Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Shake Shack signage appears outside new Lower East Side outpost

The green glow of the familiar Shake Shack neon signage can now be seen behind the plywood at the chain's newest outpost on Rivington and Norfolk. (First reported back in June.)

The Shack takes over the space — vacant for five years — from Schiller’s Liquor Bar, which closed after 14 years in 2017.

No word yet on an opening date — this outpost has yet to appear on the Shaker's website.

Thanks to EVG reader Mitch Lerner for the photo!

Monday, November 21, 2022

Monday's parting shot

SLIPPERY CHARACTER ON FOURTH AVENUE.

Photo by Derek Berg (with a headline H/T to Janice!)

The 2022 Cookie Walk has been canceled

Photo from 2019 by Stacie Joy

Organizers have decided not to host a Cookie Walk again this year at St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church on Avenue A and 10th Street. 

The Cookie Walk website shows that this year's event, expected to occur early next month, has been canceled.

"Our hearts are broken to make this announcement," per the site...
There wasn't an official reason given for the cancellation of what would have been the 12th Cookie Walk.
We will wait until 2023 when we can all enjoy the excitement and fun of "walking The Walk" together once again.

Be well. Stay safe. Eat Cookies!
The always-festive event, held in early December in the church basement, offers about 75 varieties of homemade cookies and pastries. As the name implies, you take a walk around cookie-filled tables and pick your favorites. 

The last Cookie Walk took place in 2019.

96 Tears debuts on Avenue A as a tribute to Howie Pyro

96 Tears debuted this past week at 110 Avenue A at Seventh Street... the establishment next door to sister bar Niagara takes over from Tompkins Square Bar

Owners Jesse Malin and Johnny T (whose other local ventures include 2A and Bowery Electric) as well as well as Jonathan Toubin have dedicated the space to the late Howie Pyro. Pyro, the prolific musician, producer and DJ, died in May from complications from COVID-19-related pneumonia following a liver transplant. He was 61. 

Here's more about the venue via the 96 Tears site:
"96 Tears" is of course the ? and The Mysterians distinctive #1 hit that was covered by everybody from Big Maybelle, Jimmy Ruffin, and Aretha Franklin to The Modern Lovers, Suicide, and The Stranglers. The DNA of so many revolutionary minimalist sounds that evolved across generations since its release, the original classic recording is also the first song ever referred to in print as "punk music" (by Dave Marsh in a 1971 issue of CREEM). 
While these dimensions of the song's journey are at the heart of what 96 Tears is all about, the bar took its name from a tattoo across the neck of Howie Pyro...  Howie's tragic death in May, and his friends' subsequent focus on his remarkable life and how he lived it, was the inspiration for 96 Tears.
Pyro was also well-known for his extensive collection of music-related memorabilia, which will be featured at 96 Tears...
The walls and shelves of the 96 Tears bar realize Howie's dream as they're adorned with his original posters, tchotchkes, and other extraordinary artifacts like the original promotional fruit company ashtray he discovered Andy Warhol lifted for The Velvet Underground & Nico LP cover ...  the "Free Sid Vicious" shirt that punk's original poster child left at Howie's apartment before his legendary demise ... a gold record the Ramones presented to Howie for their debut LP, a Dead Boys bass case that became his own, and an unimaginable array of other authentic subcultural wonders from across the edges of the 20th Century sub terrain that found their way into Howie's orbit.
The bar is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., with a 4 a.m. close on weekends. You can check out their food menu (similar to the one at Tompkins Square Bar) here.

A Snack Stop for St. Mark's Place

A rather generic-looking business called Snack Stop is setting up shop in the eastern storefront at 58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Vegan Grill is in the western space.)

The signage (with a typo — GROICERIES) promises exotic soda and snacks... as well as an ATM. 

The space has been vacant since Clay Pot didn't reopen after the PAUSE of March 2020.

Can't believe it has been 10 years since Natori, a longtime favorite, closed here.

