Report: Murder conviction for man who beat grandfather to death on East 6th Street

[Photo from 2006 via CBS 2]

In May 2014, 68-year-old Wen Hui Ruan died from the injuries he sustained in a vicious assault on East Sixth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

In the days that followed, police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Pugh, who was charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault. His mother claimed at the time that someone slipped him the club drug Molly. As DNAinfo reported, "Pugh didn’t even know about the attack until one of his friends showed him the chilling surveillance footage over the weekend and said the attacker looked like him."


[Photo of Jamie Pugh from May 2014 by Frank Franca]

According to BoweryBoogie today, a jury last week found Pugh guilty of second-degree murder … and he could conceivably receive 25-to-life when sentenced on Oct. 22. DNAinfo has comments from Pugh's attorney here.

Ruan, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, had just dropped off his granddaughters when the attack occurred.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

[Updated] Report: Murder suspect's mother says her son was high on Molly at the time of attack

Report: Family of Ruan Wen Hui wants hate crime charges brought against suspect

Living out of a suitcase 6 months after the 2nd Avenue explosion

Six months after the deadly explosion wiped out the northwest corner of Second Avenue and East Seventh Street, Jennifer Porto still finds herself without a permanent home.

She had been living at 125 Second Ave. the past three years. While the blast and fire destroyed three buildings — 45 East Seventh St. (119 Second Ave.), 121 Second Ave. and 123 Second Ave., 15 units in total — several apartments next door at No. 125 also received substantial damage, include Porto's. She lost most of her possessions. Porto says that her apartment remains under renovation ... and she hopes to return.

As for the explosion, authorities have said that siphoned gas at Sushi Park at 121 Second Ave. may have been to blame for the explosion, which killed Moises Ismael Locón Yac and Nicholas Figueroa, and injured two dozen other people. The investigation continues.

On the 6-month anniversary of the explosion, we spoke with two residents who were displaced from 125 Second Ave. (Look for Part 2 tomorrow.) Here's more from Porto:

What was your housing situation in the days/weeks immediately after March 26?

Luckily, I was able to take advantage of the three-day stay that was being offered at the Standard East Village. Their generosity in those first couple of days is beyond anything I could have expected.

For the days/weeks immediately after I bounced from hotels to friends' apartments. I was amazed at how many people offered their couches and apartments. It was an overwhelming time but people were extremely generous and I am forever grateful for that.

Where are you now?

I'm more permanently in the Bronx, but I also continue to bounce from place-to-place when staying in Manhattan. I feel so guilty asking to stay with friends and never want to be a burden. I'm lucky to have some amazing people in my life who graciously offer me their apartments when they go out of town or don't kick me out after I have been staying with them for a while.

Do you plan on returning to the East Village?

I would love to return to the East Village. When I first moved to NYC I was living on the Upper West Side. It wasn't until I moved down to the East Village that I really felt like I was home. This neighborhood is my favorite and I truly can't imagine being anywhere else.

What has been your biggest challenge in rebuilding your life in the past six months?

In the first couple of weeks I was still in shock. I could not believe that this had happened. But I tried to keep things in perspective. Things could have been far worse. And for the most part I have maintained a positive attitude.

There are still days where I'm reminded of an item I lost in the fire, a memory from my apartment, and I have a hard time. There are days when the last six months have felt like a lifetime ago and other days when it feels like just yesterday I was watching it on the news at work.

I'd say the hardest thing for me is not having a sense of stability. I'm living out of suitcases and don't have a place to call my own. Once I am back in my apartment I can really start to rebuild my life and, hopefully, get back to normal. With that said this challenge has taught me a lot about myself. I've learned that I am a lot stronger than I give myself credit for and can handle things in any situation.

I want to reiterate how generous people were during this time. Family, friends, co-workers and even complete strangers. I wish I could find them all to personally thank them. They have moved me more than I can say and I will forever be grateful for how generous everyone has been as I rebuild, and start over.


[Photo courtesy of Jennifer Porto]

Previously on EV Grieve:
How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion

And read our interviews with longtime residents of 45 E. Seventh St. Mildred Guy and Diane McLean.

Blink, and there will soon be a gym at 98-100 Avenue A

[EVG photo from Friday evening]

The gym rumor for 98-100 Avenue A is true: Blink Fitness is opening a 12,000-square-foot facility here between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street later next year, DNAinfo first reported last week.

