A lot of great points here. I would love to see Ms. Lappin respond to them. Let's be honest, everyone knows that the real estate lobby in NY has the politicians in their back pockets - donations etc etc in exchange for zoning changes. They give a little and use the resultant political lever to get a lot more. They are testing the waters here, and if there is no public outrage, the grabs may reach out even further into public lands. What if anything can be done to stop this or have it regulated in a controlled manner that truly benefits the public good? — Rohin on Open Letter: The FiDi Arcade Plan Warrants a Closer Look

why should the public give this space to the landlords for nothing? why not just allow licensed street vendors use the arcades until a better plan is developed? — j on Open Letter: The FiDi Arcade Plan Warrants a Closer Look

Smitty is my youngest brother and I'm so proud of his longevity at New York Nautilus. He is very knowledgeable in nautilus terms and has helped me when I was trying to build a scale model boat the Bluenose. A few of my sailor friends uses New York Nautical for charts and maps for years. I'm so proud of Smitty in his ability to be so adept in the nautical arena. Keep up the good work! — William Smith on Spotlight: New York Nautical

The best thing I can say about Landmarks is that they are capricious. — Huck's mom on The Clocktower Lawsuit Was a Success

None of this changes my mind one iota. The public plazas and arcades have been an abject failure and something must be done. The "community" wasn't agitating for it because, until very recently, we didn't know something COULD be done. Everyone I talk to is enthusiastic about it when they hear about it. And I talk to a lot of people about the neighborhood. I do agree that restrictions should be put in place on the conversions so that it doesn't become more office space, but I welcome the addition of more retail, restaurants and other uses to these wasted spaces. — Luis Vazquez (FiDi Fan Page) on Open Letter: The FiDi Arcade Plan Warrants a Closer Look

Excellent points. Best, Lynn — Lynn Ellsworth on Open Letter: The FiDi Arcade Plan Warrants a Closer Look

This was a superb interview. Loved the details about life in a changing neighborhood. — Dan Kohn on Spotlight: New York Nautical

"Not to harp on it, but the branding isn’t what stops me from going more." No kidding! I went into a Wichcraft last week for the first time in a few years and was shocked at how much the level of quality has dropped over the years. Lower-quality and bland-tasting ingredients, less innovative menu options, and the overall feel of the location was as generic as a Panera Bread somewhere in the midwest. Disappointing considering this used to be one of my favorite go-to's, and a cautionary tale on prioritizing scaling big over maintaining the distinctive level of quality that made you special in the first place. — Carrie on In the News: Change Is Afoot at Wichcraft

Very cool! I really enjoyed this, Fountain Pen Hospital, and Philip Williams Posters in this series. Suggestion for a future one: The Mysterious Bookshop — Leo on Spotlight: New York Nautical

I never heard a native New Yorker refer to New York as Manhattan Island! Or college as university! Just sayin'! I passed that by my LES born & bred husband & his response isn't fit to print. Ah, old New York! — TG on This One Is Going to Hurt

Jammy Sod is wrong on this one: it's the landlord. — TG on Pookie & Sebastian Is Closing

I'd like to buy the principals of Cape Advisors a beer in the old Raccoon Lodge. Then punch them in the face. — Andy on In the News: Scotch & Soda Is Opening a Seaport Store

This is probably less to do with the landlord and more to do with lack of sales — Jammy sod on Pookie & Sebastian Is Closing

what else is new. everything is closing. There should be rules for Landlords who have been getting rid of our Mom & Pop stores and tenants for years now. — AMD on Pookie & Sebastian Is Closing

That's too bad! It always seemed weird to me that it closed at 6:30. I tried to go a couple times and was too late. Seems like if they wanted to get anyone shopping after work they should stay open until 7. Though I guess it probably wouldn't have helped enough to keep them running — Tribeca Mama on Pookie & Sebastian Is Closing

This place is outstanding: http://losier.shiseido.co.jp/e/index.html — JH on Seen & Heard: Another GrubHub Seamless Scheme

