*Everyday Chatter

Update on the passing of Taxi Ray Kottner: I heard from his niece Maria via email, who informs us that Ray "went into cardiac arrest while sitting in his cab late Saturday night" and passed the following morning. His ashes will be interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, sharing a mausoleum with the remains of luminaries like Judy Garland and Joan Crawford. Writes his niece, "So maybe it's fitting that he is ending up in the same final resting place as all of these other icons of his era." Indeed. But why is VNY thus far the only one to cover the passing of this New York icon?

Things are not going well these days for Mosaic Man Jim Power. He's got some signs on his lamp posts requesting donations, saying "We're out of funds," and some of his art on 8th Street has been vandalized. Bowery Arts & Science is sponsoring him. Contact them for info on how to donate:


East Village crime spree--the Blue & Gold was robbed. [DBTH]

Read about the purification of Gramercy Park--let's see if Jackson Square Park turns into such a sanitized oasis as the condstrosity moves in. [Gothamist]

Columbia has begun crushing parts of Harlem in its fist. [Curbed]

Cooper Square Hotel voted ugliest building in town. No argument there. [AMNY]

Happy Birthday Bowery Boys!

New Bear Stearns uniform: "a polo shirt, a sport coat, and incongruous manacles." [NYO]

As conjectured by commenters and today confirmed by a photo-tipster, that mystery Mexican-Moroccan storefront at 2nd Ave and 11th is so very much a real estate office: