Flashbacks: A wedding at McSorley's Old Ale House!

Photos courtesy of Jason Sheehy 

This past weekend, McSorley's celebrated 170 years at 15 E. Seventh St. near Cooper Square. 

Here's but a piece of the bar's history, which EVG reader Jason Sheehy shared from late last summer. (You may recognize Jason as a proud owner of one of the Gem Spa signs.) 

For starters, McSorley's is the favorite bar in the city for Jason and his girlfriend Regina. 

"The communal tables bring everyone together, and we have met some of our best friends sitting at those tables," he said. 

So when it came time for the wedding, they figured why not hold it in their favorite place. 

The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. before the bar opened for the day this past Aug. 31. There were light and dark mugs of McSorley's and bagels from Tompkins Square Bagels for the 70-plus people from around the country in attendance...

Gregory de la Haba, the co-owner and operator of McSorley's, said the bar has hosted weddings in the past but very rarely. 

"We've had a few of our family and close friends (regulars) get married inside. But only once in a blue moon will we allow [someone] to marry inside ... they must be true regulars — for years — like Jason and Regina," he said, adding with a laugh: Otherwise, we'd be officiating weddings at McSorley's every day."

Said Jason, in the Yankees cap in the photos: "This bar is rich in history, and we are more than excited to be just a tiny part of that."

Investigation for excessive force demanded after social-distancing arrests on Avenue D

An NYPD officer has been placed on modified duty following an ugly confrontation on Saturday afternoon when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated on Avenue D at Ninth Street.

A passerby shot a now-viral video of the encounter. Gothamist spoke with him:

Witness Daquan Owens, who took the video below, said the incident started after plainclothes officers approached a man and a woman talking outside a deli around 5:30 p.m. and ordered them to separate. But Owens says the two people were maintaining a six foot distance in accordance with rules intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"They were social distancing," Owens said in a telephone interview on Sunday. "The girl was standing by the phone booth, the guy was sitting on a milk crate. When the cops pulled up she said he’s not doing anything. They grabbed her and started tussling with her. Then the guy on the milk crate got mad and started yelling at police."

Here's a narrative of the video below:

Owens's video begins as several plainclothes officers attempt to handcuff two people outside the deli at the northeast corner of Avenue D and East 9th Street. At roughly the 35 second mark of the video, one of the officers turns and advances on bystander Donni Wright, 33, pointing a taser at him. Owens says the officer called Wright the n-word, which can be heard at the 37 second mark, and Wright can be heard asking the officer if he used the racial epithet.

"Move the fuck back right now," the officer shouts. "Don’t flex."

Also in circulation: Security footage showing the start of the incident...



According to the Times:

The police said that one man, Shakiem Brunson, was holding a bag of marijuana and became aggressive toward the officers, who moved to arrest him. While he was being handcuffed, a woman, Ashley Serrano, tried to intervene, the police said, and was also arrested.

Donni Wright, a groundskeeper for the NYCHA these past 10 years, was also arrested, and charged with assaulting a police officer.


[Donni Wright, pictured on the street]

The Times identified the officer in the Yankees cap as Francis X. Garcia, who is now on modified duty pending an internal investigation.

The city has paid out at least $182,500 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran who works in the Housing Bureau, the Times uncovered.

As NBC 4 pointed out, the incident "has caught the attention of activists and New York City leaders who have demanded the city enact fair and uniform enforcement of social distancing across all communities."

Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera is demanding an investigation into the use of excessive force.

I’ve contacted NYPD. We have demanded an investigation for excessive force. Regardless of what transpired before the video, what is the justification for the rage? Where's the professionalism and de-escalation tactics we should expect? We will hold these officers accountable. https://t.co/C7js7wl62D

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) May 3, 2020

Meanwhile, David Rankin, a civil rights lawyer representing Wright, told the Times that "the arrest fit within the police department’s long history of violating people’s rights to observe an arrest and called on the officer to be investigated 'fully, quickly, and thoroughly.'"

