Wally GobetzThe changes are coming fast at The Standard East Village (formerly the Cooper Square Hotel). A post on Craigslist calls for applicants for a variety of positions at the hotel that was officially purchased by Andre Balazs last month. The openings include “bartenders, barbacks, bussers and hosts for all shifts” in the restaurant. Appropriately enough, applicants should be able to “thrive in a stylish, fast-paced environment.”
Just yesterday the hotel finished removing a four-story mural by Shepard Fairey.
Joshua Davis Former patrons of Mars Bar customers gathered outside the now-closed bar Monday night for an impromptu candlelight vigil.Occasional customers and regulars at Mars Bar were shocked Monday night to learn that the Department of Health ordered the bar to close. City health inspectors found several sanitation violations and slapped a yellow “Closed” sticker on the bar’s front door Monday afternoon. Many East Villagers believe that Monday was the last time they’ll ever see Mars Bar open to the public.
Julie Turley, East Village resident since 1995 and a librarian at Borough of Manhattan Community College, said she loved the art on the walls at Mars Bar.
“I didn’t realize it was closing so soon. I don’t even drink really, but I always said if the Mars Bar closed, I would have to leave New York because it would be sort of the last slice of cake for that area — that represented this city’s grungy past. I never felt like I belonged there, but I’m still sad to see it go.”
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Michelle RickGood morning, East Village.
We start this morning with the neighborhood distilled into neat statistical form. Nabewise, a data Web site, posted a chart of the East Village’s best and worst attributes to Neighborhoodr. It scored highly in the singles and nightlife categories and poorly in the quiet and parking categories. Seems about right to us, but what do you reckon?
Over on NearSay, Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation posts an update on the former Sigmund Schwartz Gramercy Park Chapel building on Second Avenue. Once home to a funeral parlor, the site has been vacant for some years now. A Department of Buildings permit will give developers scope to add three extra storys to the building. The spot is between East Eighth and East Ninth Streets, so it falls outside the proposed historic preservation district.
Nearby, EV Grieve notes that the brownstone undergoing renovation on East 12th Street between Second and Third Avenues will become a Jewish cultural and education center, known simply as The Brownstone. According to its Web site, the center will partner with universities to offer 10-day and weekend programs.
On her Tumblr, writer Holly Hughes posted an intimate portrait of the WOW Café Theatre on East Fourth Street. She described the mini-memoir as “drafty, and partial” notes towards an introduction for a forthcoming WOW anthology, but it’s well worth a read in its current form.
Lastly, Fox reports that Ron Paul, the perennial presidential candidate, is gaining traction among East Village bartenders. The libertarian is proposing to make tips tax free, a policy sure to go down as smoothly as a cold beer on a hot day.
