Longtime East Village resident Mary Bellis aka CalmX was a filmmaker, artist and writer.
She received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and funding from the National Film Board of Canada to create her experimental works. Her 1984 independent film "Agent of Paradise" shot in the New York underground art scene starred numerous downtown performance artists, including John Kelly, The Unknown Comic, Philly McAninch as well as James Oseland star of Bravo TV’s "Top Chef Masters." "Agent of Paradise" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and screened in art house theaters worldwide.
Mary worked as an independent video game developer, animator and journalist while continuing to make and exhibit her computer-generated art. She was the originator and author of the Inventors site for the web portal about.com.
Mary loved tending her garden at 6th Street and Avenue B and dancing at the Pyramid Club. Mary was a beautiful person and dear friend and will be greatly missed by all of those she touched.
Please join us in a celebration of life for our friend at the 6th Street and Ave B Community Garden on Sunday from 4-8 p.m.
Bellis died on March 28 following a short illness.
The first thought among 84 watchers: The storefront is being put to use again as a… storefront… there's nothing on file with the DOB to offer any hints… for now the work has stopped…
It used to be a place that sold tuxedos and formal wear. The family had several children, but one of them, a daughter, was raped and murdered in the top floor, possibly in the 1940's [note: it was actually 1974].
The killer was never found. The children (or one of them and a spouse?) still live there and refuse to renovate or change anything. The top floor is exactly the way it was when the daughter was murdered and you can still see the powder where the cops dusted for fingerprints. This man had been inside once and was witness to its originality. He said they have no intention of selling or changing or even of renting out the storefront.
The name of the family is Sopolsky.
This is from The New York Times, dated Jan. 18, 1974:
The nude body of a 40-year-old woman propietor of a tailor shop that rents tuxedos on the Lower East Side was found bludgeoned to death. The victim was Helen Sopolsky of 84 Second Avenue, near fifth Street, whose shop is one flight up at that address. The motive of the attack was not determined immediately...."
It was a temporary home for women in 1884, open to "self-supporting homeless young women, with or without a child." Morris Kosturk, 40, was found dead there in 1921. And Aaron Schneider, who lived here in 1964, was the victim of a hit and run driver.
For years (decades?), you could see a plastic-covered dinner jacket in the second-story window with the neon sign that reads "DRESS SUITS TO HIRE."
We're all a little nervous about #84. There are those of us who watch it and wait, anxiously, for the day when it will be sold, when a multi-millionaire will turn it into a grand mansion, or the ground floor will be converted into a trendy farm-to-table restaurant, and all the mystery will be sucked away.
William Shakespeare
"The Taming of the Shrew"
July 18 and 19 at 6 pm La Plaza Cultural, Avenue C at East Ninth Street
Tale Told Productions, a nonprofit theater company based in NYC, now in its 4th season, will be presenting "The Taming of the Shrew" as part of our 7-Day Shakespeare Series! With only seven days of rehearsal Tale Told Productions strives to present performances that are visceral and authentic, capturing the actor at their most raw and honest self while maintaining the truth and core of the plot.
Admission is FREE. For more information please visit the Tale Told website.
EVG reader Sue Palchak spotted the Mayor just before noon talking to folks in Tompkins Square Park... this brief visit comes several days after the Post and the Observer reported an uptick in the number of homeless people in the Park...
Tim Laughlin, executive director of the LES Business Improvement District, sent use the following letter yesterday… via the EVG inbox...
I am writing to let you know that the LES BID (Lower East Side Business Improvement District), Community Board 3 and local elected officials have worked with public and private partners to help raise funds for local businesses impacted by the East Village gas explosion.
An application for financial assistance has been made available for eligible businesses, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, July 22. We have been going door-to-door to notify businesses, in addition to reaching out by email and through community based partners. The application deadline has been extended to provide more businesses the opportunity to submit an application.
Following the close of the extended application period, applicants will be contacted individually to provide additional supporting information. Assistance grants are expected to be distributed at the end of the month.
