At the Dias y Flores Community Garden on 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 20, 2017
A Spring Forward plant (and other things) sale on 13th Street
At the Dias y Flores Community Garden on 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Other places where there will be dancing in the streets today
Busy day today... with the Dance Parade and DanceFest and the Ukrainian Festival... and there's the Dancing in the Street La MaMa Block Party on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...
Join La MaMa as we celebrate our 55th Anniversary with a Dancing in the Street Block Party with free performances and workshops, a bouncy castle, hula hoops, cotton candy, food carts, local restaurants, community organizations, children's activities, sidewalk chalking, DJ Todd Jones and dancing in the street.
Now in its 12th season, La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival is taking place in all La MaMa venues. This wide range of dance programming supports La MaMa’s commitment to presenting diverse performance styles that challenge audience’s perception of dance and reflects La MaMa’s longstanding mission to present performance that transcends politics and unifies cultures.
More details here.
Also on the block today...
Friday, May 19, 2017
Friday's parting shot
Day 1 of the Ukrainian Festival on Seventh Street... Find the weekend schedule here.
Photo by Derek Berg
Live Wire
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Wire's first record — the post-punk classic "Pink Flag."
The U.K.-based band is still active, recording several albums in recent years, including Silver/Lead earlier this spring.
The above is for "Short Elevated Period" from that new album... and below is a live track from 2015...
You can see them live at the end of September with three shows at Baby's All Right in Williamsburg.
Tonight and tomorrow at the Anthology Film Archives: 'Light Fantastic'
A rare screening of "Light Fantastic" plays tonight and tomorrow at 7:30. Find more details here. The Anthology Film Archives is on Second Street at Second Avenue.
Reminder: the Dance Parade (and DanceFest) is tomorrow (Saturday!)
As previously noted, tomorrow (May 20) is the 11th-annual Dance Parade ...
The parade ends in Tompkins Square Park, where DanceFest happens from 3 to 7 p.m. on four different stages...
The parade ends in Tompkins Square Park, where DanceFest happens from 3 to 7 p.m. on four different stages...
Reminder: The Ukrainian Festival is this weekend on 7th Street
The 41st edition starts this evening and runs through Sunday on Seventh Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square. And it looks like there will be good weather throughout the weekend. You can find more updates at the Festival's Facebook event page.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-and-A with Andrew Stasiw, chairman of the St. George Ukrainian Festival
Report: Sunshine Cinema on East Houston to close in January
[EVG photo from December]
After months of speculation, the Post confirmed that the Sunshine Cinema on East Houston between Eldridge and Forsyth will close in January when its lease expires.
The 30,000-square-foot building at 139 E. Houston St. has been sold for $31.5 million to developers East End Capital and K Property Group, which will convert it to a mixed-use development with retail and upstairs office space. The site includes 20,000 square feet of air rights.
There has been speculation about the long-term health of the six-screen theater since it arrived on the market in May 2015.
Perhaps Community Board 3 set in motion this loss. Per the Post:
Landmark had a right of first refusal to buy the building and wanted to serve dinner with its flicks, but that idea was flushed after a full liquor license was rejected in 2012 by the community board.
CB3 would only approve a license for beer and wine. Here's coverage of that 2012 CB3 meeting via The Lo-Down:
Residents in attendance at last night’s meeting expressed serious concerns about the application in an area already teeming with nightlife activity. While most everyone treasures the Sunshine as a community resource, they said the idea of licensing a 700-person venue is more than a little scary. Both the Eldridge Street and East 1st Street block associations would prefer a wine-and-beer-only permit. Lori Greenberg, an Eldridge Street resident, asked what would happen if the Sunshine is sold to a new owner operating a mainstream theater showing action films and other blockbusters?
Given the air rights available here, the speculation is that the property will be developed into more luxury housing. Upon hearing the news, one EVG reader told me, "I find it hard to believe this will not become a huge apartment complex. I can't think of any large retail store that would thrive in this area."
Bill Thompson, senior vice president of theatrical sales at international arthouse distributor Cohen Media Group (who just reopened the Quad Cinema on 13th Street) told IndieWire last December: "I think everyone is expecting that the building itself is going to end up becoming a high rise."
