Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Revisiting the "Intimate" Sculpture for Living

News of the new 13-story office building coming some day to 51 Astor Place prompted some discussion of that other swanko building on the block — Sculpture for Living at 445 Lafayette.

I came across an ad from 2005 for the place...



Per Tropolism:

Renee Turman, Interior Designer, comments on the latest advertisement for Sculpture for Living, showing a rendering of unit 16A:

"First of all, they're open to the wide city stark naked, they have one little blanket over them, no rug under the bed, no curtains. Basically, it's an apartment before someone moves in, except they put a bed in there, with people who own no furniture and no drapery. That's just about as opposite as you can get from 'intimate'"

We would like to add that they appear to be shivering from fright. Is it the sight of the bad sealant job on the stock-shaped aluminum curtain wall, or the fact that the view, while fantastic, is utterly interfered with by the clunky segmentation of the "sculptural" shape (the master at work: another S-curve!) and the fact that their room cannot be furnished by anything except a tripod. And perhaps it's just me, but the telescope appears to be pointed inside the apartment, with the viewfinder located near the window.


Heh. Anyway, speaking of penthouses, one remains (427 days on Streeteasy!) on the market here for $12.75 million... check it out....

Says the listing: "The most exhilarating 360 degree views in town!!! This astonishing duplex penthouse has 232 linear feet of continuous floor-to-ceiling glass walls with unparalleled views of Manhattan!"





Looking for AssCastles of the East Village

Something about this ad for Sculpture for Living on Astor Place reminded me of actress-comedian Diane Farr's search for "AssCastles" ... (It's on Funny or Die)



According to her, an AssCastle is "any home with three or more bedrooms that a man resides in without a wife or children and maintains for the sole purpose of 'pulling down ass.'"

(I think she still lives or lived — in the East Village) ... Since I read about it... I wondered where the AssCastles of the East Village might be... could be anywhere, but...some contenders might include big homes in ...




One business that's happy to see the reduced parking on First Avenue

The owners of the parking garage on 11th Street.... as EV Grieve reader Blue Glass points out, workers have been standing on 11th Street and First Avenue enticing car-driving shoppers with signs...


Memories of Marion's on the Bowery

On the Bowery, the beloved old Marion's...



... is now Hecho en Dumbo ... although Marion's has been closed for more than two years... the Marion's Mobile lives on...


East Village Eatery etc.: Charging a Quarter Pounder; remembering 'Killer Queen'; wondering about Red Mango

Never noticed this ad on 14th Street near First Avenue by the McDonald's...



The front of Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar on Second Avenue is getting a makeover...



Saluting the genius of Freddie Mercury on the Mud board on Ninth Street...



Red Mango closed on St. Mark's, as East Village Feed reported....And I noticed the Red Mango signage had been removed over the weekend...



But check out the paper on the door that appeared yesterday .... "Under Renovation" with an open date listed as Friday.... Hmmm...



And, for no reason, the dress code at Horus Cafe on Avenue B at Sixth Street...



...the final countdown at Billy Hurricane's on Avenue B...



Whoa. Did I just write the Final Countdown?! Hell, yeah. Rock!




And noted.... the "closed for" part fell off at Rhong Tiam...

Monday, August 30, 2010

Parting shots for Shepard Fairey on the Deitch Wall



Last night, while Twist and crew were working on the new mural on Houston and the Bowery... several images appeared on the wall.... like the one above... Via the Flickr page of *niCOle* ... you'll find some other messages from last night there... (Thanks to EV Grieve reader T.E.V.B. for the link...)

Crucial corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place now up for grabs, apparently

On May 4, 1988, the Gap opened shop on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, paying a tidy little $33,000 in rent per month... the store closed in 2001... I can't remember what came next... but in recent years the corner has been home to Pizzanini... As East Village Feed reported, they've been closed since Friday... with paper up on the glass...



Can't be easy to make it work with high rents here... and given the $1 competition at 2 Bros...

Anyway, change is certainly coming to the corner... You have the Theatre Condos upstairs.... with the new gaming shop upstairs... Work is under way on the former Andy's Chee Pees location... A worker on the scene said it would be "another store." Hmmm....



Previously on EV Grieve:
Hello again: Revisiting the past of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue

When the Gap moved into the East Village

For further reading:
St. Marks Cinema and Theatre Condos both via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY.

Deitch Wall now with a TWIST

As we noted last Thursday, the Deitch Wall on Houston and The Bowery would soon be home to work by Barry McGee (aka Twist)... As Animal New York reports (via BoweryBoogie), Twist and company began tagging the wall after midnight...

Here it is now...




Per Animal:

"TWIST and company finished the mural that is likely to breed outrage, anarchy and cliché news narratives questioning whether graffiti is art."

Their headline: "Twist's Completed Masterpiece."

Agreed!

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition



Everything that you need to know about the upcoming Howl Festival (East Village Howler)

An EV Grieve reader launches a new blog — check it out (Map of the Sidewalk)

Did Shaoul build another too-tall building in the East Village? (The Real Deal)

Chico's John Lennon mural painted over on Avenue B (BoweryBoogie)

Interesting — the Angelika Film Center has closed in Houston, Texas (29 95)

Exploring the former Novelty District (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Charlie Parker Festival organizers didn't allow photographers/residents to take photos upfront (East Village Corner - Melanie)

Photos from Saturday's free show in TSP (Slum Goddess)

Mafia Wars cleans up its money litter (East Village Feed)

And a reader sent along a photo of a rooftop videogame party or something on Avenue A from Saturday night...

Extra Place now mostly graffiti free, though the toilet remains

In recent weeks, I've been taking photos of the graffiti along Extra Place, the aspiring Left Bank/pedestrian mall of the East Village...








I'm glad that I did this... because most of the graffiti was all just scrubbed away...




...however, the doorway that serves as a small shelter... where, depending on the day, you can find used condoms and needles, is still in use as a toilet...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Extra Place now officially a Dead End

Meanwhile, Extra Place continues to maintain its proud heritage

Perhaps he just saw Extra Place for the first time in 15 years or so?

The Chocolate Wars (well, not at all, but we needed something that sounds CONTROVERSIAL)

Giving Extra Place the warm, comfortable feel of suburbia

Looking at Extra Place

The mystery of the mysterious pylons in the Mystery Lot

Even the slightest activity in the Mystery Lot here on 13th Street always prompts the fear... So, now, what to think of these pylons....





... perhaps in place to mark a new construction project?

When did American Apparel start selling Levi's?

Dunno, something American Apparel-y about this new Levi's ad campaign that is seemingly up in about 400 spots throughout the East Village (and elsewhere...)





13th Street and Avenue A. All shapes and sizes?