Monday, January 25, 2016

Alumni Day: Cycle 19 of the Centre-fuge Public Art Project is underway



Work has started on the next round for the rotating outdoor gallery/construction trailer here along East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Here's more info via the Centre-Fuge website:

Cycle 19 is a collaborative effort by 10 artists, all of whom participated in a cycle on the trailer during 2015.

Artists represented in Cycle 19 are Andy Golub, Below Key, Hiss, Key Detail & Yu-Baba, Leon Rainbow, Pawn, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Rez Shoalin, Smurfo, Vince Ballentine & Zero Productivity.

Established in 2012, Centre-fuge Public Art Project has re-purposed the DOT trailer into a rotating street gallery. Anyone has the opportunity to submit a mural proposal, in the form of a sketch, for an upcoming Cycle to be selected by our curators.

The goal of Centre-fuge is not only to re-beautify an incredible city, but also to encourage the community to express itself in a public forum, to alleviate and inspire, to express and reclaim. The project is dedicated in memory of friend, creator and Lower East Side neighbor, Mike Hamm. A recreation of Mike Hamm’s work is permanently installed on the eastern face of the trailer.

Once complete (the snow threw off their schedule), this will be on view through late April.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Week in Grieview


[East 4th Street this morning via Vinny & O]

Suspect in custody for East Sixth Street slashing (Thursday)

Where the empty storefronts are (Tuesday)

John Holmstrom's Punk playlist (Saturday)

Closing portraits at The Sock Man (Thursday)

A sign of hope for St. Mark's Bookshop (Wednesday)

The new owner of Nonna's Pizza on Avenue A says hello (Wednesday)

NYPD patrol tower arrives on Avenue C and East 12th Street (Monday)

When the Megalopolitan Blizzard hit the East Village (and NYC) in February 1983 (Friday)

Lucy's is back open on Avenue A (Thursday)

Honoring folk legend Lead Belly on East 10th Street (Wednesday)

Plans in the works to convert 650 E. Sixth St. to condos (Friday)

Muggings on East Ninth Street and East 10th Street (Wednesday)

Out and About in the East Village with Spike Polite, Part 2 (Thursday)

Here's the first season of programming for the Lower East Side's newest movie theater (Thursday)

Tatyana Boutique is closing on the Bowery (Wednesday)

Raw food celebrity chef Matthew Kenney bringing vegan pizza to Second Avenue (Thursday, 31 comments)

Wi-Fi kiosks on Third Avenue ready for Internet action and smartphone charging (Tuesday)

Landlord Raphael Toledano's criminal past (Thursday)

It snowed (Saturday ... Sunday)

Here's what's left of the block of University Place that once housed Bowlmor Lanes (Friday)

The Patricia Field storefront is for rent on the Bowery (Thursday)

North Star Tattoo has closed on East Seventh Street (Tuesday)

... and if you missed the blizzard, a friend of EVG shared this video...

Noted



Very special EVG correspondent Christine Champagne spotted this on East Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... wonder if this vehicle is an import...

The morning after the day of the blizzard


[2nd Avenue at East 10th]

Just a few early morning photos... as people and machines continue to dig out from yesterday's snow "event." According to The New York Times, Central Park counted 26.8 inches of snow, the second-highest total ever recorded.

I do not know how much snow fell in Tompkins Square Park. What I was going to use as a gauge has been destroyed or stolen. Anyway. Enjoy the day. And it's really slippery out. As you might expect.


[East 1st Street near 1st Avenue]


[Avenue A near East 12th]


[Outside Gem Spa, duh]


[Tompkins Square Park]


[St. Mark's Place between 2nd and 3rd]


[2nd Avenue at East 1st]


[Door handle ice dagger at the Standard East Village]


[Tompkins Square Park]

Breaking: Penis snow sculpture down by dawn in Tompkins Square Park



The 5-foot snow sculpture of a penis erected during the height of yesterday's blizzard in Tompkins Square Park is gone, as these photos from about 7:20 a.m. today show...



As several observers noted, it doesn't appear as it was knocked down as much as removed. Penis sculpture watchers in the Park this morning note that there weren't many snow chunks lying around the base here closest to the Avenue A and East Ninth Street entrance.

There are a few detailed remains, which show the great care and attention that went into this monument of [whatever you think of sculptured snow penises].



