Half reveal at 84 Third Ave.

The construction netting is off the East 12th Street side of the new residential complex at 84 Third Ave.



And the rendering for a comparison…

Former Max space now for rent on Avenue B

Max, the reliable Italian restaurant on Avenue B near East Fourth Street, served its last meal here this past New Year's Eve after 12 years. Not much activity here these past 11 months … until "for rent" signs finally arrived late last week.



The listing doesn't appear to be online just yet at Jalca & Associates. The Max outpost in Tribeca remains open.

Casa Gusto closes on Avenue A

We recently noticed the Casa Gusto, the relatively new gelato shop at 199 Avenue A near East 12th Street, was closed. We thought maybe it was a seasonal thing. Not so. The space is for rent. Casa Gusto didn't seem to last too long. They just opened at the beginning of the year, taking the storefront of the former Milo Printing.

Today's hawks

There's some concern that this hawk has a broken or cracked beak… hard to say...





Top 3 photos by Bobby Williams

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And Goggla shared these with us… "This hawk was clearing the Avenue A playground of rats and mice today as the children played in the background. I lost track of how many it caught, but it downed a mouse in one gulp."

Week in Grieview

[At the Blue & Gold]

A fundraiser and a move for St. Mark's Bookshop (Friday)

Buy a CBGB T-shirt to help the family of Cesar, who was killed riding home from work at Stromboli Pizza (Monday)

Twitter coming to 51 Astor Place? (Tuesday)

Rocket watch over the East Village! (Wednesday)

Chico's 9/11 tribute mural reappears on Avenue A (Tuesday)

Flashback: The Rolling Stones on St. Mark's Place (Thursday)

Black Ant coming to Second Avenue (Friday)

Vella Market space for rent (Monday)

Police arrest Mellow Yellow for being too loud on his bike (Tuesday)

A welcome sign for Mee Noodle Shop (Monday)

About Dirt Candy's move to Allen Street (Tuesday)

More renovations for Pride and Joy (Tuesday)

Out and About with Manuel (Wednesday)

Banjara on the move (Monday)

The former rectory with "condo finishes" (Thursday)

Empire Biscuit (Monday, 85 comments)

Top cop's SantaCon endorsement: 'It's what makes New York, New York'

[Photo from 2012 by A. Sasaki]

At a time when it seems like a lot of people are rallying against SantaCon, the annual event received a thumbs up from Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

"This is an event we support. It's what makes New York, New York. There has been some rowdy activity by a small handful of people," Kelly said.

This reminds me of that scene from "Jaws," where Mayor Vaughn says to a reporter, "I'm pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers."

Anyway! Is SantaCon, which happens this year on Dec. 14, really what makes "New York, New York"?

Meanwhile, here's a SantaCon report from Friday evening on WABC.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Some Midtown bars will now ban drunken SantaCon revelers (52 comments)

How was your SantaCon?

A few scenes from SantaCon 2012: Scourge of the city or good time had by all?

The hardy flowers of Tompkins Square Park

Several EVG readers have pointed out that, despite the time of year and temperatures, some flowers are still in bloom in Tompkins Square Park…









[Bottom three photos by Bobby Williams]

Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park earlier this morning

Reader report: Film crew makes woman in walker use sidewalk on other side of East 10th St.

There are some annoyed residents along East 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B this morning… While residents mostly try to be accommodating to the endless film shoots around the neighborhood, Jose Garcia notes this small crew crossed a line this morning.

"These clowns, who could not or would not say whether they have a permit, made the woman pictured WHO IS USING A WALKER, cross the street so they wouldn’t have to interrupt their precious work. They also asked the parks people to stop raking."

"We were not as polite as we normally might have been once they harassed the woman WHO IS USING A WALKER and bullied her into crossing the street. Happy Saturday everyone!"

Updated 12:15
Apparently the crew is filming a scene for a movie called "Little Galicia."

A resident on this block was told that the crew was from "Little Galicia." This is NOT true. The locations manager wrote in to say that they had proper permits from the Mayor's Office of Film Theater and Broadcasting, "and would NEVER allow our crew to stop an elderly woman from crossing the street during filming." They were shooting at 253 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and 1st Avenue on Friday.

