••• “On Thursday [as in tomorrow], the Port Authority plans to open the second of four new snow-white, marble-floored PATH platforms designed by Mr. Calatrava and his colleagues in the Downtown Design Partnership. At the same time, workers are to remove a temporary floor-to-ceiling barrier in the PATH mezzanine directly above the platforms, creating a broad perspective on the space, which looks like the inside of some fantastically large (but immaculately clean) marine organism.” Also: “Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus […] will open to limited pedestrian traffic in June. […] The public will have a chance to study the interior of the Oculus from a north-south passageway that is to open next month (or perhaps earlier), linking the PATH platforms to new entrances at Vesey and Liberty Streets.” —New York Times

••• A few beefs with the New Yorker‘s very positive review of Racines NY: 1) Chambers between Chuch and Broadway is Tribeca these days, not “the no man’s land between Tribeca and City Hall”; 2) while I agree that Racines could benefit from a touch more decor, it’s hardly “less French sophisticate than generic financial-district drinking establishment”; 3) chef Frédéric Duca has “stayed under the radar” only if you don’t read the New York Times.

••• Eater got more info on L’Atelier by Joël Robuchon at Brookfield Place, which will be split into two parts: “La Boutique will be attached to L’Atelier, but will also have its own entrance. Besides breads and fancy French pastries, it will also offer salads, sandwiches, and made-to-order crepes. Outside La Boutique, on a patio overlooking the Hudson, will be La Terrace, a 48-seat outdoor restaurant that isn’t so much its own restaurant as a full-service version of La Boutique, with the addition of beer, wine, and cocktails.” How many crepes can one office complex eat?

••• Atera is ditching tipping: “Chef Ronny Emborg’s 18-course menu will cost $235 when dinner service resumes next Tuesday. Patrons will not expected to leave gratuity; for comparison’s sake, a similar tasting would cost about $188 at restaurant where a 20 percent tip is customary. That’s a proper price drop from Atera’s previous menu under chef Matthew Lightner, who charged $225 before tip, or $270 after. Wine pairings, previously $165 before tip, are now $195, service-included—roughly the same amount.” Tangent: Joel Viehland, the chef at my favorite restaurant anywhere—Community Table in Washington, Ct.—is leaving; his replacement, Marcell Davidsen, recently worked with Emborg at Marchal in Copenhagen. —Eater

••• Mamo, a new restaurant at 323 W. Broadway (at Grand), opens Friday: “Massimo Sola, the chef at this branch of Mamo Le Michelangelo, a restaurant in Antibes, France, tosses in an occasional nod to Provence.” —New York Times

••• Renzo Piano is designing the condo tower at 100 Varick, across from the Holland Tunnel. —New York Post

••• “Vbar Seaport may be opening May 15 or sooner.” —Downtown Express

••• “A man grabbed an iPhone off the subway tracks in lower Manhattan after a straphanger dropped it, then refused to give it back. ‘You have to pay me,’ the suspect demanded.” —New York Post

••• “A woman was slashed across the arm in the Brooklyn Bridge—City Hall subway station by a man she laughed at for spitting on her.” —DNAinfo

••• Pier A update from the New York Times: “The second-floor rooms […] are opening in stages. The main dining areas, done with a vintage look, and the leather-upholstered bar at the eastern end of the building, the Harrison Room, will be ready next week.” I must have imagined my February visit to the Harrison Room. “The wood-paneled Commissioner’s Bar, with sunset views, is to open this summer. All are under the direction of the executive chef, Joe Mallol, whose menu offers straightforward American fare. The Dead Rabbit, an award-winning bar from HPH, which also owns Pier A, is creating the cocktails.” Plus: Eater got the dining room (called The Restaurant) menu.