A visit to Now Yoga on 4th Avenue

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

After six years of sharing space near Union Square, Now Yoga, 61 Fourth Ave. (third floor) between Ninth Street and 10th Street, opened its very own studio this past September.

I recently stopped by to talk with studio owner Renata Di Biase as she prepped Now Yoga for the day ... I also watched instructor Edward Jones lead a morning vinyasa class.

In the following Q&A, Di Biase discusses the challenges of operating a community wellness space and making yoga accessible to more people.



How did Now Yoga come to be? What is its history, and why did you choose the East Village for its home?

The story of Now Yoga begins with Om Yoga, which was founded by Cyndi Lee in downtown Manhattan back in the 1990s. When that institution closed in 2012, a few of Om’s senior teachers (including Edward Jones, Frank Mauro and Joe Miller) founded Now Yoga.

They didn’t have a studio space of their own at the time, but Barbara Verrochi and Kristin Leigh of the Shala in Union Square graciously opened their doors to Now, inviting the guys and a small team of teachers to offer a number of classes on their schedule as a complement to their own ashtanga program.

For six years we operated out of the Shala, where Now continued to offer its own distinct brand of alignment-based vinyasa yoga, in addition to developing its own teacher training program.

When limited space in the studio and on the schedule meant that Now Yoga would have to downsize in order to continue its residence at the Shala, it was time to take the leap and move Now into its own home. It was important that the new studio continue to serve our existing community, so the search for a new space was pretty focused around the general Union Square/East Village vicinity.

Our most loyal students either live in the East Village area or are already very accustomed to traveling in and out of this area to or from work and home. This area is where we all really developed our practices and careers teaching, so it’s only natural that we transplanted ourselves just a couple of blocks from where we began.







How do you describe the community of people at Now Yoga?

Our community is pretty diverse. Many of our students are seasoned practitioners and long-time East Village residents — creative professionals who make up the fabric of the East Village in their own ways as business owners, artists, teachers, etc. Some are college students newly settling into the neighborhood and just beginning to delve into yoga. Some are circling back to yoga after several years since Om’s closing, rediscovering the practice in this new space. Many travel from other neighborhoods because this is their second home. We’re right off of two major subway lines, so we’re on the way to or from somewhere, for most.

Our teachers and staff are a huge and important part of the community. We’re a little family and one that has grown with the move into the new studio. Our teachers are grounded, down-to-earth, regular people. I think that makes Now unique.



You say on your website that “Everyone can practice yoga, regardless of one’s level of fitness or experience.” How does Now make yoga accessible?

We’re committed to helping people adapt the practice of yoga to suit their body and their needs. We’re not trying to fit ourselves into a rigidly defined practiced. We’ve tried to build a diverse schedule of classes that offer pretty specific levels so that any student can feel welcome and serve, which may sound counter-intuitive.

What we’ve found with teaching all open-level classes in the past is that things can get pretty watered down in an attempt to deliver a one-size-fits-all practice. It’s impossible to do that. Introducing levels (basics, basics/intermediate, intermediate, intermediate/advanced, yoga for seniors, etc.) allows us to get pretty clear. With a menu full of options, you’re more likely to get what you need and want. And you’re more likely to get a teacher prepared to meet your needs.



A recent CDC study showed that yoga has continued to rise in prevalence among U.S. adults since 2012. Do you feel as if yoga is becoming less of a so-called alternative practice and more mainstream?

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s yoga was much more of a trend. That and a very different economic landscape meant that a new yoga studio had the potential to be the hot new thing.

We’re in a different age now and there’s a yoga studio on nearly every corner, which I think means that more people are doing yoga and accept it is a standard part of their fitness and wellness routines. The prevalence of yoga studios means there’s also a broader range of adaptations of yoga available — so there’s something for everyone, from the super traditionalist to the person who enjoys asana in the dark set to hip hop. (We’re somewhere in between.)





Do you find yourself competing for people's time and attention who could be swayed to try the increasingly popular (and trendy!) HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and CrossFit classes as well as the plethora of fitness apps?

