Forever 21 to Conquer Times SquareThe fast-fashion retailer plans to open a mammoth flagship — which is either fabulous or frightening, depending on how you look at it.
Accidents Happen … Even Within View of the Shake ShackHapless poopers in Madison Square Park? Porn kings threatening comedy kings in Times Square? Radicals burning good money in the East Village? The links in today’s boroughs report must be clicked to be believed!
Neighborhood Watch
Tapas to Settle Into Chelsea and WilliamsburgWhen a Bouley alum will bring Portuguese meals to Chelsea, and where to find an American Kobe Tomahawk rib eye, in today’s neighborhood food news.
neighborhood watch
Cool Nuns Will Build Houses for Environment, Old PeopleGenerous nuns heed the earth in Bedford Park, an anti-Greek wind blows in the East Village, and sulfurous yet minty odor pervades Long Island City, all in the final boroughs roundup of this awesomely sunny July week!
Scaffolding Already Up for Giant Waterfall SculpturesPesky squirrels in Astoria, a not-dead-yet beaver in the Bronx, and a baby born in the Port Authority. Furry little creatures abound in our daily boroughs report!
neighborhood watch
Your Pencil May Be Your Key to the High Line This SummerA shadow between porn hub Show World and its fate in Times Square, a chain barrier between “the ‘SATC’ house” and Carrie fans in the Village, bad blood between a rock bar and its neighbors in Park Slope … and just a click between you and our daily boroughs report!
Dude Picks the Exact Wrong Moment to Send ‘We Did It’ Letter
We don’t know what the chances of a coincidence like this happening are, but the fact that the letters and photos received on Capitol Hill yesterday and the Times Square bombing have nothing to do with one another is a total mindfuck. To recap: Yesterday afternoon, as many as 100 members of Congress received a holiday-card-like photo showing a man in front of the Times Square recruiting center that was bombed earlier that morning. On it was written the sinister message, “We Did It, Happy New Year.” Along with the card was what’s described as a “twenty-page rambling rant,” the kind reclusive cabin-dwellers write to Congress on a daily basis.
it just happened
Small Explosion Hits Military Recruiting Center in Times SquareLet’s begin this post by saying there’s no reason to worry, everybody is fine. (We’ve always wanted to write that — because let’s be honest, when we start conversations with our mom that way she goes bananas.) See, there was a small explosion in Times Square early this morning, but nobody was hurt. Apparently somebody tossed an explosive device at a U.S. military recruiting center just before 4 a.m. today. The office’s window was smashed, and a door was damaged. Traffic was interrupted for a while, but now it appears to be back to normal. The Department of Homeland Security says it’s investigating whether it was terrorism-related, but according to NY1, there wasn’t a sense of panic in the area this morning. Explained droll host Pat Kiernan: “It seemed people were annoyed by the nuisance as much as anything.”
Small explosion hits New York’s Times Square [Reuters]
Update: Mayor Bloomberg just held a press conference about this. It turns out that it was a bomb in an ammunition box. Bloomberg called the attack on the recruitment office an insult to our troops and added that “New York City is back and open for business.” NYPD chief Ray Kelly said the device was not “particularly sophisticated” and explained that there is one witness who saw a suspicious hooded man on a bicycle passing the recruiting station just before the explosion.
21 questions
Steve Aoki Is Much Happier Now That He Quit World of WarcraftName: Steve Aoki.
Job: D.J., designer, Benihana heir, and celebrity friend. Aoki will be spinning this Saturday night at Room Service.
Age: 29.
Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Malcolm X.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Cabana.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Run a record label, clothing line, and studio time when I’m in L.A.
Neighborhood Watch
‘Times’ Releases Ethnic Grocery List; Porter House Looking for aAstoria: McLoughlin’s on Broadway at 31st Street is featuring the German lager Spaten through February. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: Morimoto’s $24.07 prix fixe lunch deal is more filling and generous than you might expect. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Clinton Hill: If you’re too “bored by the fresh produce, too cold/lazy to trek to Fairway” to cook for yourself in winter like this blogger, here are some of the nabe’s good takeout options, including Luz and Bombay Masala. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Columbus Circle: Porter House New York is looking for a new wine director now that veteran in the biz Beth Von Benz has moved on to new projects. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: This list of ethnic groceries includes Pueblo Deli at 129-135 Ridge Street where you’ll find “brittle, tasteless cassabe (a yuca bread Dominicans find neither brittle nor tasteless)” but also “‘merengue’ flavored Country Club soda, Induveca salami, Bay Rum Constanza antiseptic, and candles dedicated to saints or those who may become them.” [NYT via Serious Eats]
Times Square: Cafe Edison has replaced its peachy-pink paint job with a nice soft tan color, and it’s “swell.” [Lost City]
Upper East Side: Bardolino at 78th Street and Second Avenue suffered interior and exterior damage caused by a fire last week, but they’ll reopen this weekend. [Upper East Side Informer]
21 questions
Glenn Beck Drinks the Blood of Small People Who Are Different Than He IsName: Glenn Beck
Job: Glenn is the author of the best seller An Inconvenient Book and host of the third-largest radio talk show in America (on 1450 AM, here in New York) and a self-titled show on CNN Headline News.
Age: He just turned 44!
Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Teddy Roosevelt.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Anything from Ollie’s Noodle Shop in Times Square.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Same thing as you, except my cubicle is connected to radio and television networks.
neighborhood watch
The Army Occupies East 103rd Street; Residents DispleasedEast Harlem: There’s outrage over a new Army recruiting center on East 103rd Street, on the heels of Army promo teams here this summer that included gals in camo midriffs and short shorts. [NY Latino Journal]
Jackson Heights: Starbucks is here! Gentrification officially begins! [Curbed]
Northwest Bronx: So many parks are being repaired here that there’s no place for the massive youth baseball league to play this spring! [Norwood News]