Thanks to the readers who shared photos of the new signage! This pic via Steven.

Report: City's first NFT restaurant slated for the former Sunshine Cinema location on Houston

The city's first NFT restaurant has signed a lease at the new 9-story office building at 141 E. Houston St. between Eldridge and Forsyth. 

According to the Post, the Flyfish Club is leasing three levels, 11,000 square feet total, for the members-only club that will feature a "bustling" cocktail lounge, an upstairs restaurant and outdoor space. 
Details! 
Flyfish was founded by the VCR Group’s restaurateur David Rodolitz, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, celebrity chef Josh Capon and chef Conor Hanlon — with membership through non-fungible tokens that were purchased on the blockchain and are now being resold on Opensea.io. 
And!
An "intimate" omakase room will additionally have a menu being created by Masa Ito, a partner with VCR Group in the Ito restaurant, and entered through a separate token. Here, members are allowed just one guest, which is the same for regular members in the cocktail lounge. But diners can bring a number of guests depending on their table size and reservation. 
Annnnd!
 ... so far they have sold 1,294 regular memberships with the club reserving 1,423 and 318 omakase memberships with 67 reserved by the club. Tokens started at 2.5 Ethereum ($8,400 in January) and are now being listed for 3.5 Ethereum, or $5,390, to as much as 150 Ethereum, or $190,170 — and provide entry to the restaurant and cocktail lounge. 

The Omakase token was first offered for 4.25 Ethereum ($14,300 in January) and now is offered for as much as 22.8571 Ethereum, nearly $29,000 — and provides access to that exclusive space.
Here's the Flyfish opening announcement...

 

This is all happening on the site of the former Sunshine Cinema (RIP January 2018).

Where you'll be able to find the Goodies on the Bowery

Another day, another cannabis-related shop opening in the neighborhood. 

The Goodies Shop is the latest entry ... coming soon to 324 Bowery near Bleecker... signage arrived last week...
This piece from Fortune on Friday has more about the city's unlicensed shops popping up all over the place.

The Goodies Shop takes over the space from Snack Bowery, which closed late last year.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

An early Thanksgiving today courtesy of East Village Loves NYC

Photos by Stacie Joy

Today, East Village Loves NYC — the local volunteer group formed in the spring of 2020 to feed people in need during the pandemic — prepared and distributed its third-annual Thanksgiving meal citywide. (More background here.)

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the group's home base at the Sixth Street Community Center ... 
Later, several volunteers passed out Thanksgiving meals in Tompkins Square Park. (EV Loves NYC started a distribution on Sundays at 1:45 p.m. back in the summer for anyone in the neighborhood who needs food, water and health care supplies.) 

Thanksgiving meals were on the menu today... 
You may find information about volunteer opportunities here... or if you'd like to make a donation to support their work. (Link here.)

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo on 1st Avenue by Grant Shaffer) ... 

• A visit with Moxie, a nearly 8-year-old East Village photographer with an eye for nature (Wednesday)

• A visit to Azaleas, celebrating 20 years in the East Village (Tuesday

• EV Loves NYC preparing for its 3rd annual Thanksgiving event for New Yorkers in need (Friday)

• The tree lighting ceremony in Tompkins Square Park takes place on Dec. 11 (Monday

• This morning's community meeting in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday) ... Why is this area of Tompkins Square Park now closed to the public? (Thursday

• About 'Bomb Pop 2,' an 'ongoing conversation' at Bullet Space (Friday

• The Gallery Watch Q&A: Sneha S. on 'Portraits of the Revolution' (Saturday

• Bowery building once owned by Andy Warhol is up for auction (Tuesday

• City removes curbside dining structure at Amor Y Amargo on 6th and A (Saturday

• While we're waiting for the full reveal at 14 2nd Ave. (Monday

• Let there be sidewalk here on Avenue C! (Wednesday

• Gratin, a new gallery, debuts on 5th Street and Avenue B (Thursday

• That's all for the short-lived Luna Cafe Lounge on 2nd Avenue (Thursday)

• The Union Square Holiday Market is now open on Union Square this holiday season (Friday

• Heathily Deli has not been open lately (Monday

• Noted, good-God-not-another-one edition (Wednesday) ... Hey, what might be opening in this empty 1st Avenue storefront? (Monday

... and an attempt at humor for fans of the Citizen app...
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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Toss your e-waste today!