Competition within the yoga marketplace and the fitness industry at large is, indeed, rather stiff. Before we moved, many people asked why we’d ever endeavor to open up a physical studio when so many yoga and fitness studios close due to market saturation and the challenges of the NYC real estate landscape. (“Can you just offer your services online? Cut out all the overhead? What about an app?”)

For what we do, having a local community space is entirely the point. And we really believe in the kind of practice we’re offering that doesn’t quite exist elsewhere. We hope it resonates with some people and that we can continue to build.

And, unlike a lot of the fitness boutiques cropping up all over Manhattan, we are competitively (and fairly reasonably) priced, plus we offer discounts to students, seniors, and veterans. Yoga, mindfulness, health and welling, while incredibly valuable, all need to be accessible and affordable.

What’s next for Now Yoga?

Community outreach has been part of long-term vision for Now Yoga from the outset; figuring out how and what Now Yoga has to offer the East Village community and beyond is on the more immediate agenda now that we’ve begun to settle into our new home.

One of our teachers and managers, Jana Hicks, is currently running the Yoga4Cancer program at Now, which makes it possible for us to offer an entirely free weekly class for cancer patients and survivors.

We hope to offer more in this vein in the coming months, including developing partnerships with certain nonprofits, like the Trevor Project, to support those in the helping professions with free or discounted classes and services.

We’re interested in partnering with local community organizations that might be interested in bringing accessible, practical yoga and meditation practices to the underserved. But let’s not forget that we’re also surrounded here at Astor Place by stressed-out corporate professionals. Many of us worked — or still work — in the corporate sphere and know the whole desk-lunch routine.

You can check out the class schedule at Now at this link... and follow them on Instagram here.



Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

A visit to Bali Kitchen on 4th Street

A visit to Eat’s Khao Man Gai on 6th Street

A visit to Yoli Restaurant on 3rd Street

Preparing for Saturday's dinner at Il Posto Accanto on 2nd Street

A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

A trip to the recently expanded Lancelotti Housewares on Avenue A

A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street

A visit to Rossy's Bakery & Café on 3rd Street

A visit to CAVAglass on 7th Street

A visit to Dumpling Man on St. Mark's Place

The Ottendorfer Library branch reopens Monday

[Photos by Steven]

The Ottendorfer Library, 135 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, is back in circulation on Monday morning at 11 (H/T EVG reader Terry!)...



The branch closed for upgrades this past Aug. 6.

According to a message to patrons from branch manager Kristin Kuehl at the time, workers were to install a new fire alarm and life-safety system. Given the building's age and landmark status, the project was expected to take six months. (An updated sign on the library's front door in January noted a closure through "late winter.")

And as always, leaving you with some history of the branch, cut-n-pasted from the LAST TWO Ottendorfer posts...

The Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library opened in 1884 as New York City's first free public library. Designed by German-born architect William Schickel, this landmark building combines Queen Anne and neo-Italian Renaissance styles with an exterior ornamented by innovative terracotta putti. The branch was a gift of Oswald Ottendorfer, owner of the New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung newspaper.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Ottendorfer Library closing for 6 months to install new fire-suppression system

A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

Buffalo Exchange headed to Broadway

Buffalo Exchange is opening an outpost of its resale thrift shop at 714 Broadway a little south of Astor Place at Washington Place. (Thanks to Majorie Ingall for the photo and tip!)

The retailer, based in Tucson, Ariz., has nearly 50 locations (including one on 11th Street between first Avenue and Second Avenue) in 17 states ... and 2019 makes their 45th anniversary.

Kati Roll Company cuts back on their hours

There are now much more limited hours of operation over at the Kati Roll Company at 128 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place... Steven noticed that they are just open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week, and closed on weekends...



...other nearby Kati Roll outposts are open much later... no word on why they cut back their hours in the East Village.



What's striking is that Kati's original hours were 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, until 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The Kati Roll Company, specializing in Indian street food, opened here in November 2016.

The longtime previous tenant here, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed on March 30, 2015. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with landlord Icon Realty. (You can read that background here.)

