The oil zone

Around 6 this evening, protesters took to the BP gas station on Lafayette and Houston ... (which was conveniently closed in advance) to condemn BP's involvement in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster (read more about the protest here via Gothamist) .... here are a few photos from the protest ... (BoweryBoogie was also there... you can read his report here.)

Crank it up

Nice to see the Chrome Cranks back in action.... tonight at Cake Shop and tomorrow at the Knitting Factory...

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Memorials as street art — I love these too (The Gog Log)

Last seedy "gentlemen's club" in Times Square shuttered (Grub Street)

Gateway to the East Village circa 1983 (Flaming Pablum)

EV Heave spotted something gross outside the Coop (EV Heave)

Shepard Fairey's mural makes a fine backdrop for an 1980s photo shoot (BoweryBoogie)

A beautiful luncheonette in Greenpoint (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

New York Moviefone Mashup (Patell and Waterman’s History of New York)

More memories of St. Vincent's (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Sailors on St. Mark's (East Village Corner…Musings By MELANIE)

Fancy toast and an omelette at the new Trump SoHo Hotel via room service = $55 (The New York Times)


BaHa mentioned these a few weeks back... and I came across them myself on a trip to Chelsea Market....

"SATC2 takes everything that I hold dear as a woman ... and rapes it to death with a stiletto that costs more than my car"

I made a vow not to discuss "Sex and the City II." At least more than I already have. But Jeremiah's post today got me all riled up. Anyway, among other things, he points us to Foster Kamer's rundown on the best SATCII slams here at the Voice. (Thanks Esquared!)

Meanwhile, Scott Lamb at BuzzFeed has a hilarious post this morning titled Don’t See Sex And The City 2. Here, you'll find some more blurbs from SATCII reviews. Like this one from Roger Ebert:

These people make my skin crawl.

However, arguably the greatest review is by Lindy West at The Stranger:

“SATC2 takes everything that I hold dear as a woman and as a human—working hard, contributing to society, not being an entitled cunt like it’s my job—and rapes it to death with a stiletto that costs more than my car. It is 146 minutes long, which means that I entered the theater in the bloom of youth and emerged with a family of field mice living in my long, white mustache. This is an entirely inappropriate length for what is essentially a home video of gay men playing with giant Barbie dolls.

And!

If this is what modern womanhood means, then just fucking veil me and sew up all my holes. Good night.

[Silence]



[Top image via BuzzFeed]

Voices from 98 Bowery's past

Marc H. Miller has posted more fascinating content to his 98Bowery site:

Messages from the Telephone Answering Machine, 1982-87

Per the site description:

My world in the 1980s lives on in part through a collection of answering-machine tapes that I recently retrieved from storage. Unlike the digital variety we use today, the old machines recorded messages on cassette tapes purchased separately and placed in the machine. Most people reused their tapes, letting new messages record over the old. But being the pack rat that I am, I kept all messages, and when both sides of a tape were filled, I dated and saved the cassettes. I had no special reason to do this. They were simply archival debris that I couldn’t part with. Hearing the messages again has been revealing. Some are from men and women I knew well, some were left by passing acquaintances, and others, by complete strangers. Some allude to significant occasions, others to frivolous moments, the search for diversions, and the mundane realities of everyday life. Individually each message is a record of a specific person and moment. Together they form something more -- a sound portrait of my life in the 1980's composed of the voices of the people who were in it.

Listem to them all here. (I like the one marked Avenue A...). When you're at the site, be sure to check some of the other features. I could spend the whole weekend doing so. One EV Grieve favorite: the Curt Hoppe and Al Goldstein video.

[Image via Marc H. Miller and 98Bowery]

For further reading on EV Grieve:
Life at 98 Bowery: 1969-1989

Revisiting Punk Art

Q-and-A with Curt Hoppe: Living on the Bowery, finding inspiration and shooting Mr. Softee

Immaculate renovation

Just an update on the renovations at the Immaculate Conception Church on East 14th Street and First Avenue, which is not being converted into an NYU dorm.

Earlier!




Now!

Something for Novogratz-designed-penthouse-home-with-a-driveway watchers

Since making its East Fourth Street debut last month, Novogratz-designed-penthouse-home-with-a-driveway watchers have been curious about the garage here... Just what kind of vehicle will fit in here? Is it even big enough for a garage band? (Eh, sorry.)



So, to my good fortune, as well as for other Novogratz-designed-penthouse-home-with-a-driveway watchers, I got a look inside the garage the other day!



My professional conclusion: Yeah, it's pretty damn small.

Meanwhile! After some 77 days on the market, a "for sale" sign for the penthouse has appeared! After a 15 percent price drop earlier this year... the tab now remains at $3.195 million...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Home with Novogratz-designed penthouse now in full view

Here in my car, I don't feel safest at all

Meanwhile, I spotted a car that could fit in the garage at the home with Novogratz-designed penthouse on East Fourth Street...



...on Avenue B the other day...



[As for that headline ... I had been listening to some Gary Numan.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Home with Novogratz-designed penthouse now in full view

Earlier.

Noted

Time Out's "SATCII" review begins on Page 69. (And is "stock your pantry" some sort of euphemism for sex that I'm unfamiliar with...?)

Dumpster of the Day

Third Avenue at NYU. Full of dorm furniture!

Bloomberg's anti-sodium campaign is getting out of hand

Oh! It's for our old friend Angelina Jolie's movie!

Previously on EV Grieve:
About Angelina Jolie's "semi-crusty phase" in Tompkins Square Park

East Village eatery odds-and-ends: Westville East's new sign; Bar None's Coyote Ugly tribute

EV Grieve reader Shawn Chittle, who lives above Westville East, passed along a new sign that appeared outside the eatery on Avenue A at 11th Street....



