••• “Pace University, already in the midst of building a new 24-story dormitory at 180 Broadway, is seeking permission to erect a 34-story dorm on a vacant lot at 33 Beekman St., across from the Gehry-designed residential tower and the Spruce Street School. […] Because Pace envisions a building that is six stories taller than the 28 stories that zoning allows, it is seeking a variance from the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals. Community Board 1 is expected to weigh in on the request in January, in what may be a contentious issue for some board members and residents who are weary of construction in the area.” That area had such potential (but then I’m crabby because some other building going up nearby is going to block my view of 70 Pine)…. —Tribeca Trib

••• The New York Times checks in with Hudson River Park, still hurting from Sandy. “Right now, the only power at the park comes from two generators at Pier 40, which cost more than $5,000 per day to run. They have allowed the trust’s headquarters and some other tenants to stay put, at least for now. […] Restoring power will be time-consuming and complex, and there is no date set for its return. Engineers have been testing individual pieces of equipment up and down the park, but arranging repair work will take time. […] The park is moving more quickly to fix structural damage to a number of piers, repairing the flooded fields at Pier 40 and putting other work out for bids. […] The damage estimate at Pier 25 alone is $400,000, and a member of the board of the nonprofit group Friends of Hudson River Park has stepped forward with a $100,000 matching grant to repair the playground.”

••• Zagat says the Dead Rabbit is opening soon in FiDi (30 Water): “The ground-floor Taproom will be an ‘honest working man’s pub,’ with a menu of craft beers, bottled punches and whiskeys, plus traditional English food like pot pies, Scotch eggs and Ploughman’s lunches served throughout the day. Meanwhile, the upstairs Parlor will be a more sophisticated affair, with communal punches and 72 historical cocktails, listed together under different categories such as Sours and Fizzes, Slings and Toddies and Flips, Possets and Nogs. There will also be a daily ‘green happy hour,’ featuring specially-priced absinthe cocktails and $1 oysters, and occasional live entertainment.” It all looks very promising! Residents may be just as intrigued, if not more so, by the website’s page describing the grocery component. (On second thought, what’s with all the Cat Cora stuff?)

••• “A former city Parks Enforcement Patrol officer was arrested after investigators caught him stealing money from a wallet that was turned in to Battery Park’s lost-and-found in June, officials said Friday. Erthal Scott, 32, was patrolling the park when an undercover city investigator pretending to be a park-goer turned in the wallet, as part of what the city calls an ‘integrity test,’ the Department of Investigation said.” —DNAinfo

••• “A good Samaritan rescued a 55-year-old man who fell onto the R train tracks in Lower Manhattan Friday afternoon.” —DNAinfo

••• “The Friday, Dec. 14 reopening of the South Street Seaport Museum […] was canceled just hours before the museum was set to open with two new shows.” —Tribeca Trib