Why is this East Village resident organizing a swim to Coney Island on Saturday?

[Deanne Draeger]

Note from EV Grieve: In case you saw an earlier version of this post. Draeger is organizing and hosting this event... she's not swimming this year... she did the trek last year. Oops! My apologies. The post has amended to reflect this.

On Saturday, East Village resident Deanne Draeger is hosting a 17-mile swim from East 26th Street to the Steeplechase Pier in Coney Island.

Aug. 13 marks the 100-year anniversary of when 17-year-old Rose Pitonof completed the very same route. As The New York Times reported on that date, there were 50,000 people waiting for Pitonof at Coney Island when she finished.

"From the time she first made her appearance around Norton’s Point thousands gathered along the shore to watch her progress and cheer her on to victory, and all bathing was suspended for practically the last hour of her swim."

[Rose Pitonof]

Last year, Draeger replicated Rose’s historic swim. The whole thing came about after Draeger was injured while training for her second Ironman event. She couldn't run or cycle. So she decided to focus on swimming.

"As I was searching online for a long-distance swim event, I came across an article about Rose Pitonof and her swim, and knew immediately that that was what I wanted to do," she said.

This year, Draeger, 43, has organized a marathon event for six swimmers. She hopes to make this an annual event. The swimathon — The Rose Pitonof Centennial Swim — starts along the Manhattan side of the East River at 8:45 a.m., crossing over to Brooklyn just past the Williamsburg Bridge. (Best time to view from the East River Park: 9 a.m. on the north end of park until roughly 10-11 a.m. on the south end of the park. The swimmers, who will each be accompanied by a motorboat and a kayak, are expected to arrive in Coney Island by 6 p.m.)

Draeger answered a few questions for us...

On the idea of swimming to Coney Island

"I've lived in NYC most of my life — the past 15 years or so right on East 13th Street. I see the East River almost every day. Jumping in and starting to swim to Coney Island was a rush. Most of my life it never crossed my mind to do something so crazy. I guess I imagined it was impossible — illegal even."

On the best part of the swim

"Passing underneath bridges is the best part — and such amazing bridges. The Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Verrazano — I've always loved them. Now I feel like they belong to me in a whole new way. I've been here all my life, but for the first time, was able to see my city in a way that no one ever gets to see it. And for that experience, I feel incredibly grateful."

Read more about Rose Pitonof here.

Here's a map of the swim route.

Here's more on the other swimmers.

Here's a piece our friends at Amusing the Zillion wrote about Draeger.

In the midst of a global financial meltdown, Key Food raises the price of Pabst

EV Grieve reader Kyle Robertson notes the following: In what might be a recognition of the new cashed- up hipster elite, Key Food on Avenue A and 4th Street recently increased their price for a six pack of PBR from $3.60 to $4.99! That seems to be a lot more than just adjusted for inflation.

This is cause for another hard-hitting investigative report!

So. Schaefer is also $4.99.

As for as six packs go, the next cheapest (or, less expensive) options ... Natural Ick Ice is $4.79.

And Milwaukee's Best Premium is $3.99.

There you have it. Now what?

What will be the next bar-restaurant to take the 12 St. Mark's Place challenge?

The retail space at 12 St. Mark's Place has been a merry-go-round of bars and restaurants the last 15 years or so ... Most recently, it was home to Hirai Mong Fusion Restaurant, which the Marshal seized back in May ... it was Gama, the Korean bar and restaurant, which closed in December 2009 after a three-year run...

Prior to this, it was San Marcos, the Mexican eatery that served huge margaritas, Siren, a really lame club, and @Cafe, an Internet bar. In 1994, St. Mark's Bookshop moved around the corner to its currents home. (The historic building was first home of The German-American Shooting Society Clubhouse in the 1880s.)

Anyway! The ground-floor space is for rent for a bar/restaruant. And, according to the NYCRS site, it's the "first time available on the open market."

It's a huge space — 2,300 square feet with a 200-square-foot sidewalk cafe and 500-square-foot basement. And the price to be on "the Busiest Block In The East Village" ...? $25,000 per month, plus $300,000 key money.

