Thursday, September 30, 2010

And now, a daytime shot of the incoming Papa John's



Courtesy of EV Grieve First Avenue correspondent Blue Glass.

On First Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Previously.

Things to look forward to today! Seven inches of rain?!



Yikes. Per The Wall Street Journal. (Note to self: When did I start getting my weather news from the Journal?)

Also! If you're you're out and about today, then I'd welcome any photos that you might have of this apocalypse. (And this includes photos of the new Papa John's on First Avenue.)

So I'll post weather photos like this... but, uh, better. (Don't worry — it's mine, so I can be mean about it.)



Meanwhile, something to listen to while you bag the sand...

The Staple Singers - A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall Fal
  
Found at abmp3 search engine

Tony Curtis, 85



Tony Curtis, born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, died just after midnight. Read the Times obit here.



Curtis, as press agent Sidney Falco in EV Grieve favorite "Sweet Smell of Success," at Elpine Drinks at 46th Street and Seventh Avenue. (Read more on this at Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

[Top photo via]

The photography of John Marshall Mantel

I've only recently been introduced to the work of East Village resident John Marshall Mantel, a freelance photographer who shoots for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Here is a selection of his work that I like from his photo blog...





Papa John's invades First Avenue

Well, the cabbie-favorite Medina on First Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street shuttered back in April...



...and now, a Papa John's is opening in the space at 120 First Ave.



[author unsure of what to write now]

Meet the woman selling NYU to the East Village


Capital's Sarah Laskow checks in with a profile on Alicia Hurley, NYU's vice president for government affairs and community engagement, in a piece titled "Thank you for not hating NYU."

Lots of interesting passages. Here are two from the intro:

With this latest expansion, N.Y.U. is trying harder than ever before to present a friendly face to a neighborhood that for decades has rallied against its development projects. The anger about N.Y.U.’s expansion focuses on the insistence of the university — an entity whose profile is increasingly global, and corporate — that it belongs in the Village, one of the few places in Manhattan, as long-time Villagers say, where you can still see the sky.

Hurley is N.Y.U.’s primary ambassador to its neighbors, and when she descends from the 12th floor of Bobst, she carries that chilly corporatism with her, in the form of a coterie of lawyers, sharp PowerPoint presentations, and bland, purposeful phrases to describe plans that will mean, in some cases, tearing down homes.


[Photo by Sarah Laskow]

There is some cheaper beer at Queen Vic



We noted the opening of Queen Vic on Monday... and many of the comments regarded the eatery's pricy pints of Bass and Guinness for $8.50... Maybe the owners heard us. As the chalkboard sign shows out front, they can be more thrifty....

Sludge metal band looking for drummer, vocalist

Spotted on the Bowery...




If interested, then here's the contact info:



Meanwhile, Rush! Maybe a little too early in the morning for this, but...

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

East Village rezoning receives key approval


This arrived in the inbox from the The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP):

The City Planning Commission voted to approve rezonings in the Far West Village (Washington and Greenwich Streets) and the East Village (3rd and 4th Avenue corridors) ...

Each of these rezonings will go a long way towards protecting and reinforcing the residential character of these neighborhoods, and preventing inappropriate development.

Please note, however, that approval of these rezonings is NOT yet final, and does not yet take effect. They must still be approved by the City Council, which will consider and vote on them in the next few weeks. Once approved at the Council, their provisions will take effect.

The 3rd/4th Avenue rezoning will never again allow buildings like the 26-story NYU dorm on East 12th Street to be built...

The Post helpfully diagrams yesterday's AC accident



Here's their story. As for the photo illustration that accompanied the piece in the paper, a little cartoony...but effective...