In the News: Tetsu Opening Forecast

••• Cake maker Sylvia Weinstock and her husband, Ben—married for 68 years!—have put 273 Church on the market for $13.5 million. (They bought it in 1980 for $175,000.) Also: “In December Mrs. Weinstock closed her custom cake business, Sylvia Weinstock Cakes, after 35 years to focus on licensing agreements.” The Wall Street Journal featured the building as the “House of the Day”—but why doesn’t the paper link to the listing? Let’s hope that the new owner, should one snap the place up, values Souths as much as the neighborhood does.

••• The “Off the Menu” roundup in the New York Times food section has a few items of local note: Tetsu on Leonard is shooting for a May/June opening; “Paolo Alavian has closed his Soho restaurant, Savore, and will replace it in about a month with this outpost of Altesi, his Upper East Side townhouse restaurant”; and Julie Elkind, “the executive pastry chef for ESquared Hospitality, is the new pastry chef at Bâtard.”

••• “Don’t worry if you see lots of emergency vehicles and armed police officers running around the World Trade Center are in the next few days. It’s only a drill.” —Downtown Express

••• “Police are looking for a man they say sexually assaulted the same woman in two separate incidents in the subway [in Lower Manhattan] in two days—first grabbing her butt in a subway station and then rubbing up against her on a train the next day.” Seems weird to use the word “butt” in this context, no? —DNAinfo

••• Meanwhile, “A man grabbed a woman’s puppies breasts on the 4 train after falling on her when he lost his balance, police said.” Probably afraid to grab the pole. —DNAinfo

••• Curbed loved this week’s New Yorker magazine cover, an illustration of a Manhattan-shaped bookshelf with neighborhood-relevant objects. I thought the objects were out of date and cliché (canisters of film for Tribeca?), but I’m hyperlocal and ultracritical.

••• Another poke restaurant is opening downtown: Poke Chan at 100 William. —FiDi Fan Page

••• “Next Sunday, April 2, […] Café Altro Paradiso is hosting a bake sale to benefit Planned Parenthood. The restaurant at 234 Spring St. will be offering treats from their own bakeries and from restaurants around the city, including Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, Le Coucou, Del Posto, and more.” —Eater

••• Ephemeral New York is feeling the old “Ragu spaghetti sauce” sign now visible at 11 Sixth Ave. It used to be hidden by a sign for the parking lot next door, but when the liquor store was torn down, the new restaurant* kept that one wall and built around it. Anyway, enjoy the view while it lasts, because 14 White will block it. (*No clue about the status of this; it’s been stalled for a while now.) Photo courtesy Ephemeral New York.

 

30 Comments

  1. Doesn’t it occur to you how inappropriate it is that in TWO entries which describe sexual assaults, you joke about the term “puppies?” And “Probably afraid to grab the pole?” Do you think this sexual assault is funny?

    • Do I think sexual assault, in itself, is funny? Of course not. But I do think that humor can be found in even the most dire situations. For instance, I believe that our country is going to hell in a handbasket, and many people will be seriously, adversely affected by the current administration’s efforts. As terrifying and depressing as the situation is, however, it still has moments that are quite funny.

      So, yes, I think referring to breasts as “puppies” is funny, even in this context. (Obviously, the behavior itself is reprehensible.) In this instance, I actually asked myself: If I had an employer who called my manhood a weasel—no, a panther—I would be offended and outraged and litigious. But I’d also think it was pretty funny. Maybe it’s a coping mechanism.

      As for “grabbing the pole,” are you seeing it as a penis reference? That eludes me. I was trying to make a germaphobe joke.

      • Erik, I assumed it was a joke about pole germs. But in respect to the women who were assaulted, and other women who have been, perhaps it’s best to just state the facts and not make jokes.

        And to be clear, if you were sexually assaulted at work…you would be “offended and outraged and litigious” but also find it hilarious that your private parts were routinely compared to an animal by the entire staff? Do you think the woman who was assaulted should “take a chill pill” and see the humor in the situation?

        Jim, all I can say about you is you must be one of those guys that think women are always “overreacting.” You could really benefit from a dialogue with women, instead of just trying to shut them down.

        • The woman who was allegedly assaulted should do whatever the hell she needs to do. (Don’t pin the “chill pill” line on me!) I was just making a joke about the word “puppies.” Sometimes jokes don’t work for everyone, but does that mean we should abandon all attempts at humor?

          And yes, as I stated, if I were harassed as described, I would find it outrageous and also humorous. You clearly would not, so I guess we’re different that way.

