The 2012 NYC Anarchist Book Fair starts Friday

Here's the flyer...

...and here's the website with all the details.

In addition, the film festival starts Thursday at Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place... go here for more information.

This is what payphones on East Houston and Second Avenue looked like on April 7, 2012

This year, we'll post photos like this of various buildings, streetscenes, etc., to capture them as they looked at this time and place... The photos may not be the most telling now, but they likely will be one day...

Manhattan Borough President's decision on NYU’s 2031 expansion plans due tomorrow

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer will release his recommendation on NYU’s 2031 campus expansion plan.

Who: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer
NYU President John Sexton
Community leaders

Where: 1 Centre Street South, 19th Floor

When: TOMORROW, April 11th at 11 a.m.

Mayor Bloomberg has already provided a spirited defense of the university's expansion plans, according to DNAinfo. Meanwhile, according to the Times, NYU has agreed to reduce the scale of its plans for four tall buildings in Greenwich Village by almost a fifth.

[Updated] The march for Trayvon Martin is happening now

The march tonight for Trayvon Martin began at Union Square... it's now in the East Village... we're following along with @patrickdehahn on Twitter... Witnesses say there are at least 15 empty NYPD vans following the march...

...down St. Mark's Place...

... and Tompkins Square Park...

As of 7:50 p.m. or so, the march is at Ninth Street and Avenue B...

Here's a quick snippet of video from Avenue C and East Ninth Street from a reader...



[Above photos by @patrickdehahn]

A few residents from Jacob Riis are handing out Skittles and ice tea... via @RDevro of the Guardian...

Earlier tonight via @RDevro ...

Countdown to April 15

This afternoon on Third Avenue. And it's Cooper Square Committee Co-founder & Chairperson Frances Goldin.

Why we're writing about Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar in Buffalo

Because they go by DBGB for short.

And there is a place called DBGB on the Bowery.

And DBGB chef-owner Daniel Boulud is now suing the owners of Buffalo's DBGB for trademark infringement, the Daily News reports.

We learned about the lawsuit via Eater, who noted: "Boulud's people apparently sent the owners a cease and desist letter in 2010, right after the Buffalo restaurant opened. The owners initially agreed to change the name, but never actually made the switch. A note on the bar's site reads: 'Please be advised that Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar has no affiliation with DBGB Kitchen & Bar located at 299 Bowery St. in NY, NY.'"

Wonder if the Buffalo DBGB has a sidewalk cafe too?

A Blue moment on Astor Place

This afternoon... Anyone?

Via Matt LES_Miserable

East Fifth Street gets part of its sidewalk back

The demolition of the townhouse at 532 E. Fifth St. and the construction of its replacement started in November 2008... @zmack passed along the above photo this morning, noting that the "scaffolding on 5th st *finally* came down today! It's been at least 2.5 years since I've seen that sidewalk."

Indeed. Welcome back, sidewalk.

Anyway, as Curbed pointed out a few weeks back, some of the units in the building located just west of Avenue B are on the market. "The entire building consists of 2BR, 2BA rentals with a sustainable bent. Amenities: common roof deck and garden, in-apartment washer-dryer, building-wide secure WiFi, and general eco-friendliness."

There is an active listing for a unit at $5,695.

Previously.

Lucky Cheng's looking to move by mid-July

Last evening, Eater reported that "Steve Kamali Hospitality is currently searching for an operator to take over the massive Lucky Cheng's space."

After nearly four years of speculation, the famed drag bar on First Avenue is moving to Midtown. (Grub Street first heard the latest rumor on the move back in December.)

We asked owner Hayne Suthon for an update on all this.

"There are several interested parties, but no lease out yet," she said via email. "[We] should be making the move by mid-July. Getting the keys and finalizing the lease today for the Times Square location."

In December, Suthon told Jeremiah Moss that the building is not for sale. She is "looking for a great operator to create something truly fantastic, in keeping in the tradition of the building. God forbid someone upsets the resident ghosts."

For more on the history of the space, visit Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.

[EVG file photo]

How much longer will the East Village have gas stations?

