Friday, June 24, 2022
Tonight in Washington Square Park, Union Square
The Drag March is TONIGHT
The Drag March got its start during the Stonewall 25th anniversary celebrations in 1994.
You can check out Stacie Joy's photo from last June right here.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
RIP Pilar Limosner
Pilar Limosner, a decades-long East Village resident and fashion designer who made her mark in the neighborhood's vibrant 1980s art scene, died on June 2. According to her obituary, she died of cardiac arrest. She was 67.
Here's more about her life:
She shared a boutique named Batislavia on Avenue A with fellow fashion designer Carmel Johnson. It was there that Pilar launched several collections under her own label and the storefront became a popular hangout for many East Village artists. Pilar's clothes were also sold at Patricia Field's original 8th Street retail store.In addition to fashion design and construction (including millinery,) Pilar choreographed and performed in various rock venues and New York clubs (such as Danceteria) and even worked the front door of the famous club AREA where she was always memorably decked out in her own creations. Pilar was an active member of the neo-Dada Club 57 and receives mention in the MOMA retrospective catalogue (Club 57: Film, Performance, and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983) for her performance work there with the band Los Microwaves.Pilar's adventurous spirit is best exemplified by her enthusiastic membership in an informal East Village "arty" motorcycle club that was active in the 1980s. She was often seen astride her English-made "metal beast" fearlessly negotiating the mean streets of New York while fashionably dressed to the nines.
A memorial will be held in her memory at a later date. You can find updates on @pilarlimosnernyc.
Photo by Robert Carrithers
The Gem Spa signage shines brightly in this Ohio farmhouse
While Gem Spa has been permanently shuttered for the past two-plus years, a refurbished piece of the iconic corner shop lives on in a 19th-century farmhouse in Mount Sterling, Ohio.
Jason Sheehy, the owner of the just-mounted sign, splits his time between NYC and this town about 25 miles southwest of Columbus, Ohio, where he helps his father on the family farm.
In recent years, he became friends with Parul Patel, who ran the store on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place that her father Ray had owned since 1986. After the shop closed (read the history here), Patel auctioned off parts of the Gem Spa to help pay for her father's care. (According to The New Yorker, he had been suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy, a disease akin to Parkinson's.)
There were several bidders, but no one matched the reserve price for the yellow Gem Spa sign from the St. Mark's Place side of the business.
"The auction ended and I texted Parul and told her I was interested," Sheehy said in an email yesterday. "We ended up settling on a price and made the deal."
Why did he want to make an investment in the sign?
"Gem Spa to me was the East Village," he said. "I used to be in Gramercy and spent most of my time in the East Village. Coming down Second Avenue — the glow of Gem Spa meant I had arrived.
"I loved the selection of magazines about obscure things. The history of the place. It just was to me, the heart and soul of the East Village," he continued. "So when the opportunity to own the sign popped up….I couldn't pass it up."
Keeping the sign company in the farmhouse are items from the now-closed O'Lunney's Times Square Pub, which shut down during the pandemic. ("I built an Irish dive bar," he said.)
Meanwhile, he continues to keep in touch with Parul.
"I was texting her [Tuesday] night," Sheehy said. "She's delighted that the sign, and her family's legacy, lives on — even if it's 500 miles away."
Los Tacos NYC has apparently closed on 7th Street
There's a handwritten "I'm sorry. We are closed. See you later." sign on the door. Google now lists them permanently closed; the phone goes to a voice mailbox that was never set up. And they are no longer on Seamless. We reached out for more info.
The well-reviewed taqueria opened in October 2020... operated by Brandon Pena and Sam Sepulveda, the owners of the 787 coffee brand with a shop on the same block.
Photo yesterday by Steven
The Green Room setting up a CBD shop on 9th Street
One source on the block said the shop, featuring an assortment of CBD products ranging from meal replacement powders to pet treats, might be open as early as tomorrow.
This marks the brand's second NYC branch, joining the one on Cornelia Street.
The space at 314 E. Ninth St. was previously the first retail store for Eileen Fisher, opening in 1987 before officially shutting down back in February.
Thanks to Steven for the photo
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Details on the 'Queers of Noise Dyke March After Party' Saturday at Berlin Under A
Via the EVG inbox...
Katrina del Mar is excited to announce the electrifying lineup for "Queers of Noise Dyke March Afterparty: Love Is Love," the ONLY live music Dyke March After Party in NYC for Pride 2022.
Celebrate the long-awaited return of Triple Creme, with Tracy City, Themme and the Queers of Noise Supergroup, fronted by very special guests Pamela Sneed, Michael Love Michael, BETTY, Sarah FM, Stepneck’s Lindz and Nussy Andrews.Come bang your head, riot grrrls to the front, for punk bands, radical queer poets and female-led rock bands.
The show is 7:30-11:30 p.m. Find ticket info here. (This year, the 30th-annual NYC Dyke March will step off from Bryant Park at 5 p.m. on Saturday.)
Del Mar also fronts one of the bands on the bill, Tracy City (seen below) ...
A bakery called Butterdose is coming soon to 13th Street
Per the signage, Butterdose (German for butter dish???) will offer "Bakery • Brunch • Coffee."
We didn't spot a website or any social media accounts just yet.
The bakery takes over the space from Tamago Skincare, which closed during the pandemic. Those same owners still operate Sei Tomoko Salon next door.
This week at the Village East: 'Goodfellas,' George Michael, Stanley Kubrick and Elvis
Top photo yesterday by Steven
The Village East is back in action (as of last evening) after 11 days of screenings for the Tribeca Festival.
