Tuesday, November 7, 2017

City Kids bringing the East Village Playhouse to long-empty storefront on 6th Street



The signage is up now at 340 E. Sixth St. for the East Village Playhouse, a small classroom and performance space via the City Kids Foundation. (Keith Haring designed the City Kids logo.)

Here's more about them:

Founded by Laurie Meadoff in 1985, The CityKids Foundation has established and maintained cutting edge youth development programs, training tens of thousands of diverse young people, by providing opportunities for personal growth, leadership, and artistic expression.

Their programs include the CityKids Repertory Company, "an intensive audition-based performance program that combines training in performing arts disciplines with a unique leadership development model."

Not sure at the moment what programming will take place in the Sixth Street space.

This marks the first tenant in the storefront here between First Avenue and Second Avenue in more than nine years. Tribal Soundz, the world music shop, closed here in the fall of 2008. (Jeremiah Moss wrote about Tribal Soundz here.)



H/T Michael Hirsch!

Previously on EV Grieve:
The sound of storage on East Sixth Street

Monday, November 6, 2017

Prepping for Election Day

As you may have noticed, tomorrow is Election Day in NYC.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can find out where you need to vote here.

Curbed has a general NYC voting guide here.

Among the races of interest around here, with info via the Gotham Gazette...

City Council District 2 open seat (held by Rosie Mendez):
Carlina Rivera, Democrat & Working Families
Jimmy McMillan, Republican & Rent is 2 Damn High
Donald Garrity, Libertarian
Manny Cavaco, Green
Jasmin Sanchez, Liberal

Mayor:
Bill de Blasio, incumbent, Democrat & Working Families
Nicole Malliotakis, Republican & Conservative & Stop de Blasio
Bo Dietl, Dump the Mayor
Sal Albanese, Reform
Aaron Commey, Libertarian
Akeem Browder, Green
Mike Tolkin, Smart Cities
(Dr. Robbie Gosine is waging a write-in campaign)

This piece in am New York touches upon some of the topics in the mayoral race.

Fall foliage in Tompkins Square Park — red-tailed hawk edition



Christo was hunting in the cover of the fallen leaves today in Tompkins Square Park, as these photos vaia EVG correspondent Steven show...



After a failed attempt or two, Christo emerged with a meal...

A look at NYC's burgeoning chain-restaurant scene


[EVG file photo]

Crain's today examines the increased presence of chain restaurants in NYC.

As they report, since 2008, the number of Dunkin' Donuts in NYC has expanded by 75 percent, from 78 in 2008 to 157 in 2016. In total, chains now represent about 13 percent of NYC's overall restaurant total.

Some excerpts from Crain's:

New York City is quickly becoming the capital of fast-food nation. More chains are moving in to replace diners and other independent restaurants forced out by relentlessly rising rents. Although many chains have broadened their menus and are experimenting with fast-casual dining, the bread and butter for most remains fried meat and a hefty soft drink.

"Fast-food chains used to draw a skull and crossbones around New York when they were looking for places to expand," said Gary Occhiogrosso, who runs consulting firm Franchise Growth Solutions. "Now they all want to be here."

Why?

A record 4.4 million New Yorkers are employed, and many want something fast and cheap for lunch. Tourism has doubled in the past 20 years, to more than 60 million, and many visitors look for familiar fare to munch on. And while there appears to be a glut of fast-food restaurants across the country — which experts see as a growing threat to the industry as a whole — New York is still relatively underrepresented. According to the Department of Labor, only 2% of the city's private-sector employees work in limited-service restaurants, compared with 4% nationally.

Read the full article here. H/T Eater.

Papaya King closes on St. Mark's Place ahead of new development



Papaya King's neon signage came down over the weekend at 3 St. Mark's Place ... marking the end of the hot dog purveyor's four years here... (A Papaya King rep confirmed the closure to me in an email.)



As reported on Friday, Real Estate Equities Corporation is planning to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue to make way for a 7-story office building. That also means the end here at some point for the Continental, Korilla BBQ and E Smoke Shop.

The Papaya King opened in the East Village in May 2013. The original location on Third Avenue and 86th Street and newer spot in downtown Brooklyn remain in service.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Breaking: Papaya King sign going up on St. Mark's Place — right now

Report: The AltSchool's East Village location is closing



AltSchool, a start-up whose investors include Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel, will close its East Village location at the end of the academic year, BusinessInsider first reported.

