Here kitty kitty

We posted a few photos last week of the gorgeous cat seen at times hanging around Tompkins Square Park ... Bobby Williams spotted the cat again yesterday, and he/she was happy (mostly) to pose for a few more photos...

City approves new building for Mystery Lot

Construction equipment arrived at the Mystery Lot back on July 23. As you are painfully aware know by now, the space will be home to an 82-unit, eight-story development.

While workers have been digging into this sacred ground, the developers were still waiting for the city to OK the final plans for the building. Just a formality. After a few disapproved marks from the DOB, the examiner finally signed off last Friday...

Now we're just waiting to see the renderings for the building. BKSK Architects are behind the designs. Their previous work includes The Tribute WTC 9/11 Visitor Center and 25 Bond Street (below)...

Know anything about the plans here? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email

Taureau has moved away from the East Village

Taureau, the BYOB fondue place at 127 E. Seventh St., recently moved away from the East Village. The place opened in April 2010, and I never met a person who had eaten here. Myself included. Not a dig. Just never quite in that fondue mood.

According to the sign on the door, the eatery relocated to 558 Broome Street. The Taureau website says "the new location is more spacious, more romantic and more convenient to the subway, and still BYOB!"

More romantic? What could be more romantic than being located right next door to the Peter Jarema Funeral Home on East Seventh Street?

No one EVER said moving was easy

Contrary to what the slogan says on the moving truck. On East Fourth Street at Second Avenue.

Photo by Bobby Williams.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

[Spotted on Avenue A and 12th Street this morning by EVG reader Allison]

Farewell to the University Diner (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York ... Flaming Pablum)

Update on the new ABC No Rio building (Scoopy's Notebook, last item)

Update on the CBGB movie (RollingStone.com)

Swanky Luxx NYC opens on Houston and Essex (BoweryBoogie)

A great ad for Bigelow’s Pharmacy (Ephemeral New York)

Happy birthday Dee Dee (New Times)

LES fall arts preview (The Lo-Down)

...and a reminder about the "Art Around the Bowery" exhibit opening today at the New Museum...

Read our piece on Bettie and the Ramones, one of the featured pieces, here.

It's hard out here for a droid

Tweet and photo on Broadway near East 11th Street by @willphoto ...

Yet another child actor falls on hard times: R2 hocking bootleg DVDs and bottled water.

7-Eleven alert: Are 2 chain stores replacing Bar on A and Angels & Kings?

[From August]

In recent years, when a business closes around here, it's inevitable that the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway rumor makes the rounds as a replacement.

We heard this after Graceland closed ... when 34 Avenue A was looking for a new tenant ... when Kate's Joint closed on Avenue B ... when 219 First Avenue had retail space available; ditto for the Copper Building retail ground floor — and so on. Sometimes it turns out to be true, and other times, it's just a rumor. Or something people use merely as a threat.

So we heard the Starbucks-7-Eleven-Subway whispers about the recently shuttered Bar on A at East 11th Street. In part, these rumors surfaced because Ben Shaoul of Magnum Real Estate owns the building ... and two of his East Village properties are now home to a Starbucks (First Avenue at East Third Street) and a 7-Eleven (Broadway and East 12th Street). On Monday, one of the construction workers gutting 170 Avenue A told told a reporter from The Local that a 7-Eleven was taking over the former Bar on A space.

[Photos by Shawn Chittle]

However, in addition, workers have cleared out Angels & Kings, Pete Wentz's onetime emo hangout behind Bar on A at 500 E. 11th St. (aka 170 Avenue A). According to the work permits for No. 500: "REMODEL EXISTING STAIR CONNECTING CELLAR AND FIRST FLOOR. REMOVE INTERIOR NON-LOAD BEARING PARTITIONS AT FIRST FLOOR."

[Last evening via EVG reader Cheryl Pyle on Facebook]

An EVG regular who has been watching all this unfold thinks that the two spaces together are too big for just a 7-Eleven, and believes that the two spaces would yield both a 7-Eleven and a Subway. Or a Starbucks. This is only a theory. But plausible.

In January, the CB3/SLA gave the OK for the people behind Keybar on East 13th Street to take over the Angels & Kings space and open a bar-restaurant serving Hungarian food. No word on whatever happened to those plans.

However, there's nothing just yet on the DOB permits pointing specifically yet to a 7-Eleven, Starbucks or Subway. One connection: The applicant of record for both 500 E. 11th St. and 170 Avenue A is Bentonville, Ark.-based Harrison French & Associates, an architecture and engineering firm whose clients include 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Subway. (Harris French did the 7-Eleven on Broadway at East 12th Street and East 14th Street.)

In any event, nothing official has been released about the corner's future. But given NYC's current retail environment, you may want to get ready for the first national, non-bank chain/franchise on Avenue A. And probably not the last.

Because we need more bars and restaurants and fewer things like laundromats in the East Village

There's a new listing on the books for Klean & Kleaner, the laundromat on East Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

There's isn't any mention of rent... but under the "comments" section...

That's right! "Ideal for a bar/restaurant. Tremendous night and weekend traffic."

And the Gold Rush continues.

Recap: Out and About in the East Village

Since Aug. 1, East Village-based photographer James Maher has provided us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works hereabouts for our new series named Out and About in the East Village.

I really like the feature, and look forward to see who James interviews each week. Given that we started this during the summer, we thought it would be a good time to pause and look back at our first seven interviews before moving forward into the fall.

And remember to wear pants when greeting the delivery person at the door. (See Mike Stupin below to get that joke.)

• Aug. 1 — Mike Stupin

• Aug. 8 — Roger Jazilek

• Aug. 15 — Madeleine Von Froomer

• Aug. 22 — Patrice Suncircle

• Aug. 29 — Joey McGibbon

• Sept. 5 — Anthony Pepe

• Sept. 12 — Rembrandt Duran (and Lucy)

Noted

I came across this headline in the Free Stuff section at Craigslist — 3 cans of Campbell's Soup (East Village)

Per the listing:

"Two tomato, one chicken noodle. No, it's not much, but if you're in the nabe, you're welcome to swing by and grab 'em. Near 14th St & Ave A."

Relive the memories: In case you missed the storm

On a rather flooded Second Avenue and East 10th Street a little bit ago via Tompkins Square Bagels proprietor Christopher Pugliese...

Noted

Via a reader on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...