Yorkville Blog (Upper East Side, New York City)

Yoga Studios in your own Home

2011-07-01T08:50:00.002-04:00

There are a number of yoga studios on the upper east side. Pure Yoga is the most notable with its exterior grass wall on 86th street. Others like Bikram Yoga NYC and Earth Yoga have good followings.

But what if you want to practice yoga at 11pm when you finally get home from work? Or just don't feel like leaving the apartment? The latest way to do yoga from home is through video chat with a yoga instructor. You see the instructor demonstrate the poses and they can see you and give feedback. NowLesson has a long list of yoga instructors available through webcam video sessions.

It is perfect for the hectic weeks when your schedule keeps you too busy to go to the local yoga studio or in the too cold NY winters and too hot NYC summers when you just don't want to leave the apartment building.

All natural soft serve

2011-06-22T11:12:00.003-04:00

If you like keeping your food all natural, check out The Soft Serve Fruit Company.

This dessert place takes soft serve back to basics. It is all made with just fruit, water and sugar. That makes it dairy free and fat free.

The result is a very sweet treat. I felt it needed a glass of water to go with it. But if you want a treat without the guilt of fat and dairy, it hits the spot.

What rent are your Upper East Side neighbors paying?

2010-09-22T09:45:00.003-04:00

There are a couple sites out there that will give you very general averages for rent in Manhattan. They'll tell you what the average rent is for a non-doorman UES studio, for example. But what if you want to know how much you should be paying for you third-floor walk-up studio in the East 80's three blocks from the subway?

ApartmentHero can answer just that question. Enter the details for your apartment, and it will show you how it compares. It takes into account what floor you live on, building features, and your exact neighborhood.

The average rent data is calculated from a database of what New Yorkers are currently actually paying for rent -- not what vacant apartments are listing for.

DTUT replaced by wine bar Cafe Notte

2008-01-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

They mystery over the space formerly occupied by DTUT has been solved. And it's opening Monday.

Cafe Notte is set to continue the free wifi hangout, but a bit more upscale. Expect a greater emphasis on the wine and food.

A restaurant in the middle

2008-01-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

Today, more information on the building that Georgica, the cantilevered condo building, surrounds. The owner of Baraonda, Per Lei, and Bella Blue is opening a new restaurant named Ciabella.

The restaurateur said he hopes that Ciaobella's décor will attract young Yorkville residents; a red mosaic bar, dark wood floors, and a red crocodile-patterned ceiling adorn the new space.

UES Cantilever Bldg Has a Name: Georgica?

2008-01-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

It is by far one of our least favorite names for a new condo development. According to the banners hung around 305 E 85th st, the cantilevered building The Ascend Group is developing will be called "Georgica".

The website is quite vague at this point
http://www.georgicalife.com/

Based on the page's HTML description it seems they are looking to target families.

The new luxury Upper East Side development. This is Georgica. Residential couture. Contoured to the modern family. Spacious, expansive, multidimensional. The new Upper East Side.

Is DT-UT coming back? Applies for wine license

2007-09-25T10:53:00.000-04:00

DTUT closed its doors months ago when their lease doubled to $20,000 a month. But they've now applied to renew their wine license.

Could they be staging a comeback?
Did they apply for the renewal before shutting down?
Another explanation

Absolut Second Avenue

2007-07-08T15:06:00.000-04:00

The ad on this bus stop caught our eye. It's on a bus stop at 2nd ave and 86th st. Really quite clever. The tag line says "In an Absolut world" and there is a photo of a subway entrance. Look closely though and you'll see that its an entrance to the T line and the street sign says "2 Av".

True indeed. We're eagerly awaiting the second avenue subway.

Just around the corner from the bus stop, is the intersection where they took the photo in the ad. So, it truly is a photo of 2nd avenue.

A very clever ad with some local flair. Will the campaign work? Unfortunatlely, we've walked by the bus stop a couple times and never seen anyone else look twice at it. Nobody seems to notice.

UES Construction Porn: Brompton and Lucida

2007-07-08T14:27:00.000-04:00

A little bit of construction porn for all the UES real estate fans out there. The Brompton and The Lucida are competing to be the new condo diva of 86th st. These two lux condos are going up only one block apart from eachother. We checked in on them to see how they are shaping up.

