Today marks the end of the suspension period for the cigarette and lotto licenses. While this is a wonderful milestone, we still have to go through the process of getting the licenses reinstated, pay off our debt and reach profitability.
We are going to be introducing a whole range of Gem Spa merchandise this week including long-sleeve tees, hoodies, beanies, tote bags and more as well as artwork, photography and books inspired by our store. Also we will be hosting a party in the next few weeks to help raise funds toward this end. It will be held at a hot downtown location and will be a fun-filled night of music, entertainment and of course egg creams!
I spoke to the Zoe Stuckless, who confronted Harvey Weinstein last night, called him a "fucking rapist," and was then kicked out of Actors Hours — meant to be a safe performance/networking space for young artists — by the event coordinators themselves: https://t.co/KgzhRvrsaS
— rachel handler (@rachel_handler) October 24, 2019
The women — comedians Kelly Bachman and Amber Rollo, and actress Zoe Stuckless — say they were attending a showcase ... when they spotted the disgraced producer in the crowd. Weinstein, who has been accused by over 80 women of sexual misconduct, is currently out on $1 million bail after pleading not guilty to rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct charges for incidents involving two women in May 2018. At the event, he was flanked by several companions, male and female, and his group was sitting at one of the only tables in the low-lit, small room. “To me it seemed like old-school Weinstein, surrounded by actors,” said Bachman, who was there to perform.
Bachman is a rape survivor, and felt panicked. When it was her time to go onstage, she considered leaving. “But I got up there,” she said, “and he’s staring at me with shark eyes — maybe that’s just his face. So I just tried to address it as best as I could.”
In the above clip, you can hear several people boo Bachman. According to Stuckless, the hecklers included event organizers and bartenders.Keep getting new followers today is it because my tweets are so fire? lol fuck Weinstein and thanks @ambercrollo ILY #mysecondtweet pic.twitter.com/hLjWn5VM8Y
— Kelly Bachman (@bellykachman) October 24, 2019
Let me explain that one more time, an event that was supposed to support actors and artists invited a serial rapist who has ruined at least 87 actors lives and supported that monster over an actor in the room. They supported HIM over all the actors in the room.
— clever, but make it spooky (@ambercrollo) October 24, 2019
Dear Patrons,
We want to address some concerns about a recent incident at Downtime.
A company called Actors Hour rented our bar for a private event, with a guest list all their own. Shortly into the evening, one guest began heckling another, causing a disturbance to everyone in attendance. After several requests to stop were ignored, we kindly asked the heckler to leave.
Please know that our goal at Downtime is to create an environment where everyone feels welcome. We respect the privacy of our patrons and event partners, and want to ensure that all guests are treated equally, with the same service and respect.
In keeping with this goal, we made a decision that would allow the evening to continue as planned.
Thank you,
Downtime
[T]he renovations at Irving Plaza will be overseen by Live Nation clubs and theaters division and include revamps of the lobby area and the music hall, new bars on all levels, the addition of a downstairs VIP lounge and remodeling of the mezzanine including a new box-seating section configuration.
Originally, the building was four separate brownstones, which were eventually combined into a hotel in the 1870s. In 1927, the building was gutted and turned into a ballroom-style theater and christened Irving Plaza.
Over the next few decades Irving Plaza would serve as a union meeting house, a performance space for folk dance troupes, and a Polish Army Veteran community center, as well as a venue for the Peoples Songs Hootenannies with Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.
In 1978, Irving Plaza was converted into a rock music venue ...
Croman’s prison stint was widely seen as a turning point in how New York pursues criminal and civil cases against alleged predatory landlords. Since his release, though, little seems to have changed for Croman. The landlord remains a regular presence at his properties, sources say, and is facing a fresh crop of lawsuits accusing him of violating New York rent laws and backing out of deals, among other claims.
As part of a settlement with the state attorney general’s office, he gave temporary control of more than 100 buildings to Michael Besen’s New York City Management last year, and the firm took over the East Village property this past July.
