The well-regarded Il Mattone first opened in Tribeca in 1992. This outpost debuted in May 2019 ... and had not reopened since the PAUSE went into effect back in March.
After nearly seven months watching over Third Avenue, the four-story ad for "My Spy" has been removed from the AMC Village 7 at 11th Street...The ad arrived in late February to woo potential moviegoers to see the family-friendly action comedy starring Dave Bautista... which was set to open on March 13, but never made it into a theater with the COVID-19 crisis.
And the ad, with a forced grimace from the gentle giant, brought comfort to travelers along this corridor in these recent challenging months.
This reaction to our tweet yesterday perhaps sums it up best...
May Bautista continue to watch over us all, amen 🙏
From yesterday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park, where a fall show brought together a handful of bands, speakers and local artisans that attracted people of all ages... EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these images...
Spotted my first film shoot notice since... late February? Have no idea what this is for (who's calling Larry?) ... most likely for some kind of commercial ... there were several posted along Avenue A between Houston and First Street.
Restrictions on film, TV and commercial productions in NYC were loosened up when the city entered Phase 4 in late July... productions are currently limited to 50 people and can’t interfere with hospitals or COVID-19 testing centers, etc.
From the EVG inbox... via a reader who was at East River Park today...
While my family and I were playing tag in the baseball field along the FDR, we came across a pile of about 12-14 syringes scattered in the dugout. We called 311 and they didn't give us much confidence that they would clean that up. I am horrified. We need to make people aware that this is happening in places where children play and that 311 isn't terribly concerned.
And in news you likely read about yesterday, Mayor de Blasio announced that the City's Open Restaurantsprogram will be extended year-round and made permanent. The extension also applies toOpen Streets: Restaurants, which provides restaurants expanded space on 85 car-free streets citywide on certain days.
Here are some particulars from the city's press release about how restaurants will able able to protect diners from the winter-time elements:
Heating
As cooler weather arrives, the City will allow restaurants to incorporate heating elements into their outdoor dining setups. Electrical heaters will be allowed on both sidewalk and roadway. Propane and natural gas heaters will be allowed on sidewalks only; they will remain prohibited in roadway seating. Propane will require a permit from FDNY and compliance with FDNY regulations for outdoor use, handling and secure outdoor tank storage overnight. Official guidance on what will be considered approved installation and use of heating elements will be released before the end of September, and restaurants are prohibited from installing heating elements until guidelines are released and followed.
Tents
Restaurants will also be permitted to use tent enclosures to keep diners warm. In partial tent enclosures, at least 50 percent of the tent’s side wall surface area must remain open and electrical heaters are allowed. In full tent enclosures, the tent’s side walls may be closed but occupancy limitations will be capped at 25 percent of capacity, and indoor dining guidelines must be followed; electrical heaters will also be allowed. Enclosed structures, such as plastic domes, will be allowed for individual parties and must have adequate ventilation to allow for air circulation.
The New York Philharmonic Bandwagon will be on Astor Place today (Saturday!) as part of a Get Out the Vote event with Joe's Pub.
In addition to a "pull-up" performance by members of the Orchestra and special guests, a volunteer from the League of Women’s Voters of New York will be onhand to sign people up to vote and to answer any questions about voting.
The festivities begin around noon-ish. Visit this link for a rundown on today's program, which includes a "West Side Story" suite.
Local resident Harkness Granger is hosting a comedy show "for the plants and the people" this afternoon at the 11th Street Community Garden, 422 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Avenue A.
The show is at 4 p.m. There's a suggested donation of $5. And masks are mandatory for the limited capacity event.
Early this morning, State Sen. Brad Hoylman spotted this moving truck with anti-Semitic graffiti parked on First Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street.
The graffiti on the Katz Moving truck included multiple backward swastikas and the numbers 1488, signifying the white supremacist "14 Words" pledge. The Senator's office reported this to both the NYPD and the Anti-Defamation League. It was not clear when the graffiti was added to the truck of the Long Island City-based company.
"Hate is not welcome in our district, in Manhattan, or in any other part of our city," Hoylman said in a statement. "The perpetrators of this attack must be caught and held accountable. Close to 40,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors live in New York City. It hurts my heart to think that the many people who found refuge in America are still being targeted by this hateful ideology."
Just saw this on the west side of 1st Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets. Sickening. The perpetrators must be found and held accountable.
Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around NYC ... as well as political observations on current events...
Tats Cru created a new mural this week on Second Street at Avenue A... paying tribute to Bittman John "Bimbo" Rivas (1939-1992), who coined the term "Loisaida" in 1974...
There are also street scenes that depict these COVID-19 times...
