Photo by Derek Berg
Aspiring Citi Bike of the day... as seen near Seventh Street and First Avenue ...
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
RIP Ed Burns
Burns was a professor of English at William Paterson University, joining the faculty in 1989. He published widely on Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, James Joyce and Thornton Wilder, among others.
His work on Gertrude Stein was included in a three-part New Yorker article by Janet Malcolm in the early 2000s.
As an editor, his book credits included "Tour of the Darkling Plain: The 'Finnegans Wake' Letters of Thornton Wilder and Adaline Glasheen"; "A Passion for Joyce: The Letters of Hugh Kenner and Adaline Glasheen," "The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Thornton Wilder," and "Gertrude Stein on Picasso."
As The New Yorker put it, Stein became the focus of his life's work. Burns was the expert The Metropolitan Museum of Art consulted for the 2012 exhibition, "The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde."
He also wrote an essay about Gertrude Stein that was included in the exhibition’s catalog and donated more than 20 archival photos of the paintings in her apartment.
From his official obituary: "Dr. Burns was an avid supporter of the arts and literature in New York and Paris. Loving uncle, great-uncle, great-great-uncle, friend, and colleague to many. He will be missed by all."
We knew Ed as a regular at the Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place ... when we enjoyed spending far too many late afternoons and early evenings during John Leeper's shifts.
In one of her New Yorker pieces, Malcolm described Burns as "burly, affable and loquacious." Not sure about burly, but the other descriptions fit the bill.
H/T Steven
The Joyce Theater Foundation completes purchase of the former Boys' Club on 10th Street and Avenue A
After 10 months as a tenant of 287 E. 10th St., the Chelsea-based Joyce Theater Foundation is now the new owner of the 7-story building, the former Harriman Clubhouse run by the Boys' Club of New York on the NW corner of Avenue A.
The news arrived yesterday via Denham Wolf Real Estate Services, a nonprofit real estate adviser.
Backing up a bit: In August 2019, Crain's first reported that Aaron Sosnick, an East Village resident and founder of the investment fund A.R.T. Advisors LLC, was the new owner of the Harriman Clubhouse. He bought it for $31.725 million and reportedly planned to sell the property, "potentially at a substantial loss," to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.
According to Denham Wolf, the unnamed philanthropic foundation that bought the building at market rate sold it to The Joyce for half the amount — $16 million.
Per the press announcement:
The purchase allows The Joyce to expand its programming capabilities and to offer rehearsal, performance, and administrative space at subsidized rates.The sale is the culmination of a multi-year process initiated by Denham Wolf in which a foundation purchased the site at a market rate solely to resell it for community use at a discounted rate. Denham Wolf believes that other foundations can use the sale of 287 East 10th Street as a model to support nonprofits and their missions.In addition to the reduced purchase price, the seller provided The Joyce with long-term financing, which allows The Joyce to fundraise for the capital improvements necessary to adapt the building to its new purpose.
And...
The foundation worked with the community following its purchase of the building to create an RFP for nonprofits interested in repurposing the space for community-facing programs. Priority was given to organizations that would serve the East Village and provide community benefit, whether through education, health care, performing arts, social welfare, advocacy, or beyond.Nonprofits were asked to demonstrate a stable, long-term financial plan for the project, including opportunities for public use of portions of the building. While there were many great options for future operators of the space, The Joyce made a compelling argument and demonstrated a feasible plan for securing and updating the space for community use.The Joyce has announced a capital campaign to support the organization with renovations starting in continuous stages and intends to transform the East Village community center into a cultural hub for artists with an emphasis on dance.
The Joyce has made available a handful of studios at subsidized rates for dance artists, including space specifically for tap and percussive artists. There are also studios open for local dance companies and businesses to hold rehearsals, auditions classes, workshops, and other gallery-arts uses, such as the Deer Gallery.
The building was rebranded as the New York Center for Creativity & Dance. There's an open studio here to check out all the artists and their spaces on Dec. 17 from 11 to 5 p.m. (More on this later.)
