Sounds better today than hot chocolate

Spotted in the window at Moishe's Bake Shop on Second Avenue today.

Photo by Elizabeth Janovsky‎

Sidewalk bridge work continues at 190 Bowery

Workers continue to erect the heavy duty sidewalk bridge at 190 Bowery, where developer Aby Rosen is converting the former single-family home into office space and maybe some high-end condos.

BoweryBoogie first spotted the scaffolding going up late last week, and not much progress has been made since then, it appears.

So what's going to happen outside here at Spring Street? As Curbed reported, the plans approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission back in May call for keeping the graffiti on the exterior. Plus! "The exterior will have entrances restored to their original 1898 state, and all of the windows will be replaced."

And as for the interior of the Germania Bank Building, a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals had previously reported signing on for some of the office space.

Rosen bought the landmarked building from photographer Jay Maisel for a reported $55 million last year. And no — it's not for sale again.

Groundbreaking today on East 13th Street for the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth

Nearly two years have passed since news broke that the long-vacant building at 222 E. 13th St. near Third Avenue would become the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth.

Today, though, as Out Magazine first reported, the center breaks ground for the facility that will accommodate 18 residents.

Arthur, who died in April 2009, left $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, an organization supporting homeless LGBT youth, in her will. In 2012, City Council as well as then-Borough President Scott Stringer awarded the Ali Forney Center and the Cooper Square Committee $3.3 million for the residence.

The property had been owned by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Executive Director Carl Siciliano of the Ali Forney Center will be in attendance at the ground breaking with several elected officials. In a press release, Siciliano said: "It meant the world to me that a star of the magnitude of Bea Arthur would do so much to help the Ali Forney Center in our work of housing homeless LGBT youths. I am very grateful that we will now be able to honor Bea and continue to keep her compassion alive through the establishment of the Bea Arthur Residence for Homeless LGBT Youth."

And here's a rendering from July 2012 of what the property will look like when it opens later next year...



Previously on EV Grieve:
A haunted house on 13th Street?

Abandoned 13th Street building becoming the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth

Here's what the Bea Arthur Residence will look like on East 13th Street

Good Night Sonny ready to say hello on 1st Avenue

[Photo via Facebook]

Over on First Avenue at St. Mark's Place, the owners of Good Night Sonny have been opening the bar-restaurant, like on Saturday night, to work out the kinks.

As previously reported, the proprietors of The Wayland on Avenue C and East Ninth Street took over the space after Simone closed last November.

Wayland partner Robert Ceraso shared more about the name of the new venture with us in April:

"It’s named after my maternal grandfather. Our family owned a bar on the corner of Mulberry and Hester for 40 years or so. He sold it in the 1960s. Even though he hadn’t been a bartender in 50 years, my grandfather still always kept our late hours. The name is my grandmother saying good night to him when she would go up to bed. We wanted to honor our elders as well as all the woman in our lives who put up with our crazy lifestyle and schedule."

Ahead of the official grand opening, Good Night Sonny is offering a limited menu, featuring oysters and clams from their raw bar. You can find more photos and details on the Good Night Sonny Facebook page.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Shaping up the former Simone

Paperwork filed to renovate Peter Brant's gallery space on East 6th Street

Just noting that reps for Peter Brant have filed the application to renovate 421 E. Sixth St.

Per the DOB, in their glorious ALL-CAP style:

ALTERATION TYPE 1 FILING TO CHANGE USE ON FLOORS 1-3 TO GALLERY AND SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING ON THE 4TH FLOOR. WORK TO INCLUDE PARTITIONS CEILINGS AND FINISHES AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH.

Estimated cost of the renovations per the DOB paperwork: $4.8 million.

As previously reported, the building between Avenue A and First Avenue is intended to be a gallery space to display Brant's personal art collection. The intention is to have approximately two shows per year, with the first one scheduled for Fall 2016.

