Flatbush puts on an early-evening show in Tompkins Square Park

The new red-tailed fledgling provided some early Friday evening entertainment in Tompkins Square Park.

On Wednesday, Ranger Rob (aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor) released a juvenile red-tailed hawk into the Park that had been injured earlier in the month in Brooklyn.

Nicknamed Flatbush (he fell from a nest on Flatbush Avenue), the hawklet started practicing to fly... EVG hawk-watching correspondent Steven shared these photos...







He eventually made it as high as the fence...







... and a contemplative moment captured by EVG reader Alberto Means...



Eventually, Ranger Rob, an East Village resident, safely put Flatbush back into a tree for the night... (these two photos are by Bobby Williams)...



Ranger Rob also let Flatbush use the radio to prank some other rangers (JK!) ...



In a very encouraging sign, Steven spotted Christo, one of the adult red-tailed hawks in the Park, bringing the rescued hawklet some food (????) yesterday morning...

Eco-Fest & Block Party today on 6th Street

Between Avenue B and Avenue C between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. — rain or shine...

Here's what you can expect via the Block Party website:

All ages / Free / Open to the Public

Solar Power / Music / Community Gardens / Bicycling / Composting / Urban Agriculture / Yoga / Public Spaces / Permaculture / Theater / Green Roofs / Dance / Community Supported Agriculture / Maps / Cantestorias / Science / Hemp / Seed Bombs / Beekeeping / Puppets / Geothermal Energy / Plastic Free / Diversity / Art / Wind Power / Food

Alone together again

Seattle's Chastity Belt recently released their third record, the excellent "I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone."

And they are playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday. The above video for "Dull" was taped during a visit to WFUV in 2015.

EV Grieve Etc.: Monkey business at the Anthology; pigeon problems on Bond Street

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

A deep dive on Essex Crossing (The New York Times)

The Mayor is taking questions during a Town Hall on the LES next week (The Lo-Down)

Meanwhile, de Blasio seemingly getting more proactive about subway woes (Curbed)

Rundown of Pride Week events (Official site) ... and LGBT history in the East Village (Off the Grid)

Cinematic primates have their moment in the Simian Vérité film series (Anthology Film Archives)

A look at the East Village Hare Krishna movement via "Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It" opening at the Village East Cinema (B+B)

There's an interactive new play that will recreate "Panic in Needle Park" on the LES (Gothamist)

Landlord sues Bond Street tenant for feeding pigeons, creating poop-filled sidewalk (New York Post)

Billionaires chase after Basquiats (Bloomberg)

Last weekend for group show "Wrong Side of History" (Bullet Space, Third Street between C and D)

Podcaster Taxstone pleads guilty to Irving Plaza gun charges (DNAinfo)

How Citi Bike started a transportation — and advertising — revolution (Fast Company)

Ranking NYC ice cream (Eater)

A posthumous album coming next month from Suicide's Alan Vega (Dangerous Minds)

On the street

EVG Facebook friend Roy Lee, a former East Village resident, was back in the neighborhood earlier this month... he shared a few photos that he took...

















Previously on EV Grieve:
Found photos in the East Village from the early 1990s

Gastropub — 'Your new playground' — slated for former Guayoyo space on 1st Avenue

An EVG tipster let us know that renovations are underway at 67 First Ave., the former Guayoyo space on the northwest corner of Fourth Street ...



Signs on the door point to a venture called Mabi (or Space Mabi?), a gastropub...



Their motto is "Your new playground" ...



Guayoyo, the low-key, family-owned Venezuelan restaurant, never reopened after an early-morning basement fire on Jan. 13, 2015. In a follow-up inspection, Con Ed discovered a gas leak at the address.

In April 2015, an employee said they hoped to have the restaurant reopened soon. That never happened as repairs and red tape ensued with the landlord, Icon Realty, and Con Ed. (Read more about the situation here.) Guayoyo vacated the lease in August 2016, 20 months after the fire. A message posted on Guayoyo's Facebook page read in part: "Unfortunately we are forced to close the doors despite the efforts made to ensure its reopening during this year and a half of forced closure due to circumstances beyond our control."