Today in marriage proposals

A reader spotted this on Avenue C and East 12th Street…

Previously on EV Grieve:
A marriage proposal by mural on Second Street (and she said yes)

Going to the mural and we're gonna get married

Marriage mural on East Second Street rankles neighborhood activist

A week in the life of the Cooktop Sidewalk Garden on St. Mark's Place

It was, of course, the story the captivated the city this past week. It started after someone discarded cooktops on the sidewalk along St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. Then that one guy you always see on St. Mark's Place put them to good use.

The rest is, of course, Cooktop Sidewalk Garden history.

Monday!



Tuesday!



Wednesday!





Thursday!





Friday!



Today! [sob]



It was also a week in which we learned that not many people know, exactly, what a cooktop is.



So. Worst sidewalk garden branding ever then?

Taking this disk for a drive on the 6 train

Yesterday, while waiting for the downtown 6 at Astor Place, EVG contributor Derek Berg talked with this gentleman holding the giant disk… he is a veteran computer guy who was transporting this hard disk (the IBM 2302?) from the late 1960s to his new office…



Perhaps this held the battle plans for 51 Astor Place?

'Til death do us part

Video posted last month from Savages … with "Husbands."

Donostia opens tomorrow on Avenue B

The tapas bar/cafe opens tomorrow morning at 155 Avenue B at East 10th Street, per the signs on the gate. We don't honestly know much about the place other than what was on their application for a beer-wine license back in May.

• Listed food: "Spanish tapas, sandwiches, salads, meats, cheeses, etc."

• "The principal has worked as an employee at several fine dining establishments including Craft, db Bistro Moderne, Estiatorio Milos."

There is also a small retail component here as well … selling "Spanish specialty goods," per CB3 documents. The space, previously home to Zee's Pet Shop (now on East 13th Street), has been meticulously renovated.

[Photos by Bobby Williams]

Cafe Rakka looks to be a goner on Avenue B

[Photo courtesy of Ray LeMoine]

Ugh. Long-timer Cafe Rakka on Avenue B is for rent ... the familiar sign of Croman Realty's "Call Harvey" can't be missed.

Too bad — Cafe Rakka is always a nice, affordable option here near East Third Street. Anyway, it remains open for now.

Meanwhile, the Cafe Rakka — now called Rakka Cafe — is undergoing renovations on St. Mark's Place.

Today in posts about turkey mac-n-cheese

Via the EVG inbox from S'MAC on East 12th Street...

Our Thanksgiving Turkey MAC is back on the menu and you can find details on our website ...

It will stay on the menu through Christmas.

Report: St. Mark's Bookshop prepping fundraiser ahead of possible move to Avenue A

Rent-challenged St. Mark's Bookshop is finalizing a fundraiser ahead of a move to Avenue A, according to a report at Publishers Weekly.

There's a fundraiser (online and in the store) set for Dec. 5 that will feature signed first editions donated by a variety of authors, including Ann Carson, Lydia Davis and Paul Auster.

Per Publishers Weekly:

But that is only one piece of the store’s fundraising plans so that it can stay in the East Village in a space near Avenue A and Third Street. The president of Cooper Union has offered to help the bookstore by letting it use the school’s Great Hall for a fundraiser and to contact some of the schools’s donors on the store’s behalf. Those details are still being worked out.

Cooper Union will reportedly allow the store to leave its current home on Third Avenue with four years left on the lease.

Back to Publishers Weekly:

The new location would be about half of the store’s current size, or 1,300 sq. ft. Co-owner Bob Contant regards the store's downsizing as a good thing. “The print book business isn’t as robust as it used to be,” he points out. “Where we sold 25 books, now we sell five.”

As for the new new location "near Avenue A and Third Street" … let the speculation begin!

The photogenic recyclables of East 2nd Street

The daily activity outside D & D Salvage on East Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue caught the eye of East Village resident Stephanie Nilva, who recently began documenting the streetscene here.

"I walk by every morning and I loved how the bundles look — the colors, the textures," she said.