Brant has met with neighbors to discuss his intentions for the building… the plans look like this.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rumor: The Brant Foundation buying Walter De Maria's E. 6th St. studio for an exhibition space (19 comments)

Confirmed: Peter M. Brant buys Walter De Maria's amazing East 6th Street home and studio

1st permits filed for renovation of Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

More about the 1st show at Walter De Maria's former home-studio on East 6th Street

Here's what Peter Brant wants to do with his new exhibition space on East 6th Street

When the world's top collectors of Dom Pérignon rosé came to the East Village for dinner

Reader report: 421 E. 6th St. will house Peter M. Brant's personal art collection

Peter Brant's East 6th Street Outreach Tour 2015 continues

Peter Brant meets the neighbors

Lucy's will return Aug. 14

Lucy is on her usual summer break here on Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street… back open on Aug. 14…



Meanwhile, a random Lucy's photo from the EVG archives…



As I recall, this photo is from early on a Saturday night last November. Someone asked Lucy to turn on a specific college football game. She found a Yankees Classic on YES and asked if this was OK.

NYPD rescues dog locked in car on Avenue B

Last night around 10:15, with the heat index hovering around 100 degrees, passersby noticed a pit bull locked inside a vehicle on Avenue B near East Eighth Street.

Someone called the police, who arrived and freed the dog from the car… the police took the dog away in a cruiser. No word on the whereabouts of the pit bull's owner.

Thanks to EVG reader Chris Ryan for the photo and report

Updated 10:25 a.m.

There's also a video clip...

Week in Grieview

[The hand shadower with apparently no shadow on the Bowery by Derek Berg]

Welcome back Ray! (Friday)

A memo from the NYC Department of Pedestrian Etiquette (Monday)

Details on the financial assistance available to businesses affected by the Second Avenue explosion (Thursday)

Ben Shaoul curtails rooftop ragers at Bloom 62 (Tuesday, 63 comments)

CVS is the first retail tenant for the Death Star/51 Astor Place (Monday)

Cops: This cyclist has nabbed 2 phones from pedestrians (Monday)

The NYC films of BAM's Indie 80s series (Thursday)

Russian Souvenirs closes on East 14th Street (Thursday)

Out and About with Maurice Whitaker and Laura K. Reich (Wednesday)

Looking at all the new construction along Avenue A (Wednesday)

A look at the backlogged work orders and violations of local New York City Public Housing properties (Wednesday)

Here then, the new Moishe's Bake Shop sign (Monday)

Out with Euzkadi on East Fourth Street (Monday)

Contrada appears to have closed (Wednesday)

What happens to the neighborhood once the planet gets warmer (Wednesday)

10 stories of condos in the works for the long-vacant corner of 4th Avenue and East 10th Street (Tuesday)

La Lucha space for rent on Avenue A (Monday)

Looking at One Great Jones Alley, "a private paradise" (Monday)

Archie meets the Ramones! (Tuesday)

Signage arrives for interesting new business on East 14th Street (Monday)

Joli Beauty Bar coming to East First Street (Monday)

A look at three recent business openings (Thursday)

And this week in Tompkins Square Park:

• Observer editors write, "it's time to take back Tompkins Square Park" (Wednesday)

• Extra police and media foot patrols in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

• Mayor de Blasio visits (Thursday)

• After recent complaints, city vows to crack down on stuffed lions in Tompkins Square Park (Wednesday)

[Updated] Report of a fire at 410 E. 6th St.

The FDNY is out in full force in response to a fire at 610 E. Sixth St. at First Avenue in the Village View complex… the fire is reportedly in a 6th-floor apartment...

MAN ALL HANDS 410 EAST 6TH ST, FIRE ON 6TH FL,

— FDNY (@FDNY) July 19, 2015

… and via a reader…



Updated 1:51 p.m.

MAN ALL HANDS 410 EAST 6TH ST, MULTIPLE DWELLING FIRE ON 6TH FL, UNDER CONTROL

— FDNY (@FDNY) July 19, 2015

Updated 2:08 p.m.

We are unaware of any reports of injuries. @GregJKrieg was on the scene and posted photos of firefighters caring for a female pit bull from the building. (Not sure if the dog was in the apartment with the fire.) The dog was limp (but breathing) when firefighters removed her from the building…





After giving her water and oxygen … and applying ice packs…

She's licking at firefighters now and moving around a bunch. pic.twitter.com/s24Ojtgzb6

— Greg Krieg (@GregJKrieg) July 19, 2015

The new islands of 3rd Avenue

Been meaning to note this… you've likely noticed this if you've crossed Third Avenue or Cooper Square anywhere from East Ninth Street to East Fourth Street of late… workers have been installing pedestrian crosswalk islands as part of the ongoing Astor Place Reconstruction Project…





According to the city, the entire reconstruction/reconfiguration project is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2016.

