Breaking! Select bus spotted on First Avenue

As a reader notes ... "Spotted: a select bus in motion on First Avenue. no passengers."

Soon, we will see a rise of the machines!

Jim Joe reaches new heights

We used to seeing graffiti writer Jim Joe's mark at street... like in this shot from EV Grieve reader Andrew....



...or...



Anyway, I'm not sure how long this has been up here... but I just noticed it the other day. I was standing across from 7B on Avenue B... and looked up...

Noted

Via @MScaduto: "Maybe because you're the type of girl who posts hundreds of flyers around the East Village."

Former Miracle Grill garden space sprouts $6K apartments

As mentioned earlier today, the former Miracle Grill space is on the market. And the eatery's garden is now an apartment building at 92 Seventh St. ... which, coincidentally enough, has just been revealed after months of hiding behind the scaffolding and sidewalk shed, etc., etc.

So here's what it looks like...




Looks pretty decent as far as these things go. But what will be happening on the inside?

I took a look at the listings.

There are studios going for $1,950. And there are photos...






...and the roof deck... (UFO!)



The apartments get bigger... There's a three-bedroom (convertible to four!) going for $5,995. Description:
Brand Spanking New! Luxury 3BR Conv 4BR Bedroom With Balcony, High Ceilings, Floor To Ceiling Windows, White Custom Cabinets, Black Corian Counters, Stainless Appliances, Key Elevator, Video Intercom and Laundry Room on Premises.

Hmm... home for a family or a party pad?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Miracle Grill garden not-so-suddenly looks like a condo

Renaming Aces and Eights: See you at Drink 'til U Stink!

As the new Aces & Eights GM mentioned the other day, the bar will rebrand itself whenever they reopen. To that end, "Aces & Eights LES will be holding a naming contest when we reopen and I am hoping to get input and support from not only our staff and customers, but also from residents in East Village and Lower East Side."

I'm all for second chances and certainly think the bar deserves one.... though I'm not so keen on contests. As our friend Billy Gray noted over at Guest of a Guest: "A noble gesture, maybe, but put on your snark-retardant suit." Indeed! Read on...

Although the contest rules and what not have yet to be announced, a few helpful EV Grieve readers jumped in with suggestions for a new name:

Esquared:
How about simply calling it "WOOOO!" — apt and succinct.

Bowery Boy:
Sleepy Neighbors Club
Silent but Deadly Bar & Grill
Up All Night Restaurant
Block the Sidewalk Bar
Old Neighborhood Bedtime Story
F the Sleepy Locals Lounge
Our Music is Your Music Bar
Baseline Vibrations... In Your Child's Bedroom Bar & Lounge

Glamma:
Puke Bar & Grill
There Goes the Neighborhood (Again)
Denegration
UES POS

Lux Living:
Chug 'n Chunder Grill
Beer, Bitches, & Burritos
Drink 'til U Stink
Superdive

It's a dog's life (circa 1985-1999)

Well, there have been some ugly accusations leveled against the proprietor of this website, EV Grieve. Given recent posts, some people are under the impression that this is a pro-cat, anti-dog site. Simply not true!

Uh, but seriously, the folks at East Village-based phoDOGraphy recently posted a set of pics titled "New York City Street Dog Photos, 1985-1999." As they note: "My neighborhood (the East Village/Alphabet City) would be unrecognizable to anyone who left in 1985. Photos from the dawn of phoDOGraphy reveal a much darker place, before there were restaurants and grocery stores with whole wheat bread."

And they gave us the OK to post a few photos from the set...so here are a few doggy (and ducky!) shots from the East Village...






Cat lovers, take note.... according to Mark at phoDOGraphy: "We have 7 cats, and I will eventually have a gallery of unusual cat portraits online, so stay tuned."

Marketing an East Village restaurant space

Last month, I pointed out the new "for lease" sign on the former Miracle Grill space on First Avenue near Seventh Street...



At the time, I didn't see any information on the space.... In recent weeks, Newmark Knight Frank have added more details... and here's how they're pitching the space... Curious the restaurants that they chose to highlight as neighbors...



