About the newspaper article in the Chez Betty Cafe front window

So C has taken over the Chez Betty Cafe space on East Third Street near Avenue C. Had never been inside, but I looked at the cafe's front window quite a bit... where there was an article from the Times on display. With one passage blacked out. (Later, someone placed a Yelp sticker over this.)




I always wondered what passage someone had blacked out. So I looked up the article. The piece is from March 2005:

At Chez Betty, a sumptuously decorated cafe that opened last May on East Third Street just off Avenue C, Shilat Erbibou froths milk for cappuccinos and serves delicate salads. She has befriended the bohemian-chic models who live around the corner, and watched students from Cooper Union and New York University bring wary parents who come to check out the neighborhood and are comforted by Avenue C's growing charm.

But Avenue D, the next thoroughfare to the east? As far as Ms. Erbibou is concerned, it could be a hundred miles away.

"I haven't been to Avenue D," she said with a shrug. "I don't think there's a future there."

Speaking of new coffee shops...

La Bonne Bouffe, a cafe-bakery-small-plates-type place, opened on the corner of Avenue B and Second Street in March 2009 ... and closed in December...

Based on the sign that we spotted outside the space, it appears another cafe-coffee shop is on the way...

Still speaking of coffee shops... 9th Street Espresso closing for renovations

9th Street Espresso just east of Avenue C is closing starting today for renovations, as the sign shows... 9th Street on 10th Street remains open...

Looking for the old Bon Vivant space

Last July, I noted that Bon Vivant, the usually reliable Greek diner on Broadway near 12th Street, had closed after several decades in business.



Eater later reported that the owners would reopen ... but "lose its diner atmosphere, have a new name, and focus on 'organic foods.'"

So I thought I'd check up on the new space. I couldn't find it at first. Been some time since I've been right on this stretch of Broadway. That Quiznos Subs on East 12th Street and Broadway with the erotic ads closed late last summer... and here's its replacement... Cafe Reunion! (Update: Per the comments ... it already came and went)

Meanwhile, as for the Bon Vivant space, I didn't spot it right away... everything looks the same here now. It's all so sterile... a spa!

Finally...

Dog days of spring

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Earlier today in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Bobby Williams.

The true meaning of Easter

East Sixth Street, 12:41 p.m., April 24 (Easter)

At the Mars Bar Friday afternoon

All photos by John Marshall Mantel. Find more shots at his photo blog...

As for Mars Bar, there's an art show opening there this afternoon... and an Easter BBQ.

NYPD responds to an alleged shoplifter

Just after 9 this morning, the NYPD swarmed around an alleged shoplifter on 14th Street and First Avenue... a witness thought the apparent theft occurred at the CVS... in total, there were nine officers on the scene...

NYPD responds to reports of a beating on 10th Street and Avenue B

Last night around 11, there were reports of a man being beaten by a group of up to 10 young males on 10th Street at Avenue B. Bob Arihood took the above photo in Tompkins Square Park of the young men being detained by police (their faces have been blurred). They were held for 20 minutes or so then released. (Police left with the victim.) As Bob noted, it wasn't clear whether the pictured males were released because they were clearly innocent or because no one was pressing charges.

A message from the Lower East Side about underage drinking

You may have been read about the 7th Precinct’s crackdown on Lower East Side bars and clubs to curb underage drinking, late night noise and overcrowding. (The Lo-Down has covered the topic extensively.)

EV Grieve contributor samo notes this signage on Houston at Ludlow Street....

Easter (early-morning edition)

[photo by Blue Glass]

Found: Adorable kitty

Earlier today, a couple found this kitten on Seventh Street near Avenue D. Per the reader: "She's surprisingly clean for a street cat, which is why I'm wondering if she just escaped."

For more info on the lost kitten: Thatguy510(at)gmail.com

A star on Avenue A

EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams points us to a scene earlier this evening on Avenue A near 10th Street... where a crowd had gathered...

...to observe the red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square....

Arcane closed for the weekend on Avenue C

Benefit for Emilie Louise Gossiaux today at Cooper Union

Last Oct. 8, Emilie Louise Gossiaux, a student at Cooper Union, was struck by an 18-wheeler while riding her bike in Brooklyn. In addition to stroke, traumatic brain injury and resuscitated cardiac arrest, she suffered multiple fractures in her head, pelvis, and left leg. She emerged from the ER in severely critical condition with a pessimistic assessment of her brain function. A “grim” prognosis was made of her chance for survival.

You can read more about her tragic story here.
Emilie is currently in a neurorehabilitation program at the Rusk Institute.

Today from 2-6 in the Houghton Gallery (2nd floor of the Foundation Building at 7 E. Seventh St.) at Cooper Union, the School of Art and the Student Council are hosting an auction and sale of original artwork donated by the Cooper art family of staff, faculty and students to raise money for Emilie's rehabilitation. More than 100 works have been donated to this event — some will be auctioned and some will be available as cash-and-carry.

And I apologize for not posting this information sooner for people making plans...

East First Street, 9:22 a.m., April 23

Prune brunch starts at 10 a.m.

Nevada Smith's expecting huge crowds today for Blackpool-Newcastle United

Oh! It's the Tribeca Film Festival at the AMC Loews Village 7... (Can't wait for the TFF horror stories!)

Parkscapes

You've probably seen Patricia Melvin in action before... she's been painting New York Cityscapes and landscapes for more than 30 years from her East Village home base...

EV Grieve contributor Bobby Williams spotted her working the other day in Tompkins Square Park...

You can find more of her work here.