Noted

Page 1 of the Post today...



And Friday...

The Times on why NYC corporate law firms are becoming an endangered species

"As the apocalypse on Wall Street ripples out into the larger economy, a thick red tide is lapping at the once-impregnable foundations of New York’s corporate law firms, threatening to turn the industry — and with it, some iconic city characters — into an endangered species." (The New York Times)

Street fair!

Second Avenue at 14th Street...





And I forgot that Stella's corners the market on some of the food options...

Meeting for a plan to preserve the Bowery

Click on the image below to read the Bowery Alliance of Neighbor's plan to preserve the east side of the Bowery from Ninth Street to Canal. There's a meeting to discuss the plan on June 16.

Remembering the "Mayor of the LES"

Great story today in The Wall Street Journal about Rudy Mancuso. On Oct. 3, 1951, at the Polo Grounds, Mancuso -- who had one exposure left on his camera -- took what is arguably the most famous photograph in the history of baseball: Giant Bobby Thomson taking an 0-1 fastball from Dodger Ralph Branca over the leftfield wall in the bottom of the ninth. And the Giants win the pennant!



Sadly, though, Mancuso never received credit for the photo. He even lost the negative. As Joshua Prager notes in the Journal, "And so, tragically, the man who shot 'The Shot Heard 'Round the World' was entirely forgotten."

Many years passed. Mancuso's pencil moustache turned from black to white as newswires and then vendors and then Web sites hocked an inexhaustible supply of his photo. He made no money from his shot and held no proof that it was he, an embosser and die cutter living in a Lower East Side walk-up, who'd most famously preserved baseball's greatest moment.

Anyway, you can read the story for yourself to see what became of the negative and to find out what he did at the Hotel Rivington. Mancuso died on May 10 at age 89.

The Times did a piece on photo in September 2006.

Last year at this time on EV Grieve: The Lower East Side — There goes the neighborhood

That's the headline for the May 28, 1984, New York magazine cover story that I recently came across. The piece begins in the early 1980s with the rotting hulk of the Christodora and the young man eager to own it, Harry Skydell.

You can read the article here.

Not That Way Anymore

Stiv Bators died June 4, 1990. (Via Ohio Sounds via Punk Turns 30)

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

The freakologist of Times Square (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Smith's cleans up when we weren't looking (Lost City)

The East Village circa 1934 (Hunter-Gatherer)

"Sorcerer's Apprentice" fun on 17th Street (BoweryBoogie)

Crap! We missed National FroYo Day! (Eater)

Depeche Mode lead singer sells WV townhouse, buys Battery Park penthouse (The Observer)

Depeche Mode? Musical interlude!



A family of four's 700-square-foot EV apartment (Dwell)

Lux Living has a stalker (Lux Living)

Looking at Music: Side 2 at MoMa (Stupefaction)

Dave's new shirt; Biker Bill's new hat (Slum Goddess)

"Diary of a Times Square Thief" is one of 120 films to play at the Brooklyn International Film Festival...which starts today.

The Scavengers

Last Saturday, a group of post-collegiate types took part in a scavenger hunt throughout the neighborhood. Sometime after 7, the group reportedly convened in front of Sophie's. There, the group members assembled many of the things they apparently had on their list to find. They all took pictures of each other with their junk. They were rather harmless in the grand scheme of annoying post-collegiate types who go on scavenger hunts and/or pub crawls in the neighborhood. Still, as several people confirmed, they were characterized as rambunctious and oblivious to their surroundings. They were, we understand, shooed away from the front of Sophie's by management. They were giving the impression that the ruckus on Fifth Street was caused by bar patrons. This was not the case. The group moved west toward Avenue A with their scavenger-hunt possessions in tow for more pictures. Then, the group parted ways, leaving behind everything that they had collected for someone else to clean up.

A quick follow-up to Tuesday night's Cooper Square Hotel meeting

As you know, on Tuesday night, the East Fifth Street Block Association had a community meeting with Matthew Moss, principal of the Peck Moss Hotel Group, the developer of the Cooper Square Hotel. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and raise any concerns about the hotel's impact on the neighborhood. Several community leaders were in attendance, including CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer and SLA & DCA Licensing Chair Alexandra Militano. I asked Stuart Zamsky, head of the East Fifth Street Block Association, two questions in a follow-up e-mail.

I wanted to get your thoughts on how you think the meeting went. Do you think some progress was made?

