20,000 Leagues Under Avenue A

Frosty is lit up, so to speak

First Avenue near Fifth Street.

Stolen Cost art fetches $4,200 on eBay

As I reported, the Cost Showpaper box turned up missing on Second Avenue near Houston. Gothamist noted earlier this week that the item turned up on eBay.

The bidding ended today...looks like it fetched $4,200.



[Top photo via AWKWORD]

Newspapers continue discovering East Village streets

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported on East Third Street, noting that the area is becoming a nightlife destination, which doesn't always make some longtime locals happy.

Meanwhile, The Real Estate Section in the Times checks in with a piece on Seventh Street titled "Musty Old, Clever Young East Seventh Street."

This is a stretch of the East Village that has enchanted local publications for centuries. For instance, Time Out featured Seventh Street last February.

Anyway!



Unfortunately, I didn't make it past the fourth paragraph of the Times article ... with the scene described at Abraço...

"A lanky Italian with one leg of his corduroys tucked into an argyle sock leaned against a tall, skinny wooden table on the sidewalk, sipping from a demitasse and reading The Financial Times. Inside, a rumpled young man lingered in the open window, wearing homesickness for Brazil on his comely face. At his elbow, a middle-aged woman in matte red lipstick and a hand-knit snood was eyeing the cured olive cookies and chatting about the charms of her East Village neighborhood.

Behind the small counter, one of the proprietors, Jamie McCormick, worked his La Marzocco machine and called greetings to his regulars. “Where you been?” Mr. McCormick said to a reedy young man in a motorcycle jacket with a striped scarf tossed loosely around his neck. “You been on tour?”

Whoa! This is a dangerous level of adjectives. Let's toss a few of them into Wordle!



Oops. I don't think I put them back correctly.

"A hand-knit Italian with one leg of his corduroys tucked into a wooden sock leaned against a skinny argyle table on the sidewalk, sipping from a demitasse and reading olive cookies. Inside, a rumpled scarf lingered in the open window, wearing homesickness for Brazil on his middle-aged face. At his elbow, a comely woman in striped red lipstick and a lanky snood was eyeing the reedy Financial Times and chatting about the charms of her tall neighborhood.

Behind the young counter, one of the proprietors, Jamie McCormick, worked his La Marzocco machine and called greetings to his regulars. “Where you been?” Mr. McCormick said to a cured young man in a motorcycle jacket with a matte small man tossed loosely around his neck. “You been on tour?”

Makeup Mania shutters on Allen Street

EV Grieve reader Heather passes along word that Makeup Mania, a sliver of a storefront on Allen just south of Houston, has closed rather suddenly. As she notes, "I swear the place was full and a lady was getting a makeover not more than a few days ago."

9:04 a.m., Avenue A, Dec. 4

At the World Famous Pee Phone©.

Sato is missing

Flyer spotted on 13th Street near Avenue A.

Just another photo of a man walking around with a cat perched on his head

This amazing — but true! — photo taken on Broadway near Waverly comes courtesy of James Maher. (Reprinted with permission from James Maher Photographer.)

He's at the 10... the 20...the 30... the bushes... the fence... Touchdown!

Unfortunately, the play was called back for holding. Tompkins Square Park yesterday afternoon.

Giant computer truck on Avenue A

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Bobby Williams for these shots earlier this afternoon on Avenue A near Seventh Street...





..teaching today's youth how to use large van-sized computers to watch online porn... or not...

Stay free

The Clash, Capitol Theater - Passaic, New Jersey - March 1980.

Holiday Fair at the Neighborhood School (plus, pix of cute kids!)

From the EV Grieve inbox...

The Neighborhood School’s Holiday Fair:
A FUN FAIR FOR A GREAT CAUSE!

The Neighborhood School’s beloved Holiday Fair is back! On Sunday, December 5, from 11 am to 5 pm, come out to support a local public school and have a blast. There’ll be carnival games, arts & crafts, face-painting, print-making, henna and temporary tattooing, a huge kid-built maze (made of deconstructed cardboard boxes — the Avenue A equivalent of a corn maze), a raffle and great food from neighborhood vendors including Ciao for Now, Solo Pizza and Mudspot.