Applicants can contact the LES BID at 212-226-9010 for more information or download an application at eastvillagerelief.nyc, the comprehensive community web portal established in March to share information about ongoing recovery efforts. Eligible businesses include establishments within the immediate impact zone.
Funds available for this grant program come from a variety of sources, mainly community-based donors as well as other public and institutional partners, and will be disbursed to eligible applicants who have submitted application materials based on need and availability of funding resources.
BAMcinématek's sprawling "Indie 80s" program, co-presented with Cinema Conservancy, starts tomorrow (out in Brooklyn, yes)… and runs through Aug. 27.
In total, there are more than 60 films "spotlighting the independent films of the neglected decade between the golden age of 70s New Hollywood and the indie boom of the 90s."
Of particular interest are the dozen or so titles filmed in New York City, including in the East Village with "Alphabet City," "Blank Generation" and "Landlord Blues."
We asked David Reilly, who has been a programmer for BAMcinématek since 2011, a few questions about the "Indie 80s" program.
In terms of these various NYC features, what were you looking for to fit into the "Indie 80s" series?
We sought out fiercely independent, personal films that in some way reflect what we’ve described as “an aesthetic and political rebuke to the greed-is-good culture of bloated blockbusters and the trumped-up monoculture of Reagan-era America” – an attitude that’s on display in abundance in New York’s creative community of the era and certainly not limited to a specific community or “scene.”
You can see this in the incredible diversity of neighborhoods and cultures represented onscreen: from CBGB punks ("Blank Generation") to Bronx hip-hop pioneers ("Wild Style"), from the gay community at the height of the AIDS crisis ("Parting Glances") to the Puerto Rican community in pre-gentrification Williamsburg ("Los Sures"), from Upper West Side intellectuals ("My Dinner with Andre") to Fort Greene’s “Brooklyn Boheme” black arts scene ("She’s Gotta Have It"), and beyond. There’s an embarrassment of riches in New York indies during this period, and we’ve tried to capture at least a small slice of that pie.
Do you see any common themes emerge from the various films about New York City during this time period?
A recurring sense of struggling to get by and live outside the system during a violent, troubled moment in the City’s history. There’s a certain ominousness and anxiety embedded in the Ed Koch Era, and it seeps through these films in a variety of forms: sexual predators ("Ms. 45"), scumbag landlords ("Landlord Blues"), roving street gangs ("Vigilante" and "Alphabet City"), homelessness ("Sidewalk Stories"), and of course, the devastation of AIDS.
What kind of legacy do you think the NYC films in the series have … particularly on the 90s indie boom?
For New Yorkers, these films are a crucial document of a very different city that’s becoming more and more unrecognizable with each passing day, and a period of explosive creativity the likes of which we may never see again.
And it’s hard to imagine a phenomenon like "Kids" (1995) — a scrappy New York story made with a mostly non-professional cast getting a major distribution deal and grossing over $20 million — being possible without these 1980s predecessors paving the way for a larger cultural awareness of independent filmmaking.
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And here are a few of the NYC/EV-based films on the docket…
Alphabet City (1984)
Directed by Amos Poe. With Vincent Spano, Michael Winslow, Kate Vernon.
Nineeteen-year-old Johnny (Spano) is an East Village drug kingpin with the white Pontiac Firebird to prove it. But when he decides to go straight, he finds that the mob that made him isn’t going to let him off that easily. Punk filmmaker Amos Poe crafts a luridly expressionistic gangster saga set amidst the neon- splashed mean streets of the Lower East Side. The echt-80s, synthpop soundtrack is by Chic’s Nile Rodgers. Wed, Aug 26 at 9:30 pm
Blank Generation (1980)
Directed by Ulli Lommel. With Carole Bouquet, Richard Hell, Ulli Lommel.
