EV Grieve

Monday, March 31, 2008

Madonna is over New York

Former East Village resident Madonna, a singer who, like Cher and Donovan only goes by one name, is over New York. She says this in the new issue of Vanity Fair.

As reported on by New York magazine's Daily Intel:

“It’s not the exciting place it used to be. It still has great energy; I still put my finger in the socket. But it doesn’t feel alive, cracking with that synergy between the art world and music world and fashion world that was happening in the 80s. A lot of people died.”

Daily Intel's response: "Oh, yes, because living in a giant, ultraluxe townhouse in Marylebone, London is so CBGB circa 1983, Madge."

It's not your imagination: There are more buildings going up (and why you can blame Albany)

Says this week's New York magazine:

According to a Department of Buildings spokesperson, there’s been “a significant jump in the number of jobs filed for residential-building permits between January and February.” For all five boroughs, the DOB has received notifications—meaning that excavation’s starting within days—for 298 jobs, noticeably up from the year before. Brooklyn saw an increase of more than 20 percent. (The actual number of permits has fallen a bit, but that appears to be a paperwork lag.)
Why? A tax program known as the 421(a) abatement is set to expire—at least in its current form—this summer, and developers are rushing to get started before the deadline...

Yankee Stadium 2009 Opening Day

Every so often, EV Grieve will -- gasp! -- venture above 14th Street. Such as catching a game at Yankee Stadium. Today, of course, is opening day at Yankee Stadium, the last one in its current home. (Not that they'll even play today -- looks like rain.) What will opening day in the schmancy new stadium look like next year? Here you go. Meanwhile, I'll go look for a $14 cup of Budweiser and $7.50 stale pretzel.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Meanwhile, just another day in the neighborhood

And our dumpsters being rated today? Wonder what a two-star dumpster looks like? (Sorry...)

27 years, 1 dumpster

Jeremiah had the awful news about Fontana's shoes being gutted on Friday. Walked by myself and saw the aftermath.

He had been at this location for 27 years; been in business in the neighborhood since 1962. Jeremiah has more photos here. And there's this feature from The Villager. Meanwhile, I can't help but wonder what Angelo is doing now. He's 75, and doesn't want to stop working.

“I would like to stay another 10 years, well maybe five years,” he told The Villager. “I’m used to working all my life. I don’t want to stop now. I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m not the kind of person who sits and watches TV all day. I like to be active.”

Why was this man's life destroyed? So the landlord could try to make an extra $1,500 a month in rent from Angelo, who was already paying $4,000 a month.

This whole thing bothers me on so many levels...the greed...the heartless removal of a neighborhood institution...the fact that this kind of thing is happening too often today...

There was also something comforting about the shop. For several years my walk home from work took me by his shop...no matter how shitty things seemed to be, you could always count on seeing Angelo working away in his rather ramshackle store ... the TV with the rabbit ears that was always on but no one ever seemed to watch...

My walk home included passing by the Bendiner and Schlesinger medical buildings on the northeast corner of 10th Street and Third Avenue. The buildings weren't much to look at, though there was a plaque on the 10th Street side commemorating Peter Stuyvesant, whose family once owned the buildings. Oddly enough, I found comfort in this place too. At night, I'd look up to a paneled office in the lab. I could see enough to tell that it looked as it the place was frozen in time circa, say, 1974. It reminded me of an office my father had.

Of course, though, these historic buildings were demolished in 2005 to make way for more soulless apartments and a Commerce Bank. You can read more about it here.