Seen & Heard: The April Fool’s Post

••• Last Sunday was April Fool’s Day, which I always take as an opportunity to try and encourage people to read to the end of every post—which is another way of saying that everything in Sunday’s “Seen & Heard” post was fake. Whole Foods doesn’t carry the National Enquirer (yet); there’s no Instagram account devoted to local poop scofflaws (beyond the one I created); the post office isn’t reducing its number of mailboxes (or at least hasn’t announced it); there’s no prize for having lived in Tribeca the longest (unless you bought real estate way back when); and so on. P.S. If you’ve only come to this site in recent years, you might enjoy the April Fool’s post from 2014, a TCQ&A with Amanda Culpepper. It holds up.

••• As Jennifer pointed out, there’s signage up for the Starbucks at 108 Chambers. (See below.) And I may have been wrong to think Vitamin Shoppe couldn’t possibly be “coming soon,” because shelves are already up. Two thoughts: I can’t recall retail spaces being open while a 10-story building was under construction above, and I’m surprised Starbucks took the non-corner spot on Church.

••• After I posted about Frenchette, with a menu that had no prices, the restaurant put one on its website with prices. Et voilà.

••• I heard back from Ato restaurant about A Tea Room, its spin-off tea shop at 15 Wooster, just above Canal: “We are just a few weeks out from launching the tea café. It is a quiet block where we hope to bring some life and energy. Some of the finest teas that are directly imported from Japan will be offered and also we will serve some unique tea drinks and sweets as well. Another highlight of the tea room will be the ceramic wares, which are all hand selected from different local artists in Japan.”

••• At the Flea from April 20 to 22: “What does it mean to be a woman in the times of the #metoo and #timesup movements? What would our historical sisters have to say about it? From Sappho and Hildegard von Bingen to present day, this classical cabaret explores some of the innermost thoughts, desires, dreams, and experiences of women through music and poetry. Opera on Tap makes its Flea debut as an Anchor Partner, presenting a diverse program of classical song in their signature fresh, heartfelt, and entertaining style.” Tickets.

••• Opening April 5 at Bortolami: “Human Applause,” curated by Nicolás Guagnini. There’s no info about it beyond a list of seven artists.

 

1 Comment

  1. 108 Chambers was originally filed as a one story building that was later expanded to 10 stories. (This was probably done for either financial reasons, such as expansion flexibility or construction loan timing, or for regulatory reasons, such as resolving the foundation conflicts with the nearby subway tracks or avoiding the zoning and code requirements triggered by a full new building filing at DOB in favor of calling it a mere “alteration” of an existing structure as Nike did at Broadway and Spring.)

    As such, if the mechanical systems, etc. for the retail stores were all designed for the original 1 story building not to penetrate their ceilings or use the roofs, like the old Subway on Hudson between Beach and Hubert, there would be no construction reason why they could not stage the retail openings prior to the residential space above being finished. If they close in the facades above, they can get rid of the ugly sidewalk sheds, too.