Punk icon Richard Hell stars as a volatile rocker having an affair with a French journalist (Bouquet) in this grimy glimpse of New York’s punk underground. Capturing the raucous energy and seedy atmosphere of the 80s downtown scene, Blank Generation features Hell and his band the Voidoids performing classics like the title track and “Love Comes in Spurts” at CBGB, as well as an appearance by executive producer Andy Warhol. Digital. Thu, Jul 30 at 7 pm
Landlord Blues (1986)
Directed by Jacob Burckhardt. With Mark Boone Junior, Richard Litt, Raye Dowell.
An East Village bicycle shop owner (Boone Junior) takes matters into his own hands when his scumbag landlord (Litt) tries to evict him. Set against the first wave of gentrification to sweep through downtown, this ultra-rare, shot-on-16mm tenant’s revenge tale features footage of the former East 13th St. squats as well as music and an appearance by Nona Hendryx. 16mm. Mon, Aug 10 at 7pm; Q&A with Burckhardt
Ms. 45 (1981)
Directed by Abel Ferrara. With Zoë Lund.
The ne plus ultra of women’s revenge movies, Abel Ferrara’s exploitation classic takes place in the cesspool of 80s New York, where mute garment district worker Thana (Lund) is raped once, twice—and then snaps. Packing a pistol and clad in leather (and later a nun’s habit), Thana handily wastes a good chunk of Manhattan’s male population, while Ferrara, defying the grindhouse trappings, forges a feminist statement in extremis. DCP. Sat, Aug 15 at 4:15, 9 pm
Parting Glances (1986)
Directed by Bill Sherwood. With Richard Ganoung, John Bolger, Steve Buscemi.
This marvelously witty, compassionate snapshot of Manhattan’s 1980s gay community was one of the first films ever to lend a human face to the HIV crisis. New York City couple Michael (Ganoung) and Robert (Bolger) grapple with the emotional fallout of their impending separation and the illness of a friend (Buscemi, memorable in his first major role) dying of AIDS. Tue, Aug 4 at 7:30, 9:30 pm
Vigilante (1983)
Directed by William Lustig. With Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright.
Grindhouse auteur William Lustig (Maniac) serves up a crazily violent bloodbath in this twisted, pure-pulp thriller. When gang members attack his wife and kill his son, a Queens factory worker (Forster) joins up with an outlaw vigilante group and makes it his personal mission to clean up the streets. “Directed with classical, self-effacing skill” (Dave Kehr, The New York Times), Vigilante is a grim, grimy time capsule of 1980s New York City. 35mm print courtesy of the Cinema Conservancy Archive. Thu, Jul 30 at 4:30, 9:30 pm Intro by William Lustig
Vortex (1982)
Directed by Beth B & Scott B. With James Russo, Lydia Lunch, Bill Rice.
Noir meets No Wave in this paranoid punk thriller from New York downtown agitators Beth and Scott B. Attitudinal underground musician Lydia Lunch (Teenage Jesus and the Jerks) stars as a no-BS, leather- clad detective investigating the murder of a politician in a futuristic dystopia of corporate corruption. The Bs make the most of a miniscule budget with stylish visuals, hardboiled dialogue, and an unsettling soundtrack. 16mm. Mon, Aug 10 at 9:30 pm
Wild Style (1982)
Directed by Charlie Ahearn. With Lee Quiñones, Sandra Fabara, Patti Astor.
The original hip-hop movie, Wild Style was the first film to document the scene’s music, breaking, and street art at its inception. It follows a subway tagger named Zoro (played by graffiti legend Quiñones) through the vibrant street culture of the Bronx in the early 80s. Filmed with semidocumentary authenticity, Wild Style features appearances by seminal artists like Grandmaster Flash, Cold Crush Brothers, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy, Busy Bee, and more. Fri, Aug 21 at 7 pm
One of the more unique shops around has apparently closed. An EVG reader reported that the shop on East 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was cleaned out on Monday.
EVG East 14th Street/IHOP Way correspondent Pinch confirmed that the shop now mostly sits empty.
Unfortunately, we have no idea why the store closed. Rent hike? A retirement? (The owner, the rather cantankerous Alex Bogatyr, is up in his years.) The market for Russian knickknacks waning?
