East Village soon to exceed maximum capacity for dessert places

We've been far too curious about the fate of 159 Second Ave., the hallowed ground that was home for 27 years to the beloved A. Fontana Shoe Repair. There has been lots of activity there in recent weeks. Anyway, we started (sarcastically) speculating about the future tenant. Based on the above photo, there was one undeniable conclusion: high-end dessert place!

Well, guess what?

An unimpeachable source -- an anonymous tipster, who, for the purposes of this post, we'll call Jeremiah Moss -- passed along the following news on the location late yesterday:

I went by today and a worker told me it's going to be "a vegan ice cream shop." I saw soft-serve machines in the background. Should be open in 2-3 weeks. Could it be another Lula's Sweet Apothecary? Or competition?

Time will tell! Anyway, there's going to be an all-out dessert war in this area now (as if there wasn't one already)...FroYo vs. Vegan Ice Cream vs. TheLiteChoice vs. Chocolate By the Bald Man Who Kind of Looks like Moby vs. the M&M's we can buy at the corner bodega vs. ChikaLicious vs. Dunkin' Donuts vs. Cold Stone Creamery vs...(Meanwhile, we'll just be at Ray's.)

Oh, here's what the space looked like in August...



Let the "bald man" jokes begin!

[Jeremiah has a thoughtful post on what used to be in this space, A. Fontana Shoes.]

Lack of progress at Tompkins Square Park playground irks some parents

Per The Villager: The $1.5 million redesign for the Tompkins Square’s playground will include a water-play area with motion-detecting ground jets, a jungle gym that resembles a rock-climbing wall and parent-friendly cafe-style tables. The playground closed in August, and is expected to reopen in the spring. And some local parents are unhappy.

“We’re thinking of getting a little demonstration together,” said Susan, who withheld her last name and who was spending last Thursday afternoon watching her daughter try out a new skateboard in the park. For Susan, the construction’s progress seems to be going at snail’s pace.
“I don’t see a lot of people working there each time I pass by,” she said. Susan heard rumors that the project will take six months — and “That’s too long,” she said.

Episode 2 review of Life on Marzzzzzzz (a 10-second review)

So! Week two. Better than the first. But it already seems tired after just two episodes. Keitel's ball-busting routine is getting old. Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) has the personality of a salami. (And he really wasn't going to eat that vegetable lasagna?) When is he going to loosen up and have some fun? Why not look up his parents? Something! Will give it one more week...

Now something much more entertaining: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain does "Life on Mars."

Things must be really bad if Wall Streeters don't even want to see some complimentary boobage

In the trash on Nassau Street near Wall Street.

A warm holiday greeting from EV Grieve

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a joyful holiday season to all!



Damn, anyway. I meant to do a better job of tracking the first signs of the December holidays. I forgot! This was at a Duane Reade yesterday. I'm sure stores have had holiday doodads up for much longer. Anyway, for me, it doesn't seem like the holidays until the trees go up at PC Richard & Son on 14th Street. Should be any day now!

Anyway, c'mon, let's get into the holiday spirit! Everyone! Even you traders!

One sign from the bailout protest

There was a "Protest the Bailout on Wall Street" uh, protest today at noon on the steps of Federal Hall. Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez brought their Independent Presidential campaign there for what they dubbed the "Jail Time, Not Bail Time" protest. I wasn't there. But! I did walk around later to see what was left behind...

The city's greatest generation?

The Village Voice unleashes its annual "best of NYC" issue this week. Check it out here. The issue features an essay from Tom Robbins titled "The Hidden History of the City's Greatest Era." He writes, in part:

The fact is that to live in New York in the late '70s to early '80s was to enjoy a cornucopia of inexpensive artistic and intellectual entertainments.

The end is near

On Tuesday, Jeremiah provided a thorough update on the fate of Mondo Kim's on St. Mark's. Yesterday, someone representing Kim's took to the streets to spread the word of the sale. At Seventh Street and Avenue A.

Stranded on Fulton

Weird not to have the Strand Annex at 95 Fulton Street in the Financial District around anymore...the store had been in this location for 12 years (in other locations downtown for another eight years)...but the double whammy of a 300 percent rent hike and the ongoing gutting of Fulton Street gave the Strand folks no other choice than to shutter the place, which happened the third week of September after some dandy sales.



And so the 15,000-square-foot space sits empty.




This box was out front the day I walked by...



At least locals can console themselves with another Dunkin' Donuts opening down the street.




[Top Strand photo taken for Downtown Express by by Jefferson Siegel]

Checking in on Hester and the Bowery

Been nearly one year since we first read about the new 61-unit glass box condo high-rise thingee coming to the corner of Hester and the Bowery. And one year later...things still seem to be in the razing stage.




Too late, unfortunately.

