Showing posts sorted by relevance for query south florida. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query south florida. Sort by date Show all posts

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Report: Kavasutra ownership blasts educators who teach remotely, 'pussy leftists' for wearing masks

As the New York Post reports, Kavasutra Kava Bar, the Florida-based chain, "is taking heat" for posts this past week from its main Instagram account that called out educators who still teach remotely and "pussy leftists" who wear masks. 

According to their Instagram posts, those educators who aren't teaching in-person are banned from all Kavasutra locations, including the two in the East Village (10th Street and First Street). 

After a barrage of criticism and one-star reviews on Yelp for the post on March 9, Kavasutra followed up with another on Instagram:
"It has come to our attention that we may have upset some people with our last post. We've been reading your comments and we understand how we may have effected [sic] some of you, so we want to be very clear: masks are for leftist losers. Teachers unions are trash. Women are born with ovaries. And we are doing slams at midnight tonight."
As The Miami Herald noted in its headline Friday: "This South Florida bar just managed to insult almost everyone in two Instagram posts." On Friday, the editorial board at The Denver Post suggested to its readers that they "steer clear" of the two Kavasutra outposts in that city.

Various news outlets have reported that this isn't the chain's first go-around with inflammatory social media posts. In sexist and anti-transgender posts in 2018, they stated that participants in ladies night must be women from birth. In a follow-up, they tried to clarify their position: "The point of ladies night is to get ladies in the door so the men can bang them. If there's no vagina then they don't qualify because they don't benefit the business and the plan."

Initially, management reportedly blamed an employee who they said was fired. However, as the Sun-Sentinel later reported, owner Dylan Harrison admitted to police that he wrote the posts. The admission came after a confrontation at a South Florida location led to several arrests.

The 10th Street Kavasutra location opened in July 2015; the First Street outpost in December 2019.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

EV Grieve: South Florida edition

Just spent a few days at the usual place in South Florida. Wouldn't write about a short vacation except that what's going on there fits in with the theme of this site.

Been going to this part of Florida for several years now, an unassuming area north of the madness populated with mom-and-pop motels and resorts and beach clubs that were probably really grand in, say, 1973. I love the lively little pool- and ocean-side bars in these places, where many retired New Yorkers and other locals mingle with the tourists. There's often a glorious feeling of community spirit.

But. For how long? There is no escape. The high-rise condos and hotels have been making their way up the beach in recent years. Someone needs to start a blog about the (possible) end of days here.





Guess who came to build some of the condos? The locals seem to appreciate him. (I actually took this shot of the Trump billboard in May 2007.)



In March 2002, the Times had an article on the condo boom in the area:


''I had a guy who bought a unit here, get this, who worked at U.P.S. his entire life,'' said Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Development, the city's largest landowner. ''If you saw the guy on the street, you wouldn't think he had a dime to his name. But he was a shareholder when U.P.S. went public and he is a millionaire. He bought a $400,000 unit with $80,000 down.''
Several years ago, envisioning just that sort of demand, Mr. Dezer's father, the New York developer Michael Dezer, started buying up all the property he could, including blocks of bargain-rate motels dotting the oceanfront, offering rooms for $39.95 per night with free cable television.
''Every owner, I was after him to sell to me,'' said Michael Dezer, who with his son has since bought 27 acres of prime oceanfront real estate here and replaced the old motels with 11 hotels and resorts.
The latest father-son project is a collaboration with Mr. Trump, the Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residence. It is a $600 million condominium and hotel development where units start at $350,000 for a studio and go up to $5 million for a penthouse with pool.


Meanwhile, I'll celebrate the people and the places that make this area what it is. (Yes, pretty cheesy. Still.)


The poolside bar entertainment at the Monaco Resort.






At the Thunderbird Beach Resort.




Finally. Overheard poolside. A young man from Kentucky bragging about a wealthy New Yorker he knows:

"...and he owns a house on six acres on the Lower Manhattan River in downtown New York."

Monday, May 18, 2015

Kava bar coming to East 10th Street



The South Florida-based KavasutrA is opening a kava bar at 261 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

Here's more about their operation via the KavasutrA website:

Our South Florida Kava Bars are relaxing, tranquil environments where you can come, kick back, drink a kava shell and relax within a non-judgmental, welcoming environment.

