Would you believe that another cocktail bar has opened in Alphabet City? True story! At the recently opened The Wayland fancy cocktails share the room with live music (on a small stage) and basic classy bar bites like oysters, roasted bone marrow and steak tartare. Also something called "Braised Beast on Toast." more ›

It's bad enough that teachers have to inculcate The Future according to the whims of state bureaucrats while dodging acid and waiting for the mayoral axe to fall on their school. Can't a pedagogue pad around the classroom in Crocs and a Black Flag t-shirt in peace? The principal of an East Village elementary school was fed up with the slovenly appearance of his staff, and instituted a dress code banning spaghetti straps, flip-flops, gym clothes and—gasp—jeans. "We want to transform this school to make it a more professional learning environment," Marlon Hosang, principal of P.S. 64, tells DNAinfo. No word on whether teachers are still allowed to trade their sandwiches for Dunkaroos. more ›

A man was shot twice in the courtyard of the NYCHA's Campos Plaza complex last night in Alphabet City. At 12:13 a.m. police received several 911 calls indicating that around six shots had been fired, and that someone who may have been the shooter was last seen running towards 12th Street. The victim, whose name has not yet been released, was shot once in each leg and was taken by car to Beth Israel. more ›

Gripe all you want about those lame "fun" sized candy bars handed out at the Bloomberg Manor for Halloween, at least they didn't come with excruciating jets of spicy liquid. MyBlockNYC has a video shot Friday night in Alphabet City on Avenue A at 6th Street that shows Halloween weekend revelers being nonchalantly pepper-sprayed by a NYPD officer, before another tackles two men on the sidewalk. more ›

A woman was found dead on the sidewalk this morning at Avenue B and East 7th street in the East Village. According to police at the scene, the deceased was a homeless park regular at Tompkins Square Park, and no criminality is suspected. She was found at around 7 a.m. this morning, and has not yet been identified. more ›

A blaze that fire marshals deemed to have been purposefully set at the Flea Market Cafe on Monday in the East Village defies the explanation of the restaurant's manager. "I might be a little naïve, but I don't really know anyone that would do that," manager Harveen Bonnet tells DNAinfo, presumably as Goodfellas sits dangerously low on his Netflix queue. more ›

A fire at the Flea Market Cafe yesterday afternoon has been deemed "incendiary" by a police spokesman, although the incident is still under investigation. According to the Local East Village, an employee at nearby Nino's Pizzeria was telling a reporter that he saw the owner of the restaurant "trying to put out a stack of burning napkins" shortly before the fire escalated, but his recounting of what he saw was "abruptly cut off by a woman who he said was the wife of the owner." Authorities were reportedly concentrating on three containers containing "flammable liquids." more ›

An Alphabet City teen who was visiting family in Staten Island was shot and killed this week for his costume jewelry. Shytik Bowman, 17, was shot three times on Thursday night when he popped out to a nearby convenient store for a snack. And his family is disgusted that he was apparently killed over a piece of jewelry: "Something as materialistic as that. You take my son's life for that. A bracelet can be replaced, but a life can't," said the teen's father, Kendrick Moore. more ›

In this city, restaurants come and go faster than you can say "sustainable locavore burger." And even though there are great new additions to the culinary landscape popping up every week, you've gotta give kudos to anyone who can stick it out for over a year. With that in mind, we bring you Still Got It, our tribute to establishments that continue to serve mouthwatering meals and drinks long after the buzz has faded—or if the lingering hype is still justified. more ›

Pro tip: if your boyfriend has 30 prior arrests, you might not want to let him around your pets. Brooklyn native Garret Sloan, 26, has been arrested and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after brutally killing his girlfriend's kitten. According to a criminal complaint, Sloan said, "The cat died. I took it and threw it away in the incinerator." more ›

For over three decades, Ray's Candy Store [MySpace], the burger, shake, etc. joint, has occupied a hole-in-the-wall on Avenue A across the street from Tompkins Square Park. As you may recall, the past year has been extremely tough on elderly owner Ray Alvarez, who's got health problems, has fallen behind on his rent, and had to deal with Muslim fundamentalists shaking him down for free coffee. Today Neither More Nor Less reports that one of the last vestiges of the old Alphabet City is on the verge of closing. more ›

"Everybody here is scared now," downtown bodega worker Primo Dlmn from Morocco tells the Times. "I’m as nervous as I can be, but I’ve got to go to the store. Life goes on." Or does it? A sniper with a high-power BB gun has been terrorizing Avenue D between Third and Fourth Streets during the past week, lodging pellets in a construction worker's skull, shattering car windows, and wounding six others. Now the NYPD says there have been other BB gun shootings in the area, and it looks like there may be some sort of teen pellet gun gang. How street is that? Local mailman James Heckstall says, 'It used to be terrible around here, the Wild West...The neighborhood is getting nicer and nicer. Then, every once in a while, something like this happens, and it makes us look bad." And then someone shoots their eye out. more ›

Some warped punk with a BB gun has been firing at people near the corner of Avenue D and East Third Street during the past week; at least eight people have been shot, and several car windows have been blown out by the sniper. Construction worker Edward Gilyard was shot on Friday, and doctors found two pellets lodged next to his skull. He was at his job site when he felt a sharp pain on his right temple, and tells the Daily News, "I put my hand up there and felt the blood... All of a sudden, I had a little hole in my head." more ›