Looks like we're in for another week of New York Post reporters in Tompkins Square Park

Not sure exactly what happened here in the ballfield in the Park's northwest corner… aside from a recent fire, that is…



Maybe some lovelorn Mumford & Sons fans?

In any event, we found the fridge someone left in another part of the Park last week.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Post reports Tompkins Square Park 'has become a homeless haven' (105 comments)

Miscelanea NY now open on East 4th Street with coffee and tortas to go

Miscelanea NY opened Thursday at 63 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery…

They describe themselves as a "Mexican speciality food and concept store" … and they have coffee and homemade aguas frescos (and Mexican Coca-Cola) as well as some food (tortas, salads) to go …


[Photo yesterday by Derek Berg]

The shop is open Tuesday-Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. They serve coffee all day; food until 4 p.m.

Noted

Spotted along Avenue A between East 11th Street and East 12th Street…



Not even a Kushner property…

[Updated] An urban garden grows atop Umbrella House on Avenue C

Via the EVG inbox…

Today from 4 to 7 pm the former Lower East Side squat Umbrella House will host an open house to inaugurate its urban farming project. At 5 pm members of Umbrella’s Rooftop Garden Committee will speak briefly about the development of the project.

EVENT RAINDATE: Sunday July 19; 4 — 7 pm.

This 820 square foot intensive green roof serves as a source of fresh produce for building residents, as a means to assist in storm water management, and as a model for other New York

The garden was initially conceived in early 2012 and construction was completed in December 2014. Now in its first growing season, the garden is producing swiss chard, broccoli, white onions, eggplant, okra, spinach, zucchini, basil, sugar snap peas, jalapeno peppers, lamb’s quarters, and several varieties of tomatoes; as well as medicinal plants: hyssop, lemon balm, chamomile, calendula, and passion flower.

Umbrella’s Rooftop Garden involved extensive construction: structural steel framing and concrete planking were required to build the raised 8” planting bed. Construction cost was $150,000. Area architect Paul Castrucci was the project architect.

Umbrella House members believe that this project is a worthy example for other co-ops and property owners to emulate.

Umbrella House Garden Committee and Co-op Board Member Parker Pracjek states: “Access to healthy food through Farmer’s Markets, Green Food Carts, and Farm to Table initiatives have made some improvements to food health literacy in New York City, but more must be done. Food justice should be expanded to urban farming to transform underused spaces into productive environments. The benefits of urban farming are far-reaching and include decreased carbon footprint, responsible use of natural and human resources and community health.”

[Image via the Umbrella House website]

Umbrella House is at 21 Avenue C between East Second Street and East Third Street.

Read more about the garden here. The New York Times has a feature on the garden here.

Updated 9:26 a.m.

Due to showers and thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon, the Umbrella House Garden Open House has been rescheduled for tomorrow 4-7 p.m.

Ping ponging in Tompkins Square Park this evening

Photo by Grant Shaffer

Call of the 'Wild'

After playing the 4Knots Festival last Saturday on Pier 84, New Jersey's Screaming Females hit the road for the remainder of the summer... Here's "Wild" from 2011.

Fundraiser at the 6th and B Garden tomorrow

Via the EVG inbox...

EV Grieve Etc.: Looking at deregulated apartments; Going Beyond Cassavetes

[Photo outside Gem Spa by Derek Berg]

More than 50,000 NYC apartments have been deregulated in the last eight years, with heavy losses in the East Village and Lower East Side (Gothamist)

The Bowery Mission receives donation of 300 new luxury mattresses (DNAinfo)

Housing advocates stage sleep-in to push for more affordable accommodation (Daily News)

About the #crashnotaccident campaign (Gizmodo)

Happy 10th anniversary to Alex! (Flaming Pablum)

Scaffolding and a sidewalk bridge arrive at 190 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

