Monday, January 18, 2021
MLK National Day of Service.
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Week in Grieview
Save our compost
Noted
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Saturday's parting shot
From the archives: On the phone with Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls
[Sylvain, left, and David Johansen in 2006]
Ed note: Sylvain Sylvain died this week of cancer at age 69. This EVG post first appeared on March 8, 2013.
He talked to me for about 45 minutes from his home in Atlanta, sharing some favorite East Village memories starting when he moved to the neighborhood from Queens in 1967.
First apartment
"It was ... 1967. It was on East Fifth Street between Avenue C and D. It was $57 a month in rent. For the whole damn place! The apartment had a refrigerator. It worked and everything — the light was on. But it didn’t have a door. [Laughs] It was groovy for about a month or two — during the summer. Then I got the hell out of there real quick. Anywhere past Avenue A you were taking your life in your hands. There was a lot of heroin. It was actually cheaper than pot. It was pretty fucking wild."
Gem Spa, which served as the setting for the back cover of the New York Dolls' first album
"It was a corner place in the late 1960s. It wasn’t much of a joint at all. But we felt like the place epitomized the whole East Village scene — this is where we were living. You could stop there and pick up your smokes and get an egg cream and the newspaper or a magazine. I know Johnny [Thunders] used to really love those egg creams. They got hipper as years went on, where they would sell Melody Maker. It became more of a place once the Dolls took pictures in front of it."
Veselka
"There was the Slow Russians. What do they call that place? Veselka? We called it ‘The Slow Russians.’ You’d ask for a cup of coffee at like 2 o’clock in the morning. By the time they served you the coffee it would be like 6 o’clock in the morning! [Laughs] They were real slow! But they had all those soups and it was pretty cheap. They were open all night too."
Peace Eye Bookstore
"Ed Sanders from the Fugs — one of my favorites — had a bookstore right across the street from Tompkins Square Park [at 147 Avenue A]. I worked there for a couple of months until he discovered that I couldn’t really read because I’ve always had dyslexia, and then he fired me right there."
Rent
"It was cheap. You could live on the Avenues. It was a lot safer. The drugs were softer there. There was marijuana — no heroin. If you wanted to live there, it was like $150 to $300 for a month's rent.
"Every summer, me and [David] Johansen, we used to say, 'OK, I haven't seen that person ... that person just came in. She just came in.' We could count them off. They heard their calling from wherever they came from — the Midwest, the West Coast, upstate New York — even from Queens, like me. These people had a calling to come to the city, and the East Village was the only place that they could afford to live. They would go to art school or become musicians. The only band who I remember before us were the Magic Tramps, which was Eric Emerson. He passed away, the poor guy, on heroin too.
Manhattan
"Queens was a few stops away from Manhattan, but it was a lifetime of travel to get to Manhattan.
"Manhattan was the only free place. As bad as it was in Alphabet City, you were free at least. You could wear what you wanted. Some times you took your life in your hands just walking. It was really dangerous. But at least you were free — that was the bottom line."
Shopping and dressing
"[Dolls bassist] Arthur Kane was on First Avenue. He lived right above a bar [now d.b.a.]. It took us like five hours to get dressed. Arthur was wearing this chick’s zebra waistcoat. It was a print, of course. It wasn’t a real zebra. But it took us hours and hours to get dressed — all this just to go shopping at the supermarket.
"When we get to the supermarket — it was below Houston. It was called the Big Apple. We were in the queue there to pay for whatever food we didn’t stuff into our pockets. This mafiosa guy says 'the things you see when you ain’t got a rifle.'
"I would go shopping from Madison Avenue to thrift shops. And you just made it up on your own.
"We'd get everything from the little kids' motorcycle jackets to beat-up blue jeans. It depended where the fuck you got it. We were the most creative — we were like what they call club kids, but when there were no clubs."
