Thursday's parting shot

Photo by Steven 

A future East Village trivia question: What was the last ad on the south-facing wall at 37 First Ave. before it was demolished? 

Answer: Little Simz for Vans.

Saturday's parting shot

Might be time to revive the Vans of the East Village series... as seen on Avenue B near 12th Street today...(thanks to Sonya for the shot!)

Report: 8 arrested in latest sweep of unhoused encampment on 9th Street

Photo from Sunday by Stacie Joy 

City agencies returned this morning to Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, where a group of unhoused residents has been living in tents under the sidewalk bridge at the former P.S. 64. 

The result: 8 arrests.

Here's more from The New York Times: 

The protest began as dozens of police officers, accompanied by a sanitation crew and a single homeless outreach worker, forced out the people living in the encampment for at least the seventh time in the last six weeks. 

[Tompkins Square Park] has become ground zero to the small but vocal movement protesting Mr. Adams's policies for addressing homelessness. "Housing is a human right, fight, fight, fight," the protesters chanted as police vans pulled up on neighboring streets around 9 a.m., and campers and supporters from a host of mutual aid and tenant activist groups taped off the tents with red packing tape. 

After a standoff, police arrested seven activists and one of the unhoused residents. 

All went willingly except Johnny Grima, 37, a homeless man who has emerged as the public face of the protests. He has been arrested three other times in the last month. 

As officers wrestled him out of his tent, then carried him toward a waiting police van, a protester shouted: "Shame on you. Is that how you treat houseless people?" 

According to city stats cited by the Times, there have been more than 700 cleanups from March 18 to May 1 — many of them of the same site multiple times — and 39 people have accepted the placement into shelters.

Unhoused residents have said that the shelter system is not safe. Read our interviews with some of the Ninth Street residents here.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Report: 2 arrested in latest East Village encampment sweep

• Standoff on 9th Street

• In Tompkins Square Park, speaking out against the city's sweeps of unhoused encampments  

Report: Relief supplies for Ukraine stolen from 2nd Avenue nonprofit

Updated 3/19: The Post published a surveillance video showing two vans and masked thieves taking boxes from the building.

Donations destined for Ukraine have been stolen from an East Village building, according to police and media sources.

The supplies, including 400 bulletproof vests, were taken from the offices of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian National Women's League of America on Second Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street. 

Police responded around 9:15 a.m. to a call of a burglary, the Associated Press reported. 

Per the AP via ABC 7: 

Andrij Dobriansky, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, said last week that the plan was for donated gear to be shipped by air to Poland and then transported into Ukraine. 

The items were most likely to be used by civilian security and medical teams, including citizens who have joined the fight against the Russian military, not Ukrainian soldiers themselves, officials said. 

The Post noted that the used vests were donated by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office. Officials there were working to confirm the report.

Week in Grieview

Posts this week included (with a photo on Second Avenue by Derek Berg)... 

• Airbnb strike: Authorities impound vans used for overnight stays in the East Village (Tuesday) 

• To get Corey Johnson's attention, East River Park activists chain themselves to a tree at City Hall (Wednesday) 

• RIP Faith Laugier (Sunday) 

• MAJOR changes coming to the aisles of Key Food (Wednesday) 

• An early morning visit with NY1's Roger Clark (Thursday) 

• Scone mania: At Mary O's, an Irish blessing and 20,000 pounds of self-raising flour (Tuesday) 

• Volunteers needed for the Loisaida CommUnity Fridge and Pantry (Friday) 

• The Wild Son plans for daytime expansion with a lunch counter next door on 1st Avenue (Monday)

• Police looking for suspect who assaulted an Uber driver on 14th and 3rd (Friday) 

• Gallery Watch: Sei Smith — Portraits of You at Ki Smith Gallery (Wednesday) 

• Openings: Beloved Cafe debuts on Allen Street (Friday) 

• Eastanbul Gyro Kebab and Smyrna Bakery appear to have closed at 200 Allen St. (Friday)

• Metrograph and its Commissary reopen on Ludlow Street (Friday) 

