EV Grieve

Sunday, May 24, 2015

At the Loisaida Festival

The 28th Loisaida Festival was today on Avenue C... and EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared a few photos from the afternoon...

[Host Luis Guzmán]

... and a few shots from EVG contributor James Maher...

Look at the 3-week-old hawklets high above Avenue A

Here are the three baby hawks nesting 12th floors above Avenue A on the Ageloff Towers between East Third Street and East Fourth Street…

The photos come courtesy of James and Karla Murray … Christo and Dora's offspring are roughly three weeks old now… (The Two Hawks NYC site has some good nest shots from yesterday.)

Meanwhile, here's a view from Avenue A via Bobby Williams …

… and a bonus shot of Christo taking a break nearby on the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer on East Third Street…

[Photo by RyanAvenueA]

… and Christo out on the town last evening checking out the action on Astor Place…

[Photo by 8E]

As always, check out Gog in NYC for more on the hawks (and falcons!).

And you can keep tabs on the hawks via the Avenue A Hawk Cam.

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

Hawk (and egg) watch continues on Avenue A, now with the help of a live webcam

Christo and Dora are parents! (Again!)

Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!

Good news for those of you stuck in dreary old Manhattan this holiday weekend… The Two Bridges Neighborhood Council Street Fair is today on Third Avenue, from East 14th Street to East Sixth Street, probably.

Unfortunately, the street fair was in its early stages when we toured the grounds… just in the towing-some-vehicles-and-stuff phase …

However, we were afforded an exclusive sneak preview of what you will find today, among other items…

The street fair will also provide you a good opportunity to check out and maybe even test the new curbs the fellows have been putting in along Third Avenue/Cooper Square this past week…

Today in Tompkins Square Park

Saturday, May 23, 2015

[Updated] March Against Monsanto ending in Tompkins Square Park this afternoon

As of about 2:20 p.m., the group was on Second Avenue just below East 23rd Street… the march ends in Tompkins Square Park around 3…

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Here's the website with details about the global march.

Updated 2:49 a.m.

The march has reached St. Mark's Place…

Photos via EVG reader Steven

Updated 9:37 p.m.

Bottom 3 photos via Bobby Williams

If you'd like a look at the art show inside 190 Bowery

[Photo last Saturday by Scuba Diva]

Last Saturday afternoon, a lot of people turned up at 190 Bowery for the Aby Rosen/Vito Schnabel-backed group exhibition titled "First Show/Last Show."

Unbeknownst to most people, though, the public opening was no longer public. The exhibit was now by appointment only.

So Joanna Purpich at Gothamist made an appointment… and paid a vist this past week.

While inside, I spoke with fellow patron Kiki Falconer who said, "I really like the state of the building as a gallery, The tiles are broken, the wood is bare and it's elegant, ancient. So it's a really nice juxtaposition to the modern art." But the gallery offered limited access to the mansion. Only four rooms were on display—three cavernous and bright rooms on ground level, and a short, windowless, half floor room that was jarringly oppressive in comparison.

You may visit Gothamist here to see photos of the work. And there are no lines.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Art show turns into a shitshow at 190 Bowery

The Lower East Side Festival for the Arts continues this weekend

The 20th anniversary … At Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. at East 10th Street. Head to TNC's website here for more details.

You did not miss today

The sunset shot is from last evening via Bobby Williams…

Friday, May 22, 2015

A place in the sun

Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker of Girlpool head to Coney Island in the video for their new release "Before The World Was Big."

The Loisaida Festival is this weekend

There's a lot going on this weekend related to the Loisaida Festival, now in its 28th year.

Here are some details via the Festival's Facebook page:

The Loisaida Festival has been celebrated on Sunday before Memorial Day since 1987.

Performing on the LoisaidaFest Main Stage: Calma Carmona, Chicano Batman, Papote Jimenez, Herencia De Plena, E.A.Flow, Capá Prieto & more...

Hosted by Luis Guzmán

Beyond the top-notch diverse musical line-up of our Main Stage, the Festival offers a Green Zone, Healthy Living Zone, Arts and Craft Zone, and rich culinary street-level experiences, our Theater Lab with an Itinerary for Kid Friendly Activities, the Loisaida Awards, and our celebratory Loisaida Fest Carnival Procession.

The Festival is the annual signature event of Loisaida Inc. Funds are raised to expand our non-profit, which recently secured a 51-year lease for its new Loisaida Center. All proceeds from the Loisaida Festival are used for the production of the same and for the operations of the Loisaida Center.

This year’s theme is “One neighborhood… and entire community.”

The Festival hours on Sunday are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Avenue C, from East Sixth Street to East 12th Street.

And head to the Festival's website for all the activities this weekend, including tonight — Performing Queer Latin@ Loisaida: A Cabaret.

Last night, EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the Festival's opening reception at the Loisaida Center at 710 E. Ninth St., where several of the participating artists were on hand...

