The spiritual harmony of Katinka on East 9th Street

[Photo from May by James and Karla Murray Photography]

Nice feature in the Times about jazz musician Billy Lyles and his longtime companion, designer Jane Williams, and the shop they have run together since 1979 — Katinka.

As the East Village’s grit and rebel spirit have steadily given way to upscale businesses, one of the mom-and-pop places that have hung on since the 1970s is Katinka.

Mr. Lyles and Ms. Williams, who live in a railroad apartment upstairs, have kept prices low, even as their rent has risen. The shop’s spiritual harmony, they claim, has kept them solvent.

“This store is like a magnet — they all want to come in and get some energy, and Billy is the gatekeeper,” said Ms. Williams, who designs the clothing and travels to India to have it made by hand. “I take care of the colors and he takes care of the music.”

The shop, located at 303 E. Ninth St. just east of Second Avenue, sells Indian clothing, shoes and accessories … they usually open around 4 … with limited hours Tuesday through Saturday.

Read the whole article here. Find more of James and Karla Murray's storefront shots here.

Noted

New street art spotted this morning on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue…

Summer Streets start next Saturday

In case you missed this news from yesterday… Summer Streets start next Saturday, as the headline implied…

Here's the official Summer Streets About:

Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City’s most valuable public space—our streets. On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC's streets are opened for people to play, run, walk and bike. Summer Streets provides space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation. In 2014, more than 300,000 people took advantage of the open streets.

Summer Streets is modeled on other events from around the world including Ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia and the Paris Plage in France and has since inspired other such events around the world such as CicloRecreo Via and London’s Regent Street Summer Streets.

Held between 7:00 am to 1:00 pm, Summer Streets extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, with easy access from all points in New York City, allowing participants to plan a trip as long or short as they wish. All activities at Summer Streets are free of charge, and designed for people of all ages and ability levels to share the streets respectfully.

For us here in Midtown South, the car-free, Street-Festival-Free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue…



And the pièce de résistance this year? A giant water slide in Foley Square via Slide the City…


[Random Slide the City photo via Slide the City]

Please note that you have to wait 30 minutes after eating before sliding.

Into the west

Photo this evening by Bobby Williams...

Lights on, lights off

Christo taking a break this evening in Astor Place... photo via 8E

East Village Spice back open on 1st Avenue

Spice is back in business at 71 First Ave. between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street.

The Thai place had only just opened in the former home of sister restaurant Pukk when it had to close to upgrade its gas lines… a fairly rigorous process these days.

The Spice on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street closed on June 1.

Head in the Clouds

The Orb is back with a new record... and they'll be around here at the Bowery Ballroom on Sept. 11.

Here's one of their more well-known tracks... "Little Fluffy Clouds" from 1990.

[Updated] Schoolchildren protesting NYPD patrol tower in Tompkins Square Park

A group of kids with the Middle Project JustArts Kids Camp were in Tompkins Square Park around noon to protest the NYPD patrol tower that arrived on Tuesday...

EVG correspondent Steven said that the campgoers are from the JustArts day camp, a collaboration between the Lower East Side Girls Club and The Middle Project, part of the Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue at East Seventh Street. The campers were chanting "No justice, no peace."





Edited to reflect the name of the day camp and affiliations

Updated 7-26

There are comments here from both Lyn Pentecost at the Lower Eastside Girls Club and the Rev. Jacqueline J. Lewis from Middle Collegiate Church (and executive director of the Middle Project).

Here is what Rev. Lewis had to say:

I want you to know the Church and the Middle Project have not yet made judgment about the tower in the park. It just got there and we have not yet discussed it. When we know, we will say. In the meantime, we will not rush to judgment, we will engage with you and the police about it, and we will do all we can to help make our community safe.

So our little people were not expressing an official opinion from the adults who shaped the camp. What they did in the JustArts Camp was to talk about justice, to talk about what it means to be citizens of the world responsible to use our voices to create a more just society, and to reflect on/do art in service of justice. Some of our children have marched for justice issues. What they did in this case was a concert in the park, and chanted No Justice, No Peace. with their drums. The camp art and conversation was focused on justice--economic, racial, lgbti, environmental...

