And how is your Saturday afternoon?

A little bit ago on Second Avenue at Ninth Street...

Thanks to A. Sasaki for the photos...

Cleanup today at 26 St. Mark's Place

This morning, crews were on the scene at 26 St. Mark's Place, where a fire broke out yesterday...

As DNAinfo reported, the fire started on a mattress in the third-floor apartment.

And from outside the building... the apparent culprit in the fire ... via @joshappelbaum ...

We hear that some residents are blaming a longtime tenant for the blaze.

Apartment fire in Stuy Town

Crazy Eddie passes these photos of an apartment fire at a 10-12 Stuyvesant Oval address ... no word yet on the extent of the blaze...

Someone has already thrown away a Christmas tree

On St. Mark's Place. Or is this left from last year? Also, we haven't forgotten about the whole Christmas in June/July/August/September nonsense business... We have a winner, who will be revealed at the appropriate moment.

Nevada Smith's at Webster Hall

We've been meaning to note this since we reported that Nevada Smith's closed at 74 Third Ave. on Nov. 27.

So until they move up the street to 100 Third Ave. some day ... Nevada Smith's is has been showing matches at Webster Hall... Thanks to our friend Esquared for the photos...

The schedule is posted on the Nevada Smith's Facebook page.

[Updated] School officials trash the skateboard ramps from Open Road Park

Earlier this week, an EV Grieve reader told me that the NYC Department of Education closed the Open Road Park, which is adjacent to the East Side Community High School on East 12th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

This also happened back in June, as we first reported. During a meeting in late June, Mark Federman, the principal of the school, told residents about increased "incidents of trash and debris, smoking cigarettes, marijuana — some selling of marijuana."

The park reopened as of July 1.

We thought this most recent closure would also be temporary.

Not so.

The park's skateboard ramps have been discarded along with the rest of the trash along East 12th Street ...

UPDATED:

A reader on Facebook just commented, "A white station wagon has just removed all but the dark brown ramp, which wouldn't fit in his car."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Open Road Park closed now on 12th Street

Why the Open Road Park is closed

Santa swarms

[Via Dave on 7th]

Reports are coming in from everywhere. Swarms of Santa. Everywhere. One resident asked to send in reinforcements of people not dressed in Santa suits. Just wait till sundown!

And thanks to Jen Doll at the Voice for asking my thoughts on the day of terror Santa thing.

You can read the piece at Runnin' Scared here.

Avenue A, 8:51 a.m., Dec. 10

Yesterday afternoon on Avenue A

At St. Mark's Place. Photos by Bobby Williams.

Reader reports: Shots fired at Campos Plaza II early this morning

[VH McKenzie]

The EV Grieve inbox is full of reader reports of a shooting last night at Campos Plaza II on 13th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. V.H. McKenzie said that the police helicopter started circling the area around 12:30 "Just timed it — making a full revolution over the neighboring bldgs every 39 SECONDS, with search lights." Readers described hearing a series of explosions — or shots in a few cases — before the helicopters arrived. EV Grieve reader AC said that police at the scene wouldn't say what was happening.

Another reader claimed "that this kind of shit happens there all the time."

On Wednesday, The Lo-Down reported that security cameras would be installed at this public housing complex.

Kate's Joint has a challenge for Lady Gaga

Thanks to @HanserHanser for passing along this photo outside Kate's on Avenue B and East Fourth Street... Hope that's not steamed tofu...

Keep your Shirts on

The Shirts, from Brooklyn, circa 1978.

Gutting continues at 315 E. 10th St.

This morning, we reported that Ben Shaoul had purchased The Educational Alliance building at 315 E. 10th St. ... big plans in the works here — conversion to residential, and maybe, just maybe — an additional floor ... Meanwhile, as Dave on 7th notes, the gut renovation continues this afternoon...

Why there's a Hank Williams Jr. doll on Avenue C

EV Grieve reader Sam spotted this today outside Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter, coming soon to Avenue C near East Sixth Street... the place will serve Southern-style comfort food. Perhaps they need a better spokesdoll than Hank Williams Jr. though...

Breaking: Holiday lights going up now in Tompkins Square Park

Thanks to @harrisonmarkey for sending along this photo... the official tree lighting (the 20th anniversary) is Sunday afternoon at 4.

Breaking: East Village has the most pizza places of any neighborhood in Manhattan

That's the word from the New York City Economic Development Corporation today... Using the latest available data from the Department of Health restaurant inspection results, researchers found that the East Village (zip 10003) has 33 pizza places.

The StatsBee Tumblr has more details on the survey... which you can find here.

[Image: NYCEDC analysis of NYC DOHMH data]

About that really loud noise around 14th Street and Avenue B last night

[Not last night. But it could have been!]

From a reader who lives in Stuy Town near 14th Street and Avenue B:

Just wanted to see if anyone else had heard or contacted you yet about this really loud noise I experienced last night. Around 3:30 am I woke up from a deep sleep to the noise of what sounded like a jet literally hovering over my area. I woke up my boyfriend so that he could hear it too and so that I knew I wasn't dreaming. This noise went on consistently for about a half hour.

They didn't spot anything out the windows... Anyone else experience this? I'm going with UFO. No crackpot conspiracies, please.

Report: Fire at 26 St. Mark's Place

DNAinfo is reporting that a fire broke out this morning at 26 St. Mark's Place. (T-Kettle is the ground-floor tenant.) Per DNA, the fire started on a mattress on the third floor of the six-story building. "Some residents of the building ... had to be evacuated using a ladder as firefighters battled the blaze," Julie Shapiro reported.

Mystery buyer (Ben Shaoul?) picks up 315 E. 10th St. from the Educational Alliance; gut renovation and extra floor on way

The Educational Alliance had been running Counseling Services ("For children, teens, adults & families") at 315 E. 10th St. across from Tompkins Square Park. However, after seeing movers and garbage haulers work in the space last month, a tipster did a little digging.

It turns out that the Educational Alliance sold the building to "315 East 10th Street Owner LLC" for $3.7 million. It is a Delaware LLC and, according to documents, represented by the law firm of Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein. (The sale was finalized on Sept. 15.)

Two observations from our tipster:

• The law firm that represented the people who recently closed on the Cabrini Nursing Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation for $25.5 million are the same that represented the buyer of 315 E 10th.

• Both properties were formerly used for nonprofit-type activities.

Per the tipster: "I assume [315] will be gutted shortly."

Indeed. There is a permit on file with the DOB for interior demolition. There's also a "pending permit" to convert this building into residential and add an extra floor.

Brent M. Porter and Associates is listed as the architect; Keith Holden is listed as the owner. The address given on the DOB application is the same as Magnum Real Estate Group. Ben Shaoul is the president of Magnum Real Estate Group.

So, perhaps, as we reported, it's safe to assume that Ben Shaoul now owns Cabrini Nursing Center too.

Meanwhile, the Educational Alliance recently held a groundbreaking event at its flagship building at 197 East Broadway, which is undergoing a $45 million renovation. (And not everyone is happy with the upcoming changes.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
Claim: Ben Shaoul is the new owner of Cabrini nursing home, will convert to condos

RIP Charlie

[Photo by Bob Arihood from July 2011]

To be honest, we don't know too much about Charlie... other than that we'd see him around fairly often, such as at Ray's ... He had bypass surgery earlier this year, and had been on the mend. Sad news to report, though: A reader said that his body was discovered last night in his East 10th Street apartment... we don't know any other details at the moment...