The Lucida

They've dug deep for the foundation of The Lucida. Counting the layers of scalfolding in the pit, it seems to be about 7-stories down. Room for underground parking perhaps?

The Brompton

Based on construction progress alone, The Brompton has a clear lead in this race. Crews are finishing up the 6th floor of concrete.

DTUT Closing. NYC's Fave Coffee Shop Loses Lease

2007-06-21T21:01:00.000-04:00

Say it ain't so! The latest case of a Manhattan favorite losing its lease is DTUT in Yorkville. The coffee shop on 85th and 2nd seems to always be full despite the large space. Folks come for the great coffee, good beer selection and fun desserts, but mostly because its a great place to lounge around and work or chat.

Now DTUT is closing its doors. Signs around the coffee shop announce that this Sunday, June 24th, is their last day open. They seem to have lost their lease.

Hopefuly, the nearby M Rohrs coffee shop on 86th (between 2nd and 1st) survives. While not a perfect substitute for the beloved DTUT, Rohrs also offers a comfortable coffee shop with an indy vibe.

Leave a comment if this saddens you as much as it does me.

Caught on tape: Rats at 82nd st Pinkberry

2007-06-19T16:51:00.000-04:00

I don't like the sour taste of their frozen yogurt, but now there is another reason not to like Pinkberry. Eyewitness News caught mice red handed running aroung the shop's 82nd st location

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5398637

Movie Filming outside Heidelberg

2007-06-18T12:15:00.000-04:00

Heidelberg, the German bar on 2nd ave and 86th, seems to have quite a film crew outside it today.

Anybody know the scoop on what they may be filming?

Community Board Discusses 2nd Ave Subway

2007-03-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

The Second Ave subway is perhaps the single most important project on the Upper East Side right now. It will shape the character of the neighborhoring businesses, the value of real estate and residents' overall quality of life. And unlike many transportation projects, this one seems to be right on schedule -- occasionaly early even.

Tonight (March 27) at 7pm the local community board has another meeting to discuss plans for the new line. They will be covering:
- A general project update
- 63rd st Station
- The contractor
- Impact to neighboring businesses.
More details

Restaurant, Bar and Entertainment Highlights

2007-03-21T19:54:00.000-04:00

After much extremely scientific analysis, here's what we've decided are the top spots in Yorkville. What do you think are the best places in the neighborhood? Your comments are always welcome.

Entertainment

Comic Strip Live [1568 Second Ave]

City Cinemas [210 E. 86th St]

AMC Loews Orpheum [1538 Third Ave]

UA East [1629 First Ave]

Food

Pio Pio [1746 1ST Ave]

Poke [305 E 85TH St]

Zocalo [174 E 82nd St]

Beyoglu [1431 3rd Ave]

DTUT (Actualy, it's a coffe shop) [1626 2nd Ave]

Bars

Brandy's Piano Bar [235 East 84th Street]

Heidelberg [1648 2nd Ave]

The Auction House [300 E 89th St]

Uptown Lounge [1576 3rd Ave ]

Inside Edition: Rats at Papaya King

2007-03-20T16:58:00.000-04:00

Yuck! Inside Edition went patrolling the streets of New York looking for rats in city restaurants. According to Gothamist.com, the cameras found them at a bunch of restaurants including Papaya King, the popular Upper East Side hotdog joint on 86th and 3rd.

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/03/20/forget_the_doh.php

Papaya King's President, Daniel Horan, told INSIDE EDITION that mice are a
citywide problem that restaurants grapple with everyday. He adds, "During
seventy-five years in business, we have continuously maintained and exceeded all
city health requirements," and says "food is kept in secure storage facilities
that is safe and sealed from all contamination. To this end, we stand by the
quality and safety of our restaurants."

http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/reports/story.aspx?storyid=672

Is this really just a common problem we should all just accept?

Extell's "The Lucida" condo gets a website

2007-03-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

The Lucida, Excell Development Company's new building on 151 E 85th st now has a website: www.thelucida.com. "A new vision for modern living on the Upper East Side"

The site doesn't give any new details. Just a registration form.

NYPD puts up SkyWatch tower in UES

2007-03-19T10:42:00.000-04:00

Just noticed this morning that the NYPD's creepiest crime fighting tool has hit the streets of the Upper East Side. There's a police Sky Watch now looking over the corner of 86th and 2nd. Is there more crime in the area than we are aware of?