What is great about art is it creates a space for us to reflect, to project, to imagine. All who gathered likely had different interpretations of what was happening. And each child, each family represented, might feel different about the art, about the tower, about the city, about the events in our nation that call forth voices on police reform, safely, etc. We encourage not only justice work but freedom of thought, speech, etc.

I am fascinated by this conversation, and glad for it. It is the best result of our intent. Our voices, our art, invoke/evoke/provoke conversation, reaction, new ideas, dialog, resistance, encouragement. A good conversation helps us to know each other, to be stretched by each other, to find solutions together that we hope change the world for the good. I am thrilled that EV Grieve told of this event and hosted this conversation. Thank you!

Yes, Middle Church is justice forward, working to heal our souls and our world. The Middle Project is our non-denominational non-religious partner. It works to to teach ethics to children, youth, young adults and clergy that lead to a more just society. I know you share our passion for justice. We believe that when we know justice, we will know peace.

Thank you parents, thank you LES Girls Club, thank you Middle Project Team for helping our little people use their voices. Thank you neighbors for watching the concert, for watching out for all of our community children, encouraging them, being a village for them. And thanks for engaging in this dialog.

Former froyo spot will become body waxing center on 2nd Avenue, just because

EVG Waxing Center Correspondent Steven noticed that the signage is up for the next tenant at 120 Second Ave. — another Manhattan location for the (a?) Uni K Wax Center.



The Uni K folks offer body waxing, bikini waxing and other various waxings for men and women, per their website.

The address here near East Seventh Street is returing to its spa roots. After a short-lived time as the froyo spot Twister, the storefront housed a Spa Belles.

Previously on EV Grieve:
For whom the Spa Belles toll

EV Grieve Etc.: the Polish delights at G.I. Deli; new evening options at Jennifer Cafe

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

The Polish delights at G.I. Deli on First Avenue (The Village Voice)

A Fuku-Superiority Burger comparison (The Observer)

A look at Via Della Pace Pizza on St. Mark's Place (Eater)

East Village resident Lilly O’Donnell recalls a summer romance (The Washington Post)

More viewpoints on the Tompkins Square Park police tower (CBS New York)

From 1871 to 1874, the building at East 10th Street and Avenue D served as the Strangers’ Hospital (Ephemeral New York)

More about NYC's first kava bar, Kavasutra, now open on East 10th Street (The Daily News)

Video: A visit to Harry and Ida's Meat & Supply Co. on Avenue A (The Village Voice)

Gigi Li accused of election fraud in campaign for District Leader (BoweryBoogie)

Alex rethinks Patti Smith (Flaming Pablum)

Parents upset over removal of principal from Marta Valle High School on Stanton Street (The Lo-Down)

The global appeal of the Ramones T-shirt (The Independent)

12 hours of discussing "Paul's Boutique" (Dangerous Minds)

Kerouac's "The Vanishing American Hobo" essay (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

... and EVG reader Lauren passes along word that Jennifer Cafe on East Fourth Street and First Avenue is now open in the evenings... the proprietors are now in the third week of selling tacos, quesadillas and tortas after 6 p.m. ...



... and a reader notes that Dieci on East 10th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue has been closed for the last two days... there's a notice from the city saying that restaurant has been operating without some unspecified permit...

How Grace Farrell came to die outside St. Brigid's in February 2011

[EVG photo from February 2011]

On Feb. 19, 2011, a woman froze to death in her makeshift bedding on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Eighth Street in a doorway at the under-renovation St. Brigid's.

In the days that followed, there were several media accounts of the woman, Grace Farrell. From the Daily News:

She came from Ireland half a life ago, a blue-eyed 17-year-old determined to make a splash in New York's art scene with her colorful portraits and vivid landscapes.

On Sunday morning — years after her life started to go bad in a haze of alcohol and a lousy marriage — Grace Farrell, 35, was found dead on the sidewalk in front of St. Brigid's Church on Avenue B in the East Village.

Her body was ice-cold from sleeping one too many nights on the street.

She spent her last night alive on a bed of cardboard in a church alcove. Thin blankets barely sheltered her from the brutal winter weather.

