A Gathering of the Tribes

We thought Steve Cannon was safe, that he had worked out a deal with the Real Estate gods, but nothing is safe here, apparently.  A Gathering of the Tribes, 285 East 3rd St, 2nd Floor (between Avenues C and D), is another venerable East Village institution going down while the condos and high rise apartment buildings go up. Is New York even worth living in anymore?  Tapas anyone?  If you’ve got $3 million please buy the joint and let Steve stay.  He’s one of the last people still making the neighborhood interesting.

Here’s a recent NYT article on the potential demise of Tribes: “A Place Where Emotions Became Poetry Is for Sale.”

Speaking of East Village institutions, Sensitive Skin magazine, is back.  Started in Paris as Peau Sensible, the magazine migrated to downtown NYC where it enjoyed the accolades of cognoscenti and bar brawler alike. Alas its print run did not outlast its decade. And, well what can we say, the movie people moved in and the EV became a suburb of LA.  But the grand old rag has reinvented itself in cyber space.

Many “back in the day” types can be found in its pages. And here’s an excerpt from Williamsburg Observer contributor and Misanthrope at Large, Carl Watson, “A Tale of an Affair.”  But don’t stop there, scroll it, surf it, tweet it, or whatever you young folks do these days.

On another note.  Don’t go to The Essex.  It’s a tourist mill.  (More on this later).  It used to be a gauntlet of meth-heads and pill dealers that greeted you as you entered the market, along with the smells of Puerto Rican stewed chicken.  Was that me who bought those purple Elavils down there, or some projection of a seamier me.   Who remembers?  It’s all Jersey and heels now, and the food ain’t worth the eyestrain or the sonic abuse.

Didn’t The Boss do a number called Glory Days.

Anybody got a cell phone I can borrow to call some service to airlift me out of this particular circle of  Hell.