• The Mayfly debuts on East Houston (Wednesday) 

• Danish coffee shop La Cabra debuts on 2nd Avenue (Thursday) 

• Looking at the new mosaics inside the 1st Avenue L stop (Monday) 

• Hellbound: Café de L'Enfer popping up on Avenue A this fall (Thursday) 

• Afternoon bringing Korean hot dogs, mochi doughnuts and croffles to St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

• Good news-bad news for fans of Pouring Ribbons on Avenue B (Sunday) 

• Desi Stop Deli signage arrives on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday) 

• MSCHF on the Bowery (Monday)

• The new-look SW corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street (Wednesday)

Earlier this past week, the landlord painted over part of the mural wall (taking out three murals) on Second Street at First Avenue...

East Village Walls had been curating this spot (at no cost to the landlord) for the past six years. The landlord is apparently using the space now for an advertiser.

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Follow EVG on Instagram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

Airbnb strike: Authorities impound vans used for overnight stays in the East Village

You may have noticed fewer vans parked on East Village streets. 

Late last week, the city Sheriff's office and the NYPD Document Fraud Unit discovered an "operation of alleged fraudulent and illegally registered vehicles being used as Airbnb rentals," Sheriff Joseph Fucito told the New York Post. 

Five of the seven vans, which reportedly had New Jersey plates and expired tags, were parked in the East Village.

Sheriff's Road Patrol Deputies were busy this week impounding seven alleged fraudulent and illegally registered vans being used as Airbnb rentals on various streets in Manhattan. 🛑🚦🚔 pic.twitter.com/rBZ1TBZ2xt

— NYC SHERIFF (@NYCSHERIFF) September 25, 2021

California-based journalist/video creator Uptin Saiidi recently slept in a 1999 Ford Econoline parked on Second Street — for $97 a night. 

Spoiler: He was glad he did this for a night but would never do it again...

   

As for the recently confiscated vans, it wasn't clear if the same person owned all of them. 

Back to the Post:

Sleeping overnight in a van is legal, according to the city's Department of Transportation — provided it’s not parked in the same spot for 24 hours in restricted areas. 

When parking is not otherwise restricted, no person shall park any vehicle in any area, including a residential area, in excess of seven consecutive days, the agency's rules note. 

Fines typically start at $115, the NYPD has said. The Sheriff’s office did not comment further except to say the "investigation in this matter is ongoing."

The van listings have since been removed from Airbnb, per CBS 2. 

A few weeks back, EVG contributor Stacie Joy spoke with this traveler from Toronto who rented a van on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B for $85 a night. (Not sure if the authorities confiscated this van.)

According to Stacie, the guest was excited about this Airbnb adventure. He was not worried about the lack of a bathroom or shower. (The Airbnb host leaves suggestions for nearby businesses to use the restroom and options for showers.)

Stacie climbed in for a moment and noted that it was clean but hot and stuffy. The front seats were empty — and drapes were partitioning them from the bed in the back. The keys also did not work in the ignition.

As ABC-7 noted, authorities dubbed this impounding as — no kidding — "Operation Room Service." 

Thanks to all the readers who shared these links. Top photo via @NYCSHERIFF.

Police searching for suspect in 1st Avenue assault on Wednesday afternoon

Police are searching for a suspect they say critically injured a 59-year-old man after punching him Wednesday afternoon on First Avenue near 12th Street. (Update: Readers say it was actually 11th Street near the Islamic Council of America.)

CBS 2 has a few more details:

Police say the suspect got into a dispute with the 59-year-old victim. Things escalated, and the suspect punched the victim in his left eye. 

The victim fell to the street and knocked his head on the concrete. That left the victim semi-conscious, police said. He suffered a fractured skull and swelling of the brain, according to authorities. 

The victim was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.

Accounts of the assault did not include a description of the suspect (he appears to be wearing checkerboard slip-ons by Vans) ... the NYPD did release this footage last evening...