We only just received this flyer... the Lower East Side Ecology Center is collecting e-waste — computers, monitors, keyboards, Betamax players etc. — today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Location: Avenue A between Ninth Street and 10th Street.

New murals depict LES history outside the long-empty CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center

Photos by Stacie Joy 

New murals are in progress on the 10th Street side of the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by yesterday for a work-in-progress look at the murals that aim to beautify the sidewalk and celebrate the legacy of the founders of CHARAS. It's a PIRAGUA art space initiative in partnership with by the Thrive Collective, Loisaida Inc., LES Community Concerns, MoRUS and La Plaza Cultural.

The murals, which include one honoring longtime neighborhood activist Carlos "Chino" Garcia (below), are expected to be completed later this week...
The building, owned by Gregg Singer since 1998, fell into foreclosure earlier this year and is reportedly in the hands of lender Madison Realty Capital.

The five-floor building is being offered for use as medical space or educational-related purposes. Meanwhile, some residents want to see the space used as a community center, as it was during its time as CHARAS/El Bohio Community Center.

This past Monday, a group of activists marched on the Midtown offices of Madison Realty Capital to demand the return of the former P.S. 64 to the community. You can read news coverage of the action at The Village Sun.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

City removes curbside dining structure at Amor Y Amargo on 6th and A

The EVG inbox is lighting up with news from Sixth Street and Avenue A... where as around noon, DOT workers are demolishing the curbside dining structure at Amor Y Amargo...
For this, the city has shut down Avenue A to through traffic from Fifth Street to Seventh Street.
The space looked to be one of the nicer curbside structures around... though it hadn't been in service in recent months.

In August, the city started removing dining sheds from outside closed establishments ... or restaurant and bars that were no longer using the street spaces. (To be clear, Amor Y Amargo remains open.) 

The city said this about curbside structures that are still in use:
The task force will also review sheds that, while potentially active, are particularly egregious violators of Open Restaurants program guidelines. In these cases, sheds will be inspected three separate times before action is taken. After each of the first two failed inspections, DOT will issue notices instructing the restaurant owner to correct the outstanding issues; after the third visit, DOT will issue a termination letter and allow 48 hours before issuing a removal notice. DOT will then remove the structure and store it for 90 days — if the owner does not reclaim it in that period, DOT will dispose of the structure.

City officials are currently finalizing legislation for the open restaurants program. 

The Gallery Watch Q&A: Sneha S. on 'Portraits of the Revolution'

Interview by Clare Gemima 
Photos courtesy of EVGallery

Sneha S. is an artist and activist based in Queens. 

Sneha explored art from a young age due to her rough childhood upbringing. Born in Silchar, Assam of India, Sneha's family shifted to the United States in hopes of "achieving the American dream." In turn, the harshness of capitalism destroyed her family and caused a strain on both of her parents' mental health. 

To cope with child abuse, Sneha turned to art for solace. Art took a pause when working as an adult in New York City took over. But after getting out of a tumultuous relationship, old wounds opened up again, and Sneha had to address her childhood trauma with the help of therapy, and of course, art came back into her life. Since then, Sneha has continued exploring her artistic capabilities using acrylic, ink, watercolor, and colored pencil. 

"Portraits of the Revolution," Sneha's first art show now on display through Nov. 30 at EVGallery on 11th Street, is a syndicate of portraits that symbolize social and political injustices to bring attention to the policy changes we need in this country. 

