This November at 3rd & B'zaar

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Above from left: Maegan Hayward, Alex Carpenter & Nina Burns

During November, 3rd & B'zaar is hosting a vintage and pre-loved pop-up market on weekends curated by East Village resident Nina Burns (and here).

She'll be joined by the East Village Vintage Collective team, Maegan Hayward and Alex Carpenter, and several other indie merchants. The space, 191 E. Third St., between Avenue A and Avenue B, will also host classes, workshops, and special events. 

Hours: Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. Keep an eye on social media for updates and special events. 

3rd & B'Zaar debuted in late 2020 with a month-long Holiday Market.

Saturday's opening shot

Fall on First Street this morning... and ICYMI: Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday. So set your clock back an hour before you go to bed or when you get home after 2 a.m.

'Headliner' news

 

Tuesday saw the release of a new Pretty Sick video... for "Headliner," off the Streetwise EP.

We were at the raucous Pretty Sick Halloween show last night at Bowery Ballroom. Pics on the way.

An East Village Halloween

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Families, friends, and ghouls of all ages were out yesterday — Halloween. 

Here are a few shots from around the neighborhood...

... and at the Show Brain-promoted concert in Tompkins Square Park during the afternoon...

Trump sculpture draws attention on 2nd Street (and elsewhere)

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

On Wednesday morning, we received a few reader messages along the lines of "There is a sculpture of former President Donald Trump having sex with an American-flag-clad woman in the back of a pick-up truck on Second Street." 

Not the usual queries that arrive in the inbox first thing in the morning.

Upon arriving on the scene, we discovered this work by UK-based artist Alison Jackson, who has long skewered celebrities, politicians, and royals in art and photography, blurring the line between fact and fiction. 

As Artsy noted in 2016: "... past works have pictured Obama having a cigarette, and Bill Clinton getting a nude massage as Hillary delivers a speech on TV. They're uncanny manifestations of stories and personas that are ever-present in the public imagination, visions of what may or may not occur among public figures behind closed doors." 

She planned to take the statue to Trump Tower on Wednesday for her latest piece (she has done Trump-related performance art in NYC in recent years). "It's a gift for Donald Trump," she told us. "It's quite a gift to leave for him, isn't it?"

According to her site, "she made the sexually charged sculpture to raise questions about how this powerful leader, ex-President Donald Trump, treats women and gets away with it." 

And why was this on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C?

Turns out the sculpture staging ground was outside 233 E. Second St., where Gio Tocco Productions was lending a hand. The address has storage space that Gio Tocco rents. 

The pick-up truck bearing the sculpture eventually left for a trip through Times Square and eventually a Trump Tower drive-by over the past two days ...

A copy of this hyper-realistic, life-sized sculpture is also currently on display at a gallery in London.

Thursday's parting shot

Another Hitchcocktober at Village East by Angelika is in the books (thanks to the EVG reader for the "Psycho" pic)...

7 posts from October

A mini month in review... with a photo on Avenue A by Stacie Joy showing a landlord collecting rent...

• Rehabilitation of the former P.S. 64 could take 4 to 6 years, cost over $100 million (Oct. 29) 

• Where is the $1 million NYPD mobile command unit that Mayor Adams promised for the troubled 14th Street and 1st Avenue corridor? (Oct. 28) 

• Office building on the former site of B Bar & Grill will be home to Chobani House — 'a new model for urban development' (Oct. 25) 

• Curtain falls on Connelly Theater: Archdiocese takes center stage in script scrutiny drama (Oct. 24) 

• Openings: Gizmo on 14th Street (Oct. 22) • Canines, crowds, cops and chaos: At the annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade (Oct. 21) 

• Baseball bats, fisticuffs and broken windows: A bonkers fight escalates as man drives car onto the sidewalk on 3rd Avenue (Oct. 10)

A look at 'That Paradise Place,' an erotic puppet musical about the lives of artists with disabilities

Photos by Stacie Joy 

Updated: The performances are sold out. 

Tomorrow and Saturday, the Abrons Arts Center on the Lower East Side is staging one of the more unique shows you'll see. 

"That Paradise Place" is an erotic puppet musical about the love, sex and fantasy lives of artists with disabilities. It was created by a collaborative team of artists with and without disabilities called Pussypaws Puppetry and presented by Summertime, a nonprofit art gallery and studio supporting neurodiverse artists. 

The cast rehearsed at the IATI Theater space on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy recently stopped by for a dress rehearsal at Abrons ...

Performances are at 8 p.m. tomorrow and 4 and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Ticket info about this "radical celebration of sex positivity, disability justice, and puppet pleasure" is here. 

The Abrons Art Center is at 466 Grand St. at Pitt Street.

Bands we like: Genre is Death

Photos and interview by Stacie Joy 

It turns out Death becomes them. 

In recent months, we've seen Genre is Death three times, including twice in Tompkins Square Park, and the duo has quickly become one of our local favorites. 