And of course there’s the silent auction. A mere sampling of items up for bids this year: Gift certificates to terrific local shops, salons, spas, yoga studios and gyms; passes to the Landmark Sunshine; museum memberships; theater subscriptions; Knicks tickets; Doyle & Doyle jewelry; family portraits by professional artists and photographers; meals at fave neighborhood spots like Mama’s Food Shop, Esperanto, Il Buco, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Café Mogador, Caracas Arepa Bar, Balthazar and many more! Bid online or in person. Neighborhood School dad and EV institution Richard “Handsome Dick” Manitoba and writer Zoe Hansen will host a live auction at 3pm. Bidding closes at 4pm.

Admission to the fair is free and open to the public. Wondering what a progressive public school in the East Village is like? Come check us out! This is a great (and cheap) way to have fun indoors with your kids on a chilly winter’s day; you can have a nosh and shop for some great items while your kids run around playing and art-making with their friends. Proceeds from the fair support the Neighborhood School PTA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that pays for the school’s art and music education, field trips, classroom supplies, special programs and teacher support. The Neighborhood School is at 121 East 3rd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A

And a school parent passed along photos of some of the students... most of them were taken by the kids, some in an afterschool photography class (taught by a parent, since there is no more funding for afterschool programs) and some in school as part of the curriculum.

Dorian Gray opening, hiring

Here at the former Cannonau (previously Assenzio) space on East Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B... new eatery-tavern combo coming soon. CB3 approved this transfer in September.

Some place that the Wall Street Journal should discover

And I wish that today's Wall Street Journal piece on the new hotbed of action on East Third Street and Avenue C included a mention of the 5C Cultural Center and Cafe ... they do some great programs here... and they really need support... Here's their upcoming schedule. Maybe the Journal could also dig into the nasty landlord dispute here.

The Elephant is closing, and selling off its wares today

As you can see, the Elephant, the troubled Thai eatery on East First Street, has closed. You can read its history here, including an interview with the manager.

We don't really know either

Weather balloon crashed into the new Edi & the Wolf, the Austrian Wine Tavern!, here on Avenue C near Seventh Street?

Newspaper discovers East Third Street

The Wall Street Journal checks in today with a piece titled "New Crowd Descends on East Third Street."

Let's jump into it!:

A once-seedy slice of the East Village is turning into a new night-life Mecca, drawing crowds of late-night revelers to increasingly trendy nooks.

The stretch along East Third Street between Avenues A and D has long appealed to culinary and night-life entrepreneurs. Now, the area is teeming with newly opened bars and restaurants, more of which are venturing farther east toward the grittier Avenue D.

Surely there are repercussions from this new-found popularity?

"The rents have gone way, way up, so that the people who made this community vibrant in the first place can't afford to live here," said Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, who lives on East Third Street.

Still, it's good that Nuyorican Poets Café is doing well. But there's always a but.

Despite those signs of success, some ponder the impact of the changing demographics on the neighborhood.

"It's a weird vibe when people come here for events who have no context of the economics or politics of the Lower East Side—they just come for events." said Steve Cannon, a poet, playwright, novelist and retired professor at City University of New York, who founded A Gathering of Tribes in 1990.

Next week... East Fourth Street!

[Image via The Wall Street Journal]

"Ice pick bandit" menacing Stuy Town

Stuy Town Lux Living has more details.

A mighty thanks

Yikes... and many thanks... I'm honored to be part of this group ... Village Voice Web Awards: The Finalists for Best Neighborhood Blog Are...

Upright Citizens Brigade making progress on East Village outpost

Grub Street first reported that the Upright Citizens Brigade would be opening an East Village outpost back in January 2009. Plans called for the troupe to open at the former Pioneer Theater, which closed two years ago on Avenue A and Third Street. Work started on the space in July 2009.... a time which brought us an epic comment thread about cargo shorts.

Anyway, it seems as if work has picked up again here of late...



Alex Sidtis, managing director of the UCB’s current location in Chelsea, told me in an e-mail that "we are making progress on the space, it will be open in 2011." Stayed tuned for more details.... By the way, CB3 did approve a liquor license for this space in January 2009.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Work on Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre begins at former Two Boots space