Nearby, Joseph Moinian is building a 53-story W Hotel and condominium complex at 123 Washington Street, and plans are in the works for a 38-room boutique hotel at 50 Trinity Place as well as for a Sam Chang hotel at 33 Beekman Street.

“Downtown is an extremely hot market for hotels right now,” EB Developers Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Kaskel told The Observer. “At one point, we discussed a hotel with condos on top, but because of the location, we decided that keeping the building a hotel is the best use for this area.”

Mr. Kaskel said construction will start in six months and be completed in about two years. Like any ambitious developer, however, the company is lobbying for additional development rights that could hold the process up.

“We are working on securing further rights that could increase the scope of the project, but we should have most if not all of the outstanding issues finalized within a few months,” Mr. Kaskel said.

While the rare brown liquor is just for show, bourbon shots were the drink of choice at the soft opening of the pop star’s new restaurant Southern Hospitality on Monday night.

“How many do you want?” a comely bartender asked a group of four guys who sat surrounded by empty glasses.

“How many you got?” one of the gentlemen replied loudly.

As music from the 1980’s (and only the 1980’s) seeped from the sound system and a giant Elvis mural peered down from the back wall, the revelers seemed quite at home downing drinks and devouring the high-cholesterol Southern fare.

Perhaps the only thing that seemed slightly out of place was the restaurant itself. The 3,000-square-foot space, co-owned by Mr. Timberlake and partners Eytan Sugarman and Trace Ayala, is not in the sort of hip Manhattan zip code one would expect. Located at 1460 Second Avenue, it sits unassumingly between 76th and 77th streets just down from frat house favorites Mo’s Caribbean and Brother Jimmy’s.

Is there a renaissance on the Upper East Side that the rest of the general pubic is being kept in the dark about?

Not quite yet, but there is method to the former boy-bander’s madness. James Famularo, the exclusive broker on the space, explained that the “SexyBack” star wanted to establish a place that will become a destination in the city, not because of his name, but as a result of the menu.

“A lot of the places that celebrities put together downtown end up being trendy for a while and then losing their appeal,” Mr. Famularo explained. “They tend to be short-lived, and Justin wanted something that would have longevity.”

Another attractive feature of the area is the rent. The pop star, who made $20 million last year, according to Forbes, is paying just $100 per square foot for the year, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Rents for comparable spaces in the meatpacking district are going for approximately $250 per square foot.

While the restaurant has many unassuming qualities, there are certain trappings aimed at the celebrity clientele. For instance, there is an alternate entrance built off the back room that one person in the know said was for “Justin, Leo and other celebrities to enter without being seen.”

Celebrity accoutrements aside, the restaurant does a good job of fitting in with its surroundings. There are no fewer than 10 plasma screens each tuned to a different sporting event or entertainment show. Every table comes with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth and a bottle of hot sauce to summon thoughts of barbeque shacks from Mr. Timberlake’s hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Despite the attempts to push ambiance and culinary talent over celebrity flare, a number of passers-by were well aware of the establishment’s reputation.

“This is Justin Timberlake’s new restaurant,” a young woman explained to her friend outside.

“Is it good?” her friend replied.

“Who cares?” she replied. “It’s Justin Timberlake’s restaurant!”

In order to pour alcoholic drinks, establishments must obtain a liquor license. If patrons are going to dance, the owner needs to get a cabaret license. And, unbeknownst to most New Yorkers, if there is a pool table on the premises, the business must apply for a billiards license.

Soon, that last requirement will no longer be an issue for most places.

Under legislation signed by Mayor Bloomberg last week, businesses with fewer than three pool tables will no longer need a billiard-room license. Currently, any place with a pool table has to apply for a billiards license with the Department of Consumer Affairs. The law will go into effect within 120 days.

City Councilmember Leroy Comrie Jr. of Queens, who sponsored the bill, told The Observer that it was a long time coming.

“This is just making a long overdue correction in the law,” Mr. Comrie said. “Places that want to offer billiard play as a complimentary feature shouldn’t be held to the same licensing standards as pool halls.”

Enacted in the 1930’s, the old law defines a pool hall as any room in which billiards is played. The law does not provide a minimum number of tables for the licensing requirement, so any establishment, from a hole-in-the-wall bar with one table to a full-fledged billiards hall with 30 tables, has to apply for a license.

Although fines are rarely handed down to places operating without a license, supporters of the legislation have long argued that small businesses have enough requirements to meet already, and, especially for those places that offer billiards as an added attraction, the licensing is an unnecessary imposition.

Mr. Comrie agrees.

