Lower East Society

Two Boots Coming to Grand Street! And Wine Shop on Orchard? And....

2006-07-25T01:26:00.000-04:00

BREAKING NEWS....the long-closed Grand Grocery (a/k/a "Stop 1") space, as well as the adjoining store (the former Mister Man barbershop) at 384 Grand Street...is soon to become a TWO BOOTS RESTAURANT!!! This from an inside source. The renovation is in progress. No word yet on when it'll be opening. But this is big. Not just for the LES, but for Grand Street in particular.

Also, rumor has it that a wine shop is coming to Orchard, between Grand and Broome, in those new stores. Wondering if there's truth to that.

And what's up with El Bocadito? Fire we hear. Closed. Reopening?

Ronald's. WTF is the deal with that place?

And how did things go for the Italian restuarant trying to open in the old Kaufman's Appliances store and Full City, when they both went before the CB for wine and beer licensing?

Story of a Synagogue...

2006-03-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

...that lost its roof, but has yet to relinquish its poise. See for yourself at 89 Rivington Street. A 2004 article in The Villager provides some background on the synagogue and a look at how things used appear.

Type & Design Series

2006-02-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

3/50: Corner of Delancey & Eldridge Street

Year of the Dog

2006-01-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! Happy Chinese New Year!

Come here doggy

2006-01-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to ring in the Year of the Dog next Sunday?

Here are a few things to check off:
1. Paste red diamond-shaped paper written with the lucky character "fu" on doors and walls
2. Purchase a small budding tangerine plant. The golden tangerine looks like gold coins hanging on a tree.
3. Prepare red envelopes with lucky money to give to children and young people who have not yet married to wish them good fortune and health for the upcoming year.
4. Practice saying "Sun nien fai lok" (Happy New Year) and "Gung hay fat choy" (May you become prosperous)

Don't Be Fooled By The Name

2006-01-15T18:09:00.000-05:00

MARTHA ROSLER LIBRARY is not your typical library. You can't borrow any of the books, periodicals, pamphlets or newspapers. The 7,000 volumes of selected materials on display at 53 Ludlow Street is a public reading room presented by e-flux (www.e-flux.com) through April 15, 2006.

"This project grew in part out of Martha Rosler's space problem; she simply had too many books crowding her Brooklyn studio and academic office in New Jersey. They covered the shelves, piled floors, and cascaded down the stairs. We offered her a solution."

Who are you kidding?

2006-01-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

On Rivington between Bowery and Chrystie

Named: The New French Spot Coming to Broome at Ludlow

2005-12-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

The awning is up, along with the bistro-esque lighting, on the French joint coming to the corner of Broome and Ludlow. Just noticed too that they're gonna have great outdoor seating on Ludlow along a stretch of fenced-in pavement that used to be a garbage dumping hotspot. Anyway, so the restaurant--which joins broomedoggs (speaking of which, hopefully they'll be serving French fries soon), babycakes, Barrio Chino, Little Giant, Lolita and 88 Orchard on what is fast becoming a great stretch of LES eating and drinking--is gonna be called Casanis, which is apparently a type of liqueur or something. Hopefully, it'll fare better than Bistro Cansanis.

Type & Design Series

2005-11-05T17:46:00.000-05:00

2/50

Breaking News: Nomore Lismore

2005-10-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Lismore Hosiery calls it a day. Owner sold the building and condos are coming. Personally, we're gonna miss the quirky proprietor sitting in his lawn chair and reading outside the place on sunny days. Here's hoping the retail space attracts an interesting tenant.

Completely Non-LES-Related But Nonetheless Relevant Because It's Wonderful Post

2005-10-29T18:57:00.000-04:00

I Want It That Way

Type & Design Series

2005-10-24T23:05:00.000-04:00

1/50

Zhongguo

2005-10-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

Perfect night for the premiere of TRANSITIO_NYC (www.artdvision.com). From October 20-31, 2005, Solange Fabiao will project his video images of Shanghai and Nanjing onto a building facade at the corner of Canal and Centre. The 40-minute video will loop from 6:30pm until 11pm.

