Did you leave a briefcase with $78,383 inside on the Lower East Side?

You can always count on Craigslist...

Suitcase with $78,383 inside (Lower East Side)

Date: 2010-03-28, 5:10AM EDT

I thought I would at least post this. If you can describe the other items inside I will return. If not I am taking to the Police and after no one claims it I think I can legally own this. It is real hard posting this. But I know it is the right thing to do.

So you write back with the descriptions.

Color of Briefcase:
How many combinations on the suitcase/ bill types:
Other items inside:

My girlfriend is shaking her head and staring at me as I post this....i think it is the right thing to do.

[Update: Yep, it's a fake post. The Voice has the story. It was a social experiment!]

New ad for Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand Hotels targets the white, skinny and fabulous demographic

So the Grand Hotels NYC, the company behind the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand Hotels, are releasing a series of Web-only video ads.

Here is the first one.



Here's a little explanation on the ad by Greg Foley, creative director of Visionaire, consulting creative & design director of VMAN and V Magazine, via Randburg:

Drawing inspiration from Warhol’s celebrity silk screens, Foley filmed in stark black and white and added colour post production. The camera follows two characters through the New York Hotels’ beloved downtown Manhattan neighborhoods, featuring the local architecture and historic cobblestone streets. In just 60 seconds, Foley has succeeded in capturing the energies of these two distinct neighborhoods – which is no accident; it is clear, the locale is the real focus. “It’s a little love note to SoHo and TriBeCa neighborhoods. We set out to ‘rediscover’ them through the eyes of two visitors and a party of their friends”. These two visitors take the form of a stylish muse, dressed in Doo Ri and wrapped in a Burberry trench and a cool auteur clad in a slender Hugo Boss suit, wielding an antique Bolex camera. The protagonists find their way to each other to the rhythmic beat of “Nonsense in the Dark" by Filthy Dukes.

Well, given the 4,763 hotels that have opened (or are opening) in the LES and elsewhere down here, the Grand Hotels may need to let people know they're still kicking or something. About five years ago, a friend stayed at the Soho Grand while on business. I was surprised that so many people were wearing sweats in the bar

Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches leaving the East Village?

There's now a "store for rent" sign over Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches on Second Street just off Avenue A...




Usually this is a sign the business below is closing or moving. (Oh, and they are still open: These photos were taken before their business hours.)

I sent an e-mail to Nicky's to ask what was happening... a member of the Dang family responded: "I am not sure if my family will keep that location in the East Village but we will find out in the next month or two."

The family member confirmed that they are currently working on a new location in the Financial District....



And they also have a location in Boerum Hill.

At Nevada Smith's, trouble in soccer paradise after a popular bartender is fired

Last Wednesday, soccer mecca Nevada Smith's on Third Avenue was shuttered for a day due to alleged underage drinking... The bar reopened Thursday.



Meanwhile, a Nevada Smith's regular shared what has been happening there of late... Kieron Slattery, a longtime popular bartender at Nevada Smith's, was fired by Paddy, one of the two owners. As the regular said, Keiron was fired because he refused to pay the fine the bar incurred -- upwards of $2,500. According to one side of the story, Paddy was passing the fine on to the bartenders who were on duty when the summonses were issued. Making matters worse, Kieron was arrested for trespassing when he showed up for work the next day. (One person familiar with the situation said that he refused to come out from behind the bar when asked.)

Now, as a result of Kieron's departure, several longtime regulars are boycotting Nevada Smith's, choosing to watch games at venues such as Central Bar on Ninth Street instead. [Update: Bartender Ken Foley was also fired...]

There is also a Facebook page created for Slattery titled "Pay the Fine! Not Fine the Workers!"

There's an alternate take on all this in a post at the New York Gooners.

Bottom line right now: There's a lot of tension at Nevada Smith's as all this is getting worked out... in addition, those rumors persist that the bar will be moving to a larger location nearby ... and that the bar's current location, 74 Third Ave., will be razed...

Update: Sign a petition to reinstate the two bartenders here.

Two side-by-side townhouses on East Fourth Street await your renovation

There's a new listing for two townhouses at 326-328 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D... 12 bedrooms in the two homes... and both buildings are going for $4.6 million... According to the listing:

Extraordinary Opportunity. Two side by side townhouses that have 46 feet of street frontage and a 46 foot by 50 foot rear garden await your vision, dreams and renovation. Extensive original details throughout the townhouses. These properties will be delivered vacant, are currently over 7,000 square feet and come with an additional 10,000 square feet of air rights. Beautifully located across community gardens and on a charming block. This could also be a development site or for institutional use.