I think the meeting went well. I think the community was civil yet persuasive. And, I think that Stetzer and Militano were great assets who were clear and decisive in their thoughts. And, I think it sank in to the hotel/Matt.

The one thing that was missing (and has been missing from the whole process) is a strong showing by 207 [E. Fifth St.] residents. This was their strongest showing yet, but it was too little too late. I am dumbfounded at their lack of verve and participation, considering what they have at stake.

What were you thoughts when you saw the party afterwards at the Cooper for the $280,000 DBS Volante Convertible?

The cause of the party did not faze me. It's a ritzy hotel and will host high-end clients for special events. Rich/poor...that's NYC. That it went on too late, in a noisy fashion, and seemed unstoppable is worrisome.

"Some great art was produced in those self-indulgent times"

The Times checks in with a review of the new Cooper Union academic building on Seventh Street and Cooper Squuare... and they like it.

To the review!

We’ll have to wait to find out exactly what the end of the Age of Excess means for architecture in New York. Yes, the glut of high-concept luxury towers was wearisome. But some great civic works were also commissioned in that era. And given the hard economic times, they may be the last we see for quite some time.

The new academic building at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is yet more proof that some great art was produced in those self-indulgent times.

And!

The building occupies a contentious site at Cooper Square, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, in the East Village. The area has experienced a particularly painful process of gentrification in the past decade. First, generic glass boxes began popping up along the Bowery. Then CBGB closed. For me the final straw was the opening in 2005 of Gwathmey Siegel’s undulating glass luxury apartment tower at Astor Place, a vulgar knockoff of Mies van der Rohe’s unbuilt Glass Skyscraper project and a symbol of the era’s me-first mentality.

And!

Yet the more you look at the building, the more it looks right at home in its surroundings. From certain angles the facade’s concave form seems to exert a magnetic pull, as if it were trying to embrace the neighborhood in front of it. The curve of the corner, which lifts up to invite people inside the lobby, has an unexpected softness. Even the bulky exterior mirrors the proportions of the Foundation building — a friendly nod to its older neighbor.

Noted

Page 1 of the Post today.

Mourning the loss of the Mayor of Seventh Street

The Villager brings the sad news that Pretty Boy passed away on May 19. Pretty Boy was believed to be 22 or 23. As Albert Amateau reports, "It’s impossible to say who owned Pretty Boy. The white cat walked into Mikey’s Pet Supply store at 130 E. Seventh St. in 1988 and made it his home base on the block, where the cat became known as The Mayor of Seventh St."

Pretty Boy was a favorite of several supers on the block between Avenue A and First Avenue, said Salon Seven proprietor Mark Dolengawski. “One of them said, ‘I wish I had a cool walk like that.’ It really was a cool walk, especially as he got older, it was a Zen-like stroll. It was so serene,” Dolengawski said.

[Photo via The Villager]

This Pete Wentz Week in Review

Gawker broke the story, and then....

Pete Wentz's Bar closed for serving drinks to minor
Oneindia - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Washington (ANI): Fall Out Boy star Pete Wentz's New York bar has been temporarily shut down after allegations surfaced that the staff served alcohol to ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Closed for Minor Drinking Problem
E! Online - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
The watering hole that Pete Wentz co-owns in New York may have been catering to a few too many of the rocker's young fans. Angels & Kings, located in ...

Pete Wentz's bar cited for booze violations
Entertainment Weekly - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
Pete Wentz's bar, Angels & Kings, has been temporarily closed by the New York police for allegedly serving alcohol to minors, People reported today. ...

Rocker Pete Wentz's East Village Bar Shut Down, Temporarily
New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
By ANDREW RAMOS wpix.com NEW YORK ( WPIX) -- After receiving it's third citation, rocker Pete Wentz's East Village bar, Angels & Kings, was temporarily ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Shut Down
Celebuzz - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
by Celebuzz on Jun. 2, 2009 10:15 AM / Leave a Comment At his bar that is. The Fallout Boy's NYC bar, Angels & Kings, located in Manhattan's East Village, ...

Pete Wentz' bar shut down
Examiner.com - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Your options for overpriced douchery just got slightly slimmer in New York City: Angels and Kings, the LES bar owned by Pete Wentz, has been closed down for ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Shut Down For Alleged Underage Drinking
Access Hollywood - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Pete Wentz's New York City watering hole, Angels & Kings, has been closed for allegedly serving to minors, according to People. ...