I like the Sunshine Cinema and will be sorry to see it go. Of late, though, I've been going there less and less with the arrival of the Metrograph down on Ludlow and the recent reopening of the Quad Cinema on 13th Street... not to mention the standbys like the Anthology Film Archives on Second Street and Second Avenue plus, a little further away, the Film Forum and the IFC Center. And I always enjoy seeing movies at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue at 12th Street. (Added: And the Angelika Film Center and Cinema Village.)
As for the Sunshine, it opened in 2001 after Landmark spent $12 million gut renovating the building that dates to 1898 (and 1838 by some estimates).
Here's Cinema Treasures with more history:
The entertainment beginnings of this building came in 1909 when it opened as the Houston Hippodrome, a venue for Yiddish vaudeville acts and films.
In 1917, the theatre’s ownership changed and the 600-seat venue was renamed the Sunshine Theatre. In the late-1930’s it was renamed Chopin Theatre. The theatre closed in 1945 and had been used as a storage warehouse into the mid-1990s.
The building was never landmarked.
Empellón Cocina closes after service on Saturday
Stupak, a wd-50 alum, explained his decision in a lengthy letter here. It reads in part:
I have made the decision to close Empellón Cocina.
Our last service will be on Saturday the 20th.
This has been been contemplated for a while now, but I did not announce it sooner because this is not an ending or “death” of the concept. When people hear about a closing they often become annoyingly sentimental and try to show up and “pour one out” as they say.
This is not the tale of a greedy landlord or a rent hike amidst new developments like the ones we sadly read about all too often these days. Our lease is in fact up with an option to renew but we would rather close up shop and begin looking for a new location.
Over the past 6 years, the agenda of Empellón has become increasingly transparent to me. We are dedicated to having a collection of 4 restaurants in our home town, each marked with a color, each with unique attributes that are apparent, differentiated and wanted. We are also dedicated to the continued progression and refinement throughout the lifespan of each concept.
Cocina was originally envisioned as a fine dining restaurant in the true sense of that term. Out of ego, the restaurant was executed in a very fast and cavalier way. (It was serving customers when our first restaurant in the West Village was only 11 months old). Taqueria was profitable in week 2 which is unheard of in this business. We took the money and doubled down fast and hard. There wasn't what I would call a solid plan in place retrospectively.
At the time, I was not thinking like a restauranteur. To give an example, we had bought these fancy custom white leather chairs. Once we received them and saw them set up in the actual dining room (which is on 1st avenue across the street from a McDonalds and a Dunkin Donuts) my heart sunk and I realized I was on the verge of a massive mistake. It all felt wildly incorrect.
We pivoted right before we opened and attempted to create a more casual place. (We lost a lot of money on those fancy chairs)
It's been five years of business for us now. The menu has gone through many iterations and so has the dining room. We have had some really awesome friends cook with us and we have certainly felt our fair share of love to date.
Frank Bruni wrote a profile about us and the opening of Cocina in 2012 which set it sailing right from the onset.
A couple years back we renovated with the intent of making the place a bit homier. We also took this opportunity to carve out a little place to launch a new tasting menu. With caution that time around, we wanted to see if anyone was willing to sit down to a long, expensive, tasting menu inspired by my personal impressions of another cuisine. The experiment has given us sufficient data to cue a segue.
Fine dining is still very much in my heart and I still very badly want to build the Empellón version of it one day. Tacos, tasting counters, etc. were never meant to be a departure but more of entry points into our own unique thing. Our newest place is by far the most polished but there is still another rung in the ladder that we must reach in order to span our own full gamut.
Now that we have opened Empellón I feel, with as much objectivity as I can muster, that the current a la carte dining room at 105 1st avenue has become irrelevant.
He reportedly will take the entire staff here to his Midtown location. Empellón al Pastor, his bar meets tortilleria, remains open on Avenue A at St. Mark's Place.
It sounds as if that Empellón Cocina relaxed a bit in recent years. It certainly oozed with arrogance at the outset. A help wanted sign on the front door in January 2012 noted: "This is going to be one of the most highly anticipated openings of 2012 and we have set high standards for ourselves."
Shortly after their opening, I walked by on an off-night and was surprised to see the place empty. Given all the positive notices of the place, I thought I'd try it. Seemed like a good time for it: The tables were mostly empty at this early hour. There were people at the bar. I asked for a table for two. Do I have a reservation? Oh, well no. The hostess consulted her iPad, then a co-worker with an iPad. The two stared at their iPads for an awkwardly long time and swiped and swiped before stating that, sorry, they didn't have room to accommodate my party, but we could sit at the bar.