Here's part of Blink's news release (H/T BoweryBoogie) about what will be their 11th Manhattan location:

Blink saw an opportunity to provide the area with an affordable, premium-quality fitness option for local residents. At 12,000 sq. ft., guests can expect to find top-of-the-line cardio and strength equipment and full service locker rooms, along with a crew of knowledgeable and friendly staff and personal trainers.

The club’s primary goal is to create a unique member experience through its Feel Good Experience™. This includes respectful and friendly staff, a bright and open gym using colors that are scientifically proven to enhance mood, an everybody cleans philosophy that ensures a spotless facility, and music to motivate members! Memberships in NYC are only $25 per month.

Blink, the no-frills sibling in the Equinox family, opened its first location around here in 2012 on the second floor of the former Tower Records. (The Blink entrance is on East Fourth Street between Broadway and Lafayette.)

Equinox already reportedly inked a deal to lease two floors of 98-100 landlord Ben Shaoul's incoming development on East Houston and Orchard.

As for 98-100 Avenue A, the crew seems to be working double time of late. The condo residences (33 in total) are up to the seventh floor. There are DOB permits showing a 6-floor and 8-floor building while the rendering shows seven floors.



So maybe it will end up at 9 floors.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

New Facebook group is advocating for a Trader Joe's on Avenue A

Workers back demolishing what's left of 98-100 Avenue A

Rest assured, there isn't a fire in the hole at 98-100 Avenue A

Ben Shaoul's 98-100 Avenue A emerging from the dewatering hole

Life next to 98-100 Avenue A

Condos at Ben Shaoul's 98-100 Avenue A will start at $1.3 million; high-end gym eyed for retail space

A new mural and beer store on 2nd Avenue and East 6th Street

[Photo Friday by Derek Berg]

Billy the Artist started a new mural on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street on Friday...alongside the former Spice space...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

A business called Lions BeerStore is in the works here, per the sign on the gate.


[Photo by Vinny & O]

The website advertised takes you to a store that "is the brand name for combining high end beers, casual dining and bistro style." There is currently another location in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki.

As we understand it, the store will sell beer to go... as well as offer room inside for draft beers and food. Passersby have reported people out front collecting signatures .. ahead of October's CB3/SLA committee meeting.

And here's the look at the final mural yesterday...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

And we hear that two of the panels are already missing since Saturday night...

Previously

Reader report: Reporting excessive Airbnb worked

An EVG reader shared the following with us about his or her apartment building:

Our building was pretty much an illegal hotel all summer. Large, loud groups of international travelers ... parties nightly, suitcases banging up and down the stairs, people buzzing all apartments when they couldn't find the front-door key, and last but definitely not least, four apartments with bedbugs.

So, hoping 311 would be helpful for a change, several of us called in the situation. The first resident was evicted [late last week].

Lesson learned; You do not have to put up with this kind of intrusion on your living space.

[Updated] Where you can (hopefully) view the super blood moon tonight

Let's just cut-and-paste this explanation from The New York Times:

A rare astronomical phenomenon Sunday night will produce a moon that will appear slightly bigger than usual and have a reddish hue, an event known as a super blood moon.

It’s a combination of curiosities that hasn’t happened since 1982... A so-called supermoon, which occurs when the moon is closest to earth in its orbit, will coincide with a lunar eclipse, leaving the moon in Earth’s shadow. Individually, the two phenomena are not uncommon, but they do not align often.

For these kinds of events, we usually look to local astronomy buff Felton Davis of Maryhouse, who sets up his telescope in strategic points in the neighborhood. However, he is out of town at the moment... in his absence, EV resident Danielle Baskin along with her friend Maya Eilam and Joanne Kennedy from the Maryhouse are operating the telescope. Felton has trained them how to set up the gear ... so if the weather cooperates, then East Village residents can still view the spectacle.

Danielle and company will be by the Second Avenue F station (Second Avenue and East Houston) from 7 p.m. onward. The eclipse should reach totality at around 10:45 p.m.

Keep in mind that this moon won't happen again until 2033, the same time when work is expected to be complete at the Astor Place Reconstruction Project

Image via the U.S. Naval Observatory

Updated 9-28

A good number of people turned out that evening to take in the super blood moon here on Second Avenue between East First Street and Houston…


[Photo via Danielle Baskin]

Noted

As always, there's likely a good explanation for this scene here on East Ninth Street near First Avenue...

