Noted

"In just the seven months since the stock market began to plummet, the recession has aimed its death ray not just at the credit market, the Dow and Detroit, but at the very ethos of conspicuous consumption. Even those with a regular income are reassessing their spending habits, perhaps for the long term. They are shopping their closets, downscaling their vacations and holding off on trading in their cars. If the race to have the latest fashions and gadgets was like an endless, ever-faster video game, then someone has pushed the reset button." (The New York Times)

New York commercial radio to somehow manage to become even suckier

Ben Sisario has the story at the Times:

Making its third identity change since Howard Stern left for satellite radio three years ago, WXRK in New York, better known as K-Rock, will switch to a Top 40 format, the station’s parent company, CBS Radio, announced on Monday.

Instead of the “active rock” K-Rock has been playing — mostly classic rock, with some harder-edged current rock in light rotation — the station, to be known as Now FM (92.3), will play music from acts like “Kanye West, Beyoncé, Pink, Flo Rida, Akon, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake,” according to the announcement. The change will be made at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Looking at Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street (and coming soon: brick-oven pizza)

Plenty of change has come to Avenue C in recent years, of course...Let's just take a look at one small section of it...There are six storefronts along Avenue C between Sixth Street and Seventh Street on the east side. There's the nice Alphabet City Wine Co. that opened in 2007...as well as the NE Salon. And the Alphabet Lounge, which was revamped in 2006 (doesn't seem the same anymore, though the owners do at least appreciate the neighborhood's history). And there are two storefronts for rent.



I'm told the sixth space on the block (pictured below) is going to be a brick-oven pizza place. (A beer and wine liquor license is pending.) A beleaguered acquaintance of mine from across the street said, "It least it won't be another bar." Here's what the spot at 102 Avenue C looks like now...No word on an opening date.



The revamping of this block saw the relocation of two longtime businesses, CHP Hardware (which moved north one block) and Joselito's Restaurant, a delicious and inexpensive Dominican spot that moved to Avenue D between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. (And what became of the tenants who lived above the businesses...?) By the way, the upstairs units at 94 Avenue C are currently serving as "New York City Vacation Homes," in which "suites" are available for up to $395 a night ("sleeps eight persons!").




And here's Joselito today on Avenue D...



Previously on EV Grieve:
More changes coming to Avenue C: "The possibilities are endless!"

[Top photo of Joselito Restaurant via]

Ode to mung beans...in this town without pity

While we're on Avenue C....this poem was hanging on the side of a building on East Seventh Street.

A movie poster that won't inspire me to go see the movie

The premise of the film via IMDB: "A hate crime on the campus of a New England college puts the school's dean (Parker) in a position where she has to examine her own feelings about race and prejudice, while maintaining her administration's politically correct policies." The film is based on the acclaimed play.

Poster spotted on Houston and Avenue B.

Right by this one:

“The Bowery told what was going on — what happened here happened later everywhere else”

The Times takes a trip to a dying breed of a shop: Faerman's cash register store, a father-son operation on the Bowery between Broome and Delancey Streets.

Once the Bowery was cash register heaven. Beneath the old Third Avenue el, among the restaurant supply stores and the flophouses and the down-and-outers who lived in them, stores trafficked in cash registers.

What happened to the others?

The father says the Bowery has always been a barometer. The son says, “The Bowery told what was going on — what happened here happened later everywhere else.”

It is tempting to say, glibly, that what happened is that the others cashed in, that they made a big profit from the real estate boom that remade skid row when there was mortgage money to be borrowed. Maybe they did, maybe they did not.

The Faermans’ neighbors now include a bank turned catering hall, the scene of benefits running $500 a person and up. Or, walk a few blocks to a Whole Foods store. It’s a pricey neighborhood these days. Bernard Faerman says stores rent for $15,000 a month. Brian Faerman says it is more than that. They own their building, and the son says it is not for sale.

[Photo: Andrea Mohin/The New York Times]

Was it real or part of the filming?

I have no idea what was going on here...First, there was more filming yesterday for the low-budget feature “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” (or "The Impearlist" as the sign notes) around Tompkins Square Park. (They had also set up camp on Avenue B from 10th Street to Seventh Street one day last week.)



For some reason I stopped to watch for a few minutes yesterday. Everyone on the crew seemed to be looking south on Avenue A toward Ninth Street.





A scooter was lying in the Avenue. No one seemed to be hurt. Several people standing watching thought this was part of the film.



Didn't seem worth standing around for any longer...