This weekend: "Beyond Cassavetes: Lost Legends of the New York Film World (1945-70)" (Anthology Film Archives)

2nd Floor on Clinton closing on July 29 (The Lo-Down)

Fire Escape Season (Gog in NYC)

So long to one of the city's last vintage, stand-alone diners (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

The Papaya King story (Eater)

Boston subbing for NYC in "Ghostbusters" reboot (Runnin' Scared)

Commercial flashback: Phil Rizzuto pitches The Money Store (Ephemeral New York)

... and The New York Times has a feature on East Village resident and astronomy buff Felton Davis, who has been kind enough to share his stargazing photos from Second Avenue (and elsewhere) with us through the years...



Find the article, titled Strangers on the Street Find a Connection in the Stars, here.

Welcome back Ray!

[Photo yesterday by Peter Brownscombe]

Back on June 16, Ray Alvarez, the 82-year-old proprietor of Ray's Candy Store at 113 Avenue A, had heart valve replacement surgery.

Doctors discharged him on Wednesday evening from VillageCare Rehabilitation on West Houston Street with his new pacemaker.


[Photo Wednesday via Facebook]

Here's an update via the Ray's Candy Store Facebook page ... from Wednesday night:

Ray was released from his rehab facility today! His first stop, NATURALLY, was Ray's Candy Store, to get some oatmeal...and to try and help fix the air conditioner. A month after heart valve replacement surgery. Because, Ray.

The doctors and nurses FELL IN LOVE WITH RAY and were sad to see him go, but he's got a business to run and a neighborhood that needs him back where he belongs.

It may be a while before Ray is working the night shift again, but having him home means the world to us.

Yesterday, Ray was at work during the afternoon… taking it easy, but the same ol' Ray…


[PB]


[PB]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Get well soon, Ray!

Remembering East Village resident Mary Bellis

Via the EVG inbox...

Longtime East Village resident Mary Bellis aka CalmX was a filmmaker, artist and writer.

She received an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and funding from the National Film Board of Canada to create her experimental works. Her 1984 independent film "Agent of Paradise" shot in the New York underground art scene starred numerous downtown performance artists, including John Kelly, The Unknown Comic, Philly McAninch as well as James Oseland star of Bravo TV’s "Top Chef Masters." "Agent of Paradise" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and screened in art house theaters worldwide.

Mary worked as an independent video game developer, animator and journalist while continuing to make and exhibit her computer-generated art. She was the originator and author of the Inventors site for the web portal about.com.

Mary loved tending her garden at 6th Street and Avenue B and dancing at the Pyramid Club. Mary was a beautiful person and dear friend and will be greatly missed by all of those she touched.

Please join us in a celebration of life for our friend at the 6th Street and Ave B Community Garden on Sunday from 4-8 p.m.

Bellis died on March 28 following a short illness.

A change at 84 2nd Ave.

[Photo by Jill from 2009]

There has been some activity this week at 84 Second Ave. near East Fifth St. … a building that has intrigued many of us for years…

First, before any history … on Monday, workers started replacing the long-empty storefront's front windows…


[Photo by Paul Kostabi]


[PK]

The first thought among 84 watchers: The storefront is being put to use again as a… storefront… there's nothing on file with the DOB to offer any hints… for now the work has stopped…


[Photo Wednesday by Derek Berg]

As for history.

In February 2009, a man who said that he lived and worked nearby for years told Jill the following about the building:

It used to be a place that sold tuxedos and formal wear. The family had several children, but one of them, a daughter, was raped and murdered in the top floor, possibly in the 1940's [note: it was actually 1974].

The killer was never found. The children (or one of them and a spouse?) still live there and refuse to renovate or change anything. The top floor is exactly the way it was when the daughter was murdered and you can still see the powder where the cops dusted for fingerprints. This man had been inside once and was witness to its originality. He said they have no intention of selling or changing or even of renting out the storefront.

The name of the family is Sopolsky.

This is from The New York Times, dated Jan. 18, 1974:

The nude body of a 40-year-old woman propietor of a tailor shop that rents tuxedos on the Lower East Side was found bludgeoned to death. The victim was Helen Sopolsky of 84 Second Avenue, near fifth Street, whose shop is one flight up at that address. The motive of the attack was not determined immediately...."