The Wall Street Journal noted that AltSchool is closing three of their seven private schools "so they can concentrate on developing their software platform for districts to purchase." The East Village location opened last year at 1 Avenue B at East Houston.

Here's more about AltSchool, which charges $27,000 annual tuition for students in kindergarden through fifth grade (these paragraphs are via the Journal):

The small schools serve as laboratories for AltSchool to refine a platform that organizes students’ work and tailors assignments to their individual needs...

And...

AltSchool is part of a “personalized learning” movement that has fans and skeptics. Supporters say it helps children become self-directed and resilient, which will help them in a modern workplace. Critics say hype about the approach has run ahead of any extensive research showing it works.

AltSchool officials sent emails about the East Village closure to parents this past Thursday evening.

Wall 88 looks closed on 2nd Avenue



Multiple readers have pointed out that Wall 88 has not been open lately, including this past weekend here on Sixth Street and Second Avenue.

The Wall 88 phone kicks into a full voicemail box. There isn't any mention of a closure on its website and social media properties. (Yelp states Wall 88 is permanently closed.)

However, despite the fact that the gates have been down for a week, the Wall 88 Facebook page is still robo-posting stock photos and sentiments ...




The restaurant serving rather pedestrian pub fare opened back in March. There was a quick turnaround here after Lions BeerStore closed.

Lions BeerStore — part retail shop, part restaurant — opened in November 2015. An EVG reader said that the Lions BeerStore owners are partners in the new venture, though someone else is/was involved in the day-to-day operations.

H/T Ryan John Lee

Wise Men closes on the Bowery

After a 5-year-run at 355 Bowery, Wise Men has closed here between Third Street and Fourth Street.

The cocktail lounge wrapped it up after service on Friday, as BoweryBoogie first noted. There wasn't any reason given for the closure. (The space had been on the market.)

Photographer Danielle Levitt, S magazine creative director Christina Chin and hospitality vet Caroleyn Ng were behind this venture. It was modeled after the steakhouse that Chin's parents opened on Mulberry and Bayard in Chinatown after they arrived to the States from Hong Kong in the late 1960s.

Before Wise Men, the space was home to Osaka Vibe/Orange Valve — aka, that kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery.

Previously on EV Grieve:
An appreciation of sorts: That kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery

Former kind of weird sushi place on the Bowery is now home to the Wise Men


[Photo from 2011]

A quick look at the incoming Joe and Pat's



Work continues inside 168 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street, where the Staten Island pizzeria Joe & Pat's is opening a location...

EVG regular Lola Sāenz shared these photos the other day showing how the interior is shaping up...



At the moment, it looks as if some of those antique murals from Lanza's, the previous tenant, will be part of the refurbished dining room...



Find previous posts on this topic here.

The Ainsworth neon arrives on 3rd Avenue



The rather retro-y neon signage arrived on Third Avenue at 11th Street for The Ainsworth, the chainlet of upscale sports bars ...



Oh, and there's the Ainsworth awning on the 11th Street side...



No word on an opening date. But when they do throw open the doors, their hours will be:

Sunday-Wednesday: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Village Pourhouse closed here in April.

Previously

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Sunday's parting shot



This evening in Tompkins Square Park via Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview


[14th Street yesterday morning]

Memorial for Elizabeth Lee on Cooper Square (Saturday ... Wednesday ... Thursday)

Malik Campbell shot and killed on Avenue D (Friday)

Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building (Friday)

RIP Richard Hambleton (Wednesday)

Joe Ricketts shuts down Gothamist and DNAinfo (Thursday)

HiFi’s last stand (Tuesday)

Out and About part 2 with Siobhan Meow (Thursday)

1st Avenue fruit vendors pack up for the season (Wednesday)

On Monday, a rally for the former P.S. 64 at City Hall (Friday)

Graffiti space giving way to Greek restaurant on 10th Street (Monday)

Ho Foods coming to 7th Street (Thursday)

Happy No. 50 to the cube of Astor Place (Wednesday)

Landmark Bicycles closes on Avenue A (Thursday)

East Village subs for the Forest Moon of Endor in Halloween speeder video (Monday)

Everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market (Friday)

Mama Fina's signage arrives on Avenue A (Monday)

Look at the old BP station on 2nd Avenue now (Monday)

An early start on the holidays on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

4 East Village restaurants earn Michelin stars (Tuesday)

Cabaret law repealed; they'll be swinging, swaying, records playing (Tuesday)

Reader report: Driver crashes into Town & Village Synagogue on 14th Street (Monday)

... and at Mikey Likes It at 199 Avenue A... this month's 1980s-inspired mural is Daniel from "The Karate Kid" ... (goes with this flavor) ...