Some of these places, of course, like Ninth Street Espresso, aren't even close to this space...Perhaps they were just going for a variety of sign fonts...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Former Miracle Grill garden not-so-suddenly looks like a condo

Rock with me: Billy Hurricane's is open (Bedlam too!)

Billy Hurricane's and its space mate, Idle Hands, opened this week at 25 Avenue B. Grub Street's Daniel Maurer swung by for a preview:

Signs advertising a 96-ounce “Das Boot” (à la Heidelberg), scorpion bowls, and “huge-ass beers to go” (meaning growlers) say it all. But this isn’t strictly a place for getting daiquiri-tarded: If popcorn doesn’t do, you can order wings, tater tots, an Andouille burger, a chicken po boy, a BLT, and the occasional beignet special (the menu will expand soon). And if your friends have dragged you here and you just can’t handle gimmicks like the “Wheel of Fortune” of drink specials, you can always retreat downstairs to the quieter bourbon bar, Idle Hands. Take a look at both.

No word whether the bartenders are attractive, sexy, fun and loud.

Also, Grub Street checked out Bedlam on Avenue C... You can read that here. To be honest, I was walking by the place last night and thought I'd see what was what. It was closed for a private party. Or so I was told.

If it's the end of September, then it must be time for Octoberfest

The annual Octoberfest at Zum Schneider starts Saturday... through Oct. 10...




[Via Zum Schneider]

Will the Germans take Avenue C again the fall?

This fall's must have item: Gas Mask Bongs

I actually have no idea where this photo was taken. I found it on Twitpic with the caption:

The East Village is trying to be weird again. Really.

Noted

Several readers sent along the New York magazine Q-and-A with 19-year-old actress Sarah Hyland, who lives in the East Village.

Some excerpts!

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Carrie Bradshaw or Mickey Rooney. When I was 15 I thought I was [Carrie] reincarnated. And I just love Mickey Rooney! Who doesn't? He's so tiny and cute.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
It really depends. If they really look like they're having a hard time, then yes. But I've seen so many people in the East Village pretend they're missing a leg and then they pull it out of nowhere and walk away with all the money they got during the day. So it really depends. I usually give money to talented-musician panhandlers.

I have no idea why you people sent me this link. I like Mickey Rooney too. So, lay off. She's only 19.

4th Street Food Co-op gets new signage — 12 years later

When the sign went up at the 4th Street Food Co-op, it was only meant to be temporary. That was back in 1998.



But now! There's a new logo, based on a design by contest winner Lauren Ruggeri. The winning logo was selected by vote from the entire co-op membership. The final touches on the logo will be added today, and will eventually be added to the co-op's website.



[Photos courtesy of Jill Woodward, 4th Street Food Co-op]

Knife and Fork, fish and chips... under one roof

Eater reports that the chef from Knife + Fork, the East Fourth Street eatery that closed closed in June, will revive his old restaurant in the upcoming Percy's Tavern on Avenue A at 13th St. As Eater reports, Percy's will be in the bar section, serving pub fare like fish 'n' chips. And beer. This is at the former Al Diwan space.

The Knife + Fork chef is Damien Brassel. Back in June, Percy owner Larry Watson, an East Village resident, brought his chef with him to the CB3/SLA meeting. He said that he aspires to be like Northern Spy around the corner on 12th Street. And he mysteriously wouldn't name the Michelin-starred restaurant where he currently works out of fear of losing that job. (Watson said everyone will be suitably impressed when they hear where he worked.)

But I don't think the chef with Watson that night was Brassel....

Report: SLA yanks Aces and Eights' liquor license

The Lo-Down has been following the Aces & Eights saga. And as they report today:

One of the reasons Aces and Eights succeeded in conducting business without a basic operating permit from the city’s health department was that the previous tenant of 34 Avenue A, Mo Pitkin’s, had possessed a permanent liquor license. That allowed the Aces and Eights management to secure a temporary liquor license and to open its doors (in April 2009) without having to produce any city permits — while its own application for a permanent license was pending. The city shuttered the bar Sept. 14, after finally catching up with the paperwork loophole.

Late last week, the NY State Liquor Authority followed suit, yanking Aces and Eights’ right to serve alcohol.