Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Citizen app alert of the day
DeColores Community Yard collecting books for displaced Ukrainian families
Looking for Ukrainian-language books? You could try Arka on Second Street or the Ukrainian Museum on Sixth Street.
Images via Instagram
13-story mixed-use building slated for 5th and D
The proposed 125-foot-tall development will yield 62,200 square feet designated for residential space. The building will have 85 residences, with an average unit scope of 731 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have 15 inclusionary housing units and a cellar but no accessory parking.
Public records show that Manny Ashourzadeh, via Golbar LLC, is behind this new project.
The work permit filed on Thursday lists 746 E. Fifth St., an empty lot, as the building's address. Given the size of the development, the project will likely include the former Uncle Johnny, the longtime grocery store that closed last month...
As with any one-level parcel of properties, there was speculation that this corner was ripe for new construction.
In recent years, several new developments, including the Adele ... Arabella 101 and NIKO East Village, have risen along this Avenue D corridor.
A fundraiser for Noor, a cat struck by a car on 10th Street
The two were able to carefully transport the cat, named Noor, to the Village Veterinarian on 11th Street.
Unfortunately, the collision left Noor with many injuries, including pneumothorax, pulmonary contusions, traumatic brain injury, a left humeral fracture, abrasions and bruising.
Rachael and Matt are taking responsibility for Noor's care and will foster him through the recovery.
Rachael also said they'll likely adopt him. "I'm already attached after one day, and we are in love with this little guy," she said in an email. (Noor usually stays in the Half Moon Smoke Shop on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, which won't be an option post-surgery.)
There's a crowdfunding campaign underway to help pay for Noor's surgery. You can find more information at the GoFundMe here.
Rest easy, citizens of 12th Street — the large animal invader has been slain
The address was listed as a building on 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.
The report prompted A LOT of speculation — at least in the EVG Instagram Stories.
What could this large animal invader be? A crocodile? A deer? A bobcat? C.H.U.D.? Chupacabra? So many possibilities! (Also, keep in mind that Citizen has posted inaccurate information in the past.)
Ever-curious EVG contributor Stacie Joy ventured over to the building to learn more about this urban creature/home invader...
Stacie spoke with the super, Oly, who held up the slain beast...
So how did what appears to be a baby mouse on a glue trap end up as a "large animal" home invader?
Here's what we pieced together based on some Instagram messages and the visit to the building.
The residents of the unit heard a "loud" screeching coming from the kitchen. Living adjacent to a community garden, maybe an opossum found its way into the building and was trapped in an airshaft or in the walls. Thinking it was some kind of animal control situation, they called 311. The 311 operator then told the residents to contact their local police precinct.
It's not clear at the moment how this became a "large animal invader." Perhaps the NYPD was curious, too, as we're told eight officers eventually responded to the scene.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Monday's parting shots
The melody of the song is adapted from the Ukrainian folk song "Oy Marichko," and features renowned Ukrainian trumpeter Semjon Barlas (now in Berlin). All proceeds go to Ukrainian-American organization Razom For Ukraine, playing a vital role in relief efforts.
Thanks to Steven for the top photo and Eden for the shot in the Park...
March 21
The fruit vendor is BACK on 1st Avenue and 6th Street
H/T Steph and Isa!
Himalayan Vision is closing on 2nd Avenue
Tenzin, the owner, says his last day will be March 26. Until then, he has discounted items by 20 to 80 percent ...
Tenzin said he simply couldn't make the rent anymore and decided to close. (There was not a rent increase, and at the same time, the landlord was not going to negotiate a lower rate.)
Himalayan Vision and Millie, the store cat... will be missed... 
Himalayan Vision is open noon-8 p.m. ... and closed on Wednesdays.
And we were told that Tenzin won't be able to keep Millie. So if there's anyone interested in adopting her, please reach out to Tenzin at the shop. [Updated 3/26: Millie has a new home!]
Top two photos by Steven... Millie photo by Lola Sáenz
Checking in on the USA Super Stores, opening soon on 3rd Avenue and 10th Street
Workers have been filling the space with large displays of items, including Marcal toilet paper ...
... and tins of McKenzie & Lloyds Danish Style Butter Cookies ...
