Elaine’s closes for good next Friday

The subject of a Billy Joel song and the setting of scenes from Woody Allen’s “Manhattan,” Elaine’s on the Upper East Side will close next week — six months after the legendary owner, Elaine Kaufman, passed away. Diane Becker, a longtime manager of Elaine’s who took over the restaurant when Kaufman passed away Dec. 3, told the New York Times that business is no longer viable without the eponymous owner. “The truth is, there is no Elaine’s without Elaine,” Becker, said. “The business is just not there without Elaine.” Kaufman willed the restaurant at 1703 Second Avenue near 88th Street, along with the remaining four stories of the two adjoining buildings above the establishment, to Becker with instructions to sell the apartments. The asking price has dropped to $2.75 million from $2.95 million since it was first listed in January with Brown Harris Stevens’ Kathy Sloane. The restaurant’s last night of operation will be May 26. [NYT]