There's now a new documentary on RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland titled Grace & Emmanuel. The special documents the lives of Farrell and Emmanuel Touhey, who grew up together at St. Vincent's Children’s Home in Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland. Touhey emigrated to the United States a few years before Farrell. Their lives took very different paths, as Touhey became an editor at C-SPAN's website.

In Washington D.C., Emmanuel read the news in the New York papers. Although he hadn’t seen Grace since his time in St. Vincent’s Children’s Home, he wanted her to be remembered as more than just another grim statistic.

“I think despite how hard she tried and how much she hoped to live a life that she wanted to live for her son and for her family, the odds were against her I think from the beginning.”

You can listen to the episode here. There's an accompanying article at The Irish Times here.

Updated: Tompkins Square Park sleepover planned to protest NYPD patrol tower

[Photo yesterday by George Cohen]

Via the Facebook invite:

Protest the NYPD "sniper tower" in Tompkins Square Park 1988 with a weekend long campout to celebrate the 27 years since the bloody NYPD riot that injured hundreds of innocent and unawares local citizens in our neighborhood. The arrogance of the NYPD was never greater since the recent erection of the "sniper" tower outfitted with cameras and recording equipment.

A clear and blatant violation to first and fourth amendments rights to public assembly, free speech and privacy. Bring a tent, some water and noise makers. Support the right of homeless people to enjoy a public park. It's real estate maggots like Jared Kushner who are destroying our community. Let's show him it won't come easy.

The sleepover is planned Aug. 7-9.

The patrol tower arrived on Tuesday, and has already inspired a Twitter parody account. There's also an online petition asking Mayor de Blasio to remove the tower.

Updated 2:44 p.m.

Some clarification in the comments from John Penley:

I was asked to come back to help with this so I am. First of all the camp will be called Camp New York Post and people will not be sleeping inside the park and being arrested we will sleep on 7th street outside the park and there will be no fires just free food and cold non-alcoholic drinks. We also will not block the sidewalk. The point I want to make is that the reason for doing this is not just the tower it is because we believe the NY Post used the sad plight of homeless people to create a return to Giuliani style policing in relation to the poor and those suffering from poverty, mental illness and gentrification and we do not want that to continue

Previously on EV Grieve:
NYPD installs patrol tower in the middle of Tompkins Square Park (147 comments)

The Post reports Tompkins Square Park 'has become a homeless haven' (113 comments)

Observer editors write, 'it's time to take back Tompkins Square Park' (49 comments)

Parts of Avenue C and D now with a SkyWatch tower, additional NYPD lights

[Updated] NYPD patrol tower arrives on Avenue D

Bringing up babies on the side streets

[Photo Monday by Fenton Lawless]

Unlike last summer, when the young hawks spent much of their formative months in Tompkins Square Park, Christo and Dora's 2015 fledglings have been keeping to the side streets near their former nest at the Ageloff Towers on Avenue A and East Third Street.

So there have been several hawklet sightings on side streets between Avenue A and Avenue B and East Sixth Street and East Third Street.

East Village resident Emily Reese shared this ...

One of Christo and Dora's brood decided to take a break outside my living room window.



The hawk seemed giant. I guess it was two feet from its toes to the top of its head. It was sitting facing away from the window at first, but it noticed me and moved to face me as I began to photograph it. It stayed for 20 minutes, first on the west side of my north-facing fire escape ... Then it shifted to the east side, much to the terror of my two pet birds just inside. It was amazing to watch.

Toward the end of the hawk's visit, she decided to close the aperture and slow the shutter speed on her camera to try to capture the beautiful movement of the hawk's feathers ...







As always, Goggla has been been keeping tabs on the hawk clan (here and here). You may also find more Christo-and-Dora activity at TwoHawksNYC here.

1st sign of the incoming CVS at 51 Astor Place

Paper went up this week around the retail space at 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/Death Star that will house a CVS...



According to The Real Deal, which first reported on the building's first retail tenant last week, this CVS will cover roughly 11,500 square feet on the Death Star's ground and concourse levels … at the southern end here …

The new CVS marks the 29th large-scale drug store in the immediate area.

