Is the McSam hotel getting taller on Fourth Avenue?

Real-estate blogger Andrew Fine has been keeping a watchful eye on the McSam hotel seemingly stalled at Fourth Avenue and 13th Street... (It's the 11-story, 162-unit hotel brought to you and me by Sam Chang.) When I walked by the other day, I noticed something that I couldn't recall seeing before on the roof....





What is that, exactly? An observation tower to see if anyone from the DOB is coming for an inspection -- given the complaints from neighbors about the hotel being too tall? .... Despite the partial stop-work order, someone called the DOB four times in January saying that work continues....

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is Sam Chang's Fourth Avenue hotel too tall?

d.o.b. gets t.a.g.g.e.d.

Over at Michael Huynh's new French Vietnamese place on St. Mark's Place, some graffiti artists used the front for a tapestry the other evening...



...and just as quickly, the window was cleaned off...



We saw this happen with great frequency over at Caffe Buon Gusto on Avenue B and Fifth Street... graffiti would go up, some poor fool would remove it the next day... and the cycle never ended...until the restaurant just gave up, apparently.

Bleach patrol

Do you know who poured a gallon bleach on this car on Second Street last month? If so, $500 may be yours...

New Vietnamese restaurant coming in March for Second Avenue

At the former Sea between Fourth Street and Fifth Street...



..something called Le Da Nang...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Dead water on Second Avenue?

EV Grieve's final contribution to Fashion Week coverage

Look! A Nicole Miller truck on Cooper Square...

Your chance to be a rock God

Spotted on Third Avenue near 12th Street. Hmm, the greatest thing since the Dead...the Stones...Linkin Park?

Block party

There was some kind of mini photo shoot happening on Second Avenue at Sixth Street in front of Block Drugs a little bit a go... For some reason, an attractive young woman in jean shorts jumping around in front of a photographer made people slow down and watch...

Noted

It was all about a bit of bed head and sexy, smudgy eyes on the Marc Jacobs runway. The designer wanted models to have a dirty look as if the hair and makeup had been slept in. “This look is what you’d see on a girl from the East Village or St. Germain des Pres — an existentialist with a modern twist,” said Nars Cosmetics founder and Creative Director François Nars in a news release.
[Via L.A. Times, image via]

Yankees pitchers and catchers report today; meanwhile, take me out to what's left of the old ballpark...

Today at noon, pitchers and catchers report to the Yankees complex in Tampa. Back up hereabouts, workers continue dismantling the old Yankee Stadium. I checked in at the The Demolition of Yankee Stadium Web site for the latest...(from yesterday):




[Photos by Bobby Jackson]

As Eric Okurowski at Stadiumpage.com noted:

"[I]t seems like they are making progress. At this point the seating plank for the field and loge levels has been demolished. The upper deck is basically intact except for what seems to be the last section. The stairwell 'pod' next to the left field end has been removed which caused that part to be demolished. Most of the exterior remains. If I were to guess, there will still be a considerable amount of the structure left when the season begins in April. However, if the pace is increased, it could be done before then."

Here are some rather haunting images that Eric took:




View the rest of his photos here.

In the Financial District, Mariah Carey helps usher in the start of the bikini bar war

For years now, the duff-and-tumble Nassau Bar on Nassau Street has ruled the FiDi Bikini Bar scene...



Now, though, a new player has emerged on the scene: Hook and Ladder II, sibling of the Kip's Bay Hook and Ladder, on John Street near Water Street (and right around the corner from the luxury rentals at 200 Water)...



According to the signs, this rather humdrum spot is celebrating a (rebranding) "grand re-opening"...



...featuring the "Hook and Ladder II bikini bartenders," one of whom looks a lot like Mariah Carey in a firefighter's uniform ...



(Oh, wait! That IS a picture of Mariah Carey... nice of her to lend her image to the gang at Hook and Ladder II!)

Perhaps this new feature at the Hook and Ladder II will make up for the loss of Gramaldi's as an amentity for those Wall Street boys looking at 200 Water Street...

The Coop and the Caddy

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Alexa for passing along the link the Cadillac CTS commercial that features the new Cooper Union Building...



Wow, check out their drive on the FDR... where is everyone? It's like a scene out of "I Am Legend."

Sign on Avenue A tells us not to do ... something

Any ideas what this sign is trying to tell us on Avenue A near St. Mark's Place?

Death and Company has a cold-hearted new doorman

On Sixth Street. And we should probably think of a name for him or her...

What the old Butcher Bay is fetching

A few weeks ago we reported that East Fifth Street's Butcher Bay was for lease... but there weren't any details on the Tower Brokerage site... now the eatery is listed... $170,000... with a $6,000 monthly rent.

Former Xunta space leased

Speaking of former bars/restaurants for lease... Xunta, the former Spanish tapas joint at 174 First Avenue near 11th Street closed last October...



According to the Tower Brokerage site, the space has been (rather quickly, wouldn't you say?) leased...



No word just yet on the new tenant...

Professor Thom's teary temporarily closed signage has a sponsor

Can't recall too many closure banners with a sponsor.



And the bar on Second Avenue near 14th Street is expected to reopen next Monday, Eater reported.

Reminders: Benefit for Mosaic Man tonight at Theatre 80

The Villager has all the details... Slum Goddess has more on it here... As a matter of fact, Eden and John's East River String Band are one of the groups playing a set...

Reminders tonight: Mardi Gras Benefit Celebration Ball for the Lower East Side Girls Club

More details here.

EV Grieve's weekend recap

Avenue A loses a tree

Why you've been humming Lou Reed songs during the Olympics.

MTV wants LES residents with serious roommate issues.

A TV pilot was shot in the Tompkins Square Park dog run

Fuck Feet First

What off-duty models do

Valentine's Day bacon and cheese recap

The Big Black Bus on Avenue A

TSP's ice age

Village Green's project runway

On Sunday, I thought there was a big Open House or something at Village Green, 11th Street's very first "eco-indulgent" condo. Seemed as if management busted out the velvet ropes to make potential condogoers feel as if they were entering a self-important hookah bar or something. Just needed a few bouncers with clipboards and headsets...



Then yesterday, there were huge lines to get in! Is there really a demand to get those remaining units?





Seriously. What? I made my way up front... and... It's Fashion Week! Uh, at least Eco Fashion Week!...



Guess it makes sense to hold this show here, in a building billed as environmentally friendly with LEED-Gold certification ...

There was a guy with a clipboard and headset... and only letting in people on some list. I'm never on any lists. So, uh, I kind of snuck in...

Anyway, roughly where the gym will be on the ground floor to the west of the lobby ...



A runway was set up for designer Joann Berman...and away it went, with eco-friendly designs made with organic materials and recyclables and what not...










That's Berman in the sunglasses below after the show...



In the end, though, I was not as successful sneaking up to see the $2 million penthouse...