No, it’s not a new cafe on Third Street. It’s just the front yard, which in the warmer months becomes a defacto cafe, dining spot and playspace: it’s an epicenter for social activity.

Today neighbors and friends gathered down there for the first time in a long time. Mrs. Kravitz bought a bottle of white wine. Smartmom ordered Chinese food. A Pino’s pizza was ordered as well.

A green plastic Little Tykes car provided hours of fun for some of the kids who zoomed up and down the street. There was a 3-legged race but that ended when the ice cream truck parked down the street. The kids begged their parents for money and raced over for toasted almond, sandwiches, even milkshakes.

A game of Clue was played in the hour or so before dusk. "It’s Professor Plum. In the kitchen. With the…"

Conversation reached far and wide. Mrs. Kravitz bobbed her hair. A neighbor saw Jonathan Lethem on the subway. Word has it that a children’s store is going in where the Laundry Center is on Seventh Avenue and 7th Street.

A woman on the block has an essay in a new book called, The Elephant in the Playroom: Ordinary Parents Write Intimately and Honestly about the Extrordinary Highs and the Heartbreaking Lows of Raising Kids with Special Needs.

Nobody sees anybody in the winter. Bundled up, in a rush, in and out of buildings, no time for conversation. But come the warm weather it’s hi, how are you, hello, good to see you.

The Third Street Cafe is open for business again. Just need to get some new chairs…