[Photos courtesy of Blue Glass]
Thursday, August 26, 2010
C'mon you guys — really, keep this door closed! No, seriously...
Despite some apparent thievery at the Theatre for the New City through the East 10th Street doorway, people just wanna keep the door open anyway...
[Photos courtesy of Blue Glass]
[Photos courtesy of Blue Glass]
Rhong Tiam pretty much not fooling anyone
The sign remains even though workers were removing appliances yesterday...
The thai eatery has been closed now for nearly three weeks here on Fifth Street and Second Avenue. Unless it's one helluva private party...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over
The Babe Ruth of...Babe Ruth
Came across some previously unpublished photos of Babe Ruth on LIFE.com. Per the website:
Babe Ruth, the most famous and, arguably, the most beloved player to ever wear a baseball uniform, died of cancer on August 16, 1948 -- two months after his final public appearance at Yankee Stadium. On that gray June day when, gravely ill, he last put on the pinstripes (above), 60,000 people filled "The House That Ruth Built" — to watch as his famous No. 3 was retired, and pay tribute to a man who had given so many fans so many thrills for so many years. LIFE magazine's Ralph Morse was there, chronicling Ruth's final moments in the public eye; now, in this gallery, LIFE.com presents rare and unpublished photos from that day. Morse — 93 years old, and as sharp as ever — recently spoke with LIFE and recalled what it was like to photograph one of the 20th century's greatest athletes as the Babe said his final, poignant goodbye. Pictured: Babe Ruth, 53 years old, in front of his locker at Yankee Stadium, June 13, 1948.
Speaking of The House That Ruth Built.... Have you seen it lately? It's a giant pit.
Ex Yankee Stadium, indeed....
Cat woman crime caper now more awesome
Purr (hahaha) the Post:
It wasn't a purr-fect crime after all.
Sources said last night that cops had caged the "Cat Lady," the serial stick-up artist who dons clever disguises — including a cat mask — to rob high-end boutiques around the city.
The suspect was identified as Shanna Spalding, 28, of Queens, who sings with a death-metal band called Divine Infamy under her stage name, Purgatory.
Among other things, she allegedly robbed the Arch shoe store on Astor Place, thus barely making this an item of interest to this site.
The band has a gig Saturday in Brooklyn too.
The Fallen Queen, In Forsaken Times by Divine Infamy
Previously on EV Grieve:
Summer crime season off to a credible start
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Breaking! The Shepard Fairey mural is gone
Houston and The Bowery. Workers removed the vandalized illegal ad today. Previously. Stay tuned for our retrospective!
Another victim claimed in the relentless East Village FroYo wars
East Village Feed has the scoop, so to speak: Red Mango on St. Mark's Place has shuttered! And EVF got a response from the Red Mango corporate office on why:
Dear Loyal Red Mango Fan,
Thank you for your email. To help answer your question, we are focusing our efforts on locations that align with our strategic growth plan. The St. Mark’s location no longer meets our long-term goals, so we have made the decision to close the location. We are always looking to expand to new areas and encourage you to check our website for updates announcing new locations (www.redmangousa.com).
Anyway, maybe this is some kind of Hilly karma... Red Mango took over the site of the old CBGB shop. I even made a joke on March 29, 2008, that the old CBGB shop would probably become a FroYo place. And looked what happened!
8th Street Unearthed up for grabs
The poster here used to be hanging at the police precinct at Eighth Street and Avenue C with historical artifacts and such. A reader salvaged it from the trash after the cops threw it away. He cleaned it up and has had it on his apartment wall ever since.
Anyway, he's moving... and he'd like the poster to stay in the neighborhood. As he describes:
"It's a really cool map of downtown with a 'You are here' marker at 8th and C and a bit of history of the neighborhood on the side. Probably about 3.5' x 3'. Its thick and heavy, needs to be mounted with screws."
(Unfortunately, the map is outdated, and DOES NOT include a marker for when German World Cup fans commandeered a fire truck on Seventh and C...)
Uh, but seriously....He figured he'd find a better neighborhood taker via EV Grieve than Craigslist ... or just leaving it on the street. If you're interested, then you can leave your e-mail in the comments... or, you can send me an e-mail and I'll pass your info on.... grieve98@gmail.com [Updated 6:26: Looks as if we have a taker...]