Here's more history of 84 via Lost City from February 2012:

It was a temporary home for women in 1884, open to "self-supporting homeless young women, with or without a child." Morris Kosturk, 40, was found dead there in 1921. And Aaron Schneider, who lived here in 1964, was the victim of a hit and run driver.

For years (decades?), you could see a plastic-covered dinner jacket in the second-story window with the neon sign that reads "DRESS SUITS TO HIRE."


[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

More recently there was an ad for Jamie's now-closed check-cashing shop around the corner … as well as for a walker for $60.

Here's Jeremiah Moss writing about the building in July 2011:

We're all a little nervous about #84. There are those of us who watch it and wait, anxiously, for the day when it will be sold, when a multi-millionaire will turn it into a grand mansion, or the ground floor will be converted into a trendy farm-to-table restaurant, and all the mystery will be sucked away.

Free production of 'The Taming of the Shrew' in La Plaza Cultural this weekend

Via the EVG inbox...

William Shakespeare
"The Taming of the Shrew"
July 18 and 19 at 6 pm
La Plaza Cultural, Avenue C at East Ninth Street

Tale Told Productions, a nonprofit theater company based in NYC, now in its 4th season, will be presenting "The Taming of the Shrew" as part of our 7-Day Shakespeare Series! With only seven days of rehearsal Tale Told Productions strives to present performances that are visceral and authentic, capturing the actor at their most raw and honest self while maintaining the truth and core of the plot.

Admission is FREE. For more information please visit the Tale Told website.

Mayor de Blasio visits Tompkins Square Park

EVG reader Sue Palchak spotted the Mayor just before noon talking to folks in Tompkins Square Park... this brief visit comes several days after the Post and the Observer reported an uptick in the number of homeless people in the Park...

Updated 10:56 p.m.

The Post has five reporters on this story...

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Post reports Tompkins Square Park 'has become a homeless haven' (105 comments)

Observer editors write, 'it's time to take back Tompkins Square Park'

Details on the financial assistance available to businesses affected by the 2nd Avenue explosion

Tim Laughlin, executive director of the LES Business Improvement District, sent use the following letter yesterday… via the EVG inbox...

I am writing to let you know that the LES BID (Lower East Side Business Improvement District), Community Board 3 and local elected officials have worked with public and private partners to help raise funds for local businesses impacted by the East Village gas explosion.

An application for financial assistance has been made available for eligible businesses, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, July 22. We have been going door-to-door to notify businesses, in addition to reaching out by email and through community based partners. The application deadline has been extended to provide more businesses the opportunity to submit an application.

Following the close of the extended application period, applicants will be contacted individually to provide additional supporting information. Assistance grants are expected to be distributed at the end of the month.

Applicants can contact the LES BID at 212-226-9010 for more information or download an application at eastvillagerelief.nyc, the comprehensive community web portal established in March to share information about ongoing recovery efforts. Eligible businesses include establishments within the immediate impact zone.

Funds available for this grant program come from a variety of sources, mainly community-based donors as well as other public and institutional partners, and will be disbursed to eligible applicants who have submitted application materials based on need and availability of funding resources.

The NYC films of BAM's 'Indie 80s' series

[From "Blank Generation"]

BAMcinématek's sprawling "Indie 80s" program, co-presented with Cinema Conservancy, starts tomorrow (out in Brooklyn, yes)… and runs through Aug. 27.

In total, there are more than 60 films "spotlighting the independent films of the neglected decade between the golden age of 70s New Hollywood and the indie boom of the 90s."

Of particular interest are the dozen or so titles filmed in New York City, including in the East Village with "Alphabet City," "Blank Generation" and "Landlord Blues."

We asked David Reilly, who has been a programmer for BAMcinématek since 2011, a few questions about the "Indie 80s" program.

In terms of these various NYC features, what were you looking for to fit into the "Indie 80s" series?

We sought out fiercely independent, personal films that in some way reflect what we’ve described as “an aesthetic and political rebuke to the greed-is-good culture of bloated blockbusters and the trumped-up monoculture of Reagan-era America” – an attitude that’s on display in abundance in New York’s creative community of the era and certainly not limited to a specific community or “scene.”