We sat next to a man from Los Angeles who was talking loudly about the food scene in his hometown as well as Tulum. When the bartender arrived, my dining companion made the mistake of asking about their tacos. The bartender's eyes bulged, and he said "we don't serve tacos," and he walked away.
By this point I thought someone might be filming us as some kind of absurd goof/IFC pilot. Given our taco gaffe, the first bartender never returned to see how we were doing. (Eventually, the place embraced tacos. Hopefully the bartender didn't suffer some kind of seizure before then if other taco rubes made the same mistake.) Another bartender/server took our orders. She was nice.
Anyway, the food was quite good, and the restaurant was nearly half-empty by the time I left. I never returned, in part because there wasn't any part of the evening that was welcoming. Plus, there are a handful of other quick-serve restaurants in the neighborhood that also serve excellent tacos without the pretentiousness.
Image via
L'Apico ends its 5-year run tomorrow night
Empellón Cocina is not the only high-profile restaurant closing its doors after tomorrow.
As previously reported, the Italian restaurant on First Street in the Avalon Bowery Place complex was shutting down on May 20. The L'Apico team — chef Gabe Thompson and restaurateur Joe Campanale — did not offer a reason, other than thanking their patrons these past five years.
Back in March, Chef Sujan Sarkar applied for a new liquor license for the space for an unnamed restaurant that will serve "upscale modern Indian cuisine." CB3 approved the application, in part because this was a sale of assets and the method of operation will be similar here between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
Sarkar is the chef partner at Ek Bar, "India's first Artisanal cocktail bar." He is also the chef of Rooh, a similar-sounding restaurant that recently opened in San Francisco.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Chef Sujan Sarkar bringing 'upscale modern Indian cuisine' to the Bowery
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Noted
Breaking News: Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting of a skull sold for $110.5 million at auctionhttps://t.co/JVJ6qKwB2L
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 19, 2017
Orlin
Orlin
I was recently in Orlin.
The food is still good.
Black tables now,
Modern red and black chairs.
Surprised that they had replaced,
Their wooden furniture.
Its many meals, laughter,
Conversations, still palpable in those
Chairs, and tables aging patina
Rocked, sat upon, pulled out, put back.
Elbows on old tables, stories told,
Despair withheld, dreams born,
A babies rattle dropped again, again.
Music too loud, a change has come,
As inevitable as a sunrising.
All not lost, just that familiar
Feeling of a home within a restaurant,
Just there, a degree remaining,
But shaken I feel.
Nevertheless,
the food is still good.
•
peter radley
Cafe Orlin is at 41 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue
Out and About in the East Village
In this ongoing feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.
By James Maher
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
By James Maher
Name: Gustavo Roldan
Occupation: Designer
Date: 4 pm on Wednesday, May 10
Location: Avenue A and 3rd Street
I’m from Venezuela. I came here around 40 years ago – just vacation, and then I liked it and I stayed. I came to this neighborhood immediately. People who I knew were around here, and I thought it was pretty edgy. I liked it.
Maybe because I’m into fashion, but that’s what I liked about the neighborhood. It was so avant-garde. There was a lot of creativity around. That drove me to this neighborhood. A lot of artists, parties, excitement. All kind of things were around here. It was amazing. There were people filming all the time, in the 1980s. People were so cool – I mean they are still. I loved 7A. The Pyramid was cool and Save the Robots.
I was on the Hells Angels block. The block was safe, but the 4th of July parties were very annoying. It was packed with bikers. There were fireworks and people getting drunk and very loud, blasting music. The neighborhood was crazy, it was tough but I never had any problems.
I’m a designer. I make hats. That’s what I do now, but back then I used to do jewelry. I just bumped into it. It was great. I did mass production — I did shows and trade shows. That’s how I made a living. I worked with all different types of people.
James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.
Report: Body found in John V. Lindsay East River Park last evening
Body found in the bushes at John V. Lindsay East River Park in #NYC
— Andy Mai (@MaiAndy) May 18, 2017
Few yards off the jogging/biking path pic.twitter.com/j9FQB030kX
We heard from several readers last night about a large group of police and other emergency responders on the south end of John V. Lindsay East River Park.
