Concern for the barking dogs at 58 St. Mark's Place

Back in October, an EVG reader wrote in about a seemingly unattended dog (or dogs) coming from somewhere in the shared courtyard toward the west side of the block between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place ... and First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Since then, thanks to some sleuthing, the reader has tracked down the location ... but is stymied by the lack of progress to free the dogs.

I posted on Next Door, where I was able to find a man across the courtyard who had already posted about the dogs, and could identify the building and posted a video of the dogs barking and scratching at the back entrance, as well as someone who had seen the dogs moved into the same building at the time when the barking started. 

Unfortunately, what we learned is that the dogs are being kept in the abandoned unit that formerly was home to Clay Pot at 58 St. Mark's Place. It's empty. So every time I report it to 311, they send a police officer who knocks on the door, no one answers, and they shut the animal neglect ticket. 

The Office of Health and Mental Hygiene isn't answering their phones or returning messages. The barking is near-constant day and night, and obviously very distressed and suffering. I have been posting flyers outside the door, which get ripped off, and I found a ConEd notice this week saying that there was no tenant in the unit but it was still receiving gas, which would be shut off. 

I (and the others on NextDoor) am now worried that if it gets cold again, or if electricity is cut off, those dogs will freeze to death, or die of sheer neglect in the dark.

Is there anything else EV Grieve readers can think of? I have tried 311 and the 92nd St ASPCA (both of which send the complaint to the local NYPD precinct, which knocks and leaves), flyers, Next Door. I'm at wit's end and feel as though I am just waiting for the dogs to die tragically. 

58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second is one of the many East Village buildings scooped up by now-disgraced landlord Raphael (Rafi) Toledano. The building appears to still be in his name, per public records.

In 2017, a subsidiary of lender Madison Realty Capital took over the portfolio while Toledano was mired in bankruptcy proceedings. It's not immediately clear who is managing the building today... or who is keeping the dogs behind an empty restaurant space.

Breaking: Japadog is closing for good after tonight on St. Mark's Place

[January 2012 photo by Bobby Williams]

The Japanese-inspired hot dog restaurant by way of Vancouver opened the first U.S. outlet at 30 St. Mark's Place to great fanfare in January 2012.

And now, word is circulating that Japadog will be closing after business tonight. No reason given at the moment for the closure.

A quick reaction via Twitter…

No more Japadog after today. Sad face. 😢 (at @Japadog w/ 2 others) http://t.co/IkuyBR9Jrn

— Calvin Williams (@ccwii) February 28, 2014

We spotted the listing for the Japadog space yesterday on Craigslist, though we didn't realize the place was closing this quickly:

***Exclusive Listing by Exit Realty Landmark***
Newly renovated restaurant with full basement. Vented both on the grand floor and basement. 9 ft ceiling.
No Key Money.
W & B in place
New 10 Yr Lease available.
1500 sqft, same basement
Wide Front approx 20 ft
3 seasons of outdoor seating

St. Marks Place, located at heart of East Village. Amazing foot traffic.

We'll have more on this later… but if you want one one last umami dog with those bonito flakes, better hurry…

[H/T EVG Facebook friend Leslie Feffer]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cue the long lines: Japadog opening first New York City location on St. Mark's Place

Feltman’s of Coney Island bringing its hot dogs to the William Barnacle Tavern on St. Mark's Place

The revived Feltman's of Coney Island brand will have its first full-time restaurant space starting tomorrow when owner Michael Quinn opens in the William Barnacle Tavern at Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark's Place.

This is the latest step for Quinn, a Brooklyn native and Coney Island historian, to bring Feltman's back. Last summer, Quinn launched several Feltman's pop-up shops, first at Ditmas Park bar Sycamore then later at Augers Well on St. Mark's Place as well as at the Parkside Lounge on East Houston.

Feltman's is named after Charles Feltman, purportedly the inventor of the hot dog as well as the restaurant that was located in Coney Island from 1870-1954. (Read more about Feltman at the Coney Island History Project here.)

Quinn thinks that he has found a good match with Theatre 80 operator Lorcan Otway.