"The idea that he is doing this without any gloves and no masks, and using profanity and racially charged language, is just completely unacceptable," he said.

Curiosity about the anonymous buyer behind the sale of the Boys' Club Harriman Clubhouse

Last Wednesday, news arrived that "a wealthy, anonymous individual" had purchased the the Boys' Club Harriman Clubhouse on Avenue A and 10th Street.

We had heard rumors in previous weeks of such a transaction; and that the Boys' Club would continue to lease space here for another year.

As for the buyer, per Crain's:

Paul Wolf, a real estate broker and adviser who specializes in working with nonprofits and who represented the foundation, said the buyer wanted to remain anonymous. Wolf said the buyer was planning to sell the property, potentially at a substantial loss, to a nonprofit that would maintain its civic use.

"The goal is to keep this as a community facility," said Wolf, who is co-president of the firm Denham Wolf. "The intent is to sell it to a nonprofit at a lower price than the purchase price."

As the Daily News noted, "The buyer, who bought the land as a foundation, wants to remain anonymous, according to the sources, one of whom said he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of the deal."

The deal here has residents recalling the anonymous donor who came to the rescue of St. Brigid’s on Avenue B and Eighth Street in 2008, sparing the circa-1848 building from demolition and making it possible for the structure to be reopened as a parish church.

Per the Times in May 2008:

The Archdiocese of New York announced on Wednesday that a donor had come forward with an “unexpected but very welcome gift” of $20 million after a private meeting with Cardinal Edward M. Egan, the archbishop of New York.

The gift includes $10 million to restore the building, at 119 Avenue B; $2 million to establish an endowment for the parish “so that it might best meet the religious and spiritual needs of the people living in the community”; and $8 million to support St. Brigid’s School [ed note: closed now as of June 2019] and other Catholic schools in need.

We never heard definitively, but — via the rumor mill — the leading candidates behind saving the church were Irish-American philanthropist Chuck Feeney, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Donald Trump and Mel Gibson. (And Matt Dillon!)

Now various residents and readers are searching for clues behind the identity of the person who bought the Boys' Club building, which opened in 1901.

Public records show that the 7-story building was sold to 287 East 10th Street LLC c/o Denham Wolf Real Estate Services for $31.725 million, as per the "Details" document and page 12 of the deed accessed here.

According to public records, Boys' Club Executive Director Stephen Tosh represented the Boys Club in the sale. Carey Thope (or Thorpe) represented 287 East 10th Street LLC. It's unclear at the moment who Thope/Thorpe is. Interestingly enough, 287 East 10th Street LLC is not listed in the Division of Corporations - New York State Department of State database.



So the searching and guessing will continue.

Meanwhile, Sen. Brad Hoylman shared his thoughts on the developments here. He spoke out against a potential sale last fall with several other local elected officials who had concerns about the loss of the services the Boys' Club provides to the neighborhood:

"Whoever this angel investor is, I want to thank them on behalf of our community. They are saving a century-old community facility from being converted into luxury condos or a high-priced hotel, which sadly has been the real estate narrative for the East Village.

While I wish the Boys’ Club had never put the Harriman Clubhouse on the open market in the first place, I’m grateful to them for finding this angel investor that will allow young people and families in our community to continue to benefit from this splendid facility.

I’m hopeful that the unnamed foundation will work with Community Board 3, elected officials, and other local stakeholders to ensure that community organizations have a place in the new building and that the Boys’ Club, which is reportedly taking space in the building, will decide to stay in this location and continue to provide the essential services it offers to boys and young men."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Conspiracy theories: Who was the anonymous donor behind St. Brigid's $20 million donation?

