The fucking TD Bank branch is now open on Second Avenue

Hey, that TD Bank branch anchoring the Jupiter 21 building on Second Avenue at East First Street officially opened yesterday. We walked by and were greeted by no fewer than 14 TD employees on the sidewalk offering free coffee and pastries or something pastry like. They were friendly! (But we missed the TD mascot!)

Did anyone go in to be among the first 100 visitors to receive a free gift? If so, then please let us know what the gift was!

And, as you know, the corner space was home to the Mars Bar until 2011… And, well, what the hell…


[Photo from 2006 by Ixtayul Martinez]

Meanwhile, some WTF variation of the Mars Bar is returning to East First Street … in a cafe-restaurant-club combo that will feature a juice bar and quinoa bowls.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The former Mars Bar is becoming a fucking bank branch

So where's that fucking bank branch that's taking the former Mars Bar space?

The fucking TD Bank signage arrives at the former home of the Mars Bar

The 8th annual Anarchist Film Festival is today

From the Festival's description:

The AFF will be screening a variety of short films that celebrate the spirit of resistance and liberation amid the increasing criminalization of dissent around the world. The AFF, is a participatory event where the screenings spark vigorous discussion about the possibilities of political change and cultural transformation.

Find more info about the program here. Theatre 80 is at 80 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue.

Get good stuff today

DanceFest 2014

[Photo by Bobby Williams]


[BW]

So the Dance Parade came on down into Tompkins Square Park today… here are just a few of the photos of the participants in the DanceFest via EVG contributor Stacie Joy …

Solving the woman with the jellyfish mystery that wasn't really all that mysterious after all

Several people have been asking what that mural/ad/banner thing is at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and East 10th Street.

Turns out the answer is right up Fourth Avenue … It's a public art installation that coincides with an exhibit from model-photographer Amber Arbucci in the former Dryden Gallery Space at 129 Fourth Ave. near East 13th Street…



There are nude self-portraits … showing Arbucci swimming with five million jellyfish …



Here's an interview with Arbucci about what this is all about …

The exhibit opened yesterday … not sure how long it will be here…

Reminders today: Dance Parade, DanceFest and the Ukrainian Festival

Just taking an early morning look at the set up for the Dance Parade 2014 on St. Mark's Place … where it will end in Tompkins Square Park for the DanceFest from 3-7 today.



And it looks like the Delta Tau Chi float still needs work…



… and on East Seventh Street between Cooper Square and Second Avenue… prepping for the 38th annual Ukrainian Festival…

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Phew! Just when you thought that you HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO TODAY. Here we have the Two Bridges/Third Avenue Street Fair from East 14th Street to East Sixth Street.

We were out so stupidly early, we were on the scene before the Italian Sausage People. So, sorry — no photos of cartoon pigs holding entrails sausages.



Anyway! Good day for traffic. With the Dance Parade going along St. Mark's Place and part of East Seventh Street closed for the Ukrainian Festival.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Up Up and away...

Here is "Up Is Up (But So Is Down)," the new single from Haunted Hearts (aka, DeeDee Penny of Dum Dum Girls and her husband Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles). Their debut album, "Initiation," is out May 26 on their Zoo Music label.

MoRUS announces 'Women of the Lower East Side' theme for 2nd annual Film Fest this August

The Museum has added an amateur film competition as well... details via the EVG inbox...

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will present for its Second Annual Film Fest a selection of films by and about women who have shaped the history of the Lower East Side.

An eight-day event that will take place at a variety of East Village venues including theaters, community gardens and MoRUS, “Women of the Lower East Side” will kick-off Friday, Aug. 1 and run through Saturday, Aug. 9. Tickets go on sale June 15 at morusfilmfest.eventbrite.com or by visiting MoRUS during hours of operation.

To make this cinematic exploration of women making and remaking the Lower East Side more accessible to the community, MoRUS is calling for amateur filmmakers to compete for a spot in the festival. Submissions must tie into the “Women of the Lower East Side” theme and can be anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes duration.

