Starting rumors: Is "Mad Men" actor John Slattery opening a restaurant on Third Avenue?

This vacant restaurant on Third Avenue near 10th Street is up for a liquor license tonight at the CB3/SLA extravaganza...



...and one John Slattery's name is on the notice.



Could it be "Mad Men"'s Roger Sterling? The actor/community activist known as John Slattery?



Or maybe the John Slattery at CBS 2...

Or not. Anyway, a better bet is the John Slattery who co-owns Slattery's Midtown Pub on 36th Street. Which means NYU Avenue is getting an Irish-style pub?

Dueling sandwich shops on Sixth Street?

Bahn Mi Zon, a Vietnamese sandwich shop on Sixth Street near Avenue A, opened last month.



Meanwhile, as we mentioned yesterday, a new Cuban eatery is opening on Avenue A and Sixth Street. And it looks as if the place — Cienfuegos — will use the storefront behind the restaurant as well...



EV Grieve reader Creature has a good idea of what that space will be used for...as he said yesterday in the comments:

If I'm right that back end will be the sandwich shop. I live upstairs and it will be interesting to watch the Cuban sandwich battle the Vietnamese sandwich on either side of my front door.

Well, at least these places don't/won't have mascots...

Another UFO sighting in downtown Manhattan

So, you remember that fireball over the East Village that several people reported seeing this past July?

Yeah, totes a UFO. Anyway, now a credible source — UFOstalker.com — brings word of another UFO sighting downtown, this one on Tuesday.

According to the witness:

This happened during the evening, I do not remember the time. My windows face lower Manhattan, just to give you a point of reference as to where the object was. I was sitting at my desk and decided to look out the window. The moment I did an unusually bright 'star' caught my eye. It was too low and to big to be a star, as I realized. I grabbed my camera and recorded a video. It was not moving, it stayed in that one spot, glowing very brightly. The moment I strayed from the object and filmed the whole sky, the object disappeared. It was gone by the time I moved back to the spot. In the video, you can actually see it disappearing as I move the frame away from it. The object did not reappear after that, and I searched the sky for its light after the video ended. But there was nothing. Several other people saw and even recorded this same object disappearing.

And there's some grainy footage at the site above...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Fireball in the sky above the East Village

Rumors!: Will PJ Hanley's be opening a pizza shop on First Avenue?

Following up on the scoop from yesterday, intrepid EV Grieve reader dmbream has heard that the PJ Hanley's folks will be opening a pizza shop at 122 First Ave. Makes sense, given that the Carroll Gardens location added a coal-burning pizza oven last year.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Carroll Gardens institution PJ Hanley's opening an East Village outpost on First Avenue

Another East Third Street building on the block

You know, we were recently speculating about what 10-room, $15-million home was for sale on East Third Street.

When we were over at the Massey Knakal site, we did spot this.



Not our building, but 179 E. Third St. -- between Avenue A and Avenue B -- is going for $13.6 million.

Previously.

Continuing to speculate about what 10-room, $15-million home is for sale on East Third Street

Yesterday, we started speculating about what 10-bedroom house on East Third Street might be for sale for nearly $16 million. Mostly because we're curious about what nearly $16 million gets you these days in the neighborhood. Plus, well, there's more to it than that. According to the frustratingly detail-free listing, the deal includes the adjoining building.



Many of us immediately thought of the Economakis dream mansion at 47 E. Third St. The square footage is nearly identical, for one thing. And there has long been speculation that, after successfully evicting the building's tenants, the owners would flip the property immediately to make big money. The Economakis family, for their part, have insisted they'll live there — maybe forever, as they told Scoopy.

Anyway, EV Grieve reader Marjorie pointed out that "the Trulia listing says it's in zip code 10009. That means this mystery place is east of first avenue; the Economakis place is between 1st and 2nd aves — zip code 10003."

However, Chris Flash at The Shadow has been closely following the story. He wrote, "We've been keeping tabs on the real estate marketeers on the LES for decades now (they still send us their 'set-up sheets') and know from experience that they often get little details like zip codes and other info wrong." He states, "We're pretty sure that the Ardor listing is for the Economakis mansion at 47 East Third that they successfully vacated as of August 31."

