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: Ronald Rayford
Occupation: Actor, Writer
Location: 4th Street and Avenue A
Time: Monday, Nov. 13

I’m from Buffalo. I was living in Chicago when I was 23. I didn’t like it right then, so I said, hey, I’m looking for a job, I can find a job in New York. I started out in Brooklyn, around Nostrand Avenue, but I knew somebody in the neighborhood, and eventually I got an apartment on Avenue C and 10th Street. That was about 1967.

I got a job at a haberdashery, a tailor shop on 125th Street. I worked for him for awhile and I was going back and forth from there to the Lower East Side, down to Orchard Street to pick up the fabric. It was bigger then, much more stuff was going on back then.

There were some good spots and some bad spots, but as I look back on it there were a lot of bad spots. The area on Seventh Street was kind of rundown but so was 10th Street. My friend who encouraged me to come to New York died on 10th Street. Aww man, it was a bad scene.

Truth be told, I got into some drug situations for a time back then — I’ve got to tell the truth. Eventually I got busted with some drugs on me. I was in the Tombs — they were overcrowded. They were putting so many people in there. There was a riot while I was in there in 1969. They were rioting against the way they were treated. I was in there for about 90 days but then I got sentenced and they sent me up to Dannemora from there.

After that I got out. My mind was clear of the drugs. I started acting with Woodie King down here at the Henry Street Settlement, and they gave me a little money too. That was part of some program in the neighborhood.

Then I had a woman that I knew, she came down here to be with me and we had a child. From there, I started acting seriously in plays and stuff like that. I got into a play that Woodie and Joe Papp produced at Lincoln Center, so I got a break there. It was called "What the Wine-Sellers Buy." Then another break came in "Saturday Night Live," and I was on there for a little while. I was studying with the Strasberg institute, studying acting

Then I broke up with the wife and I went back to the drug thing like a fool. I stayed in that drug thing for a couple of decades. Then from there I had another son and that cleared my mind up even more. Since then, I’ve been pretty much on the straight and narrow.

People get a bad deal with the issue on drugs. In Norway, Denmark, and other countries, they stopped their war on drugs because war on drugs translates to a war on Black folks. Because of this war on drugs, people are incarcerated at a massive rate — it’s incredible. They are not helping the people at all, but now seeing that it’s moved into other communities other than this particular community, now it ain’t just junkies, dope dealers – they are opiate addicted. They put a whole new name on it, you dig? They knew that in the 1970s, Oliver North and others were bringing that stuff into communities all over this country, and they incarcerated all these people. How they could not see this stuff is insane? This is not a policy to help the people. It’s a genocidal policy on the people.

And now with the aid of Mr. Sessions and Mr. Trump, they want to reinstitute this policy that the previous president had tried to break down a little bit. It’s just another name for slavery, because it’s free labor, and it goes deeper than that, because with unpaid internships, that’s another form of slavery. Anytime you’re talking about free labor, you’re talking about slavery. It’s basically because the working class has collapsed, so something’s got to change.

These days I’m doing very little acting. I would like to do it when I can. I did a few things, something I started over at the Theatre for New City. And I’m doing a little writing now too. But now I would say my focus is on activism. I met some very interesting people, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Amy Goodman, Van Jones, and Jacqui Lewis, who is head pastor of the Middle Collegiate Church on Seventh Street and Second Avenue.

Right now, what I’m doing is I am part of this group in the church called the Butterflies. They carry the food, and sometimes I help them make the food, put them in sandwich bags and lunch bags, and take them out to Tompkins Square Park and to Sara Roosevelt Park. That’s activism.

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

RIP Kenny Kendra

[Photo via Facebook]

Kenny Kendra (aka Kendra Zimmerman), a familiar figure in this neighborhood before moving to California several years ago, died on Saturday. Friends said that she suffered a stroke. She was 47.

Through the years in the East Village she had worked at Trash and Vaudeville, Enz's and Religious Sex, among other places. She moved to Long Beach, Calif., and was the owner of a food truck called The Head Hunter.

"She was punk rock with a heart of gold," her friend Cheyenne said in an email. "The stray cats always found her and she would always take them in and take good care of them. They knew a good soul when they found her."

Her NYC friends are gathering tomorrow evening at 6 at Otto's Shrunken Head on East 14th Street to celebrate "the Life and Times of Kenny Kendra."

Le Village is closed for now on 7th Street

Le Village, the small French bistro on Seventh Street, looks to have closed here between Avenue A and First Avenue.

