34 REASONS TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE
There has been a lot of depressing news in the past year, and we likely haven’t heard the last of it, so let’s focus on the positive (for one post, anyway). Here are 34 things to look forward to in Lower Manhattan, including restaurants, shops, and fitness studios slated to open in 2018.

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NEW YEAR, NEW YOU!
Does your list of New Year’s resolutions include reducing stress, losing weight, meeting new people, sharing an activity with your significant other, gaining confidence and poise, or starting a fun, new hobby? If yes, schedule your free private dance lesson now at Fred Astaire Dance Studio Downtown New York, the best dance studio in New York City, and see how dancing can change your life! We are open seven days a week. Call (212) 267-9500 or email nydowntown@fredastaire.com to start dancing today! Sponsored.

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COMMUNITY BOARD 1’S JANUARY AGENDAS
What’s being discussed this month: Something is cooking at the old American Flatbread space; tenant for the former Santos Party House on Lafayette; Five Boro Bike Tour; Walker Hotel Tribeca’s liquor license; Jay Street storefront renovation; Rector Street Bridge demolition; much more. Read the annotated agendas.

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GETTING TO THE OCULUS JUST GOT MUCH EASIER
The three subway entrances on the east side of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub have opened. Take a look.

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SEEN & HEARD
••• 12/28: Any sign of these three eccentrics? Plus: Dylan’s Candy Bar at Whole Foods; great slate of movies at the Roxy Cinema; documentary about artist Rob Mango; Town Stages’s State Liquor Authority hearing got pushed back; birding tours of the Battery (photo by Gail Karlsson).
••• 12/29: New subway connection at the World Trade Center. Plus: Rumored wine bar on Worth; three-level New Year’s Eve party on Broadway; “Street Abstractions” photo show; restaurant advice for the Big Island of Hawaii.

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ANOTHER FITNESS STUDIO IS OPENING HERE
According to the Nova Fitness website, it “combines Electric Muscle Stimulation technology with top tier personal trainers.”

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IN THE NEWS
••• 12/29: History of the Tiny’s building. Plus: More thefts in the area; actors Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam are trying to sell their Battery Park City apartment.

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WHERE IN TRIBECA…?
Congratulations to Sonia F. Stock for correctly identifying last week’s Where in Tribeca…? Click the link to discover the answer.

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