"Lorcan and I are both native New Yorkers and historians who believe in the preservation of NY history and small businesses. It's not often in this hostile environment that you find a landlord who believes in what you are doing and actually wants you there," Quinn said. "We found out that some of the performers who played at Theatre 80 a century ago got their start as singing waiters at Feltman's in Coney Island like Eddie Cantor."

At Theatre 80, Feltman's takes over for the recently departed Crêpes Canaveral.

Quinn, who works on the project with his brother Joseph, also started selling the packaged hot dogs in several NYC retail outlets yesterday.



And there are still plans for opening a Feltman's restaurant in Coney Island ... though it won't be anywhere near as gargantuan as the original block-long endeavor, billed as the world's largest restaurant in the 1920s.

At Theatre 80 between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the Feltman's hours are for now Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Said Quinn: "Lorcan told me that he loves that fact that Feltman's is going from what was the largest restaurant in the world at Coney Island to the smallest kitchen on St. Mark's Place."

Papaya King closes on St. Mark's Place ahead of new development

Papaya King's neon signage came down over the weekend at 3 St. Mark's Place ... marking the end of the hot dog purveyor's four years here... (A Papaya King rep confirmed the closure to me in an email.)



As reported on Friday, Real Estate Equities Corporation is planning to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue to make way for a 7-story office building. That also means the end here at some point for the Continental, Korilla BBQ and E Smoke Shop.

The Papaya King opened in the East Village in May 2013. The original location on Third Avenue and 86th Street and newer spot in downtown Brooklyn remain in service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Papaya King sign going up on St. Mark's Place — right now

Oh-K! Another Korean-style hot-dog chain to give the East Village a go

Oh-K Dog appears to be the next tenant for 36 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

The chain specializing in Korean-style snacks such as stuffed hot dogs and egg toast has this location as "coming soon" on its website. Oh-K Dog also has outposts on Ludlow Street and Seventh Avenue South with several more planned for the city.

Competition for Korean-style hot dogs is heating up around here. Two Hands, which offers Seoul fresh corn dogs, opened on Avenue A and Ninth Street in April ... while Mochinut is opening soon on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

As for this storefront on St. Mark's Place... not much has had success here in recent years. Joe's Steam Rice Roll was the most recent tenant, quietly closing in March. Other concepts here included Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.

H/T Upper West Sider!

K-Dogs and K-pop on St. Mark's Place

Oh K-Dog is opening a branch at 36 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, as we noted last summer. 

This past week, new signage (h/t Steven!) arrived next to the shop that will sell Korean-style snacks such as stuffed hot dogs and egg toast ... for K-pop Albums and Goods. 

People have asked about it... a side business, perhaps? We'll see! There isn't any mention of it on the Oh K-Dog site or social media.

Oh K-Dog also has outposts on Ludlow Street and Seventh Avenue South, with several more planned for the city.

As for this storefront on St. Mark's Place... not much has had success here in recent years. Joe's Steam Rice Roll was the most recent tenant, quietly closing in March 2021. Other concepts included Cheers Cut, the Taiwanese mini-chain of fried foods ... Friterie Belgian Fries ... Fasta ("Pasta Your Way") ... and the $1.50 branch of 2 Bros. Pizza.

Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a photo from the Loisaida Fall Festival on 3rd Street yesterday by Stacie Joy)...

• Tenants crowdfund to aid East Village super critically injured in high-speed car collision (Tuesday) 

• Why the benches were removed from across the street from the 9th Precinct (Monday) 

• The reconstruction of the multipurpose courts in Tompkins Square Park begins on Oct. 16 (Saturday) 

• So the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade will take place this year after all (Wednesday) 

• Thinking about Dennis Edge (Thursday) 

• Tenants and businesses are now without gas at 199 E. 3rd St. (Monday) 

• Here are J. Kathleen White's 2023 dioramas at the 9th Street Community Garden & Park (Friday) 

• Here's the next business for the former Grassroots Tavern space on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday) 

• The Hard Swallow is now closed (Thursday) 

