And now, a photo of a rat climbing a tree in Tompkins Square Park

Today they're climbing a tree, tomorrow, they'll be driving the M14A.

By Bobby Williams.

Toasties is toast on Union Square

NYU Local reports this morning that Toasties, a favorite food-beverage stop among the construction worker and hungover NYU student set, has closed. The Marshal has seized the always-serviceable deli with sidewalk cafe on Union Square West near 15th Street. Apparently they haven't been making the rent with their landlord, NYU.

NYU spokesperson John Beckman told the NYU Local that:

"Toasties now owes NYU the equivalent of about 8 months of back rent, some $200,000. Over the course of the last three years, we have met with the owners several times, made significant efforts at being accommodating, and worked out a series of payment plans; each time, the owner agreed to the plans and ultimately failed to live up them."

$200,000? That's a lot of Sgt. Sweet Pepper Combos.

[Image via New York]

Breaking: BMW Guggenheim Lab ready to remove the toilets

Photo this morning via EV Grieve reader Steve Carter... and why not just leave them for the weekend (and Thursday night and...) party crowd?

Dinner at the East Village IHOP

We've talked enough about the outside of the new IHOP on East 14th Street. So it only seemed fair to go inside the place. We waited several weeks after the grand opening to allow the kitchen time to work out any kinks. Or something.

By Lux Living

After my incredibly popular review of the new lesbian Phoenix, Grieve put me on desk duty. [Editor's note: I did?] Only recently has he decided to wean me back onto the Internet with such high-brow assignments as reviewing new ATMs, public storage units, and the much talked about IHOP on 14th Street.

Knowing that self-induced, explosive diarrhea is more fun with a partner, I begged Marty to join me on this trip into suburban enemy territory. We met at the Blarney Cove and, after a few cocktails with a peg-legged mute named Muttly, we were off.

The new IHOP has all the ambiance of a check cashing joint on 23rd Street. If they ever hope to succeed in making this place a “late night destination for hipsters” their PR people dream of, the first thing they need to do is adjust the stadium lighting. On top of the overall retinal bleaching, each booth has its own interrogation light bulb dangling between you and your dining companion.

It was so bright I could see the back of Marty’s eyes. If you pop in here for a bite to eat after some late night drinking but before some late night fucking, forget it. All bets are off. Nobody looks good in here.

The menu is a West Virginian’s dream come true that includes Country Fried Steak, Thick-Cut Bone-In Ham Dinner, and a wide variety of burgers all of which come with bacon. Lots of bacon. The only saving grace to this health care crisis menu is the calorie count listed next to each item so the choice of how fast or slow you’d like to die from coronary disease is all yours. Onion rings are a mere 1,250 calories BTW.

We started with an order Monster Mozza Sticks which came so lukewarm the cheese was like white tar.

I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak AKA Steak-Ums on a buttered mini sub roll with onion rings. Opting for the slow death, I ate only two of the onion rings. After getting management’s permission to order from the kids menu, Marty treated himself to a large pancake that came with all the fixings to draw a face on it – strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and yogurt in a tube. His meal was far more engaging than my butter soaked white trash delicacy.

And then there were the bathrooms. Single occupancy for men. Single occupancy for women. Have fun with that late-night disaster in the making.

The one thing this place has going for it is they have the most courteous staff I have experienced in a casual dining spot of this caliber. Our waitress, April, was incredibly friendly. She entertained our numerous questions about the stupid menu, didn’t yell at me for taking random photos of the syrup, and was kind enough to ask the management if we could order from the kids menu. She checked in on us several times and we tipped her generously for putting up with our shenanigans.

Bottom line, eat at a real restaurant people.

But look! On the way home we ran into Lady Gaga!

Marty wrote about the experience here.

This is what Time Warner Cable's recent East Village meltdown looked like

Remember back on Oct. 6, when a good chunk of the East Village/Lower East Side was without Time Warner Cable/Road Runner service?

OK, you don't have to swear.

Anyway, there's a post on at the Time Warner Cable Untangled blog.

TWC's director of digital communications, Jeff Simmermon, walks us through what happened... and how much of a mess it is to quickly repair... He starts by posting a photo of what you typically see under an NYC manhole (no snickering!), namely a mass of unmarked cables that belong to everyone from Time Warner to Verizon to RCN...

