It's been a tough four weeks to ride a bike around the Lower East Side: Stanton, Rivington, Suffolk and Norfolk streets were all stripped of their paving, making it rough on riders' bikes and derrieres. One of our commenters even noted, "I have to find a new commute from Greenpoint or else I'll start getting chronic yeast infections from that turbulence." Luckily for ladyparts, the DOT tells us that the resurfacing of Stanton and Rivington will begin tomorrow night, weather permitting. Norfolk & Suffolk will begin on the 21st.
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![[UPDATE] Teen Killed By Minivan Driver On Delancey At Base Of Williamsburg Bridge](http://gothamist.com/assets_c/2012/01/011312bburg-thumb-105x105-687363.jpg)
Results tagged “les”
Bruised Butt Bicycling On LES Will End Soon As DOT Repaves Roads
Cake Shop Needs $10K In 48 Hours: Go To Cake Shop NOW
In a neighborhood of metastasizing douchiness, chain restaurants, cookie-cutter venues and rising prices, Cake Shop is a haven for fresh music, cheap booze, and good people. But Brooklyn Vegan reports that owner Andy Bodor is in trouble, and due to "bogus fines," needs $10,000 in the next 72 hours to stay open. Since Bodor sent the email yesterday, he now only has 48 hours.
Better Off Dead: Architect Wants To Install Giant Ski Slope Over The Lower East Side
It's still up in the air as to what may become of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA), the lot of land in the Lower East Side that has been slated for redevelopment for the last 40 years or so. But one architect has a novel idea for what to do with the roof of the development: turn it into an artificial mountain. For skiing! And hiking! It's no Mt. Red Bull, but we'll take it.
Victim's Sister Speaks About Mistrial In Lower East Side Mistaken Identity Murder
Last week a judge declared a mistrial after a jury became deadlocked in the trial of Joel Herrera, a Latin Kings gang member accused of murdering 20-year-old Glenn Wright in the Baruch Houses on the Lower East Side three years ago. The murder devastated many in Wright's East Harlem community and beyond—Herrera allegedly stabbed Wright to death because he believed he was another man who robbed a relative of a fellow gangster. Herrera was charged with second degree murder, manslaughter, and gang assault.
NYPD: Cougar Robbed By Young Hustler Man She Met Online
Internet dating, for the most part, is pretty safe. But it does have its dangers! Like, oh, getting robbed. Which is exactly what apparently happened to a 50-year-old woman recently after she went on a date with a younger man she met on the interwebs.
Goes Well With Drunk: LES Fried-Pizza Only Place Opens Soon
For the last year New York's cutting edge pizza scene has been dominated by the fryer. Specifically we're talking about the Montanara, a pizza pie that is fried before it goes in the oven to produce a lightly-greasy, slightly crunchy, barely sweet and completely tasty experience. The first fried pie to really make waves showed up at the Brooklyn Forcella, though some argue newcomer Don Antonio (whose fried pie has some Italian roots) has already supplanted it. Now, TONY points out, New York is set to get its first fried-pizza only pizza parlor. Naturally, it is opening on the Lower East Side. Hey, better than another meatball boutique!
Latin Kings Gangster On Trial For LES Mistaken-Identity Murder Says He Was A "Peacemaker"
The trial of Joel Herrera for the tragic mistaken-identity murder of Glenn Wright, 20, is now in the hands of a jury. On Friday, both the defense and the prosecution presented their closing arguments, after which the judge charged the jury with their duties and sequestered them in the jury room, where they had the opportunity to examine witness testimony and other evidence presented over the past week.
Glenn Wright's Alleged Killer Was Caught With Blood On His Hands
The young man on trial for fatally stabbing a stranger whom he mistook for someone else was splattered in blood when police apprehended him shortly after the murder, an officer testified yesterday. Joel Herrera, who is accused of fatally stabbing Glenn Wright because he thought Wright had stolen from his cousin, is currently on trial for murder in the second degree. Yesterday the officers who arrested him testified that Herrara claimed he just had a bloody nose when they caught him.
Trial Finally Begins In Tragic Mistaken Identity Murder On LES
Two and a half years after the murder of Glenn Wright by an alleged gang member, the trial finally got underway yesterday. As you may recall, Wright was 21-years-old when he was fatally stabbed in the neck at the Lower East Side Baruch Houses. He had stepped outside to get some fresh air and take a break from washing his grandmother's windows when a group of men approached him. Prosecutors say the gang was looking for revenge for an earlier attack, and his alleged killer, Joel Herrera, 20, told detectives he confused Wright with someone who assaulted one of his friends.