What Is Kava Kava?
Kava is a magical root from the south pacific. It has been used as a tradition for over 3,000 years. The relaxing effects that this root offers are truly remarkable. When mixed with water, properly strained and sold at Kavasutra, the effect it will have on you is one that must be experienced to be truly understood.

What is a Kava Bar?
Kava Bars have been a part of many island cultures for years such as Venuatu, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Futuna, Rotuma, Uvea and Hawaii. In most places, Kava is used for both ceremony and as a recreational drink.

KavasutrA honors the island traditions with the high quality, premium kava and a relaxing tranquil environment. The relaxing effects you experience from drinking Kava are a perfect compliment to social interaction without the potential dangers of drinking alcohol. KavasutrA Kava Bars are a perfect place to unwind and socialize with friends.

No word on an opening date just yet.

H/T EVG reader Daniel.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The inside scoop on the East Village outpost of Whiskey Dick's


A note from EV Grieve: Starting today, you'll notice a slight change in the editorial. Previously, I enjoyed chronicling every day life in the neighborhood and elsewhere...lamenting the changes that were occurring in the process. However, to be honest, there's no money in that. So we'll be doing a little more publicist-friendly posts that, I hope, will make this site more attractive for a corporate purchase a la Daily Candy. Anyway, I hope that you do give my new direction a chance. After all, I'm just a guy who lives in the neighborhood.

I have the scoop on a new bar opening "very soon" in the East Village. Can't say much for now, though I will provide some tantilizing clues to its whereabouts in this post!

As I pass my favorite strip of shops, Blockbuster, Subway and Dunkin' Donuts, I come face to face with the glorious plywood, the likes of which has served as a welcome sign of our (long overdue) revitalization of the East Village. Anywho, after shooing aside someone with a digital camera trying to sneak a peak behind the wood, I step inside and come face-to-face with a neon Sam Adams sign. Hello, beautiful! I knew that I had found my new home away from home!

Then I met "Ingrid," the proprietor of this soon-to-be glorious space. She is a longtime EV resident, having moved here in 2005 from her native South Florida where she was slinging drinks at the always popular Whiskey Dick's. She plans on bringing some of the madcap mayhem that marked so many Spring Breaks in SoFa to the East Village. Holla, bitches!

While telling me more about her plans (including a contest to find who can make the most noise on the sidewalk at closing time), she poured me a new Sam Adams Spring Fling Amber Bock. I reached in my pocket for a sawbuck, but she said it was on the house. (Then she gave me a knowing wink!) Dang, had I known this, I would not have had to use that icky-looking graffiti-filled ATM down the street!

Ingrid regaled me with stories from back in the day when NYC was really gritty -- 2000. Oh, what a glorious time that must have been here! Though I'm glad I wasn't here. Where would I have lived? Wait! I know what you're thinking: I said that she moved here in 2003. Guilty! Her cousin lived on Long Island and she paid her a visit a few times in 2000. She got a good feel of the place from Valley Stream.

In any event, she gave me the dish on what to expect: beer pong, hookah, frisbeer, keg stands, flip cup, drink-and-drown nights, college-kids-get-in-free nights. Not to mention her special nosh -- small plates of ramen. Delish! She's even arranging a deal with the city in which Mayor Bloomberg (pray that he's reelected!) renames the East River the East Ramen for her grand opening. (Other ideas for naming rights are Central Dick's or the Financial Dick-strict.)

Well, it's nice to finally find a bar that promises to be full of people who look as if they may actually have a job! (Or soon will have a job on Wall Street!) And, more important, people who don't smell and look old or artsy.

One word of caution: As I said, this place is near Houston. (Oopsy I slipped!) Whatever you do, don't walk east on Houston by Katz's to get here. Smelly! Like pickles! My North Face jacket had to be dry cleaned several times after I walked by just once. Gross.

More TK!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

EV Grieve: South Florida edition (continued, unfortunately)

Last item on the trip, promise.


So! If you do happen to find yourself in the Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., area . . . and don't feel like working on your skin cancer, I recommend spending time at the Pelican on the Pier, an old-school, open-air bar that I wish were closer to home.

Here's what the Miami New Times had to say about the place. That's a pretty accurate account.

Cheap beer, fresh fish, good views. And some interesting characters.

Meanwhile, let's see if anyone is paying attention...Man, Caruso is annoying.


