At Motorino, waiting for a table, watching a woman vomit out the front window

Food writer Jordan Zucker shared this anecdote on her blog Oxtails, Cocktails, and Rock Tales.

Her party ended up at Motorino on 12th Street and had a short wait for a table this past Thursday evening.

Then!

While we were waiting, a girl sitting at the open window table, turned to face the street and puked all over the side walk. Twice. The party then got up and left. The restaurant cleared the table and welcomed us to it. I explained what had happened and requested a hose down of the adjacent street. Apparently she had just done a number on the bathroom as well. Once they finished cleaning that, the sidewalk was next.

Despite all that, she liked Motorino.

[Photo via Oxtails, Cocktails, and Rock Tales]

Another EV Heave exclusive

EV Heave checks in with a report that Cooper Union officials installed a Vomit Watching Tower atop their academic building this past weekend to help spot the Serial Vomiter. (Of course, this likely isn't true.) Full report here.

CB3 deadlocked over new "fast-food Italian" at former Graceland space; 7-Eleven next?

Last night, Frank Prisinzano, who owns EV Italian empire Frank, Lil' Frankie's and Supper, came before the CB3/SLA committee with his plans to turn the former Graceland grocery at Second Street and Avenue A into what he described as fast-food Italian.

Nearly 75 minutes of serious high drama later, the committee was deadlocked in its decision to grant Prisinzano a beer and wine license.

Prisinzano started with his concept. He called it "a simple Italian cafeteria" and "quick, easy volume." Menu items would range from $5.95 to $10.95... most food would be prepped to serve in a hurry, with no more than a five or 10-minute wait. People could be in and out for a meal in 45 minutes or less.

And there would be a separate to-go kitchen. And it would be all eco-friendly. With plenty of soundproofing, per the lease, which he has yet to sign. "I want to give the community inexpensive Italian," he said. "I'm hoping this becomes a neighborhood staple like my other places." And! "This is not a nightclub. This is not a bar."

In total, the new eatery would accommodate 190 people, including 75 seats in a sidewalk cafe along the 50-plus feet of Avenue A storefront. This space is currently twice the size of any one of his other eateries.

And he had two last things to say (for now)... "We need help with our fast food in this country. This is my attempt at it."

Then he went in for the kill. Prisinzano said the landlord is currently weighing three other offers: A bank, a 7-Eleven and a bank.

Shudder!

Then some residents spoke. A common theme emerged: Hell. One longtime resident said Avenue A between Third Street and Houston is hell Thursday through Saturday nights. "We hear people vomit," the resident said. "It's a little row of hell." Most residents who spoke mentioned Aces & Eights as the main culprit.

The resident said that she and some of her neighbors have all learned a dance "where we pray for rain [on weekends] to douse the crowds."

It was also mentioned that Supper has had issues with crowd control on Second Street in the past. Prisinzano said that he is getting more "militant" about crowd control. For instance, he has installed video cameras outside all three of his restaurants so that he can monitor the situation from his computer. He said that he can discipline the host or hostess if he or she doesn't help keep the crowds in check. "Now I have accountability," he said. "Big Brother is in the sky."

Susan Stetzer, district manager of CB3 and a nearby resident, also spoke out against the planned restaurant.

"It will just be hell," she said. "I don't see the benefit" for the community. There was some back and forth. She kept with the hell theme. "We just cannot take more people on that street. It's hell." And! "We're begging you not to have another [bar] on this block. It's just hell."

Prisinzano reiterated that this space won't be a bar; that he will serve inexpensive food and will be a good neighborhood. As for this stretch of Avenue A, he said "that block is full of shitty bars." (Perhaps he didn't realize that committee member David McWater, who was sitting a few feet from him, owns several bars on that block.)

So, he was pretty much approve this or, "otherwise you're going to get a bank or a 7-Eleven. Your choice."

Stetzer said that she was tired of people telling her and other residents what will be good for the neighborhood.

At some point Prisinzano said, "I'm not Aces & Eights."

