City Council unanimously passed a proposal creating a Chinatown Business Improvement District yesterday. Building owners in the district will be responsible for paying a fee to fund street-cleaning, increased lighting and signage, and economic development for local businesses. more ›

Celebrate the extension of the vendors' permit through the end of their season in October and add on extra festivities for Mexican and Central American Independence Day. Caesar Fuentes, the organizing force behind the vendors, promises that "the food vendors committee will host a livelier than usual weekend event - more soccer games, pinatas, music, and a 2 day art exhibit featuring photographs taken by the food vendors." Sounds good to us. more ›

Along with the "Broken Windows" crime prevention theory, one of the big success stories of Gotham's dramatic revitalization over the past two decades has been the BID (that's Business Improvement District, FYI) where business and property owners in a designated area work with the City and make a collective effort to boost business. The most famous BID success is probably Times Square, but they're all over the place nowadays (of the 53 BIDs in New York State there are 45 in NYC), and often are quite successful. Which is why this article on the Village Alliance BID in this week's Villager is so interesting: Efforts to revitalize West Eighth Street have been an unmitigated disaster:

As anyone who has recently walked down Eighth St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves. can’t help but notice, the block resembles a retail ghost town, as if the Great Depression had hit all over again. Virtually every other store is vacant, with For Rent signs prominently posted. In all, about 20 stores were empty when a reporter walked the street two weekends ago. On Sixth Ave., the former Sam Goody space, also in the BID’s district, is vacant.

What could be better than a weekend full of bivalves? Start on Friday night by eating your fill of 15 types of oysters paired with over 20 wines from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (tickets are $80). Then, come back on Saturday at 1 to watch the annual shucking contest, a "slurp-off," cooking demonstrations, and more. Call 212-490-7108 for tickets and visit www.oysterbarny.com for full details. Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant, Grand Central Terminal, Lower Concourse. more ›

Andrew Rasiej, Candidate for Public Advocate more ›

Are you tired of waiting around for festival season to officially begin? I mean, we've got a whole month to wait for the Siren Fest. So why not get over to the East River Park Amphitheater this weekend for some free music. The lineup this Saturday is as follows: more ›

The Cricket in Times Square is a great book about the heart of the city. And The Colossus of New York has a chapter about Times Square.
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