Friday, August 22, 2008

Dude, where's my sub?


At the Subway on Maiden Lane in the Financial District.

Reminder tonight!: Richard Sandler


Two documentaries by Richard Sandler, Brave New York and Sway, are playing tonight in the community garden at Sixth Street and Avenue B. (Brave New York chronicles the East Village from 1988-2003.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Richard Sandler's New York City

[Image: Richard Sandler, 1982]

A mighty wind


Just in case you missed the piece in the Times on the wind farmers of East 11th Street from Aug. 4, the Post did their own version of it today.

Meanwhile, any comments on Bloomberg's windmill energy plan?

Looking at Extra Place

I'm continuing to take in all parts of the Bowery. An appreciation of sorts. As Forgotten New York has noted, Extra Place has been a dead end on the north side of East 1st Street east of the Bowery since about 1800. Here's what it looked like in 1978.


[Top image via Forgotten New York]

Here's what it looked like the other day.


As it has been reported, the cul-de-sac is becoming "a slice of the Left Bank, a pedestrian mall lined with interesting boutiques and cafés."
Now watch this snappy video about Extra Place at 311 Bowery!

The Heterosexuals are coming!


Ugh. On 10th Street. Near Second Avenue.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Landlord accused of harassing longtime tenants


From the City Room this afternoon:

A group of tenant advocates has accused a landlord that acquired 17 rent-regulated buildings on the Lower East Side last year of aggressively harassing tenants in a concerted effort to oust longtime residents from the buildings so that the units could be renovated and the rents raised.

All the buildings, which are rent-regulated, are in an area bounded by First Avenue and Avenue B and East 13th and Houston Streets.

Capturing intertwined lives in the East Village


[Photo Lorcan Otway/The Villager]

The Villager profiles East Village photographer Lorcan Otway this week.

Otway’s photos capture everything from the fast-action danger of a young man trying to resuscitate a friend who had overdosed on heroin (above, which ran in The Villager last June 13-19) to a close-up of a young “crusty” woman, looking tenderly at her pet rat. Most important, each photo has overlapping characters interacting in a shared setting. Their stories are intertwined: A young Ninth Precinct policewoman captured on her training day, Officer Spinelli, shares an ecosystem in the park with Carl, the elderly man dubbed “Santa Claus,” who she will probably scoop up many times for drinking. Smiling Officer Bearne’s face glows with humanity, as does that of Jim “Mosaic Man” Power, as each goes about his life in the East Village Commons — separate, yet connected.

Action item:
Otway's photo exhibit, “East Village Commons: A Loving Portrayal of a Neighborhood,” will be on display at Theater 80 on St. Mark’s Place beginning Monday. It runs for a week.

EV Grieve lost and found

I hope there's a reward! Found on Sixth Street near First Avenue.