Thinking about the future

I took this photo about three weeks ago on Avenue A between 13th Street and 14th Street. I didn't think much of it at the time. It looks like a homemade sign. And it's hanging in front of a former beauty salon.



Now, after the shootings that killed Eric "Taz" Pagan one block away, I can't help but look at the sign differently.

Coming soon to Seventh Street: Luke's Lobster

On Seventh Street near First Avenue between the two Caracas Arepa Bar locations.

UPDATED: Oops, didn't realize that Grub Street reported on this a little earlier this afternoon... they have a lot more information on the owners, two former lobstermen.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Dead Lobster

Reminder: Drinking for a good cause today

Sophie's and Mona's are also taking part today. And I believe Destination... A commenter on Friday's post asked why Destination wasn't included (given the bar's proximity to Forbidden City and friendship with Eric "Taz" Pagan")...to which Destination's Mason Reese later responded, "Truthfully, no one called or mentioned this to me at all, since hearing about this, I've reached out and made the offer."

UPDATE: Destination is taking part. Confirmation in the comments.

Previously on EV Grieve:
EV bars come together to create college fund for Eric "Taz" Pagan's children

Cooper Square Hotel now sporting dead tree benches

Well, as the headline says, the Cooper Square Hotel now sporting dead tree benches...





Perhaps these are the remnants of the trees that were chopped down on Fifth Street next to the hotel back in April.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Why the trees were cut down on Fifth Street next to the Cooper Square Hotel

16 hours on 12th Street

Just taking one last look at yesterday's NYU move in on 12th Street...the site of the former St. Ann's church....



Best moment maybe ever: An SUV pulls up, the man behind the wheel next to his daughter yells to an NYU security guard on the sidewalk, "Excuse me, do you speak English?!"



Anyway, at least the neighbors were prepped...



Previously on EV Grieve:
NYU students are REALLY moving in! NYU students are REALLY moving in!

NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

Avenue B's Horus Cafe getting a sidewalk cafe

The Horus Cafe on Avenue B at Sixth Street...



is adding on a sidewalk cafe, according to work permits. Looks as if it will be enclosed. Still.



Hmmmmmm...

Meanhwile in Hell's Kitchen!
Shelia McClear has the story of the new Horus Too (the same owners as the three East Village Horus locations) on West 46th Street. It's a dandy, featuring angry neighbors, community board baiting-and-switching...

Excerpt:

While a business owner is not legally obligated to follow the instructions of a community board, Moyer said that the owners willfully misrepresented their intentions. According to Moyer, when someone asked the owner at a meeting, “No hookahs, right?” he replied, “No, no, just good Mediterranean food.”

The restaurant is open until 4 a.m., despite the owners originally telling the board they would close at midnight.

"Hell’s Kitchen neighbors’ fears flamed by hookah bar’s fumes"

Rally for the homeless Friday night

Swung by the Slacktivists rally for the homeless Friday night in front of the Christodora... John Penley was holding court out front talking with a reporter....



Didn't get to stay too long. Bob Arihood noted that no one was arrested. The police seemed to think a lot more people might be showing up...



Slum Goddess has more (entertaining!) details from Friday night...Just looking for the drippiest AC in the EV...

Saan Saan closing on Seventh Street

Saan Saan is the latest shop to close on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

Apparently Albert Hammond Jr. has really sold his EV apartment for good this time

I thought they sold the stupid place at 141 E. Third St. last November. Then it was for sale again in May. NOW Page Six reports that the Strokes guitarist has sold the place for a little less than $1 million.

So...

NYU students are REALLY moving in! NYU students are REALLY moving in!

Whoa. EV Grieve reader Eric checks in from the new 12th Street Dorm (that sort of incorporated St. Ann's...)... This is where the action is!





Previously on EV Grieve:
NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

P.S.
This reminds me that I watched "The Swarm" the other night. Good, unintentional hilarity!

NYU students are moving in! NYU students are moving in!

Welcome Week kicks off tomorrow at NYU. Today, students continue to move into the East Village-area dorms....

I spotted license plates from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Illinois...





The school's "Welcome Ambassadors" were spotted welcoming people on Third Avenue.





Some of the dads seemed understandably stressed out and annoyed. So I've organized a "I'm Helping My Kid Move Into the Dorms" Pub Crawl. See you at the Pourhouse!

Today in Tompkins Square Park

The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival takes place at 3 this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. Details here.

Seventh Street, 2:41 p.m., Aug. 29

Missing bike

Avenue A, 9:46 a.m., Aug. 29

Save the M15

Gonna take a walk down to Union Square...

Karate Boogaloo's pick from over at The New York Nobody Sings.

"Avenue A will never be the same"

NY1 filed the following report this afternoon after the funeral of Eric "Taz" Pagan:

Church volunteer Mike Rodriguez, the cook at Forbidden City, said he heard the shot that killed his friend.

"Sometimes we played cards, or we drank, just to relax," said Mike Rodriguez. "Just a split second, that's it. Life is too short."

Those who came to the funeral at Immaculate Conception Church on 14th Street, where Pagan was baptized as an infant, remembered the late bouncer as a warm-hearted man.

"I come from Florida to pay my respects for my brother, a great guy," said friend German Fernandez.

