A pessimistic economic forecast gets more pessimistic (aka, Holy Fucking Shit — We're Screwed!)

Gothamist has the not-so-chipper economic news for the city:

New York City's budget gap will be as much as $1.9 billion in fiscal 2009 and could possibly balloon to as much as $5 billion by 2011, according to a wholly depressing new report from City Comptroller (and mayoral hopeful) William Thompson Jr. ... The recession could cost the city some $935 million in tax revenues next year, a figure that includes a $525 million shortfall in real estate-related taxes, a $345 million reduction in personal income and business taxes, and a $65 million loss in property taxes.

The annual report, titled The State of the City’s Economy and Finances (Or, Time To Move Back In With Your Parents), paints an even bleaker picture than Mayor Bloomberg's November budget proposal. In it, Thompson writes, "Waves of negative economic developments during 2008 have given way to a tsunami of financial anxiety and caused us to issue a more pessimistic forecast than was put forth by the mayor. As the economy erodes, the outlook for New York City’s fiscal future will continue to change."

Perhaps Susan Cheever is just running with the wrong crowd

Susan Cheever writing in the Times:

The New York apartments and lofts which were once the scenes of old-fashioned drunken carnage — slurred speech, broken crockery, broken legs and arms, broken marriages and broken dreams — are now the scene of parties where both friendships and glassware survive intact. Everyone comes on time, behaves well, drinks a little wine, eats a few tiny canapés, and leaves on time. They all still drink, but no one gets drunk anymore. Neither do they smoke. What on earth has happened?

And!

In the old days, drunkenness was as much part of New York City society as evening clothes. This is the city where Zelda Fitzgerald jumped wildly in the fountain in front of the Plaza, the city of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” written by another fabulous alcoholic, Truman Capote. It’s the city of late nights with sloshed celebrities at the Stork Club. It’s the city that gave its name to Manhattans and Bronx Cocktails, the city of John O’Hara and Frank O’Hara, of drunken brilliance and brilliant drunks.

There are more than 20 empty storefronts along Avenue B

Let's take a walk up Avenue B, starting at Second Street.....









This spot will soon be home to a new coffee shop...but until then...





























Still with me? By my count, that's 21 empty storefronts in 14 blocks, though you can't really count the three blocks on Avenue B that border Tompkins Square Park....so make that 21 storefronts in 11 blocks.

Speaking of Avenue B, that store I'll be able to afford now has signage

Previously on EV Grieve:
A new store is opening that people may actually be able to afford

More old-school parking meters to meet their maker, join 45 RPM jukeboxes in coin heaven

Jeremiah had the post last month on the end of the old parking meters...and the introduction of the Muni-Meters. Starting today, more of the old meters will be removed. This sign was on East Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.



Soon, more sterile Muni-Meters to match the increasingly sterile city.

The former Five Rose's is for rent; memories remain

The "store for rent" sign is up at Five Rose's, the beloved pizza shop on First Avenue between 10th Street and 11th Street that closed Nov. 29.



Meanwhile, in the right front window...Let's see how much longer the landlord will allow the memories to last...I took these photos late Sunday afternoon...[Update: See the comments...Jeremiah reports that the thank-you sign and photos are gone...while another commenter correctly points out that the landlord is the former owner of the business.]









For further reading:
Five Rose's Pizza: Vanishing (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Five Roses’ Krystyna Says “I’ll Be Back” (Hunter-Gatherer)

Boss Hog re-emerges after eight years of Bush

EV Grieve favorite Boss Hog is playing in NYC for the first time in eight years. They're at the Bowery Ballroom Wednesday night. Boss Hog singer Cristina Martinez talked with Time Out this week.

Is it challenging to get over the supersexy image you had when Boss Hog started?
Yeah, I’ll never be able to live that down. [Laughs] That’s probably the most worrisome thing for me. Sometimes it does make me a little sad. I’m totally aware of the possibility of people being disappointed in me in any way.

Meanwhile, NME.com had this about the Bowery date:

The performance, taking place December 17, will be the band’s first hometown gig in eight years, a reunion that ties in nicely with the end of George Bush’s second term as President, according to the band's frontwoman.

“It’s been two torturous terms of Republican disease and culture death,” Martinez says. “Now that we're free, it's the perfect time for us to bring back our own brand of sick in celebration.”

Here's Brooklyn Vegan's review (with a zillion photos) of Boss Hog's Dec. 3 show at Maxwell's.

Here are some shots from their gig at All Tomorrow's Parties' Nightmare Before Christmas gig in the UK on Dec. 7.

For more Boss Hog stuff.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition (2:19 p.m. edition)

Richard Hell at K-Mart (Flaming Pablum)

Renovations coming to Met Food. Meanwhile, enjoy the Chuck steak (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

City will reroute traffic at Chatham Square no matter what you think (Save the Lower East Side!)

Life on Mars filming on Bleecker. (BoweryBoogie)

Astroland like you never want to see it (Curbed)

Why we're popping more pills (Esquared)

42nd Street faded ad from 1990 (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

A class where men learn how to shave (The New York Times)

Three days that shook the world (Fortune)

Report: Alistair Economakis is suing his cousin Evel for libel

As you may recall, a sharply worded letter made the rounds this past summer from one Evel Economakis, a high-school history teacher in Athens, Greece, who is also reportedly the cousin of landlord Alistair Economakis, owner of 47 E. Third St. (In November, Alistair Economakis was successful in buying out the remaining tenants at 47 E. Third St. He is reportedly making the tenement building a home for his family.)

According to an article in The Indypendent, Alistair Economakis is suing his cousin for libel. As The Indypendent reported:

In a letter sent out in September, Evel Economakis wrote that the libel suit is an attempt “to send me to jail and destroy me financially (which is not a hard thing to do, as I make under $12,000 a year).” According to Third Street tenants, Greek law allows plaintiffs to sue for libel even if the accusations are true.

So in that letter, Evel apologized for “the mistake of calling my cousin Alistair a ’spoiled rich brat.’

“Alistair grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, was surrounded by maids and other servants, had everything handed to him, played on his father’s yacht, and rode his father’s horses on their estate in England. More, on at least two occasions I personally witnessed how rudely he addressed poor elderly people in Greece. But none of this, of course, constitutes evidence that he is a ’spoiled rich brat.’ Sorry, Alistair, I shouldn’t have said that about you.”

“If I had the chance to rewrite the letter, I wouldn’t use characterizations and other adjectives,” he concluded. “But I have always believed -- and will always believe -- that a parasite is a person who takes and never gives back. A parasite buys and sells, producing nothing. Worse still, he does so at the expense of others.”

Meanwhile, the article in The Indypendent contains many juicy details about the battle for 47 E. Third St.

Previous coverage of 47 E. Third St. on EV Grieve.

How bizarre!

Dirt Candy on East Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

New coffee place coming to Avenue B

There's a new coffee place opening on Avenue B between Fourth Street and Third Street. Few details at the moment. (Carpenters and other construction workers really do need a blogger/media relations 101 course so they are much more forthcoming with details. Or, if they truly don't know, they need to get more inquisitive!)

Heh. Anyway. They're hiring.

More King of the Hill promo sightings; residents wonder how a show that was never, ever funny remained on the air for so many years

Picking up from BoweryBoogie and Curbed last week.

Had a sighting at Sixth Street and Avenue A:



And Houston and Avenue B:





Full disclosure: Mrs. Grieve and I are the "residents" the headline refers to. Feel free to defend the show in the comments.