••• “Australian mall operator Westfield Group […] might be opening its stores at the World Trade Center development by March 2015 […]. 352,000 square feet of retail space will be parceled out over three above-ground levels and two below ground […]. What is known is that the stores will be tourist- and New Yorker-friendly, and will also feature a mixture of ‘upscale’ food shops and a ‘very good’ supermarket.” The only stores I know that are tourist- and local-friendly are Apple and Eataly. But a supermarket is a great news for FiDi, if they can find a way to stock the shelves despite the NYPD’s proposed lockdown of the area. —Commercial Observer

••• The Village Voice quite likes the ramen at Zutto.

••• “If you are a fan of Manhattan lofts (that’s everybody, right?), you are familiar with the work of architect Joseph Pell Lombardi. He worked on the conversion or construction of the Mohawk Atelier at 161 Duane Street, the Atalanta at 25 N.Moore Street, the (other) Ice House at 27 N. Moore Street, the Juilliard at 18 Leonard Street, the United State Sugar Warehouse at 79 Laight Street, Pearline Soap at 414 Washington Street, the Grabler at 44 Laight Street, and that is just (some of) his projects in Tribeca. All told, he claims more than 150 (present and former) commercial buildings and 10 new buildings in lower Manhattan in his long career.” Lombardi has “a monograph with his very personal and very comprehensive review of the history of Manhattan loft development since the 1950s […] Whatever your interest in Manhattan residential real estate, or New York City commercial history, or Soho, or Tribeca, or or or … you will learn something you did not know from this essay.” It’s true. My favorite line: “In the 1970s, buildings could be bought for $5/square foot (like your SAT scores, you never forget numbers like that).” —Manhattan Loft Guy

••• “Nearly 100 smarties at the city’s top-performing high school [Stuyvesant] bared their bodies in ‘risque’ outfits yesterday to denounce their school’s conservative dress code—which bans the exposure of shoulders, midriffs, lower backs, bras and undies.” —New York Post, which resisted the urge to run a slideshow

••• “Sean “Diddy” Combs […] recently checked out a $19.95 million penthouse at 35 North Moore St. The duplex is at the top of TriBeCa’s Merchants House condo conversion.” —New York Post

••• “Don’t bring the party to Pier A. That’s what Battery Park City residents told officials Tuesday night, after hearing that a new oyster bar and catering hall under construction at the historic Downtown pier would serve as a launch point for dinner cruises and other boat excursions several times a week starting next summer. The residents worried that party boats would bring noise and pollution to their neighborhood, and also expressed fear that hordes of tourists drawn to the cruises would overcrowd the new public plaza encircling Pier A.” That reminds me of how last summer, I was visiting my family in California, and my nephew and I were on a Ferris wheel, which is a tradition even though he’s 16 and Ferris wheels aren’t that interesting to him anymore. I figured I should take the opportunity to give him some advice—the kind of advice that he would be unlikely to get from his parents or teachers. “Austin,” I said, “I want you to remember one thing. Never go to a party on a boat.” —DNAinfo

••• “One man was left bloodied and another taken away in cuffs after a violent lunchtime battle erupted between a group of halal and hot dog vendors in City Hall Park Wednesday afternoon.” —DNAinfo

••• “Georges Forgeois, owner of Cercle Rouge, Bar Tabac and Cafe Noir, has taken over the space at 225 Varick Street (at Clarkson) that formerly housed Steak Frites, Village Lobster and Crab House. He has hired chef Christophe Bonnegrace, and plans to open the Clarkson Social Club in September.” —Zagat