Noted

Any idea why Con Ed would have such heavily armed NYPD personnel outside the substation on East 14th Street and Avenue C....?

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Today in rats dying getting on the L train

Yep. Photo by Bobby Williams.

Religious zealots target Zoltar

Outside Gem Spa today...

Reader request: A granny bike for a homeless woman

Via the EV Grieve inbox...

Does anyone have or know where I can get an old granny bike (a small ladies step through) with a front basket and back carrier? I know sweet this 76 yr old French homeless woman called Jacqueline who lives down at the east river on 20th st and ave C. If you ever walk around the Stuy Cove you may have seen her. She is disabled and lost her bike during the storm (which was her home and only means to get around). I promised her I would get her a bike this weekend and I am willing to pay for it if it's not too expensive ... or maybe someone has one that they are throwing out.

Anyone... let me know via the EV Grieve email

7th annual Lantern Fesitval tomorrow afternoon

In the Green Oasis Community Garden on East Eighth Street between Avenue C and D...

And we can build this dream together

Tompkins Square Park late yesterday afternoon. Photo by Bobby Williams.

Associated back open on Avenue C

The grocery at East Eighth Street suffered heavy losses ... But the workers got the place up and running again ... Beating the early grim predictions of being out for a month...

Lone Justice served

Not my usual thing... but I always liked this band, Lone Justice ...here doing "Shelter" at the Ritz in December 1986.

Frustrated tenants meeting tomorrow at Knickerbocker Village

We've been following the developments of Knickerbocker Village, the 12-building affordable housing complex on the Lower East Side, via updates at The Lo-Down. The complex has mostly without power and heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Per The Lo-Down this morning:

The complex, which spans two city blocks on Monroe Street between Catherine and Market, includes around 700 tenants over the age of 60. There are a couple dozen home-bound seniors who require daily attention. On Tuesday, a 105-year old woman died after her oxygen machine malfunctioned. The woman, who did not live at Knickerbocker Village but was staying with her son, could not call for help because there was no phone service. Her son had stepped away from the apartment briefly to care for other family members.

A frustrated resident forwarded us the following note and meeting announcement to help spread the word about the situation here.

We are speechless with the non-management support with this no electricity and heat for 12 days. There must be a way to pump the water out in better speed and amount — and also equipment replacement. Did they not have a back-up plan for this amount of residents?

[Click image to enlarge]

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning Edition

[East 7th Street this morning]

Avenue C business owners rebuilding (The Villager)

Sandy-related death toll rises in NYC (Runnin' Scared)

Volunteer relief efforts in the Rockaways this weekend (BoweryBoogie)

Getting and using insurance after the hurricane (Curbed)

Update on Knickerbocker Village (The Lo-Down)

Sandy, queen of darkness (The Gog Log)

Scenes from Sandy (Slum Goddess)

The new 84 E. 10th St. (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Union Square holiday market returns (Gothamist)

Author of 'The Help' just bought James Iha's place on East 10th Street (The Observer)

Andy’s Chee-Pees closes on West Eighth Street (Flaming Pablum)

GoLES volunteer opportunities today

@evgrieve Help us assemble care packages and clean data at 169 Ave A. We will continue running 638 6 St #SandyRelief pantry through today.

— GoLES (@golesnyc) November 9, 2012

Time Warner Cable upate

NYC: East Village residents that have no flooding issues in the basement or underground should have services restored by Friday evening.

— Time Warner Cable(@TWCableHelp) November 9, 2012

Info clinic this a.m. on Hurricane Sandy recovery

From the EV Grieve inbox... sorry for the short — someone just sent it to me...

... and presented by a lot of people...

[Updated] Nino's Pizza has closed

Another item we meant to note sooner... Nino's Pizza, a longtime favorite hub on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place, closed at the end of October. There's paper over the windows, and we saw the tables and chairs stacked up on the sidewalk.

Back in March, we noted that Nino's was for sale. According to the listing, "owner retiring and looking for a quick sale." No mention of key money, though the rent was listed at $13,200 a month...

We heard that another pizza place was taking over, but no one has officially confirmed that... hopefully it won't be a franchise (Papa John's, etc.) and that the new owners keep the walk-up window. Ray's is the last one left on Avenue A.

