EV Grieve

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Possible delay in emergency responses today

We'll periodically have information on local fire companies that service, in part, the East Village ... including when they are closed for periods of time...

Ladder 11 (as well as Ladder 6 and Ladder 18 that serve the area) will be conducting Building Inspection today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (as well as every Wednesday). During this time, they may be delayed to emergency responses because parts of their Buidling Inspection District are not in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd due emergency response area.

Further, E-15, located on the LES on Pitt Street but responding to parts of the East Village, will be CLOSED from 12:30 PM-4:30PM for training at the Fire Academy.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

Cops: Bouncers helping thieves steal purses and stuff from East Village bars (DNAinfo)

What happens to The Alamo with the Astor Place reconstruction? (Neighborhoodr)

36 hotties on the subway (Refinery29)

Two new roller coasters for Coney Island (The Wall Street Journal)

Also: A new exhibit on 26th Street, “Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1898-1948” (Amusing the Zillion)

The rat killer of Washington Square Park (NYC the Blog)

The subway map of 1972 (Nonetheless)

America's best Chinese restaurant is in ... Bryn Mawr, Pa.?! (NY Post)

Greek treats on Essex Street (With Leftovers)

Looking at vintage NYC menus (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Busier days for Ray's (Nadie Se Conoce)

High-end bread for Orchard Street (BoweryBoogie)

"Murray Hill Is For Douchebags, Arrested Development" (Runnin' Scared)

A new look for EugeneMerinov.com ... where you'll find many fine photos, such as this one of Richard Hell...

On the trail of the Pigeon Lady

As we've noted, someone — dubbed with some affection, "the Pigeon Lady" — continues to drop about 50 pounds of bread a few times a day at the entrance to Tompkins Square Park at Ninth Street and Avenue A ...

This morning, a reader notes the aftermath of a recent bread dump...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Capturing the Pigeon Lady

Reactions to new Bowery hotel: 'It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater'

Yesterday, thanks to Curbed, we all got a look at the new boutique hotel coming to Third Street and the Bowery:

Oops, crap. Wrong image. Sorry! Here it is!

Sorry! Blogger is giving me problems today!

This likely isn't surprising, but no one seems to like the design... or the thought of another hotel along here...

Here's a sampling of Curbed comments:

And people thought the Bowery was bad in the "old days"? I'd take the Salvation Army building over this any day.

Pretty much everything new going up on the Bowery now says "crap-tastic" + "major ego at work". This new building looks like the winner of a contest where crazed architects are asked to design their weirdest fantasy buildings.

Eventually the Bowery will have a NEW reputation, as the place tourists can go to see the absolutely *ugliest* collection of buildings in NYC.

And!

Odd to think that the Bowery was actually better and had a peculiar, if worn and gritty, charm before qualified "designers" took it upon themselves to show the uneducated masses how things might be. As it stands, they should rename it the Rue de Pretension.

Gothamist ran a post with a headline, "The Bowery's Next Hotel Is Looking Pretty Ugly." Per commenter Newhce: "Holy crap. What is this, 'New Brutalism'"?

Runnin' Scared went with the headline, "New Bowery Hotel Uglier Than The Last."

And at EV Grieve? Here's a sampling of the comments:

Cookiepuss said...
Both of these images horrify me! The skinny structure every time I see it, either in person or in a photograph brings me all the way back to points in my life where I experienced trauma. Both structures mimic the symmetry of Hitler's army. Sometimes I think that architects and developers are trying to create a new and superior race!

And!

Bowery Boy said...
The merits of each individual hotel on the new Bowery can be debated, but taken as a whole, this is about to be the worst stretch of Manhattan ever planned. Ok, maybe not planned, but developed. It looked better as Skid Row. The individual developers are getting their money, so they don't care, but one-by-one they are turning the Bowery into an architectual freak show. So sad.

And!

cvinzant said...
Does anyone know what those ridiculous white boxes are that jut out for no purpose? Are they made of stone? Metal? How much will the pigeons enjoy roosting on them?

And on the EV Grieve Facebook page, Luc Sante left this comment:

It would be cheaper and more useful just to blow up the building and leave a 30-foot crater.

Meanwhile, I've taken it upon myself to make a few suggested changes... Work in progress people...

Beaming up at the new Lower Eastside Girls Club home

We've noted the progress on the new Lower Eastside Girls Club home going up on Avenue D between Seventh Street and Eighth Street... You can see a lot of the progress on the Seventh and Eighth Street sides... However, a walk by this past weekend revealed the first beams going up on the Avenue D side ...

Previously.

Where will 'modern Australian' call home on Second Avenue?

Yesterday, Grub Street reported that Morgan McGlone, once a private chef and caterer on the Upper East Side who has been working in Australia, is opening a “45-seat restaurant that’ll serve modern Australian food” in September ... And, per the article, this restaurant will be at (or around!) Second Avenue and East Fifth Street.

So where could this "modern Australian" call home?

There are several empty restaurants right along this stretch of Second Avenue, including:

The old Sin Sin space!

The former Mission Cafe!

Kurve/Rhong Tiam!

The former Sea Salt! (Closer to Sixth Street, but...)

Or, if someone has their streets wrong, how about the Matsukado space just north of Sixth Street?

And what, exactly, is modern Australian? I'm sure it's good. But I can't help but think of the drink-and-drown crowds hitting the Sunburnt Cow weekends ... which leaves me with a different perception of Australian cuisine.

New documentary series wants your unwanted pests

A legit e-mail from the EV Grieve inbox...

PEST PROBLEM? — OUR TV SERIES WANTS TO FIX IT FOR FREE

A new documentary science series on a prominent non-fiction TV Network is looking to solve pest problems and infestations in all five boroughs. We'll set you up with an accredited local pest control company that will tackle your pest problem FOR FREE, and follow the process of making your home or business pest-free. We're looking for severe pest infestations of any kind, from cockroaches and bedbugs to rats and raccoons. No infestation is too severe for our team. All correspondence will be kept strictly confidential AND we won't even need to mention or show the name or location of your business or home/apt. This is a great opportunity to have some of the best experts in the business put an end to your infestation.

If Interested, please send an e-mail to PestExterminatorCasting@gmail.com with a brief description of your infestation along with any photos/documentation of the problem (if possible). In the subject line of the e-mail, please indicate what kind of pest you-re having a problem with.

[Image via]

Welcome to the jungle: Looking at 7A's new signage, awning

Workers at 7A were making final preparations to reopen yesterday after some renovations have kept the 24/7 eatery at Seventh Street and Avenue A closed since Jan. 6 ... EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams happened by when the crew was putting in the new awning yesterday afternoon ....