With a H/T to EV Grieve Tikka Roll Correspondent NOTORIOUS!

Thursday's parting shot

Borrowing this shot from the I Need More Instagram feed... Here's Jimmy Webb, owner of the rock 'n' roll boutique at 75A Orchard St. between Broome and Grand, with a new life-sized photo of Lou Reed in the shop.

The photo of Reed is by Michael Zagaris.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Jimmy Webb will make dreams come true with new rock 'n' roll boutique I Need More

Saturday night at Bullet Space: The Clothesline Benefit Art Sale

Via the EVG inbox...

The Clothesline Benefit Art Sale
SATURDAY MARCH 9
7-10 p.m.

Affordable works on paper: $25 + $50

Our Clothesline Benefit Art Sales are always lots of fun, with plenty of surprising things hanging on the line. Proceeds benefit ABC No Rio in Exile.

Bullet Space/292 Gallery
292 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D

ABC No Rio is currently in exile while waiting for their new HQ to be built on Rivington Street. (Previously)

I Am a Rent-Controlled Tenant

East Village resident Susan Schiffman documents the apartments of rent-stabilized tenants — and for this post, rent-controlled — living in the East Village for her Instagram account, I Am a Rent Stabilized Tenant. She will share some of the photos here for this ongoing EVG feature.



Photos and text by Susan Schiffman

Tenants: Terry (since 1975) & Charlie (since 1965)

Why did you come to the East Village?

I came to the East Village because Charlie and I met. We started dating. We met in Ty’s, which is a gay bar that still exists, much to our amazement. It is on Christopher Street. Do you know the Moth? Charlie did a story on the Moth about the first night we met. It’s called “Just One Drink.”

Charlie said he didn’t want to date. His friends said “they’re not going to come to you, so you must go out to them.” Charlie said, “all right, I will go to a bar and I will have a drink.” And then we met.

I was living on Sullivan Street at the time. There are 13 years between us. I was younger and he was more mature. He had been in this apartment already for over a decade. We dated for about six months. I had a lot of stuff here and a lot of stuff there. My lease was coming due. We started talking about moving in together. I moved in.



How did Charlie find the apartment?

He was living on the Upper West Side. He was a theater, artistic, 100-percent visual person. He had a dear, close friend who was female. They were young, it was the 1960s. They decided to get married. She knew he was gay. Unfortunately, marriage kind of killed their friendship. They decided it was a bad idea that they had gotten married and got a divorce. It was amicable.

A friend who lived across the street from this apartment told Charlie that the apartment was available. The previous tenant had lived here for over 50 years and had passed away. Charlie got the apartment. It was a mess. Nothing had been done for 50 years. The floors were bare and the walls were crummy. He was 27, a designer with an artist’s eye. He said, “I can fix this.”

There are things in this apartment that have been here since I arrived. With a little bit of work we could make that something. The dresser came out of somebody else’s apartment. He was young. He didn’t have any money. Whatever he found he found a way to use it. When he did have money, even actors make money occasionally, he would buy art.

He had a friend who didn’t know what to do with himself so Charlie said you should find something and focus on that and collect it and see what you can do. Charlie decided it was going to be owls.



If you knew Charlie he doesn’t wait for you to say yes, he just starts doing it. He started finding owl things. His friend never did take up the owl project.

[Terry gestures to some of the photos and paintings on the walls]

That is Marin County looking at San Francisco. We were waiting for the ferry into San Francisco.

This one is a friend of ours, Steve and his wife on their trip to Norway. He did this one of the fjords in Norway. He was inspired by Charlie’s panorama technique.

That we bought on Second Avenue from a guy who had a table on the street. I grew up in the country. Charlie was born and bred in Brooklyn.

That is by Buffie Johnson. That’s actually Yul Brynner at the time he was making his Broadway debut with Mary Martin. Charlie found it in a thrift shop. He contacted Ms. Johnson at one point and she said “Oh is that what happened to that? I had some work being done in the house and it just kind of disappeared.”

That’s my spirit of the swamp.

