The slacktivists are back: Rally for the homeless set Friday night in front of the Christodora

For further reading:
"Mosaic Man" and the "Slacktivist" Promise New Tent City for the Homeless ... (Neither More Nor Less)

Saturday on the quad

Ah, Saturday afternoon... a little humid, threat of rain. Maybe won't be so many... Oh.

The tail end of the mammoth golf-themed (we assume!) pub crawl... Lining up for a putt across Avenue A...



Then catching up to meet the others in argyle and plaid.



P.S. Bonus!

...later, a bachelorette party featuring a penis-shaped balloon.



For further reading:
Frat-style hijinks (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Noted: "It's all about sex all the time, and you're our star" edition

The Post checks in with a piece on the swanky Standard Hotel along the Highline.

Disgusted neighbors say they've seen men masturbating, professional porn films being shot and couples engaging in sex in full view of the stunning High Line park path running alongside.

The Standard's Facebook page bluntly encourages the explicit behavior.

"We encourage you to exercise your inner exhibitionist. Please share your intimate, and explicit photos with us -- those floor to ceiling windows aren't just for the views . . ."

The hotel Web site beckons:

"Whatever you do, just make sure the shots are HOT and that you get them to us in whichever way you can. It's all about sex all the time, and you're our star."

After the Post contacted The Standard for comment, the posting was abruptly changed.

And, despite the claim, the piece from the Post isn't an exclusive.

Previously:
Standard Hotel Nudity Check (Curbed)

Scarano's gated community continues to get gated and secure on the Bowery

We continue to keep watch on Scarano's E2E4 tower on the Bowery...



The gated driveway for the likes of Moby and John Legend looks nearly finished...



And the video/keypad security thingee is now up and running...



"Yes, we have the meat lover's pizza for Mr. Moby..."



Previous E2E4 coverage on EV Grieve here.

From burritos to bagels

The former Border Burrito on Third Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street is becoming a joint called Everything Bagels Cafe.



But they sell more than just bagels, such as appetizing lads. Yuck!



Check that! Appetizing SALADS. Sorry!

Cindy gets herself worked up real good about the new pedestrian Times Square

With apologies to everyone from Whitefish, Mont., I'm sure. And why now finally? Did she just notice?

[C]ould someone please kindly tell me what the frig is happening in Times Square? Why in the middle of what is Earth's most famous urban tourist attraction -- aside from possibly seeing Brad Pitt's boxers -- are people now lying around on cheapo, crappo, junko lawn chairs?

I'm told our Department of Transportation commissioner is a very nice lady. Good to her family, donates to charity, works for the care and feeding of aging, homeless manicurists. Has a lovely-sounding hyphenated name, Janette Sadik-Khan, but . . . I mean, turning Broadway into Rockaway?

The hallway to the Street of Dreams is now Beach 34th Street? What's next? Sand? A boardwalk?

Wide-eyed tourists with cameras come from all over the planet to see the sights, look at the lights, feel the excitement, sense the thrill. To know the noise, the signs, the din, the hubbub, the action, the life. To tell their friends back home in Whitefish, Mont., or downtown Albania that they've actually, personally seen the buzz, the busyness, the traffic, the organized hysteria that is no place else in the universe but Times Square.

Now they see what? Sprawling, bused-in out-of-towners with Coke cans and brown paper bags flat out on camp chairs noshing and burping and snoozing and playing checkers in the center of the capital of the world.

Here's the whole shebang.

Sources: One dead, two wounded in early-morning shooting on Avenue A

One man was killed and two others were wounded after a dispute turned deadly early this morning on the northeast corner of Avenue A and 13th Street, according to several sources on the scene.




Not much is known at the moment. Police were still canvassing the area and protecting the crime scene. One nearby store owner said that it was not anything related to the Avenue A nightlife. However, another resident said that it was a doorman at one of the bars/restaurants on this stretch. (Note: While word on the scene from a credible source said there was a fatality, there has not been any official confirmation from the police.)

UPDATE: Bob Arihood was on the scene ... he has the timeframe at 4:20 a.m., with witnesses only reporting two gunshots and two wounded. His reporting supports what a resident told me: That the incident took place in front of Forbidden City; and that one of the men shot was employed there.



As of around 9 a.m., 1010 WINS was the only media outlet on the scene.

UPDATE: 10:43 a.m.

1010 WINS has the following report:

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Three men have been shot, one fatally, Sunday morning in lower Manhattan.