The competition is open to filmmakers of any gender, any age and at any experience level who submit either a link to their film or a DVD copy of the film along with a brief artist’s statement and $10 entry fee to morusfilmfest@morusnyc.org or mail to MoRUS Film Fest, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, 155 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, July 18 at 5 PM ET. A jury comprised of local business owners, artists, activists and MoRUS volunteers will determine which films will be publicly screened on Friday, Aug. 8 at a venue to be determined. First, Second, and Third-Place Winners will be selected by the audience and awarded monetary/in-kind prizes. In addition, one film will receive the MoRUS Choice Award.

Further details regarding “Women of the Lower East Side,” including film line-ups, venues and collateral events will be updated as available here.

The First Annual MoRUS Film Fest was themed “Reclaimed Space” and drew more than 600 attendees over its seven-day run in August 2013.

But of course!: Former Norman's Sound & Vision space becoming a Dunkin' Donuts

[EVG file photo from August 2012]

After 22 years, Norman's Sound & Vision closed at 67 Cooper Square near East Seventh Street back in August 2012.

Now comes word via EVG Facebook friend Michael Hirsch that the space will become a — ding, ding! — Dunkin' Donuts.

Sure enough!

The DOB permits approved on Tuesday show work for a DD in this space...



Meanwhile, just give us a kick down here on the floor when a Starbucks or bank or 7-Eleven moves into the Kim's space.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Crossing 2nd Ave. the other day via Derek Berg]

Second Avenue and East 7th Street in 1981 (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

One reason why Crunch is moving to the Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

How to find out if you live in a landmarked building (Off the Grid)

At Rikers with Cecily McMillan (Runnin' Scared)

Hester Street Fair expanding to Seward Park (The Lo-Down)

The filming locations of "The French Connection," now and then (Scouting NY)

Ephemeral New York in book form! (Ephemeral New York)

And here's another exhibit as part of Lower East Side History Month — Vanished Spaces.


[Image via Julius Klein]

From the EVG inbox...

ABC NO RIO presents “Vanished Spaces,” an exhibition of artist run gallery and performance spaces that no longer exist.
Featured spaces include, among others: Julius Klein’s XOXO, which ran from 1990-1997 on Second Avenue by, among a long list: Taylor Meade, Rockets Red Glare, Amos Poe, Tom Murrin (The Alien Comic), Edgar Oliver, Tony Millionaire and Wendy Wild.

Exhibition opens tonight (7-9) and runs through June 15

ABC NO RIO is at 156 Rivington St.

For gallery hours and more info., hit the ABC NO RIO website here.

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

[Photo by Francois Portmann]

Here are a few of the latest incredible photos that Francois Portmann has posted from the nest cam up on the Christodora House … where Christo and Dora's chicks hatched this past week.

The red-tailed hawk parents have also assembled quite a feast for the family — there are at least four dead rats stored in the nest. (Shouldn't that be refrigerated?)


[FP]


[FP]

Thank you to Goggla, who has been chronicling the activity here from Day 1. Head over there to find out where exactly the hawks have been discarding the rat carcasses ... as well as other habits of the new parents.

And find more hawk photos at Francois's photography site here.

Also, check out these hawk photos and video from the Christodora at the Urban Hawks website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

P.S.

The baby hawks are becoming quite an attraction... here's a fellow Christodora House resident checking out the action...


[Photo Saturday by Bobby Williams]

Updated 11:16 a.m.

Francois has posted this video!

Listing for Kim's Video says space is 'ideal for Bank, 711, Starbucks'

[Photo from April 21 by Williams Klayer]

Oh, really?

The listing for Kim's arrived at Streeteasy yesterday... and it's doozy:

124 First Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets Store 1820 SF approximately- plus basement storage / office East side of 1st Avenue Ideal for Bank, 711, Starbucks, Cafe, Deli, Bakery ASKING $16,500 month Security 4 months Lease term 5 to 10 years.

As we first reported on April 21, Kim's Video and Music is closing.