More speculation on the 'saint' who saved St. Brigid's

Local elected officials urge Boys' Club officials to postpone sale of the Harriman Clubhouse

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019

During noon rally today, local elected officials will seek postponement of Boys' Club building sale

[Updated] Exclusive: The Boys' Club of New York puts the Harriman Clubhouse on the sales market for $32 million

Boys' Club fast tracks sale of East Village clubhouse as final bids are due Oct. 30

RUMOR: The Boys' Club building on 10th and A has a new owner; will remain in use as a nonprofit

Manitoba's has closed

[Reader-submitted photo this evening]

Manitoba's is now closed at 99 Avenue B.

Proprietor Handsome Dick Manitoba confirmed the news about his namesake bar, where framed photos of punk icons lined the walls here between Sixth Street and Seventh Street these past 20 years.

A bar employee said that Tuesday was the last night in business.

Manitoba said that he was in the dark about the official reasons for the closure. In a text exchange via Instagram, Manitoba said that his role of late had been working the front of the house — "greeting people, bringing people in ... telling stories, laughing, watching Yankees games, listening to music." He continued, saying that he "had a big rock-star partner" who had previously suggested that they sell the bar, though a sale never materialized. He said that other people were managing the paperwork and legal matters.

"So my guess — this is not a fact — is [the partner] said just close it down. It’s an educated guess because nobody else had the right to say that unless it was people we owed money to." (There had been financial difficulties in the past stemming in part from a lawsuit involving the Americans with Disabilities Act. A successful crowdfunding campaign in early 2015 helped raise more than $30,000.)

Here's part of a message that Zoe Hansen, a former owner and partner of Manitoba's, wrote on Facebook:

Yes, MANITOBA’S Bar has closed its doors after 20 years. As you all know I managed, & worked from day one with Richard Manitoba to bring a real down & dirty fun Rock N Roll Bar to the East Village. I met Richard in that bar 20 years ago. Many have met their ex's in that one small room after I. Giving it that eternal pivotal moment we can each cherish, or not. However your memory sways, I give respect to a scene now total gone from a once glorious block.

Thank you to my friends who’ve supported the bar over the two decades it survived.

She asked that the press not contact her — that this was her comment on the closing.

For his part, Manitoba called it a "great disappointment that after 20 years I couldn’t keep my bar going in spite of my age — as young and strong as I am."

In a follow-up message, he said that the Manitoba's website will live on.

"In spite of the fact that we’ve closed, we know that people from all over America and all over the world have excitedly entered our doors for 20 years," he said. "This wasn’t a 'bar' to them. It was a special, relaxed home away from home."



Previously on EV Grieve:
Manitoba's is in danger of closing on Avenue B

Tompkins Square Library branch hosts the NYPL's Summer Reading kickoff event

The Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B has the honor of kicking off the NYPL's Summer Reading event on Thursday.

"[This] is a huge deal for us, and it's the first time we've ever had it here," branch manager Corinne Neary told me.

The festivities (mostly) take place in Tompkins Square Park from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (In case of rain, the activities will happen inside the Tompkins Square Library branch.)

Here's more via the EVG inbox... (and find all the activities at this link):

We will have giveaways (including tickets from the New York Yankees,) face painting, tie dye, henna tattoos, photo booths, crafts, games, tech gadgets and more! There will also be visits from Sesame Street, the North Shore Animal League, and a slew of neighborhood organizations.

Sesame Street's Grover will make appearances at 10:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.

10:30 a.m: DJ Dance Party! Get the day started with DJ Carol C, music, bubbles and beach balls!

11 a.m.: Opening Ceremony

11:30 a.m.: Drag Queen Story Hour and author Jessica Love — Join "Julián is a Mermaid" author Jessica Love and Drag Queen Story Hour's Rev. Yolanda for a fabulous literary experience that celebrates diversity, builds empathy and teaches tolerance. For children of all ages.

12pm: MAPS (Music Art Puppet Sound) artists Rachel Sherk and Aaron Rourk will be leading a fun-filled, art-making project for children of any age.

