BACK AT IT AT PIER 25
Grand Banks opened this past Saturday, April 13 — bar only. Food will begin May 1. They’ve got several new cocktails and even new soft cocktails (I was going to run a picture of the menu but these two were way cuter). Also new to my recollection: blankets to ward off the chilly breezes.

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION TOMORROW AT WMP!
Washington Market Park will celebrate Mother Earth with an event on Tuesday, April 16, from 4 to 5:30. There will be herb garden crafts from the Craft Studio and earth games from Brooklyn Game Lab.

SOCIAL CLUB FOR KIDS + ADULTS
Another family club – this one called Paxton – is coming to Greenwich and Hubert in September, according to an email going around from Tribeca mom Parisa Sahay. It is billed as a place where “kids can be kids and parents can be people.” It sounds like it will be a membership model, and the founder says she is building a place she wished she had as a parent, a place with great food, great drinks, great décor babysitters on demand for when you need an hour to yourself, activities for kids of all ages, and this caught my eye: it will be “meticulously clean.” You can join the waiting list for more info here.

SWAP BOOKS AT TORLY KIDS
Torly Kids at 51 Hudson is hosting a book swap for the rest of this month. Bring gently used picture or chapter books and trade them for other books the store has collected. All remaining books at the end of the month will be donated to a charity or local school. The book swap is available at the Torly Kid Brooklyn location as well.

MANHATTAN YOUTH HONORS LOCAL FOLK
Manhattan Youth held its annual community awards last week, and honored local residents Tricia Joyce, chair of the Youth and Education Committee of Community Board 1; PS 150 parents and parent association officers Anshal Purohit and Jonah Benton; Mona Lombardi, a longtime Manhattan Youth employee who plans to retire; the husband-and-wife team of Buxton and Lisa Midyette, parents at P.S. 150 who helped organize and lead campaigns that saved the school twice; and the 27 participants in Manhattan Youth’s Teens in Community Service program, who volunteer time to help with everything from swim programs, to summer camps for middle-school students, to staffing the Downtown Community Center.