The husband-wife team who owned Guayoyo previously ran Kura Sushi at the address, which dates to 1988.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Guayoyo has been closed now for 1 year

Plywood arrives for the incoming Starbucks on St. Mark's Place and Avenue A

Workers started putting up the plywood on the corner of St. Mark's Place and Avenue A yesterday.

As we first reported on Monday, the paperwork is on file at the Department of Buildings for a Starbucks in this now-combined corner space that previously housed Nino's and Hop Devil Grill.

No word on a tentative opening date just yet for the Starbucks. There are other questions too, as posed by @EdenBrower, who took the above photo...

@evgrieve how big is the @Starbucks going to be?? pic.twitter.com/eiURc9Bf8B

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) June 15, 2017

Previously on EV Grieve:
Starbucks confirmed for Avenue A
Updated 6/17

The final plywood product...

Rally in support the Public Theater this evening at Astor Place

[Photos by Steven]

There was a rally this evening at 6 on Astor Place to support the Public Theater and "condemn corporate censorship" ...



As you may have read, criticism in right-leaning media outlets prompted Delta and Bank of America to pull support of the Public Theater's production of "Julius Caesar" in Central Park ... which portrays Caesar as a Donald Trump-like character (and you likely know what eventually happens to Caesar...)

Per the Times:

A clash between Trump supporters and an iconic Manhattan arts institution over what kind of art is appropriate was perhaps inevitable in this hyperpartisan age. The proudly iconoclastic Public Theater is the birthplace of “Hair” (the Vietnam-era antiwar musical) and “Hamilton” (the hip-hop musical celebrating immigrants). And [Oskar] Eustis, the Public’s artistic director, is an unabashedly left-leaning theatermaker who believes in the value of provocative art.

Defenders of the production, including some theater critics, describe the Public’s “Julius Caesar” as nuanced, complex and loyal to Shakespeare’s text — a cautionary tale about the costs of political violence.

The Public, located nearby on Lafayette, released this statement on Monday...

#WeAreOnePublic. pic.twitter.com/HkOKxFIKsT

— The Public Theater (@PublicTheaterNY) June 12, 2017

Whiskey, Tango...

A scene in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon... the soldiers politely declined Jerry's offer to enlist...



Photos by Derek Berg

Shoolbred's is signing off on Father's Day

After nearly 10 years in business, Shoolbred's is closing at 197 Second Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street.

The bar, with wood-paneled walls, stained-glass windows and a fireplace, meant to evoke a classic Scottish pub, will shut its doors following service on Sunday.

Co-owner Robert Morgan selected this Sunday as a last date for a reason.

"It is appropriate that we should be closing on Father's Day weekend," he said via an email. "Shoolbred's was designed as 'Your Father's Bar, while your father is away on business.'"

Morgan, who also operates Kingston Hall on Second Avenue and Baci e Vendetta on Avenue A with business partner Nic Ratner, said they are "returning the Shoolbred's space to the landlord, who is asking egregious rents."

"We would like to thank all of our loyal customers and incredible staff for making this an amazing decade," he said.

In February 2016, Morgan and Ratner closed Ninth Ward, their New Orleans-themed bar at 180 Second Ave.

Turns out that the Ninth Ward — which also has an outpost in London — will be returning to No. 180 later next year after some building renovations. We'll have more on that in an upcoming post.

This address was home until 2007 to Jade Mountain, home of the great Chow Mein sign.

Protection for Haven Plaza on Avenue C in case of another hurricane like Sandy

Haven Plaza, the affordable-housing complex on Avenue C, is getting a natural disaster-resistant infrastructure to protect it in case of another hurricane with the force of Sandy.

Officials recently broke ground on the $9.89-million project, which will rise at 13th Street.

Here are more details via the official news release on the project:

This new two-story structure plus basement and the upgrades throughout the complex are in direct response to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, when the nearby East River overflowed its banks, the Con Edison East River Generating Station adjacent to Haven Plaza exploded, and, as a result, Haven Plaza lost all electricity and steam for heat. Residents – many elderly – were trapped without elevator service, electricity, heat or water. Men and women of the National Guard shared their field rations with residents until the power returned.