The theater (Village East by Angelika) on 12th Street and Second Avenue closed after the business day on June 5 to prep for the festival... and the blank marquee that night prompted a few closure queries...
You can see "Goodfellas" and "George Michael Freedom Uncut" this week... not to mention a Stanley Kubrick retrospective. Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" opens Thursday. And "The Duke," a pleasant caper, moves over here on Friday after a run at the Angelika mothership on Houston. There are other films too.
Find showtimes here.
June 5 photo by EVG after making it through "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
A soft opening for Xeo Cantina on the Bowery
Khuu also co-owns The Boil (with locations on Chrystie Street and Waverly Place, not to mention Jersey City) that serves creole and Cajun-style cuisine, and Saigon Shack on MacDougal.
No sign of a menu or other particulars at the moment for XEO Cantina.
Gia Trattoria closed here late last year after just four months in business.
Titan’s Greenery Arts, a '420 friendly gallery,' debuts on 9th Street
According to its Instagram account, Titan’s Greenery is "a brand that supports arts and the cannabis culture." It's a "collective community" where members must be 21 years old to enter ... and "nothing is for sale."
The storefront is affiliated with the Dr. Green brand — "the First Members-Only Consumption Lounge of NYC."
The address was previously home for nearly 40 years to Enchantments ... before the occult-themed shop's move to 165 Avenue B earlier this year.
H/T Steven!
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Celebrating the life of longtime community garden activist Clyde Romero
This Wednesday evening, June 22, there's a memorial "to honor his life as an artist, community and environmental activist" at the LES Ecology Center, 213 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, from 5-9 p.m. (Rain date is Thursday night.)
A memorial fund has also been established in honor of Romero, "who has been the driving force for designing and programming the garden over the last 30 years ... Help us honor his contributions and ensure the garden will flourish for many decades to come."
Find the fund link here.
Romero would have turned 85 on June 22.
Noted
1st Avenue old-timer Royal Bangladesh Indian Restaurant has closed
EVG contributor Stacie Joy caught this shot of the rolldown gate open over the weekend ... showing a for-rent sign on the storefront...
The colorful BYOB standby on the lower level here first opened in 1978.
With this closure, Panna II, who runs Milon these days, is the sole restaurant at the address... bringing an end to the era of theatrical hosts trying to get passersby to eat in their establishment, insisting that their food is superior.
This article at 6sqft has a nice recap of the restaurants here; Eater too.
Details about an hours-long break-in at CC Cyclery & Co. on 13th Street
Photos by Daniel Efram
Jeff Underwood, the founder and chief mechanic at CC Cyclery, is sharing details about a burglary at his shop, 530 E. 13th St., early on May 26.
In total, six people were involved in the break-in. Here's part of the message via an Instagram post from over the weekend...
They ended up making multiple trips during the hours of 1:45 a.m. until 8:40 a.m. The person who broke in was wearing a white hoodie, white shorts and carrying a shoulder bag. He was holding a small flashlight in one hand and a hunting knife in the other.After breaking in, others showed up and helped themselves to all our cash in the register, our laptops, ipads, bicycles, all our locks on display.After one broke in, five others showed up to help. They took multiple trips back and forth over the course of a few hours.I had been in the back office the whole time, unaware of what was happening just a few feet away on the other side of the wall. I had fallen asleep with my headphones on, and the A/C and fan were on, drowning out the sound. I heard something earlier but thought it was the neighbors coming in from a late night.Later I heard another noise, looked at the surveillance camera monitor, saw a woman walking out the front door with multiple bags and two men, each in the process of taking bikes. I jumped up and started toward the front of the shop. Stupidly, I went to confront them.As I was about to open the door they heard me, dropped the bikes and ran out the door ... They were all seen leaving the shop. They walked, ran, and rode the bikes on the sidewalk both east toward Avenue B and west toward Avenue A.
The Instagram post has screengrabs of the suspects.
Meanwhile, a longtime CC customer has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help "keep the business afloat." Details here.
Reader report: Tarallucci e Vino has closed
Workers were spotted clearing out the space yesterday. A worker confirmed that Sunday was the last day in business for the all-day cafe-restaurant ...
We reached out for more information.
The other locations (including the UWS, NoMad and Union Square) remain open.
Tarallucci e Vino owner Luca Di Pietro, his wife Kate and daughter Isabella launched the Feed the Frontlines NYC initiative at the start of the pandemic to feed New Yorkers in need and help restaurant workers stay employed.
Top photo by Jason McGroarty; others by Steven
Celebrating the Summer Solstice (today!) with Make Music New York
In the East Village, there are scheduled shows in Tompkins Square Park and on Astor Place... not to mention several community gardens. This map provides more details.
A special shout-out to Albert's Garden, one of the oldest community gardens in Manhattan (established 1971).
From 6-8 this evening, you can find Just (Jazz) Friends, an ensemble playing vocal and instrumental jazz standards focused on the American Songbook, Brazilian jazz, and occasional forays into pop/R&B classics from the 1960s and 1970s. Poet Davidson Garrett will also make an appearance. Albert's Garden is at 16 E. Second St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
Taco Bell grandly opens on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street
Photo by Jefferson Siegel
Taco Bell has debuted on the SW corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street ... a pending arrival we pointed out here and here ... and, heh, here.
Posted hours: 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. "or later."
As previously noted, there was a Taco Bell at 58 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street until sometime in late 2007 or early 2008. Welcome back? [Ducking]
Monday, June 20, 2022
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