A couple of weekends ago we stopped by Nike Field in Sara D. Roosevelt Park to catch the semi-finals of the Grand Street Cup. The spirited soccer league was formed four years ago on the Lower East Side. Organizer Matt Penrose was kind enough to send along photos from the event. Around 85 players take part each season. Matt and company are now gearing up for a spring league and another tourney, a fundraiser for the Japan relief effort. Continue reading Kickin’ It on the LES: Soccer Tourney Held at Nike Field
This weekly feature spotlights a wide variety of people who live and work on the Lower East Side. If you know someone you would like to suggest be featured in “My LES,” please email us here.
What do you do?
I help run the Hester Street Fair with my 3 other lovely partners. We started the fair in April 2010. I think we saw a need for something fun and outdoors in the neighborhood, some place to gather with friends and family and spend a nice Saturday afternoon. We looked for spaces for a while but couldn’t find anything that worked and kind of shelved the idea until we fell into the Hester space. When we realized that Hester Street had a wonderful history and was once home to one of the largest outdoor pushcart markets, we knew we were in the right place. I feel like the Hester Street Fair really is the modern day pushcart market.
How long have you lived on the LES?
6 years.
Favorite block in the hood?
Broome between Orchard and Ludlow. It has beautiful tenements, nice small shops, and is never crowded.
The governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate leader Dean Skelos have a budget deal, but the battles are hardly over in Albany. The fates of the millionaire tax, rent reform and property tax relief are still to be decided. Silver and Skelos were quizzed about the road ahead yesterday:
The Tenement Museum will host a special tasting tour on Tuesday evening, inspired by the old saloon tradition of offering a “free lunch” with the purchase of a beer. Jane Ziegelman, the author of 97 Orchard Street, will discuss the types of food that typically “fed the patrons at historic Gotham saloons.” Edible Manhattan teams up with the Brooklyn Brewery and local purveyors to recreate the lunch offerings: smoked herring, pickled oysters, ham, pretzels, rye bread and sausage. A building tour is included. $25 // 6:30pm // 108 Orchard Street.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has really taken off on the Lower East Side in recent years. There are now three CSA’s serving the neighborhood – the longstanding Stanton Street CSA, the Grand Street CSA and the Lower East Side CSA.
Our friends at the Educational Alliance asked us to pass along that the LES CSA, about to begin its second year, still has about 20 available slots for the summer season.
Here’s how it works. Members of the group purchase shares, allowing a single farmer to grow and deliver fresh food to the neighborhood every week. In the case of the LES CSA, the Monkshood Nursery will be providing fresh vegetables for 22 weeks, beginning June 2nd. A large share costs $610 for the season; a small share is $395. The weekly pick-up takes place at the Educational Alliance, 197 East Broadway.
Sheldon Silver, Jean Quan, Floyd Huen, Margaret Chin, Chris Kui.
Last week, hundreds of supporters came to the Jing Fong Restaurant in Chinatown to help the prominent advocacy and housing organization, Asian Americans for Equality, celebrate its 37th anniversary. Dignitaries such as Rep. Anthony Weiner and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver addressed hundreds of invited guests as they feasted on platters bursting with lobster, whole fish and roast chicken.
Silver presented a special award to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who last year became the first Asian woman to be elected chief executive of a major American city.
During a fundraiser an hour earlier at the historic Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a few blocks away, Quan talked about her groundbreaking and somewhat unexpected victory, which has given many Asian American activists hope for the future. In spite of their large numbers in major urban areas, including New York, there are still relatively few Asians serving in high profile political positions in this country. Continue reading Asian Politicians Celebrate Gains, Plan for the Future
2010 U.S. Census figures released today show New York’s population has grown to 8,175,133. That’s up only 166,855 — far short of expectations. The disappointing report could have major implications for federal funding and for redistricting. Here’s a look at the numbers impacting local electoral districts.
12th Congressional District (Nydia Velzaquez) 672,358, UP 17,988
14th Congressional District (Carolyn Maloney) 652,681 DOWN 1680
25th State Senate District (Daniel Squadron) 355,683 UP 24,425
64th State Assembly District (Sheldon Silver) 136,671 UP 8576
74th State Assembly District (Brian Kavanagh) 133,261 UP 5167
More now on the restaurants/bars going before Community Board 3′s SLA Committee next month. The food blogs seized on item #28; Soho favorite, Ed’s Lobster Bar (see photo) is looking to take over Sachiko’s, the sushi spot at 25 Clinton Street. Owner Ed McFarland says the restaurant will not be a replica of the original on Lafayette, but an offshoot (he was not more specific). Here are some other noteworthy applications:
Downtown Dining LLC wants a full liquor license at 205 Chrystie Street. This is a controversial location. The club, 205, and the State Liquor Authority were engaged in a long legal dispute.
Two separate applications appear to have been submitted for 161 Ludlow, which recently morphed from Paladar to Imperial Tavern. The team behind Superdive had been trying to sell the restaurant.
A Casa Fox, 173 orchard, is going for a full liquor license (presently they only serve beer and wine). It;s going to be a tough sell, since the restaurant is located in a “resolution area,” a section of the neighborhood in which CB3 tries to restrict additional liquor licenses.
Gramercy Thai restaurant Rhong Tiam is applying for a full liquor license at 154 Orchard. Michael Huynh was supposed to be converting this place into a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant, after abandoning an Asian tacos concept and shuttering Bia Garden.”
Peels, 325 Bowery, is pining for a sidewalk cafe.
The Nom Wah Tea Parlor, newly renovated, is hoping for a beer and wine license.
