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[By Bobby Williams]
Early this morning!
All is well. Mostly.
at 8:30am today i was walking down ave A ... someone passed me and a plastic bag brushed against my leg.
the bag fell to the ground and revealed a broken bottle of grey goose.
the owner of the bag, who seamed a bit down on his luck and possibly homeless, made a stink about how i broke his grey goose. he was not being aggressive but certainly upset.
"It's not a huge, huge problem," a law enforcement source said, adding, "If you say it's a scam, if you know it's a scam, they're only going to push you so hard."
While crusties have been coming to our neighborhood for many years, their behavior seems to be getting more aggressive, brazen and violent. Although many of my neighbors agree, I wondered if this perception is accurate. Before proposing drastic solutions, one should be certain to accurately understand the problem. Many of us have negative personal experiences that mirror last summer’s widely reported crusties incidents, such as defacing St. Mark’s Church, allowing their dogs to urinate in Washington Square Park’s fountain where children play, frequently harassing Washington Square and Tompkins Square Park visitors and engaging in countless bloody altercations. While this demonstrates the crusties problem is significant, it does not prove it is worsening.
So proceeding with the utmost caution and concern for protecting the involuntary homeless, I offer the following proposal: The City Council should pass a law making it unlawful to sleep or lie down on a public sidewalk, in a park or other public space between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Additional penalties would apply to those in possession of an unlicensed dog.
This legislative proposal, if it ended there, would be nothing short of an immoral attack on the homeless. That is why the law must contain numerous exceptions (“affirmative defenses”) to ensure it is applied humanely and only against voluntary homeless tourists like crusties.
Next R3 Meeting: Monday, April 1, 6:30 pm
113 E. 13th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue
If you haven't already heard, NYCHA has released their plan to put luxury towers on eight public housing sites (view the official plan here). The plan hasn't been well received by the community, and Chairman Rhea was grilled and heckled for 3 hours, as reported by the Daily News.
At Monday's meeting, we'll hear a special presentation from Community Voices Heard about progress in organizing around the NYCHA infill project, and what how the broader tenant movement can respond.
New York State Senator Brad Hoylman joined State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Ranking Member of the Senate’s Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee, in calling for a Senate hearing on the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) infill development plans.
NYCHA has targeted thirteen sites in eight public housing developments in New York City, which collectively have 11,037 apartment units housing 25,031 residents, for private, market-rate residential development with affordable components. The proposal offers 99-year ground leases of the NYCHA-owned land to private developers to raise revenue and help close gaps in NYCHA’s capital budget.
Despite calls by advocates, elected officials and other community stakeholders for full transparency, NYCHA’s plans for engaging input on infill development largely disenfranchise residents. Therefore, it is critical that elected officials provide meaningful oversight and Senators Hoylman and Espaillat believe that the State Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee is the appropriate venue in which to do so. NYCHA is expected to release its Request for Proposals in April.
Hoylman said: “From misleading sales pitches about the benefits of infill development to vague flyers advertising so-called resident engagement meetings, it’s clear that NYCHA is not interested in real transparency and community input. While infill development has the potential to generate much-needed revenue to pay for long-overdue capital projects, NYCHA will only score a win for the communities it serves by truly listening to residents and advocates before determining whether and how to proceed.”
Even though the building was converted from a middle-market residential space to a middle-market residential space putting on airs, not a factory. But why not pretend? Just like many of the tenants who no doubt take up residence here will be pretending that their “making it” in New York even as their parents help them pay their monthly $1,700 share of the rent. As the listing helpfully notes, guarantors are accepted. Because what is the East Village now if not a post-collegiate play pen for rich kids?
The return of the live lady warriors (and lads)!
Double Down Saloon, 14 Avenue A
*Our Lady of Perpetual PMS and Referee Mike SOS present new, seasonal characters in their ferocious and hilarious matches! Saloon Stigmata edition, set to punk rock. Also starring The Gorgeous LADS of Bloodwrestling.
Men are recommended to come with a female friend.
MIXED event in the spirit of true fun and sports satire!
