See Madonna in the East Village again for the very first time

Fashionista has a post on "MADONNA: A Transformational Exhibition," a traveling collection of "unseen" photos of her Madgeness from her days in the East Village circa early 1980s... Photographer Richard Corman talks about meeting Madonna for the very first time... at her place in 234 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B...

I went into the building and the seas parted – there must have been 20 kids sitting on the stoop and in the hallway and then I went up to meet her. I really didn’t know what I was getting into, but as soon as I met her, as soon as she served me espresso on a silver plated tray with Bazooka bubblegum, I knew I was in for a ride.

The exhibit opens Thursday with a private event. Read the Q-and-A (and find more photos) here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Madonna in the East Village circa 1982

How can I really be expected to post today when 78 degrees™ is on the way?

As you probably know, the force of gravity has increased to move the Earth closer to the sun. Or is it the other way around?

No matter!

78 degrees?!

Should we be standing in line for something now? Water? Sunscreen? A sidewalk table at DBGB?

Previously on EV Grieve:
How can I really be expected to post today when the Storm of Feb. 8™ is on the way?

Here are your updated East Village bike share locations, probably

This past weekend, Citi Bike relaunched its website, as Streetsblog first noted. Membership sign-up isn’t available yet, they point out. But! The next Citi Bike demonstration is scheduled for April 21 (Earth Day) at Union Square.

In the meantime, workers are installing bike-docking stations in Brooklyn... and you can expect some here soon enough.

And the Citi Bike site now has updated information on the planned docking stations when the program finally rolls out next month.

Here are the planned East Village locations. (It's very possible that I missed one from the interactive map, which you can find here.) A modified list from the last time that we took a look.

• North side of East 14th Street near Avenue B
This station will have 33 docks and is located on the sidewalk.

• South side of East 11th Street near First Avenue
This station will have 35 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 11th Street near Second Avenue
This station will have 39 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• East side of Lafayette Street near E 8th Street
This station will have 55 docks and is located in a no-parking area of the street.

• East 7th Street near Cooper Square
This station will have 42 docks and is located in a public park or plaza.

• North side of St. Mark's Place near Second Avenue
This station will have 39 docks and is located in a no-parking area of the street.

• North side of St. Mark's Place near First Avenue
This station will have 31 docks and is located in a no-parking area of the street.

• North side of East 7th Street near Avenue A
This station will have 35 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 6th Street near Avenue B
This station will have 27 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 10th Street near Avenue A
This station will have 36 docks and is located on the sidewalk.

• South side of East 13th Street near Avenue A
This station will have 39 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• North side of East 9th Street near Avenue C
This station will have 38 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• East side of Avenue D near East 11th Street
This station will have 24 docks and is located in a NYCHA (public housing) development

• East side of Avenue D near East 8th Street
This station will have 24 docks and is located in a NYCHA (public housing) development

• South side of East 5th Street near Avenue C
This station will have 31 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street

• South side of East 6th Street near Avenue D
This station will have 23 docks and is located on the sidewalk.

• East side of Avenue D near East 3rd Street
This station will have 23 docks and is located on the sidewalk.

• South side of East 2nd Street near Avenue C
This station will have 31 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• North side of East 2nd Street near Avenue B
This station will have 37 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 2nd Street near Second Avenue
This station will have 31 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 3rd Street near First Avenue
This station will have 31 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 2nd Street near Second Avenue
This station will have 31 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

• South side of East 4th Street near Second Avenue
This station will have 39 docks and is located in the parking lane of the street.

Reactions?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Here are your East Village bike share locations, probably

Report: Citi Bike share back on track for a May debut, probably definitely

The East Village is in the 1st rollout phase of the bike-share program this May, probably for sure

Exciting new business opening on East 14th Street

The mostly awful but serviceable (mostly!) Cafe Amore's Pizza Restaurant closed on East 14th Street near Fourth Avenue just about this time last year.

Now! There's signage indicating who the new tenant will be.



Bank branch! Not a surprise! What else would you expect to open here? Or anywhere?

