Lucie - I concur, Margaret Chin is the worst. I received her "Highlights" pamphlet in the mail last night and her biggest concern is pop-up stores and she doesn't even mention the monolith prison that will permanently disrupt and disfigure Chinatown and Tribeca. — Adam on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

The Amazon dumping ground happens EVERY day on Greenwich. No matter the weather. Packages getting thrown out onto the sidewalk and in the street. Even though I’ve seen it so many times, it still seems to catch me off guard! — Jennifer on Seen & Heard: J/M/Z station gets its closeup

The coffee was burned every sidle time I went over 5 years. The wait times for food were obscene. Orders were constantly screwed up. The staff was grouchy and rude. They in no way attempted to be a part of the community. Hopefully a place that takes pride in their craft and in a more positive atmosphere replaces it. — Rob on Baked Tribeca is closing

Agree - the managers will be sure to keep things neighborly. It is just too expensive to set up a business in Manhattan to have a couple of rowdy patrons ruin it for you. A friendly, solid night life is good for our neighborhood. — TG on Lennon’s Nutopian Embassy reborn at 1 White

Pam refers to a proposal to build two residential buildings at Pier 40. I led that effort. The idea was to build on two buildings on the upland to free up the entire pier at a 15+ acre park. It was a completely transparent process presenting a very specific proposal. But the proposal was soundly defeated I learned from the wisdom of the community that I was wrong to propose it. Hudson River Park is now on the cusp of becoming one of our city’s great parks. If HRPT succeeds in its goal of building three large office buildings in the park at Pier 40, Pier 57, and Pier 76 the park will be sadly diminished. This permanent loss could be avoided with an annual support for the park from the City and State of $10 million. Are we nuts? HRPT and some of our elected officials (and Pam) tell us that Hudson River Park is required to obtain all its operations from commercial uses within the park. This isn’t true. The law allows “park/commercial” uses within the park and requires that all the revenue from such uses go to the Trust to fund park operations. It says the Trust shall fund park operations from such uses “to the extent practicable.” And it says the City and State may supplement funding for operations of the park. When the Hudson River Park Act was passed it struck a compromise. It promised that the City and State would fund the development of the park and it allowed for limited commercial uses within the park. The compromise was necessary at the time because the vision of a park along the delipidated waterfront did not have strong support and the City and State were broke. There was no political will to take on the burden of funding a park (especially for the communities that had helped defeat Westway). The Trust and some of our elected officials now want to overturn this compromise even though the creation of the park has spurred the huge development of the west side that has contributed massively to government coffers and even though the importance of the park is now universally understood and supported. The legislation change that is under consideration would allow development of a huge office building with up to 5000 workers who would have to cross the bikeway to get to and from work. It would allow the park uses at the pier to be controlled by the office developers. It does not promise an increase in the space of sports fields or community access to the water. Unlike the current courtyard fields that Pam’s children enjoyed, it does not provide for protection of ballfields from river winds. Worst, the legislation does not require ULURP which would provide for community involvement in the review of a development proposal. Instead it leaves the decisions entirely in the hands of the Trust board which is entirely controlled by the Governor and the Mayor. Come to the hearing and help save the park from the intensity of commercial development that the Hudson River Park Act rightly prohibited. — Tobi Bergman on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

Where might the considerable number of cars that park at Pier 40 go? Development does not seem to be required to study this. — Heide Fasnacht on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

Oh my goodness, that's correct! Benny is now anointed the resident herpetologist. What a wacky factoid. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/22/ask-grown-up-how-long-alligators-tongue — Pam Frederick on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

Alligators can stick their tongues out. Crocodiles cannot. — Benny on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

It varies, but between $5 and 7 million. It's definitely income, but not enough to pull its weight as the park gets bigger (for instance, soon we will be -- very happily -- paying for the maintenance of Pier 26). The northern parts of the park are doing all the work - namely in CB4's district. The other factor is that Pier 40 itself needs maintenance because it is in such bad shape. Nearly every system in the place has failed or is failing. The electeds have all helped defray those costs, but it means they are diverting millions to keep the park open -- fixing parts of the building (the roof, the stairs, the elevator) to keep it legal when the building itself is long past its prime. There have been years when the cost of Pier 40 made the income a wash. As for parking as a commercial use, I used to park there too (and now I use it as a daily parker - best deal in town!) but as much as I appreciated the good rate there, I've never thought parking was the optimal park tenant. Warehousing cars -- and having those cars cross the bikeway/walkway -- seems antithetical to a park. But there is no doubt the use has served HRP well over the years. It's just no longer enough. — Pam Frederick on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