Anyone disrespectful or disruptive will be removed, perhaps dismembered.
NO A-HOLES, NO D-BAGS!
Claim your ringside seat by the pool of blood at 7:30 pm for the last half hour of the STELLAR Happy Hour.
Showtime at 8pm.
Latecomers suffer possible obstructed views, ridicule.
Live half-time entertainment TBA!
NO COVER, but donations to our fake blood fund appreciated.
21+, ID required
Satirically Yours,
-Our Lady of Perpetual PMS
GLOB! (Gorgeous Ladies of Bloodwrestling)
"The East Village Film Series is dedicated to giving the community a place to mix and meet like-minded artists. Like the salons of old, the EVFS blends fine art and incredible stories, with a fantastic, comfortable environment, for a great evening of work by award winning New York filmmakers. I think in an age, where more than ever, we as an audience watch our content on the small screen, on computers in the comfort of our own home, we wanted to give people an excuse to come out and share cinema with others. We think there is nothing like the electricity, the buzz, of watching film with a great audience."
Obviously that turned out to be a wise decision — as was storing his notebooks, postcards, painted clothes, photographs, and drawings on yellow legal paper. Thirty years later, Adler has now begun to assemble a team of advisors to help sort through the material in preparation for a book on the collection and, in all likelihood, an exhibition and sale. "Part of the issue has been that I am a working biologist who has raised two kids on my own and have not had time or energy to deal with it," Adler said. "Now is the time, however."
Regardless, Adler is in no hurry. She says she is financially secure and has already waited 30 years, after all. "I just want to show it," she said. Her two children are now grown and she has a boyfriend who lives uptown, which means that these days her cats are the main witnesses to the mural. "And that’s a damn shame," she said, "because it’s a beautiful piece of art."
NO 7-ELEVEN MEETING
Bringing together our next event: street theater in Tompkins Square Park. Meeting is this Saturday, March 30, 524 E 11th St., #1 @ 1pm to plan our weekly fun-in-the-park street theater — making masks, signs, props, rehearse our skits and create our COMMUNITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE
(A big neighborhood-wide meeting is planned for the end of April — watch for it!)
We are upping our fight against the 7-Eleven projected on 11th St & A and against all corporate giants (clone stores & banks) taking over our streets, jobs, commerce, community character and future. Here's who we are and what we're about
What we're about here.
Who we are here.
The weather is supposed to be nice Saturday, so if lots of folks come, we'll take it to the park and put it all together there!
ERECT NON-ILLUMINATED NON-ADVERTISING AWNING ON WALL. 12 SQ FT COPY TO READ STRIPE 7-ELEVEN STRIPE. NOT WITHIN VIEW OF ARTERIAL HIGHWAY OR PUBLIC PARK. NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS OR OCCUPANCY.
Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Ann Duquesnay joins historic St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery to tell Good Friday story through blues music
WHAT: St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery provides worshippers with a unique, spiritually moving Good Friday experience with its annual Good Friday Blues. The service uses American blues music to recreate the Passion story of Jesus. Framed by powerfully rendered blues and gospel music, Good Friday Blues tells the story of the betrayal and death of Jesus as written in the Gospel of John.
WHEN and WHERE: Friday, March 29 from noon to 3 p.m. at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, located at Second Avenue and East Tenth Street.
This year’s performance marks the 12th year of this liturgy, a collaboration between The Right Reverend Catherine S. Roskam, Bishop Suffragan of New York; Otis, and the St. Mark’s Choir.
WHO:Duquesnay and composer-guitarist Ana Hernandez will join the talents of the St. Mark’s Choir and the Good Friday Blues Band. Liturgy dancers include Dawn Crandell and a dancer from the Vissi Dance Theater. Co-narrating the Passion are Vinie Burrows and Amelia V. Anderson. Leading insightful and thought-provoking meditations throughout the service will be the Rector of St. Mark’s, The Rev. Winnie Varghese and The Rev. Richard Witt and Nell Gibson.
Tattooed Bartenders Wanted!
