'Another example of New York City's impending Americanization' — Street signs

We had a pleasant email exchange with East Village resident and EV Grieve reader James C. Taylor the other day. He sent us the following photo, noting that he was veering slightly off of our usual beat.

As much as we think we pay attention to things, such as street signs, I didn't see what the big deal was. He wrote:

"I spotted another example of New York City's impending Americanization: my first sighting of the generic conformist street signs. They may not look like much, but I was still shocked by their ability to make a quiet corner of Greenwich Village look like... well, every other town in the US."

Huh, don't these look like the street signs from, say, this corner?

No!

The signs themselves are basically the same, he said. The difference lies in the type. (He's a graphic designer, so he's into the whole font thing.)

"Notice how 'Greene' and 'St' are lower case? The signs on 9th and B (and all the others, going back to the yellow and black signs) all used a condensed uppercase typeface. The change is part of a federal mandate for all street signs to use a lowercase font called Clearview. I remember reading about it a few months back but hadn't seen one of the new signs until [the other day]."

Anyway, somehow we missed this entertaining story from the Daily News last Oct. 1, in which Bloomberg was a dick when asked about the federal mandate to change the font and capitalization on 250,000 city street signs by 2018.

Said James: "I used to refer to events like these as the encroachment of 'America' upon New York City, but these days it seems like New York is just submitting willingly to whatever 'America' wants. C'mon New York, where's your fight?"

According to that Daily News article, there was one man ready to stand up for New York: Rep. Anthony Weiner. Per the article: "Weiner ... wasn't shy about saying where he stood on the matter. He's considering sending a letter to the feds 'but I'm trying to figure out whether to put STUPID in all caps so they'll understand it.'"

Discussion on 34 Avenue A to continue next Tuesday

We're catching up to Monday night's CB3/SLA meeting. We weren't able to attend. But. The big ticket item on the agenda was 34 Avenue A, a modified proposal for a restaurant-bar-performance space. The CB3/SLA committee rejected the plans from Phil Hartman and Todd Patrick back in March.

According to the Lo-Down, the discussion for 34 Avenue A lasted two hours and 15 minutes. After several attempts with various stipulations, the CB3/SLA committee was unable to reach a majority vote, so the item was booted over for the full Community Board to discuss on Tuesday night.

The Local East Village reports that 11 people spoke out in favor of the establishment (many of them musicians); while 16 people spoke in opposition.

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer, speaking she said as a private citizen, was against the proposed new venue. "What we're talking about is kind of community planning. This is 150 more people on the street at 4 a.m.," she was quoted as saying in the Local East Village. "We cannot accommodate that."

Here are a few details about the space: It's called the Piney Woods, featuring a kitchen serving "affordable" Southern cuisine ... and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jeremy Spector, owner and chef of the Brindle Room on East 10th Street, will serve as the chef here.

The second-floor stage aims to showcase the kinds of bands you'd have seen at the original Knitting Factory on Houston as well as Tonic. During the day, the stage would be made available to local community groups to use for fundraisers, student productions, etc.

People we spoke with who attended the meeting — both for and against the proposed space — described the proceedings as "pissy" and "contentious." Oh, and "ludicrous." We're reluctant to recount what happened via the attendees, because the course of events varies a bit from person to person.

As the Local East Village reported: "Tensions ran high among the crowd gathered ... At one point, chatter from audience members prompted Alexandra Militano, committee chair, to scold the spectators for 'heckling' when opposing viewpoints were presented."

Here are a few other highlights, gleaned from the post that Devin Briski wrote for Eater:

• The committee said no to the sushi place hoping to open at the former Mondo Kim's/Cafe Hanover at 6 St. Mark's Place.
• No go either for the aspiring East Village Brewery & Beer Shop at 14 Avenue B. (They were the ones who borrowed the Prime Meats menu for display...)
• Frankies got the OK to expand its storefront at 17 Clinton St.
• Bistro Nomad at 78 Second Ave. was OK'd to expand its sidewalk presence and extend its hours.
• JujoMukti Tea Lounge at 211 E Fourth St. did get the OK for a beer and wine license in a resolution area ... per Eater, "a decision that was made in an attempt to save the healthy living center after enthusiastic patrons spoke out about the venue's uniquely diverse presence and focus on a nurturing lifestyle."
• Cooper Craft and Kitchen ( a craft-beer-focused bar-restaurant) got OK'd for a full liquor license for the former Kurve/Rhong-Tiam space on Second Avenue at Fifth Street.

BoweryBoogie has a little more on other LES agenda items here.

As for Tuesday, the fun meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
PS 20 - 166 Essex Street, (Between East Houston and Stanton Street)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Phil Hartman bringing a 'performance venue' back to former Mo Pitkin's space

[Updated] Bringing 'the tradition of the old Knitting Factory and Tonic' to 34 Avenue A

Because you want to know more about the plans for 34 Avenue A

Why they'll be 'Contempt' tonight in Tompkins Square Park

As our friend Esquared told us ... the Films on the Green Festival will present a few French movies in Tompkins Square Park this summer.