A last look...


[Photo via ‏@sandispino]

Of course this wasn't the first (scroll down) sculpture of a snow penis in Tompkins Square Park ... and it won't be the last. [#profound]

An East 3rd Street blizzard time-lapse

Snow etiquette FYI


Jut a friendly reminder... in these challenging blizzard-y times, try not to take — purposefully or not — someone else's boots...



... and no matter how tempting those snow piles look for sledding...



... please check first to make sure there's not a vehicle under that pile of snow... like here on Avenue B and East Sixth Street...



Thank you Dave on 7th!

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Noted



Well, why wouldn't someone erect a 5-foot snow penis during a blizzard in Tompkins Square Park?

Photo via ‏@sandispino

The blizzard of Jan. 23


[Avenue A via EVG]



[Tompkins Square Park this morning via Bayou]



[12th and A via Greg Masters]



[East 10th Street via @cj__ts]



[Tompkins Square Park via Steven]



[Tompkins Square Park via Lola Sáenz]



[Avenue A via EVG]



[East 7th Street via Rik Rocket]



[Tompkins Square Park via Kirk Fitzgerald/Facebook]



[East 7th Street via Derek Berg]



[Avenue A via JM]



[Photo via Kirk Fitzgerald/Facebook]



[Tompkins Square Park via Derek Berg]



[Tompkins Square Park via Grant Shaffer]



[East 10th Street via Peter Brownscombe]



[Avenue A via Goggla]



[2nd Avenue via Derek Berg]



[2nd Avenue via Steven]



[St. Marks Place via Derek Berg]



[Tompkins Square Park via Kirk Fitzgerald/Facebook]



[East Houston via JM]



[East 12th Street via Lola Sáenz]



[Christo in the Park via Goggla]



[Car on East Fifth Street via EVG]

Thanks to everyone for the photos...

[Updated] Snowboarding behind a Jeep on East 6th Street

how to bro the snowstorm//caption credit @moiraherbst

A photo posted by Adriana Leshko (@adrianaleshko) on


Ah! Thanks to the commenters... this was for a Casey Neistat video...

John Holmstrom's 'Punk' playlist


[John Holmstrom photo by Stacie Joy]

The exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first issue of Punk Magazine continues at Howl! Happening at 6 E. First St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue (through Jan. 30).

On Jan. 15, I interviewed founding editor (and East Village resident) John Holmstrom on East Village Radio. (Unfortunately, the show is not archived.) Holmstrom picked the playlist for the show, and included comments about each song... sharing it here now...

1. "You Drive Me Nervous" by the Alice Cooper Band
The first punk rock band I saw live and it changed my life forever...

2. "Kick Out The Jams" by Blue Oyster Cult
BOC was a truly twisted, crazed live heavy metal band that had Patti Smith and Helen Wheels as lyricists, and whose managers convinced CBS Records to sign The Dictators. And of course, the MC5 created punk rock by getting The Stooges signed to their record label.



3. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by Iggy Pop and The Stooges
This was the prototype punk song, covered by so many punk rock bands over the years.



4. "Get Out of Denver" by Eddie and the Hot Rods
Eddie and the Hot Rods were the first band from England labeled "punk." Here's why. The pub rock scene was the biggest influence on the English punk scene.



5. "Riot In Cell Block No. 9 by Doctor Feelgood
Another "pub rock band from England. The Ramones opened for Dr. Feelgood at the Bottom Line in early 1976... Just the most amazing show.

6. "Bad Girls" by the New York Dolls
This was the first band I went to see at a small club: like Club 82, the drag club. Didn't like their fashion sense but love the music.



7. "My Generation" by The Patti Smith Group
Patti had a lot to do with putting CBGB on the map, she and her band made some great music, I need to give them props.

8. "(I Live For) Cars And Girls" by The Dictators
I picked up the first Dictators LP, loved it to death, played it for Ged Dunn Jr. and Mr. McNeil, and it inspired us to start a magazine. Oddly, enough, everyone in the band hates it!

9. "Judy Is a Punk" by the Ramones
I like the first Ramones best, it's very close to what they sounded like live at CBGB.



10. "New Rose" by The Damned
First punk band from England to release a record, tour the states, play at CBGB, etc. This was punk rock before it became formalized.



