Friday, April 16, 2021
Ukrainian East Village restaurant is back
Breaking diner news: Little Poland reopens TOMORROW (Saturday)
And the phone, for some reason: (212) 777-9728
Sly Fox is back open on 2nd Avenue
Updated: For whatever reasons, the bar wasn't open this evening... more TK. The bar reopened as of May 1.
Per the reader: "Andrej from Sly Fox on 2nd Ave texted us to let us know the Fox is back!! Please let everyone know!"
This confirms Twitter rumors of the bar's return...
unconfirmed thirdhand reports: the world’s only true dive bar Sly Fox reopens on this day.
— Jacob Ford (@unitof) April 16, 2021
bcc: @evgrieve pic.twitter.com/H88KnsEC79
A new home for this Citi Bike docking station
The station with 51 docks arrived here in December 2019. At the time, some residents complained that the docking station took up too much sidewalk space.
Now, as the reader noted, the docking station takes the place of several parking spaces ... including a spot for the fruit vendor's van, which was spotted around the corner...
Reminders: March to save East River Park on Sunday
From Tompkins, the group will march to the East River Park Amphitheater for a rally at 1:30. (Details here.)
The march takes place as the city officially kicked off the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project yesterday via an announcement by Mayor de Blasio.
"Building a recovery for all of us means fighting climate change and investing in resilient communities,” he said in a press release. "This project will keep generations of New Yorkers safe from extreme weather, coastal storm, and rising sea levels — all while preserving and improving some of our city’s most iconic open spaces."
We don’t need to imagine what climate change will do to our city. We saw it first hand during Superstorm Sandy — and our coastal communities paid the price.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2021
The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is how we fight back for our city and our planet. pic.twitter.com/dK7NSxGLsM
Work started in Stuyvesant Cove back in December on what is being called Project Area 2.
As for East River Park, in the city's current plan, which has been met with outrage by community members, workers will raze the 57.5-acre plot of land. bulldozing 1,000 mature trees and rebuilding the park atop eight feet of landfill meant to protect the Lower East Side and surrounding neighborhoods from a 100-year-flood event and sea-level rise.
In October 2019, the city announced that they would phase in the construction so only portions of the park are closed to the public at any given time. According to various reports, the city has committed to leaving a minimum of 42 percent of East River Park open to the public. It is projected to be completed in 2025.
Previously on EV Grieve:
A campaign to help 'Clean Up' CB3
The group is going by the Clean Up CB3 Community Commission. Their solution?
The local community boards must be reformed and remade into activist governing boards who actively work to influence policy development not push blatantly partisan political agendas, pursue personal agendas, or give special interest "community" cover.
When asked to comment on the group's flyers and website, Stetzer said in an email: "One can't engage productively when people are anonymous."
This isn't the first time that Stetzer has been the subject of a flyer campaign. In September 2012, flyers appeared around the East Village and Lower East Side accusing Stetzer of being an "assassin of New York's creativity" who is "wanted for assault on our civil liberties." In the past, she has been accused of being anti-nightlife.
As for CB3 drama ... most recently, in January, 16 community groups and block associations within CB3 signed an open letter to local and state officials requesting an inquiry into the recent removal of Alexandra Militano and Carolyn Ratcliffe as chairs of the SLA Committee and Arts & Culture Sub-Committee.
Photos by Stacie Joy
Head on down (or up!) to 1st and 1st for the next Nexus Flea tomorrow
Look for live music throughout the afternoon... and relive the first one of 2021 right here.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Tree down on 11th at B
Vinny & O shared these photos from the clean up this morning...
Grant Shaffer's NY See
Here's the latest NY See panel, East Village-based illustrator Grant Shaffer's observational sketch diary of things that he sees and hears around the neighborhood and NYC ...
Joey Ramone died on this day in 2001
On this occasion, the Post talks with Joey's brother Mickey Leigh ... and discusses some of the mementos from Joey's former apartment on Ninth Street at Third Avenue.
You can read my interview with Leigh from 2012 following the release of Joey's posthumous album, "Ya Know," and the new video for this song "New York City."
