Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick want to escape the paparazzi: "According to New York magazine, the pair has been looking at a $17.8 million home in the more private East Village." [NY Mag] via [SFGate]
Christadoran goes head-to-head with Jerry the Peddler--and others who would label him Yuppie Scum. Maybe SJP will help take the heat off him when she comes East. [Voice] via [Curbed]
In the ongoing search for a better term than "gentrification," which barely touches the tremendous sea change occuring in NYC right now, we've tried Vongerichtification. Now let's try "demographic inversion," offered by Alan Ehrenhalt in The New Republic. [via Curbed]
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Battle of the Bands
Early this past Sunday evening, during the concert in Tompkins Square Park, police of the 9th Precinct slapped the concert organizers with a fine of $1500 for "sound levels that were above the permit's stated allowable levels." The Slacktivists will be protesting this ticket next month.
But the punk rockers weren't the only ones making loud music that day.
While most of the 9th Precinct's cops were distracted in the park, a small, socially conscious clothing boutique a couple blocks up 7th Street launched an unannounced concert of their own to accompany their sidewalk fashion show.
A band complete with big amps, electric guitars, and drums, played 80s tunes (Duran Duran, Journey) and TV theme songs (The Jeffersons), attracting 100 or so listeners, who filled the sidewalk and spilled into the street. Traffic had trouble getting through and old ladies with canes and walkers were forced into the street. Neighbors slammed their windows shut on the breezy, temperate day.
I spoke to one frustrated neighbor on the block who had phoned the 9th Precinct multiple times to complain about the blaring music and crowding. The cops had come by, but the band was between sets then.
"They said they couldn't do anything about it," said the neighbor, "because they didn't actually see the band playing," even though a DJ was still blasting music and the instruments were all set up. "I'm calling the cops again," he said. Telling the police "there's a very loud concert on 7th Street" only made them think of Tompkins Square Park.
When I came back through once more, during the band's second or third set, a pair of cops appeared. They waved their arms, cutting off "Sweet Child O' Mine," and said, "You guys got a permit for this?"
No.
"Well, ya sound good," said the cop, "And if I was off duty, I'd have a beer with ya, but without a permit, ya gotta go."
After two hours of illegal playing, the band obligingly packed up their instruments and beers and called it a day. No fines were handed out. The only concert organizers who got ticketed that day were the ones who had a permit for their event.
More pics
But the punk rockers weren't the only ones making loud music that day.
While most of the 9th Precinct's cops were distracted in the park, a small, socially conscious clothing boutique a couple blocks up 7th Street launched an unannounced concert of their own to accompany their sidewalk fashion show.
A band complete with big amps, electric guitars, and drums, played 80s tunes (Duran Duran, Journey) and TV theme songs (The Jeffersons), attracting 100 or so listeners, who filled the sidewalk and spilled into the street. Traffic had trouble getting through and old ladies with canes and walkers were forced into the street. Neighbors slammed their windows shut on the breezy, temperate day.
I spoke to one frustrated neighbor on the block who had phoned the 9th Precinct multiple times to complain about the blaring music and crowding. The cops had come by, but the band was between sets then.
"They said they couldn't do anything about it," said the neighbor, "because they didn't actually see the band playing," even though a DJ was still blasting music and the instruments were all set up. "I'm calling the cops again," he said. Telling the police "there's a very loud concert on 7th Street" only made them think of Tompkins Square Park.
When I came back through once more, during the band's second or third set, a pair of cops appeared. They waved their arms, cutting off "Sweet Child O' Mine," and said, "You guys got a permit for this?"
No.
"Well, ya sound good," said the cop, "And if I was off duty, I'd have a beer with ya, but without a permit, ya gotta go."
After two hours of illegal playing, the band obligingly packed up their instruments and beers and called it a day. No fines were handed out. The only concert organizers who got ticketed that day were the ones who had a permit for their event.
More pics
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
*Everyday Chatter
As predicted, the Robin Raj bodega/health and beauty aids shop on the corner of 14th and 3rd is going to fall. Of course. There needs to be a high-rise on every corner, right? [Curbed]
I recently went by Robin Raj to take a few snapshots. I was impressed by the presence of Christmas decorations still gracing the windows. I also like their cartoon hams and other food items on their outdoor menu. See more pics here.
