Noted

From The New York Post today:

If the NYPD relaxes its enforcement of petty "quality of life" infractions, it could be a turning point back to the days when murders, muggings and mayhem plagued the city, says a law-enforcement expert who played a key role in developing the crime-busting policy.

"You might be pointing to a tipping point," said George Kelling, who helped formulate the "broken windows" approach to policing that was the model for Mayor Rudy Giuliani's successful zero-tolerance policy.

"It's too early to tell . . . but the consequence might be more street crime."

By the way, what does a sleeping homeless man have to do with "murders, muggings and mayhem"?

One small step...

From Hunter-Gatherer: Six-month-old dessert place OKO on First Avenue (Momofuku Place) is closed for "renovations" after opening six months ago....

NYC Young Republicans already missing Bush

YOUNG GOPERS: 'O,' THE PAIN! BUSH LEAGUERS MOURN BARACK ERA (New York Post)

Make that 22 empty storefronts along Avenue B?

Oh, a few weeks ago, I did a post about all the empty storefronts along Avenue B -- 21 by my count.

Well, let's go ahead and make that 22. Panificio, that cute Italian eatery that I never went to at the corner of Avenue B and 11th Street, appears to be shuttered.



Sure, it's possible that they just decided to not open on a Thursday night. And, yes, it's plausible that no one would answer the phone the numerous times I tried to call them. And, it's probable that the one small view from 11th Street that shows the empty interior simply means that ownership removed all the tables and chairs and put a display case in the middle of the dining area while cleaning. Or something. And if you were going to be closed for a few days to clean or renovate, there's no reason to put a sign up for potential diners. Anyway! The place never seemed all that crowded to me since it opened last April. For good reasons, perhaps?

Welcome to New York! Lookee at what you can't afford!

Can't say that I have to travel much via the Holland Tunnel...But I did the other day, returning from my favorite airport in Newark, the Newark International Airport...Fresh out of the tunnel in Manhattan, I spotted this billboard by the hole-in-the-ground gang at 56 Leonard.



Logical space for a billboard advertising gazillion-dollar units...catching the attention of the various delivery-truck drivers, office workers, livery cab operators, B&T clubgoers etc., etc., headed into the city for the day/night...

I'm just surprised the billboard doesn't include a New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg banner.

Getting a little empty on First Avenue between 13th and 14th

Not sure when this happened, but Pistahan, a Filipino joint on First Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street, is now closed.



Guess they couldn't find any takers for the space. As Jeremiah and Jill have reported, this stretch of First Avenue, particularly the east side of the street, is getting pretty empty.

Love and human remains

We're talking about Courtney Love again for some reason. On Wednesday, Gothamist linked to a Q-and-A that Love did with Heeb. (In case you missed the East Village portion of the interview, I excerpted a portion of it below.) So maybe she'll move back to NYC. (Alex at Flaming Pablum has an opinion on this topic.)

All this Love talk brought me back to the tabloids and blogs recreating her magical evening in NYC on March 17, 2004, when, among other things, she hit a dude on the head with a mic stand, flashed her boobies and got arrested, though not necessarily in that order. Some flashing happened at Wendy's on 14th Street just west of Union Square. Where the photo above was snapped. The dude posing near her breast is Kofi Asare. But what I want to know: Who is the fellow on the right? Where is he today? And why is Love wearing white before Memorial Day?

So here's the end of the interview between Karen Bookatz and Love from Heeb:

Thanks.
Oh, and I have a question, totally off of the topic. In terms of real estate, like, a Williamsburg girl like you, what do you think about that West Village, um, thing that Gwyneth and Scarlett said? I mean, do you think that like, okay, this is going to sound retarded: Am I too famous to live in the West Village? Or, is it OK?

Um, the West Village is like, really awesome, and like really beautiful and quaint. Like who else lives there? Liv [Tyler] and Sarah Jessica [Parker]. . .
Kyle [Maclaughlin] lives there, Michael [Stipe] lived there. Now he lives in SoHo, but Julie, well she’s not famous. Doesn’t Drew [Barrymore] live there?

