EV Grieve

Monday, July 25, 2011

Photo by Bobby Williams.

In Tompkins Square Park, out of the rain

Photos by Bobby Williams.

Breaking: Soho becoming a winter wonderland

And now, workers are turning Greene Street into a winter wonderland this afternoon ... a reader notes for a TV commercial.

Previously.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

The history of Movie Star News on East 14th Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Rats at play in Tompkins Square Park (Neither More Nor Less)

Why Varvatos was the best person to take over CBGB (The Villager)

Looking at the incoming Tenement Museum Visitor’s Center on Orchard Street (BoweryBoogie)

How New Yorkers used to beat the heat (Ephemeral New York)

Hank Penza, on a chair and on the sidewalk (The Gog Log)

Tenant-owner dispute on Seventh Street results in fire, dead dog, possible civil lawsuit

The Post has this story today. A couple who live on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue were out in January celebrating a legal victory against their landlord, Steven Croman, of Croman Realty. When they returned home, someone had broken into their ground-floor apartment and started a fire in their closet. (We wrote about the fire here.)

Their Labradoodle named Foster died eight days later as a result from the fire, the Post reports. (The couple had been asking Croman to to padlock two doors that led to their backyard.)

Police later arrested a 22-year-old "career criminal" for the burglary and arson. Police didn't find any connection between the man arrested and Croman. Meanwhile, the couple are considering filing a civil lawsuit against Croman Realty. They have since moved and have a new dog.

Read the whole story here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Fire on Seventh Street

An end of an era at the Grassroots Tavern

After 24 years behind the bar at the Grassroots Tavern on St. Mark's Place, John Leeper has retired. We've been trying to guess his age for years. Best guess is between 75 and 80.

His last day was Friday. We're told that a large contingent of regulars from the 4-9 p.m. shift — the times that John normally worked Tuesday through Saturday — were on hand to see him off.

According to an afternoon-shift regular, as John left the Grassroots at 9 p.m. for one last time, the entire bar sang "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." He stood at the door with his wife, a high school teacher in Brooklyn. He had tears in his eyes. He waved goodbye and headed into the night.

Per the regular: "The Grassroots will never be the same."

Indeed. We've enjoyed his company through the years. John was always good with a story — tall tales or otherwise. We've heard amusing anecdotes about everyone from Joe Namath to Reggie Jackson to (rather randomly!) Claude Akins. He talked about running some after-hours joints in the West Village in the 1970s full of colorful characters, like Jimmy the Slabman.

He tended bar for Hilly Kristal in the early 1970s when Hilly had a place over on Sixth Avenue at Ninth Street. John followed him over here, working briefly at Hilly's on the Bowery, the bar that would later become CBGB. He had a few funny Hilly stories. But he was never nostalgic. Maybe a little too matter-of-fact at times.

John didn't have much patience for bar incompetence. You didn't want to be the person who walked into the Grassroots and ask what kind of beer was on tap when you're standing in front of one of the carefully placed beer lists on the wall. He particularly disliked when, say, four after-work types ordered a $7 pitcher of Budweiser. And all four people fumbled around their wallets or pockets looking for their $2 portion. Why doesn't one person pick up the round? He also lamented that no one read anymore, saying this while watching people who were by themselves at the bar playing with their various smartphones.

But stories and bar etiquette aside, he knew what to say when it mattered most. A job loss. A challenging situation at home. He often served as a father figure. We always knew where to find him. And it seemed like he'd be there forever.

[We thought we had some photos of John, though we couldn't find one. Photo here via]

Rumors: Mars Bar owner Hank Penza ready to open a new space in the next few months

[Photo taken Friday afternoon by Bobby Williams]

In all the Mars Bar hysteria in recent weeks... we continued to hear that owner Hank Penza planned to open a new bar in the next few months (and that he already had the liquor license) ... somewhere within five blocks of where Mars Bar lived since 1984.

Well, this might all be wishful thinking in the aftermath of the bar's abrupt closing last week. However, we've heard this same story from so many different Mars Bar regulars (people who were patrons at different shifts) that there has to be something to the rumors. In fact, Hank has confirmed this to several people.

