• Crain’s New York looks into the battle over 330 Hudson (at Charlton): “Two years ago, Tribeca Associates envisioned spending this summer opening the office portion of its warehouse conversion project at 330 Hudson St. and preparing for the early-2010 debut of a chic boutique hotel,” writes commercial real estate reporter Theresa Agovino. “Instead, Tribeca and its partners are waging a legal battle to prevent landlord Trinity Real Estate from foreclosing on the property and wiping out the $63 million they’ve poured into the stalled Hudson Square development. The planned 168-room hotel is the project’s centerpiece, but Tribeca says it has become a major obstacle to moving forward. Trinity, Hudson Square’s largest landlord, coveted a hotel that would turn the office district into a 24/7 neighborhood with stores, restaurants and amenities, thus making its 6 million square feet of real estate in Hudson Square even more valuable. Because it lacked hospitality expertise, Trinity granted a 99-year lease on a former warehouse to Tribeca, an owner of the trendy Smyth Hotel on West Broadway.”

• The Haystack Needle, a lifestyle blog by Jen Jafarzadeh L’Italien, discovered this limited-edition Tribeca tote bag (left, with detail above) by Brooklyn-based Maptote, available exclusively at J. Crew’s Liquor Store: “For the record, I’ve never lived in Tribeca, but I feel connected to the streets of this neighborhood. Through years of bouncing around apartments and jobs, Tribeca has been one constant, as I regularly make my way there to go to my longtime yoga studio.”

• David Cleaver of the Tribeca Performing Arts Center emailed to remind everyone that the next Tribeca Meet and Greet is this Wednesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Art Institute of New York (11 Beach St., at Varick). “This is a great chance to meet the fine folks of the Art Institute and see the interior design exhibit on view in their Beach Street gallery. Frankly Wines at 66 West Broadway has kindly donated beverages and Taj Tribeca, a brand new Murray Street Indian restaurant, will bring along some tasty appetizers.” See you there!