You have a few extra days to see a cool show at O’Flaherty's, 44 Avenue A at Third Street.
"Houses and Hotels," featuring longtime East Village resident Donna Dennis, part of the architectural sculpture movement of the early 1970s, spotlights a selection of the early work that helped launch her career.
Dennis created these pieces while living on St. Mark's Place (they were assembled elsewhere). She now lives in Germantown, N.Y.
The show has been extended through Sunday.
Gallery hours are today through Friday, 11 a.m. (or so) until 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2-7 p.m.
Why did you decide on non-fiction when launching the series?
Non-fiction is just the genre I know best. I enjoy fiction and poetry, of course, but my heart is always with non-fiction. I also realized at other series I had been to around the city that there would be something like one non-fiction reader every third time or something like that, and I wanted to create more space in New York for work in the genre.
At Miss Manhattan, I like to have all styles of non-fiction, too — memoir, essay, storytelling, humor, journalism, you name it, as many types of truth-telling as possible.
What were your initial goals with the series?
Since non-fiction is the kind of writing I do, I wanted space for it, and I also wanted to meet people working in it. I was very early in my freelancing career, maybe three years in, and I wanted to be able to engage with writers I might not have otherwise known.
It was important to me, too, to create a place where good writing is just good writing, so I would have both emerging and established writers — you didn’t need to have a book out to read here, you just had to have great work.
Lastly, I wanted an event that felt accessible, where the spirit matched my own — I’m a bubbly, sassy, outgoing person, and I think literature should be fun, a place to take the work seriously but not ourselves. I think it’s worked so far.
Did you ever envision this would be running for 10 years?
I’m honestly always just so consumed with booking the event from month to month that it definitely crept up on me and has been creeping up on me for the last 10 years!
As much fun as it always is to meet people, I just want to have a good show now. I want the readers to have fun, I want the audience to enjoy themselves, and I want to enjoy myself, too! If none of those things were happening I wouldn’t have wanted to continue. It’s always been a labor of love.
What has made the back room of Niagara a good home for the readings?
I love this space at Niagara because its East Village art and punk roots run deep. In the 1980s, it was A7, famously the site of New York’s hardcore scene — there’s a plaque in the back room detailing all the bands that played there; after that, it was King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, a site of experimental theatre.
We get real cozy and the DIY energy is real. That I get to do my reading in a place like that is such a gift, not to mention the Yoshitomo Nara drawings on the walls of the bar. The staff has been so supportive throughout the years, and I’m grateful the reading continues to have a home there.
What are a few of the 10-year highlights for you?
I’m always looking for new, talented writers, and I’m proud of the times I was right about writers like T Kira Madden and Joel Kim Booster. I also love when really established writers come and have a blast. Joan Juliet Buck, the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue, came to read one night and was cheering everyone on from a seat on the banquette.
What’s wonderful, too, is when people come to the reading as either writers or audience members and keep coming back. They bring their friends, want to read again, or even become friends! I met Naomi Extra that way. I read her work online and loved it, so I invited her to read, and now I’m proud to call her a friend. She’ll be reading at the anniversary, too!
The greatest compliment is when people want to come back for any reason. I’m so glad they’ve found reasons for the last 10 years. Here’s to many more.
The fifth edition of this pre-Thanksgiving local turkey drive took place Friday afternoon on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. (The giveaways in previous years took place at different locations around the neighborhood. Last year's event was at CLLCTV.NYC art space on Third Street.)
Dozens of turkeys were donated to area residents who might need a little extra help this holiday season.
Ko got its start on First Avenue in 2008... and relocated to Extra Place, the pedestrian walkway off of First Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue, in November 2014 (they increased their EP footprint in 2017.)
Ko aside, Extra Place hasn't been too kind to restaurants. However, a spokesperson told Eater that the company will keep the Extra Place outpost: "We are pausing Ko as it currently operates and we hope to have something in the new year in this space."
Meanwhile, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, which moved from the East Village to the Seaport in 2020, closed last month.