An EVG reader brought it to my attention. The restaurant's website is down and its telephone is disconnected ... Yelp also states that Le Village is permanently closed.

Perhaps owner Didier Pawlicki has another change in concepts coming. In late 2013, he converted the vegetarian-friendly Table Verte into Le Village.

H/T Diana!

More about 29B, a new teahouse at 29 Avenue B

A post shared by 29b /Tag#29bteahouse (@29bteahouse) on Oct 24, 2017 at 9:51pm PDT

29B opened in late October at 29 Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.

Grub Street had a feature on the cafe-restaurant-retail space yesterday.

Some excerpts:

29B has an impressively diverse menu spanning categories of tea rarely seen in New York. There are Korean green teas, less bitter than Japanese styles with deceptively nuanced sweetness; a range of single-estate Darjeelings that offer opportunity for comparative tastings; and almost a dozen caffeine-free tisanes that involve infusions of mistletoe, mulberry leaf, and orchidlike white lotus.

Co-owner Stefen Ramirez has been running Tea Dealers, a tea importing business, as an online venture as well as a pop-up shop in Williamsburg. Tea Dealers is also located in this space.

Says Ramirez:

“You need something social besides a bar or club with loud music. Here you can drink whatever you want, with or without caffeine or alcohol, and an air of sobriety. But it’s not a library. We want an energy that’s refreshing and fun.”

29B is open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Find their website here.

The storefront was previously home for seven years to Sigmund Pretzel Shop, which closed last fall.

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo in Tompkins Square Park today by Derek Berg...

Inflight entertainment

Photo on Seventh Street and Avenue A by Colin Clark via Instagram...

Haveli Banjara Indian Restaurant said to be closing and relocating early next year

In recent weeks, the staff at Haveli Banjara Indian Restaurant at 100 Second Ave. has been telling patrons that they will be closing sometime early next year... with the hopes of finding another location nearby.

The Maître d’ confirmed the closure/move to me during a recent dinner. (Haveli is asking customers for their email addresses so they can provide an update after hopefully securing a new space.) He said they'd likely close in January or February, and encouraged regulars to come back for another visit here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street.

One source said that the previous landlord died. The building has been on the market since September. The asking price is $8.6 million. The restaurant, with the intentionally shattered windowpane (crackle glass?), will be delivered vacant, per the listing.

Haveli opened in 1987. Banjara moved in here in November 2013.


[Image via Facebook]

I always liked the restaurant's interior, which, according to its website, "is patterned after an Indian haveli, a residential mansion with a partially elevated second floor and an interior courtyard."

Haveli Retaurant’s uptairs suspended dining areas permit the patron to observe the entertainment below, wheather it’s dancing or the Indian cooking processes. The wooden gallery windows in these “hanging havelis” are jalis (screens), which allow the viewing enjoyment of reenacted Indian street activitie and decorations. The theatricality of Indian culture complements this country’s traditional food in an urban setting.

Construction watch: 619 E. 6th St.

There's finally some noticeable progress at 619 E. Sixth St., where a 6-story residential building is rising...



To recap, here's what's TK, via DXA Studio Architecture, the architects of record:

The facade is clad in a Danish handmade brick and includes a full width mural along a sidewall that links the building in character with its East Village neighbors where street art abounds. The five residential units, from a small studio up to a dramatic three bedroom with office and double height duplex on the top floors, incorporate a simple and timeless palette of materials throughout.

[DXA]

I first heard about this project in January 2016. It has seemingly taken a long time to knock down the previous one-level structure and get to this point.

Here are photos of the site from early September...





At that time, an EVG reader who lived nearby wrote in to say:

Any inside info into the hole in the ground at 619 E. 6th St., whose progress seems to be quite stalled? Needless to say we could all do without the permanent obstruction there, including the daily dumps taken inside the walkaround created by the plastic dividers. What a (literal) shitshow.

Previously on EV Grieve:
6-story condoplex, complete with Danish handmade brick, coming to East 6th Street

Lizzie Fortunato for the holidays on 7th Street

Lizzie Fortunato, an accessories line designed by Elizabeth Fortunato and operated by her twin sister, Kathryn, recently opened a holiday shop at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ...

7th Street sitting pretty! 🦋✨🍓 Come discover our treasure trove #lizziefortunato #fortunefinds

A post shared by Lizzie Fortunato (@lfjewels) on Nov 11, 2017 at 9:37am PST

The shop will be open until January.

