What's new on East Fifth Street?

Might become a popular stop before Dart League night at the Ace.

Dead end on Avenue B?

We've chronicled the empty storefronts that line Avenue B — 22 vacant spaces still by my last count. Sure, there are signs of life in a few of the empty storefronts, but... Meanwhile, this gave us pause last night: Someone inexplicably (ominously?) placed a "dead end" sign for those driving south down Avenue B to see...




The sign is supposed to be facing east on 13th Street.



Meanwhile, the Tibetan specialty shop Lhasa Boutique near Fourth Street has offically closed.



By the way, I don't want to give the impression that tumbleweeds are blowing down the Avenue... Hardly. There are still the unnamed ones that attract the weekend jackasses..... And there are plenty of highlights... a few neighborhood colorful mom-and-pop shops remain (Metropolitan TV, Raul's Candy)...and fine places such as Mona's, Bee Liquors, Lakeside Lounge, B-Side, Life Cafe, 7B, Manitoba's, Mama's Bar (and Mama's on Third Street), Zaitzeff....

Product placement

Staying on Avenue B for a moment...The folks at the overpriced Mercadito Cantina proudly display their review from Time Out. Which happened to appear in the magazine's annual Sex Issue.



Hmm...I don't think I'll be ordering the Flan De Cajeta tonight.

More signs of the recession: At the Blarney Stone

On Fulton Street in the Financial District.

For anyone who has ever wanted to spend the day with Barbara Corcoran

Yesterday, of course, was Barbara Corcoran's 60th birthday. (Hope that you remembered to buy some property!) Anyway, quite by accident, I stumbled upon a Corcoran feature in the Times from March 5, 2000, titled What Do You Do All Day?

Let's take a look, shall we!

Wednesday, Jan. 19

6:00 a.m. Lana Zinger, Russian-born personal trainer, arrives for morning workout.

6:30 Tommy, 6, watches his mother work out. Between crunches, requests reading from "Harry Potter." Request denied.

7:00 Makeup artist arrives.

7:15 Dresses (brown Christian Lacroix suit with Herms scarf).

7:45 Takes Tommy to school in cab. It is absolutely freezing.

8:10 Arrives at Tavern on the Green to give speech at her company's awards breakfast.

8:15 Talks janitor into letting her practice her speech in a broom closet.

8:55 Emerges feeling confident, but "like Aunt Clara on 'Bewitched' -- dusty and smelling of Lysol."

9:00 At podium in front of 500 sales agents, clinks glass to get attention. Glass breaks.

Boring!

1:00 Sharon Baum walks in dressed in fur-trimmed suit with faux-diamond "Sold" pin. Corcoran says, "Boy, if you're not rich you certainly look it." Departs in Baum's Rolls-Royce for lunch at the Lobster Club. Shares creamed spinach, biscuits, French fries with Baum. Discusses whether the market will survive if the dot-com companies take a hit, how even Wall Streeters with millions in cash can't find apartments.

2:45 Departs restaurant. Gets call from office saying that the seller of the nine-room Park Avenue apartment she's been wanting to buy for herself finally wants to make a deal. Phones from car. ("I'm so nervous, I have to stop thinking like a sweaty-palmed buyer and start thinking like a broker.") Strategizes with Baum about how to be the winning bidder. Baum tells her to get as much information as she can about the family. Makes the call to the Park Avenue seller. "Oh, God, I got disconnected. Does anyone else have a cell phone?" Everyone in the car has a cell phone, including the driver. Still can't get through. Is now very hyper. Stays in the car and keeps trying while Baum looks at multimillion-dollar "maisonette" on upper Fifth Avenue.

4:00 Driver drops Corcoran off at gym, where she meets Becky Wood, Tommy's nanny, and watches Tommy swim.

Another bar felled by large yellow sticker

At Duke's on Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. ONLY temporary. The DOH sign was posted March 7; renovations were behind done behind the closed door. Had not reopened yet as of last night.

No racino for now at Aqueduct

"Plans to build a casino at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens have collapsed, the latest victim of the financial turmoil that has tightened the credit markets. Delaware North, the Buffalo company that was contracted to build and operate the casino, has not been able to get the financing to raise the $370 million it was to pay the state upfront, officials said. That leaves the state with yet another hole to plug in its ever-leakier budget." (The New York Times)

Previously on EV Grieve:

Thanksgiving at Aqueduct

Thanksgiving at the Aqueduct, Part 2

Noted

At the uptown F at 14th Street.

Noted

"In just the seven months since the stock market began to plummet, the recession has aimed its death ray not just at the credit market, the Dow and Detroit, but at the very ethos of conspicuous consumption. Even those with a regular income are reassessing their spending habits, perhaps for the long term. They are shopping their closets, downscaling their vacations and holding off on trading in their cars. If the race to have the latest fashions and gadgets was like an endless, ever-faster video game, then someone has pushed the reset button." (The New York Times)

New York commercial radio to somehow manage to become even suckier

Ben Sisario has the story at the Times:

Making its third identity change since Howard Stern left for satellite radio three years ago, WXRK in New York, better known as K-Rock, will switch to a Top 40 format, the station’s parent company, CBS Radio, announced on Monday.

Instead of the “active rock” K-Rock has been playing — mostly classic rock, with some harder-edged current rock in light rotation — the station, to be known as Now FM (92.3), will play music from acts like “Kanye West, Beyoncé, Pink, Flo Rida, Akon, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake,” according to the announcement. The change will be made at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Looking at Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street (and coming soon: brick-oven pizza)

Plenty of change has come to Avenue C in recent years, of course...Let's just take a look at one small section of it...There are six storefronts along Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street on the east side. There's the nice Alphabet City Wine Co. that opened in 2007...as well as the NE Salon. And the Alphabet Lounge, which was revamped in 2006 (doesn't seem the same anymore, though the owners do at least appreciate the neighborhood's history). And there are two storefronts for rent.



I'm told the sixth space on the block (pictured below) is going to be a brick-oven pizza place. (A beer and wine liquor license is pending.) A beleaguered acquaintance of mine from across the street said, "It least it won't be another bar." Here's what the spot at 102 Avenue C looks like now...No word on an opening date.



The revamping of this block saw the relocation of two longtime businesses, CHP Hardware (which moved north one block) and Joselito's Restaurant, a delicious and inexpensive Dominican spot that moved to Avenue D between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. (And what became of the tenants who lived above the businesses...?) By the way, the upstairs units at 94 Avenue C are currently serving as "New York City Vacation Homes," in which "suites" are available for up to $395 a night ("sleeps eight persons!").




And here's Joselito today on Avenue D...



Previously on EV Grieve:
More changes coming to Avenue C: "The possibilities are endless!"

[Top photo of Joselito Restaurant via]

Ode to mung beans...in this town without pity

While we're on Avenue C....this poem was hanging on the side of a building on East Seventh Street.