NY Post offers up the state of the UES construction

2007-03-12T19:45:00.000-04:00

The New York Post has a story with a nice overview of all the recent construction in the neighborhood. They paint the landscape of all the buildings going up in the Yorkville area. Here's our bullet pointed version...

First, the ones we have posted about already:

Lucida on 86th and Lexington. Built by Extell.
The Brompton on 86th and 3rd. Built by Related.
Cantilevered L-shaped property on 85th and 2nd. Sold by Eastern Consolidated.

And the ones we haven't yet discussed here (but should):

Legacy on 84th and 3rd. Built by Core Development Group.
The New Yorker on 83rd and 3rd
Maison East on 81nd and 3rd
300 E 79th on 79th and 2nd

There's definitely a lot going on. The real question we have is how the new construction plus the existing landscape will add up into some sort of neighborhood character. Will the area be defined by simply having shiney new buildings with big box retailers underneath? Or is there a way to incorporate something uniquely Yorkville into all this? Perhaps some sort of hint of the nabe's Eastern European roots.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03082007/realestate/the_eastern_block_realestate_katherine_dykstra.htm?page=1

Second Avenue Subway Breaking Ground Soon

2007-03-12T00:15:00.000-04:00

Take that naysayers. The T line is coming soon.

AM NY is reporting that the MTA is expected to sign the first contstruction contract for the new 2nd ave subway line on March 29th. And work is going to start immediately after that. Huzzah!

Yorkville residents, however, better brace themselves for major construction disruptions.

Two lanes of traffic on Second Avenue between 96th Street and 92rd Street will be closed to vehicles while workers relocate utility pipes and cables, according to Mysore Nagaraja, president of MTA Capital Construction.

Then six to eight months later at 93rd Street, workers will dig a massive hole to lower a tunnel boring machine 70 feet down. All the while, trucks will be delivering supplies such as steel, timber and cement while hauling away tons and tons of dirt and rock.

Aboveground work is authorized between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. while tunneling will continue 24-7 below ground.

AMNY

We're expecting the T line to have a real positive impact for real estate prizes east of 2nd avenue.

Find stuff in Yorkville with AskCity

2007-03-08T10:47:00.000-05:00

Looking for a bar, restaurant or shop in Yorkville?

Here's an easy way to find them:
AskCity for Yorkville. Just type in what you're looking for in the box on the left. Example: Sushi

Ask.com has a new feature that lets you search within a specified area of their maps. So you can click on the link above to search just within the outline of Yorvkille in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Co-op Price Reduction: 25 E 86th st

2007-03-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

New York Magazine highlights a UES one-bedroom in their Daily Intelligencer. The pre-war co-op just dropped 20% to $985,000. Lack of a second bathroom could be the reason:

"So why have buyers given it the cold shoulder all this time? A few light-deprived rooms and just one bathroom could be a deal-breaker for families"

New York Magazine (spotted by Curbed)

Gracie Square

2007-03-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

The New York Times has an article on the real estate section today on the history of Gracie Square. The building was built to look from the outside like a set of individual buildings.

What purchasers got on the outside was a single structure so variously adorned that it looked like half a dozen. The Gracie Square side is an interlocking puzzle of vertical runs of quoining, horizontal courses of stone, irregular balconies and oddly placed moldings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/realestate/04scap.html?ref=realestate

Extell's 86th st Development in Progress

2007-03-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

Here are photos of the construction in progress for Extell's new luxury condo buliding at 86th and Lexington.

I don't know much about the building yet, but there was an article about it some time back:

Extell Development’s luxury condominium at 150 East 86th will offer shiny new retail space of 100,000 square feet, 30,000 of which will be taken up by a new branch of Swedish clothing retailer H&M. Barnes & Noble—which plans on closing two nearby stores—will claim 55,000 more square feet, for a store only slightly smaller than the behemoth in Union Square. The new location will be one of the “real motherships for the company,” said Mitchell Klipper, the book chain’s chief operating officer.

from The New York Observer

View of Brompton construction

2007-03-04T15:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a nice sunny day and a great opportunity to take some photos of the area. Here's the site of the Brompton condos on 86th and 3rd ave.

How low can you go?

2007-03-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

And what is the cheapest we can find in Yorkville? According to Trulia, its this cramped co-op studio for $285,000.