Can anything but a chain afford that kind of rent?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at 12 St. Mark's Place

PS

How 12 St. Mark's Place looked in 1893, via Daytonian in Manhattan, who has more on the history on the address.

You will soon be able to order booze with your Plump Dumplings

An already slim CB3/SLA agenda for Monday night became slimmer when Heather's was scratched earlier in the day. The bar on East 13th Street was in the "renewals with complaints" category. There have been on-going noise issues here with some neighbors for years... as this article in the Times pointed out in January 2007.

In any event, you can read reports on the rest of the evening at:

BoweryBoogie .... The Lo-Down .... and Eater.

A few highlights:

Per Eater, the committee said OK to licenses for:

• Hot Kitchen, a new Chinese restaurant opening at 104 Second Ave., which previously housed Matsukado.
• Asian Chef Express at 96 Third Ave.
• Plump Dumpling on Second Avenue at 11th Street

And the committee said No to a transfer from Lychee on St. Mark's Place to St. Mark's Red House. Classic line from the proprietor: "There are already 39 licenses; Not to be flippant, but what's 1 more?"

As The-Low Down reported, the owners of Preserve 24, the bi-level, 24-hour Argentinian cafe/bar taking over 175-177 East Houston St. next to Russ & Daughters now want to add "occasional live music" in the basement space. CB3/SLA nixed this. (CB3/SLA approved this monstrosity back in April.) In any event, why do we have the feeling that this place will still host music regardless of what CB3/SLA said?

Finally, BoweryBoogie noted what was approved for the former Crash Mansion space on the Bowery. Quality Meats Downtown will be a bakery-cafe-restaurant-lounge... with an occupancy of 340. People.

In Tompkins Square Park this afternoon

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Forecast for evening commute: Rain Drizzle

This afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. Photo by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo on Second Avenue near Ninth Street taken yesterday by Blue Glass.]

"The miserable scene that welcomes you today" at Coney Island (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

A long article on Mayor Bloomberg's future (Fast Company)

What Steve Buscemi would look like with Michele Bachmann eyes (Runnin' Scared)

Bowery lighting district fading out (BoweryBoogie)

Juicy Lucy tops list of city's best juice bars (PopSugar NYC)

What's up with 298 and 300 Grand Street? (Lost City)

Rent an Upper East Side mansion for just $165,000 per month (Curbed)

Looking at The Brokers With Hands on Their Faces Blog (DealBook)

"Labels will go under" — bad news for indie labels after a riot-related fire wipes out a warehouse in London (NME)

Crusty slumber party

Earlier this morning on East 11th Street. Would like to know what that CNBC van is doing in the background... Photo by native New Yorker and East Village resident Anthony Torre.

Historic East Fourth Street townhouses now just brick and bones

Every few months we'll check in on the formerly historic townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. ... and every time we look, there's less and less of the original buildings remaining...

The houses are now essentially just the brick and some bones.

Soon, though, the building will rise again as something completely different, and with two new floors courtesy of developer Terrence Lowenberg and Ramy Issac, the sausage penthouse king of the East Village.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Historic East Fourth Street artists' collective soon to be condos

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

City doesn't give a shit about these historic East Village townhouses

Sky East suspiciously receives a lot of institutional-looking beds and furniture

EV Grieve reader thisboyshouts noted the following arrival yesterday at 636 E. 11th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C: About 20 institution-style beds, chairs, dressers, desks and other furniture.

This is Sky East, run by Magnum Management, which is owned and operated by Benjamin "Sledgehammer" Shaoul.

Thisboyshouts wonders what could possible be coming here: Dorm? Hotel? Sanitarium? (The rumor is that part of the space will be used for NYU housing.)

Possibly related! Thisboyshouts also notes that he had to go over to Sky East Friday night around 10:30 because they had workers inside buffing the floors with the windows wide open ... which you could hear clear up and down the block.

After complaining to the Sky East doorman on duty, the workers shut the windows but kept working through the night, which must have been a pleasure for the people living in the building.

