Also, please note there has been a change in location for the Aug. 10 citywide meeting on the topic:
Attend the public hearing on the proposed rules on Aug. 10 at Chelsea Recreation Center at 430 W. 25th St. at 11 a.m., and speak in favor of protection for community gardens. If you would like to testify, then please notify Associate Counsel, Laura LaVelle, via telephone at 212-360-1335 or e-mail at laura.lavelle@parks.nyc.gov by Aug. 9.
An action story set in New York City, where a bike messenger picks up a package at Columbia University and subsequently catches the attention of a dirty cop.
Bike messenger?! Why aren't they filming on those new bike lanes on First Avenue and Second Avenue?!
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the lead... in the movie directed by the guy who wrote the screenplays for the "Jurassic Park" blockbusters.
Kind of makes me want to watch "Quciksilver" again.
You might have noticed something different about the newspaper you are holding in your hands. For starters, it has a different name on the front page — and that name is in “eco green,” not blue.
Starting this week, East Villagers and Lower East Siders who have enjoyed reading The Villager over the years now have a paper they can call their own. It’s called the East Villager and Lower East Sider, and it will offer the best of what The Villager brings — but with an increased focus on Downtown’s vibrant East Side
The crew filmed on Second Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue inside the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection. In honor of the movie opening today... let's take a look at the role the Cathedral played in the film...
First! Woo! Angelina over here! Here she is on Second Street!
With the ball-in-chain in tow on the Cathedral steps...
Anyway, according to the website, the crew used the Cathedral to replicate the interior of the Makariev Monastery in Russia when it was an orphanage in 1970s Soviet Russia. You see, Angelina plays a spy who may or may not be Russian...so this might be some flashback scene or something...
No idea whether these scenes made it into the movie... Perhaps I'll by a pirated DVD from that guy on the corner for $5 to see.
Also, curious about what kind of location fee the Cathedral received...
Updated: A Scouting Life shares a "Salt" review with us... "It took years, but 'The Last Boy Scout' finally has competition for the most ludicrous action film ever made."
Ouch! That's seriously bad.
And I asked if the Cathedral made the cut. Yes, but!: "They did shoot the orphanage but the scenes there were all pretty soft focus and dreamlike so you didn't see much of it."
Speaking of Russian spies, have you noticed how some people are trying to cash in on the recent alleged-Russian-spy hoopla in the tabs? (Steve Cuozzo sort of did at the Post — he wrote a piece on it the other day...sort of — work with me...)
Which brings me to Flashdancers... you may recall their cab ads featuring the Hooters-waitress-from-Orlando-looking, uh, model in the campaign....
... and now, the new Flashdancers cab ads have a harder, Natasha-cold-war-spy model type...
Back in March, I noted the for lease signs going up on the southeast corner of Houston and Elizabeth above the cozy Cafe Colonial, which opened here in 1994... this is what the landlord was selling the space as... (thanks Keith McNally!)
Now, the new tenant here -- Rag & Bone -- is opening shop today... as I witnessed from the sidewalk, they had a pizza/beer preview party the other evening... (Is that pizza from Pulino's?)
In any event, Racked has more on the new store, include a message from ownership not to take the change in businesses personally... Per Racked:
More and more, beloved icons of the city are getting their guts ripped out for revamping, given over to the wealthy, made exclusive, though the husks are kept intact for the cultural cachet they bring to the new owners, who pride themselves on their dedication to preservation, and receive praise for saving the old holes in the wall from turning into banks.
Well, Cafe Colonial doesn't qualify as a beloved icon, but the trend continues...
We've been documenting the back-and-forth with the brown paint alongside the Verizon building on 13th Street at Second Avenue.... these appeared the other today...
And, courtesy of EV Grieve reader evilnyc, we see that Verizon has quickly struck back today...
I have a feeling they're going to need a lot of brown paint.
I've been spending a lot of time lately reading Crustypunks, a blog featuring photos and first-person accounts by the many men and woman traveling through Tompkins Square Park.