Four more years?

There's a Wall Street Journal opinion piece today titled:

New York Will Survive Without Bloomberg
The mayor never bothered to prepare the city for any lean years

What bozo approved this...

Oh, oops. On Nassau Street near Fulton in the Financial District.

Something for everyone

Pizza and Chinese buffet. New on St. James Place near Madison Street.

If you're thinking about moving to Akron, and you want that East Village feeling...

There's a new tool at HomeThinking that compares Manhattan neighborhoods with neighborhoods in dozens of other cities, from Akron (Ohio!) to Woodinville (Washington!). (The tool only provides the names of neighborhoods -- it doesn't offer recommendations on, say, bars, coffee shops, etc.) Oh, and if you really want to have some fun, compare Manhattan neighborhoods with far-flung locales like Brooklyn! (For the record, the East Village, according to HomeThinking, is like Boerum Hill, Park Slope and Fort Greene.) And see the amazing list of Manhattan locales that are a little bit like Brownsville.

Hole in the wall revealed at St. Brigid's

This was the scene yesterday...




Some work has been done. The shot below was taken Oct. 2.

A few minutes on the Bowery: Waiting for Lohan ... plus, a few other assorted scenes

From a quick walk: I never actually took the time to stop to admire the ads for Avalon Bowery Place on the side of Avalon Bowery Place. This is exactly the sterile environment in which I want to spend $3K-$4K a month for!



And why do they show Times Square?



Was kind hoping the semi would stop for her.



Fitting. RIP Bowery.



Still life, of sorts.



Lindsay Lohan got away from the paparazzi at the Bowery Hotel. Seriously.



Sad bank balloons. Really makes me want to go open an account.

Remembering the East Village of the late 1970s

In the Voice today, Lynn Yaeger recalls moving to her first apartment in the East Village on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Rent: $135.)

Lots of people think that those days — the late 1970s and early 1980s —were really the best days of New York, and it's true that the city — despite (or maybe because of) the legendary graffiti, the burgeoning art scene, the clattery punk bands, and a general climate, especially in my neighborhood, of weirdness and unease — did have an undeniable louche, gritty glamour.

Noted

On Park Row.

Hope for the Emerald Inn

Steve Cuozzo had this (third item) in his column yesterday:

All might not be lost for the Emerald Inn, the beloved Irish pub at 205 Columbus Ave. that's losing its lease in May.

As The Post recently reported, the cozy little bar, which has been there for 66 years, can't afford an increase to $350,000 year in rent - more than twice what it currently pays.

Owner Charlie Campbell and legions of regulars were heartbroken.

But Walker & Malloy broker Rafe Evans, who's negotiated scores of Upper West Side retail leases, said he's willing to help Campbell find another location nearby.

"They have expressed interest in keeping the legend alive," Evans said.

But it won't be on Columbus Avenue.

"They can only afford to be on a side street, maybe West 72nd Street," Evans said, where rents are lower.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Farewell to the Emerald Inn

What's new at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic?: Well, it's better than Lenny Kravitz

The Stuyvesant Polyclinic on Second Avenue between St. Mark's and Ninth Street has a new tenant...

As Crain's reports:

British consulting firm ?What If! has signed a 10-year lease for all of 137 Second Ave., a landmarked three-story building constructed in 1884 to provide medical care to German immigrants.

?What If!, which specializes in business growth strategies, will use the 14,100-square-foot property, between St. Mark’s Place and Ninth Street, as its U.S. headquarters. It plans to move from the 5,000 square feet it rents at 62 White St. by the end of October. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The ornate facade of the red brick and terra cotta building trumpets its original function, with busts of Hippocrates and other scientific pioneers. 137 Second Ave. has been home to a series of medical facilities, the last of which closed in 2005. Redevelopment plans, including one to turn it into apartments, faltered over the years because of objections by the community and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Two investment firms, 135 Second and Lower East Side Equities, bought the building last year, thinking its prominent East Village location would attract retail tenants. After some deals fell through, the owners were introduced to Nina Powell, a managing partner at ?What If!

Ms. Powell, who calls the building “phenomenal,” especially liked the high ceilings, eight-foot-wide wrought-iron staircase and great natural light. During renovations, the firm discovered such details as skylights that had been blocked by dropped ceilings and stained-glass windows that were covered by walls.

The offices, Ms. Powell said, will create an environment in which employees can come up with good campaigns for ?What If! clients, which include Nike and HSBC. “Gray spaces produce gray ideas,” she adds.

As Jeremiah had reported in April: "The broker's listing hoped a rock star like Lenny Kravitz would buy the building for $13 million and install an 'indoor/outdoor saltwater swimming pool exiting to your gigantic organic garden' along with other whimsies."

[Villager file photo]