Allen Ginsberg's former 12th Street apartment now on the market
The Allen Ginsberg Project recently had the chance to see Ginsberg's longtime home at 437 E. 12th St. — up on the fourth floor. As Jill reported at Blah Blog Blah back in June, Ginsberg's apartment — where he lived from 1975 to 1996 — is being renovated. (He had three apartments in the building: this one in which he lived; one in which he worked; and one that he sublet to friends and students. As NYC Songlines notes, he lived here longer than any other home in New York.)
Jill's friend, whose apartment looked into Ginsberg's kitchen, shared some memories in June about her neighbor here between First Avenue and Avenue A. "We didn't bother with each other much, but he'd take photos of my shirtless carpenter boyfriend when he'd use the fire escape for an impromptu workshop. You never knew who'd be gathered around his kitchen table: a PBS film crew, a minion of men with black garb and payis chanting Sabbath prayers, etc. I never took photos of him, but Allen with his robe open illuminated by refrigerator light is burned into my retina, for better or worse! After he left, I found myself missing him."
Peter Orlovsky, the poet and longtime partner of Ginsberg, stayed in the apartment up until about a year ago, I was told. (Orlovsky died this past May of lung cancer at a respite care center in Williston, Vermont.) The apartment sat empty for nearly a year before the renovations started late in the spring.
Here's a photo that The Allen Ginsberg Project took a few weeks ago... along with one of Ginsberg's own shots...
The Ginsberg caption reads: "View out my kitchen window August 18 1984, familiar Manhattan back-yard, wet brick-walled Atlantis sea garden's Alianthus (stinkweed Tree of Heaven) boughs waiving in rainy breeze, Stuyvesant Town's roof two blocks north on 14th Street - I focused on the raindrops on the clothesline." [Allen Ginsberg Estate]
I figured this apartment was probably ready to hit the market. I contacted Dmitry (Daniel) Kramp, Kramp Residential Team, City Connection Realty Inc., who has been renting some of the other renovated apartments in the building.
I asked him when the apartment might be available for rent and if the listing will include a mention of its former occupant. Kramp responded, saying he wasn't sure if Ginsberg's name would be referenced since he already had a suitor lined up for the apartment.
Later, though, Kramp sent along the listing, which includes a line about Ginsberg, as well as photos of the renovated space. The apartment is going for $1,750.
Harry Smith stayed here for nine months in 1985 while he recovered from an accident. The small spare room he used (dubbed "Harry's Room") has been converted into a bathroom.
Through the years, this building has been host to an array of poets, musicians and artists.... some of whom are in the photo below...
Via: Edith Ginsberg, Cliff Fyman, Bob Rosenthal, Allen Ginsberg, John Godfey, Steven Taylor, Peter Orlovsky, Greg Masters, Michael Scholnick, in front of 437 E. 12th St., where all except Edith lived. Nov. 14, 1982. photo: c. Stephen Shames.
Among the many other notables.... Arthur Russell lived here for many years... ditto for Richard Hell.
Despite all this history, I'm not sure what kind of spirit, if any, can still exist in such an extensively renovated apartment, a place where Ginsberg, Orlovsky and assorted guests such as Herbert Huncke and William Burroughs held forth around a crowded kitchen table.
As Jill's neighbor wrote back in June: "Soon I'll look out at yet another set of white mini-blinds behind cheap replacement windows, illuminated by halogen floor lamp, with soundtrack by yet another long-past-teenage idiot amping-up to "Baba O'Reilly" as irony sails over his head and out into the beer-soaked night."
For further reading:
Howl (Blah Blog Blah)
The Allen Ginsberg Project
Via: Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Louis Cartwright, Herbert Huncke, William Burroughs, Allen & Peter's new apartment, 437 E. 12th St., New York City, December 1975. Photographer unknown.
Jill's friend, whose apartment looked into Ginsberg's kitchen, shared some memories in June about her neighbor here between First Avenue and Avenue A. "We didn't bother with each other much, but he'd take photos of my shirtless carpenter boyfriend when he'd use the fire escape for an impromptu workshop. You never knew who'd be gathered around his kitchen table: a PBS film crew, a minion of men with black garb and payis chanting Sabbath prayers, etc. I never took photos of him, but Allen with his robe open illuminated by refrigerator light is burned into my retina, for better or worse! After he left, I found myself missing him."
Peter Orlovsky, the poet and longtime partner of Ginsberg, stayed in the apartment up until about a year ago, I was told. (Orlovsky died this past May of lung cancer at a respite care center in Williston, Vermont.) The apartment sat empty for nearly a year before the renovations started late in the spring.
Here's a photo that The Allen Ginsberg Project took a few weeks ago... along with one of Ginsberg's own shots...