Thursday, July 12, 2018

EVG Etc.: David Wojnarowicz at the Whitney; James and Karla Murray at Seward Park


[At FishCheeks on Bond Street via Walter Wlodarczyk for NYC & Co.]

Can the neighborhood's affordable housing co-ops survive the next big storm? (Next City)

NYCHA took six months to comply with federal lead rules (The Post)

Preview of David Wojnarowicz’s Whitney retrospective (Vulture) In conjunction with the Whitney program, NYU's Mamdouha Bobst Gallery presents "The Unflinching Eye: The Symbols of David Wojnarowicz" tonight through Sept. 30 (Official site)

Shocker: Many New York City neighborhoods are unaffordable for renters (The Post)

30 restaurants that make up the East Village’s "booming Chinatown North" (Grub Street)

"The New York Woman" film series continues at The Quad (Official site)

James and Karla Murray's "Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S" opens Saturday in Seward Park (NYC Parks)


[Huetek's Patti Smith mural on 2nd Street at 1st Avenue]

Jeremiah Moss discusses Extell's One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side, "the latest luxury monstrosity to vandalize our skyline and bully its way into our low-rise neighborhoods." (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Bicycle Habitat closing Lafayette Street location after 40 years in business (BoweryBoogie)

A few screenings of Lynne Ramsey's great "Morvern Callar" at the Metrograph (Official site)

Three decades later Jean-Luc Godard's "The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company" makes its U.S. debut (Film Anthology Archives)

Marc H. Miller discusses his new exhibit, "Downtown Art Ephemera, 1970s-1990s," which runs through July 25 at the James Fuentes Gallery, 55 Delancey St. (Vice)

A preview of 886 on St. Mark's Place (Eater)

A feature on the LES-based jazz group Onyx Collective (New York)

Catch a free screening of "The Wizard of Oz" in Seward Park on July 21 (The Lo-Down)

South Florida-based Kavasutra Kava Bar, with a location on East 10th Street, slammed for Instagram post seen as transphobic and sexist (NBC Miami ... Sun Sentinel)

When Yul Brynner didn't want you to litter in NYC (Flaming Pablum)

The former Tammany Hall morphing into the luxurious 44 Union Square (Commercial Observer)

.... and in case you haven't seen the mural behind P.S. 751 on Fourth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... the mural was unveiled in May. However, the gates were always locked when I went by, so I never had a chance for a decent photo.

So thanks to AFineLyne for sharing these via GothamToGo...



The nonprofit group, Artolution and the students at P.S. 751 and Harvey Milk High School came together to create this 160x25 mural to capture their diversity and individuality...



...and a resident misplaced a backpack with two laptops and other work-related items back on June 28... he's hopeful that the bag, which went missing between Seventh and Ninth Street/First and Second Avenue, turns up... the Craigslist post is here ...


[Photo by Steven]

Monday, December 16, 2019

Kavasutra opens 2nd East Village location


[Photo via EVG reader JG]

Kavasutra opened a new kava bar Saturday evening at 45 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...



This marks the South Florida-based chain's second East Village location. The one at 261 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue arrived in July 2015. Kavasutra, which also has outposts in Colorado and Arizona, has been accused of sexism and transphobia in the past.

As for kava, you can read this Eater primer about the beverage.

No. 45 previously housed the vegan cafe pop up Skinny Buddha.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Openings: T-swirl Crêpes on East 14th Street, KavasutrA on East 10th Street


A few recent openings...

---



The T-swirl Crêpe shop has opened at 247 E. 14th St. between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, reports EVG T-swirl Crêpe correspondent Pinch. Per their description: "T-swirl crêpe makes Japanese style sweet and salad crêpes by hand using our secret recipes and tasty fillings."

---



The South Florida-based KavasutrA opened its kava bar Tuesday at 261 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The bar is open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week, per the KavasutrA website.

---



Sexyflow is now open at 205 Avenue A. The hair salon is in the retail space of Icon Realty's recently expanded residential building here between East 12th Street and East 13th Street.

Monday, August 5, 2019

RIP Lucien Bahaj


[Photo courtesy of Clayton Patterson]

Several EVG readers shared the sad news in recent days that Lucien Bahaj, the restaurateur behind Lucien on First Avenue, died last Monday in Florida. He was 74. A cause of death was not revealed.

