Hmm. We'll check back around 2010.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Drug store celebrity exit wars
Duade Reade has Mario Lopez gracing its exits (and disguising the store's security system). Not to be outdone, Rite Aid (at least the one on 14th Street between Avenues A and B) wants us to smell like David Beckham.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
How condos are named
The Times has a dandy piece today on why every new condo name these days seems to have something to do with the sky.
. . .the floor-to-ceiling glass towers popping up in record numbers across New York City are starting to sound an awful lot alike.
Two new high-rises, one on the Upper East Side, the other in Brooklyn, a have the same name: Azure, a deep shade of blue. Seem familiar? It should. On the Lower East Side, another new building is called Blue.
Sky House, under construction on East 29th Street, is not to be confused with the Cielo (Italian for “sky”), on East 83rd Street. And then there are Star Tower, in Long Island City, and Solaria, in the Bronx.
It is an unintended consequence of the city’s historic building boom: a traffic jam of similar sounding names. To showcase the sweeping views from buildings with huge, wrap-around windows, real estate developers are flocking to a set of words that evoke the sky, clouds and stars.
Builders say there are only so many ways to describe a glass box, the undisputed architectural aesthetic of the moment. Similar names, they argue, are inevitable.
Classic!
(And what, no My Blue Heaven as a name for a condo?)
Meanwhile!
Trends in New York building names are not new. Builders seized on the American West around 1900, producing the Wyoming, on West 55th Street, a block away from the Oregon, on West 54th, and across the park from the Idaho, on East 48th. And, of course, there is the Dakota, on West 72nd Street.
Soon after, a wave of Francophilia yielded the Bordeaux, the Cherbourg and the Paris. Native American motifs were enshrined in the Iroquois, the Seminole and the Waumbek.
Trees (Laurel), Greek mythology (Helena) and Spanish cities (Madrid) have all woven their way into the city’s skyline.
And mailing addresses are often used as building names, especially when the street is considered prestigious, like Park Avenue or Perry Street, in the West Village.
Occasionally, names flop. When developers converted the Stanhope Hotel, across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, into luxury apartments two years ago, they called the project the Stanhope. Few takers emerged, and the name was discarded in favor of the street address, 995 Fifth Avenue.
What is striking about the latest wave is just how closely — or haphazardly — some of the names overlap.
The goal, after all, in a crowded real estate market like New York, is to stand out, not to blend in, said Mr. Wine, of Related. Most of the units in the new towers go for $1 million or more.
“You need to be distinctive,” he said, “and a good name can do that.”
Oh, lordy, there's more. But my head is going to explode.
. . .the floor-to-ceiling glass towers popping up in record numbers across New York City are starting to sound an awful lot alike.
Two new high-rises, one on the Upper East Side, the other in Brooklyn, a have the same name: Azure, a deep shade of blue. Seem familiar? It should. On the Lower East Side, another new building is called Blue.
Sky House, under construction on East 29th Street, is not to be confused with the Cielo (Italian for “sky”), on East 83rd Street. And then there are Star Tower, in Long Island City, and Solaria, in the Bronx.
It is an unintended consequence of the city’s historic building boom: a traffic jam of similar sounding names. To showcase the sweeping views from buildings with huge, wrap-around windows, real estate developers are flocking to a set of words that evoke the sky, clouds and stars.
Builders say there are only so many ways to describe a glass box, the undisputed architectural aesthetic of the moment. Similar names, they argue, are inevitable.
Classic!
(And what, no My Blue Heaven as a name for a condo?)
Meanwhile!
Trends in New York building names are not new. Builders seized on the American West around 1900, producing the Wyoming, on West 55th Street, a block away from the Oregon, on West 54th, and across the park from the Idaho, on East 48th. And, of course, there is the Dakota, on West 72nd Street.
Soon after, a wave of Francophilia yielded the Bordeaux, the Cherbourg and the Paris. Native American motifs were enshrined in the Iroquois, the Seminole and the Waumbek.