🚨WANTED for an ASSAULT: On 2/10/21 at approx. 2:51 PM, at 1st Avenue and East 12 Street. The suspect punched a 59 year old male victim in his left eye, knocking him down causing him to be semi-conscious. Any info call or DM NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. Reward up to $2,500. pic.twitter.com/4GTu3d9w5r

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) February 12, 2021

Sunday morning around Union Square

Yesterday's peaceful protests turned chaotic in the late-night hours as demonstrators set fire to nearly a dozen NYPD vehicles around Union Square... it marked the end of the third day of protests against racist police violence in the aftermath of George Floyd's death Monday in Minneapolis.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy surveyed the scene this morning around Union Square, including on University Place where many of the police vehicles — specifically the Homeless Outreach vans — had been parked.

[Updated] Thousands march through East Village streets to protest the death of George Floyd

Protestors fanned out across the city today, including two groups who marched through the East Village late this afternoon.

The protests, like others around the country and NYC in recent days, were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this past Monday.

One group, numbering in the hundreds, entered Tompkins Square Park at Ninth Street... and exited on Seventh Street and Avenue B... Steven shared these photos...















Another group, numbering at least 1,000, with a large NYPD presence following along, entered the East Village via Second Avenue.... EVG reader Ben Lebovitz shared these photos on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street...







The blocks-long assemblage turned on Seventh Street, then went south on First Avenue... these reader photos show the size of the crowd on First Avenue ...





... who stopped on Fifth Street, shouting "Black lives matter" and, "No justice, no peace." The NYPD had blocked off Fifth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, the location of the 9th Precinct.

Peaceful protestors on 1st Avenue at 5th Street near the 9th Precinct pic.twitter.com/yN9O1bqjyR

— evgrieve (@evgrieve) May 30, 2020

The group then moved on to the north.

There were also reports of protestors outside PS4 on Avenue C and Eighth Street.

While the groups in the East Village early this evening were described as peaceful by passersby, ABC 7 reported that there were at least three dozen arrests in the city today related to the various protests.

The Times has more on today's protests here.

Updated 10 p.m.

There are now reports of broken windows along Second Avenue (the TD Bank location at First Street and Le Fournil Bakery at Seventh Street). There are also reports of several burning vehicles around Union Square.

Another NYPD vehicle taken down in Union Square pic.twitter.com/fWrHkFEQDE

— Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) May 31, 2020

My photographer Greg Giglione just took this video of two NYPD Vans being lit on fire, near Union Square. A police officer yells that there are bullets inside and for everyone to stay back. We have heard several mini explosions. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/cl9yLCtLkE

— Natalie Duddridge (@NatDuddridgeTV) May 31, 2020

Union Square #GeorgeFlyod pic.twitter.com/yTyoWUkMOt

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) May 31, 2020

And there are reports of trash-can fires on Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place...

Trash can fires along 2nd Avenue... #unionsquareprotest #nyc #newyorkprotest @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/VJVKMlEm0e

— Maximillian Piras (@MaximillianNYC) May 31, 2020

Updated 11:10 p.m.

Broken windows at the Adidas store on Broadway at Houston via Dave on 7th...

Week in Grieview

[As seen at El Camion]

Posts this week included...

• RIP Ali Yasin (Tuesday)

• RIP George Eshareturi (Thursday)

• Gem Spa will not reopen (Thursday)

• Investigation for excessive force demanded after social-distancing arrests on Avenue D (Monday) ... Caravan protest on Avenue C addresses racial bias and police violence in social-distancing arrests (Friday)

• A rooftop musical salute to frontline workers (Friday)

• A visit to Juicy Lucy on Avenue A (Wednesday)

• Now that the L-train tunnel work is complete, here's what to expect along 14th Street (Monday)

• Making beautiful music: The pandemic-era arias coming from 4th Street (Thursday)

• Checking in on Brooklyn Bean Roastery (Monday)

• Checking in on East Village Meat Market (Tuesday)

• The ballfields are currently locked up in Tompkins Square Park (Monday)

• Help Limited to One stay on their feet with these limited-edition Vans (Tuesday)

• This week's NY See (Thursday)

• Asian Taste is back open (Monday)

• Construction watch: 799 Broadway (Wednesday)

• The East Village Social Distancing All-Stars (Friday)

• A Cool collab (Tuesday)

• Ruffian Wine Bar now selling bottles of wine to go (Tuesday)

• A sign of things to come? (Tuesday)

• Demolition watch: 535 E. 12th St. (Thursday)

• Temakase Hand Roll Bar coming soon to 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

... and a flashback to Thursday's sunrise...



