The Howl! Festival is underway

The day began with a group reading of Howl, featuring Lydia Lunch among many others...



...and Art Around the Park starts in the morning...



Find the full weekend schedule here.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Bring out your dead

Perfect! East Ninth Street near Avenue C... ready for the weekend!







Photos by Bobby Williams

Something sweaty this way comes

The Dead Boys with "All This And More" live at CBGB 1977.

Behold the Katz's Delicatessen World Pastrami Eating Championship trophy

From the Katz's Facebook page:

This trophy will be awarded to the winner of the first ever Katz's Delicatessen World Pastrami Eating Championship. Come watch the event this Sunday at 2 pm on Orchard St. between East Houston St. and Delancey St.

All part of Katz's 125th anniversary this weekend.

At 'Don't Hide the Madness'

At the Pyramid on Avenue A last night, Lydia Lunch hosted "an evening of spoken word in the raw" titled Don't Hide the Madness. It was a benefit for Howl! Emergency Life Project.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was there and shared a few photos from the evening...





Among the many performers...



Bibbe Hansen...

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Tony O'Neill...

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Nicole Blackman...

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Our Q-and-A with Lydia is here.

Now under wraps: The Tompkins Square Park pop-up piano

[Bobby Williams]

As noted Wednesday, the Sing for Hope Pianos return to NYC streets and public spaces tomorrow ... and we'll have one in Tompkins Square Park... and said piano arrived yesterday, and a resident immediately complained about how many parking spots this was taking up.

Students from P.S. 34 designed the TSP piano:

Our design was inspired by the composition notebooks we use in school. The front and back of the piano show the notebook cover, the sides are notebook paper and the legs of the piano are pencils. You will also notice that on the side panels of the piano, we have written "hope" in various languages.

The piano is expected to be in the Park through June 16, when it will apply for a beer-wine license followed by a sidewalk cafe then full liquor.

Previously.

Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street has her first ever annual checkup

Almost summer. And time to check in with the owners of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street. What's new?

This week Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street realized she was overdue for her first post-adoption annual checkup. She was quite brave during the series of shots, though less so when the nice vet needed to draw blood. She winced rather dramatically and was most unhappy.

But she managed to get through it and received a spotless bill of health. Only hiccup was that she has apparently developed a bit of a weight problem. Indeed the vet’s assistant pronounced her a “Double-D girl” to which she (and we) took great umbrage. We suggested “Rubenesque” might be a better characterization but in any case she is now on a strict summer diet, which essentially means no more endless doggie snacks on demand.

She’s not particularly pleased about that even though we explained it’s swimsuit season. She was more pleased with her new jewelry showing she’s all up to date on her immunizations. She’s looking forward to showing off her new bling around the neighborhood this summer.

On the next episode: Kita learns that Howl! means something entirely different in Tompkins Square Park this weekend.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The further adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

The further (often truly) amazing adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Happy holidays from Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Crunch moving to the Bowery; CB3 OKs New York Sports Club on Avenue A

The retail space at 2 Cooper Square has been empty since the apartments hit the market in 2009... apparently it won't be empty for too much longer... EVG reader Axis of Eville commented yesterday
that the Crunch gym on Lafayette was moving here to the Bowery and East Fourth Street in September.

And the city issued permits last week for Crunch signage here...



On the topic of gyms... As we noted last month, New York Sports Club was aiming to take over all of the floors above Gracefully on Avenue A near East Second Street...



... this moved a step closer to happening after Tuesday's full CB3 meeting ... CB3 approved "the BSA special permit application by New York Sports Club to operate a physical culture establishment/health club at 28-30 Ave A on the 2nd thru 5th floors with entrance on the 1st floor." The DOB still needs to approve the work permits. No timeline just yet when all this would happen...

Previously on EV Grieve:
RUMOR: New York Health & Racquet Club taking over the space above Gracefully on Avenue A (24 comments)

New York Sports Club in the works for Avenue A

Commemorating the East 13th Street squat evictions

From the EV Grieve inbox...

On May 30, 1995, the NYPD rolled an armored tank down East 13th Street, employing militaristic force to evict squatters from two buildings.


[Photo by John Penley via the Tamiment Library collection at NYU]

Almost 18 years later to the day, authors, artists, and activists will unite to remember the resistance and celebrate what remains.

Join us for Lower East Side squat stories, slideshows, and readings by Cari Luna, Frank Morales, Fly, and Peter Spagnuolo followed by a short acoustic set by Banji (bandless).

The event will be held at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets on Friday, May 31, beginning at 7:00 PM.

There is a $5.00 - $10.00 sliding scale suggested donation. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Find the Facebook event page here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Fly on UnReal Estate

Infographics help illustrate how expensive rent is in New York City

Some info from the EV Grieve inbox via Zumper, an apartment rental listings site...