      • I’m sure that it’s not lost on you all that these MEN think it’s funny but the women do not. Really pathetic how out of touch many men are with their own sexist behavior. And sad that ANYONE thinks that sexual assault is fair game for dumb jokes.

        • “DUMB jokes”? Whoa, you just crossed the line, honey!

        • I certainly have noticed that. And women no doubt have far more reason to be sensitive to the topic.

          But I would like to clarify one thing, that may seem like splitting hairs but is pretty important. I was mocking the alleged harasser’s absurd word choice, not the serious act of sexual harassment. It appears that many people do not see those as separate those two things, but to me they are very different.

          • Erik, you can possibly justify that in your first post, but the repetition of the word in the second post…like a little boy who hears a vulgar word for the first time and gleefully looks for excuses to repeat it…is simply uncalled for. There was absolutely no reason to refer to the woman’s breasts as “puppies” in the second post as it was not part of the story. And, in addition, I very specifically said that the “probably afraid to grab the pole” joke was offensive as well. Do you honestly not see that joke as trivializing what actually happened? Look, women ARE more sensitive when it comes to sexual assault, which makes sense since one out of five women is sexually assaulted in this country. And with a pussy-grabber in the White House, we’re more vulnerable than ever.

  2. Elisa, take a chill pill.

  3. No one reads this website for your political views. Might want to lay off or risk losing some eyeballs.

    Plenty of us(even in Tribeca) feel this county went to “hell in a handbasket” the last eight years.

    • Sorry, but I’ve already got one person on my back, so you’ll have to wait till it’s free.

    • This county didn’t go to hell in a handbasket; it’s just more gentrification in the outer boroughs makes it seem that way. :-)

    • I agree with ” getting old ” Well said !

    • Yeah, Erik, the 1st Amendment doesn’t apply to you! BIGLY!

      • It’s just amazing to me. I rarely touch on national issues—every few months?—and when I do, even as an example in a comment, it gets this snowflake-y reaction. As if, simply because we disagree on a topic, I shouldn’t go near it at all. If I say something you don’t agree with, argue with me, cover your ears, or shake it off. But don’t tell me to shut up.

        • Well, clearly, your biased opinions and posts are costing you eyeballs and brainfarts. If you keep this up, you’ll eventually need to declare bankruptcy, much like the current POTUS (6 times), but don’t worry, you’ll then be qualified to run the country, not just the “county.” Make America’s Lies Great Again!

        • Um.. some are just expressing their opinion.. same as you. You have every right to express your opinions but so do others. Your choice how you take it… but I guess accusing others of being “snowflakey” is easier for you. Best of luck with that.

        • Well said, Eric.

    • Plenty? There were, like, 7 Tribecans who did Nazi problems with voting for Trump.

      Erik, your blog, your choice (obviously). I have always appreciated your (sometimes brutal) honesty and would miss it terrible if you were to fall in line over a couple of page views.

  4. Whats been lost over time — perhaps due to the new social media — is the ability to accept another’s point of view or humor or political stance etc etc even if one does not agree or find it funny. These days so many people feel it’s their way or the highway.

  5. It is always wonderful that Americans can’t resist jumping into any political argument going on. But in this case, we lost sight of the original discussion which was about women’s right to control our own bodies. No matter what childish nomenclature you choose to use, it is not funny about any one being grabbed. Eric, you usually have got both a wonderful sense of humor as well as great sensitivity but both were on vacation in this instance.

  6. TAKE A JOKE PEOPLE!

  7. Oh I love a joke as much as the next person. Really I do! But Eric your lack of sensitivity and your embolden energy to the “puppy” reference was bad the first time around. Give it a rest. Not all jokes are funny BPCrez…And Betty I’m not American so there you go!

  8. I’m going on record as enjoying Eric’s sense of humor. And I thought the “puppies” thing was funny – because it, in itself, was ridiculous, referring to breasts as “puppies.” I appreciate a little lightness, and all this umbrage being taken strikes me as worthy of satire in itself. For heaven’s sake, the world has real problems, people.

  9. the only person who has the right to joke about this is the person it happened to; making jokes about someone else’s pain is simply not funny.

  10. Does anyone get the sense that political correctness is what’s killing America!

    A joke about puppies does NOT trivialize sexual abuse….it’s just funny.

    Bring back Lenny Bruce, Richard Prior and go Sarah Silverman!

  11. Since when is sexual assault not a real problem?

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