Old Zips space reveals....

Well, now. Finally some action at the former Zips location on Avenue B and Fifth Street... Work was going on inside for months... The neighborhood rumor was the space would become an upscale diner-type place....




Not so fast. As this photo from reader Empire shows...



As Empire notes, "Check out what has now been revealed from under the awning.. where it says 'Medical Office'?! Is that from BEFORE Zips? Hmmmmmm...."

Indeed! I double the Hmmmmmm...

Renovated East 10th Street apartment can be yours — for $13,500 a month

We get press releases!

Royalton's latest property is at 319 East 10th Street -- a prime NYC rental building located on a picturesque tree-lined street on the edge of the trendy and exciting East Village. The 3,500 square-foot home includes three fireplaces and 12-foot ceilings as well as views of Tompkins Square Park.

This stunning 3/4-bedroom, 2.5-bath triplex is being newly renovated in an existing townhouse, making this a rare opportunity for you to build to specification. The property already boasts amazing southern light, new oak floors, abundant storage, a full washer and dryer and world-class finishes like gorgeous arches.

A huge chefs' kitchen with super high-end appliances opens into a large dining area that spills into the living room with high ceilings, an amazing wood-burning fireplace, and stunning windows. The baths are elegant and beautifully appointed.

The property also includes 1,000 square-feet of outdoor space along with a fire pit and a rotisserie grill - perfect for entertaining friends and family in the upcoming summer months!



You even have a private entrance on the ground floor. Prospective renters can consider a one- to five-year lease. The asking price is $13,500.

Uh, is that for one month?

Oh, and it's not where the Jessica Parkers were thinking of moving.

Or this place on East 10th Street.

The day the classical music died

The cash-strapped New York Times may sell its classical radio station, WQXR (96.3), which it has owned since 1944. According to Page Six: "One interested party might be ESPN, which is said to want an FM outlet for its WEPN (1050 AM) sports programming, which includes Knick, Jet and Ranger games but can't be heard clearly in parts of the metro area."

Side note to the story:

"Several months ago, ESPN was reported to have talked with Emmis Communications about leasing low-rated rock station WRXP (101.9 FM), although no deal was made."

NYC "remains a hotbed for con artists (whether small-time hustlers or real estate developers) and more importantly, fresh ideas"

Noelia Santos caught "Blank City" Saturday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. Here's how Santos describes the documentary by Celine Danhier for MovieMaker Magazine: "It is an enjoyable chronicle of the giddy, nihilistic moviemaking style that emerged alongside the No Wave music scene of late 1970s/early 1980s in New York."

Here's more from the article by Santos:

Some of the best quotes she gets come from today’s well-known indie actors and directors who emerged from or alongside the downtown New York art scene of the late '70s-early ‘80s . . . like Jim Jarmusch, whose early films like 'Permanent Vacation' and 'Stranger Than Paradise' featured his friends hanging out in their run-down apartments and walking the streets of the then-dilapidated Lower East Side. Instead of lamenting the co-option of downtown DIY culture into mainstream condo living, he notes that 'New York was always about trade, commerce and thievery' — and that it remains a hotbed for con artists (whether small-time hustlers or real estate developers) and more importantly, fresh ideas.

In talking with several of these moviemakers afterwards, it seemed the freshness still hasn’t worn off. Michael Oblowitz (1983’s King Blank) is still making movies. Nick Zedd is now painting and getting into fashion design. But some, like James Chance, are probably simply inspiring others to be themselves.

"Variety" -- an NYC time capsule

The 1984 drama "Variety" plays tomorrow night at 5 during the Tribeca Film Festival. According to the Program Notes: "In Bette Gordon's pioneering indie film about voyeurism from a female perspective, a young woman (played by Sandy McLeod) works as a ticket taker in a porn theater, and her curiosity leads her to shadow a male patron."

"'Variety' features an unparalleled collaborative team of downtown artists and performers, including composer John Lurie, cinematographer Tom DiCillo, writer Kathy Acker, photographer Nan Goldin, and actors Spalding Gray and Luis Guzmán. In retrospect, 'Variety' also represents a time capsule of New York City, filmed at bygone landmarks like the Variety Theatre, Fulton Fish Market, and Yankee Stadium, as well as an edgier incarnation of Times Square."