Bahaj opened the French bistro at 14 First Ave. between First Street and Second Street in 1998.


[EVG photo from June]

Clayton Patterson wrote a feature obituary published at Document Journal:

Lucien was born in Morocco in 1945, and grew up in the South of France. By working at luxurious hotels and restaurants, he learned the etiquette, dress, and social mannerisms of their elite clientele. He refined his social skills in New York, becoming a player in the city’s ’70s and ’80’s nightlife scene by working at places like Indochine. It was always his New York dream to open a French-style restaurant, one that served quality food with sophisticated service, in his own idealized image.

And...

Lucien’s eatery was his art form and his performance space. Every day, he worked to perfect his art; tasting the food and wines, changing the spices and the mixtures, trying out different seating arrangements, and curating a selection of avant-garde reading material. To give the impression of an old-school establishment that had survived the test of time, the walls were given a distressed paint job, on top of which were hand-scripted poems painted by Rene Ricard. If Lucien wasn’t sitting inside, he would often be found by the entrance, always the gracious host who made sure his customers felt welcome.

Bahaj also operated the Pink Pony on Ludlow Street from 2001 to 2013, closing it after the landlord wanted a $6,000-per-month rent increase. Rent hike aside, as the Times noted then: "[H]is cafe had come to seem out of step in a neighborhood sprouting condominium towers, boutique hotels, mixologists and sports bars."

Lucien, whose walls are adorned with a variety of framed photos of artists, actors and filmmakers who have dined here, remains a timeless classic. Per a 2014 revisit at Serious Eats:

Lucien runs off an old, seemingly forgotten, formula from a time when nasturtium and nettles were just weeds. The food is reliable, seasoned well, and portioned with hunger in mind. It isn't necessarily progressive or trendy or challenging, but that's exactly why eating there is so great.


[EVG photo from June]

Patterson writes that Bahaj's son Zac has "the learned etiquette and special magic required to make Lucien hum along without his father."


[Lucien and Zac by Clayton Patterson]

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.


By James Maher

Name: Jasmin Olmo (and Rocko)
Occupation: Stay at home mother, Medical Assistant
Location: 9th Street and Avenue C
Time: 3:15 on Sunday, April 7

I’m 28 and I’ve lived in this area all my life. Right now I’m home with the kids and my husband works. I have two kids, an eight year old and a four year old, but I do have my certificate as a Medical Assistant. I did that for a year and then decided to take some time to take care of my kids. Hopefully once my son is in regular school then I can go back to work.

My grandparents were from Puerto Rico. My grandmother was born there. I believe she came here when she was a teenager with her mother. I think they came for a better life and everybody was moving here at that time. My grandmother cleaned houses but mostly she was a homemaker. She had 7 kids and her first very young so she was mostly home with them. I had my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother here. My daughter was able to see these generations of women and the family. We have a lot of family. My grandmother has 22 grandchildren. I’m the 22nd. I’m the baby.

Both my parents were from the neighborhood and they met very young, in junior high school, and they were together ever since. My father was a Marine and then he worked for Sanitation. My mom also cleaned houses when she was young and then there was a point in her life where things were really rough. Both of them are now deceased, so it’s great hearing stories about them being young and the things they’ve done. My mom was a wild one when she was young. Hearing stories about her, it’s like, “Okay I’m definitely not like my mother.” That’s one thing that my grandmother used to always say to me, she was like, “You, next to your mother, you are an angel. Your mother used to do some crazy stuff.”

I can tell you, there are these projects on Avenue D, they start on 6th Street and go down to Houston Street, called the Lillian Wald Houses. My grandmother was one of the first tenants to move into those projects. She knew everyone who moved in and all of the families that were there for all those years. She was head of the tenant patrol for years. I probably have a family member in each project. We have family throughout the whole neighborhood and everyone knows each other. My Aunt still lives over there.

Me and my friends would run around the projects playing manhunt, playing hide and seek, and my mom would be in front of one building and I’m on the whole other side of the project. She didn’t have to worry because she knew everybody and everybody knew us, so if I was doing anything wrong they were definitely going to tell her. We would play manhunt and there would be like 10 of us in the elevator acting stupid and we’d get stuck in there for like two hours, hot as hell, in the summer, just hoping and praying that nobody’s parent would find out. But of course, somebody would find out. We caused a lot of trouble growing up but she didn’t have to worry about us. Nowadays it’s really different. I won’t let my daughter go downstairs to the store by herself or walk to school by herself. That’s the sad thing about it.