We Read Lady Gaga's Ex's Times Interview So You Don't Have To
It was bound to happen. Lüc Carl, Lady Gaga's big-haired, former bar tending, ex, has written a book. And with the publication of The Drunk Diet later this month he's gone and given a 1,500-word interview with Times. Life being short though, we figure you probably just want the highlights from a man once called "the king of Rivington Street." Because, yes, he does talk about Gaga. Briefly.
Proposed LES "LowLine" Park Not Having Money Problems Yet
The Delancey Underground—the proposed "LowLine" park in the abandoned LES trolley terminal by the Williamsburg Bridge—is still a long way from becoming reality. But that distance just got a little bit shorter. The guys behind the idea recently turned to KickStarter for cash to build a "mini LowLine" proof of concept and got far more than they asked for.
All The Lin That's Fit To Print: A Tribute To Lin In The LES
Since converting our URL to Linthamist.com three weeks ago, we've found that sometimes there's just too much good Jeremy Lin news than can be fit into one day. Thus, we're proud to bring you our end-of-the-day Lin wrap-up linkstravaganza:
Could Construction Kill A Knishery? Yonah Schimmel Says Yes
Brooklyn business owners aren't the only ones saying city construction is killing their business. Yonah Schimmel, at 101 years old arguably the oldest knishery in America, says long-planned work on Houston Street is ruining them. "The city has cut off our oxygen...I have no money to pay my workers. It’s really bad," owner Ellen Anistratov complains to The Lo-Down today.
Did The Design For Darth Vader Come From An Old LES Oddities Shop?
While scanning through this 1946 issue of Modern Mechanix, we noticed something that looked incredibly similar to Darth Vader, who wasn't created until much later, and didn't appear on the big screen until 1977. In the issue, it states:
SF's Much-Loved Mission Chinese Food Is Coming To NYC!
We don't often write about restaurants that haven't opened yet, but when one of the hottest chefs in another city is planning to bring their skills (and menu) our way, we'll make an exception! Which is to say, Mission Chinese Food, arguably one of the most popular spots in the Bay Area these days, is coming to the LES. And it is bringing its chef, Danny Bowien, along with it!
The Latest NYC Condo Amenity? 24-Hour Veggie Juice Bar
Because when you are spending a half million on a "loft-like" apartment, why not enjoy a 3 a.m. carrot juice brought to your door? Talk about a juiced listing!
Woman Thrown Onto Subway Tracks, Raped At Bowery J Train Station
An MTA track worker scared off a man who was raping a 36-year-old woman on the tracks at the Bowery J subway station at Delancey Street on Wednesday. Police say the suspect targeted the woman who got off a train around 1 a.m.: The [victim] was on an escalator when 29-year-old Michael Torres grabbed her around the neck, covered her mouth and told her not to scream. He then dragged her to the end of the platform, threw her on the tracks and sexually assaulted her."
[UPDATE] Teen Killed By Minivan Driver On Delancey At Base Of Williamsburg Bridge
[UPDATE BELOW] A 13-year-old girl is dead after being run over at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan. The unidentified sixth grader was hit around 2:30 p.m., and the FDNY tells us she was in cardiac arrest when they arrived on scene at Clinton Street and Delancey. She was rushed to New York Downtown Hospital, where she was pronounced D.O.A. The NYPD press office did not have any information about the accident yet, but there were reports of heavy traffic backups on the bridge.
Pok Pok Brings Cultishly Loved Chicken Wings To LES
Pok Pok, the Portland-based Thai restaurant with a fervent, bicoastal fan base, has officially opened a tiny wing-centric snack shop in the Lower East Side, just as we predicted. The small menu features chef Andy Ricker's cultishly loved fish sauce chicken wings ($12.50), papaya salad ($8.50), papaya salad with coconut rice and sweet shredded pork ($10.50), coffees and the restaurant's signature drinking vinegars (sorry, no booze for now).
New List Confirms People Still Like Coming To NYC For New Year's Eve
In Priceline's world, the Lower East Side is the 46th best spot in the United States to celebrate New Year's Eve. In a "news release" the company sent out, spotted by EV Grieve, they say their "top destinations list is based on thousands of hotel booking requests made by customers for the New Year's weekend." The neighborhood comes behind places like Orlando, Minneapolis, and Miami's International Airport Area... but then again, that neighborhood has less hotel rooms to offer.
LES High School Allegedly Underreporting Violence To Prevent Closure
Following the release of Mayor Bloomberg's hit list of 19 schools that "just don't do the job," it behooves the ones who survived to shape up or face the impending municipal axe. Or, cut back on reporting things that would get you there. Parents and former employees of the Lower East Side's Marta Valle High School are claiming Principal Mimi Fortunato is attempting to play down the number of violent altercations and lax attendance policy to avoid closure. "See how I get a drink?" one truant student told a Post reporter outside the school. "If there was discipline, I'd be in class."
