EV Grieve

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bounce Deuce to return?

Hold on. Bounce Deuce at Second Avenue and Sixth Street is closed.... but perhaps not dead. And there's a new work permit on the door. Something about expanding a fire exit.

And there's new paper on the windows....

...and all the furniture is still inside. It just doesn't look (yet?) like a joint that's closing. Except the part about not being open. And those 71 violation points.

When the place shuttered, the signs did just say "Have a great summer!" Back in time for football season?

P.S.
However, no signs of the beer tubes.

Do you remember the times that we had.....(And has it really been one year already?)

Second Avenue near 10th Street.

Just about one year ago...

I wonder how many cups this place has gone through the last year.... and where are they all now? (Photo via Jeremiah)

Reminder: East Village Community Farmers Market every Tuesday until the fall

It's the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Tuesdays 12-8 p.m. at Ninth and Avenue C.

Details.

Marshal law at former Citi-Spaces location

The Awl beat me to posting this. About the former Citi-Spaces offices on Second Avenue at 11th Street. Looks like the marshal came calling.

And did the landlord run out of paper for the windows? Or are they merely trying to keep the neighborhood children from seeing in....

Previously on EV Grieve:
A short history of Citi-Spaces at Second Avenue and 11th Street

Monday, July 20, 2009

Looking at what may be coming to 347 Bowery

Koi is one of the bars/restaurants going before the CB3/SLA tonight. Koi is applying for a full liquor license.

In preparation for this, some higher-profile Koi employees held a meet-and-greet at Sala Restaurant on the Bowery last Thursday to answer any questions about Koi possibly turning the former Salvation Army East Village Residence into another outpost of the upscale sushi eatery. (The other locations are in Bangkok, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and in NYC at Bryant Park).

There wasn't any planned presentation. It was rather informal. And awkward. Not many people were there, at least when I was around. (And no naked sushi models.) And the people who were there didn't strike me as the concerned-neighbor type. (The Lo-Down was there too and has additional coverage.)

A few random things from the evening:

— Everyone from Koi was really nice in that trying-too-hard way. But, still, nice.

— The patrons of the Bryant Park Koi were described as low-key, mellow, more mature (i.e., not a bunch of partygoers prone to peeing and vomiting in the streets — my words not their words).

— Someone from Koi volunteered that the former Salvation Army Residence would actually become a restaurant and not merely flipped to be converted into another condo/hotel/high rise. Hadn't even thought of that.

— Koi co-owner/CEO Nick Haque wasn't present, but he is expected tonight at the CB3 meeting.

There were pamphlets offering a few more details on the proposed restaurant. Two floors for the restaurant/bar...6,000-square-feet...230 total seats...overheard someone say the exterior design would be in keeping with the neighborhood.

To learn more about Koi, I visited their Web site and read the many press clippings available.

That write-up in Wine & Spirits on top is my favorite. In describing the LA Koi: "Its valet zone is standing-room-only with paparazzi hoping to catch a glimpse of Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan stepping out of an Escalade, and its bar is three deep with supermodels and those who like to be seen with them."

Hmm... Just think of the lux row lining up here...the Bowery Hotel and Cooper Square Hotel and DBGB and 52 East Fourth St and Keith McNally's coming-soon pizza joint and ....

CB3 to explore bar-related noise issues on Avenue A?

As you may know, two new bars opened this summer on Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street. We haven't talked much about Destination, now at the corner of 13th and A in the former Boysroom space. Mostly because we don't know much about it. So we looked it up. Here's a description from Grub Sreet:

Destination has what one of the operators (they include owners of Paladar and Iggy’s Karaoke Bar) has already deemed a “make-out corner,” and there are Jell-O shots with gummy tequila worms and whiskey-infused Rice Krispie treats.

The double whammy of Destination and Superdive (both taking over spaces that have been empty for more than a year, if not longer in the case of the Boysroom) are apparently creating quality-of-life issues for residents. Based on these fliers someone distributed on Avenue A, it looks as if the CB3 is ready to listen.

There is a phone number on the flier. I'll pass it along if you'd like it.

Updated:

Jeremiah has the following photo today... "NO MORE LIQUOR LICENSES."

Joe Strummer gets a splash of Niagara

A little something extra was added to the Joe Strummer mural on the side of Niagra at Seventh Street and Avenue A the other day.

Before:

Now:

Makes sense that Niagara wanted its name included on the mural — given how often fans/tourists takes its picture (though why wasn't this included when the mural was created in 2003?)...Meanwhile, there was a post/discussion on the mural last week at the Clash Blog

Previously on EV Grieve:
Joe Strummer gets a new look, skyline

Scott Stringer: Enough with the ATMs!

The Daily News had this story yesterday:

Those grubby, no-name ATMs are multiplying like bunnies, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer says they're not only a nuisance -- they could be unsafe.

Stringer's office surveyed 950 Manhattan automatic teller machines and found that some neighborhoods -- like the East Village -- have a disproportionate number.

"It's time for the city to step up and call a halt on these attempts to cash in on our neighborhoods," Stringer said of the machines, which stores install for a fee.

The study found 242 unregulated sidewalk ATMs in Manhattan.

In the East Village, surveyors found nearly 100 on the sidewalk, five of which were on one Avenue A block. Only two in the area were affiliated with major banks.

Stringer called on the city to better regulate the cash-spewing contraptions

.

Just last week, EV Grieve reader Jen pointed out the three newish ATMs along First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's. She (correctly!) calls them hideous and asks, "Why the sudden influx? They're practically all touching."

I have my theories...feel free to leave your own.