So, original details aside, someone will buy these to develop some high-end housing for that 10,000 square feet of air rights... and what about the current tenants...?

Give me a C!

The HSBC branch continues to take shape at Second Avenue and Ninth Street... and I'm hoping that they forget to add the "C" in the sign on the Ninth Street side...

Have you seen Gene?

Fliers are up along Avenue C...

A feel good story about Alternative Side Parking

A little something for car owners from the Streetwise: Parking in Manhattan blog:

[T]his week we are heading into a such a rare harmony of Alternate Side Parking Suspended days and other OFF days that, barring the usual unexpected street construction, movie truck monopoly, and last minute rescheduling of major religious holidays, we do not have to move the car from Monday March 29 to Thursday April 8! This is truly a great time to be alive. It is a wondrous miracle of Spring.

As the Streetwise proprietor Tom H. said, "This week we are heading into such a perfect storm of Alternate Side Parking Suspended days and other OFF days that we will not have to move the car for 10 straight days!"

Blogger is eating my photos

In case you're wondering where in the hell are all the photos here ... Blogger/Google is experiencing some difficulties per this:

Monday, March 29, 2010
Our image backend is experiencing problems which may affect the display and/or uploading of photos. We are working to resolve this and will update this post when we have more information.

Yet this photo is showing up.



[AP Photo/Evan Agostini via.]

About the building that inspired the novel "East Fifth Bliss"

Page Six had an item yesterday titled "Michael C. Hall's East Village movie searching for his character's apartment."

As the item notes:

"Fifth Street Bliss," with "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall, starts filming in the East Village next month. Director Michael Knowles, who adapted the novel of the same title by Douglas Light, has brokers looking for an apartment where Hall's unemployed character, 35-year-old Morris Bliss, lives with his widowed father. Brie Larson, 20, of "The United States of Tara," will play the sexually precocious 18-year-old daughter of a former classmate who ends Bliss' inertia. The movie also stars Lucy Liu and Michael Rapaport.

The brokers will not be able to use the building that inspired the book: 343 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Why? The building's remaining residents were allegedly booted last September for a fancy makeover...





Author Douglas Light lived in the East Village for nearly 15 years, including a long stint at 343 E. Fifth St.

In an e-mail, Douglas told me:

"My wife actually ran into an old tenant from there ... and he was telling her some wild stories about $250k buy-out offers (which he turned down, of course), arson by the building owner (to flush-out the remaining hold-outs), and the police cuffing and prep-walking the owner out of the building. As for the validity of the stories I can't say. This is the same guy who believed my wife was a spy that the owner planted in the building to keep tabs on everyone."

In the book, one of the longtime residents of the building, Sofar, never leaves his apartment.

From the book:

"Sofar is an anchorite, confined to the worn rooms of his small space. He lives on delivery, never leaves the building, paranoid that the moment he steps outside, he'll be booted from his rent-stabilized apartment.

His fears are well-founded.

The last time he stepped out, his place was broken into and Hambone was dognapped. Everything was left a mess.

It was Hatfield, the then-owner of the building, that broke in. He desperately wanted Sofar out, wanted his rent-stabilized apartment back."

In this case, fiction becomes reality, perhaps.

I talked with Douglas more about the book and the East Village. Look for that interview later this week.

And here's 343 E. Fifth St. today...work in progress...

Mini Thai Cafe and Avenue A Sushi to be combined into one new restaurant?

As we noted this past weekend, Mini Thai Cafe and Avenue A Sushi were closed on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...



An EV Grieve reader noted in an e-mail that he/she heard that the restaurants were closed, with one new eatery coming in the space.

Also, the ATM outside Mini Thai Cafe has been removed...



This sign is on the door of Avenue A Sushi...




...which has been here since 1983...

Game over for Kobe Bryant video game ad on Avenue A

So, you know, back in the fall, we devoted a few hundred several posts to Chico's "spay/neuter" mural on Avenue A near 12th Street that was painted over for a Kobe Bryant video game ad.



Anyway, last week, workers painted over the Kobe ad...




