Saturday, March 6, 2021
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, March 5, 2021
Friday's parting shots
'Lux' living
About Open Data Week in the East Village
Join EVCC for this week-long festival of FREE community events in celebration of New York City's Open Data Law. From family-friendly live events on the Ave B Open Street, to fun and informative virtual events, there's something for everyone here!
Highlights coming up tomorrow (Saturday!) on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Eighth Street ...
And on Sunday on Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Join artist Jen Ray and data designer Jason Forrest for an engaging and not-entirely-serious interactive data-art performance on the Ave B Open Street. You've never seen data presented like this!
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Join artist Cindy Stockton Moore in Shadow Tag for Open Streets, a creative family-friendly experiment in chalk. Come play with data!
Engaging with the WhatsOpenEV.com MapBuilt by BetaNYC & maintained by volunteers, the WhatsOpenEV.com map has everything you need to safely Shop Local. We created the map to assist our community and support local merchants during the COVID-19 shutdown. What started as a band-aid grew into a labor of love.Discover East Village businesses, help support your favorites, and add your contributions to the map. Find the latest hours, specials, fundraisers and more!
ICYMI: Arts and entertainment venues can reopen starting on April 2
"Obviously any news about a path forward, even a limited capacity one, is great considering where we were just over a month ago," said Dennis Dennehy, spokesperson for AEG Presents and Bowery Presents, which manages bookings at Forest Hills Stadium, Terminal 5, Webster Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Music Hall of Williamsburg and more. "That said, we remain focused as of right now on fully reopening when we can do shows at 100% capacity. It just doesn’t make sense for us to do anything with limited capacity."While he left open the possibility that some individual artists might decide to eat their losses to do a couple of one-off shows at big venues, he said it ultimately wasn't efficient for them to be back until they can play to full houses.
From the Times:
Michael Swier, the owner of the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, two of New York's best-known rock clubs, said that the state's order that venues require social distancing and mask-wearing means that the true capacity at many spaces may be much lower.
"Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable," Mr. Swier said.
Report of a fatal fire on 5th Street
According to @FDNYalerts, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of 335 E. Fifth St., a five-story building between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The report came in at 12:55 a.m., according to @FDNYalerts ... and was deemed under control by 1:24 a.m.
At 3:36 a.m., the Citizen app reported the following: "An official update from the FDNY has confirmed that an 80-year-old woman found inside the apartment was declared deceased after EMS transported her to a local hospital."Manhattan All Hands Box 0430, 337 E 5 ST, Multiple Dwelling 'A' Fire, 4TH FLR, Under Control
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 5, 2021
Meeting Chef Wayne from the Bowery Mission
I asked Wayne several questions to learn more about his journey to the Bowery Mission and the recent impact of the pandemic.
What is your first memory of The Bowery Mission?
In 2012, I experienced temporary homelessness. I was staying at a nearby shelter, not far from the Bowery Mission’s flagship campus at 227 Bowery. At the time, I’d go to The Bowery Mission to get food, get clothing, but I didn’t know much about the organization overall. For two years, I held occasional jobs but was having a hard time finding steadier work and housing.
In 2014, I signed up for the Bowery Mission’s men’s residential program. By October of that same year, I had graduated from the program and secured a job at the organization’s Avenue D Campus.
How did you transition from program participant to staff member?
When I first got into the program, we had daily tasks. It gave us something to do, but it also taught us skills. I spent my time in the kitchen, working with the chefs and volunteers.
It wasn’t easy at first. We serve a wide variety of people dealing with extreme circumstances. To be on the front line of serving food while monitoring interactions could be tough. Some folks direct the challenges of their day toward you. Over the years, I’ve better understood where they’re coming from and why they act this way.
In my time working at the Bowery Mission, I’ve also worked at their Mont Lawn Camp and Retreat Center in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, which was an incredible experience. It is beautiful, 200-plus acres with a retreat center, a gym, basketball court, rock climbing wall — the works. Compared to the city, there are no sirens, no city noises. Seeing the organization’s full-circle impact makes me feel more strongly about working at the Bowery Mission.
On a personal level, I’ve learned that serving a person a great meal does a lot. Initially, I cooked to keep busy and develop my skills. Now, I look for the relief on a client’s face. I see in their demeanor when I’ve removed the worry of having to feed themselves.
I also learned to communicate thoughtfully. If I’m met with aggression, I temper the conversation to encourage different behavior.