Alex offers more fab vintage photography from his early days on the LES. [FP]
Chocolate Bar in the East Village wants to reinvigorate the egg cream. A noble intention, but the egg cream is alive and well across the LES and the city. My favorites can be found at Ray's Candy, Katz's, and Eisenberg's. As for hazelnut egg creams, that's a little hard to digest. [Times]
East Village synagogue to be demolished for luxury apartments/synagogue hybrid. Sounds kind of like a hazelnut egg cream, doesn't it? [Curbed]
...Or a Blackberry and an Orthodox Jew? If there's one thing I hate more than oblivious cell-walking, it's oblivious text-walking. In Brooklyn, you'll burn in Hell for texting. Gvalld! [NYW]
I recently went by Robin Raj to take a few snapshots. I was impressed by the presence of Christmas decorations still gracing the windows. I also like their cartoon hams and other food items on their outdoor menu. See more pics here.
Alex offers more fab vintage photography from his early days on the LES. [FP]
Chocolate Bar in the East Village wants to reinvigorate the egg cream. A noble intention, but the egg cream is alive and well across the LES and the city. My favorites can be found at Ray's Candy, Katz's, and Eisenberg's. As for hazelnut egg creams, that's a little hard to digest. [Times]
East Village synagogue to be demolished for luxury apartments/synagogue hybrid. Sounds kind of like a hazelnut egg cream, doesn't it? [Curbed]
...Or a Blackberry and an Orthodox Jew? If there's one thing I hate more than oblivious cell-walking, it's oblivious text-walking. In Brooklyn, you'll burn in Hell for texting. Gvalld! [NYW]
Nick's Becomes Freemans
The new Freemans Sporting Club barbershop has replaced Nick's Hairstylists at Reggie Fitzgerald Triangle and they're looking ready for business.
Sadly, we've lost Nick's old sign in the bargain. But "FSC" kept his vintage tagline, "Always at the right wave length" (minus the quotation marks and, oops!, missing a letter "G"), and the style of their sign mimics Nick's loveably cruddy retro look, right down to the color scheme. In fact, everything in Freemans is an imitation of the past.
The interior is beautiful, and in a city where authentic old-school barber shops are vanishing, I guess it's not a bad thing that such museums of barbering are opening, so we can at least pretend.
Until that day comes, if you don't want to pay $70 for a shave and a haircut, and you miss the old stylists from Nick's, there's a sign taped to the bricks by the door informing customers, "Irene and Angelo are now working at Hollywood Barber Shop, 204 West 14th Street, between 7th and 8th." (*Update: FSC's manager used to work at Nick's, according to the owner.)
Or you could go to one of these guys:
Sadly, we've lost Nick's old sign in the bargain. But "FSC" kept his vintage tagline, "Always at the right wave length" (minus the quotation marks and, oops!, missing a letter "G"), and the style of their sign mimics Nick's loveably cruddy retro look, right down to the color scheme. In fact, everything in Freemans is an imitation of the past.
The interior is beautiful, and in a city where authentic old-school barber shops are vanishing, I guess it's not a bad thing that such museums of barbering are opening, so we can at least pretend.
Until that day comes, if you don't want to pay $70 for a shave and a haircut, and you miss the old stylists from Nick's, there's a sign taped to the bricks by the door informing customers, "Irene and Angelo are now working at Hollywood Barber Shop, 204 West 14th Street, between 7th and 8th." (*Update: FSC's manager used to work at Nick's, according to the owner.)
Or you could go to one of these guys:
Monday, August 4, 2008
*Everyday Chatter
Punks celebrate 20 years of unrest in Tompkins Square Park--money was tossed by Leftover Crack, some of it burned, and one angry Christodoran almost got arrested. [NMNL]
About 3 people showed up at yesterday's quiet protest at the Christodora. [EVG]
Christodorans speak--they're irritated and want people to "grow up" already. [Times]
August 5 at 7:00PM, Webster Hall is showing Clayton Patterson's Captured, complete with special guest Jerry the Peddler and more. Chloe Sevigny agrees, Captured "Makes you feel like you are there in the glorydays of yesteryear...a raucous good time."