12-1 p.m.: The North Shore Animal League will have some adorable and adoptable animals inside the branch. Stop by the second floor children's room to meet them.

12:30 p.m: Musical Performance: Third Street Music School — Featuring music and dance performances by students from the school.

1:15 p.m.: Dance Performance: LEGACY, a professional Hip-Hop based dance company founded by head director/choreographer Lacey Thomas.

2 p.m.: NYPL Sings — Join us for a fun sing-along with some fantastic librarians!

3 p.m.: Music Performance: RPM, an acoustic improvisational group.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

Report: Suspect arrested in connection with sexual assaults in the East Village dating to 2014

Police have arrested a Brooklyn lawyer suspected in several sexual assaults committed in late 2014 and early 2015, according to multiple published reports.

Per the Daily News:

Rashaun Kelley, 35, is facing multiple burglary, sex abuse and attempted rape charges for sneaking into apartment buildings and trying to force himself on at least three women in the East Village and Harlem, police said. He’s also a suspect in two other similar sexual assaults.

CBS2 reports: "Authorities say they tracked the suspect down as a result of extensive police work."

In each of the attacks, the suspect wore a Yankees cap, as surveillance videos showed.

Updated 8 p.m.

The Daily News has an updated article:

At his arraignment Saturday evening, Kelley — whose brother is an NYPD cop, according to a court source — denied the charges, and said the police case has holes.

“To say it was shaky is being generous,” lawyer Christopher Carrion, a law school friend of Kelley who represented him at his arraignment, said of evidence — including DNA — compiled in the case.

Carrion said one victim viewed a lineup and indicated Kelley looked like her attacker, but that she wasn’t sure.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Police searching for man now suspected of 2 sexual attacks

NYPD looking for suspect in 5 sexual assaults, including 2 in the East Village

A former intern revisits the summer of 1977 on 7th Street

In 1977, Bob Stewart arrived here from Alabama to spend the summer interning for the New York Metropolitan Baptist Association. He spent most of his time that summer on a two-block stretch of Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue D. He lived on Seventh and B.

He also had an Olympus SLR, and he took photos during his internship. A selection of these shots will be on display starting Sunday at the Graffiti Church on Seventh Street. The exhibit, titled "40 Years Ago," includes 20 framed photographs and a video slide show.

Stewart later returned to Seventh Street and Avenue B, where he resided from March 1978 to the spring of 1980.

Stewart, who today is the director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, came back for a visit shortly after his granddaughter was born in 2015.

"That’s what prompted me to pull out the negatives and color slides," he told me in an email. "I realized it’d be 40 years in 2017, so I started working on the project."

The following is an excerpt about the exhibit that he shared...

"I was in college in Birmingham when I was offered the chance to go to New York City for the summer," said Stewart. He jumped at the opportunity, spending 10 weeks on East Seventh Street working alongside several other summer interns.

"Mostly, we did puppet shows and sang songs in one of the small parks between Avenues C and D," Stewart said. "We also took kids on a subway ride to one of the beaches, as well as to a Yankees game."

Stewart used his Olympus SLR to photograph neighborhood kids, as well as his fellow summer interns, who, like Stewart, came from outside the city.

"We were mostly suburban college students, mostly from the South, so entirely unfamiliar with life in the East Village," Stewart said.

One of the young interns Stewart met in 1977 was Taylor Field, a Princeton Seminary student assigned to work in Harlem. Field now serves as pastor of Graffiti Church, which will host the exhibit.

"I remember the heartache, the trashcan fires, and the friendliness of the neighborhood," Taylor said.

Amidst their daily activities, Stewart and his fellow college-age interns — like other residents of the city that summer — had to cope with extraordinary events like the citywide blackout that left entire neighborhoods looted, as well as the threat of serial killer Son of Sam.