[I’m Daniel…with a “D”]

---

Follow EVG on Instragram and/or Twitter for more updates

John Wilcock's history of The East Village Other

Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall have been sharing an ongoing comic book history at BoingBoing of underground publisher-Warhol biographer John Wilcock's years in New York.

On Friday, they did a segment on The East Village Other, the underground paper Wilcock helped launch in 1965. You can check it out here.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

A reminder about time



As a reminder, we're marking the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. on Nov. 5 ... so set those clocks-watches back an hour (and wonder, if you're at a bar at that time, whether they will stay open an extra hour)...

To illustrate Fall Back, let's look at the clock tower at the Most Holy Redeemer/Nativity church on Third Street where it is either 5:15 or 2:25. Tomorrow at this time, it will be 4:15 or 1:25.

Anyway, here's advice from the FDNY...

Memorial for Elizabeth Lee on Cooper Square



Friends and loved ones have placed flowers on Cooper Square where Elizabeth Lee was reportedly gunned down on Wednesday morning by a onetime boyfriend who had been stalking her.

Lee, who was 56, lived on the Upper East Side and worked at Grace Church School on Cooper Square. According to published reports, she had just docked a Citi Bike when Vincent Verdi approached her and shot her twice. He then reportedly shot himself in the head. Verdi, 62, is in critical condition at Bellevue.

The Daily News delves into his past.

He reportedly worked for the CIA and the Defense Department in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, for years.

The person close to him said Verdi suffered from severe depression from his years in the combat theater, and that may have contributed to his shocking crime.

“I think it has to do with him dealing with suicidal depression since he came back from Afghanistan,” the person said. “He was never the same person. And he had told the military that he needed to get help and they just ignored it.”

“That does not make up for his actions. I’m totally horrified by his actions. I can’t even express how sad I am for his family.”

Also:

Verdi has five sealed arrests in Florida for battery, domestic violence, lewd and lascivious behavior and fraud stretching over the past 30 years, police sources said.

Collegaues at Grace Church School remembered Lee as someone who really cared about the students.

Olivia Nunez, 34, met Lee-Herman a decade ago when they worked at Go Project, a nonprofit organization.

“She was really kind,” she said. “Welcoming. Always had a smile on her face. She was just the sweetest, sweetest person.”

Friday, November 3, 2017

It's the 'End of the World' as we know it



Here's the East Village's own Jesse Malin with a new video for his song "Meet Me at the End of the World," which features some well-known faces and places.

Malin and band will be at the Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 18 for a special benefit show. Details here.

Report: NYPD searching for suspect after man gunned down on Avenue D


There are reports that a man was shot at 108 Avenue D at Eighth Street around 4:15.

CBS 2 reports that the victim, 23, was shot in the head in the Jacob Riis Houses.

The victim is in critical condition, and police are looking for the suspect, per PIX 11.

Will update when more information on the shooting becomes available.

Updated 11/4

According to the Daily News, Malik Campbell died at Bellevue from the gunshot.

Per the News: "Cops are trying to determine if the violence was connected to an earlier stabbing, according to sources."

Oh, but the adventures that we had!



The concrete horse head bust has had such a busy week! And now the "phantom horse" is "under restoration" on Seventh Street outside its stable the Shape of Lies.

Photo by Derek Berg

Report: NE corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Avenue will yield to a 7-story office building



Plans are in the works to redevelop the three-building assemblage on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

According to The Real Deal:

[Real Estate Equities Corporation REEC], led by Brandon Miller and Mark Siegel, is planning to demolish the existing low-rise buildings at 3 St. Mark’s Place, 23 and 25-27 Third Avenue to make way for one new property. Plans call for a seven-story, 66,000-square-foot office building, including 6,000 square feet of corner retail.