The address was last home to Salon Seven ... and Porchetta next door. Ho Foods, which specializes in Taiwan beef noodle soup, is opening in that spot.

Kellogg’s NYC, will be slinging cereal at an all-day breakfast café on Union Square next month

We can’t wait to welcome you to our new home right in the heart of Union Square! We’ll be opening on December 7th and look forward to seeing you then! . . . And we’re hiring a pastry cook! If you’re interested in joining our team, shoot us a message here!

A post shared by Kellogg's NYC (@kelloggsnyc) on Nov 9, 2017 at 5:45am PST

In case you missed this announcement the other day (Thursday!) ... Kellogg's NYC Café is opening its "immersive new brick-and-mortar cereal café and experience" on Dec. 7 near the Barnes & Noble on Union Square.

A few details from the news release:

Anchored by an open-concept kitchen where guests can watch as cereal creations are being made, visitors will be able to select items off the menu or create their unique flavorful combos – including a DIY cereal creation station with ingredients fresh from the Union Square farmer's market.

Aside from bowls of cereal with a choice of milk, the menu includes milkshakes, Pop Tarts and ice cream sundaes.

The Commercial Observer reported that the Café will span 5,000 square feet on the second floor (above the AT&T store) at 31 E. 17th St.

Kellogg's previously operated a pop-up cafe from July 2016 to this past August in Times Square, as the Observer noted.

Bowery Social Justice Short Film Festival starts tomorrow night

Here's info via the EVG inbox on the Bowery Social Justice Short Film Festival, which starts tomorrow evening...

Three-day short fiction and documentary film festival centered around issues of human rights and social justice. Q-& A-after the screening. FREE.

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, Parish Hall, 131 E. 10th St., entrance via 11th Street doors

• Tuesday, Nov. 14, 7-8:30 pm
“Losing Home” — Whether by political, social, environmental, or personal reasons, these films explore what it means to lose home.

• Tuesday, Nov. 28, 7-8:30 pm
“The Other” — What does it mean to be "other" in contemporary America?

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7-8:30 pm
TBD

Find more info on the program here.

Report: East Village resident arrested in hockey-stick assault

[Screengrab from CBS 2]

An East Village resident is under arrest after a road-rage dispute turned deadly late Saturday night in Chelsea.

According to the Post, Kohji Kosugi, who was walking, allegedly attacked Uber driver Randolph Tolk, 68, at West 20th Street and 11th Avenue with a hockey stick.

The details, as reported by the Post:

Tolk was driving his Toyota Camry southbound and stopped at the crosswalk when Kosugi, who was on foot, began tapping on its hood with his stick, a witness told police.

They continued arguing until Kosugi used the hockey stick to knock the older man to the ground, then stomped on his chest, cops said.

Tolk, a grandfather of three, got back into the car and headed south, driving about half a mile before crashing into the center divider near Jane Street, cops said.

Paramedics responded and rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital, where Tolk, who lived in West New York, N.J., was pronounced dead.

Kosugi ran away into the Chelsea neighborhood, but was arrested around 2:40 p.m. and charged with manslaughter, cops said.

Kosugi, 39, had been at Chelsea Piers. Police found him by checking surveillance footage there, CBS 2 reported.

Per CBS 2:

Police have not made it clear whether Tolk was killed by the blow to the head, or whether it disoriented him and he died in the crash. The New York City Medical Examiner’s office will determine the cause of his death.

The Post said that Kosugi lived on East 10th Street, where he apparently wasn't too well-known.

A woman who lives next door to Kosugi on East 10th Street ... said: "I've only seen a woman leave that apartment. I’ve never seen him."

"I wasn't sure why the police have been here all day. We don't talk to our neighbors that much," she said.

"It's scary that…he lives next door to me and the cops have been here all day and I had no clue."

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Kosugi appeared in court today.

To the Post:

Defense lawyer David Jeffries argued in court that the alleged attack came only after Tolk got out of his car, and that prosecutors would have a hard time connecting it to Tolk’s death following the crash about half a mile away.

Bail for Kosugi, who works at the Nakamura NYC restaurant on Delancey, was set at $500,000 cash or $750,000 bond.

In a separate story, the Post interviews Kosugi's teammates who he played hockey with at Chelsea Piers.

Kosugi played in back-to-back games, at 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., before Saturday’s fatal incident, the teammate said. He played in two games prior to the altercation. "Kosugi, a center, scored two goals during the first game, in which the Tsunami beat the Wild Turkeys, 5-3."

