Staten Island may not be the only borough worried about its future, but it might be the only one to have commissioned a study to understand the next 13 years. Earlier this week, the Center for an Urban Future presented Staten Island 2020 plans. The Advance noted that Mayor Bloomberg had PlaNYC 2030 while SI had 2020, "The study...lays out an ambitious series of recommendations aimed at promoting sensible growth, boosting tourism and protecting......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Esca, calls chef Dave Pasternack a "fish whisperer" (um, OK Frank) and awards the restaurant three stars. "In an era when too many restaurants try to be everything to everyone," he says, "Esca has a specific agenda: show what the sea can yield." The restaurant was previously awarded two stars by William Grimes in 2000. In $25 and Under, Peter Meehan checks out the cafes at the......

Well, the wake of the Nor'easter, Weather Underground says that we're likely to have "light rain showers" tonight through tomorrow day, but the winds won't be as high as yesterday (north wind between 7 and 13 MPH, with gusts as high as 26 MPH). So this means: Make sure your umbrella is in good working order. Broken umbrella connoisseur Hamish Robertson wonders, What is the perfect umbrella? We venture to say that one can......

February 3: James Beard House Cookbook and Culinary Tag Sale It's bargains galore at the James Beard House's tag sale. Shop for bargains for your kitchen or for cookbooks to shake up your repertoire. 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., 167 West 12th Street. February 3: Navarra Cheese and Wine Located in the north of Spain, Navarra boasts a long and rich history of agriculture and gastronomic culture. Join Waldemar and Nadia as they showcase Navarra......

-- A one-bedroom apartment above the Red Hook Fairway for $3150? Maybe they're charging extra for the biodiesel smell! -- Experience the wonder of the One Web Day event through Brian Van's exciting photographs. -- Doesn't it kind of look like the Williamsburgh Savings Bank is wearing a condom? No, seriously, it does. -- A priest who stole $1 million from an Upper East Side church was sentenced to 1-4 years, plus needs to......

Weird stuff is happening with the Department of Transportation. First, the head of the bike program, Andrew Vesselovitch, left the DOT last Friday, and his farewell email pointed some serious criticism of the DOT. From Streetsblog: There is much more that the bicycle program could have done than it was allowed to do. The bicycle program, for example, could have produced plans for 40-50 miles of workable bicycle lanes each year. Instead, DOT installed little......

- A new building that will house both actors and artists as well as the formerly homeless broke ground in Brooklyn - Quick - Wired just released a bunch of seats for Al Gore's sold out Town Hall appearance on Thursday - The jury gets the Herald Square bomb plot suspect case - ME says girl's hanging death by shower hose was an accident - Curbed has new pictures of Gehry's buildings in Manhattann......

Brooklyn residents are waiting with bated breath for the opening of the new 52,000 square foot Fairway on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. And Upper West Siders - and all other shoppers who visit the wonderful but migraine-inducing Broadway and 74th Street location - are beyond green with envy. Could it be, a location where you're not constantly being pinned in by seniors or children steering shopping carts haphazardly? A store where people......

Gothamist loves food, so we were naturally riveted by New York magazine's great expose of sorts on the growing grocery store rivalries in the city last week. The players include web upstart Freshdirect, the do-gooder organic empire Whole Foods trying to make inroads all over the city and Upper West Side institution Fairway. The article is filled with some hilarious swipes between the owners and managers of the different of stores, but we most......