Williamsburg has its Thai food, and now it seems that Alphabet City has its Cuban. Bodeguita Cubana, a Serbian-run Cuban joint that opened in May on 10th Street (between 1st & Avenue A), is the third in a trifecta of ropa vieja-offering restaurants that's enveloped the neighborhood east of 1st Avenue (the other two are Cafecito & Cafe Cortadito). Arguably the most appealing of them all (though we do love Cafecito), the French doors on the facade of Bodeguita Cubana swing open, inviting a cool breeze on these warm fall nights, and the narrow space feels bigger than its 20-seat capacity. Lighting is dim, coming from the street or a few hanging straw lanterns, creating an air of coziness and welcome. Servings are consistent and generous, especially for a menu entirely under the the $10 price range. Pressed sandwiches, notably the pulled pork with homemade bbq, are scrumptious and big enough to share (depending on your hunger level), and come with either roasted potatoes or a salad with fresh steamed fava beans. more ›

The engines fueling Jane Jacobs' legacy are at full throttle, with the Municipal Art Society's new exhibition, titled "Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York." The show, opening this week at the Urban Center Galleries, delves into how today's (and tomorrow's) city fits into Jacobs' ideas and also examines how the public can draw on her values, given the major developments and rezoning now in progress. more ›

Alphabet City has long been a cheap eats favorite, with Kate's Joint for veggie-heads, Westville East for market lovers, and Nicky's Vietnamese sandwiches for the best salty-sweet-hot sandwich for under $5. You can get ramen (Minca) or delicious baked goods (Ciao for Now) or the city's arguably best coffee (9th Street Espresso), before even getting to welcome Cafe Cortadito, a new sure-to-be neighborhood favorite on 3rd Street and Avenue B. more ›

Last year around this time, the Observer pitted Williamsburg hipsters and Park Slope yuppies against each other. This year, the Observer tackles the yearning some native New Yorkers have for when NYC was bad (sorta like Michael Jackson video Bad!). Summer of Sam, Needle Park, Ford telling the city to drop dead, all of it seems better than it is now. Here's what some people told the Observer:

- “I was flashed all the time—that’s how a true private all-girl kid learned about the male anatomy,” wrote Liz Alderman, 32, a television producer and former Brearley lass, in an e-mail. more ›

The cafe’s owner, Nick Bodor, 38, said that for years he was able to clear enough money from Alt to live on. But times have changed on Avenue A, where new boutiques now face a cleaned-up version of Tompkins Square Park that includes several playgrounds. more ›

Just shy of a month old, the new Alphabet City branch of West Village Gothamist favorite, Westville, keeps farm fresh veggies flowing to hip, young clientele seven days a week. Seating forty, Westville East offers the same American comfort food as the original joint, but with twice the space to dine and serve in. Of course, this doesn't mean the lines are shorter--during brunch on a recent Sunday the line ran longer than twenty minutes, and during dinner, seats were filled just after the clock hit seven. more ›

There's a rather amazing story in New York about two of the city's medical examiners trying to find their missing puggle. While the article by senior forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes is titled "Bonfire of the Puggle," it's definitely got the makings of a local Lord of the Rings, as there travels to Tampa, Alphabet City and the Bronx, not to mention gang tattoos and melanoma fear. And since $1,000 was being offered as a reward, there is a happy ending. more ›

Like S.D., who took the above photo, we've noticed these googly eyes around popping up around town lately. Anybody know whose they are? We totally get a kick out the pipe people looking out at us as we walk down the street. It kind of reminds us of one of our favorite children's books, Stephen T. Johnson's Alphabet City in which the artist finds all 26 letters of the alphabet hidden in regular New York City street scenes. more ›

Annulla from Blather from Brooklyn asked us if we knew anything about this alphabet painted on a construction fence in Tribeca. We have no clue, but we love how the alphabet goes from basic to downright quirky. Do you know who did this and why? more ›

It's soggy outside but it's cozy at the bookstores and bars this week. Tonight (6/16), Australian writer Peter Carey is reading from his latest book, Theft: A Love Story, at 192 Books at 7PM. Or, head down to the always cozy Half King tonight for the Spring 2006 edition of The Literary Review, where Lynne Tillman, Craig Mueller, and Cary Goldstein will be reading from their selections in the journal. It starts at 7PM and is free. more ›

Drink. Then again, that’s our answer to most questions. But it seems we are not alone. To help us make it through the Blizzard ’06, we knew it would take a sturdy pair of boots, a warm fleece hat and the insatiable desire to find a warm cozy bar to serve up soul-warming cocktails. Luckily for us south of the border turns out to be right below 14th street. more ›

Bring back the Tompkins Square Park band shell! more ›

New York magazine has a chest-thumpingly sweet ode to New York, listing 124 Reasons to Love New York City; it remind Gothamist of how we react when people ask us why we live here - our eyes go glassy, we focus on a point in the distance, we develop a lump in our throat, as we do not understand why people would even question our living here - and then you can't shut us up for the next forty-five minutes ("The subways! The diversity! The food! The culture! The guy who fixes my shoes so they look new every single time!"). Anyway, while we question some of the reasons (there's a quote from Goldie Hawn - please, get a quote from a year-round New Yorker!), we do love that one of Michael DeFeo's flowers - and DeFeo himself - grace the cover and are reason #124 to love New York. PS - his book, Alphabet City, is a great gift idea for both kids and adults. more ›

The Villager [via Curbed] is reporting that the East Village rezoning push that we wrote about last month received unanimous approval at a fall Community Board 3 meeting on Sept. 27. The rezoning, based on a survey outlinned by B.F.J. Planning that was commissioned by the East Village Community Coalition, specifically deals with Alphabet City and a good chunk of the Lower East Side (the orange on the map is the rezoned area). more ›

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