Updated 9:25

Added a photo of Nino's fountain drinks machine... Gojira mentioned it in the comments.



And via a reader in the comments:

[The new owner] He said he will still have pizza and mediteranean food and that it will still be fast food. He said that they were going for an industrial look with a communal table.

He said that he would apply for a beer and wine.

Helping Hurricane Sandy pets

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Ten days have passed since Hurricane Sandy battered all five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and coastal New Jersey. While enormous governmental and nonprofit relief efforts brought food, water, blankets and baby supplies to the hardest-hit areas where residents remain without power and basic amenities, food and supplies for companion animals remain especially scarce.

In fact, many residents remain huddled in damaged homes, still unable to venture very far for supplies. They are very grateful for any provisions to care for their furry family members. Carloads of supplies have been emptied with such astonishing speed that reinforcements are a critical need. That's where together we can help.

With the support of Bayou Rescue, a national nonprofit group founded during Hurricane Katrina and based in North Carolina, and The Lo-Down, a group of Manhattan residents and business owners are collecting pet food and supplies, as well as cash donations to purchase them. A caravan of vehicles and volunteers has been coordinated to deliver supplies to areas in need including the shore towns of Staten Island, Queens, and Long Island on Sunday.

Here’s what you can do:

Donate supplies (in Manhattan): Saturday, Nov. 10 from noon to 3 p.m., bring dry dog and cat food (in 5-10 pound bags), canned dog and cat food and cat litter to one of two locations.

• Downtown: Ruff Club dog club, daycare and boarding facility, 34 Ave. A in the East Village.

• Uptown: Instinct Dog Behavior & Training boarding, training and rehabilitation center, 1795 Lexington Ave. in East Harlem.

Donate funds to help us purchase supplies: Make a tax-deductible financial donation to Bayou Rescue by visiting BayouRescue.org/donate. Please note “Hurricane Sandy Pets”
in the memo section of your check to ensure your donation is properly routed.

Mystery Lot progress report

EVG reader Katja sends along an update here at the former Mystery Lot. Any further east on 14th Street, and this might by a lake now.

Previously on EV Grieve:
City approves new building for Mystery Lot

The Mystery Lot likely facing a luxurious end

The last days of the Mystery Lot

EV Grieve Etc.: Introducing Metropolitan City Market; new Houston-Bowery mural

Catching up on a few items from the last week or two...

One. The wind from Hurricane Sandy ripped off the cover to the new Met Foods sign on Second Avenue... the store had been renovated in anticipation of this new branding of sorts... it's now Metropolitan City Market...

Two. And over at the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall last week, twin brothers HOW and NOSM began creating a storm-themed mural for the corner ...

The mural is dedicated to Tony Goldman, the curator of the wall, who died in September at age 68.

Find more on the mural at BoweryBoogie and Animal NY.

Per Marina Galperina:

See what you want in the bloody mouths of toothy fish, in the stacks of slaughtered tree trunks or in the factory-like humanoid forms spilling diamonds and money from their orifices. The center design is clear — a triangle if black sky around a dead grey street light above a triangle of water with floating debris.

Beer Gas rationing starts today

[Outside Spanky & Darla's on First Avenue last night.]

As you probably know by now...

Beginning at 6 a.m., those with license plates ending in an odd number will be able to buy gas on odd numbered days.

Those with license plates ending in an even number will be able to buy gas on even numbered days.

Any questions?

And the children say he could laugh

Tompkins Square Park today. The snowmanperson needs a name too.

Report: Power still out at 26-story Haven Plaza on Avenue C

[This morning at Haven Plaza by Dave on 7th]

Haven Plaza on East 12th Street at Avenue C is one of the many area buildings that is still without electricity or heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

As the Post reported today:

Water pressure in the building goes up only a few floors, elevators are disabled and residents are forced to trudge up and down the stairs for necessities.

“My daughter goes up and down 14 floors, five times a day, to bring me food and water,” said Iris Bido, 71.

Meanwhile, on the Lower East Side, the power is still out at Knickerbocker Village. The Lo-Down reported this morning that partial power has been restored at four of the 12 buildings in the affordable housing complex on Monroe Street.

And there's no end to the crisis here. There is still up to 25 feet of water in the mechanical and boiler rooms on the west side of Knickerbocker, The Lo-Down noted.