Video: Inside The "Low Line" Trolley Terminal Beneath The LES
Remember The Low Line, the out-of-left-field underground park some guys are proposing be put in the abandoned trolley terminal beneath Delancey Street? Well, it is still being talked about! But parks don't generally produce money (quite the opposite) and the MTA, which owns the terminal, can really use some extra dough. So its actively seeking any ideas that anyone might have for the suddenly hot spot beneath the LES. So they went and made a real estate porno:
New LES Tequila Lounge Viktor & Spoils Slings $69 Cocktail
The lounge under the Hotel on Rivington that used to be CV is now Viktor & Spoils, a seemingly less douchey destination which opened about a week ago. (Update: Okay, maybe not.) It's now a "modern" taqueria and tequila bar featuring food from Chef John Keller (you may remember him from Chopped) and cocktails from Steve Olson (an expert on tequila and mezcal), Andy Seymour, and their protégé Leo Degroff, son of the "king of cocktails," Dale Degroff. Yep, not only do mixologists get treated like royalty and have protégés, but their expertise is now being handed down through bloodlines! Up next: mixology prodigies infusing their own artisanal vodkas in preschool.
Live In Lady Gaga's Old LES Apartment, Or Be Her Current Neighbor!
Even if Lady Gaga can't go home again (really, she wasn't allowed back in to her old Lower East Side apartment earlier this year), you can! Citi Habitats has listed her old one-bedroom pad at 176 Stanton Street, for "just" $1,850/month. Shower where Lady Gaga showered! Do cocaine off the same surface that Lady Gaga snorted off of! LIVE THE DREAM. In a recent interview, she told Howard Stern, “I did [cocaine] all alone in my apartment, while I wrote music."
Blame The Anorexic Clientele: Hipster "Hotspot" Kenmare Calls It Quits
Less than two years after it opened Zagat Buzz is reporting that Paul Sevigny and Nur Khan's briefly inescapable hotspot Kenmare has closed. In its place a new concept will launch in the coming months. But where will the skinny models go and not eat now?
BabyCakes Is Baking A Beyonce Baby Bun
You read that right. BabyCakes, the vegan bakery in the Lower East Side, is so psyched over Queen Bee's impending bundle of joy that they're baking a literal bun in the oven. Yes, it gets bigger every week, and no, you sadly cannot eat it.
Underground Park Forever: Your Basic "Low Line" Questions, Answered
The idea of putting a giant subterranean park (or "Low Line") in the Lower East Side, a concept which New York Magazine brought to everyone's attention quite forcefully this week, comes with lots of questions. Like, where exactly are we talking about? And how will this not feel claustrophobic? Luckily for enquiring minds, in preparation for this weeks presentation to Community Board 3's land use committee, two of the men behind the idea of the Delancey Underground, James Ramsey and Daniel Barasch, are apparently quite happy to talk about their plans. Meanwhile, are we the only ones who can't help but think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's lair when thinking about this project?
Meet "The Low Line," The LES's Potential Underground Park
Turning abandoned elevated railways into parks is so Aughts: the new hottness for public parks is clearly below ground, people. Morlocks needs their green spaces too! To that end, three gentlemen are trying to persuade the city to turn an abandoned trolley terminal beneath Delancey Street into a park. They hope to fill the the vast cavern with sunlight thanks to fancy fiber optic cables. New York magazine has already dubbed the project the Low Line—despite another "Low Line" park still being pushed in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx—but the group angling for the below-grade gardens creation want to call it the Delancey Underground.
Video: Jim Carrey Sings Radiohead At Arlene's Grocery
This is arguably the best thing to ever happen inside the Lower East Side venue Arlene's Grocery: Jim Carrey, along with "his band," performed a set on Friday night. It included Radiohead's "Creep" (which he introduces as his new theme song) and Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." He didn't seem to publicize the concert, though earlier that day he Tweeted: "Tonight at midnight, NY time, on www.jimcarreytrulife.com 'Something happy for a hard day' Let's all find a #UnitedStateOfGrace?" You can check out some amazing photos (and everyone's favorite font Comic Sans) from Friday night's show right here, and video below:
Will The LES Pie Eating Contest Turn Into A Barf-O-Rama?
Word is the Lower East Side BID has got themselves nine professional eaters and three amateurs for their annual Apple Day Pie Eating Contest, going down later this month! Get there by 2 p.m. on Sunday the 18th to watch a possible record-breaking performance from these champions, three of whom will go home with a few hundred bucks. For eating pies! Let's hope it doesn't turn into a barf-o-rama, but if it does, send us your photos or tag them "Gothamist" on Flickr! We'll post them around lunchtime on the 19th.
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