EV Grieve

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Week in Grieview

A busy week ... thanks to everyone for all the lively comments...

We had news of a new burger place coming to Second Street (Monday)

Kenny Scharf's mural was bombed (Tuesday) and cleaned (Wednesday)

We reported that Acme Bar & Grill abruptly closed (Tuesday) before hearing that the owner suddenly changed his mind (Tuesday)

We looked at a penthouse duplex connected by a stainless-steel slide (Thursday)

A lot of cops showed up to apprehend someone who tagged Angels & Kings (Thursday)

We found out about changes coming to Cienfuegos (Friday)

A ressident told us about life at the renovated 325 E. 10th St. (Wednesday)

Tagging Joe Strummer (Thursday)

We found out about the "hipster trap" (Monday)

The CB3/SLA rejected application for a new Avenue A music venue (Monday)

A resident took offense to the "Hot Chicks Room" sign at the UCB (Monday) ... and the UCB agreed to remove the sign (Wednesday)

On that topic... here's the WPIX news item on the matter...

Today in new ads that poke fun of people from Des Moines

Yesterday, we noted the crane on Second Avenue and Second Street... where workers were putting up a new ad...

We went back to see what the ad was for...

There is an East Village in Des Moines too.

[Updated] Moon shots

So last night's full moon was the largest and brightest seen in 19 years, appearing 14 percent bigger and shining 30 percent more brightly than usual, according to the article that I cut-n-paste that from.

How big was it? Here are a few photos ...

From EV Grieve reader Stephen Popkin ... taken on Third Avenue around 4 a.m...

From Bobby Williams...

From Shawn Chittle...

From EV Grieve...

OK, so I didn't get any good shots. Anyway, Gothamist has some more photos. Also, check out the photos that Bob Arihood took right here.

March 20

Eighth Street near Avenue C.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Table tennis now a permanent part of Tompkins Square Park

Earlier today, the city installed a new permanent ping-pong table in Tompkins Square Park, as DNAinfo has been reporting...

The table is dedicated to longtime Tompkins Square Park manager Harry Greenberg, who retired last fall....

...and if you want to play...

All photos by EV Grieve Ping-Pong Sideline Photographer Bobby Williams.

Warming up for the Supermoon

Last night...

And tonight!

Tonight's full moon will be the largest and brightest seen for 19 years, appearing 14 percent bigger and shining 30 percent more brightly than usual. (So that's 44 percent?) Here's more on Gothamist.

Missing dog alert

From our Friend Cat Sitter in the City:

There is a little brown dog running loose. He was last seen near Beth Israel Hospital ... He was either headed west or north. Please alert friends in the area so they can be on the lookout for him. Sorry I don't have more info. I just know he is a little brown dog.

Read the whole post here.

'All the Bowery is gold'

Some passages from the piece on the Bowery in the Times ... titled "The Skids? Hardly"

Gene Kaufman, whose architectural firm has been commissioned to design a hotel on the Bowery, said that the street had become “stuck in time.”

“And a city that does not change dies,” he said.

And!

Hamid Rashidzada bought a studio at 199 Bowery five years ago for $390,000, when prices had not yet begun to soar. Now, he needs something larger and is selling the apartment for $549,000, confident that at that price he will find a buyer, because it is tough to find an apartment anywhere on the Bowery for under $1 million.

And!

The new Bowery is defined by apartment prices approaching those in Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods. Just off the Bowery, at 48 Bond Street, a 5,000-square-foot penthouse with an additional 1,100 square feet of outdoor space is listed for $15.8 million. Last month, another penthouse on the strip sold for more than $13 million. There are now half a dozen condos on the Bowery on the market for over $3 million.

And!

Alan P. Miller, the senior director of the real estate investment firm Eastern Consolidated, who brokered the hotel deal, said that although parts of the market remained sluggish, investors were eager to get a piece of the Bowery.

“All of the Bowery is gold,” he said.

Today in 'the bad old days may be here again' articles

From the Post:

Hammered by budget cuts, the NYPD will field its smallest force by the middle of next year than at any time since 1992 — raising fears that, with fewer cops on the beat, a resurgence of crime could return to the city.