Monday, April 25, 2011
Today in photos of dead rats on Avenue A
Spotted by Bobby Williams at the bus stop between Fifth Street and Sixth Street....
Skateboarder injured in Tompkins Square Park
EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams notes that a skateboarder was injured late this afternoon in Tompkins Square Park...
...we don't know the extent of the injuries ... however, the young man taken away for care...
...we don't know the extent of the injuries ... however, the young man taken away for care...
NYPD hunt for man who robbed Chase branch on Second Avenue
Via the Post:
The unidentified man pictured here slid the piece of paper to the female teller in the Chase Bank on Second Avenue and East 9th Street at about 9:15 a.m. Friday.
The note, written in black ink, read, “I have a gun. Give me all your money and return the slip to me with the money.”
The teller told her manager what happened, and the manger ordered her to hand over $776. The crook escaped with the loot.
The suspect was described as a Hispanic man in his 20s, about 5-foot-7 with a medium build and fairly clean shaven. He was last seen wearing a black wrap around his sunglasses and a black waits length jacket.
Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Mara's Homemade sets closing date
Thanks to the multiple tipsters who passed along this link... As previously reported, Mara's Homemade, the Cajun eatery on East Sixth Street, is closing for a number of reasons, including:
We accepted a short term lease to give us time to re-locate or negotiate a longer term with our current landlord. Since that time, the BP explosion took place, bike lanes were installed on First and Second Avenues which reduced parking and the signs of future property tax increases have occurred.
Meanwhile, May 14 is their last day ... and they're opening a new place in Syosset, which might be a better fit for all those people who apparently drive to Mara's to eat.
Previously.
Please cover me
On April 14, we noted that that the DOB had taped up a new "notice of violation and hearing" outside 35 Cooper Square... According to the DOB:
BOTH ROOFS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ROOFING MATERIAL TO SHEATHING SECTIONS OF LOWER ROOF ARE EXPOSED TO JOISTS ALSO NOTED
On Thursday, the Local East Village followed up and reported that developer Arun Bhatia just paid about $16,000 in fines related to the violations.
Meanwhile, the roof is still unprotected, now with a weekend of heavy rain to help it continue to rot.
David Mulkins, co-founder of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, wrote a plea to protect the roof last Friday at the Local EV. Per the article:
A friend of EV Grieve said this is like visiting a loved one at the nursing home, and seeing him or her without a blanket.
In any event, Arun Bhatia's nonaction should tell you all you need to know about the developer's interest in possibly saving this building.
BOTH ROOFS HAVE BEEN STRIPPED OF ROOFING MATERIAL TO SHEATHING SECTIONS OF LOWER ROOF ARE EXPOSED TO JOISTS ALSO NOTED
On Thursday, the Local East Village followed up and reported that developer Arun Bhatia just paid about $16,000 in fines related to the violations.
Meanwhile, the roof is still unprotected, now with a weekend of heavy rain to help it continue to rot.
David Mulkins, co-founder of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, wrote a plea to protect the roof last Friday at the Local EV. Per the article:
[T]he roof and dormers as essential structural elements and character-defining features, are currently compromised by partial demolition and exposure to the elements. Any effort to save this building, at this point, needs to start with the basics: putting a tarp back on the roof.
A friend of EV Grieve said this is like visiting a loved one at the nursing home, and seeing him or her without a blanket.
In any event, Arun Bhatia's nonaction should tell you all you need to know about the developer's interest in possibly saving this building.
Hoop dreams in Extra Place
We're not sure who just put up the basketball hoop here in Extra Place ...
Maybe DB and the gang are playing some H-O-R-S-E?
Maybe DB and the gang are playing some H-O-R-S-E?
Water in Tompkins Square Park 'most likely safe' to drink
EV Grieve correspondent Bobby Williams noted this on the Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square Park...
C is a new coffee shop on Third Street
Several readers have noted that that a new coffee shop has opened (as of April 18) at 256 E. Third St. near Avenue C. A reader said it's pretty straightforward — coffee, tea ... some croissants. The coffee is from Strongtree Organic Coffee Roasters in Hudson, N.Y. I stopped by myself to check it out yesterday morning, though it wasn't open yet for the day...
C takes over the space from Chez Betty Cafe.
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:
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...
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...
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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....
EV Grieve contributor samo notes this signage on Houston at Ludlow Street....
Saturday, April 23, 2011
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....
...to observe the red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square....
Benefit for Emilie Louise Gossiaux today at Cooper Union
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...
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!)
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