••• “On Saturday afternoon, shortly before 4pm, in the midst of a violent thunderstorm that pelted Lower Manhattan with sheets of rain and fusillades of hail the size of ball bearings, what some witnesses believe may have been a tornado touched down briefly on the Espalande between Liberty Street and Rector Place. In the space of a few minutes, visibility dropped to nearly zero and winds accelerated to the point that it became difficult for people who remained on the Esplanade to stand. As pedestrians took shelter, gusts of wind began to bend backward large trees facing the Hudson.” —Broadsheet (photo courtesy M.M. De Voe of Pen Parentis); UPDATE: Diane Cimine sent in another photo, below.

••• “A booze-chugging bum keeps pressing an emergency ‘call-box’ button in Tribeca—forcing firefighters to rush to the scene because he simply wants a comfy spot to sleep off his hangover, FDNY sources said. Orlando Kerton, 60, has activated a red ‘fire’ button at Walker and Lafayette streets in Manhattan 30 times in the past two months, requesting to be chauffeured to a hospital bed, FDNY sources said.” Who needs Uber? —New York Post

••• “More than 100 kids remain on the wait-lists for Downtown kindergartens.” —DNAinfo

••• “The Market just loved the ‘1,800 sq ft’ Manhattan loft #5E at 45 Lispenard Street, as we see from the fact that it sold on April 25 at $2.2mm after selling at near-Peak for just $1,988,500. Any repeat sale 11% over Peak shows a whole lotta love. The conundrum, however, is that it took over a year to sell (9 months to contract) at near-trivial discounts from the various asking prices in the marketing campaign.” —Manhattan Loft Guy

••• Grub Street on New Amsterdam Market’s return: “Rumor has it that founder Robert LaValva is changing the format this time around. Full details to come soon.”

••• “As Bridgewaters [in the South Street Seaport] fights with its landlord to reopen, brides are suing to get their deposits back.” What are the husbands doing, playing golf? —DNAinfo

••• “The Drama League […] will officially dedicate its new home, The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), a new, state-of-the-art facility located on the lobby level of the historic former AT&T Building, in the heart of TriBeCa’s arts district. Featuring over 100 annual public performances, workshops, classes, and more, The Drama League Theater Center and its programs bring together world-class theater artists, emerging talents, and New York theatergoers all under one roof, serving an estimated 15,000 artists and audience members each year. Hosted by 2013 Tony Award Nominee, Judith Light, the festivities kick off Thursday morning, May 23rd with the official ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration beginning at 10:30 a.m., followed by an Open House Reception with tours of the new multi-use arts space beginning at 3:00 p.m.” —Broadway World