Sign on Avenue A tells us not to do ... something

Any ideas what this sign is trying to tell us on Avenue A near St. Mark's Place?

Death and Company has a cold-hearted new doorman

On Sixth Street. And we should probably think of a name for him or her...

What the old Butcher Bay is fetching

A few weeks ago we reported that East Fifth Street's Butcher Bay was for lease... but there weren't any details on the Tower Brokerage site... now the eatery is listed... $170,000... with a $6,000 monthly rent.

Former Xunta space leased

Speaking of former bars/restaurants for lease... Xunta, the former Spanish tapas joint at 174 First Avenue near 11th Street closed last October...



According to the Tower Brokerage site, the space has been (rather quickly, wouldn't you say?) leased...



No word just yet on the new tenant...

Professor Thom's teary temporarily closed signage has a sponsor

Can't recall too many closure banners with a sponsor.



And the bar on Second Avenue near 14th Street is expected to reopen next Monday, Eater reported.

Reminders: Benefit for Mosaic Man tonight at Theatre 80

The Villager has all the details... Slum Goddess has more on it here... As a matter of fact, Eden and John's East River String Band are one of the groups playing a set...

Reminders tonight: Mardi Gras Benefit Celebration Ball for the Lower East Side Girls Club

More details here.

EV Grieve's weekend recap

Avenue A loses a tree

Why you've been humming Lou Reed songs during the Olympics.

MTV wants LES residents with serious roommate issues.

A TV pilot was shot in the Tompkins Square Park dog run

Fuck Feet First

What off-duty models do

Valentine's Day bacon and cheese recap

The Big Black Bus on Avenue A

TSP's ice age

Village Green's project runway

On Sunday, I thought there was a big Open House or something at Village Green, 11th Street's very first "eco-indulgent" condo. Seemed as if management busted out the velvet ropes to make potential condogoers feel as if they were entering a self-important hookah bar or something. Just needed a few bouncers with clipboards and headsets...



Then yesterday, there were huge lines to get in! Is there really a demand to get those remaining units?





Seriously. What? I made my way up front... and... It's Fashion Week! Uh, at least Eco Fashion Week!...



Guess it makes sense to hold this show here, in a building billed as environmentally friendly with LEED-Gold certification ...

There was a guy with a clipboard and headset... and only letting in people on some list. I'm never on any lists. So, uh, I kind of snuck in...

Anyway, roughly where the gym will be on the ground floor to the west of the lobby ...



A runway was set up for designer Joann Berman...and away it went, with eco-friendly designs made with organic materials and recyclables and what not...










That's Berman in the sunglasses below after the show...



In the end, though, I was not as successful sneaking up to see the $2 million penthouse...

Chico's tribute to Mom on Avenue B and Houston

Yesterday morning, Chico and friends started their new mural on the liquor store on Avenue B at Houston...



They're also putting up new local ads on Houston...



Later yesterday, Chico had wrapped up his work...



This is a tribute to the owner of the great liquor store here. She passed away earlier this year.



No word yet on the fate of the store. Her nephew is weighing the options, I'm told. Scoopy had an item on this store. As he reported: "The nephew is currently trying to locate the paperwork for the old tenement, the upper floors of which have sat empty for some 20 years. 'Maybe there's some money in the building, a secret hideaway — could be, I didn't say there is,' Chico quipped. As for 'Mom,' he said, 'She used to give everybody credit. She was a hard-working woman. She would lock the gates. She was open till midnight.'"

Long dormant Dance Tracks soon to be home to a vintage clothing store

Looks as if the former Dance Tracks, which closed in November 2007, finally has a new tenant here on Third Street near First Avenue.



Here's what a source tells us:

-- This will become a vintage clothing store that buys and sells, kind of like Buffalo Exchange.

-- That the woman who owns the store also has other locations, kind of like Buffalo Exchange.

The source thought this could be part of a vintage store chain.

In any event, a worker was renovating the space the other night... and there are clothing racks brought in...





Last we looked, the rent here was $9,500 a month... and at one point, as East Village Podcasts pointed out, a wine store was opening here.

[Top photo via EVP]

Valentine's Day tragedies: When you mix up Gramercy Cafe and the Gramercy Tavern

We heard about this third-hand... So we can't verify the authenticity of it. But! A man from out of town was here this past weekend to be with his girlfriend. She is new to the city, and was interested in trying one of Danny Meyer's highly regarded eateries, such as the Union Square Cafe or Gramercy Tavern.

Anyway, some details were apparently lost in translation, and the couple arrived here at the Gramercy Cafe on 17th Street and Third Avenue for an early Valentine's Day weekend dinner on Saturday...




Not all was lost. After realizing their error, they made their over to the Gramercy Tavern on 20th Street near Park Avenue South... they eventually got seats at the bar...

East Village Tagging Committee finally welcomes 52E4 and the neighborhood's first gated driveway

To be honest, there's bit of a backlog. At the gated driveway at the 15 stories of condo on the Bowery near Fourth Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Welcome to the neighborhood!: First tag spotted on the new Cooper Union Building

Bowery/Extra Place gets a little more luxurious... more appealing for anyone with a shoe fetish

Here in the Avalon Bowery Place complex on First Street and Extra Place, a Tashkent by cheyenne showroom has opened...

Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage

Previously.

Predators lurk outside Michael Huynh's new eatery on St. Mark's Place

Michael Huynh's D.O.B. opens soon on St. Mark's Place at the site of the former Australian Homemade... They'll be serving French Vietnamese cuisine...

And look at those new scorpions adorning the wall...





A few doors down, I see a theme emerging...



Hell, of course.

On Avenue B, Zaitzeff is reaching out to neighbors about its new liquor license

Not sure what else to say about this flier from the burger joint other than what's on the sign..



...and that it seems like a thoughtful thing to do. For instance, I can think of a few bar managers/owners who promised to meet with concerned neighbors after opening... Flashing back now to August...

One of the organizers said that Superdive has agreed to a meeting with neighbors, and that CB3 and 9th Precinct officials may attend as well. No date was mentioned.

Lou Reed's Olympic Moment

If you're watching any of the Winter Olympics, then you've likely seen this AT&T ad featuring Gretchen Bleiler, 2006 Olympic Silver Medalist in Snowboarding...

And you know the song by Lou Reed...



And it's not the first time a VU/Lou Reed song has been used in an ad.

When models are off duty, they hang around here just like us!

The Post has a fashion spread titled "Model Off Duty" today... "When these beauties are off the clock, their looks still rock (and how!)" .... Apparently when they're off-duty, they're hanging around here... locations include Tompkins Square Park, Max Fish and Schiller's...





In the paper, each photo (shot by Tamara Beckwith), include a caption such as "You wish you could look this good sitting on a pool table." (The Max Fish shot.) My caption would be: "Cher called, she wants her outfit back."

Update: Melanie has a shot of the photo shoot at TSP back in January...and a photo of the model.