In a letter to Kim's patrons, management wrote:

The point is, and you should be aware, that we are NOT closing because record stores are dying, business is bad, it's not like it used to be and oh terrible world. Not at all. The actual reason for our closing is that the lease is up in July and the rent is being raised to an amount we simply can't work with.

The space was previously home to the great Kurowycky Meat Products, which closed in the summer of 2007. The Kurowycky family still owns the building... and a reliable source tells us that a family member who now lives in the South is calling the shots on the rent.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] A really bad sign outside Kim's Video & Music on First Avenue (31 comments)

Source: Kim's staff looking for ways to save their store

More about the closure of Kim's: 'We are NOT closing because record stores are dying'

After 5 years, the Michael Mut Gallery closes on Avenue C

Michael Mut, proprietor of the eponymous gallery, let us know that he has closed down the space at 97 Avenue C near East Seventh Street.

In the past five years, the sliver of a gallery has offered 47 exhibitions and, as he put it, "some amazing collaborations with talented artists and curators."

In addition to his gallery work in recent years, Mut founded the nonprofit organization called The Love Yourself Project in 2010. Its mission: "Celebrating and empowering communities around the world, spreading a message of unconditional self-love."

The organization, he said, will need all his time and dedication moving forward. "I have made so many valued friends along the way and I am truly grateful for those friendships as well as the many volunteers and interns who have supported the gallery and its mission," he said.

Wednesday was the gallery's last day. The space is in a building owned by the NYCHA.

Important questions: What the hell is that?

Several people have asked us about the new ad or whatever that arrived on the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and East 10th Street this week. Like, what is it for?

We have no idea!

But people seem to be noticing it. We spotted five different people taking a photo of the ad while we were standing there yesterday for a minute.

Anyway, just enjoy it! One of these days, something tall and glassy will likely be standing on this corner.

Updated:

Mystery solved here.

Dance Parade 2014! When 10,000 dancers descend upon Tompkins Square Park

[A scene from the 2013 Dance Parade via Bobby Williams]

Hey, it's time for the annual Dance Parade tomorrow. Here's part of the news release:

Over 10,000 dancers will participate in the Eighth Annual Dance Parade and Festival in New York City on Saturday May 17th 2014, starting at 1 pm. Tony Award Winner, tap dancer marvel and choreographer Savion Glover and Bessie-winning founder and artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Women will serve as Grand Marshals.

Over 150 dance groups will showcase 75 dance styles and cultures down Broadway in a multi-cultural, rhythm-infused, magical display of movement, art and color. The parade unfolds as a vibrant procession of pageantry and movement embodying the cultural richness that New York reflects as a global dance city. Ancient dance styles from Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Far East Asia are performed side by side with modern styles like tap, swing, contemporary, urban and hip-hop.

The Parade begins at 1 pm at the intersection of East 21st Street and Broadway, moves south through Union Square and down University Place to East 8th Street, where each group dances before a Grandstand. Turning east on 8th Street Parade dancers salsa, swing and two-step their way across Saint Mark's Place and into Tompkins Square Park in the East Village for DanceFest.

The Festival, a four-hour program of free dance performances on four stages with lessons, experience dance booths and site-specific and social dancing throughout the Park.

Here's the overview of how dance officials will set up Tompkins Square Park for DanceFest...



This year's Parade theme is the "Caddyshack"-esque "Be the Momentum." Here's the official Dance Parade website with more details.

Meanwhile, if you hate Mother Earth and park a CAR around here, then keep in mind there will be some posted No Parking signs up... or the city will tow your ass.

Check out the Bowery on film

From the EVG inbox...

The Bowery on film dates to the earliest days of cinema, when its rowdy, amoral reputation provided titillating material for the 30-second peep shows viewed in arcades. It continued to be a popular setting for one-reelers and features (such as 1915’s REGENERATION), and featured even more prominently in the early sound era in films like SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933). The ravaged lives of the Bowery’s skidrow have long fascinated artists, most famously in the semi-documentary classic ON THE BOWERY (1956). Scott Elliott’s SLUMMING IT is a wonderful overview of Bowery history, and Mandy Stein’s BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE is a poignant appreciation of Hilly Kristal’s CBGB, made during the legendary music venue’s final days.

