Results tagged “downtown”

Oh, my: The city's new school zoning may split residents of the same Tribeca building into different schools. Of course, the building is already split with two addresses and lobbies—101 Warren for the luxury condos, 89 Murray for the rentals and affordable housing units—and the luxury condo owners' kids would go to acclaimed P.S. 234 just two blocks away while the other children would need to schlep across City Hall to Beekman Tower. The Downtown Express reports that one 89 Murray resident said "that unlike the families in the adjacent luxury condos at 101 Warren St., families at 89 Murray cannot afford a nanny to help make the trek over to the Spruce Street School every day if they can’t go to 234"

      

Yesterday, developer Bruce Ratner and architect Frank Gehry celebrated the "topping off" of the 76-story Beekman Tower in lower Manhattan. A 10-pound bucket of concrete was lifted 900 feet onto the roof of the 1.1 million square foot skyscraper, which will have rental apartments, a pre-K through 8th grade public school, an ambulatory care center for NY Downtown Hospital, retail space, and public plazas.

Not to be outdone by that measly $1 billion class action lawsuit filed against Greenhouse—the "eco-friendly" but allegedly black-unfriendly downtown nightclub—some other offended blacks have stepped up with their own $1.5 billion lawsuit! Greenhouse: the "big tobacco" of nightclubs. This new lawsuit is being filed today by Raqiyah Mays, a Kiss FM radio host, and three others who say that they were not let in "due to their race." Isn't it about time for Latinos, Hasidim, and Sikhs to get their piece of the Greenhouse bonanza?

This week the new chief dining critic at the NY Times, Sam Sifton, debuts with a rave for DBGB, Daniel Boulud's casual sausage/beer/etc. joint on the Bowery. The first review from the former NY Press reporter boasts references to The Ramones, Talking Heads, and a declaration that "[Boulud's] food game, as they say in rap precincts, is tight... one bite of the crispy lamb ribs that were served in the bar area when the place first opened — sweetly glazed, grassy meat, with a dab of creamy mint-flecked yogurt sauce — ended all snark: Boulud has opened a very good restaurant. The lamb was sublime, earthy and spicy and rich, evidence of superb technique, the sort of snack that separates his empire from others in the celebrity firmament."

         

It's a big, big day for the Dutch here in New York, as the NY400 Week festivities kick off with the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion at the Battery, a "permanent gift from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the people of New York." The fresh-off-the-plane Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of The Netherlands are joining Mayor Bloomberg and other officials this morning to dedicate the fiberglass Pavilion, which will serve as a visitors' center.

When developer Bruce Ratner dropped architect Frank Gehry's designs for his beleaguered Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the reversal was derided as a "stunning bait-and-switch" by the Times architecture critic. Adding insult to injury, the preliminary rendering for the less expensive Nets arena, designed by Midwestern arena designer company Ellerbe Becket, resembled a banal brick airplane hanger perfect for youth hockey and flea markets. But the Observer now reveals that Ratner has brought in hot New York architecture firm SHoP to work with Ellerbe Becket on the $800 million arena and, presumably, put some new lipstick on this boondoggle. (SHoP's the firm that did the pipe dream designs proposed for a new South Street Seaport; Curbed has compiled more of their work.) Yet another round of new renderings are expected to be released this month, so prepare to be pandered to all over again! In the meantime, Ratner is hustling to sell $700 million in bonds to investors before the end of the year in order to qualify for tax-exempt status, while also preparing for the next legal hurdle in October, when the state’s highest court will hear arguments against the use of eminent domain for the project.

Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer's rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again. Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall Thomas "was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday."

The empty storefronts along Willoughby Street in Brooklyn have become canvases for local artists during the strip's ghost town era. The Daily News notes that the Willoughby Windows art show set up in prime retail space masks the eyesore of an abandoned retail corridor "created when 30 merchants along Willoughby, Duffield and Bridge Sts. were booted by a developer to make room for a glitzy new, $208 million commercial and residential complex." Guess how that plan went? The recession sure is ugly, and artists were sent in to dress up the stalled area.