The shooting took place shortly after 5 a.m. outside a Mediterranean restaurant on Ave. A in Stuyvesant Town, police said.

All three of the unidentified men were rushed to Bellevue Hospital where one of them was pronounced dead. The other two were listed in stable condition, according to officials.

Area residents tell 1010 WINS' reporter Glenn Schuck, that they are upset the bars and clubs in the area stay open so late.

There's no word as to what may have caused the shooting. No suspects have been arrested.

Craigslist ad of the day: "This is for the OFFICIAL Michael Jackson Dancing Tribute Video"

Via Craigslist:

LOOKING FOR A CAR WITH DRIVER - URGENT (East Village)

Hi,
We need a car with good speakers and a driver for it for tomorrow, sunday august 23rd. This is for the OFFICIAL Michael Jackson Dancing Tribute Video, we will need you to come at 5 different locations in manhattan between 10am to 6pm and just pump up the volume of "Beat It" There will be hundreds of dancers and if you want, you can be part of the video! it will be seen all over the world.
The compensation is 100$ for the day.
please contact us soon this is urgent!!

Voice of America features the Mosaic Man

"I'm a history teller," he confesses, "because I put a lot of history into these things that somehow connects. Without the public's involvement it really wouldn't mean anything. Just another piece of work out here. I'm not doing this to stay sane. I came out here to do something. And all I know is one thing, everybody is wondering what they're doing on the planet. I'm not. It's my job. I've no choice." (VOA)

Sinkhole continues to eat

Second Avenue and Seventh Street. Previously.

And have you seen NYC RHYMOLOGY?

Teneleven back open

Good news (for once!): Teneleven at 171 Avenue C between 10th Street and 11th Street has reopened after some remodeling.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Teneleven closed for remodeling: "Fret not ye lushes"

After all...

Just after 4...

A big gust of wind blew hats off the stands...



...and the sky...



St, Mark's and Second Avenue.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition

Hot scoop from Jeremiah: Five Roses pizza now serving in...Negril, Jamaica (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Old friends at Ray's circa 1996 (Neither More Nor Less)

At the Sunburnt Cow: "The smell got worse and worse, until they realized that the guy was so drunk he shit his pants while sitting there." (Blah Blog Blah)

128 Hester ready for the wrecking ball? (BoweryBoogie)

The Fringe Festival continues (FringeNYC)

Get your Cocksucker Blues! (Hunter-Gatherer)

Erica Kane in Stuy Town! (Stuy Town's Lux Living)

The neon of Cafe Oliveira (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Hybrid police car/cab spotted! (NYC Taxi Photo)

How many minutes do people in NYC have to work to buy a Big Mac? (BoingBoing)

How to start a food truck biz! (The Wall Street Journal)

P.S. It's hot out.

Mikey's Pet Shop closing at the end of the month

A reader passes along some sad news: Mikey's Pet Shop on Seventh Street near Avenue A is closing at the end of the month. According to the reader: The landlord raised rent to $20K a month.

The reader ended the note with a "sigh."

I'll add a double sigh.

As you'll remember, Pretty Boy — the Mayor of Seventh Street — wandered into Mikey's one day back in 1988...

Wow and wow: Hotties in tiny new hotel rooms on the Bowery (leave your inhibitions at the front desk!)

Finally! The hotel the Bowery so desperately needed!



According to a post on Arch Daily, these are the plans for the new Lower East Side Hotel on the Bowery (where?? Is that the New Museum to the left?), which is/was designed by the Office for Design and Architecture. Apparently, the rooms will be very small. And what does this mean? (Hope that you have an architectpreter!) The rooms...

...will feature minimalistic interiors to allow the “guests to use their personal aesthetic as an impromptu installation.” By designing tempered and laminated interior cylinders for the shower, toilet and closet, and using stark colors teamed with expansive city views, the small rooms seem larger than their dimensions.

The concept for entire building grew from the inside out as the architects’ primary concern was how to make a 10 foot 6 inch wide room feel larger than its tight confinement. In such a small space, the “typical bathroom encasement” had to be re-thought, for the room just did not have the capacity to provide adequate space for a standard bathroom.

In other words, you have to shit and shower in front of anyone who happens to be in the room. Such as these hotties, who have nothing better to do than lounge around in tanks tops and undies! (And look down at the commoners below!)




Oh, and also:

“With the skin of the bathroom removed, the guts of the fixtures were exposed and celebrated. The guest could now experience the entire room from the door threshold,” explained the architects.

Just like my studio apartment!