No advance tickets are left for the screening at the SVA Theater on West 23rd Street. But you can go for the rush tickets an hour in advance of the screening ...

The Villager has a feature on the film in this week's issue.

Historic building being used to promote Snickers, Tribeca Film Festival

You've likely seen the Bronze Plaque on the building at 13th Street and University Place.



As Forgotten New York points out, this marks the spot of the headquarters of the old 9th Regiment where Lincoln once called for volunteers for the Civil War. The plaque was unveiled on May 30, 1908. "Less than a score of veterans stood in the rain as Maj. Dabney W. Diggs, who got his rank for real service, and Col. William F. Morris, the present commander of the regiment, addressed them, but there were 800 then in olive drab standing at attention."

The plaque bears this inscription:

"If any one attempts to haul down the American Flag shoot him on the spot."

The retail space on the ground floor has been vacant since the Futon Warehouse closed in the summer of 2007. Of late, the space has been home to a treasure trove of Snickers ad...those chewpid Snacklish ones...





This is like the Louvre of Snickers ads...



The space is still for lease for retail on the street level...



The 11-story building is home to the Amalgamated Lithographers of America, among other tenants.




However, the Snickers ads have been removed. And the street-level space is being used again as the press office for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Speaking of 13th Street

I had no idea that Crunch closed this location between University and Broadway. I was told it happened in early March.

And then there was one (within 100 yards or each other)

Sunday morning:




Monday afternoon:



"This is a dream come true."

Meanwhile, yesterday, Starbucks unveiled its new online Global Responsibility Report, which states that the company wants to have a recycled cup available by 2012 and to have all its cups be reusable or recyclable by 2015. (Via Starbucks Gossip -- "Monitoring America's Favorite Drug Dealer")

When Iggy retires?

There's a new exhibit at the PS 122 gallery titled "Yarn Theory," described as "an exhibition which highlights the vibrant and deep interrelationship between the sciences, mathematics, crocheting and knitting."



I stopped to check it out. This couple next to me were looking at the photos of the contributors to something called "The Knitted Mile." And the guy says, "Hey, Iggy!" They left, and I took a closer look... It's not Iggy Pop, but there is some resemblance... though this fellow is wearing a shirt, of course...

"A police officer told me to put my ass up against the fence because I was not appropriately attired to be seen by children"

Excerpts from the Lady Gaga profile in the Sunday Post:

Lady Gaga sums up her life in eight words: "I am a self-made New York hustler."

Born in Yonkers, she cut her teeth in Manhattan clubs like the Mercury Lounge and Bitter End, and spent time toiling behind the pop curtain writing tunes for the likes of Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block and the Pussy Cat Dolls.

And!

"I was wearing very short hot pants and a police officer told me to put my ass up against the fence because I was not appropriately attired to be seen by children. I told him I was an artist, but he didn't care. Where I come from they were just normal hot pants, but in Chicago they were indecent."

Easy Target left alone

While I don't condone the vandalism of ads... Uh, anyway, I was surprised the new Target ad on St. Mark's and Avenue A made it through the weekend... Pardon the pun, but it's an easy target...

For further reading:
Billboards: A Loomstate for Target Ad Develops on Christopher Street (Racked)

Target Targets Hicks Street With Painted Ad (Lost City)

Good-looking people (we assume) wanted to show East Village apartments

A reader sends along this ad from Craigslist:

Property Management, in the East Village, seeks ENERGETIC, UPBEAT, FRIENDLY personality, to meet & greet our potential tenants. Must be honest, hardworking, & reliable. Will be responsible for advertising with brokers & on Craigslist, showing apartments, and helping us screen new tenants. When not out with tenants you will be assisting with day to day tasks around the office: answering phones, filing, dispatching maintenance crew, etc. Real Estate experience a plus!!! Please respond with resume in the body of your email & recent photo. Resume's with Photo's will be given priority. Full-time, Part-time, & Students Welcome!!!!