Said one reader: "Biked by there around 7:30 p.m. — ambulances, law enforcement, etc. gathering around a spot in the tall grass right by the river. They cordoned off the area and shooed us onlookers away."
The Daily News reports that police found a body of a man in his 30s "in a desolate stretch of grass."
The body was discovered in an area of the park that is under construction, east of FDR Drive, near Jackson St.
Cops found an improvised gun fashioned from a metal pipe in the nearby shrubs, sources said.
Police believe that the man took his own life.
Your really last-minute notice about an HDFC working meeting tonight
Sorry for the short notice on this... however, this meeting invite was sent out via email at the last minute... and it doesn't appear to be publicized online anywhere.
Anyway, we've had a few posts on the proposed new regulations on nearly 1,200 privately owned co-ops, including a number in the East Village.
Here's a recap from an EVG reader and co-op resident about what's happening from an earlier post:
This new proposed Regulatory Agreement is overreaching and would result in a loss of autonomy and decision-making abilities that benefit HDFC buildings, as well as costing individual shareholders hard-earned equity.
The new rules include a 30 percent flip tax on all units when they sell; the requirement of hiring outside managers and monitors at our expense; a ban on owning other residential property within a 100-mile radius of New York City; and more draconian clauses. Community meetings to discuss the agreement have been contentious and hostile, and so far not one HDFC in the entire city has publicly supported the plan. Very few HDFCs in the city need financial help and we strongly oppose a "one size fits all" regulatory agreement that will cost us money, resources, and most important, value in our home equity.
And...
The problem was that HDP wrote the Regulatory Agreement without any input from HDFC shareholders. When we caught wind of what was happening, we were able to force a community meeting, with the help of Council Member Mendez's office. They have since held a handful of meetings but say they are moving forward within the next couple of months. They are also not giving a clear timeline, which of course has many of us panicked.
ICYMI: LES landlord hit with $1.2 million Airbnb lawsuit; 536 E. 14th St. among the properties
[Photo of 536 E. 14th St. last December by Michael Paul]
In case you didn't already see this story from earlier this week...the city slapped LES landlord Rose King with a $1.2 million lawsuit. City lawyers allege that she illegally rented multiple units in three buildings through Airbnb.
According to the Post:
King has been hiding behind a middle man and at least nine aliases to create a network of transient hotels at 536 E. 14th St., 123 Ludlow St., and 127 Rivington St., according to the Manhattan Supreme Court suit.
And one of the building’s permanent residents told city officials that King is trying to evict rent-stabilized tenants from her properties to convert even more units into cash-cow Airbnbs, sources said.
Last December, as we noted, the city booted the longtime psychic at 536 E. 14th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. City documents said that the storefront was illegally converted without "means of egress." There were also complaints on file that the landlord was operating an illegal hotel here.
As for King's alleged operation, the Post quotes the Mayor: "It's outrageous, it’s illegal, and we will stop bad actors from hurting our neighborhoods. New Yorkers can’t afford to see affordable homes turned into hotels." (Maybe someone can tell the Mayor about this on 11th Street.)
The annual Essex Street Market block party is Saturday
Via the EVG inbox...
On Saturday, May 20, Essex Street Market is throwing its annual Block Party from 12-5 p.m. outside on Essex Street. This springtime affair features the latest and greatest food vendors from both the Essex Street Market and Lower East Side.
Find more details, including a list of vendors and musical guests, here.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Super-8 films and poetry Friday night at Le Petit Versailles
Via the EVG inbox...
Local poet-filmmaker Stephanie Gray will be showing her experimental super-8 films and reading poetry this Friday (May 19), at 8 in an evening titled "We Be We Know" at Le Petit Versailles, the community garden at 346 E. Houston St./247 E. Second St. near Avenue C. Evening starts with poetry, ends with film. Rain or shine.
Find a listing of the films here. The Facebook events page is here.
Sen. Hoylman calls for immediate stay on all Steve Croman-initiated tenant cases
Per a December 2016 article in The Villager:
“He’s still not giving heat and hot water, still not backing off from the rotten things he would do, like jacking up rent and not returning leases to people,” said Cynthia Chaffee, a longtime Croman residential tenant. “He’s still doing it and nothing’s changed. He’s stillusing the courts to harass his tenants.”
