The politicians and the officials are counterproductive, which is worse than useless. If you want retail to come back, saddling businesses with more and costlier regulation like forcing them to accept cash is not the way to go. It is a balance, and the pendulum has been swung too far in a punitive, regulatory direction by people who have never managed a business or grown a business in a competitive environment or even worked in anything other than the regulatory monopoly that is government. — james on The update on 325 Greenwich

There is no comparison between Blick and Soho Art Materials. At Soho Art Materials the staff is knowledgeable and caters to professional artists. The supplies are high quality. At Blick no one can answer any questions and though a few supplies are good, many are not. It is, after all, a chain store. — Heide Fasnacht on Blick Art Materials moving to Broadway and Howard

"Find a way" that's is similar to how people generally upgrade their homes. Instead of trying to evict the residents, do whatever work can be done that is necessary and can be done while they are living there, and for work that requires them not to be there, pay for their temporary lodging elsewhere while the work is in progress. It's not necessary to take away someone's long-time home to bring a building up to code or whatever it is that needs to be done to satisfy the legal requirements in question. — Duane Parker on The update on 325 Greenwich

I agree with you. But “find a way” is as nebulous as “make time.” What way? Do you have a suggestion that makes it financially possible for the landlord? And I am not being rhetorical. — Bruce Ehrmann on The update on 325 Greenwich

The owner has been trying to get rid the tenants of the unrenovated units. Instead, he needs to find a way to legalize their residences without evicting them. We have already lost far too many old timers due to unnecessary evictions of long time good neighbors! — Duane Parker on The update on 325 Greenwich

A merciless situation. Every city politician and official has been doing somersaults trying to figure out a way to aid retail in the post-Covid lockdown environment. de Blasio even proposed taxing landlords who refused retail leases and chose to leave their spaces vacant speculatively. And here are the DoB's petty bureaucrats trying to block retail space. (I will say that, as I understand it, this landlord did evict or would not renew leases on the existing retailers who were in these spaces.) As for Clementine (nee Columbine), it is a Tribeca treasure, as is its owner, and I cannot wait for its return. — Bruce Ehrmann on The update on 325 Greenwich

Nassau Street is extremely narrow. I tried to find the exact width online but I wasn't lucky. Nassau street has parking on one side of the street and room for a garbage truck to go by. Plus sidewalks that are about five feet wide. Fifty feet? So that would mean that the eastern views of the Beekman would be blocked. This Pace building is an example of a bulky ugly glass building on too small of a plot. The garbage from the Pace dormitory which is a few buildings down on Beekman street and also the Gehry building, which is also on Beekman street makes the street look like a garbage strike. This building will only add to that! — Sandy on Pace building at 15 Beekman is on its way

They are going to kill all the squirrels that have been living in that park. It is bad enough they try starving them during the winter and using dry ice when that doesn't work, but now they are going to uproot all those squirrel trees and prevent people from reaching them to feed them in the winter when there is no food. They aren't in the wilderness. — Rob Wal on Wagner Park will close for two years starting this summer

I only park in Tribeca about 3x a month. I secured a garage space for 300 a mos during the pandemic at w 50th street and keep my car there. I cant imagine wanting to or having to park anywhere in the city w/o an assigned reserved spot That said what i dont get is I see Land Rovers , Mercedes, Jaguars, BMWs and more parked on the street. I have a car cause I gotta help senior parents who are off the public transit lines. Otherwise Id never want a car in the City. If someone can afford those lux cars, cant they manage a spot somewhere in a garage? — Patrick on Nosy Neighbor: Why are DOB cars allowed to park in Loading Zones?

