Two closings: Amaya and Pinisi

Amaya thai eatery on Fourth Street near Avenue B appears to be closed....



Ditto for Pinisi bakery, which opened here on First Avenue near Second Street in May 2009....

Man actually not shot in Tompkins Square Park

From today's NYPD Daily Blotter in the Post:

A bonehead who accidentally shot himself on the Lower East Side was busted after he claimed to have been shot in Tompkins Square Park, authorities said.

Fernando Torres, 62, shot himself in the hand and thigh in his apartment last Sunday at 5 a.m., sources said.

A neighbor told police he saw Torres shove a revolver into a bag along with bloody clothing, which the bumbling triggerman tossed into a garbage bin, cops said.

Torres then walked into Bellevue Hospital and claimed he'd been shot in the park, cops said.

And this may explain why detectives were in Tompkins Square Park last Sunday morning...

Mattress factory

Seems to be a more active move in/move out end-of-month/beginning-of-month period than usual... seems as if more people are moving out than moving in... While walking around yesterday and today, I counted 17 abandoned mattresses... I started taking pictures of them... but you get the idea...







And none of them were marked "bedbugs."

10:11 a.m., Avenue A, Aug. 1

Sunday morning reading

Third Street and Avenue C.

Late afternoon on Ninth Street

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Steve for this shot... At the Loisaida Summer Block Party on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

St. Mark's Block Party under way

Well, it wasn't at the time that I took these photos this morning.. but by now, probably... balloons...dunk tanks... dead horses... between First Avenue and Avenue A...






Also today: The Loisaida Summer Block Party on Ninth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

'Margin Call' on the Bowery

"Margin Call" is filming on the Bowery and Houston this morning... The Wall Street thriller stars Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore... and the two fellows filming a scene in this convertible, Paul Bettany and Penn Badgley...





Wonder if ol' Penn is going to the Mars Bar later?

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Times goes to the Mars Bar with one of those guys who's in "Gossip Girl"

A terrible experience prompts bedbugs art

We've posted some bedbug art by Samuel Mark here in recent weeks... there's a short Q-and-A with him over at The Wall Street Journal... As he says about his bedbug art: " I am actually just trying to raise awareness. To me, it’s a big problem. I actually experienced bedbugs firsthand and had a terrible experience."

[Photo by EV Grive reader Dan N.]

Surf's up

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

GammaBlog has some great photos and video from last night's Paul Revere ride (GammaBlog)

Talking with street photographer Laura Rubin (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

More photos from the 1990s (Flaming Pablum)

Upcoming shows for the East River Park SummerStage (BoweryBoogie)

Before Second Avenue and First Street was a glassy condo (The Gog Log)

Tips on freelancing for the Voice (Runnin' Scared)

Darryl Strawberry is opening a restaurant in Queens (Grub Street)

Alone in the subway (Blah Blog Blah)

Union Square's old "Dead Man's Curve" (The Bowery Boys)

More on the Russian Orthodox Cathedral battle (The Villager) And Save the Lower East Side! has thoughts on the matter here

And noted:

Breaking: "Fear not — the SUPERDIVE sign burns brightly!"

Well, since I noted the gates were down last weekend at Superdive, Superdive watchers have been busy speculating about the bar's future... with some rumors even suggesting that the keg-tapping gang's space at 200 Avenue A had been seized by the marshal's office.

Not so!



After asking the landlord of 200 Avenue A what was what... we heard from the Superdive Team firsthand:

We are currently closed through the summer for completion of our PA work and AC upgrade. In addition, we are scheduled to appear before CB 3 for an alteration application. This gives us more time to enjoy the sun and surf during this torrid summer.

As one of our favorite bands says " Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world!"

Fear not — the SUPERDIVE sign burns brightly!

Keep cool and try to minimize water and electric usage. (yes those are low wattage energy efficient bulbs in our sign!)

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we will keep you updated on any new and exciting developments at the super bar SUPERDIVE!

On the liquor license docket: Hot & Crusty! Superdive! (Again!) DBGB's sidewalk cafe!

Well! The CB3/SLA agenda for August is now online... Eater and the Lo-Down had the early word on several of the more interesting items. (Clearly they hacked into Susan Stetzer's hard drive! ... Kidding!)

Anyway! Here are some of the items of possible interest ... with helpful comments afterwards in italics...

Monday, Aug. 16 at 6:30 pm — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at Bowery

Renewal with Complaint History
• Cheapshots, 140 1st Ave (op)

Good luck given recent history there.