"He's such a nice guy. We always had a good laugh to come in with," said bar customer Michael Cruz. "I remember him fixing the ceiling once, just completely taking it apart more than he needed to do. It was the funniest thing to watch him do. He had some much energy coming in and out of that place."

"Taz was always the protector. I used to work at the bar next door to where he used to work and he was always there if we needed him," said bartender Laurie Beck. "We used to hang out for years, I knew him since I was about 17 years old. It's been about 10 years and there was always so much love. Like a big brother to me, you know? Anytime anybody ever needed him, Taz was there. He's such a wonderful guy and he's so missed. Avenue A will never be the same. You walk down the block and expect to see him."

Perhaps the biggest endorsement of how loved Pagan was came from the victim's own parish priest.

"He always maintained optimism in his life," said the Reverend Joy Mampilly. "Also, he tried to instill a warm feeling into the lives of people who came around him. You don't have to be a friend to know him well."

Previously on EV Grieve:
EV bars come together to create college fund for Eric "Taz" Pagan's children

EV bars come together to create college fund for Eric "Taz" Pagan's children

I just received the following notice:

East Village bars Drop Off Service, Planet Rose, Forbidden City, Common Ground, Habibi Lounge, and Superdive will donate 50% of their register on Monday, Aug. 31 (all day and night) to set up a college fund for the children of murdered bouncer Eric “Taz” Pagan.

I'm told that bar owners in the area are devastated by what happened early last Sunday morning.

Previously.

And the people apparently want signature cocktails

From Fork in the Road at the Voice:

What's this city coming to when even dive bars have to start serving signature cocktails?

"Well, we don't have to," says Mike Stuto, owner of Hi-Fi. "It's just about giving people what they want."

Reminder tonight: Rally for homeless outside the Christodora

Scoopy has more in this week's issue of The Villager:

“We’re going to ask Michael Rosen to adopt us — me, Jim Power and Biker Billy,” L.E.S. Slacktivist leader John Penley explained. Penley said he hasn’t actually read Rosen’s new book, “What Else but Home: Seven Boys and an American Journey Between the Projects and the Penthouse,” in which Rosen recounts the story of how he and his wife opened their home to a group of local youths. “I heard reports. People said it’s not bad,” Penley said of the book. “We’d like to move into the penthouse, too — if he wants three new sons... . We’re not all that young!” Penley added that the camp-out concept is being well received: “A lot of people expressed gratitude that somebody’s doing something that’s a little radical this summer,” he said.

For further reading:
"Mosaic Man" and the "Slacktivist" Promise New Tent City for the Homeless ... (Neither More Nor Less)

Long, hot summer at the Christodora (Curbed)

When it gets down to five seconds, very calmly START RUNNING

Thanks to EV Grieve reader dianeb for passing along the following shots of the fancy new walk-don't walk signs at 14th Street and Third Avenue...



As she noted, "Kind of cute, letting you know how much time you have until you're squashed by a truck."

Not to kick a Bald Man when he's down, but...

Epic takedown in The Villager this week... Been awhile since we've read an article and yelled yes...YES...YES!!!

Here's some of what Dottie Wilson had to write:

Though I never once dined at the famous “Chocolate by the Bald Man” corporation, this place gave me indigestion, headaches even. While nearby mom-and-pop establishments struggled to stay afloat, Max Brenner was constantly packed, mostly with tourists. These people would come all the way to the East Village — just to eat at a chain restaurant. I didn’t get it.

And with childhood diabetes on the rise, as well as obesity, I thought “society” was supposed to be eating more sensibly. But not at this joint. Struggling with menus the size of a hefty coffee-table book, its carefree patrons were devotees of a restaurant defined by indulgence, i.e., dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner and drinks. In this land of “sugar on fat, on top of sugar on fat” (read “The End of Overeating” by David Al Kessler), this was an altogether obscene environment.

The restaurant’s outdoor tables, usually loaded with out-of-towners, took up an unusually large portion of sidewalk, and this annoying protrusion provoked many a resident on his or her way to and from the Astor Place or Eighth St. subways. On Friday and Saturday nights, human gridlock was the norm.

Consequently, I guess, a crazy person from a nearby apartment building started to get sick and tired of the music from the place’s outdoor speakers. He hated getting woken up every morning and night by the loud, clanking metal chains and padlocks that were used to prevent the theft of their ugly tables and chairs. Employees from the restaurant who took their breaks at the entrance of his building — smoking and laughing it up till all hours, and accidentally buzzing his apartment by leaning on the intercom buttons — drove him nuts.

Previously.

Update: Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen remains closed for renovations

Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which has operated at 130 St. Mark's Place since 1991, closed Aug. 14 for renovations. The shop was expected to reopen Aug. 18, as the signs noted. However, a walk by yesterday afternoon revealed that the renovations continue... the gate is partially open. It looks as if someone is inside working...



Anyone have information? Anyone talk to Peter?

Previously.

Posts that I never got around to posting: What's left behind at the former Jersey Shore Store?

The Jersey Shore store on Broadway between 11th Street and 12th Street closed back in early July. (It was only planned to be temporary.) The space is available.



Anything left behind inside the store?



Hmm — seems about right.