We first reported on this pending arrival on Feb. 3. Looks like the place will be open SOON.
USA Super Stores have been opening in former Duane Reade/Walgreens outposts around the city, including Avenue D and Second Street.
This Duane Reade by Walgreens closed in early March 2020 ... several years after expanding and gobbling up several small storefronts, forcing Excel Art and Framing Store and East Village Cheese (which was never the same) to relocate.
A'more Caffè coming to 2nd and A
The sign promises premium coffee roasted in NYC.
The business has a new Instagram account that notes "something good is coming."
This retail space was previously BikeFix NYC, which relocated to a larger storefront on Sixth Street.
The former Barnyard Cheese Shop is for rent on Avenue B
In early December, Beatriz Gutierrez decided to reopen her popular sandwich shop/market for weekend-only service at 168 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street. It was done by the end of January.
This past week, the smaller for-rent sign on the storefront was joined by a much-larger banner.
Barnyard closed in October after Gutierrez could not find someone to helm her kitchen. Her longtime cook, who lost a brother during the pandemic, left to be with his family in Mexico.
Barnyard Cheese Shop's companion business next door, Brix Wines, remains open.
The white and red stripes: The new-look KFC on 14th Street
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Week in Grieview
• Holyland Market is closing on St. Mark's Place; owner to focus on hummus biz (Monday)
• A visit to Archie's Press on 10th Street (Thursday)
• Gaia Italian Café Shop is coming to the East Village (Thursday)
• Cooper Union: Longtime Stuyvesant Street businesses "informed us of their decision to vacate the property" (Wednesday)
• Report: Relief supplies for Ukraine stolen from 2nd Avenue nonprofit (Wednesday)
• 9th Precinct now issuing tickets to anyone parking in Neighborhood Loading Zones (Tuesday)
• Gallery Watch: Emily Oliveira at Geary on the Bowery (Friday)
• Longtime East Village artists bring 'Double Trouble' to the Tompkins Square Library branch (Tuesday)
• A broken gate at 89 1st Ave., where permits are still pending for a new building (Wednesday)
• La Fleur Café to set up shop on 9th Street (Monday)
• The taco cart is BACK on 2nd Street and Avenue A (Thursday)
• Indoor service is back at Abraço (Sunday)
• Openings: Nudibranch on 1st Avenue (Wednesday) ... Openings: Essex Squeeze on 5th Street (Tuesday)
• A new restaurant for the Papilles space on 7th Street (Tuesday)
• Avenue A Deli and Grill shapes up (Monday)
... and from EVG reader David Sippel from Friday on Second Avenue at 14th Street — a mini-tree discard for the books...
Support for Ukraine at Archie's Press
Photos by Stacie Joy
Owner Archie Archambault, an East Village resident, is donating the proceeds of his Little Ukraine print (available in-store only) to humanitarian aid for the war-torn country. (He was also going to distribute them to any shop to display in their windows)...
We featured Archie's Press this past week in a post here. Since EVG contributor Stacie Joy's previous visit, Archie created the Ukraine flyers.
Meanwhile, while Stacie was at the shop yesterday, Archie worked on a new flyer with his Vandercook SP-15 letterpress...
... and the final product...
Archie's is at 219 E. 10th St between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Store hours:
Monday 1-6 p.m.
Tuesday-Wednesday Closed
Thursday-Friday 1-6 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday noon- 6 p.m.
Sunday's opening shot
Per this cut-n-paste:
In 2022, the March equinox happens on Sunday, March 20, at 11:33 A.M. EDT. This marks the return of spring to the Northern Hemisphere.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
A 'Wild Style' anniversary
Here's a climatic scene filmed at the now-demolished East River Park amphitheater...
New at MoRUS: 'Fighting Words: Political Pictures (New Voices in Comix)'
Details via the EVG inbox...
MoRUS celebrates the subversive power of comics with a group show of works by artists who participated in ABC No Rio’s Comix as Political Expression course at the museum. "Fighting Words: Political Pictures (New Voices in Comix)" will open on Saturday, March 19 with a reception beginning at 4 pm. The show will be available for viewing through Sunday, April 3 on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., or by appointment.Participating artists are Yasmeen Abdallah, Mark He, Annabelle Heckler, Vanessa Glynn, Sam Johnston, Ariel Kleinberg, Adi Talwar, Seth Tobocman and Tamara Wyndham.
