Pandemic Block Party Thrown by ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ Angers Orchard Street Neighbors

Posted on: June 29th, 2020 at 5:08 am by

Photo: Orchard St. Block Association

Now a week into Phase 2 reopening, and on the precipice of Phase 3, it would appear much of the local populace is back to normal habit. Just look to this past weekend on Orchard Street just north of Canal, where block parties reigned uninterrupted.

Boys Don’t Cry pulled together a Friday evening soirée, with Statik Selektah on the turntables. The scene was as you might expect given the activity so far this summer; since reopening efforts began this month. Indeed, with weather warming up and cafe dining standard for nearly all nightlife, the feeling is one of carte blanche to party on the streets.

Barely a face covering in sight, and social distancing canceled.

The party happened mere hours after the so-called Night Mayor Ariel Palitz and city officials held a Zoom call town hall regarding small business and the reopening. Fitting, given that there were no clear answers regarding enforcement of State Liquor Authority laws (e.g. open containers) and social distance rules.

Boys Don’t Cry followed it up on Saturday afternoon with another party, too.

Neighbors were less than thrilled about the casual disregard for public health amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Recent Stories

Food
Friday’s Under $40: Little Italy

In our new Friday column, contributor Sara Graham hits the streets to find cheap eats and affordable things to do during these weird times. Like many New Yorkers, I’m working from home and I’m definitely developing aches and pains from sitting on an uncomfortable dining chair as I type away from my “kitchen office.” It’s […]

Transportation
Major Hoarding Happening Beneath Hotel Scaffolding on Orchard Street

Somebody call Hoarders, there’s a junk mound on Orchard Street. For the last few months, a homeless man has been camping beneath the decade-old scaffold affixed to the hotel at 139 Orchard Street (aka the Allen Street Hotel). The individual gradually amassed a collection of garbage, furniture, and other prized street possessions. And apparently, the […]

Food
Report: Boba Guys Faces Allegations of Sexual Harassment and Racism

Boba Guys, the San Francisco-based tea chain with locations in Los Angeles, New York, and across the Bay Area, is the focus of fresh allegations of racial discrimination and sexual harassment, just weeks after it fired a manager for racist comments allegedly posted to social media in 2018. This runs counter to the public advocacy […]

Fashion
Ludlow & Hester Nail Spa Fades from its Namesake Block

Just as phase 3 of the city’s reopening gets going this week, one Lower East Side salon won’t be returning. Ludlow & Hester Nail Salon, located at 29 Ludlow Street, closed in March in observance of state guidelines for the coronavirus lockdown. Spa chairs inside the six-year-old spa lingered in the interim, awaiting clientele. Until […]

Crime
Watch as Bandits with Crowbars Steal ATM on Ludlow Street [VIDEO]

Bandits are certainly emboldened by the apparent sense of lawlessness around the Lower East Side these days. And Hell Square is no exception. Police say that on May 21, two African American males stole the ATM stationed outside El Sombrero at Ludlow and Stanton Streets. A witness reported seeing the crooks haul the entire machine […]