Cookie dough and anarchy, together again!

East 10th Street yesterday via a Very Special Tipster©

Looking at Kmart's subtle new ad campaign

We nearly wandered into Second Avenue traffic to look at this new ad campaign from Kmart, featuring a site dubbed Show Us What You Got.

Apparently, Kmart's ad team nixed "Let's See That Vagina" and "Hey, This is My Dick."

Dov, it's your move.

When Paul Richard curated an art exhibit in the Astor Place Kmart

[Image via PaulRichard.net]

This talk about Kmart reminded me of Kmart's history on Astor Place ... That and the fact that I brought up the now-defunct Kcafe in the comments last week... here's an article from the Times, dated July 8, 1999, titled: "Corn Dogs, White Sales and . . . Modern Art?; In East Village, Atypical Kmart Gives a Nod to Irony as Its Cafe Becomes a Gallery."

The story looks at an art show by Paul Richard inside the Kcafe.

To the story!

You can put a Kmart in the East Village, but you can't keep the East Village out of Kmart.

When the behemoth discount store arrived on Astor Place in 1996 — much to the chagrin of many neighborhood eccentrics — corporate officials knew they would have to adjust. They expected the people with green hair and nose rings who now stroll through the aisles of polyester pants and plastic kitchenware. They knew the handy spacemaker shelf organizers would sell better than the pitchforks in the garden center. They axed the auto department and stocked up on tacky glittery nail polish.

So maybe it should not be so surprising to find an art exhibit on the walls of the KCafe.

And later!

In some ways, having a Kmart in Astor Place at all is a kind of self-parody. The teen-agers with tattooed arms and the actresses with cellular telephones strapped to their ears look odd among the stacks of faux-wood furniture and knockoff Knicks T-shirts. But while officials refused to release sales figures, [Kmart executive Greg] Abraham said the store increased revenue 25 percent from 1997 to 1998 by tweaking its inventory: More clothing for juniors, less of lines like Jaclyn Smith's. Lots of makeup and exercise equipment, not so much fishing gear. Paint sells well, as does Martha Stewart's line of bed and bath items.

"Whether you're a hip person or not, there's a lot of basic essentials that people need," Mr. Abraham said. "We're just trying to tailor to those."

You can read the whole article here.

Tonight

[Dave on 7th]




[8E]



[Bobby Williams]

[roger_paw]

Workers remove Astor Place token booth

Or "customer assistance booth." Since tokens are long gone... They broke it down and took it away this morning, as these photos by Elizabeth Frayer show...

We're on our own down here now. Woo!

First day back to school Dumpster of the Day

P.S. 63 this morning on East Third Street. "Daddy, why is the teacher's desk in the trash?"

More photos from this morning's Second Avenue manhole fire

Our friend Elizabeth Frayer of New York Natives sent along photos from this morning's manhole fire on Second Avenue at Seventh Street.

As she notes, "Con Ed emergency trucks, Second Avenue closed off, firefighters blasting water at a smoking manhole..."

Readers reported smelling smoke up to 10 blocks away.

[Updated] Breaking: Fire on Second Avenue at Seventh Street

Via @arielkaye

Waiting for more details... we heard four trucks were on the scene.

Updated: 9:32

Looks like a manhole fire... via @dens

DOH temporarily closes Via Della Pace

Multiple tipster report that the DOH paid a visit to Via Della Pace — Danilo Gallinari's favorite restaurant! — last night here on Seventh Street near Second Avenue. The inspection report isn't online yet.

Is David Schwimmer the 'Friends' star who now owns the demolished 331 E. Sixth St. townhouse?

Yesterday, we posted that comment from a reader who believed a cast member from "Friends" was the owner of 331 E. Sixth St., the now-demolished circa-1852 townhouse.

As the day progressed, a few commenters left hints pointing to David Schwimmer — you know, Ross.

And now, an anonymous commenter left us this juicy piece of detective work on the "Friends" post:

Gary Kress is the manager of 331 East 6th St Townhouse, LLC. That LLC is the current owner of this property. Gary Kress is also a name partner of Murphy & Kress, an accounting firm in Santa Monica that has numerous Hollywood types among its clientele. He has a relationship with Schwimmer through Dark House, a production company whose president Schwimmer is.

Indeed.

Well, as Muckety pointed out a few years back, Murphy & Kress is "an accounting firm that takes care of a clientele so exclusive that it refuses to confirm its clients. FEC filings indicate that Murphy & Kress handles financial affairs for Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington ... among other prominent figures in the film industry."

According to CorporationWiki, "Dark Harbor Stories, Inc. has a location in Santa Monica, CA. Active officers include David Schwimmer and Gary J Kress. Gary J Kress serves as the registered agent for this organization."

If all this does come back to Schwimmer... well, then he's your new neighbor!

Let's assume that this is his new home... We're wondering why:
• With all the available upscale townhouses on the market in the city, why did he buy this historic building only to tear it down?
• Didn't his people think tearing down this historic townhouse would raise the ire — and suspicion — of neighbors?
• What was so special about this particular location? Proximity to Indian food?
• How often will a busy person like Schwimmer actually even stay here?
• What does he have in store for the place? Indoor pool? Theater? Bowling alley?

What else do you want to ask?

Final destination for 11-17 Second Ave.

Been some time since we checked in on 11-17 Second Ave., the buildings — including the Mars Bar space — that will be demolished to make way for a 12-story apartment building. There are some whispers about why nothing much has happened here of late.

In any event, this past Saturday, workers were on the scene. When asked, a worker said they were removing the sewer and water lines from the property... a necessary step before demolition...

Expect to see some scaffolding soon. The City issued that permit in early August... not to mention the debris chute.

So all this is to say ... expect some scaffolding here soon enough...

And now, a look at the naked mannequins inside Veselka Bowery

So we saw people decorating here at Veselka Bowery last evening... dunno if this is for a special event of sorts... or if the new restaurant will look like an airport gift shop ...