After all...

Just after 4...

A big gust of wind blew hats off the stands...



...and the sky...



St, Mark's and Second Avenue.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Hot scoop from Jeremiah: Five Roses pizza now serving in...Negril, Jamaica (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Old friends at Ray's circa 1996 (Neither More Nor Less)

At the Sunburnt Cow: "The smell got worse and worse, until they realized that the guy was so drunk he shit his pants while sitting there." (Blah Blog Blah)

128 Hester ready for the wrecking ball? (BoweryBoogie)

The Fringe Festival continues (FringeNYC)

Get your Cocksucker Blues! (Hunter-Gatherer)

Erica Kane in Stuy Town! (Stuy Town's Lux Living)

The neon of Cafe Oliveira (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Hybrid police car/cab spotted! (NYC Taxi Photo)

How many minutes do people in NYC have to work to buy a Big Mac? (BoingBoing)

How to start a food truck biz! (The Wall Street Journal)

P.S. It's hot out.

Mikey's Pet Shop closing at the end of the month

A reader passes along some sad news: Mikey's Pet Shop on Seventh Street near Avenue A is closing at the end of the month. According to the reader: The landlord raised rent to $20K a month.

The reader ended the note with a "sigh."

I'll add a double sigh.

As you'll remember, Pretty Boy — the Mayor of Seventh Street — wandered into Mikey's one day back in 1988...

Wow and wow: Hotties in tiny new hotel rooms on the Bowery (leave your inhibitions at the front desk!)

Finally! The hotel the Bowery so desperately needed!



According to a post on Arch Daily, these are the plans for the new Lower East Side Hotel on the Bowery (where?? Is that the New Museum to the left?), which is/was designed by the Office for Design and Architecture. Apparently, the rooms will be very small. And what does this mean? (Hope that you have an architectpreter!) The rooms...

...will feature minimalistic interiors to allow the “guests to use their personal aesthetic as an impromptu installation.” By designing tempered and laminated interior cylinders for the shower, toilet and closet, and using stark colors teamed with expansive city views, the small rooms seem larger than their dimensions.

The concept for entire building grew from the inside out as the architects’ primary concern was how to make a 10 foot 6 inch wide room feel larger than its tight confinement. In such a small space, the “typical bathroom encasement” had to be re-thought, for the room just did not have the capacity to provide adequate space for a standard bathroom.

In other words, you have to shit and shower in front of anyone who happens to be in the room. Such as these hotties, who have nothing better to do than lounge around in tanks tops and undies! (And look down at the commoners below!)




Oh, and also:

“With the skin of the bathroom removed, the guts of the fixtures were exposed and celebrated. The guest could now experience the entire room from the door threshold,” explained the architects.

Just like my studio apartment!

Arch Daily also has the following hotel data:

90,000 Square Feet

220 Guest rooms

Banquet hall

2 Restaurants

4,000SF plaza

P.S.

Why is the one dude in the renderings fully clothed? Why isn't he sitting there in boxers? Or is he just experiencing the entire room from the threshold?



For more on some of the other 1,323 hotels coming to the LES:
The pit at 250 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Paradise Lost

A few excerpts from a commentary titled "Our Side of Paradise" published last week in Forbes. The author is a soon-to-be-NYU graduate. She provides some insight into the minds of other students now trying to find their way in the post-college world.

[U]nlike the rest of the responsible adult population, fear of unemployment among recent college grads is not quite as evident as one might expect. For a generation trying to find its place in the job market, the excuse of a "bad economy" has actually been a relief -- even a breath of fresh air -- for recent grads. At least for some of them. The post-graduate summer for recent NYU alums has been freckled with rooftop barbecues, typical bar gatherings on Manhattan's Lower East Side and apartment parties in Brooklyn.

And!

Several weeks ago, during cocktail hour with some new acquaintances, the subject turned, inevitably, to unemployment. Once it was established that nearly everyone just graduated from NYU, the dreaded question was posed: "What are you doing now?" Financially speaking, the answers were unsurprising: freelance photography, an unpaid internship, waitering. And yet no one seemed to mind that income was slim to none and the jobs unassuming. "The economy's bad," someone said.