Trees (Laurel), Greek mythology (Helena) and Spanish cities (Madrid) have all woven their way into the city’s skyline.
And mailing addresses are often used as building names, especially when the street is considered prestigious, like Park Avenue or Perry Street, in the West Village.
Occasionally, names flop. When developers converted the Stanhope Hotel, across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, into luxury apartments two years ago, they called the project the Stanhope. Few takers emerged, and the name was discarded in favor of the street address, 995 Fifth Avenue.
What is striking about the latest wave is just how closely — or haphazardly — some of the names overlap.
The goal, after all, in a crowded real estate market like New York, is to stand out, not to blend in, said Mr. Wine, of Related. Most of the units in the new towers go for $1 million or more.
“You need to be distinctive,” he said, “and a good name can do that.”
Oh, lordy, there's more. But my head is going to explode.
The grocery stores of Saint James Place
There's one stretch of the city downtown refreshingly free of Whole Foods...or Gardens of Edens...or Gourmet Garages...or...The C Town at 5 St. James Place has a 1970s suburban feel to the exterior. Meanwhile, about 100 yards north, there's Peter's grocery store at 25 Madison Street on the corner of St. James Place.
A great sign.
And I love the corner angle.
"Pure poo"
We were talking about the Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's in a post yesterday. I later spotted this user review of the Holiday at Zagat.
Understandable...he probably wants to buy a place at the Theatre Condominiums...
Understandable...he probably wants to buy a place at the Theatre Condominiums..."I’d lower the rent for stores so all of the cool, small shops could afford to stay afloat"
That's Albert Hammond Jr.. who was a good sport and did the "Six Seconds With" feature in Page Six the Magazine (the content is finally available online) on June 29. The second solo record -- ¿Cómo Te Llama? -- from the guitarist for the Strokes comes out today.
The East Village resident was asked:
What’s your favorite place to people watch? The Gracefully deli on Avenue A between Second and Third. You can see the whole spectrum, from crazies to beauties, walk by.
Where’s your favorite bar in the city? In the 10 years I’ve been here, I haven’t found one. I’d like someone to build a nice one that’s not behind velvet ropes and filled with pretentious people. [EV Grieve note: Safe answer. Do you really want to tell people where you like to drink?]
If you were mayor of Gotham, what would you change? I’d lower the rent for stores so all of the cool, small shops could afford to stay afloat. The huge chains are making the city start to lose its personality.
Bonus: Hammond keeps a food diary for Grub Street!
The East Village resident was asked:
What’s your favorite place to people watch? The Gracefully deli on Avenue A between Second and Third. You can see the whole spectrum, from crazies to beauties, walk by.
Where’s your favorite bar in the city? In the 10 years I’ve been here, I haven’t found one. I’d like someone to build a nice one that’s not behind velvet ropes and filled with pretentious people. [EV Grieve note: Safe answer. Do you really want to tell people where you like to drink?]
If you were mayor of Gotham, what would you change? I’d lower the rent for stores so all of the cool, small shops could afford to stay afloat. The huge chains are making the city start to lose its personality.
He also said: “On the weekends, the East Village can be overrun with undesirables,” says Albert. “But I love Manhattan. I’ve been around the world and it’s my favorite city.”
Sidebar: Why is this feature titled "Six Seconds With..." It takes more than six seconds to read.
Uh, meanwhile, here's the video to "Back to the 101," a song from his debut record, Yours to Keep, one of my favorites from 2006:
Bonus: Hammond keeps a food diary for Grub Street!
The Financial District continues to attract interesting new businesses
At Maiden Lane and Gold Street. (This was a Burger King at one point, though the storefront has been vacant for four-plus years.)
At Water Street and Maiden Lane.
All this will go perfectly with the other businesses on Maiden, such as Duane Reade, Subway, Papa John's, Chipotle, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts...
At Water Street and Maiden Lane.
All this will go perfectly with the other businesses on Maiden, such as Duane Reade, Subway, Papa John's, Chipotle, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts...
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