Part of the floor plan devoted to a new, 400-seat restaurant inside the historic Lundy’s space in Sheepshead Bay is what developers are calling an “ancillary use” gourmet foods market. The controversial Cherry Hill Market, the Buildings Department contends, is actually just a grocery store by another name. more ›

Historic restaurant Lundy’s—whose home is a sprawling stucco building in Sheepshead Bay—will reopen as a 19,000 square foot gourmet market called Cherry Hill. The building’s owner David Isaev, who has been met with measures of opposition and support during the renovation process, previewed the property to the community on Tuesday. Blogger Gerristen Beach has photos, and Sheepshead Bites has a recap, including this bit of intel about an accompanying restaurant: building manager Anthony Kelley “mentioned that the market will also have a restaurant. Although he did not mention the names of the chefs, he said that two who worked in New York restaurants had been hired to work at Cherry Hill—pointing to the menus they have already developed.” more ›

Oh dear. Not only is today Friday the 13th, and the thirtieth anniversary of the 1977 lightning-caused Blackout, it is also time for another Manhattanhenge. Could it just be astronomical coincidence or evidence of something more sinister? more ›

Last year, Rebekah Johnson went on the lam after allegedly shooting the leader of a Staten Island commune. Over a year later, police found Johnson after she got off a train in Philadelphia yesterday morning. Johnson, who had dodged the authorities after the shooting, was tracked down after she "bought a car in Delaware using her real name, and opened a post office box in nearby Cherry Hill, N.J." per the Post. And the final tip came when a subway rider in Philadelphia recognized her from America's Most Wanted. more ›

Yesterday, six men were arrested for plotting to attack Fort Dix in NJ and other targets in the area. The men, Muslims from (the former) Yugoslavia, Turkey and Jordan, were apprehended after the FBI conducted 14 months of surveillance and infiltrated their group. more ›

The Central Park Conservancy, the private, non-profit organization that manages the park, let us know about some new signs that will be appearing soon. It's a call to action for park goers to help out: Fifteen signs are being installed with "before" photographs showing how far the park has come since the 1970s and 1980s, with the words "What would we do without your donations?" on them. This is a rendering of the sign that'll go in front of the Belvedere Castle, which certainly doesn't look like that anymore. more ›

Back in February, we wrote about emergency medial aid organization Doctors Without Borders planning a refugee camp exhibit in Central Park for the fall. Well, the time has come and the exhibit will open up tomorrow. "A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City" will have an 8,000 square foot exhibit at the Cherry Hill tomorrow through Sunday, September 17.

Made up of actual materials used by MSF [Medicins Sans Frontieres- Doctors Without Borders in French] in the field, "A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City" brings to light the day-to-day living conditions of refugees and IDPs through interactive exhibits and guided tours by experienced MSF humanitarian aid workers. Visitors explore the challenges of finding safety, food, water, and shelter —the basic elements of survival— and learn how MSF provides essential medical care and controls epidemics.

Doctors Without Borders will be pitching a tent in Central Park this fall. There will be an 8,000 square foot exhibit that looks like a refugee camp placed in Cherry Hill (near Bethesda Fountain) to give an approximation of what's it's like to live in a refugee conditions after disasters. Here's what Doctors Without Borders says:

Guided by MSF aid workers, visitors to this outdoor educational exhibit are asked to imagine that they are among the millions of people fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea, or Sudan. more ›

Daniel Nester, Proofreader/Editor/Poet more ›

Central Park is celebrating its 150th anniversary all summer long, but the official birthday this tomorrow. There are many events all day tomorrow, from croquet to walking tours, watching archery championships to a birthday cake cutting at 11AM. It looks to be beautiful tomorrow, so spending the day at the park doesn't sound all that bad. more ›