Serve Minors, Get Shut Down (Just Ask Pete Wentz)
TheCelebrityCafe.com - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz is experiencing some legal troubles associated with his popular Manhattan bar, Angles and Kings. ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Shut Down For Serving to Minors
The Daily Blabber from iVillage - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Pete Wentz's NYC bar, Angels & Kings, has been temporarily shut down. Investigators are looking into claims that underage drinkers are being served at the ...

Pete Wentz's "Angels and Kings" Bar Cited For Allegedly Serving ...
AHN - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
New York, NY (CNS) - Pete Wentz's bar in New York has temporarily been shut down for reportedly serving alcoholic drinks to minors. ...

Pete Wentz's New York Bar Shut Over Underage Drinking Allegations
Entertainmentwise - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
A New York bar owned by Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz has been shut over allegations bar staff served alcohol to minors, according to reports. ...

Fall Out Boy Wentz' Bar Closed for Booze Violations
Aversion - ‎Jun 2, 2009‎
Those underaged girls that make up Fall Out Boy's target demographic are getting Pete Wentz' New York City bar busted for serving to minors. ...

Wentz's bar closed for underage drinking
Digital Spy - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
By Dan French, TV Reporter According to People, the Fall Out Boy bass player's Manhattan East Village, New York bar - Angels And Kings - was shut by police ...

Pete Wentz's New York Bar Temporarily Shut Down
The Celebrity Truth - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
A New York city bar, co-owned by Pete Wentz, has been temporarily shut down after authorities claim it was serving alcohol to underage patrons. ...

Pete Wentz' bar closed for allegedly serving minors
Punknews.org - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
According to a Gawker report, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy has been forced to close his New York City bar, Angels and Kings. The celebrity site reports that ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Temporarily Shuttered for Alleged Underage Drinking
People Magazine - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
By Marisa Laudadio and Paul Chi Pete Wentz's New York City bar, Angels & Kings, has temporarily been shut down for allegedly serving alcohol to minors. ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Shut Down for Underage Drinking
Hollyscoop - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
Pete Wentz's New York bar Angels & Kings has been temporarily closed due to allegations of underage drinking. Gawker reports that Wentz's bar in Manhattan ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Gets Busted
ChartAttack - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
by Kate Harper (CHARTattack) Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz plays to lots of screaming, underaged kids when he's gigging with his band, and his bar also ...

WENTZS BAR CLOSED OVER UNDER AGE DRINKING CLAIMS
Contactmusic.com - ‎Jun 1, 2009‎
Caption: Pete Wentz (Picture) arrives for an early morning interview in Hollywood Los Angeles, California .... PETE WENTZ's New York bar has been ...

Pete Wentz Loves Underaged Kids
TMZ.com - ‎May 31, 2009‎
What's the secret to Fallout Boy's success among the young kids? Booze. And lots of it. Pete Wentz's New York City bar, Angels and Kings, has been shut down ...

Pete Wentz's Bar 'Angels And Kings' Closed For Serving Minors
Ear Sucker - ‎May 30, 2009‎
by Roberta on May 31st, 2009 Pete Wentz's East Village bar, “Angels And Kings” has been shut down by the NYPD for reportedly serving drinks to minors. ...

Pete Wentz's Bar Busted By NYPD For Saucing Up The Young'uns
Gawker - ‎May 30, 2009‎
Whoops! An eagle-eyed tipster spotted this today on the front door of Pete Wentz's East Village bar, Angels and Kings, which got smacked down with an NYPD ...

From the EV Grieve Weston, Fla. Bureau

From The Wall Street Journal today:

Unable to find a buyer for his Weston, Fla., home, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino has a new game plan: He’s throwing in $1.5 million worth of designer furniture — and a signed football, too.

The former Miami Dolphin first listed the house — about 25 miles west of Fort Lauderdale — three years ago and twice cut the price. Now, Mr. Marino, 47 years old, and his wife, Claire, are asking $13.5 million for the 15,000-square-foot Tuscan home on four acres. They built it in 1998 and among other things put in a new master suite and marble showers. The home has 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and two powder rooms. The property includes two guest houses, a pool, a putting green, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar and a pond stocked with fresh bass.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Penthouse views

On 11th Avenue.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Sandra Bullock's computer-enhanced new figure

On Second Avenue.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Things you don't put in the box

On Ninth Street.