Previously on EV Grieve:
BREAKING: CVS is the 1st retail tenant for the Death Star! (42 comments)

I know it's only filming for 'Rock and Roll' (but I like it)

Crews will be out today in parts of the neighborhood filming the new HBO series "Rock and Roll," which Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger are producing.

Filming will be taking place between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on parts of Avenue A (between East Third and East Fifth streets) and along Avenue B and East Fourth Street and wherever else the kinda blurry photo says.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the show is "set in 1970s New York, as punk and disco are emerging onto the drug-hazed, sex-crazed music scene, and record executive Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) is trying to revitalize his label." The cast includes Olivia Wilde, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen and Mick's son James Jagger.

Sorry for that headline, BTW!

The former Benny's is serving as a gallery space right now on Avenue A

Peter Missing is currently selling artwork and T-shirts and other items in front of the former Benny's Burritos on Avenue A and East Sixth Street this evening… tonight until????

H/T Bill Cashman

Continued dewatering at Ben Shaoul's 98-100 Avenue A prompts visit by the FDNY

The ongoing dewatering process at Ben Shaoul's incoming retail-residential complex between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street continues to make people believe there is a fire in the construction pit.

A neighbor of the property at 98-100 Avenue A noted that the FDNY arrived en masse around 7 after a report of smoke at the site.

There was a hand-drawn sign on the plywood (like seen here earlier in the month) …



...but it has been painted over.

There's also a smaller sign that reads:

"We are currently performing dewatering on this construction site. This is condensation (water vapor) coming up through the pipes. There is no fire, no smoke, and no reason for alarm."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rest assured, there isn't a fire in the hole at 98-100 Avenue A

Report: Bystander shot in foot during argument on Avenue D

A woman standing outside the Riis Houses last night around 11 was accidentally shot in the foot when a fight broke out nearby, according to published reports.

A witness told DNAinfo that she heard five shots at 178 Avenue D near East 12th Street.

Per DNAinfo:

"Gunshots are nothing new around here, but it's getting old, getting tiring. You feel like a hostage in your own neighborhood," the witness said.

The victim, 53, was taken to Bellevue Hospital ... where she was listed in stable condition. According to the Daily News, the woman was hit in her left foot and the bullet grazed across her right foot. It was not clear if she knew the men arguing. The shooter remained at large.

Report: There are a lot of rats on this East Village corner

Over at the Daily News, veteran staff photographer Sam Costanza reported that the corner of Avenue D and East 10th Street "was crawling with vermin" early this morning.

Per the article:

"As females walk by these bastards jump out and scare 'em," Costanza said. "It's quite a sight."

And!

The Daily Newser counted at least 10 rats swarming in close proximity, including one "cat-sized" rodent.

He also took a photo of the rats perched inside the hubcap of a Honda.

Head to the Daily News here if you'd like to see photos AND video of this.

Ben Shaoul sells 31-33 2nd Ave. for $29 million

[EVG file photo of the FRONT of the building]

Ben Shaoul has sold his recently created East Luxe rental building at 31-33 Second Ave. between East First Street and East Second Street for $29 million, The Real Deal reports.

The new owner is real-estate investor Sunny Yung, who owns a handful of properties via his Central Management Corp.

As The Real Deal notes, Shaoul bought the property for $5.6 million in 2011. He then added three floors to the existing building to make it an unrecognizable, 1970s-student-housing-inspired rental with 20 units.

[Photo from 2009 by LuciaM via Panoramio]

According to Streeteasy, the average price of a rental here is $5,142. As previously noted, a Petco Unleashed is taking the building's retail space.

Shaoul's former rooftop-raging 62 Bloom on Avenue B is on the market for $80 million.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Ben Shaoul planning a 3-story addition at 31-33 Second Ave.

Bracing for 3 new floors at 31-33 Second Ave.

Checking in on the work in progress at 31-33 2nd Ave., where Ben Shaoul is adding 3 new floors

Ben Shaoul's bland new 2nd Avenue building is called The East Luxe

More about The East Luxe, Ben Shaoul's new 20-unit rental on 2nd Avenue