Photo via Goggla

Week in Grieview

[Photo outside Enz's on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Closing time for Sounds on St. Mark's Place (Monday)

Dusty Buttons has a new home on East Ninth Street (Wednesday)

Chef Wylie Dufresne's former Alder space for rent on Second Avenue (Tuesday)

Out and About with Eva Dorsey, co-owner of Jane’s Exchange (Wednesday)

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen back open after summer hiatus (Friday)

Brookhill Properties launches chocolate offensive (Wednesday)

Newly installed traffic island disappears on Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place (Friday, 27 comments)

A visit to Clash City Tattoo (Tuesday)

Allied Hardware makes impending closure official on Second Avenue (Tuesday)

Avenue A Copy Center is now open (on Avenue A) (Tuesday)

The former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office continues slow march toward demolition (Monday)

10 Degrees Bistro won't be reopening on Avenue A (Friday)

Spot trying the same spot for another dessert concept (Tuesday)

That's it for the Nite Owl (Thursday)

Some walls for Mother of Pearl (Thursday)

A new mural for Seventh and Avenue B (Monday)

Juice Press is up to something on East First Street (Monday)

For lease signs arrive on the former Belgian Room and Hop Devil Grill spaces (Friday)

Construction watch: 95 Avenue B (Thursday)

Renovations and more floors for 356 E. Eighth St. (Monday)

Condo conversion or single-family home among the possibilities for 35 E. Seventh St. (Monday)

On the market: 120 E. 10th St., a single-family home or triplex with income (Thursday)

Pizza Rat (Monday)

... and a scene from a wedding yesterday around Tompkins Square Park...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

Martha Cooper's Kids of the Lower East Side

[Image from MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour report]

An exhibition called "Kids" continues through Oct. 4 at the Dorian Grey Galley on East Ninth Street.

There are two artists with works featured — photographer Martha Cooper's Street Play and sculptor John Ahearn's Walton Avenue life casts. (The exhibit has been up since Sept. 10 — I only just had the chance to see it.)

I'm particularly interested in Cooper's work. Here's more about her via Dorian Grey:

From 1977-1980 Martha Cooper was a staff photographer on the New York Post. On her way back to the paper at the end of the day, she began driving through Alphabet City on the Lower East Side, looking for photos to use up the leftover film in her cameras.

Her shots captured streets filled with freely roaming children immersed in creative play. These photos have been called some of the most exuberant and memorable photographic depictions of youth and ultimately lead to her documentation of graffiti and emerging hip hop.

There's a 6-minute documentary – originally produced for MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour in 1984 — showing Cooper at work in the neighborhood... You can watch it at Vimeo here.

The Dorian Grey Gallery is at 437 E. Ninth St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday noon-7 p.m., Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

At the memorial for Adam Purple

Friends and neighbors came together yesterday at La Plaza Cultural on Avenue C and East Ninth Street to remember environmental activist and urban gardening pioneer Adam Purple, who died Sept. 14 at age 84.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by for some photos ...













Meanwhile, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) has an exhibit on display through Oct. 10 featuring photographs, zines and other ephemera as well as a film by Harvey Wang and articles about Purple's life and work.

MoRUS is also exhibiting the machine that created the purple footprints leading to his Garden of Eden on the Lower East Side.

Find more details here.

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Adam Purple

Report: East Village chef cooked for Pope Francis during his NYC visit

Ismael Alba, the chef at Buenos Aires on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, prepared lunch for Pope Francis yesterday, according to the Post.

Alba, who specializes in authentic Argentinian cuisine, served the pope lemon-flavored grilled chicken for lunch Friday with bread pudding and empanadas on the side.

“He loved the chicken,” Alba told The Post, adding, “We talked soccer and what he’s doing for the planet.”

9/27
The Post has an updated version of the story here.

Image via the Post

Troubled teen film of the weekend: 'River's Edge' at the Anthology Film Archives

Just pointing out a screening tomorrow that's part of the "This Is Celluloid: 35MM Encore" series at the Anthology Film Archives.

It's "River's Edge" from 1986:

When sullen high-schooler John kills his classmate Jamie, far from keeping it a secret he brags about the crime to his friends (played by Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, and Crispin Glover, among others) and takes them to see the body. Rather than report the crime or struggle with guilt at their association with the killer, they react with morbid curiosity or misplaced loyalty. Without denying its characters a measure of sympathy or understanding, "River's Edge" is a deeply unsettling depiction of teenage alienation and moral paralysis.

The movie, which also stars Dennis Hopper before he got really hammy in the 1990s, was called "the darkest teen film of all time" earlier this year by Salon.



So if this looks like your thing...

The "River's Edge" screening is at 6:45 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday). The Anthology Film Archives is on Second Avenue at East Second Street.

