From McDonald's to MoMa

Last summer, workers started painting over the McDonald's ad on First Avenue just past Second Street...though nothing else ever replaced the ad...



This weekend, a crew started on the space for MoMa...





...for a new ad for a Marina Abramović exhibit starting this weekend...

Cheep's is cheap, but what else?

As we noted Friday afternoon (thanks to a photo from a reader), signs went up Cheep's, which took over the former Snacklicious Cinderella at Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place... By Friday evening, the place was open for business... With an open-air entryway, it seems pretty inviting...




But how is the food? EV Grieve reader Alessandra provided these thoughts Friday night:

Ate there this evening they had only been open for about 5 hrs and they were still trying to get it together. Other than that the prices were great but the Shawarma was at best average. I would probably wait another couple of weeks to venture back and give them a second try and maybe the vertical roaster will be better seasoned and all will be better!

Another First Street shop shutters

Mirari, a costum-made jewelery shop at 70 E. First St. near First Avenue is going out of business...



...joining Alpana Bawa next door in closing...

Chabela's closes on Avenue B

Last spring, Chabela's opened at 40 Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street... Now it appears to be closed. Yesterday, workers were removing fixtures from the Dominican eatery...



Before Chabela's, the address was home to Russo's, a pizzaria. What next?

Bank branch grows plywood

The new HSBC branch at Ninth Street and Second Avenue is taking shape...now with plywood.



Jeez, almost makes us miss Max Brenner...

[Top photo via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY]

Kids in Action in Tompkins Square Park

The following photos displayed here in Tompkins Square Park today were taken during March-May 2009 by children who live in Chunchi, the Andean town in Ecuador...








Learn more about the project here.

Ninth Street, 5:38 p.m., March 7

I'll be back again some day

Despite the warmish temperatures, a little bit of the Tompkins Square Park Igloo remains today...

Danny Meyer's future in politics

At the Post, Jennifer Gould Keil conducts a Q-and-A with restaurateur Danny Meyer... Blah, blah, blah... and he doesn't really answer this question ... that I'd love to honestly hear him answer...

Q: What happened in Nolita? You were going to build a Shake Shack in a parking lot and backed off when some neighbors complained. Why?

A: One of the good things about the experience is that there will not be an unlimited number of Shake Shacks in New York and life is too short. That's the bottom line. We are going to open our first Shake Shack in Miami in late spring, before it gets too hot. And there will be others opening on the Upper East Side and in the theater district soon. There's also one in Central Park, at the Delacorte Theater.

So life is too short is what happened? Or maybe it had something to do with this resident...

Avenue A, 10:34 a.m., March 6

Ray's in the Times

At the Times, Jim Dwyer checks in on the situation at Ray's. He talked with Bob Arihood... He also spoke with Arianna Gil, who helped organize the Saturday night delivery service. (Speaking of which, it's Saturday. If you need something delivered... 718-473-9636)

The headline: Not Your Banks’ Bailouts: Stores Too Loved to Fail

Anyway, here's a passage:

One recent blustery night, Maria Musial stood behind the counter at Ray’s, where she has worked since arriving from Elk, Poland, in the early 1980s.

“When I came, he was nearly the only store on the block,” Ms. Musial said. “The squat people was here. Now it’s young customers, new people.”

A friend, Bozenna, chimed in.

“They don’t like egg creams,” Bozenna said.

Read the whole article here.

[Photo by Michael Sean Edwards.]

Hello Europe!

Sonic Youth 1983, as the YouTube title says...

Cheep's eats for Second Avenue

Thanks to the EV Grieve tipster for passing along this signage shot of Cheep's, which is going in at the former Snacklicious Cinderella, Second Avenue near St. Mark's Place...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Fairytale new beginning for Snacklicious Cinderella?

A little while ago on lower Broadway

And the Daily News has a story on this today. Courtesy of the Local 78.