As he noted, "Kudos to Westville for putting up this sign Wednesday after listening to our building's tenants who spoke at Community Board 3. This will go a long way (I hope)." (Previously.)

EV Grieve reader Creature sent along this shot of Steak Shoppe, the new eatery at the old punchline Permanent Brunch and Burgers on First Avenue. The rebranded space opened up last night. Fork in the Road has the story.



Earlier today, I mentioned Bar None in a post that really had nothing to do with Bar None... which prompted a reader to ask me if I had ever seen the bar's website. Uh, no. I have not.



My! I can almost hear "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

And for no reason, the sidewalk outside DBGB earlier this week....

Owners of Frank-Lil' Frankie's-Supper taking over the former Graceland space

Earlier today, I posted information about the new "eco-friendly" Italian restaurant coming to the former Graceland space on Avenue A and Second Street... Well! Thanks to some sleuthing by EV Grieve reader RyanAvenueA .... we now know the person behind this new eatery are none other than Frank Prisinzano, who owns Frank, Lil' Frankie's and Supper... (For the record: Ryan called the number on the CB3 flyer and got the Frank Caters voicemail...) More to come on this...

[Image via]

Should have known

"Inexpensive eco-friendly" Italian restaurant coming to old Graceland space

The signs posted at the former Graceland space provide the details... eventually the owners will want a sidewalk cafe here...




And if you notice the address, it's 150 E. Second St., which also happens to be the address of Nicky's. I asked the folks at Nicky's if this meant they are moving. However, a family member said the restaurant is just for the Graceland space. The family member said they will find out in another four weeks if they keep the East Village Nicky's location. (They also have a shop in Boerum Hill and one coming to near City Hall...)

Meanwhile, the new Italian restaurant is one of many up for CB3/SLA review on June 14.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches leaving the East Village?

Nicky's staying in the East Village; Graceland moving out?

Lovely townhouse with bucolic gardens on East Third Street ready for "creative expansion"

There is an ivy-covered townhouse at 316 E. Third St. near Avenue D that looks lovely from the outside this time of year... And it just went on the market Tuesday for $3.995 million ...



Here's the listing:

This unique offering comprises 2 contiguous lots, 316 and 318 East 3rd Street, together forming an unusual L-shaped area that is 48' wide in the front, over 67' wide in the rear and 105' deep.

The existing structure is a 22.5' wide, 4 story brick townhouse circa 1900 with period details that requires renovation and is delivered vacant. The townhouse is surrounded on 3 sides by bucolic garden, open lawn and mature trees.

However bucolic... what are the chances that this space will be long for the neighborhood?




Check out the rest of the listing:

The townhouse itself is not landmarked, and there are approximately 22,900 buildable square feet available to the purchaser of these combined 2 lots, offering myriad opportunities for creative expansion. Located one block north of Houston in the vibrant Lower East Side, one block east of the famed Nuyorican Poets Café, in an area alive with restaurants, museums, specialty shops and nightlife.

All square footage and buildable potential should be independently verified by an architect.

Listing appears for Houston and Avenue D development

Back in January, the Lo-Down broke the story about a new development (with a roof deck! and $2,800 studios!) coming to Houston and Avenue D... They had a follow-up on the scoop in February, reporting:

The developer, whose name was not disclosed, intends to build on the corner of Houston and Avenue D. There would be 166 rental apartments, 34 of them affordable. This past Tuesday evening, CB3 accepted the committee’s recommendation to approve the deal, with 18 voting yes and 11 voting no.

Anyway, I stumbled upon the ground floor retail listing the other day at Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF) ...



Per the listing...:

approximate size
Ground Floor - 9,711 sf
Basement - 4,816 sf

rent
Upon request

frontage
120 feet on Avenue D
70 feet on East Houston Street

term
Long term

possession
Fourth Quarter 2011

neighboring tenants
Banco Popular, Capital One, Duane Reade, FedEx Office, Dunkin Donuts, Subway and Baskin-Robbins

comments
- Brand new 180-unit luxury residential rental building
- High ceilings
- Over 12,000 apartment units within a five-block radius
- In close proximity to Tompkins Square Park



Possession by the end of next year? Seems awfully ambitious, but OK... The "neighboring tenants" mostly seem to be the ones at Red Square or One Avenue B... obviously only chain stores could afford the asking prices for retail here... this will be a development that many people will continue to watch...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Avenue D's future

Blue tarp down! [Repeat] Blue tarp down!

Tuesday at the Mystery Lot!



Now!






At least now we'll all be able to enjoy the new tags... As a reader noted the other day:

The tarp was down (still there, but down) this morning.

I'm not sure it means anything. A year or two ago a plastic fence was put up behind the chain-link fence. It was eventually taken down and as far as I can tell nothing had happened.

I like that lot. It looks just awful when they put stuff up to block the view.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Mystery lot singing the blues?

Workers spotted at previously dormant 100 Third Ave.

I can't even recall the last time that I saw anyone working at 100 Third Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street... until the other afternoon! Look! There's not one but two workers here!




Five stories are being added to the old four-floor tenement built in 1880. (A Fine Blog has more on the building's history here.)

Anyway, back in the fall, the city slapped a stop-work order here because... "BUILDING SHAKING/VIBRATING/STRUCT STABILITY AFFECTED."

Regardless, if you on a smoking break outside Bar None, then I'd consider standing elsewhere..

Previously on EV Grieve:
100 Third Avenue's lonely add-on

Saint's Alp Teahouse reopens on June 26

Saint's Alp Teahouse on Third Avenue at NYU closed on April 5 for renovations... as the sign out front shows, the joint reopens on June 26... and will now serve things like fish cakes, spicy noodles and peppery squid... because you can't really find food like this for at least one block...