Winter Friday flashback: Price melting on 'Soho-style' igloo in Tompkins Square Park

On Fridays this winter, and probably spring and summer ... we'll post one of the 16,000-plus EVG, uh, posts from yesteryear, like this one from March 1, 2010...

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On Friday, we wrote about a new listing that popped up on Prudential Douglas Elliman for a "Soho-style" igloo right in the heart of East Greenwich Village in Tompkins Square Park.

On Friday, the 15-square-foot igloo was priced at $1.5 million ($100K per square foot!)


However, today, the price has been chopped down to $500K!

Here's the listing:

This fully original Soho igloo is ready to go at a stunning and spacious 15 square feet!! Located in a new igloo and facing southeast off the Park you will enjoy the setting sun, quiet nights, and all the space!! The ground has been white washed for a tasteful but artful look. There is a flat screen TV nook that has been smartly placed in the living space so the TV will flow seamlessly against the snow. Closets everywhere, bath and a half, open kitchen round out this one-of-a-kind one igloo flex two loft space. The igloo is a condo so subletting and renting are permitted. Pets are welcome!

According to Streeteasy, this property originally went on the market around this time last year, but was quickly pulled several warmer days later...

There was an open igloo this past Friday...


...where potential igloo-buyers discovered that the space may be best suited for those under say, 3 feet tall.



If you're interested, then I urge you to hurry. The temperatures are expected in the mid 40s today...

East Village reeling over breakup of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

[Outside Gem Spa Saturday, where the dailies may have sold out really quickly]

East Village residents spent the weekend trying to come to terms with the shocking news that power couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were calling it quits. The Hollywood A-listers were often seen mingling with residents near the home that they owned in the American Felt Building on East 13th Street near Fourth Avenue.

"First Bret Easton Ellis, now this," said one crestfallen Felt Building resident who asked not to be identified. "I feel like my whole property value just plummeted a good six figures."

Given the impending split, divorce experts said that it was unlikely that Holmes would ever set foot in the American Felt Building again as it has been a long-time property of Mr. Cruise dating back to his whirlwind romance with Mimi Rogers.

Down the street at Everyman Espresso, where Holmes was seen at least once, fans tried to come to grips with the fact that they may never have the chance to be in the same cafe as the starlet and her security guards.

[Photo by Bauer Griffin]

"The East Village is now officially dead," declared Spencer Brighton, a 22-year-old playwright who had been working on an off-Broadway musical adaptation of "Dawson's Creek" that he hoped to present to the former Joey Potter. "At this point I might as well just go ahead and move to Brooklyn Heights. Or wherever it is that Michelle Williams lives."

Everyman management refused to comment on rumors that the space will be renamed either Holmes Is Where the Heart Is or Katie Kafe.

However, dayshift manager David Jourgenson did say that he had been approached about showing several screenings of "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" and "Disturbing Behavior" as part of an upcoming Breakup Memorial.

Holmes was no stranger to the neighborhood. For instance, she dined at Northern Sea Food Co. on East 12th Street once.

She also starred in "Pieces of April" in 2003, a darkly comic movie set on Pitt Street on the Lower East Side. During the filming, Holmes often stayed in character as April Burns and hung out at Max Fish and the Parkside.

"She actually came back to my place on Clinton Street for an after hours," said one LES nightlife regular. "None of us had any idea who she was. We thought it was weird that she was carrying a turkey, which turned out to be a prop from the film."

The nightlife regular continued, chuckling at the memories he was recalling.

"She was really laidback and didn't freak when my nose started bleeding from the bad Coke."

Outside St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery late Saturday night, a group of Holmes fans gathered not to mourn but celebrate. "She was the reason that I moved to the East Village," said Jane Kohl, who was gently strumming an acoustic version of Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait." Others in the guitar circle nodded and fought back tears as Kohl softly uttered:

I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be

However, not every local was saddened by the news.

"Who cares," growled an off-duty MTA employee eating at the Blimpie on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street where town cars transporting Holmes, her security team, publicist, assistant, trainer, chef, food taster and nanny would often pass. "She's not even a native New Yorker."

"She's from OHIO," chimed in a large man at another table wearing a "Revis Island" T-shirt. "Toledo no less."

