At the tiny coffee bar that opened on St. Marks Place yesterday, the beans aren’t the only thing that have been imported: the counter, front door, and other fixtures were designed and assembled in Lombardy, Italy by architect Beppe Riboli, and shipped over in boxes.

Giovanni Finotto and Caterina Musajo, the owners of I Am Coffee, wanted the 65-square-foot space that once held Another Wireless Shop to look and feel like an Italian terrazza. Beyond the sliding-glass front door, four people (and no more) can stand comfortably at a counter that resembles a balcony. There are toy birds by the handwritten menu, water pipes holding up shelves, exposed brick walls and Italian stone flooring — just the sort of touches you’d expect from the stylish proprietors of I Am Wine, an online artisanal wine shop.
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Laurie Gwen Shapiro John Cannizzo at Village Green.

During a recent dinner at the temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, at 25 First Avenue, a middle-aged man outfitted as Jesus, complete with crown of thorns, zealously preached the virtues of homegrown produce. In between bites of a spicy lentil salad, Laksmi Nrsimha, director of the East Village branch of the Krishnas, tilted his shaved head to listen.

Among Mr. Nrsimha’s guests at the weekly pay-what-you-wish dinner were volunteers at Village Green, an urban grange somewhat unbelievably located smack in the crossroads of Seventh Avenue and West 12th Street. For the last year, more than a dozen unpaid gardening enthusiasts have been providing a solid supply of free homegrown fruits and vegetables to the Krishnas, who cook them and distribute them at the sliding-scale dinners as well as at food lines in Tompkins Square Park.

But that arrangement has come to an end: this week Village Green closed so that its landlord, Rudin Management, could replace it with a more traditional public green space. Now Mr. Nrsimha is contemplating hydroponic gardening on the temple’s roof.

Gary Rissman, the 53-year-old dressed as Jesus (it was Halloween-time, after all), was the first of the agronomists to hear about the Krishna meals. At a Freegan meet-up early last year, he heard mention of the Krishna’s Annual Mountain of Food Festival, put on by their Krsma-Bhakti Vegan Cooking Club.

At that event, held at NYU’s Kimmel Center, the self-described “free-thinker” was inspired by the Krishnas’ culinary prowess, and saw it as a continuation of his own work. “I died a little inside when I saw our Village Green harvest when dropped off at other shelters, all going into one pot without any love,” he said at last month’s dinner. “An eggplant should be treated like filet mignon. I saw instantly that the Krishnas would know what to do with vegetables, that they would respect the vegetables, cook them right.”

Mr. Rissman, a gregarious speed-talker, convinced his farming pals to begin donating their harvests to Mr. Nrsimha and his fellow Krishnas.
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Kat Yen Ming Peiffer in “The ABC’s Guide to Getting Famous”

Ming Peiffer — her face powdered white, to contrast her suggestive red kimono — leaps onto the stage at the Red Room, promising to teach Asians how to get famous. It’s easy to incite pity, she assures: just play up your immigrant background and describe how your family lived in poverty before coming to America. It’s because of this tragic past that you are entitled to make art — regardless of quality!

The farce should be obvious by now. An exposé of systematized racism against Asians in the theater industry, “The ABC’s Guide to Getting Famous” is part of a well-established tradition in American literature. It’s no “Invisible Man,” but this ingenious solo show cum documentary doesn’t claim to be. Instead, it uses projections of Ms Peiffer’s interviews with contemporary Asian actors and actresses to form a sociological foil to her blaring embodiment of the Asian stereotype.

These two viewpoints are particularly well-suited to disentangling the paradoxes and difficulties of fitting into a larger culture. Ms Peiffer, or ABC, says immerse yourself in Asian clubs, societies, meeting groups, while the interviewees say this is just as alienating as being the only Asian around; ABC says accentuate your eyes and audition for the kung fu master, the ninja, or the prostitute, while the actors on screen testify that they feel like caricatures daily, yet have a hard time finding work. Ms Peiffer, of half-Asian descent, offers herself as a demonstration in the end, since her other half is routinely neglected at auditions searching for stock characters.
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Sasha von Oldershausen

Sasha von Oldershausen

Post-Sandy sinkholes have appeared in the Rockaways as a result of damage to water and sewer lines; is it possible one has opened up on Avenue C?

Last week, we noticed this sizable gash and sprawling cracks in the middle of the road, between Seventh and Eighth Streets. The hole isn’t yet big enough to swallow a moving truck, and of course it pales in comparison to the chasm over on the corner of Sixth Street, but take a closer look and you’ll see it’s deep enough to leave a cyclist in need of Recycle-a-Bicycle, at the least.