• Posse officially in Effect now with the Beastie Boys on 14th Street and Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Behold this amazing miniature of Mars Bar (Tuesday) 

• Spellbound! It's the return of Hitchcocktober (Tuesday) 

• A Bank of America is checking into the corner of 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Wednesday) 

• Retail spaces at the historic 4 St. Mark's Place are now for rent (Monday)

• In case you felt like seeing this exhibit featuring a classic Lower East Side bagel shop (Tuesday)

• Look at 6 Avenue B now! (Wednesday) 

• The Avenue Cafe bringing pastries and coffee to St. Mark's Place (Thursday) 

• Must be the season of the pop-up Halloween shop on Avenue A (Friday)

• 231 1st Ave. up to its 4th business in the past year (Wednesday) 

• 2 bad signs at Luzzo's on Avenue B (Thursday) 

• House of Munchies debuts on 1st Avenue (Monday) 

...and thank you to everyone for keeping tabs on the tire clamp story... the contraption is now outside the construction office in Tompkins... (photo by Steven)

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Week in Grieview

Posts this past week included (with a waiting room photo at East Village Smiles on Avenue B by Edmund John Dunn)... 

• City using the former St. Brigid School to help asylum seekers with transportation (Tuesday) 

• Honest Chops Butchery has left 9th Street (Friday) 

• A round-up of the old-school Chinese restaurants in the East Village (Wedensday) 

• Checking in on Superiority Burger 6+ months in; weekend breakfast & lunch and Chrissy's Pizza coming soon (Thursday) 

• A "boutique micro hotel" is in the works for this former Bowery flophouse (Monday)

• Openings: Ayat on Avenue C (Tuesday) 

• Report: LLC pays $44 million for the loan to the former P.S. 64 (Wednesday) 

• You will be able to hone your comedy skills at a former 7-Eleven with the Upright Citizens Brigade (Monday) 

• 1 week in on the reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park multipurpose courts (Monday) 

• At the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade (Sunday) 

• 14th Street wishes you an early happy holiday season (Saturday) 

• A bust at LA Convenience on Avenue A (Thursday) 

• Montauk's Memory Motel is popping up on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street (Thursday) 

• This East Village building is now Untitled (Monday) 

• A quick look at Manhattan Pawffice, opening next week at 20 St. Mark's Place (Wednesday) 

• Momofuku Ko is closing in Extra Place (Wednesday) 

... and St. Mark's Place lives thanks to the ongoing events at Village Works at 12 St. Mark's Place... Eden shared this clip from Friday night...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eden Brower (@edenbrower)

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Week in Grieview

[Dog run serenade Friday via Derek Berg]

RIP Brian Fair, owner of Sounds on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

NYPD looking for suspects in apparent random East Ninth Street stabbing (Wednesday)

So you want to buy a tree for the holidays in the East Village (Tuesday)

Danny's Cycles closing East Village location (Monday)

Out and About with artist Tony Feher (Wednesday)

As the Hotel Indigo and Mr. Purple continue efforts to be part of the LES neighborhood (Thursday)

Report: Manhattan’s vacancy rates are highest in the East Village (but rent is still going up) (Thursday)

Jimmy McMillan quits politics (Thursday)

Caffe Bene opens on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

Elected officials call on SantaCon to adopt good-neighbor principles (Monday)

Patricia Field closing her Bowery storefront (Monday)

Construction watch: 22 Bond St./25 Great Jones (Thursday)

What's going behind 43 St. Mark's Place? (Monday)

Biang! is hiring, and looks to be open soon in the former Alder space on Second Avenue (Monday)

Ruffian Wine Bar signage arrives on East Seventh Street (Thursday)

Activity to note at interesting new business coming to East 14th Street (Thursday)

Ramen Zundo-ya opens on East 10th Street (Monday)

Makki Deli & Grocery has closed (Wednesday)

605 E. 11th St. is for sale (Monday)

Week in Grieview

[Seen at Basics Plus on 3rd Avenue yesterday]

Posts this last week included...