The 20th annual Birthday Bash for Joey is expected to happen in some form on May 19.
A visit to Leopold Masterson’s 'Diamonds, Razors & Champagne'
Text and photos by Stacie Joy
It’s the night before Leopold Masterson’s gallery exhibit Diamonds, Razors & Champagne (now open at 3rd & B’zaar, 191 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B) is set to open and the artist/curator pauses to take a sip of beer as he looks around the space with a critical eye.
He makes some last-minute micro-adjustments before stopping to chat with me about the show, his penchant for trolling, and how he sees social media and consumer culture’s influence within the artworld.
What is the inspiration behind your Diamonds, Razors & Champagne show, and how did it come to be located in the 3rd & B’zaar space?
The original idea began forming years ago when I was doing more internet trolling. At the time, I was aiming to change the focus of the public and visual culture using media techniques and fictitious narratives. It was a new way of creating and engaging with art after having developed as an object-maker.
I began hypothesizing an exhibition that went beyond objects to encompass live performance, experiences and direct art sales, which would give people the chance to touch artwork from across time. I came to be associated with the great crew of 3rd & B’zaar through my close friends Maegan [Hayward] and Alex [Carpenter] at the East Village Vintage Collective (EVVC).
Before the pandemic, I had my art studio at EVVC for more than three years. As life had drastically changed for all of us, I decided to make a move to expand not just my studio space but also my vision for my entire art practice, so I rammed everything together and applied for a PPP loan as a sole proprietor.
After doing all my due diligence I utilized the money to rent the space and push out the exhibition. Right now, the long-term status of everything seems so volatile that I think sharing spaces for periods of time in a collective model has the most potential for expanding the horizons for communities. So here I am until April 23.
There are more than 15 artists represented in the show and lots of different media, what was the curatorial process like?
To me, a huge part of curating is talking to as many artists and visiting as many studios as possible. Obviously, 2020 kneecapped the studio visits. Of course, I still found some of the artists on the internet and randomly reached out, even though that is usually a crapshoot.
But another important part for me was that if I was going to represent an artist or entity in the exhibition, I felt compelled to have a historic example that could take the pieces from the present to the past and back again. I love having $20 tee shirts alongside multi-thousand-dollar jewels. Sam Gassman’s rag take on Karl Hagenauer’s bronze Art Deco drunk sailor is a perfect encapsulation of this rags or riches conversation.
I also have reproductions of 2D works ranging from the 1780s to the early 21st century with artists such as Jim Tozzi, Carpo, and myself reworking those pieces to bring them into conversation with the past, and adding our sense of humor to them.
I also have to say that I don’t work with artists that have bad attitudes or feel endlessly entitled. Everyone involved is sincere and engaged and that is critical as a curator so I don’t begin wondering whether that electrical cord could support my weight hanging from the ceiling.
The exhibition statement reads, in part, “This exhibition manifests our growing tendency to overindulge our senses and seek out newer and stronger addictions.” What role does desire play in this show? Consumer culture? Social media?
That idea stemmed from watching the churn of epidemics, addictions, and luxury hedonism metastasize and cascade completely out of control. I remember growing up in the 1990s and “millionaires” were special. Now stocks and art markets are practically indistinguishable and the invisible hand is groping around for the next great commodification.
The fact that there is a new company creating blockchains for speculating on people’s reputations (i.e., BitClout) is in no way surprising. It’s just a way to monetize the need for fans, which drives a large section of our culture.
To succeed in that market, you have to have the perfect body, have all the right kinks, and constantly be doing more to feed the desires of your fans. There is a collaborative video with Ben Peterson of the two of us puking in buckets and throwing pottery as we pushed to be the best. We strove to WIN to the point of toxicity, which is basically the story of social media.
Unfortunately, social media has devolved into little more than the basic capitalist model of selling products via prescribed standards of beauty. So come take a selfie with our products presented and sold via our lower standard of beauty!
What has the reaction been so far to the show?