If you failed to visit last weekend for Taste of Chinatown, you shouldn't miss this. And stop at BIG WONG (67 Mott Street) for a warm bowl of wonton noodle soup.

David and Goliath

2005-10-10T00:13:00.000-04:00

We all know the ending to that story.

FLOWERS CAFE will open mid-November at the corner of Grand and Essex.

Vintage New York Poster

2005-10-08T14:43:00.000-04:00

Surprise

2005-09-24T16:59:00.000-04:00

Curatorial Consultant Pamela Keech was cleaning the outside walls of Recollections, Tenement Museum's new antiques and collectibles shop at 90 Orchard Street, when she unearthed these vintage New York posters. To learn more, visit Forgotten New York (www.forgotten-ny.com/SIGNS/tenementmuseumsigns/posters.html).

Hooray for Broomedoggs!

2005-09-24T16:05:00.000-04:00

I admit hot dogs are one of my many, many weaknesses. I satisfied my past cravings with visits to either Gray's Papaya or the late-night pushcart on the southeast corner of Ludlow and Stanton for a hot dog with kimchee . With great delight, I welcome BROOMEDOGGS (250 Broome Street). Open late till 4am on Friday and Saturday.

Armageddon

2005-09-20T10:26:00.000-04:00

On my way home, I noticed STARBUCKS on Allen and Delancey has opened. Let's welcome them by visiting DELOCATOR (www.delocator.net).

Welcome to the neighborhood!

2005-09-07T22:05:00.000-04:00

A new bakery/cafe called BABY CAKES (love that name) just opened at 248 Broome Street between Ludlow and Orchard. One of the friendly ladies informed me that they create all the wheat and gluten free cupcakes on the premises. The peach cupcake and mint lemonade was truly delightful. Beside their delicious sweets, they are open until 10pm from Thursday-Saturday. Excellent for those late night cravings.

Around the corner is soon to open RECOLLECTIONS: The Antiques and Collectibles Shop of the Tenement Museum (90 Orchard Street). Don't know much about the shop but they are looking for two part-time Sales Associates (www.tenement.org).

Art of Swoon

2005-09-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

WHAT?!?!? You missed Swoon's installation at Deitch Projects (76 Grand Street). And you can't make the short trip to P.S. 1's Greater New York show where Swoon's cutouts can also be seen through September 26th. Than open your eyes when you stroll through the Lower East Side.

On Allen between Grand and Hester.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

2005-08-25T11:43:00.000-04:00

When moving to LES, remember to throw away your alarm clock.

On Ludlow between Hester and Canal.

Hong Kong Station or Bust

2005-08-23T21:26:00.000-04:00

Before you catch your ride to Boston with Fung Wah (brave souls), grab a bit at HONG KONG STATION (128 Hester Street; near Bowery). Everything has a starting price of $1.00. Perfect for students and those with a tight budget. There are 9 selection of noodles from Mai Fun to Udon. And add-ons from Curry Squid to Fish Patties.

Available Apartment Stream of Consciousness Post #1: 38 Ludlow Street (This You Gotta Read)

2005-08-19T18:49:00.000-04:00

So many thoughts on this one...where to start, where to start? OK, here. Say you have a store for rent on Ludlow near Hester and behind that store is a windowless room that, like the retail space in front of it, is long and rectangular, almost hallway-like in shape. The kinda thing you might call a stockroom and where the employees toilet is located for the people who work in the store up front (and in Illinois, for customers too). Well, not if the stockroom bathroom has a shower. That, folks, at least according to a real estate broker named Eleni, is what you call a "live/work studio" with high ceilings (and exposed brick walls) located "behind a store." What Eleni fails to mention is that it's also a live/work studio where you live on take-out, eating in restaurants or a cooking on hot plate and keeping your food in a picnic cooler, cause there ain't no kitchen. Thankfully, it's "walking distance to public transportation and short driving distance to major highways" cause, after a few days in your 350-400 sf rectangular hallway-style apartment, you're gonna wanna run to the hills. Some simple craigslist detective work reveals the store in front to be about 400 sf as well with a matching basement. Here's where it gets tricky: the store supposedly has a bathroom. But as the picture reveals, there is no bathroom in the store (but you can see one through the doorway in the rear stockroom/apartment). Perhaps the retail tenant gets an easement through which to access the bathroom in the rear of the apartment? Actually, it's probably a reciprocal easement: you can enter your apartment through our store and we can go through your apartment when we gotta go to the bathroom. All this joy for only $950/month.