Arch Daily also has the following hotel data:

90,000 Square Feet

220 Guest rooms

Banquet hall

2 Restaurants

4,000SF plaza

P.S.

Why is the one dude in the renderings fully clothed? Why isn't he sitting there in boxers? Or is he just experiencing the entire room from the threshold?



For more on some of the other 1,323 hotels coming to the LES:
The pit at 250 Bowery (BoweryBoogie)

Paradise Lost

A few excerpts from a commentary titled "Our Side of Paradise" published last week in Forbes. The author is a soon-to-be-NYU graduate. She provides some insight into the minds of other students now trying to find their way in the post-college world.

[U]nlike the rest of the responsible adult population, fear of unemployment among recent college grads is not quite as evident as one might expect. For a generation trying to find its place in the job market, the excuse of a "bad economy" has actually been a relief -- even a breath of fresh air -- for recent grads. At least for some of them. The post-graduate summer for recent NYU alums has been freckled with rooftop barbecues, typical bar gatherings on Manhattan's Lower East Side and apartment parties in Brooklyn.

And!

Several weeks ago, during cocktail hour with some new acquaintances, the subject turned, inevitably, to unemployment. Once it was established that nearly everyone just graduated from NYU, the dreaded question was posed: "What are you doing now?" Financially speaking, the answers were unsurprising: freelance photography, an unpaid internship, waitering. And yet no one seemed to mind that income was slim to none and the jobs unassuming. "The economy's bad," someone said.

The thing is, some lucky (some may say "spoiled") recent college grads are OK with the idea of unemployment--at least temporarily. As a generation once defined by SAT scores and the number of clubs on our resumes, we have found ourselves suddenly free of the conventions of school and the pressures of finding a "good" job. "We're young. We should enjoy not having a lot responsibility," a friend recently told me.

And!

In June of this year, I moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with several recent NYU grads and spent the summer interning and finishing up one last course. One of my roommates, who graduated in May, spent the summer in a part-time, paid internship. Another was able to find a few freelance editing jobs earlier in the summer, and another has yet to find any job at all. But it's not the end of the world that none of us are able to fully afford rent.

That's because, thankfully, our parents can.

And!

Yes, our generation has traditionally been criticized as selfish, spoiled and coddled by boomers, but we aren't the only generation to have this experience. Flip through the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "lost generation" masterpiece This Side of Paradise, and you'll find the relevant tale of the young Amory Blaine, who hauntingly reflects a generation privileged with minimal responsibility and a sense of exciting uncertainty.

The full article is here.

Noted

And the link goes to....

Posts that I never got around to posting: Sinkhole feeding time

Second Avenue and Seventh Street.

Posts that I never got around to posting: What are some good bars/clubs in NYC?

Last week, a tourist coming into town posted a rather innocuous question on TravelAgencyNY: "How much money should I bring with me... and what are some good bars/clubs?"

And here's one of the responses:

These are a few ive been too they are free to get in and the atmosphere is great, i would go easy on the credit card the last thing you want is huge repayments once you get home, but honestly the more money you take the more fun you have!

Bowery Ballroom — 6 Delancy St, 212-533-2111
Small to mid-sized rock venue that hosts well-known acts such as the Rollins Band, Collective Soul and Los Lobos — and lesser-known acts such as Honky Toast and Pink Martini. Not much in the way of atmosphere but the sound system and lighting are good, and the wait to get a drink is relatively short.

CBGB’s –— 315 Bowery (at Bleeker St), 212-982-4052
The Bowery’s finest. Birthplace of punk, new wave, alternative or whatever you choose to call it. Live bands seven days a week. Atmosphere: graffiti on graffiti, not the place to take grandma. Known for its rich history having been the springboard for the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads and others. Also, has one of the top sound systems in town. Admission: $5.

Whether or not he or she was serious, the respondent copped the descriptions from here.

Posts that I never got around to posting: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz's transition to TV star going as well as expected

On Third Avenue near 12th Street.

Three stars for Superdive

Time Out reviews Superdive this week.



Let's see what they have to say:

Rowdy frat bars don’t usually pique our interest. But Superdive so perfectly replicates the Alpha Beta experience that, fine, we’ll do a reluctant keg stand. But just one.

And!

It’s like a fictional frat house, with a lack of decor so striking — a couple of couches, a long ugly bar, a few tables hosting beer pong — it could’ve been achieved only by drunk dudes who slept through the campus-center poster sale. The crowd appears to have stumbled out of an Abercrombie catalog and on most nights packs the place full. In fact, on weekends you’ll want a reservation — an absurd requirement for a place that postures as the ultimate dive bar.