Telecommunications
"Everyone had a telephone. Of course, we never paid for it. You’d pick a name. My name was Ricky Corvette. I'm pretty sure I still owe Ma Bell a lot of money. Back then, you’d call up and say I just moved into this new place. 'OK, what's your name? Ricky Corvette. OK, Ricky we'll be there next week to put in your phone.' I'm talking about 1970."
Johnny's closet
Johnny Thunders had an apartment on Avenue A. His closet was like — everything would be pressed and dry cleaned. He had a real unique way of dressing and picking this and this and that and putting it all together.
When we were picking names for the band, he called me, well, he called Ricky Corvette, and run names by me. 'What do you think of Johnny Thunder?' I'd was like Yeah, that's pretty cool Johnny. The phone would ring five minutes later. What about Johnny Thunders?
Home
"I did have an apartment in New York until 2010. It was on 69th Street off Broadway. Up until a couple years ago we were doing OK so I could still have an apartment in New York. But then I couldn’t afford it. I first moved to LA, and lived there until 1995 and moved here to Atlanta. It was all because of money. Now Atlanta is getting almost as expensive as New York. Almost. I think Nicaragua, friend, is next."
Starting a band
"A lot of kids come up to me like 'Wow, you came up at a really great time!' Oh, fuck no! When the New York Dolls started in 1970, there was nobody. You couldn't get a contract. It took us years. It took until 1973 until we got signed.
"After we started it was five years until CBGB opened in 1975. The Dolls broke up in 1975. There were no places to play. You had to invent places to play. We were the ones who kind of gave birth to groups like Blondie and the Talking Heads."
There's something about Mary O's
"I'm not making money, absolutely no way, but it creates a vibe with people between the community and my own regular customers," said O’Halloran.NY1 notes that the tireless O'Halloran is doing all this all the while taking care of her six children, ages 8 through 17.
It's O'Halloran's nature to keep moving and working. Her husband is a longshoreman who is often gone months at a time, so it's a lot to juggle, but she refuses to let Mary O's shut its doors.
"My gut feeling tells me that I can survive. I just have to keep going, you know?" said O'Halloran, who added, "It's really, really hard, but I can't give up. Do you know what I'm saying? I just can't."You can order the scones or shepherd's pie via the Mary O's website here.
The remains of Dinosaur Hill
There's a Book Swap Sunday — this Sunday!
Let's share our used books to help us get through this pandemic together. Leave some and take others... Thanks for making these such a wonderful success! And you don't have to donate. Taking is sharing also.Photo by Kevin Farley
Friday, January 15, 2021
Friday's parting shot
A downed tree on 7th Street
RIP Sylvain Sylvain
While singer David Johansen was a classic Jaggeresque frontman and Johnny Thunders oozed degenerate charisma and played snarling lead guitar, Sylvain was the group's foundation, bringing textured riffs and rhythmic power that underpinned the songs' melodies and meshed with the bass and drums. The twang of his Gretsch guitar countered Thunders' blistering, distorted leads and gave the group a melodic bedrock.Sylvain previously lived in the East Village, starting in 1967.
The debut of Phony Express, a local pandemic-era band who collaborates by phone
"Phony Express is what happens when artists, writers and musicians, who'd normally be making shows live at La MaMa and in our neighborhood watering holes, decide to use our own devices. We've formed an anonymous band inspired by EV Grieve — anonymous, so that listeners may focus on the music itself, not what they find online about the persons performing it; local, sparked by our neighborhood's unique legacy, free and fun. 'CBGB' is the band's debut. No website. Our plan is to collaborate by phone, making music quickly (Phony Express) and upload to Phony Express's YouTube channel."