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Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

View this post on Instagram

The most quiet that I can ever remember St. Mark’s Place... can hear the wind thrumming through the trees between 2nd Avenue & 3rd Avenue (looking to the west)... #eastvillage #stmarksplace #thrumming

A post shared by EV Grieve (@evgrieve) on May 9, 2020 at 6:54am PDT

Help Limited to One stay on their feet with these limited-edition Vans

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Limited to One (@limitedtoonenyc) on May 1, 2020 at 2:19pm PDT

Limited to One, the record shop specializing in rare and limited vinyl releases on 10th Street, has teamed up with Vans for a special edition Classic Slip-On.

It's part of the Vans Foot the Bill effort that launched last month to help small businesses nationwide during the COVID-19 crisis.

Owner Kristian Sorge explains how it works via an Instagram post:

"We designed a shoe for Vans and all of the net proceeds go to our small business. Being a mom-and-pop record shop, we order a lot of items for our shop locally or directly from other small businesses such as record labels, t-shirt screen printers ... So when you support us, you support our vinyl community!"

You can customize your own pair via this link.

The temporarily closed shop, located at 221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is also selling vinyl via Instagram these days.

And earlier this year, I interview Kristian for a podcast on JasonCharles.net. You can listen to this show on Spotify here.

Suspect charged in murders of 4 homeless men in Chinatown

Update: Suspect arrested and charged with murder after attacks that killed 4 homeless men in NYC"s Chinatown https://t.co/SuCRtxYVVX

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) October 6, 2019

Several EVG readers shared links to the various published reports about the murders of four men in what police say were random attacks in Chinatown early yesterday morning ... the readers also shared concern about the growing homeless population citywide, including in the East Village. What follows is a recap on what has transpired (the post has been updated)...

The four men and a fifth who was found injured were all believed to be homeless. The victims were brutally assaulted in three different locations around Chatham Square, where East Broadway and the Bowery intersect.



A suspect, named as Rodriguez “Randy” Santos, 24, is in police custody. Police reportedly found Santos, holding a metal pipe, on Canal and Mulberry. He has at least 14 prior arrests, per the Post, and was believed to be homeless.

He is charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of marijuana.

"The motive appears to be, right now, just random attacks," Chief of Manhattan South Detectives Michael Baldassano told reporters, adding that there was no evidence yet to suggest the victims were "targeted by race, age, anything of that nature."

The Times reported this about the streets around Chatham Square:

[T]he area has been changing rapidly in recent years, as Chinatown has expanded and young professionals, many pushed out by higher rents in the East Village, have begun to move in.

The neighborhood is a bustling traffic hub where commuter vans and long-distance buses vie for curb space. Signs for Chinese family and village associations dot the area. But at night it becomes a place where a growing number of homeless people look for a place to grab a night’s sleep on its quiet sidewalks and park benches.

The murders also highlight the city's struggle to combat the growing homeless population. According to statistics from the Bowery Mission cited by the Times, about 1 in 121 New Yorkers is homeless. The Coalition for the Homeless put the number of homeless people in the city’s shelter system in August at 61,674, and an annual count conducted in late January this year estimated that 3,588 people were living on the streets.

The Times noted Mayor de Blasio's "struggle" to address "the problem of the rising number of homeless people and the high rate of mental illness among them." The Post spoke with former Giuliani and Bloomberg administrators who said the growing, more violent homeless population in NYC "rests squarely with current City Hall policies."