The fabric thing is because the walls are terrible and Charlie was a designer. He designed clothing and costumes. He would, we would, we did these kitchen walls three times. Charlie would find a fabric that he liked. It was orange first, then brown then black. He would sew the panels together and then we would get up on the ladder with a staple gun and start laying it around the room. It’s smooth and then you can’t see the walls behind it, which are just a disaster.





What do you love about the apartment?

What I love about this apartment is that it represents our life together. I have not changed the phone message since Charlie passed away in September. If you call you will hear “you have reached Terry and Charlie.” I’ll get to it. I’m not ready yet.

In this moment in time, this is our home. This is where we lived. I went back to college and got a new career. We did everything we needed to do to live a life together. This was our home base. This was Charlie’s sanctuary. Sometimes he had a little trouble with the world. He felt safe here.











If you're interested in inviting Susan in to photograph your apartment for an upcoming post, then you may contact her via this email.

A 9th Street block event this weekend

Business owners along Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue are hosting a block event this weekend (Friday through Sunday) ... per the above flyer, patrons will receive a 10-percent discount ("or a special treat") at participating shops.

As of now, the businesses taking part are:

Meg
Dinosaur Hill
Cobblestones
Headdress
Elliot Mann
DL Cerney
Cloak & Dagger
Local Clothing
an.mé
9th St. Vintage
Heights Kenchi
Still House
Huminska
Vera Meat
Ibiza
The Source
Spark Pretty
Duo
Azaleas
Vintage Grannies
East Village Postal
Tailors Atelier

Thanks to Steven!

Renovations taking place in the fire-ravaged former home of Yakiniku West on 9th Street

Renovations are underway in the burned-out storefront at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

A two-alarm fire broke out in the building in April 2018. Fire officials reportedly deemed the blaze an accident due to wiring on the ceiling of the first level.

The Yakiniku West restaurant on the first floor and three apartments above were damaged, CBS 2 reported, noting that five adults and one child were displaced. Fire officials called the residential units "unlivable."

Posted work permits show that workers are renovating the restaurant space on the ground floor and cellar. The DOB states that the
estimated cost of repairs is a little more than $400,000.

No word if Yakiniku West — which offered table grills for cook-it-yourself Japanese barbeque — might be returning... or if the landlord is renovating the space for a new restaurant tenant.

Wednesday's parting pierogi post

Now through St. Patrick's Day at Veselka on Second Avenue and Ninth Street — Corned Beef and Cabbage Pierogi.

Image via @VeselkaNYC

Longtime East Village resident Frederic Tuten's 'Young Life'

"My Young Life," the new memoir by Frederic Tuten, the critically acclaimed novelist, essayist, teacher and artist, is out this week via Simon & Schuster.

Fellow Bronx native Ira Silverberg has a piece on Tuten and the book on Vulture today.

Some excerpts from the post:

"My Young Life," which I acquired when I was an editor at Simon & Schuster, is a love song to a lost New York. Tuten and I grew up in the same neighborhood, though 25 years apart. Time, however, stands still when you’re from the Bronx. You’re always farther away from the achingly hip scenes in "the city," as we called Manhattan, than anyone — and it’s not just the miles, it’s the psychic distance that enforces how long and hard of a journey it will be to get where you belong.

And...

I have always seen him as an elder statesman of the 20th-century American avant-garde and as a landsman, in the truest sense of the word, given our Pelham Parkway birthright and the shared story of finding our way downtown at an early age and making a life in the arts — precisely the opposite of what our first-generation parents imagined for us.

Tulen, a 50-year-plus resident of the East Village, will be interviewed by Steve Martin in a Q&A Monday evening at the Paula Cooper Gallery on West 26th Street. Details are at this link.

[Updated] Claim: After 40-plus years, Moishe's Bake Shop has closed on 2nd Avenue

[Photo from 2016 by Derek Berg]

After months of speculation that it might be closing, Moishe's Bake Shop reportedly shut down yesterday after 40-plus years in business here at 115 Second Ave. near Seventh Street.