              

Click on the images above for details on 13 other sweet spots for al fresco drinking, including the Extreme WOW (Presidential) Suites in Midtown East, Ortine in Prospect Heights, Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg, T.B.D. in Greenpoint, Studio Square in Long Island City, The Diamond in Greenpoint, LIC Bar in Long Island City, Nita Nita in Williamsburg, Huckleberry Bar in East Williamsburg, The Hotel Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District, Vutera in Williamsburg, 5 Ninth in the Meatpacking District, and The Brooklyn Ice House in Red Hook.

So they already crashed a (fake) funeral, and now they've gone and crashed the nuptials of two young New Yorkers in love. A couple had just finished tying the knot at the City Clerk’s Office in Manhattan when they were greeted by Improv Everywhere's Charlie Todd, and here's what happened:

An unidentified man was stabbed in the neck at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street just after 4:40 a.m this morning, ABC 7 reports. The stabee is now at St. Vincent's in stable condition. Two suspects were witnessed fleeing the scene; one wearing a black shirt and another in a... grey shirt. So give those two a wide berth if you spot them! Last Thursday a Buffalo man was hospitalized after an alleged late-night gay-bashing assault in the Village, and on Sunday another man was stabbed in the back and arm during a heated pre-dawn argument. Some local residents are complaining that their quaint neighborhood is becoming sketchy, and NYPD stats support those anecdotal reports, at least in the category of violent assaults, which are up about 40% over last year thus far. Robbery, burglary, and grand larcenies are all down, though, so try not to panic—but do check back often for updates on this alarming crime wave!

Greenwich Village residents have been complaining about rising crime in their neighborhood in the wake of two violent assaults during the past week, and now the Post reports that they're not just imagining things: NYPD data shows that incidents of violent crime reported to the 6th Precinct, which includes the Village, are up almost 43 percent so far this year, compared with the same period in 2008. (There have been 40 assaults in the area so far this year, up from 28.) And violent crime rates have soared throughout downtown, with the East Village and the Lower East Side also seeing a big spike in street crime. Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne blames the boom on the neighborhoods' nightlife, which attracts large numbers of revelers who become targets and predators after enough drinks. G. Simon Chafik, a female photographer who has lived in Manhattan for 15 years, tells the Post, "I've never seen it like this before—never, ever. I'm a big New Yorker. New York is one of the safest cities. [But] I'm beginning to question that."

[UPDATE BELOW] Here's helicopter footage taken this morning following the collapse of a five-story building landmark building at 71 Reade Street between Church and Broadway. Channel 7 reports that first responders believe the mixed-use building to be vacant when it collapsed around 6:15 this morning, sending "debris and pieces of the building crashing onto parked cars and across Reade Street."

These photos of low flying planes over downtown (one looks to be over the New Museum on Bowery) were taken last Friday. Have you noticed any others lately? The blogger who took these notes that while it's likely the planes flight paths were re-routed due to high winds, "the sight of planes above the skyline is usually a recipe for unease."

      

Reader David Velez (link NSFW) sent us these photos of a sad looking panda walking around downtown at Battery Park late yesterday afternoon. Was he laid off from the zoo? He was carrying a Duane Reade bag and kept his head hung low as he walked amongst the humans. Aw, depression era panda, you make us so sad. (Though the eye witness pointed out this could be some sort of fetish thing, in which case, gross.)

This week Frank Bruni at the Times tells Zak Pelaccio (Fatty Crab) to get his shit together at the West Village's Cabrito: "On its best nights and judged by its best dishes, Cabrito is the Mexican restaurant so many of us dreamed about for so long. It has just enough sophistication and upscale trappings, manifest in the quality of its cocktails and length of its tequila and mezcal list, to be the plausible cynosure of a fun night out, not just a grubby refueling station where the price of dauntless, authentic flavors is a spartan atmosphere." BUT: "Cabrito is afflicted by an inconsistency that’s puzzling, even maddening. There are dishes that don’t seem, by nature, to rise to the caliber of others, and dishes that aren’t dependable from one visit to the next."

