Citizens of the Anthropocene in Tompkins Square Park

[Photo Thursday by Steven]

In case you haven't seen these things hanging out in Tompkins Square Park the past few days... the one above is in the center of the Park.

Look up!

Hello up there!

A post shared by Citizens of the Anthropocene (@citizensoftheanthropocene) on Apr 23, 2018 at 10:43am PDT

And this one is near the entrance at Seventh Street and Avenue A


[Photo Thursday by Goggla]

And the explanatory laminated note...


[Click on image to go big]

As explained on Instagram: "We are the Citizens of the Anthropocene ~ an anthropomorphic race of plastic-bag humanoids."

Anyway, One word: Plastics.

FDNY: Wiring blamed for last Saturday's fire on 9th Street

[Photo from this morning]

A quick follow-up to last Saturday's two-alarm fire at 218 E. Ninth St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

The FDNY called the fire accidental, citing building wiring...

Per #FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of 4/21 2-alarm fire at 218 E 9 St. Manhattan was accidental, electrical, building wiring. Smoke alarm present and operational

— FDNY (@FDNY) April 23, 2018

A fire official said the building is now "unlivable." The address houses Yakiniku West, the Japanese steakhouse, and three apartments. Previous reports said that five adults and one child were displaced. No one was injured.

Here's more via The Villager:

Two families were said to occupy the upper floors but were not there when the Red Cross arrived, according to spokesperson Michael de Vulpillieres. The Villager spoke briefly to the owner of Yakiniku West on Sunday evening, shortly after he emerged from the building’s blackened first floor with several associates. Asked when his restaurant would open, he said, “in two months,” and abruptly walked away, declining to give his name.

Last weekend for Bakeri on 6th Street

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the last day for Bakeri NYC, the cafe-bakery at 627 E. Sixth St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.

Bakeri, with locations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, opened here in October 2016. The cafe carries homemade bread and pastries as well as Counter Culture Coffee.

However, as we understand it, the space won't be empty long — new owners are taking over the storefront for a similar venture in the weeks/months ahead.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Bakeri closing at the end of the month on 6th Street

You've got Snail Mail

From Snail Mail's debut album Lush, out on June 8 via Matador Records. The video here for "Heat Wave" debuted yesterday.

Sunday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park

It's time for the first free concert of the season/year in Tompkins Square Park via The Shadow.

Sunday at 2 p.m.: May Day with Haram, Rubber, Olor a muerte, Headsplitters and Junta.

EVG Etc.: Remembering Joe Heaps Nelson; prepping for the L-train shutdown

LES artist Joe Heaps Nelson died on April 16 of brain cancer. He was 49. (Des Moines Register)

Single-digit turnout as Democrats win big in city’s special elections (City Limits)

84-year-old man sitting on bench on Lower East Side punched in face (ABC 7)

ICYMI: An interview with artists "who defined the East Village’s avant-garde scene" ... and other early-1980s influencers (The New York Times Style Magazine)

Your L-train shutdown checklist (Gothamist)

A call for restrictions on the Williamsburg Bridge during the L-train shutdown (The Lo-Down)

The 1970s-80s on the LES as seen through the camera of Meryl Meisler (Creative Boom)

Pinky's Space & Mighty Quinn's are quoted in this piece on restaurants trying to meet the demands of the delivery boom (USA Today)

Victoria's Secret model buys home in Steiner East Village (New York Post) ... while another Victoria's Secret model lists her 11th Street penthouse (The Observer)


[That awkward moment with the gate at Zum Schneider on C]

East Village amnesiac regains life after vanishing in 1990 (Daily News)

Judge: De Blasio may be deposed if mayor had hand in axing city official (Daily News)

Inside the Moxy hotel brands Manhattan invasion (Skift ... previously)

HUD’s proposed rent hikes on low-income families would affect thousands of New Yorkers (Curbed)

Paul Schrader and four of his classic films coming to the Metrograph (Official site)

"Hypnic Jerk," an exhibit featuring the work of Gina Volpe (the guitarist for the Lunachicks), remains up through May 17 (Art on A Gallery)

