Monday, December 19, 2022
Monday's parting shot
Celebrating the first night of Hanukkah in StuyTown
[Updating] Man found dead with a slash wound to his neck on Avenue A
Updated 12/26
Police have arrested Roland Codrington. He is accused of two murders — on Avenue A and a doctor Friday in Marcus Garvey Park. In both deadly assaults, the victims were killed with a knife. And in both deaths, the suspect did not previously have any interaction with the victims.
Updated 12/22: Police released a photo of the suspect here.
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According to ABC 7, the man, whose identity has not been released, was discovered around 1 a.m. outside 214 Avenue A on the east side of the avenue with "a laceration to the neck." Authorities pronounced him dead at Bellevue.
The Daily News reports that the man "lived nearby where he was killed."
Police have confirmed that this was a homicide. We'll update this story when more information becomes available.
Updated 1:30 p.m.
The Post identified the victim as James Cunningham. He reportedly had a glass of seltzer at Spike's and was attacked by an unknown assailant after leaving.
Sources told the paper that "Cunningham himself was just arrested 10 days ago and charged with menacing with a knife."
Police have not yet revealed a motive or suspect in the deadly attack.
The Daily News reported that Cunningham was a regular at Spike's, 218 Avenue A.
Per the News:
NYPD tips posters are now up on the block...He walked outside and was sliced in the neck after getting into a confrontation in front of a neighboring vacant storefront, according to cops."He was a super nice guy," said an employee, who asked not to be named.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.
Hamilton Fish Park Library reopens for limited service starting today
Photos last month by Stacie Joy
Patrons can pick up and return books and materials, use computers, and receive reference support from staff.
The branch on East Houston at Columbia Street closed on March 14, 2020, due to an aging HVAC system that, according to NYPL officials, was "no longer capable of heating and cooling the building."
Updated. 
Hamilton Fish Park Library will remain open until the fall of 2023, according to an email from Yolanda Gleason, borough director, Staten Island & Manhattan Neighborhood Library Networks for the New York Public Library.
At that time next year:
...the branch will close for renovation to replace the HVAC system and provide other significant improvements to the building, such as accessible entry and bathrooms, a larger community room, dedicated spaces for children and teens, interior upgrades, rehabilitation of the windows, and increased data and power to support high-tech needs in the community.
Gleason said that to further support the community, the library will continue to partner with community organizations such as the Henry Street Settlement, which currently hosts in-person services like storytime programs.
Staff will also regularly visit the neighborhood’s local schools — such as NEST+M, P.S. 15, and P.S. 140 — to share information about print and digital collections, facilitate school workshops, and conduct programs for younger patrons.
The branch's new hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays.
Stacie Joy shared these photos from re-opening day... not everyone seemed to get the memo about the branch returning to service...
Storefront renovations and reveals on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place
And on Friday, owner Parviz Mukhamadkulov sent us this photo of some local music ephemera that was uncovered on one of the storefront pillars... a band flyer for a show on May 7, 1974, at the long-defunct Brandy's II on the Upper East Side. (Brandy's Piano Bar is still there.)
Not sure who these lads are at the moment... the band's name is MIA here...
The retail space was the longtime home of Gem Spa, the iconic newsstand-candy shop. Gem Spa officially closed in May 2020 amid ongoing financial challenges worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mukhamadkulov previously told us that he would honor the memory of the decades-spanning former occupant in this renovated space.
The East Village Sauce outpost shutters for now on 12th Street
A sign for patrons, dated Dec. 16, states that they "have made the tough decision to close our doors for the next few months."
And:
We are planning to relaunch this location with great enthusiasm, and we look forward to serving you again soon!We have a great passion for our community and neighborhood and aren't going anywhere. Brookfield
Sauce arrived here in 2018.
The pizzeria also has outposts on the Lower East Side (Allen at Rivington) ... plus Brookfield Place and Moynihan Train Hall.
FULL reveal at 14 2nd Ave.
This property had been vacant for years, last housing Irreplaceable Artifacts until its demolition by the city in July 2000.
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Noted
Week in Grieview
Posts this past week included (with a reader-submitted photo from the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park) ...
• The 'Daze' of our lives: Adam Zhu's new photo book chronicles today's downtown youth culture (Wednesday)
• Renovations underway at the former Whitehouse Hotel on the Bowery (Tuesday)
• At the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lighting (Monday) ... Seeing the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree in a whole new light (Saturday)
• The Gallery Watch Q&A: Harvey L. Silver's 'Changin' Times' (Friday)
• Bad Brains on the Bowery with Shepard Fairey and Glen E. Friedman (Thursday)
• The New Museum is collecting coats for the Bowery Mission (Tuesday)
• Cautionary tales: A song inspired by an East Village move (Friday)
• On the CB3-SLA docket: The Commodore aims for Avenue C; an all-day Italian cafe for 12th Street (Monday)
• The Zero Irving food hall is now OPEN (Thursday)
• Memphis Seoul announces itself on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)
• Crab Du Jour sleeps with the fishes on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)
• Gen Korean BBQ House drops the plywood for a full reveal on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue (Thursday)
• Pizza for the former Subway (sandwich shop) on Avenue B (Thursday)
Sunday's opening shot
Saturday, December 17, 2022
At the 9th Precinct today
Photos by Derek Berg
The 9th Precinct's annual holiday party took place this morning on Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Seeing the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree in a whole new light
The Tompkins Square Park holiday tree is officially lit for the season. Again!
After last Sunday's festive ceremony, the tree was dark on Monday night, and it stayed that way until last night.