On Sunday, the Post had two articles about landmarking under the Bloomberg administration. One article points out that the BP station on Houston and Lafayette is in a landmarked area. And that's a problem for station owner Marcello Porcetti, "who hoped to turn his 11,000-square-foot lot into a seven-story condo development."

[Google]

As the Post notes, Porcetti is angry because he can't sell it for big bucks to a developer. Now he'll have to jump through a lot of hoops to get anything done here.

This made me wonder how much longer the East Village will have any gas stations, now numbering two... at Houston and Avenue C...

...and Second Avenue and East First Street...

According to an article last fall at Crain's:

Gas stations are nearly facing extinction in Manhattan after years of sell-offs and closures. Just last month, the Lukoil station on West 13th Street and Eighth Avenue shut its mini-market doors and plugged its pumps. That leaves a mere 41 stations on the island, versus 58 two years ago, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. The city's five boroughs host 835 locations in all — meaning Manhattan's share is less than 5%.

Now I'm not lamenting the loss of gas stations... I don't have a car... and, even with an occasional rental, have never used either East Village gas station... I'll echo the sentiments of Jeremiah Moss on the matter: "And while I'm not a fan of oil, I like gas stations for their smudgy, blue-collar existence, and their vanishing from the face of Manhattan is worth noting."

Anyway, there's always the what replacing the gas stations that prompts some unease — usually something glassy and expensive ... like here on Avenue B and Houston, where Gaseteria closed in 2005 (look at the price of gas!) ...

Then!

[Via]

Now!

With the unused air rights, gas stations are just too valuable to be gas stations on such prime real estate.

As Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of retail leasing at Prudential Douglas Elliman, told Crain's: "Gas stations ... just make so much sense. You don't have to empty tenants out of a building. You don't have to buy people out. You just have to acquire the land."

Bona Fides is closed for renovations

Bona Fides, the Italian restaurant on Second Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets, has been closed of late... The small sign out front says "closed for renovations." There isn't information about the closure on the eatery's website or Facebook page... we called, though there isn't an outgoing message.

Bona Fides has always been a reliable, unpretentious place... able to survive despite the ever-changing tastes and demographics of the neighborhood since opening in 1990...

Anyone hear about what's going on here?

Oh and, we spotted these photos on the Bona Fides Facebook page... "30 Rock" filmed a scene here for the show's 100th episode, which aired last April...

Rubble on the menu at the former Life Cafe

On Sunday, a tipster sent us the following email: "I'm told they are tearing down the old Life Cafe today."

Seemed odd, being Easter Sunday and all... but we took a look... We did see two workers leave the space... as well as a few piles of rubble...

We waited to see if there was any further work done on the space yesterday... (answer: a little, though still mostly intact.)

Anyway, the former Life Cafe space here on East 10th Street and Avenue B is being split up... with part of the space accommodating the new, larger home of 9th Street Espresso next door, as The Villager noted.

Previously.

Scenes from Miron Properties new office on East 10th Street

Last month, we noted that Miron Properties took took over the space that previously belonged to the 123 Third Avenue sales office on East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue...

Something compelled up to take a look inside... where we noted the bladder buster from Subway left behind on the table ...

... and a foosball table...

Marshal seizes Cafe Amore on East 14th Street

Per the paperwork on the front door, the Marshal has seized Cafe Amore, which seems to be advertising for a new cashier every other week ... the paperwork is dated from Friday... and we have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of this Union Square pizzeria ....

Today in Tompkins Square Park

A photo shoot alongside two sleeping men. Photo by peter radley.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Saturday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. Photo by Bobby Williams]

Steve Cannon continues fight for A Gathering of the Tribes (The Villager)

Legacy Russell's "Rite of Rearrangement" (Runnin' Scared)

Q-and-A with City Council member Margaret Chin (The Lo-Down)

Fake Ryan Gosling Easter egg hunt yesterday in the East Village, LES (The Daily Mail)

Popular noodle joint Cocoron opening outpost on Kenmare (BoweryBoogie)

The latest on the Domino Sugar development (The Brooklyn Paper ... via Curbed)

Cha Cha's of Coney Island has relocated (Amusing the Zillion)

10 reasons why you can't — and shouldn't — text in the theater (The Wall Street Journal)

And several people told us about the new trees that workers planted last week next to the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run...