And!

Like it or not, Superdive’s management has achieved what they presumably set out to do: bring pledge week debauchery to a Manhattan bar. A bartender summed it up best: “If someone pukes, we probably won’t kick them out.” We’re intrigued and horrified at the same time.

As food truck wars heat up, vendors start offering more options

"Yes, I'll have a falafel and something in 42L." Somewhere on Park Avenue South.

What celebrity lives here?

Here's a "celebrity offering" at the Albert, 23 E. 10th St. (between University and Broadway). And look, there's even a margarita machine!



(And I hope the celebrity doesn't mind his/her address was included on the video!)

P.S.
According to the YouTube description, this "can be combined with Apt 811 to create duplex. Offered at $1,599,000."

Preservation of the Provincetown Playhouse not going so well so far

"The preservation of the original Provincetown Playhouse within a new building that New York University is constructing at the MacDougal St. site was put on hold on Aug. 18 after neighbors discovered that part of the historic playhouse wall that was to have been preserved had been removed." An outraged Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said: "What’s unfortunate and clear is that N.Y.U. has yet again been caught in a lie, the lie that they would preserve the walls of the theater in their entirety." For its part, an NYU official apologized and said that work will cease until a report can be made to the community. (The Villager)

Previous Provincetown Playhouse coverage from The Villager. Washington Square Park has been all over the story as well. And BoweryBoogie, photo via BB too.

From Hysteria to... suburbia?

The long-vacated Waldorf Hysteria space at 165 Avenue B between 10th Street and 11th Street...



...got the plywood treatment earlier this summer. The proprietor of the dry cleaners next door told me that offices were being created on the ground floor.



Well, here's what it looks like now...



Hmm, well, seems about right. Something with a little character is replaced by something very sterile looking...

[Waldorf image via]

Rockrose around the clock

The dorm-to-luxury-rental conversion continues at 200 Water Street. So far, we've seen the Rockrose brass introduce all sorts of amenities: VIP pizza treatment! Rooftop waterfall showers! Fine, all fine. But it's the return to glory of a 200 Water staple that's welcome news: The weird, giant clock is working once again! Welcome news for people who like weird, giant clocks anyway. (Oh, and not to nitpick, but how do we know if it's am or pm?)

And how does it work?



Previously.

For further reading:
Rooftop cabanas, barbecue, outdoor shower -- such is the life of a renter (The Real Deal)

Good morning from Ninth Street (and 10th Street!), where you'll wake to the sound of power tools and demolition

A resident writes in this morning to note the noise coming from the former P.S. 64/CHARAS/El Bohio community center on Ninth Street. "Sound of power tools, chute (pictured) and dumpster — is Gregg Singer gutting the place?"

Yes, it appears the work continues to turn the school into University House at Tompkins Square Park.

According to marketing materials for the building: [It's] "currently undergoing a complete renovation including new building systems, core and shell. The property is zoned R8-B. The property is ideal for schools, universities, museums, college dormitories, medical offices, hospital, foundations, nonprofit institutions and related facilities."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Rebranded P.S. 64 up for grabs: Please welcome University House at Tompkins Square Park to the neighborhood

New skyline for Lafayette Street?

The Meineke Car Care Center on the southwest corner of Lafayette and Great Jones has been on the market for several years... I took the photo below for a post back in February.



As I noted in February... According to the Massey Knakal Web site: The property has Landmark’s Approval for a 6-story steel and glass building for residential, commercial or hotel-use. The property is listed at $4.4 million. It could look something like this:



Anyway, the "for sale" signs have been removed...



Perhaps a buyer has been found? The property is still listed at Massey Knakal.

Meanwhile, next door...Massey Knakal is arranging for the sale 8 Bond Street and 358-364 Lafayette. According to the listing:

This exciting and rare site can be delivered vacant which allows for immediate development to meet the ever increasing hotel/commercial office demand in New York City. Alternatively, a developer could obtain a special permit for residential use from the city, a precedent that has been set by a variety of projects in the immediate area. Currently, the site is generating approximately $333,000 annually. All of the current leases are cancellable on either 30 or 90-day notice.

And what might this space look like...?



No price listed...the owner is requesting proposals because..."This property represents a truly rare opportunity to capitalize on the strong demand for a premier residential, commercial, or hotel development site on one of the most sought after streets not only in NoHo, but in all of Manhattan."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Another corner still primed to fall on NoHo