With the Bowery imperiled by developers at every turn, we appropriately end the series with THE VANISHING CITY, a powerful look at the forces that threaten to obliterate the character and culture of our communities.

Co-presented with The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, whose chair, David Mulkins, curated the event.

Find more details about the films in the series here. (PDF!) All screenings are at the Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave. at East Second Street.

This is just one of the many events going on new as part of Lower East Side History Month. Find more details and events here.

Abandoned slice of stuffed pizza doesn't seem to mind being abandoned

[Photo via @pgilks]

Meant to post these photos earlier… they are from last night on Avenue B near East 11th Street. We do not know what happened here… but based on the pizza's goofy grin in the top photo, all seems to be well (all things considered)…


[Photo via @andreahong]

Anyway, not nearly as sad as abandoned stuffed teddy bears…

Report: Family of Ruan Wen Hui wants hate crime charges brought against suspect

[Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News]

The family of Ruan Wen Hui, who died after a vicious attack on East Sixth Street Friday evening, want his killing treated as a hate crime, the Daily News reports today.

Police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Pugh early Tuesday morning. He has been charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault.

If Pugh's murder charges were to be elevated to a hate crime, then he would face a possible sentence of life in prison without parole, the Daily News reports.

One of Hui's daughters told reporters: "We want the suspect to have the proper kind of penalty so that we feel safe to walk on the street. We demand a life [sentence]."

Before Pugh's court arraignment yesterday, his mother, Charlotte Pugh-Douglas, told reporters that someone slipped the club-drug Molly into his drink last Friday evening while partying. "He wasn't in his right state of mind," she reportedly said.

Per the Post:

But Pugh's own defense lawyer, Frank Rothman, said the distraught mom did not have firsthand knowledge of her son's sobriety, or lack thereof, during the brutal attack. "She's speaking as a panicked mother who’s saying that if this [charge] is in fact true, then someone must have drugged him, because that's not who her son is," Rothman said.

Judge Bruna DiBiase ordered Pugh held without bail

Hui, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, died from his injuries Saturday night.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack (25 comments)

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack (34 comments)

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

[Updated] Report: Murder suspect's mother says her son was high on Molly at the time of attack

Collision on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place

Don't have a lot of details about what happened here just after 11 a.m. ... anyone happen to witness this?

Photos by EVG reader Charlie Chen

Miss Lily's 7A Cafe opens Monday for dinner

[Photo from Monday by Bobby Williams]

As we've been reporting, the former 7A space will be home to Miss Lily's 7A Cafe here on East Seventh Street and Avenue A. The space is the second outpost of restauranteur Paul Salmon's Miss Lily's complex on West Houston Street.

The folks at Miss Lily's tweeted out the news yesterday that they'll open Monday…

Miss Lily's 7A Cafe. Jerk Centre & Rum Bar. Opens Monday. #eastvillage #jamaica #nyc #food #rum… http://t.co/vDJaRoMrHu

— Miss Lily's (@MissLilysChat) May 14, 2014

Here's more about what to expect via the Miss Lily's website:

Miss Lily’s 7A is open for dinner daily with all day-breakfast, lunch, brunch and late night in the former 7A Cafe space in the East Village. The new 7A outpost of Miss Lily’s embodies the best elements of Miss Lily’s, Melvin’s Juice Box and the Variety Shop, while paying homage to 7A’s storied past.

The menu features the Miss Lily’s classics, new dishes that celebrate the former 7A Cafe and the restaurant’s Jamaican roots, as well as a weekend late night menu to cater to the neighborhood’s buzzing nightlife.

