••• Daytonian in Manhattan digs into the history of 400 Broadway (at Walker). An excerpt: “Among Augustus Hemenway’s earliest tenants was Charles Richlos. After leaving work on the evening of June 11, 1865, the wealthy businessman allowed his carnal passions to get the better of his common sense. He ran into two women on the street who lured him into a saloon.  Their intentions were not romantic. The New York Times reported on July 4, ‘It appears that [Francisca] Alreary and one Margaret Early induced Mr. Richlos to enter a Grand-street den… and drugged him there with pothouse wine.’ When Richlos regained his senses, he found that ‘his gold watch, chain, seal, breastpin and hat’ were missing. Francisca Alreary was found and arrested. At the time of the article Margaret Early was still at large.”

••• And DiM also tells the story of the White Conduit House, which used to stand at 355 Broadway (where the 91 Leonard condo is under construction).

••• “A marketing presentation reviewed by the Broadsheet indicates that a real estate brokerage firm has been retained to shop [the retail space at] 21 South End Avenue (within the Regatta condominium building) to prospective lessees. This may mean that Gristedes will soon vacate the space.”

••• A gang of shoplifters at Urban Outfitters and other thefts in Tribeca Trib‘s police blotter.

••• The recipe for Arcade Bakery‘s chocolate-walnut babka is in America’s Best Bread Recipes, which looks like a one-off magazine. I don’t think it’s online, but you can always try asking Arcade Bakery if you can snap a pic of it.

••• More of the MTA’s new payment system, currently being tested in Lower Manhattan: “New York City’s transit system is expected to take a significant step on Monday toward replacing the MetroCard with a more modern way for passengers to pay fares—by waving cellphones or certain kinds of credit or debit cards at turnstiles in the subway or fareboxes on buses.” —New York Times

••• T magazine visits artist Claes Oldenburg at “the studio and home Oldenburg has kept on the still-gritty far west side of Soho since 1971, a five-story warehouse where naval propellers were once manufactured.” Still gritty, eh? I can’t even imagine where that must be.