As we pointed out on Friday, workers began dismantling the bar. However, the person who will serve as manager of the new Penza-run space has the actual bar and jukebox from the Mars Bar for the next place.

Meanwhile, you may have seen photos at Eater of the dismantled Mars Bar on Friday... Goggla has these and other shots from inside this past weekend on her Flickr page...

Behold the Hyatt Union Square, in progress

Workers have removed the scaffolding and construction netting at 132 Fourth Ave., the looong-delayed hotel that will one day be a Hyatt Union Square ...

And here's the rendering... No hydroponic bamboo garden or halo just yet...But we're waiting!

[Image from Archpaper via Curbed]

The hotel is expected to open in fall 2012. According to a news release: "The Hyatt Union Square will be a 4-star hotel with a historic facade and 23‐foot lobby ceilings that will create a unique space for guests. Amenities will include an upscale restaurant, a destination lobby bar, an exclusive rooftop lounge, private terraces, a state of‐the art fitness facility, and a pool."

The Real Deal had a report back on June 29 about Hersha buying this property from the McSam Hotel Group.

Read all our coverage on this here.

51 Astor Place now home to a long and winding sidewalk shed

Workers continue to prep 51 Astor Place for demolition. Late last week, you may have noticed that crews erected the rather lengthy sidewalk shed surrounding the building...

...and the space is prepped for the asbestos removal...

This is the end!

Mikey's Pet Shop space becoming an 'organic, healthy food market'

That's what workers renovating the space on Seventh Street near Avenue A told our Dave on 7th.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Mikey's Pet Shop closing at the end of the month

Prime & Beyond New York now open on East 10th Street

Prime & Beyond is now open at the long-dormant space that previously housed Danal on East 10th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue. (Jeremiah first reported this coming-soon eatery back on May 17.)

One reader said that the place opened last Thursday. There's already a five-star review on Yelp that reads "Simply awesome awesome meat... the best in the city..."

Anyway, this place is apparently an offshoot of a Fort Lee, N.J.-based steakhouse, as Eater pointed out.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

It's now snowing outside the New York Public Library

An EV Grieve reader sent this in the last hour from Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street... from the magic of TV commercials...Despite the heatwave....

REAL LIVE snow spotted in Midtown

Earlier this afternoon in Midtown ... a reader notes some movie-making magic...

Week in Grieview: Saying bye to the Mars Bar; buying cold drunks; sweating

Workers gutted Superdive (Friday)

Karl Fischer designing on East 12th Street (Thursday)

We bought several cold drunks (Tuesday)

[Photo by EV Grieve reader Rita]

More meatballs are coming to the East Village (Wednesday)

We looked at Pulino's new garden paradise on the Bowery (Monday)

We got an update about the renovations at St. Brigid's (Tuesday)

We pointed out the Bean's second location (Monday)

We first reported that the Mars Bar may be closed temporarily (Monday) then permanently (Monday) ... and flesh flies! (Wednesday)

We exclusively reported that it was hot out (Friday)

We showed solidarity for the Pelican Bay State Prison strike by throwing trash on Second Avenue (Thursday)

And Jane's Sweet Buns opened on St. Mark's Place (Tuesday)

[Photo of Jane by Allen Semanco]

NYC crime rate is going up, but not really

This is part of the front page of the Post today ... Uh-oh!

According to the exclusive:

Through July 17, incidents of the seven major felonies are down only slightly -- 0.4 percent -- over the same period last year, dipping from 54,447 to 54,254. The annual tally has dropped every year since 1993.

Oh, so the crime rate is actually down. But! The article insists that it could get worse. Meanwhile, as the paper points out, since 1993, reports of "serious crime" — murder, rape, robbery, felony, etc. — have dropped from 430,460 to 105,115.

We looked at the CompState figures from the 9th Precinct, which covers East Houston Street to East 14th Street from Broadway to the East River. According to these statistics, crime complaints are down 2.93 percent from 2010.... down 69.08 percent since 1993. Not that we're buying all these crime stats anyway ....