Here is the area where the fire happened that knocked out our service... the fire melted their fiber-optic cable...

...and here's an upclose look at the affected fiber cable...

This is what a healthy (unmelted!) fiber-optic cable looks like...

...and here's the cable after the Oct. 6 fire...

Per Simmermon: "It took the better part of the day to identify the problem, dig in, seperate the cable out and splice in a new piece of fiber-optic cable. Each of those hair-width fibers has to be reconnected to precisely the correct wire, or else the whole thing doesn’t work. Imagine re-connecting a severed ponytail and you’ve got the basic idea."

Oh, and the stuff in the top photos that look like remnants from a wig? Insulation for some of Verizon's cable.

All photos via Untangled. Thanks to EV Grieve reader Creature for the link.

Christodora apartment on market for first time in 17 years

Well, here's a one-bedroom home in the Christodora House on Avenue B that's new to the market. It's starting price: $1,150,000.

Here's the description at Halstead:

Own one of the most unique units at The Christodora House. This One Bed One Bath Loft-Style Space has been off the market for 17 Years! Enter and enjoy the High ceiling and the Private Terrace of 165 Sqft, French doors lead into the Bedroom with a wall of closets, to the left step down into the Sunken Living room which leads to the Separate Kitchen, full Bathroom and above then over 100 Sqft of storage space. Hard Wood Floors grace the Serene Space, enjoy coffee or catch some rays on the re-appointed Terrace.

Uh-huh. And photos...

There's an open house Sunday at noon and Monday at 5 p.m. And we really don't have anything else to say about this.

So who has eaten at Ko-Z noodle shop on East Sixth Street?

Well, we missed this one...

Turns out that the tiny Thai eatery between Avenue A and Avenue B has been open for more than a month.... Has anyone tried it?

Dreams of new development on East Second Street trashed

Please hold your booing until the end of the post.

Is that a Ramy Issac addition on the top?

At the memorial for slain teen on East Ninth Street

[Photo by Bobby Williams]

Early Sunday morning, someone shot 17-year-old Keith Salgado outside the Campos Plaza on East 12th Street near Avenue C. He later died from his wounds at Bellevue Hospital.

A memorial created by loved ones remains in front of his home on East Ninth Street near Avenue C.

Tonight, Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo reports that police are closing in on a suspect in the shooting.

Breaking: The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

Oh no!

The Real Deal is reporting this afternoon that developer Charles Blaichman has purchased the long-vacant Mystery Lot on East 14th Street for $33.2 million. Among other projects, Blaichman teamed with Jay-Z for a boutique hotel/development deal near the High Line that eventually imploded.

Excuse us: We need a minute to compose ourselves.

Previous Mystery Lot coverage here.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Outside Cooper Union yesterday, by Bobby Williams]

Remembering teen gunned down on East 12th Street (DNAinfo)

Is there a rat or parent problem in Tompkins Square Park? (Save the Lower East Side!)

Photos and video from Occupy Times Square (Slum Goddess)

Goggla has more photos too (The Gog Log)

Another go for Ruby's on the Coney Island board walk? (Eater)

Will the Harry Chong letters live to see another tenant? (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

A review of prime & Beyond on East 10th Street (The New York Times)

Q-and-A with the drummer of A Place to Bury Strangers, who is also one of the people behind the new No Fun on Ludlow Street (Fork in the Road)

A Place to Bury Strangers musical interlude...



Drinks at Sardi's (Marty After Dark)

Frank Prisinzano's Sauce shows itself (BoweryBowery)

Would you sit on a retractable balcony? (Brick Underground)

Shots fired on Rivington Street last night (The Lo-Down)

The Best of New York 2011 issue (The Village Voice)

The best NYC greasy spoons (New York Post)

The most affordable thing now at 110 Third Ave. is the $199,000 rooftop cabana

Yes, that's right ... right over here at 110 Third Ave. near 14th Street.

Here's the Corcoran listing:

"Private roof cabana – 479 square feet. Stunning views of downtown, the river and the Manhattan skyline."

And here it is... what you get for $199,000:

One catch: It's only available for purchase with apartment 18C. (Or if you happen to already live at 110 Third Ave.) And 18C is going for $2.499 million.