Selling 216 Bowery

Catching up to an item that arrived in our inbox Thursday… about Eastern Consolidated marketing "a development site" at 216 Bowery between Prince and Spring …

Via the EVG inbox…

The 25-foot-wide property includes a three-story, 4,900-square-foot building that will be delivered vacant. Located in the Little Italy Special District, zoning will allow the construction of a new development totaling 15,000 buildable square feet.

Said Adelaide Polsinelli, senior managing director and principal for Eastern Consolidated: “The property is in an extremely hot area of downtown at the threshold of Soho, Nolita, the Lower East Side, East Village, and Little Italy, neighborhoods that are experiencing tremendous investment and undergoing rapid transformation with a dynamic mix of nightlife and dining options, art galleries, museums, hotels, condos, markets, and specialty retail.”

The last few years have seen the Bowery revitalized through a host of major commercial, residential, cultural, and institutional developments on a 10-block stretch. The Bowery Hotel at East 3rd Street and the Cooper Square Hotel at East 5th Street are among the developments that have taken full advantage of this chic location.

The Commercial Observer and BoweryBoogie have more background.

Free clothing exchange this afternoon on Avenue C

Starting at 1 tomorrow at 116 Avenue C between East Seventh Street and East Eighth Street... you can drop off unwanted clothes... and you can pick up new (used) clothes... the residents behind the giveaway have been doing this 2-3 times a year since 2009. Here's a Facebook page with more details and photos.

Friday night lights

Photo on Second Avenue and East Fourth Street by Derek Berg

All day long

New Order's first studio record in 10 years is now out... spotted several positive reviews for Music Complete (here and here, for starters) so far.

Here's the first single, "Restless."

And if you want to revisit New Order live at the Ukrainian National Home on Second Avenue (between Ninth and St. Mark's) from Nov. 19 1981 ... then go right here.

Newly installed traffic island disappears on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place

[Back in July]

Back in July, workers installed pedestrian crosswalk islands along Third Avenue as part of the ongoing Astor Place Reconstruction Project…

And just like that yesterday, an alert EVG reader let us know that workers jackhammered away the island at St. Mark's Place... leaving behind a springy tar pit...



... this was an oasis that provided relief from the dodgy Third Avenue traffic as well as time to decide what 7-for-$10-shots to order at the Continental ...





No word just yet how long this will push back the project's completion date. Perhaps Amanda Burden-Christ will provide commentary in the comments.

More details about the Adam Purple memorial at La Plaza Cultural and exhibit at MoRUS

Adam Purple, the environmentalist and urban gardening pioneer, died on Sept. 14 of an apparent heart attack. He was 84.

Purple — born David Wilkie in Independence, Mo. — garnered international attention in the mid-1980s when he battled the city over a five-lot, 15,000-square-foot garden he created amid the ruins of the Lower East Side. (The New York Times has a feature obituary here.)

Starting tomorrow (Saturday), the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), Time's Up! and members of La Plaza Cultural are joining forces to honor Purple with simultaneous celebrations: a pop-up exhibit at MoRUS featuring photos, videos and memorabilia marking Purple's life and a mini-fair at La Plaza with performances, arts and crafts, and spoken word tributes, among other activities.

Here are details from the individual Facebook event pages …

La Plaza Cultural:
Tomorrow from 4-8 p.m., people are invited to speak and briefly share their memories of Purple and his legendary Garden of Eden. Everyone is encouraged to wear purple and to bring a white t-shirt to tie-dye. Angelica Kitchen will provide refreshments.

Find more details here. La Plaza Cultural is located on the southwest corner of Avenue C and Ninth Street.



MoRUS:
For two weeks, the museum will host an exhibit remembering Purple. There will be photographs from the community, a film by Harvey Wang and articles about Adam's life and work. MoRUS will also be exhibiting the machine that created the purple footprints leading to his Garden of Eden and some of Adam's books and writing.

Find more details here. The exhibit will run through Oct. 10.

MoRUS is at 155 Avenue C between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

---

There is also an online campaign underway to help with Adam's burial expenses. Find that information here.

---

Photos via MoRUS/Facebook

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Adam Purple

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen reopens today

After its usual summer hiatus, Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen, the home of hearty and inexpensive Eastern European fare at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square, reopens today. (The sign out front originally noted a Sept. 11 date. But that was scratched out and replaced with Sept. 25.)



The basement cafe, a fundraising arm of the St George Ukrainian Catholic Church just up East Seventh Street, is only open Friday through Sunday (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., give or take a few minutes).

Fork in the Road paid a visit last fall and sampled the beet borscht soup, boiled kielbasa and stuffed cabbage, among other items.