"I got a forty smashed over my face. Last night. Basically a chick started calling me out saying, I was some sort of dumb ass saying I'm full of shit. So I said something I should not have said and I deserved a forty but she had no reason to cut off my dreads. With scissors. I thought she was pulling my hair. I stood and took it like a homeboy. She kicked me in the face. Smashed a forty over my head. Gave me a few punches. You know I'm not gonna hit a homegirl."
The site is the work of Steven Hirsh, a noted photographer now teaching at Pratt.
Thanks to EV Grieve reader Cary Conover for telling me about the site.
Anyway, in the comments, our friend NYC Taxi Photo pointed out the following about the Cooper Union:
"[I]t's also a great piss spot on the back alley of the building. I went for a wiz there, and there was another guy with a drink in a paper bag that morning, commenting on my choice location who stepped right into that corner to do his number one right after i was done.
I have to give kudos to the cooper union for destroying the classic and putting up this new thing with so many great shady crevasses for the public to utilize best."
Hmm... and we know exactly the spot that he's talking about...
Should we expect outdoor urinal cakes next?
Meanwhile, speaking of bodily fluids, we have not heard from EV Heave in some time... I fear the worst...
Well, the former Bounce Deuce (moment of silence -- no giggling!) on Second Avenue and Sixth Street is nearly transformed into...
Just what, I don't know. The signs last fall originally said a Pita Pan sports grill... I asked one of the workers here yesterday what kind of restaurant that we could expect... and he answered, "European." I said, "excuse me?" Then he said "German." Then he looked nervous and said that I needed to ask the owner.
Next!
And the new French creperie cafe on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A is now open...
And I no nothing about Hawkers, an eatery featuring, as the sign reads, "Southeast Asia street-style food," that recently opened on 14th Street near Third Avenue... (and only two Yelp reviews so far!)
EV Grieve reader T.E.V.B. reports that the new dessert place is now open at Third Avenue and NYU....the former site of Atlantic News...
"I picked up a menu, they serve bubble tea, shaved ice, crepes, other Asian-y snacks/desserts, etc. Similar to Saint's Alp Teahouse just up the block," T.E.V.B. reports...
By now, you've likely seen the "lost dog" flyers around the East Village... and other parts of the city that tell of Sammy's disappearance ...
Unfortunately, missing (or found) pet signs are fairly common. However, there's something different about these flyers ... they're everywhere, for starters... and new flyers seem to go up daily... Several readers have asked me if, maybe, Sammy, a Pomeranian, had been found...
Unfortunately, no... the latest flyers are now offering a reward...
I finally decided to call the number to find out more about Sammy... I spoke with Sammy's owner, who, along with her sister, has been working nonstop to bring home her beloved pet. She said that Sammy was definitely stolen... and that she has received several descriptions of a young male trying to sell a dog that looks like Sammy.
Sammy was last seen on June 29 on 21st Street and Second Avenue at 11:39 a.m.
As for the new flyers, she said there are three-four people putting up new notices every day in hopes that someone will make the connection. She has also posted signs in Chinese, such as this one on Houston at Avenue B ...
In the days and weeks after Sammy first went missing, she received a lot of leads -- many of them from the East Village ... of late, though, the calls are down to two-three a day. Many people think they've seen Sammy, but are a little vague on details...
--He was last seen on 21st Street and 2nd Avenue at 11:39AM
--He has a GREEN Leash, and a BLUE Collar. His Dog tag is a Blue DOG-BONE that says SAMMY and the owner's ADDRESS
--He weighs roughly 3 pounds
--He tends to bark at strangers, and is very picky about people picking him up
There is more information on the site, including flyers and photos...and a video.
"We won't stop until he comes home," she said.
Updated: 3:30 ... One of Sammy's owners checks in the comments section... she provides more background on how Sammy came up missing.... she says that he got loose, ran a block and was scooped up by a stranger... and that was the last they saw of him... "We are appreciative of those who have helped us thus far with our search. Any assistance is greatly appreciated, word of mouth or even a simple post of his flyer on your facebook or blog."