And h/t to EVG regular Gojira for the tip.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Marshal seizes Cafe Amore on East 14th Street

Father Pat lost his car in Friday night's fire on East Ninth Street

[EVG reader Galwegian]

Several people in the comments have pointed out that one of the cars destroyed in Friday night's fire on East Ninth Street belonged to Father Pat, certainly a well-known figure in the neighborhood ... his car is the red Honda Civic.

DNAinfo talked to Father Pat yesterday. Per the article:

"I heard some noise, and I saw a thick shadow and one of the cars was on fire," said Father Pat, who said not having a car will make his work more difficult.

"It’s a loss. It's disappointing. But I'm rolling with the punches."

Father Pat, 81, founded Bonitas House, a shelter for troubled teenagers and illegal immigrants, on East Ninth Street nearly 50 years ago. Here's an interview that GammaBlog did with Father Pat back in January.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at the remains of last night's East Ninth Street car fire

Wiener watching on St. Mark's Place

From the EV Grieve Wiener Wire... workers put up the "world's best frank" lettering yesterday at the incoming Papaya King at 3 St. Mark's Place ...

Meanwhile (via Eater last Wednesday), Design Observer interviewed Andrew Bernheimer, the architect who designed the East Village Papaya King. Headline: How to Design an Iconic NY Fast Food Joint? Bernheimer studied everyone from from Katz's to Shake Shack for this creation.

Excerpt!

So how do you design a place that retains the je-ne-sais-quois authenticity of an iconic New York place without it becoming a generic franchise joint?

Use the language of their original store, and then deploy elements in slightly different ways. Don’t merely replicate things. For example, we decided to push the entry in from the street (the opposite of the original incarnation, which occupies a prominent corner on the Upper East Side) and widen it, to create a sheltered entry space. And we made it bright yellow, which picked up on their color scheme. Also, signage is really important. Sometimes we are taught in architecture school (or later on, learn in practice) that nostalgia isn’t valuable, and our impulse is to fight it. But in this case nostalgia was important, very much so.

Lastly, Wiener Watchers are predicting that Papaya King will be ... the place to be this summer... as evidenced by how the space is already attracting crowds...


[Saturday afternoon, via Stephen Popkin]

... and the leftovers from crowds...


[Sunday morning]

Via Twitter, the folks at Papaya King said that they are hoping to open by May 1. "Psyched to be coming downtown."

Taking another look at that crazy bed frame installation inside The Fourth

The Fourth is the name of the restaurant going into the space at the five-years-in-the-making Hyatt Union Square on Fourth Avenue...

Walked by it and stopped to admire this again inside the eatery...



Gives us the spins, for some reason...

3 spring-like scenes

Photos today by Bobby Williams.

If you're going to tonight's CB3/SLA meeting...

Just a reminder that it's in a different location this month (and hereafter) ...

SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, April 8 at 6:30 pm — University Settlement Neighborhood Center
189 Allen Street (between Houston and Stanton ... north of main entrance.

Among the many items on the agenda:

• Golden Cadillac (RIP Boca Chica)
• Cagen
• The Asphalt Jungle
• Ex-Soho Billiards to Red Square

But no Living Room...

Find the full agenda here.

Here is the official poster for CBGB the Movie

Here, via the CBGB Movie Facebook page, is the official poster... The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively been posting the new, uh, posters for the past week. There are an additional four posters featuring the characters who portray Joey Ramone, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith and Stiv Bators.

You can find all those via THR here, including this one of actress Malin Akerman as Debbie Harry...



John Holmstrom, founding editor of PUNK magazine, designed the posters.

This one was just a teaser of sorts.

The 'No 7-Eleven' players in Tompkins Square Park

The No 7-Eleven gang visited Tompkins Square Park on Saturday for an afternoon of plays... games... and Reverend Billy from The Church of Stop Shopping ...


[Steve Carter]


[SC]


[Bobby Williams]

... and here's a video by Matteo Minasivia YouTube...



You may read a recap of the day via the brand-new No 7-Eleven blog right here.

