••• “The absolutely gorgeous Woolworth Building has been undergoing a fairly sluggish renovation. Following the attacks on 9/11, the building was without electricity, water and telephone service for weeks, and now the former tourist attraction has a sign on the door that reads: ‘Tourists Are Not Permitted Beyond This Point.’ Flickr user yojimbot somehow got inside, however, and just sent over these photos [including the one above].” (Gothamist)

••• New York magazine’s Reasons to Love New York This Year Right Now issue includes paeans to Mayor Bloomberg (especially for his Park51 speech), religious leaders who supported Park51 (especially in the face of the ADL’s statement), and Beekman Tower/8 Spruce Street (though in the photo they cropped out the ugly parts base and the top). It’s all a good read, but then I’d add New York mag to the list.

••• A lot of staffers appear to be leaving Corton. Don’t read the comments unless you have a taste for bile. (Eater)

••• Tribeca-based interior designer Katie Lydon gives holiday-decorating tips to the Inside Source, which is eBay’s online magazine?

••• Church Street School’s gingerbread-house-decorating benefit. (DNAinfo)

••• “On Thursday, the holiday train display will return to the Manhattan Sailing Club’s floating headquarters, the Honorable William Wall, in Battery Park City’s North Cove Marina. Both the young and the young-at-heart are invited to enjoy the festive event free of charge, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. […] This winter, for the first time, club members and local residents may be able to avail themselves of a champagne and beer bar in the clubhouse’s newly insulated interior. A liquor license application […] is waiting for final approval from the New York State Liquor Authority.” (Broadsheet Daily)

••• “CIM Group is bailing out another Sapir Organization project. Sources tell The Post that Los Angeles–based CIM has bought the iStar-owned debt on the unsold luxury condominiums at the William Beaver House in the Financial District.” (New York Post via Curbed)