Bar with no name opens in former Mo Pitkin's space

We were surprised to find the former Mo Pitkin's space reopened as a bar this past weekend. We knew something was in the works for the place. In any event, there was a "soft opening" -- as they say -- this past Friday in which a reliable EV Grieve operative reported that the place looked "sketchy" in sort of an Upper East Side way. There's no indication outside what the place is called. In any event, it's apparently run by the folks behind Aces & Eights, the fratty Yorkville saloon on First Avenue and 87th Street.

The former Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction bar/restaurant/performance space at 34 Avenue A closed in October 2007. It was owned in part by Two Boots honcho Phil Hartman. According to the Observer last November, the building was sold for $4 million.

We stopped by ourselves last night...but the place was closed...no word yet on what will become of the performance space upstairs. There is a rather rumpled-looking banner advertising loft space for rent hanging from the second level, though it looks like it's for LiveinNYC.net. (They have no listings for spaces on Avenue A.) It would be a shame if this becomes just another bar...losing the performance part of the space in the process.

A look inside Sunday night...

A REAL bad sign: The Jagerettes at the Holiday

1) I understand the fact that the beloved Holiday Cocktail Lounge on St. Mark's Place needs to make money to stay open...so why not attract the dreaded Saturday night crowd.

2) Stefan never would have gone for this.

PS
Well, it could have been worse, like the Jager dudes...

PSS
I've never actually seen the Jagerettes...here's a shot (so to speak) from another event that I found on the Internets...

Signs from the recession: At Angelina Cafe

Avenue A near Third Street.

The shroud of WaMu: The Bowery loses a bank

The Washington Mutual closed up shop on Bowery and Bond ... WaMuers need to head over to the next closest WaMu location at St. Mark's and Second Avenue. Seems like the perfect spot for something such as another bank branch!

Noted

Our old friend Esquared passed along information about the Modern Day Depression-Era Fundraiser at the City Reliquary in Williamsburg...Like everyone else, they're having a tough time paying rent...Anyway, what did we miss from the fundraiser this past Friday? Here's how they described some of the night's activities:

Pie the Landlord! That’s right: the City Reliquary will have our very own cigar-chomping, unshaven, smelly Landlord demanding our rent! Tell him where to shove it with a whipped cream pie in his face!

Hobo Photos a Go-Go: Take your picture in our hand painted carnival sign. Remember the Recession of ’09 with a photographic keepsake!

Oil drum fires: (and more modern propane heaters) to keep you warm while you chill in the cold. All fires will be regulated carefully by official FDNY supervision!

DIY Fingerless Gloves Table! Because nothing says Depression-chic than rockin’ a pair of fingerless gloves!

Prohibition-era Beer provided by the Brooklyn Brewery and Depression-era “Rum” Punch provided by the City Reliquary at contemporary-recession era prices.

What do you think?

A) Hey, we're all fucked, might as well make light of it!
B) As funny as Hugh Jackman's recession opening number at the Oscars! (Not that I watched it.)
C) As insulting as Hugh Jackman's recession opening number at the Oscars! (Not that I watched it.)
D) Stupid
E) All the above

New Port Authority plan could wipe out a dozen Midtown properties (including two good bars)

From the Post:

An $8.75 billion plan to build another train tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan may wipe out a dozen Manhattan properties that can be seized through eminent domain, the Port Authority said.

And what could be lost?

That means Sunglass Hut, Payless Shoes, Duane Reade, Foot Action and several other businesses -- including 40-year-old neighborhood favorites Blarney Rock pub and Hickey's bar -- are in the way.

PA Executive Director Chris Ward added that the agency is hoping to work with the businesses to relocate them and is "in fact going beyond" in negotiations with shop owners.

But Blarney Rock owner Tom Dwyer -- who has been in his 33rd Street location since he and his immigrant dad opened the pub in 1969 -- is worried he will not find an alternate location he can afford close to Madison Square Garden.

"This is devastating," said Dwyer, who hopes to pass on the business to his daughter. "We worked hard all these years, just to have our place turned into a fan plant. It doesn't seem right."

