••• Grub Street says Chambers Street Wines is the best wine shop in the city. Also on the list: Le Dû’s Wines (#5), Frankly Wines (#15), Vintry Fine Wines (#21), and Vin des Amis (#23). I hadn’t realized that Jean-Luc Le Dû died in December. (Photo by Claudine Williams from the Spotlight Q&A with Chambers Street Wines.)

••• Patch followed up on the heartwarming story of the Leonard Street residents who befriended (and funded) the homeless man, Stanley, living nearby.

••• “The $104 million repair of thousands of deteriorating steel pilings that support Pier 40 began Tuesday. The work is necessary to prevent the pier, which is home to a popular sports complex in the West Village as well as parking facilities, from becoming structurally unstable. […] To fix the roughly 3,600 steel piles underneath the pier, divers and support staff will clean each stanchion, then wrap them in rebar and a fiberglass sleeve that will allow concrete to be poured in to encase the piles.” —Crain’s

••• On “Wednesday, the FDNY responded to Pier 16 in lower Manhattan where another body was pulled from the water. The person was declared dead at the scene soon after 4 p.m., authorities said. The office of the medical examiner will determine the cause of death. […] And on Tuesday, a decomposed body was found in the Hudson River near Battery Park.” —New York Post

••• Recent thefts in the Tribeca Trib police blotter.

••• Eater seriously disliked the sushi at Tetsu.

••• “With record hikes in wages over the past couple of years—on top of rising rent, food and other costs—restaurant owners pressed City Hall lawmakers to allow them to levy a surcharge on all diners to cover their bloated expenses. Without the surcharge, which could range from 3 percent to 5 percent, or more, many owners said they will go out of business. […] The Big Apple is the only place in the US that bans such a fee.” —New York Post