What can an audience member prepare to see in this exhibition? 

Six portraits out of the eleven had already been made. Portraits of Loujain al Hathloul and Greta Thunberg were created for a prior showing, Fearless Teardrops, representing the oppression and resilience of women and children. Bernie Sanders was painted as my homage to the presidential nominee when he withdrew from the 2020 elections for the second time. 

Dannelly Rodriguez was painted to honor the housing rights activist and movement lawyer. I met him at one of my co-organized events and witnessed him leading the NYC Black Lives Matter Movement protests in response to the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. "Pelehonuamea" (below) — a painting created after my trip to Hawaii in 2021 and my self-portrait called "Ego Death" — was made as a therapeutic piece in response to my trip to Miami during the year the pandemic hit.

After connecting with Kerri, the director of EV Gallery in March of this year, I formulated the remaining five pieces inspired by what I had already compiled within my tiny studio apartment that I work out of in Queens. 

After getting arrested for civil disobedience at the 2016 presidential debate, I dealt with a lot of anxiety and frustration through art. So, it was about time I decided to forge both of these worlds together to visualize what lies in my heart as an activist. 

Of the 11 portraits hung in EV Gallery, what work resonates with you the most, and why?

The portrait that resonates with me the most is definitely "Pelehonuamea." (Seen below.) When I went to Hawaii using my stimulus check, thinking I would never get an opportunity like this again, it was important for me to learn and understand the way of the land. Pele is the Goddess of Volcano and Fire, a deity, an integral part of Hawaiian culture. 

The more I read about her as I explored parts of the island that weren’t accessible to tourists, the more I felt connected to her. I feel like I have a raging fire within me as I witness the suffering and oppression of the people caused by the oligarchy in place. I think it also makes sense because I am a Sagittarius, one of the three fire signs of the zodiac.
Is this the first time you have visualized your activism? Are you interested in the history of agitprop? 

Actually, it’s not. I had my initial exposure to agitprop when my portrait of Karl Marx was published in a socialist magazine called Reform & Revolution, in which my talk as a guest at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for "Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving" was also highlighted. 

Ruth Ann Oskolkoff, an activist with Extinction Rebellion and DSA, also used the same portrait of Karl Marx on the cover of her book of political quotes, "Capitalism Must Be Composted."

I understand that you were born in Silchar, India. How has coming as an immigrant to the United States propelled your strong interest in political activism? 

I remember the joy I felt on the last day of school in India when I told my friends I was going to the U.S. From my father to my teachers, they all reflected on the idea of the American Dream. Still, it was tarnished when I experienced racism and discrimination upon entering the United States. I observed both my parents struggle to make ends meet, affecting their marriage and mental health. I was on the receiving end of both their anger and frustration.

Because my parents couldn’t afford childcare, I spent the majority of my childhood in solitude, drawing and sketching. I knew at the age of 8 that what I was going through was a lot bigger than me, and I knew there was something wrong with the system we were and are still living in.

What political crisis takes up most of your attention, and why do you feel so strongly about it? 

The climate crisis takes up most of my attention because it is the biggest threat to humanity, our natural environment and the world’s species. The response in the past few years after scientists came out in 2019 saying we have 12 years to act on climate change has been abysmal. The United States is one of the three biggest contributors to climate change, and continues to participate in acts of war, which has been the most damaging to our environment. 

What sort of message do you hope to send with your portraits? 

All these movements — Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Lives Matter, Climate Crisis, atrocious foreign policies in Yemen and Palestine, New York City Housing Crisis, LGBTQIA+ rights, and the sovereignty movement — point to the singular perpetrator, the United States government – local and federal, needs to be held accountable and put forth policy changes. Citizens United, which allows wealthy donors and special interests to use dark money to influence elections, needs to be repealed.

