Film crew uses 'D Squat' and phone booths to recreate an 1980s East Village on 6th Street

Filming continues today on East Sixth Street for "Ten Thousand Saints," a straight-edge coming-of-age story set in the 1980s East Village. Crews have fashioned the exterior of 423 E. Sixth St. into "D-Squat" (filling in for C-Squat?)…




There is also a trash fire in a barrel next down in front of the late Walter De Maria's home-studio.

Meanwhile, down toward A, EVG reader Creature pointed out this relic …





There are also some sidewalk sale props in the background…



The items were authentic enough that some people came by and took things from the unattended prop sidewalk sale…



The film is adapted from the Eleanor Henderson novel "Ten Thousand Saints." The husband-wife team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini direct. (They directed the 2003 Harvey Pekar film "American Splendor" with Paul Giamatti.) The cast includes Ethan Hawke as one of the parents.

One reader is enthusiastic about the film adaptation, noting in the comments:

This is a movie about the mid-80s hardcore scene that had shows at CBs and Pyramid and other LES venues. It's not about screwed up people. It is about the straight edge scene (no drugs, drink) and AIDS in 80s. It is based on a fantastic book. It will mark the first time the New York Hardcore scene makes it to Hollywood. Ethan Hawke plays a cool stoner dad who takes care of his son's best friend when the son dies. Win, win, win.

Here's more about the book from NPR.

Excellent Urban Etiquette Sign name checks Russell Brand, 'Till Tuesday

[Click image to enlarge]

Spotted over on East First Street… The note starts off with the suggestion that someone in an adjacent building is playing Russell Brand a little too loudly on the stereo. Not that this is the worst offense.

"[I]t's much, much worse when you're playing saccharine pop ballads at top volume, or perhaps having a sing-along to your favorite Adele song."

There's also a reference to the mysterious Nicolas who splashes around in his hot tub at 3 a.m., and "the filthy tarp he optimistically erected as a sound barrier."

The missive ends with, "So, do us all a favor, and remember, that even downtown, voices carry*. And how."

A 'Til Tuesday reference!

"Voices Carry" is a fine song from 1985 …whose video features one of the greatest Assholes in Music Video History. Let's watch! (And it's fine to get up and sing just like Aimee Mann during the finale at Carnegie Hall!)



Well done, Urban Etiquette Sign. Sarcastic and funny while still making a point… with a little music lesson to boot.

Campaign underway to help Arleen Schloss

Filmmaker Stuart Ginsberg has launched a crowdfunding campaign for artist/curator Arleen Schloss. The 70-year-old Schloss was injured last month in a fall in her Broome Street home

Here is the background via GoFundMe:

Recently, Arleen Schloss suffered a near-fatal brain injury when she slipped and fell at her home in January. Rushed to the hospital, she is currently in rehab and will possibly continue for a few more months.

Her friends are raising money to help Arleen pay her current bills, medical care and any future home care. Arleen also suffers from MS and will need help for both conditions.

Who is Arleen Schloss? Arleen is an experimental artist who helped foster the East Village art scene through her loft called A's as well as through other events and performances.

The New York Times called her work "much superior to most performance art" and White Hot Magazine referred to Arleen as "a national treasure." Arleen traveled the world with her performances, installations, experimental work and video art.

Over 1,000 artists, performers, musicians, writers and poets owe their success to Arleen.

From 1979 to 1995, Schloss opened up her loft at 330 Broome St. in the Lower East Side to a group of then-unknown artists, actors and musicians that included Sonic Youth, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Eric Bogosian, Glenn Branca, Phoebe Legere and Alan Suiclde, among many others.

Ginsberg has been working on a documentary about Schloss titled "Wednesdays at A's." Here's the trailer.



Find more info at GoFundMe.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Arleen Schloss and 'Wednesday at A's'

An IBM Watson building update, and its possible future consequences

The Wall Street Journal checks in (registration required) on our friend the IBM Watson building (aka 51 Astor Place).

While developer Edward J. Minskoff didn't fully lease the building by the end of January like he predicted, the place is 70 percent leased, and will likely reach 90 percent in a few weeks if all the negotiations go well with prospective tenants. All this has quieted those real-estate skeptics who thought Minskoff was bananas for building the 400,000-square-foot tower on spec.

"My gut feeling was that when it was finished, the tenants would come," said Mr. Minskoff. "And that's exactly what happened."

And the long-term impact on this neighborhood?

Mr. Minksoff's tower could still face leasing challenges if his deals in the pipeline aren't signed. But if he fills the building at high rents as he predicts, his success could spur other developers to build office properties in the area or to buy older buildings and upgrade them.

"The building and tenant roster have increased the real estate value in the surrounding area." said Paul N. Glickman, vice chairman at Jones Lang LaSalle, the leasing agent for 51 Astor.

The IBM Watson Group is the anchor tenant here with 120,000 square feet.

Noted

From a listing for a one-bedroom apartment at 717 E. Fifth St.:

Fully renovated cozy 1Br just off fashionable Ave. C in the East Village.

Fashionable?

You can see for yourself during an Open House here today at 2.

Sushi Zayy replacing former Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo

Signs are up now on 57 First Ave., home of the former Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo, for Sushi Zayy.

We don't know too much about the new venture here near East Fourth Street. Other than that it will be a sushi restaurant. (Duh.) The applicants are on this month's CB3/SLA licensing committee docket for a beer-wine license.

It fucking snowed again today

As you likely noticed! Still, it was… pretty, right?