Job Description
Upcoming Lower East Side / East Village Bar w/ Kitchen Looking for some New Staff for New Location!
Bourbon... Beers... Burgers... Blastin' Rock!
What we are looking for...
>> Male or Female
>> Age 21- 31
>> Professional, Reliable & Punctual
>> Experienced (Mixology a Plus)
>> Outgoing & Fun
>> Tattoo'd ( not a unicorn on your ankle kind of tattoo)
>> Non-Complete-Alcoholic
>> Social Media Savvy
>> Possible Following of Friends / Fans
[T]he operators of the members’ club have decided to take some more time for community outreach before moving forward with their Lower East Side expansion plan, so the liquor application has been withdrawn, for now.
Name: Lucille Krasne
Occupation: Designer, Argentine Tango dance organizer
Location: 10th Street between Avenue A and B.
Time: 4 on Sunday, March 25
I’m from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I always wanted to live in New York and so I ended up making the big move to the East Coast while everyone else was making the move to the West Coast. This is the only place I’ve ever lived in New York and I’ve been here for 43 years. This is it.
I am so proud of Tompkins Square Park, which I consider my front yard. Important things happen here. When I first arrived here, I thought it was heaven, paradise on earth, because in the Park on May Day you had all the young people with big red flags celebrating May Day, Communism, Collectivism, and then you had a group of Ukranians with great big signs saying, “Free the Captive Nations,” free all the people in communist countries.
I’ve also seen it go through terrible times. In 1988, I was so stunned to find the entire place surrounded by helmeted police with nightsticks during the riots. I couldn’t believe what was going on. I remember the screaming when they were throwing out all of the homeless people from the Park. I know there were a lot of dangerous things going on, but it killed me to hear that. I was yelling, “Why are you doing this to those people?”
But it’s been wonderful for me since they closed the Park at night because I can now actually sleep. People used to scream and make noise all night. Noise has been a terrible issue in this neighborhood. For years I wanted to blow my brains out and everybody used to think of ways to try and stop the noise. There were also the car alarms. I’ve had a lot of tubes of lipstick that I’ve written on cars with.
I’ve had a very checkered career. When I moved to LA after college, one of my first oddball jobs was creating a hand-puppet show for the County Parks Department out of a converted park washroom. We eventually took it on the road and showed it to zillions of children and then had big puppet workshops all over the place.
When I moved here, I worked for an arts funding organization. It was the perfect job for me. Having no money, I was able to give away money that was provided by the New York State Council in the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. It was quite a wonderful organization. I was a traveling consultant and I went out to meet with all sorts of groups around the state having to do with issues of arts, saving interesting architecture, poetry groups, dance groups. I advised groups on how to stimulate the community to support them. My role was to instigate them to instigate excitement within the community and bring in more people. I also worked on prison projects and with migrant worker programs.
I also created a jewelry business with my sister for 10 years. We named it Krasne Two. We were designing imaginative accessories and jewelry. We made quite a splash but it is very hard to keep that kind of world going when you are limited financially and don’t have enough backing. It was fun while it lasted. Now I design floor cloths and murals and all kinds of accessories
And then I went into the Argentine Tango business. I fell in love with the Argentine Tango as so many other have. I first fell in love with the music and then I fell in love with the dance. If it grips you it grips you and you’re really caught. I helped start the first New York City tango festival, which was about the wonders of New York and the wonders of Tango. I took the Milanga (Argentine Tango Party) outdoors to Central Park about 15 years ago. I called it the hit and run tango because if the police came you ran. You find a beautiful place, free or pretty free, open to the public, attractive, and everybody dances like crazy and you expand this community, which was teensy weensy. I don’t run it anymore but it’s still going on every Saturday afternoon.
We now run a weekly Milonga at The Ukrainian on 140 Second Ave. on Wednesdays. It’s called “Esmeralda’s E.V. Milonga and Supper Club.” We dance from 6 to 11:30 and if you come between 6 and 7:30 and have dinner with us then you don’t pay the admission. You can listen to the gorgeous Argentine music and watch the fine dancing.