That will mean the end of the businesses along here, including the Continental, Korilla BBQ, E Smoke Shop and Papaya King. (The former McDonald's structure is also part of the new development.)



REEC picked up the 99-year leasehold for the properties for a little more than $150 million, per The Real Deal.

In June 2015, The Real Deal reported that real-estate investor Arthur Shapolsky was in contract to buy the corner buildings for roughly $50 million.

However, Joseph Gabay, whose family owns the properties, told me this past June that they had not been sold despite the continued rumors.

That situation has apparently changed. Gabay did not respond to an email to confirm this deal.

As of last evening, there weren't any new permits on file with the Department of Buildings indicating any new work on the properties. There isn't any word just yet on a timeline for the businesses to close.

The development will likely fuel more talk of the Midtown Southification of this part of the neighborhood with 51 Astor Place/IBM Watson Building/Death Star right across the Avenue.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Shake Shack effect? McDonald's on 3rd Avenue at St. Mark's Place has closed after 20 years

Report: Northeast corner of St. Mark's Place and 3rd Ave. fetching $50 million for development site

On Monday, a rally for the former P.S. 64 at City Hall


[Photo from October]

Community activists, preservationists and local elected officials remain cautiously optimistic over Mayor de Blasio's recent statement that his administration would take steps to reacquire the former P.S 64 and CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

On that note... via a Facebook invite:

Join Us As We Mark the Anniversary of the late Community Leader and CHARAS Co-Founder Armando Perez’s birthday and Celebrate the Mayor’s Announcement of His Intent to Reacquire CHARAS!

RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE
CITY HALL STEPS
Monday, Nov. 6
Noon

With speakers Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Carlina Rivera, Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assembly member Brian Kavanaugh, Senator Brad Hoylman, Carlos ‘Chino Garcia, CHARAS, Inc., Andrew Berman, GVSHP, Laura Sewell, EVCC and others!

Find more details here.

A spokesperson for owner Gregg Singer, who bought the property from the city in 1998, responded that he has no plans to sell the building. The spokesperson, who said that the city is being a bully, told DNAinfo the appraised value of the property is $60 million, and that Singer "has already poured $80 million into upkeep."

Singer, who wants to turn the landmarked property into a dorm called University Square, continues in a holding pattern while the DOB has a Stop Work Order on the building.

Previously on EV Grieve:
During Town Hall, Mayor announces city's interest in re-acquiring former P.S. 64

At the rally for the former PS 64 today at City Hall

Car fire on 14th Street



Don't have much, if any, info about this... a car caught fire early this morning/late last night in the westbound side of 14th Street at Second Avenue ... the FDNY quickly extinguished the blaze (and there is a firehouse on the block...)



Thanks to @jcastro_nyc for the photos!

Everyone's favorite 14th Street triplex with a garage door for a wall is back on the market


[Image via Streeteasy]

Once, again, your favorite floor-through condominium triplex with a fully retractable second floor façade/wall that flips open like a garage door overlooking 14th Street returns to the market here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The home (in the building "Brownstone East Village"), which has been on and off and on the market for years, is again for sale.

Bringing the news is 6sqft:

Among numerous other media mentions, the triplex has been on the cover of New York magazine and was selected as Elle Decor’s Pick of the World’s Most Beautiful Homes.

Adding up to about 2,000 square feet of eclectic architect-designed custom finishes, the home offers ordinary luxuries like an elevator, 12-foot ceilings, a 500-square-foot private garden with a cabana, exposed brick walls, laundry, and a home office and rec room. Joining the retractable walls on the eclectic side is an aquarium that runs the width of the apartment.

Here's one photo...



Price: $4.2 million.

The place looks pretty nice, though everyone always seems to want to sell it.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Finally, your chance to own the 3-level penthouse at the Brownstone East Village

More photos of the apartment with the garage door for a living-room wall on East 14th Street

A mailbox returns to 9th and A

EVG reader Dennis noted yesterday that a USPS mailbox has returned to Avenue A and Ninth Street.