Have you noticed any post-Sandy sinkholes around the neighborhood? Or any other dents and dings still in need of attention?

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

According to the executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, the damage that Sandy caused to East River Park could’ve been less extensive. “This storm is an opportunity to think about waterfront parks and what ecological function they provide,” says Christine Datz-Romero. [NY Press]

EyeLevel, a “highly specific and evolving step-by-step learning program crafted around the needs and goals of individual students,” will open at 437 East 12th Street. [NearSay]

A new iPhone app lets users hear the stories of former worshippers at the Eldridge Street Synagogue. [DNA Info]
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Kim Davis

Smoked meat returned to Mile End Sandwich’s menu last week, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy destroyed its Red Hook commissary. Today, the shop returned to its regular hours, and it’s also delivering again. But it’s not exactly business as usual.

Noah Bernamoff, an owner, said he’s been smoking the meat upstate, at his friend Josh Applestone’s celebrated butcher shop, Fleisher’s – as a result, the sandwich is a couple of dollars more expensive, to the chagrin of some customers.

A few weeks ago, Mr. Bernamoff began preparing the first 1,400 pounds of meat at the Kingston, N.Y. butcher shop. It had to be cured for 12 days, soaked for a day, re-rubbed with a spice mixture, and smoked for eight to 11 hours before it could be brought back to the Bond Street sandwich shop, where it’s steamed and sliced.
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Near Great Jones Street, the former home of Steve’s on the Bowery was gutted today. A construction worker confirmed that a “retail store” would replace the deli, which closed in September, but wouldn’t say whether an Intermix was on the way, as rumored.

In August a spokesperson for the boutique told The Local it was bound for the Bowery, but wouldn’t say where, exactly.

Joann Pan Opening on Friday, Zen 6 will serve New York-style ramen and succulent gyoza dumplings.

The owners of Noodle Cafe Zen on St. Marks Place and Sushi Lounge on Avenue A plan to open a ramen joint on Curry Row by the end of the week.

Hideyuki Okayama said Zen 6, in the former Chiyono space on East Sixth Street, will serve “New York City-style ramen,” meaning steaming bowls of house-made noodles set in a rich broth and topped with unconventional ingredients such as soft-shell crab, oysters and spicy fried calamari.

Traditionalists can order miso ramen with corn, meat, egg and vegetables; shio ramen with chicken broth, salt, meat and egg; or tsukemen ramen with tender meat and baby bamboo.

Next month, the eatery will give away an order of pan-fried gyoza (dumplings stuffed with beef, pork or vegetables) with any order of ramen.

Zen 6, 328 East Sixth Street (between First and Second Avenues); (917) 318-5298

Sasha von Oldershausen

Sasha von Oldershausen

This morning, EV Grieve asked, “Why is 41 Cooper Square dented?”

Here’s the answer: Claire McCarthy, Director of Public Affairs at Cooper Union, told The Local the dent in the new academic building’s armor was caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The damage occurred when the conical top of a wooden water tower attached to a nearby residential building on the eastern side of 41 Cooper broke loose and hit the building.

“There were no injuries, and our crew got rid of the debris,” said Ms. McCarthy.

Mary Reinholz

Neighbors and fellow skateboarders gathered Saturday night to mourn Kyle Larson, who was struck and killed while longboarding near Union Square on Tuesday. The candlelight ceremony on 14th Street and Broadway was organized by skateboarder John Rios and the New York Longboard Association.

Yesterday afternoon at Union Square West, near East 17th Street, where the 20-year-old N.Y.U. student was hit by a box truck, passersby stopped to gaze at a makeshift memorial consisting of a photo of the victim, a bouquet of fresh white roses and candles. Chalked messages read “Ride on forever!”, “Love you Kyle” and “Let us never forget the perils of New York Streets.”

Mr. Larson hailed from Manhasset, Long Island, where he was a well-liked drummer for his high school marching band, NYU Local reported. The musician, who also played saxophone and clarinet and sang with an a capella group, was rushing to school to turn in a term paper when he was struck, according to Newsday. Gothamist posted video, released by the police, of a cyclist who was riding the wrong way on Union Square West when the incident occurred.

Bahram Foroughi

Good morning, East Village.

