In the News: A Hip Hotel?

••• Hotelier Andre Balasz (the Standard, Chateau Marmont) is either buying the stunning-but-decaying 5 Beekman—a.k.a. Temple Court—or looking for financing to buy it. (If you don’t know the building, go to Scouting New York’s photo essay right now.) Will it become a hotel? Something else? Either way, it’s one of the more exciting things to happen to FiDi since, well, New York by Gehry. —Curbed (photo courtesy Scouting New York)

••• Eater rounds up the early Yelp and Chowhound reviews of Jungsik. Here’s one: “The food was better here than at Bouley, the service at Bouley was far superior to Jung Sik. Just to compare two Tribeca spots. I hope they get more staff and more experienced than some of those they have. Again, the General Manager is terrific. But perhaps she should send someone she trusts to eat there, and let them report to her which staff members are deficient. If it were a casual place, I would not be so picky about the service.” [Raises hand!] Meanwhile, outgoing New York Times critic Sam Sifton—in his Q&A column—takes a nasty swipe at the restaurant: “I wish I could send you back to Chanterelle, which closed in 2009. The restaurant occupied a wide-windowed space on the corner of Harrison and Hudson Streets in TriBeCa that was among the most beautiful dining rooms in New York City. Now it is a strange and untested haute Korean restaurant called Jung Sik, which most closely resembles an airport lounge. It is early yet, so Jung Sik may rise to great heights in the Manhattan ecosystem, but as of last weekend it was still puttering around on the runway, serving lush plates of not particularly interesting (and not particularly Korean!) food.” 1) You call it untested then criticize it? Dismissing an ambitious new restaurant without bothering to review it is pretty shitty. 2) Exactly how is it “strange”? 3) Oh, because it’s not Korean enough? Is there some level of kimchi that qualifies a restaurant? 4) You go to better airport lounges than I ever have. 5) By 2009, the only thing beautiful about Chanterelle’s decor was the windows. And the menus. I’m sorry but it’s true.

••• “Protesters who have been occupying Zuccotti Park since Sept. 17 have created their own impromptu village, complete with everything from a library to a chiropractor and a barber. Occupy Wall Street receives mail at the plaza, located near the World Trade Center, has a generator set up to serve a 24-7 “media center” and organizes teams to clean up the space on a regular basis.” —DNAinfo

••• “Saying it is time to “work together,” Community Board 1 members are meeting with Occupy Wall Street representatives in an effort to end what they say is hurting quality of life for nearby residents.” —Tribeca Trib

 

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