Posts that I never got around to posting: White negro van

On Seventh Street near Avenue A.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Did she ever find her soulmate?

BoweryBoogie also made note of these fliers around the neighborhood...




These days, I just assume it's some kind of marketing campaign.... Like the ones below I spotted weeks ago on Ninth Street...

Posts that I never got around to posting: Drink-and-drown at Mama's Bar

Always brings in a delightful element!

Posts that I never got around to posting: Sun roof

Posts that I never got around to posting: The trailer for the "Bad Lieutenant" remake

The Vulture over at New York magazine has information and the trailer for Werner Herzog's Nicolas Cage–starring remake of "Bad Lieutenant."

Does this make you feel any better about the project?

Posts that I never got around to posting: Memories of Fleet Week

Posts that I never got around to posting: More movie poster graffiti

On First Avenue near Fifth Street.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Open bags of confetti

On Second Street near Second Avenue.

Posts that I never got around to posting: A blurry photo taken in front of McSorley's

Posts that I never got around to posting: The phone booth on Second Street and Avenue A

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

Looking at the Gulf Coast on West 12th Street (Hunter-Gatherer)

Hard times force women to sell their old wedding gowns (The Wall Street Journal)

Anti-StuyTown graffiti on the L (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Lux Living makes note of StuyTown's upcoming Summer Concert Series. Among the family friendly fare: Jay Reatard. Lux Living then posted this Reatard performance clip:



Shockers: A new condo that opts for a water tank (BoweryBoogie)

A collection of good signs from Ken (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Times Square now looks like someone's backyard (Lost City)

Ray's reopens.... and C-Squat will have a benefit for Ray's.

Medal Day madness on the LES (Gothamist)

Patrick Swayze's TV show gets canceled (Variety)

You probably already read about Bravo's next reality show. If not, here's a piece on it from the Post the other day:

"NYC Prep," which premieres ... June 23, follows five students from prestigious private schools and one from an elite public high school as they groan at length about their riches — while trying to edge each other out in the social standings.

"I don't want to apologize for having money!" Camille Hughes, 16, a junior at Nightingale-Bamford School, says in the premiere. "It's good."

From Joshua Stein's recap in the Times:

“My hobby,” says Sebastian, a doe-eyed 16-year-old ladies’ man, “is hooking up with the hottest girls I can.” Like any budding player, Sebastian goes on a date to Kurve, a futuristic Thai place in the East Village, with a wingman and two hapless 16-year-old girls.

Curb just reported that the Cooper Square Hotel has released a "signature scent" scent called Wanderlust.

[Photo via Flaming Pablum]

Claim: Tuesday night's DBS Volante Convertible party at the Cooper Square Hotel "brought enough complaints to bring in the police"

Just a quick follow-up to yesterday's Cooper Square Hotel post. I wanted to highlight two comments that came in later last night.



Anonymous said...
Just for the record, one of the stipulations of the hotel liquor license is, that given its proximity to to an assisted living facility and residential apartment building, the garden is to be "a quiet gathering place for patrons and guests." Last night's event brought enough complaints to bring in the police. When residents went to inquire for the hotel manager as recommended by Matt Moss at the meeting, she was "unavailable."


Goggla said...
I hate to think what will happen the next time one of those senior residents needs an ambulance (which I see there regularly), only to have it circle the block because the wagon train of limos is blocking the entrance.

Also, I reviewed the photos that I took.... I found these. As I recall, the young man in the backpack wanted to take a closer look at the Aston Martin on display. And why not?



So he looked around for a moment and decided to unhook the velvet rope and go in where the invite-onlys were congregating.



The security guard was on him in a second. The guard was ready to push him out the way he came in...



But the other security guard interjected and suggested that the young man be taken out properly through the hotel.



The security guards that I saw were much more tolerant of guests taking drinks onto the sidewalk to use their cell phones.

City's third Caffe Buon Gusto coming to Avenue B

As we noted yesterday (and thanks to reader Empire), the former Zips space on Avenue B and Fifth Street will be Caffe Buon Gusto...



Apparently there are two other locations in Manhattan -- one on 236 E. 77th St. and one at 1004 Second Ave. I'm not familiar with these places. The Caffe's Italian fare on one site gets pretty positive remarks, except from the last person who left a review. "The 'bruschetta' was served on toasted wonder bread!"

