World Famous Pee Phone™ imposter on Third Avenue.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Reports: 73-year-old East Village woman struck and killed by van while crossing East Houston
East Village resident Meipui Chow Leon, 73, was killed late yesterday afternoon by a van while crossing East Houston Street at Avenue B, according to published reports.
The Lo-Down reported that she was walking north in the crosswalk from Clinton Street to Avenue B.
Per DNAinfo:
That's when the driver of a 2011 Ford van, who was attempting to take a left from a southbound lane of Avenue B, plowed into her causing serious bodily trauma, police said.
An EVG reader, who took the above photo, said that four ambulances were at the scene at one point. According to witnesses, the van belonged to Whole Foods. DNAinfo reported that "the driver stayed on the scene, and was later cited for failure to yield and failure to exercise due care."
Clinton Street was closed until 9:30 last night, The Lo-Down noted.
[Updated] After 33 years, Odessa Cafe and Bar closes for good now on Aug. 31
[Thanks to @analogrombus]
There have been several closing dates for the Odessa Cafe and Bar at 117 Avenue A — first Aug. 15 then Sept. 6. There's now a new date — Aug. 31. And there's a sign up thanking patrons for their years of support.
The Odessa's assets were sold to new operators. (We don't have specifics on the incoming place, though CB3 documents described it as "a full-service American brasserie restaurant.") The Odessa Restaurant next door at 119 will remain open.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Building that houses Odessa Cafe and Bar for sale on Avenue A
Is the end nearing for Odessa Cafe and Bar on Avenue A?
Former GM from Tribeca's Tiny's & the Bar Upstairs part of team to buy the Odessa Cafe
Reader report: Odessa Cafe closes for good after Aug. 15
Reader report: Odessa Cafe and Bar will remain open through Sept. 6
All that jazz
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
In case you don't have anything to do on this dreary late August day... there's a street fair on Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette. Hurry! There will likely only be 2-3 Street Festivals left before Labor Day!
Previously on EV Grieve:
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Street fair! Street fair! Street fair!
Friday, August 23, 2013
EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
[12th and B yesterday via Bobby Williams]
Jodi Lane sign returns to East 11th Street (The Villager)
Details on Communal Spaces 2013, a garden play festival on the LES next month (Broadway World)
The Bloomberg Years (The New Yorker)
Check out the list of John Zorn-curated selections to play next month at the Anthology (Anthology Film Archives)
Subway videos from the 1940s and 1970s (BoweryBoogie)
Only 17 out of 20 subway lines will be fucked up this weekend (Gothamist)
A big flip at 101 Delancey (The Lo-Down)
"Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride" held over for third week (IFC)
Herbie Hancock's NYC of 1975 (Flaming Pablum)
More trees dying around the fountain in Washington Square Park (Washington Square Park Blog)
...and tomorrow at the 6th Street Community Center... Details here.
Clearing the way for Brick Lane Curry on Second Avenue
Two-plus years ago Brick Lane Curry announced that they'd open a location at 99 Second Ave. near East Sixth St. ... the site of a long-dormant restaurant space (Remember Sea Salt?) ... EVG reader Ted E. notes that there's trash-removal activity there today... CB3 OK'd a full liquor license for Brick Lane last month.
Previously on EV Grieve:
At Sea Salt, the lights are still on, but no one is dining
Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street supports Bill De Blasio for Mayor
[EVG file photo]
The latest from the NYC mayoral race.
We’ve been anxiously awaiting the moment when Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street is ready to divulge which Mayoral candidate she is throwing her considerable weight behind.
She’s been wooed by all the major candidates as she seems to have her paws on the pulse of the neighborhood. The last time she voted here it was just after Superstorm Sandy and the lines were incredibly long so she’s hoping for smoother sailing this time.
She carefully considered all the candidates; briefly thought of supporting the former Congressman because she thought Weiner was a breed of dog. Another leading candidate behaves a bit too much like an attack dog so that put her off needless to say. Finally she’s informed us she’s supporting Bill De Blasio. Apparently she’s become quite chummy with him and his entire family.
Kita won't confirm for sure but we have an inkling that De Blasio promised his first act as Mayor will be to ban 7-11s and Yorkies named Max so that’s what finally won her over.
Kita looks forward to seeing everyone at the polls on September 10.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Meet Kita
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
There goes the neighborhood, again (again) (again)
Over on East 12th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A... EVG reader Sharon Lawless spotted the following vanity plate... in the (former?) shadows of the almost-demolished Mary Help of Christians and the latest luxurious effort from Karl Fischer. She asks, is this the Ghost of Christmas Future?
Oh, yeah! Beverly Hills 10009.
Oh, yeah! Beverly Hills 10009.
CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice coming soon to St. Mark's Place
Iris Cafe closed last month exactly one month after opening at 33 St. Mark's Place. At the time, a worker hauling out trash bags from the Taiwanese-style bakery said that they would be expanding their menu and reopening.
Meanwhile, signs have arrived announcing an outpost of CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, a Taiwan-based business with 800 stores worldwide, including several in NYC.
Per the CoCo website:
"Driven by a passion to serve drinks of the highest quality and incomparable variety to the urbanites of our new age, the founders set out to create a brand that was to become a symbol of flavor, sophistication and delicacy."
This space was previously home to Rockit Scientist Records, which closed in the spring of 2012.
Deathwatching Nicoletta
High-flying chef Michael White's Midwestern-style pizzeria Nicoletta opened on June 15, 2012 on Second Avenue at 10th Street.
News of its arrival was met with some instant disapproval around here.
Like!
Via Jeremiah Moss: "Here comes yet another fucking upscale pizzeria for the East Village, where there have always been plenty of good, cheap pizza places."
