Not so Sweet: Old school bakery temporarily closed

Rounding the corner on 11th Street at First Avenue yesterday, I saw a disturbing site...



Something Sweet is closed for a "personal matter." And the shop, open now some 30 years, is already missed...




For further reading:
Rich cookies come in small packages (The Villager)

Will a bite at the Roxy ever be the same?

The Roxy Food Shop, an EV Grieve favorite on John Street in the Financial District, is one of the few great old luncheonettes left...



Been there since 1944. As Jeremiah noted back in January, "It's got everything a luncheonette should have: chrome swivel stools, a quilted stainless steel backsplash, and good egg creams."



Was upset to see it closed for remodeling the other day. The new sign is already in place... Meanwhile, we'll remain hopeful that some of its charming greasy ambiance is left intact...



[Photo of swivel stools via Jeremiah]

Holy cow! Beer and burgers now being served at St. Mark's Burger

As the sign on the cow shows, St. Mark's Burger is now open at 33 St. Mark's Place near Second Avenue. And serving beer for some reason. They're on the CB3/SLA docket Monday night for a beer/wine license... as well as to extend the license to serve beer/wine in the space within the building limits out front.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Shockers: Something other than a noodle/ramen/FroYo shop opening on St. Mark's Place

The Times captures the rickshaw-pulling Spider-Man of the East Village

Pass the Dramamine. City Room post here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

More on the EV's kiddie crime spree (New York Post)

New doc explores NYC's downtown music scene circa 1975-1985 (Stupefaction)

When bacon attacks (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Gus Van Sant and Bret Easton Ellis are co-writing a screenplay on the tragic suicides of East Village artists Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake (Page Six)

How many ATMs are there on the LES? (BoweryBoogie)

An end to beer pong? (Blah Blog Blah)

Bill Thompson hates trees? (Alphabet City Soup)

In an item on Death & Co. possibly opening an LA outpost: "They were also the subject of a neighborhood feud in the East Village because the East Village is filled with people who hate bars and have nothing else to do than go to community meetings and pressure the State Liquor Board to deny liquor licenses." (BlackBook)

95 Delancey next to fall? (Curbed)

RIP Capt. Lou (BoingBoing)

Three years ago today...

Wow. This Ain't the Summer of Love reminds me that today marks the three-year anniversary of the closing of CBGB. Seems longer.

[Image via.]

Reading reviews of Tompkins Square Park on Yelp

And did you know that city parks are reviewed on Yelp?



To the Yelpers!

Here's a 3-star review:

The inhabitants of Tompkins Square Park are people you could probably find in any large metropolitan area in the world. What makes TSP unique is the high concentration of mentally and/or chemically imbalanced folks, mixed in with some hobos, burnouts, stoners looking to score, scorers looking to stone and locals who're looking for some sun. Everybody and nobody is there, and if you're into people watching, it makes for a good couple of hours.

What ruined my day was the fat lady sitting across from me wearing a jean skirt and no panties. How did I know this?

Cause she was sitting like a dude.

I didn't even mean to look. You just couldn't avoid it because she took up about 1/2 of my field of vision.

And a 1-star review:

When I walk through this park, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder for fear of getting mugged or stabbed.

I have no problem with homeless people finding shelter in the park. I do have a problem with hardcore drug users shooting up and smoking crack. Call me crazy, but that disturbs me.

On my last trip there, this coked up lady took it upon herself to change outfits three times right in the middle of the park. Her version of a fashion show. Another bum sat on a bench by the entrance with blood spewing from his nose. No worries, he was too high on something to notice.

The park is crack-tastic at best.

And another 1-star review:

Errrmmm, maybe I'm just not "getting" this park. I was here for an hour last Sunday and spent my time circling the park looking for a hobo-free zone. The southwest corner, especially, seemed to be packed with a dirt-crusted crowd of semi-homeless people of mixed ages. Several of the younger Tompkins hobos were dressed in clothes that were probably quite fashionable at one point, but now caked in dirt and quite brown in color. I was impressed that they were not just resigning themselves to dirty jeans and ratty t-shirts; maybe they were homeless by choice.

