35 Cooper Square — loving it!

We continue to take in what has become of the former 35 Cooper Square at East Sixth Street... where the historic, circa-1825 building was quickly demolished here 17 months ago.

While a few residents have grumbled about the muddy, rat-infested eyesore, others see the quiet beauty of the colorful graffiti that continues to arrive here ...

Either way, enjoy it while you can... plans for a 9-story dorm are on file with the DOB as of August...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something 28,998 square feet or so coming to Cooper Square (and goodbye Cooper 35 Asian Pub?)

Here's what's coming to 35 Cooper Square: 9-story dormitory

Village Joker signage appears at The Burger Shop on St. Mark's Place

And on St. Mark's Place, a new sign has appeared above the 14-month old Burger Shop ...

The Village Joker. Sounds like the, say, 6th stop on a pub crawl.

No one was around to ask about the name change. The Burger Shop sign remains...

Famous 99-cent Pizza is now open on East 14th Street

The Famous 99-cent Pizza signage arrived on East 14th Street at the former Desi Roti back on Nov. 17...

And now — it's Grand Opening time this week here just west of Avenue A...

East Village Hawkeye, who took the above photo, ate here and noted that it was pretty tasty as far as 99-cent slices go...

Meanwhile, as everyone has noted, it does seem as if there are more and more cheap-slice shops here. One theory, per Pinch in the comments on the original post:

I'm starting to think this is some kind of reality TV show, like let's see how many cheap pizza shops we can gradually (or may not so gradually) put in one neighborhood and watch people's reactions.

[IUpdated] New awning(s) in the works for Doc Holliday's on Avenue A

Well, the Doc awnings here at Avenue A and East Ninth Street were rather weather- and pigeon beaten... Anyway, the scene outside tonight ...

[Bobby Williams]

This, of course, comes a mere two years after the awning made its triumphant appearance on "Gossip Girl" along with Nate and Dan (or is it Dan and Nate? Never seen the show) ...





Updated, sober light of day:

And we didn't notice the ghost signage on the East Ninth Street side at the time of the photo... the previous tenant was Tompkins Park Restaurant, and before that...?

A better photo of the remaining P and H via Shawn Chittle...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Chico freshens up Doc Holliday's

'Gossip Girl' guys try to act natural walking by Doc Holliday's

An arrest late this afternoon on Avenue A

Some readers passed along details of an arrest late this afternoon on Avenue A near St. Mark's Place... At first look, one reader thought that an SUV had clipped a man standing near the curb.

"Turns out to have been some sort of arrest/bust ... when we arrived on the scene, the young man was on the ground and not resisting. He was talking and yelling loudly but no apparent physical resistance to the slew of undercover cops who were subduing him ... [a] woman next to me yelled to the young man not to resist because 'they will hurt you.'"

Also.

"Toward the end of the encounter, a youngish guy approached one of the undercover detectives with what looked to be a very large wad of cash, of which another undercover detective took possession."

Headed to Ughters Zers for some chopped liver

First Block Drugs, now Russ & Daughters! All of the great neon in the neighborhood is getting repaired at once...

"Ughters Zers" (Photo via Josh Russ. The neon sign will be fixed.) @ Russ & Daughters instagr.am/p/TFXip_j_Gg/

— Russ & Daughters (@LoxPopuli) December 11, 2012

OK, who put the large dog carrier in this tree on East Sixth Street?

Josie's (and Sophie's and Mona's) co-owner Richard Corton passed these on to us from this afternoon... spotted in a tree near Josie's on East Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Sorry to say, we do not know, like, how or why this is in the tree. Perhaps you know? Or have a guess?

Updated:

Oh! Someone just mentioned that this has been up there since Sandy...?

So, moving along... how do we get it down?

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Lafayette Street Sunday morning]

Man struck and killed by L train this morning at 14th and First (AP via the Post)

Eden has more photos and video from the MoRUS opening Saturday (Slum Goddess)

"Representatives of the Landmark Theatre Company told members of Community Board 3 that their plan to sell alcoholic drinks at the Sunshine Cinema offers the only hope of keeping the art house theater at 143 East Houston Street." CB3 not supporting the idea — yet. (The Lo-Down)

Stories of East Village residents rebuilding after Sandy (WNYC)

How East Village resident Jenny Adams helped crowdfund Sandy relief for the neighborhood (NPR)

Yoga to the People on St. Mark's stops offering classes patterned after Bikram Yoga (The New York Times)

Tiengarden on Allen Street closed until February for renovations (BoweryBoogie)

The late, great Movie Star News in Chelsea will soon be home to an upscale bathroom fixtures shop (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Alex returns to the Downtown Music Gallery (Flaming Pablum)

Rebuilding Coney Island (The Wall Street Journal, subscription ID needed)

And introducing Marty Wombacher's Meanwhile, Back in Peoria

Workers arrive on the scene of Claire Forlani's disembodied scotch ad hands

Yesterday, we noted the rather unnerving presence of Claire Forlani's giant billboard hand(s)... on that Scotch ad on Lafayette and Great Jones...

Today, a reader notes that workers have arrived at the scene. But for what reason?

To reattach the hand to the host body? Or hands.

Enjoy these 2 Manhattan views from the Christodora House in 1929

Here is the view to the northwest from the roof of the Christodora House on Avenue B and East Ninth Street circa Feb. 5, 1929. (Click image to enlarge, of course)

[From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York]

And here's the view to the south toward the Woolworth Building...

[From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York]

And here is the stately building from the same day...

[From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York]

The great Samuel H. Gottscho took these photos... and they are via the Museum of the City of New York's website, where you can find many amazing archival photos. Where I'm buying a few things from their archives for holiday gifts.

Updated:

Dave on 7th thinks that the top two photos were taken later than 1929... Perhaps 1931. "That's an almost complete Empire State Building in the middle and it was completed in May of 1931 and the site was excavated in Jan of 1930 (per Wikipedia). So, I think their date is off by two years."

Memories of Tompkins Square Park poster refuses to die

[Bobby Williams, from Dec. 3]

Yes, it has been several days since we last checked in on the poster board thingy in Tompkins Square Park... the one put up by unknown people asking Parkgoers to share their favorite TSP memories. By last Wednesday, the sentiments started to get a little more, uh, salty. Or, as Slum Goddess noted in the comments — like the stalls of the women's bathroom in the Park.

Anyway, we never posted this on Friday morning...

One person claimed that a disgusted parent tore the two posters off the railing.

So by Friday night ...

Then Saturday morning! It was back! (Sort of!)

Then it disappeared. Then, last evening, Bobby Williams emailed me this photo, noting: "Here's old sign refusing to die."

Who knows where it will appear next, and in what form...

As for the memories. Thanks to everyone — Goggla, Chris Flash, John Penley, Gojira, BaHa, DrBOP, Shawn Chittle, Big Gay Ice Cream Man, Marty Wombacher, Andrew Tyndall, among others — for sharing their memories in the comments on the original post.

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's your memory of Tompkins Square Park?

Reader mailbag: Are the new lights too bright at St. Brigid's?

A question from a reader:

Have the obnoxiously too bright lights at St. Brigid's on Avenue B bothered anyone else?

Well, yes — one reader mentioned the "the ludicrously bright lights and ugly fixtures" in this post about the bells of St. Brigid's.

Anyway, the reader understands the deterrent from possible vandalism (and perhaps warding off anyone from sleeping on the front steps) that the lights provide.

"But they are so freaking bright! I wonder if the fact that they're bothering me is my anal-retentiveness coming out ... or I’m guessing I can’t be the only one."

Anyone else with a comment on the lights?