A pickle shop in a pickle, the Benefactor a benefactor, and other horrible puns

So I caught this Times story about the luxury condo on top of the old Gus's Pickles storefront on E Bway this morning. Big deal, another LES gentrification story, right? (Though the building in question in BelDel/LoHo/LerES/the dumpy end! Yay!)

Actually, the article's kinda cool, as it talks about how the developer evicted Gus's amid much controversy, yet he's using the building's history as one of a selling point.

But I couldn't help but groan upon finding out the name of the building - Delancey Crossing, you know, like the movie Crossing Delancey, which used the old Gus's to shoot the pickle store scenes.

So we're naming condos after movies now. What's next, 34th Street Miracle? Pelham Taking? Carlito Way? Gramercy Riff? I could keep going, but I should stop, yes.

But I have to wonder - who the hell lives in these luxury condos? I mean, I see 7 Essex and 50 Orchard and 49 Ludlow, and I think, what's the point? There are nicer neighborhoods for that money, and yeah, I can see the appeal of living within stumbling distance of Libation and Teany. But you're not really living in the Lowest and the Eastest unless you're hauling your ass up to a rat-infested walk-up, are you?

Brooklynvegan updates us on the inevitable death of CBGB and wealthy benefactors who have offered their help, including the Benefactor himself, Mark Cuban.

I would miss the joint of course, and it's a shame that such a storied institution is forced out by gentrification, but its value is purely sentimental and symbolic for me at this point - unless, you know, you happen to be the next Ramones and can't get a gig anywhere else in the tri-state. Tonic - now, I'd hate to see that go.

MaxDelivery is MaxDisappointment for me. I'd signed up for the beta trial but I didn't hear from them until today so I totally forgot about them. I wasn't missing much, it seems. Other than the movie rentals (though kinda pricy at $4.25 before delivery fee), I don't see much there that I couldn't get within a 5-minute walk. I'm lazy, but not that lazy.