RIP M15 Select bus flashing blue lights

EVG regular Spike notes the following... due to complaints, the MTA has stopped using the blue flashing lights to signify an M15 Select bus on First and Second Avenues. (As The New York Times noted Friday night, it's an MTA-wide move.)

Intel from Spike yesterday:

"The driver today told me there were complaints because people thought it was an emergency vehicle."

Per the Post:

“Having these blue flashing lights unnecessarily distracted drivers and desensitized the public for what is reserved in law for emergency vehicles only,” said City Councilman Vincent Ignizio.

MTA officials will choose a new light color for the 140 SBS buses, which typically feature off-board payment and designated lanes.

In closing, the only poem that Spike ever wrote was in honor of the M15 blue light special...

Flashing blue.
I want to ride you.

Feel free to share your favorite M15 blue flashing lights memories in the comments...

Rumors: The owners of The Immigrant hope to open new cafe on East Ninth Street

A tipster tells us that the East Village residents behind The Immigrant, the small wine bar at 341 E. Ninth St., will also rent the space next door ... which was most recently the clothing boutique Change of Season.

We understand that the concept will be similar to the low-key atmosphere of the Immigrant, though with more of an emphasis on beer rather than wine. Look for this application to appear on the next CB3/SLA docket.

Although we don't have a lot of direct experience with The Immigrant, we're told that they pick up as much of their supplies as possible from businesses such as Russo's that are within a few blocks of here...

[Updated] Rumors: Is the Mermaid Inn expanding next door? (no)

The folks at the Mermaid Inn tweeted this late last week...

Pretty exciting news to share about the East Village with you soon.... but for now, we'll leave you with this image ow.ly/i/1o0yn

— The Mermaid Inn, NYC (@themermaidnyc) January 17, 2013

After we posted this yesterday, several tipsters told us that the restaurant is expanding next door... where there's now paper covering the windows of Candela Candela, the Cuban-Italian restaurant that opened in 2007 ... there isn't any kind of "closed for renovations" note at Candela, which one reader thought was still open as of Sunday.

Anyway, this is all only speculation at this point... Among other things, we haven't heard anything official about a Candela closing. (We called last evening, and received a "voice mailbox full message.")

Updated 1:55 p.m.
The folks at the Mermaid Inn wrote in to say that they are NOT taking the Candela space...

Look, activity at 100 Avenue A

Several residents were startled by this sight yesterday at 100 Avenue A... A truck! Traffic cones!

[Bobby Williams]

[BW]

[Bill the libertarian anarchist]

Because nothing has basically happened since East Village Farms closed in February 2012. The city disapproved the first round of plans to renovate the space, including adding a "dwelling unit" and roof garden on the upper floors.

The sidewalk outside the storefront has mostly been used to accommodate some people in need of a place to sleep this past year.

[Last Tuesday, via Bobby Williams]

Anyway, we're hearing some funny rumors about all this... Maybe you have too?

Incoming Juice Press now hiring on East 10th Street

As we first reported last August, Juice Press is opening another East Village location on 10th Street just east of Second Avenue...

The store is now hiring, as you can see from the signs out front...

The Juice Press opened its first location on East First Street in April 2010... the raw juice/raw food retail spot has expanded to include several locations, including on East 10th Street near Avenue A.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Juice Press opening another East Village location

Beaming in the steel for the future luxury apartment building at 154 Second Ave.

We haven't noticed a whole lot of activity lately over at 154 Second Ave., the former home of the Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel.

Until Sunday.

Per EVG reader MP, who took the above photo: "Seems to be picking up the pace. Perhaps it took a while to exorcize all the ghosts from the former funeral home."

Indeed.

And how the new building looked yesterday...

The former 3-story building has essentially been removed to make way for "luxury rental apartments" ... and retail space on the ground floor.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former funeral home looks to double in size with help from 'the controversial penthouse king of the East Village'

Redeveloped funeral home looking for a few live retail tenants

The walls come tumbling down at 154 Second Avenue

Another East Village record store closes

EVG reader Corina notes that Tropicalia in Furs, the speciality record store on East Fifth Street near Second Avenue, has closed... The storefront is now for rent. No food, per the sign.

Among other genres, the store carried rare records of Brazilian music from the 1960s and 1970s. This is the latest small-shop closure on this block... along with Gimme Gimme Records ... and Ballaro Bakery.

A tree fire on East 10th Street

Yesterday afternoon, the FDNY responded to a report of a small fire that started at the base of this tree on East 10th Street east of Avenue C...

It wasn't much of a blaze, but there were concerns the tree might be lost... here's how it looks today...