The walls are covered with paintings of dour-faced bearded men, sunsets, and lonely forests. In the back, there are racks and racks of clothing and fabrics. And all around, everywhere you look, the shelves are stacked high with tchochkes.
And!
If you do decide to shop here, be ready to bargain. Alex is a haggler, and he's a serious man. A professional who knows his wares, he will not give you service with a smile, nor with a sneer. This is old Leningrad on 14th Street, not Bed, Bath, & Beyond where the robotic staff are programmed to utter a monotoned hello to you every five seconds.
"I went in to visit with him yesterday at about 5 PM. He was having a sandwich and we talked. He said that a rent hike is the reason he's leaving. He had me write my name and number in a notebook full of names and numbers, and he said he will call if he finds another place."
The T-swirl Crêpe shop has opened at 247 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, reports EVG T-swirl Crêpe correspondent Pinch. Per their description: "T-swirl crêpe makes Japanese style sweet and salad crêpes by hand using our secret recipes and tasty fillings."
The bar is open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week, per the KavasutrA website.
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Sexyflow is now open at 205 Avenue A. The hair salon is in the retail space of Icon Realty's recently expanded residential building here between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.
Tonight's free movie is "The Pink Panther" (the original from 1963) with Peter Sellers and David Niven...
Rockabilly artists Shiro & The Raw Dogs will play a set before the film. Gates open at 6 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m., and the movies starts at sundown. You can head to the Films in Tompkins Facebook page for any updates. Like rain.
New data published in Science shows that if the planet warms by 2 degrees Celsius, sea levels will rise about 20 feet. It's pretty much a given that this will happen, it's just a matter of when — it could be by the end of the century.
And!
In New York, it means that entire neighborhoods would be wiped out and 1.8 million people would be displaced.
And if/when this happens, the water will wash over a good part of this neighborhood... west to First Avenue in spots... south to Avenue A around East Fourth Street...
Tompkins Square Parkgoers today noted an extra NYPD presence… not to mention reporters...
Per Dave on 7th, who took these photos: "Well, thanks to the New York Post we've got cops doing foot patrols and being shadowed by more reporters looking for stories and finding none."
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.
Name: Maurice Whitaker and Laura K. Reich (Lulu) Occupation:VolaVida Gallery Location: 240 E. 4th Street (off Avenue B) Time: 2:30 pm on Monday, July 13
Maurice: I was born and raised in Brooklyn but I’ve lived in Manhattan pretty much my entire adult life. I spent a lot of time around the neighborhood with friends who grew up around here.
I used to be a graffiti artist back in the 1980s. I started my graffiti in 1982 and I did it until ’87 or ’88. Maybe on a scale of one to 10, I was a four or five. I was just connected to a lot of bigger artists and I got around. But I’ve always been an artist. I’ve been a graphic designer, digital artists, I’ve worked in music, fashion, television, and even just doing art.
The best experience is being in a train yard though. During that time I used to go to the Bronx — not too much because back then New York was pretty divided. You couldn’t really just go to the Bronx. You’d have to stay local. But I’ve been to Queens, Jamaica Yards, the Ghostyards in the Bronx, 207 [Street Train yard], all of them. You don’t realize how big trains are until you’re in a train yard and see that the bottom of the door is right here on your face. You don’t realize it because you usually see the trains on the platform. And the trains make noises even when they’re not moving. It’s very intimidating.
Lulu: I’ve lived here in the neighborhood for about 10 years, but I’m from the Chicago suburbs. I came when I was around 24. Fashion brought me to the city. I was one of those girls who came out with the dreams of fashion and I actually did pretty well. I worked in jewelry for lots of designers, and then I decided that I needed a little break. There are a lot of interesting people in the luxury world and a lot of beautiful products, but creativity-wise it just seemed like a lot of it was very mass market and I missed art.
I fell into this. I have to say part of the influence - one of my older brothers is into street art and blogs for Street Art News in Chicago. He’s always pushing me to go to events and things like that. I had dabbled in digital advertising job and I was miserable. I was on a computer all day, no contact with people, and putting up ads. It was not for me.
