Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Monday, when they are closed. (212) 505-8065
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Saturday's opening shot
Friday, March 5, 2021
Friday's parting shots
'Lux' living
Local band Pom Pom Squad released "Lux" this week... which features a "Virgin Suicides" tribute video of singer-songwriter Mia Berrin's dreams.
Also, today is Bandcamp Friday, in which the platform foregoes its revenue and gives the bands all the $$$ from the day's sales. You can download "Lux" here.
About Open Data Week in the East Village
Join EVCC for this week-long festival of FREE community events in celebration of New York City's Open Data Law. From family-friendly live events on the Ave B Open Street, to fun and informative virtual events, there's something for everyone here!
Highlights coming up tomorrow (Saturday!) on Avenue B between Seventh Street and Eighth Street ...
1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Join artist Jen Ray and data designer Jason Forrest for an engaging and not-entirely-serious interactive data-art performance on the Ave B Open Street. You've never seen data presented like this!
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Join artist Cindy Stockton Moore in Shadow Tag for Open Streets, a creative family-friendly experiment in chalk. Come play with data!
Engaging with the WhatsOpenEV.com MapBuilt by BetaNYC & maintained by volunteers, the WhatsOpenEV.com map has everything you need to safely Shop Local. We created the map to assist our community and support local merchants during the COVID-19 shutdown. What started as a band-aid grew into a labor of love.Discover East Village businesses, help support your favorites, and add your contributions to the map. Find the latest hours, specials, fundraisers and more!
Visit the EVCC website for more details.
ICYMI: Arts and entertainment venues can reopen starting on April 2
And those numbers can go higher — up to 150 people indoors — if the venue offers a rapid COVID-19 test on entry.
Either way, all attendees must wear masks and be socially distanced.
Despite the positive step forward after a year-long closure, some venues said they would not be reopening just yet.
From Gothamist:
"Obviously any news about a path forward, even a limited capacity one, is great considering where we were just over a month ago," said Dennis Dennehy, spokesperson for AEG Presents and Bowery Presents, which manages bookings at Forest Hills Stadium, Terminal 5, Webster Hall, Brooklyn Steel, Music Hall of Williamsburg and more. "That said, we remain focused as of right now on fully reopening when we can do shows at 100% capacity. It just doesn’t make sense for us to do anything with limited capacity."While he left open the possibility that some individual artists might decide to eat their losses to do a couple of one-off shows at big venues, he said it ultimately wasn't efficient for them to be back until they can play to full houses.
From the Times:
Michael Swier, the owner of the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, two of New York's best-known rock clubs, said that the state's order that venues require social distancing and mask-wearing means that the true capacity at many spaces may be much lower.
"Given that social distancing is still part of the metric, it brings us back down to an approximate 20 percent capacity, which is untenable," Mr. Swier said.
Report of a fatal fire on 5th Street
Updated 3/7: the fire was at 335 E, Fifth St. The resident was identified as Wendy Schonfeld. Read about her here.
An early-morning fire on Fifth Street reportedly killed an 80-year-old resident in the building.
According to @FDNYalerts, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of 335 E. Fifth St., a five-story building between First Avenue and Second Avenue. The report came in at 12:55 a.m., according to @FDNYalerts ... and was deemed under control by 1:24 a.m.
At 3:36 a.m., the Citizen app reported the following: "An official update from the FDNY has confirmed that an 80-year-old woman found inside the apartment was declared deceased after EMS transported her to a local hospital."Manhattan All Hands Box 0430, 337 E 5 ST, Multiple Dwelling 'A' Fire, 4TH FLR, Under Control
— FDNYalerts (@FDNYAlerts) March 5, 2021
Three other injuries were reported.
No other information is available at the moment regarding the conditions of the victims or the cause of the fire.
Updated 5 p.m.
Steven shared this photo... as you can see windows on the fourth and fifth floors have been board up...
Top photo via Citizen
Meeting Chef Wayne from the Bowery Mission
Interview by Mackenna Caughron
Wayne is a chef at the Bowery Mission, currently working across their Bowery and Tribeca campuses to serve New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
I met Wayne while he was in the throes of dinner preparation. His meals look outstanding — no surprises there, as his food fuels thousands of hungry New Yorkers and counting. It’s apparent why he’s so effective at his job — not only is he an expert in the creation of hot meals, but also his presence emits warmth. Spending an hour with Wayne (without even tasting his food, mind you), I felt lifted.
I asked Wayne several questions to learn more about his journey to the Bowery Mission and the recent impact of the pandemic.
What is your first memory of The Bowery Mission?
In 2012, I experienced temporary homelessness. I was staying at a nearby shelter, not far from the Bowery Mission’s flagship campus at 227 Bowery. At the time, I’d go to The Bowery Mission to get food, get clothing, but I didn’t know much about the organization overall. For two years, I held occasional jobs but was having a hard time finding steadier work and housing.
