Tim Schreier

Good morning, East Village.

The third round of closing arguments in the East Village rape trial brought the character accusations full-circle.  According to DNAinfo’s ongoing reports, Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert accused defendants Kenneth Moreno, 43, and Franklin Mata, 29, of acting more like sexual predators than officers of the law, labeling the pair two of “New York City’s worst.”  As evidence, the prosecution cited that on the night of the incident the defendants lied to their supervisors about the number of trips they made to the plaintiff’s apartment, placed a phony 911 call to in order to have more time with her, and later falsified patrol logs to cover their tracks.  With closing arguments over, the jury will deliberate.

In other news, the now defunct SuperDive’s reputation for booze-fueled after hours seems to have stood in the way of plans to resurrect the space as an art-concept restaurant.  DNAinfo reports that the Community Board 3 liquor license committee voted 5 to 1 against a proposal to revamp the building, with one member suggesting they had taken a lesson from the former occupant: “It would be lunacy” to allow another establishment on that premises to serve alcohol until 4a.m..

EV Grieve posted a “frictional” account of one resident’s encounter with his post-midnight nemesis.  It’s a tale of interrupted sleep, turned late-night vigilantism in: man vs. party bus.

And finally, in late-breaking celebrity news, James Franco was spotted among the latest batch of NYU graduates on Monday.  Gothamist admits to being slightly confused this had not happened already.  But considering all the schools Mr. Franco has attended, is attending, or plans to teach at in the future, a little confusion is understandable.