Also last December, tenants of 159 Stanton St. sued Croman in housing court, saying he was subjecting them to unsafe conditions and harassment. In February, the Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order on the building, with the residents of two apartments forced to relocate until unsafe conditions were rectified, as The Lo-Down reported.
Now Sen. Brad Hoylman is releasing the results of a review of eviction cases filed by Croman against tenants in the Senator's district and throughout Manhattan. Hoylman is calling for an immediate stay on all Croman-initiated tenant cases.
According to Hoylman’s review, at least eight active cases are proceeding against tenants.
"Croman’s M.O., as the Attorney General alleges in the criminal complaint, is to harass tenants by filing baseless lawsuits against them. The court should stay all of the cases where Croman is suing tenants until these serious allegations are addressed. Otherwise, these tenants, many of whom are not represented by legal counsel, risk irreparable harm, including losing their homes," Hoylman said in a statement. "The bottom line is that Croman is running a criminal enterprise. Justice demands his cases against tenants be stayed."
Two East Village buildings are in the list of cases proceeding: 229 First Ave. and 309 E. Eighth St.
Croman's real-estate empire includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village. As previously noted, Croman owns more buildings in the East Village than any other landlord.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the charges against Croman in May 2016, including multiple felonies for his role in an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain several multi-million dollar refinancing loans between 2012 and 2014.
The civil lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan and the product of an independent investigation, alleges that Croman used, among other things, the illegal tactic of pressuring tenants into surrendering their apartments by repeatedly filing baseless lawsuits against them.
His criminal case has been adjourned and bail continued five times now, according to the Croman Tenants Alliance. His civil court date is June 5.
The New York Post reported earlier this month that Croman was nearing a plea deal that would see him serve eight months of jail time and pay a fine up to $10 million.
Fire-damaged Caracas Arepa Bar now for rent
[Photo yesterday by Vinny & O]
Caracas Arepa Bar apparently will not be reopening at 93 1/2 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. A for rent sign arrived on the space this week.
A fire broke out here in the early morning hours last Sept. 21. While no one was injured, the damage was extensive.
Co-owner Maribel Araujovia was blunt about the damage: "The restaurant is pretty fucked up." She expounded on that to Grub Street last September:
“It’s not just a little thing we can fix quickly, put drywall up, and keep going,” Araujo says. Getting back to business will take some time: Leases and inventory need to be looked at, and conversations need to be had with lawyers and insurers. “Maybe we’ll relocate, maybe we’ll try to rebuild this one. At this point, I’m not sure.”
Workers had been refurbishing the space... with the thought/hope that it was being done for Caracas. Looks like the work is for the next tenant.
The smaller Caracas space at 91 E. Seventh St., which debuted in 2003, remains open with limited seating and to-go orders. They also have a location in Williamsburg as well as a seasonal spot in the Rockaways for the summer.
The 'commanding retail presence' of Extell's new 14th Street development
Here's how Extell's two, seven-story residential buildings going in on 14th Street from Avenue A to Avenue B look these days...
There's an updated retail listing now at RKF for the buildings noting "a commanding retail presence" here.
[RKF]
For starters, you probably know that Target is leasing 27,306 square feet in No. 500's corner space for a small-format store expected to open in the summer of 2018.
The other retail slot here features 14,500 square feet plus 1,500 square feet for a loading dock, which is on 13th Street. The price is not listed. The listing also says "Logical divisions considered" and "Space can be vented for cooking."
At No. 524, the retail space is 9,700 square feet with another 4,500 in the lower level.
[RKF]
Previously on EV Grieve:
New 7-floor buildings for East 14th Street include 150 residential units
Target offers details about its flexible-format store opening summer 2018 on 14th and A
The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street
Elite New York Sports Club now open on Astor Place
[Photo by @EdenBrower]
The new Elite brand of gym by New York Sports Clubs is up and running on Astor Place... this is the current pricing via this location's website... $120 a month without a commitment... $110 a month with a one-year commitment...
Press materials note that the new location at 4 Astor Place "will feature several new programs and will also boast Rogue rigs, Woodway treadmills, lifting platforms and expanded training zones."