As we first reported in June 2018, the Boys' Club put the building on the sales market.
At the time, Stephen Tosh, BCNY's executive director and CEO, said the sale of the East Village building would allow the organization to start new programs in other neighborhoods needing its services.
The building was pitched for educational purposes and residential conversion. With the prime location and Tompkins Square Park views, there was a heavy sentiment that the building would eventually be converted into high-end condominiums.
E.H. Harriman founded the Boy's Club in 1876. The Harriman Clubhouse on 10th Street and Avenue A opened in 1901.
Previously on EV Grieve:
What? Federico of Pinc Louds is doing a residency on Wednesdays this month at 96 Tears
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Every Wednesday night this month, Federico of Pinc Louds will be performing "immersive solo shows" in the Cabin Down Below space underneath 96 Tears.
From 8-11 p.m., Federico will play three different sets a night ... and with some special guest performers.
What to expect?
96 Tears is at 110 Avenue A near Seventh Street (and next to Niagara!). Entry is free for this "Wednesdays With a W" series, though there is a suggested $15 donation.
"It will be very interactive in nature. With dance contests, costume
contests, etc.
Every Wednesday will have a different W-word theme, such as Wedding or
Wormholes."
Wormholes! Woo!
Monday, December 4, 2023
Report: Police chase ends with Jeep crashing into 2nd Avenue sidewalk bridge, injuring cyclist
Photos by EVG reader Erin
A police chase last evening ended up with the suspects crashing a Jeep into the sidewalk bridge on Second Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street, injuring a 26-year-old bicyclist in the process.
According to police and media reports (PIX 11 here), the situation began after 7 p.m. on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue when the NYPD attempted to pull over the vehicle that had stolen plates.
However, the driver sped off, reportedly hitting several cars on 34th Street and Second Avenue, before heading south down Second Avenue at a high rate of speed.
Before colliding with the sidewalk bridge in the East Village, the driver struck a parked car and the cyclist, who reportedly suffered non-life-threatening head, neck and leg injuries.
The occupants of the vehicle were a 21-year-old and a 16-year-old male. No word on the charges against them.
City officials help facilitate successful meal handout for asylum seekers in the East Village
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Note: Faces of the asylum seekers have been blurred
After the difficulties with the planned food and clothing distribution at the former St Brigid School on Friday, NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol and Deputy Commissioner of External Affairs David Schmid (both East Village residents) reached out to help facilitate a planned meal handout yesterday at the asylum-seeker reticketing site on Seventh Street and Avenue B.
The city offered volunteers with East Village Loves NYC the interior courtyard space, complete with OEM pop-up tents to protect against the rain, to pass out 390-plus hot meals to those in need. (On Friday, after arranging for food distribution, officials at the site wouldn't let volunteers hand out the warm meals to those asylum seekers inside the school.)
Community members — along with city officials and the always-popular Google translator app — showed up to help provide communication services.
I spotted several people wearing slippers or chancletas and saw others clearly unprepared for the colder temperatures accompanying NYC this time of year. OEM officials discussed the difficulties in providing shoes, coats, and warm clothing and the logistical challenges in assisting the massive influx of asylum seekers. (Per media accounts, more than 140,000 asylum seekers have arrived here since last spring.)
The mood was optimistic at the end of yesterday's distribution.
"[The city] set us up in our own private space and provided tents to keep us dry," said EV Loves NYC co-founder and executive director Mammad Mahmoodi. "This meant we could deliver the offerings with much more dignity and care. We hope that this is the start of a healthy and productive relationship between us all and that they fulfill some promises they made moving forward."
Previously on EV Grieve:
Another look at the newly reconstructed Tompkins Square Park multipurpose courts
Here is a look around at the upgraded amenties... including the new surface, benches (1939 World's Fair style, or not)...
... a few expanded tree pits...
... three new basketball backboards...
...with the double rims (bad for our 3-point shooting, but good for our thunderous, backboard-shaking dunks)...
... and the high-low fountain that isn't dispensing water just yet...