Here's some info that we've gathered:

Top three most expensive neighborhoods to rent a one bedroom:

• Tribeca ($4,180)
• Greenwich Village ($3,550)
• Garment District ($3,535)

Alternatively, here are the three most expensive neighborhoods to rent a two bedroom:

• Tribeca ($6,275)
• Battery Park ($5,650)
• Soho ($5,545)

We also found the neighborhoods where splitting a two bedroom with a roommate can save you the most money (versus each renting a one bedroom on your own):

• Greenpoint - Save 47.5% or $1,425 per bedroom ($3000 for a 1 bed vs. $1575 per bedroom for a 2 bed)
• Williamsburg - Save 43.3% or $1,220 per bedroom ($2820 for a 1 bed vs. $1600 per bedroom for a 2 bed)
• Murray Hill - Save 37.7% or $1,036 per bedroom ($2750 for a 1 bed vs. $1714 per bedroom for a 2 bed)

Here are the three neighborhoods where you'll save the least by adding a roommate:

• Battery Park - Save 15.7% or $525 per bedroom ($3,350 for a 1 bed vs. $2,825 per bedroom for a 2 bed)
• Soho - Save 20.8% or $728 per bedroom ($3500 for a 1 bed vs. $2,773 per bedroom for a 2 bed)
• Chelsea - Save 24.63% or $838 per bedroom ($3,400 for a 1 bed vs. $2,563 per bedroom for a 2 bed)

Finally, some overall stats so you can see how the East Village fares in all this. To the graphs!



For instance, one-bedroom apartments are less expensive here than in Greenpoint and Williamsburg...



...and two bedroom apartments almost seem like deals (!!) compared with other neighborhoods... only Murray Hill and the Lower East Side have (slightly) lower rents in the parts of Manhattan that Zumper surveyed for two bedrooms...

Reminders: HOWL! Festival 2013 kicks off this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park

The annual Howl! Festival takes place this weekend...



Things start around 4:30 with a group reading of Howl ... from the Howl! website:

Led and Orchestrated by poet Bob Holman, the Festival opens with a Greek Chorus of voices reading their own work that culminates with the signature reading of Howl. Opening musical act Tyler Burba singing Ginsberg songs ... Featured poets: Hettie Jones, David Henderson, Jennifer Blowdryer, Lydia Lunch, Bob Rosenthal, Eliot Katz... and assorted wordsmiths from the Bowery Poetry Club, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Poetry Project, and A Gathering of the Tribes, including: Edwin Torres, Robert Galinsky, Nikhil Melnechuk, Sarah Murphy, Rangi McNeil, Ted Dodson, Aria Boutet, Nancy Mercado, Chavisa Woods, Whitney *Witness* Greenaway, and McPhErson and more poets T.B.A.

Look for Art Around the Park tomorrow and Sunday.



Find the full weekend schedule here.

Photos by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Summer Movie Preview: The Smurfs 2 in 3-D; they didn't have the balls to return to film here

[Spotted yesterday at the Loews Village 7 on Third Avenue]

OK, truth is, we had no idea that there was a Smurfs sequel. But, as you will recall doubtlessly, the Smurfs were the talk of the neighborhood back in the heady days of the spring of 2010. Crews filmed several scenes here. After the shoot, the cast lingered, pulling some Bynes-like shit and we all had to get 311 on them.

Flashback!


Anyway, for Part 2 in 3-D, these little fuckers the Smurfs (Smurfs'?) action is based in Paris (France).

And on an actual serious note, Part Deux marks the last film for the great Jonathan Winters, who died on April 11. He supplied the voice for Papa Smurf.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A lot of fuss to watch Neil Patrick Harris exit a cab for 10 seconds

Exclusive: The Smurfs show their immature side while filming in the East Village

Exclusive first look at "The Smurfs Movie" filming today in the East Village

The Smurfs are coming back to the East Village! The Smurfs are coming back to the East Village! The Smurfs are coming back to the East Village!

Katz's at 125

[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

All sorts of things going on starting today to celebrate Katz's 125th anniversary. See their website for some details here.

Meanwhile, in honor of this occasion, The Jewish Daily Forward assembled an interactive timeline of deli's history starting in 1888. Find that here.

As for us, we stopped by the other evening to take photos of the sawdust on the floor...



... and the men's room door...



Jeremiah Moss recently spoke with Katz's owner. "I just couldn't imagine it becoming a condo, or having someone else running it. I could not handle that." And all is well for now.

Report: Video shows attack on twin brothers in the East Village

Twin brothers were attacked by a group of men early Sunday morning on First Street near First Avenue, BoweryBoogie reported yesterday. (Read BB's post on the incident here.)

The attack was initially thought to have occurred near Sutra Lounge, whose management released a statement to BoweryBoogie. They note that surveillance video showed that the attack started on East First Street and traveled to First Avenue. "Sutra is working closely with the victim’s girlfriend to provide surveillance as well as any other help they need to help catch the criminals who brutally beat her boyfriend and will continue to help in any way that is necessary to get justice for them," per the statement.

Now Fox 5 has obtained surveillance video that shows the attack.



From Fox:

The NYPD said the case is definitely not closed. Police officials told me that a very active investigation is going on and that detectives hope to meet with the victim Friday to get information that can lead to arrests.