Previously on EV Grieve:
At the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen


[EVG file photo]

10 Degrees Bistro won't be reopening on Avenue A

The for lease sign arrived on the front door yesterday.



As we first reported on Aug. 18, the landlord took legal possession of the restaurant at 131 Avenue A between St. Mark's Place and East Ninth Street.

A sign arrived the next day noting that 10 Degrees was closed for maintenance…



Also on Aug. 19, 10 Degrees took to Facebook to explain the situation… renegotiating terms with the landlord…



The proprietors of Ten Degrees Bar around the corner on St. Mark's Place took over operations of the Flea Market Cafe in March 2013 ... changing the name to 10 Degrees Bistro in December 2013.

10 Degrees Bar remains open.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New-look Flea Market Cafe shows itself on Avenue A; reopens March 11

Flea Market Cafe reopens today, and here's the menu

Was the fire at Flea Market yesterday suspicious?

On Avenue A, Flea Market Cafe is now Ten Degrees Bistro

The Marshal seizes 10 Degrees Bistro on Avenue A

A lot of reasons to visit community gardens this weekend

The 4th Annual LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival is this weekend. Here are some highlights via the EVG inbox…

• Jack Hardy Songwriter's Exchange
Saturday, 1-7 p.m.
DeColores Garden, East Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C
--> In 1970's Greenwich Village, Jack Hardy wanted to write more songs, so he got a group of like-minded souls together. Everyone agreed to write a song a week. Decades of pasta dinners, a crop of legendary careers, and thousands of brand new songs later, the group continues to meet with an ever-shifting cast of wildly various characters aged 8 to 78, representing every genre of music.

• Martian Harvest Moon Annual Dance Party
Saturday, 5-10 p.m.
Dias y Flores Garden, East 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B
--> Live Afro-Cuban music by local musicians, Ray Santiago and Friends.



• Faith
Sunday, 7 p m.
Green Oasis Garden, East Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D
--> "If Nina Simone had a power trio with a rock/soul and reggae flair, it would sound something like this." (Doug DeFalco, Talent Buyer, Southpaw).

• Hayes Greenfield and the Gravity Unplugged Trio
Sunday, 1-3 p.m.
6B Garden, East Sixth Street and Avenue B
--> Hayes Greenfield, the innovative jazz musician and long time East Village resident, brings his Gravity Unplugged trio back to celebrate the LUNGS Harvest Arts Festival. From inside to outside and everything in between, Hayes and Gravity Unplugged deliver an unpredictable journey through jazz.

The opening party for neighbors and community gardeners is tonight from 6:30-9, La Plaza Cultural Garden, East Ninth Street and Avenue C.

You can visit the LUNGS website here for the full listing of events and more details.

For lease signs arrive on the former Belgian Room and Hop Devil Grill spaces

[A few weeks ago]

A few weeks ago, we noticed that workers removed the wall that separated the former Ton-Up Cafe and Belgian Room on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Some St. Mark's Place empty storefront watchers thought this work might indicate a new tenant was on the way in…

Apparently not. For lease signs arrived on the spaces yesterday… as well as on the adjacent Hop Devil Grill front door…



This is the first time that we've seen any for lease signs on the Belgian Room and Hop Devil Grill since the State of New York seized the sister bars back in April. The Ton-Up space at No. 127 has been empty since May 2014. (The for lease sign here arrived, before disappearing, last October.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Belgian Room and Hop Devil Grill closed for nonpayment of taxes

Selling off the former Hop Devil Grill

Sitting empty on St. Mark's Place

DOH temporarily closes La Esquina Bar & Grill on 1st Avenue

A DOH inspector paid a visit to La Esquina Bar & Grill on First Avenue and East Sixth Street on Tuesday, and apparently didn't like what he or she saw… the restaurant is temporarily closed…



The inspector found 69 violation points … for things such as "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas." (You can find the report at the DOH website here.)

Figaro Cafe Bistro Bar & Grill changed concepts/names to La Esquina Bar & Grill in March.

H/T Vinny & O

Some walls for Mother of Pearl

[EVG photo from July]

Well, in case anyone was curious how Mother of Pearl was going to weather the cold-weather months without any walls here at East Sixth Street and Avenue A… the bar that opened in July is now apparently getting some…





Thanks to EVG reader Dale MacDonald for the photos!

Previously on EV Grieve:
The 'Postmodern Polynesian' of Mother of Pearl replacing Gin Palace on Avenue A

Mother of Pearl softly opens on Avenue A and East 6th Street (31 comments)