Some readers were tuned off by Nicoletta's T.G.I. Fridaysish interior and clipboard-toting hostesses standing guard by the door while keeping tabs on those early are-you-fucking-kidding-me 90-minute waits ... and some reviews were quite unkind, such as the 0 stars the Times dropped on it.
Anyway!
Fast forward to now... Eater put Nicoletta on its Deathwatch yesterday... Eater figures that White and partner Ahmass Fakahany will close the place and turn it into another concept from their Altamarea Group's restaurant arsenal.
Per Eater:
Nicoletta means well. On a recent Tuesday night, Team Eater had excellent chicken wings, passable fritti, an okay pizza, and slam-dunk ice cream sundaes. The service was great and the tab was low, but the restaurant was as quiet as a tomb.
The question is not whether Nicoletta will close, but when. The safe bet is that Altamarea will revamp the restaurant once the D.C. outpost of Nicoletta is off the ground. After that, White and Fakahany might re-think this space and give the neighborhood something that it will really embrace.
Previous Nicoletta posts have produced some negative Nicoletta comments. I've never been here... Perhaps you have? Does death become it?
Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicoletta product placement or just trash?
The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is Sunday in Tompkins Square Park
The East Village portion of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is Sunday from 3-7. The acts: Lee Konitz Quartet, Sheila Jordan, Christian Scott and Aaron Diehl Quartet. You can find all the details here.
Warm up...
Warm up...
Juke Bar coming soon to Second Avenue
Blue Owl, the 7-year-old cocktail lounge on Second Avenue near East 12th Street, closed earlier in the summer... and there's a new venture for the basement space.
Serena Solomon at DNAinfo has the scoop on Juke Bar, which "will feature DJ's spinning different genres each night, including jazz, blues and R&B, and will serve small plates inspired by Southern cooking."
Among the menu items: pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, deviled eggs and seafood dishes.
"Historically juke joints were where my people could go and drink and play music," said Juke Bar co-owner Daniel Glover, 38, whose mother is French Armenian and whose father is an African American from South Carolina. "They were these dark places, but with a lot of life."
Thursday, August 22, 2013
That 'Carrie' show
That "Carrie Diaries" shoot has been going on this evening on East Seventh Street near Second Avenue... action for the "Sex and the City" TV prequel is mostly outside Café Della Pace at the moment... might be here for awhile. Pull up a seat!
Movie night is a go in Tompkins Square Park
Being a Thursday, it always rains. And it did today! But! The free film ("O Brother Where Art Thou?") in Tompkins Square Park tonight is a go... not much of a crowd yet. (As of 7:30.) In fact, the film's star, George Clooney, is just standing there. Somewhere.
Today in East River alligator sightings
EVG reader Jenn Houser spotted this scene this morning near the Williamsburg Bridge.
In town to audition for the East River floating pool?
EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition
Huge rent hike chases Bleecker Street Records from Bleecker Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)
"Wild Style" reunion next week at East River Park (BoweryBoogie)
"Stylish Parisian it girl" buys on the Bowery (New York Post)
The scene on Lower Manhattan about 400 years ago (Ephemeral New York)
The theater drawings of Anthony F. Dumas (Off the Grid)
Cool East Village cats (Gog in NYC)
The United Palace Theater returns to its roots (Curbed)
Remembering South African jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin (Living With Legends: Hotel Chelsea Blog)
Penny Pollak on the open mic and the big screen
For the past six years on Tuesday nights, Penny Pollak has hosted Penny's Open Mic at Under St Mark's Theater.
This coming Tuesday she is hanging up the mic (the show will go on without her, though).
Pollack is heading into production on her feature film with director Tony ("American History X") Kaye. She stars in "ABIGAIL: A Comedy About Suicide," which explores the themes she used in her one-woman performance titled "No Traveler (A Comedy About Suicide)." (The play debuted in 2010 during the Horse Trade Theater Group's Frigid New York Festival.)
Here, Pollak, a writer, actor, fire-breather, shares some thoughts on her years hosting the open mic as well as prepping for her film work.
Was it a difficult decision to end Penny's Open Mic after six years?
As much as I will miss the mic, the timing couldn't be more perfect. The way everything has fallen into place with my film, I couldn't be happier to work full time on it and see it come to life.
Also knowing that an Open Mic on Tuesday nights at Under St. Mark's will still be going with the same spirit puts my heart at ease. My house band Dan Ricker and Mike Milazzo with Kaitlin O'Connor will be hosting a new open mic in the same slot called The Open Mic Downstairs.
What have you taken away from that time?
I’ve made the dearest and closest friends I could ever meet, seen countless amazing performances. I’ve gotten to watch artists I respect take risks and had the opportunity to experiment myself and grow as an artist.
How is "No Traveler" evolving for the screen? This is more than a performance film?
It's a feature film called "ABIGAIL: A Comedy about Suicide." It explores the themes used in my play "No Traveler" but is a completely different story. We are in talks with an incredible ensemble cast and I’m very excited to be playing the lead.
How did Tony Kaye get involved?
I met Tony at my open mic. As well as being brilliant director he is also a very talented singer/songwriter. At the time he was making "Detachment" with Adrien Brody where there is a scene involving suicide. He came to see my play and immediately saw the potential for film. We would meet every week for quite a few months where he directed my writing into a whole new direction. We’re producing it under his company Above The Sea Productions.
Will you be filming in the East Village and Lower East Side?
The story takes place in the East Village so most of the filming will be here.
How do you plan on capturing the neighborhood?
As honestly as possible. I’ve lived and worked here since I moved to NYC and the neighborhood has shaped my life in a very deep way.
What is the timeline for production?
I’m leaving for LA right away to help finish pre-production and we hope to start filming as soon as possible.
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