••• A few weeks before Sandy, I received word that boxed x’s had been spray-painted on 502 Canal; the reader wanted to know if that meant the building was to be torn down. The Landmarks Preservation Commission said it most likely signified “do not enter” to the FDNY, that the building was no longer stable. I planned on contacting the FDNY, but then the storm came. Anyway, yesterday, the New York Times filed a report on the building. It mostly laments the state of the building, and Sandy’s effect on it, as if the owner (someone “connected to the Ponte family”) hadn’t been slowly letting it crumble for years. When I took these photos—before Sandy—I noticed that the front door was gated but open. (I reached through and push it open more, just to see if I could. I assume the owners were hoping that the storm would wash the whole building away.) The Times article goes into the history of the building, which is interesting, and most notably says that “the owners say they still hope to salvage the building and begin reviving it as soon as this week.” Anyone want to take that bet?

••• The new SouthWest NY is debuting very soon. —[“news source” who wanted its name removed]

••• “Weeks after the storm battered Lower Manhattan, businesses that have reopened are facing a new problem: regaining clientele.” —Wall Street Journal

••• “A resident of the chi-chi Greenwich Club Residences [88 Greenwich] in lower Manhattan has filed a $35 million lawsuit against his condo board and management company, charging them with ‘fraud,’ ‘self-dealing’ and ‘gross negligence’ in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.” —New York Post