Seen & Heard: Maison Kayser Opening Forecast

••• Maison Kayser posted on Facebook that it’s shooting for an August opening (in the former Harrison space). Also, the rendering above; click to enlarge.

••• The Duane Reade at Broadway and Duane got a new storefront. I thought it looked pretty good (or at least better) in person, but the photo makes it seem sort of overwhelming.

Duane Reade 305 Broadway••• Lulu sent in the pic below in response to my complaint that AT&T doesn’t always open its plaza at 33 Thomas: “This weekend’s use as employee parking surely must be a violation of the public plaza rules.” I think the problem is that it’s not a public plaza. I’ve never seen it discussed by CB1, which is the only entity I know that could offer guidance on whether t he public has any rights vis-à-vis the space.

ATT Long Lines 33 Thomas Plaza by Lulu••• Public service announcement: The cork recycling bin has been removed from Whole Foods’s West Street entrance, but you can drop corks off at the customer service desk.

••• Imperial Coffee House has been “temporarily closed,” as per a sign in the window. Usually that’s cause for concern, but the signs originally said it was because the restaurant had no gas, and this morning a Con Ed truck was parked in front. (And of course the construction outside has been ever-present.) That said, fans of the place should brace themselves for what seems to be an unavoidable closing; City Hall Wine & Spirits next door moved for a reason, and single-story buildings around these parts are heading toward extinction faster than white rhinos.

Imperial Coffee House

 

4 Comments

  1. Imperial Coffee House has no one to blame but themselves if they close.

    1. They should’ve bought the building decades ago.

    2. They close at 6pm every day and aren’t open Sundays. Would it have hurt them to be open ’til later and on Sundays?

    3. They don’t deliver yet have at least five workers there.

    I liked the place but their hours sucked and no delivery or Sundays made me not support it as much as I would have liked to.

    Terrible management.

  2. I always assumed that the ATT plaza was part of a zoning variance deal to build higher (like Mandarin Plaza at Broadway and White). The ATT plaza is a sad place, I think – designed more for minimal maintenance than public enjoyment. Would be very nice to have something really green and nice there.

  3. I remember the ATT Plaza when it was open to the public 24/7. I walked through it daily. This was in the late eighties and most of the 90s. Right after 9/11 it was chained close. Surely the risk of an attack on this plaza is close to nil at this point. I would love to see someone challenge them on their horrendous record of managing this public space. FYI it is listed on this nyc gov map of privately owned public plazas. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/pops/pops_map.pdf

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