Governors Island will bring back Friday late-night hours this season (Curbed)

Iggy Pop at his most ferocious (Dangerous Minds)

Op-ed: The Mayor's mistaken attempt to supersize NYC buildings (Gotham Gazette)

Legal woes for the 32nd Street location of Caffe Bene; slows expansion plans (Eater)

... and as previously reported, Coney Island Baby debuted last night at 169 Avenue A with a set by Murphy's Law ... as well as a special appearance by H.R. from Bad Brains... The venue's neighbor is the onetime home of Rat Cage Records and 171A, the illegal club-turned-rehearsal studio that produced records by Bad Brains and the "Polly Wog Stew" EP by the Beastie Boys.

Here's a look at the Coney Island Baby marquee, that went up yesterday...



Brooklyn Vegan has photos from last night here.

The Hard Swallow returns on 1st Avenue

[Photo by Steven]

The Hard Swallow (aka Big Lee's) reopened last month at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... and the bar is holding its grand re-opening party tomorrow (Saturday!) night at 8:30.

The no-frills bar had been closed for more than a year as husband-and-wife owners Leroy “Big Lee” and Maria "Sasha" Lloyd (pictured above) were locked in a legal battle with the previous owners. The Lloyds also had to go before CB3 and the SLA for a new liquor license. (This archived DNAinfo piece from March 2017 has all the background.)

The bar opened in the summer of 2015 in the former Spanky and Darla's space. Big Lee is a former doorman/bouncer at Hogs & Heifers as well as Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place (he is also originally from Coney Island).

Affordable housing lottery underway at 79-89 Avenue D

The affordable housing lottery is now open for 79-89 Avenue D (aka 751 E. Sixth St.).

The 12-story retail-residential building via L+M Development Partners here between Seventh Street and Sixth Street features 28 permanently affordable units (out of 110 total).

The mixed-income units are available to those earning 40, 60 and 130 percent of the area median income. These units range from $596 a month for studios to $2,519 a month for two bedrooms.



Amenities here will include a fitness center, landscaped roof deck and an outdoor terrace.

The address was previously one-level storefronts that included a Rite Aid, which relocated one block north to the ground floor of the Arabella 101 building. Rite Aid signed a lease to return to the retail space at No. 79.

Residents who qualify for the housing have until June 26 to apply for one of the units. Find the details here.

The other units in the building have not yet hit the rental market.

H/T 6sft!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Makeshift dog run in Tompkins Square Park has been padlocked

Two weeks ago, officers from the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP!) came to Tompkins Square Park to warn dog owners about letting their pets roam off-leash.

Park regulars said that there were complaints about more and more people letting their dogs run loose in sections of Tompkins, especially in the West Lawn near the entrance on St. Mark's Place... and not clean up after their dogs... in this area right here!



Parkgoers said some dog owners continued to ignore the various warnings and homemade signs... especially early mornings and on weekends...

Now someone (presumably from the Park office) has padlocked the entrance to the West Lawn in an attempt to thwart the dog owners from using this area ...


[Photo yesterday by Bobby Williams]

Previously on EV Grieve:
A warning about off-leash dogs in Tompkins Square Park (29 comments)

Ace Hardware closes on 4th Avenue

EVG reader Sheila shared this photo from yesterday... showing an auction sign at the now-closed Ace Hardware outpost at 130 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street...

City Council member Carlina Rivera hosting community resource fair Saturday

Via the EVG inbox...

Carlina Rivera is holding her first Community Resource Fair of her City Council term, giving residents of Council District 2 the opportunity to access a number of programs and informational booths. Attendees will be able to access free-blood pressure screenings, information about affordable housing applications, information about volunteer opportunities, and more.

The event takes place from 1-4 p.m. at Grand Street Settlement’s main building, 80 Pitt St. (between Rivington and Stanton). You can RSVP by emailing District2@council.nyc.gov, or by calling 212-677-1077, ext. 107.

Today in discarded paintings on 5th Street

Near Avenue B...