This four-level spot was, until December, a David Barton Gym. This location as well as the three others in Manhattan abruptly closed last December.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
EV Grieve Etc.: NYPD calls LES synagogue fire arson; Schiller's announces its closure
[Photo on 9th and A via Derek Berg]
NYPD calls LES synagogue fire arson (The Lo-Down ... previously)
CB3's SLA committee votes to deny Epstein's revival on Stanton and Allen (BoweryBoogie)
Keith McNally is closing Schiller's on the LES in August (Eater) An ode to the Loudest Brunch Spot on the LES (The Awl)
Two plays and dinner at the New York Theater Workshop on Fourth Street (The New York Times)
The fares are not what they seem: the "Twin Peaks" metro cards (Welcome to Twin Peaks)
Flashback: The start of the Summer of Love in the East Village (B+B)
Sad state of food affairs at Alta on Lafayette (Gothamist) ... though this reviews says they have the city's best guacamole (Grub Street)
WTF diversions: Psychic medium claims to be in contact with the late Jeff Buckley; says he sings Creed's "My Sacrifice" to himself (Dangerous Minds)
...East Village Hats on Seventh Street is now Sally's Wig Store for the filming of the Netflix series "Jessica Jones" ... the store reopens Thursday...
[Photo by Derek Berg]
Fat Cat Kitchen opens on 14th Street
Fat Cat Kitchen debuted this morning at 223 East 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, per EVG regular Pinch.
Björn Holm, a former sous chef and the head of catering at Dean & Deluca’s store on Broadway and Prince, is behind this quick-serve restaurant that serves a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups and baked goods. Let us know if you try Fat Cat.
You may find the Fat Cat website here.
Previously
A look at the incoming Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth on 13th Street
Been awhile since we checked in on 222 E. 13th St., the future location of the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.
Here's how the gut renovation is shaping up outside...
Per some previous posts:
And here's the rendering ...
Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, told DNAinfo last month that renovations were expected to wrap up in June or July.
There are currently more than 200 young people on a waiting list for the facility, which has an 18-resident capacity.
Per DNAinfo:
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
Groundbreaking today on East 13th Street for the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth
Here's how the gut renovation is shaping up outside...
Per some previous posts:
Bea 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.
And here's the rendering ...
Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, told DNAinfo last month that renovations were expected to wrap up in June or July.
There are currently more than 200 young people on a waiting list for the facility, which has an 18-resident capacity.
Per DNAinfo:
The residence will provide on-site counseling and case management for gay and transgender youth, as well as help securing employment with the goal of eventual financial independence.
"What we really focus on with our program is helping them get jobs," said Siciliano.
"What we ask is they put a portion of their income in bank accounts so when they leave the program they have several thousand dollars saved up...a lot of what happens in the program is preparing people ot live independently, on their own."
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
Groundbreaking today on East 13th Street for the Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth
Report: Drama on 13th Street as family of actress Rosario Dawson looks to buy affordable housing
544 E. 13th St. near Avenue B is one of the 11 formerly abandoned East Village buildings that the city sold to tenants for a $1 via a deal brokered by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) in 2002. Under the terms of the deal, the tenants were to bring the buildings up to code.
However, as The Villager reported in October 2015, the conversions of No. 544 as well as 377 E. 10th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C were stalled. The city reportedly chipped in $1.78 million for the renovation work.
Under the terms of the UHAB deal, the original homesteaders are given the chance to buy apartments at a low price, "but have to earn no more than $53,450 a year and the home must be a primary residence, according to the city," as the Post reported on Sunday.
No. 544 has reportedly been the site on an ongoing feud between two factions, "one of them led by Isabel Celeste Dawson, the mother of actress Rosario Dawson, who grew up in the building," per the 2015 Villager article. At the time, members of the Dawson family, Isabel, her brother Nicky Scott, Isabel’s ex-husband Greg Dawson, and son Clay were in line for four units in the renovated building. (The Dawsons arrived at the building in 1986.)
On Sunday, the Post reported that the four members of the Dawson family along with a longtime friend will be getting the homes, which doesn't sit well with some of the other original homesteaders who point out that Rosario Dawson has an estimated worth of $16 million.
Per the Post:
“She’s supportive of her parents. I don’t understand why she hasn’t acquired housing for them elsewhere so these units could be for New Yorkers in need,” said Annie Wilson, one of the building’s founding homesteaders.