So what will we see next on the wall? I'm going with a Vans ad.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Kobe Bryant's slam chunk

Searching for the truth about the cats and dogs mural on Avenue A

New York Film Academy Cafe coming soon

As Eater first noted, the New York Film Academy is opening a cafe at the former (east) Astor Place Starbucks... Signs have gone up... Dunno if this will be open to the public or just Film Academy students...




And will they be offering rides?

Former O Mistress Mine space on the market

O Mistress Mine closed back in January, spurring fears of a vintage-store-barren neighborhood (not true to date). The store's space on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue is on the market..



The rent is available upon request. Based on the image on the storefront and mention of "newly developed luxury residences" across the street (Village Green) in the listing, an upscale tenant will be preferred...

P.S.
O Mistress Mine relocated to Hoboken.

EV rent snapshot

Via BusinessInsider.

A little something for all you signage lovers in the house

The Brazo Pizza sign went up the other day in the Zeckendorf Towers on the northwest corner of Irving Place and 14th Street...

Abandoned or lost dog left outside Mars Bar needs a home

This was passed on to me by the good people at the Mars Bar...

A woman left a dog tied up outside Mars Bar on Wednesday night. She claimed that some kids gave her the dog over by the Allen Street Domino's Pizza. A Mars Bar patron currently has the dog, but can't keep it much longer. After this she will be dropped off and left at Animal Care and Control, who will destroy the dog if no one claims her within 72 hours. She's medium size, perhaps 45 pounds, black/dark brown with white. Looks to have had litters, sweet to people but not so great with other dogs. She was wearing a collar and a leash but doesn't have tags or a microchip.

Perhaps she's lost? Or was stolen? Or abandoned...

For more information or to rescue this dog... contact: amy.koteles@gmail.com

Noted

Window shopping at Alphabets on Avenue A.

Mini Thai Cafe and Avenue A Sushi still closed

Mini Thai Cafe and Avenue A Sushi are still closed on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street...



...though there's a note on Avenue A Sushi...



Of course, this doesn't make it clear if the place is opening as something different.... or the same restaurant...

Post: More crime in 2010, and fewer cops

Early last Sunday morning, Bob Arihood captured a brutal brawl on Seventh Street and Avenue A that involved nearly 50 people. As noted at the time, one police car with two officers was available to respond to all this.

Today, the Post reports the following:

So far this calendar year, the number of New York City murders has jumped a scary 22 percent over the same period last year -- from 86 slayings up to 103 this year.

In addition to murders, the number of shootings has soared to 246 -- a 21.2 percent jump over the same period last year.

There are also more rapes, which are up 11.3 percent, and felony assaults, which have spiked nearly 6 percent. Burglaries have increased 3.6 percent.

Bloomberg noted that the total number of such crimes is "still very low" compared to the sky-high rates seen in years such as 1990, when murders hit an annual record of 2,245.

But he and others admit that the NYPD's shrinking manpower level -- from 41,000 cops in 2001 down to about 35,000 today -- could be playing a factor in the increased crime rates. The city expects to shed around 1,300 officers in the upcoming fiscal year through attrition, and also is threatening to lay off a whopping 3,150 cops if the state slashes related funding.

One top police official said, "There are just a lot less people out there . . .."

Feel free to make your own door prize joke

Spotted at 10th Street and Avenue A a little bit ago.

Avenue B, 10:41 a.m., March 27

Two Avenue A mainstays closed tonight

Mini Thai Cafe and Avenue A Sushi are closed tonight on Avenue A between Sixth Street and Seventh Street... What gives?

Kraut rocks

And Kraut reunites tomorrow at the Cake Shop.

Own a pet supply store on Avenue B

Zee's here on Avenue B near 10th Street is now for sale....$150,000 gets you the keys... Per the listing, that may have needed a proofreader:

EXCELLENT LOCATION, PET SUOOLIES BUSINESS FOR SALE, EST 5YRS, FULLY STOCKED, TURNKEY OPERATION, NEW OWNER WILL RECEIVE NEW 5YR LEASE, PET GROOMING AND DELIVERY SERVICE CAN BE ADDED TO INCREASE REVENUE

[Photo via Melanie]

Saves the dates April 19-22 for the next CB3/SLA meeting!

Hey, the next CB3/SLA licensing committee meeting agenda schedule thing has been posted.... Should be a humdinger! (and it's only Monday night, April 19 — just looks like a long meeting...)