All our locations operate differently, some campuses are more focused on emergency shelter, some are focused on residential programming, but my focus is always to make a good meal.
Do you notice changes in donations during recent times?
Being in the food industry myself, I’ve seen how hard it is for restaurants right now. They’re not receiving the same customer base. But it’s amazing how our donation partners have pulled together and said, “even though we’ve been affected by this negatively, that shouldn’t put a damper on what the Bowery Mission is trying to do.”
People are still trying to gather as many resources as they can to help. We’re now getting packaged food. Companies and organizations are preparing meals and putting them in containers and bringing them to us, hundreds at a time every day.
Not only does it make our job a little bit easier, knowing that we have people supporting us, but it allows us to go full force in serving people who really need it. We are able to execute a battle plan so that we can best serve guests, who, unfortunately, can’t shelter in place like many New Yorkers can.
How do you get a feeling of appreciation in this work?
When I go home from work, I see many of the people we serve on my commute. When they see me, they give me a shout-out, “Hey Chef!” That feels good.
Also, if I do see a person asking for food, I get to tell them about the Bowery Mission. All they have to do is be on time to receive a meal.
I was very appreciative that all staff and volunteers were offered resources through the Bowery Mission to isolate and safely navigate COVID-19.
What is the lesson learned from COVID-19?
Among New Yorkers, the issue of homelessness can be divisive. Some folks want to help, while others think people should be “on their own.” The pandemic has proved anyone can fall on tough circumstances. You get behind on bills, you can lose your job, and you can lose your housing.
We all need help sometimes, and whatever events happen in this country, we can all try to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
New Yorkers can catch flak for being “rude” or “brash,” but when things go down, we know how to come together.
About Nudibranch, bringing a pop-up tasting menu to 130 1st Ave. this month
Two Momofuku Ssäm Bar alums have teamed up on an exciting, new tasting menu pop-up that's running in ... through the end of this month. Nudibranch ... is a collaboration between chefs Victor Xia and Jeff Kim, and the first solo project for the duo.
Kim and Xia met working at Ssäm Bar several years ago, and teamed up on Nudibranch last year to create a menu that paid homage to all the kitchens they've cooked in around the city as well as the food they love eating everyday.
While the menu incorporates several Asian ingredients in various dishes, the chefs don't want that to be the defining factor of the project. "We hate the term Asian fusion or pan-Asian," says Xia. "That is how a lot of people just want to describe food like this. But if you look at the menu you won't really be able to tie it down to any particular cuisine. Not having to label it is something we really enjoy."
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Thursday's parting shot
Noted
Grant Shaffer's NY See
The Union Square Food Emporium looks to be closing at the end of May
In December 2015, Key Food acquired the Food Emporium banner name and related intellectual property assets, per published reports.
This will mark the departure of yet another traditional grocery store in the area. Associated closed on 14th Street in Stuy Town in December 2019.
It's nearly show time as NYC theaters prep for reopening
Before the pandemic, the Village East Cinema showed movies that originally opened at the Angelika Film Center. Plus, the Village East Cinema is owned by City Cinemas, a branch of Reading International. The Angelika is also under the Reading International umbrella. So they're keeping it all in the Reading family.We’re reopening Friday March 5, and we are excited to welcome @CityCinemasNYC to the Angelika Film Center family, as Village East by Angelika and Cinema 123 by Angelika!
— Angelika Film Center (@AngelikaFilmNY) February 26, 2021
For more information, visit us at https://t.co/K3mu1MJiw8.
See you at the movies! pic.twitter.com/T1W311Xu6p
Hub Thai debuts new Avenue A space
A Downtown State of Mind Saturday courtesy of the Tompkins Square Library branch
Catch a wave at this incoming Asian restaurant on 6th Street
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
The first opossum sighting of 2021 in Tompkins Square Park
A much-needed beach day for Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street
Like many of us perhaps, Miss Kita the Wonder Dog seems to be hitting a wall in terms of social distancing and pandemicness generally. She particularly misses our rich neighborhood nightlife. When we woke up this morning Miss Kita declared Tompkins Square Park insufficient for her needs and demanded a beach day. It's still a bit windy out here and she says it's not yet prime seagull chasing season but a quick trip out of town to catch some fresh sea air was just what the doctor ordered.
