1) Upper East Village: The old Dolphin Fitness space that has been covered by plywood for months on 14th Street will be a new gym called CitiFitness. They've got fancy plans in the window and computers and everything. Here's the website. Replacing a gym with a gym seems kind of like a cop-out to us,.
2) Upper East Side: Someone should really make a line graph plotting the openings and closings of Starbuckses in Manhattan with the rise and fall of attacks in Baghdad. We bet there'd be some interesting parallels. Anyway, "word has it" that a Starbucks is coming to Lexington Avenue and 63rd. Tell 'em the HuntGrunt sent ya. [HuntGrunt]
3) Midtown East: "On a block with a pizza joint, subway, 'healthy eating' deli, Hale & Hearty, Starbucks, and Pret (plus all the food you can imagine, including Dunkin Donuts in Citcorp Center).... news today that GOODBURGER is coming. In a space that had a 'Going out of business' jewelry store, the corner of 54th & Lex. Great news for the neighborhood, bad news for health-mongers." Trend alert: all new fast-food burger shops will be named after Nickelodeon sketches. [Storefronting inbox]
4) Cobble Hill: The bad news: The Musician's General Store on Court Street is closing up shop for good. The good news: If you've ever wanted to snag a guitar at wholesale prices, good God man, run! [Brooklyn Record]