Varying in focus and medium, the works were created during the ABC No Rio course led by Tobocman at MoRUS in the fall of 2021. The exhibited works grapple with and uplift contemporary social and political struggles from the climate crisis, police brutality and worker organizing to emotional and physical health and social isolation.
MoRUS is located at 155 Avenue C between 9th Street and 10th Street.
Poster by Mark He
Friday, March 18, 2022
Friday's parting shots
Sweetness and light
Blushing was a standout band from last week's New Colossus Festival — playing five showcases, including a shoegaze extravaganza at Arlene's Grocery... the Austin, Texas-based quartet recruited shoegaze legend Miki Berenyi from Lush for this single, "Blame."
CB3's full board meeting in March will be virtual
Gov. Hochul has extended the state of emergency and suspended the Open Meeting Law until April 15.
EVG Etc.: The continued support for Veselka; the history of The Portable Lower East Side
New art on AvenueA by Winston Tseng (background)
• More on the overhwhelming support for Veselka (CBS News)
• EV bars The Gray Mare, Slainté and Cooper's Craft + Cocktails are hosting happy hours in support of Ukraine today, March 18, from 4-7 p.m. (Pursuitist)
• Lawsuit alleges that upstate woman was swindled out of $160,000 by psychics on Avenue A (The Post)
• Kurt Hollander on publishing The Portable Lower East Side (1983-1993). Back issues are now on sale at Printed Matter on St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue (Literary Hub)
• A feature on the vintage shop Cobblestones on Ninth Street (CBS 2)
• Details on La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, back next month for its 17th annual edition (The Lo-Down)
• Inside an East Village brownstone "where every floor encourages a different energy" (domino)
• A tour of the recently opened Bronx Brewery on Second Avenue (Untapped Cities ... previously on EVG)
• Art by Anna Sorokin among the work featured in a group show, titled "Free Anna Delvey," at 176 Delancey St. through March 24 (The Art Newspaper ... The Daily Beast)
Gallery Watch: Emily Oliveira at Geary on the Bowery
Interview by Clare Gemima
Photos courtesy of Geary
Captivated by the Brooklyn-based Emily Oliveira’s bold and saturated exhibition, I was lucky enough to speak to Geary’s gallery director Poppy DeltaDawn about “Red Velvet, Orange Crush.” The show in the gallery at 208 Bowery is packed with color, varying mediums and an innumerable amount of fascinating visualizations.
In an attempt to understand more about the artist’s process and broader practice, I reached out to Emily to ask about their research, studio time and exciting plans for the future.
As soon as you walk into Geary’s building, a painted orange and yellow, to blue and purple gradient covers the walls from floor to ceiling. Can you explain the intention behind transforming the gallery so boldly, and speak to how it affects the position of each of your works?
I wanted to give the viewer the feeling of standing on the precipice of something, possibly gazing at a light or a portal opening up onto another world. The colors in the gradient are also ones that are found together at sunset or sunrise, when our pupils are dilated and our eyes are starved for light, which heightens that sensory experience of color, of being at the threshold of something shifting and changing as you look at it.
One of my favorite things about the way we painted the space is that the gradient is built out of translucent layers of color — your eyes don’t stop at a flat color the way they do on most painted walls. Light passes through the layers of color and increases the feeling that the surfaces you’re looking at are in flux somehow.
The quilts in your show are all different shapes and sizes, some ovular and some more circular. There is even one that appears more “eyelid” in shape. Is this aspect something you pre-plan in your studio, or is it something that occurs accidentally?
I started to play around with the shape of my quilts last spring, and since then I’ve realized that the impulse toward a curved or oblong shape has to do with making the viewer aware of the earth in space, and the picture plane of the quilt recalling vision more that it recalls an interior window or a framed painting. I tend to plan these shapes in my sketchbook, but I also try to respond to the materials as much as possible in the studio and do not try to make the fabric do things that it doesn’t want to do. I respond to the ways that it wants to pucker or drape.