"Looking back on that summer, I realize now that we lived through a difficult time in the life of New York City," Stewart said. He recalled seeing a guy get stabbed just down from St. Brigid's School, across the street from Stewart's East Seventh Street apartment.

But most of the weeks were filled with the ordinary, steamy days of a hot New York summer, working with about two dozen "regulars," Stewart said. As the kids got to know Stewart and the other summer interns, they became more trusting of each other.

"Whereas we probably saw each other as very different when we first moved into the neighborhood, by mid-summer we felt at home walking down the street," Stewart said.

Stewart's memories were reignited in 2015 when walking his newborn granddaughter around the neighborhood.

"I recalled having a notebook full of black and white negatives, as well as several small boxes with color slides," all taken during the 1977 summer. Stewart bought a flatbed scanner and started working his way through the acetate sleeves of negatives.

The "40 Years Ago" exhibit opens at 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Graffiti Church, 205 E. Seventh St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

The exhibit is up through Nov. 30. After Sunday's opening, the gallery hours are:

Sundays: 10 a.m. to noon, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Wednesdays: 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Thursdays: 9 to 11 a.m.

Primary victory for Carlina Rivera in District 2 City Council race

In yesterday's Democratic Primary, Carlina Rivera handily won the District 2 race to succeed City Council member Rosie Mendez.

Rivera, a former Mendez staff member who grew up on the Lower East Side, received nearly 61 percent of the vote, according to election information published by NY1.



The seemingly runaway race wasn't without its last-minute drama. In a rare political turn, former New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter reportedly threw his weight behind Ronnie Cho with an endorsement released Monday night.

Turns out that while Jeter may have nice things to say about Cho, he wasn't endorsing him. As the Post followed up: "There was a communications mix-up and a draft release was sent out prematurely."

In addition, supporters of Rivera's opponents on Monday were also peddling since-deleted Facebook photos of her husband, CB3 chair Jamie Rogers, sailing on his father's yacht during races in recent years. Other critics questioned why/how they were living in Section 8 housing. The Villager explores that angle here. Rivera and Rogers both said that "it’s perfectly legal for them to live in the apartment and that their incomes were fully vetted under the requirements of the Section 8 program."

Finally, as The Lo-Down reported, developer Gregg Singer, who owns the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on East Ninth Street, began campaigning against the District 2 candidates, including Rivera, who might try to force his hand at returning the property for community use.

In other election news, Mayor de Blasio won big.



The Villager has other local election results here. According to the Daily News, there was "terrible voter turnout" yesterday.

The Earth School Spring Auction is Saturday (and for a good cause)

The Earth School over on Sixth Street at Avenue B is holding its largest fundraising event of the year on Saturday evening. The Department of Education cut funding for enrichment programs like P.E., music and overnight camping trips a few years back. So the Parents Association raises funds to make up for the deficit. Here are details via the EVG inbox...

This isn't just any adult school fundraiser. This is an underground party with plenty of food & drinks to get you warmed up, live and silent auctions, one-of-a-kind art, live music and later a DJ for dancing the night away! Some of the items up for grabs during the silent and live auctions: NY Marathon Entry, Field Level Tickets to a home Yankees game, Camp Speers One-Week Summer Overnight Camp, One Cup Of Coffee for Life from Madman Espresso, and so much more! All proceeds benefit the kids at The Earth School.

Venue address: Saint Nicholas Hall, 157 Avenue A (corner of 10th Street)
Event dates and times: Saturday, May 6, 6-10pm
Event prices: Admission is $30 (pre-sale at link) and $40 at door (ticket includes food and 2 bar drinks).

Report: Man steals security camera that caught him breaking into an East 14th Street apartment

The NYPD is searching for a suspect they say broke into an apartment on 14th Street near Avenue A, ripping off some electronics as well as the home-security camera that captured him inside the residence.

