••• The banner in the window of Il Mulino’s forthcoming Tribeca restaurant is down, affording one and all a peek inside—and as you can see, despite what a rep told me 10 days ago, it’s not even close to opening “very soon.” In fact, the state of the interior and the removal of the banner makes me wonder if it’s still happening at all. UPDATE: A different Il Mulino rep says the restaurant has an “anticipated opening date of April or before.”

••• The recent groundbreaking at the 456 Greenwich hotel appears to have been entirely metaphorical.

••• Bucking the card-only trend, the Kung Fu Tea at Greenwich and Reade only accepts payment in cash or by app.

••• The retail space at 18 Warren, currently home to the Wall Street Humidor, is for sale for $4.15 million. The listing doesn’t indicate the state of the lease. UPDATE: An illuminating comment from James:

There is no lease, as the retail condo is apparently owned by the owners of Wall Street Humidor.

That said, there is a 5-year old lawsuit apparently still underway between the condominium association and the owners of the retail condo. (18 WARREN STREET vs. HU, RICHARD, New York Supreme Court, Index Number:0651116/2012).

Per a Court decision filed 12/1/17–and for which judgement a notice of appeal has been filed–the defendants owe $250,000. in common charges, assessments, interest thereon, and court costs. The condo association is also seeking reimbursement of its attorney’s fees (as the prevailing party) by defendants of about $230,000 (on top of the $250,000 award). (At some point the causes of action in the case apparently also included allegations of smoke from the retail store creating a nuisance to the residents.)

••• Up now at Apexart: “Rendered Cities,” featuring work by Felicity Hammond, Lawrence Lek, and Laura Yuile. “In a society obsessed with the visual, there is an increasing tendency to mistake good images with good architecture. Perfect renderings printed on glossy billboards have not only colonized global cities, but are also used to approve, evaluate and sell new construction projects. These digitally constructed, imagined landscapes become real before reality: their shiny presence merges with the existing urban environment, masking the raw construction sites they overlook and forming a representation of a future city in citizens’ minds. And when construction terminates, finished buildings imitate the aesthetics of digital architecture, leading to a hyper-real experience of physical space, as well as a fixed idea of what life in the city should look like.”