So all good for now. "We are pleased the lights are on," per the official.
Details about an art show to benefit Ukraine this weekend at C-Squat
Here's more about it via Facebook:
This is a traveling exhibit, which was first shown in New York at the First Presbyterian Church on 12th Street and then again at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island. The show is now making its way to the Lower East Side.
This art show includes artists holding many different political and philosophical beliefs, working in different styles, from graphic novels to photojournalism, from Fusionism to fashion design, and more abstract pieces. The artists come from many different countries including Ukraine, Russia, Italy, France, the UK, the USA, Israel, and Palestine.All are united on one point: The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a catastrophe with repercussions felt far outside of Ukraine. The only resolution is for the Russian military to leave Ukraine completely, to return illegally occupied territories, answer for crimes they continue to commit, and pay reparations for the damage they continue to cause. This — and only this — will end the violence and suffering.The purpose of the show is to demonstrate that all over the world, people of good conscience condemn this invasion.
Attendees can find a variety of items for sale, including zines, cassettes (Band Together donated a collection) and some rare World/Inferno Friendship Society vinyl records. All proceeds are going to benefit Razom for Ukraine.
The space is open from 2-8 p.m. this weekend. You can access the free show via MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between Ninth Street and 10th Street.
Friday, December 16, 2022
'Beat' surrender
In this season of the listicle... a top-20 record contender — Excess, the second release from the Los Angeles-based trio Automatic. The video here is for "Teen Beat."
Cautionary tales: A song inspired by an East Village move
He explains the story behind the track:
This song was written while I lived on 13th Street between A and B, and tells the story of moving from Ninth street to 13th Street. Foolishly, I thought I didn't need to rent a U-Haul, but could instead carry all of my stuff over the course of a week from 9th to 13th.As the distance added up and I started to lose my mind, I fell for a scam buyer on Craigslist while trying to sell my bed frame.The song is a cautionary tale, but also an embrace of the naivety that comes from letting yourself trust someone else.
Check Out "Craigslist Scammer" below...
The Gallery Watch Q&A: Harvey L. Silver's 'Changin' Times'
Interview by Clare Gemima
Top photo by Daryl-Ann Saunders; the rest courtesy of Harvey L. Silver
EV Gallery presents Harvey L. Silver's first solo show in New York City, "Changin' Times."
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.
A photographic time-capsule of America, which Silver started back in the late 1960s, "Changin' Times" showcases the photographer's kind, observational, and often voyeuristic image-building through photographs of musicians, hippies, artists, activists,
strangers, and protesters, all photographed during a time of unprecedented historical change and civil unrest.
Through his subject’s expressions, and the macabre candidness captured in other arbitrary moments, like in some of his street photography, it is clear that Silver is a documenter, or maybe some sort of archivist, but most focally — an authentic and curious photographer.
I talked with Silver about his exhibition, which runs until Jan. 14, 2023.
Congratulations on your first photo exhibit in New York City, "Changin’ Times." What does it feel like to see your images in the gallery?
I grew up in New York City, so having a solo show in the East Village at the EV Gallery is thrilling. Even though my family lived in Queens — my father managed a professional camera store in Manhattan at 245 Seventh Ave., and I spent many teenage years wandering around the Village — it’s a homecoming.
Your work was shot in the 1960s and 70s. Why is it important to you as an artist to show it today?
In 1967, I started taking photographs seriously — working primarily in 35mm black and white, as well as color slides. I was able to chronicle a very historical period — music, counterculture, the anti-war and civil rights movements. I built my early portfolio in the late 1960s and 70s, and it was those photos of that unique period that Getty Images was interested in
taking into their collection.
Why is the show hung in salon fashion?
It's a modified salon — especially if you view floor-to-ceiling salons from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. For me, it was the best way to showcase a good number of framed prints in a relatively small space.
What is the most successful photograph in the show?
People are very interested in the images of period folk and rock icons (Gram Parsons, Buddy Guy, Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt). Still, most are drawn to the street
photography — for example, the 1968 photo of the young child looking at a framed photograph of Robert Kennedy in a Fifth Avenue department store window as his funeral is going on nearby at St. Patrick's.
Which image holds the most sentimental value to you, and why?
Among the photographs are several of my family taken in the 1970s, such as portraits of my wife, Cindy, or several of my older son, Eric. These images are artful but also very personal.
Who is your idol portrait photographer?
I have always admired Edward S. Curtis and his photographs of North American Native Americans taken in the early 20th Century.
What are your plans after "Changin’ Times"?
I will be part of a group show at Gallery 40 in Poughkeepsie in February (near where I live in Rhinebeck) — and I am always mining my archives of negatives and slides for inclusion in Getty Images.
"Changin’ Times" runs through Jan. 14 at EV Gallery, 621 E, 11th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. The space is open Saturday from 1-5 p.m. and by appointment (info@evgallery.art, 978-799-9014).
You can find Harvey's portfolio here.
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Holiday wishes for the former Charas/El Bohio Community Center
Tomorrow (Saturday) at noon, local elected officials, residents and supporters are coming together for a rally to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the eviction of the Charas/El Bohio Community & Cultural Center here.
The assembled speakers will be asking "the mayor to make our holiday wish come true and return our community center."
This evening starting at 5:30, the activist group Loisaida Guardians is hosting a holiday dinner on the Ninth Street side of the property "to share gifts and food in the spirit of the holidays and work together to reopen Charas for the community of the people of New York City."
We're told that Two Boots will be providing some pizzas. Find more details on the Facebook event page.
The long-vacant 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. Singer evicted the group on Dec. 27, 2001.
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