I’m also like an insomniac, so I would go and walk around at night and all I saw was the art and it meant a lot to me. Then I started going to these shows. It turned out to be the warmest community. It was so diverse and welcoming and it had been at a time when my family had moved out of the country. I felt so alone and these people were so amazing and talented that I wanted to go to every one of their shows. I wanted to help them any way that I could. So when people started asking if I could work with them, I was like ‘Ah, I don’t know, I have this corporate job and I’m not sure if I’d have the time to dedicate to you. I’m not sure.’ And then Mo approached me and it just fell into place and it’s been really gratifying.
I’m a street art nerd. I also have to say that I waited for my apartment for five years, not because of the size of the apartment but because I have a teeny tiny yard but there’s a Chico mural there. That’s the best part of the apartment.
M: VolaVida started in August of last year as a popup gallery. For years a friend of mine was working in a gallery in Chelsea and I just liked it; I liked the idea of selling art. I believe in art. I believe in what it can do for people and I decided to just roll with it. We did a couple shows in Chelsea and then I started doing it at the Cherry Tavern. No one feels intimidated in a dive bar. You come in and have a $3 beer and maybe buy some art. It turned out that we were actually successful. I didn’t expect it to be. The first show we did there we sold three pieces. I was like, ‘Whoa.’
I met Lulu and we just connected and we had the opportunity to get this space and we took it. Doing only the popups is just too much pressure to sell something in one night. If you have a one-day show, not everyone can show up on a Thursday or Friday night. But if you have seven days or 14 days to run a show, and actually having a brick and mortar place to go to everyday and have people walk in, you have the opportunity to sell more.
L: And you can develop a clientele and meet the whole neighborhood. This neighborhood has been really friendly and supportive. People look in and they recognize an artist that they see on the street and we’re able to educate them about these elements that are within their environment everyday that they wonder about. We have that information behind it. We’re also always looking for the next show or thing that we’re working on to setup within other spaces, which we’ll still do. We want to do bigger events and spread VolaVida’s artists beyond here, but to have this space has been extremely productive.
We have an extensive collection of art and artists that we’re working with. We have FLOOD, who did the anti-Bill Cosby campaign. And there's Wane, who I was so excited about. He does the graffiti on the trucks. He actually just walked in here one day and I couldn’t believe it. Christian Hooker also did a piece here. The title of it is The Paramount of Global Destruction Will Be Televised. He actually worked on a found oil painting and reworked it and created a whole frame and all of the detail was handmade. He does amazing things with wood and canvas. He actually made these benches for us — the actual nice furniture in here.
We’re also showing the debut of DEBT, who’s a local graffiti artist. I think that’s another important part of our gallery. We are getting people in who are aspiring to be in the galleries but do not feel comfortable going into these places. We want people to come and know they can hang out. Look around and talk — ask us questions about the artists.
M: We also have a Bansky and a Space Invader now. The Banksy was part of his installation on Ludlow Street and the Space Invader is from 176 Delancey from a building that was going to be knocked down. Those items were salvaged by two people. The Space Invader was anonymous and the Banksy was taken by ClockWork Cros, who does the face clocks — the clocks in Mikey Likes It. He lives down the block. A portion of the proceeds of the sale will go to GOLES. Technically it isn’t our stuff or the people who took it. It was put there for the public display of art. But we feel like people should benefit from it because it’s worth a lot of money. It’s my belief about sharing.
L: It’s very generous of the people who provided the pieces to us. They could definitely sell them on their own but they are giving us the opportunity to support our cause of supporting street artists. GOLES supports low-income families. They are helping maintain the culture of the neighborhood.
M: The street art community is an entire world. When the lights go off and these guys come out. There’s a whole world and a whole mindset behind it. They have their own social scene. We’re just spreading the word in terms of de-stigmatising street art and graffiti. I like to use the word urban expressionism, because it’s really just what it is. Street art is just a part of urban expressionism. There are definitely some vandals ruining property but there are also a lot of people who we’re working with who want to beautify the city. There are so many walls that are empty – why not make them look better? We’re going around the neighborhood asking people if they want their gates or their walls painted because they can make some really awesome murals, so if anyone’s interested send them our way.