Early-morning motorcycle fire on East Third Street

Via Twitter, @katieaka reports that a motorcycle parked on East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B caught on fire in the early-morning hours... We don't know the cause of the blzae. Back in January, at nearly the same spot, a pile of discarded Christmas trees caught fire in front of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer.

And it was a weekend for cars and motorcycles randomly catching on fire. (Read more about this in the comments.)

More about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closing/relocating

[Click image to enlarge]

A follow-up on Friday's item about the the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office closing/relocating... An EVG reader sent us this letter by the front doors at the branch on East 14th Street near Avenue A ... the letter has more details about what's happening here...

From Joseph J. Mulvery, facilities implementation, U.S. Postal Service:

"The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is proposing the relocation of the Peter Stuyvesant Station Post Office...to a yet to-be-determined location with the same zip code area.

The reason behind this proposal is the upcoming expiration of the lease on the present location. The lease will expire in February 2014, and we have been unable to reach agreement with the landlord on a new lease."

Jeez, the USPS can't even afford it here...

The letter was apparently posted on Wednesday.



And as a reminder:

There's a Town Hall scheduled on the matter between Community Board 3 and Community Board 6 on April 22. Location: — Campos Plaza Community Center (gym) at 611 East 13th Street (btwn Aves B & C)

Previously on EV Grieve:
UPDATED: Did you hear the rumor about the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office branch closing?

Di Bella Bros. ghost signage uncovered on East 13th Street

EVG regular evilnyc notes sign work over at the Hamptons Market on First Avenue and East 13th Street, which has revealed...



... the name of the former longtime tenant — Di Bella Bros., which opened here in 1925... A New York magazine article from August 1984 noted that Carmine and John Di Bella retired in the early 1980s ... and that they sold the business to Sue and Jason Shim, "who have mastered most of their recipes."

In previous posts about Hamptons, several readers noted Di Bella's delicious stuffed artichokes and bell peppers...

Will we be talking about Hamptons Market in such loving ways years from now?

Residents don't care much for neighbor peeing on the front of their building before going upstairs

Well then. A resident along East Fifth Street shares this... Apparently residents witnessed a man peeing in front of the building this past weekend ... then he went inside and upstairs to his apartment.

Which, based on the signs that someone attached to the front door and the tenant's door, didn't go over so well...





Said the resident: "Is this what the neighborhood is coming to? That the stupid woos and bros who have moved into the neighborhood feel the need to relieve themselves wherever and whenever they feel like it — even in front of THEIR OWN APARTMENT BUILDINGS, rather than walking up the stairs to use the facilities like a normal human being? WHAT is wrong with people?"

Medieval frog-gargoyle thing is gone. And we're doomed. DOOMED! (MORE DOOMED?)

When demolition commenced at 9-17 Second Ave. in December 2011, Goggla spotted the following on the plywood not to far away from the former Mars Bar...

Per Goggla: "I like to think it's warding away evil spirits..."

Indeed.

But, unfortunately, we recently noticed that this, this thing was gone.



Stolen? Removed by a worker? Eaten? We'll never know.



Evil spirits, be kind...

Piccola Positano has apparently closed on East Fourth Street

The gate has been down at the Italian restaurant here just west of Avenue B the past week to 10 days. Prior to that, a neighbor told us that the eatery was only making pizza deliveries — no meals in the dining room.

We haven't 100 percent confirmed the closure just yet... there are no signs about "closed for renovations" or "on spring break" anywhere. The restaurant remained closed during the weekend as well.

Piccola Positano opened in late 2011/early 2012... the previous tenant, Tonda, seemed to have similar problems. It would be closed for weeks then randomly reopen for one weekend.

E.U., the first "gastropub" in the East Village, had the space before Tonda. And that was drama city. E.U. battled the SLA for 18 months before finally getting approved for a beer and wine license. (Read more E.U. drama here at Eater.)

A jinxed location?

Fourth Avenue pay phone receives back-rent payment notice

And then there's this. Spotted the other day on a pay phone on Fourth Avenue at East 12th Street...





So, based on this notice, the DVD Funhouse at 814 Broadway — one block over — hasn't paid a lick of its $21,218 monthly rent since they moved into the place in in early 2012... good for a whopping $250,898...



