BOXING AND WRITING
CBS interviews their book club’s latest Readers’ Choice author Harold Rogers’ about his debut novel “Tropicália” at Church Street Boxing Gym in Tribeca, where he is a boxing coach. “You don’t usually find a novelist in a boxing gym,” [says who? and hello, Hemingway??] “but Rogers is no ordinary creative writer. A couple years out of Columbia University, he got a book deal and published his first novel. ‘Tropicália’ explores the heartbreak and hope of what it means to be from two homes and two worlds.”

BUSINESS SUES FOR SIDEWALK SHED
Not in the hood, but wanted to highlight re: the effects of sidewalk sheds on neighboring businesses. From Crain’s: The Jack and Jill School on East 16th Street claims in a new suit that a shed installed by a next-door condo above part of a playground for more than two years is deterring parents from enrolling their children…The condo, the Abbey, should fork over $378,000 plus interest and fees for ‘private nuisance, trespass, unjust enrichment, tortious interference with plaintiff’s prospective contractual relations, breach of contract, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing,’ according to the suit, which was filed Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.”

SECOND LOCATION FOR GOLDEN STEAMER
Eater reports that Golden Steamer (so not appetizing, but oh well), the bakery that has been a staple in Chinatown since 2009 for its fluffy steamed buns filled with a range of meats and custards, opened a second shop with a wider selection of pastries and prepared foods located around the corner from its first shop at 210 Grand Street, near Mott Street.

CONSERVATION VOTERS ON CONGESTION PRICING
The New York League of Conservation Voters has a white paper with additional exemptions for congestion pricing, including public and private commuter buses. Calling the plan “the biggest possible boost to our environment,” the organization said “Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State and the second leading source in New York City. Congestion in New York City’s central business district contributes to delays for emergency vehicles, buses, delivery vehicles, and drivers. Compounding this, decades of disinvestment in our public transit system has led to an unreliable and inaccessible system.”