Via Patch:

According to police, the suspect picked the lock of an apartment on 14th Street near Avenue A and made off with $964 in electronics, including an iPad 4 and a Canary security camera which recorded the incident. The 29-year-old man who lived there was not home at the time of the break-in. The incident happened at 1:37 p.m. on July 22.

The man is very visible on the home security footage, below, and can be seen picking over the electronics on the man's desk before toppling the security camera. He is described as Hispanic, and was wearing a blue Yankees hat, green-striped polo shirt and gray cargo shorts at the time of the burglary.

Per Gothamist: "While the suspect stole the video camera, the footage was kept on the cloud. Thanks, Big Brother!"

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online.

A found collection of photos from the 1980s East Village

The Wall Street Journal today has a short feature on Tony Mangia, a photographer who found a long-lost collection of his photos from the 1980s East Village. (He believed the photos were destroyed during a fire.)

His work, he said, is from the Other Paper, a twice-a-month community newspaper that covered the neighborhood from 1980-1982.

The collection ranges from quiet images of dilapidated buildings to the Ninth Precinct narcotics squad (a crew usually donning Yankees caps known on the street as the “Baseball Team,” according to Mr. Mangia) making a drug bust. The images are reminiscent of a time when the city was “dirty, dangerous and way more interesting than today,” Mr. Mangia said.

You can find the article and a selection of the photos here.

Lucy's will return Aug. 14

Lucy is on her usual summer break here on Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street… back open on Aug. 14…



Meanwhile, a random Lucy's photo from the EVG archives…



As I recall, this photo is from early on a Saturday night last November. Someone asked Lucy to turn on a specific college football game. She found a Yankees Classic on YES and asked if this was OK.

NYPD looking for suspect in 5 sexual assaults, including 2 in the East Village

A man wanted in connection with two sexual assaults in East Village buildings near the FDR last month is also suspected of three other attacks, the NYPD said.

The most recent incident occurred early yesterday morning. As DNAinfo reports:

The man, who was caught on surveillance video wearing a black Yankees baseball cap, most recently snuck up behind a 31-year-old woman as she entered her apartment building near Chrystie Street on Jan. 14 at 2:30 a.m., police said.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her pants down but pushed her away and fled when she screamed, police said.

Gothamist posted video of the suspect.



Here is the latest description of the suspect, via Gothamist: "a black male, approximately 5'4" to 5'11", 20-25-years-old, 150-180 lbs., with a dark complexion."

Gothamist also has details on each attack.

Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online

Shop local tonight

Via the EVG inbox...

Shop local in the East Village tonight. The East Village Independent Merchant Association (EVIMA) is hosting the East Village Holiday Shopping Night, with more than 20 participating local merchants providing promotions and discounts for shoppers from 6-9 pm. A complete list of all participating stores and their deals can be found here.

In addition, the East Village Community Coalition will be holding a community holiday party and teen gift drive for the Women’s Prison Association in their offices (143 Avenue B, in the Christodora House) tonight from 6-10. Suggested gifts include: gloves, scarves, beanies, clothing (including winter coats), movie gift cards, lotions and fragrances (most popular item for girls, sunglasses, earphones and headphones, jewelry, watches, wallets, handbags and messenger bags, backpacks, NY teams merchandise (Mets, Yankees, Nets, Knicks, Rangers, Giants, Jets).

Someone actually paid $57 million for this East Village building

Wow. $57 million for this dorm-looking thing on Third Avenue and East 11th Street? (And you thought that the Yankees overpaid for Beltran!)

Oh, anyway, this 12-story residential thing with retail space hit the market back in April. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that the Benchmark Real Estate Group LLC is the new owner.

Per the Journal:

The mixed-use property has 55 rental apartment units and 10,500 square feet of retail space. The current commercial tenants are the Smith, an American restaurant, Asian market M2M and NY Copy Printing Co.

Benchmark plans to invest money from its $45 million first mortgage to renovate and upgrade the apartment units and increase the retail space by 15% to 20%, said Russell Frahm, head of Mesa West's New York origination team.