Storefront photographers James and Karla Murray first posted the news last night on Instagram:

Sadly, we just heard from the owner, Moishe Perl, that today was its last day as the entire building has been sold. We loved this kosher bakery as everything was baked on the premises fresh every day. They were known for their challah bread, rye bread, hamantaschen, rugelach, babka and sugar kichel.

In December, investor Jay Schwimmer picked up a 21-year lease for the entire three-story building with the option to buy the building from Perl, who has been the owner since the mid-1970s, per The Real Deal. (The thinking among some Moishe's fans was that the lease provided Perl with a financial cushion until he retired, with a buyer already waiting in the wings.)

The Murrays said that Perl is retiring.

According to public filings, the memorandum of lease is for a little more than $3 million. The terms of the lease were to start "on or about" March 1, 2019.



There isn't any public record of a sale.

Perl and bakery employees had denied that the shop was closing.

Depending on the source, the shop either opened in 1972 (The Villager), 1974 (The New York Times) or 1978 (the store's website, which is now offline, and the phone has already been disconnected).

No word yet on what Schwimmer has planned for the property.

Updated 7:30 a.m.

Here's an early morning look at the shop... someone has cleaned out the space ... the display trays have been removed from the front window ...



... and two more photos via Steven...





Updated 11:30 a.m.

Steven notes that paper now covers the front windows...



... and there's a closed-for-renovation sign...



One commenter on the Murray's Instagram post said that Mr. Perl's son was going to open a coffee shop-bakery here.

A staffer at the Lower East Side outpost of Moishe's confirmed to Eater that yesterday was the last day for the Second Avenue location.

Updated 2:30 p.m.

The owner of a local restaurant shared this: "We use Moishe’s rye and pumpernickel ... and as far as he has told us, he is still going to continue on in that space after remodeling. It sounds like it’s going to be more of a cafe but still offer their products. He’s still actively delivering wholesale to us. He made a delivery last night."

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Per amNY's coverage:

"Owner Moishe Perl confirmed to amNewYork that the store was closed, but didn't give further details about his decision or its future."

Updated 8:30 p.m.

The story continues to change. Sounds like retirement is on hold. Here's Patch:

Perl is searching for new management to re-open the spot as a cafe and bakery as soon as the end of April after Passover or early May, depending how the renovations play out.

"We have a lot of options, and I'm here 49 years, you know what I mean?" Perl told Patch. "I wanna give over the management to somebody, and then I can see what kind of role I'm going to play in it."

Open house! MTA officials will explain what's happening during the L-train non-shutdown

Tomorrow night marks the first of four MTA open houses organized to provide subway riders with details on the upcoming L-train repairs.

Per the MTA L-train website:

Starting in March, customers can meet with MTA team members at any of four open houses, or on subway platforms and in train cars. There, customers can get information on:

• Updates on the proposed construction approach and progress on other elements staying the same, such as the new elevators at Bedford Avenue, First Avenue and 14 Street/Sixth Avenue (L platform) Stations
• The new proposed service plan
• One-on-one trip planning help with MTA team members
• Other service elements to help navigate the changes, such as how to know which train to board. Additionally, NYC DOT will be present at the open houses to review planned street treatments.

And the four open houses are scheduled in Brooklyn and Manhattan:

• March 7 — Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 328 W. 14 St. between Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue
• March 13 — Williamsburg Northside School, 299 N. Seventh St. at Meeker Avenue
• March 19 — Grand Street Campus High School, 850 Grand St. between Bushwick Avenue and Waterbury
• April 8 — 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14 St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue

The open houses are scheduled between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

While Gov. Cuomo helped avoid a full shutdown, the repairs to the Sandy-damaged L tubes between Manhattan and Brooklyn will still be a major disruption.

During the rehab starting in late April, the MTA will reduce L-train service to 20-minute waits on weeknights and weekends — from Bedford Avenue through Manhattan — with reductions in service beginning as early as 8 p.m. on weeknights.

And there's still no word if the First Avenue and Third Avenue stops will be "exit-only" stations.

The MTA posted the latest L-train rehab proposal at this link (PDF!).

