That's an incredibly cynical take on the new leadership at NEG. Because a man leaves and a woman takes over the place is falling apart?! I see the change as fabulous, welcome news - to not only have a new culinary perspective coming to a great local spot but a female executive chef - a true rarity, even now. As a NEG regular, I have come to know Emily Brekke as dynamic and engaging - and a top notch talent. I think this is a sign of great things to come for NEG. — FidiFem on New Chefs at Racines and North End Grill

...a much-loved longstanding joke, I might add. — Will Meyerhofer on Both Locations of François Payard Bakery Have Closed

I welcome some color - no reason buildings have to all be dull grey or brown or just white. — Will Meyerhofer on Red Terra Cotta Facade Proposed for Canal Street

South's is A+ in my book. Been going for almost 5 years now. Amazing bison burger! Almost all the food is well priced, well seasoned and service is always good. — R.C. on Spotlight: Souths

The interesting question is whether congestion pricing will apply to the thousands of cars parked in neighborhood with city, state and federal placards (some may even be genuine) that exempt them from parking tickets. — Peter Rose on In the News: Tribeca Mom Getting Some on the Side

I am shocked (SHOCKED!) that Charles Urstadt says he wants to fill in more of the Hudson River. He's dined out on that old, never-gonna-happen idea for decades. Downtown Express, March 2010: "But another of Urstadt’s proposals — to extend the landfill up from Chambers St. to Canal St. — came much closer to happening than many people realize. “'I, in fact, recommended that,' said [Sandy] Frucher, the president of the B.P.C. Authority from 1984 to 1988. "Frucher saw Lower Manhattan’s fledgling residential community and realized that the neighborhood needed more large park spaces. Frucher would have split the 200 new acres north of Battery Park City evenly between parks and residential development. He saw full-size fields for Stuyvesant High School, and enough new residents to build real community services for the surrounding neighborhood. "Frucher still describes the idea with enthusiasm and said he agrees with Urstadt that it could work today. Back in the ’80s, the proposal got tied up in the environmental debate over Westway, which was never implemented. Another obstacle today is the fact that the Hudson River Park Trust is rebuilding Piers 25 and 26, stretching out into the water right where Urstadt and Frucher see apartments and playing fields. “'There’s no point rebuilding piers no ships are ever going to use,'” Urstadt said when reminded of the Hudson River Park project. 'What’s the point of a long skinny finger sticking out in the river, when you could put something where kids can play soccer or softball?'” NY Times, March 2009: "OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The Bigger Apple By CHARLES J. URSTADT [...] "Develop 50 more acres of landfill in the Hudson River on the West Side, north of Battery Park City. The cost of the landfill, as well as of the public park and recreational spaces that would be part of the new area, could be reimbursed from ground rents and Pilot payments collected from private developers. I have been advocating this additional landfill project for some time and have been faced with the bogus argument that it would kill the fish. "But fish actually prefer the nooks and crannies of the rock formations surrounding Battery Park City’s north marina to the murky silt that was under the rotting piers that we removed to develop the area. The building of a new bulkhead would use large rocks to shore up the concrete wall and between these rocks fish could lay eggs. (And to my knowledge, not a single fish was killed as we filled the original 92 acres of Battery Park City.)" NY Times, October 2007: "Developers have long argued that you cannot go wrong buying waterfront land because no more is being created. But Charles J. Urstadt’s dream is to extend Lower Manhattan a little bit farther into the Hudson River. "Having overseen the creation of the landfill in the 1960s that became Battery Park City, Mr. Urstadt believes it can be done again. And he refuses to drop the idea, no matter how far-fetched others may find it. "Mr. Urstadt, who was the first chairman of the Battery Park City Authority after it was created in 1968 and is now its vice chairman, has for years been advocating the potential benefits of adding 40 or 50 acres to Lower Manhattan. As a champion of filling in more of the river, he has stood nearly alone and attracted scant notice. [...] "Richard N. Gottfried, an assemblyman from Manhattan who sponsored the Hudson River Park Act, called Mr. Urstadt’s idea 'outrageous.' He said that law prohibited using landfill in the river between Battery Park City and 59th Street. “'This idea keeps rising from its coffin,' Mr. Gottfried said. [...] "[Urstadt] served as chairman of the state authority that was created to develop and run Battery Park City from late 1968 until 1978. Gov. George E. Pataki then reappointed him to the authority’s board in 1998, a perch he has used as a platform for his campaign for more landfill. [...] "A few weeks ago, however, when he was on his way to meet with Mr. Whelan at City Hall, Mr. Urstadt spotted a formidable obstacle. The Hudson River Park Trust had begun rebuilding Piers 25 and 26, which extend into the Hudson just north of Battery Park City. "Mr. Urstadt said he immediately recognized that this development posed a problem for his plan, but not an insurmountable one. The simple solution, he said, would be to shift the site of the landfill several blocks to the north. "So, on the fly, he decided the landfill would have to be between the rebuilt piers and Pier 40, near Houston Street. It would cross over the Holland Tunnel tubes, but Mr. Urstadt did not flinch because Battery Park City sits atop the tubes of the PATH train." NY Post, August 2007: "BATTERY PARK CITY: GREEN CASH COW By Charles J. Urstadt [...] "NEW York City will soon have more parks than it can afford, but there’s a clear way to finance them – expand Battery Park City. "The independent Regional Plan Association recently reported that the upkeep cost of the new waterfront parkland now in the works throughout the city will be $100 million a year. (These parks will be high-maintenance, thanks to corrosion and other upkeep issues.) The city now spends $350 million a year to operate all of its parks, so that means a 28 percent rise in park costs. "The Hudson River Park, the narrow recreational strip running from the Battery all the way up to Midtown along West Street, is emblematic. The cost of building it (that, too, is higher for waterfront parks) is already starting to cast a cloud over the project. As maintenance costs add to the tab in the coming years, keeping this oasis from becoming an eyesore will require a lot more cash. "Yet, if you stand in this park, you can literally see a solution – a way not only to pay for the Hudson River facility, but also to help fund the upkeep of all New York City parks for years to come. "Look south: It’s Battery Park City. "AS Holmes never tired of telling Dr. Watson, it’s elementary: Extend Battery Park City 2,000 feet north – from its present edge at Chambers Street to Canal Street. This would add 50 acres for parks, housing and other uses to the already 100-acre mixed-use project." The Slatin Report, October 2005: "[...] Floating the idea in a speech at a dinner in his honor – and on his 77th birthday – held by the Steven L. Newman Institute, Urstadt then called on the city and state to extend the existing Battery Park City another 2,000 feet to the north. Urstadt put the cost of such an exercise at $300 million, barely denting the profits from the net lease of the original property. [...]" — James on In the News: Bonkers Plan to Woo Amazon