Meanwhile, the Daily News reported that the victim had his own history with the police.

In January 2012, city marshals were towing Tolk’s car and he refused to get out, police said.

Police arrived and tried to take him out of the car. He took a swing at them, then bit an officer hard enough to draw blood.

He was charged with assault, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. The case is sealed.

Cops busted Tolk again on Oct. 1, 2014 for assault, resisting arrest and menacing as a hate crime. That arrest is also sealed.

There's a 'Don't Turn Our Neighborhood Into Silicon Alley' rally on Wednesday evening

As you may know, there are plans in the works to demolish the three-building assemblage on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place for a 7-story office building.

In addition, new office and residential buildings are going up or in development on parts of Broadway below 14th Street and University Place ... as well as the Moxy hotel on 11th Street. Not to mention Mayor de Blasio's plan for a 20-plus-story tech hub on 14th Street at Irving Place.

On Wednesday evening, a coalition of community groups and preservationists are hosting a rally titled "Don't Turn Our Neighborhood Into Silicon Alley" on St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue.

The Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation (GVSHP) has background on the developments:

Why is this happening? Because this area is lacking in good zoning or landmark protections that allow this kind of demolition and inappropriate development, and the tech industry sees this neighborhood as the hot new area for expansion, extending “Silicon Alley” down from Union Square and up from Astor Place. And now the Mayor and developers want approvals from the City Council for a huge new “Tech Hub” on 14th Street that will accelerate all these trends.

We’re demanding zoning and landmark protections that would preserve historic buildings, keep new development in scale, protect the residential character of this area, and promote affordable housing. But the Mayor OPPOSES this plan ...

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman has an op-ed on the matter in the Gotham Gazette here.

Preservationists scored one victory along this corridor earlier this month when the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a proposal to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings at 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street. There was a proposal to build a 14-story office building on the site. The developers are now seeking to add a four-story addition to the existing structure.

The rally is Wednesday evening at 5:30 on Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Behold Civic Hall, the high-tech future of Union Square — and NYC

Remembering Elizabeth Lee

Funeral services were held this past Thursday for Elizabeth Lee, a Grace Church School staff member who was reportedly shot dead by a onetime boyfriend as she arrived for work on Cooper Square on Nov. 2.

"Lee-Herman was described as a loving friend and dedicated employee whose involvement in the school started when her own kids attended it," according to Patch.

The Grace Church School paper has more remembrances here.

School administrators also established a trust to help provide for the education and other critical needs, such as medical coverage, of her children, Sasha and Hunter. In less than a week, the crowdfunding campaign has raised more than $116,000.

Lee, who was 56, lived on the Upper East Side. She had just docked a Citi Bike when Vincent Verdi reportedly approached her and shot her twice. He then shot himself in the head. Verdi, 62, was last listed in critical condition at Bellevue.

According to the Daily News, Verdi spent four months stalking and harassing Lee. Police had arrested him previously for stalking, per the News. She had an order of protection barring him from contacting her, which was in place the morning he shot her.

Patch reported that Verdi had not been charged as of Thursday.

New at Ray's Candy Store: chicken and waffles (ice cream optional)

The paper-plate signage is up at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A, announcing the latest menu item — chicken and waffles ($9, or $11 if you want ice cream with it)... and here's Ray's with the non-ice-cream version...



News and photos by Peter Brownscombe

A look at Icon Realty's 9th Street building where the rentals are $30k a month

The two residential units at Icon Realty's 327 E. Ninth St. have been on the market (per Streeteasy) for the past month.

So far, no takers for the rentals here between First Avenue and Second Avenue at this site of a former parking lot.

The listing notes that this building — nearly five years in the making, somehow — is "Redefining the Townhouse Experience."

Here's part of the pitch:

Designed by Isaac & Stern Architects with interiors by Paris Forino, this brand-new building was designed with a traditional limestone facade that stands as a new classic, elegantly utilizing modern finishes that establish a new contemporary elegance, raising the benchmark for luxury living in the East Village.

Both beautifully appointed residences offer open layouts and a transitional aesthetic featuring a light color palette which has been highlighted by radiant heated White Appalachian Oak Floors and Christopher Peacock Kitchens with luxurious Italian Arabescato Marble countertops and backsplashes.

Bathrooms feature Dornbracht fixtures adorned with Zebrino Marble.