The box had been gone for more than a year (or longer?) after sidewalk work started along Ninth Street. As Dennis said, it was previously anchored on Ninth Street off the Avenue A corner near the M8 stop. It is now on Avenue A a little north of Ninth Street near GelArto. (Speaking of GelArto, the DOH temporarily closed them yesterday.)

And Dennis checked: Pickups at this mailbox are 1 p.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Updated: Joe Ricketts just shut down Gothamist and DNAinfo

Woah.

This message now greets visitors to both DNAinfo and Gothamist...



Here's that message from publisher Joe Ricketts:

Dear DNAinfo and Gothamist Readers:
Today, I've made the difficult decision to discontinue publishing DNAinfo and Gothamist. Reaching this decision wasn't easy, and it wasn't one I made lightly.

I started DNAinfo in 2009 at a time when few people were investing in media companies. But I believed an opportunity existed to build a successful company that would report unbiased neighborhood news and information. These were stories that weren't getting told, and because I believe people care deeply about the things that happen where they live and work, I thought we could build a large and loyal audience that advertisers would want to reach.

A lot of what I believed would happen did, but not all of it. Today, DNAinfo and Gothamist deliver news and information each day to over half a million people's email inboxes; we have over 2 million fans across our social channels; and each month, we have over 15 million visits to our sites by over 9 million people. But more important than large numbers of visits and fans, we've reported tens of thousands of stories that have informed, impacted, and inspired millions of people. And in the process, I believe we've left the world a better place.

But DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure. And while we made important progress toward building DNAinfo into a successful business, in the end, that progress hasn't been sufficient to support the tremendous effort and expense needed to produce the type of journalism on which the company was founded. I want to thank our readers for their support and loyalty through the years. And I want to thank our employees for their tireless effort and dedication.

I'm hopeful that in time, someone will crack the code on a business that can support exceptional neighborhood storytelling for I believe telling those stories remains essential.

Sincerely,

Joe Ricketts
Chief Executive Officer

Ricketts bought Gothamist back in March.

The Times reported that the reporters and editors in the combined newsrooms "celebrated victory in their vote to join a union" just last week.

In total, the closure impacts 115 employees, including reporters, editors, sales staff, among others, in New York as well as in other cities with DNA/-ist outposts. According to the Times: "They are getting three months of paid 'administrative leave' at full salary, plus four weeks of severance."

And reactions...












Updated 8 p.m.:
The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America, East:

"We are deeply concerned by Joe Ricketts’ decision to shut down DNAinfo New York and Gothamist, along with all their respective local outlets. The New York offices of DNAinfo and Gothamist recently voted to unionize and it is no secret that threats were made to these workers during the organizing drive. The Guild will be looking at all of our potential areas of recourse and we will aggressively pursue our new members rights. We will meet with management in the near future to address all of these issues. We are currently working with the staff at DNAinfo and Gothamist to support them in this difficult time.”

Today in sidewalk hazards on St. Mark's Place



There's a report of a major tahini spill outside Holyland Market on St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue, via @ArthurBovino.

So bring your crudités for a healthy dip alternative.

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 or Lower East Side.



By James Maher

Name: Siobhan Meow
Occupation: Anything I could get
Location: Avenue C and Second Street
Date: Friday, Oct 20

In Part 1 last week, Siobhan, a Brooklyn native, discussed how she and several others opened a squat on Avenue C that they called opened a squat called Umbrella House.

We started out with three people, which became six, and then grew quickly once we hooked into the squatter circuit. We had people from all over the world coming and working. At one point it was like the United Nations.

And we were always kind of strict about it — paying dues, whatever you could afford to kick in for materials and stuff, also work days were very important, and then we were pretty tough on no serious drug addictions or anything like that, because that’s a good way to have the building burn down. Now we have two storefronts that pay the going rate and that help us.

I ended up going to Europe for a summer. I was able to because we were so hooked up into the international squat community. I could stay at squats everywhere, and that was really interesting. In Berlin, they actually offered me a space at Köpenicker Squat, which is right over the East German wall. I was there when they had just made the holes in the walls, and we were actually crawling across. It was amazing. I really mourned that culture that survived because I knew what was coming behind it, the American shit capitalism, which ruined it. It was a little time machine back to the 1960s in Eastern Europe. I then ended up on Lake Balaton in Hungary, and that was just beautiful.