And tonight: Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt" from 1963 starring (hubba hubba!) Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli and Jack Palance.



And on July 1: "Mr. Hulot's Holiday." Or, as we prefer — Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot.

The movies start at 8:30 p.m. Drink at your own risk.

Meanwhile, we're still wondering why the French hate us so much.

THIS is why we need a second Chase branch on Second Avenue and 10th Street

In case the one on the southeast corner isn't open, like yesterday... when Chase patrons were forced to trudge all the way down to the Chase branch on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place for a transaction. Two whole blocks! Do you know how hard it is to find a place to park around here now with those bike lanes?

Previously.

Chico in a time-lapse video creating the Gil Scott-Heron tribute

Last Friday, we posted some photos of Chico working on a memorial for Gil Scott-Heron on East 12th Street at Avenue C... Now, here's a time-lapse video of Chico creating on the mural...



Produced by Robert Galinsky and directed by Joey John.

Juice Press now open on East 10th Street

We first heard the rumor back in March of a northern outpost for Juice Press ... Anyway, the second location opened on Saturday.

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

A tipster noted that they won't have smoothies at this location until the end of the month.

Previously.

"Lakota, North Dakota" on the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall

Earlier today, BoweryBoogie had in-progress photos at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall ... The Inside Out Group presents the latest mural here, "Lakota, North Dakota" by JR. (Read more about it here.)

And here's a photo of the mural as of this evening...

... where a little bit of the Kenny Scharf mural remains in view...

Animal New York has more here ... and Runnin' Scared here ...

Today in Tompkins Square Park

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Report: 2 travelers busted for assault outside McDonald's

At Neither More Nor Less, Bob Arihood reports that the NYPD arrested two travelers early this morning after allegedly assaulting two men in front of the McDonald's on Third Avenue. According to witnesses, the two travelers were spanging in front of McDonald's. Two men drinking next door at the Continental struck up a friendly conversation with the travelers, who then reportedly threw punches without any warning.

As Bob noted, a dog that belonged to one of the travelers was left tied up near a tree. See Neither More Nor Less for all the details.

[Bob Arihood]

One man's campaign against 'the doorshitter' on St. Mark's Place

From the EV Grieve inbox...

I have been living in NYC for 25 years. For the first time, I have a problem that seems to be hard to solve. I live on St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd.

For the past 6 weeks I’ve had a homeless man shit on the front door of my building. NOBODY wants to deal with it. 311, 911, etc just don’t care. I get it too, there are a lot bigger issues going on.

But see, it’s a quality of life issue for both me and my neighbors and this sub human of a homeless man. It’s not fun starting your day off when you walk out of your building to greet the world and it kicks off with a pile of shit, the stench and flies. I have caught the Doorshitter in action!

I was nice to him the first time. I told him he must stop and if he doesn’t I will take action. The Mad Crapper has continued his shitty assault on my door. I will stop this ace of a man dropping deuces if it’s the last thing I do!

I have now taken action….

• I have a photo of this man. I’ve met with all the shop owners on St, Marks between 2nd and 3rd. Everybody has an issue with him. When he’s spotted…they will point and scream “DOORSHITTER, STAY OFF OUR BLOCK”.

• I don’t want to hurt this man; I do want to freak him out so he’s scared to come back. Yesterday I had an encounter with The Mad Crapper. I screamed at him and followed him for blocks yelling things such as”STOP SHITTING ON MY DOOR”, WHY DO YOU SHIT ON MY DOOR”. “HEY, EVERYBODY LOOK, THIS MAN SHITS ON MY DOOR”, Etc. Needless to say he was freaked out.

• I am on a one-man flyer campaign. The goal here is to shame this man. It may be hard though because how can he have shame if he shits on doors. Attached is the flyer I have been hanging on St. Marks place. People have been taking them because they think it’s funny or think I’m a new street artist.

• I don’t want this problem to escalate I want this shot to stop. PLEASE, help me if you can.

As far as future steps, I’m unsure what to do…
Yes, this problem is funny but at the same time it stinks. It’s shitty and a real battle.

Jordy VS The Doorshitter…..it’s on!

PS 122 holding final performance Saturday; theater is moving for renovations

It has been more than a year since we checked in on this story. PS 122 on First Avenue at Ninth Street is getting a facelift...



The Architect's Newspaper had the details in April 2010 on what all this will look like. According to the story:

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has commissioned Deborah Berke & Partners to complete a $16 million renovation of the aging structure and bring it up to current code requirements.

While the crux of the commission involves upgrading the 1894 building’s outmoded ingress/egress routes and substandard mechanical systems, Berke also saw the opportunity to improve the interior and how it was organized. The center’s primary inhabitants — PS 122 Gallery, Performance Space 122, and Mabou Mines — all grew into their rooms organically over the years, without much thought about how they functioned as a whole.