"The reasons people don’t have bank accounts are due to things like lack of motivation, laziness, career criminality, or absolute refusal by them to do ANYTHING to improve their lives." Those reasons don't cover all people who would prefer to use cash. Some folks simply want to remain anonymous when buying something as minor as an ice cream cone. They may have no criminal intent or lazy bone in their bodies. Others are simply children or people with disabilities who may not have access to e-payments or for whom e-payments are impractical. Still others simply want to simplify their lives by not opening too many, if any, e-payment accounts. — Guest on New Kid on the Block: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

yikes! i am so sorry to learn about all of this. we who live here would love to have our town grow and bloom( thanks Signe) on this lively/ lovely corner. and yes there will be some direct comptetition to my biz, but to quote a movie line" you"ll find there is room for us all" — madeline c lanciani on The update on 325 Greenwich

Glad to see L'Abeille doing well! I walked past last week and noticed they added some elegant looking outdoor seating as well. Best of luck. — Charlotte on In the News: Making this month’s heatmap

That's assuming Van Leeuwen has paid a cent of the fines it has accumulated. The Eater article that ConcernedLocal provided states that it hasn't, but that was back in November. Is there any update on this? — Guest on New Kid on the Block: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

parking in tribeca is out of hand..there is not one alternate side spot east of hudson anywhere...and very few off hduson...the city and thier corrupt agencies took every spot away just about....or youhave to get out by 7 or 8am and if thats not the case they make you get out with street cleaning regs which i have never seen a strewat cleaner in years while waiting for a meter spot... bring back some spots as we dont pay enough for rent down here so the city forces us to park in overpriced garages which i am sure the city get kickbacks from.... — Adam Glassman on Nosy Neighbor: Why are DOB cars allowed to park in Loading Zones?

Same issue on Barclay Street.... between these cars and the ABUSIVE police placard parking, it is simply impossible to have delivery or even car services stop to unload. And reporting both to 311 on the app is just an absolute waste of time.. We need to put pressure on City Council, enough is enough! our streets are NOT free parking for city cars, police personal cars, and all the friends and family of them with placards (some real, many fake ones). And this behavior predates Covid... they have absolutely NO respect for street signs or the law. — Richard on Nosy Neighbor: Why are DOB cars allowed to park in Loading Zones?

Same issue on Warren street between church and Broadway. These cars sometimes take up the entire south side of the block. There is one car that has been here for 4 months and there is trash all around it. We can never get the street cleaned. I've called 311 about this seemingly abandoned city vehicle multiple times to no avail. — Charles on Nosy Neighbor: Why are DOB cars allowed to park in Loading Zones?

Such a shame. It was the best and most interesting restaurant in the neighbourhood, in my opinion. Hope it reopens in a new location before too long. — MB on Mena in the Walker Hotel will close this weekend

As time goes by, Maud Maron makes more and more sense — Garrett on TCQ&A Election Edition: Maud Maron

Good thing you guys know what I meant! — Tribeca Citizen on Blick Art Materials moving to Broadway and Howard

This is really a shame - following Pete Wells stellar review I thought for sure they would survive. You can find more details in the Grub Street article: "The decision to close, Blamey says, was not hers to make. The chef and a rep for the restaurant state that the choice lies with ownership, a group that did not involve Blamey. (Peter Yeung, the managing director for the Walker Hotel, attributes the closing to “financial reasons.”) While Blamey won’t discuss the specific circumstances surrounding the closing, she notes that she is hardly finished with cooking." She answers a few interview questions in the article https://www.grubstreet.com/2022/07/chef-victoria-blameys-nyc-restaurant-mena-will-close.html — TheBlackSquirrel on Mena in the Walker Hotel will close this weekend

I think you mean Pearl River, not Pearl Paint )(which was on Canal Street). — Jeff E on Blick Art Materials moving to Broadway and Howard

I think you mean founded in 1911, not 2011. — James on Blick Art Materials moving to Broadway and Howard

That’s right. The article is not accurate. It never closed. As of July 9th. I wonder what changed? — Jane B on In the News: City to close shelter at 52 William

Never get involved with a Loft Law building. There’s a reason why the Loft Board still exists after almost 50 years, and hundreds of loft buildings can’t achieve legalized status. Because it’s prohibitively expensive, burdensome, and protracted to comply with the government’s myriad requirements. — Brian on The update on 325 Greenwich

When the landlord sues the two residential tenants for eviction for failing to provide access, then we will know he is serious. — James on The update on 325 Greenwich