• Updating: Coronavirus-related closures and suspensions in the East Village (Friday)

• Updating: Temporary East Village restaurant closings (Friday)

• The Archdiocese of New York cancels church service (Saturday)

• An East Village inventory check (Saturday)

• Checking in on Book Club Bar (Sunday)

• Report of a fire at 138 1st Ave. (Saturday)

• A visit to Russo’s Mozzarella & Pasta (Wednesday)

• Ray celebrates his 87th birthday (Tuesday)

• Bronx Brewery opening an East Village outpost on 2nd Avenue this fall (Thursday)

• Xi'an Famous Foods has closed on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

• First hint of future development at the current home of B Bar & Grill (Thursday)

• Bali Kitchen is back in action, but only on Saturdays and Sundays (Tuesday)

• 130 E. 7th St. sells for more than $20 million (Tuesday)

• More 99-cent pizza for Avenue A; plus hot dog (Wednesday)

• Sally Beauty is now open on 14th Street (Monday)

• Cantilevering condoplex finally reaches the top at 75 1st Ave. (Monday)

• The former Hot Kitchen space is for rent (Thursday)

• Sexyflow moves on from Avenue A (Thursday)

• Resurfacing the sullied sidewalk on 1st Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

• The new-look 107 Avenue C (Wednesday)

• Doctor, doctor: Medical office set for this 3rd Avenue storefront (Tuesday)

• Land of Buddha now open on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

• Bank of America makes it official on East Houston (Monday)

... and longtime East Village resident Daniel Carlson shared these photos from Thursday...







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Feltman's of Coney Island now open on St. Mark's Place

[Joseph Quinn points to the to-go window at 80 St. Mark's Place.]

As a follow-up to yesterday's post... the Feltman's of Coney Island stand is now open for business at the William Barnacle Tavern at Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

You can grab a hot dog to go from the sidewalk window or have one inside the Tavern. Feltman's toppings are sauerkraut, chopped onions, shredded cheddar, chili and their own Spicy Apple Cider Vinegar Mustard. (No ketchup or pump cheese, sorry!) They are also selling Coney Island Knishes.

The revived Feltman's brand is owned by brothers and Brooklyn natives Michael and Joseph Quinn.

The Feltman's hours are for now Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Feltman's is named after Charles Feltman, purportedly the inventor of the hot dog as well as the restaurant that was located in Coney Island from 1870-1954.

Japadog loses it letters on St. Mark's Place

Japadog, the Japanese-inspired hot dog restaurant by way of Vancouver, closed for good Friday on St. Mark's Place.

And the Japadog letters came down yesterday. We were hoping to nab the DOG. Or maybe the PA.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Japadog is closing for good after tonight on St. Mark's Place

Glizzy's has left St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

After a Nov. 1 opening, Glizzy's has already vacated 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. 

Workers were spotted removing contents from the space last week. We're told that Glizzy's will reopen in Soho.

In an Instagram message, the Glizzy's team cited "partner and landlord" issues behind the EV vacate. 

The brand started in Williamsburg in 2022, billing itself as "Brooklyn's best hot dogs." (That Metropolitan Avenue outpost recently closed.)

Meanwhile, Crif Dogs remains the top dog on St. Mark's Place.

Feltman’s of Coney Island bringing its hot dogs to St. Mark's Place starting today

After peddling hot dogs this past summer at a pop-up in Ditmas Park, the owner of the revived Feltman’s of Coney Island brand is bringng his franks to St. Mark's Place.

Starting today, Feltman’s of Coney Island owner and Brooklyn native Michael Quinn will be selling hot dogs at Augers Well, the bar at 115 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Per the Coney Island Blog:

Instead of serving $2 hot dogs as they did all summer Feltman’s will be serving up enormous franks for $5 each, along with their very popular homemade apple cider vinegar mustard, which will be whipped up daily in the Augurs Well kitchen.

Feltman's is named after Charles Feltman, purportedly the inventor of the hot dog as well as the restaurant that was located in Coney Island from 1870-1954. (Read more about Feltman at the Coney Island History Project here.)