I came back and things were starting to really settle in, but like I said it was 17 years before we got heat, we got the boiler in and everything, and didn’t have to rely on stolen electricity anymore. But the neighborhood was beautiful. God I miss it. No cabs would come down here, no tourists, no drunks, only junkies.

The community was really tight. Everybody knew each other, there were lots of really good shops. There were tons of artists here, people of all stripes. Everybody was making art, and there were clubs where you could go to see really good bands. It was more peaceful back them. It was quiet. I can barely walk down the sidewalks anymore, it’s so crowded. They keep building shit buildings here and packing more people in and they do nothing about the infrastructure.

I miss the freedom. I could climb the tower of the Williamsburg Bridge. A friend was making a movie and we threw an effigy of me off the tower, to film someone jumping off the tower, and I walked down the stairs and off the bridge. Even though traffic was stopped nothing happened to me.

I did anything I could get. Since we were working on the house, I was able to get jobs in New Jersey at the scenic design places, which would be preparing the sets, loading them in, loading them out. I was doing fashion shows, movie sets— all kinds of stuff.

Also, I’m very into other species rights as well. I care for a little feral cat who lives in a garden, and I work with city critters helping place cats. I’ve been doing so for awhile. And I have 18 cats. Feeding the cats isn’t a problem, feeding myself is another story.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Report: 'Creepy ex' had stalked his one-time girlfriend before killing her on Cooper Square

According to published reports, a jealous one-time boyfriend shot and killed Elizabeth Lee yesterday morning as she docked her Citi Bike near Cooper Union. Lee, a mother of two, was 56.

The man, identified as Vincent Verdi, 62, then shot himself in the face. He is listed in critical condition at Bellevue. (Police originally stated that he had died, as DNAinfo noted.)

Lee worked at the Grace School high school campus at 46 Cooper Square. She often rode a Citi Bike to work on Cooper Square from her Upper East Side apartment.

School officials expressed their grief and offered a few details in a series of tweets yesterday...





As the Daily News reported about Verdi:

He stalked her for months after she dumped him following a failed Match.com romance — leading her to lock in an order of protection that wasn’t enough to keep her alive.

Creepy ex Vincent Verdi was spotted by neighbors peering into Elizabeth Lee-Herman’s Upper East Side building and loitering nearby in an apparent effort to catch her alone.

He was facing stalking charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office after he was arrested Oct. 5 for threatening her.

After she broke up with him on July 7, he peppered her with emails and calls to the school where she works, court records show. He sent her chocolate and flowers. He showed up at her dentist appointment on Aug. 10.

Judge Angela Badamo issued the order barring Verdi from contacting Lee-Herman and demanded he turn over all firearms.

He spent seven days in jail and was released Oct. 12, records show.

Ho Foods coming to 7th Street



Ho Foods, a Taiwan beef noodle soup pop up, is opening a full-time restaurant at 110 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Applicant Richard Ho is on CB3's November SLA commitee agenda for a beer-wine license. This item will not be heard before the committee on Nov. 15, per paperwork on file at the CB3 website.

Ho started his career at Blue Ribbon, where he advanced from waiter to GM of the Columbus Circle location during eight years there. He moved on to pursue his passion for cooking with Ho Foods (per this article).

Ho Foods has taken part in one-night-only events such as the first Dragon Boat Festival back in May with Nom Wah Nolita, among other restaurants.

The smallish Seventh Street space was home to Porchetta until last November.

Meanwhile, you can see some of the Ho Foods menu items via their Instagram account...

Landmark Bicycles looks closed on Avenue A



Multiple EVG readers have noted that the Landmark Bicycles shop has apparently closed on the corner of Avenue A and Third Street... the storefront is now empty and the gates remain down... all this follows the arrival of clearance signs several weeks ago. There isn't any mention of a closure on Landmark's website or Facebook page.

Landmark first opened in 2008 around the corner on Third Street (where St. Mark's Bookshop later moved) selling vintage bicycles and parts... before relocating to the corner space in late 2012 where the scope of their merchandise expanded to include new bike models and accessories. Landmark opened a location in Williamsburg in the spring of 2012.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

An early start on the holidays on St. Mark's Place



These went up yesterday (Halloween!) on St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...





