Remember how back in April how the MTA's $133 million project to connect the uptown 6 train at Bleecker Street with the B, D, F and V lines at Broadway-Lafayette had local merchants in a panic? They said their customers were being driven away by the massive construction ripping up Lafayette Street, and it really did look like an inconvenient eyesore down there. Well, the latest fly in the ointment is a three-story brick landmark building on Lafayette and Bleecker; dubbed the "Peace Pentagon," it's owned by the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute, where various progressive groups have their offices. MTA contractors couldn’t proceed with work because the scaffolding outside building is right where they need to dig. And the scaffolding can't be removed because, according to amNY, it's actually propping up the building. Officials now expect the project to be delayed two years because peace activists, not known for their spectacular wealth, need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix the building. It's bad news for retailers like Jack Wu at the Adore Floral store; he says, "I have customers who call and ask if we are still open. They are trying to modernize the system, but it's killing me." more ›

The MTA's $133 million project to (finally) connect the uptown 6 train at Bleecker Street with the B, D, F and V lines at Broadway-Lafayette is angering local business owners who say their customers are being driven away by all the construction. With the sidewalk gone on the east side of Lafayette between Houston and Bleecker, pedestrians must navigate a maze of fencing and heavy machinery if they wish, for instance, to patronize Mexican restaurant Pinche Taqueria, where manager Yasue Yang tells the Daily News, "It's killing us. We're losing one-quarter of our normal business." To help mitigate the damage, the MTA has at least put up signs listing the shops that are still open on the other side of the labyrinth, but Racked reports that some retailers are encouraging customers to access them through the rear doors on Mulberry Street. The work on Lafayette is expected to continue through at least the end of the year, but the director of the NOHO Business Improvement District says it will all be worth it for retailers once the extension is complete... and people no longer have to go above ground? more ›

Colors, the feel-good restaurant on Lafayette Street owned and operated by Windows on the World employees who were spared on 9/11, is reportedly back from the brink of ruin. The fine dining restaurant opened two years ago as one of New York’s few cooperative restaurants, with everyone from busboys to chefs sharing ownership and a menu featuring international cuisine created by the multi-ethnic staff. more ›