Saturday, May 28, 2016

Sunday in Tompkins Square Park: Memorial Day Punk Show



Via the EVG inbox...

There'll be political speakers, art work by Peter Missing and Jerry Foust and literature tables where folks can get the latest issue of The Shadow and Time Warp Zine.

Performers include:
> 1:00: Carla (No Police State Girl)
> 1:20: Ike's Wasted World
> 1:40: Nico (formerly of Star Fucking Hipsters)
> 2:05 Universal Truth Machine
> 2:35: Skitzopolis
> 3:00: The Wurst
> 3:35: Transgendered Jesus
> 4:05: Sewage
> 4:40: The Omega Men
> 5:20: The UNDEAD

East 3rd Street zen spirit



An EVG reader passes along these photos of a small zen garden that has arrived in this tree pit (along with a new tree several weeks ago) here on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...





Hopefully it can survive the Avenue B weekend brunch crowd...

Friday, May 27, 2016

Claim: This truck hit a bike this morning on the Lower East Side



Via the EVG inbox...

On my commute this morning I watched this truck crush a bicycle going north on Allen at Houston. The young woman riding it jumped clear & looked ok. The truck didn't stop. I chased it down & got the plate. I think the truck said EAN Holdings. Surely someone on here knows the lady who was riding that bike.

The greatest Escape of them all



Director John Carpenter, who also composed the scores for most of his movies ("Halloween" and "They Live," etc.), is revisiting some of his theme songs for a release next month.

Among the themes — "Escape From New York" from 1981. In the above video, Carpenter is joined by his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies.

Now we want to watch the movie. Again...

Lonely cone will work OT this holiday weekend protecting St. Mark's Place from growing sinkhole



Hopefully the M8 drivers will see this...



Photos by Steven

Updated 5-30

The cone has company for Memorial Day...



EV Grieve Etc.: Love for Casa Adela; protected bike lane for Chrystie Street


[Photo in Tompkins Square Park by Derek Berg]

Love for Casa Adela on Avenue C (Off the Grid)

The three candidates vying to lead CB3 (The Lo-Down)

Chrystie Street protected bike lane scheduled for Fall (Streetsblog)

Councilwoman Margaret Chin introduces new legislation that would reform the city's practices concerning deed restrictions (BoweryBoogie)

Survey: Majority of NYC voters think de Blasio does favors for his donors (Politico)

Ben Shaoul applies for a special permit via the Board of Standards and Appeals to build an Equinox at 196 Orchard St. (DNAinfo ... previously)

A look at interior designer Rhea Breck's for-sale 12th-floor co-op at 170 Second Ave. (New York Post)

Keeping cool with Christo (Laura Goggin Photography)

NYC area beach guide (Gothamist)

Remembering the Bleecker Street Cinema, now a Duane Reade (Ephemeral New York)

"The Godfather" plays this weekend at the IFC Center (Official website)

Revisiting Richard Kern's "The Right Side of My Brain," featuring Lydia Lunch and Henry Rollins (Dangerous Minds)

... and remember — the fleet's in town...


[Photo on Astor Place by Derek Berg]

[Updated] Air Shaft Rabbit — saved!


[The other day]

As mentioned the other day, some residents spotted a rabbit loose in the air shaft behind some buildings on East First Street and East Second Street.

Anyway! Good news: Some residents were able to rescue the rabbit ...



... but the rabbit needs a permanent home...



Any takers? Suggestions? Let us know via the EV Grieve email... Naming rights are also available.

Thank you to everyone who offered to take in the bunny, who now has a new home and friend...

The annual Loisaida Festival happens this Sunday on Avenue C


[Poster by Adrian Viajero Roman]

Via the EVG inbox...

This year, the Loisaida Festival returns with a lineup that pays homage to the organization’s original Puerto Rican roots.

The mainstage lineup reflects those roots, bringing together a mix of legendary and rising Puerto Rican stars. These include hip-hop singer DayLuv, songstress Maxine Ashley, Lower East Salsa, and Johnny Colón. Macha Colón y Los Okapi will be joining the stage courtesy of La Marqueta Retoña. The carnival procession and Theater Lab return, providing entertainment for children and their families. Puerto Rican icon and international entertainment phenomenon, Iris Chacon, will host the festivities alongside Marine-combat-vet-turned actor, singer/activist J.W. Cortes (from FOX's "Gotham”).

