lower-east-side

Speedballs Deadly; Heroin Still Okay

Jessica · 08/25/05 09:46AM

A medical examiner's report has ruled that college students Mellie Carbalo and Maria Pesantez overdosed on speedballs — that tasty, evergreen mix of heroin and cocaine — and not on a poisoned batch of heroin. While we're relieved to hear that our smack supply isn't any more vicious than usual, a little part of us is secretly disappointed. If the girls died from a Belushi-approved drug cocktail, that's probably the end of any talk about a particularly deadly batch of heroin (unless another couple of young, attractive women die). And if there's no deadly heroin epidemic to which we can latch on, it seriously threatens our theory that NYC IS EDGY.

NYC Increasingly Hardcore

Jessica · 08/23/05 08:24AM

So maybe you didn't believe us last week when we proclaimed that NYC IS EDGY again — granted, the slew of drug overdoses and recent murder were all confined to downtown neighborhoods, mostly in or around the Lower East Side. You're above 14th Street, perhaps chilling in Murray Hill, maybe domesticating yourself around the Upper East or West Sides. You're busy hitting the gym, eating at Zen Palate or something, and the new, gritty NYC isn't your problem. Just mind your own business, go check out a lecture at the 92nd Street Y, maybe finish your evening with a stop at Tasti D Lite. Keep on living the good life.

Heroin Arrest Has Little to Do With Actual Heroin

Jessica · 08/19/05 10:30AM

The latest in our round-the-clock coverage of EDGY NYC: 33-year-old Alfredo Morales has been arrested in connection with the drug-related deaths of Mellie Nicole Carballo and Maria Pesantez, both 18. The girls were found unconscious on Friday after reportedly injecting a nasty speedball, assumed to be derived from the same batch of highly-potent (or poisoned) heroin responsible for the recent slew of junkies gone to heaven.

Remainders: Starring Mariah Carey as Norma Desmond

Jessica · 08/18/05 05:45PM

• Does Mariah Carey insist on being a size 6 at all costs? One bloggy type notes that for a recent fashion shoot, a magazine staff had to replace all the size 12 labels in items before presenting the outfits to her highness. [Andrea Harner]
• In an article about gay men, we find the following lede to be particularly poignant: "The conversation over tossed salad, dinner rolls and iced tea was about dating." Oh, we bet it was. [NYT]
• Now that Diddy has dropped the "P" to his name, will other celebrities follow suit? Aris suits Ms. Hilton rather nicely, we think. [Radar]
• Moby blogs about the murder in front of his Teany cafe; maintains innocence. [Moby]
• Did you know there was a strike still going on regarding the projectionists at the IFC Center? Neither did we, but apparently it's over. [Reeler]
• "Men's Vogue is designed to be bought by the wives of the men targeted by Men's Vogue." [Bitchless Blog]
• We've been to more media parties of this ilk than we'd care to count. [Gaping Void]

Murder at Teany: The Aftermath

Jessica · 08/18/05 07:58AM

The traditional news outlets finally shed some light on yesterday's murder outside of celebrity vegan teahouse Teany; the victim, 40-year-old George Dresche, was "a down-and-out heroin addict with a long criminal record." (Sadly, we just knew heroin would have something to do with this.) Teany employee Roger Peffley — who, we must point out, is a musician who performs under the name Roger Human Being — was opening the teahouse when he saw Dresche:

Breaking: Stabbing Outside of Teany

Jessica · 08/17/05 01:35PM


Bad news for downtown scenesters wanting a $12 cup of tea and a vegan muffin: At approximately 9 AM this morning, someone was stabbed on Rivington Street between Orchard and Ludlow, just outside of downtown technobaldie Moby's Teany teahouse.

Remainders: C'mon, a White Mocha Ain't Gonna Hurt

Jessica · 08/08/05 05:10PM

• Why the Starbucks on Allen and Delancey matters, and a handy map of other coffee alternatives. Unfortunately, none of them serve Frappucinos. Damned if you, damned if you don't. [Alternet]
• We thought that new Radar cover looked familiar. In a Saint Sebastian sort of way. [Esquire]
• An invaluable lesson in the pronounciation of Zagat's. [Eater]
• If you love us, you'll buy us an airbrushed Anderson Cooper t-shirt. [Encyclopedia Hanasiana]
• Has the Sunday Times become the "thinking man's Stuff?" [Verbose Coma]
• Surprisingly enough, the New York Regrettable Film Festival does not actually exist. [Banterist]
• "Watching Tucker Carlson's new promos for his time slot change is a little like watching Katie Holmes conduct an interview: You sit there feeling embarrassed for him." [Jossip]

LES Starbucks Arrives at Allen and Delancey

Jessica · 08/05/05 12:26PM

Next stop, Gentrification Station!
It's official, the end of an era, the beginning of the end, whatever what have you: Starbucks has slinked down to 10002, aka Gawker HQ. Hoping (and admittedly fearing) that it was all a hoax or, perhaps, an elaborate set for a Lindsay Lohan video, we ventured into broad daylight for some reportage. According to the charming workmen inside, the northeast corner of Allen and Delancey is now home to an honest-to-God Starbucks, and we can expect the apocalypse to open its doors in about four weeks.