“There’s been an increasing tolerance for the homeless on city streets, sidewalks and subway stations during this administration,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy at NYU and a former campaign advisor to Michael Bloomberg.

“The police are disempowered to remove the homeless — and New York has become less aggressive on quality-of-life issues. You used to be penalized for urinating on the street!”

As the Times reported, advocates for the homeless said yesterday's attacks "rattled the already struggling community of homeless people who frequent Chinatown and the Bowery."

Kolkata Chai Cafe aims to bring authentic South Asian vibes to 3rd Street

[EVG reader photo]

It's opening day for Kolkata Chai Cafe at 199 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

The small shop, run by two Bengali-American brothers, will be serving today from 4 to 10 p.m. ... with a menu featuring a variety of masala chai and several snacks ...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kolkata Chai Co. (@kolkatachaico) on Sep 10, 2019 at 9:05am PDT

The owners, siblings Ayan and Ani Sanyal, share their story on the shop's website:

Our parents left Kolkata in 1987 and landed in Massachusetts to fulfill the American dream. Growing up as first-generation Indian Americans — our concept of home was ever-shifting. In 90s America, we listened to hip hop, ate pizza and begged our parents for a pair of Vans sneakers. Every other summer or winter, we’d spend a couple of months in Kolkata. An earth-shattering contrast, there, we would jump in monsoon puddles, eat mangsho-jhol, play cricket in the streets and drink chai everyday.

Food was always better on the streets than it was inside the house. The street wallahs possessed almost magical skills — we claimed they had special sauces and spices that they told no one about. There was a lore to street food. It was democratizing, generational and spoke to all socio-economic levels. We went to the same spots where our mother used to get bhel puri during her college times — where the chef’s father used to serve our grandfather.

Kolkata Chai started with a simple idea: How do we extend the authenticity, respect and tradition behind a cup of masala chai to NYC?

Chai has been repeatedly bastardized and appropriated in the U.S. We’re putting it all on the line to make sure our culture and traditions are represented accurately and honestly. We hope to see you along this journey.

This is the first permanent retail space for the two, who have been catering and offering their Kolkata masala chai via pop-up venues. (In opening this spot, the brother have said they've avoided common "South Asian food tropes.")

Moving forward, Kolkata Chai Cafe will be open Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As for this address, it was home to the taco stand Snack Dragon until 2014 ... and later, the Vector Gallery — aka the Official Gallery of Satan (2016-2017).

Only 178 shopping days left until the L-train shutdown

As you may have heard, read, seen, the MTA yesterday announced that the much-anticipated and long-dreaded (but necessary!) L-train shutdown will begin on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

If you missed this, then here are more details via the MTA news release, shared here...

MTA New York City Transit (MTA NYC Transit) and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) announced new details about what customers can expect ahead of April 2019 when the L train tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn is closed for 15 months for extensive repairs from Superstorm Sandy...

• The L tunnel will close for its 15-month reconstruction on Saturday, April 27, 2019. This means that the last day for L service between 8th Av and Bedford Av in Brooklyn will be Friday, April 26, 2019. L train service will continue throughout Brooklyn, between the Bedford Av station, which will remain open during the tunnel closure, and the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway station.

• The alternative service options for customers, which includes five additional bus routes, a new M14 Select Bus Service on 14th Street and a ferry service, will begin on Sunday, April 21, 2019, to allow for customers to sample and become acclimated to new travel options. The additional subway service on other lines – more than 1,000 additional roundtrips – will begin on April 28, 2019, following the L tunnel closure. Read the full plan for temporary service options in support of the L tunnel reconstruction project.

• Customers will be able to meet in person with MTA NYC Transit and NYCDOT team members to plan their routes, through a series of open houses, pop-up events or one of the three mobile information centers – two vans and a bus – which will make stops to meet with customers. Official dates and times for open houses and schedules for events and the mobile information center locations will be posted on the L tunnel reconstruction website once announced.

