Results tagged “thirdave”

As chains take over every nook and cranny of this city, some people in the East Village are forming a united front against them. The Villager reports on the corporate takeover, the resistance and the new spin on this story as old as time.

The initial news of the legendary 2nd Avenue Deli’s reincarnation led us to stockpile Lipitor as visions of pastrami, chopped liver and gribenes danced through our heads. And when we feasted our eyes on the sneak preview of this fresser’s paradise, we could hardly wait to go and devour more of the menu.

If you've ever struggled to figure out which direction you're facing when you step out of a subway station (and there are no landmarks or sun to guide you), you won't have those problems at four subway stations in Midtown anymore. That's because the Department of Transportation and the Grand Central Partnership are placing temporary directional compass decals outside them.

SALE: Our recent interviewees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are having a plant sale today and tomorrow. With .50 cent plants for kids and "new and exclusive varieties [of plants] from Monrovia Growers" for adults. Tomorrow at 10am there's a "Houseplants for Sun or Shade: guided shopping trip," so that may be a good time to go!

The Fighting 6019 is holding a protest rally at noon today in Union Square. Who are the Fighting 6019? They are a group of FDNY hopefuls who are upset with the Firefighter civil service exam given in January by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Among the problems alleged with the exam: nearly half the questions had more than one correct answer, 105 of the 150 questions were hypothetical in nature, proctors were ill-prepared, and the widespread use of cellphones during the exam.

Inside Edition, better known for covering tabloid stories and entertainment, has found something that mixes the best of both worlds: Looking for rats in NYC restaurants. Perhaps the most famous restaurant goers these days are city rats, and Inside Edition was on them like paparazzi on Britney Spears:

INSIDE EDITION took to the streets of Manhattan between 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM peering their cameras and flashlights into the windows of a wide variety of eateries, from fast food places to fine dining establishments. INSIDE EDITION found many of the restaurants shared one common denominator, vermin.

Today, part 1 aired, revealing problems at Brazil Grill (787 8th Ave. at 48th Street), Dunkin' Donuts (1093 Second Ave. at 58th Street), KFC/Dunkin' Donuts (761 7th Ave. at W. 50th Street), Burger King (401 Fifth Ave. at E. 36th Street), Arte Pasta (81 Greenwich Ave. Between Bank and West Eleventh), Papaya King (179 E. 86th Street at Third Ave), Va Bene (1589 Second Ave. at 82nd Street) and Cosi (498 Seventh Ave. at 37th Street).

PARTY: What's the holiday season without awkward office parties? Metro Metro is having their office party tonight, think of it as more of a Christopher Guest version of the office party. A mockumentary, if you will. Nametags and job titles will be assigned at the door! Dress code: office holiday attire.

If you want fresh, it makes sense to go straight to the source. So if you crave fish and chips, why not go to a fish shop? Wild Edibles, the premiere purveyor of fresh seafood in the city, also offers a full menu of ready-to-eat dishes at its Murray Hill location. There are plenty of fancy options from shrimp gazpacho to macadamia-crusted soft-shell crabs, but what really hits the spot is plain fried fish.

- 11:37 p.m. at Booth and 137th Sts. One man is shot at. He is not hit but is injured by flying glass. The shooter was apprehended by the police at 2AM this morning, after NYPD helicopters and police from the five precincts where the shootings took place went on the hunt. The shooter was in a green Cadillac, and it's unclear what weapons he used (there was a 9mm shell casing), and the police boxed in his car at 2AM. All the victims are in stable condition and are expected to recover.

According to our friends at Curbed, Broadway Panhandler will be moving to 8th Street (at Mercer) in August. It's one of Gothamist's favorite kitchen supply stores. You can't beat their Le Creuset sale every January, their customer service is terrific and they offer knife sharpening each weekend (call in advance to confirm times: 866-266-5927).

We recently had occasion to drop by Ribot, an ambitious Midtown East Italian-Mediterranean with a focus on ingredients. Peas, their shoots, fava beans, morels, and asparagus all make their springtime appearances, and we were struck by the use of Heritage Farms pork and Wagyu beef. Not that these last two ingredients are that rare or special, but we rarely seem to see Heritage products north of 14th street. The aforementioned ingredients find life in a wide ranging menu that hops from Morocco to Portugal before settling down with a large footprint in Italy. The wine list does a cross border dance as well, and does showcase some high-end bottles. Given that the restaurant is located in an office building, as well as having a plethora of business folk within walking distance, the big bottles will get some rotation from corporate spenders.

It's the holidays, and we're pretty sure that most of you are still comatose on the couch suffering from either an eggnog overdose or a family overdose, pick your poison! But in case there are still five or six of you wondering what you'll do without a reading, here's your solution.

We're not entirely sure how much walking for your highbrow literary art you guys are willing to do, and with the holidays coming up there's a dearth of good readings going on in the city this week anyway, but Gothamist is here to get you to your literary events through snow, sleet, hail, transit strikes, whatever! So taking all that in stride, here are a few things you'll want to mark on your calendar.

Smith/Ninth Sts., Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, F and G lines: "The protective overhangs have large holes, paint peels everywhere and concrete crumbles."These selections sort of match up with the report from the Transit Riders Council last year; the City Council also found the Bronx typically had the worst stations. The NY Daily News blames these struggling station with a lack of MTA funding. Vote Yes on Proposition 2 for the Transportation Bond Act!

Imagine being 87 and coming back from a vacation to find that you are no longer able to get into the Upper East Side apartment that you've been living in for 47 years because your new landlord changed the locks. Now imagine finally getting into your apartment, after calling the police to break down the door, and finding out that your new landlord also threw out all of your possessions (except a "calendar, a salt shaker and a La-Z-Boy chair."). Finally imagine that the rent on the apartment that you were no longer living in had been $158.06 a month.

Last week's bombing outside the British Consulate in Midtown East still has police puzzled, but the NY Post reports that a biker seen on a surveillance tape is now a suspect. The bike rider, seen around 3AM, was found on tapes from "from Sixth Avenue and 48th Street to 845 Third Ave., the site of the bombing, and on to East 53rd Street between Park and Lexington avenues," as the NYPD expanded the area of the investigation and are considering the possibility the biker threw the grenade while riding. Gothamist, like many others, is actually more curious about the female jogger from 3-3:30AM - what the hell was she doing out so late? The police are still unsuccessful in identifying the biker (will the push for bike license plates gain more momentum?), but are continuing to look at tapes.