Where Citi Bike has expanded on East Village streets

[Photo from last month by Riian Kant-McCormick]

Back in January, Citi Bike announced that they are boosting service in the busiest parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn by adding 1,250 new bikes and 2,500 docks.

And as you may have noticed, more docks have arrived at several East Village sites, including Sixth Street at Avenue B (above) with 27 more bikes ... Second Avenue at Avenue C (plus 25)...



... and Second Street at Avenue B (plus 25) ...



These were the three docking stations set to receive the biggest boost in bikes. (This previous post has more details.)

And look for new docking stations coming soon to First Avenue at Fifth Street and Avenue C and 12th Street...

West 47th Street & 6th Avenue
Park Avenue East & 37th Street
East 58th Street & 1st Avenue
West 30th Street & 10th Avenue
East 12th Street & Avenue C
1 Av & E 5 St
Delancey Street & Eldridge Street
Perry Street & Greenwich Avenue
West Broadway & West Houston Street

— Citi Bike (@CitiBikeNYC) March 1, 2019

Meanwhile, last Thursday, Citi Bike announced a major expansion of its fleet of pedal-assist e-bikes, with 4,000 hitting docking stations in the months ahead. However, there will be an additional fee, $2 per trip, to use one — even if you already have a Citi Bike membership.

People have criticized the $2 charge. Here's a quickie recap via a Streetsblog post from Monday:

The $2 fee — waived for Citi Bike members until April 27 — has come under fire from many quarters since it was announced this week, with some foes likening it to a fare hike on what should be a form of public transportation, yet is ostensibly a public-private partnership even though the city allocates no public money. Others reminded that Citi Bike has a monopoly on service, with dockless rivals Jump and Lime only allowed to operate in small pilot zones in the Bronx and Staten Island.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A look at where Citi Bike is expanding in the East Village

A Basquiat-at-the-Brant Foundation reader

The Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit officially debuts today to the ticket-holding public over at the Brant Foundation, 421 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Here's a recap of recent articles on the space and show...

• Architectural Digest:

The Foundation’s new building, a former power substation on East 6th Street that was once the studio of contemporary artist Walter De Maria and was recently renovated by architects Gluckman Tang, is, indeed, the proper setting. “A lot of research was done to create the moment you experience when you enter the show’s second floor,” Foundation director Allison Brant adds.

This research paid off handsomely — the show, and the space, offer a breathtaking view into the artist’s world, underscoring a resonance between the artworks and their location that brings a new layer of meaning to our understanding of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

• artnet News:

[I]t’s hard to ignore this luxurious setting’s disconnect from its immediate surrounding neighborhood — viewable through the floor-to-ceiling windows that punctuate the galleries — and the subject matter of Basquiat’s art itself, which frequently delved into issues of racism, poverty, inequity, and social injustice.

But none of that incongruity has dampened the enthusiasm around the show—and perhaps its free admission helps counter the reality that culture is increasingly governed by the über-wealthy. Basquiat, meanwhile, is about as popular as it gets when it comes to contemporary art audiences. Roughly 60 percent of the works in this 70-piece show are fresh off the blockbuster Basquiat survey that just wrapped up at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, which [Dieter] Buchhart also co-curated, and some have never been seen in New York before.

• The New York Times:

Gluckman Tang has preserved the “bones” of the building — sturdy beige brick walls and sleek industrial staircases — and opened up rear-facing walls with windows that provide light and spectacular views of the neighborhood. The building includes four floors of exhibition space and a rooftop garden with a reflecting pool visible as a glittering skylight on the fourth floor. Nestled among old tenement buildings, the location feels very similar to Lafayette Anticipations in Paris, a new multistory foundation related to the nearby department store. Both institutions serve as emblems of the gentrification of former working- class neighborhoods, but also the proliferation of a new kind of museum.

Private collections have long histories — for instance, the Frick and the Morgan in New York — but also, at present, carry a double-edged meaning and purpose: They are private exhibition venues but also tax havens for the very rich. Mr. Brant was on the forefront of this phenomenon — both the private institution showcasing contemporary art and trouble with the IRS — when his foundation opened a decade ago across the street from his estate in Greenwich.

