Steve Lewis: What was the primary reason for closing and moving shop to Bushwick?
Erik Foss: The new East Village crowd and the flight of the creative types to creative Brooklyn. It was inevitable. NYC is an ever changing animal. I am just glad that I got to be here before downtown changed into what it is now.
David Schwartz: Ehh, not happy with the newbies in the East Village. Millenials don’t go out and the artistic ones left for Brooklyn digs 4 yrs ago.
Soothsayer withdrew its bid for 171 Avenue. It was much ado about the rear yard space, and the applicants’ inability to negotiate with the nearby block associations. Full liquor was sought, yet CB3 advised the team to return next month with a revamped application for beer-wine.
The ground floor includes the residential lobby, a lounge, and apartments in the rear of the building which have access to outdoor space. A large skylight brings natural light to the gym in the cellar, and stairs provide access to recreational outdoor space in the rear yard. A mix of studios, one, and two-bedroom apartments make up the bulk of the building. The top floor includes a three-bedroom apartment with a balcony. The rooftop is designed as an amenity space for the building, complete with deck seating, projector screen, bar, and outdoor shower.
The interior design was inspired by the raw nature of materials in the Lower East Side, such as exposed concrete and blackened steel, and includes touches of color such as the graffiti tiled accent wall in the lobby.
Dear Friends, we are closing our EV location follow is in our new adventure in Brooklyn!
— La Lucha Tacos NYC (@LaLuchaNYC) July 8, 2015
Name: Jeremy X. Halpern
Occupation: Entertainer
Location: Key Food, Avenue A
Time: 2 p.m. on Monday, July 6
I’m from Boston but I’ve been here for over 30 years. I’m an artist and basically you only got a couple choices, LA or New York and LA was out of the question. So New York was the one. I went to NYU and I’ve been living around here since then. Never really moved out of the neighborhood.
I do performances. If you go weirdos.com, you’ll see the video performances that I do. I have a cable-access show for local New York. The artwork is very weird, very strange, totally uncommercial, but I’m also working on a TV show, which is very commercial. It will probably make lots of money. But that, I’m just producing that. All my personal work is completely out to lunch.
Right now I’m performing in Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic. Currently, I’m playing the owner of a French club in the 1920s. It’s like a precursor to the haunted mansion at Disney World. I’ve also done some theatre here at the Metropolitan [Playhouse].
I’m involved with the burlesque community around here. There’s still a big community. My girlfriend is Dirty Martini, who is one of the top burlesque performers in the world. Everything is still very much vibrant and it’s really a nice community. The theatre community is sort of like, ‘what’s my motivation,’ you know? Whereas the burlesque community is sort of like, ‘let’s go, let’s do it.’ There’s much more performance art and much more variety.
When I moved in it was the early 1980s, it was still much more like the warzone. My parents were terrified. They couldn’t believe it. Unlike most people, I’m not really that upset about the change. That’s New York and I wasn’t surprised by it. I enjoyed it very much back then. When my band performed in the bandshell in Tompkins Square Park ... all of the homeless people danced on the stage. That was really wonderful. But it’s also got its perks now. It’s nice to be able to have the park a little cleaner and have the neighborhood be shinier and full of restaurants and shops. So I’m okay with that.
In general, I find the neighborhood very addicting because it’s still full of creative energy. I love it and am totally addicted to it. You know, I went to Burning Man a few years ago, and that was great ... but it’s tough in the desert and I kept thinking all the creativity that I’m seeing in Burning Man, I see in the East Village, and I don’t have to live in the desert. The East Village is a great experience and continues to be. I mean, we just saw a poster for Penny Arcade when we walked in [to Key]. I know Penny. There’s still a community feeling there and there’s still a feeling of the history of what the East Village has meant ... I’m still thrilled about this place. It’s still very fun to walk out of my door and find myself there.
The Fender ‘75 precision bass has been hanging out in a private collection since the 80’s, gifted to its owner by the Ramones themselves. The bass is said to still be in playable condition and even came in the original case (with a Ramones stencil on the back). Also included was a letter from Monte Melnick, the band’s former road manager, validating the instrument’s authenticity. Dee Dee played the Fender Precision for most of his too-short career and used them pretty much exclusively from 1974-1988, favoring the model with the black pickguard from 1975-1977.
A third generation urban winemaker, he says the alcoholic grape juice is in his blood. And he’s also quick to point out that he has help: Matt started what’s today known as the Village Winery Club; it now has more than 100 members who pay dues (the cheapest membership goes for $200) to cover all of his operating expenses, labor, and even his rent, and in return they get to go to events during the wine-making process, plus access to bottles.
