Scaffolding arrives at historic 330 Bowery

Workers arrived this morning to erect a sidewalk shed and scaffolding at 330 Bowery, the historic circa-1874 building that once housed the Bouwerie Lane Theater and various banks before that...



According to the DOB, workers will be painting the landmark cast-iron building here at Bond Street sea-foam green and removing all the ornate details.

KIDDING! Jeez.

Actually, according to the all-cap stylists at the DOB:

ESTERIOR [Ed note: Exterior?] REPAIRS CONSISTING OF REBUILDING PARAPET WALL & RESTORING EXISTING STAIRS AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH. NO CHANGE TO USE, OCCUPANCY OR EGRESS

In 2007, "self-storage king" Adam Gordon bought the building and made condos, including a penthouse that went for some $14 million.

About Alec Baldwin's 'rant'

The Post has an "exclusive" today about an alleged run-in between Alec Baldwin and a Post reporter and photographer... among other things, he reportedly used a a racial epithet about the photographer, who is black, and said to the reporter "I want you to choke to death." (Baldwin's spokesperson called the racial accusations "completely false.")

Putting aside what may or may not have happened... all the reports say that this confrontation occurred "on an East Village street." It was on East 10th Street outside his apartment building at University Place, which The New York Times refers to as Greenwich Village.

You may now continue with your Presidents' Day.

Mystery Lot no longer recognizable

As these photos by EV Grieve Former Mystery Lot Correspondent Katja show... our little graffiti- and weed-filled lot is all grown up now.. on its way to becoming an eight-story, 83-unit luxury condo building.





They can't take our memories, though.

Reader report: Someone vandalized Portal 1 on Avenue C

A local East Villager passes along these photos of Portal 1, one of 13 portals by Nicolina and Brazilian artist Perola Bonfanti... passersby can scan the QR code on each one, then "you will begin the journey to uncover their mystery."

Unfortunately, someone ripped off the QR code on the Portal located on Avenue C and East Seventh Street. According to the reader, the artists are in South America but are working on a long-distance repair.



Here's the website for the portals.

UnReal Estate Friday night at MoRUS

From the EV Grieve inbox...

A Benefit Show for UnReal Estate; A Late Twentieth Century History of Squatting in the Lower East Side

Friday Feb 22 - 7pm-11pm
@ MoRUS
Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space • 155 Ave C

Unreal Estate Squatter History slide show by Fly

War In The Neighborhood slide show
by Seth Tobocman
with Ben Barson and Eric Blitz

words from Penny Arcade!

$5-10 sliding scale NoOne turned away for lack of $$ !!

Here's the Facebook events page with more details.

We'll have more on this show later this week.

EV Grieve Eatery Etc.: Alder's rustic look; First Avenue's next noodle joint; Pudgie's empty canopy

Haven't done one of these roundups in some time...

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Progress at noted LES chef Wylie Dufresne's new pub called Alder, opening on Second Avenue near East 10th Street... looking rustic or cabin-y...



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EVG regular WIlliam Klayer notes the new "tapas and noodle bar" is opening at 141 First Avenue, which has been a few ramen places since its day as a fish market...







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... and, sadly, the iconic signage for the shuttered Pudgie's-Nathan's-Arthur Treacher's action-packed combo on First Avenue has been stripped off the canopy. Note on the door still says "pardon our appearance during renovation."

East Village sunset

Photos today by Bobby Williams...

Week in Grieview

[Off-road driving on Avenue A? Photo via Crazy Eddie]

Motor City Bar is closing (Monday)

Mike Bakaty talks about the early days of tattooing in the East Village (Wednesday)

Tom Cruise sells in the American Felt Building on East 13th Street (Monday)

New Jared Kushner tenants are organizing (Tuesday)

Why the East Village is like Ireland (Wednesday)

Former Whole Earth Bakery space will be an Italian restaurant (Monday)

Chloë Sevigny showed her new line at the St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery (Tuesday)

New York Health & Racquet Club headed to Avenue A? (Wednesday)

C-Town reopened on Avenue C (Monday)

Verso reopened on Avenue C (Friday)

Own the Avenue A 7-Eleven! (Thursday)

Let the First Avenue pizza war begin (Friday)

"Sexy hot bartending robots" wanted (Wednesday)

FIRE BREATHER! (Wednesday)

Verizon sucks (Thursday)

There are a lot of places around here to buy coffee (Monday)

LES hotels with special day rates (Tuesday)

Woo: Lawmaker wants to curb fee-based pub crawls

The Post reports today that Democratic Assemblyman Micah Kellner has introduced "a bill that would pull the plug on pub crawls by yanking the liquor licenses of bars that promote the boozy block-by-block odysseys."

"It creates mayhem," Kellner said. “We’re not trying to legislate common sense. What we can legislate is licensed liquor establishments promoting and enabling dangerous behavior.”

According to the article, "his bill targets bars that sponsor organized pub crawls requiring a fee to participate. Informal gatherings among friends would not be outlawed."

The article includes the classic "if people don't want" quote:

“If people don’t want to live around nightlife they shouldn’t live in Manhattan,” said Kevin Barry, a 27-year-old Upper East Sider. “It’s incredibly shortsighted.”

Speaking of pub crawls, a reader asked us if we saw the pub crawl last night that featuring a group of bar-hopping thrill-seekers all holding onto a rope and wearing wigs on Avenue A. So sorry that we missed it. But someone must have photos.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pub crawl ban brewing?

Celebrating lent is getting out of hand

Outside St. Brigid-St. Emeric on Avenue B last night. Not sure where the stretch limo's occupants were.