The floorplan shows off its 8' x 6' cell of a "sleeping alcove" and the slightly smaller "dressing room".

Unfortunately its $842 maintenance is hardly cheap.

Now, StreetEasy finds cheaper. This oh-so-small $249,000 co-op is smaller and cheaper. And its small price tag is matched with an also low $539 maintenance fee.

Yet it actually has a bedroom carved out in the floor plan.

813 Park Ave

2007-03-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

What does $16 million get you on the Upper East Side?
How about a 4-floor condo with private elevator, four bedrooms, six bathrooms and two patios.

The building appears to have belonged to P Diddy at one point. And international model Kylie Travis has been linked to an address in the building.

Penthouse listing: http://www.stribling.com/propinfo.asp?webid=950034&type=SALE

Building site: http://www.813parkave.com/

92nd st Y expanding to downtown

2007-03-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

The headline "92nd Y is Tribeca Bound" scared me" until I read on and realized that it is an expansion not an abdandonment of their Upper East Side home. The 92nd st Y, the prominent cultural center on the Upper East, doesn't seem to be moving their main location. Rather they are moving some of their programs that are currently run in the Upper West to a nice new building in Tribeca.

http://therealestate.observer.com/2007/03/92nd-y-is-tribeca-bound.html

UES coffee shops

2007-02-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

ChowHound has a nice thread going on best spots to kick back with a cup of coffee.

My favorite is always DTUT, with its comfortable couches and friendly atmosphere.

Yours? See http://www.chowhound.com/topics/374087

NY Post describes the neighborhood's Price Points

2007-02-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

One part "Breakfast at Tiffany's," one part "Animal House," Yorkville attracts the post-college set with its cheap rents.

That's how the NY Post described Yorkville in Lisa Key's Price Points article this month.

And what is the price point? $1,600 - $2,000 to rent a walkup and $2,750 to $3,000 for the luxury of a doorman building.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02012007/realestate/price_points_realestate_lisa_keys.htm?page=4 (Page 4 of the article)

Cheap eats

2007-02-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

Metblogs has a list of ten places to eat for under $10 in Yorkville. Some of our favorite places -- like Pio Pio and Burritoville -- made their list as well as a few that we haven't tried yet.

http://nyc.metblogs.com/archives/2007/02/10_for_10_upper.phtml
A couple others we reccomend:

Pita Grill (2nd Ave and 83rd) has great healthy mediterranean food.
Blockheads Burritos (2nd Ave and 81st) is my go to place for delivery
Nina's Argentinian Pizza (2nd Ave and 91st) is a small pizza place with a unique menu and great atmosphere

Final chapter in Yorkville murder

2007-02-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

The final chapter was written last week in the case of one of the worst crimes in recent Yorkville memory. Paul Cortez, 26, was convicted of killing Catherine Woods in her Yorkville apartment.

Prosecutors said that on Nov. 27, 2005, Mr. Cortez slipped into Ms. Woods’s
building on East 86th Street in Manhattan between 6 and 7 p.m., after her
hometown boyfriend and roommate, David Haughn, had gone out to get his car.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/nyregion/16cortez.html

If "Wine For Dummies" opened a store

2007-02-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

I'm no connoseiur, so when I do have the occasional desire to buy a bottle of wine, I'm always stopped in my tracks by the overwhelming selection of bottles at the supermarket or wine shop. Usually its shelf after shelf of wine with an occasional card attached to describe a particular wine.

Then I discovered Best Cellars on 87th and Lexington. They make it simple. The whole store has maybe about 100 wines, all under $15. They did all the work to narrow the selection down to just the best wines. Why should you wade through a huge selection to discover good ones yourself? And even better, the wines are organized along an easy spectum. Whites go from fresh to soft to luscious. And reds fo from juicy to smooth, big and sweet. Simple.

JetBlue seems to think they're cool too; Best Cellars is providing the wines on JetBlue flights.

http://www.bestcellars.com/

Pinkberry opens on the Upper East

2007-02-21T19:41:00.000-05:00

My love hate for Pinkberry...

Pinkberry opened up a shiny new location on the Upper East Side (2nd ave b/w 81st and 82nd) serving all-natural frozen yogurt.

Love it because it is bringing a trendy and innovative new place to Yorkville. It has fun toys on the shelves as decoration, cool music, and unique toppings like capt'n crunch cereal or fresh kiwi.