Regardless of where she's from, to the fans who created a memorial outside the American Felt Building, Holmes was one of us.

"Aside from this fairy-tale romance ending," said Jamie McCluskey, shaking his or her head and taking in the scene in front of him or her on East 13th Street, "I'm afraid I'll never see her again.

"Except in the movies," said McCluskey, gazing to the west toward the Regal Union Square Stadium 14. "Except in the movies."

[EVG Flashback] The community board-State Liquor Authority drinking game

Originally posted on Aug. 16, 2010...


To help pass the time during the dull stretches of community board/state liquor authority meetings... we started getting stupid(er), like, given the boozy topic, maybe we should create a drinking game to play ...

So! You have to do a shot every time an applicant says:

"I just want to be part of the community."

"I'm just a guy from the neighborhood."

Someone speaking against a proposed bar/restaurant says, "I like the concept, just not on this block."

Someone speaking against a proposed bar/restaurant uses any of the following words: fraternity, sorority, hell, zoo, spring break, Bourbon Street or woo woo.

The applicant wears a Bluetooth throughout his or her presentation.

Two shots if:

A priest speaks for the applicant.

The applicant's previous restaurant experience was working as a club DJ or promoter.

The applicant has 500 signatures in support, though only 3 of the residents actually live on the block in question.

The applicant says that his or her new place will be an upscale restaurant that will be open until 4 a.m.

The applicant says that the new place will be for the neighborhood, with entrees starting at $32.

They just want the license to pair wines with dessert.

The applicant's attorney says, "This is New York City -- it's supposed to be noisy."

Supporters of the applicant suggest that, if opponents don't like noise, they should move to, or move back to, [Ohio, Delaware, Schenectady, et al]

Three shots if:

The bar name is a nod to homeless people, welfare recipients, alcoholics or serial killers.

The applicant says that he or she is willing to work with the community, and to prove it, the restaurant/bar will close at 1 a.m. on Sundays.

The applicant uses the words "artisanal" or "gastro."

Four shots if:

The applicant uses the words "artisanal" and "gastro" together.

You're told dear old mom from the Old Country will be the chef.

The applicant says if he or she doesn't get approval, the space will likely become a chain store, bank or halfway house for pyromaniacs.

The applicant says that the restaurant will sponsor art classes for kids in the neighborhood.

Chug if:

The applicant gives each committee member an envelope with cash.*

The applicant promises to keep the spirit of the previous owner's establishment alive by having the now-deceased owner stuffed and mounted over the bar.

* We're not suggesting this has ever happened...

Exclusive first look inside the Bowery 7-Eleven

Well, it's only exclusive if you don't stop and peek over the brown paper covering part of the windows here at the 7-Eleven coming to the retail space of John Legend's former residence...

Anyway!

Woo?

City officials further shame NYC by declaring Smurf Week

Our friend Jen Doll over at Runnin' Scared has the details about Smurf Week. Which city officials announced yesterday. It's all a big marketing thingee leading up to the release next Friday of "The Smurfs Movie," the latest Dogme 95 film by Lars von Trier.

Anyway, is this a big deal? Those little fuckers have been running rampant here the last few months anyway...

Another new outdoor dining option on the Bowery

And could someone please check to see if my burrito is done?

Yet another rendering emerges for the new hotel on the Bowery

So you've seen the renderings of the first two designs for the hotel coming to 347 Bowery at Third Street....

Here's the latest:

According to a news release, the new hotel "is capable of destroying a neighborhood with a single destructive beam."

I think they'll need special zoning for that.

Nerds wonder when Queen Amidala of Naboo will finally take off her shirt on the Bowery

On eve of another snowstorm, world-famous bike in full view

As you read here first, it may snow tonight. And tomorrow. A lot.

And over on Eighth Street at Avenue C...

Dec. 27!



Now!



Previously on EV Grieve:
Exclusive: Q-and-A with the bike that became an iconic symbol of the 2010 Holiday Blizzard

Exclusive: Q-and-A with the bike that became an iconic symbol of the 2010 Holiday Blizzard

This photo by Mario Tama for Getty Images became one of the iconic shots of the Blizzard of Dec. 26, 2010.... Around the globe the shot — now known as The Shot — became associated with the devastating wallop that Mother Nature cruelly delivered the East Coast after Dec. 25...