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation awarded nearly $10 million to Haven Plaza for the project through the New York City Build It Back program.

Here's more in a statement from Daniel Allen, principal of CTA Architects, the project's designer:

"The new facility addresses Haven Plaza’s need to be self-sufficient during both regular operations and in case of a natural disaster, instead of relying on a costly ConEd steam supply. We also wanted the new structure to be architecturally attractive due to its visibility on a high-trafficked location. The front façade will be glazed to allow the passers-by to view the inner works of the building and equipment within."

[Rendering via CTA Architects]

This is a really good thing for those who reside in Haven Plaza. Of course, residents – many elderly – were also trapped without elevator service, electricity, heat or water in all the surrounding public housing buildings in the aftermath of Sandy. Where's the disaster protections for these residents?

In any event, according to DNAinfo, who first reported on this last week, the project will be complete in 2018.

The 371-unit, four-building Haven Plaza complex between 12th Street and 13th Street was completed in 1966.

Full FULL reveal at 347 Bowery

Workers this week removed the last of the scaffolding and sidewalk bridge surrounding 347 Bowery.

The Annabelle Selldorf-designed 13-story luxury building at Third Street features five stacked town homes.

This angle also allows for a view of the now-demolished former 3 E. Third St. Brooklyn-based Barrett Design is dropping in a seven-story mixed-use condoplex on that lot...



As for No. 347, the homes will sit atop the two-story commercial base... which looks pretty bank-branch drab compared to the residential portion of the condoplex...



...drab like the former Chase branch on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

Find retail rental info here.


[Photo from 2015]

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Salvation Army's former East Village Residence will be demolished on the Bowery

Whatever happened to that really ugly hotel planned for the Bowery?

Looks like 347 Bowery will be home to a 13-floor mixed-use residential development

The future of 347 Bowery (sorta!) revealed

Let's take a look at 347 Bowery, now and in the future

347 Bowery getting its zinc supplements

Ranger Rob brings a new red-tailed hawk to Tompkins Square Park

Apparently there will be more than one hawklet to watch this summer in Tompkins Square Park.

This afternoon, Ranger Rob (aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor) released a juvenile red-tailed hawk into Tompkins Square Park. He was assisted by Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation.

Earlier this month, the hawklet was injured falling out of a nest on Flatbush Avenue. It was deemed too dangerous for the hawk to stay there.

Ranger Rob, an East Village resident, said that it's very likely that Christo and Dora, the adult red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square Park, will adopt this one. (There isn't any shortage of food.)

The first three photos in this post are by Bobby Williams...





...and these photos via Steven show the hawklet adjusting to the new environment...





The hawk has also been tagged to help keep tabs on it...



Updated 10 p.m.

Goggla shares this photo of Ranger Rob with the juvenile hawk...



According to Ranger Rob, this hawk is a male... and given his Brooklyn roots, people watching this scene unfold started calling the hawk Flatbush...

Goggla has a lot of great pics here.

Report: Drinking or urinating in, say, Tompkins Square Park, no longer a criminal offense

Last March, the city and DA's office announced a new initiative to change how individuals who commit low-level offenses are processed in Manhattan.

As NY1 reports, a number of offenses will now (as of yesterday) be handled in city administrative court rather than as criminal cases. The NYPD will issue civil summonses for quality-of-life offenses. The new summons policy mandates that offenders then appear at the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings — OATH!

Per NY1:

Violations with less serious penalties now include urinating or drinking in public, spitting, littering, making excessive noise in a park or breaking park rules.

But!

You may still have to go to criminal court under some circumstances.

That includes a person getting three civil summonses for quality-of-life offenses, ignoring them, and then getting a fourth summons.

The new guidelines do not apply to those with open warrants, prior felony arrests, or who may be on parole or probation.

The Daily News reports that about 96 percent of patrol officers have been trained on the new guidelines.

NYPD officials estimate that this will reduce the number of criminal summonses issued a year by about 100,000. The idea is that the initiative will enable the NYPD to devote its resources to investigating serious crimes, while further reducing the backlog of cases in Criminal Court, among other reasons.