I thought she lived in the East Village. I lived in the East Village for three years, and I used to see Drew and Chloë [Sevigny]. . .
The East Village is so funny now. I mean, in the ’80s, the East Village was really scary. Now it’s like a trustafarian Disneyland.

Yeah, that’s why I sort of moved out. But for your purposes, the West Village is cool.
My purposes are to be safe. I don’t have to go out every fucking night.

Bulls? Really? Maybe tough bears

At the NYSE yesterday.

Glad Ford is sponsoring this! They have the money to spend! The Professional Bull Riders 2009 Invitational is this weekend at Madison Square Garden. (I'm surprising Mrs. Grieve and taking her for an early Valentine's Day gift! Oh, man. That would be classic.)

More Robin Raj intel (and what about those cartoon hams?)

Thanks to the fine folks at Curbed for the link to my Robin Raj post earlier today. Joey had some additional intel:
"This reminds us that we were in Robin Raj last weekend and asked an employee about the move. He told us they paid under $30,000/month in rent on the 14th Street and Third Ave. space, and the landlord was raising the rent to $60,000/month. Yowza. He also said the landlord hadn't found a taker yet."

And what will happen to those cartoon hams and other illustrations on their outdoor menu? Check out Jeremiah's photos of the RR storefront at Flickr. (Like the one above...)

That joke isn't funny anymore: Duane Reade opens at location of former OTB parlor on John Street

Last May, I wrote about my favorite OTB parlor at 17 John St. in the Financial District getting closed by the state...



... THE NIGHT BEFORE THE KENTUCKY DERBY, only the biggest racing day of the year.



Shall I even bother mentioning what just opened in that old OTB spot?



Seriously! There are now SIX Duane Reade stores within a three-or-so-block radius. (Not to mention a CVS.) And how about that new Duane Reade logo?

Robin Raj prepping for the big move two doors down (and there's signage!)

The folks at Robin Raj Discount Health & Beauty Aids at the southwest corner of 14th Street and Third Avenue are emptying the store in preparation for their move this weekend (I was told) ...



...a few doors down to 114 Third Ave. where there's now signage! And it looks as if the RR guys will now going by Robin Raj Discount & Deli...



Given what I usually see sold there, a better name might be Robin Raj Discount Egg and Cheese on a Roll.

Previous Robin Raj coverage on EV Grieve here.

From tacos to thai on Third Avenue

Been keeping my eye on 58 Third Ave. near 11th Street, former home to the worst Taco Bell in America.* Seems as if the spot was vacant for eons.



I thought it was that inexpensive "for rent" sign with the handwritten phone number that made it look El Cheapo. What, you throwing a garage sale or do you want to do some business? Then TWO new signs were added!



Anyway! Those signs must have done the trick! The plywood went up last fall...now something called Thai Bodhi Tree is coming to this spot.



They'll be going before the CB3 SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday for a beer and wine permit.

* blanket statement.

P.S. Bodhi? Like Patrick Swayzeeee in Point Break?

Mulch Madness

Earlier this week, BoweryBoogie had a post on the annual discard of Christmas trees in the LES (watch out for that one in the street!)...there's a little more orderly process happening now at Tompkins Square Park with the city's annual MulchFest this Saturday and Sunday...Drag your old tree over here and the city will make some nice-smelling mulch for the park. No mattress or couches please!




Just be careful, OK?

Day to night in Manhattan in 2:21

Titled "Twilight Timelapse from Roosevelt Island." According to conorfuhdu on YouTube: "Taken with a Canon PowerShot SD870IS using the time-lapse movie feature. 2sec delay between shots." (Via Roosevelt Island 360)

In front of Lucy's: A sight that gave me the yikes

Given the possible state of our local dive bars today, you have to wonder about great places in high-rent districts such as Lucy's on Avenue A.

So when I saw the dumpster there in front of Lucy's yesterday afternoon...I couldn't help but think the worst. And I'm not alone in this thinking...and she has floated retirement rumors in the past.