You can see this in the incredible diversity of neighborhoods and cultures represented onscreen: from CBGB punks ("Blank Generation") to Bronx hip-hop pioneers ("Wild Style"), from the gay community at the height of the AIDS crisis ("Parting Glances") to the Puerto Rican community in pre-gentrification Williamsburg ("Los Sures"), from Upper West Side intellectuals ("My Dinner with Andre") to Fort Greene’s “Brooklyn Boheme” black arts scene ("She’s Gotta Have It"), and beyond. There’s an embarrassment of riches in New York indies during this period, and we’ve tried to capture at least a small slice of that pie.

Do you see any common themes emerge from the various films about New York City during this time period?

A recurring sense of struggling to get by and live outside the system during a violent, troubled moment in the City’s history. There’s a certain ominousness and anxiety embedded in the Ed Koch Era, and it seeps through these films in a variety of forms: sexual predators ("Ms. 45"), scumbag landlords ("Landlord Blues"), roving street gangs ("Vigilante" and "Alphabet City"), homelessness ("Sidewalk Stories"), and of course, the devastation of AIDS.

What kind of legacy do you think the NYC films in the series have … particularly on the 90s indie boom?

For New Yorkers, these films are a crucial document of a very different city that’s becoming more and more unrecognizable with each passing day, and a period of explosive creativity the likes of which we may never see again.

And it’s hard to imagine a phenomenon like "Kids" (1995) — a scrappy New York story made with a mostly non-professional cast getting a major distribution deal and grossing over $20 million — being possible without these 1980s predecessors paving the way for a larger cultural awareness of independent filmmaking.

---

And here are a few of the NYC/EV-based films on the docket…

Alphabet City (1984)
Directed by Amos Poe. With Vincent Spano, Michael Winslow, Kate Vernon.
Nineeteen-year-old Johnny (Spano) is an East Village drug kingpin with the white Pontiac Firebird to prove it. But when he decides to go straight, he finds that the mob that made him isn’t going to let him off that easily. Punk filmmaker Amos Poe crafts a luridly expressionistic gangster saga set amidst the neon- splashed mean streets of the Lower East Side. The echt-80s, synthpop soundtrack is by Chic’s Nile Rodgers.
Wed, Aug 26 at 9:30 pm



Blank Generation (1980)
Directed by Ulli Lommel. With Carole Bouquet, Richard Hell, Ulli Lommel.
Punk icon Richard Hell stars as a volatile rocker having an affair with a French journalist (Bouquet) in this grimy glimpse of New York’s punk underground. Capturing the raucous energy and seedy atmosphere of the 80s downtown scene, Blank Generation features Hell and his band the Voidoids performing classics like the title track and “Love Comes in Spurts” at CBGB, as well as an appearance by executive producer Andy Warhol. Digital.
Thu, Jul 30 at 7 pm

Landlord Blues (1986)
Directed by Jacob Burckhardt. With Mark Boone Junior, Richard Litt, Raye Dowell.
An East Village bicycle shop owner (Boone Junior) takes matters into his own hands when his scumbag landlord (Litt) tries to evict him. Set against the first wave of gentrification to sweep through downtown, this ultra-rare, shot-on-16mm tenant’s revenge tale features footage of the former East 13th St. squats as well as music and an appearance by Nona Hendryx. 16mm.
Mon, Aug 10 at 7pm; Q&A with Burckhardt

Ms. 45 (1981)
Directed by Abel Ferrara. With Zoë Lund.
The ne plus ultra of women’s revenge movies, Abel Ferrara’s exploitation classic takes place in the cesspool of 80s New York, where mute garment district worker Thana (Lund) is raped once, twice—and then snaps. Packing a pistol and clad in leather (and later a nun’s habit), Thana handily wastes a good chunk of Manhattan’s male population, while Ferrara, defying the grindhouse trappings, forges a feminist statement in extremis. DCP.
Sat, Aug 15 at 4:15, 9 pm