[BW]

Help finish 'Astor Barber All Stars'

Filmmaker Karen Gehres let us know about her latest project — "Astor Barber All Stars," a documentary about the people who own, work at and go to Astor Place Hairstylists at 2 Astor Place near Broadway.

She launched a Kickstarter campaign today. She has a $5,000 goal to help tighten up the edit, sound mix, etc.

Here's more about the film and Kickstarter campaign:

With so many NYC Institutions dropping like flies due to skyrocketing rent, one barber shop remains. Since 1939, Astor Barber has been cutting hair with pizzaz and is still one of NYC's most loved institutions. The Vezza family, their loyal customers and over 50 stylists working at Astor will show why this 3 generation family owned business attracts 'em all.



As a family run business since 1947, the owners have many stories to tell. A success story in itself, I want to explore their perspective on the daily workings of the place and the people that have walked through their doors. From the countless celebrity customers to the karaoke in the back with other 50 barbers,this barber shop is never dull.

Gehres previously filmed the acclaimed documentary "Begging Naked," which chronicled Elise Hill, an artist who became a prostitute and heroin addict.

Learn more about the Kickstarter campaign here.

Jeremiah wrote about it today too. Find his take here.

[Production stills by Phil Penman]

34 Avenue A is now off this month's CB3/SLA docket

34 Avenue A was one of the more intriguing items on this month's CB3/SLA committee docket... As you know, CB3 has rejected all the recent plans for a bar-restaurant-performance space here.

This space has been one long dramedy since Aces & Eights opened in March 2009.

In any event, we'll have to wait longer to find out what the new applicants have in mind here — they are now off this month's agenda...

Rent an East Village parlor this summer

In case you're still trying to figure out where you'll be summering this summer... here's an option. You know that great townhouse over at 421 249 E. 13th St. just west of Second Avenue?

Yeah, this one...

[Via Google because the house currently has scaffolding in front of it...]

The space is available to rent May 20 to Aug. 8.

Here's the listing via Corcoran:

Located in a BEAUTIFUL 19th Century Townhouse just steps from Union Square, this charm filled oasis is the PERFECT summer residence...in the heart of the East Village! This 3 Bedroom triplex property is replete with pre-war details and moldings and boasts a large living and dining area with an open chef's kitchen. There is a lovely home office / guest room on the Parlor Floor of the home and the top floor features 2 additional bedrooms and a full bathroom with WASHER / DRYER. To top it off, you can dine under the stars or lay out in the SUNSHINE on your PRIVATE SOUTH FACING PLANTED TERRACE! A rare oppurtunity to enjoy authentic townhouse living in one of New York's most exciting and lively area's.

Price: $8,495. Per month.

How's the bendy thing doing at 11-17 Second Ave.?

For the past few weeks, we've been watching that bendy thing concrete pump fill the pit at 11-17 Second Ave.

And how is the pit looking these days? As of Friday...

Filling up. Next up, 12 floors.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

'My Mars Bar Movie' opens Friday at the Anthology Film Archives

"My Mars Bar Movie," the 87-minute documentary directed by Jonas Mekas, the filmmaker-poet-writer-curator, had its "world theatrical premiere" last October at the Greenpoint Film Festival.

This weekend, the film will play at the Anthology Film Archives on Second Avenue and Second Street. Per the Anthology website:

Anthology is overjoyed to present this new film by Jonas Mekas, a tribute to the dear, departed Mars Bar. Our neighbor ever since we moved to the Second Avenue Courthouse building in 1988, the Mars Bar represented an undiluted blast of the old East Village, keeping alive the punk sensibility and anarchic attitude that’s increasingly a thing of the past in this part of the city. Destined to be replaced by yet another glass condo building, and taking a piece of our heart with it to the grave, the Mars Bar nevertheless lives on through Mekas’s lens!

And an excerpt...



Find the bio for Mekas, the Anthology Film Archives artistic director and co-founder, here.