Quinn reportedly still plans to reopen a restaurant in Coney Island... but, as the Coney Island Blog notes, "right now he’s having fun telling the Feltman’s story and creating brand recognition." And he will be doing so right next door to Crif Dogs. Of course Feltman's and Nathan's co-exited for more than 40 years in Coney Island...

Week in Grieview

[Avenue A sinkhole photo via Lola Sáenz]

Birthday wishes for Nicholas Figueroa on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

East Village Cheese makes move to Seventh Street official (Sunday)

Excel Art and Framing Store relocating nearby on Third Avenue (Monday)

Rallying for stronger rent regulations in NYC (Wednesday)

Rumors and sales at New York Central Art Supply (Tuesday)

Out and About with Sharon Jane Smith (Wednesday)

Dog walker reportedly traded Sugar for PCP (Sunday)

Work underway on the new residential conversion on East Seventh Street (Friday)

Babu Ji now open on Avenue B (Tuesday)

Residents launch petition to oppose method of operation for Albert Trummer's new cocktail bar on Avenue C (Thursday)

Major changes coming to University Place and East 13th Street (Friday)

Former Mary Help of Christians lot now ready for 82 market-rate condos (Monday)

A mini-pitch for East 12th Street (Tuesday)

Harry & Ida’s Meat and Supply Company now open on Avenue A (Wednesday)

16 affordable apartments now available at the incoming 331 E. Houston St. (Tuesday)

Action in the pits and new renderings along East 14th Street (Monday)

A piano for Astor Place (Monday)

Have you tried the Gnocco-Cafe Pick Me Up combo? (Tuesday)

Cleaning up 444 E. 13th St. (Wednesday)

Construction watch: 321 E. Third St. (Thursday)

Tink's has closed on East Seventh Street (Monday)

Former Luca Bar space for rent on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

At 37 Avenue B, residents want their Credit Union retail tenant to pay more rent (Wednesday)

Fasta closes on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Check out the new butt-friendly Citi Bike seats (Monday)

Drilling at the former Second Avenue BP station (Friday)

Did you lose your dog?

From an EVG Facebook friend:

This sweet dog was found wandering Avenue A this morning, and the owners of the Macaron Parlour on St. Mark's Place have been caring for her until they find her owner.

The store's number is: 212.387.9169

Updated 8:04 p.m.
Dog and owner have been reunited… apparently the dog had gotten loose from a neighbor on St. Mark's Place…

Week in Grieview

[Haunted luggage at Cure Thrift Shop via Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

NYPD installs light tower on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street (Thursday)

New building plans revealed for 3rd Avenue and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Prepping for the new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th streets (Wednesday ... Friday)

Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is back on; new deal puts the pups in East River Park and on ESPN this Oct. 28 (Thursday)

St. Dymphna's closes after 24 years on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Kingsley remains dark on Avenue B (Thursday)

Trader Joe's: No current plans for grocery at 432-438 E. 14th St. (Friday)

Check out this week's NY See strip (Thursday)

Merakia owners swap out the Wayside for Greekito on 12th Street (Monday)


[Photo yesterday from 5th and A]

Diorama time again at the Ninth Street Community Garden & Park (Tuesday)

Councilmember Rivera introducing new bill to protect bike lanes in construction zones (Wednesday)

Black Emperor slated for 2nd Avenue (Monday)

The Tompkins Square Library hosting "A Look Back on the East Village of the 1980s" (Thursday)

Today's special: Milk Money Kitchens bringing food-consulting business to Avenue A (Tuesday)

Coffee probably for St. Mark's and 2nd Avenue, and the rent is still due at the former DF Mavens (Monday)

Lumos Kitchen now appears to be closed for good (Monday)

'Mediterranean fusion' for the former Sugar Cafe on Houston and Allen (Wednesday)

The Coffee Shop closed on Union Square, and what it might mean for NYC's restaurant biz (Tuesday)

Another look at Village Square Pizza, coming soon to Avenue A (Monday)

...and New Menu Item Alert via Peter Brownscombe at Ray's Candy Store, 113 Avenue A... the Nutella Banana Shake...





