with two films set for Tompkins Square Park:

• Friday, June 19, 8:30 pm
"Priceless"
By Pierre Salvadori with Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh
The plot:
"Irène, an attractive young woman, is on vacation at a French Riviera resort with Jacques, an older and very wealthy man. One night, while celebrating her birthday alone, she meets the handsome and intriguing Jean, who claims to be a millionaire and adventurer. However, unbeknownst to Irène, Jean isn’t everything he appears to be…"

• Friday, June 26, 8:30 pm
"Zarafa"
By Rémi Bezançon & Jean-Christophe Lie (Animated, ages 7 & up)
The plot:
"Beneath a baobab tree, an old man tells the story of Maki, a young boy who crosses the desert with his giraffe and a Bedouin nomad named Hassan. During the epic journey from Africa to Paris, which takes them through Alexandria and the bustling port of Marseilles, Maki and his companions meet countless exotic characters." Rated X

Find more about the festival and the other films in the series here.

Lower East Side History Month starts now

Via the EVG inbox…

May 2015 brings the second edition of Lower East Side (LES) History Month, a month-long celebration of the rich, diverse history of New York City's historic Lower East Side (including the neighborhoods of the East Village, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Alphabet City).

With participation by more than 80 Lower East Side-based cultural organizations, community groups, and businesses, LES History Month will feature a huge variety of affordable and unique events including live performances, exhibits, gallery and walking tours, talks, film screenings, festivals and more. Find the current event calendar on our website here.