3rdTiger A scene from the Lower East Side.

Mehdi Kabbaj, the owner of 20 Peacocks, a men’s clothing boutique on Clinton Street, died yesterday after being struck by oncoming traffic on the F.D.R. drive on Wednesday night, The Daily News reports. The paper writes that Mr. Kabbaj, 45, was drunk, got out of the cab in frustration at gridlock and was struck by a minivan.

The cabbie accused of raping a 26-year-old East Village woman at knife point on May 6 has “no idea” how his DNA was recovered from the woman, writes The New York Post. According to statements read at Gurmeet Singh’s Brooklyn arraignment on Wednesday, he initially told cops he “never” had sex in the back of his taxi, but then said, “Sometimes I pick up women, call girls, off the street and have sex with them.”

The Villager reports that local advocates are pushing to have the trials of soldiers accused of abusing Private Danny Chen held in the U.S. A coalition including Councilwoman Margaret Chin and Mr. Chen’s parents are in discussions with the Army to suggest reforms to its diversity training and recruitment policies.

EV Grieve takes a peek inside of the old Hollywood Theatre above East Village Farm, which The Local confirmed is closing at the end of the month.

The New York Observer writes about the Under the Radar festival at the Public Theater, which ends Sunday.

And in other theater news, the Times reviews “Cattywampus” at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery and finds that it “has a ferocity that gives it bursts of energizing life. With its ripely vulgar language and intensely physical acting style, the production doesn’t lack for surface attractions.”