Adventures of Balloon Girl on the 4, 5 and 6

Rush hour, and the 4 and 5 are too crowded... waiting and waiting...

...for a much less-crowded local...

2:01 p.m., First Avenue, Jan. 26

[Photo by jschauma. See more like this via Flickr]

Updated: Oops! Sorry... this was actually taken at 10:45 am...

eBay seller dares people to bid on piece of Shepard Fairey's mural

More pieces from Shepard Fairey's "May Day" mural from Houston and the Bowery are turning up on eBay...

Per the seller:

Up for auction is a piece of a wall, I mean crap, I mean "ART" from Houston St. x Bowery St. in New York City. This is a portion of a Shepard Fairey wheat paste "STREET ART" wall that people kicked in and wrote all over because no one [in] New York City respected this. I saw that someone else listed another piece of the wall starting at $100 and there were actually some bids. This truly disgusted me. Therefore, I will be listing this piece at one cent to show that this is a worthless piece of crap. If people do happen to bid on this, it will show that I was wrong and he is actually a respectable arti$t. (Shepard Fairey fans please feel free to bid) I will then be happy getting the benefit for his so-called "ART."

If you win this auction, I will careully pack and deliver this piece in a zip lock bag so that it looks important.

Thanks for your time and good luck bidding... or not (Either way, I win.)

Previously on EV Grieve:
What a piece of Shepard Fairey's vandalized Deitch Wall mural is going for on eBay

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Photo by Blue Glass]

CB3′s full board approves SPURA guidelines (The Lo-Down)

Ray's now selling roast beef sandwiches, and they look really good (Nadie Se Conoce)

East Village Feed retires (East Village Feed)

Ugh: City shutters Pussycat Lounge (Grub Street)

The old LES in photos (BoweryBoogie)

First resale at the Switch Building on Norfolk (Curbed)

A trip down Strip Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Deli kitty! (East Village Corner)

A visit to the abandoned Rockland Psychiatric Center (Scouting New York)

New Yorkers like brunch, duh (Crain's)

And on the Bowery...

Select Burger grounded; wither Hamburger Alley?

EV Grieve reader Joe sends along this photo... Select Burger on First Avenue near 14th Street has closed... The place was open for less than a year. Meanwhile, Permanent Brunch and Burger shuttered last year. Tallgrass Burger remains on this so-called Hamburger Alley.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Burger joint fad continues: Select Burger coming to First Avenue (aka Burger Alley)

The Icicle Audi as political commentary

Sean Delonas in the Post today.

Previously. And it's not too late to bid on the Souvenir Audi Ice!

The East Village in January 1987

Thanks to EastVillageRat for sharing these photos from January 1987... You can find the whole collection here on Flickr.

Ninth Street looking west toward Avenue C...

Eighth Street just east of Avenue B...

Unsure on this one... Eighth Street just east of Avenue B...

This looks to be between Eighth Street and Ninth Street looking toward Avenue C...

... and as timeless as a shot as you'll find... looking west on 10th Street between Avenue B and Avenue A...

Via EastVillageRat's photostream.

On the CB3-SLA agenda: New eatery for the Permanent Brunch space; more tacos; and something called the Beagle

Well, here's a romantic way to spend Valentine's eve — at the February CB3-SLA meeting! Woo!

SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, February 14 at 6:30pm — JASA/Green Residence, 200 East 5th Street at the Bowery

Let's take a look at a few of the contenders! (Find the whole agenda here.)

Renewal with Complaint History

• Superdive (Rapture Café & Books LLC), 200 Ave A (op)

Heh ... Doubtful that they'll show up, based on previous comments from Team Dive ... I think this is their seventh or eighth or ninth time on the agenda...

Sick nine times? sound bite  Ferris Bueller's Day Off sound bites

Applications within Resolution Areas

• Taco Joint Inc, 119 St Marks Pl (wb)

Hey, another taco place. Just what we need here! This is at the location of Roni, the women's designer clothing boutique that closed in November.

• Pastabar Café Corp, 127 Ave C (up/op) (aka 343 E 8th St)

This is the Caffe Pepe Rosso/Cotto Caffe on Avenue C at Eighth Street...

Sidewalk Café Applications

• Ninth Ward (Church and Louis Inc), 180 2nd Ave

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades

• Heartbreak Café (Christos Restaurant LLC), 29 E 2nd St (alt/wb/extend to proposed sidewalk café)

The new eatery on Second Avenue and Second Street hoping for a sidewalk cafe.

• Kuidouraku (141 Ebenezer & Song Inc), 141 1st Ave (trans/wb)

Home of Ramen Setagaya.

• The Beagle, 162 Ave A (trans/op) (Orologio)

Home of Orologio for now. The Beagle? Sounds really plaid to me. Or maybe retro...

New Liquor License Applications

• Momofuku Milk Bar (EV Milk LLC), 251 E 13th St (op)

The Momo clan is looking to annex the old salon across the street. Per Eater: "The folks at Momo Milk are considering taking up the space, for an expansion or to move the operation, but have yet to sign a lease or nail anything down."

• Marry The Ketchup Inc, 95 1st Ave (wb)

That's quite a name... this is space that counted Permanent Brunch as a tenant.



• 228 Rest Corp, 232 1st Ave (op)

This is the former David's Bagel's space near 14th Street. Word is a Mexican eatery is taking over.

• 56 Burger Fondue LLC, 56 3rd Ave (op)

Burger fondue? Hmm.. this is the former site of Lan, the Japanese restaurant between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Was this pigeon murdered in Tompkins Square Park?

EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams sends along these photos from the Park yesterday...

As he notes: "Looks like this guy was hit with ice balls. Chunks around him seem to suggest that."