Alex keeps managing to dig up great pics of NYC in the 70s. [FP]
Even if it does turn out to be a viral marketing stunt, I remain compelled by the Montauk Monster. It's exciting to think the New York area can still cough up a bit of mystery. And here's another--the monster has now appeared, like the Virgin Mary, on a piece of toast. [ebay]
Side benefit of European tourists buying up the city: New York's conspicuous consumers are being filled with jealous, impotent rage. Even while wearing Jimmy Choo shoes, you can't get first-class service at places like Bergdorf's, and sometimes have to wait 5 whole minutes to get the attention of sales staff who are busy helping European customers. New York is not everybody's "Candyland" any more. [Times]
“It looks gross but it’s delicious"--Whole Foods tries out new strategies for looking affordable in the face of plummeting stock and a changing economy. [Times]
That Adbusters hipster article I mentioned last week is now available online.
Show World makes it into the news as the fight between the old and new Times Square still rages on. [NYDN] via Gothamist
About 3 people showed up at yesterday's quiet protest at the Christodora. [EVG]
Christodorans speak--they're irritated and want people to "grow up" already. [Times]
August 5 at 7:00PM, Webster Hall is showing Clayton Patterson's Captured, complete with special guest Jerry the Peddler and more. Chloe Sevigny agrees, Captured "Makes you feel like you are there in the glorydays of yesteryear...a raucous good time."
Alex keeps managing to dig up great pics of NYC in the 70s. [FP]
Even if it does turn out to be a viral marketing stunt, I remain compelled by the Montauk Monster. It's exciting to think the New York area can still cough up a bit of mystery. And here's another--the monster has now appeared, like the Virgin Mary, on a piece of toast. [ebay]
Side benefit of European tourists buying up the city: New York's conspicuous consumers are being filled with jealous, impotent rage. Even while wearing Jimmy Choo shoes, you can't get first-class service at places like Bergdorf's, and sometimes have to wait 5 whole minutes to get the attention of sales staff who are busy helping European customers. New York is not everybody's "Candyland" any more. [Times]
“It looks gross but it’s delicious"--Whole Foods tries out new strategies for looking affordable in the face of plummeting stock and a changing economy. [Times]
That Adbusters hipster article I mentioned last week is now available online.
Show World makes it into the news as the fight between the old and new Times Square still rages on. [NYDN] via Gothamist
Kurowycky Goes XXX?
We’ve been wondering for some time what might be going into the old Kurowykcy butcher shop on 1st Avenue between 7th and 8th. First we heard celebu-chef Jonathan Waxman might be opening an upscale smokehouse called Meat. Then Market Table’s Gabe Stulman planned to move in with a restaurant called Penmanship.
Now it sounds like something completely different might be coming to the spot.
Rumor has it that Stulman, and all the other enterprising restaurateurs in the city, have thrown in the towel on the Kurowycky space. A reliable tipster and local small businessperson informed me that:
“the SLA subcommittee of community board 3 turned down the full-liquor license application for a restaurant going there (one that was going to keep a lot of the old butcher shop elements). & in fact pretty much said they wouldn't even approve a beer/wine one. so the guy who was going to do it, bailed on the idea.”
So what’s going in there? All my tipster heard is “a video store.” And in these Netflix days, what else could that mean but a XXX video store? With such a big space, there’s plenty of room for peep-booths. When a high-end restaurant is passed over for porn, maybe it’s time to say welcome back, bad old East Village!
But don’t get too excited yet.
Another knowledgeable informer filled me in on the liquor license process: CB3 granted Stulman a liquor license recommendation in July, as long as he agreed to certain stipulations about noise level and crowd control. Specifically, the stipulations read, in part: “it will play ambient background music only, consisting of an iPod with small speakers” and “it will designate an employee with the responsibility of insuring that the sidewalks fronting the business be cleared of patrons.”
Penmanship was simply turned down for failure to submit an agreement to the stipulations, but they have another chance to be approved. This informer speculates that the video store idea might be a rumor cooked up by supporters of the restaurant to scare the community into backing the liquor license--because whether it's porn or Blockbuster, people get scared of video stores.
Either way, wild speculation and rumor aside, after many months, something is definitely happening inside Kurowycky. Workers have been going in and out, removing its antique elements. I went in and snapped a few interiors, but didn’t manage to get the beautiful wooden meat-locker doors.