New Yorkers really like the new Cemusa bus shelters and newsstands, survey by Cemusa says

We get news releases!:

New Yorkers Show Overwhelming Support for City's New Bus Shelters and Newsstands

93% feel structures improve city's appearance

NEW YORK, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Survey results released today by Cemusa, Inc. indicate that a vast majority of New Yorkers are pleased with the new bus shelters and newsstands installed throughout New York City. Ninety-three percent of respondents feel that the new design of newsstands and bus shelters improve the city's appearance and 88 percent like the new designs. Furthermore, of the respondents that indicated the new design influenced their opinion of New York City Government, 89 percent said the change was positive.

"We are very pleased by the overwhelming response to our street furniture installations in New York City, and that our work has contributed to an improved opinion of our partner, the City of New York, as well," said Susan Baron, chief executive officer, Cemusa North America. "Our new bus shelters, newsstands and automatic public toilets were designed exclusively for the city and the people of New York, which makes it all the more rewarding that they have been so well received."

Cemusa's coordinated street furniture program for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) is part of a 20 year contract that began in 2006. The contract calls for 3,300 new bus stop shelters, 20 new automatic public toilets (APT) and the replacement of 330 newsstands. To date, 1,586 shelters, 130 newsstands and two APTs have been installed. Additionally, Cemusa has fulfilled its payments to the City through 2010.

Newsstand and Bus Shelter Results
When asked about the city's new newsstands, New Yorkers surveyed responded that the upgraded newsstands sometimes result in higher purchase levels. Twelve percent of the respondents said that they purchase more from the new newsstands than they used to, citing greater appeal and cleanliness among reasons for increased purchases.

Survey results also indicated a majority of NYC pedestrians and commuters feel the new bus shelters are cleaner (62 percent) and more pleasant (61 percent) than the old shelters. Additionally, 47 percent described the shelters as better lit and 35 percent feel they are safer.

Advertisement Results
The survey results also reinforced that advertisers who appear on Cemusa bus shelters and newsstands in NYC can expect a significant return on that investment, with 65 percent of respondents indicating that they notice the advertising on newsstands/bus shelters. More than half (52 percent) of those individuals responded that the advertisements at newsstands and bus shelters make them want to buy the products they see.

[Cemusa image via BoweryBoogie]

Aces & Eights signage up at former Mo Pitkin's space

As I mentioned last Monday, a new bar has opened in the former Mo Pitkin's space at 34 Avenue A. I was told that the building was purchased by the folks behind the fratty Yorkville saloon Aces & Eights. Now, rather temporary-looking signage is up...




No indication yet how the performance space upstairs will be utilized. (Beer pong tourneys?) Something tells me that you won't be seeing, say, Kiki & Herb or Murray Hill headlining anytime soon...The 2-for-1 happy hour is in keeping with the four other bars on the next block -- Double Down, Kelly's, Nice Guy Eddie's and The Library -- that have the same deal.

Meanwhile, add futurist to the skills of former Mo's regular Ben Lerman. The ukulele-playing comedian had this to say to New York magazine in September 2007 upon hearing the news that Mo's was for sale:

“Like Brownies, Fez, Sin-é, Tonic, and many others before, Mo’s will be just another arts venue replaced by yet another bland, chic meat-market with delicious mojitos. The people moving into the town don’t want live entertainment. They just want to get hammered and drag someone home to their luxury condo. Which, when you put it that way, actually doesn’t sound so bad.”

Looking at some of the (temporary?) restaurant closings in the East Village

Tahini on Third Avenue at St. Mark's Place was closed for a few days...




Grub Street noted last week that the Bamn! Automat on St. Mark's was closed...the sign on the door simply reads "closed today." It was still shuttered as of yesterday...



Ryan's is still closed on Second Avenue...



And there is a "temporarily closed for remodeling" sign up at Ray's on Avenue A between 12th Street and 13th Street...(As I recall, this space was previously Papa D's Pizza. Never tried their pizza...)



Meanwhile!

Coming soon to Second Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street...



Finally, Table 12, the bistro at 12th Street and Avenue A that Jill mentioned last Wednesday, is now open...

Muni Meters bring out the worst in people

Spotted on Avenue A near Sixth Street...




Meanwhile...Spotted on St. Mark's Place near First Avenue...

"Couple looking to by coop or condo" without need for a mortgage flier of the day

Spotted on Avenue A and Second Street.

When popular places on East Seventh Street run out of things

At Porchetta yesterday...(and why this is so popular...I don't get...)



And at Abraço on Feb. 22...

In case you missed the 5,000 (or so) "Rock of Love Girls" posters someone plastered all over Avenue A

Looking forward to the graffiti on these.