Two distinct East Village establishments are on the verge of going under, and though the businesses are polar opposites, their troubles highlight the downward spiral of the neighborhood into a boarded-up ghost town dotted with high rise condos. Exhibit A, Kurve, is no surprise; the long-delayed Thai restaurant from acclaimed chef Andy Chang (Rhong-Tiam) finally opened last Autumn to disastrous reviews . But given Kurve's groovy design and its party zone location, it seemed possible the drunken masses would keep it afloat. In better times, maybe, but today Eater reports that the restaurant has been abruptly shut down, with an eviction notice on the door demanding $52,253.43 in back rent from last May.

          

The first NYC location of The Standard Hotel opened recently after more than two years of construction; located literally above the High Line, this is the sort of ominous looking structure that Curbed once likened to the AT-AT All-Terrain Walker from Star Wars. (Or for the more adult-minded, a "perpetual lap dancer" on the High Line, because of the way it evocatively straddles that old elevated railway.)

Boi Sandwich: This is latest outpost in a growing Vietnamese food empire, which now includes Bôi to Go and Bôi restaurant . And boy oh bôi is Midtown Lunch excited! "It may take awhile, but I think I may have to eat through the entire menu...Unlike its sister restaurant Bôi to Go, which has some seating, the new sandwich place is take out only (and cash only for the time being). I know a lot of you refuse to pay $7.50 for a banh mi, but it’s all we’ve got (and now one ave closer to Midtown proper!) In addition to the banh mi, which appear to be the same as Boi to Go, they are also offering noodle bowls, rice bowls, Asian burritos (hello!), and salads ($7 to $8)." 708 Third Avenue, (212) 681-6541

This week Frank Bruni at the Times slams fancy Franch brasserie Secession, the new iteration of what was formerly Danube in Tribeca. It's not good. He's completely vexed by the "oddly organized riot of strangely mismatched options" on the menu, deeming it "the menu of an unfocused, distracted mind. And it’s a window into the present hyperextension of its guiding spirit, David Bouley [pictured]...Not much of what emerged from Secession’s seemingly overburdened kitchen rose far above mediocrity. And there were instances of outright sloppiness. A block of butter for the breadbasket had a hard, pale yellow ring around it, suggesting that it had begun to melt before being returned to the refrigerator."

The curiously named Dirt Candy is a sleek and cozy new vegetarian restaurant on East Ninth Street, where chef Amanda Cohen presides over an open kitchen mere inches from her patrons. (As she tells us during our conversation, this sometimes results in some awkward involuntary eavesdropping.) About the funny name, Cohen explains that "vegetables are amazing. Made out of little more than water, sunlight, and dirt they wind up growing into a candy store full of color and flavor. And that’s what I want Dirt Candy to be: nature’s candy store."

      

The guys behind the smallish, always packed Dell'Anima in the West Village have expanded with L'Artusi, named after Pellegrino Artusi, the celebrated (and long dead) Italian cookbook author. Chef/owner Gabe Thompson and owner/wine director Joe Campanale have taken the sit-at-the-open-kitchen concept that's so popular at Dell'Anima and run with it, with even more seats at the L'Artusi counter to watch the sparks fly. The new 110-seat restaurant (which used to be Maremma) emphasizes seasonal Italian cuisine. And though it may be a lot bigger than Dell'Anima, you probably won't notice because all those stripes are very slimming.

Vero Midtown: The little amber-hued nook seen here is nestled inside this warm and inviting wine bar on East 53rd Street that boasts a 2,200-bottle wine cellar. This is the second Vero location, and while the uptown original emphasizes panini, this iteration has a full kitchen serving dishes such as short rib tacos, gnocchi with foie gras and truffle sauce, and pan-roasted quail. The romantic scene is set by raw wood tables, Edison bulbs encased in pewter and antique glass pendants, mid-century inspired monochromatic art-work featuring '60s and '70s film stars, and lots of natural wood-framed mirrors. Vero also has its own in-house sommelier, Storme Woode, who has attained the elite "second level" of certified sommelier status. Also, per the publicist, "She is cute! And Storme can choose a wine for you by just looking at you." 1004 2nd Avenue at 53rd Street, (212) 935-3530.