One of the arguments in support of the East Village space is that it offers free admission to see works that are rarely on view — although you have to make reservations, which are quickly becoming scarce. And the “free” admission to most of these private museums is the ultimate hidden-fee-economy tactic: We are all paying, in a variety of ways, to live in a system that supports colossal disparities of wealth. Museum admission might be free, but health care isn’t.

• The Wall Street Journal:

Brant could have launched with a legacy show of his own trophy holdings, but he says the space’s proximity to Basquiat’s former stomping grounds compelled him to devote the opener to the neo-expressionist painter. Basquiat’s frenetic, poetic paintings of 1980s New York are getting more attention lately from both museums and the marketplace, with pieces selling at auction for as much as $110.5 million. That record-holder, an untitled skull painting from 1982 that’s owned by Japanese e-retailer Yusaku Maezawa, is in Brant’s show.

Other heavyweights include 1987’s Unbreakable, which has never been exhibited in New York, and 1983’s Hollywood Africans, which was lent by the Whitney Museum of American Art.

• WNYC:

The Brant space in the East Village is not a commercial gallery but part of a private foundation, which may entitle it to tax benefits. Yet, to judge from the current exhibition, the new space lacks the public amenities we expect of not-for-profit institutions.

There is no catalogue for the current show, no brochure, and next to no information about individual artworks. Admission is free, but visitors are required to reserve tickets in advance; so far, according to its website, there is already a waiting list. How is Brant’s new space different than a commercial gallery? I don’t see any real difference, except that it comes enshrouded in vanity and self-promotion.

The exhibit runs through May 15. Waitlist tickets are available via this link.

Images via the Gluckman Tang Instagram account.

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street

When the world's top collectors of Dom Pérignon rosé came to the East Village for dinner

Reader report: 421 E. 6th St. will house Peter M. Brant's personal art collection

Peter Brant's East 6th Street Outreach Tour 2015 continues

Peter Brant meets the neighbors

On 6th Street, the Brant Foundation's inaugural exhibit will feature the work of Basquiat

The EVG podcast: Al Diaz on BOMB1, SAMO© and Basquiat

Noted

Just noting this...

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced he will not run for president in 2020 and would instead focus on an effort to "begin moving America as quickly as possible away from oil and gas and toward a 100 percent clean energy economy." https://t.co/Qqrg0HgnAR

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) March 5, 2019

AND this...

Yo no runningo para el presidente por que el coñostitution only allowo dos termos.

— Miguel Bloombito (@ElBloombito) March 5, 2019

EVG Etc.: Fighting displacement in SoHo and NoHo; looking at the New Colossus Festival

[Sunday night on Astor Place via Krikor Daglian]

Community groups form "Save SoHo-NoHo Coalition" (Press release ... loft artists fear displacement with rezoning (Gothamist ... previous Gothamist coverage here)

NYC Feminist Film Week at the Anthology Film Archives begins tonight (Official site)

Here's info about the inaugural New Colossus Festival, the music festival and industry conference, taking place Thursday through Sunday at Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery, The Delancey, Berlin, Coney Island Baby and Bowery Electric (Brooklyn Vegan ... previously on EVG)

Cold cases: Revisiting the unsolved murder of 2nd Ave Deli founder Abe Lebewohl on March 4, 1996 (Daily News)

The Lower East Side Preservation Initiative hosting the opening reception tonight for the contemporary photo exhibit titled "Chinatown: Lens on the Lower East Side" (Official site)

A look at the 30-story complex, with an affordable housing component, at 60 Norfolk St., site of the former Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue (The Lo-Down ... CityRealty)

MTA is now rebuilding stairway at the Union Square L train platform (Town & Village)

Friends coming together to support Christopher Reed, a server at Bar Goto on Eldridge Street who was diagnosed last year with the neurodegenerative disease ALS (Grub Street)

The films of Harmony Korine at the Metrograph later this month (Official site)

NYU journalists buy $50 worth of food at Ray's Candy Store for this feature — and loved it all (Washington Square News)

Raccoon busted on Fifth Street (Instagram)

About the last Tad's Steaks in NYC! (Ephemeral New York)



Beauty Cutie, a nail salon and spa, is now open at 520 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (I recall they were previously further west on 14th?) No. 520 is the surviving building sandwiched between EVGB...