Noted

"The modern version of the Rat Pack burned rubber through the city streets Friday as Leonardo DiCaprio and buddies Lukas Haas, Tobey Maguire and Kevin Dillon toured the East Village on bicycles." (New York Post)

Goodbye to all that

Or maybe one last (rather pathetic) attempt to enjoy a winter sport? On Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

The Times looks at Webster Hall's past and present (and future)

The $3 million, yearlong renovation at Webster Hall is done. And the Times takes a look at the 11th Street club's history....

Charles Goldstein, a cigarmaker, built Webster Hall in 1886 for $75,000, with a design by Charles Rentz Jr., an architect and beer vendor, for “balls, receptions, Hebrew weddings and sociables,” according to a December 1886 article in The New York Times.

But it soon came to be known for rowdy parties, many of which featured live music, like the fund-raiser for General Grant’s memorial in September 1887, or the fete for the French Revolution centennial in May 1889.

In the early 1900s, Webster Hall’s guest lists featured artists of all sorts, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Around the same time, Greenwich Village became a center of gay and lesbian life, and the club was frequently a gathering place.

And some of its music history...

It was back in 1953, when RCA Victor set up a studio in the Grand Ballroom of Webster Hall in Manhattan to achieve a level of reverberation that would help the label compete with Columbia Records. Perry Como recorded his “Como Swings” there in 1959, which displayed Como in slacks and a blue shirt on a golf course.

As the world changed, and music with it, so did the acts the venue attracted: in 1967, Jefferson Airplane staged its first concert in New York inside. On Dec. 6, 1980, U2ushered in the post-punk era here — it was called the Ritz at the time — when it pounded out “I Will Follow” in its first gig in the United States. And on Feb. 2, 1988, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, standing on the same stage, before screeching “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” inflated a condom like a balloon.

No mention of K-Fed's show there, though...

At the Fillmore East, Jan. 1, 1970

And check out the shot of Ratner's at the 18-second mark....

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

News and tributes related to the death of blogger Bob Guskind (Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn)

A look at "Manhattan's mole people" (New York Post)

EV cabaret cops take a bow (The Villager)

Babs Corcoran turns 60...which can only mean: Pajama party! (Page Six)

Full coverage of the StuyTown illegal rent case (Stuyvesant Town's Lux Living)

How low will NYC real estate go? (New York Times, via Curbed)

Watchmen's 1985 NYC landscape vs. the real thing (Gawker)

Ludlow's SVA running up a big electric bill (BoweryBoogie)

Visiting two lesser-known halls at the American Museum of Natural History (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Eight-tracks next?: Vinyl is making a comeback (amNew York)

Looking at the new Minetta Tavern (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

The passenger who barfed (NYC Taxi Photo)

A Red Tailed hawk in action at TSP (Neither More Nor Less)

Karate Boogaloo has some more rock ephemera (Stupefaction)

The members of U2 finally make themselves useful in NYC (The Superficial)

The Bronx is burning money

A few passages from The Wall Street Journal article today on the wretched excess found at the soon-to-open Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. (And the place where the Dallas Cowboys will play.) As the headline goes, "Three of the most expensive sports arenas in history are about to open, and the timing couldn't be worse."

When the New York Yankees throw open the doors to their new home on April 3, fans will walk into a $1.5 billion stadium filled with all the hallmarks of 21st-century sports extravagance: a steak house, a glass-enclosed sports bar and high-definition video screens in every direction.

Luxury suite-holders can access a separate deal-room for conducting business. In the sleek, exclusive "Legends Club," the high-definition screens are so ubiquitous they're even set into the lavatory mirrors. For spectators in the premium section's teak-armed seats, waiters will bring brick-oven pizza to anyone able to shell out $2,500 a ticket to watch a ballgame in the midst of the worst recession in a generation.

Well, at least we can get a cheap hot dog...Uh, right?

Citi Field will have a reservation-only restaurant and a wine bar, plus gourmet snack food -- barbecue, burgers and Belgian-style french fries -- by top New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. The Yankees and Cowboys decided no existing concessions company was good enough for their new stadiums, so they teamed up with Goldman Sachs to create their own company, Legends Hospitality Management, which will focus on high-end, locally themed food. Yankee Stadium promises food cooked up by celebrity chefs from the Food Network, while a sample menu for a Cowboys luxury suite features New Zealand baby lamb chops, Kobe beef with a cognac demi-glace and truffled macaroni and cheese.

Well, at least we can sit in the bleacher seats.

Fans can still get bleacher seats in Yankee Stadium for $5, though their view of the field is partially blocked by a glass-enclosed sports bar. Bleacher seats with unobstructed views will go for $12.