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?

The Ludlow sales reach new heights

And they still haven't updated their Web site to include the new hotel/condo/whatever that's currently stalled next door.



Yeah, guys -- that thing.


[Image via Curbed]

A Stop Work Order for the P.J. Hanley's pizza parlor on First Avenue

On Friday, a Stop Work Order was issued on the P.J. Hanley's pizza parlor opening on First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place....



Of course, this is 122 First Avenue, and the order lists 122 Second Avenue...



And here's with the DOB has down for the complaint:

CLR IS REPORTING THAT THE ABOVE ADDRESS COMMERCIAL SPACE ONTHE GOUNDFLOOR/ CLR STS THAT THE POSTED PERMIT HAS EXPIRED ON DEC 2 /WORKER GOES THOUGHT BASEMENT TO DO WORK/ CLR NO PERMITS & ILLEGAL CONST

Sure enough, there are no current work permits issued for this space.

By the way, Fork in the Road confirmed Hanley's arrival...

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

A Building lobby still rehabbing

Not much progress to report in the second week here on 13th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue. Though those buckets have been moved.

And with the lobby out of commission, does this mean that the A Buildingers won't have a Christmas tree in the lobby to adorn with empty beer cans and bras?

Previously on EV Grieve:
A Building residents forced to use the service entrance

"Partying Like You Never Graduated in New York, New York"

Superdive is decked out for the holidays...



... and there's a new review of the place on something called trazzler.com:

Partying Like You Never Graduated in New York, New York
There was this place in college. You remember it. A house devoted to the pursuits of alcohol-fueled debauchery, where the couch was always damp, where the basement-level parties were like classes in beer-bong technique. A shame the city condemned it. Your beer pong game never recovered. Enter Superdive, the next generation party house, where the kegs come tableside. That’s right: keg service—from a list of 750 beers (the Keg Master will need advance notice for more eclectic choices). The bar looks like the offspring of a ski lodge and a fraternity house. Claim a booth with your party people, order some suds, grab a plastic cup, and release your inner-undergrad. Once you’ve plugged your iPod into Superdive’s sound system, or jumped behind the bar to mix your own Mind Erasers, you’ll understand what could happen here: anything. Keg-stands are “not encouraged.” Which the same as saying they aren’t discouraged.

Village Veterinarian coming to 11th Street

We now know at least one of the tenants in the new storefronts on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...




Figured we were due for the 7th or 8th vintage/consignment shop along here... (not that there's anything wrong with vintage/consignments shops...)

U2/2U Karaoke's sidewalk show

On St. Mark's Place.

Previously on EV Grieve:
2U (or U2) Karaoke is now open on St. Mark's Place; Hanover Cafe coming soon

18th annual Tompkins Square Park holiday tree lighting is today

The lights have been placed on the tree....




And from 4-5 p.m. today...(via Greenwala)

The 18th annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Tompkins Square takes place Sunday, December 13 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park, near the southeast corner of the central lawn.

Over 30 caring people volunteer their efforts to make each year's Tree Lighting our biggest and happiest celebration yet. The musicians of the Mandel & Lydon Trio, sponsored by Third Street Music School Settlement, join carolers from Theater for the New City, donating their time and talent to help lead everyone in songs of the season.

A joyful crowd of neighborhood residents joins us as our audience, growing in size each year. The Tree Lighting has become a bright East Village tradition, touching more and more people every season.

Flashback to last year's tree lighting...

On this date in 1989 in Tompkins Square Park

Came across this photo at Corbis by Les Stone. Titled, "Homeless Man Burning Cardboard for Warmth" dated Dec. 13, 1989.

Lots of fire trucks but, thankfully, no fires

Seemed as if there were a lot of fire trucks responding to calls this weekend, such as here on 10th Street and Avenue B last night.




However, as far as I know, there were never any fires. Here on 10th and B, the firefighters left nearly as quickly as they arrived...

Lessons in frugality from the Times: And just never you mind about the women in bikinis sipping Veuve Clicquot in South Beach

Nice piece in the Times titled "A Lesson in Frugality, From the Tenements." And it starts at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

Writer Damon Darlin asks, "Can middle-class American consumers save like immigrants of more than a century ago? Can they change their mind-sets and lifestyles in order to accumulate capital and work down debt?"

Excellent discussion point, though I got sidetracked with the promo ad next to the article for a South Beach feature in the Times.

A walk along Second Avenue

Second Annual Rock and Roll Clothing sale at Manitoba's

Manitoba's @ 99 Avenue B between Seventh Street and Sixth Street.

SANTA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A little brisk, but a fine morning nonetheless to run some errands. It's rather peaceful out and...



WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

SANTA! SANTA! I followed a group of Santas up First Avenue who kept yelling at people a block ahead of them -- at 9:30 a.m. ... And someone asked my where the North Pole was -- two different times along Third Avenue. Can't wait till they all start drinking...

The Santas are congregating now at Lunasa.

Noted

Five starting points for Santacon this year. Around here, people are meeting at Lunasa on First Avenue at 10 a.m. And per the Santacon Web site:

It is NOT a bar crawl for assholes wearing a Santa hat!

And did some of the participants ever find any little people to tag along...?

Poems that we found on 13th Street

Warm regards

Hey, the Rattlers.

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...

Drinking near the Port Authority: All is well at Port 41 and the Holland, but here comes Heartland Brewery

You may have seen the signs (warnings?) that Heartland Brewery is opening an outpost at Port Authority. No need for anymore bland around here.



Anyway, noticed that signage on my way over to Port 41, on 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, the other afternoon.




(Photo of the bartenders via Midtown Lunch)

Things here remain the same... No, wait. Those sticky red booths have been replaced by new tables and chairs...Or maybe I just didn't notice last time...



In any event, always a jumpy little crowd during the day, from glum commuters to the blitzed office types who never returned from lunch to the construction workers taking advantage of the bucket-of-beer-special -- by themselves. Always the chance for a black eye, of course. Like that one guy. Like maybe don't engage that guy who keeps yelling "YOU ARE THE SHIT" in a conversation. You know, no matter what you say, the response is "YOU ARE THE SHIT."

Oh, and remember to call Prince -- because, as the sign in the men's room reads, this is real...



The folks behind Port 41 also own Dave's, on Ninth Avenue almost at 42nd Street... I'll save the discussion about grand ol' Dave's for another day...



Down the avenue, things also remain the same at the Holland... I worried that the overhaul that shuttered the place for three agonizingly long months (November 2008-February 2009) would strip the place of its character...Not the case...



It took a few months, but the Holland finally has that lived-in feel to it again...It helps that the same crowd has seemingly returned ... it's still the kind of place in which you can see your future.

At 508 Ninth Ave., just past 39th Street, the Door, a rather sketchy hookah joint, has closed.... (and what was this before?)



Maybe I never went here. I hope not.

The toilets at the Cooper Square Hotel are really powerful

I recently stopped by the Cooper Square Hotel to use the restroom. And check the place out: Had never been inside. Not much to see in this video inside one of the co-ed bathrooms...But the audio... (with a little Interpol on the hotel soundsystem...)