Portals come and go on Avenue A

On Saturday night, The Free Art Society celebrated the arrival of Portal No. 6 in Tompkins Square Park...



... a ceremony that included various dancing sirens and pirates...





... the group headed over to 100 Avenue A between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street for the official unveiling...









[Thanks to Jim Flynn for the above photos. Find more of his work here.]

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[Bobby Williams]

Earlier on Saturday, co-creators Nicolina and Pérola Bonfanti passed along word that someone removed/stole Portal No. 5 that they unveiled the previous week along 100 Avenue A ... (Every Saturday this summer, the pair will unveil a new portal. Participants have an opportunity to find one of 64 keys that gives them access to a final event on Oct. 5 that will reveal what the whole puzzle means.)

However, later that afternoon, Nicolina and company replaced Portal No. 5... (Boxcutter Design on Avenue C is helping out by printing replacements.)

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Now, as of yesterday, both Portals are missing from Avenue A ... the latest theft/removal of a portal...



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GammaBlog has more photos and video from Saturday evening.

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Check out the 13 Portals website for more info. Read more about Nicolina here.

Week in Grieview

[First the lights, then the sheets]

Stealing a bike on East 13th Street (Tuesday)

Watch the Birdman of the East Village (Monday)

Long-stalled lot on East 8th Street will yield 9-story residential building (Thursday)

Out and About with Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (Wednesday)

Update on injured East Village Farm and Grocery florist (Friday)

Opening of Pride and Joy BBQ in doubt (Monday)

Dolly Parton drag queens and bathtub moonshine? (Tuesday)

RIP Tim Hortons (Friday)

Lyric Diner replacement closes (Thursday)

RIP Nestor? (Wednesday)

The going rate for St. Mark's and Second Avenue (Tuesday)

Archie and Sons has opened (Monday)

Cronut™ delivery service (Monday)

What's rising at 227 E. 7th St. (Wednesday)

It didn't rain on the movie Thursday night (Thursday)

Docking station blues (Friday, 41 comments)

What's in store for 212 E. 14th St. (Tuesday)

Closure on the East 2nd Street laundromat saga (Monday)

New no-frills Citi Bike docking station arrives on East 11th Street

Here's one way to solve that Citi Bike docking station overcrowding problem — just open your own! EVG reader JSS shared these photos from this morning on East 11th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...



Reader Chris M. notes that the three bikes are actually locked up together...





Says Chris: "Not sure what happened but my guess is that the riders couldn't find an empty docking station, gave up, and took the bikes home."

Meanwhile, we're still calculating the overtime fees...

Today in photos of people dressed like Santa Claus on East 13th Street

At Second Avenue. Lousy photo, but I was afraid to get any closer ... in fear of being trapped into a pub crawl.

Morning rush

At the Tompkins Square pool.

A heartbreaking last look at the Mary Help of Christians bell tower

A starling takes a look last at the eastern bell tower on the Mary Help of Christians Catholic church.

Because it's coming down right now...



Workers removed the western bell tower on Wednesday. The lot is being cleared to make way for a new housing development.

Photos via an East Village resident.

Previously.

Report: City taking different approach to leasing space on public housing property

City officials have apparently rethought plans to lease space on public housing property for luxury development, the Times reports today.

In February, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) revealed plans to lease playground and community center space for luxury high-rises ... an announcement that brought about immediate criticism from residents and politicos alike.

Yesterday, NYCHA officials announced that "instead of requesting formal proposals to build on the grounds of eight housing projects in Manhattan, as previously envisioned, they would first solicit ideas from private developers — so-called expressions of interest — before choosing any construction projects."

Also!

"Officials are now encouraging proposals that would incorporate retail stores, community facilities and other uses on the ground floors, which many public housing residents favor."

The NYCHA originally said that the new development would generate $31 million to $46 million in annual lease payments, "all of which will go toward fixing up deteriorating buildings. The agency currently has a backlog of 420,000 repair orders and faces a $60 million budget gap annually," the Daily News reported in February.

Perhaps those trees adjacent to the Max Meltzer Tower will be safe after all.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Outrage over proposal to turn the green space at the Meltzer Tower into private development (35 comments)

Tompkins Square Park, 8:01 a.m., Aug. 17

No more corny Summer Streets headlines until next summer, probably

Today is, sadly or not, the last Summer Smurf Streets Saturday (SSS!) ... your last chance to enjoy a car-free Fourth Avenue (among other streets) ...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Takin' it to the streets like the Doobie Brothers

Summer loving had me a blast, Summer loving happened so fast

Modern Love

And now, the Modern Lovers with "She Cracked" ... from the band's first record in 1976, though Jonathan Richman wrote the song in 1972... not sure exactly when the video was filmed...

