EV Grieve

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

When the area bounded between 11th and 13th Streets and 1st Avenue and Avenue C was known as something else... (Blah Blog Blah)

Alex has another now-and-then series; this one featuring the EV (Flaming Pablum)

More on the fire that broke out on St. Mark's on Saturday morning (EaterNY)

Lenox Lounge still grand at 70 (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

When pedicab Spidey meets Slum Goddess (Neither More Nor Less)

Pop-Up Lunch art in NYC (BoingBoing)

The haunted beauty of Bellevue (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Remembering CBGB TV (This Ain't the Summer of Love)

The history of 765 Eighth Avenue (Lost City) (And read more about the New York Inn's one-star reviews here.)

RIP 128 Hester (BoweryBoogie)

Flashback to 1982's Avenue D (Ephemeral New York)

When bounty hunters moonlight (Nonetheless)

Over at BushwickBK, check out this NBC News feature on the street gangs of Bushwick via 1976. (Hat tip, Curbed)

Financial District becomes Midtown for "The Other Guys"

There are gawkers galore now down in the Financial District next to the Seaport, according to a source standing right in the middle of it. People are lined up to see the likes of Will Ferrell, The Rock and Mark Wahlberg film "The Other Guys."

Anyway. Midtown must not have that Midtown feel these days...which may explain why the corner of Maiden Lane and Front Street is standing in as 54th Street and Third Avenue.

Another doomsday scenario for OTB

The Post has the scoop:

The city's teetering Off-Track Betting Corp. will seek permission to close as many as two-thirds of its 68 branches when it files a bankruptcy reorganization plan, The Post has learned.

Sources said the plan also calls for eliminating half of the remaining 1,100 betting clerks, through attrition or buyouts, and for OTB to float $250 million in bonds to meet its obligations.

One source said the bonds would have to be backed by the state, which faces its own monumental budget woes.

"Who in their right mind is going to buy OTB bonds?" asked the source. "The only way it works is with a state guarantee."

Here's a passage from a May 2008 post on the shuttered John Street OTB:

This line from the Times article sums it up best:

It is an ever-narrowing slice of New York that still belongs to the hustler and the old-timer. Soon it may be extinct...

Like everything else that helps give the city some character.

100 Third Avenue's lonely add-on

It appears that the work has stopped at 100 Third Ave. near 12th Street and 13th Street. Can't even recall the last time we saw workers here.

A Fine Blog had this report on the history of the address back in February:

100 Third Avenue, originally a 4 story building built in 1880, has sprouted an intriguing growth which now bring the structure to Nine stories. An interesting use of a walk-up building to be sure.

I hate to say it, but we have another mystery on our hands here! The building is zoned commercial, and a permit was filed to amend the building height to 90' , contain 3 units, and be re-categorized as F-1B - Assembly (Churches, Concert Halls) . Will it be a church or an assembly hall? Well, plenty of people have assembled at 100 Third Avenue in the past. In 1880 it was a restaurant. In 1910 it became a theater, later named "The Lyric Theatre". In the 1930's it catered mainly to the Bowery bum set. The Theatre would open at 7am an hour before showtime, so the transients could catch a nap before the double feature plus newsreel would begin. Later, the Theatre was renamed "The All Male Jewel Theatre", for, you guessed it gay porn.

There is a stop work order on the address because: "BUILDING SHAKING/VIBRATING/STRUCT STABILITY AFFECTED."

Anyway, you may consider walking on the east side of the street moving forward...

Baseball caps, durags, hoodies and baggy clothing aren't considered "proper attire" at La Linea

First Avenue near First Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Posts that I never got around to posting: Mad hatters

A model condo: An angel will try to earn her wings while living at the District

So, per usual, I was reading talkingmakeup.com, you know, the daily makeup and beauty blog, and I came across this item of interest.

For the first time ever, Victoria’s Secret has opened its legendary runway to the public by holding open casting events in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago where the country’s most beautiful women competed for a chance to be the next Victoria’s Secret’s Runway Angel.

A Victoria’s Secret panel of experts have narrowed down the field to 10 finalists, who were flown to New York City to take part in “Angel Boot Camp,” a series of challenges where the contestants will show their photogenic qualities, prove their abilities as a spokesmodel, show off their red carpet star quality and radiate charisma while walking a runway in lingerie.

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah...(Oh, wait: radiate charisma?)

While in New York, the finalists will stay at The District, a luxury condo building in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district boasting spectacular views of downtown Manhattan. Throughout their stay, the aspiring models will also enjoy such amenities as a roof deck with four pools, a lounge/library with fireplace, a billiards room, screening room and such elegant furniture by RentQuest.

That's one way to lure some horndogs to live in the District at 111 Fulton St., where some units are available.

Oh, and the weekly webisodes from Angel Boot Camp started airing last night, pervs. And I can't wait for the webisode where the models have to radiate charisma while walking past the MTA's Fulton Street pit and working a shift in the Nassau Bar...

Craigslist ad of the day: Ivy League grad seeks "Bubble Butt with Brains"

Tall, Cute, Generous, Ivy League Grad seeks Bubble Butt with Brains - 39 (East Village)
Date: 2009-11-06, 4:43PM EST
Reply To This Post

Hi. I'm an unattached, overworked attorney and have no time for dating, which is why I'm looking for a smart, sexy sugar baby girl, 18 to 25 years old of White, Asian, or Latina descent, for a casual, long-term mutually beneficial relationship or arrangement. I prefer curvy to voluptuous with a small waist and nice, big round bubble butt. If you're in college or grad school, in need of a weekly allowance to help with bills and the like, then contact me now. Maybe you're also in need of a worldly, well-read mentor, benefactor, and gentleman. Pics for pics, I must insist.

* Location: East Village
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Via Legal Antics.

A quick look inside the former Olivio's

Olivio's, the homey part gaming/part yarn shop at 55 Avenue C closed after 36 years this past July. While there was a modest rent increase, the father-son operation just couldn't make a go of it here anymore between Third Street and Fourth Street.

I got a quick look inside the other evening...Someone was doing some repairs on the floor, though it didn't seem as if another tenant was coming to this space anytime soon.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Noted

"At first glance, the term 'jazz rabbi' might seem incongruous, but the recent installation of Greg Wall, a well-known jazz musician, as the rabbi at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue, a modern Orthodox congregation in the East Village, shows that the porkpie and the yarmulke are not necessarily mutually exclusive." (The New York Times)