“We feel that this law will not only save inspectors time from going from place to place but will also mean one less level of bureaucracy that business owners have to deal with,” he said. “And we all like a little less bureaucracy in our lives.”

The Blue Seats will open at 157 Ludlow Street on July 30, and will be the first sports bar to grace the area south of Houston Street and east of First Avenue. Named after the famous seats in Madison Square Garden where loyal fans sit, the bar is the brainchild of Natasha Navidad; she honed her bar management skills at Gramercy watering holes like Bull’s Head Tavern and The Black Bear Lodge.

While the 2,000-square-foot bar will feature many elements prized by the avid sports watcher (72 high-definition flat-screen televisions), it will also offer blueberry mojitos and a raw oyster bar in hopes of distinguishing itself from the traditional New York sports bar.

“After witnessing the dirty dingy bars New Yorkers have grown to call home, I just felt like we deserved better,” Ms. Navidad noted in a press release about the opening. (She could not be reached for comment.)

But does the Lower East Side want “better?” For many, “dirty dingy bars” are exactly what attracted them to the Lower East Side. In a neighborhood where punk concerts regularly trump pigskin on weekend afternoons, Ms. Navidad may have her work cut out.

“This is the problem with this area these days,” a local business owner lamented upon hearing about The Blue Seats. “You have all these places that are moving in and sucking out all the character.”

Local residents were more worried about the prospect of sports fans flooding the neighborhood.

“This area used to be known for good music and good art,” a neighborhood resident told The Observer. “Now we’re going to have to deal with Yankees and Red Sox fans yelling at each other every weekend. Looking forward to that.”

In the last week, the self-storage king closed on approximately $23 million worth of property along Bond Street between the Bowery and Lafayette Street. He purchased 41-43 Bond Street for $7.7 million and the Bouwerie Lane Theater at 54 Bond Street for $15 million, according to city records.

“A lot of the developments that you see around the city these days are just typical and boring,” Mr. Gordon told The Observer recently. “My view for many years has been that we should focus on the built environment in New York.”

Mr. Gordon’s plans for the cobblestone block are in line with this reasoning. Later this year, he will break ground on a Steven Harris–designed condominium, at 41-43 Bond Street. As for 54 Bond Street, that will eventually be home to Mr. Gordon and his family.

Bond Street is certainly not suffering from a lack of development. Mr. Gordon’s condo development will be the third on that block, following Ian Schrager’s 40 Bond and the Deborah Berke–designed condos at 48 Bond. And although Mr. Gordon’s project will differ from the other two in various ways, there will be similarities.

“I think Schrager took the lead in having residential units on the ground floor,” Mr. Gordon said. “We are going to continue to have that at 41 Bond Street, but I am going to make a point of the condos fitting in with their surroundings.”

Mr. Gordon’s affinity for New York buildings also dictated his decision to buy 54 Bond. Built in 1874, the Bouwerie Lane Theater was landmarked in 1980, and over the years it has served as both a performance and living space for actors like Jake LaMotta, Lauren Hutton and Bernadette Peters. Once renovated, Mr. Gordon and his family will live on the upper floors of the building, and there will be “respectable” retail space on the ground floor.

“I can tell you now that it will not be a bar, club or restaurant,” Mr. Gordon said.

Even though he dropped over $20 million on the property and has yet to unload his current home at 92 Jane Street, which is on the market for $14.9 million, Mr. Gordon’s outlook is that of a seasoned real-estate veteran.

“It’ll sell,” he said of his current home. “It just won’t be until after Labor Day, when all the rich guys are back in the city.”

“God forbid that this thing goes through, I will know that I took steps toward protecting my community,” Ms. Kalick told The Observer. “I am frightened, but I am trying to be fearless.”

Approximately 80 people, largely aging baby boomers decked out in khakis and short-sleeved polo shirts, had paid $60 each to enter Mr. Labine’s house to raise money for the lawsuits that activist group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn has filed against developer Forest City Ratner and others.

As the gin flowed and attendees admired Mr. Labine’s many works of art, a growing feeling of fear was beginning to replace the years of hope.

“Things don’t seem to be going very well,” neighborhood resident Lester Bower said as he headed for the food table. “The court cases don’t seem to be going our way.”

Even the $5,000 that had been raised over the course of the afternoon seemed like a drop in the bucket to some.

“Its good to see so many people here,” a partygoer noted. “But 80 times 60 doesn’t amount to that many lawyer hours.”

Halfway through the party, Mr. Labine and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein stood on a few living-room chairs and did their best to pump up the somber mood.

“Atlantic Yards is not a done deal!” Mr. Labine said to rousing applause. “What is unfortunate is that not enough people are aware of the problems that will come with this project.”