Now it sounds like something completely different might be coming to the spot.
Rumor has it that Stulman, and all the other enterprising restaurateurs in the city, have thrown in the towel on the Kurowycky space. A reliable tipster and local small businessperson informed me that:
“the SLA subcommittee of community board 3 turned down the full-liquor license application for a restaurant going there (one that was going to keep a lot of the old butcher shop elements). & in fact pretty much said they wouldn't even approve a beer/wine one. so the guy who was going to do it, bailed on the idea.”
So what’s going in there? All my tipster heard is “a video store.” And in these Netflix days, what else could that mean but a XXX video store? With such a big space, there’s plenty of room for peep-booths. When a high-end restaurant is passed over for porn, maybe it’s time to say welcome back, bad old East Village!
But don’t get too excited yet.
Another knowledgeable informer filled me in on the liquor license process: CB3 granted Stulman a liquor license recommendation in July, as long as he agreed to certain stipulations about noise level and crowd control. Specifically, the stipulations read, in part: “it will play ambient background music only, consisting of an iPod with small speakers” and “it will designate an employee with the responsibility of insuring that the sidewalks fronting the business be cleared of patrons.”
Penmanship was simply turned down for failure to submit an agreement to the stipulations, but they have another chance to be approved. This informer speculates that the video store idea might be a rumor cooked up by supporters of the restaurant to scare the community into backing the liquor license--because whether it's porn or Blockbuster, people get scared of video stores.
Either way, wild speculation and rumor aside, after many months, something is definitely happening inside Kurowycky. Workers have been going in and out, removing its antique elements. I went in and snapped a few interiors, but didn’t manage to get the beautiful wooden meat-locker doors.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
*Everyday Chatter
Due to a Blogger glitch, I and many other bloggers got locked out yesterday on suspicion of being spam bots. The lock has been lifted, so here's a belated post:
Bobby Steele calls for the death of "Die Yuppie Scum," gets his fingers threatened by Jerry the Peddler, and vows to attend the next "political indoctrination rally" in Tompkins Square Park. [Villager]
Read this excellent article on yunnie parents: Judith Warner sums it up when she says, "My worry is for the rest of us...and for our children, who are likely to come out the losers in a society dominated by sharks." Sharks: amoral, voracious, dangerous. [Times]
The Eldridge creator is compared to a murderous sociopath: Skinning, butchering, and cutting the throat of the Lower East Side. [Curbed]
An entire race of monsters is taking over Montauk! They're creeping through the dunes and lying on the sand, soaking up the sun. Wait. This sounds familiar. Weren't those monsters recently identified as the Yachtini?
"What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" --Yeats
from olaus magnus' carta marina
"The Mallification of New York is proceeding apace, on a road paved with Mom and Pop skulls." [Gothamist]
"There's no question in my mind that there's far more national chains here in the city today than five or 10 years ago." What happened in the past 5 - 10 years to attract/permit all these chains? [NYDN]
Buy a piece of the East Village: As Veselka expands, they're selling their mural. [Stupefaction]
Bobby Steele calls for the death of "Die Yuppie Scum," gets his fingers threatened by Jerry the Peddler, and vows to attend the next "political indoctrination rally" in Tompkins Square Park. [Villager]
Read this excellent article on yunnie parents: Judith Warner sums it up when she says, "My worry is for the rest of us...and for our children, who are likely to come out the losers in a society dominated by sharks." Sharks: amoral, voracious, dangerous. [Times]
The Eldridge creator is compared to a murderous sociopath: Skinning, butchering, and cutting the throat of the Lower East Side. [Curbed]
An entire race of monsters is taking over Montauk! They're creeping through the dunes and lying on the sand, soaking up the sun. Wait. This sounds familiar. Weren't those monsters recently identified as the Yachtini?
"What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" --Yeats
from olaus magnus' carta marina
"The Mallification of New York is proceeding apace, on a road paved with Mom and Pop skulls." [Gothamist]
"There's no question in my mind that there's far more national chains here in the city today than five or 10 years ago." What happened in the past 5 - 10 years to attract/permit all these chains? [NYDN]
Buy a piece of the East Village: As Veselka expands, they're selling their mural. [Stupefaction]
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