The original listing noted that "[a] buyer may wish to expand the residential floor plate above and restore the building above by reskinning glass." And this is the rendering...



Oh boy.

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher

Name: Elissa Jiji
Occupation: Writing Tutor, Member of 4th Street Food Co-op
Location: 4th Street between 2nd and Bowery
Time: Noon on Saturday, July 27

I’ve lived in the neighborhood for around 20 years. I grew up on the Upper East Side. I work at John Jay College as a writing tutor; I’ve always been a fan of words.

I’ve been coming downtown since I was a teenager — we’d go out dancing here all the time. I remember the elevator at Danceteria — that teeny, tiny elevator. I remember when Keith Haring was drawing his drawings in the subway. I miss those places. A couple weeks ago, I was out for a bike ride by the river. We were pulling this sound bike behind us, and stumbled on somebody’s nighttime birthday picnic on the pier. We had a spontaneous dance party with a bunch of people we'd never met — including a three-generation family, all dancing together with their abuela and all of us. This community can surprise you in that way.

I only learned how to ride a bike 10 years ago, in Tompkins Square Park, on the basketball courts. Eventually I branched out from going around in a circle in the basketball court to going around in the Park, and all the older Chinese ladies were going past me and people on the benches were giving me the thumbs up. It was one of the best things I ever did, and now I ride my bike everywhere. I commute to work at Columbus Circle.

This neighborhood feels very much like a neighborhood, and even still, with all the chains and banks and with things disappearing, it still retains its neighborhood aura. This block has a lot of small businesses on it, and a lot of that is the tenant-owned Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, which is our landlord. Several buildings on the block are part of the Cooper Square MHA. They support small, independent businesses. They're very supportive of us, and they like having us on the block.

I’ve been working at the co-op for maybe 15 years. My sister, who lives next door, said, “You should join that food co-op on 4th Street.” It took me awhile to listen to her, but she was right. Once I did, I really liked it. I like being part of something where we make decisions together.

I’ve done a bunch of different jobs at the co-op, from reconciling the till, to training new members to running the meetings. It’s nice not to be bound by having to make a profit; we really try to make stuff affordable. We’ve had a couple of major renovations and projects where we’ve questioned, are we actually going to be able to pull this off, or are we gonna kill each other in the process? It will be two years this fall since we completely ripped out the floor to put in a concrete one, and put in the motors for the refrigeration down in the basement. It was a huge project. Did the stuff fit through the door during that renovation? Apparently not — we had to cut away the lintel and replace it.

The co-op is open to the public and entirely member run, which is not the case with every or even most co-ops. We don’t have a paid staff, and it’s important to us that everybody from the neighborhood can shop. We also give discounts to a bunch of different categories of people — seniors and students, people shopping with EBT cards, and then our members. I think we have between 75 and 90 working members at any given time. There are a fair amount of students and people who were recently students. There are teachers, artists, musicians, at least one nurse, web developers and a cabinet maker. We probably have the highest workload of any co-ops with working members: we’re there two hours a week.

It's also is the kind of place where you see your neighbors all the time, and their kids, and their dogs. Our neighbors, some of them are so sweet. This one lady comes in every time there is a Yankees game — she’s got her lucky chocolate bar that she has to get. You know when there’s a game on because she comes in for it.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Veselka Bowery has closed

After a 17-month run at Avalon Bowery Place, Veselka Bowery has closed, as we first reported yesterday morning. They closed at 4 yesterday, then held some "private event" in the space. (Food for Cheap Trick?)

The consensus among readers and others we talked with: Sad but not surprising. It never seemed all that full. There were attempts to get a bar crowd by showing Yankees games ... Veselka also launched a free pedicab service: "If you don't want to wait for a table at the original Veselka, we will give you a free Pedicab ride to our new restaurant Veselka Bowery."