The Ginsberg caption reads: "View out my kitchen window August 18 1984, familiar Manhattan back-yard, wet brick-walled Atlantis sea garden's Alianthus (stinkweed Tree of Heaven) boughs waiving in rainy breeze, Stuyvesant Town's roof two blocks north on 14th Street - I focused on the raindrops on the clothesline." [Allen Ginsberg Estate]
I figured this apartment was probably ready to hit the market. I contacted Dmitry (Daniel) Kramp, Kramp Residential Team, City Connection Realty Inc., who has been renting some of the other renovated apartments in the building.
I asked him when the apartment might be available for rent and if the listing will include a mention of its former occupant. Kramp responded, saying he wasn't sure if Ginsberg's name would be referenced since he already had a suitor lined up for the apartment.
Later, though, Kramp sent along the listing, which includes a line about Ginsberg, as well as photos of the renovated space. The apartment is going for $1,750.
Harry Smith stayed here for nine months in 1985 while he recovered from an accident. The small spare room he used (dubbed "Harry's Room") has been converted into a bathroom.
Through the years, this building has been host to an array of poets, musicians and artists.... some of whom are in the photo below...
Via: Edith Ginsberg, Cliff Fyman, Bob Rosenthal, Allen Ginsberg, John Godfey, Steven Taylor, Peter Orlovsky, Greg Masters, Michael Scholnick, in front of 437 E. 12th St., where all except Edith lived. Nov. 14, 1982. photo: c. Stephen Shames.
Among the many other notables.... Arthur Russell lived here for many years... ditto for Richard Hell.
Despite all this history, I'm not sure what kind of spirit, if any, can still exist in such an extensively renovated apartment, a place where Ginsberg, Orlovsky and assorted guests such as Herbert Huncke and William Burroughs held forth around a crowded kitchen table.
As Jill's neighbor wrote back in June: "Soon I'll look out at yet another set of white mini-blinds behind cheap replacement windows, illuminated by halogen floor lamp, with soundtrack by yet another long-past-teenage idiot amping-up to "Baba O'Reilly" as irony sails over his head and out into the beer-soaked night."
For further reading:
Howl (Blah Blog Blah)
The Allen Ginsberg Project
Via: Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky, Louis Cartwright, Herbert Huncke, William Burroughs, Allen & Peter's new apartment, 437 E. 12th St., New York City, December 1975. Photographer unknown.
EV resident looking to do something constructive about nightlife horror show
In response to our post on the Squadron Bill, an East Village resident recently left the following comment:
Three new bars in three blocks on Second Ave between 10th and 12th Streets in the past year. They get drunk/clog the streets/scream/yell/throw litter all over the place. I have NEVER seen anything like this. The entire character of the neighorhood is completely changed. Once a place known for good restaurants and "quaint" shops — it's now THE place to come and get drunk and act up. How does the right of a few bar owners trump the rights of all the rest of us to live in peace in a very lively but nice neighborhood? How did this happen and what can we do about this. The new law will do nothing to help unless we all work together. Help! — contact me directly at abonus2001@yahoo.com — and let's see if we can do something constructive about it.
I followed up with the reader and asked for her permission to make her comment a separate post. ... An East Village resident since the late 1960s, the reader is looking to take action with some like-minded people who are also tired of what has become of the nightlife scene.
[Image via]
Ray to appear on CNNmoney.com
Thanks to Bob Arihood for the photo and tip here...
Ray spoke to a CNNmoney.com reporter last night offering his expert advice on money matters and good business practices in today's financially troubled New York City economy. The reporter noted that the interview will appear on the CNNmoney.com site sometime between tonight and Friday.
Could this former East Village 'hipster' owe the IRS $172 million?
The Post today picks up on The Smoking Gun's scoop from yesterday...
Here's the Post:
Meet the scofflaw (above) who allegedly owes more than $172 million to the IRS — a broke, former Alphabet City hipster who has had to borrow money from relatives to make ends meet.
Garage-band guitarist Marcos Esparza Bofill quit his floundering job as a day trader in the city after less than a year — and left the tiny tenement apartment that he shared with roommates on East Sixth Street to move back to his native Barcelona, Spain, in hopes of having better luck with music career there, friends said.
"The first thing he said to me [yesterday after learning of the tax bill] was, 'What's the IRS?' " one pal told The Post. "He was shocked. He's trying to figure out what's going on.
"It's something that can easily be cleared up," the friend added. "It's crazy. He's a very chilled, relaxed guy. I think he's making music right now. He plays guitar and I think is doing some deejay stuff."