The construction is expected to be done by the summer of 2013.

And now that I've buried the lead... PS 122 is holding its final performance at this space Sunday Saturday before the renovations begin, according to TheaterMania. The theater will temporarily vacate its home to an off-site location during the renovations. For more information on the weekend performances, visit the PS 122 site here.

[Images via]

Why the Open Road Park is closed

Yesterday, we reported that the NYC Department of Education closed the Open Road Park ... the playground popular with skateboarders adjacent to the East Side Community High School on East 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

In the comments, a reader noted the following sign outside the Park:

Dear Community Members:

We are very sorry to have to temporarily close the park. East Side Community High School is committed to making this space available to the community and reopening it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there has been an increase in dangerous, disrespectful and illegal behaviors in the park. This includes, but is not limited to, drinking, smoking, fighting, vandalism and excessive littering. This has put our students and community members at risk. We will be working closely with the community and park users to discuss how we can maintain LES Park as a safe public space that serves the community (outside of school and camp hours.) East Side will be holding a public meeting next week to discuss this matter. More details will follow. Please feel free to email lespark@eschs.org with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

Sincerely,

East Side Community High School

However, when we walked by early last evening, someone had apparently ripped down the signs...

DNAinfo has more on the story here.

Trying to save a parking space on East First Street

Early yesterday evening, a man was trying to hold a parking spot on East First Street near Extra Place. Meanwhile, another motorist pulled up to take the space. No, the man said. I'm reserving this spot. The woman rolled down her window, and said something like You can't save a space. She inched toward him. He didn't budge. They faced each other for a little longer than you might imagine.

The man motioned down the street to the person in the white car that he was saving the space for. The second motorist, a woman, then tried to back into the space. However, the first motorist wouldn't budge. An impasse. The man continued to gesture and claim that he had saved the space.

Then another man showed up. He got into the debate. You can't save a space. It appeared that he was friends with the woman in the first car. They continued the discussion.

Eventually, the man who had been saving the spot then parked the car two vehicles to the west of where he was saving the original space.

Drama over. The evening continued.

Meanwhile, on Extra Place...

The Place road work continues.

20 years on St. Mark's Place

You can catch this exhibit by photographer Jesper Haynes starting tonight at Gallery Onetwentyeight, 128 Rivington St.

I planned on requesting a quick interview with Haynes... but decided to run an excerpt from his blog instead:

In 1986, I moved to my apartment on 90 St. Marks Place, in New York's East Village. It was above the St. Mark's Bar & Grill where the Rolling Stones had just filmed the video for "Waiting on a Friend". It was to be my home, and the backdrop for much of my photography, for the next 20 years.

In those days St. Marks was a rough place. It bustled with runaways and skate kids, with dealers and dime bag rappers and fabulously dressed low-lifes on their way to or from an after-hours club.

... however, life at St Marks began to change. The local fleabag movie house became a Gap clothing store. The Korean delis were replaced by Starbucks. Whole blocks were renovated and gentrified. St Marks was becoming hip. Rents began to rise and the artists, inevitably, started moving out.

My turn came in 2006 when my landlady, with whom I had developed a very close friendship, died. Her daughter inherited the building. Being a businesswoman, in a city that was now all about business, she saw the chance of higher rents and a different breed of renter. She duly gave us a three-month notice of eviction.

I still dream of that apartment and the intense, beautiful, often riotous, times I had there.
These photographs are an honest, spontaneous record of what I have lived and of the lives and loves for which my home in St. Marks became the setting.

[Jesper Haynes]

A few highlights from the week-long exhibit:
Opening Reception Thursday June 23 6-9 PM
Slide show, Book signing and Artist Q & A - Tuesday June 28 7 PM
Closing Party Thursday June 30 6-9 PM

A precarious-looking porta-potty

A poop accident waiting to happen under the sidewalk shed on Second Avenue near Sixth Street. Photo by EV Grieve reader LULU.

Your chance to star in a movie with Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling

Well, if you're a 15-20 year-old boy. Flyers spotted along Avenue C.

June 22

Wow, and one day after the ICTTS became the ICTTSS. Goggla checks in rather tentatively this evening. "I'm assuming someone else already submitted this as there was an am New York conveniently left nearby."

No! So she made this discovery on Second Avenue at Seventh Street. "Real trees — I touched them," she said. "I have a closer shot of the dated paper as well."

Gruber MacDougal, spokesperson for the International Coalition of Tree Tossing in the Spring and Summer (ICTTSS) had no immediate reaction.

[Updated]

Goggla sent along some other photos of the tree ...

Please don't let the pop-up piano in Tompkins Square Park see this

Because we don't want the piano in the Park now to think that this is what happens when pop-up season ends on July 2... tossed to the curb... thanks to EV Grieve reader Hilary for the photo on Sixth Street near Avenue A today...

Learn how to rat-proof your garden tonight