Occupy the Empty Space's Benefit for MoRUS tonight

Meant to post this a lot sooner... in case you're around tonight...

BENEFIT PERFORMANCE FOR MoRUS (Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space)
Occupy the Empty Space: Public Space is a Human Right

WHEN:
Friday, August 16 8-10 PM

WHERE:
Gallery Space CICNN151 (151 Avenue C) adjacent to MoRUS

WHAT:
Occupy the Empty Space is proud to produce its first benefit performance for MoRUS, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. We look forward to seeing you at Occupy the Empty Space: Public Space is a Human Right, on Friday, August 16, 2013, for an exciting lineup of plays, performance art, live music, and teach-ins from MoRUS Staff and Friends, celebrating the vital and creative community of MoRUS and public space advocacy!

Heres the Facebook event page with more details and a list of the performers.

No pearly gates

The demolition continues behind the fence on the Mary Help of Christians lot on Avenue A...



Photos today by EVG reader pbc3.

Previously.

Remembering Merlin on Avenue A

[Today]

We posted the following item in August 2010 ... Every year since Merlin (Paul Robert Hogan) died on Aug. 16, 1996, someone creates a memorial for him on Avenue A at Sixth Street where he lived for eight years on the sidewalk.

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I wanted to follow-up on the Merlin's Memorial post from yesterday...



Bob Arihood, who took the shot above, documented the scene on Avenue A and Sixth Street on Neither More Nor Less after Merlin passed away on Aug. 16, 1996...



As Bob wrote:

A wake and vigil of considerable moment, lasting for the better part of 2 weeks , was held in the neighborhood at Merlin's corner . Some nights the sidewalk and street around the memorial were so densely packed with people that it seemed that everyone in the neighborhood and the surrounding communities was attending , crowded together ,all kinds of folks , from all professions and callings , from high and low paying their respects to Merlin .

Here's Merlin on his corner as many people here remember him...



Per the Times from July 1996:

There are few certainties in this changeable city. But on Avenue A and Sixth Street, a place that has been convulsed by change in recent years, one thing has remained constant through the riots and real-estate booms: Merlin, a 41-year-old homeless man who uses only one name, has made the intersection's southeast corner his residence for eight years. Neither blizzards nor blistering heat have routed him from atop a set of wooden pallets in front of a Con Edison substation.

"People move in and out of the neighborhood, but I never budge," he said last week, lounging beneath a pair of tattered umbrellas, his only guard against the sting of the sun. A stroke has left him partly paralyzed, and frostbite cost him several toes three winters ago.

To strangers, he is but another intrusion on the East Village's gritty streetscape, a reason to avert their eyes. But to many local residents, he is a cherished asset: a timekeeper, a message center, a town crier and a source of good, solid conversation. "Merlin is a social hub," said Tatiana Bliss, 25, a local artist. "If you're looking for someone, Merlin probably knows where they are. If you want to leave something for a friend, he'll make sure they get it. He makes this crazy city feel like a small town."

Jeremiah also writes about Merlin today, asking the following: "Could such a memorial happen for a homeless man in the East Village today?"

A view of the Village View

High contrasts by EVG contributor jdx

Docking blues: Doing the 'checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance'

During the past week, we've heard some grumbling from Citi Bike users who say that they continue to have problems finding an open space to dock their bikes at night in the East Village. The people we talked to say that they are fans of the program, but are growing frustrated by the distribution problems.

The Times reported yesterday on the program's "tricky juggling act" to "remove bikes from fully occupied stations, and to refill stations before the supply runs dry."

Meanwhile, there are stories of riders on the phone with Citi Bike reps, trekking from Astor Place to Avenue C and back to Astor Place in search of empty docking stations.

We walked around Wednesday night and found six full docking stations... and watched people ride by looking for a place to park. (Maybe this leads to some abandonment issues?)

We asked a few East Village residents to share their experiences... the following quotes are from residents who are fully supportive of the bike-share program. (For now, anyway...)

From a resident who lives on Avenue A and East Sixth Street:

"The availability just follows the rhythms of the day — in the mornings during the rush to go to work there are no bikes, and after work there are no [parking spots] because everyone has brought them back.

When I first decided to use the bikes to ride to the train, I was late to work a few days because I searched a few stations around me, and couldn't find any bikes. Evenings have the exact opposite problem; on Monday evening, I checked 6th and B, 7th and A, then finally caught someone pulling out at St. Mark's and 1st and rushed to get into the spot.