So far, no sign of any painted lines for kickball or markings for a walking-running track that the Parks Department touted in a previous presentation...
We reached out to the Parks Department to see what the status is of these markings.
And the new asphalt seems to be OK for skateboarding too. (Skaters are worried the new asphalt would be either too soft or too hard for skating, turning this decades-long hotspot into a useless spot.)
On Saturday, a reader shared this photo... with skaters seeming pleased ... 
And from an early test run last week...
360 Bowery is all glassed up
Anyone watching this project has said the same thing: It has gone up quickly. We saw the first sign of it above the plywood in January. The 360 website lists occupancy in the second quarter of 2024.
This development — offering full-floor office suites — replaces the single-level B Bar & Grill (1994-2020) on property previously a gas station here at Fourth Street.
The developers of this project within the Soho/Noho rezoning area are a collaboration between Morris Adjmi Architects, CBSK Ironstate and AECOM-Canyon Partners.
And here's a sneak preview of what to expect from 360's revamped website...
Signage alert: La Vera Pizza on 2nd Avenue
Top photo by Steven; 2nd by Derek Berg
Updated 12/9 — the pizzeria is now open.
Signage went up Saturday at 67 Second Ave. for La Vera Pizza...
This will be the third NYC outpost for the pizzeria, which has outposts in Gramercy Park and Midtown East.
As we've pointed out, this has been a tough spot for people to make work. Vegan chef Matthew Kenney tried four concepts at this space at Fourth Street in recent years — Sestina, Plantmade, Plant Food + Wine and Arata.
There was also a revolving door of restaurants here before Kenney took over. La Contrada ... Contrada (not to be confused with La Contrada) ... Calliope and Belcourt have all come and gone since 2012.
Filipino restaurant Naks set to open on 1st Avenue via the Unapologetic Foods team
Here's more about the Filipino restaurant via the Unapologetic Foods Group team — owner Roni Mazumdar and Chef Chintan Pandya ... featuring Dhamaka Chef de Cuisine Eric Valdez, who was raised in the Philippines ...
Join us at Naks to experience a Kamayan Dinner! A unique, hands-on culinary journey celebrating Filipino culture and cuisine. Picture a table covered in banana leaves, laden with succulent grilled meats, seafood, and aromatic vegetables. Indulge in vibrant flavors at a communal feast, away from cutlery constraints.
They are accepting reservations now for the Kamayan Tasting menu... with room for walk-ins for their la carte menu in the front room.
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.
Previously on EVG:
Unapologetic also operates the fried-chicken outpost, Rowdy Rooster, at 149 First Ave. at Ninth Street. They previously announced plans for the kebab-focused Kebabwala at 82 Second Ave.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Week in Grieview
Posts this past week included (with a photo last night on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg)...
• More asylum seekers are lining up for help at the former St. Brigid School in the East Village (Wednesday) ... Distro disaster: City rejects warm homemade meals for hungry asylum seekers in the East Village, opts to serve moldy rolls (Saturday)
• Save the date: The Tompkins Square Park tree lighting is Dec. 10 (Monday)
• Tako's adventure (Sunday)
• The multipurpose courts at Tompkins Square Park are OPEN (Friday)
• A public meeting about the pending closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• DOH temporarily closes Lucy's over paperwork snafu (Friday)
• A look at Everythings Fine (fine!) Vintage at the Market Line (Friday)
• Don Ceviche debuts today on 1st Avenue (Monday)
• Openings: Rakka on 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• Moving Day (Thursday)
• Winter Flowers on this November day (Tuesday)
• Liftonic bringing group weight training classes to this 2nd Avenue condoplex space (Monday)
• Blank Street is down to 1 East Village location (Tuesday)
No, Cobell Energy is not trying to build an oil refinery in Tompkins Square Park
Photo by Steven
It's a marketing campaign for "Cobell Energy," Adam McKay's new short-form series on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
And it may have been slightly more effective if they spelled Tompkins correctly.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Saturday's parting shot
And seeing this living arrangement reminded one reader of when Merlin lived in nearly the same spot for eight years.