You were the ringer! — Pam Frederick on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

You make no mention of the parking on the pier. How much revenue does the Trust make from parking? Personally, I'd be very disappointed to see parking space reduced. (Full disclosure, I park 2 vehicles there.) — Makes You Go "Hmm-m-m" on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

Again, Warden Margaret Chin has proven to be a large disappointment in pulling out her support on this issue for the community. It seems that the only thing that Warden Chin is passionate about and willing to fight for is her jail. Oh yes, I forgot about her fight to take away the Elizabeth Street Garden from everyone in Soho. Anyone who voted for Warden Chin should be ashamed. We deserve better. — Lucie on Big hearing for Pier 40 tomorrow night

Gators have broad, rounded snouts. Crocks have tapered, thinner snouts. (Grew up near the Everglades, saw gators frequently.) — Jane on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

Oh man! I was too late . . ;) — Citimouse on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

regarding 1 white street5. what if they want to stay open 24 hours. what is wrong with that. these people have a lot to lose if they fail. the neighborhood needs life at night. — perryro on Lennon’s Nutopian Embassy reborn at 1 White

I'm not crazy about the concept of turning the building into a concert venue, but I disagree with the neighborhood comparison to MSG. The Garden sits on top of Penn Station, where each day 650,000 people use it to come and go, many thousands using the street entrances. Depending on the event, the Garden capacity ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 people. Plus sandwiched in between the Garden and Penn Station is the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden with a concert capacity of 5,600. I have arrived at the Garden for a concert on a Friday night, while there was a smaller concert at the Hulu, plus the Friday crush of people going home through Penn Station. Not fun and I don't even have agoraphobia. Plus you have the hotel across the street, and all the stores along 7th & 8th Avenues and 34th Street, plus all of the bars and restaurants. The proposed venue would have a capacity of only 3,000 people which would disperse easily compared to the neighborhood around MSG. — PeterD on Giant concert venue coming to 123 Greenwich

Yay! I finally got one! According to the AIA Guide, they’re alligators (the snouts are different than those of crocodiles). — Hudson River on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

Tight location and not enough infrastructure to support it...unless they open the street grid at WTC and that's a pipedream...will ruin the neighborhood for people living within 5 to 10 blocks like MSG... — TK on Giant concert venue coming to 123 Greenwich

Well done, Hudson River!! — Pam Frederick on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

Yes, the moving of courts idea was just off-the-cuff, although depending where the jail/prison/courts complex is moved, it could end up less expensive than the current plan. Bail reform sounds promising indeed, but I know little about that. As for light, space, etc., again that can be achieved at Rikers itself or a different location altogether through renovation or new construction. Does anyone know: How do other large cities deal with these issues? Surely there are other cities with large prison and jail populations, whereas again the courts are in the center of the city, and the jails and prisons are at a remove from the populated centers.  I would hope that the task group considering this problem has studied other cities' solutions (and failures), both in the USA and in other countries. As with most civic/cultural/sociological/design issues, it's a fine balance and compromise between competing goals and demands. — Marcus on Community Board says no to the White Street jail proposal

55 Liberty Street (Liberty Tower) at Nassau — Hudson River on Where in (not quite) Tribeca?

Thank you Yvonne! We look forward to seeing you in BK! You can also check online and email or call us and we can ship to you. — CAROL FABER ADAMS on More bad news: Torly Kid will close mid-summer

Thank you Jenny for being a valued customer! Hope to see you in the Brooklyn shop this summer. — CAROL FABER ADAMS on More bad news: Torly Kid will close mid-summer

Thank you Pamela! It's been a great 15 years for sure! — CAROL FABER ADAMS on More bad news: Torly Kid will close mid-summer

Thank you for the kind words! We will miss the neighborhood. So many great memories. Visit us in our Brooklyn shop this summer! — Carol on More bad news: Torly Kid will close mid-summer