Meanwhile, EV Grieve reader WB figured these fine homes just east of Third Street were likely candidates...



Good guess, but the listing is with Ardor, and the apartments here are exclusively with CitiHabitats.

Which reminds me I had these photos from the summer...



I liked the sign: "Too many upgrades to mention."



In an e-mail, an EV Grieve reader said that he/she took another look at the Ardor listing, and noticed that you could "map" the address. So they did.



As the readers says, if the map is to be believed, the property lies between Avenue C and Avenue D on the north side of the street...which led them to this possibility...



And the building on the left only has one buzzer, according to the reader, who knows this for some reason...

[Ominously] To be continued....

Rumormongering: Copper Building film festival

A fairly credible source told me that some EV thrillseekers have been showing films on the white sheets that covered parts of the under-construction Copper Building on 13th Street and Avenue B. Not sure on all the logistics about how this happened exactly, but when pressed, I was assured that this happened several times over the summer. Would have liked to have known then, so I could have joined them...




Meanwhile. Progress! Those sheets are coming down at the Copper.



Previously.

Remember when I suggested that Bounce Deuce wasn't really closed for good, that it would reopen in the fall?

I could be wrong. I caught a glimpse inside. It's a mess. Though the TVs are still in place.




Previously on EV Grieve:
Bounce Deuce to return?

Giant restaurant/nightclub coming to East 14th Street?

(Oh, right -- we're not supposed to call them nightclubs. New gastrodive?) Anyway. "Retail space for rent" signs are up at 235 E. 14th St. between Third Avenue and Second Avenue.





Renowned nightlife broker ("Mr. Nightclub," according to an Observer article) Alex Picken's agency is repping the landlord.

Here are a few excerpts from that article, which was published in April 2008:

Perhaps no one has pounded the velvet-rope-lined pavement as much, in fact, as Mr. Picken, whose company, Picken Real Estate and Nightlife Brokerage, claims to have “successfully brokered more nightclubs in Manhattan than every other real estate agency combined.”

And!

Even though approaching middle age himself, Mr. Picken has little sympathy for the noise-rattled neighborhood groups that are increasingly thwarting his clients’ attempts to get and retain their liquor licenses citywide.

“Even in Nolita, which is really hot now, their community board is just kind of nuts,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get a license.

“I understand that there are certain people that have low-level apartments that hear noise at night and that’s not fun, but, you know, the noise you get from the garbage trucks is probably worse,” he later added. “I just encourage them to get double-paned windows.”

Bounce Deuce to return?

Hold on. Bounce Deuce at Second Avenue and Sixth Street is closed.... but perhaps not dead. And there's a new work permit on the door. Something about expanding a fire exit.




And there's new paper on the windows....



...and all the furniture is still inside. It just doesn't look (yet?) like a joint that's closing. Except the part about not being open. And those 71 violation points.



When the place shuttered, the signs did just say "Have a great summer!" Back in time for football season?

P.S.
However, no signs of the beer tubes.

Report: Fireball in the sky above the East Village

From an EV Grieve reader last night:

Two people just saw a fireball in the sky moving from west to east above the EV. Was sighted from the rooftop on 3rd street and ave B. Both people said it looked like a burning ball of fire, but did not go out as expected as it climbed from 50' to several hundred in seconds.
Thought it was a Chinese lantern at first, but if that was the case it should have blown out. Couldn't be a flare because it was a flame and not dropping sparks.

Anyone see this? Do you have any ideas or explanation as to what this may have been? (And no Lady GaGa jokes, please.)

In front of Lucy's: A sight that gave me the yikes

Given the possible state of our local dive bars today, you have to wonder about great places in high-rent districts such as Lucy's on Avenue A.

So when I saw the dumpster there in front of Lucy's yesterday afternoon...I couldn't help but think the worst. And I'm not alone in this thinking...and she has floated retirement rumors in the past.

Not to worry, though! I took a stroll by the place after its usual 6 p.m. opening time yesterday...Lucy's is still alive and well, the neon bar signs out front as inviting as ever...