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There have been 3 big dog attacks in the East Village this month

[Reader photo from Aug. 1]

On Aug. 1, Roberta Bailey was taking her pug, Sidney, to Washington Square Park. Outside her apartment on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, a pit bull with a crusty/traveler who was asleep, lunged at Sidney.

Here's The Villager with the narrative:

“People were bashing the dog on his head with a stick,” she said. “Someone screamed to me, ‘Grab the balls!’ and I squeezed that dog’s balls as hard as I could. He didn’t let go. I tried to pick up his legs, which I was told you’re supposed to do.

Sidney, who was 14, did not survive the attack. You can read the full story here at The Villager, who first reported on the incident. (An EVG reader came across the aftermath of the attack on Aug. 1 and shared the above photo. At the time, the reader was unsure of what happened except for that it was a dog attack.)

In the early morning hours of Aug. 5, Michael Puzzo says he was walking his girlfriend's dog Bobito, a 10-year-old, 9-pound Havanese-Maltese mix, on East Sixth Street near Second Avenue. He spotted a man and his brindle-brown pit bull asleep in the middle of the sidewalk, as Gothamist reported yesterday.

Puzzo says that he started to walk around the "situation" as slowly as possible, but that the dog opened its eyes as soon as Puzzo and his dog came close ("like when you come across a sleeping vampire," Puzzo analogized). "I yanked my dog's harness up like a fuzzy yo-yo and blocked the pit's mouth with my arm," Puzzo said. "It … was pretty fucking bloody and painful. To be bitten by a dog is a very strange feeling. It felt like someone had lit my arm on fire."

Puzzo told Gothamist that he wasn't sure how long the dog had his right arm. The pit bull's owner immediately woke up and eventually got the dog away from Puzzo. Read the whole article here.

Later on Aug. 5, Ed Vassilev was taking Misha, his Vizsla — a Hungarian midsize-breed dog — for a walk on Second Avenue between East Fourth Street and East Fifth Street "when a male pit bull down the block — next to two crusties slumped on the sidewalk, possibly nodding out — set its sights on the smaller dog. The black-and-white pit suddenly took off on a dead run down the empty pavement. It didn’t bark or growl — it just came silently speeding like a missile straight toward them."

As The Villager reported last Thursday:

“It was like from 50 feet away,” Vassilev told The Villager. “That dog saw my dog. He wasn’t on a leash. I picked up my dog. When he jumped up and bit me, it was like it was in slow motion. He got a chunk of my arm. It was brutal. It wasn’t a nip — he bit through my arm,” Vassilev said.

Vassilev, who had to spend several nights at Beth Israel, likely has permanent nerve damage in his left arm.

Read the full article here.

Four days after The Villager reported on this attack, the Post had a story on it yesterday… even stamping the article as an exclusive.



In this version of the story:

All of it could have been avoided if de Blasio were addressing the city’s rising homeless problem, he said.

“A couple of years back, there were homeless people, but I would see the same faces,” Vassilev said.

There wasn't any mention of the mayor in The Villager's version.

As for a dog biting a person, The Villager reports that it is not considered a criminal offense — it's a civil offense.

Updated the headline after multiple readers questioned whether these were actually pit bulls involved in the attacks. The Villager, Gothamist and the Post all identified the dogs as pit bulls.

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: Parker Dulany
Occupation: Musician, Singer in Certain General, Painter
Location: St. Mark's Place at Avenue A
Time: 4:15 p.m. on Monday, March 7

I moved to the city right after school to be a painter, and I ended up being in a band. I moved right here. It was pretty exciting and pretty scary. I came in 1979. I’ve lived right here, appropriately enough in the building [that has] the hot dog that says Eat Me.

I had an art opening almost immediately, about a week or two after I got here. I was lucky enough to be given a chance to show with Club 57, which is that little church [at 57] St. Mark's Place. Ann Magnuson ran it. She gave me my first chance. I didn’t know it, but I had landed… it was sort of like the elite downtown people, with Keith Haring and Jean Michel-Basquiat. I just happened to be one of the people in the show.