That's a lot of $2.99 Tyler Perry DVDs...

This weekend in possible David Schwimmer sightings on East Sixth Street

@evgrieve possible schwimmer sighting on the roof of the schwimmer mcmanse

— terrence geary (@artisanmatters) April 6, 2013

Unconfirmed. Man spotted in red shirt. Schwimmery looking.

Previously.

Reader report: Former Rawvolution space will be real-estate management office

Rawvolution, the raw vegan cafe/retail store on East 12th Street, closed last December "for renovations."

Of course, they are not coming back... workers have been renovating the space these last six or so weeks. A tipster on the block said that the storefront will be "a management office for the building."

This is one of the 28-29 buildings that Jared Kushner's Kushner Companies bought up in the East Village in recent months... Per the tipster: "Maybe it will be the central office for all of Mr. Ivanka Trump's East Village real estate holdings." More specifically, the reader understands that this will be an office for Westminster Management, a division of Kushner Companies.

Today's hawk

Tompkins Square Park ... photo by Bobby Williams.

Car of the day

East Sixth Street via Bill the Libertarian Anarchist...

Week in Grieview

[Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams]

A new 24-hour biscuit joint for Avenue A (Monday)

New identity for Identity (Friday)

What's next for the Bar 82 space? (Monday)

Cat Power's new video pays homage to NYC (Thursday)

Nobu alum coming to East Ninth Street (Monday)

What's replacing Boca Chica (Wednesday)

The line for Wylie Dufresne's new place on Second Avenue (Monday)

Glass box for Lafayette (Wednesday)

Anthology Film Archives brief transformation into the 27th Precinct (Monday)

Bleecker Bob's to the East Village? (Tuesday)

Out and About in the East Village 2013 recap (Wednesday)

Update on The Living Room's potential move to East Second Street (Thursday)

51 Astor Place's public plaza (Tuesday)

Masak closes on East 13th Street (Thursday)

The Sunburnt Cow is on the market (Thursday)

Here are the new members of CB3 (Monday)

Soho Billiards to Red Square? (Tuesday)

And things that we didn't cover this week, such as NYC's 8th Annual Pillow Fight Day yesterday in Washington Square Park...


[Bobby Williams]

TV party tonight?

East 10th Street and Avenue C this morning via MoRUS

Headline H/T ...

Noted

Spotted on one of the burned-out cars on East Ninth Street today... a posthumous tag...

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Early-morning car fire on East 9th Street

Spring

Dave on 7th in the spring wonderland of Tompkins Square Park...

Blockbusters: ('Alleged') 'Bearial Shroud' discovered on East Second Street

This, of course, was the somber scene on East Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C last Sunday morning... Easter Sunday morning...



And now, there are claims, thus far unsubstantiated, on the very same fence, that ... well, see for yourself...





A neighbor, who asked not be named, said that archaeologists excavated the only known JoBear la Stuffing-era burial shroud in the East Village.

What's more, the remains of the bear wrapped in the shroud are said to hold DNA evidence of a picnic basket. Carbon-dating studies suggested the shroud was made between A.D. 2007 and 2009.

However, until researchers can conduct more, uh, research, the use of "alleged" will accompany the description to help temper expectations and prevent the block from becoming a tourist trap for various pilgrim types.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A brief history of humiliating Teddy bears in the East Village

Noted

Spotted on the McDonald's this morning on Third Avenue. Lovin' it?

Today in photo opps

Earlier today in Tompkins Square Park... photo by Bobby Williams...

Lining up to Load OUT

A reader noted the line earlier for Load OUT! — A Reuse and Repurposing RIOT ... today until 3 p.m. at 19 E. Third St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue



Per the invite:

Attendees are invited to take home all the donated costumes, props, and furniture they find. Artists are invited to participate for free. The general public will be charged a $5 entrance fee to participate. Whatever you decide to take away with you is FREE of charge.

Seeing double on the Bowery

At East Fourth Street. Make sense?

And at least someone finally replaced this ad.