“Do we have any allies left in elected officials?” a member of the audience inquired.

“We have a few,” Mr. Goldstein responded. “[City Councilman] David Yassky, depending on what day you talk to him.”

Some good news came at the end of the presentation, though. A volunteer announced that an anonymous donation had brought the amount raised during the afternoon to over $20,000. Wide eyes and smiles replaced the dejected looks on faces in the audience.

After the presentation, attendees meandered back to the cheese plates and pound cake.

Donna Henes, a Brooklyn resident who was instrumental in the borough’s fight against the MetroTech expansion decades ago, reflected on the similarities of the two situations as she decided what to eat.

“We fought that in court for five years and lost,” Ms. Henes said. “I hope the outcome this time is different.”

By April, the space, though still open, was back on the market.

Pizzeria De Santo is not alone. As condos, boutique hotels and name-brand retailers invade the Lower East Side at an astonishing pace, smaller neighborhood establishments are being put back on the market at a similar rate.

Zozo’s, a sandwich and smoothie spot at 172 Orchard Street, was put up for sale in February, just two years after opening. Kebab House II, a restaurant at 144 Orchard Street, has been on the market for close to a year. Though both are still in business, the owners are clearly looking to get out.

“From a survival standpoint, this is a different Lower East Side than it was three years ago,” a neighborhood broker told The Observer. “A few years ago, places could slide by because the rent was not that bad. Now, you can’t afford it for very long if you don’t develop a following.”

Hospitality broker and consultant Steven Kamali—who, according to sources, recently sold 137 Ludlow Street, home of the club Libation, for $5.5 million—has a slightly different take.

“The draw of the Lower East Side is that it is an incredible neighborhood that thrives on the diverse group of people that come to visit,” Mr. Kamali told The Observer. “However, there is now such a saturation of bars and restaurants that a lot of places suffer.”

Indeed. There are 40 liquor licenses along Rivington, Orchard and Ludlow streets between Houston and Delancey streets, according to Community Board 3. Twenty-one of those are on Ludlow Street alone.

While some blame the overabundance of choices in the neighborhood, others say that it boils down to expectations.

“In the case of Pizzeria De Santo, the owners realized that it was not the money they’re used to,” James Famularo, a broker for a number of downtown spaces including Zozo’s and Pizzeria De Santo, told The Observer. “When you’re used to club money—that is, $20 cover charges and bottle service—a dollar for a slice of pizza just doesn’t seem like a lot. It’s like being a hedge-fund guy and then selling newspapers.”

“I want to congratulate all of you who have purchased in this building,” Miraval C.E.O. John Vanderslice told attendees before introducing the alternative-medicine guru. “This apartment will change your life.”

In an evening of bold statements, this one stood out. The 41-story development at 515 East 72nd Street is the Tucson-based resort’s first foray into metropolitan real estate. Part of AOL founder Steve Case’s Revolution Living, Miraval is hoping that its impurity-cleansing practices will transfer to big-city residential living.

Like the Arizona resort, the building will assign a Miraval Living advisor to each of its residents. The advisor will design a tension-reducing regimen for the resident from over 100 services and activities like yoga, Pilates and massages.

The apartments, which range in price from $700,000 to $4 million, also have their stress-relieving components. Residents can have a Rubin Naiman–designed “optimal sleep system” with no L.E.D. light and a bed of all natural fibers. (“Just sleep and sex in the bed,” The Observer was told. “No food.”) While most activities in the complex are included in the monthly maintenance charges, custom-designed rooms and spa treatments are not.

The main event of the evening was a brief talk on healthy aging by Dr. Weil, the director of integrative health and healing at Miraval.

“Dr. Weil is the reason that my wife and I started eating more whole grains and I stopped taking Claritin,” Mr. Vanderslice confessed to the crowd, which was peppered with baby boomers, well-off young couples and a number of single women. There was little evidence of aging hippies, even the kind that might have, like Dr. Weil did, mixed with the late LSD enthusiast Timothy Leary at Harvard in the 1960’s.

Decked out in black slacks and a silver tunic, the heavily bearded Dr. Weil spoke on the virtues of omega-3 fatty acids, breathing exercises and fish oil. He also noted that he is working on a new multi-vitamin gum. “A number of the multi-vitamin pills are too big,” Dr. Weil told the audience. “So, I am working on developing a chewing gum.”

Dr. Weil, who divides his time among Arizona, British Columbia and New York, admitted to The Observer that his visits to the city take their toll. “New York is a very hard place to lead a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “And getting around the city is just exhausting.”