The thing is, some lucky (some may say "spoiled") recent college grads are OK with the idea of unemployment--at least temporarily. As a generation once defined by SAT scores and the number of clubs on our resumes, we have found ourselves suddenly free of the conventions of school and the pressures of finding a "good" job. "We're young. We should enjoy not having a lot responsibility," a friend recently told me.

And!

In June of this year, I moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with several recent NYU grads and spent the summer interning and finishing up one last course. One of my roommates, who graduated in May, spent the summer in a part-time, paid internship. Another was able to find a few freelance editing jobs earlier in the summer, and another has yet to find any job at all. But it's not the end of the world that none of us are able to fully afford rent.

That's because, thankfully, our parents can.

And!

Yes, our generation has traditionally been criticized as selfish, spoiled and coddled by boomers, but we aren't the only generation to have this experience. Flip through the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "lost generation" masterpiece This Side of Paradise, and you'll find the relevant tale of the young Amory Blaine, who hauntingly reflects a generation privileged with minimal responsibility and a sense of exciting uncertainty.

The full article is here.

Noted

And the link goes to....

Posts that I never got around to posting: Sinkhole feeding time

Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

Posts that I never got around to posting: What are some good bars/clubs in NYC?

Last week, a tourist coming into town posted a rather innocuous question on TravelAgencyNY: "How much money should I bring with me... and what are some good bars/clubs?"

And here's one of the responses:

These are a few ive been too they are free to get in and the atmosphere is great, i would go easy on the credit card the last thing you want is huge repayments once you get home, but honestly the more money you take the more fun you have!

Bowery Ballroom — 6 Delancy St, 212-533-2111
Small to mid-sized rock venue that hosts well-known acts such as the Rollins Band, Collective Soul and Los Lobos — and lesser-known acts such as Honky Toast and Pink Martini. Not much in the way of atmosphere but the sound system and lighting are good, and the wait to get a drink is relatively short.

CBGB’s –— 315 Bowery (at Bleeker St), 212-982-4052
The Bowery’s finest. Birthplace of punk, new wave, alternative or whatever you choose to call it. Live bands seven days a week. Atmosphere: graffiti on graffiti, not the place to take grandma. Known for its rich history having been the springboard for the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads and others. Also, has one of the top sound systems in town. Admission: $5.

Whether or not he or she was serious, the respondent copped the descriptions from here.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz's transition to TV star going as well as expected

On Third Avenue near 12th Street.

Three stars for Superdive

Time Out reviews Superdive this week.



Let's see what they have to say:

Rowdy frat bars don’t usually pique our interest. But Superdive so perfectly replicates the Alpha Beta experience that, fine, we’ll do a reluctant keg stand. But just one.

And!

It’s like a fictional frat house, with a lack of decor so striking — a couple of couches, a long ugly bar, a few tables hosting beer pong — it could’ve been achieved only by drunk dudes who slept through the campus-center poster sale. The crowd appears to have stumbled out of an Abercrombie catalog and on most nights packs the place full. In fact, on weekends you’ll want a reservation — an absurd requirement for a place that postures as the ultimate dive bar.

And!

Like it or not, Superdive’s management has achieved what they presumably set out to do: bring pledge week debauchery to a Manhattan bar. A bartender summed it up best: “If someone pukes, we probably won’t kick them out.” We’re intrigued and horrified at the same time.

As food truck wars heat up, vendors start offering more options

"Yes, I'll have a falafel and something in 42L." Somewhere on Park Avenue South.

What celebrity lives here?

Here's a "celebrity offering" at the Albert, 23 E. 10th St. (between University and Broadway). And look, there's even a margarita machine!



(And I hope the celebrity doesn't mind his/her address was included on the video!)

P.S.
According to the YouTube description, this "can be combined with Apt 811 to create duplex. Offered at $1,599,000."

Preservation of the Provincetown Playhouse not going so well so far

"The preservation of the original Provincetown Playhouse within a new building that New York University is constructing at the MacDougal St. site was put on hold on Aug. 18 after neighbors discovered that part of the historic playhouse wall that was to have been preserved had been removed." An outraged Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said: "What’s unfortunate and clear is that N.Y.U. has yet again been caught in a lie, the lie that they would preserve the walls of the theater in their entirety." For its part, an NYU official apologized and said that work will cease until a report can be made to the community. (The Villager)

Previous Provincetown Playhouse coverage from The Villager. Washington Square Park has been all over the story as well. And BoweryBoogie, photo via BB too.