Mayor Bloomberg has announced a $5.5 million grant for small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy. [NY Post]

Two teens are wanted in a strong of local robberies: “The suspects, believed to be 14 years old, have been going into local businesses under the guise of raising money for a youth basketball team and then swiping phones and computers, police said.” [NY Post]

Stogo has closed after four years in business. The vegan ice cream shop was having trouble paying the rent and then lost $6,000 in sales and $6,000 in inventory during Sandy. [NY Times]
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Daniel Maurer

26 units and 84 firefighters rushed to a fire at the Jacob Riis Houses Saturday night.

The blaze broke out shortly before 9:30 p.m. on the eighth floor of a 14-story high-rise at 108 Avenue D, near East Eighth Street, the fire department said. It was under control within half an hour, but not before one firefighter was sent to New York Presbyterian with minor injuries.

The cause of the fire (the second in two days) was not immediately known.

A man was in critical condition after being stabbed at the Lillian Wald Houses this afternoon, the fire department said.

Around 2:40 p.m. the man, whose identity was not immediately available, was stabbed in the chest at 950 East Fourth Walk, near Avenue D; he was taken to New York Presbyterian in critical condition, the fire department said. The police said he was not likely to die.

In a separate incident, a fire broke out in the basement of 409 East Sixth Street, near First Avenue. The blaze was reported at 1:13 p.m. and was under control by 1:25 p.m., with no injuries reported.

Last week, Amadeus Bogner, a partner in the hand-pulled-noodle shop Hung Ry (and owner of Heidi and Extra Place nearby) reopened the Bond Street space as a French restaurant, Le Philosophe. We spoke to chef Matthew Aita, formerly of Jean-Georges, about his “classic French bistro” menu, which you can peruse below.
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Suzanne Rozdeba Sign outside of Obscura.

Two of the neighborhood’s celebrity misanthropes were at it earlier this week.

On Wednesday morning, a small crowd of “Oddities” fans stood outside Obscura, on Avenue A, while the show filmed inside. Mike Zohn, an owner of the store, told The Local that the show’s fourth season was being filmed, and would start in January after a best-of retrospective and a holiday episode.

Meanwhile, another trafficker in antiques and oddities, Billy LeRoy of “Baggage Battles” (also in the midst of a new season) e-mailed us the above photos of his coffin finally being removed from the Houston Street lot where his antiques tent used to stand.

In the weeks since Hurricane Sandy, downtowners have pitched in to help victims in harder-hit areas, and they’ve also continued to reach out to their closest neighbors. Last Thursday, Marissa Lippert of Nourish NYC and Allison Beale of George PR teamed up to raise $7,000 for the Red Hook Initiative and two of their favorite restaurants, Governor in Red Hook and the storm-battered Arcane on Avenue C. The Local spoke to organizers and attendees of the “FUNdraiser” at Pouring Ribbons, a cocktail den on Avenue B that escaped flooding because it was on the second floor and had no basement storage. Later, we caught up with Arcane’s owner, Ben Alter.

Happy Thanksgiving, East Village.

If you’re planning to hit the town tomorrow, you can find 28 prix-fixe menus here. (Should one of these options leave you in need of a post-feast cleanse, Angelika Kitchen’s chef has a recipe.) If you’re staying in and cooking, here are some wine-pairing suggestions from Kimberly Koharki of the Astor Center.

Be warned, the wine lines are long, according to our own Noah Fecks. But rest assured you won’t be spending as much time preparing as the Bowery Mission already has: as always, they started cooking for thousands last week.

See you back here in a couple of days.

wSuzanne Rozdeba 104 East Seventh Street

A pair of East Village walk-ups were sold as part of a $73 million portfolio that also included 14 properties in the West Village, Upper East Side, and downtown Brooklyn.

Paul Smadbeck, Senior Vice President of Sales at Massey Knakal, described the buyer, Stone Street Properties, as “a relatively young, new company that has been very active. Their main expertise is doing lovely renovations and really improving these 100-year buildings, and bringing them into the 21st century.” He added that the investment company is “very sensitive” to the community.

Suzanne Rozdeba 440 East 13th Street

The Real Deal reported that Stone Street, founded last year by Jeffrey Kaye and
Robert Morgenstern, acquired the entire portfolio from Manhattan landlord
Robert Koppelman.

One of the East Village buildings, at 104 East Seventh Street, stands right up against newly-opened Tink’s Restaurant and across the street from Saint Stanislaus Church. It holds landmark status, as part of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District that was approved last month. The other property is located at 438-440 East 13th Street.