[Calma Carmona]

[Eury G. Orsini & Zuleira Soto Roman]

[Papote Jimenez & Edgardo Tomas Larregui]

Mid-morning photo of a dog photo

Photo yesterday on East Fourth Street by Derek Berg

Down On Avenue A, 1922

Anton van Dalen shared the following with us this week...

Ever since my settling on Avenue A in 1971, I have been collecting the neighborhood's history. That gathering is of diverse interest with ephemera and artifacts of all kinds. It includes vintage press photos, flyers, maps, architectural salvage, street signs, etcetera.

One of my favorite finds is this sheet music of 1922 titled "Down On Avenue A." The great cover image in style, fashion and attitude still looks contemporary, timeless.

As now with impending summer the down on Avenue A sidewalk parade has started anew.

You can find more details about the music here.

Next week: The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl on 2nd Avenue

Via the EVG inbox...

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Rosie Mendez today announced the Council will host a “Follow Me Friday” tour of the East Village with local business owners, community members and elected officials on Friday, May 29.

The Follow Me Friday Small Business Crawl will help highlight and promote East Village businesses recovering from the aftermath of the March 26 building explosion ... and will begin with a moment of silence at the site of the explosion on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. The small business tour will begin at 5:30 PM and will include the following stops:

• Moment of silence for victims of recent explosion (Northwest Corner of 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street)
• Tour of Moishe’s Bake Shop (115 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of New Yorker Market (550 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Café Mocha (116 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Bar Virage (118 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Himalayan Vision (127 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Enz’s (125 2nd Avenue)
• Tour of Jimmy’s No. 43 (23 East 7th Street)

Those wishing to join the event should RSVP by sending an e-mail here

The John's of 12th Street documentary is now available for home viewing

[EVG file photo]

"John's of 12th Street," the documentary by Brooklyn-based filmmaker-editor Vanessa McDonnell, is now available as of today on Fandor and Vimeo on Demand.

The 65-minute film had its debut last November.

Here's a quick description:

"John's of 12th Street" is a portrait of a century-old Italian-American restaurant in New York City, one of the last of its kind in a rapidly changing East Village. This observational documentary loosely follows the rhythm of the restaurant’s day, which swings between boredom and frenzy as the old rooms empty and fill, cataloguing the overlooked details of working life and a vanishing facet of New York City.

Watch John's on Fandor here … and on Vimeo on Demand here.

And to warm you up…

John's is located at 302 E 12th St. just east of Second Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Vanessa McDonnell, director of the John's of 12th Street documentary

Union Square getting a bank branch-coffee shop combo because why not

So here's what is in the works for the southwest corner 14th Street and Broadway via Crain's ...

Capital One has come up with an alternative to the staid retail bank branch. It will launch a concept in Union Square, at 853 Broadway, on the building's ground, basement and mezzanine levels. The entrance will feature a large café operated by Peet's Coffee. The space upstairs will differ from a typical retail bank branch. Capital One will create a large work lounge, where customers can camp out and use free Wi-Fi.

Capital One, which operates several similar cafes across the country, is also eyeing a location on Lafayette Street near the Puck Building for another branch.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Immerse yourself in archival photos of NYC

The New York Public Library today unveiled OldNYC.org, an interactive map that brings its digitized collection of vintage photos to life by street/avenue/neighborhoods.

Per OldNYC:

This site provides an alternative way of browsing the NYPL's incredible Photographic Views of New York City, 1870s-1970s collection. Its goal is to help you discover the history behind the places you see every day.

And, if you're lucky, maybe you'll even discover something about New York's rich past that you never knew before!

Where did these images come from?
The images all come from the New York Public Library's Milstein Collection. While many photographers contributed to the collection, the majority of its images are the work of Percy Loomis Sperr, who documented changes to the city from the late 1920s to the early 1940s.

We clicked on Avenue A and East 10th Street...

... and found this shot (and more) from 1934...

Enjoy your Memorial Weekend. (And if you don't like historical photos, then....)

Today in photos of an abandoned carousel horse in Tompkins Square Park

Photographed by EVG regular William Klayer this morning... probably a good reason why it's here...

Demolition of 118 E. 1st St. begins to make way for 9-story residential building

Work is underway here between Avenue A and First Avenue, where the existing 3-floor building will be demolished … and a 9-floor residential building will rise…

As NY Yimby first pointed out last November, a developer operating under the name of Acacia 118, LLC is behind the project.

Per NY Yimby...

As with many new projects in neighborhoods that once only supported rentals, 118 East 1st will likely be condos, with its seven units divided over 12,500 square feet of residential space. The average size is a quite hefty 1,800 square feet, with duplexes on the top and bottom and full-floor units in between…

The city has yet to approve the plans for the new building.

This development can't sit well with the owner of Punjabi Grocery & Deli next door. Owner Jashon Singh has reported declining sales these past five years with the ongoing East Houston Reconstruction Project outside his front doors.

The work on East Houston, reportedly three years behind schedule, is expected to wrap up in August. Just in time for the new construction at No. 118.