If those NIMBYs don't want their apartments anymore I'm happy to take them off their hands. — Jeff on In the News: Plaza Redesign Threatens Food Carts

NEG wont last...emptier and emptier during non peak times...Korsh prob saw the writing on the wall. — BPCrez on New Chefs at Racines and North End Grill

About 3 years ago, Moinian, the owner of the building, announced a 28 story mixed use residential tower with 92 apartments. It was not stated if they would be rental or Condominiums. Nothing has happened since then.....until now. Open Door pub and Bon Chon closed last week. Crunch closed last night though they are opening a brand new location at the base of 140 Broadway (the entrance will be on Nassau, just south of Liberty). New Crunch opens February 1st. I just spoke to someone at Thai Sliders (which only recently completed a wonderful gut renovation of their space) and asked if they were closing. The response was "not yet". So it looks like they will be leaving as well. The new tower is billed as an addition to the existing building and will also include new retail at the base and a new garage. I hope Bon Chon and Thai Sliders find new locations in the neighborhood as they both seem to do very well. — Luis Vazquez (FiDi Fan Page) on Seen & Heard: Bon Chon Has Closed

Totally agree. She put together such a incredible program at Rouge. That is very exciting. — McG on New Chefs at Racines and North End Grill

Pascaline is well-known and respected as one of the best sommeliers in the city. This is big news for Racines, which already had a fantastic wine program. Great news! — verdang on New Chefs at Racines and North End Grill

