Daniel Maurer

A couple of changes on First Avenue: Yesterday, The Local spotted new signage (above) indicating that the former Quantum Leap space will become a Vietnamese restaurant, Sao Mai. Today, EV Grieve notices that Kebab Garden, near St. Marks Place, is becoming Mediterranean Grill.

Last night, members of the Cooper Square Committee attended a party celebrating the rent reduction at the St. Mark’s Bookshop. According to DNA Info, the Committee has now turned its attention to the possibility of tuition at Cooper Union: “[Joyce] Ravitz and others from the committee met with the university’s president Jamshed Bharucha last Monday to talk about the tuition proposal. Among other ideas, Bharucha discussed making tuition free only to those with no means to pay for an education, according to Ravitz.”

City Room has more on the lawsuit that Bikram Yoga NYC filed against Yoga to the People, including a copy of the lawsuit itself. “We sent an investigator to take the classes,” says Bikram Choudhury’s lawyer. “The classes were virtually mirror images and the dialogue was consistently the same.”

The N.Y.P.I.R.G. Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives has given a “Schleppie Award” to the M101/102/103, which connects Harlem and the East Village. The two transit advocacy groups tell the Staten Island Advance that the bus is unreliable 27.3 percent of the time.

Off The Grid looks back at two recently closed meat markets, Kurowycky Meat Products and B&M Meat Market. The blog writes, “The East Village has seen a rise in contemporary Eastern European eating establishments.  Menupages lists 11 establishments that fit this category.  Surely these restaurants are tasty, but do they have a smoker in the backroom and freshly cured kielbasas hanging in the window?  I think not.”

The Horse Trade Theater Group has announced that its third annual Burlesque Blitz will run Dec. 27 to 30 at the Kraine Theater. According to a press release, the line-up of burlesque shows includes an “outrageous all-nude, all-dude revue,” as well as “New York’s only burlesque soap opera” and a Bible-themed show that “re-imagines everything you thought you learned in Sunday school.” More information here.