Meanwhile, kind of related:
The Wall Street Journal has a piece today on a San Diego company that "aims to fill high-end empty houses with occupants who play the part of happy homeowners, in a bid to remove the price-depressing stigma of vacancy." The article features a woman who does this. She got the job via Craigslist. "When a real-estate agent phones, Ms. Clavin says, 'I live here' -- because technically, I do,' and provides a broker's number before the caller inquires further. She must keep the house spotless between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. She usually gets only five minutes to light the candles, flip on music and disappear before a showing. If she has more time, she'll bake cookies to scent the home." How much longer before we see such a company sprout up here?

An EV Grieve PSA

(Via Buzzfeed)

Checking up on Dr. Toothy

Since last August, we've watched the construction slowly proceed at Mott and Worth in Chinatown. The A & B Lobster King House at 1 Mott Street closed, and the one-story extention was demolished.



And so construction began on a new structure across the way from Chatham Square...






...the only question was whether the new structure would cover the beloved Dr. Toothy mural. (Actually, I do like this mural...something so out of place about it...) However, from the looks of the photos below that were taken this past Friday, it appears the Dr. Toothy has been spared.

Sunday in the Park

10:45 a.m.



3:45 p.m.



Tompkins Square Park.

The Greatest?

In Tompkins Square Park Sunday.

Why the trees were cut down on Fifth Street next to the Cooper Square Hotel

To make room for the hotel's trash.

Previously on EV Grieve:
What's new around the Cooper Square Hotel: Sidewalk, lack of trees

Tompkins Square Park, 9:14 a.m., April 26

Previously on EV Grieve:
The morning after...and the Tompkins Square Park Diets

The AlphaBet Cafe has reopened

As I metioned on April 6. At 14th Street and Avenue B. This addition brings the Avenue B empty storefront count down to 20.

Not so Smart now

At Houston and Clinton.

Noted

"A $24 ticket bought directly from the Mets costs $37.50." (Phil Mushnick)

More signs from the recession

Spotted on Avenue A and Third Street.


On the Bowery.


Second Avenue near Second Street.


Think everyone has seen this already, right? At Eighth Street and Sixth Avenue. Gray's Papaya.

The Bea Arthur tag

The "Bad Pussies" mural on the side of Mama's at Third Street and Avenue B (which "passes off a subtle message of yuppicide") has always fascinated me...



...and even more so now with the passing yesterday of NYC native Bea Arthur, who was 86.



...the Bea Arthur tag has been there for as long as I can remember... I just never knew why. I've seen the Bea Arthur tag a few other places around the neighborhood...just can't remember where at the moment.

You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you

From the Post today:

Going to college in New York City has never looked better. The city's 50 hottest college students -- vamping it up in steamy poses sure to distract even the most dedicated bookworm -- will soon appear on campus newsstands as a glossy magazine debuts May 4.

"We wanted to photograph interesting, hot people that make going to school in New York City so awesome," said Kane Sarhan, 22, a Pace University junior and publisher of the magazine, The College Gossip Chronicles, and its accompanying Website, thecgconline.com.

And the paper lets us meet a few of the 50:

Alex Casticas, 23

junior studying business administration at Fordham

Career Ambition: Working in biotechnology

Home: Switzerland

Sex Appeal: "My accent is what makes me stand out here," says Casticas, who admits he can play it up to seduce the ladies when he parties in SoHo or the Meatpacking District. He stays fit by doing martial arts, water-skiing and wakeboarding.

Ashton Fontana, 20 (pictured)

sophomore communications major at Fordham University

Home: Napa, California

Career Ambition: Fashion writer/magazine editor

Sex Appeal: "My Cali personality with my New York attitude. I know how to have a great time and look even greater doing it," says the beach beauty, who stays in shape by taking hip hop and lyrical dance classes.

Noted

"Although they’re good-looking young stars, they pass unremarked in the East Village. 'We go to Trader Joe’s in our pajamas,' Ms. Powers said." (The New York Times)

Coming soon

The latest from Jim Jarmusch. Opens Friday at the Angelika.

Ending the day on a high note