Both residences feature outstanding private outdoor experiences with private balconies on each floor, a private expansive roof deck and multiple landscaped private patio spaces with copper trimmed LED perimeter lighting and full outdoor kitchens.

And photos...





The quadruplex and the triplex are asking $30,000 per month (with one month free on a year-long lease). Also, there is no fee.

H/T Steven

Previously on EV Grieve:
The big dig begins for 6-story, 2-unit condo on East 9th Street

East Ninth Street parking lot will yield to 6-floor residential building

Second Hand Rose has apparently closed on 12th and Broadway

[Photo by Alex]

Alex at Flaming Pablum shares the news that Second Hand Rose, the collectible record shop on 12th and Broadway, has closed.

The place opened on 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in 1977 ... moving to a small storefront across the street from the Strand in 2000.


[Image via Second Hand Rose]

I always hate to see record shops close... though there wasn't much immediate lost love for Rose. As Alex wrote, "I was never a fan of the place — disorganized, dusty, strangely overpriced and pointedly surly."

And they didn't really like sick people shopping in the store...


[Photo by Alex]

Week in Grieview

[Photo yesterday on 3rd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

The end is nearing for the Sunshine Cinema (Friday)

Remembering Kate Millett (Friday)

Someone vandalized the entrance to the Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

Arrest made in Avenue D murder (Thursday)

Papaya King closes on St. Mark's Place ahead of new development (Monday)

The Continental says it will close late next summer (Tuesday)

The latest I Am a Rent-Stabilized Tenant (Friday)

Liberty Toye now lighting up Avenue B (Tuesday)

The Peter Stuyvesant-PO-replacing residential building tops out on 14th Street (Tuesday)

City Kids bringing the East Village Playhouse to long-empty storefront on 6th Street (Tuesday)

PS 122 returns to the East Village in January (Wednesday)

Judge dismisses Raphael Toledano suit over 97 2nd Ave. (Wednesday)

Landlord accused of tenant harassment in Chelsea new owner of 7th Street building (Thursday)

Old Monk offering a free meal this Thanksgiving (Friday)

Out and About with Margie Segal (Wednesday)

Meet Fresh bringing teas and taro balls to Cooper Square (Thursday)

Report: Part of a man's leg discovered along the East River (Thursday)

Wall 88 looks closed on 2nd Avenue (Monday)


[7th Street streetscene via Derek Berg]

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway (Wednesday)

A quick look at the incoming Joe and Pat's (Monday)

The Good Santa-Bad Santa events taking place on Dec. 9 (Thursday)

The AltSchool's East Village location is closing (Monday)

Stuy Town to catch some major solar rays (Thursday)

Wise Men closes on the Bowery (Monday)

The Ainsworth neon arrives on 3rd Avenue (Monday)

... and in 14th Street salon/spa news from the past week... EVG 14th Street spa/salon correspondent Pinch notes that Hair Trendz between First Avenue and Second Avenue has closed ...



... with signage stating that they are opening across the street in the Perfect Glow space...



...and one block to the west, Spaology has given way to Morning Ritual...



---

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That First Breath of Air

That First Breath of Air

It is so unexpected when it comes,

That nights sleep once so familiar,

Deep and long, followed by another,

Dreams less torrid, if at all.

Waking refreshed, ready to saunter,

Through the crisp air of Fall.

•

peter radley

A haven for skateboarders in Tompkins Square Park

A very personal piece I shot over a couple months this past summer for the @nytimes Link in bio Online today, in the paper tomorrow. Text by @tedbarrow Thank you @lyonse

A post shared by Danny Weiss (@danielericweiss) on Nov 11, 2017 at 6:38am PST

Photographer Danny Weiss and writer Theodore Barrow team up for a photo essay in The New York Times today on the teen skateboarders who hang out on the baseball fields (the T.F.) in Tompkins Square Park.

An excerpt:

A lot has changed over 15 years. Skateboarding, like the neighborhood, has grown up and acquired a marketable sheen. It is difficult not to see in these kids, who now dress like the ones in the movie “Kids,” my contemporaries in the mid-’90s.

Who knows how long the park will be a haven for them, or what they will become? Small, seemingly insubstantial butterfly-wing youthful decisions can have life-changing consequences. Who knows how long skaters will be allowed to hang out at the T.F., considering the skyrocketing property values of real estate in the East Village?

Find the photos and essay here.

A post shared by Theodore Barrow (@tedbarrow) on Nov 11, 2017 at 5:17am PST