Another resident chafed, “This is low-income housing. They’re not supposed to be profiting from anything to do with it.”
And...
Adam Leitman Bailey, a lawyer who represents the Dawsons and some of the other residents, said he had reviewed tax returns for all of the residents and they qualified to buy the apartments.
“I can guarantee you that none of them are wealthy,” he said.
The Post piece has a lot more of the accusations and sordid details. You can read the whole piece here. Ditto for the 2015 Villager article here.
'Zhe Zhe' is 'Back from the Dead' tomorrow night
Season two of the web series "Zhe Zhe" premieres tomorrow night at the Howl! Happening space on First Street.
The show follows ...:
"the glamorous misadventures of three fame-famished posers in a post-reality New York. Created by stars Ruby McCollister, Leah Hennessey, Emily Allan and director E.J. O’Hara, 'Zhe Zhe' offers an unflinching look at the dystopia that has become our reality."
Mickey Boardman had this to say about it at Paper: "The show reminds us of old school East Village performance mayhem from the likes of Dancenoise, Alien Comic and any other act that used to play at La Mama."
Allan was born and raised in the East Village.
"It's definitely inspired in part by my childhood memories of ye olde East Village aesthetics, while also poking fun at our present culture of hyperbolized downtown mythos and manufactured nostalgia," she told me via email.
Here's a trailer for season No. 2...
The screening of episode one, titled "Back From the Dead," is tomorrow night starting at 7. Howl! Happening is at 6 E. First St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery. Find out more about "Zhe Zhe" here.
'Smithereens' returns to the Metrograph this week
"Smithereens," the dark comedy from 1982 filmed in part in the East Village, makes a return engagement this week to the Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St. between Hester and Canal.
The film, which marked Susan Seidelman's directorial debut, is set in the East Village (and other downtown locales). Wren (Susan Berman), a suburban New Jersey native, is eager for downtown fame, plastering "missing" posters of herself on the subway and elsewhere. She sees a meal ticket in Eric (Richard Hell), the hot guy with a short attention span in a band. And there's the too-nice Paul (Brad Rijn), who pursues the uninterested Wren. Love!
"Smithereens," made for $40,000, was the first American indie invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Last July, I spoke with Seidelman about "Smithereens" and her follow-up film, "Desperately Seeking Susan."
Here's what she had to say about the legacy of "Smithereens:"
I think I was trying to document what it felt like to live in that neighborhood in that part of the city at that time. I never really thought about it in terms of whether the film would pass the test of time or be a time capsule or anything.
But the fact that it ended up being pretty authentic to the environment, to the neighborhood, is maybe what enabled it to pass the test of time.
The film plays Wednesday at 2 p.m., Thursday at 5 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., and Sunday at 3:15 p.m. "Smithereens" is screening as part of Metrograph A to Z, a collection of films they think everybody should see.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Q-&-A with Susan Seidelman, director of 'Smithereens' and 'Desperately Seeking Susan'
Monday, May 15, 2017
Monday's parting shot
Feeding time in Tompkins Square Park with Dora and her latest red-tailed hawk offspring... photo by Bobby Williams
Flagpole Day in Tompkins Square Park
The flagpole in Tompkins Square Park was in need of refinishing and repainting ...
A crew was out today, as these photos via EVG Flagpole Correspondent Steven show... here's the final product...
Looking sharp for the upcoming summer season (Flag Day, July 4) ... and maybe a corporate sponsor? There's plenty of room for a message.
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The 9th Precinct Community Council meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday!) night
The meetings take place at the 9th Precinct, 321 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
This is an opportunity for residents to address any concerns (noise complaints?) and ask 9th Precinct officials for their input on recent crime statistics.
If you're planning ahead, then note that the Community Council does not meet in July and August, per Neil Barsky, Council president.
Demolition watch: 112-120 E. 11th St., future home of a Moxy hotel
[Photo from May 2016]
Workers have been bringing down the five walk-up buildings at 112-120 E. 11th St. in recent months.
Here's where the demolition stands as of Saturday... hard to say what's left behind the construction netting. Maybe two floors?
Plywood signage points to a summer completion for the demolition...
And then! One day!
[Rendering via Flintlock Construction]
As previously reported, the buildings are coming down to make way for the 13-story hotel for Marriott’s Moxy brand here between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. The Moxy website shows that the 11th Street hotel is expected to open in late 2018.