L: We have pieces from $25 and up. We try to have something that everyone can afford. We just meet more and more artists and friends and street art nerds like myself. It just shows how much the art around us makes a difference in where we live. These artists put their heart in it. They do it for the love of art and people.
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
Whatever these guys have been doing at East 13th Street in recent months.
Ditto for the wall renovation at the East Side Community School on East 12th Street.
Upcoming!
Avenue A and surrounding side streets should get even more construction at the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on East 14th Street. Plans are calling for an 8-story residential building with ground-floor retail here just west of Avenue A. In addition, there are two 6-story condos coming to East 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.
In an article published last Friday, the Post noted that there are people sleeping in Tompkins Square Park, calling it a "homeless haven" ... one unnamed parks worker said that the place is "riddled with bums who have drug problems."
Tompkins Square Park has been an accurate barometer of where the city is headed. Known for decades as “Needle Park,” its disarray and lawlessness reflected a dysfunctional, ungovernable city. The restoration of its beauty over the last 20 years has heralded an era where residents and a vibrant collection of small businesses near the park — is there a single better food in all of New York City than the jalapeno cheddar cream cheese at Tompkins Square Bagels? — have thrived. Let’s not let that progress slip through our fingers.
This week, members of the Observer editorial board visited the park. It was a gorgeous summer day and workers were sweeping up, dogs were playing, a small group was practicing Falun Gong, men were playing chess. And at least six people were sleeping on cardboard boxes on the lawn. One park worker, Nelsy, told the Observer that Police Commissioner Bill Bratton personally visited the park on Monday. Perhaps he was inspired by the Post story to take a look and if so, we applaud his leadership. But it will take more than a visit. The city needs a strategy and the determination to stick with it.
It’s time to take back Tompkins Square Park and beyond. Before it’s too late.
The piece quotes an EVG commenter (one of 105 on our post on the article) who wrote, in part: "There are junkies, most of whom are men, passed out, sleeping, without shoes, often waking up and screaming. Some of them talk to themselves and have incoherent conversations."
To which the Observer responded: "It may not be violent criminal behavior at first, but the cancer of lawlessness will metastasize. It will get worse."
[Photo of Scott Stringer from Monday's press conference]
According to a damning audit that City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released on Monday, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) makes its residents wait for weeks, months and sometimes even years before fixing serious problems.
In addition, "NYCHA officials have repeatedly fixed the numbers in the their backlog of repair requests without actually fixing the problems," as the Daily Newsput it.
Per the report (find the summary here; the news release here):
The audit ... revealed that NYCHA drastically under-reported data on its maintenance backlog, failed to properly train staff to get rid of mold, mildew, and excessive moisture conditions in tenants’ apartments, and fell dramatically short when it came to meeting its own deadlines for repairs.
The audit also found that the NYCHA routinely closed non-emergency work orders if residents were not home when workers visited their apartments. In total, the audit found 55,000 backlogged repairs ... while it took the NYCHA an average of 370 days to fix safety violations.
We asked Stringer's office for the stats on NYCHA properties in the East Village and Lower East Side.
The work order backlog numbers are as of July 2014 and violations are as of September 2014:
• 45 Allen Street: 42 backlogged work orders, 4 outstanding building violations
• Baruch Houses: 904 backlogged work orders, 55 outstanding building violations
• Bracetti Plaza: 20 backlogged work orders, 2 outstanding building violations
• Campos Plaza: 87 backlogged work orders, 5 outstanding building violations
• First Houses: 19 backlogged work orders, 1 outstanding building violation
• Gompers Houses: 147 backlogged work orders, 9 outstanding building violations
• LaGuardia Houses: 275 backlogged work orders, 26 outstanding building violations
• LES Consolidated: 180 backlogged work orders, 30 outstanding building violations
• Meltzer Tower: 60 backlogged work orders, 1 outstanding building violation
• Riis: 718 backlogged work orders, 43 outstanding building violations
• Seward Park Extension: 121 backlogged work orders, 16 outstanding violations
• Smith: 468 backlogged work orders, 32 outstanding violations
• Vladeck Houses: 335 backlogged work orders, 42 outstanding violations
• Wald: 330 backlogged work orders, 8 outstanding violations
For their part, NYCHA officials said that Stringer was recycling old data.