Distro disaster: City rejects warm homemade meals for hungry asylum seekers in the East Village, opts to serve moldy rolls
Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Note: Faces of the asylum seekers have been blurred
Despite assurances from the site supervisors at the former St Brigid school for a cooperative effort in a food and clothing distribution yesterday, things did not go according to plan.
As is the case so often when working with the city's asylum-seeker sites, like here on Seventh Street and Avenue B, snafus started early, with access denied, not allowing us to feed people, and (literally) shutting the doors and windows to the clothing pipeline.
After a week of intense media attention and freezing temperatures, asylum seekers waiting in line to receive placement are now allowed indoors, where they can begin trying to find space in a new shelter after receiving their 30-day notice from previous locations.
Some opt for reticketing elsewhere (anywhere in the world, one-way tickets are available), but only a few. I personally have only witnessed three in the past week. Those who cannot be placed in the system return to Bathgate in the Bronx, where they can sleep on the floor and start the process here again the following morning.
Since people were indoors yesterday, on-site officials would not let them exit and re-enter to receive the donated meals and clothing that they needed.
At one point, a pipeline was established to provide clothing and food through the windows, but security soon shut all the windows and ended this makeshift distribution.
The volunteer-run East Village Loves NYC prepared 450 hot Halal meals, and Pep Kim from Cafe Chrystie donated hot coffee, sweatshirts, socks, and other merch to the effort. Coats, scarves, and gloves were also donated by local residents via a drive with the East Village Community Coalition.
While some people received the much-needed meals, many were prohibited from receiving assistance.
Pastor Will Kroeze from Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish on Ninth Street and Avenue B was able to take some of the extras to provide for other community members in need.
EV Loves NYC co-founder Mammad Mahmoodi explains, "The City requested our meals multiple times. We put so much effort and energy into getting 450 meals, snacks, coffee, tea, etc. together — from 5 a.m.! — to be rejected [from providing] service inside for hungry folks. We even moved to send some meals via windows that they blocked. Meals were outside, hungry folks inside, and the city blocked the connection."
In an image provided by an anonymous source from inside St. Brigid, we were shown the on-site meals delivered by ReThink Foods that indicate mold on the rolls.
I spoke with site management, who told me that the city-run site "receives food adequate for the needs of the migrants."
Surf's up for Snoopy at the Tompkins Square Library
So why does she draw Snoopy?
Perhaps reading in the news about Snuppy the Puppy, the first cloned dog, was an idea that offered numerous visual possibilities. Or that my first-ever opportunity to use my purchasing power was when Grandma Bovasso gave me $20 for my birthday, and I brought a large stuffed Snoopy plush doll.
Today (Saturday!) is the last day for the exhibit ... and you can hear more from Bovasso this afternoon at 2 by the painting.
The branch is at 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Image via the NYPL
About a Holiday PopUp on 7th Street
Per the listing, you can find handmade paper flowers, ceramics, jewelry, handknits, and gifts of all kinds.
It's taking place at ILevel, 37 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, December 1, 2023
Friday's parting shot
Photo by Steven
The first people in line this morning for the Alicia Keys show — One Night Only — at Webster Hall on 11th Street...
Breaking: The multipurpose courts at Tompkins Square Park are OPEN
Rather impressive, too, as the posted signage stated the work would occur between Oct. 16 and Dec. 1. (And today is Dec. 1, FYI.)
A reader shared this (and the photo!) from this corner of the Park along 10th and A:
We saw the NW TSP court being unlocked this afternoon!Current park-goers:1 little kid soccer player1 kid skateboarder3 bench goers0 walking tracks
Aside from new asphalt (which is apparently skateboard friendly, per our TF sources), new amenities include a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, three new basketball backstops, and the 1939 World's Fair-style benches that people yelled at us because they aren't actually 1939 World's Fair-style benches. (Well, we were at the World's Fair in 1939, and the benches here are as we remember there.)
More on this later, obviously.
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