Week in Grieview

[When it rained every day last week via Derek Berg]

Posts from this past week included...

RIP Susan Leelike (Wednesday)

Police say these 4 suspects beat and robbed a man for $1 on 3rd and C (Wednesday)

200 new trees will grow in the East Village (Monday)

Details on the preservation and rehabilitation of 243 affordable housing units in the East Village (Tuesday)

Photos from Halloween night along Avenue B (Friday)

After 10 days, Bertie is found alive and well on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Pols call on Parks Department to save local community gardens at risk over new licensing agreement (Friday)

After Basquiat: the next exhibition coming to the Brant Foundation on 6th Street (Friday)

Squall Screaming, new work by peter radley (Thursday)

Have questions or concerns about the new Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital on 2nd Avenue? (Tuesday)

NYPD looking for suspect who tried to force his way into woman's apartment near 7th and A (Tuesday)

Kent takes over Vanessa's Dumpling House on 14th Street (Monday)

A Halloween-themed NY See (Thursday)

Hot Kitchen closes on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)


[A 5th Street scene via riachung00]

Joseph C. Sauer Park closed now for year-long renovation (Monday)

B Bar & Grill is still open (Tuesday)

Yakiniku West looking to reopen soon on 9th Street (Tuesday)

Looking for information on a hit-and-run (Thursday)

Your chance to own a meat grinder and commercial juicer from the former St. Mark's Market (Thursday)

The Caswell-Massey pop-up shop has officially popped up on the Bowery (Wednesday)

A look at the incoming Williamsburg Pizza on 14th Street (Monday)

The Wild Son is on the gate (Thursday)

Steamy Hallows, the Harry Potter-themed coffee shop on 6th Street, closes after Halloween (Wednesday)

So long Dean & Deluca (Monday)

Man caught with a brick in the backyard of the home linked to David Schwimmer on Sixth Street (Sunday)

Daytripper has not been open lately (Monday)

... and the new cold-weather gear has arrived at Gem Spa on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place...


[Photo by Steven]

In other merchandising news, the Strand has a new hoodie available ... and the B&H Dairy t-shirts are back in stock.

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Reader report: Fire started by sun reflecting off mirror in window on 12th Street

The FDNY responded to a report of a fire yesterday afternoon on the fourth floor of 413 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue...

MAN ALL HANDS 413 E 12 ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON THE 4TH FLR,

— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) November 2, 2019

A firefighter told EVG regular Lola Sáenz, who shared these photos, that a mirror in the window had reflected the sunlight and sparked a fire (it has been known to happen) ... two other readers collaborated this version of the cause via the FDNY.



... and a side view via EVG reader Bruce...



Here's a look at the building this morning. Three of the front-facing windows on the fourth floor have been boarded up... no word on the extent of the damage here...

Time check

I took this photo on St. Mark's Place this morning around 8.

If I take the same photo tomorrow at the same time, then it will be 7. 🤔

Anyway, a reminder about Daylight Saving Time, which ends on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 a.m. — which is the official hour to set clocks back to standard time.

You can read more at The Old Farmer's Almanac, which you probably already have a copy of!

A day-long celebration of Steve Cannon's life this Sunday

Steve Cannon, the writer and poet who founded the East Village-based magazine and gallery A Gathering of the Tribes, died this past July. He was 84.

There's a celebration of his life tomorrow (Nov. 3) at various locations throughout the neighborhood. Select details follow (find the Facebook invite here with more information) ...

• 1 to 1:30 p.m.: Gather in front of the old Tribes Gallery building at 285 E. 3rd St. between Avenue C and Avenue D

The renowned Rebirth Brass Band from New Orleans, will kick it off.

• 2 p.m.: Salutations, poetry, music, dance.

Rebirth will be joined by NYC musicians via the Arts for Art “Artists for a Free World” marching band, spearheaded by William Parker.

• 3 p.m.: The Second Line will stop in Tompkins Square Park for poetry music and dance.

• 3:30 p.m.: Exit at 9th Street, Second Line continues west to 2nd Avenue, north to St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery

• 4 p.m.: Doors open to indoor music by downtown jazz (Vision Festival, Arts for Art) with snacks and drinks available in the Parish Hall until 4:30 p.m. (music continues in Sanctuary which will conclude w/ poetry performance by Anne Waldman w/ Melanie Dyer (viola).