Where to begin?!

The Superdive transfer is back on the docket!

The Belgian Ale House is back to tackle the "crazy landlord" corner at Second Avenue and Third Street!

This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef wants to serve beer to wash down that beef and Cheese Whiz!

Caffe Buon Gusto is back on the agenda for the 123rd time!

Something called Good Beer at 422 E. Ninth. St. (neighbors will love this one!) is applying for a liquor license!

The Meatball Shop (where males bond over meatballs!) on Stanton wants a sidewalk cafe!

And many mysteries...like: "Bklyn Local Draft LLC, 161 E Houston St (trans/op) (Oliva)... So Oliva is becoming something else???

So much more to come as we continue to read the agenda....

Help wanted: Consulting editor for The Local: East Village

As you may recall: NYTimes.com announced today a collaboration with New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute to create a new Local community news and information Web site covering the East Village in New York City. The Local East Village site will be developed by N.Y.U.'s journalism faculty and students and is scheduled to launch later this fall.

The Local: East Village (LEV) is looking for a consulting editor to assist in the planning and development phase leading up to the launch of the site in summer 2010, and carrying over to the first few months of operation.

The consulting editor will work directly with the editor of LEV. Responsibilities include:

* planning future coverage of local issues;
* recruiting potential contributors from the East Village community;
* producing high quality journalism from and about the East Village to run on the site in late summer and fall

This is not a full time position but a part-time paid consulting gig that would begin May 1 and end October 31. Requirements for the position and the criteria for evaluating candidates are:

— Journalism background: You have at least three years professional experience as a reporter, news blogger or editor for a news organization or site.

— Local knowledge: You live in the East Village and have lived there for a minimum of three years (East River to Broadway, 14th to Houston Streets.) You know the neighborhood intimately.

— Web literacy: You have a good command of web journalism and are comfortable with its forms and requirements.

— Independence from NYU: You are not an employee of NYU, or in a consulting role for any other division of the University.

If you are interested in the position and would like to know more about the duties, expectations and rate of pay, send a resume and cover letter to Rich Jones, Editor of The Local: East Village via email and cc Jay Rosen.

Said one East Village observer to EV Grieve: "It's like the White Man hiring an Indian guide to take them into the forests."

Previously on EV Grieve:
After helping ruin the East Village, NYU turns its attention to covering it

For further reading:
New blog on block as N.Y.U., Times team to get hyper (The Villager)

Om-M-G! Yoga instructor buys $1.2 million pad in the Christodora

Back in October, Curbed featured a recently renovated one-bedroom home in the Christodora House on Avenue B... $1.348 million was the asking price at the time. This unit at 4C was "gut renovated by Manifold Architecture Studio and published in 2008 as part of James Grayson Trulove's 25 book series," as Curbed noted. The price was reduced by 4 percent to $1,295 million on Oct. 31. It went into contract for the $1,295 million on Jan. 7.

Yesterday, BlockShopper featured the buyer:

Nisha Kewalramani, a yoga teacher with the Universal Force Healing Center in New York City. She earned her bachelor's in psychology from NYU and her yoga certification form The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.

And from the looks of this home, it should be enough to help achieve supreme awareness and enlightenment...

Seventh and A gets the dreaded shed

As Matt Rosen first reported at Neighborhoodr on March 11, facade repairs were scheduled to start soon on the building at Seventh Street and Avenue A... and that scaffolding is now up....



As he noted, "While an aesthetic improvement to the exterior of one’s building might be welcome on most occasions, that the storefronts will now have to deal with scaffolding obstructing their entryways in the prime summer months in an already difficult environment for businesses in the area means they’re none too thrilled about the timing."





Well, people should be able to dine on the sidewalk at Yuca during a rainstorm now...



If anything, I imagine the scaffolding will also provide for some interesting photos in the months ahead by fellow bloggers Bob Arihood, Slum Goddess and Melanie ...

A falling Falafel Star

I recently noticed a "closed for vacation until March 18" sign on what was Mohammed Falafel Star on Seventh Street near Avenue B... Next time that I looked, the place was closed... with work permits dated March 23 in the window...



...and this sign...



Does anyone know what happened to Mohammed? (Pictured here in a photo by Michael R.) I lost track of what was happening here...