Local residents, preservationists and local elected officials have all spoken out about the demolition of the "landmark-elegible" buildings and loss of housing.
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation posted this on Instagram Friday...
Previously on EV Grieve:
6-building complex on East 10th Street and East 11th Street sells for $127 million
Report: 300-room hotel planned for East 11th Street
Preservationists say city ignored pitch to designate part of 11th Street as a historic district
Permits filed to demolish 5 buildings on 11th Street to make way for new hotel (58 comments)
At the Moxy hotel protest on 11th Street last evening
Post office-replacing residential building reaches ground level on 14th Street
The foundation appears to be set at the 8-story retail-residential building for 432-438 E. 14th St. This photo shows the workers at ground level now here between Avenue A and First Avenue...
[Photo by Bobby Williams]
Reps for Benenson Capital Partners and Mack Real Estate had been lobbying to receive a zoning variance for a 12-story building — four more floors than the area's zoning allows — at the site of the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office.
Facing opposition from community groups and residents in previous meetings, the developers cut back their request by two-thirds. Their new proposal sought nine stories on the East 14th Street side of the building, one higher than the eight allowed under the current zoning.
The developers had claimed that the property "is burdened by a combination of unique conditions that result in practical difficulties in complying with the applicable zoning regulations."
Specifically: "Unusually elevated groundwater levels and exceedingly soft and unstable soil (owing to the presence of an underground stream) ... result in extraordinary construction costs, which make a complying development with affordable housing infeasible." (An analysis of the project put the extra construction costs due to the substandard soil at $8.8 million.)
However, in March, they withdrew their request for the extra floor.
The pile driving started here last May. Crews for the new developments at 500 and 538 E. 14th St. likely encountered similar "soft and unstable soil," as foundation work lasted lasted more than a year.
The original plans for 432-438 E. 14th St. called for 114 residential unit with 20 percent affordable housing.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office slated to be demolished
The former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office will yield to an 8-story residential building
New residential building at former 14th Street PO will feature a quiet lounge, private dining room
A look at the new building coming to the former Peter Stuyvesant Post Office property
Chinese restaurant in the works for former funeral parlor on 2nd Avenue
[Photo by Steven]
A Chinese restaurant is coming to 152 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (Ads for the businesses next door are currently in the window.)
The applicant, going by Chibaola Inc., is on tonight's CB3-SLA committee docket for a beer-wine license. However, this item will NOT be heard this evening.
According to the questionnaire (PDF) on file at the CB3 website, the restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The configuration shows 15 tables with a 45-person capacity.
The applicant, listed as Richard Lam, has also operated a restaurant on Main Street in Flushing.
The building at 152-154 Second Ave. is the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel, which Icon Realty bought, gutted, added three extra floors and opened as luxury rentals.
The other retail space at this address is occupied by the Greecologies-Pure Green combo. The spaces had been on the market since the new building was unveiled in early 2014.
Previously on EV Grieve:
152 2nd Ave. storefront to yield a combo Greek yogurt and smoothie shop
The Village Pourhouse still looks like the Village Pourhouse outside, but E.Vil is on the way
After 10-plus years in business, Village Pourhouse, the pub-crawling hosting hotspot on 11th Street and Third Avenue, closed its doors in early April.
From the outside, the place looks pretty much the same, though the Pourhouse neon has finally been extinguished. This video is from April 22...
Also, as this photo by EVG reader Arin Gilbert shows, someone tagged the Third Avenue side last Thursday night/Friday morning...
A rock club called E.Vil was reportedly expected to open in the space this spring.
To date, this item hasn't shown up on the CB3-SLA docket for a new liquor license. (And there aren't any work permits on file with the DOB for alterations, etc.) This new venture via, among other partners, club owner Richie Akiva, is "where you go to hear Aerosmith, the Clash, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, ’80s/’90s rock, the Cult," one source told Page Six back on March 20.
E.Vil's Instagram once noted an April 17 opening date. (The account, mostly iconic photos of everyone from David Bowie to Johnny Thunders to the Sex Pistols, has been quiet of late. No new posts in five weeks.) But the account does now show a June 1 opening date...
Previously on EV Grieve:
E.Vil is coming to the East Village
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