But while Besen’s firm was picked to oversee Croman’s properties until 2023, it’s far from a victory for tenants. In some cases, the properties are managed by former employees of Croman’s 9300 Realty, who jumped over to NYC Management soon after the deal with prosecutors was announced.
“You have individuals who worked in a corrupt culture,” said Sean Madden, the father of one of the NYU students [at 60 Avenue B]. “All they did was trade their business cards … but the business practices didn’t change at all.”
According to a TRD analysis of city records, Croman’s Manhattan properties raked in an estimated $47.5 million in 2018.
The landlord also continues to visit his buildings, giving orders to supers and porters, essentially ignoring the state’s five-year ban on managing his properties, said Cynthia Chaffee, a founder of the Stop Croman Coalition who lives in one of his buildings on East 18th Street.
A spokesperson for New York AG Letitia James told TRD that Croman is allowed to visit the properties but should have “minimal, if any, contact with tenants.”
But Chaffee said tenants have already started meeting with James’ office about the time he spends at his buildings.
“We’ve been stuck with the same property managers and supers that worked for Croman, and then they were hired by NYC Management,” Chaffee said. “We have to deal with these abusive people all the time.”
“He’s ferocious. Nothing has changed,” said one broker who has worked with Croman on deals. “He’s buying [properties] left and right, and it’s not like he’s using a shill or a fake name. His name is right on the contract. This guy isn’t afraid of anything.”
The Lower East Side Quality of Life Improvement Plan is a multiagency plan to improve quality of life for New Yorkers living in one of the city’s densest nightlife districts. The plan is focused on 6 blocks of Orchard and Ludlow Streets between Houston and Delancey on the Lower East Side.
Improvements will reduce traffic and pedestrian congestion on the street and make garbage sweeping routes more effective. Nightlife patrons will also see a new etiquette campaign encouraging them to be more respectful aware of their surroundings.
Residents and businesses often complain of late-night horn honking and loud voices as traffic stops due to double-parked cars dropping off and collecting passengers on narrow streets.
The plan addresses residents' and businesses’ concerns and make their neighborhood more livable, and was designed with the support and input of the community and businesses and has the buy-in of residents, business owners, workers, and local officials.
New parking regulations to ease traffic congestion, reduce noise
• DOT implementing “No Standing” rules overnight: from midnight to 6am on the west sides of Ludlow and Orchard streets, and 7 pm to 7 am on the east sides, seven days a week.
• Removing parked cars overnight eases congestion, honking and other noise.
Sanitation sweeper schedule coordinated with bar closing times for greater effectiveness
• Street sweepers will now operate between 3 am and 6 am, to better capture all the litter dropped by late-night patrons of bars and restaurants.
• The old schedule from midnight to 3 am was less efficient, because many streets were swept before closing time, leaving hours for patrons to drop litter.
Increased enforcement of for-hire vehicles
• TLC will increase enforcement patrols to clamp down on unlicensed for-hire vehicles double parking and making unauthorized pickups.
• A 10-person squad of TLC officers and supervisors will conduct random patrols between 11pm and 3am at least once every Friday and Saturday night.
"Night Owl" etiquette campaign urging patrons to be more considerate
• Office of Nightlife [Night Mayor!] and NYPD creating and distributing signs to bars and clubs with tips for theft prevention and other helpful tips.
The city that never sleeps has to look out for the New Yorkers who live where others play. Join me on the Lower East Side. https://t.co/UYvFf1vUak
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) October 22, 2019
Office is a waste of taxpayer money, & was created by lobbyist & propped up by bogus EIS report touting all the $ nightlife brings (after lumped in w/ MSG, getting icecream at 6pm w/ your kid, & Broadway). We have a homeless epidemic, not enough good schools, trains suck! Focus! https://t.co/8aORWPKeCy
— LES Dwellers (@LESdwellers) October 23, 2019
[W]e would like to announce that we are closing our physical location permanently. No, Afandi is not going anywhere. We will continue as a #catering brand.
We enjoyed this period that we were in #eastvillage 💕 This neighborhood became our home.
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.