If you like a little sensual touch with your performance art—and really, who doesn't?—be sure to sit in the first row at BLIND.NESS, the dark and steamy new dance-theater piece by WaxFactory at P.S. 122. One dude up front who received a prolonged nuzzling from performer Erika Latta was overheard gushing as he walked out, "That was the best play I've seen in a long time!" I wouldn't go that far (then again, I was in the fifth row), and BLIND.NESS isn't so much a play as it is a dense multidisciplinary collage, but it does succeed as an uninhibited exploration of eros and all its attendant agony.

Buzz has been building for Socarrat Paella Bar (pictured), the casual tapas and paella joint that has fans waiting 20-30 minutes for a seat at a long communal table. And after today's review by Frank Bruni in the Times, you may as well take that wait time and double it: "They’re better than the paellas at many other Spanish restaurants in New York, where paella doesn’t always fare so well...The broad, shallow, black cast iron pans in which they’re cooked are put on pedestals in the center of the table, and at the height of the dinner hour, they form a line stretching deep into the restaurant. It’s a glorious sight."

Corton: One of the most anticipated openings of the season, this modern French restaurant, formerly Montrachet, is the love child of big shot restaurateur Drew Nieporent (Nobu) and chef Paul Liebrandt, who dreams of owning a cryogenic freezer "for freezing the cooks when they misbehave." Located in Tribeca, the 65-seat space serves a three-course prix fixe for $76 and a tasting menu for $110. What financial crisis? Appealing options for the not-broke-yet include Ocean Trout Ballotine (White Sturgeon Caviar, Konbu Consommé) and Scallops (Uni Crème, Radish, Marcona Almond). 239 West Broadway, (212) 219-2777

Inside Park: According to the Times, the café terrace at St. Bartholomew’s Church on East 50th Street proved so popular they decided to convert the chapter house into a year-round restaurant. Judging by the photo on Grub Street, the renovated space definitely looks appealing, with soaring ceilings and candle chandeliers. Formerly of Savoy, chef Matthew Weingarten has been “pickling everything he can find at the Greenmarket to serve as the season cools.” Beyond pickles, the menu features dishes like Heritage Breed Pork Chop Mushroom Fricassee and Caraway Dumpling, as well as Hand Cut Pappardelle Mountain Style Rabbit Ragu. 109 East 50th Street, (212) 593-3333.

Here, pour yourself a morning cup o' contempt, courtesy Frank Bruni's review of Delicatessen (pictured), the overpriced, overcrowded Soho comfort food lounge where tools and over-privileged scenesters flock to judge each other. (You know, the place that's driving neighbors to urinate on it.) After conceding that "this seriously mediocre but ingeniously conceived restaurant" isn't catering to epicures, but rather "night crawlers looking for foodstuffs that double as alcohol sponges," Bruni decides that "many of these dishes are clever, but their execution is usually matter of fact and sometimes quite sloppy...How to pass the time? During dinner I enjoyed watching the Delicatessen pirouette, a 360-degree spin some patrons perform on the way to their seats, allowing them to appraise the room fully and be fully appraised by it."

Il Porto: Across the river and down the market there’s a new brick oven pizza place that’s not to be confused with the tourist trap of the same name at the South Street Seaport. This one’s in Wallabout, a plucky little neighborhood north of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, near the Navy Yard. Brownstoner discovered the place and provides a helpful map, along with lots of photos and mention of “the full bar and lots o' tables.” 37 Washington Avenue, Wallabout, Brooklyn, (718) 624-0954.

The dark and discreet cocktail lounge The Randolph at Broome was deemed one the top ten bars of 2007 by the nightlife editors at Citysearch. But co-owner Hari Kalyan wasn’t satisfied with all the buzz, so he shut down for renovations and reopened in May with an even darker, more mysterious aesthetic, livened by a piano player, DJs and an excellent specialty cocktail menu from Matty Gee, a bartender from the Milk & Honey school of high-end drinks. Gee recently answered our questions about what sets his cocktails at The Randolph apart, and also divulged one of his favorite drink recipes, the Strawberry Cucumber Fizz. Pictured after the jump, it does look appealing, but if you happen to stop by The Randolph don't miss The Gershwin – made with their signature cold gin, it's one fancy cocktail that manages to justify its steep price.