Jeremiah wrote about Hickey's (and Peep World!) last January.

Trend stories we very likely won't read

But you can...

As hard as they tried, the Times couldn't find anyone to say Yes

Hasn't this story been done already?....From the Times today: As Hard Times Loom, Will New York’s Streets Get Meaner?

Uh-oh!

If a shrinking economy, soaring jobless claims and a troubled financial sector are not angst-producing enough, the threat of increased crime is leading many conversations toward a nagging and persistent question: Will the bad old days of record numbers of murders and ubiquitous street muggings be far behind?

YES! RIGHT?

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, for his part, said he has heard this all before.

He said similar worries were being voiced as he took over in 2002 for a second stint as the city’s top police official: Things were headed in the wrong direction, the economy was devastated after Sept. 11, 2001, and there were predictions that crime would increase.

Instead, overall crime has dropped nearly 30 percent in the last seven years, he said, and in 2007 the lowest number of killings was recorded since the city started keeping what it considers reliable records, about four decades ago.

“There’s a lot of predictions that crime is going to go up as a result of the economic crisis,” Mr. Kelly said on Friday...

“The fact of the matter is that hasn’t happened,” Mr. Kelly said. “The fact is we’re down 14 percent, and we’re down in every category across the city.”

Hmm, well...I'm sure this story will be revisited in another month or so.

The latest on Etherea

Karate Boogaloo has the latest today on Etherea: It's officially closed, but employee DJ Brion hopes to get the lease and reopen/rebrand the shop. (Stupefaction)

The Times profiles a "community citizen"

The Times profiles Robert Lesko today...here are a few passages from the piece:

When he’s not working, there’s a good chance that Mr. Lesko, 48, will be standing up for some cause. While not alone in perpetual protest, he is certainly among the more ubiquitous activists at Manhattan rallies. Each week, Mr. Lesko scours NYProtest, a listing of street demonstrations distributed by e-mail by a fellow activist, and chooses three or four that match his leftist political leanings.

He is known on the scene as a colorful character who often wears costumes that attract news photographers. Several years ago, to protest the presence of Coca Cola products on the New York University campus, where he is a secretary in the George H. Heyman Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, Mr. Lesko wore a Coke-can costume that he had made ...

“You have to figure out what will work,” he said at another rally a week after the vice squad protest. “Today I couldn’t think of anything.”

This was last Saturday, and the event was a march in the East Village to protest the proposed elimination of the M8 bus line. He attended this event in street clothes.

“This is Saint Bobby right here,” said Michael O’Neil, a media manager for Reverend Billy, a comic preacher who organized the march. “He’s a pillar of our community because he shows up. Bobby is the epitome of the community citizen.”

[Photo: Frances Roberts for The New York Times]

Sort of good news from the East Village of Des Moines!

An update from the Des Moines Register:

A classic 1930s service station in the East Village has been saved, for now.

Historic East Village Inc. is raising the $60,000 needed to move the building from property purchased by businessman Jim Cownie in August. The group has already raised $40,000, including $10,000 from a Cownie family foundation.

The move will be to a temporary site at one of several possible locations until a permanent owner and location for the one-story building can be found, said Sarah Oltrogge, president of Historic East Village.

In October, the 78-year-old service station was identified by the Des Moines Rehabbers Club as one of the city's seven most- endangered buildings because of Cownie's plan to demolish it to create a site for development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Something about the East Village of Des Moines seems strangely familar

"New Rose" x two

A remake that I don't hate..."New Rose" by the (underappreciated?) Gumball and Mr. Don Fleming...

And the original...

Scraping by

The other day, the Fresh Direct truck pulled in front of St. Brigid's between Seventh Street and Eighth Street to park...in doing so, the truck got a little too close to the scaffolding around the church...the truck scraped forward anyway (you can see the marks...) What a noise! To be honest, I was worried this might shake the scaffolding enough to cause a collapse. And it wouldn't be the first time there has been a scaffolding collapse here.

Noteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed

Off Broadway in the 20s.