Alexander Kok 10th Street and First Avenue on Saturday.

The Times interviews the mother of Pvt. Danny Chen in her East Village apartment. The soldier, whose death in Afghanistan is still under investigation, was “a child of Chinatown who, amid self-doubt about his physical abilities, strived to succeed in the military.”

Last week it was reported that 68-70 Second Avenue, also known as 86 East Fourth Street, went for $8.7 million. Now a tenant tells EV Grieve that “the new owner and management are declining to offer new leases as current tenant leases expire.” Also according to a banner spotted by an Grieve reader, a complex of full-floor lofts is coming to 222 Seventh Street near Avenue C.

The Bowery, which already boasts Hair Date and (at Cooper Square) Hair Mates, has a new tenant: Takamichi Hair is moving from 35 Great Jones, into a space at 263 Bowery that, per a press release sent to Bowery Boogie, “has the feel of a chic, modern, art-collector’s home.”

The Times attends the opening festivities at U.C.B.East, which launched after “two years of due diligence, negotiations, paperwork and construction approvals.” Says co-founder Amy Poehler of securing a liquor license and Department of Buildings permit, “You have to prove to them you’re not a sex club. And any day we can prove that.”

Next door to the theater at 42 Avenue A, Eater informs that Two Boots is launching its first vegan pizza: “V for Vegan” pies will be available starting Nov. 1, with free tastes from 6 p.m. till 8 p.m. that day.

Inspired by the infestation in Tompkins Square Park and elsewhere, Mark Jacobson pens an article about the rat problem for New York magazine. So how many rats are there per New Yorker? Estimates vary from one rodent for every 36 people, to three or four rats per person.