The Loisaida Festival 2016’s expanded offerings preview a new stage in Loisaida, Inc.’s plans to combine STEAM programming with social services that meet the needs of the local community. Some of the new offerings include a Grassroots Innovation Fair, discussions on how art and digital technologies intersect, an expanded Healthy Living Zone, with free dental screenings for children, and a new Sustainable Innovation Zone, which will include a Bio Bus.

You can find the main stage schedule here.

The Festival hours on Sunday are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Avenue C, from Sixth Street to 12th Street.

There are more events on Saturday, including an exhibition of original artwork from Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez's best-selling debut comic book "Guardians of the Lower East Side." Find more details here.

This marks the festival's 29th year.

The 75-cent coffee at Subway

The other day, while walking by the Subway (sandwich shop) on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, I noticed their homemade sign for 75-cent coffee...



I'm not sure how new the sign is. But it was new to me. At 75 cents, the coffee was as inexpensive as I've seen it around here. (Ray's sells his for $1; Ink on A offers it for $1.25. I'm sure there are other low prices, but they're not on my radar.)

And does this Subway really serve 75-cent coffee in heart-shaped mugs like on a sign? What does 75-cent coffee at a Subway taste like?

I went inside to find out. I was a little surprised to find five people in line. (It wasn't even prime power lunch time.) Had I noticed the line, I would have left to return another time. However, I was already inside the door. And the smell of the bread had already permeated every fiber of my clothing.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to line up along the counter where the Subwayer was making sandwiches. So I just stood at the register. The worker glanced in my direction every so often, perhaps as a way to say that I was breaking Subway line protocol. And he was busy melting cheese on a Meatball Marinara 12 inch in the toaster.

Anyway, he eventually took my order. I asked for the coffee. He handed me an empty 12-ounce Subway cup for the coffee station ... as well as a container of half-and-half creamers. (Why not keep these by the coffee station? Theft problem?) He seemed a little harried and humorless to quiz about the lack of a heart-shaped mug like on the sign on the window.


[You owe me .75 cents]

As for the coffee, it was lukewarm and tasted stale.

The 2016 Lower East Side Festival of the Arts is this weekend



Now in its 21st year... and, as always, the events take place at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.

Head over to the Theater's website for a look at the numerous offerings tonight through Sunday.

And here's a highlights reel from last year's festival...



H/T Lola Sáenz

Another luxury building poised for East Houston-Broadway corridor



As you probably know, crews are demolishing the former BP station and adjacent one-level building that housed Puck Fair on East Houston and Lafayette.

Coming to that space one of these days: A building that will encompass 80,000 square feet of "flagship retail and boutique office" ...


[Rendering by Cookfox]

This building at 300 Lafayette will be getting some company.

As The Wall Street Journal noted yesterday, a joint venture of Madison Capital and Vornado Realty Trust have plans for a 6-story mixed-use building on that sliver of space between Broadway and Crosby...



Here's a rendering of the project looking toward the east on Houston near Broadway... (the Landmarks Commission signed off on this design back in 2013)...


Per the Journal:

The glass building will have about 11,500 square feet of retail space on the first and second floors with 22,751 square feet of high-end office space on floors three to six. In addition, the building will have an outdoor terrace. The developers hope to complete the building by mid-2018.

While this project had been in the works for years, Madison and Vornado just closed on the $25.8 million purchase of the site from the New York City Economic Development Corp. last Friday. Part of the space had used by the the MTA to park emergency vehicles.

Until late 2014, the space at Broadway housed the Honest Boy fruit stand for years. A mysterious fire took care of what was left of the stand last summer.


[Photo from April 2014 via Vanishing New York]

Noted


[Photo by Shawn Chittle]

Last night on Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Getting the Memorial Day Weekend started?

Imagining an Uber and Airbnb merger?

Either way, the police were apparently not too amused, according to Shawn Chittle who took the photo.