[Updated] A recap of Saturday night's protest at the BMW/Guggenheim Lab

[Photo by Steven Hirsch]

On Saturday night, I posted some photos by Bobby Williams of the "Let Them Eat Cake/Eat the Rich/No Comfort Zone street party." (The comments section is still smoldering.)

In any event, here are some links that offer more of a narrative of what happened that evening. Bob Arihood has posts from the three stops on the tour: the Economakis Dream Mansion ... the BMW Guggenheim Lab ... and Mars Bar.

Goggla has a nice summary here. Including video.

Marty After Dark was around for the Mars Bar portion here.

Gothamist had a summary post here.

From a distance anyway, the most interesting part of the evening came when the group — 25 strong or so — arrived at the BMW/Guggenheim Lab near closing time. I've heard several variations of what happened. This isn't everything that happened, just a brief summation.

Several people spoke out about the history of class warfare in the East Village and why the BMW/Guggenheim Lab is a self-congratulatory project for a few and doesn't address the needs/talents of the community at all, as Goggla put it. A sober LES Jewels read a poem. Unfortunately, at this time, there wasn't much of an audience, save a few Lab administrators and curators.

[Photo by Gil Robichaud]

Rob Hollander, who arrived just after the demonstrators entered the space, described the reaction this way: "I would not call it 'friendly,' but maybe 'acquiescent.'" Those in attendance said that the Lab curators stuck close by to prevent the Guggenheim from inciting an incident that might have brought them ugly press.

According to witnesses, the only time things got heated occured when John Penley lit a cigarette. One administrator reportedly yelled at Penley to put out the cigarette; that the Lab is on Parks Department land and smoking is illegal in city parks. Several other people in the group also lit cigarettes. One of the curators was said to whisper something in the administrator's ear. She then left the immediate area.

And, thanks to Goggla, we have some video. (She has more here.)



I asked Penley on Sunday for his thoughts on his reception to the Lab/Community Center.

"The management was angry and and didn't listen to what we said. They were typical of people in authority who, when confronted, ignore you but look pissed off since they couldn't call the cops, which I asked them to do because the publicity would be bad for them. They let it go. The workers loved it."

As Rachel Pincus reported for Gothamist:

"The Lab itself greeted the protest with a mixture of appreciation and utter annoyance, sympathizing with its cause but finding its aggressive tone objectionable. 'This space is meant for dialogue,' said Lab team host Kristian Koreman, who has roots as a squatter in Rotterdam. 'If they had acted in a way where they wanted an answer to their questions, we would have answered.'"

I followed up with the press contact that I had for the Lab. "As quoted in Gothamist, the Lab is about dialogue – of all kinds," said Eleanor R. Goldhar, deputy director and chief of global communications. "The protesters have a point of view to express which we respect. We also appreciate the courtesy they showed while engaging with staff and visitors at the Lab."

The former Café Charbon will now be known as Hair of the Dog — or The Dog

I was at the CB3/SLA meeting in January where the committee gave the OK for the transfer of Epicerie Café Charbon on the corner of Orchard and Stanton Streets to the team behind The Stumble Inn, Off the Wagon, Gin Mill, Down the Hatch, The 13th Step, etc.

The rep from the bar made a low-key yet professional presentation, and the transfer sailed right through without any objections.

In June, Michael Asch, one of the two senior co-owners of the 13th Step and its sibling bars, told me that the new space would be "a sports bar, pub and grill, serving burgers, salads, sandwiches, etc., with an emphasis on value — both on the food as well as liquor."

Café Charbon closed in June, as BoweryBoogie first reported.

Yesterday, BoweryBoogie did some nice detective work, reporting that the new space could be a second location of the Upper West Side-based Gin Mill.

Asch sent me an email yesterday saying that the Café Charbon space will actually be renamed Hair of the Dog, "and probably quickly to be referred to as 'The Dog.'" Projected opening: Dec. 1. (For the record, Grub Street had this news from Asch first late yesterday afternoon.)

