This was closed well before the pandemic as far as i remember. — BobR on Our Sophie’s Cuban has closed permanently

+6,431 confirmed cases today in CA? Yeah, we're good, Erik. Stay where you are. — Jim Smithers on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Hope to see you in Tribeca soon. — Erik Torkells on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Motorized bikes should not be in bike lanes — Alan on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

I was just thinking about Mr. Torkells. I thought that Erik must have been glad (and maybe laughing at us poor suckers who stayed and can't get out) to have left Tribeca/NYC esp. with what's going on now -- the pandemic and its ramifications to the neighborhood, teh increase in crime, the lootings a few months back.... Wish I were in a sunnier climate and better disposition. IS Erik renting their apt. currently ? When does he think restaurants will open again? Will they fully re-open again? What does he think of the future of NYC will be like? So many questions. — JOR on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Not the nicest comment Jim Smithers. As you may have gathered, Erik was (still is) very well liked and respected in Tribeca. If you are so desperate to sell in a neighborhood of ours, what good can come of you bashing one of our own? — Hmmm on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

You're really all over the place. I like how you say you didn't disparage local media and then go on to.... disparage local media including the Times. And you conclude that maybe I should read beyond the Daily News and the Post, when I originally linked to an article in the Daily Mail, which is based in the UK. I didn't say anything about Trump, Giuliani, Bloomberg. The topic is de Blasio and his wife. Your use of "whataboutism" in the discussion doesn't refute anything stated about Bill & Chirlane. — PeterD on Seen & Heard: Ok Uniform still open for business

So why'd you post a link to a UK newspaper then? I didn't disparage local media. I also don't read racist, race-bating, pro-Trump, cops can do no wrong, anti DeBlasio/Cuomo/anyone Democrat/Black Lives Matter rags like the Post or Daily News. Their reporting is shoddy and disingenous with an anti-liberal/Democrat slant. That Daily News "article" (all 4-5 one sentence paragraphs of it shows nothing but an extreme bias against DeBlasio and his wife. The "reporter" says they hired a "shadow" staff - BS when they have to disclose information about EVERYONE they hire - and DeBlasio "grumbled" how? Try "explained." That paper and the Post has had it in for DeBlasio and his wife since day one, like they had it in for Dinkins since day one. Giuliani and Bloomberg didn't hire 150K or more staffers? Please. They didn't exist before DeBlasio? Please. I will agree that salaries are excessive but hey - where's the DN/Post article asking Giuliani's son why he pulls down 90K a year being a glorified appointment setter for Trump? Why Giuliani is a traitorious henchman looking for dirt on Biden from Russia and Ukraine? Maybe YOU should read local news beyond the Daily News and Post, since you presume I get all my local news from the Times which I don't. Besides that their local coverage is more about general issues with some stories about specific city events, I don't read it because they have normalized Trump since day one. — D on Seen & Heard: Ok Uniform still open for business

I forgot to add that bicylists should be required to make turn signals with their hands like I saw a lady do the other day on Greenwich Street. And slow down when they see a yellow light. Again if they want to be on equal footing with drivers then they should abide by the same laws. Drivers will do what they do. — Good bicylist, bad bicylist on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

hi eric! pam is doing a terrific job, but i miss you- the person! so happy for you that you have transplanted your love and enthusiasm and that the transplant has taken root in Santa Barbara. it's very weird here now...and more than a little depressing. i think worse than after 9/11. Never the less i plan to stick it out, bc this is my hometown. — madeline c lanciani on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Sad. I know so many people selling now. No end in sight to the misery. Seems like back to the future 1970s style. — Lowrider on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Miss you at the pool. Actually, I miss the pools in general. They’re still closed. Happy to hear you’re spreading you insights in SB. Loved doing the fly next to you for all those years. Swim a bunch of laps for me. — BW on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

With more bike infrastructure and bike classes instead of only driver Ed. You may get your wish. But I doubt drivers of cars would stop running lights, and speeding. — Gary Zilmar on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Good points about delivery zones. The city somehow allows delivery trucks (what seem to be mostly Amazon contractors) to run free distribution centers on the streets and sidewalk -- taking up entire areas with packages, carts, and workers for hours of the day. The sidewalk on our street is often impassable a good part of the day. You have to either walk out into the street traffic to get around, or cross the street. Sometimes it's even blocking the entrance to our building and we have to ask them to move the carts just to get inside. The final insult is the left-behind litter: food trash, plastic wrapping, abandoned boxes. Our building has even received tickets for the litter even though super cleans every day; I've never seen the trucks get ticketed. Is this the price to pay for "convenience"? There must be a better way. — Marcus on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Agreed! And this bike lane should start at 14th street, which would protect riders from UWS all the way to the tip of the island (and let’s convert lower Bway to a busway and commercial auto-only, while we’re at it). — Bob on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

So nice to get an update from Erik. He's living my dream... — MME on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

No, the word is de Blasio. And sometimes you need to look outside of the NY Times to find out what is happening right here in New York. Or you can read locally the news outlets you disparage: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-chirlane-mccray-staff-bill-de-blasio-20200819-k6xpljvdgfctvmszo3zij5tpui-story.html https://nypost.com/2020/08/19/de-blasio-mccrays-2m-staff-is-essential-to-fight-covid-19/ — PeterD on Seen & Heard: Ok Uniform still open for business

Who's this EriC? Why should I care about a guy reclining on his neighbor's sofa in Santa Barbara when I am desperately trying to sell my apartment in Tribeca? — Jim Smithers on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

Hi Erik! That was my boyfriend (now husband) at the West Village restaurant many years ago and I was your super fan! So glad to hear you are doing well in California. We loved TC then and still love it now. Thank you and Pam for caring so much about the neighborhood. — Mortified Girlfriend on Catching Up With: Erik Torkells

One word: Trump. The Daily Mail...based in the UK. Real ear to NYC. — D on Seen & Heard: Ok Uniform still open for business

I want less cars and more bikes...HOWEVER...I want the following along with that: - No bikeriding on sidewalks. SideWALK not sideBIKE. You want drivers to respect your presence and practice safety around you, you do the same for pedestrians. - No bikes running red lights. You want to treated as equals to drivers, you stop at red lights like lawful drivers do. - Every Citi Bike and non-CB bike should have a license plate so people can report bikes doing both. Deliverypeople have to wear an ID vest, why should you be able to ride without ID? — Good bicyclist, bad bicylist on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Yes to delivery zones and fewer parking spots! Any time, any where, and definitely there. — malcolm on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Also it amazes me that there is parking on both sides of Varick Street that leads into the Holland Tunnel. With the parking on both sides of the street delivery trucks must double park, causing more delays. With a protected bike lane (no car parking on either side) deliveries could be made and we could have a usable bike lane all the way downtown. — GC on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Now maybe the bike riders will get the hell off the sidewalks. — Makes You Go "Hmm-m-m" on Broadway bike lanes going green as promised

Farewell Jules and good luck to you. At least you leave knowing the mayor's wife is well taken care of... "Bill de Blasio's unelected wife has been branded a 'disgrace' for having a staff of 14 costing New York City $2 million, including a $70,000 videographer who filmed her baking cookies - while crime soars amid NYPD budget cuts, trash is left to pile up on the streets and 22,000 city workers face job losses." https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8641213/De-Blasios-wife-14-staff-including-70-000-videographer-22-000-city-workers-face-job-cuts.html — PeterD on Seen & Heard: Ok Uniform still open for business