I wasn't the only one slowly riding around in circles waiting for a free spot; I noticed at least 2 other riders that I kept intersecting. Somehow, weekends aren't that much better. On Saturday, I was late to meet a friend because I spent time again doing the checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance. On a Saturday afternoon!

So, unfortunately, I think I might need to shift my thinking around the bikes as something that I can use when the opportunity arises, versus a reliable, regular transportation method.

I think our neighborhood really needs additional stations. I originally imagined a huge boost to the quality of life in the area, but it's not quite there yet."

And this is from Matt:

"There have been a few signs of improvement recently, but not being able to find/dock a bike is still a frustrating issue. It used to be that if I left for work after 8:35 a.m., I knew not to expect to get a bike at my usual rack at 13th and A. Now it's less predictable — some days there might be a half-full rack, others all the bikes might have the red light on, and other's it'll be completely empty even if I'm early.

Same thing happens at night – if I leave work after a certain hour, I prepare myself for a trip around the East Village looking for a spot. Monday was a new record, when it took me 7 docks to find an open slot (13th and A, 10th and A, 14th and B, 12th and D, 9th and C, 5th and C, and 6th and B, until finally catching someone leaving at 7th and A). I think the most frustrating thing about those joyrides is that the app consistently says that openings are available at those docks.

I love the idea of Citi Bikes and still think they're the most exciting thing to happen to the city in a long time, but I hope they can pull this together."

Report: Injured East Village Farm and Grocery florist has lost his memory, use of his voice

Akkas Ali, the florist at East Village Farm and Grocery who was critically injured in June after an out-of-control driver jumped the curb, is currently a patient at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J.

Last week, CB3 member Chad Marlow presented Ali's son, Rukanul Islam, 22, with a check for $18,047.32 — all money raised through the crowdsourcing campaign.

The Villager has an update on Mr. Ali's condition this week via his son:

[He] said his father is conscious, and will open his eyes if someone is in the room and talking to him. He can turn his head and point to people with his right arm, and can raise his right leg. But his left leg and ankle are injured, and he’s not moving that leg or his left arm, either.

He is also intubated — periodically put on a ventilator to help him breathe — and because the tube crosses over his vocal chords, he cannot currently talk.

In addition, as a result of brain injury suffered from the force of the impact, he has completely lost his memory, and currently doesn’t even recognize his own family members.

However dire, Ali's son said that "his condition is getting better."

Shaun Martin, who prosecutors say was drunk "and high on PCP" when he drove his car onto a Second Avenue sidewalk on June 19, pleaded not guilty during his arrangement in Manhattan Supreme Court last month.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Car smashes into East Village Farm & Grocery on Second Avenue; 6 reported injured (62 comments)

Campaign launched to raise money for gravely injured East Village Farm and Grocery worker

1st week of crowdsourcing campaign for injured East Village Farm and Grocery worker raises $11k

Memories from Avenue B

Bloom 62 is a new luxury building on Avenue B at East Fifth Street that features a landscaped roof deck with showers, Weber grills and a "teak sundeck" for apartment dwellers paying upwards of $7,600... the building was formerly the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation ... and the American Nursing Home.

This development brought back some memories for artist Julius Klein, who lived next door for 11 years.

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For many years, (’82 –’93) living at 60 Ave. B, Apt 2B, between 4th & 5th St., late at night, while laying in bed, I would hear wailings coming from the then named American Nursing Home, across the loading dock. It was a regular, nightly utterance — “arolegemmyt yato me air”, like hearing a cubistic coyote in the distant desert.



Again, another night lying in bed, say, 3:45 am, “aerol, aerol, osh oshh –mtwon”.

One night, when well oiled on mushrooms, it became clear to me.

“HAiRrrrOLDD, ET E OT O ERE”!!!
“HAROLD, GET ME OUT OF HERE”!

In the 80ies and into the 90ies, a grand yearly 4th of July party was held in the back seating area behind the loading dock. It was mainly a party for the staff, as the band hired yearly, was a sort of funk jazz R&B ensemble.



The old folks would be wheeled out and afflicted by the way too loud, amplified sound. You could see them pushing their arms forward, as if to push the offending sound away, as they then covered their ears, the staff trying to sell them on the musical offerings such as “Grooving, on a sunny afternoon, La La La.”

At some point, the lead singer, the MC, without any sense of irony, posed the question. “Does anyone here know who Old Blue Eyes is?” the one song in their set approaching era appropriateness for the audience.

After a few moments the band jumped into Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” — “And now the end is hear, and so I face the final curtain”.

It just felt, from my 2nd story window, a bit cruel ... and a bit funny too.