Per Eater:
The closure is part of Momofuku's restructuring since Marguerite Zabar Mariscal became CEO of the company in 2019; it includes shifts in its restaurant concepts and upcoming locations, along with an expansion of its pantry products in stores like Whole Foods and Target.
I’ve always liked catching new-to-me music at the local New Colossus Festival, and the 2023 edition was no different.
I was especially keen to hear East Village-based singer-songwriter-composer Franzi Szymkowiak and her band Lukka with Ashley Gonzalez on bass and Simon Fishburn on drums. Lukka’s dreamy and immersive sonic landscape was the perfect fit for an indie-pop/shoegaze showcase at Arlene’s Grocery on March 11...
A few weeks later, I caught up with Franzi in the East Village to talk about growing up in Germany, the rigors of busking, and feeding off the energy of NYC.
You studied classical piano while growing up in Germany. Where did your interest in music originate?
It was mostly my mum who pushed me to take classical piano lessons. I didn’t enjoy it that much as a teenager but I guess years later it paid off when I started writing songs. I started playing and singing my favorite songs, and that’s when something sparked. I guess it was the combination of both that gave me the endorphin rush.
Just as a side fact, I recently found out that my great-grandmother, who was a waitress, would also from time to time grab her guitar and start singing popular German folk songs for her dining guests to make an extra buck. That was in the 1930s, so maybe it’s in the genetics after all.
You taught yourself how to play guitar at age 15. Did you have aspirations to be a musician then or was this more for fun?
I started learning the guitar to be able to sing my favorite songs at the time. I think I knew then that I wanted to make a living as a musician, I just didn’t know how. I got into music from the ’60s back then, I loved the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and other bands from that time period.
If I remember right, I already imagined having my own band to perform my own songs. When I was younger, I hoped to make a living on that but you know it’s really hard nowadays.
You spent years busking around the world. How did that experience shape you? Did you ever tire of the constant hustle?
After I finished high school in Germany, I traveled to Australia and ended up staying there for almost four years. I played a lot in the streets there. I actually got quite professional having an amplified music performance.
Of course, it takes a lot of strength to carry all that shit around the city. I am talking about two big heavy batteries, an electric power converter, an amplifier, a microphone and stand, cables, a keyboard, and a seat. I had one trolley that carried everything.
Once that thing got stuck in between the subway train and the platform, the doors closed and the train started moving but luckily stopped after a couple of seconds. I think that’s when I had enough!
However, playing in the streets connected me to a lot of people, which was great. The experience also taught me not to give a damn what strangers think of me.
January marked your 10th year in NYC. Was it always a goal or dream to live here?
I came to New York when I was 22. Back then I was naively thinking that this is the place to be to ‘make it’ in the music industry, which of course right now I know is not true. But I loved the scene and I connected quickly with really talented artists and musicians who would inspire and support me. I have never been as creative in any other city as here.
I think that the city’s energy feeds you. (I actually have a song “Feed Me” that is derived from that.) The East Village always had a special vibe to me. What I love is that there are so many music venues and lots of live music. Lots of interesting and strange people do walk the streets, it’s entertaining in a way. For me, there is The Accordion Lady, for example, the rock’n’roll guy with the chihuahua dog, the Lady with Pink UV protection visor and too-long toenails. So many characters...I do like that.
You’ve described the tracks on your Something Human record as “heady psychedelia and nostalgic 1980s new wave.” Who have been some bands that influenced you?
Definitely influenced by the ’60s and ’70s bands as I mentioned before The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. After Bowie died, I got heavily influenced by the Trilogy he did in Berlin, and also the people he worked with: Brian Eno, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. That period made me experiment with synths much more. Also, bands like Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra opened my mind to different guitar effect pedals and sounds.
How has Lukka’s sound evolved? What’s next for the band?
I do have all the songs for my third album ready to record. It is going to be much quieter and synth-affected, and the compositions will be more complex. I am not sure how it will all come out in the end. It’s very experimental in a way.
You can catch Lukka on June 1 at Rubulad in Bushwick, and keep up with the band on Instagram.
Superiority Burger rather quietly — and officially! — debuted for a few hours last night in its new home at 119 Avenue A.