Eventually committee chair Alexandra Militano threatened to make Prisinzano and Stetzer leave the meeting if they spoke up one more time.

There was more debate among the committee members. Militano said that she hasn't heard the end of it from residents ever since the committee approved the transfer of Aces & Eights from Mo Pitkins. There was an argument about motions to pass along to the State Liquor Authority between Militano and McWater, who told her, "I was dealing with the SLA while you were still in law school."

In the end, 75 minutes later, the committee was deadlocked in their vote. Prisinzano looked incredulous. The whole thing will be kicked to the full CB3 meeting on June 22

Previously on EV Grieve:
"All uses considered" at former Graceland

Owners of Frank-Lil' Frankie's-Supper taking over the former Graceland space

More here.

Speakeasy and Mardi Gras-themed bar coming to Avenue B

Grub Street has the details on a new venture coming to 25 Avenue B near Second Street ... in the former Rehab/Midway space (and, of course, Save the Robots). Per Grub Street: The owners hope to open the "'Bourbon. Beer. Rock'–themed Idle Hands in the basement space around Memorial Day (pending liquor-license approval), while upstairs a group with ties to Thunder Jackson’s and Point Break will open Billy Hurricanes, a Mardi Gras–themed bar trafficking in frozen daiquiris, Cajun food, and a signature drink that will be limited to two per person." I can smell the vomit already!

Not familiar with Thunder Jackson's? Here is a screenshot from their home page.

Is a serial vomiter targeting the new Cooper Union building?

First, I apologize for this photo.

However! In the name of crackpot conspiracies news!

In the last month or so, I've walked by the new Cooper Union academic building and have noticed that someone had, well, barfed in the shadows at least six different times, usually on Friday, Saturday or Sunday mornings (duh) .... the first few times, well, ok, chuck it up chalk it up to its proximity to an ample number of students, tourists and bars...but after the fifth time, this is a trend.



There are many places to vomit in the neighborhood. Like in the bathroom at McSorley's. Or on the F train. Or my front steps. Why here so many times? Does someone have an issue with the new building? Is it just an inviting place to yak? Or, worse, after this neighborhood has had to deal with the Penistrator, is a Vomitrator now on the loose?

Aces & Eights GM: "I understand that drunkards make your life miserable"

So, where were we? Tom Michaelsen, the general manager of Aces & Eights on Avenue A, is interested in engaging readers/the neighborhood. As he wrote yesterday:

I'd love to get ideas from the community as to how we could improve your quality of life. If anybody has anything constructive to say, I would love to hear it.

Someone suggested playing NYC classics such as "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Taxi Driver" on a designated movie night. And Marnie, a mother of two, had this to say:

My concerns about Aces & Eights LES are really, to be honest, not something that I think you alone can address. I appreciate your contributions to charities bringing potable water in places like India. I wonder, however, if your charitable contributions might not win you more respect if they were spent here in the neighborhood.

This neighborhood has many public schools which do not receive adequate funding, and therefore rely on the contributions of parents and local businesses.

Another thing we, as parents, need to deal with on a regular basis is not only the noise from local bars (which frankly, my children have learned to sleep through since birth) but the aftermath. The people urinating in doorways, the vomit on sidewalks, the garbage, the stench in the summertime.

I think if you could find a way to direct your efforts towards making real changes to the daily life of local residents we would all be a lot more tolerant of the noise and the general image of the bar itself.

Thank you for listening to those whose lives are impacted by your livelihood.

To which Tom responded,

We have actually already partnered with United Neighborhood House Junior Board, which support local settlement houses like Third Street Music School, University Settlement Society and Henry Street Settlement.

The event was quite a success and I am fully open to working with them or any other charities which benefit the community again.

Community consciousness is something I take very seriously. I understand that drunkards make your life miserable and I will do what I can to stem the tide of urine and vomit from our neighbor's doorsteps.