Not to worry, though! I took a stroll by the place after its usual 6 p.m. opening time yesterday...Lucy's is still alive and well, the neon bar signs out front as inviting as ever...

Downtown Music Gallery is leaving the Bowery

This music-lover's mainstay at 342 Bowery is moving soon to Chinatown in a basement location at 13 Monroe St. (Click on the images for a better look...and directions...) According to the sign:

We are planning to be open for business there by the first week of January 2009, if not sooner.
We will be focusing even more on our mail-order/web sales at this new location, but we will have a new 'hours of operation' schedule so all our cherished NY and global customers can visit - and one can always call and ask about visiting at other times if those hours do not accommodate one's schedule for a visit when traveling to/through New York City.

And an FYI for tourists:



Downtown Express featured the shop in December 2006. According to the article:

Bruce Gallanter and Manny Maris defy all the snooty stereotypes surrounding record store clerks. Since opening their shop, Downtown Music Gallery (DMG) in May of 1991, the two have fostered an open, inviting atmosphere in their scruffy little record store on the Bowery. Both typical, Village shop and anachronism, co-proprietors Gallanter and Maris have created a modern-day salon, one that sustains imaginative artists who are largely ignored by the mainstream music industry.

Meanwhile, this means, of course, there's another nice Bowery storefront for something overpriced and stupid.

[UPDATE: Thanks to Alex at Flaming Pablum for setting the record straight...the store hasn't been on the Bowery since 1991...they were previously on Fifth Street just east of Cooper Square next to the Scratcher. Check out Alex's post on the shop from last February.]

Meanwhile on the Bowery....

Just a few doors south of the Downtown Music Gallery...another nice Bowery storefront for something overpriced and stupid.

That new coffee shop coming to Avenue B has a name

Between Fourth Street and Third Street.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New coffee place coming to Avenue B

Report: 43.1 percent of East Village sellers have cut their asking prices (for real estate, not drugs)

The Daily News reports today on StreetEasy's latest assessment of the Manhattan real-estate market...(Curbed had this yesterday.) The Daily News break it down:

Manhattan neighborhoods with the most price cuts
These neighborhoods have seen the highest percentage of sellers cutting prices from quarter three to quarter four 2008:

Beekman - 50.6% of listings cut prices
Manhattan Valley - 45.7%
East Village - 43.1%
Central Park South - 41.9%
SoHo - 41.7%

I dunno...still seems to me like the time I was dragged to a Barney's Warehouse Sale...$950 sweaters were on sale for $600!

You know that grand art-deco Metro Theater at 99th and Broadway that has been closed for a few years?

Yeah, its recent long tortured history (condo! restuarant!) is over. It will now be home to an Urban Outfitters. (New York Post, second item). Finally, local residents won't have to travel so far for their Toddland diver down hoodies!

City Room had an item on the Metro (originally called the Midtown, for some reason) in 2007:

From the outside, the landmark Metro Theater on Broadway, an Art Deco jewel box between 99th and 100th Streets, looks almost as exquisite as it must have in the 1930s, when movies were still known as “photoplays,” though no photo has played there for two years.

But the inside, visible to passers-by on a recent afternoon, has been gutted. Gone are seats and plaster and curtains and screen. Gone is a golden ceiling molding with a chain of floral bouquets. Gone are the sylph-filled niches. Gone is grillework that sprouted like corn stalks.

Here's a little more on the theater's past on Tom Fletcher's New York Architecture

The Midtown, designed by the architecture firm of Boak & Paris, opened in 1933. From 1948 through April 1972, it was part of the Brandt circuit, featuring sub-run foreign and independent fare starting in the 1950s. It exhibited films such as Belle de Jour, Shame (and just about every other Bergman movie), Breathless, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Repulsion, L’Avventura, Straw Dogs, and Gimme Shelter, though never in exclusive engagements. After Brandt's management, it operated as an adult film venue.

It was renamed the Metro in 1982.