Poppy, Geary’s gallery director, mentioned you have an interest and knowledge in the concept of hydromancy, a ritualistic practice that channels signs and warnings from water. Can you elaborate on how this idea inspired “Listening Bowl with Two Figures” (2021) and “Listening Bowl with Reclining Figure” (2021)?
I started making those small sculptures after a show last year when I wanted a little break from making quilts, and I thought about them immediately as vessels and tools for hydromancy. I think the idea of hydromancy relates to the gradient on the walls, and the water and the portals depicted in the quilts — a vision of something just beyond our reality appearing momentarily in a shifting liquid.
Speaking to notions of tradition and folklore, one of your quilts depicts the resurrection of an ox, which presumably references Brazil’s famous yearly celebration, Bumba Meu Boi, or perhaps the story behind it. Have you ever participated in its traditions outside of your immediate art-making?
I am interested in the idea of an ox shared by a community as a collectivist symbol, and its resurrection as a way of talking about the resiliency of leftist movements in Latin America. My connection to Bumba Meu Boi is primarily through heritage, the objects created for use in the performance, and an ongoing interest in the emancipatory potential of participatory performance.
Was it more human, animal or other that inspired the creation of “I am weak with much giving, I am weak with the desire to give more” (2022)? And, what soft or hard sculpture artists do you gravitate toward in your research?
I’m very influenced by practical effects (puppetry, miniatures, animatronics) in science fiction and horror movies from the 1970s-90s, and particularly that their general disappearance from film has nothing to do with obsolescence and everything to do with labor (workers in CGI are not unionized but fabricators and designers of practical effects are).
The film influences on this particular sculpture are “Species,” “Alien” and “Jumanji,” with the horror of the first two based in the monstrous feminine, and the last one the colonial trope of the “hungry jungle” — two concepts pretty near and dear to my practice.
So, as a roundabout way of answering your question, I’m interested in taking the horror associated from the blurring of boundaries between the “human, animal, or other” and turning it inside out, and hopefully into something tantalizing, erotic and post-human.
The writer for your catalog, Kyle Dacuyan, claims that visual mythologies, ecological considerations and the cosmos are all areas that “Red Velvet, Orange Crush” explore. They also poetically write that the work rides on reverie. Do you feel as though all of your work deals with sentiments that Dacuyan describes? And, will you adopt this vernacular moving forward with your artistic practice?
I’ve been working with interlocking mythological and science fiction narratives in my work for several years now, and the work is invariably informed by present ecological collapse. The cosmos comes into play in a way that relates to your question about the shape of the textiles — trying to call attention to our own subjectivity and that we are caught between two parentheses: a living earth and an infinite cosmos.
You’ve used processes such as hand-dying, sewing, stitching and cyanotype. You have also used silks, velvets, linens and sequins, to name a few of your materials. While making the work for the show, what process or materials did you struggle with the most, and how long — roughly — did “Red Velvet, Orange Crush” take until it was ready to hang as a show?
All of the work for the show came together in a little less than a year. I think I continue to struggle the most with time and the time-consuming process of appliqué and quilting. Hand dyeing is a fast and loose process that requires a lot of preparation and a lot of steps, but I really enjoy all of the different processes that my studio practice allows me to engage in. I think if I was only doing one process every day I would not feel as excited to go to the studio.
Is there anything extremely important to know before a viewer sees your work for the first time in person?
I think other than knowing that the works in the show are all handmade textiles (with the exception of the two small paper pulp sculptures on the mantle), I ideally would want the viewer to have an unmediated sensory experience of the work! I also think the work and the painting on the wall are particularly beautiful in the daytime, with sunlight coming in from the windows.
What do you hope to focus on after you have finished your studies? What do you have in store exhibition/show wise?
After I graduate in 2023, I’m going to be in Rome for a year at the British School at Rome, which I’m really thankful and excited for. Right now I have a mural that’s at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park until early May, and in the fall, I’m going to have another solo exhibition at LaMama Galleria that’s opening in September 2022.
I’ll also have my thesis exhibition sometime next year, both in New Haven and at a space in New York. I’m excited to continue exploring textiles and expanding my practice. I also want to continue exploring videos and performances that have been set aside for a while since I’ve been in school.
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Clare Gemima is a visual artist and arts writer from New Zealand, now based in the East Village of New York. You can find her work here: claregemima.com
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