Nolita Resident Offers Free Mattress; No Bed Bugs!

A well meaning and out of touch resident of Elizabeth Street left an extra mattress on the street earlier this week, free for the taking. "No bugs," the sign exclaimed. "Just don't need a second mattress."

Aww...how considerate. But no matter how many signs you put on this thing assuring people there are no bedbugs in it, there is a 99.9% chance it ended up in the back of a dump truck. Forget about bed bugs, no one but maybe a younger sibling would be able to look past the body fluids, sexual discharges, dead skin cells and whatever else you excreted all over this thing. Never mind that it was left it out on the streets of New York City.

Would you ever use a mattress left out on the street, a sign declaring it "bug free!" not withstanding?

Related:
Rats And Bedbug Complaints Increase; Pest Control Aides Eliminated
Darpa Bugs Possibly Used For Surveillance On Subways
Old Lady Saves Dead Rat
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Jim Joe Reaches Higher

Ubiquitous graffiti artist and self promotion expert Jim Joe reaches for new heights atop this building on the Kenmare and Elizabeth Streets, his tag visible on the mobile telephone antennas high above the street.

Previously:
Keeping Up With The Jim Joeses
Jim Joe: One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Living Room
Jim Joe Is The Wurst
Jim Joe Likes His Dope

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Sleep - New Russell King On Elizabeth Street

New Russell King, on the west side of Elizabeth Street, north of Kenmare.

Previous: Pretension

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Trust Fund Baby Renovating

Trust Fund Baby, a store specializing in fashions for your little one, is undergoing renovations. Open at 239 Elizabeth Street since 2005, NYC The Blog has actually never stepped foot in (for no particular reason). You can view a panorama of the interior here. They expect to be open this week.

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Senor Tacombi Make Themselves At Home On Elizabeth Street

Senor Tacombi, a taco stand that operates out of an old VW bus, has given 267 Elizabeth a fresh coat of paint, and a beautiful hand painted sign. Just a little revitalization, or preparation for food service to the public? They did not respond to an email with questions about their plans for a full-service restaurant here. As seen below, the interior still functions only as a garage.

The Nolitan Undresses

Little Chitaly's new, wildly non-conformist hotel The Nolitan, on the corner of Kenmare and Elizabeth has shed its construction netting and is proudly displaying her dual structures that tower over neighboring buildings. The 55–room boutique hotel looks to provide the "perfect home in Nolita" (but not like an actual, real tenement home many in the neighborhood live in) and an "impeccable, attentive, stylish," place that is of course, "all about you."

Below, see just how well the hotel deviated from the architectural style and current old world charm of Little Chitaly, in the haphazard street scape display put together for your viewing pleasure.

Light Poles On Elizabeth And Broome Get A Fresh Coat Of Paint

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Cafe Colonial Closes Its Door, Leaves Thank You Note On Its Wall

A pregnant Luciane Gilan opened Cafe Colonial on the corner Elizabeth and Houston (map) in 1994. In 2010, due to a large increase in rent, Cafe Colonial did not renew its lease. Yesterday it served its last meal and the proprietor left a message on the exterior wall for employees, customers, and New York City residents alike.

EV Grieve was first to report on the imminent closing back in March, which Grub Street then followed up by speaking with Gilan. Yesterday, Bowery Boogie went by to bid adieu.

It's interesting that the laments over the loss of Cafe Colonial are closely tied to an implication that Keith McNally's newly opened Pulino's has helped drive out Colonial by drastically increasing the potential market rate rent for Colonial's space.

Cafe Colonial represents the beginning of a rapid gentrification and demographic change in the neighborhood that helped to lay the foundation for Pulino's, Nolita, and New Bowery. As Cafe Colonial is a bit bitter towards Pulino's, my friend who has lived on Elizabeth Street for 20 years is bitter towards the Cafe for the same reasons.

New York City, it's like a continual cycle of bitterness and resentment. And that's fine.

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 Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog

MIRF "Elaborate" On New Work And Jon Lennon

Last Friday, NYC The Blog posted a photo of relatively new work on Broome St. by the graffiti duo Mint and Serf (MIRF).

The work was tagged "Jon Lennon," who happens to work across the street at GoldBar.

Asked via email the reason for a special greeting to Lennon, Mint and Serf explained: "he is part of our extended family." So there you have it, a graffiti duo with an extended family. 

Quizzed about relatively new pieces popping up elsewhere around the neighborhood, they declined to respond. See photos of those below.

Designer Plates For Cat Lovers

Seen in the window of Coco de Mer, a sex shop with a "touch of class" on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan, between Houston and Prince (map). 

There are other plates in similar fashion, appropriate for any sexual proclivity. Designer dildos as well.

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UPDATE: Sidewalk Shed Stays Free Of Graffiti For 43 Days And Counting

When NYC The Blog last checked in with the sidewalk shed on the corner of Elizabeth and Kenmare, it had been free of graffiti for 23 days. This is made all the more notable in light of the clean white surface beckoning fellow art majors, seen at right. Well...a spot check done last night confirms the spot has not yet been embellished, and is now free of graffiti or street art for an astonishing 43 days. Not even one sticker!

If a large print of my face shows up there this week, I just want to take this opportunity to deny any responsibility.

Doors On Elizabeth Street: Choose Your Own Adventure

East side of Elizabeth Street, between Broome and Grand.

Sidewalk Shed Stays Free Of Graffiti For 23 Straight Days And Counting

As you can see in the photo above, this sidewalk shed on the corner of Elizabeth and Kenmare has been free of any embellishment for at least an astonishing 23 days. First spied on Nov 24, it consists of a clean, white slate for anyone to work with; unbelievably it has remained untouched since then. Have the prolific wheat pasters who used to roam these streets moved on to new neighborhoods beyond the Williamsburg Bridge? When will some derring-do artist with a woodcut of a bird come hang his handiwork? Or maybe this blank slate of white is the art?? NYCTB will keep you posted.

This space joins another blank white wall on Mulberry and Prince, which until recently displayed a hand-painted ad for the Intermix boutique. If you know any "street artists," who would love to "get up," spread the word.

Related: Restless has recently posted a handful of photos showing blank billboards on varying buildings around Manhattan.