Post intern now very unpopular among underage drinkers

The Post sent a 20-year-old intern into various bars and bodegas, mostly in the East Village and Lower East Side, and discovered that -- OMG! -- many places served him a drink... even though his New Jersey license showed that he is underage.

Per the story:

He got served at an astonishing 17 of 30 establishments -- 57 percent -- despite the stores and gin joints facing fines up to $10,000 and the loss of their state liquor licenses.

Many of the spots, selected randomly from among 132 places with underage State Liquor Authority violations from May 1, 2009 to May 1, 2010, never bothered to ask the college sophomore for his ID -- a valid New Jersey driver's license showing his birthday, Aug. 29, 1989.

And!

At Kate's Joint, at 58 Ave. B, a female bartender asked for his ID, looked at the license briefly and poured the intern a Blue Moon draft, waving at the owner herself, Kate, as she sat at the bar, which had two signs cautioning that drinking was not legal for those under 21.

Her only question: "Would you like some orange wedges with that?"

A male bartender at Cosmic Cantina, at 99 Third Avenue, looked over the license before selling the intern a bottle of Dos Equis for $5. He then said, "This is for you," and poured a free shot of tequila. When the intern walked out, the bartender encouraged him to take the open but untouched beer with him.

A few things about this story:

--Why would anyone order Blue Moon? It tastes like moldy water.
--Did he accept the orange slices?
--I like the bar at Kate's.
--Cosmic Cantina's last day is today... they didn't renew their lease.
--Did he drink any of the beers? What a waste of a lot of drinks!
--This sounds like any other weekend around here.
--Been more interesting to do this story while NYU is in session...when bartenders are seemingly more vigilant about the kids looking for some drinks...

[Photo by Angel Chevrestt for the Post]

Summer Art Spectacular today at the Mars Bar

But it's always spectacular here....

In case you didn't notice, Cafe Hanover is now open on St. Mark's Place

After a nearly seven-month delay, Cafe Hanover opened this weekend in the karaoke empire at the site of the former Mondo Kim's 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

Notes that will likely mean something to somebody

Spotted on the Bowery today.

Avenue A, 9:27 p.m., June 5

Demer and Col on Second Avenue

Jim and Karla Murray have some great shots of Demer and Col creating a mural on the plywood outside Ninth Ward, the new bar opening on Second Avenue in the old Thai on Two place... From last night...



See all their photos here.

Lilly Coogan's RIP?

Walked by Lilly Coogan's on First Avenue near Sixth Street last night several times... and, when I took this photo around 9:30, the gates were still down... And I called the bar to discover their number was not in service... One of the bars around here that I've never stepped foot in... maybe because it replaced one of my favorites, the Homestead, one of the great dives in the neighborhood. I reminisced about this in a comment on Eater... They had the crummy pool table that was about a foot from the north wall. I recall they had shorter sticks as a remedy.

A plaque for Shepard Fairey, and something else to tag

A new plaque went up to commemorate Shepard Fairey's mural on Houston and the Bowery... Only about six weeks after the mural went up... (And when will the plaque be defaced?)

Flashback to April 20!



For further reading:
Houston Wall (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
Graffiti Wall Primed for Shepard Fairey (BoweryBoogie)

MARTE kicks off today

Over at PS 63 on East Third Street between Avenue A and First Avenue...

Per the MARTE website:

MARTE (Manhattan Artisan Retail & Trade Emporium)—is a weekly upscale flea market taking place at school locations throughout Manhattan. The flea is a collaboration between each school’s Parents Association and Manhattan Media, the leading publisher of community newspapers and Manhattan lifestyle magazines. Each market is free to the public and features new and antique jewelry and furniture, local artists, food vendors, and entertainment. Proceeds from the events directly impact the schools and Parents Association.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday this summer. (It's also open tomorrow for the kick-off weekend.)

"Is this the new East Village?"

The Daily News checks in with an update on Village Green, the eco-friendly condo on 11th Street and its developer, Michael Namer.

What we learned from the article:

[A]ll but two of 36 units are sold in the building that has a green roof, uses Daikin HVAC systems instead of a boiler, has a wellness center, recaptures rainwater, and counts several buyers as bona fide supermodels.

Is this the new East Village? Maybe, maybe not, but Namer and company proved that good product marketed to the right audience will find buyers, even with prices averaging $1.1 million.

And a great headline for Joe Coscarelli's post on this at Runnin' Scared:

The East Village is Finally Safe For Yuppies, Parties and the Environment

(One item I didn't note on the Daily News piece: "[Namer] throws huge parties. One is so big they have to almost close the street.")



Previously.

Truthful liar

Playing at CBGB From Ulli Lommel's 1980 movie "Blank Generation." For the Vans advertising team.

Welcome back!

One of our old friends has returned!

The Macho Man Randy Savage said...
Ooohhhh yeahhhhh. Hot time, summer in the city. Macho Man is back and he's keeping it gritty. YEAH! Ms. Grieve! I had no idea. I don't know what's going on at this Simone place, but if anyone charges the Macho Man for food he doesn't eat, I'm going to CHARGE THEIR FACE. Yeah.

Do not be alarmed: Fab 208 space for rent

Prepare yourself for walking by Fab 208 on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue... (Maybe East Village vintage stores are doomed?)



As Racked noted last week, the store, which has been on the block for 18 years, is moving to the former (and smaller) Howdy Do space across the street...(We imagine they'll fare much better than the post-Howdy Do tenant .)

Anyway, you guessed it: Rent hike. Per Racked: "So don't be spooked if you see a 'for rent' sign in the window — they are moving, but they're not going far." And this is the first that I noticed the sign...

Meanwhile, we're curious what new business will come calling here at Fab 208...

New Simone GM offers an apology

Back on April 9, we relayed a story from a reader about an unpleasant experience at Simone on First Avenue at St. Mark's Place.... Basically, the reader and a friend were ready to enjoy a quiet meal early one weekday night ... the music got louder... staff wouldn't turn down the music... when the diners cancelled their order, a Simone staffer called the cops... and the reader was charged twice on the credit card for a meal he or she never received...

So!

Yesterday, I received the following not from Simone:

Hi Ms Grieve,
I'm getting in touch with you in regards to the awful experience you had at Simone Martini Bar & Cafe. I am the new General Manager there and, upon taking the position, the owner and I took the time to check Simone's reviews. We had no knowledge whatsoever of this incident before we read about it and we where shocked and appalled. The situation was handled extremely poorly and we would love to redeem ourselves. We understand that you probably have no desire to ever step in Simone again but we would really like to make the effort to make things up to you in some way.

I appreciate the note (though, as I responded to the GM, this incident didn't happen to me) ... and this is all in keeping with bars/restaurants trying much harder to be better neighbors... (Read more on that theory here.)

Anyway, I passed this note along to the reader, who is still dealing with the credit card investigation... the reader also appreciated hearing from the GM... then later sent a pointed response discussing customer service... and that bars/restaurants "are not a place for staff to hang out and play the music of their choice."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Cops called after a sandwich order is cancelled

[Image via New York]