Per DNAinfo:
"Reviewing old work order data from January 1, 2013 — July 31, 2014, the audit measure a long-acknowledged, well-documented issue, which the new leadership at NYCHA was brought onboard to fix," NYCHA Chief Communications Officer Jean Weinberg said in a statement.
Stringer is "recommending investing in technology to track repairs in New York City’s public housing similar to the CompStat program that the Police Department uses to map and respond to crime," per The New York Times.
Multiple readers have noted that Contrada, the Mediterranean-influenced restaurant on Second Avenue at East Fourth Street, has been closed since at least Saturday... a look inside reveals a nearly empty space... and someone has removed the Contrada menus from outside...
In addition, the restaurant's phone is temporarily disconnected ... and Open Table isn't accepting any reservations at this time. (There isn't any mention of a vacation or other temporary closure on Contrada's social media properties.) We reached out to proprietor Eric Anderson to see what might be going on with the space.
In the spring of 2014, the space evolved from Calliope, a French bistro, to Contrada... this after the departure of chefs Ginevra Iverson and Eric Korsh in January 2014.
Developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty bought the landmarked 190 Bowery from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million last year.
Back in November, Rosen was ready to flip the property, according to the Commercial Observer. However, that apparent re-sale never transpired ... but! It looks as if the historic Germania Bank Building on the corner of Spring Street is back on the market, Curbed reported earlier today.
The open floor plans combined with the property being delivered vacant, offer an unusually large blank canvas for a developer or user to execute a myriad of potential visions, including a boutique residential condominium, a retail flagship, or a truly historic and one-of-a-kind single family residence. Regardless of the strategy, the end result will change the landscape of the Bowery for years to come and will be a project unmatched in the price premiums it obtains.
There isn't any mention of the asking price (presumably it's higher than $55 million). No word on what happened to the previous tenants (a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals) who reportedly signed to lease part of the space.
However, effective immediately, the party's over for now atop the former Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, which Shaoul bought and converted into high-end rentals.
A tipster shared a 10-page memo dated yesterday to the building's residents.
As you are aware, we have made several attempts to enforce the roof rules for the safety of all residents and their guests.
The roof is intended to be used and enjoyed by all residents in this building; however that is no longer the case. As a result of excessive parties, most of which have gone on well after permitted hours, the amenity space has been destroyed – and regrettably this has occurred too many occasions.
The most recent incident left the amenity space looted: alcoholic beverages, beer bottles, graffiti on the ledge, items thrown from our roof over to neighboring rooftops and broken furniture. This is simply unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated.
We regret to inform you that due to the events that have transpired on the roof, the Landlord is CLOSING the roof effective immediately. Access will be limited to emergency use. Anyone found on the roof in a non-emergency related capacity will be considered trespassing and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Once repairs have been made a revised roof schedule will be circulated.
However, at this time we are not providing residents with a new opening date. We understand this might be upsetting to those of you who have not participated in the destruction of private property — however it is our responsibility as a Landlord to ensure the use and enjoyment of every resident in this building, the safety of all its residents and our desire to respect our neighbors and the community in which we live.
We hope that this pause will encourage those residents and their guest(s) to reconsider their actions and remember that they are living in a community of fellow residents. We are optimistic that once the roof reopens, residents will treat this very special amenity with respect and help promote common courtesy by following the guidelines set forth by the Landlord.
The memo included several photos. (Per the memo: "We have included photos of the most recent incident below — they are incredibly telling and disheartening.")