On my block on 10th Street on the weekends everybody’s outside playing music and somebody’s always having a party. If you walk down 10th Street between B and C, there’s always going to be people out. But I remember in the summer you could walk down Avenue D and everybody was outside with their kids. I mean everybody, in front of the stores just hanging out. The East River, I remember when I was like 7 or 8, every weekend in the summer they would have music out there. They would have a DJ in one spot and a Spanish band in another and have food. That’s what I can remember about being in this neighborhood. There was always music and food and people dancing and rejoicing and just hanging out and kids running around. Back then you didn’t have to worry about your kids running around. Nowaways it’s not like that anymore. You’ll see people here and there but a lot of people left. They’re out in Florida or down south. If you go to Miami you’ll see a bunch of people that you know from your neighborhood.

The only time you see a whole bunch of people now is during the Loisaida Festival. Every May, every Memorial Weekend, they have a big festival down Avenue C. It’s right before the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, so you’ll see a lot of people selling flags and t-shirts and there’s all types of food. You can come and eat, they have some rides for the kids, and they usually have like five Spanish bands come out. People dance in the streets and the kids are running around. You’ll see people that you haven’t seen in years. Everybody comes back for Loisaida because they know they’ll see people that they haven’t seen in awhile. They come back to see family and friends. That’s always fun to see.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Out and About in the East Village

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village.



By James Maher
Name: George Cameron
Occupation: Musician, The Left Banke
Location: 6th Street and 1st Avenue
Time: 3 pm on Friday, Aug. 21

I’m originally from Manhattan, but I’ve been around the world and stuff. I grew up in Hell’s Kitchen. That’s why I’m such a bad kid. It was OK and then I was raised in Brooklyn because we bought a house out there.

I lived on the Upper West Side, but moved down here seven years ago. The Upper West Side was getting a little you know… not that loose, so I said let me try something else. So I came down here, man. I love it down here. I like the diversity. I love the small parks. All the people are really nice. You say hello, they say hello back.

I’m a musician. I was in a group called the Left Banke. We did a song called "Walk Away Renee." Me and mom had an up-and-down relationship. I guess you could call it like that, so I left kind of early, at 16 and I got involved in singing in the Village. My friend and I hooked up and we just started singing in the streets like crazy. The music scene was basically the Village — the West Village and some of the East Village. Everybody was around. It was all about the music. Mostly everybody was into music it seemed like. People were a little tighter with each other.

Somebody came up to us on the street, ‘Do you want to [be in a band?]’ And we went up to the studio. We had a recording studio to ourselves, day and night. Nobody has that anymore. I can’t get used to that part. We were dedicated and we did good. We didn’t realize it, but we did pretty good.

We’d tour for months at a time. We’d be on the road. We played with The Beach Boys, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, The Mamas & The Papas — all those people. It was fun. When you’re 17 years old and you’ve got all this money, you’re really not thinking about much. When you’re 17, you think about girls; that’s all you think about. It was really wild and we really didn’t have any person behind us who was sort of an authority figure. Everybody around us was like, ‘Oh, we saw these young guys. They really just want to play. We can take their money now.’ And they’re still trying to do it today.

So now we’re back on the road and doing some new music and stuff we couldn’t do back then. I was the guitar player originally, then the drummer split and I became the drummer, but I’m a songwriter and singer as well. I wrote a lot of the [music]. We just came back from Massachusetts and we just finished in Woodstock. We’re planning a tour for us to go down south in the fall — nice Florida weather. We’re all going to meet my lead singer in Tampa. We plan to go across from the East Coast to the West Coast. I want to be back in California for awhile. The Troubadour opened out there. Things are happening out there somehow.

James Maher is a fine art and studio photographer based in the East Village. Find his website here.

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Report: East Village gallery a no-show on opening night, leaving artists without their work

Photos yesterday by Steven 

Twenty-five artists set to participate in a group show this past Friday night arrived to find the East Village venue papered up and their art locked inside. 