These seems about three weeks earlier than usual...

The horse head moved again, of course, of course

For those of you keeping track ... the concrete horse head bust has been on the move these past few days... from Avenue A and Seventh Street to Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue to Tompkins Square Park.

And now... it's on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue outside the Shape of Lies...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

One EVG commenter noted that the horse head's first appearance was actually here outside the art-jewelry shop.

Where will it end up next?

Updating: Reports of a shooting on Astor Place


Unconfirmed reports that this happened at the CVS.

The Daily News has a brief report here.

Updating...



8:35 a.m.



8:40 a.m.



9:05 a.m.

Per the Daily Mail: "A woman has been shot in the stomach while parking her CitiBike in Manhattan before the gunman is believed to have then shot himself."

Also:

The woman ... was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The gunman was also rushed to hospital and his condition is also believed to be serious.

10:30 a.m.

DNAinfo reports that the police haven't provided further information about the circumstances or motive for the shooting just yet.

DNAinfo also reconstructs what happened via witness accounts:

"He didn't say a word. He shot her in the chest both times. It was point-blank range. Her feet went in the air and she hit the floor," [nearby office worker Jerry] Simo said.

The shooter, then kicked the woman's feet to make sure she was shot, witnesses said.

"Then he put the gun under his chin and finished himself," Simo added.

Cooper Union has issued a series of tweets...





10:45 a.m.

ABC 7 reports that the woman and the man were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. (The NYPD now says the man is still alive.)

The station reports that the 62-year-old man and the 56-year-old woman were a couple.

11:30 a.m.



11/2

The post continues here with details on the murder victim, Elizabeth Lee.

1st Avenue fruit vendors pack up for the season


[EVG file photo]

Last night was the last call this season for the fruit-vegetable vendors here on First Avenue and Sixth Street outside Village View ... EVG reader Rainer Turim shared these photos from last night (there was word of a small going-away party) ...





The vendors returned for the season here back in April...

RIP Richard Hambleton



Richard Hambleton, a street artist who came to prominence in the 1980s East Village, died on Sunday. He was 65. (A cause of death was not mentioned in published reports.)

Here's more from artnet News:

The enigmatic artist burst on the scene alongside a group of confidants and collaborators that included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. Hambleton soon became known for his signature “shadowman” motif, a splotched, black, leering figure that appeared on the walls of buildings in downtown Manhattan.

Just as Hambleton’s career took off he started using drugs, including heroin and crack. He relied on the drugs, particularly the heroin, to reach a mental state that he felt helped him depict the sublime. A long battle with addiction would plague him throughout his life.

Hambleton, who most recently was living in an East Village studio, had enjoyed a revival this year. "Shadowman," Oren Jacoby's documentary about his life and work, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival back in the spring.



Hambleton's work is also part of "Club 57: Film, Performance and Art in the East Village, 1978-1983," an exhibit that opened yesterday at MoMa.

"Right up to his death he was painting," Kristine Woodward of Woodward Gallery told artnet News. "We'd never known anybody who lived to paint the way Richard did, he was just such a dedicated artist, it's all he cared about, he was not a careerist, he just wanted to paint."

There were many tributes to Hambleton on Twitter...








Happy No. 50 to the cube of Astor Place


[Photo from November 2016 by Peter Brownscombe]

The Alamo officially turns 50 today on Astor Place.

Some cube history via the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP):

On November 1, 1967, an 8′ x 8′ x 8′ 1,800-pound giant black cube was installed in Astor Place as one of 25 temporary public artworks by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. However, it was so popular that local residents petitioned the City to keep it, and except for its absences for restorations over the past few years, it has stood there ever since.

Bernard “Tony” Rosenthal’s sculpture was originally named “Sculpture and the Environment,” but was eventually renamed The Alamo by his wife, Cynthia Rosenthal, because its size and mass reminded her of the famous Alamo Mission in San Antonio.

GVSHP and the Village Alliance are hosting a birthday party today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can do things like make your own cube from origami, eat birthday cake and take part in 50 continuous minutes of spinning the cube in an attempt to break the record and raise money for the GO Project. Find more details here.

Signing off with one little piece of recent cube history — that time in October 2011 when Agata Olek yarn bombed the thing...


[Photo by EVG reader Anne]