The reaction has been hysterical and very positive. I have a rather crackpot sense of humor and love to swear so my celebrity missing posters and silly-ass wine bottles taped to lamp posts have driven a lot of attention to the gallery.
The concept of the exhibition is a slow burn and it is ramping up this weekend and as it continues until the closing party on Thursday, April 22. I also think people are just excited to be in a physical space again, even though they still have to follow the standard safety protocols. You can even come inside after taking a selfie with the Britney missing poster! It’s been fun and exciting to give some people a little release, even with the prophylactics in the way.
What’s next for you as an artist?
Probably some light prostitution, basic entry-level stuff if I’m lucky. But really, I do enjoy being my own curator, gallerist, publicist, archivist, photographer, designer, artist and entrepreneur, though I have to admit I am reaching a point with my career where I probably need to have a discussion with some established galleries and arts professionals.
I am so accustomed to carving my own pathway and selling artwork on my own that I have a lot of trepidation over losing control of my practice and the multifaceted approach I have employed to continue to grow artistically. After I “come down” from the exhibition I intend to rent another space in the neighborhood and see what happens next.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Wednesday's parting shot
EVG contributor Derek Berg recalled this photo of Farrier, the founder of Bookleaves used and rare books in the West Village, reading a copy of "Baseball All-Stars" on Second Avenue from 2016...
Remembering Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb, a familiar figure in the East Village during his long tenure as the manager and buyer at Trash & Vaudeville, died on April 14, 2020, of cancer. He was 62.
He started working at his dream destination, Trash & Vaudeville, in 1999, and remained there until the shop relocated from St. Mark's Place to Seventh Street in 2016. He opened I Need More in October 2017.
On the one-year anniversary of his death, Vogue published an online appreciation of Webb.
Said stylist Bill Mullen: "To his fans and customers and anyone lucky enough to witness him boogie-ing onstage at an Iggy Pop concert, Jimmy was pure magic and a total superstar. Let’s be honest here, nobody held the 'Punk is not dead' torch higher and not even Karl Lagerfeld rocked Agatha Blois custom leather with as much je ne sais quoi. Yet Jimmy will be remembered first and foremost as a sweet and gentle man who loved music and fashion and all combinations of the two for all the most right and true reasons."
The article, which includes an EVG quote, is here.
Meanwhile, the campaign to co-name part of St. Mark's Place after Webb is apparently still in the works. Details here.
Photo from 2013 by James Maher
Gallery Watch: 'Nature Morte' at the Hole
Text and photos by Clare Gemima
Nature Morte,
The Hole, 312 Bowery
The line to get into Nature Morte on the night of the opening honestly stretched so far beyond the Bowery that it had no visible end at all!
The Hole’s yearly group show packed in 60 visual artists working across painting, sculpture, neon, photography, works on paper and ceramics.
The entire gallery is now a transformed concrete wilderness, sporting grey shades and foliage from ground to ceiling, framing each work in its own unique environment.
Depicting disease, darkness and death, Nature Morte showcases the artist’s response to the chaos of the climate change crises using taxidermy, abjectness and deceptive seduction.
The 21st century’s take on the death of the natural world circulates around a constantly growing collection of symbols such as cigarette butts, grease stains, balloons, animal repurposing/consumption and plastic. Compare this to a broad 17th-century critique and the gradual devastation, or our inhabitants' negligence, is a little bit too hard to bear (luckily matcha gin cocktails were being served).
You can find a list of all the artists in the show at the Hole's website.
Nature Morte will be running until May 9 at the Hole, 312 Bowery near First Street. Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 12-7 p.m., and by appointment.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Clare Gemima is a visual artist from New Zealand. New-ish to the East Village, she spends her time as an artist assistant and gallery go-er, hungry to explore what's happening in her local art world. You can find her work here: claregemima.com
RIP Arthur Farrier
Here's more information from his published obituary:
Arthur cherished all his many friends and fans from Bookleaves and the tight-knit NYC booksellers community.
