EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[Photo on St. Mark's Place by John Marshall Mantel]

A facelift for Moishe's Bake Shop (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

CB3 endorses two East Village historic districts (The Lo-Down ... The Local East Village ... DNAinfo ...)

Looking at the chances a new Mars Bar would ever get past CB3 (Eater)

Chelsea Hotel closing for renovations (Curbed)

Some great old signs and structures on the west side (Blah Blog Blah)

Looking at the the long-gone National Theatre on East Houston Street (BoweryBoogie)

Stuy Town Nearly Rid of Illegal Hotels (visit the all-new Stuy Town Living)

More red-tailed hawk sightings in NYC (Roger_Paw)

And count BaHa among the many people mourning the loss of the Chow Mein sign on Second Avenue ...

[Courtesy of BaHa]

And if you happen to be in Los Angeles (tonight) or San Francisco (Saturday), then you can catch "Dirty Old Town" with Billy Leroy...

Are you missing a bird?

So, a reader just spotted this bird outside his window on East Second Street apartment (between First Avenue and Second Avenue).

Per the reader: "Bird seemed quite agitated and freaked out, but with the help of a neighbor we were able to get the bird inside and are now trying to find its owner/what to do with it. It does have an identification band on its right leg, but I couldn't quite make out what it said on it."

Anyone?

grieve98@gmail.com

Tompkins Square Park rats now famous in Seattle!

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has picked the AP story about the TSP Ratstravaganza!

Tompkins Square Park rats now enjoying citywide recognition

Well, both the Post and NBC New York have just checked in with reports about what Bob Arihood has dubbed "the TSP Ratstravaganza."

As The Villager reported last week, concerned parents have formed the Tompkins Square Park & Playgrounds Parents’ Association after lots of rats have been spotted in the recently renovated, $1.5 million playground off Ninth Street and Avenue A.

Here's the Post article. Here's the WNBC clip.

Oh, and I should mention that Park officials can't use poison to kill the rats... they need to protect Tommy/Evie/whateverItsNameIs, the red-tailed hawk.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Parents group upset about number of rats in Tompkins Square Park (32 comments)

Move into 7 Second Ave., next door to 'the imminent carnage'

EV Grieve reader Bayou passes along a link to a co-op studio for sale at 7 Second Ave. (You can read the listing here.) It's a pretty typical listing. Of course, the buildings next door up to First Street, including the former homes of Joe's Locksmith and Mars Bar, will soon be demolished to make way for a 12-story luxury high rise with 65 units.

This isn't noted in the listing.

Asks Bayou, "Wonder if they'll mention the imminent carnage at the open houses."

[Curbed]

The man in the window at 9 Second Ave.

On Saturday, I was walking on Second Avenue when I noticed a man standing in the window upstairs at 9 Second Ave. (aka 7 1/2 Second Ave.). Not a big deal, except I thought that everyone had already moved out in advance of the demolition.

I circled around and took better look... He seemed to be intently staring out the window, perhaps taking in the view one last time...

Heh. Well! Perhaps the mannequin has been there and I just never noticed it... or maybe someone placed it there upon moving out. Maybe give the construction workers pause.

East Village to get a taste of Upstate

Last evening, Goggla noticed the new restaurant on First Avenue called Upstate. And, in a really soft launch, the restaurant appeared to be open last night...

In recent years, the space was home to Permanent Brunch/Permanent Brunch & Burger/Steak Shoppe.

Earlier this month, The Observer noted that owner Shane Covey used to work at the 10-year-old Flatiron seafood restaurant Shaffer City, which closed last September. Upstate will serve oysters, meats, cheeses and craft beer.

Workers paint over the Russo's mural on 11th Street

Last Monday, we pointed out the arrival of a sidewalk shed outside Something Sweet on the corner of First Avenue and East 11th Street...

And, let's awkwardly quote ourselves.... "As long as no one gets any funny ideas about painting over the Russo's mural on the 11th Street side..."

[2nd Russo's image via]

That's right! And this past weekend... checking in on the painting progress.

...and yesterday...

Ugh.

The store was founded in 1904. I don't know how long the mural has been here... Could workers have spared it? Not such a crazy concept. The pigs were actually saved on Second Avenue. Regardless, just one more familiar site in the neighborhood that has disappeared...

Lucy's is closed until Aug. 12 (smiley face)

A reader just asked yesterday morning what was going on with Lucy's on Avenue A. Seemed like the place has been closed the last few days. And no note, like usual.

However! A note appeared yesterday.... Lucy is on holiday again...

Also, this note doesn't quite stack up against previous closed notes...

Exclusive: First look inside Sidewalk's new kitchen

Oh, OK. It's not really an exclusive. Anyone who walked by here on Sixth Street the last few nights probably got a look at Sidewalk's renovated kitchen. Anyway, as we reported a few weeks ago, Sidewalk hopes to reopen by Aug. 5.

Beatbox Kid Lucky on Astor Place today

[Bobby Williams]

[John Marshall Mantel]

East Village post offices spared from possible closure

[Photo via Forgotten NY]

This morning, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe released a "post office study" of nearly 3,700 potential closings in the United States. Despite the massive list, it appears that the Tompkins Square branch on East Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C has been spared. Its name was not among those that the USPS may shutter to ease the agency's humongous deficit. (The full list is here.) There had been some neighborhood gossip that this small branch may go.

