Salvation Army in Tompkins Square Park today

Thanks to our friend BaHa for these photos today...

The Patricia Field boutique is for rent

If you happen to walk by the Patricia Field store on 302 Bowery, then you'll spot the new "commercial space for rent" sign hanging above the doorway...

We understand that the designer/stylist is expanding her showroom space at 306 Bowery... work permits point to this taking place...

What comes next could be interesting ... someone posted a message on Bobby Flay's Facebook page reading, "We are the owners of 302 Bowery in NYC. We have over 4800 square feet available as a potential restaurant space - ground floor and basement. If you know of ..." It cuts off, and the message has been removed from the Facebook page...

City trashes some of Manny the Peddler's goods

Matt LES_Miserable tells us this morning that sanitation workers discarded a covered stash of Manny the Peddler's items along here on Avenue A at his usual spot... Matt stopped the workers from trashing the second covered table(s)... Per Matt: "He always has the coolest stuff. It would be a real shame for him to miss out on flogging curiosities on such a nice day."

Manny, who turned 71 in January, has been selling odds-and-ends down on Avenue A near Second Street for 32 years...

Noted

Just noting that the 13th Street side of the Verizon building is now graffiti free.

The back-and-forth between graffiti/tags/whatever vs. brown wall has been going on a good two years...

Noted

Last night on Avenue C at East Ninth Street.

Mast at dawn

Early morning photo on Avenue A by EV Grieve contributor jdx.

To have and to 'Stranglehold'

The U.K. Subs with "Stranglehold" circa 1979.

Feeding time for bendy thing at 11-17 Second Avenue

So that bendy thing (OK, concrete pump) has been at work at 11-17 Second Avenue...

[Bobby Williams]

And this photo via @bndo today shows the concrete armada invading trucks lining up to feed it...

Going through the roof at East Village Farms

A reader notes a little activity at the now-shuttered East Village Farms on Avenue today... a few people were at the scene along with a box truck... The roll-up door on the south side of the former grocery was open ... Looks like the roof is coming down... or came down...

And is this the owner, Mr. Park?

The city disapproved the first round of plans to renovate the space, including adding a "dwelling unit" and roof garden on upper floors.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A little bit of Hollywood on Avenue A

East Village Farms is closing; renovations coming to 100 Avenue A

Inside the abandoned theater at East Village Farms on Avenue A

Reader reports: Village Farms closing Jan. 31; building will be demolished

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Houston and the Bowery on Wednesday, photo by Bobby Williams]

New Congressional boundaries for the East Village, LES (The Lo-Down)

A call to scale back the NYU expansion plan (The Villager)

Fine Fare moving its recycling center from Fourth Street to Avenue C (DNAinfo)

A quiet afternoon at Milano's (The Gog Log)

Watch a video about the classic Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop on Fifth Avenue (Eater)

RIP Bowery, the store cat at MooShoes on Orchard Street (BoweryBoogie)

Phil Mushnick on the closing of Bill's Gay Ninties after tomorrow night: "For the regulars, semi-regulars and irregulars, Bill’s lately has been like walking into a crime against nature in progress." (New York Post ... Marty had the scoop on the closure at Tripping With Marty)

And via a reader on Twitter... noted... anyway, we're waiting for the Ranch shampoo..

Nino's Pizza is for sale

We came across this listing for Nino's Pizza, a favorite hub on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place ... According to the listing, "owner retiring and looking for a quick sale." No mention of key money, though the rent is $13,200 a month...

It's certainly possible that another pizzeria will take over the space, maybe even keeping the year-round Christmas decorations and the fountain drinks...


Or, possibly, given the way things seem to go around here, the space becomes [insert absurd foodie concept here]

Meanwhile, Sal's remains closed down the Avenue.

Rats all, folks? Ratstravaganza reportedly under control in Tompkins Square Park

[Bobby Williams, from last fall]

According to this week's issue of The Villager, there's a noticeable decrease in the number of rats in Tompkins Square Park. Chad Marlow, the founder of Tompkins Square Park and Playgrounds Parents Association (TSP3A), which launched in response to the rat overpopulation last summer, "declared victory in the anti-rat campaign — though, he acknowledged, it’s a war that never ends."

Per Parks spokesperson Philip Abramson: "We have been utilizing an Integrated Pest Management approach at Tompkins Square Park which has proved to be successful. We have reduced the number of rat burrows from 120 to 38 as of today. We are continuing to take action to reduce them even further. We will continue working to help alleviate the rat conditions at this park, and encourage New Yorkers to help out by not littering."

The article also notes that, "as the rat story exploded, East Village blog posters debated about whether rat control equals gentrification — some charged that only yuppies would support a rat-free park."

Marlow's response: "I think that’s an offensive position. I think all neighborhoods in this city should be free of vermin. I think the issue should be how to keep affordable housing and get rid of the rats — not, 'We need to keep the rats because they’re necessary to keep affordable housing.'"

You can read the whole article here.

Also, The Villager deserves credit for helping with the problem — they were the first to report on this back on July 21. Other local outlets, including NY1, hilariously tried to take credit.

Anyway, now that the rats are under control, what are Park officials going to do about the lobsters?