I lost 2 lines in May 2017 and 1 more last week - and finally my last and 4th line today. I complained to PSC and got no contact although I have been talking to Verizon people in departments called "Escalation" - which has been more attentive but still the net result is no land line. I requested Fios a few times but not consistently and got no response. And similar to NV it was a Verizon employee who directed me to contact PSC - sadly without the same result. It has been over 8 months! As of today I was given an expected repair date of 2/28/18. — steven D sclaroff on In the News: Trump Expected to Snarl Traffic

pretty sure The Goldfinch production offices are above Tamarind (where Ocean's 8 production offices were located..same studio, Warner Bros likes the space)..so we'll be seeing those long trailers for wardrobe loading up the ramp on Franklin like we did for O8. ps I agree..it's a book, not a movie.. — Andy on Seen & Heard: Massive Chick-fil-A Revealed

AboCa is a longstanding joke on this site. — Erik Torkells on Both Locations of François Payard Bakery Have Closed

Thanks. I wanted to add and try to bite my tongue (or fingers from typing) that FPB is pretentious and so do most of its customers, as exemplified by "AboCa". — JOR on Both Locations of François Payard Bakery Have Closed

The Cut's Sex Diaries are today's version of Penthouse Forum letters. — JOR on In the News: Tribeca Mom Getting Some on the Side

I meant to mention that one—will add it it to the text. I think it's still pretty raw. — Erik Torkells on Seen & Heard: 24-Hour Construction at 111 Murray

Hm. Wonder when the Duane Reade below 1 WTC swill open. That one seems a lot larger. — Anthony on Seen & Heard: 24-Hour Construction at 111 Murray

Thanks for all these memories. Great reading. Huck’s Mom is correct. Bazzini is alive and well. They still have the peanut concession at Yankee games I believed and I buy their packaged nuts rall the time at a various food stores and but chocolates became their thing. As for smells, I will never forget when they still rotated their peanuts in the old Bazzini Bld and they came crashing down through a a giant contraption in the ceiling. — Jean Grillo on Goodbye, Spicy Scents

FBP is/was actually pretty terrible. It just survived because of its location, despite the horrendous service and generally mediocre menu. If you can't survive selling overpriced coffee break items in the same building as GS, you really suck. — Fidus on Both Locations of François Payard Bakery Have Closed

I refuse to believe that the woman in The Cut's Sex Diaries actually exists....or that my life is actually so shitty. — Fidus on In the News: Tribeca Mom Getting Some on the Side

Anyone who drives a private auto into the Central Business District will pay the same congestion charge, though the amount will vary with day of week and time of day, with a max of $11.50 and a minimum that may even be zero (in the middle of the night, say). What would be unfair would be to exempt any particular resident's vehicle, based on location, income, connections, etc. Driving into the CBD causes immense congestion costs (indeed, *that* is the "congestion tax" you decry). In return, you (and I too) get the likelihood of a faster and more reliable trip, whether by car (since there will be fewer of them clogging the streets) or bus (since fewer cars) or train (since the revenues -- which, unlike in London, will be substantial, as Bob noted in his comment -- can be invested in better subway service. Seems like a good deal for just about everyone. — Komanoff on In the News: Explanation for Shortages at Whole Foods

Those same car-owning residents get an 8% parking tax reduction--equal to about 1 month of free parking--if they garage their car and register it in New York. (Those who illegally register it at their 2nd home get an undeserved reduction in their auto insurance premium instead.) Residents who park on the street they get free-to-low-cost metered parking at a cost far below garage rates for Manhattan south of 60th Street, also subsidized by the City and its taxpayers and commuters and other business parkers. Having a car is not a necessity for most people in Manhattan south of 60th Street. A 2009 Department of City Planning survey found "only 23 percent of Manhattan Core households have a car (compared with 46 percent Citywide), and only about one-fifth of those households commute to work by car." If London is any guide, residents who register their cars in Manhattan south of 60th Street will get substantial discounts on congestion pricing, which typically applies only when entering the congestion zone. — James on In the News: Explanation for Shortages at Whole Foods

Whole Foods did not put Bazzinni out of business. The company bought a candy company with a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania and they made the decision to move the nut processing to that location and convert the building into condos. The store was always a work in progress. — Huck's Mom on Goodbye, Spicy Scents

I do not understand why residents of Manhattan below 60th Street that own a car will have to pay the congestion tax. It's simply unfair. — Jason on In the News: Explanation for Shortages at Whole Foods