The space was a Dunkin' Donuts, which moved a few storefronts away in 2014...


[EVG photo from 2014]

Reincarnations: St. Dymphna's set to return late spring-early summer on Avenue A

The operators behind St. Dymphna's announced on Instagram that they have signed the lease at 117 Avenue A, and plan for an opening late this spring or early summer.

As first reported here in December, applicants for St. Dymphna's were on the CB3-SLA agenda for a new liquor license for the space on A between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. (CB3 OK'd the license.)

Now the Irish-style pub, which closed on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue on Oct. 20 after 24 years in service, will have an encore presentation. The new team includes previous owner Eric Baker, Brendan McElroy, proprietor of Dr. Brendan Mac Repair on St. Mark's Place, and a "St. Dymphna's family member."

I asked Baker if they plan to replicate the St. Mark's Place space here.

"I would not say we are trying to replicate the original space into the new one at all. Our goal is to honor the original while letting the new space dictate to us what it should be," Baker said in an email. "Our goal is to recreate the community and cultural atmosphere, which is much more to important to us than architecture. We will be honoring the old space but this is much more of a reincarnation than replication."

No. 117 has remained empty since the bar the Black Rose closed in April 2017 after nearly two years in operation. No. 117 was the longtime home, until August 2013, of the Odessa Cafe & Bar.

Previously on EV Grieve:
St. Dymphna's eyeing a return engagement, this time at 117 Avenue A

The current state of 84 2nd Ave.

Here's how 84 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street is looking these days. (Photo from Saturday!) Someone recently broke out the fire extinguisher for the latest tag here.

What follows is a recap of the permitting required to renovate the building.

This past July, the newish owners of the currently-empty building, reportedly Highpoint Property Group, a real-estate development company, appeared before CB3's Landmarks Committee for a proposal on a Certificate of Appropriateness for the address. (Landlords of buildings located within a designated New York City historic district must receive a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for major work.)

According to the alteration permits filed with the city last June, the additions would take the building from its current 5,829 square feet to 8,439 total square feet with a rear-yard addition. The modified No. 84 would feature new retail space as well as four residences.

As for that July 2018 meeting, CB3 conditionally approved the front façade plan only if the trapezoidal storefront window can be retained. CB3 opposed the rear-yard addition. According to the minutes from that meeting, neighbors submitted a petition against the proposal containing 160 signatures.

In late October, the LPC voted to approve the proposal to modify and replace the storefront and construct additions out back and on the roof. Per the LPC: "[I]n voting to approve this proposal, the Commission stipulated that the applicant work with the Commission's staff to reduce the visibility of the rooftop work from public thoroughfares. No work may begin until a Certificate of Appropriateness has been issued. Upon receipt, review and approval of two signed and sealed sets of the final Department of Buildings filing drawings for the approved work, a Certificate of Appropriateness will be issued."

The LPC is currently reviewing the Certificate of Appropriateness (as of Dec. 5, 2018). The work permits are still pending with the DOB.

This property has changed hands twice in recent years. Highpoint bought the building for $7.8 million in the spring of 2018. According to public records, the building sold in May 2016 for $5.1 million. Betty Sopolsky via an LLC was the seller, with the buyer listed as West 26th Street LLC.

As we've noted several times through the years, the address has a dark past, which includes the still-unsolved murder of Helen Sopolsky, proprietor of the family's tailor shop who was found bludgeoned to death in 1974, per an article at the time.

The storefront has remained empty since her death.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Plywood and a petition at 84 2nd Ave.

Workers clearing out the mysterious 84 2nd Ave. storefront

Renovations proposed for mysterious 84 2nd Ave.

Mysterious 84 2nd Ave. sells again, this time for $7.8 million

There are new plans to expand the mysterious 84 2nd Ave.