2011 October 31 | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

Ken’s Music Pick: Anna Haas at Mercury Lounge

Moyna Flannigan, Femme (Scarlet) at Dodge Gallery

Gallery Goer: What to See This Week

Luther Gulick Park. Photo credit: Friends of Gulick Park.

“It’s My Park Day” on Sunday at Luther Gulick Park

Latest E. River Park Completion Date: “End of the Year”

Last week, we noted that the East River Park rehabilitation project appears certain to miss another deadline. On the Parks Department web site, an advisory still points towards a “fall 2011″ reopening of the promenade, which has now been closed for a decade. We also noticed a barge owned by the city’s beleaguered contractor, Pile Foundation Construction Company, had disappeared.

A reader left a comment saying the company had “gone into receivership” and that the new company “has to go through 10 city agencies when they need supplies.” We contacted the Parks Department press office for an update. According to a spokesman, Pile Foundation, which has been fined by state regulators on numerous occasions, has finished its part of the East River project.

Continue reading Latest E. River Park Completion Date: “End of the Year”

“Hester Street” Kicks Off LES Film Series

The Seward Park Library’s LES Heritage Film Series returns for a second season Tuesday night. Series curator Sean Ferguson digs up some real gems from the New York Public Library’s vast film archive. The screening room (the library’s basement) is not glamorous (if you’re old enough you might even have a flashback or two to elementary school). But the films are often fascinating.

Tomorrow, the series features “Hester Street,” the highly regarded 1975 portrayal of immigrant life on the Lower East Side near the turn of the 20th century. Continue reading “Hester Street” Kicks Off LES Film Series

TLD Interview: Gallery Owner Lesley Heller

Lesley Heller in her gallery, Lesley Heller Workspace, at 54 Orchard Street. Photo by A. Jesse Jiryu Davis

For some time we’ve been intrigued by the shows at Lesley Heller Workspace on lower Orchard Street. So I was excited to sit down with owner Lesley Heller recently to learn more about her approach to curating shows and hear about the sorts of work that makes an impact on her. Currently on view at Heller’s space are Tom Kotik and Head Case.

TLD: You moved your gallery to Orchard St. from the Upper East Side in 2010. What sparked the move?

Lesley Heller: I knew I wanted to move to a more dynamic neighborhood and I thought there were so many galleries in Chelsea. And the Lower East Side was just beginning to be a neighborhood of galleries. My gallery was on 92^nd St. off Madison for two years, and 77^th St. off Madison next to The Castelli for two years.

Continue reading TLD Interview: Gallery Owner Lesley Heller

My LES – Royal Young

Royal Young - photo by Lee Brozgol

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 contribute literary coverage to Interview Magazine (as well as the new website, Holy Diver). I also recently completed my debut gritty Manhattan memoir “Fame Shark.”

How long have you lived on the LES?

I was born on a five-flight walk up on Crosby Street and lived there for my first year, while my artist social worker father and neuropsychologist mom removed hypodermic needles, rats and mountains of garbage from an old tenement building on Eldridge Street. I would grow up in this building until dropping out of Bennington College and getting kicked out of my parent’s house at 20. I lived in sketchy apartments in Brooklyn for the next six years and went through intense family therapy, before returning to the Lower East Side and my own crib a (couple) weeks ago.

Continue reading My LES – Royal Young

Morning Reads: Military Mystery, Orchard Street’s Future, East 3rd Street Improv

For the family of Army Private Danny Chen, “grief laced with suspicion.” (NYT)

The BID’s Bob Zuckerman and Lost Weekend co-owner Michael Little talk about modernizing Orchard Street (NY1).

New owner of 86 East 4th Street says no new leases for current tenants (EV Grieve).

Felix Salmon says pretty much everything in Greg Palast’s Goldman Sachs/LES People’s Federal Credit Union story is in inaccurate (Reuters).

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater debuts on East 3rd Street (NYT).

“Another hip boutique,” Spiritual America, comes to Rivington Street (Racked).

Good Morning!

Here’s the view of East River Park, as seen through the grating of the Williamsburg Bridge. After our wild Saturday storm, it will feel practically balmy today. A high of 53 is expected with partly cloudy skies. We may see some showers tomorrow. Our November Calendar is freshly updated – please feel free to add your own events. Happy Halloween, LES!

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