Cooper Union fit for a Caddy

Speaking of the Cooper Union, the newish building is featured in a new Cadillac CTS ad...I'm trying to get a copy of the commercial... Meanwhile, thanks to EV Grieve reader Jeremy for a screen shot...



Cool that the couple in the ad pulled over to look at the Coop's skateboard ramp. Hope that no one gets the idea to use the ramp for any car tricks...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Gleaming the Coop

Michael Huynh's alphabet guessing game on St. Mark's Place

Well! Finally a clue at the former Australian Homemade ice cream/candy shop on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A...

As Eater reported, Michael Huynh, who's opening 1,784 eateries this year, took over this space. "When asked whether or not that would be the location of his future Asian-Taco joint, Huynh said he wasn't sure, that he has three leases on St. Mark's Place to play with ... However, if he does put the tacos here, he's considering calling it Baorrito. May we also suggest South of the Baoder? Taco Bao?"

So, here's what went up last Friday...





Feel free to guess what DOB stands for... I'm going with Department of Buildings.

Stuy Town neighbors rallying to save a bank branch

At the HSBC branch on First Avenue just past 14th Street... you know, the location that has that seemingly-out-of-place suburban look and feel....



...with the clock that reminds you that you're late for work (again)...



...some HSBC account holders are unhappy that this branch is slated for closure...and moving to the former Bald Fat Chocolate Man location on Second Avenue and Ninth Street...



HSBC users are asking people to write their elected officials...

[And thanks to the Graffiti Friend of EV Grieve (GFOEVG) for this tip]

Stupid Diesel ads now with side boobage

Spotted on the Bowery at Fourth Street.

Related:
Don't be stupid (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Butcher Bay now being used for low-budget film shoots

I was walking on Fifth Street this past weekend, and saw some activity at now-shuttered Butcher Bay eatery.... Did they reopen?




...turns out a small crew was there to film a scene for an independent film...

At the former Cafe DeVille, the black plastic goes up, the dead potted plants go out

EV Grieve reader Margaret noted some activity at the shuttered Cafe DeVille space at 13th Street and Third Avenue:

The windows in Cafe Deville were covered with black plastic on Friday. Dead potted palms from inside were also put out on the curb. There wasn't any sort of notice on the door, so it doesn't look a permit has been filed with the city. Intrigued as to what's going on in there.

As Eater reported last September: "The folks applying for a transfer for the Cafe Deville space received approval. The only stipulations proposed by the board do not allow for live music and set that the establishment must be run similar to the owners' other establishment Phebe's, the tavern/sports bar on 4th and Bowery."

I used to go to Phebe's a long time ago... in recent years it has become as fratty as a Murray Hill sports bar...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Cafe DeVille's holiday appears rather permanent

Looking at Phebe's... and Bowery and Fourth Street

So the folks behind Phebe's, the tavern/sports bar on Bowery and Fourth Street, are taking over the old Cafe DeVille space on Third Avenue at 13th Street... When I went to the Phebe's Web site, I found these great photos and a history of the Bowery and Fourth Street corner...

Before it was Phebe's...

it was the "Old Landmark Restaurant & Bar." This establishment existed on the Bowery over 100 years ago. It was owned and operated by J&S Princiotto. Not too long ago the Princiotto family stopped into Phebe's for a burger and a beer and shared stories from the good old days. We thank Matty Princotto for the photos above. If you look closely at the photo on the bottom right you will see the "Business Mens Lunch: for 40 cents you get tomato juice, soup and a roast."

Now open on 11th Street: Tully's and a boutique

Tully's Gluten-Free Bakery opens today on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.. (Fork in the Road recently interviewed owner Tully Lewis.)



And next door, a new boutique has opened...




Previously on EV Grieve:
Tully's Gluten-Free Bakery opening on East 11th Street

Person in chicken suit alert!

A reader just passed this along from St. Mark's Place...



Don't have any context just yet. Like, what is the chicken handing out? Or does a photo like this really need context?

Report: East Village crime stats were fudged to make the area look safer

From the Post today:

A city police captain was forced to retire last year after he fudged crime statistics to make his precinct look safer -- adding to widening concern over the accuracy of NYPD stats and the belief that top bosses pressure supervisors into cooking the books.

Capt. James Arniotes, a 23-year veteran, told The Post that he was busted for reclassifying 23 grand-larceny felonies as petit-larceny misdemeanors in early 2008.

The misconduct occurred while Arniotes, 48, was second in command at the Ninth Precinct in the East Village.

Grand larceny is one of seven major crimes, along with murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary and grand larceny auto, that the NYPD and FBI track and publicize.

[Image via]

Day of Ray recap

Bob Arihood reports that the Day of Ray benefit yesterday raised $1,300. And this is Bob's photo of Haley Moss Dillon (left) and Lilly O'Donnell, the East Village natives who helped organize the Day of Ray.

Melanie has some photos of the day too. As she wrote, "the community efforts that went into Ray Day combined the best of Old New York with The New."

Bowery Hotel celebrity....REVEALED

After consulting with celebrity sketch artists and people who pay attention to this stuff more than I do... I now know who it was in front of the Bowery Hotel Friday:

Amanda Seyfried.



OK, after looking at her bio, she's familiar to me now...

Oh my God! (OMG!) It's...It's... that woman from that movie or TV show or band or something!

So yesterday I'm walking on the Bowery...and I see two paparazzi, two fanboy types with cameras and one large black sedan thingy in front the of the Bowery Hotel. Celebrity! So I stop. I stood there for about two minutes. Passersby asked me who we were waiting for. I always offered a different response. Madeleine Albright. Snooki... Oops. Hotel doors open, I set my camera to "take blurry photos" and....




I had no idea who this woman was. Blond. Pretty. Petite. That really narrows it down. Maybe she played someone's sassy best friend in a movie? I just don't know.

There's always that one guy in gym shorts in this kind of weather

In Tompkins Square Park a little bit ago.

Snowed in

Please send help. I'm in Room 548 at the Cooper Square Hotel. I can't get through to room service. I need four lobsters and a case of Clamato juice. Seriously, though: Where's the nine-feet of snow? And who drinks Clamato juice?