If this were a ground-floor establishment — and the Ciprianis were a ground-floor empire — someone would have slapped a "Lost Our Lease" sticker across the front window.
Look closely, though; the third-floor establishment barely has a sign and is incongruously decorated with Chinese characters, a holdover from its days as a kosher Chinese restaurant.
The building originally boasted a top-floor establishment that billed itself as the highest restaurant in New York, according to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission -- a curious parallel with Windows on the World in the north trade tower.
The beautiful Art Deco two-floor establishment was founded in 1913 by Etienne and Marthe Marty, and ever since it has remained a lively neighborhood institution, renowned for its ambiance and platters of deliciously fresh fish and shellfish.
"It's supposed to be very busy, but look, no customers," said Deepak Verma, the owner of Amba Jewelers, a second-floor establishment outfitted with red carpet and case upon case of gold jewelry.
The one-floor establishment continues to be used as a center for prayer, as well as religious education; it also functions as a pesantren for the community.
While the old-man smoky bar was once dominant, there are increasing numbers of stripped-pine-floor establishments that serve nachos and cashew nuts along with a pint.
Except for shops selling azulejos (decorative tiles) and Talavera (brightly colored pottery), its commercial activity revolves around whitewashed one-floor establishments selling screws, bolts and replacement parts for antiquated household goods and farm machinery.
The first-floor establishments will be entered by a kind of speakeasy entrance from noon until as late as eleven-thirty; one looks forward to a heist movie in which Robert De Niro and George Clooney sneak upstairs from their 11 p.m. espresso and brandy to appropriate some Picassos and Brancusis.
With its frescoed ceiling, ornate carved cabinetry and marble floor, the establishment is magnificently unmodernized.
White spruce seedlings require the bare mineral soil produced by burning of thick organic layers of the forest floor for proper establishment; they may time their periodic production of seed to dry periods when fire is more likely.