Coed Heroin Overdose Update: Not To Say We Told You So, But....

2005-08-19T17:52:00.000-04:00

As we suggested might be the case when the story broke, Alfredo Morales, 33, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, for giving the coeds the drugs they fatally OD'd on in his apartment. That's because the New York State Penal Law definition of "sell" does not require the exchange of currency or even anything of value when drugs are "sold" by one person to another. For example, Crackhead A lights up, takes a hit and passes crack pipe to Crackhead B. Ladies and gentlemen, your drug deal is now [technically legally] completed. Hopefully, the cops will eventually be able to build a homicide case against Morales and the other guy, Robert Martinez, 41. Cause the drug sentencing laws ain't what they used to be.

And You Thought the New Starbucks Was a Sign of the Apocalypse: LES Called Too Pretentious for Stabbing/Murder by Teany Employee

2005-08-18T00:57:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to be a longish post about the murder Wednesday morning of a local guy with a long rap sheet in front of Moby's Teany cafe on Rivington. But there's really not much to say, what with the guy having a history of drug crimes and stealing stuff and thus making himself a likely candidate to be in a dispute that ended in death...and thus not a victim of random violence. At least Moby employee Roger Human Being had the decency to call 911 after allegedly observing passerby indifference. We of course know he's "Roger Human Being" the musician, in addition to being Teany worker Roger Peffley, age 30, who observed said passerby indifference and called 911...because he spoke to the press and managed to plug his act, express disregard for drunks and call the LES seemingly too pretentious for a stabbing murder.

Maybe Greyhound IS Worth the Extra $12 a Ticket

2005-08-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

So you're sitting on the Fung Wah (not to be confused with the Gang Sta) heading to New York from Boston. You're feeling pretty good, having paid a measly fifteen bucks for your passage. And then all of a sudden the driver pulls over and jumps out to check a smoke condition near a rear wheel. Good thing he read this book. Anyway, so you start thinking: what are the odds, if they're only charging me $15 for this ticket, that they're making enough money to really be on top of their bus maintenance? Weak to very weak. If this wasn't what you started thinking, it didn't matter cause all of sudden you heard an off-duty flight attendant say "[t]he bus is on fire. We need to move it now." And then, in a case of life imitating an episode of CHiPs, everyone gets out safely and watches from the side of the road as the bus bursts into flames. We're not mechanics but here's a theory: maybe the driver was burning rubber again, pushing 80 miles an hour, and shit just got too hot back there. This was, incidentally, the second Chinatown bus fire in the last five months; in March, a Travel Pack bus got lit up on the Mass Pike. On a brighter note, at least there haven't been any Chinatown bus-related murders lately.

Band with LES Rehearsal Space Looking for a [FILL IN THE BLANK] Player, Post #1

2005-08-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

In this case, "keyboard/synth/computer player...to make our sounds that much more out there."

OK keyboard/synth/computer players, here's the deal:
1. You must be ready to make this project a priority
2. be loyal, responsible, and have great gear.
3. We are guitar, drums, bass and a vocalist and are all pros and very versatile.
4. We have a rehearsal space in the Lower East Side close to most of the cool clubs
5. rehearse about 3x a week regularly.
6. Gigs and recording are a priority.

Call "me" at (646) 279-1134. Apparently, me is Alex, who is also available to tune your piano when he's not rehearsing 3x a week regularly. Note to Alex: if you have kids, move to California and need someone to watch them while you're rehearsing, help is available.