The bike currently resides on Avenue C at Eighth Street...



We caught up with the rather ornery bike for a wide-ranging interview on everything from new-found celebrity to Forever 21.

There are thousands of bikes buried in the East Village right now. How did the photographer pick you?

I don't know, but I'm thankful for the exposure.

What does your owner have to say about the photo?

I haven't talked with her about it yet. I think she's stuck upstate with her sister. To be honest, I haven't seen her much lately.

I notice that you don't have a seat. What happened?

It went missing right after Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup this past summer. Some drunk guy with a German flag yanked it off and threw it across the street. He laughed and yelled "Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland! Deutschland!" [Pauses] I was in a bit of shock. A few minutes later, an ambulance went by and ran it over. I saw the manager from the laundromat clean it off the street and throw it away. I haven't been taken for a ride — so to speak — since then.

Where did you grow up?

The West Village. I liked it there, but my owner got married, and she turned to yoga instead. I ended up on Craigslist. It didn't help that her new husband is a neurologist. He is really over-protective. He even makes her wear a helmet while taking a shower. [Laughs] I heard her talking about it on the phone on the way to Gourmet Garage one day.

I didn't know that people still went to Gourmet Garage.

Tell me about it. She liked their instant meals. Not to mention their scallion egg salad.

So what do you think of this neighborhood?

Specifically Avenue C and Eighth Street? Or the East Village in general?

Avenue C and Eighth Street.

I think it represents the best of the neighborhood's rich history and diversity. You have all sorts of people living here — families who have been here for generations, newcomers, singles, newlyweds. And everyone seems to get along.

What's the worse part of living here?

Probably the weekend drink-and-drown brunch crowd at the Sunburnt Cow. These people from God-knows-where show up and get really smashed. They stagger away. When I had a seat, someone was always pausing here, putting cell phones or purses or iced skim lattes on me. And they all dress alike. You can only pull off Forever 21 for so long.

The Times declared Avenue C the next big thing back in 2005. From your vantage, what do you think?

There is a bit of carpetbaggery going on with some of the new upscale bars and restaurants, but I still haven't seen an influx in, say, Trek Speed Concept time trial bikes chained up along here.

I find it hard to believe anyone would chain up a bike like that outside.

You'd be amazed at what I've seen chained up.

What do you think of the city's new bike lanes?

Obviously I'm supportive of anything pro-bicycle. My owner likes them. I do take issue with the segregation. You have your bus lane, your bike lane. When will Bloomberg start calling the sidewalks the People Lane? Do you really want to walk on something so seemingly condescending? So it's no wonder that so many cyclists prefer to use the other parts of the streets.

What is your impression of NYC motorists?

That's an awfully broad question. In general, I dislike cars, especially rentals — the weekend warriors who get the Zip Car like once or twice a year. They're not [used to driving] on a regular basis, and they do stupid stuff, such as turn left from the far right-hand lane.

Favorite movie about cycling?

[Sighs] "Breaking Away." It's an unerringly accurate coming-of-age story about four discontented blue-collar young men spending their last summer of freedom in Bloomington, Indiana. They are unemployed and patronized by snobbish students....

I've seen it.

[Rudely] Please let me finish. "Breaking Away" is funny, deeply moving, painfully honest: at the end you feel good in a rather special way. Plus, I've always had a Dennis Quaid thing. He can sit on me any day.

Weird how the film's star, Dennis Christopher, just sort of disappeared.

True. I'm told that he gets steady work on TV, though. I don't see much TV. Which is likely a good thing considering there are so few good parts for bikes these days. I did see some of "American Chopper." Not bad.

Best thing about your new-found celebrity?

Some tourists looking for McSorley's have done some FlipCam stuff with me...

McSorley's? A little off the beaten path?

[Chuckles] Yeah, they said this guy in front of Ray's said that the bar is on Seventh Street and Avenue D. Anyway, the boys at the deli at Associated have brought me some egg-and-cheese sandwiches and rotisserie chickens. That's sweet, though I'd prefer some air and oil. And a seat.

The EV Grieve Last-Minute Gift Guide

aka, Random EV-related Gifts that We'd Like to See!






















Sadly (or not!), none of these item are actually available for sale... but we can dream about the possibilities while goofing around at Cafe Press.