Things to do on a nice spring day: Buy something from an independent bookstore

An EV Grieve reader sends along the following e-mail...

St Mark's Bookshop is my favorite bookstore. They've been a gathering place for authors and readers on the cutting edge of literature, politics, art, and cultural theory for over 32 years now. And they're facing a daunting retail economy at the moment. I'm challenging my friends to SUPPORT ST MARK'S BOOKSHOP *TODAY* by buying a book (or 2, or 5) Today, if you are so moved.

Stop by the store on 3rd Avenue, call them up at 212-260-7853, or check out St Mark's Web site:

A FEW BOOK SUGGESTIONS:

JUST KIDS, by Patti Smith, a memoir about her young days with Robert Mapplethorpe, *SIGNED*, $27 (they're actually now out of signed copies...)

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, a novel of New York in the 1970s by Colum McCann, $15

"STORE FRONT: The Disappearing Face of New York" A beautiful and heartbreaking book of photography by James T. Murray, Karla L. Murray, $65

A new book of poetry, BORIS BY THE SEA, by Ugly Duckling Presse editor, Matvei Yankelevich, SIGNED, $14

THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE, a memoir of a journey from surviving a heartbreaking Jamaican childhood to discovering her voice, by Brooklyn performance artist and Def Jam poet, Staceyann Chin.

THIS IS BERLIN NOT NEW YORK, a DVD about 10 underground New York artists traveling to Berlin to make art and friends. $16

Thank you for that e-mail... of course, there are many fine independent book shops around...such as East Village books...



And Bluestockings on Allen Street...Here's a list of independent book sellers in NYC. And this is a favorite topic of Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. He has written extensively about the loss of stores, particularly in the West Village. Here's a post on the new location of Left Bank Books.

Seizure be damned! Mary Ann's back open

Yesterday morning, we snapped some photos of the fresh "seized" stickers on Mary Ann's at Second Avenue and Fifth Street... EV Grieve reader Peter e-mailed to say the Mexican eatery was still closed as of the afternoon...but returning to the corner last night after 9...



"They were open and completely full up. I guess they paid
their bills!"

Sniff and the tears

Filming a cafe scene at the former Astor Place Starbucks

And hey! James Van Der Beek called. He wants his "Dawson's Creek" look back.

Third Avenue, 11:01 a.m., March 19

Oh, there is a spring break vibe outside. Feels like one of those days. Shenanigans galore.

Mary Ann's seized; Fifth Street and Second Avenue a jinxed location for eateries?

As Eater first reported last night, Mary Ann's on Second Avenue at Fifth Street has been seized...




Tough corner these days, apparently... as you'll recall, the Moonstruck Diner on the northeast corner briefly closed in February... And on the northwest corner, Rhong Tiam East/Kurve...and we don't even know where to begin... Kurve was briefly shuttered last November

Best sidewalk cafe from which to start your own restaurant

As we exclusively reported, it will be sunny and warmish-for-March out today and tomorrow. Which means many people will be taking to sidewalk cafes for eats and drinks and stuff. And there are many fine sidewalk cafes hereabouts ... and many of them make it awfully easy to borrow something from a table while walking by...as if management thinks they're operating somewhere other than a huge city....




To our continued amazement, nothing beats Gemma at the Bowery Hotel for pure potential lawlessness... Management really makes it tempting to borrow a table setting or two... At certain parts of the day, things are left unattended...



We've walked by so many times that, by now, we could have enough stuff to open our own restaurant... (patrons not included)



And we'll be charging $32 for the scrambled eggs. Not that we approve of serving $32 eggs ... or borrowing stuff from restaurants -- best to leave the stuff alone.

Related reading:
A Sign of Spring on Avenue A : L.E.S. Jewels Absconds With a Pitcher Full of Sangria From Yuca Bar's Window ... and Drinks It All Too (Neither More Nor Less)

Black Market opens its gates

Last month, the former Pizza Shop on Avenue A became Black Market... And the owners reportedly planned to keep the iron gates down even when they were open...

Now, though, the gates are up... making it look more inviting for commoners who aren't Bono or Michael Stipe or the Olsen Twins...



Meanwhile, given the recent parade of bold-faced names, a few people wondered if any of them ventured over to Ray's afterwards... perhaps they read about his troubles in the Times and want to help out a neighborhood institution...

Auditing the Federal Reserve's response to graffiti

As we reported last week, someone tagged the Federal Reserve building in the Financial District last week with the words "audit me." We watched last Thursday as a Fed Graffiti Removal team worked dilligently to remove the offending comment.