The four-day event was to take place at the East Village Art Collection (EVAC) at 215 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. The artists reportedly have said they have yet to receive any notice from the gallery. Attendees who bought tickets for the event received notices and refunds from Eventbrite minutes before the start of the show, per comments on EVAC's Instagram account

Here's what some of the artists had to say to PIX 11, who first reported on the gallery ghosting:
"We came here with a purpose to get our work out there and to make something of ourselves, and they took advantage of that and they stole from us,” said Charlotte Art, a Flint, Michigan-based artist. "I had a lot riding on this. And I'm a mother of four. 'How dare you' is what I have to say." 
"We got a notification one minute before 7 p.m., and the event was at 7:30 last Friday," said Melissa Driscol, whose brother-in-law’s art was part of the exhibit. “Not an email, not a phone call, not a text, just to tell the artists, 'Hey, this event isn’t happening." 
"We've been calling and Instagramming and emailing and phone numbers have been disconnected," said Christine Ditolvo, whose friend from Vermont had art in the exhibit. "It's really sketchy."
The EVAC Instagram account described the event like this: 
The Immersive Art Experience is a 360º, digital, physical, and musical art exhibition in NYC with East Village Party Vibes. 

THE EVAC invites you to step foot into the expansive universe of art to be surrounded by paintings, canvases, holograms, photography, fractals, and sculptures. 

Live Music and drinks for this special night. 

You as the guest will be able to connect and experience art on a different level like never before. The East Village Art Collection is unlike any gallery in the world. We focus on quality and unique art experiences. We are the opposite of boring. Art is everywhere! 

VIP doors open at 7:30 PM VIP entitles you to a private viewing prior to doors opening to the general admission. Upon your entry, you will be greeted with a cocktail of your choice, where you will be able to interact with the artists in a more intimate setting. You will also have access to the downstairs VIP lounge area with a couch. 
After the weekend, a sign arrived on the EVAC's front door noting, "Due to an unforeseen medical emergency, the gallery is closed at this time."

The small print reads, "all artwork will be returned as soon as possible."
In an EVAC Instagram comment, one of the artists, who traveled here from Florida, said the other artists were also from all around the country — as well as one from South Africa. 

Per the artist in the comment: 
So now they have our art. Paintings and photographs ranging from $5,000-$10,000 each in value. The gallery's phone goes to a voice mail, and their personal cells have been disconnected. No one knows why. Did they go out of business? Did they have an emergency? Or are they just scum bags? All I know is there were lots of broken hearts and dreams last night mixed with embarrassment. We all had invited peers, friends, and art collectors to this event to see a mess of us just standing on the sidewalks, looking at each in disbelief.

The EVAC website features a ticker with daily cryptocurrency prices by market cap. It states that it is "dedicated to providing a quality gallery space for artists of all mediums while merging physical art with the rapidly growing digital world."

The venue debuted in April 2021 under the guidance of Steve Hirsch, whose LinkedIn profile described him as EVAC's director of operations, having a 25-plus-year career in apparel design and merchandising and being "an industry innovator."

East Village artist and entrepreneur P.J. O'Rourke, with the help of Hirsch, had established his FlyeLyfe brand at this space. However, as we reportedO'Rourke found himself locked out of the space after one day in business, with the venue pivoting to the EVAC.

O'Rourke told EVG contributor Stacie Joy: "I went back to get my stuff ... Not only had they locked me out, but my belongings were also inside, and my partner told me it was his. They papered up the entire store, and a couple of weeks later, they are trying a fly-by-the-seat art gallery while leaving my livelihood at stake."

Hirsch would not comment on this sequence of events, stating at the time, "Mr. O'Rourke's statements are not facts." 

As for the canceled show this past weekend, the artists told PIX 11 that "they are now out thousands of dollars for their artwork and travel expenses, as well as a $500 submission fee."

"We just want the art back," Driscol told the station.

Friday, August 31, 2018

Reader report: Body found in car on 12th Street near Avenue B



A man's body was found inside a car on the south side 12th Street just west of Avenue B early this evening.

EVG reader Blair Hopkins shared this photo.

The word here is that the man was unknown to anyone who lived on the block, and that he was likely there for three to four days. The car has Florida license plates.

Will update if/when more information becomes available.

Updated 8:22 p.m.

According to an EVG reader who lives on the block, there were pill bottles laid out on the hood of the car.

The police are apparently looking at security camera footage from the building across the street from the car.