Occupy Wall Street was a big movement that showcased how incredibly imbalanced we were as a society. At the same time, the poor and the working class struggle continued to be watered underneath a crumbling bridge. This means access to universal healthcare, abolishing student loan debt, prioritizing the climate crisis as an emergency issue, providing living wages against theorized inflation, and decreasing the cost of living. It's absurd that billionaires’ wealth has risen further since the pandemic hit the world. Power needs to be brought back to the people. 

What is next for your political and artistic career in New York? 

I am working on a couple of potential projects, but I am really excited by the idea of formulating a mood board that represents my culture and where I come from. It has been 27 years since I returned to India. A trip back to my homeland is definitely in order to inspire this project further because I plan to highlight the story of my aunt, Sharda, who was burned alive by her husband and in-laws for not meeting their dowry standards. Her horrific story needs to be painted.
EVGallery, 621 E, 11th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C, is open Thursday to Saturday from 1-6 p.m. and by appointment. Find contact info here.

~~~~~~

Clare Gemima is a visual artist and arts writer from New Zealand, now based in the East Village of New York. You can find her work here: claregemima.com.

Details about Middle Church's 7th annual Children’s Multicultural Book Fair

Middle Church's seventh-annual Children's Multicultural Book Fair takes place tomorrow (Sunday!) from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. in their temporary home — East End Temple, 245 E. 17th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Per the EVG inbox:
The event is hosted in partnership with Yu & Me Books. It will feature a variety of diverse children's literature available for purchase, as well as readings from incredible authors like Jamia Wilson & Carol Wu, snacks, games and more. The fair is free, and 10% of any books sold help Middle rebuild from the fire

Ralph's on ice for the winter season

The Ralph's Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream! is on hiatus now for the next few months on the NW corner of Avenue A and Ninth Street. 

They'll be back in February, at which time we'll be that closer to spring...
Photos by Steven...

Saturday's opening shot

Waking up to a cool (temperature-wise) morning ... with a freeze warning in place tonight. 

Photo from 10th and A...

Friday, November 18, 2022

Cherry-coloured punk

 

Endure, the well-reviewed new record from Special Interest, is out now... the video here is for "Cherry Blue Intention." 

You can check out the glammed-up punk sounds of this New Orleans-based band on Dec. 8 at the Bowery Ballroom.

EV Loves NYC preparing for its 3rd annual Thanksgiving event for New Yorkers in need

East Village Loves NYC — the local volunteer group formed in the spring of 2020 to feed people in need during the pandemic — is getting ready for its third-annual Thanksgiving event, taking place this Sunday.

This year, organizers told us that they're running a cookathon on Sunday. 
We’ll be partnering with 40 organizations, and setting up stations around the city so that those who need it the most can share in our chef-made meals. Our chefs will be cooking both traditional Thanksgiving meals, as well as vegan versions of Thanksgiving meals.
Late this past summer the group started a distribution on Sundays at 1:45 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park for anyone in the neighborhood who needs food, water and health care supplies. This Sunday, they'll be in the Park sharing full Thanksgiving meals (turkey, six side dishes and pie) plus vegan versions. 

In other EV Loves NYC news, the volunteers added early morning shifts (5 to 7:30 a.m. at their HQ, the Sixth Street Community Center), for asylum seekers arriving at Port Authority. 

You may donate to the Thanksgiving meal fund here. You may find volunteer opportunities here.

In the spring of 2020, a handful of East Village friends got together to prepare meals for neighbors. Early on, Ali Sahin, the owner of C&B Cafe on Seventh Street near Avenue B, donated his kitchen on Mondays for the group to cook its meals. By June 2020, they had outgrown the space and started assembling deliveries at the Sixth Street Community Center between Avenue B and Avenue C. 

