Yep. It's Amazon. I needed a certain brand of doggie treats intended to address my dog's plaque. I went online, choose the best price for exactly what I needed, and was done in about 5 minutes. Sure, I missed out on the exquisite shopping experience of combing the aisles of the local pet shop and inquiring if they carried that brand, etc. But anyway...yeah, it's Amazon. And I'm not sure what the solution is - we can only have so many pop-up art galleries in the neighborhood. Maybe lower priced commercial space will lead to ground level offices and work-spaces? Schools? It will be interesting to see how this develops. Thank you, Erik, for doing your usual astounding job of nailing precisely what's going on around here. I don't want to lose you at The Citizen...but you'd be incredible as a City Council person. — Will Meyerhofer on Ghost Town: The 2018 Retail-Vacancy Report

44 Laight? Doesn't seem like it to me. (Eagle was there at the time of LPC designation in 1992 and likely before. The other side of 46 was a gas station.) https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/bc3bede1-9aae-cebb-e040-e00a18064596 Block 426: Laight Street between Varick Street and Hudson Street (north side) TYPE OF RESOURCE still image GENRE Photographs DATE CREATED 1999 DIVISION The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection PHOTOGRAPHER Stone, Dylan, 1967- — James on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Re the MTV awards: if you were planning to stop by to watch, it was taped last night and is all gone this morning, so don’t bother. Spoiler alert: a gold throne and some other gold stuff, lots of special lighting, all of the storefronts were covered with black curtains. Didn’t hang around to see the performance, which must have happened very late. — Hudson River on Seen & Heard: Woolworth Building Lights

Does anyone know if Topview needs a permit to have a stop at Chambers and West? — SW on Seen & Heard: Store Closure at Brookfield Place

Image #12 is the warehouse next to 46 Laight St where I lived for 25 years. Just east off the NE corner of Hudson. — Slue on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Fingers crossed this actually happens. It has the potential to transform that corner for the good. It seems the police have succeeded in chasing away the open air counterfeit handbag market...but this Sunday it seems to have just moved to the even more crowded side of Broadway. — Troy Torrison on An Italian Food Hall Is Opening at Broadway and Canal

Tenants have been in Independence Plaza since mid 1973, early 1974. — TG on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

love this - you're a great noticer of stuff! — Will Meyerhofer on Valentine No. 65

Wow...that panorama is amazing. But I'm stymied to find a landmark I can identify...where's City Hall? And what's that huge domed thing in the background? — Will Meyerhofer on Seen & Heard: The City Skyline Over Time

Eek...that's my gym. I love that place and it's a big part of my life. Here's hoping this gets sorted out right away. My best to Allison and Fred. Awful that they're having to deal with this negligent landlord nightmare when all they want to do is promote fitness and health in the neighborhood. — Will Meyerhofer on Tribeca Health & Fitness Is Fighting for Its Life

Finally a taker for that beautiful building! Sounds very promising. Let's hope all these developments put an end to the counterfeit bazaar also. — Marcus on An Italian Food Hall Is Opening at Broadway and Canal

It’s Nicki Minage performing http://www.mtv.com/news/3096756/mtv-vmas-2018-everything-need-to-know/ — Sandra on Seen & Heard: A New Wine Bar on Leonard

Update on Kingkow: After selling out everything in the store, they have managed to renegotiate and will reopen when new stock arrives, possibly a couple of weeks (or at least whatever’s happening is still in flux). — Hudson River on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

This is just a run up for the national stage. This is DeBlasio posturing to be on the democratic ticket in 20XX. He is killing the top public schools, turning schools into soup kitchens and bankrupting the city. But by the time any real measurements of failure comes to light, he’ll blame it on the next guy. — Mrs M on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

We all know who Ben’s Garden and John Darien are; I’m sure in the small circle they work in their work and depth and breadth of Collection Shirley keep them cordial it’s not friendly. However Ben of Ben’s Garden Is a good 20 years John’s junior. Been started his thriving Ben’s Garden businesses on Long Island when he was just 12 years old, each has earned his own merit and your post is shamelessly in poor taste Allison. Decoupage just one of the hundreds of items that Ben’s Garden designs (woah) and produces a New York City (wow), in addition the store sells thousands of other items to create a complete lifestyle- I’d suggest you introduce yourself to Ben’s Garden to learn more. Allison instead of knocking people down launch your support people who work building businesses in lower Manhattan. — Sam on Seen & Heard: Another New Barbershop

