This Blog Has Moved!

September is here and with the new month comes a sense of freshness — and here at 78thand2nd, we unveil our new website.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who’s been reading 78thand2nd over the past three months.  In August we saw a traffic tally that was 10 times that of June and we appreciate everyone who has dropped by, emailed in, commented and tipped us to neighborhood happenings.  It’s been a true pleasure to this point and I hope to hear from you all moving forward.

As for the new site, the biggest change is that we now have some ads, something we couldn’t do on a WordPress blog. The content of the site will stay the same, but we have a slightly different look, a result of exiting from WordPress.

We’ll be tweaking the new site in the coming days: fixing broken links, categories, adding a search function, features, and dealing with the typical growing pains of moving to a new server.

For those changing bookmarks – the url 78thand2nd.com will point to the new site in a day or two.  For now you can find the new site here.

Again, thank you to everyone who’s visited over the past three months – I look forward to the coming ones! And check out the new site here.

Best,
Chris
78thand2nd

UPDATE Sept. 7: Some folks have been under the impression that this blog (the one you’re reading) is the new 0ne — it’s not.  Our blog has moved as of Sept. 4 — but you can continue to visit us here: www.78thand2nd.com.  Same blog, just new address!  Come visit.

Bar Vespa Unveils Its Shiny Redness, Enoteca Di Leonardo Opens

 

How are those budding UES wine bars coming along, you ask? Well:  

1)  Last time we checked in on Bar Vepsa there wasn’t much to show — and now look at it!  It sits at 1609 2nd Ave., in all its unabated red glory.  Yes, it’s very, very red…and that’s quite a font they’ve got going on…and now I’ll always know what time it is when I’m on 2nd.  And it would appear they’re ahead of the “probably next year” opening we were told back in early August.

 2) Enoteca Di Leonardo, a new wine bar on 2nd Ave., between 81st and 82nd, kept good on its promise to “open soon” when it was unveiled last Friday.  A peek inside after the jump.

More:
UES Wine Bar Trend Continues [78thand2nd]
The (Almost) UES Wine Bar Trend [78thand2nd]

What’s The Deal With: Loui Loui, Cocktail Room, Abandoned Liquor Store

 
Former Loui Loui restaurant, next to Citarella

Below, a round-up of some recent ‘what’s the deal with’ questions from 78thand2nd readers from last week, followed by the latest updates. If you have an additional piece to the puzzle - enlighten us all in the comments section.

1) 75th and 3rd – Marshall wrote in last week asking what was going on with the former Loui Loui restaurant space on 75th and 3rd: “I heard a rumor that Citarella has purchased the space and plans to open its own restaurant there… any truth to that?”  That’s exactly what’s going on.  An inside source says Citarella bought the entire building and plans to open a restaurant in the space formerly held by Loui Loui.

Weekend Events

Saturday, September 1
1:00p.m. to 2:00p.m.
Multicultural Storytelling Series
The Peter Jay Sharp Children’s Glade
“Travel around the world from the Caribbean to Africa, to Scandinavia, Asia, and back to North America, with the impressive line-up of multicultural storytellers that A Clearing in the Forest programming offers families this summer.  Our artists’ incredible repertoires of oral histories come alive with interactive props and music for an all-around sensory experience.” 
FREE — for all ages. For more information, please call 212-860-1370.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/activities/specialevents

Sunday, September 2
4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m.
Harlem Meer Performance Festival
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (Inside the Park at 110^th between Fifth and Lenox Aves.)
“Join the Conservancy for the 14th season of this popular Sunday concert series that features the best in local emerging and established Latin, Jazz, World, and Gospel artists.”
http://www.centralparknyc.org/activities/specialevents

Red Sox/Yankees Alert Lifted

The three game series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox is over and the neighborhood ‘Red Sox/Yankees Alert’ is lifted.  The Yanks pounded Boston and came away with three wins — they’re now 5 games behind the Red Sox in the division – and positioned themselves for a playoff push over the next month.  The two teams meet again in two weeks for a three game series.

Links

· 10021 weather [weather.com]
· Le Pain Quotidien on 84th and Madison closed for ‘renovations’ [Eater.com]
· What’s the one year cost for PRESCHOOL at UES’s Dalton School? [N.Y. Post]
· Yankees catcher pays $3.6M for condo unit on 77th [BergProperties]
· LOST pink paisley wallet [Craigslist]
· LOST Michigan drivers license [Craigslist]

Panel To Decide UES Surgeon’s Fate In Sept

We haven’t heard much on Dr. Brad Jabobs since late June, when the state Department of Health suspended his license to practice medicine, and he was hit with various allegations of misconduct. The Village Voice has an indepth look into the case against Dr. Jacobs and a profile on the doctor. According to the piece, the doctor, over the course of the last eight years, has settled or lost at least 26 malpractice lawsuits filed against him, with more making their way through the courts.

According to the Voice:

Since late June, a panel of two doctors and one layman has been reviewing Jacobs’s case on behalf of the state Department of Health. They are considering whether to permanently revoke his license to practice medicine and are scheduled to render a decision at the end of September.

More:
UES Surgeon Gets License Suspended, Allegedly Smokes Meth With Patient [78thand2nd]

Red Sox/Yankees Alert: Day Two

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 last night at Yankees Stadium and the teams play the second game in the three game series tonight. The “Red Sox/Yankees Alert” is still in place.  Again, be on the look-out for a heightened level of public drunkenness, fights and noise disturbances in the neighborhood over the next few days, as the two team’s fans discuss their differences.  

Cool Tech: NYC Subway Google Map Hack

Found via our friend at SecondAveSagas, check out onNYTurf.com’s NYC Subway Google Map Hack if you’re in need of a quick and comprhensive look at the subway and PATH systems. The site’s owner is attempting an upgrade but is running into some roundblocks from the MTA. Read about the dust-up here.

Red Sox/Yankees Alert: Expect Misdemeanors, Noise Disturbances

Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez discusses a pitch with New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, 2003 ALCS.

The Boston Red Sox begin a three-game series against the Yankees tonight at Yankees Stadium. The stumbling Yanks, who’ve lost two in a row now, are eight games behind the Red Sox in the American League East – a number that’s got to have owner George Steinbrenner practicing his strangling techniques and fans yearning for decisive victories against the Sox in the coming days. A three game sweep against Boston would position the Yanks nicely for a run at winning the division, and securing a playoff spot when the season comes to a close in about a month.

If you’ve lived in New York or Boston since 2003, you’ve undoubtedly noticed a heightened rivalry – not between the teams, that’s always been there – but between the fans, which only seems to be getting worse.

I think the feeling can be best explained by a guy I saw in the men’s room at Yankees Stadium the last time Red Sox were in town. The inebriated, and obviously well-bred Yankees fan, was urinating in a restroom sink as his son watched, as he tried to explain how the other half lived:

I hate Boston. They’re awful fans. I’ve been to Fenway. Red Sox fans have no class.

And the sentiment would be described on both sides in a similar way given the right circumstance. Therefore, it’s only fitting that we institute a “Red Sox/Yankees Alert” whenever the Red Sox, who grabbed headlines last week by superseding the Yankee’s as “America’s Team” according to USA Today, play the Yankees.

UESers: be ready for heightened baseball statistics chatter, increased levels of gambling and of course, lots of drinking, public drunkenness, misdemeanors and fistfights over the next three days.