"All of Manhattan has lost its soul to money lords"

That's Cheetah Chrome in today's New York Post discussing the new i-banker playground off the Bowery. "Extra Place," as it's being called, is in the former piss-filled alley behind CBGB. (See the Ramones photo above.) As the Post notes, that spot is "getting dragged into the 21st century with a makeover that would make Martha Stewart proud." Yes, because she could afford the kinds of things that are going into "Extra Place." (How not just call it "Extra Expensive"?)

Saint Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, Easter 2008

Prefab Sprout -- Hey Manhattan!

Music video from 1988. Prefab Sprout, a Brit pop band from the 1980s...and I never told anyone that I actually liked them. But what a sunny little song, so gosh-darn happy about being in the city.

East 10th Street just off Second Avenue, 7:50 a.m., March 23

Too many bank branches? Too many Sarah Marshall movie ads? Too many small businesses like Fontana Shoes closing?

Sophie's will be big in London

From the UK Guardian:

New York magazine recently handed out its annual gongs for all that is good in the city - from burgers to dive bars. Former Gawker restaurant critic Joshua Stein offers his alternative awards

They say: Mars Bar (25 E 1st St, +212-473-9842).
We say: Sophie's (507 E 5th St, + 212-228-5680). I mean a dive bar is a dive bar is a dive bar. The appeal is the same: cheap booze, no pretension, hopefully a toilet seat with a lid. Sophie's has all three plus, it has picaresque East Village characters who seem to have walked out of the pages of Henry Roth's Call It Sleep; a truly wonderful jukebox (everything from The Pogues to Gang of Four); and a wickedly competitive pool table.

First day of spring looks and feels more like fall

An open house on East 12th Street

For no good reason this past Sunday, Mrs. Grieve and I decided to go to an open house on East 12th Street between A and B. I've watched this eight-story apartment building go up in recent months and was curious what it would look like inside. (I wish I could remember what was on this lot prior to this apartment building...) Plus, I saw the open house ad in the Times with the price range...$2,900 for studios to $4,900 for two-bedroom apartments (roughly 920 square feet) a month. More than anything, I guess, I wanted to know what nearly $5,000 -- an amount that seems criminal to me -- would get you in the East Village today. The short answer: Not as much as I'd like. By the way, this post isn't meant to rip this new building...everything was top of the line...and I'm really so tired of grumbling about the continued ridiculous rents being charged in this neighborhood...I'm sure I'll have to move away soon enough. But until then! Might as well have some fun.

Many of the larger apartments come with a small balcony that overlooks the back of the buildings on East 13th Street. I can only imagine the joy the folks on 13th Street will experience while watching you sit on a tiny balcony in an apartment that costs nearly $5,000.

There's also a lovely rooftop deck with panoramic views of the city. [Updated 3/20: To be fair, the rooftop deck was nice...I sounded sarcastic when I wrote "lovely" -- I often sound sarcastic even when I'm being serious!...the photo below mostly shows the adjacent building's roof...Regardless, a nice rooftop hardly makes up for the steep rents.]

The building opened on March 1...and I was told that it was nearly half full as of Sunday. For my money, I'd prefer to live in the building right next door....this is more my style.

You've been warned

AKA Amateur Hour.

East 7th Street, 4:50 p.m., March 16

Just wait until tomorrow.

Live like Jimi Hendrix (but maybe without all the mysterious death part)

This rental notice caught our eye (must have been the five exclamation points) in today's New York Times:

Jimi Hendrix Lives On!!!!!

More like his old house lives on. But, yes, starting April 1, you can rent "The Cottage," the unique home at 50 W. 8th Street that Hendrix once lived. Can be yours for $7,950 a month. (Hendrix's legendary Electric Lady Studios is at 52 W. 8th Street.)

The online version of the ad in the Times doesn't mention Hendrx. Neither does the listing at Buchbinder & Warren.

Still, sounds nice, huh?

One of Manhattan's most unique properties offering country living in the heart of Greenwich Village. This 2bdr/2bth home, with washer/dryer and fireplace, offers stylish and sophisticated living with a private outdoor garden/patio area perfect for gardening and entertaining. A secure private entrance leads to this glass enclosed living space where the oversized, sky-lit solarium looks and opens onto the outdoor patio garden. FEATURES- Striking architectural elements include sky-lit solarium/greenhouse - Spacious contemporary 2bdr/2bth home with open plan living/dining areas- Fully-appointed, modern kitchen with custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, and stone counter tops- Gas-fueled fireplace- Washer/dryer- Central AC/heating throughout- Pre-wired intercom and cable - Two modern tiled windowed bathrooms- Central Greenwich Village location convenient to wonderful restaurants, great shopping and all transportation.

Great shopping? Like all those shoe stores that went out of business on 8th Street?

By the way, LES native Norman Buchbinder, a principal in Buchbinder & Warren, died early last year. He was 84. The feature obituary in The Villager mentions "The Cottage."

Another signature property he owned known as “The Cottage,” fronting into the backyard garden at 50 W. Eighth St., was once the residence of rock-and-roll legend Jimi Hendrix.

Accidents waiting to happen?

Given the number of high rises (4,000?, 5,000?) going up in the neighborhood ... yesterday's deadly crane tragedy in Turtle Bay gives us pause ... we already had close calls with that piece of shit condo at 110 Third Ave.

Got a chill today when I saw the crane (pictured) stretched across Third Avenue like that.

The way we were

The current Time Out New York has a Lower East Side map circa 1882 that spans Houston to Broome Streets between Norfolk Street and the Bowery. In total, there are 61 liquor bars and 242 lager saloons in that area. A lot, sure, but did they have to worry about annoying I-bankers?

[Map image from Time Out New York via Gawker]