Sidewalk Cafe Applications
• The Penny Farthing (East County Louth, Inc), 103 3rd Ave

Thought this had already been OK'd...

• DBGB (Bowery Restaurant LLC), 299 Bowery

But of course!

Applications within Resolution Areas
• D Burger Inc, 26 1st Ave (wb)
• D Pizza Inc, 26 1st Ave, Store #2 (wb)

The Rama Cafe space...

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades
• Kate's Joint, 56-58 Ave B (alt/op/usage of basement as storage/minor kitchen modification)

Storage for what? That Post intern who blew the lid of the fact that underage people sometimes go to bars and drink?

• Habibi Lounge (Zaika Restaurant Corp), 198 Ave A (alt/op)

Still haven't met anyone who has been here...

• Superdive (Rapture Cafe & Books LLC), 200 Ave A (alt/op/kitchen/size & location of bar)

Hahaha...fifth time they've been on the agenda in the past six months...

• East Village Tavern (Brooklyn Bar NYC Inc), 158 Ave C (alt/op/stips/extend hours/add live music)

Live music? Longer hours?

• Corp to be Formed, 200 Ave A (trans/op) (Superdive)

Haha...

New Liquor License Applications
• Stromboli Pizza (Stromboli Pizza Inc), 83 St Marks Pl (wb)

Just noting.

• Dans Le Noir (Dans Le Noir Corp), 107 Norfolk St (op) (Tonic)

Eater has more on what may be coming to the long-dormant Tonic space...

• Corp to be Formed (Alexander Stupak), 101 3rd Ave (op)

Oh, the old Cosmic Cantina space... Eater noted that pastry chef from wd~50 has his name on this ... which probably maybe means -- high-end dessert!

• Hot & Crusty (14th St Bella Pizza Corp), 400 E 14th St (b)

Beer for Hot & Crusty?!

[Image via]

A bad sign at Bon Vivant

Late yesterday afternoon I noticed that Bon Vivant, the Greek diner on Broadway near 12th Street, was closed... no sign out front... No one answered the phone when I called... I'm hoping that this is just temporary, like, something suddenly came up...

As New York magazine noted: "Imagine a prototypical old-school diner and, chances are, you’ll get a close approximation of Bon Vivant. Owned for decades by a Greek family, it has a huge illustrated menu, vinyl maroon booths, and chrome chairs." The Bon Vivant was especially welcome in a Broadway corridor filled with chain eateries such as Quizinos and Cosi...

[Update: Called again this morning and didn't get any answer...]

Bedbugs getting bigger, more colorful

More from Samuel Mark. Undisclosed location.

New bus lane signs for First Avenue

New bus lane signs went up this week on First Avenue... perhaps this will ease some of the ongoing confusion here with parking and not parking and what not...



Meanwhile, as the outline on the Avenue shows, there's apparently more work to do here...



Like, perhaps, one of these island/divider thingamajigs from further down the Avenue...



[Many thanks to Blue Glass for the top two photos]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Looking at First Avenue's new bike lanes and "floating lane"

Celebrity dares cyclists to hit him

On First Avenue near First Street.

Still waiting for Chloe Sevigny's community board application

Remember all that hippity-doo about Chloe Sevigny wanting to be on Community Board 3? Back in May?

Anyway! The Scoopster remembers! Scoopy followed up with an item on it this week in the East Villager News:

The actress ... still hasn’t applied to Borough President Scott Stringer’s Office to be considered for a board appointment. "We are waiting for the application and we are looking forward to the interview," said Stringer. (All community board applicants are interviewed and screened by a "blue-ribbon panel" created by Stringer.) The B.P. noted that Sevigny — and anyone else who's interested — has until Jan. 15 to apply for the next appointments in April

.

[Image via]

Words for an accused dog killer

Speaking of Scoopy's column this week.... he also has a follow-up item about the puppy who was stomped to death outside Tompkins Square Park. He spoke with Patrick Miller, a.k.a. P. Miller, a.k.a. P. Mills. According to Scoopy:

"He's 86'ed," P. Mills said of the puppy murderer, if he ever returns to Tompkins. "I'm gonna kill him. We don't like trampling dogs. We don't like violence against animals. Yeah — word live."

Jellyfish invasion on 13th Street

A store called Jellyfish New York is opening on 13th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue...



...based on the sign, I'd say (duh!) that it's some kind of clothing shop for kids... another sign said that the store was opening in August