Following the news that the Cooper Square Hotel was for sale, it seems none other than the Standard Hotel's Andre Balazs has picked up the troubled property. The smoking gun comes in the form of an application for a liquor-license transfer, which EV Grieve got her hands on. You'll recall that even Scott Conant couldn't sustain a restaurant in the odd ground-level space, but with Balazs's magic touch, will the hordes soon be lining up, à la meatpacking? If so, get ready to say sayonara to the few remaining vestiges of the seedy old Bowery. [EV Grieve]

Read more posts by Jenny Miller

Filed Under: empire building, andre balazs, nightlife, the bowery, the cooper square hotel