Strangely New York: The Vintage New York Handyman's Special

Summer may be ending — but Santa's on his way! By train! Wave back to him (he's in the locomotive) at Frenchman (aka Frenchmen) Air Conditioning Sales and Service, at 333 First Avenue. Frosty the Snowman is in the caboose, just as in real life.

Frenchman also repairs TVs, so they might want to send a guy out to tackle the sets in the window at the My.Suit store at 360 Madison Avenue. No one at My.Suit can explain what the televisions have to do with the suits. Especially not the guy in the suit.

Meanwhile, at Rocco, in the Village, another repairman has put the RE back in RESTAURANT. Through Vintage New York, the owner, Tony DaSilva, offered free dinner to anyone who could fix his neon. Nobody won; the sign guy finally showed. Frenchman may want to get his number, to see if the guy can put the r back in Frenchman.

Repair is apparently not on the menu at this long-lost diner, on West Street between Leroy and Clarkson. The once-charming classic is now an ad for bedbug prevention, which doesn't do much to spark the appetite.

The billboard at Leroy and Washington, around the corner from the diner, says the world, too, is beyond repair. I say think what u want. And by the way, if you want meat, Pat LaFrieda has moved to New Jersey. Maybe that's what's really got the billboard guy's beef in a bun.