11. "Rocket USA" by Suicide
They often opened for the Ramones, and were the first-ever band to call themselves "punk." Even though people would now call this techno, Suicide was truly a punk rock band.

12. "I'm on E" by Blondie
I just love this song. It runs through my head whenever things are going bad and I am out of money, energy, whatever. Blondie were so much fun to work with, open to everything.



13. "Carbona Not Glue" by the Ramones
The best song by the Ramones, could have been a hit single if not for the lyrics.



14. "I Wanna Be Me" by the Sex Pistols
I always liked their B-sides better than the singles. The lyrics are brilliant, and aimed at people in the media (like me).

15. "Ready, Steady, Go" by Generation X
I always liked their debut album so much. "Purist" punks hated them: too pretty, too polished. In a way, they were the blueprint for pop-punk bands like Green Day, Blink 182, etc.

16. "Ain't Nothing To Do" by the Dead Boys
Great American punk rock band. Amazing live performances.



17. "Teenagers From Mars" by the Misfits
We planned a cover story on The Misfits, but couldn't do it: we were forced out of business unexpectedly.

18. "I Wanna Be Famous" by The Bullys
Great NYC punk band that still performs live.

19. "I'm a Boy" by The Bullys

20. "Against All Authority" by the Bullys
Brilliant song by them IMO.



Exhibition details:
Gallery Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
All events are free
Howl! Happening: An Arturo Vega Project, 6 E. First St. between the Bowery and Second Avenue

Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk Magazine

John Holmstrom on the CBGB movie and the East Village of 2013

Riding the storm out



First Avenue and East 11th Street via Lola Sáenz...

Updated 1:13 p.m.

The city is basically shutting down today.






Why?



And tomorrow? #woo

In non-blizzard-related news, Mike Bloomberg might run for president (of the United States)



The New York Times has the story:

Mr. Bloomberg, 73, has already taken concrete steps toward a possible campaign, and has indicated to friends and allies that he would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his fortune on it, according to people briefed on his deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his plans. He has set a deadline for making a final decision in early March, the latest point at which advisers believe Mr. Bloomberg could enter the race and still qualify to appear as an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.

Bus service shutting down beginning at noon


[10th and C this morning via Bobby Williams]

The buses were in service this morning... but not much longer, in case a trip via a bus was in your Saturday (today!) plans...take it away, Andrew!

[Updating] IT IS SNOWING



Funny how that sometimes happens in January.

Went out for a little walk. (Periscoped for the first time. I remembered to talk on the next installment. Need to learn to not shake the iPhone so much.)

Some really random observations (or more random than usual?). The Avenues have been plowed. Side streets are a little hit and miss. Tompkins Square Park is picture perfect. There is one random Citi Bike on 7th and A. Umbrellas are useless. Two pairs of socks are a good idea. If I owned goggles, then I'd have put them on no matter how dumb I looked. People are nicer when it is snowing.

And more places are open than I expected. This is not at all a comprehensive list. Here are places that I saw open at 9 a.m.: Key Food, Croissanteria (A between 4th and 5th), Juicy Lucy (Avenue A between 5th and 6th), Ray's Candy Store (and the place next to it), the Odessa, Box Kite Coffee (115 St. Mark's Place), the International (First Avenue between 7th and St. Mark's), Saiffee Hardware (and they were getting a huge salt shipment), McDonald's, Starbucks (the one on First Avenue at 3rd), the Bean (the one on Second Avenue at 3rd), Downtown Bakery II (First Avenue between 4th and 3rd), Brickman & Sons (First Avenue between 4th and 3rd) ... all the corner delis were open. Ditto for laundromats/dry cleaners. The gate was going up at the liquor store on Avenue and 4th Street. There was a Twitter report that Black Seed Bagels is open on First Avenue.

And as I posted on Twitter, at the time I looked in the window at the International, there were more people inside there than the McDonald's and Starbucks combined.



To be continued...

Updated 11:25 a.m.

Ost Cafe on Avenue A at 12th Street is open ... ditto for Tompkins Square Bagels ... and the Remedy Diner on East Houston at Norfolk. The Wayland opens at noon on Avenue C and East 9th Street. Superiority Burger is open from 2-6 today on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and 1st Avenue...

Also: The Neptune on First Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street ... Hearth on First Avenue at 12th Street... Donnybrook on Clinton and Stanton...