And damn…



Photos in Tompkins Square Park by Bobby Williams

Strummer through the snow

The Joe Stummer mural on the side of Niagara on East Seventh Street and Avenue A provides a beacon through the whiteout today in Tompkins Square Park... photo by William Klayer

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[At Key Food, via Michael Sean Edwards]

Remembering Slugger Ann’s Bar & Grill from Second Avenue and East 12th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

When there were lines to enter the Tompkins Square Library branch (Off the Grid)

Photos from the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown (The Lo-Down)

The East Village building from "Batteries Not Included" (Gothamist)

Upclose and personal with a hawk eating in Tompkins Square Park (Gog in NYC)

About the founder of the the Little Missionary's Day Nursery on St. Mark's Place (Ephemeral New York)

Ray's 81st birthday bash — in VIDEO! (Slum Goddess, a little NSFW)

Gaia Italian Cafe on East Houston closed for a break (BoweryBoogie)

and, meanwhile, via a dear EVG reader, a scene on the N train this morning...

Reader report: Small track fire at the Delancey/Essex Street station this morning

Waiting for the uptown F at at the Delancey/Essex Street station provided some photo ops this morning ... EVG reader David Shankbone shares these photos of a small track fire... no word on what caused it...



Updated 12:59
Gothamist has more on the fire here.

Walter De Maria's 'giant-robot laboratory' going for $25 million; inside is amazing as you'd expect

Famed sculptor Walter De Maria died last July at age 77. De Maria owned one of the most intriguing buildings in the East Village — the mysterious 421 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Avenue A. The building was a Con Ed substation built in 1920. (NYC Songlines described No. 421 as "a giant-robot laboratory.") De Maria bought it in 1980 to use as a home and studio.

We had never seen any photos of the interior … or met anyone who had been inside. Who is up there? What is up there?


[Photo by Goggla]

We were curious what would happen to this after his death. (After all, it was our dream home.)

Well, Robin Finn at the Times has the story: The building and adjacent lot are ready to hit the market for $25 million.

Meanwhile, the Times got a look inside… and it is as amazing as we expected.

In keeping with his Minimalist philosophy, Mr. De Maria left the substation’s industrial origins intact: An impressive grittiness prevails throughout the raw space. Major improvements were confined to the overhead lighting that illuminated his room-size installations.

Even the elevator is a vintage artifact, as is the Viking stove in the bare-bones kitchen where he cooked steak and vegetables. But mostly he worked, dreaming up installations like Bel Air Trilogy, an assemblage of three classic, two-tone (red and white) 1955 Chevrolets, each with a silver stake embedded in its front and rear windshields. A two-story ramp at the back of the property made it possible to take the cars, and other huge objects, up to the second-floor studio.

[Katherine Marks for The New York Times]

There are a lot more photos on the Times website.

The sale will include the lot next door.



Per the Times:

The sale also includes an unimproved lot at 419 East Sixth, a 7,920-square-foot expanse of grass and gravel partially enclosed by a chain-link fence with the potential to be repurposed into gardens, a noncommercial gallery, a garage or townhouses.

The mind reels at what a developer might do to/with this.

P.S.
Can anyone lend us $25 million?

Previously on EV Grieve:
About that "giant-robot laboratory" on East Sixth Street

RIP Walter De Maria

What is your East Village dream home?

Some part of 7A will stay in the new 7A's name

[Photo by Bride of 7th]

As we first pointed out last Thursday, Paul Salmon's name is on the application that's on file at the CB3 website for the 7A space ahead of this month's SLA committee meeting. Salmon is the one of the restaurateurs behind Miss Lily's, the Jamaican bar and restaurant on West Houston, and Joe's Pub.

There's now more paperwork on the CB3 website (PDF). It's a little tough to make it all out (did they use disappearing ink?) … the paperwork shows that Moshe Hatsav is the name of the partner leaving the corporation… and Paul Salmon is joining the corporation… the form shows that his position is "full time manager, overseeing day to day operations."



The form also asks, "Will the business name be maintained?"

The answer… "As a nod to the venerable history of this establishment, the new owners plan to incorporate some variation of the current trade name, 7A, into the new trade name."



How about — "7A — You No Longer Can Afford Our Food." (Haha. Kidding! Kind of!)

One more observation about the application. CB3 has it listed this way for the meeting:

Corporate Change (not heard at committee)
• New 7A Cafe LLC, 109 Ave A (op)

So, "not heard at committee." As far as we understand how this works, this means that there won't even be a vote by the committee for approval. Seems a little strange that they will completely change the concept (with an all-new staff) … and there's not any discussion on the matter.

7A closed on Jan. 26.

Pan has closed on St. Mark's Place; so long 1 cent beer deal

Pan, the Korean pub and restaurant, has closed at 13 St. Mark's Place. They moved here from Koreatown just last July.

Didn't know much about the place, except that they always seemed to have some sort of drink incentive …



… and this one that started in December…

Flinders Lane opening today on Avenue A

The Beagle, the craft cocktail bar at 162 Avenue A, closed back in October … signage arrived last week for the restaurant taking the space — Flinders Lane.

Here's a description of the restaurant via Facebook:

Flinders Lane is an Australian inspired eating and drinking house focused on offering a boutique selection of domestic and international wines, fresh seasonal cocktails and a creative small plate food selection.

After a few previews for friend and family, the restaurant opens tonight, and the owners had this to say about it on Facebook:

So this is it! We just want to say after 4 years of collaboration over late night Chinese and gimlets I'm proud to say that Monday the 3rd Feb is a red letter day - to realize a dream with a mate. A massive thank you to all that have helped us realize this dream.

There are some photos of the interior on Facebook… such as this one:



You can find their menu here.