An abbreviated version of the annual Lungs Harvest Arts Festival is taking place on Oct. 3-4 in participating community gardens around the East Village.
Here are a few details via the EVG inbox...
It's 2020 and we are all stuck inside somewhere ... This year's festival is dedicated expressing our situation through art ... sharing the reality of what is going on in our lives
All the exhibits will take place behind the garden fences with the audiences on the sidewalks.
The audience will be moving, fluid. The art stationary. We want to foster our wild variety of sentiments through our art. We are all politically bent, given the times and election. Vote with your ART too. Let people know how you feel.
This as an Art exhibit and the gardens are the Green Museum.
It's perfect for touring audiences to visit and enjoy our community gardens.
More details will be on the Lungs website closer to the festival.
Mehenni Zebentout, the owner of Nomad at 78 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street is predominately featured.
Nomad, a North African and Mediterranean restaurant in the East Village, shut down in March after the pandemic engulfed New York City, leaving its owner unable to pay the full $11,500 rent for months.
After opening for outdoor dining in June, the owner, Mehenni Zebentout, has struggled to pay 70 to 80 percent of the rent. But he had to cut his staff from nine full-time employees to four part-time workers. And his landlord still wants Mr. Zebentout to pay what he owes from the spring.
"We're just hoping for some miracle," he said. "I believe, according to my experience, two out of three restaurants will close by December, and I'll be one of them if there's no help from the city or the government."
Protests broke out around the city — and elsewhere in the country — yesterday after the news that none of the three officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death were charged with her killing.
EVG contributor Stacie joy shared this video clip from Second Avenue around 10:30 p.m. ... as the protestors chanted "Breonna Taylor — say her name" ...
"I was surprised by just how many people were there, and also by the astounding police presence," Stacie said. "I haven't seen that many police vehicles mobilizing for a protest in a long time. My entire time at the protest was orderly and peaceful."
There were no reports of arrests related to the protests citywide, per published reports.
Cults, the celebrated indie-pop duo of Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion, have just released their fourth record, the enchanting Host. In case you didn't know this, Madeline and Brian both live in the East Village. Madeline answered a few questions for EVG the other day about Host and her East Village home since age 8.
You both live in the East Village. You spent time in Arizona while working on Host. So how do your surroundings influence the songwriting-creative process? Does it make a difference where you are?
I think there are pros and cons for both recording at home and leaving town. When we're at home it's a bit harder to tune out the distractions and we get a little looser with our working schedule, which can be a good thing because we have the time to sit with what we've worked on.
We went to Arizona because we don't know anyone there and we just wanted to fully immerse ourselves in the record and be able to work round the clock which we can't really do in our East Village apartments.
You've spent a lot of time on the road supporting your previous records. Given how much time you can be away, does the East Village feel like home to you?
It does feel like home! My mom and stepdad moved to the East Village when I was around 8 so it has always been home. Brian has lived here for about 12 years.
With the COVID-19 crisis, what have you had to differently leading up to the release of Host?
Everything has been different! We had to find different ways to make videos and do our photos. We did a lot of things creatively that I'm not sure we would have done pre-pandemic. We probably wouldn't have done a "mukbang" video [see "Spit You Out" below] or agreed to having someone direct a video from our respective homes but our friends have helped us make some really cool stuff. Also, not touring the record is very different.
Four records in now, starting with 2011's self-titled release, do you feel as if you have a good assessment of the band's evolution?
I guess our evolution has been about slowly broadening the influences we allow into our songwriting. In the beginning it was very kind of early 60s and that was it!
Each album it feels like we’ve moved up a decade or so, letting the light in a little. This next album I guess we'll have finally caught up with ourselves. What a scary thought.
Speaking of a new record: You've said that you usually start on one after a tour wraps up. Without touring on the horizon, how might this impact record No. 5?
We are hopefully going to start writing the next record the day after Host is released!
You can catch a livestream of Cults on Oct. 1 from (Le) Poisson Rouge. Find the details here.
Johnathan Young, the head gardener in Tompkins Square Park, along with longtime EV resident Penny Rand, are organizing a cleanup day on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Here are more details via an email from Young:
As many of you know, the city and the Parks Dept. have had massive budget cuts. Recently I have been assigned to work many other locations, leaving Tompkins vulnerable to trash and weeds.
So with that being said, we are hoping to gather as many folks as we can for Saturday, Oct. 10. We will meet at the main office in Tompkins at 11 a.m., have some coffee and donuts, and then concentrate on areas of the park together. Bring a mask and gloves. Feel free to bring any gardening supplies you prefer —otherwise we will have tools and such.