From Hysteria to... suburbia?

The long-vacated Waldorf Hysteria space at 165 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...



...got the plywood treatment earlier this summer. The proprietor of the dry cleaners next door told me that offices were being created on the ground floor.



Well, here's what it looks like now...



Hmm, well, seems about right. Something with a little character is replaced by something very sterile looking...

[Waldorf image via]

Rockrose around the clock

The dorm-to-luxury-rental conversion continues at 200 Water Street. So far, we've seen the Rockrose brass introduce all sorts of amenities: VIP pizza treatment! Rooftop waterfall showers! Fine, all fine. But it's the return to glory of a 200 Water staple that's welcome news: The weird, giant clock is working once again! Welcome news for people who like weird, giant clocks anyway. (Oh, and not to nitpick, but how do we know if it's am or pm?)

And how does it work?



Previously.

For further reading:
Rooftop cabanas, barbecue, outdoor shower -- such is the life of a renter (The Real Deal)

Good morning from Ninth Street (and 10th Street!), where you'll wake to the sound of power tools and demolition

A resident writes in this morning to note the noise coming from the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street. "Sound of power tools, chute (pictured) and dumpster — is Gregg Singer gutting the place?"

Yes, it appears the work continues to turn the school into University House at Tompkins Square Park.

According to marketing materials for the building: [It's] "currently undergoing a complete renovation including new building systems, core and shell. The property is zoned R8-B. The property is ideal for schools, universities, museums, college dormitories, medical offices, hospital, foundations, nonprofit institutions and related facilities."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

New skyline for Lafayette Street?

The Meineke Car Care Center on the southwest corner of Lafayette and Great Jones has been on the market for several years... I took the photo below for a post back in February.



As I noted in February... According to the Massey Knakal Web site: The property has Landmark’s Approval for a 6-story steel and glass building for residential, commercial or hotel-use. The property is listed at $4.4 million. It could look something like this:



Anyway, the "for sale" signs have been removed...



Perhaps a buyer has been found? The property is still listed at Massey Knakal.

Meanwhile, next door...Massey Knakal is arranging for the sale 8 Bond Street and 358-364 Lafayette. According to the listing:

This exciting and rare site can be delivered vacant which allows for immediate development to meet the ever increasing hotel/commercial office demand in New York City. Alternatively, a developer could obtain a special permit for residential use from the city, a precedent that has been set by a variety of projects in the immediate area. Currently, the site is generating approximately $333,000 annually. All of the current leases are cancellable on either 30 or 90-day notice.

And what might this space look like...?



No price listed...the owner is requesting proposals because..."This property represents a truly rare opportunity to capitalize on the strong demand for a premier residential, commercial, or hotel development site on one of the most sought after streets not only in NoHo, but in all of Manhattan."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another corner still primed to fall on NoHo

What's next for the "stocky, brooding" 37 Great Jones?

While I'm in the neighborhood... Dunno how long 37 Great Jones has been on the market...



As the Times noted in March 2008: "An unusual addition to the street was the stocky, brooding building at 37 Great Jones, designed in 1917 by Lewis Patton and used as a warehouse in the 1930s by the Philco Radio and Television Corporation."

Here's how it looked in 1936 (via):



The building is on the block for $8.8 million. As the listing (PDF) notes, "This property represents a unique opportunity for an investor or end user (such as a single family or restaurant), in an area teaming with new development. This building abuts Ian Schrager's 40 Bond, and numerous other new projects."

Single family?

Seventh Street tumor watch: Now for lease!

We've been waiting, waiting and waiting (since May 2008!) to see what will appear at the former tumor at Seventh Street just west of First Avenue...



...a construction worker at the scene in the spring said it will be "a restaurant or another bar." Hmmm.

Well, maybe some day. It appears that all that work gone into carving out the space and creating the tumor was just to prep it for lease.



According to the listing, the joint has 2,000 square feet, plus another 1,000 square feet in the basement. And: "Many busy cafes in the vicinity."

Feel free to leave your guess in the comments...smart money would have to be on some sort of ramen/noodle/yogurt place. (Or, if BaHa can do it, FroRam!)

For further reading:
7th Street Tumor (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
*Everyday Chatter (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)