• Numerous stations have received or are receiving capacity expansions, with newly reopened or expanded entrances, stairs and corridors. NYCDOT and MTA NYC Transit are coordinating with key City agencies – such as the NYPD, Department of Buildings and Citywide Events Coordination and Management – on aligning City operations with the needs of L train alternate transit services, including working to minimize disruption from construction projects and events.

• The construction for the project is on schedule. In Manhattan, the construction site footprint and hours of work both reduce between 1st Avenue and Avenue A in January 2019. In Brooklyn, most barricades will be removed along with permanent street and sidewalk restoration on Bedford Avenue by early November 2018, and throughout early 2019, work will continue to open and do permanent finishes on the additional stairs, three of four which have already opened for increased capacity.

• Officials are committing to monitor the air for particulates typically caused by diesel emissions, known as PM2.5, and making results publicly available. This is in addition to the air quality monitoring already in place for the project’s construction sites.

• Outreach continues with customers, local residents, local businesses, and elected officials.

“We’re continuing unprecedented efforts at public outreach, responding to local communities and giving as much notice as possible on key dates in this project,” said NYC Transit President Andy Byford. “With the l running as a Brooklyn-only service for 15 months starting after the weekend of April 27, we’ve been hard at work with our partners at NYCDOT and other City agencies to make sure that the alternate train, bus, ferry and bicycle networks work together to get people around successfully.”

“With DOT crews now putting down new street markings for bus lanes and bike lanes, we are deeply committed to having our streets ready for the l tunnel closure next April,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “From a ‘bus bridge’ over the Williamsburg Bridge to the 14th Street Busway, from more Citi Bikes to expanded pedestrian space for displaced l train commuters, we and our MTA partners are up for this enormous challenge.”

For a reminder about remaining L service changes in 2018, visit the L 2018 service notice page. To help customers plan ahead in 2019, new service information details about the L in 2019 include:

Overnight service closures and weekend closures during February, March and April 2019, from 8th Av in Manhattan to Broadway Junction in Brooklyn to prepare the tunnel ahead of the closure and to expedite maintenance on the l tracks remaining in service when the tunnel is closed. Weekend dates scheduled are:
- Feb 2-3
- Feb 9-10
- Feb 16-17
- Feb 23-24
- Mar 2-3
- Mar 9-10
- Mar 16-17
- April 27-28

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

Prepping for the new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th streets

Bike lane line work continues on 12th Street

About that Bill de Blasio-tagged van on East 6th Street

The other evening we noticed this van with the Bill de Blasio tag on it parked on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Turns out the van belongs to Vit Horejs, artistic director of the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre. He owns several vans, all named Molly, to transport theatrical equipment.

According to Bonnie Sue Stein, Vit's friend and director of the nonprofit organization 7 Loaves Inc/GOH Productions, the de Blasio tag arrived about two weeks ago.

"The van was not tagged for weeks when we got it, but as soon as one person started, it hasn't stopped," said Stein, a community organizer in the East Village for more than 30 years. "It's frustrating. Vit says he wishes they did a better job. It's not very well-executed. It's a mess. People have been laughing about the de Blasio tag. And one woman who saw it said we should sell the van to a museum because of the de Blasio tag."

Paint splattering van vandals strike again

Back in January, we noted the above on East Seventh Street near Avenue A... at the time, we weren't sure if it was some kind of van-owner-created art... or vandalism. (Turned out to be vandalism, or whatever you'd like to call throwing paint bombs at vans.)

Fast-forward to yesterday... a resident reports the following...

"This is my van and I found the lovely work this morning. Odd thing is that I moved the van into that spot at 4:30 am and didn't notice it when I left on foot at 11 am."

The resident discovered the splatter upon returning three hours later.

"The paint was still warm and came off a bit when I came back at 2:15 pm. The police [officer] said he noticed it earlier and was wondering if that was intentional. (Ha! No.)

Such a pain in the ass."

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: Jeff Underwood
Occupation: Owner, Continuum Cycles and Bike Shop, Continuum Coffee.
Location: Avenue B, between 12th and 13th.
Time: 4:30 on Friday, May 3.