There was a small portable soup kitchen type cart in that corner of the park serving this brown-colored mushy-looking food to these folks who ate with their fingers and licked the plates. When I finally did manage to find an isolated bench to read my book, there were strange smells emanating from the bushes behind me that I tried to ignore. It was probably p00p; the grass didn't seem to stand a chance of making it out of the ground clean. After a few pages of reading, I was interrupted by a comparatively presentable stranger. He commented that I looked "uncomfortable" (undeniable) and proceeded to attempt to read my sign and, I think, ask me on a date. He had weird tics and stared way too intensely at me during all this time. I am not sure why I stuck around long enough to let the conversation progress to that point.

In short, I am TOTALLY one of "those people who finds Tompkins Park gross." It's just not the place for me to have a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I don't want a park with "character" when what I really want is to nap outside without worrying about being pissed on, touched, robbed, etc. So, back to Central Park it is, where I will hazard my chances with the strollers, toddlers and frisbees. Or, Madison Square Park, where I can eat my Shack burgers and hang out with the designer dogs eating frozen custard.

What a booth at the Bowery Bazaar will run you

Thanks to the EV Grieve reader for passing along more information about the Bowery Bazaar, which opens Nov. 1 in the E2E4 building on the Bowery between Third Street and Fourth Street.



As the sign out front says, the Bazaar "...welcomes up-and-coming artists, young designers, and enthusiastic collectors to exhibit their goods."

And how much will it cost to exhibit those goods?

Price List
Friday-Sunday Monthly Rate

Individual Shops
5.5 Ft x 7 Ft ………………………….…….$1200.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)
5.5 Ft x 8 Ft…………………...……………$1300.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)
5.5 Ft x 9 Ft………………….…………..…$1500.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)
5.5 Ft x 10 Ft……………….………………$1800.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)


Right Window Shop
6.5 Ft x 14 Ft…….................………………$2500.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)

Left Window Shop
5.5 Ft x 12 Ft….................…………………$2300.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)

Display Counters
36" x 3Ft ……………………………….........$500.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY)
48" x 3Ft ………………….......$600.00 (PLUS ONE MONTH SECURTY) ONLY TWO

Free Standing Table Area
6’ x 4’ tables…………………….............................................................$800.00-$1000.00

So it's open just on the weekends... as our readers points out, that's 12 times a month .... say you take the 5x7 individual shop for $1,200...that's $100 per day... I'm curious about how many vendors this place will hold... and why didn't some faboo designer type like John Varvatos lease this space?

Previously.

P.S.
I'm aware security is spelled incorrectly...that's how the Bazaar sent out the information...

From the EV Grieve photo files

Insert "can you hear me now?" joke headline, though it's not really funny

Just following up on a post from March... where I noted the sign here at the former Bondy's on Park Row. (Need a Walkman!) The store closed in 2007. Anyway, the space has finally been leased....

Noted

Per MediaPost:

"The $100 million marketing blitz Yahoo launched two weeks ago to revitalize its brand may be having the opposite effect, according to early consumer feedback. Perception of Yahoo among U.S. adults has fallen steeply since the company kicked off its global campaign centered on the tag line "It's You" on Sept. 28, based on YouGov's BrandIndex, which tracks daily consumer perception of brands. It found Yahoo's buzz score had tumbled from 35.4 on Sept. 22 to 25.5 as of Monday."

Previously on EV Grieve:
I will NOT be commenting on Yahoo!'s new ad campaign

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

News about Hot Dog (arrested for pounding a door with an onion?), Cut Man Eddy and the Mosaic Man (Neither More Nor Less)

"Oliver Twist-like kid burglar" responsible for rash of East Village thefts? (NY Post)

Art show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Bicycling with David Byrne (New York Times)

Bloomy buys BusinessWeek (MediaBistro)

World's longest article on Amanda Burton (New York Observer)

Stuy Town may default (Lux Living)

Sifton's review of DBGB starts with "HEY, ho, let’s go!" (New York Times)

Finally, I missed the report on Eater that Birdies on First Avenue near Ninth Street has closed and moved (or maybe the other way around). The storefront is for rent.