The band, Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee, brings an experimental, no-wave aesthetic to their music. (As concert promoter Show Brain posted about the band: "Using loopers, synths, and distortion, you can expect a loud, angry, and at times melodic sound that continues the no wave tradition.")

Ahead of the release tomorrow of their first LP, Talk, we asked the two a few questions...

What is the band's origin story? 

Tayler: We had been trying to come up with funny sayings to print onto t-shirts. We were spitballing variations of our current name — "Death to Genre," "Genre Death," "Death is Genre," and then Ty said, "Genre is Death," and we just looked at each other and were like, Fuck a t-shirt, that's our new band name!

Ty and I were playing music in Atlanta in a dead-end sludge band. We played music in that project for four years and played maybe two or three shows? It was awful — a true creative death. 

When we moved to New York, we started making whatever came to us. Things started feeling right after that.

How would you describe your sound? 

Ty: I would describe our sound as loose but also tight… Noisy? Hmmm… I'm trying to think of words to describe it. 

You frequently perform in the East Village and Lower East Side. What draws you here? How have audiences responded to your shows?

Ty: Honestly, we don't have much history in the Lower East Side or the East Village, or in New York for that matter. We've only been living here for one year and playing here for even less than that. It really is our friends (Show Brain and Boycott Sleep crews) who have brought us out to the LES, and for that, we are grateful.

Tayler: The reception to our performances has been largely positive. We like to maintain a mindset that goes in without expectation but are happy that people are enjoying the music we are making.  

What can people expect at your LP release party at Boycott Sleep tomorrow night? 

Ty: People can expect a night of great music, DJs, and people. Boycott Sleep’s Julia Pierce knows how to curate a night. From us, they can expect to hear Talk played front to back with a couple of new songs on the setlist. 

What's next for the band? 

Tayler: We are looking forward to playing at the New Colossus Festival in March 2025, likely with a live drummer.

Genre is Death plays the next Boycott Sleep loft party at 99 Canal St. near Eldridge Street (fourth floor) tomorrow (Friday) evening.

 

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Soups on: The East Village Community Cookbook is ready for release next month

Photos by Stacie Joy

Above from left: Will Horowitz and Will Kroeze

The East Village Community Cookbook is ready to be released into the wild. 

As we first reported in August 2023, three East Villagers who bonded during the pandemic — Will Kroeze, pastor at Trinity Lower East Side, Dan Hyatt, a middle school teacher, and Will Horowitz, a chef and author who co-founded Ducks Eatery and Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. — decided to create an old-school neighborhood cookbook. 

The book, created to benefit the Trinity Lower East Side and its longtime food pantry, took longer than expected. Pastor Will told us in May: "What originally was going to be a DIY project is turning into a real design masterpiece and is going through several rounds of edits." 

Now, the authors say the cookbooks have been printed and are ready for release on Nov. 21. We got a sneak peek the other day ... the publication includes illustrations by East Village-based artist Marcellus Hall ...

A variety of East Village chefs and restaurants, artists and galleries, writers, residents and activists contributed... including (in no particular order) Katz's, Momofuku, Richard Hell, Veselka, Superiority Burger, Alan Cumming, Café Mogador, Chloe Wise, Ray's Candy Store, Casa Adela, Veniero's, B&H Dairy, Bonnie Slotnick, Marco Canora of Hearth, Mimi Cheng, SOS Chefs, Russ & Daughter's, among many others. 

The initial print run was 5,000 copies. Preorders are still being accepted. Details here.

D.A. Bragg announces indictment in L train stabbing

EVG reader photo from Sept. 20

An East Village resident accused of stabbing a passenger in the back while exiting a Brooklyn-bound L train at the First Avenue stop last month has been indicted. 

Yesterday, Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Raymond Kwok, 27, for stabbing a 29-year-old man this past Sept. 20. Kwok is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Assault in the Second Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. 

"New Yorkers relying on public transportation deserve to be safe, and violence in our transit system, especially with dangerous weapons, will not be tolerated," Bragg said in a statement.

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on Sept. 20, at approximately 8:43 p.m., Kwok and the victim argued after bumping into each other while the man was walking downstairs at the First Avenue L train station. A few moments later, as the man continued walking, Kwok stabbed him in the back, according to Bragg's office. Per reports at the time, the two men did not know each other.

The victim was eventually transported to Bellevue, where he received stitches for the cut.

Kwok fled the scene and was picked up three days later. During his arrest, officers found a switchblade in Kwok's right pocket.

Signage alert: Vintage Store on Houston

Photos by Stacie Joy

Signage for Vintage Store recently arrived in the retail spaces (previously Decorazon Gallery) at 250 E. Houston St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The shop is supposed to be open soon (as early as tomorrow).

We're not sure who's behind this venture. 

There's a cool shop called Vintage Store NYC at 129 Eldridge St. between Delancey and Broome. We reached out to them — it is not this Vintage Store moving to Houston.

A Halloween afternoon concert in Tompkins Square Park

Tomorrow (Halloween) afternoon, Show Brain presents an afternoon of music featuring TDA ... Pinc Louds... and Adult Human Females... and more! From 2:30-6 p.m.