Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Put Your City On: Cool Off; Follow The Money; Saving Birds; Looking For Sharks; More!


A boy cools off in the fountain at Washington Square Park
» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Petrosino Park Water Fountain Redux: For Drinking Only

As Park Department Manager Ralph Musolino and Council Member Margaret Chin's office recently informed NYC The Blog, and I excitedly reported, Petrosino Park is receiving a water fountain.

Unfortunately, workers on site last week confirmed that only a drinking water fountain is being installed,  not a decorative or play fountain as I wrongly assumed.

Sadly, there will be no full body relief from the heat, in a fountain approximating Washington Square's. But hey, a drinking fountain is better than nothing! Below, see said fountain in place, all wrapped up like a prisoner in Guantanamo.

Pure Dark Chocolate On Bleecker Street Shuts Its Doors


Bleecker Street's Pure Dark chocolate, "harvested from nature," has closed. They have three other retail outlets on the Upper East Side and Midtown.

Whatever the reasons for the closure, photographs recently seen on Eater showing a mouse in the window couldn't have helped any.

» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Has Hotel Toshi Vacated 280 Mulberry Street?

After checking in with Hotel Toshi yesterday regarding their status at 280 Mulberry Street, asking if they had vacated the building July 3rd as previously intended, a representative emailed back, writing: "Absolutely. We've already vacated the entire building."  

I've tried to confirm this with the landlord and a tenant, and have not heard back from either. Rooms at 280 Mulberry Street are still listed as available on Hotel Toshi's website.

Any readers out there know more??

Previously:
Checking In With Hotel Toshi: Will They Stay Or Will They Go?
UPDATED: This Just In: Hotel Toshi To *Allegedly* Leave 280 Mulberry Due To Tenant Activism
UPDATED: Hotel Toshi "Invades" Nolita?

» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Put Your City On: Carmine's Closes After 107 Years; Illegal AC; Manhattan More White; Lego Loves NY; More!


The Duplex, on the corner of Christopher Street and 7th Avenue
  • Did you walked by a few stores this weekend with their doors open and the AC blasting? It's illegal for stores over 4,000 sq ft to do so. [WNYC]
  • Manhattan becoming more white, more rich [City Room]
  • Lego I Love NY, in Rockefeller Center outside new Lego store [Twitpic]
  • Have you seen a lost shark with a "distinctive birthmark under right fin?" [NYCTT]
  • Holiday Weekend Bonus: New Section of East River Promenade Opens [The Lo-Down]
  • Did you miss the fireworks on the Hudson River? Watch the video [DNAinfo]
  • 107-year-old Carmine’s Italian Seafood Restaurant in South Street Seaport has closed its doors. [Urbanite]
» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Rubirosa Casalinga Coming Soon To Nolita


Workers inside 235 Mulberry Street (formerly Lulu) first confirmed a new pizzeria way back in April. At the time, the fellow inside assured the pie was going to be fantastic.

You'll be finding out soon. Old world lettering befitting the neighborhood history has been applied to the windows, accompanied by a complimentary metal sign above. An opening seems imminent. A photo of the eateries beautiful public face is below.

Scout Vintage TShirts Opens In Nolita


Scout Vintage Tshirts quietly opened up at 227 Mulberry Street last week. The store's stock is supplied by The Clothing Warehouse of Atlanta, who have a retail outlet nearby on Prince Street, between Elizabeth and Bowery.

A look inside the store showed an absolutely incredible array of vintage t-shirts, thousands of them, meticulously arranged by shades of color. If you like t-shirts, you'll love this place, as long as you don't mind paying for them. Most were priced from $28-$38; others, such as some of the concert tees, were well over $100. That said, the store wasn't really holding any duds. A quick glance through the racks showed carefully selected, desirable tshirts.

Checking In With Hotel Toshi: Will They Stay Or Will They Go?


Embattled Hotel Toshi proprietor Robert Chan, also known as Toshi or Robert Toshi depending on which employee of Hotel Toshi you are talking to, reached out to NYC The Blog last month to inform of their imminent departure from 280 Mulberry Street: "no later than the 15th" of June. That date came and went and Hotel Toshi was still in business at 280 Mulberry Street.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Put Your City On: Pedestrians Are People Too; July 4th Customs; No More Handball For You; More!


Empty and unused heroin packaging, from an uninspired art exhibit currently on display at White Box Gallery on Broome Street in the LES
  • Thanks to our sponsors this week: Notify NYC and ThrillerFest V
  • Imagining a Pedestrian-Friendly Upper West Side [Westside Independent]  
  • The 'barbarous customs' of a New York Fourth of July [The Bowery Boys]
  • With 34th Street Plaza in Doubt, Local Business Group Expresses Support [Streetsblog]
  • New Yorkers get the hang of the Texas two-step at Lincoln Center’s annual Midsummer Night Swing fest in Damrosch Park [City Room]
  • From handball court to tomato garden - Bedford Stuyvesant residents shocked at over-night change [New York Daily News]
» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Benedict Yeo, Strip-Mow And BrowHaus Coming To Spring Street


Adding to the hustle and bustle of the constant evolution of retail in Nolita, two new stores are set to open on Spring Street.

Near Mott, Benedict Yeo (no info or URL online) will be opening soon, and one block west, adjacent to the 6 train entrance, a sign announces that waxing salon Strip Mow as well as Browhaus, "your one-stop brow and lash grooming salon," will be opening shortly as well.

» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Turning Empty (And Illegal?) Ad Space Into Pop Up Parks In Four Easy Steps

Summertime in New York City means a lot things. Mister Softee; Legs; Fourth of July; Hanging out in the park. It also means time to get your planting on. As seen here in the photos taken last night on the corner of Spring and Lafayette, the numerous white, empty advertising boards at street level—many illegal and now empty due to recent enforcement actions by the DOB—make perfect pop up parks; green graffiti if you will.

Follow the four easy steps below, as shown in the photos, to create your own pop up wall gardens on street level (illegal?) ad space.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Put Your City On: Patrons Of Tom & Jerry's Keep The Neighbors Up; Starbucks Serving Chicken; More!


Knitta Please, or inspired by, on the corner of Houston and Bowery
» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

The Original Papaya King On E. 86th Street Closed For One Month


Yesterday afternoon, a construction crew began building a temporary wall outside the exterior of New York City's first Papaya King location on the corner of 86th Street and 3rd Avenue. Workers on site expect the place to remain closed for the whole month of July while they renovate. It is "...a mid-summer break to polish up the crown jewels," the King explained on their website.

» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

Low Speed 'Limited Use Auto' Jaunts Around Nolita


This GEM e825 registered and legal "limited use auto" electric car was seen on Mulberry Street yesterday between Prince and Spring Streets. How's that for boycotting BP? A Smart Car watch seems so 2009; it's all about the LUAs now.

"GEM models are sophisticated yet simple," their website declares. "They represent a new kind of personal transportation, that expands the capacity to have fun.

The New York Times disagrees, calling them "a souped-up electric golf cart that doesn’t have to meet basic crash standards," in contrast to full size vehicles. With a top speed of 25 mph, the GEM is mostly limited to roads with speed limits of 35mph or less. Have you seen any LUAs on the street? Please send photos. And a special prize to anyone producing a photo of the owner inside this vehicle. See it up close below.
Get More NYC The Blog:


>> Subscribe To NYC The Blog Via Email

Contact NYC The Blog via Email