And another commenter found that A&E has already been a good neighbor:

I live around the corner from Aces & Eights, and when it first opened there was an issue with really loud HVAC equipment up on your roof. One of our residents was brave enough to march right in to your club and tell you about it. And you know what? The issue was taken care of, and the noise issue went away. I give you credit — that's not what we all expected to happen. thanks for being a good neighbor.

Meanwhile, there's another comment thread going here.

So, what else? Here's your chance. (And I think we have the cargo shorts/douche/frathole angle already covered.)

Why people move away

I've noticed a few more people than usual moving from the neighborhood. (Perhaps there's a reason for so many more men with vans signs.) Given the drop in some rentals, maybe these people are just moving a few blocks away to a building with better deals. Or maybe they lost everything and have to go bunk with a relative. Or maybe they came here during the heady days of, say, 2005 and figured to become the next Carrie Bradshaw. (Or at least have the chance to sit on her stoop!) I wish I could go up to these people and conduct exit interviews. Why are you moving? What will you miss about the neighborhood? What are you glad to be leaving behind? I'm always curious about this.

Luckily, I came across a blog written by a young professional living on the LES. After one year here, she is moving to another undisclosed neighborhood. Almost in answer to my questions, she provided a list of things she will miss and not miss about her apartment and the LES. Among the items:

Things I will miss:
--The gym. I hope I can still force myself to go to the gym when it isn’t in my building!
--My stainless steel stove
--Dry cleaning in the building
--The statue of Vladimir Lenin on top of the Red Square building. I can see him from my bed so I wake up to him with his right arm in the air every single morning.

Things I will not miss:
--The girls who scream, “Where’s my boyfriend!?” at 4 a.m. while leaving the Lower East Side bars on any given day
--The symphony of honking on Houston Street that forces me to sleep with earplugs
--The fresh vomit that I sometimes step over while leaving for [work] on any given day
--The smell of pickles from Katz Deli that I am forced to inhale when walking home every day
--The fact that there is not a close enough Starbucks
--The mural of Kiss on the brick wall on the bar across from my apartment

I guess that says it all.

I smell dead people

I've had some horrible neighbors...nothing quite like this, though. As the Post reports:

It smells like something at 201 E. 19th St., and it sure isn't Christmas.
The Missionary Sisters of Sacred Heart are suing two tenants in the Gramercy building who they say are creating an ungodly stench that's making their neighbors sick.
Gloria and Michael Lim have "caused noxious, foul and harmful odors to emanate from the [apartment] into the common areas of the subject building as well into other apartments," the nuns' suit says.
"The smells emanating from the subject premises are so horrible and potentially dangerous to the life, health and safety of the tenants" that "on one occasion the Fire Department . . . had to be called."
The odor on that occasion from the apartment was so awful that building workers had become "seriously concerned that the smell was the result of someone having died in their apartment and began ringing certain tenants who live alone to check in on them," the filing says.
When all those people were determined to be still kicking, the concerned firefighters zeroed in on the Lims' apartment, convinced the dead-person smell was coming from there.
They pounded on the door and when they got no answer, they started to break it down, the suit says. Gloria Lim eventually came to the door and asked what the "commotion" was, the suit says.
The firefighters entered the apartment, and Lim told them she was "smoking and drying fish."
When asked by The Post what caused the odors -- which court papers likened to "vomit or rotting meat" -- she only said: "I cook dried fish."

Ugh. The worst thing my neighbor does is play the one disco-y CD he owns over and over....

What's doing in...The Meatpacking District

From yesterday's Daily News:

The venerable neighborhood, long-ago habitat of butchers in bloodstained aprons, hosts an assortment of less savory sorts each weekend: Drunks. Cokeheads. Dealers.

"I hate it," said Johanna Lindsay, who's lived there for eight years. "It's gotten cool, and not in a good way."

The no-holds-barred party, as witnessed by Daily News reporters, knows few boundaries. One reporter was solicited by three dealers within two hours on a Saturday night.

Reporters watched a pair of twentysomething club girls vomit in tandem; a man urinate as he weaved along Washington St.; another man so blitzed he appeared paralyzed on W. 13th St.