Eventually, the group became known as East Village Loves NYC with 1,400-plus volunteers. In year one alone, the group cooked more than 100,000 meals for New Yorkers  ... not to mention donated 325,000-plus pounds of groceries and 7,000-plus pantry bags.
 

Image via @evlovesnyc

[UPDATED, whoa] It's beginning to look a lot like ...

Lime Tree Market on the SE corner of Ninth Street and First Avenue is now on the clock for some of the neighborhood's first Christmas trees.

Updated 5 p.m. 

The trees have arrived! Awww...
Aww, WTF!? $99.99??
Thanks to Steven for the photos

About 'Bomb Pop 2,' an 'ongoing conversation' at Bullet Space

Photos and text by Daniel Efram 

Bullet Space is currently showing "Bomb Pop 2," a group exhibition featuring Fly Orr, Mac McGill, Andrew Chan, John Farris, Michael A. Gonzales, Andrew Wilhelm and Maggie Wrigley (above), who's serving as the curator. 

The original "Bomb Pop" took place in 2012, and this 2022 edition is dedicated to honoring the late poet and illustrator John Farris

This is a group of NY artists with roots in the Lower East Side squatter community. The gallery itself is a former squatted space. "Bomb Pop 2," revisited on the 10th anniversary of the original show, continues the ongoing conversation between these artists and their work that started a decade ago.
"Michael Gonzales and I curated the first show. We have been collaborating for years — my photos and his words," Wrigley said. "These are fragments of a story that he wrote. It's an afro-futurist dystopian story inspired by Sun Ra, and my photos are fragments of the past East Village, which was pretty dystopian, too, so it's a kind of time-travel connection. Being movie buffs, we call it 'Prevues of Coming Attractions.'"

Regarding Wrigley's photography, Gonzales stated, "She captures the various beauties of the city: the ugly beauty, the concrete beauty, the sad beauty and joyful beauty. As a writer of noir short fiction, I'm attracted to that dark/light sensibility in her images."
Fly Orr, a teacher at the Lower East Side Girls Club, is perhaps better known for her squatter zines and "PEOPs, Portrait & Stories" project. For this show, she installed stencils, using a language of symbols as a different way to communicate her love of the community. (See above.)

Mac McGill is a native New Yorker and former squatter, now a tenant owner of his former squat.
 
"He makes incredibly detailed and moving pen and ink drawings," Wrigley said. "His work has addressed housing and environmental issues of the neighborhood for decades."
Sculpture artist Andrew Wilhelm has been helping to nourish next-generation artists through his work with Pratt and Cooper Union. The flowing, smooth lines of his pieces in the gallery's garden [seen behind Wrigley in the above photo] feel like his sculptures are an extension of nature. His work in the gallery employs a Renaissance-era technique to make plaster simulate stone but with wild colors instead.
Australian artist Andrew Chan makes playfully critical paintings of the United States, his adopted country. Seen above in the portrait titled "The Collector," Chan connects the darkness of consumerism and corporations with the playful idea of assembling them all in a shopping cart headed down the block, conceivably a reference to our own presence in late-stage capitalism.
John Farris lived in Bullet Space for the last 25 years of his life. 

"One of the proudest things we’ve done as a collective was giving this poet a place to live," Wrigley said. 

The back room is dedicated to Farris, who died in 2016. 

 "When John had trouble writing, he started drawing. And he drew and drew and drew. He had piles of work in his apartment. He did a lot of self-portraits and people he met on the street," Wrigley said. "He also made these incredibly soulful head sculptures [above] made out of shopping bags and masking tape." 

East Villagers should make their way to Bullet Space at 292 E. Third St. between Avenue C and Avenue D for this inspired group show that speaks to the past and harkens to the future. The gallery is open Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 p.m. (Viewings are available by appointment by emailing Wrigley at: maggiebullet292@gmail.com.) The space will not be open on Thanksgiving weekend.

The show's closing party is Sunday, Dec. 18, from 6-8 p.m., and includes performances by Lorraine Leckie, Puma Perl, Jennifer Blowdryer and Faith NYC.

Top photo: Wrigley with work by Mac McGill