• 4:30 p.m.: The formal service begins, with family, speakers, poets, films, Poets Choir, and a short play by Steve.

Be part of B&H Dairy year round

Today is the B&H Dairy "family" cover photo for their 2020 calendar.

Some details via Facebook:

Nov. 2 from 3-3:30 p.m. Come on down to B&H Dairy and be in our B&H Family photo for the 2020 B&H Dairy calendar cover. Join Ola, Fawzy, our employees, customers, neighbors and friends for as this fun annual photo. We’ll take a photo of just the employees at 3 p.m., followed by a B&H Family group shot out in front of the restaurant no later than 3:30 p.m. Please put us in your calendar!

B&H is at 127 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

'Sway' of life

The latest LP via Rotterdam's The Sweet Release of Death came out a few weeks back. The above audio clip for "Sway" provides a taste for what to expect.

Costume dramas! Halloween along Avenue B

As you may have noticed, Halloween was yesterday. As in previous years, EVG contributor Stacie Joy was stationed on Avenue B (Ben's Deli was a good spot) to check out the costumes.

Movie characters were, as always, a popular choice, from new films like "Joker" and "Midsommar" to standbys such as Jason Voorhees ("Friday the 13th" parts 1 through 678), Michael Myers ("Halloween") and Billy Loomis ("Scream") ... we even spotted one homage to "Schitt's Creek" ...

The transplant was a success? A doctor recommend Halloween procedure at Exit9

Halloween evening also included a return performance of the Exit9 Gift Emporium's window theater, in which passersby were treated to "an insane doctor’s gruesome medical malpractice" ... Stacie Joy took in the performance...





...and the cast and crew following the curtain call...

Ground control

A Halloween scene (I think) along Broadway last night via Derek Berg...

Pols call on Parks Department to save local community gardens at risk over new licensing agreement

Local elected officials, led by State Sen. Brad Hoylman and City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, are calling on the Parks Department to resolve outstanding issues in the latest proposed GreenThumb licensing agreements.

By one estimate, nearly 100 community gardens on city-owned land are in danger of closing or relocating due to the ongoing dispute over the licensing agreement from the department's GreenThumb program.

In April, community gardeners received a new four-year license agreement that they say substantially changes the relationship they've enjoyed with the city since 1978.

According to the New York City Community Garden Coalition, the 2019 Community Garden License Agreement and GreenThumb Gardeners’ Handbook contain additional requirements that are burdensome for both parties, and "which will hinder the community outreach and engagement that are hallmarks of community gardens in New York City."

There hasn't been any progress made with negotiations, and the Parks Department has told groups that they won't be permitted to continue operating without signing the new licensing agreement.

In the letter to Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver dated Oct. 10 and made public yesterday, elected officials encouraged the Parks Department to return to the negotiating table with community garden leaders and reach a fair deal for gardeners that allows them to continue operating with a neighborhood-led approach.

Per the letter:

"Under the proposed license ... GreenThumb becomes an agent of enforcement rather than a garden-friendly working partner. The 2019 Community Garden License Agreement and GreenThumb Gardeners’ Handbook contains new burdensome requirements that could hinder the community outreach and engagement that is a hallmark of community gardens in New York City."

"City Hall’s attempt to change GreenThumb licensing agreements ... threatens the ongoing operation of our community gardens," Hoylman said in a statement released yesterday. "Commissioner Silver and the Parks Department must revise this licensing agreement so we can preserve these vital community spaces for years to come."

Said Rivera: "It is critical, that as we begin to recognize and address the decades of environmental injustice and racism, our city does not turn its back on the one area of environmental independence our minority communities have grown and fostered — our community gardens."

Aside from Hoylman and Rivera, the elected officials who joined the letter were: U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, State Assembly Member Deborah J. Glick, State Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, State Assembly Member Dan Quart, State Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, City Council Member Margaret Chin, and City Council Member Helen Rosenthal.

Find a copy of the letter at this link.

Officials for the Parks Department have downplayed any garden drama.

"These renewals happen every four years and always have small changes based on experiences from the previous four year cycle — this cycle is no different," Crystal Howard, assistant commissioner for communications at the Parks Department, previously told amNY.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern over new GreenThumb regulations for community gardens

Community gardeners to rally at city hall over remaining issues with new license agreement