Re: Yves, it looks like the gas may have finally been turned on at City Vineyard -- they have a sign outside touting a full menu. So far they have only been able to offer hors d'oeuvres-y things. — Meg on Seen & Heard: Best Market Is Not Closing

Re NY Dolls: Say it ain't so. — Janet on Seen & Heard: New York Dolls Is Reopening

I fear Best Market will close as sometimes it just seems no one is the near! But I frequent the market and hope it doesn't. Target is a real threat. — Jo on Is Best Market Closing?

Apparently the ice cream truck guy had no license from the health dept. And he had an old outstanding warrant. http://patch.com/new-york/downtown-nyc/police-raid-ice-cream-truck-arrest-operator-washington-market-park — Lynda Lippin on Seen & Heard: Best Market Is Not Closing

I agree on Erics comment. Always paying higher prices, bleeding us always. Target should not be higher but the rents which are higher makes target higher. horrible!!!!! — Native on Seen & Heard: Is Target a Good Deal?

Gee Whiz had to downsize because their rent went up to $100,000 a month. This isn't right! — Native on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

rents are ridiculous and landlords get money from the government when stores are empty. There should be caps on the landlords and the damage they are doing in our great city. No one can afford to have a store ( mom/pop owned) so big companies ( Duane Reade, shake shack, etc.) are the only ones that can afford it. $25,000- $100,000 on Greenwich Street alone. No affordable housing either for working class people. It a terrible cycle. — Native on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

Best Market is fantastic. Stop by for lunch one day. Sandwiches and sushi are very reasonable. Meat section is very affordable. Lots of sales. Pleasant surprise. — Jambo on Is Best Market Closing?

I can confirm the doorman standing around outside the NY Dolls entrance last night. The metal grate was down, but he was there. — Peter on Seen & Heard: New York Dolls Is Reopening

I would be so very disappointed if this is true. If you like Best Market (as we do) please patronize the store as much as you can. I think they have a great variety of goods, and their prices are refreshingly reasonable- much better than Target. It is a shame that the store is buried under all that scaffolding -- people probably don't even know it exists. Tribeca needs this very affordable market. — Elle on Is Best Market Closing?

Why on earth would the penalties be reduced for those uncivilized behaviors? — Marcus on Seen & Heard: New Indian Restaurant

Hello did you hear about something taking place today with the ice cream truck outside of Washington Park? I heard that they raided his truck, the police, and there were police and ambulance there. Kids had mentioned he had guns too. Did you hear anything about this. — Madeleine kiersztan on Seen & Heard: Schnippers Opens Today

Who needs to pay rent when you can just set up a table and sell things.. the other day there was a book stand right outside of Barnes and Noble.. no permit.. Just selling books.. And with food carts taking over for no cheap places to eat here ..The carts don't pay rent, they are there 24/7 and don't need to go before the community broad., nor be graded. Tribeca just turned into 42nd street.. what next elmo. Gross.. — toni on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

I think there's a sort of 'fiscal fallow' at play here: landlords just waiting it out for area to come back. How? I don't think anyone knows. Why? Lets take the 3 blocks of Canal between W. Bway and Bway. There's about 20+ empty spaces and this is the Southern end of Soho and the northern end of Tribeca. So LLS apply Soho and Tribeca prices. Notice how terrible the spaces are (most of them are, very few exceptions). It's awful, dingy, rickety real estate. How does one attract a decent tenant and ask for sky-high rent with such terrible looking 'buildings'? LLs' position is to just wait I guess since we're not seeing much action. (Is Vornado up to something at former Pearl's Paint building? There's no 'for rent' sign, and they seem to be working on it. In effect, retail is in a definite transition, to what? as someone asked here. A reinvention of retail. Mind you, and interestingly, the 'Chinatown' part of Broadway is actually doing pretty well, all the way to other parts of Chinatown. The 'cultural divide' between the two segments of Canal are quite obvious. Chinatown goes about its business and just ignores those spaces and prices. Intersection of Canal and Broadway should be (will be?) the main intersection for the throngs of people strolling up and down Broadway on their way further down to FiDi. As such, it should be able to attract those throngs as it used to when Canal was Canal and not a ghost strip. — yves seban on Ghost Town: The Growing Number of Vacant Storefronts in Tribeca

As beautiful as this place looks, I don't know that this is really serving the people who most use the Hudson Park areas. I wish them all the success their investment requires. But do joggers, bikers, nannies, seniors, families, youths, need another wine bar there? Same here: I don't think so. I'm aware that rents must be astronomical and maybe an expensive-ticket kind of place was called for. But could we not have had a multi-location type of retails selling coffee, snacks, ice-creams, burgers&hotdogs, Chinese bubble teas, etc....Something that would have served all park users at all time of opening hours? If a poll had been taken, how many people would have said, yeah, we want a fancy wine bar there...? Especially so close from the City Winery, and the oyster-bar/clipper on the river nearby....again, no animosity here and best of luck to risk-taking entrepreneurs. Its just that seeing this place empty all day (it gets busy around 5pm) while hundreds of people could be served in their daily needs is a bit jarring. — yves seban on New Kid on the Block: City Vineyard

I went the other evening at around 6 and there were only 2 cashiers working -- and two extremely long lines. I asked why more lines weren't open and a managerial type told me to complain to corporate because they had cut back on cashiers. That doesn't sound like a huge vote of confidence! I haven't set foot in Whole Foods since Best opened and I sincerely hope they stick around. I bought a quart of milk in Target last week while I was checking it out and they charged $1 more than I pay for the same brand at Best. And all of the produce at Target was really eccch. — Meg on Is Best Market Closing?

Oh no. Best Market wasn't perfect --- it didn't even sell Advil! --- but I did go there for certain items. As it is, I have to go to Whole Foods, Best Market and Amish Market to get my supplies (and sometimes even the rat infested Reade Street deli (look at the corners of the cereal boxes!). It would be nice to have a regular, decent grocery store to get everything in one location. A pipe dream, I know. — Janet on Is Best Market Closing?

Target feels like an even more temporary setup than Best Market. — Noah on Is Best Market Closing?

It's Hillary Clinton's fault. Or Billy Bush's. — Jim Smithers on Is Best Market Closing?

So horrible!. The thought that this could happen is tragic. — Yael on Is Best Market Closing?

NO!!!!!!! — JK on Is Best Market Closing?

The 2nd floor Fine Dining at Pier A has been gone for a while, but not sure how long. The Commissioner's Bar is on the 2nd Floor on the West side of the building (opposite side of BlackTail) overlooking the harbor. The 3rd floor is a private event space that I got a peek at over the summer. Looks too hold about 100-120 with a stage area--good for a holiday party? — sackpersonn on Seen & Heard: The Four Seasons Hotel Plaza

There seems to be a kind of homeless encampment on Lispenard alongside the Post Office. I've seen some of the "residents" urinating in the parking lot (Broadway) as well. — Marcus on Seen & Heard: New Indian Restaurant

I for one am opposed to sports bars (why can't people just watch sports on TV at their homes?). So this made me happy. I would make an exception if President Obama were to share a beer with me at White Street. Would he? Pinky JJ — Pinky JJ on White Street Restaurant Won’t Become the Ainsworth

Who cares how expensive anything else is when a 12 pack of beer at Target sells for the same as a 6 pack at some other places in the area! — lowphat on Seen & Heard: Baby Born on Oculus Floor