[Photo via The Smoking Gun]
From Sing Sing to... Sing Sing?
From today's NYPD Daily Blotter in the Post:
Two knife-wielding thugs were arrested for stabbing a foe at an East Village karaoke bar, police sources said yesterday.
Fahimul Kahn, 22, and Maeto Tashman, 18, attacked the 25-year-old victim at Sing Sing Karaoke on St. Marks Place near Third Avenue at 5 a.m. Sunday, the sources said.
As the victim was leaving the bar with a cousin, he exchanged angry words with the assailants, and Kahn stabbed him in the chest and leg with a folding knife, authorities said.
Tashman was charged with attempted assault while Kahn was hit with an attempted-murder rap, said a spokesman for DA Cyrus Vance.
Crime Stoppers poster up now on Fifth Street and Second Avenue
At the scene of the shooting early Sunday morning, as I first reported....
The number: 1-800-577-TIPS
The number: 1-800-577-TIPS
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
And now, video of the "underground" grilled cheese peddler of the East Village
After my previous post on the "underground" grilled cheese guy.... a reader sent along a video showing the grilled cheeser at work....
For a cheesy time call....
This arrived in the inbox a little earlier... clearly meant for someone else, like the "underground" grilled-cheese guy ....
I am here at work with my friends and i heard about you and your fabulous grilled cheeses! How do I go about gettting my hands on one? I am now craving your services for lunch. Please get back to me as I would love to have you come by and have a cheesy good time.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Say cheese
Third Avenue Corridor Rezoning hearing could help bring an end to mega-dorms
From The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation...
Tomorrow, the City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed rezoning of the 3rd and 4th Avenue corridors, between 13th and 9th Streets. The rezoning proposal comes after years of efforts by GVSHP, neighbors, Community Board 3, and Councilmember Rosie Mendez to change the outdated and inadequate zoning for the area which encourages enormously out-of-scale hotel and dorm development, such as NYU’s 26-story dorm on East 12th Street. After the city refused to include a change in the zoning for these blocks in the 2008 East Village rezoning, late last year they relented and agreed to include this area in a separate zoning action, which will be heard tomorrow.
Though the proposed rezoning does not go as far as GVSHP and neighbors had urged, it is an improvement. While the current zoning has no height limits, the new zoning would impose an absolute height cap of 120 feet (less than half the height of the NYU dorm). The current zoning strongly encourages dorm and hotel development, while the new zoning will encourage residential development. The current zoning encourages tall, setback towers behind dead plazas, while the new zoning will not allow plazas and will instead require new construction to follow neighborhood context and come out to the streetwall. The new zoning also provides incentives for the retention and creation of affordable housing.
If the City Planning Commission approves the rezoning following tomorrow’s hearing, it then goes to the City Council. If approved there, the rezoning takes immediate effect, and more 26-story dorms would never again be allowed as-of-right. Given that the NYU 2031 expansion plan calls for the university to add up to 1.5 million square feet of space OUTSIDE of the Washington Square Park area in the East Village, Village, and Union Square, it is more important than ever that stricter zoning be put in place in areas such as this where we have seen so much overdevelopment by NYU and other universities in recent years.
HOW TO HELP:
• Send a letter to City Planning Chair Amanda Burden RIGHT AWAY urging passage of the proposed rezoning > >
• Testify in favor of the rezoning at tomorrow's hearing — Come to the City Planning Commission at 22 Reade Street (btw. Centre & B'way), Spector Hall (ground floor) at 10:30 am. Bring 12 copies of your testimony (no more than 3 minutes) and photo ID to enter the building. If planning to attend, please respond to this e-mail for additional details.
Starting The Copper Age
Walking by the Copper Building on Avenue B at 13th Street at night... you'd get the idea that people have moved into the luxury condos...
Indeed, one reader has reported that he or she has seen moving trucks out front. And a Streeteasy commenter said: "I was told the first tenant will be moving in on August 4th."
Speaking of Streeteasy, just five of the 17 units remain on the market. Of those left to sell, three of the units are the super-swanky penthouses... including the pièce de résistance (which is French for expensive condo) — the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with "sweeping" views of downtown Manhattan. Last fall, the price of this 4x4 was bumped up by $250,000 to $3.85 million, where it remains today....
Indeed, one reader has reported that he or she has seen moving trucks out front. And a Streeteasy commenter said: "I was told the first tenant will be moving in on August 4th."