The bar features a full selection of wine, beer and cocktails, with a focus on Caribbean rum spirits, and a frozen daiquiri slushy machine. An outpost of Melvin’s Juice Box anchors the bar at Miss Lily's 7A, serving Melvin’s 100% organic, incredibly tasty, made-to-order juices. Additionally, Miss Lily’s signature sauces and the Kingston kettle-style potato chips in Curry, Jerk, and Jerk BBQ are for sale.

The new space takes inspiration from the early 1980’s Memphis “anti-design movement” in Italy – whose signature clashing colors and asymmetrical shapes became an expression of anti-conformity in the East Village’s punk scene. Bright colors and wild, clashing patterns evoke an 80’s Jamaican diner vibe, with elements like the black-and-blue linoleum checkerboard floors and wood-paneled walls that nod to the fast food American diner of the 50s. African wax print textiles, Missoni-esque velour upholstery, and brightly colored neon fruit baskets stay true to the much-loved aesthetic of Miss Lily’s.

The restaurant’s façade recaptures a sense of the neighborhood’s rich spirit and diverse history, reviving the vintage look and feel of the once-popular East Village Bodega storefronts that have all but disappeared. Original hand painted signs by Brooklyn Artist studio Farewell designs and a vintage awning pay loving homage to this once ubiquitous archetype.

[EVG file photo from May 1]

The Cafe will start with dinner service before expanding the hours in the coming weeks.

7A closed after nearly 30 years on Jan. 26.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Some part of 7A will stay in the new 7A's name

Details emerge about what's next for former the 7A, Odessa Cafe & Bar spaces

[Updated] Reader report: 7A will close at the end of the month

Renovations underway at former 7A space

[Updated] Rumors: 7A space will become a 2nd outpost of Miss Lily's and Melvin's Juice Box

The former 7A will apparently be called Miss Lily's 7A Cafe

Reader report: Basics Plus moving into the former Surprise! Surprise! space

Not much has happened at the former Surprise! Surprise! space since the housewares store closed after 25 years in business on April 27.

Where are the "for lease" signs?

Well, perhaps there's already a new tenant lined up. An EVG reader passes along the following tip … a worker at the empty storefront on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and East 12th Street said that a Basics Plus will be moving in soon.

So, more housewares and and hardware-type items — much like what Surprise! Surprise! sold.

There is a Basics Plus just up the Avenue between East 17th Street and East 18th Street… no word if they are relocating or opening another location (there are three total now in the City).

Previously on EV Grieve:
Surprise! Surprise! will close at the end of April (42 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where's a good place to house a bike?

So an EVG reader just bought a new bike, which is all good. But lugging it up many flights of stairs to a small apartment isn't the best option. The reader met a cyclist from another neighborhood who pays $40 a month to store her bike in a parking garage.

To the reader, who did some research:

"The thing is, I haven't found a garage in the East Village that has anything near those prices. The garage on East 11th between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue charges nearly $140. The one across from Whiskers on East 9th Street is $90+ and the one under Bowlmor is a whopping $175/month. The only place that's reasonable in our neighborhood is the Edison garage on Lafayette and Grand, which charges $20/mo and $1/day for storage outside."

So, anyone have any suggestions on bike-storage options … that don't include taking your chances and locking it up outside?

-------------

We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)

Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)

Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)

Reader mailbag: What has happened to the Cooper Station Post Office? (41 comments)

Reader mailbag: Can the landlord 'drill' the lock to gain access to my apartment for simple repairs? (15 comments)

Reader mailbag: Should we receive a rent abatement for having sporadic heat and hot water?

Giuseppi Logan, now with a flute

[EVG file photo from Sept. 7]

We're used to seeing jazz legend Giuseppi Logan in Tompkins Square Park with a saxophone. We hadn't seen him for awhile … then yesterday morning, we spotted him with …



We asked him where his sax was … well, you know how soft-spoken he is … he simply said that "they took it," and didn't elaborate any further about what happened. He said that he played the flute in the 1960s (did he say in Paris?), but was a little rusty.

We posted this photo yesterday on the EVG Facebook page, and several people are looking into getting him a replacement. And it's not the first time that people have come together to help Giuseppi.