Parting Glances (1986)
Directed by Bill Sherwood. With Richard Ganoung, John Bolger, Steve Buscemi.
This marvelously witty, compassionate snapshot of Manhattan’s 1980s gay community was one of the first films ever to lend a human face to the HIV crisis. New York City couple Michael (Ganoung) and Robert (Bolger) grapple with the emotional fallout of their impending separation and the illness of a friend (Buscemi, memorable in his first major role) dying of AIDS.
Tue, Aug 4 at 7:30, 9:30 pm

Vigilante (1983)
Directed by William Lustig. With Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright.
Grindhouse auteur William Lustig (Maniac) serves up a crazily violent bloodbath in this twisted, pure-pulp thriller. When gang members attack his wife and kill his son, a Queens factory worker (Forster) joins up with an outlaw vigilante group and makes it his personal mission to clean up the streets. “Directed with classical, self-effacing skill” (Dave Kehr, The New York Times), Vigilante is a grim, grimy time capsule of 1980s New York City. 35mm print courtesy of the Cinema Conservancy Archive.
Thu, Jul 30 at 4:30, 9:30 pm Intro by William Lustig



Vortex (1982)
Directed by Beth B & Scott B. With James Russo, Lydia Lunch, Bill Rice.
Noir meets No Wave in this paranoid punk thriller from New York downtown agitators Beth and Scott B. Attitudinal underground musician Lydia Lunch (Teenage Jesus and the Jerks) stars as a no-BS, leather- clad detective investigating the murder of a politician in a futuristic dystopia of corporate corruption. The Bs make the most of a miniscule budget with stylish visuals, hardboiled dialogue, and an unsettling soundtrack. 16mm.
Mon, Aug 10 at 9:30 pm

Wild Style (1982)
Directed by Charlie Ahearn. With Lee Quiñones, Sandra Fabara, Patti Astor.
The original hip-hop movie, Wild Style was the first film to document the scene’s music, breaking, and street art at its inception. It follows a subway tagger named Zoro (played by graffiti legend Quiñones) through the vibrant street culture of the Bronx in the early 80s. Filmed with semidocumentary authenticity, Wild Style features appearances by seminal artists like Grandmaster Flash, Cold Crush Brothers, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy, Busy Bee, and more.
Fri, Aug 21 at 7 pm

For the full program and tickets, go here.

[Updated] Russian Souvenirs is no more on East 14th Street

One of the more unique shops around has apparently closed. An EVG reader reported that the shop on East 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue was cleaned out on Monday.

EVG East 14th Street/IHOP Way correspondent Pinch confirmed that the shop now mostly sits empty.



Unfortunately, we have no idea why the store closed. Rent hike? A retirement? (The owner, the rather cantankerous Alex Bogatyr, is up in his years.) The market for Russian knickknacks waning?

The store has been around for years. Jeremiah Moss wrote about the shop back in 2009:

The walls are covered with paintings of dour-faced bearded men, sunsets, and lonely forests. In the back, there are racks and racks of clothing and fabrics. And all around, everywhere you look, the shelves are stacked high with tchochkes.

And!

If you do decide to shop here, be ready to bargain. Alex is a haggler, and he's a serious man. A professional who knows his wares, he will not give you service with a smile, nor with a sneer. This is old Leningrad on 14th Street, not Bed, Bath, & Beyond where the robotic staff are programmed to utter a monotoned hello to you every five seconds.

Updated 5:53 p.m.

From the comments… author Romy Ashby stopped by …

"I went in to visit with him yesterday at about 5 PM. He was having a sandwich and we talked. He said that a rent hike is the reason he's leaving. He had me write my name and number in a notebook full of names and numbers, and he said he will call if he finds another place."

Openings: T-swirl Crêpes on East 14th Street, KavasutrA on East 10th Street

A few recent openings...

---



The T-swirl Crêpe shop has opened at 247 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, reports EVG T-swirl Crêpe correspondent Pinch. Per their description: "T-swirl crêpe makes Japanese style sweet and salad crêpes by hand using our secret recipes and tasty fillings."

---



The South Florida-based KavasutrA opened its kava bar Tuesday at 261 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The bar is open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week, per the KavasutrA website.

---



Sexyflow is now open at 205 Avenue A. The hair salon is in the retail space of Icon Realty's recently expanded residential building here between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.