Anyway, to repeat what I wrote earlier....is there really a need for another Italian restaurant in the neighborhood?

The scaffolding will return to the front of St. Brigid's

We've enjoyed seeing the front of St. Brigid's on Avenue B at Eighth Street since the scaffolding came down on May 26.





However, as we suspected, the scaffolding is down just for the short-term. Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, confirmed this for us in an e-mail. He said the scaffolding was interfering with testing that needed to be done inside the church. He had hoped to meet with the construction manager to find out how much longer before the new scaffolding would return.

Torres also posted a letter last Friday for supporters of the church.

Runnin' Scared has more on last Saturday night's attack on Avenue B

Runnin' Scared has a follow-up story to Bob Arihood's post about a man attacked by up to a dozen young males last Saturday night along Avenue B near Seventh Street. Runnin' Scared describes the victim as a 30-year-old father of two who is a personal trainer and part-time wrestler. The man would only give his first name, Rob. According to his account as reported by Runnin' Scared:

Rob and his wife had come from their home in Brooklyn for a night in the East Village, and had relaxed with a pitcher of margaritas at a cafe across the street from Tompkins Square Park. When the cafe closed the couple headed out onto the street. As they argued over whether they would take a subway or a taxi, they heard a man say: "Why don't you come with us?" Turning around, Rob saw several young males ogling his wife."Mind your own business," he told them. A loud argument ensued, and more young males poured out of the park and surrounded the couple.

After the beating, Rob had a gash on the right side of his face and multiple fractures. But he declined the offer of police to ride with them to help look for his attackers. He says he didn't want to press charges, and figured he'd wait to get revenge later.

Rob has also apparently been leaving comments on Bob's post. Referring to himself as "guy in picture" (because Bob has a photo of him talking to the police)...

I realy onle remember the two main guys one had a razor scooter the other a 2x4 I laid the guy with the scooter out i figured the scooter would do more damage than the 2x4. i blocked like 6 shots from the 2x4 but then i had like 10 dudes swinging at me from behind then i got caught with the 2x4 and just started to block ,i covered up and went down to one knee. when i got up and saw blood i tried to find one so i could choke him to death i figured it was only moments before i would be stabbed anyway but they were all gone.

He says that he "took two of them down with me."

A little bit of Soho in the East Village: From steamed lobster to steamed dry cleaning

Thanks to the tipster for pointing out that the former Urban Lobster, which closed in late March, will soon be home to a dry cleaner on Houston near Avenue A. Well, nothing wrong with that, I suppose, except...



Kapri II dry cleaners is about 200 feet to the east on Houston...

Human league

After more than six months, an ad returns to the space above the Sidewalk on Sixth Street and Avenue A....



So, what is this ad for... Pest control? Roach Motels? New reality show starring the Kardashians? No, unfortunately, it's actually for "District 9," an extraterrestrial thriller that's out in theaters Aug. 14.

Trainwrecks: Angels & Kings back open last night

First, a reader who lives near the bar confirms it in the comments from my previous Angels & Kings post.

And then the Angels & Kings Twitter account was spreading the news....



Meanwhile, someone sent me a link to Celebslam.com (a little NSFW depending on where you work) that had a report on Angels & Kings. Not really a report, but a brutal takedown of Wentz:

Pete Wentz is so fucked. Once all these 17 and 18-year-olds sober up, they're gonna realize how much Fall Out Boy blows. His album sales are gonna plummet. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see him on a street corner in six months selling his body. "Hey Mister, I'll suck your cock real good if you buy me some eyeliner."

Wow. Uh. OK!

Previously.

Report: Police charge two teens for robbery on Avenue A and Houston last Saturday

From the NYPD Daily Blotter in the Post today:

Two teens were arrested for beating and robbing a man in Alphabet City, police said yesterday. Joshua Igartua, 16, and a 15-year-old accosted the 23-year-old man at Avenue A and East Houston Street at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, cops said. They allegedly punched the man in the face and body, then swiped his cell phone. Police were called and arrested the pair on robbery charges.

For a more complete picture of what's happening on the streets, be sure to read Bob Arihood's Neither More Nor Less.

Related:
In response to recent violence in the East Village: Alphabet City Neighbors

Zips is now Caffe Buon Gusto

Many thanks to reader Empire for passing along a photo of the long-awaited debut of the former Zips space on Avenue B and Fifth Street:




More details as they become available. Previous Zips coverage on EV Grieve.