I didn’t really know how good my fortune was. That led to being in a lot of openings all over the place. My work is pretty expressionistic. It kind of didn’t fit at all with what they were doing. I mean, they liked it and everything like that. They kind of looked at my stuff and they didn’t know what to make of it.

Then about a year later, I ended up being in a band called Certain General. I had never sang before the band, and now we’ve been around for 30-something years. We made it quite big in Europe, and so we’re going over in about a month.

My ex-girlfriend used to live ... on Avenue B. So in 1981, we would all go and walk across the roofs on Avenue B and climb into the abandoned building, which is now the luxury Christodora House. We would climb the rubble to the roof and nude sunbathe above the apocalypse, with the bridges, World Trade Center, Tompkins Square and the Empire State Building at our naked feet, sort of "Bonfire of the Vanities" shit, listen to the Clash or Spandau Ballet on a beatbox. It was very decadent.

The safest street in the East Village was Seventh between Avenue B and C, because that was heroin strip and there were lookouts everywhere. Anyone came down that street, they were on you. The dealers didn't want any trouble. We didn't do dope, but we rehearsed at Tu Casa, a legendary studio that was on B and 6th.

One time, my guitarist [in Certain General] ran into the studio and said he had been mugged, and both of his guitars had been taken. Everyone fanned out, alerted the locals and ran around the neighborhood. We eventually found the culprits. The guitars were so heavy that the [thieves] couldn't run fast enough to get away and were pooped and sat down. They weren't strong enough, because they were — two teenage girls. I think one of the girls had a knife, but Jesus — teenage girls! Oh my God, it was fucking funny. We give the guitarist shit to this day. We didn't even call the cops it was so embarrassing.

I was just walking through the Park to listen to those kids singing and it was reminding me. I played in Tompkins Square, with the biggest concert ever. It was in 1981 maybe, and it was called Avenue B - the Place to Be, and it was us and the Bush Tetras, and a bunch of other bands. There used to be a bandshell over there. It was a more formal stage. I really liked that. It was a big crowd. It’s on video. It was pretty cool, I have to admit.

I think I’ve always been about just making something. I just can’t be bored, and I’d rather make something than buy something. It was the whole DIY, do it yourself — everything was do it yourself. We just wanted to make something, that’s all.

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

Week in Grieview

[Photo on Astor Place by Derek Berg]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

The owner of East Village Wines says goodbye to the neighborhood (Thursday)

Solar eclipse! (Monday)

Woman pushed onto F train tracks at 2nd Avenue in unprovoked attack; victim in stable condition (Wednesday)

Starbucks signage arrives at incoming Starbucks on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

Out and About with Felix Velazquez (Wednesday)

Landlord makes eviction case against tenant with the Confederate flags, then withdraws (Monday)

Checking in on the former Other Music space, soon to be a health-focused restaurant (Tuesday)

An updated look at that Moxy hotel for 11th Street (Wednesday ... Monday)

From Joey Ramone to Debbie Harry on the Bowery (Friday) And... The Joey Ramone street sign returns to Joey Ramone Place (Thursday)

Thaimee Box brings Thailand's Khao Kang eating culture to 13th Street (Monday)

Capturing lightning on a building (Wednesday)

The Village Voice is ending its print edition (Tuesday)

Montauk Salt Cave now open on 10th Street (Monday)

Watts up with the bright lights inside Key Food? (Monday)

Just For Fen bringing rice noodles to 1st Avenue (Tuesday)

You may now enter and exit Tompkins Square Park at 8th Street and Avenue B (Thursday)

Saltwater now serving on 12th Street (Friday)

Space Mabi sets Sept. 19 opening date on 1st Avenue (Wednesday)

On Target for a summer 2018 opening on 14th Street and Avenue A (Tuesday)

Dec. 1 date set for Boris & Horton, Avenue A's new dog cafe (Thursday)

Pata Negra has closed on 12th Street (Thursday)

A Cheers Cut sneak peek on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Sooooo many "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" filming posts (Thursday)

75 1st Ave. now in bendy thing phase (Thursday)

Look at the former Bowlmor Lanes now (Monday)

... and spotted on Avenue A today...



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