And so it went, and so it goes ...

A 6-story condo grows at former East 7th Street parking lot

We've been checking in on the the progress of several new luxury buildings going up ... at 227 E. Seventh St. near Avenue C ... and 401 E. Eighth St. at Avenue D ... work is also underway at the former parking lot at 277 E. Seventh St. near Avenue D, home one day to a six-floor, six-unit apartment building. Work is currently in the annoy-the-neighbors excavation phase.

Curbed got the scoop this week with a look at the building's rendering from Eisner Design.



And some building details per Curbed:

There are five 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes — two of which have private rooftop decks— and the sixth unit is a 900-square-foot ground level apartment, which has a private garden.

The interiors will feature wide plank floors, white lacquered kitchen cabinetry, Caesarstone counters, etc. Construction is set to wrap by Spring 2014.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The next sliver of space for development: The parking lot at 277 Seventh St.

Seventh Street parking lot destined to become 6-floor apartment building

A look at the dwindling number of East Village lots

City OK's 6-floor, 6-unit condo for former East Seventh Street parking lot

Former Butter Lane Cupcakes classroom on the market

Earlier in the summer, Butter Lane Cupcakes closed for a few days on East Seventh Street to revamp their space... mostly to combine their classroom annex with their retail operation.

Said Butter Lane co-owner Maria Baugh: "It's more authentic (and convenient) to have classes in the shop and people get a feel for what it's like to be in a real, working bakery."

Anyway, that annex space is now on the market... no word on asking rent. But it's a great block.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Butter Lane combines spaces on East Seventh Street

This story might make you feel better about life in general

The Villager has a feature this week that will restore your faith in... well, whatever needs to be restored.

Meet Mel and Sheryl London, who have been married for 67 years and have lived in the same East Village apartment since 1958.

Sheryl is from Brooklyn; Mel from the Bronx.

"A mixed marriage," Mel quipped.

Through the changes of the Eighties, Nineties and the recent years, they still feel the same about their home.

"What a remarkable city!" Mel said passionately. "When I walk through the streets, however slowly, it keeps me alive."

There is no reason to pine for the good old days. They are still living them.

Read the whole article here.

Tim Hortons has apparently closed for good on East Houston

Back on July 26 we noted that the Tim Hortons-Cold Stone Creamery combo on East Houston near Ludlow had temporarily closed ... signs pointed to "utility line maintenance," something that didn't seem to impact any of the other businesses along here...

A reader sends along word that they are done for good. The location is no longer listed on the Tim Hortons website. The phone just rings and rings. And the temporarily closed sign is gone.

The former NHL star, who spent some 20-plus years in the league, launched the business in Canada in 1964 ... he died in a car crash in 1974.

Previously on EV Grieve:
How do we feel about a Tim Hortons opening on East Houston?

Tonight

Wow. What a night. (There's even a free movie in the Park!) A view from the East Village this evening by Sally Davies.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Rickshaw Spidey preps the yarn cart. Photo by Bobby Williams]

Bill de Blasio for mayor (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

15 classic cars of the East Village (Liberation Iannillo)

A mystery behind Henington Hall on East Second Street (Off the Grid)

RIP to these NYC record stores (Flaming Pablum)

[Video] Summer rain in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

A visit to Oda House on Avenue B (The New York Times)

Sexton to leave NYU in 2016 (Gothamist)

New owners for Kossar’s Bialys on Grand (The Lo-Down)

The turtles of M’Finda Kalunga Garden (BoweryBoogie)

Ghost signage on Delancey (Ephemeral New York)

... and starting tonight at CICNN151, 151 Avenue C...

This morning

Some morning streetscenes via EVG reader Sam Teichman ... not sure what had happened in that top photo on St. Mark's Place. Remnants of a wacky bridal shower or bachelorette party? Hard to say!

Long-stalled East 8th Street lot coming back as 9-story residential building — with penthouse

Work has resumed on East Eighth Street at Avenue D... site of a long-stalled parcel. Various plans came and went, and the lot hit the market for $5.2 million in July 2011.



The DOB has partially approved plans for the following: NEW NINE STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING WITH PENTHOUSE.



Akeeb Shekoni of Queens-based Akson Architect is listed as the architect... and the building's owners are the vague 399 E8 Development LLC.

Meanwhile, there have been four complaints filed about the site since work began in recent weeks... including calls about a worker not wearing a safety helmet and a pile driver causing a crack in the adjacent building's wall. Inspectors didn't find any violations at the time of inspection.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Meanwhile, before we christen Avenue D the next Greenpoint...

Stalled development site on Eighth Street and Avenue D asking $5.2 million