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Mermaid Inn has 'pretty exciting news to share'

Caught this tweet from the other day...

Pretty exciting news to share about the East Village with you soon.... but for now, we'll leave you with this image ow.ly/i/1o0yn

— The Mermaid Inn, NYC (@themermaidnyc) January 17, 2013

Any ideas about the announcement from this restaurant on Second Avenue between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street...?

The flags of East Seventh Street

As I first reported, today marks the 2013 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. ... Uh. Anyway, Dave on 7th notes the patriotic spirit on East Seventh Street... even if one of the flags is being held by a plastic snowman.

[Flashback on Seventh Street in December, via Bobby Williams]

Feels like snow

And birds. On Avenue A this morning.

As for snow. Per our sources at The Weather Channel:

Mostly cloudy. Snow showers around this afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%.

Noted

Speaking of the incoming 7-Eleven on Avenue A and East 11th Street... spotted on the plywood...

El Diablito Taqueria opening this spring on East Third Street

Signs are up for a new taqueria on 60 E. Third St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...

There is a Facebook page for the new eatery, though it doesn't have any further information just yet...

Previously, this was home to the wholly unique Hospital Productions, the specialty record store that closed late in 2011. ... not to mention reggae specialists Jammyland...

The barber of Tompkins Square Park

Photo today by Bobby Williams. Previously.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man on East 12th Street

No fucking idea what's happening here. But I love the photo. East 12th Street near First Avenue. Photo by Shawn Chittle.

Sunday sales on Avenue A

Sure, the Mary Help of Christians flea market may have moved over to the Immaculate Conception Church on East 14th Street at First Avenue on Saturdays... but the sales returned today to Avenue A...

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Noted

A reader shares this on Suffolk Street today...

"I love this. SUV and car pull up seperately. Park on 'no parking' side of street. Both drivers reach down and put handicap placards in windshield. Both car empties of healthy mobile people and they all walk off ..."

Week in Grieview

7-Eleven is 'Pringle-lizing the East Village' (Thursday)

Christmas tree fire on East Third Street (Tuesday)

A discussion on the Annual No Pants Subway ride (Wednesday)

Morons ride the top of a party bus on First Avenue (Tuesday)

Opening report for Wafels & Dinges on Avenue B (Thursday)

That "great-looking" 51 Astor Place (Monday)

A 2 Bros. for First Avenue (Tuesday)

Kmart is prepped for St. Patrick's Day (Thursday)

Fire at Whole Foods Bowery (Sunday)

Don't shoot dice here (Tuesday)

Charlie Sheen at McSorley's (Tuesday)

Brooklyn is too expensive (Thursday)

Here comes Epic City Pub (Thursday)

Whatever happened to this really ugly hotel plans for the Bowery? (Tuesday)

Social Tees has a new home (Monday)

Smile Morrissey! (Monday)

Milo Printing Shop will become a gelato cafe (Friday)

The East Village is losing yet another bakery

On Friday, we reported that the 87-year-old 9th Street Bakery will be closing... in the ensuing comments (53 as of now), a reader mentioned that the nearly four-month-old Ballaro Bakery is also closing on East Fifth Street...

Sure enough. Signs are up.

They close for good tomorrow here between Second Avenue and First Avenue.

And they just opened in September, as noted here. The no-nonsense bakery, which made its bread on the premises, replaced the equally short-lived Porchetta.Hog.

And Ballaro Bakery is from the same folks behind the Ballarò Caffé Prosciutteria around the corner on Second Avenue.

Report: New York City is '7-Eleven's No. 1 priority'

[On Broadway near East 12th Street, via CP]

In case you missed it... there was a Marketplace Morning Report on Friday about 7-Eleven's plans to destroy humanity expand in Manhattan...

A few highlights from the report:

Lots of places sold those commodities and 7-Eleven couldn’t compete. The company closed its few Manhattan stores in the early 80s. But now, it wants to grow, and fast, and New York is 7-Eleven's number one priority.

“Where are we not where we could be the fastest and have the most number of stores?” Barnes says.

Within five years, 7-Eleven could be nearly as ubiquitous in Manhattan as Starbucks. The company plans to open at least 30 new stores a year.

And!

That’s bad news for shop owners like Kyung Chan Yu.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why they do that to me?” he says as he stands in the corner deli in Chelsea he’s owned for years.

After 7-Eleven opened next door recently, his sales are down 25 percent.

Here's the full report:



Thanks to EVG regular Andrew Adam Newman on Ave C for the link.

Previously on EV Grieve:
7-Eleven continues to feast on the East Village; next up, St. Mark's Place

[Updated] More from the anti-7-Eleven front on Avenue A and East 11th Street