While Dr. Weil adheres to a regimen of tea and breathing exercises to cope, surprisingly, he does not have an apartment in the new complex. Neither does Mr. Vanderslice.

“I would like to have a place,” Mr. Vanderslice said. “But I have to talk to Steve Case to see if it is coming out of my paycheck.”

People are buying, though. In the elevator on the way back down to the stress-filled New York streets, a woman said that a couple was converting four apartments into one.

“They must have a lot of stress!” her friend remarked on the way out the door.

But that’s changing.

In May 2006, Michael Gross, he of 740 Park fame, signed copies of the juicy book at Barbizon 63, a soon-to-open condo on East 63rd Street.

“We think that authors are celebrities in their own right,” said publicist Harriet Weintraub, whose firm has organized eight different author signings at newer luxury properties around the city since last May.

Ms. Weintraub looks for writers that not only will attract brokers, but will also complement the space.  

“When we were showing 110 Central Park South, we wanted someone that fit in well with the property,” Ms. Weintraub said. “Evelyn Lauder had recently released a cookbook, so we asked her to come. We even used her recipes for the hors d’oeuvres.”

Christopher Gray, who wrote New York Streetscapes, and John Grogan, author of Marley and Me, have also done signings. Mr. McInerney came to mind as a good choice after the owners of Sherry-Lehmann, the renowned wine shop at 679 Madison Avenue, moved into 310 East 53rd Street, Ms. Weintraub said.

While an author’s appearance is an added attraction for property hounds, most writers are more than happy to take another crack at touting their work.

“Any writer these days, shy of a John Grisham, needs all the help that they can get,” Mr. Gross told The Observer.

Such has been the fate of numerous small theaters off Broadway, including the Sullivan Street Playhouse, Promenade Theater, Lamb’s Theatre Company, Variety Arts Theatre, Century Center for the Performing Arts, New Perspectives Theatre Company and, most recently, Perry Street Theatre.

But one woman who has run a nonprofit 65-seat theater in Greenwich Village for 35 years has had the audacity to say “no.”

“What does money mean compared with my life and what I could leave?” asked 90-year-old Edith O’Hara, artistic director and founder of the 13th Street Repertory Company.

Born in northern Idaho in 1917, Ms. O’Hara knew nothing of theater until a role as George Washington in a seventh-grade play. She met her future husband while attending the University of California, Los Angeles, and moved to Warren, Penn., to raise a family. (She has three children; two have gone on to Broadway and Hollywood success.) Ms. O’Hara became active in summer theater, eventually running two companies.

“I had it in me to help creativity develop,” she said. “I liked that better than acting.”

After having one of her regional shows produced in New York City in the early 1970’s, Ms. O’Hara founded the 13th Street Repertory Company. She produces original dramas and offers children’s programs.

The theater’s mainstay has become the longest-running Off Off Broadway play, Line, written by the prolific playwright Israel Horovitz and in its 34th year.

“The loss of the theater, that’s what Line is about: competition,” Mr. Horovitz said. “It’s typical that somebody would look at that place and say, ‘Let’s just tear it down and build yet another condo development.’”

When the company’s lease expired in the early 1980’s, Ms. O’Hara took on a business partner—whom she designated her “white knight”—and purchased the building, and soon transferred a majority of stock to her partner. He then spent years trying to get her to sell out, Ms. O’Hara said, but she refused.

Unexpectedly, Stephan Loewentheil, a Baltimore rare-book dealer once involved in real-estate development in that city, according to Baltimore newspapers, offered to purchase the building in 2004. Ms. O’Hara again declined, so, instead, Mr. Loewentheil bought out Ms. O’Hara’s business partner.

Mr. Loewentheil then filed a lawsuit demanding payment of debt he claims is owed by the theater company. He’s also trying to sell the air rights on the property so a development planned on a neighboring lot can cantilever over the more then 200-year-old theater building. Ms. O’Hara is fighting these maneuvers in court, arguing that Mr. Loewentheil is not truly the majority owner, because the original stock transfer was legally invalid.

Mr. Loewentheil has served the theater company with several eviction notices, all thrown out thus far on technicalities.

Attorney Steven G. Eckhaus represents Mr. Loewentheil and argues that his client has no recourse but eviction. Ms. O’Hara will not allow Mr. Loewentheil into the building, Mr. Eckhaus said. He alleged that there are squatters in the building, which could create unsafe living conditions.

Meantime, both parties agree that Ms. O’Hara has turned down numerous offers to sell. She says the latest was for $2 million, plus a promise that she and the theater could remain in the building until her death.

“But I want to leave the theater as a legacy,” she said. “It’s been a very important institution here, both cultural and historic.”