And we recall an inauspicious opening in October 2011, where Veselka Bowery teamed up with Urban Daddy, who usually champions the likes of Superdive, for a $75 sneak preview tasting menu that includes a "five-course pierogi-and-vodka pairing." (Read the comments from that post.)

At the end of the day, people seemed to just want a diner. But that concept isn't going to work here, at a glass-and-steel factory like Avalon Bowery Place.

Anyway, the food press will likely have some exit interviews with the Veselka folks about what happened here. For now, the signs on the Veselka Bowery door thank people for their patronage, "Love and Light to you all!"

Places where I never watched a baseball game in 2012

Veselka Bowery.

Had always planned to watch a game here during the regular season, which ended Wednesday night for the Yankees. I often saw the chalkboard sign noting the game time. And there are several flat-screen TVs at the bar.

I was going to do a post on watching a game at a seemingly unusual place. The thought of doing this at Second Avenue and East Ninth Street would be very strange.

But I suppose the Bowery branch is trying to build a bar crowd, tap into the increasingly sports-minded neighborhood. The things that you have to do to survive.

Anyway, guess I can go for a playoff game...

Cops looking for fake cops who tried to rob the Waterfront Spa, which actually isn't on a waterfront

This story is making the rounds today. We spotted it first earlier over at Runnin' Scared. The NYPD are looking for two men they say posed as cops at two spa kinda places, including at the oddly named Waterfront Spa on First Avenue at Second Street. (I mean, the Waterfront Spa technically isn't on any waterfront. No?)

Here's the scheme: On Dec. 1, the men entered the business and allegedly flashed badges while asking to review the spa's license. They also asked to see the spa's money.

The spa worker refused. The two reportedly grabbed her arm and fled. (It wasn't clear from the NYPD if the men kept her arm.) They tried this stunt again on Dec. 12 at a spa on St. Nicholas Avenue.

Police say the suspects are 6-foot black males in their 30s. One of the suspects was caught on video wearing a Yankees baseball cap with a light blue jacket and blue jeans. The other had on a light blue hat with a dark jacket and dark pants.

If you have any information about this, then please Tweet about it. Or write a jokey blog post about it. Then call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

There's also surveillance video via the Daily News ...

[Updated] Another East Village corner market closes; 13 and counting for the last year or so

The Fuji Apple deli on First Avenue at 12th Street is the latest corner market to close.

The deli shuttered on Monday. (The space has been on the market — "perfect for any use.")

So many deli/markets have either closed or gone upscale in the last year or so in the East Village that I've lost track...Some of the replacements are just too bland and even more expensive with the ambiance of an airport terminal...

Anyway, let's try to piece this together.

Olympic on First Avenue at 13th Street closed and will become an upscale market...



Roger's Garden on First Avenue between First Street and Second Street closed for renovations back in early January... and is now a new food courty-looking place ...



The market on the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue C closed and reopened as a Wholesome Foods...


[Photo by Bob Arihood]

On Avenue C near Eighth Street, the market/deli just off the corner closed and reopened as a Yankees Deli 2...

Christine's on 10th and C moved and reopened with more upscale items...

Jay's on Avenue C and 11th Street closed and reopened as the Yankees Deli...

The market on 12th Street and Avenue C remains closed...

The East Side Gourmet Deli on the southeast corner of Avenue B and Fourth Street closed and reopened under new ownership...



Across the street, Finest Pizza and Deli closed last June.... and reopened as the East Village Finest Deli......



The Houston Deli & Grocery on Avenue A and Houston closed to make room for the new fancy Union Market...

The market that took over half of the Dunkin Donuts space on Second Avenue closed and is now part of the liquor store.

And how could I have forgotten this... Graceland on the corner of Avenue A and Second Street...



I'm sure there are more just from the last year (not including the fire-stricken Stuyvesant Grocery on A and 14th Street or East Village Farms on Second Avenue and Fourth Street.) Let me know what I'm forgetting...