In 2014, I signed up for the Bowery Mission’s men’s residential program. By October of that same year, I had graduated from the program and secured a job at the organization’s Avenue D Campus.
How did you transition from program participant to staff member?
When I first got into the program, we had daily tasks. It gave us something to do, but it also taught us skills. I spent my time in the kitchen, working with the chefs and volunteers.
It wasn’t easy at first. We serve a wide variety of people dealing with extreme circumstances. To be on the front line of serving food while monitoring interactions could be tough. Some folks direct the challenges of their day toward you. Over the years, I’ve better understood where they’re coming from and why they act this way.
In my time working at the Bowery Mission, I’ve also worked at their Mont Lawn Camp and Retreat Center in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, which was an incredible experience. It is beautiful, 200-plus acres with a retreat center, a gym, basketball court, rock climbing wall — the works. Compared to the city, there are no sirens, no city noises. Seeing the organization’s full-circle impact makes me feel more strongly about working at the Bowery Mission.
On a personal level, I’ve learned that serving a person a great meal does a lot. Initially, I cooked to keep busy and develop my skills. Now, I look for the relief on a client’s face. I see in their demeanor when I’ve removed the worry of having to feed themselves.
I also learned to communicate thoughtfully. If I’m met with aggression, I temper the conversation to encourage different behavior.
All our locations operate differently, some campuses are more focused on emergency shelter, some are focused on residential programming, but my focus is always to make a good meal.
Do you notice changes in donations during recent times?
Being in the food industry myself, I’ve seen how hard it is for restaurants right now. They’re not receiving the same customer base. But it’s amazing how our donation partners have pulled together and said, “even though we’ve been affected by this negatively, that shouldn’t put a damper on what the Bowery Mission is trying to do.”
People are still trying to gather as many resources as they can to help. We’re now getting packaged food. Companies and organizations are preparing meals and putting them in containers and bringing them to us, hundreds at a time every day.
Not only does it make our job a little bit easier, knowing that we have people supporting us, but it allows us to go full force in serving people who really need it. We are able to execute a battle plan so that we can best serve guests, who, unfortunately, can’t shelter in place like many New Yorkers can.
How do you get a feeling of appreciation in this work?
When I go home from work, I see many of the people we serve on my commute. When they see me, they give me a shout-out, “Hey Chef!” That feels good.
Also, if I do see a person asking for food, I get to tell them about the Bowery Mission. All they have to do is be on time to receive a meal.
I was very appreciative that all staff and volunteers were offered resources through the Bowery Mission to isolate and safely navigate COVID-19.
What is the lesson learned from COVID-19?
Among New Yorkers, the issue of homelessness can be divisive. Some folks want to help, while others think people should be “on their own.” The pandemic has proved anyone can fall on tough circumstances. You get behind on bills, you can lose your job, and you can lose your housing.
We all need help sometimes, and whatever events happen in this country, we can all try to be part of the solution rather than the problem.
New Yorkers can catch flak for being “rude” or “brash,” but when things go down, we know how to come together.
About Nudibranch, bringing a pop-up tasting menu to 130 1st Ave. this month
Eater had the scoop yesterday on what's been happening here.
Two Momofuku Ssäm Bar alums have teamed up on an exciting, new tasting menu pop-up that's running in ... through the end of this month. Nudibranch ... is a collaboration between chefs Victor Xia and Jeff Kim, and the first solo project for the duo.
Kim and Xia met working at Ssäm Bar several years ago, and teamed up on Nudibranch last year to create a menu that paid homage to all the kitchens they've cooked in around the city as well as the food they love eating everyday.
While the menu incorporates several Asian ingredients in various dishes, the chefs don't want that to be the defining factor of the project. "We hate the term Asian fusion or pan-Asian," says Xia. "That is how a lot of people just want to describe food like this. But if you look at the menu you won't really be able to tie it down to any particular cuisine. Not having to label it is something we really enjoy."
Visit the Nudibranch website here for more details.
Nightmarket, a quick-serve Taiwanese restaurant specializing in braised beef noodle soup, opened in July 2019, taking over from NuNoodle.
Photo from January by Steven
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Noted
Grant Shaffer's NY See
The Union Square Food Emporium looks to be closing at the end of May
While the closure of the supermarket isn't a complete surprise, its timing is. In February 2020, Lois Weiss at the Post reported that Target has signed a lease for the 32,579 square feet here on 14th Street. However, the Food Emporium was said to stay here through the end of April 2023.
Sources told Weiss that, despite the wait, Target wanted to lock in the location along 14th Street. The nearly 16-year lease had an asking rent of $183 per square foot, she reported.
The WARN filing says that the Food Emporium lease is expiring. The closure will impact 50 employees, per the notice.
In December 2015, Key Food acquired the Food Emporium banner name and related intellectual property assets, per published reports.
This will mark the departure of yet another traditional grocery store in the area. Associated closed on 14th Street in Stuy Town in December 2019.
H/T Bayou! EVG file photo.
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