Like the Berlin Wall Before It,

2005-08-16T20:50:00.000-04:00

last week the city removed most of the fences along South Street under the F.D.R. Drive. According to an article in the Downtown Express, this is the first step of the East River waterfront renovation plan that will "link the communities of the area to the river and ultimately each other." No word on when the inter-community, hand-holding Kumbaya sing-along will occur. Seriously though, this is good. As Victor Papa of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council noted, "Now that the barriers are away, at least people can get to the river before long-term renovations start.”

As most folks know, the waterfront plan includes, among other improvements, "converting piers to parks and open spaces, building retail and community spaces under the F.D.R."

What most folks don't know, however, is that Starbucks has already signed a lease for their second 10002 location: a 5,000 sq. ft. East River waterfront coffee shop. Just kidding.

Available Retail Space Stream of Consciousness Post #1: 349 Grand Street

2005-08-16T01:03:00.000-04:00

So before the Chinese 99-cent store that just vacated this space, there was this really weird place called Jeff's Chinese & Japanese restaurant that never had any--and we mean ANY--customers in it. They also never had any food in the display cases. Just a bunch of empty tables and usually one or two men smoking cigarettes. Before that, it was a place called Big Bowl Noodles. As for the Chinese 99-cent store, when it became clear that trinkets weren't gonna pay the rent, they started selling fruits and vegetables alongside knock-off luggage, baby turtles and assorted plastic fashion accessories. I bought limes there a few times for my Corona light and I have to say, they were seemingly fresh and certainly juicy. (By purchasing limes only, I thereby avoided the hidden price of shopping at the dollar store.)

But all good things most come to an end and so too did the 99-cent/lime store.

And now it's available for rent: 700 square feet of ground floor retail at 349 Grand Street, between Ludlow and Essex Streets, for $1980/month. Here's the catch (no pun intended): you don't get the basement, cause it's used by some seafood outlet that does a whole lotta stinky fish preparation and packaging work. No word on whether the aroma of raw fish rises up into the retail space, but we did notice that they laid a marble-like floor down when the 99-cent store moved in. That might block it, but there's always vents. Bottom line: if you go to check the space out, make sure you don't have a stuffed nose that day or else you'll only be fooling yourself, post-nasal congestion.

To read broker Henry Wong's ad on craigslist, click here.

Cops Suspect Coeds Died In LES Apartment From Overdose on Uncut Drugs

2005-08-15T20:25:00.000-04:00

It appears, based on what their friends have told the police, that the two coeds found dead in an apartment at the Lillian Wald Houses Friday night had been habitual drug users. This only makes the story even sadder. As the story goes, they both came from hard-working immigrant families who sent them to private school at St. Vincent Ferrer High School on the Upper East Side.

In the meantime, hopefully the police will maintain--if not increase--the pressure on the two men, 33 and 41, in whose company the girls died. Both of these guys are prior drug offenders, one of them for selling narcotics; the police believe the girls died of drug overdoses involving uncut heroin or cocaine. Uncut as in not yet diluted and individually packaged in glassines (heroin) and baggies (cocaine). As in, "pure shit" or how your average seller might possess it before he pitches it.

Here's the thing: what are the chances the girls, who were heading to the Warped Tour show in New Jersey, made a detour to buy drugs and--either willingly, unwittingly or somehow under duress--wound up using with their dealer(s)?

LES Starbucks: A Different Perspective

2005-08-15T19:22:00.000-04:00

So it seems that everyone is waxing frantic about the immiment arrival of Starbucks 10002 and the concomitant implosion of LES life as we know it. Of course, I haven't seen any mention yet about how it might just turn out to be the one place to get a decent cup of coffee after 8 or 9 p.m. After all, 88 Orchard's repeated promises of "late hours coming soon," then "late summer hours coming soon," have proven to be as empty as the cash register of Alchemy 106. In any event, based on LES history and our recent survival in the face of other big retail arrivals like Duane Reade, Payless and McDonalds -- it seems we're all gonna be okay.

Greetings!

2005-08-15T19:18:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Lower [East] Society. We aim to pick up where ebway.org left off and provide a good source for LES news, developments, trends and thoughts in a laid-back, friendly and sometimes sarcastic forum.