I moved here from North Carolina in 1999. I’ve ridden bikes my whole life but more seriously since I moved to New York. I raced BMX when I was a kid and rode mountain bikes in North Carolina.

I worked in social work in harm reduction. I helped start the first syringe exchange in harm reduction in the state of North Carolina in 1993. Harm reduction is based on meeting people where they’re at as drug users. Instead of telling people they have to get clean, it’s more about telling them, “you know what, today you are going to use a little less, or you’re going to actually clean yourself before you inject and you’re going to use a clean, new syringe.” Any positive change.

You meet them where they’re at and eventually work to make themselves better and healthier. The concept is weird for people but it works if you do it right. I had my own problems with drugs and ended up addicted to heroin and cocaine and living on the streets for a few years. I lost everything. This was a year after I got here. I lost my girlfriend, I lost my dog, I lost my job. I was in a new city with no family and I relapsed and lost everything.

I had to figure out a way to make a living so I got a job as a bike messenger and I also had a book stand on Avenue A between 5th and 6th. Bike messengers are people from all walks of life. It’s terrible money and it’s a very dangerous job. And people treat messengers like shit. Everyone does. But I was used to that so the job seemed okay.

Working at the book stand, a lot of people would bring me books and stuff and one day someone brought me a bike and said, “See if you can sell this, I’m going back to my hometown.” I fixed the flats on it, cleaned it up a little bit and made $100 on it immediately. So I made business cards and started putting them on the beat up bikes lying around with my pager number from the messenger service, to page me if they wanted the bike fixed or to sell it. That’s how I started. Then I went to a flea market and started working at a shop.

I then got a job in my field again doing homeless outreach. Actually, I was homeless, sleeping by the river, going to a drop-in center, getting showered, cleaned up, putting on my Bowery Residence Community shirt, and running around in vans picking up homeless people at night. They had no idea I was homeless.

I started seeing the positive parts of not using. And it’s interesting because my girlfriend, now of almost 10 years, was working as the coordinator of the Lower East Side syringe exchange. We applied for the same job and she got it. She was Columbia University educated, knows everybody in the field, harm reduction superstar. I was kind of the blue-collar harm reduction superstar junkie. Then she ended up being my boss because I was working as a stipend worker there and we used to come to Tompkins Square Park together to do outreach and that’s where we started hanging out and fell in love.

We broke up for like 6 months, which is when I opened up the store. She called me and I was like, “What? Here I was thinking that you were freezing on the streets. I’m crying at night thinking you were a junkie on the streets and here you are opening a store.”

For me, when you say how did I get clean or off drugs, basically everyone just told me to go fuck myself and I couldn’t deal with the rejection anymore. That was the worst thing in the world. No trust. And now everyone trusts me. The difference is insane. And it’s in the same neighborhood, which is even crazier. Usually people have to leave.

We sell bikes all over the world. We’re not just a bike shop. Continuum Cycles is a bicycle company, Continuum, a Bicycle Shop is the space that you see, I fix bikes, we sell new and used bikes, and then Continuum Coffee is our coffee shop.

I opened the coffee shop a week before the hurricane. We lost a lot, that’s all I have to say. But it’s Spring, we’re here. We have a lot of locals, families, kids. It was funny because no one came in the first few months. They were just walking by not even knowing that we had a cafe here. So I put up the sign for an after-school special for dollar hot chocolate and boom. It was crazy.

I think [a bike share program] is a great idea. Obviously, I do — I own a bike shop, I love to bike, I tell people they should sell their car and buy a bicycle. I also don’t understand the makings of this program enough. So I’m kind of ignorant when I’m complaining.

My first question was, why did it have to be such a huge corporation, and then they told me, “Because the city was not going to pay for it.” Okay, so why couldn’t they say, “New York Bike, sponsored by Citibike,” and not with all big blue letters.

Who knows ... after one year of people riding these heavy bikes they might think, “I want my own bike.” It might help us. I hope that it’s successful. The only thing we can do is sit and wait and see what happens.

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