Hate it because it is the only frozen yogurt I've tried that actually tastes like - yikes - yogurt! Apparently I'm odd though, because folks always seem to be in line for the stuff. I gave it a shot a couple times and just can't get over that sour yogurty taste.

Oh well, I really wanted to like it. But for those that like the taste of yogurt, its a great place to stop before going to Comic Strip Live across the street for a show.

http://www.pinkberry.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/dining/21pink.html?ex=1172725200&en=7520bfd5f0317255&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVERFEATURES

Unique L-shaped property on 85th and 2nd

2007-02-21T19:34:00.000-05:00

A few months ago we started noticing a strange pattern of stores closing on the corner of 85th and 2nd. Normaly stores losing their leases would probably just mean that they couldn't afford the rising property value. But in this case, they were closing right next to eachother on both 85th st and 2nd ave. Siegel's deli closed. Sotto Cinque moved. A dry cleaners moved. BUT, the tenant at the corner, Panorama Cafe, stayed put.

Now we know why. The L-Shaped property around Panorama is being sold.

This ±6,300 square feet L-shaped parcel is poised for a ±105,000 square feet
future residential development.
.. Residential F.A.R.: 10.0(up to 12 FAR with inclusionary housing) Commercial F.A.R.: 2.0

http://www.easternconsolidated.com/listingdetail.php?listing_id=427 (see the listing for a map)

Offers were due Feb 7, 2007 but the listing page is still up.

The Brompton - Related's new Condo on 86th and Third

2007-02-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

The Robert A M Stern designed condominium building being built by Related Sales now has a website. They're calling it The Brompton.

http://www.thebromptonnyc.com

The site has almost no details except:

They expect a fall 2008 occupancy
It will have studios, 1, 2, 3, 4, bedrooms and penthouses
"Traditional yet modern interior"
And they really like calling it "Proper". Perhaps they're trying to conjure up images of the more old-money section of the neighborhood, but truth is that area is a couple blocks to the west near Park and 5th Ave.

Kid Fresh

2007-02-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Did I say Bar 84? I meant Kid Fresh.

The new tenant of the old Elk Candy store is an innovative little place called Kid Fresh. It's a food store selling healthy meals for children. The kind of thing that I can only imagine succeeding in a happily wealthy neighborhood. The place looks more like a toy store than grocery and makes such fun foods as sandwiches cut into little shapes. I bet its really popular for afterschool snacks.

Commerce Bank vs HSBC

2007-02-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

Two banks just a block apart. Both HSBC and Commerce Bank are on 85th and 3rd. Banking there couldnt be any different though.

I went to Commerce Bank first. I don't have an account there, but heard I could bring in my coins for some crisp bills. So I went over with a big stash of coins that have been collecting on my dresser for the last year. Not only do they have an easy machine to use free of charge, but there was no line at the teller when I went to trade in my receipt for the cash. Everyone there was all smiles and helpful. There's even lolipops for the kids and dog treats for the pets.

Now HSBC, I do have an account at. I went to take care of something at the ATM. It didn't have the option I needed. So I went to the teller and waited in the huge line to see the one or two tellers. Not sure how long passed while in line but I went through about 5 games of soliatire on my cell phone while waiting. And when I got to the teller he said he couldn't help me. Try customer service. Line there? Of course. Able to help me? Nope.

Next time I need to open an account, I know where its going to be.

Elk Candy makes room for Bar 84

2006-08-02T21:01:00.000-04:00

So what will fill the empty Manhattan storefront where the much-mourned Elk Candy once stood?

According to the work permits in the windows, the place is being worked on by a company named "Bar 84 LLC." Looks like another watering hole it is. The committee meeting over their liquor liscence is tonight.

Construction begins on Manhattan's 86th and 3rd intersection

2006-08-02T01:38:00.000-04:00

The construction project on 86th and 3rd is finally underway. After sitting abandoned for months, there is a sudden furious amount of activity at the intersection. Scalfolding is going up and the building, located in the heart of Yorkville, is coming down. Demolition crews went to work on it first thing in the morning.

Possible development in Yorkville: 2nd ave b/w 85th - 86th

2006-06-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

A Curbed reader has the scoop on some more possible development in Yorkville.

"Lately the Copycats copy shop on the east side of 85th and Second has been displaying a sign saying that they were closing because the building was coming down."