The iconic motorcycle mural on 6th Street and Avenue A apparently rode off into the sunset
Post unveils signage at new 3rd Street location
Thursday, January 14, 2021
NYPD looking for suspects in brutal daytime mugging on 3rd Street at 1st Avenue
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You may also submit tips online. All calls are strictly confidential.🚨WANTED for a ROBBERY: On 01/13/21 at approx. 12:42 PM, in the vicinity of 1st Ave and East 3 Street. The suspects punched the 29 year old male victim multiple times about the body. Any info call or DM NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. Reward up to $2,500. @NYPDShea @NYPDDetectives pic.twitter.com/ivLOQB4UUo
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) January 14, 2021
Grant Shaffer's NY See
Residents say dangerous safety conditions at Mariana Bracetti Plaza lead to illegal and hazardous activities
For months, residents of the Mariana Bracetti Plaza public housing development have experienced a wave of crimes taking place inside its hallways, staircases, courtyard, rooftop and playground, thanks to unlocked front doors and broken security system.
I am wondering what kind of activity I will see when I arrive here on Third Street and Avenue C on a sunny Thursday morning. Will there be people doing, buying and selling drugs, using the place as a toilet [NSFW], engaging in sex work, and fencing goods (via stolen Amazon packages from neighboring buildings) as resident and activist Kanielle Hernandez alleges?
Yes, it turns out — all of those things. Plus, I witness two people attempting to break into an apartment, people using the hallways as an illegal business site, and a steady stream of open-air courtyard and front-step drug purchases…sometimes with a line of people waiting their turn.
According to Kanielle, who lives in the building with her son and her grandfather, plus her dog, Denim (you can read about Kanielle’s fight to keep Denim, a pit bull, in this New York Times piece from 2009) finding people passed out or doing drugs in the hallway has become an everyday occurrence.
I speak to PSA 4 housing officers who arrive to get an early lunch at Rossy’s Bakery, right across the street from the buildings in question. What can be done, I ask them?
I believe this started with the sidewalk bridges. Landlords put up these dark ugly scaffolds as a resolution instead of actual repairs. Then they stay up for years without any actual work being done. But someone is getting paid to have these sidewalk bridges just up with no real purpose. It creates dark hidden places for illegal activity.
Depressed and discouraged. I don’t really go downstairs like I used to. I think about moving out all the time but my grandpa loves it here. He loves to walk around and go to the supermarket, but we have encountered some incidents where he felt frightened by different individuals approaching him for money.
The newsletter is still in the works but we have written up a petition and it’s available for signatures here.
In all honesty, I would like to see massive change on all levels but for now, I would like to have all the surrounding sidewalk bridges removed. The money being saved by removing the sidewalk bridges should be used to do something to improve the building. Like new elevators or security cameras. We could work with the local precinct to have more police patrol. And a police light on the corner. And a homeless program to redirect individuals to places that can help them.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Gallery Watch: Moko Moko Doki Doki and Double Happiness at the Hole
Text and photos by Clare Gemima
Moko Moko Doki Doki sets the tone all the way from the opposite side of Bowery — you can start to spot large mounds of purples and yellows and furry sculptures that will make you skip all the way to the front door. Moko Moko or "fluffy" colliding with Doki Doki or "excited heartbeat" literally describes the work perfectly.
The sensations in my body and face as soon as I saw the array of fluffy and excited heartbeats were something unique to me — it has been a while since I've been physically affected by artwork. I was grateful to blush and laugh around these sculptures, stroke one and fight the urge not to cuddle the hell out of them all. I was suddenly 6 years old.
The darkish vibrance of Moko Moko Doki Doki's walls made the whole gallery look like miniature maze toys or building blocks. It kept you there, simply because it felt like there was so much to see and do, to play with and to pet.
Across the room, vases are positioned on mirror-topped plinths that host oil marks in their reflection. The sexy interventional designs of Jackson's vases proliferate as you navigate within Larson's multiplying paintings that surround the exhibition. There is color, design, form, meshing and merging absolutely everywhere. It's as nauseating to walk around the space as it is to stand still in this environment. You totally forget about the literal gestures here — flowers and vases.
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