The restaurant — "the theoretical vegetable restaurant," per its Instagram account — recently passed all its city inspections and got the gas turned on after 20 long months of city bureaucracy... not to mention planning and renovations here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
Before last night's opening, East Village resident Brooks Headley and his team had been hosting weekend dinners to train staff ... and develop/test out menu items...
For starters, anyone who visited SB's popular previous location, a mostly to-go operation with six seats around the corner on Ninth Street (b. 2015), will be pleased to see that there is ample room inside for dining... and the space looks very similar to the previous tenant — Odessa Restaurant (1995-2020) right down to the tables, chairs, cash register station and soda counter. (The owners of Odessa remain the landlords of 119 Avenue A.)
The new SB has a classic diner look and feel, though, with the Jam, Slant 6 and the Fall on the soundtrack. (Headley played drums in several punk-hardcore bands and seems pleased by the often-obscure playlist not above dropping in a deep cut from A Flock of Seagulls.)
During two recent EVG visits, Headley (below) seemed to be in constant motion, bussing tables, chatting with customers, fiddling with the PA's volume (it's no Key Food, he admitted of the sound system) and inspecting plates of food from the kitchen...
First, a look at some of the menu items... like the Superiority Burger ("Megamouth" size, pickles, muenster cheese, mustard, roast tomato, iceberg, mayo)...
... the Collard Greens Sandwich (slow-braised collards, Cooper sharp cheese, housemade focaccia) ...
... Yuba-Verde (Hodo City yuba, sausaged ceci, broccoli rabe, Matouk's mayo on a roll)...
... twice-baked potato ...
... burnt broccoli salad...
... and there are a lot of desserts... (check the pastry case!) and ample gelato and sorbet...
SB also has a bar — the exact one from Odessa previously — and a bar area for drinks ...
... featuring homemade bar snacks (if you have a quarter)...
Headley is particularly proud of his hard-to-get Suntory Toki highball machine that dispenses super cold and extra fizzy seltzer water — billed on the menu as Best Seltzer Ever ... (and you never know who might be serving it from the bar area)...
The restaurant has many nice touches... from the placemats featuring local businesses...
... and the menu cover that quotes reviews of the first two Ramones records, as seen in a Rolling Stone ad — "Ramones get noticed..." from March 1977 (Headley found the advertisement in a shop in Japan).
Tamara Shopsin and her husband Jason Fulford designed both the placements and the menus...
... to some EV ephemera on the walls... like an ad for See Hear on Seventh Street ... and a photo outside Dojo Restaurant on St. Mark's Place...
For now, SB is open from 5 p.m. to midnight, Thursday through Monday.
Headley said they would add lunch and eventually a breakfast menu later. Oh, and no reservations.
Two-plus months after opening at 163 First Ave., HAGS has temporarily closed due to some issues in the building between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Owners Telly Justice and Camille Lindsley explained the situation in an Instagram post from Friday:
We're so grateful for the outpouring of love and support we’ve received in the short time since HAGS opened its doors. Our team and our guests truly mean the world to us.
Because it's in our nature to be as transparent as humanly possible, we must share the sad news that due to long-standing inherited, unsafe structural damage and plumbing issues in our building, we are temporarily closing HAGS until further notice. Our team and our guests' safety is our utmost priority, so we'll be working with the support of our new landlord to rebuild what needs fixing as quickly as possible. Send us speedy vibes!
HAGS, described as a restaurant "for Queers and everyone else," opened on July 20 with a variety of tasting menus, including a "pay what you can" option on Sundays.
The address is notable to some food aficionados for being where David Chang's Momofuku empire got its start .... first as the home of Noodle Bar (2004) before it moved a few storefronts away... later becoming Momofuku Ko for six years (2008-2014), which moved to a larger space on Extra Place ... and then the first outpost of his Fuku fried chicken sandwich chain (2015-2018).
The retail space had been vacant since Fuku closed in the spring of 2018.
Workers recently removed the construction netting from outside 104 E. 10th St. between Third Avenue and Second Avenue after nearly two years of gut renovations... bringing in to view this home in the St. Mark's Historic District.