Meanwhile, the other local branches on 14th Street and Fourth Avenue are also not on the closure list.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

Photo in front of the Ottendorfer Library on Second Avenue this morning by John Marshall Mantel

The building housing the incoming IHOP on East 14th Street once was a notorious house of smut (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Attorney Street next for more luxification? (BoweryBoogie)

NYU donates furniture (and trash) to new Cooper Square tenant (Runnin' Scared)

Remembering the The Tompkins Square Communist Rally of 1877 (Off the Grid)

A bed-bug infested mattress spotted on Orchard Street (The Lo-Down)

MTA's new $1 MetroCard fee coming soon (Gothamist)

Fire at Yorkville's old-school Hungarian Meat Market (Lost City)

With the Shake Shack Monster coming, will this mean bad news for the Oyster Bar? (Grub Street)

Stalled tractor-trailer clogging up St. Mark's Place entrance

A reader notes that this tractor-trailer has crapped out while making a turn off Third Avenue/Cooper Square onto St. Mark's Place...

The reader says the M8 buses are currently being diverted.

Post confirms that Mars Bar owner Hank Penza plans to open new place

The Post follows up on our story from yesterday that Mars Bar owner Hank Penza wants to launch a new bar nearby in the coming months. Penza told Jeremy Olshan: "I do plan to reopen ... I am looking at a couple of places in the area. I just haven't made a decision yet."

You can read the whole Post piece here. (And we should note that the paper credits EV Grieve in the story.)

Meanwhile, we should note that we haven't seen anything — transfers, etc. — on recent Community Board 2 or 3 dockets that suggest an opening is imminent.

Cancer benefit for TenEleven co-owner Evelyn McCue this Thursday night

The following information is on Facebook... slightly edited for this post

For those of you who are not aware, Evelyn's cancer has returned and we have decided to have the biggest and baddest fundraiser for her so that she won't have to worry about money and bills while recovering.

The date of the fundraiser is Thursday from 7:30 on.

There will be bands - including a solo performance from Uncle Leon of Uncle Leon and the Alibi's at 8 pm and John Embree's Shit show at 9 pm ... a comedy set from Margaret Champagne as well as a panda and a clown.

We have some awesome stuff to raffle off too, including prizes from Tease and Shampoo salon, dinner for two at Porchetta, bar tabs from Doc Holliday's, Royale, Cafecito, Blue Ruin, Milano's, The Library and Nice Guy Eddie's...

PLEASE note that there will be a $10 admission at the door and all tip proceeds will be donated to the cause.

We've always liked Evelyn and TenEleven (this is the former Mickey's Blue Room space), the kind of bar we need more of around here ... featuring the works of local photographers and artists ... and hosting the occasional musician as well as group events...

Workers remove iconic Chow Mein sign on Second Avenue

Construction netting is up now at 197 Second Avenue, in the space above Shoolbred's. Per the DOB: "STUCCO ON FRONT FACADE AS SHOWN ON PLANS." Uh-huh.

Which prompted a very distressing email from EV Grieve reader AC. "They took down the fucking Chow Mein sign!" It took several years, but the old-school neon Chow Mein sign has apparently finally vanished for good.

Here's a shot before Shoolbred's moved in courtesy of Jeremiah, who has been keeping an eye on this part of the former Jade Mountain sign the last four years.

[Via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY]

And you can see that the sign is gone.

Some history. Jade Mountain's owner, Reggie Chan, died after a truck hit him on his bicycle while making a delivery in September 2006. As Lost City noted, Jade Mountain, which had been here since 1931, closed in January 2007.

Per the Times from an article titled "For Bright Beacons, a Murky Future" — "The restaurant ... spoke to a bygone era, serving steaming plates of egg foo yong and moo goo gai pan until the day it closed."

Many people found the sign as comforting as the food. A welcoming glow on Second Avenue. What the Chow Mein sign looked like in all its glory...

[Via Jeremiah's Vanishing NY]

What are the chances that workers will put the Chow Mein sign back up after the renovations are completed?

Right. You don't need to answer.

For further reading:
Jade Mountain (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)
Curse of the Jade Restaurant (Lost City)

BaoHaus signage now up on East 14th Street

As Eater first noted, chef/foodie personality Eddie Huang is opening a second BaoHaus location ... this one on East 14th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue.

Among other things, the shop will feature a "Great Wall of Chinamen" with images of Connie Chung, Genghis Khan, RZA, Gizmo the Gremlin, William Hung, Confucius, Chairman Mao, Kung Fu Panda and Long Duck Dong.

BaoHaus 2 takes over the space that previously housed Thai Me Up. The sign in the window says opening in July 2011.

DOH temporarily closes Company Bar and Grill for 'operating without a permit'

Blue glass points out that the DOH has temporarily closed Company, the bar on East 10th Street near First Avenue. The notice is dated July 21.

Last Monday night, the CB3/SLA committee allowed a transfer of the liquor license in an ownership change at Company, according to Eater.

Xoom opening on 14th Street this Thursday

Xoom president Jennifer London writes in to say that her smoothie shop is opening on Thursday. Xoom moved here adjacent to the CitiFitness space from Seventh Street back in the spring. There is a grand opening party on Sunday from 3-5 p.m. with free samples. The new hours are 7 am - 9 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am - 9 pm Saturday and Sunday.