In the Financial District, Mariah Carey helps usher in the start of the bikini bar war

For years now, the duff-and-tumble Nassau Bar on Nassau Street has ruled the FiDi Bikini Bar scene...



Now, though, a new player has emerged on the scene: Hook and Ladder II, sibling of the Kip's Bay Hook and Ladder, on John Street near Water Street (and right around the corner from the luxury rentals at 200 Water)...



According to the signs, this rather humdrum spot is celebrating a (rebranding) "grand re-opening"...



...featuring the "Hook and Ladder II bikini bartenders," one of whom looks a lot like Mariah Carey in a firefighter's uniform ...



(Oh, wait! That IS a picture of Mariah Carey... nice of her to lend her image to the gang at Hook and Ladder II!)

Perhaps this new feature at the Hook and Ladder II will make up for the loss of Gramaldi's as an amentity for those Wall Street boys looking at 200 Water Street...