Ray's on Fox 5 last night

Thanks to Slum Goddess for letting us know!

What's coming to the former Marion's Continental space on the Bowery

Work continues on the former Marion's Continental space on the Bowery... The Bowery institution closed in August 2008. (Their Web site is still up and running, and includes the history.)




As Fork in the Road first reported, the space is becoming the new home of Hecho en Dumbo. The Mexican eatery will seat 65 and include a 10-seat bar. (According to the Voice, the new owners had to go before the Community Board three times before winning approval...)

Hecho en Dumbo was originally slated to open just after Jan. 1. It is now set to open next month...



And, despite the move from Dumbo (that location closed last fall)... Dumbo will remain in the name. Per the Voice:

When the restaurant opens, their Dumbo customers will still be able to find the same staff and the same Brooklyn beers. And, of course, the same name. "We're not changing our name," Smith says. "We thought about it, calling it Hecho en Bowery or Hecho en Noho. But at the end of the day, I think the thrust has always been that we are Hecho en Dumbo. It comes from the Hecho en Mexico logo, and we always saw that as our little play on it, speaking to how authentic the cuisine is and also speaking to our roots in Brooklyn. I think when we move we'll still see ourselves as a Brooklyn-style restaurant."

According to a press release on the new location:

The new space, designed by Architect Laura Gonzalez Fierro in concert with Architect of Record Ralph M. Beiran, AIA of Urban Design Office, will be built almost solely from non-virgin and repurposed materials and will treat patrons to a sparse, rustic ambiance fusing aspects that are quintessentially "New York," such as exposed sun-baked brick, with architectural elements that showcase Mexico’s long-standing tradition of repurposing materials -- wood, metals, and concrete -- and fashioning them into sophisticated furniture and fixtures.

Meanwhile, perhaps this is a message on the old sign directed to the new tenants?



And check out this cool apartment that was sold upstairs...

123 Third Avenue ramps up its marketing efforts with an ad facing away from traffic

There's a new ad up for 123 Third Avenue, the high-rise condo on Third Avenue and 14th Street. (Or, "East Union Square"...) The ad promises the sale center is coming soon... The 123 Web site still says sales office "opening late fall 2009."



Anyway, seems like kind of an odd spot for an ad -- especially given that it faces away from the traffic on the one-way 10th Street between Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue...



Anyway, this 19-story, 47-unit condo will include a ground-floor garden and outdoor movie screen. The developer of 123 is Orange Management, which currently has its hands full with the 22 Renwick property...

For further reading:
3 angles on 123 Third Condo (A Fine Blog)

Things that I was blissfully unaware of: 16 Handles delivers, though not beyond Avenue B

Quite a delivery zone too: 23rd Street to Spring? And you folks on Avenue C and Avenue D are apparently out of luck: No FroYo past Avenue B!

A Building puts away its glass balls; plus lobby update

Renovations continue on the A Building lobby on East 13th Street...now stretching into their sixth week...




Meanwhile, also spotted in the lobby: Boxed Christmas decorations... Seems like the A Buidling's halls are always decked...

Luke's helping Ray's

From Neighborhoor. Spotted at Luke's Lobster on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...

Seeing double at former Tasti-D-Lite spot

Signs are up at the former Tasti D-Lite on Second Avenue near Ninth Street...



..for something called New City Vision.



An optometrist perhaps? Or a real-estate company?

Ray's to be on Fox and My 9 News tonight

Sorry...short notice....just saw this over at Slum Goddess...Fox 5 and My 9 are doing pieces on Ray's tonight. Fox 5 is on at, uh, now...and My 9 at 11.

Update: Fox posted the segment here.

Get your calcium chloride on East 13th Street

Get your salt from inside that rather mysterious building on 13th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Futurizing about the corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue

Earlier today, we spotted workers cleaning out the former Robin Raj space on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue...





Perhaps this is an early sign that a new horrible tenant is on the way... The space has been vacant for nearly a year. As reported then: The landlord was looking for $60,000 a month in rent...

The holidays on ice....

The holiday decorations on Ninth Street at Second Avenue came down this morning...





...ruining a potential blog post when I discovered that they were still up in April...

Ray's makes the Times

From a feature today titled "Fixture of Avenue A Faces the Threat of a Padlock."

A few excerpts:

Opposite Tompkins Square Park, the usual sort of post-midnight gathering was taking place on a recent evening inside a cramped storefront with tile floors and a worn blue counter.

Kevin Mag Fhloinn was there, talking about a probability system he invented, which makes a spin of the roulette wheel so inviting it barely feels like a bet. Mitch Green told how he once tried to interest Rocky Graziano in buying a neon sign. And there was a smiling man who introduced himself as Thrilly-D; he plunked a large order of Belgian fries onto the counter, and, with beery breath, invited his new comrades to dig in.

And!

It was just past two in the morning and steel gates rattled on Avenue A as neighboring stores locked up for the night. Mr. Alvarez peered through a window as a police car sped past. And Mr. Green reminisced about the neighborhood in the mid-1970s, when the streets were so desolate that you couldn't find a cab.

"When there was nothing else around," he said, "Ray was around."

[Photo: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times]