Gallery Watch: 'Last Supper' at LatchKey Gallery
LatchKey Gallery offers a refreshing respite to this, an incredibly large and open space with a dedicated ethos toward advocating overlooked artists. In this week’s Gallery Watch, I am excited to provide insight into this nomadic contemporary art space that is challenging the status-quo on several different levels.
The powerhouses behind LatchKey Gallery are Natalie Kates and Amanda Uribe. I was lucky enough to meet Natalie at Silo6776 in New Hope at Scooter LaForge’s exhibition Beef Jerky late last year. I could tell Natalie was an enthusiastic and passionate art lover, but it wasn’t until I had come to learn about her Artist Residency Program that she spearheaded with her husband Fabrizio Ferri that I really got the gist of her dedication to emerging artists.
The show, curated by Tamecca Seril showcases the works of 12 Black female artists, referencing the significant event of the show’s title where Jesus and his apostles gather and consecrate around a banquet feast. The classic, white-washed representation is (and forever will be) a staple in art history, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be challenged. Last Supper at LatchKey Gallery builds a new table that lifts and honors voices that art history seems to leave out of its canon — those that belong to Black women.
Last Supper celebrates fellowship and organized radical thinking amongst the curated group of artists. The show positions their work within a contemporary context, in turn creating a discourse around what it means to be Black, female and creative while inevitably disrupting the art world’s tiresome and often gross institutionalized normality.
Last Supper showcases the works of Shervone Neckles, Ify Chiejina, Turiya Magadlela, LaToya Hobbs, Kimberly Becoat, Nkechi Ebubedike, Josie Love Roebuck, Jennifer Mack Watkins, Dana Robinson, Dominique Duroseau, Ariel Danielle and Ashante Kindle.
The pieces by Shervone Neckles are photographic and hanging from the ceiling, offering something I have never seen before in a gallery space. History, time and torture are suspended in her golden-framed objects and these works were definitely what excited me the most.
The divide from gallery to artist studio space was raw and generous for the average gallery-goer. Once stepping inside the residency quarters, I was enthralled by another young maker’s world. February’s artist in residence was the beautifully spoken and gifted Eric Manuel Santoscoy-Mckillip, who has filled the space with painted sculptures, freshly designed rugs and a working studio that I was delighted to receive an invitation to tour.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Eric plays with ideas of overlapping and blurring — subjects that seek to reflect the in-between space of the U.S. and Mexico border. His work is rich in color, crazy with texture and so bold and confident to the point of intimidating.
Last Supper will be showing at LatchKey’s Canal Street and Industry City locations until March 20. To book an appointment, please visit their website. A special thanks to Eric and Amanda for having me.
Checking in on Meat + Bread on Allen Street
"We definitely knew it would be a challenge opening during the pandemic, but we also saw opportunity and potential," Azi said. "So far we have seen an incline from week to week in sales, repeat customers and also excellent feedback from the community. We do our best in minimizing wastage and reusing our inventory. Things can only get better."
This is also a homecoming for the brothers, who were born, raised and educated on the Lower East Side. These days they are residing in Queens.
"The best part of it all is coming back and opening a business in the neighborhood we grew up in," Azi said. "It's great when friends and family stop in — those who still live in the area. Overall, it has been a good experience so far and hopefully a better one going forward."
Meat + Bread is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. Phone: (607) 228-3441. You can find their menu here. And on Instagram here.This is the new tenant for the NW corner of 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place
Leasing underway at Stella LES on Avenue C and Houston (and 2nd Street)
Set within a unique triangular plot, Stella's architectural footprint offers studio-to-two bedroom residences with sunlit spaces and multiple exposures. Public areas are equipped with ultraviolet LED in-duct air purification systems proactively treating the air and reducing airborne and surface contaminants. With amenities such as a fitness center, roof deck and resident’s lounge, discover unmatched conveniences in a haven for Lower East Side living.
Inspired by outspoken theater pioneer and Lower East Side native Stella Adler, Stella LES is a boutique 45 unit development that reflects her wildly independent spirit, her iconic status, and her fierce commitment to furthering her craft.
Report: The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill will be reopening soon on University Place
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Police make arrest in fatal punch on 1st Avenue and 11th Street
According to published reports (amNY, the Post), Anthony Fabriani, 60, was arguing with Anthony Larocca, 19, when the teen punched him in the left eye, knocking him to the ground.Thanks to the publics assistance and the great work of our @NYPDDetectives this individual has been apprehended. https://t.co/y456qe46Q1
— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) March 2, 2021