Speaking of Streeteasy, just five of the 17 units remain on the market. Of those left to sell, three of the units are the super-swanky penthouses... including the pièce de résistance (which is French for expensive condo) — the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with "sweeping" views of downtown Manhattan. Last fall, the price of this 4x4 was bumped up by $250,000 to $3.85 million, where it remains today....
From the Copper to the Cooper
Speaking of people moving into pricy new East Village developments ... NYC the Blog first reported that people are now living inside 2 Cooper Square.
Meanwhile! The 2 Cooper website has added new visuals.... some handsome black-and-white photos (in stop-motion!) depicting a scene on the Bowery that is really open to interpretation...
I think they just gave Sak's a free Fall Coat Preview ad. (And that guy looks nothing like Javier Bardem!) Whatever! You have to admit it's better than 2 Cooper's early visuals.
So, as the 2 Cooper site shows, there are 12 units available... ranging from $3,150 for a studio to a two-bedroomer for $14,500. Here's the two bedroomer...
There's also one unit with a eastward-facing terrace for $6,050... Luckily, the new residents will not be looking down at the B Bar at "some random drunken girl puking her guts out." No matter — you'll forget all this after time in the soft-tissue therapy room inside 2 Cooper.
Previously on EV Grieve:
2 Cooper Square looking for some "masculine, attractive, intelligent" Clive Owens types with kids — but, lordy, not kids who actually live with them!
There goes the neighborhood for real: 2 Cooper Square will open with the highest rents ever in the East Village
Meanwhile! The 2 Cooper website has added new visuals.... some handsome black-and-white photos (in stop-motion!) depicting a scene on the Bowery that is really open to interpretation...
I think they just gave Sak's a free Fall Coat Preview ad. (And that guy looks nothing like Javier Bardem!) Whatever! You have to admit it's better than 2 Cooper's early visuals.
So, as the 2 Cooper site shows, there are 12 units available... ranging from $3,150 for a studio to a two-bedroomer for $14,500. Here's the two bedroomer...
There's also one unit with a eastward-facing terrace for $6,050... Luckily, the new residents will not be looking down at the B Bar at "some random drunken girl puking her guts out." No matter — you'll forget all this after time in the soft-tissue therapy room inside 2 Cooper.
Previously on EV Grieve:
2 Cooper Square looking for some "masculine, attractive, intelligent" Clive Owens types with kids — but, lordy, not kids who actually live with them!
There goes the neighborhood for real: 2 Cooper Square will open with the highest rents ever in the East Village
Going Your Way
[John F. Conn]
2 4 Flinching recently compiled a slew of NYC subway photos from the late 1970s and early 1980s.... including....
[Bruce Davidson]
[John F. Conn]
[Via BoingBoing ... thanks to Mick for the link!]
New Bowery diner insensitive to people with sunburns
As Grub Street reported on Friday, Peels is the name of the new diner from the Freemans gang coming to Bowery and Second Street...
As someone who has been sunburnt, I find this name offensive. Days after the sun exposure, my skin has peeled, and seemingly no amount of aloe and lotion has... Ha... but seriously, according to Grub Street:
Meanwhile! Yesterday, as Eater noted, the plywood covering the windows came down...
The sign on the door reads "opening soon."
As someone who has been sunburnt, I find this name offensive. Days after the sun exposure, my skin has peeled, and seemingly no amount of aloe and lotion has... Ha... but seriously, according to Grub Street:
Co-owner Taavo Somer affixed a short, blank-slate name to a modern, utilitarian design: a to-go counter situated to expedite takeout orders, communal seating for quick lunches, and an upstairs dining room equipped with booths of all sizes. The all-day menu offers egg dishes like the Yosemite (poached, with succotash), a “build-a-biscuit” program, and blueberry-and-corn shortcake, plus soda-fountain drinks and Stumptown coffee. Dinner ... to come
Meanwhile! Yesterday, as Eater noted, the plywood covering the windows came down...
The sign on the door reads "opening soon."
Why well-groomed men of America now know about Community Board 3
First spotted this item over at Eater ... Ben Conniff, co-owner of Luke's Lobster on Seventh Street, wrote a piece for GQ about the eatery's attempt to get a beer/wine license from the CB3/SLA.
"Community Board Approval: Unlike the legal system, which makes decisions based on objective analysis of evidence, community boards prefer to rule by arbitrary gut feelings. In January I watched the board tear apart the underdressed owner of a family pizza restaurant because of a paperwork error he made five years ago. When it was my turn to go before the board, I wore a tie. Approved!"
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