Hawklet watch: Going out on a limb

[Photo by Dennis Edge. Reposted with permission]

On Monday evening, the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawklet fledged... longtime bird watcher Dennis Edge captured the moment in the above photo.

So be prepared for some possible erratic flying in the days ahead as Christo and Dora's lone 2017 offspring continues to develop into a lean, rat-eating machine. (Be sure to check out Goggla's site for more in the days ahead.)

Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, EVG reader Cheyenne shared these photos from the Park... showing Christo keeping cool in the heat...



...and hanging out on a favorite spot...

Out and About in the East Village

In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village or Lower East Side.



By James Maher

Name: Miss Joan Marie Moossy
Occupation: Performer
Location: Clinton Street
Date: Monday, June 12 at noon

I’m from New Orleans originally. As a child, our family moved all over the place. My dad was a doctor and academic physician, so he taught in medical schools, and we lived in Europe because daddy was the head of a cerebral vascular study, an international study. During his career, he was instrumental in separating psychiatry from neurology, because in 1950 when he graduated, it was all one big department.

I was coming here in the 1970s — I was a dancer in Washington D.C., and then I went to Pittsburgh for Law School. I was coming to New York all the time, and that’s when I got the apartment and moved here. I was a go-go dancer. I did it for six years in my 20s. I never worked as a lawyer. I have covered court cases for magazine articles, that kind of stuff, but I never worked as a lawyer.

The first time I ever walked up to this building, there was a guy throwing up on the stoop and two little girls walking by all dressed up like they were having a birthday party, and I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to live here forever.’ For some reason that was the first thought that crossed my mind.

It was really different then. I guess you could say it was more dangerous, but I think New York is always dangerous. I don’t think you’re wise to let your guard down ever in New York. But it was an exciting youth. There was a lot going on in terms of nightclubs and performance and so many opportunities to participate in that – it was a very open scene in terms of diversity of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, everything. You could meet somebody of every stripe at any party or nightclub, so that was wonderful. So you had friends that were every age, from every country, every color.

All these buildings that you see across from us on Clinton Street were boarded up, and there was a big heroin trade up the street. That moved up and down the street. Across the street, they had put concrete blocks in all the doorways and windows, and I guess the heroin business had dug out a hole and somebody would be sitting inside the building. The junkies would line up, they’d put their money in, and they’d get the heroin out. And you want to talk diversity, I’m telling you, junkies come in every stripe. When you’d sit here and look out the window and watch an entire line of them, it was the stereotypical junkies, it was the guys in suits, it was the women in nice shoes.

You couldn’t get a taxi to bring you down here. The furthest place you could get a taxi was First and First. There was a restaurant there called the Baltic, which was open 24 hours a day. They would drop you there and you’d walk the rest of the way, so frequently you’d run. Somebody’s chasing you, you run.

I’ve had some experience in the housing movement – we were almost illegally evicted from this building. They would say that your building was about to collapse, then everybody would run out and they would tear the building down. That’s what they did on Stanton Street, on Fifth Street. So that’s what happened here too, and we didn’t leave, obviously.

As a result, I got involved in activism. I talk to other tenant groups when they’re at risk and that type of thing. I learned a lot about the neighborhood and the people who live here. There’s nothing like talking to people. You can sit in your house all day and look on the Internet and watch the news on TV, and it’s really not quite the same thing as going and talking to the people that are affected by it. That’s been an invaluable lesson.

We'll have more from this interview with Joan next week, including her time working at the Limelight in the 1980s and continuing to love NYC today.

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

Becky's Bites bringing cream cheese creations to 7th Street

The coming soon signage has arrived at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, where renovations are underway to open Becky's Bites later this summer...



According to the shop's Facebook page: "Becky offers a range of novel cream cheese based bites from bagels & parfaits to tiny tarts & cookie sandwiches."

The Becky's website has more info on the operation, with photos of some of her creations. (The shop is also hiring.)

No. 122 previously housed the Verdigreen vintage furnishings boutique.