Apparently, it may be a low probability.

"One answer was that a developer had bought the building and was trying to buy the neighboring buildings, but had been rebuffed on the south by the owners of Panorama Cafe on the corner (an old bank building). To the north, Schaller and Weber and the Heidelberg restaurant (among the last commercial remnants of old Yorkville) have also declined..."

Will have to keep an eye out. On the 3rd ave and Lex ave corners, stores on those corners closed one by one over a short period of time to make room for pending consturction. We'll see if that happens here.

Where best to watch the German World Cup on the Upper East Side?

2006-06-11T23:04:00.000-04:00

The World Cup this year is being played in Germany. So where can one find a good place to watch it on the Upper East Side? Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch went to the Heidelberg in Yorkville (2nd ave b/w 85th and 86th).

I am more than 4,000 miles from Munich's World Cup Stadium but when I arrive shortly after 11 a.m., I am feeling distinctly Deutsch. There are roughly 70 people at the restaurant, probably 30 percent German and one percent Red Bull. Veteran MLS player Steve Jolley, who has played against most of the members of the U.S. National team, is wearing a Bayern Munich jersey and sitting near one of the televisions. Like a one-man soccer Aesop, he will blog about his bar travels in New York City throughout the month.

Someone big is moving to yorkville

2006-05-19T18:48:00.000-04:00

Judging by the size of this new single family building being built in Yorkville, I'd say the new owner is quite well off. It's going up on 86th and York right across from the Carl Schurz park.

http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/05/18/planning_a_channel_into_yorkvilles_channel_club.php#more

Tim Robbins films on location

2006-05-08T21:27:00.000-04:00

Tim Robbins was on the Upper East Side today filming on location. Filming for the upcoming movie Noise took place on 85th st between 2nd and 3rd ave. The movie is about a man who loves New York but can't stand the noise of the city.

I snapped some photos during and between takes:

Carl Schurz Park

2006-03-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Down by the waterfront, Yorkville has a really nice park. Carl Schurz Park runs from 84th st to 90th st along the East River. It has a litlte bit of something for everyone:
* A riverfront esplenade with plenty of room for jogging and casual strolling
* Basketball court
* A very large playground for kids
* Dog play areas for canines large and small
* Gracie Mansion, the official New York City mayor's residence

Some photos from the park in March:

DTUT

2006-03-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

DTUT: 1626 Second Avenue (between 84th & 85th)

Guess I'm the last one to get the memo: DTUT is the coffee shop in the neighborhood. I grabbed my cup of coffee and spend a few minutes hovering through the nooks and crannies of this coffee shop looking for a free spot amongst all the places to sit. But it seems all of Yorkville goes to DTUT and so the tables were full of people with laptops enjoying the free wi-fi and the array of mismatched sofas were bustling with people chatting and reading. I settled into a comfy armchairs and read my book. Or as much reading as I could do surrounded by a million conversations. This definitely isn't your quiet study hall coffee shop. In a city with such tiny expensive apartments, coffee shops like this are everyone's surrogate living room. I think this is going to be my goto place for meeting up with people to chat.
http://www.dtut.com/
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/11274274/new_york_ny/dt_ut.html

Poke moves

2006-03-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

I was always intrigued by the tiny sushi restaurant Poke. I always saw the tiny space packed to the limits with customers. Considering it couldn't hold more than 20 people at a time, that may not seem like a huge accomplishment but it was consistently that full. Well before I could get a chance to try them out they moved locations. Luckily it is only a few feet down the block. They're now at a much, much larger space on 349 E 85th st.

They just moved there last week and already it is filling up the new space! I gave them a try and really enjoyed the sushi. It has great sushi with a menu that tends towards the inventive. But like most high quality sushi it is slightly expensive. I'm definitely going back.

Change is underway

2006-03-15T23:51:00.000-05:00

Each of the signs hanging in the windows of the closed down stores on 86th st say simply that the store has closed or moved. One might have thought that it was coincidence or simply a sign of a bad economy. (see NY Sun) But the economy is doing well and this is a bustling neighborhood.

The NY Times reports the explanation. The stores have closed down to make way for two new buildings. An apartment building is going up on Lexington Ave between 85th and 86th. On 3rd Ave and 86th st another condo building will go up.

I look forward to the further gentrification.