The other problem is Mayor DeBlasio's disregard and possible disdain for the Chinese community. One of my Chinese friends believes that much of DeBlasio's recent actions, Including the proposed jail and the restructuring of NYCs elite schools to limit the number of Chinese students reflects the deep animosity that the mayor has for the Chinese community. — Larry on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Thank you Angela for making it safe for kids & ppl to cross, you are amazing! Good luck to you :) — JoJo BP on Seen & Heard: Dirty Lemon Said to Be Opening Here

The Mayor does not seem to care that "taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." — James Bogardus on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

The quality of life issues are complex. I lived in NYC during the Dinkins administration and the laissez-faire attitude of the then mayor's office helped lead to an unpleasant and unsafe city. I reluctantly left for the suburbs and did not return. Somehow we must balance the needs of all people. I am not sure if the mayor's attack on the quality of life in neighborhoods such as Tribeca are motivated by hostility to certain groups or he just has a complete ignorance that people that pay high taxes also would like a pleasant quality of life. — Larry on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Thank you James Bogardus!!! Close Rikers. — G on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Bizarre doesn't begin to describe what some people want. "We demand City and State-level transformation. In our analysis, New York City is part of the problem, and certainly not off the hook. At the City level, programs diverting people away from the criminal legal system at the point of arrest must be increased and reach all at-risk populations leaving no one behind. There is no reason for kids, or people suffering from a range of mental health conditions or anyone with drug-related charges to be on Rikers today or at any facility managed by the DOC. Medical, mental health, and dependency treatment, including prenatal and maternity care as well as gender-affirming treatment for transgender and gender non-conforming people, must happen outside the system. Programs for young people, homeless people and veterans must also happen outside of the system. "We demand that Mayor de Blasio end the policy of broken windows policing, as it harms communities and contributes to unnecessary confinement of people on Rikers over petty infractions that have virtually been decriminalized in white communities. The City must become invested in ending socially constructed crimes of poverty and in severely reducing its over-bloated NYPD and COBA budgets. #CLOSErikers demands include: ending broken windows policing, dismantling NYPD gang databases, expanding alternatives to incarceration, and investing money saved by decarceration to #buildCOMMUNITIES. The Administration must also meet a set of the Lippman Commission’s recommendations to decriminalize four offenses: fare evasion (NYPD’s second-most-common arrest), marijuana possession, sex work, and gravity knife possession. Instead, Mayor de Blasio continues to enforce fare evasion and marijuana policies that explicitly target people on parole or probation in direct opposition of the goal of closing Rikers." http://www.closerikers.org/media/news/statement-from-brandon-j-holmes-closerikers-campaign-coordinator-on-mayors-refusal-to-closerikers-before-10-years/ — James Bogardus on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

https://goo.gl/images/6vaUSy — James Sarkisian La Piere Bono Allman Bogardus on Tribeca Then and Now: The Unknowns (Part 1)

Another factor: the cost (which is sure to spiral far beyond the estimate, as any government project inevitably does): $13.9 billion. Hilariously, the project is being promoted as a way to save money! True DoubleSpeak. Then there's the bizarrely arbitrary number goal of 5000 inmates. Is this another way to spin the crime numbers? Even if certain crimes are re-categorized to less severe non-arrestable infractions, how can we just set a number like this? Doesn't the number of inmates depend on the actual crime rates? Or do we just stop arresting once we hit 5000? More criticism: Investigation chief: Moving Rikers inmates won’t stop jail violence https://nypost.com/2018/03/26/investigation-chief-moving-rikers-inmates-wont-stop-jail-violence/ (stopping the violence problem at Rikers was supposedly one of the motives of this project; isn't it more likely that the violence will just be re-located closer to where people work and live?) Rikers Island closure a ‘land grab’ for developers: union headss https://nypost.com/2018/01/14/rikers-island-closure-a-land-grab-for-developers-union-head/ — Marcus on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

"We deserve to have our voices heard. The people who live here, work here, and built this city, our city, matter." Agreed. However, we deserve more than merely to be heard; we deserve to have the community's opinions and interests be among the deciding factors regarding such a massive, expensive, risky, project. After all, the powers that be are finally giving in and granting us a public "hearing" (see above about September 27 hearing)...but if all they do is let us speak, and ignore what we are saying, then the hearings will are just empty gestures to distract and pacify. — Marcus on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Topview is a nightmare. It has been taking my express bus an hour to get from Thomas Street to the Battery Tunnel every night, all because their busses block traffic along Broadway. Add that to the stupidity at the Battery Tunnel - where the traffic people allow vehicles coming from underneath the FDR underpass to proceed to West Strrert and the Tunnel, while holding traffic coming from Broadway/Battery Place back for at least three lights. Pray that no emergency vehicles need to get down Broadway from Chambers to the Battery during the evening rush. — Maryann on Seen & Heard: Store Closure at Brookfield Place