When we checked back in, the always-classy poster board and duct tape were back up on the wall...along with a few warning pylons.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Federal Reserve tagged

East River Park Bandshell 1992-93

I really like these photos of the old East River Park Bandshell (circa 1992-93) that were taken by Jen Williams (aka beatricethecat)...





The venue was refurbished in 2001 with, randomly enough, the help of Erin Brockovich.

And Jenn has more photos on her Flickr page.

Painting of Ronald McDonald's long-lost half brother surfaces on Avenue C

Spotted at 11th Street and Avenue C.

Reminders: Bake-in Rally at City Hall today

Parents whose children attend the East Village Community School, one of four progressive public schools in the East Village, are among the organizers of a bake-in (not that kind) at City Hall this afternoon.

A quick overview:

On Thursday March 18th there will be a protest against Regulation A-812, limiting the sales of home-baked goods at public school bake sales. It’s from 4-6pm at City Hall. Activist parents will have two tables: one with home-baked goods, and another with the “approved” items: Doritos, Fritos, Pop-Tarts, and Snapple.

EV resident Marjorie Ingall has more on the issue on her blog. And there's more information here on NYC Green Schools.

City workers remove holiday lights before Easter comes calling

City workers have arrived at Tompkins Square Park this morning to remove the holiday lights... really.

Previously on EV Grieve:
On St. Patrick's Day, a Christmas miracle in Tompkins Square Park

When High Society hits the Doghouse Saloon

So you may or may not know about CW's docu-reality show "High Society," which, according to the description, follows "Tinsley Mortimer, New York's most talked-about 'Park Avenue Princess,' as she and her circle of often-controversial friends circulate through New York's most prestigious black-tie affairs, outrageous parties and fashion exclusives, with never-before-seen access from behind the velvet rope."

In last night's episode, resident alleged racist homophobe and dumb-thing-sayer Jules Kirby went to the Doghouse Saloon on Orchard Street. And Emily Exton at Entertainment Weekly recaps some excerpts from Jules:

“Every now and again I like to go downtown and like hang out with poor guys.”

“For a couple of uptown girls it is like sort of slumming going downtown. We like to toy with guys. Like, a girl who walks into a bar with heels there, it’s like unheard of.”

“It’s fun to go hang out with blue collar people at a scummy bar. They do fratty things like play beer pong.”

“The best thing about going to like a downtown bar like that is that it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day; we can just like leave after sort of screwing with them.”

Outside, her friend Cleo asked a passerby for a cigarette, Jules quickly scolded her, saying: “People like don’t have jobs and stuff down here!”

If this was scripted for Jules, then it's lame. We can do better! Oh, and if she really said this?

On St. Patrick's Day, a Christmas miracle in Tompkins Square Park

Upon walking in Tompkins Square Park last night... I was, quite frankly, not surprised, to see the holiday tree all lit up for the first time in a few months...




I noticed in January that no one had actually ever removed all the lights... and the extension cord was still lying there...




So, a fellow decided to take a rest under the tree last evening, and he apparently plugged in the tree...

Spot wants liquor license; promises not to attract "inebriated college kids or troublesome drunkards"

Upscale dessert spot, uh, Spot at 13 St. Mark's Place opened last fall... and they're looking to obtain a liquor license "to add dessert wines and mixed drinks to compliment" their Spot desserts... (They're looking for a license within a resolution area...a block that already has like 22 liquor licenses...) So management put up letters around St. Mark's Place to reassure residents that they won't become "another bar"... you can click on the image below for a better read.

St. Superdivey's Day

Walked by Superdive last night... even though their winter hours are posted Thursday through Saturday... the place was open... at 8ish, four people were there, that's awfully early for this place... still, I couldn't help wonder why the back part of the bar was draped off...

Something new to obsess about on Seventh Street!

As you may know, we spent an inordinate amount of some time discussing the Seventh Street Tumor©. Then, Jeremiah Moss got the international exclusive: Tokio 7 was moving in.

So now what can we do to help pass the time?

A-ha! Yesterday, a construction crew was inside the former Tokio 7 space up the street...pretty much gutting the space...



What will go in here now? To be continued...

Asbestos removal starting at St. Brigid's

And Mrs. Grieve thought it would be funny to take my picture while I was taking a picture...

Concert to benefit Haiti this Saturday at the Second Street Cathedral

Father Calin passed along the following information to us...

As part of an ongoing effort to help the suffering and the homeless of Haiti, the Second Street Cathedral will host a Benefit Concert on Saturday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the concert will go to aid Haiti’s people in their hour of need. A Vespers service with special petitions for the Haitian people and the relief workers will precede the concert.