MKCA is orchestrating the reinvention and gut renovation of a historic townhouse in the storied St Mark's Historic District for a young family. Abandoned for a generation, the 2,400 brick rowhouse has been rescued from a state of near-structural collapse. The project includes a new sculptural stair, penthouse addition, and interiors that celebrate the historic building while updating it for contemporary family life.
This has long been a residence of interest. As previously reported, the neo-classical townhouse, constructed in 1879, was once the property of reclusive real-estate baron William Gottlieb. It sold in 2013 for $3.5 million to an entity going by North Sydney LLC.
The building had been vacant for years, and the last (and lone) tenant was playwright, poet and performance artist Edgar Oliver.
This article from 1998 in The New York Times suggests that the place could be haunted. But as Oliver said at the time, "The house I do believe is haunted. Alas, it is only with memories."
Check out the links below for more history and photos of the place pre-renovation...
• 14th Street outpost of Bagel Boss likely closed through the end of the year (Wednesday)
• Taking a look at the NW corner of 14th Street and 1st Avenue (Tuesday)
• Joey Bats Café offering a sneak preview outside new Avenue B home (Monday)
• Openings: Beard Papa's on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)
• La Colombe taking over the Allegro Coffee Roasters space at Whole Foods Market® Bowery (Thursday)
• Report: Mermaid Inn to return to 2nd Avenue in 2022 (Wednesday)
... and there was a report of a car fire on Fourth Street west of Avenue D early this morning (4-5) ... EVG reader Jonathan Calvenna shared this photo... no word on how it started... the FDNY was on the scene for close to an hour, we're told...
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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.
The Real Deal is reporting that Madison Realty Capital is moving to foreclose on Real Estate Equities Corp.'s (REEC) leasehold interest at 3 St. Mark’s Place.
Some numbers and background from TRD's report:
Madison has owned the $48 million loan package backed by REEC's East Village property since 2019. The real-estate private equity firm acquired the debt from South Korean financial services firm Hana Financial group, which provided REEC $79.1 million of debt and sold the $48 million portion to Madison Realty Capital.
Madison filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that REEC defaulted on the $48 million mortgage, which combines an acquisition loan and construction loans.
An REEC spokesperson said that they "are working on a recapitalization plan and are optimistic that this will be resolved in the near future."
This is the latest drama for the high-profile corner. As previously reported, a 10-story office building has been in the works here at 3 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue.
With the air-rights transfer, REEC would have been allowed to build 8,386 square feet larger than the current zoning allows on the northeast corner.
Regardless of an extra 8,000 square feet, the project's architect, Morris Adjmi, has said a building of a similar height size would be built as of right.
REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the corner properties for nearly $150 million in November 2017. The Gabay family had owned the buildings for generations.
The previous buildings here, which included retail tenants such as Korilla BBQ, the Continental and McDonald's, were demolished in the summer of 2019.
Over at the northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and Third Avenue, EVG reader Perry K. notes a troubling trend.
The barricades by this construction site keep getting narrower and narrower. I'd say it’s in the range of less than a foot wide now. Totally nuts with how many people get stuck in there trying to pass each other. It seems like a safety hazard.
I have reported this twice to 311, and it was briefly fixed but is now worse than ever.
And that is about a foot (Perry's foot) ...
Not sure at the moment who's responsible for narrowing this pedestrian corridor. There hasn't been much if any, construction activity behind the plywood fence of late.
As previously reported, a 10-story office building is going in at 3 St. Mark's Place at Third Avenue.
This past October, the City Council's Zoning Subcommittee voted down the application by developer Real Estate Equities Corporation (REEC) seeking to transfer air rights from the landmarked4 St. Marks Place to the new building across the street.
With the air-rights transfer, REEC would have been allowed to build 8,386 square feet larger than the current zoning allows on the northeast corner.
Regardless of an extra 8,000 square feet, construction will still happen. The project's architect, Morris Adjmi, has said a building of a similar height size would be built as of right.
REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties here for nearly $150 million in November 2017.
Gallery hours are today through Friday, 11 a.m. (or so) until 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2-7 p.m.