Born in the Bronx, he was a proud graduate of Stuyvesant High School, a U.S. Army veteran who was antiwar, a New York cabbie, a longtime East Village resident, and an accomplished abstract photographer.
Bookleaves was part of a New York Times feature from 2003:
Stocked with out-of-print books, it is a browser's nirvana. People bring in dusty boxes, and the owner, Arthur Farrier, sorts them.''I have the smallest inventory in the Western world,'' said Mr. Farrier, who spent 20 years driving a cab before he got tired of complaining about disappearing bookshops and opened one of his own. ''The odds against finding a book here are tremendous.''Mr. Farrier is in danger of becoming a Village character. He affects a beret over a mane of white hair — he calls it a poor man's toupee — and he is a mine of Greenwich Village lore.
Felton Davis of Maryhouse on Third Street shared the above photo of Farrier with his friend Marianne Goldscheider sitting in Washington Square Park.
"Most of us are, sadly, always running around from one thing to another, but if you had the time, those two had the memories," Davis told me in an email.
Goldscheider, an activist and writer, "is carrying on bravely in her late 80s," though she is now in a senior-care facility near her family in Massachusetts.
On the CB3-SLA docket tonight: Tiger Lily, Lamia's Fish Market, Little Rebel
Here's a look at three new liquor license applications in the East Village:
• The Tiger Lily Kitchen (Elvis' Cafe LLC), 58 Third Ave.
Hospitality veteran Michelle Morgan is looking to bring the Tiger Lily Kitchen to the former Boilery space here between 10th Street and 11th Street.
Morgan opened Tiger Lily, which serves "healthy Asian-inspired cooking with gluten-free and vegan options," late last year as a takeout and delivery operation at 293 Third Ave. between 22nd Street and 23rd Street. This space would allow for her to offer indoor dining.
For a look at their lunch and dinner options, you can check out the Tiger Lily Instagram here. The application for the address is on the CB3 website.
• Lamia's Fish Market (East Coast Fish Market Inc), 45 Avenue B
Lamia's Fish Market is seeking an upgrade from beer-wine to a full liquor license here between Second Street and Third Street.
Lamia Funti, the applicant, appeared before CB3's SLA committee meeting in April 2016. The application was reportedly denied based in part on the history of the space. (The Lo-Down reported on this here. And DNAinfo here.)
Media outlets previously identified Funti as the co-owner of Le Souk on La Guardia Place along with her husband Marcus Jacobs. He was reportedly an owner of Le Souk, a years-long thorn in the side of Avenue B neighbors, as reported and here ... and here.
In October 2009, the State Liquor Authority canceled Le Souk's liquor license. (Read the SLA release here.)
Media outlets previously identified Funti as the co-owner of Le Souk on La Guardia Place along with her husband Marcus Jacobs. He was reportedly an owner of Le Souk, a years-long thorn in the side of Avenue B neighbors, as reported and here ... and here.
In October 2009, the State Liquor Authority canceled Le Souk's liquor license. (Read the SLA release here.)
Despite the 2016 committee denial, Lamia's received the beer-wine license via the State Liquor Authority later that fall.
You can read Lamia's questionnaire on the CB3 website at this link.
• Little Rebel (K&L Hospitality LLC), 219 Second Ave.
A bar-gastropub called Little Rebel is in the works for the former Professor Thom's space on Second Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street.
You can read more about the plans that owners Dermot Lynch and Jarek Krukow have for the space — as well as see a sample menu —via their questionnaire here.
Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30. You can find the Zoom info here.
Pizzeria primed for 128 2nd Ave. space
Not sure at the moment if they are related to Antonio's Pizza on Flatbush Avenue.
The space is already fitted for a pizzeria: Nolita Pizza left last June after a year for a newer outpost down on Kenmare Street.
Before that: Kati Roll Company bowed out here in April 2019 after just under three years in business.
The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who had taken over as the landlord.
The longtime previous tenant at the address, The Stage, the 35-year-old lunch counter, closed in March 2016. Stage owner Roman Diakun had been involved in an ongoing legal/eviction battle with Icon Realty, who had taken over as the landlord.
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