God how many times I fell asleep there over my $3 plates of fries on Sundays at 5 a.m., makeup running down my face.. Remember Lex? The Daily News yesterday said:
Are last orders in sight for the Meatpacking District landmark Florent?
Real-estate vultures have been circling the beloved Gansevoort St. diner amid rumors that its lease was about to become available.
A knowledgeable source tells me that the lease, in fact, has two years left to go. However, the source also says that it might not be renewed.
"I haven't made any decision either way," owner Florent Morellet tells me about the future of his restaurant. "I have a couple of years to be my fabulous self, so let people talk, and as long as they're talking, it means that I'm still alive."
Morellet has been a tireless activist for local preservation, as well as the gay and HIV-positive communities. (He quirkily keeps track of his T-cell count, an indicator of HIV progression, on the diner's specials board.) The restaurateur and City Council speaker Christine Quinn will be grand marshals of this year's gay pride march, and the AIDS group amfAR plans to honor him on June 7 at an Ellis Island gala.
Florent has been a pilgrimage destination for celebrities, club kids, families and new arrivals to New York for 21 years. Pals say they expect to mount a campaign to keep the restaurant open.