Les Creations de Narisawa was absolutely insane - we went for lunch when the price was much cheaper than dinner. Best ramen EVER: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1066457-d1686998-r153931741-Menya_Musashi-Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html\ — OS on Seen & Heard: Another GrubHub Seamless Scheme

Guilty! I do find the company's actions fascinating! Which explains the four posts on the company in seven years. As for "free marketing," that's certainly one way to look at it. For the record, however, Yaar has its own website—on which it chose, for whatever reason, not to use Seamless. So Seamless went and built a website of its own, optimized to appear high in search results, to compete with it. All orders ultimately go to Yaar, of course, but it's still a shady move. Moreover, it seems to me that the restaurants least likely to have their own websites are the ones owned by people who probably don't understand the legalese in the contract—let alone the word "nitrosite." — Erik Torkells on Seen & Heard: Another GrubHub Seamless Scheme

TriBeCa Citizen is almost on the verge of obsessed with Grubhub Seamless. Latest beef? That they are creating free marketing for restaurants that didn't otherwise have it. OH NO!!!! — JZ on Seen & Heard: Another GrubHub Seamless Scheme

Sad to see ordinarily sensible (and often far-sighted on traffic issues) CM's Chin & Rodriguez backing/pushing the exemption of press vehicles from parking and standing regs. The real "nightmare" isn't that NYPD won't administer the exemption even-handedly, but the exemption, period. There's little justification for handing out precious street (and sidewalk, and plaza) space for this perk. In an era of miniaturized A/V equipment and vehicles-on-demand (Uber, anyone?), why should hulking media trucks and vans, and their corporate owners, enjoy a gift probably worth several million bucks a year (at fair-value rates for curb space). Plus, the free parking further incentivizes excessive and unnecessary driving in gridlocked Manhattan. Yes, this giveaway is already de facto in force, but codifying it is a step in the wrong direction and makes it even harder to go after placard-abusing gov't employees. Let the media function like the rest of us. Who knows, limiting their "windshield perspective" might lead to more balanced and penetrating coverage of transportation and traffic issues. — Charles Komanoff on Seen & Heard: Wagner Park Redesign Survey

I was in Barcelona recently and was very impressed by the garbage collection system--large plastic bins every few blocks. The bins are a single piece of molded plastic with an attached lid that opens during the pick up process. Of course, that would mean giving up parking spaces and we all know that's not going to happen. — JD on Seen & Heard: Look What They’ve Done to the Municipal Building

the loss of the hawk is tragic. isn't it obvious that if we are serious about reducing the rat population, we need to go after their food supply. i work at night and when i come home the rats are feasting on all the garbage bags left out for collection. that's the real problem. the pile on thomas next to the mcdonalds is just an insane rat party every night. can't the sanitation department come up with a better solution for putting out the garbage? — j on Seen & Heard: Look What They’ve Done to the Municipal Building

Re partial vs full demolition, DOB approved a construction code waiver for this building project in 2015 which states: "We propose to maintain all perimeter foundations and remove the existing basement slab and interior footings. "All perimeter foundations are being retained to maintain the structural stability of the adjacent building and sidewalk. "The perimeter foundations provide vertical support for the adjacent building and sidewalk. [...] "The portion of existing 118 Duane Street structure from the 3rd floor down to sub-cellar grade that provides existing emergency egress for the adjacent 116 Duane Street at the 2nd floor is to be maintained." — James on Demolition on Duane

Sounds like they're not fully up-to-speed on the details of the classic "demolition scam" just yet. Might be a while until they get to the court precedents. I lived in 120 briefly in the mid-seventies. Nice, solid building. — David G. Imber on Demolition on Duane

It's possible that this is a service GrubHub offers to restaurants (it'll set up a secondary website as long as orders to go it). I'll contact Yaar and see what I can find out. — Erik Torkells on Why Restaurants Hate GrubHub Seamless