[Photo by Shanna Ravindra for New York magazine]

Previously on EV Grieve:
13th Step owner discusses frat rap, telephone booths and bar names

LES nightlife game-changer: Team behind 13th Step, Down the Hatch OK'd to take over Café Charbon space

Filipino pop-up restaurant Maharlika now open on First Avenue

As of last Friday, Filipino pop-up restaurant Maharlika is now in "soft open" mode here at 111 First Ave. near Seventh Street...

Grub Street first brought news of this arrival back on July 22 ... Co-founder Nicole Ponseca previously oversaw a Maharlika brunch pop-up inside of Resto Leon on East 12th Street...

Anyway! Here's a look at part of the menu...

And, to fit into the current East Village climate, there's a happy hour....

This is the second Filipino restaurant to debut on First Avenue this year ... Sa Aming Nayon opened in the former Wai? Cafe space in June.

And this is the third or so eatery to take this space in the last few years... there was Absinthe, Lautrec Bistro and Lingua ...

Veselka Bowery now has... tables!

Last week, we pointed out that Veselka Bowery had chairs... and now! Tables...

Tomorrow? Linens! (If you're lucky...)

Photo by Bobby Williams

Depending on your news source, Gavin DeGraw was either injured or brutally beaten on First Avenue

The world is waking up to or, perhaps, going to bed to, the news that a group of men attacked pop singer Gavin DeGraw early Monday morning.

According to a lot of news articles, DeGraw had been out drinking with friends when he was beaten up on First Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets around 4 a.m. Monday. Then! According to reports, he walked (or stumbled or staggered, according to your news source) up to Third Avenue and 19th Street where he was hit by a cab about 30 minutes later.

He is in Bellevue with a broken nose and other lacerations. Police said that it was not clear what led to the attack or how many individuals were involved in the assault. He and his brother own the National Underground on East Houston Street.

Prime time

A reader sent along the above photo tonight with a note: "The old dinosaur was booted out off of 9th and C only to be replaced by this young, skinny and NAKED mannequin! Oh so telling..."

True!

Worse, I'm suddenly reminded of The Alan Parsons Project.

The sun is still shining

Looking southwest from 10th Street... Photo by Bobby Williams.

Wall Street, 4:30 p.m., Aug. 8

Yesterday in Tompkins Square Park

Thanks to Steven Hirsch for sharing these photos from yesterday in Tompkins Square Park, Day 2 of the Riot Reunion shows...

Find more of Hirsch's work here.

Report: Kenneth Moreno sentenced to 1 year in jail

Kenneth Moreno, one of the two ex-cops acquitted of raping an East Village woman, was sentenced to a year in jail this morning for official misconduct. (Daily News)

Checking in on the TSP Ratstravaganza

Been a few weeks since that rat-fueled media frenzy in Tompkins Square Park ... As we've noted, the Park is well-managed by some devoted workers.

Among other things, workers installed lids on the trash cans to prevent the rats (and other various critters) to get inside... A good idea in theory... However, people don't seem to have the grasp of the concept, as these photos from Saturday morning show...

Several of the trash cans were actually empty. Just people couldn't be bothered to push the trash through the lids.

Also, people (or at least The Pigeon Lady) continue to dump like 50 pounds of stale bread exactly in the location where the rats have been seen swarming near the playground off Avenue off Ninth Street... Saturday morning...

...and Saturday night, this photo by Sean Kennedy shows 18 rats on the prowl... (rats are highlighted for your viewing ease)

Previously.

Meanwhile, we have a much bigger problem in another East Village Community Garden

GIANT CHIPMUNKS!

In Gilbert's Garden on East Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D. Whatever you do — don't talk to it! That squeaky voice!

City discovers bicycle graveyard on East First Street

Several readers have pointed out the pile of dead bikes on East First Street, along the construction-choked corridor between Avenue A and First Avenue ...

Now the city has posted these rather unintentionally funny signs on the bikes.

Wonder how city workers deduced that these are, in fact, abandoned? Anyway, if one of these bikes belongs to you... the city will remove it after today.

Also, does anyone know how all these bikes got here?

A bad sign at Billy's Antiques?

Billy Leroy passes along word that a gust of wind during the weekend took down the skull above his sign on East Houston...

The ghosts from the Bowery? Or the beginning of the end here?

Photos by Tim Dark.