This event features the world premier of a new Passion Cantata incorporating hymns of the Crucifixion from Good Friday. The music is based on ancient Russian and Georgian chant, sung a cappella in English. The Cantata was written by composer Robert Sirico specifically for this occasion. The concert will be directed by Juilliard-trained musician Nicholas Reeves, and performed by a select chamber choir formed for this concert.

Second Street Cathedral has a history of supporting the community through music. After 9/11, the parish raised over $20,000 for local firefighters through a similar concert and campaign.

To ensure this event is just as successful, we are reaching out to everyone in our community and neighbors of all faiths to come hear the prayers for Haiti. Concertgoers will be asked for a $20 donation, 100% of which will go to the people of Haiti.

WHAT: Passion Cantata: Concert to Benefit the People of Haiti
WHEN: Saturday, March 20 2010 (5:30 Vespers service; 7:30 Concert)
WHERE: Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection
59 East Second Street (between First & Second Avenues)

The Dance Tracks sign will be replaced

The Monk Thrift shop is now open for business on Third Street in the former home of Dance Tracks, whose sign still graces the storefront... We were curious if Monk would keep the Dance Tracks sign...



The owner told a tipster that yes, absolutely, Monk would be removing the sign. "Just as soon as I get the money. Right now I'm broke."

A Christmas miracle!

Someone turned on the Tompkins Square Park holiday lights tonight... we'll have more on this in the morning... Meanwhile, let's go caroling!

Mosaic Man short is the winner!

Nice! Earlier today, we mentioned film student Elvis Maynard's Mosaic Man documentary was in the running to be shown on PBS Saturday... and the voters decided!



We'll need to figure out show times...

Thanks to Gothamist for picking it up... and to East Village Feed for letting us know aboutit in the first place...

Help a Mosaic Man short get aired on PBS

Elvis Maynard, a film student at Hunter College, has made a short documentary about Jim Power, the Mosaic Man.

Jim - An East Village Story from Elvis Maynard on Vimeo.

To help this film get on PBS this Saturday, go here to vote for it. Voting ends today at 5 p.m. (Yes, we just found out about this ourselves...)

Thanks to East Village Feed for the tip!

So, what's doing at McSorley's today?

Eater intern Thomas Garry has been live blogging all day from McSorley's.

Sample:

10:23: People standing at the bar at least two to three people deep. Nearly impossible to get to the bar to order. Some resorting to buying from people sitting at tables full of beer.

Meanwhile, EV Heave is on High Alert until the threat perception subsides, sometime likely never.

Cooper Union being used to sell studio apartment

This new listing for some studio at 64 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue got our attention... Just look at that exterior!



We were excited for a moment... We thought the studio might be inside the Coop! Look at the description:

SAINT MARKS PLACE IS THE HOT SPOT DOWNTOWN! hIGH CEILINGS, CENTRALLY LOCATED AND AFFORDABLE MAKE THIS AN EASY DECISION.

Hot spot? Sure! High ceilings? Hell yeah! Centrally located? Why not? Affordable? No tuition!

Anyway, CitiHabitats might expect a call from George Campbell Jr. some time here soon.

P.S.
The studio is $1,600 ... this is affordable?

Live like you're in the villas of the South of France and the Hamptons on East Sixth Street

Now here's a fine home for rent at 319 E. 6th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...






You get 10 rooms... for $20,000 a month... According to the brand new listing:

East Village townhouse built 20' x 68' with a four-story extension. The enclosed front courtyard leads to an elegant and expansive home with interiors more often found in the villas of the South of France and the Hamptons. Amenities are numerous, and include superb Southern light with views of a quiet tree-lined street and peaceful rear garden. This beautiful home is equipped with multi-zone heating and air conditioning; radiant heat floors in 6 of the white tile and marble baths; Siberian oak plank flooring; inlaid hardwood floors, casement style steel and glass French doors; recessed lighting; newly restored mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; a video security system, topped off with an irresistible surround-view roof top terrace.

And no charge for the aroma from the restaurants below...

Caffe Pepe Rosso is now Cotto Caffe on Avenue C

Last May, we reported that Caffe Pepe Rosso was on the market... In recent days, a new awning has appeared at the Italian eatery on Avenue C at Eighth Street...




It's our understanding that a new owner came along last summer... (And there used to be an Italian place called Cotto a few doors to the north... same owner?)

Holy guacamole! Union Square's Chipotle opens tomorrow

The Chipotle Mexican Grill on 14th Street and Irving Place opens tomorrow, as the sign says.... Last evening, the place was open to people with some sort of pass or coupon or something.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Spotted last night on Avenue C and Ninth Street.