Another Dick in the snow

Oh, not one of those... rather dickchicken, spotted on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

A better look at Beau on Barbao

Yesterday, I noted the new mural on the gate at Barbao on St. Mark's Place... But I wanted a daytime shot of the mural by Beau ... EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams obliged...

Does your pet look like, say, Sarah Jessica Parker or Mayor Bloomberg?

From the EV Grieve inbox...

BANFIELD TO HOST CELEBRITY PET LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST
Does Your Pet Resemble Derek Jeter, Woody Allen or Another New York Celebrity? You Could Win a Year’s Worth of Free Veterinary Care if Your Pet Has a Famous Face

WHAT: Have you ever thought that your dog bears a striking resemblance to Jerry Seinfeld? Or perhaps, in the right light, your cat could be confused for Mayor Bloomberg or Sarah Jessica Parker? If so, then bring your pet to a celebrity look-alike contest, hosted by the new Banfield Pet Hospital in NoHo, on Saturday, January 29th.

Judges will be looking for the pets that have the greatest likeness to:

· Jerry Seinfeld

· Derek Jeter

· John Starks

· Sarah Jessica Parker

· Woody Allen

· Michael Bloomberg

· Spike Lee

All pets and pet parents are welcome to attend and participate. A panel of judges will select one winner who will receive a year’s worth of free veterinary care. Regardless of whom your pet may or may not look like, this event promises to be a purrfectly good time, so come on out and see these howl-arious celebrity look-alikes!

WHEN: Banfield NoHo Grand Opening – Pet Look-alike Contest!

Saturday, January 29th, 2011
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Banfield Pet Hospital
632 Broadway

[Image of SJP from "Mars Attacks!" via]

Report: Veselka may not renew lease for First Avenue kiosk

Crain's is reporting that the Veselka kiosk at First Street and First Avenue may close this summer. Per the article:

The city’s Parks Department put out a request for proposals Tuesday to operate the kiosk, which for the past five years has been run by Tom Birchard, who owns the nearby 56-year-old Eastern European eatery, Veselka.

Mr. Birchard says he is considering the RFP, but a new requirement to install a bathroom in the park for the restaurant’s workers is a major concern. There is no existing plumbing in the park, so the installation could be very costly, he said.

Regardless, there will be plenty of borscht nearby: A new Veselka outpost is opening on East First Street near the Bowery later this year.

[Image via]

Ukrainian Sports Club ready to go retail on Second Avenue

The Ukrainian Sports Club on 122 Second Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark's is now on the market for $26,500 a month.

Per the Streeteasy listing:

RETAIL ONLY! St. Marks Place/ Second Avenue!!! 1st time on market in over 35 years! Unique retail opportunity. Prime Retail Location! Extremely high traffic corridor! Neighbors include: Chase Bank, WAMU, Stomp Theatre, Pommes Frittes, Cohen Optical. 20’ frontage on the Avenue. Two levels plus basement available. Ground Fl. 3,150 sf 11’ ceilings $80/sf. 2nd Fl. 2200 sf 11’ ceilings $40/sf. Basement Level 1000 sf 11’ ceilings

This is a huge space... meaning that something as unique as the Ukrainian Sports Club will likely become a chain store...

Also, as you may recall, a fire broke out on the upper floors here back in June. And from NY Songlines: La Mama Experimental Theater Company was here until 1969.

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

[Photo on St. Mark's Place by @MichaelTSanchez]

CB3 says yes to plans to develop SPURA (The Lo-Down)

A Ray's Candy Store documentary, though will it help him make the rent? (Nadie Se Conoce)

Remembering Hell in Paradise (Stupefaction)

A great list of blog resources for New York City Cultural History (Patell and Waterman’s History of New York)

The dicks are bigger in Williamsburg (New York Shitty)

Bouwerie Lane Theater's $14.45 million penthouse sells (Curbed)

The Stones get their "Rocks Off" on the Bowery, and elsewhere, circa 1972 (Flaming Pablum)

Hipsters and jazz on 52nd Street (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Booze won't kill brain cells. Woo! (Grub Street)

Selling Robert Crumb's 78s (Slum Goddess)

Looking at the newest Orchard Street condos (BoweryBoogie)

And I finally found a free cab during rush hour ...

Second Avenue...

Now on evBay: Bid on a chunk of the Icicle Audi's ice

Yesterday, the owner of the Icicle Audi on Second Street was able to chip away enough at his car to move it...

And much of the Audi ice was left behind for souvenir hunters...

Given how popular this story became (thanks for checking in, News Channel 7 in Greenville, S.C.!)...

We have a smaller chunk of the genuine Icicle Audi that will hit evBay later today... But first, here's a look...

We'll throw in yesterday's Post too... Bidding will start around €400 - €600 ($544 - $816).

In any event, the Icicle Audi Ice Chunk is a must for any buffs of history, local TV news, weather, ice, broken pipes or exotic cocktails.

Noted

How you can help save 35 Cooper Square

Over the weekend, we posted the information on Friday's rally to help save 35 Cooper Square. (Find that info here.)

There's also an online petition you can sign. You can find that here.

The rally, which starts at 4:30, is sponsored by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN) — with participating organizations Historic Districts Council (HDC); Lower East Side Preservation Initiative (LESPI); and Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP).

Read more about the history of 35 Cooper Square here at Jeremiah's Vanishing NY.

[Images via Bowery Alliance of Neighbors]

Before the Cooper Square Hotel

Speaking of 35 Cooper Square... the building, on the far left in the photo below, is the sole survivor here between Fifth Street and Sixth Street... the photo by rollingrck (via Flickr) was taken on Dec. 12, 2004 ...

[Hat tip to Neighborhoodr for the Flickr link]

A vintage East Village Urban Etiquette Sign

On East First Street circa 1997. By rollingrck via Flickr.