The new building will also include a 250-square foot retail space on the ground level.

Thanks to EVG reader Gacin for the photos

Previously on EV Grieve:
118 E. 1st St. arrives on the market with so many possibilities, and air rights

118 E. 1st. St. will yield to a new 9-floor residential building

How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

[Photo Monday via Blue Glass]

City Limits files an in-depth look at the residents who lost their homes during the deadline gas explosion on March 26.

Here are a few excerpts from the piece:

The three buildings destroyed in the March 26 blast—45 East Seventh St. (119 Second Avenue), 121 Second Ave., and 123 Second Ave.—included 15 apartments. Adjacent buildings also sustained damage and many were ordered vacated. While most tenants buildings have reopened, at press time, five apartments at 125 Second Ave. and two at 41 East Seventh St. were still under vacate orders.

---

Kim-Nora Moses, 52, also lived at 45 East Seventh St. She and her husband, Robert Schmidt, 55, had a three-bedroom rent-stabilized apartment for 23 years, and paid close to $2,000 rent. Moses laments the loss of her gorgeous home, and where she is now pales in comparison. The couple, who had renter's insurance, moved into the same building as Guy this week with help from Cooper Square Committee. Their one-year lease is for a one-bedroom, with a monthly rent of around $800. Lease renewal for the building is dependent on income, and the couple earns too much to stay permanently.

---

Whatever their rent status, tenants who lost their homes need help. There is some monetary relief on its way to individuals and families affected by the explosion, for housing and material goods. The first installment of $45,000, from the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, was released to LES Ready on April 29. More than $150,000 was raised by donation, and LES Ready will disseminate funds based on need.

---

Read the whole article here.

Peter Brant meets the neighbors

[Another photo we use a lot]

On Tuesday night, as we noted, reps for Peter Brant were to meet with residents at Village View to discuss his plans for 421 E. Sixth St., the building he purchased last year for $27 million.

Posted flyers said that the owner would be present. Owner owner? Or owner as in owner of, say, the company overseeing the renovation project?

Well, according to an EVG reader who attended the meeting, "Brant was actually there. Yes. Cufflinks and all."

First, though, as previously reported, the building between Avenue A and First Avenue is intended to be a gallery space to display Brant's personal art collection. The intention is to have approximately two shows per year, with the first one scheduled for Fall 2016.

[Meeting photo via Bill the Libertarian Anarchist]

Back to Tuesday night's meeting, which the EVG reader described as intense, though Brant was "open, engaging."

Some guy asked Brant "Why don't you have your art displayed at your Polo Club?" To which Brant replied, "Because they play polo there."

Brant also said that he wasn't aware that the party on March 26 — for the world's top collectors of Dom Pérignon rosé — in the building would be what it was, that he was doing a favor for a friend. Per the reader, "He is aware how it affected the neighborhood."

He invited everybody to come to his foundation in Connecticut to see what he is all about. One woman kvetched that she couldn't get there, is anything closer? He said he has a building in Soho. Well, the guy was trying.

I'm starting to sound too much like I'm defending him.

Again, of all the things that could happen to this building, I think this seems like one of the best things. It will be a private space. Not a lot of people there. Maybe a couple of invite-only openings. I want to believe him. Basically it sounds like a garage to store some of his art.

Anyone who attended the meeting want to share his or her thoughts on Brant's plans?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

A soft opening at the Brant Foundation's new space at Walter De Maria's former East 6th Street studio

More about the 1st show at Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street

When the world's top collectors of Dom Pérignon rosé came to the East Village for dinner

Reader report: 421 E. 6th St. will house Peter M. Brant's personal art collection

Peter Brant's East 6th Street Outreach Tour 2015 continues

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

'Kids' today: 20th anniversary T-shirt and skateboards

"Kids" turns 20 this July ... and ahead of the reunion festivities next month at BAM ... Supreme has released a special edition series of skateboard decks and shirts for the film that introduced us to Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson...

Dangerous Minds today published the news release from Supreme about the items:

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Larry Clark’s debut film, KIDS, the portrayal of NYC youth’s escapades in the early 90’s. Some were offended by the raw and anarchic world Larry Clark documented, for those that weren’t, the film became an important document of the time, place and culture.

Through photographing skaters in NYC, Larry Clark came to meet the film’s writer, Harmony Korine and star, Leo Fitzpatrick. The rest of the cast was pieced together with a variety of downtown New York characters including original Supreme team riders Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter. It is a testament to KIDS cultural impact that it resonates today just as much as it did in 1995.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary, Supreme is proud to release a collection of items featuring stills from the iconic film KIDS. The Collection will consist of a Hooded Sweatshirt, Long Sleeved T-Shirt, two graphic T-Shirts, and three Skateboards.

Here's a look at the stuff available to buy starting tomorrow ...

... and to round out your Business Casual wardrobe this summer...

"Kids" was filmed, in part, around the East Village... and it opened at the Angelika on July 21, 1995...