The City Council hearing on New York University’s controversial expansion plan got a star cameo today, as Greenwich Village native Matthew Broderick argued that N.Y.U. 2031 would further strip the neighborhood of of its character. He was one of about 250 people who spoke out during the packed nine-hour meeting, with about 60 percent opposing the plan and 40 percent voicing their support.

This weekend, you’ll want to jump on your last chance to catch Frank Cwiklik’s madcap stage adaptations of the works of Ed Wood, widely hailed as the worst director of all-time.

Rew Starr’s quirky two-hour internet show, blending live musical performances and interviews, tapes in the back room of Otto’s Shrunken Head most Wednesdays. Next week, to mark two years, there will be a special show at Otto’s on Monday and, the next day, another at Bowery Electric.

On the eve of his wedding, Alec Baldwin lays down the law outside of his East Village apartment.

On Wednesday, the last day of school, kids of various ages tried out their angling skills at a fishing clinic hosted by the Lower East Side Ecology Center. But was their catch safe to eat?

The Local liveblogs a critical hearing on N.Y.U.’s expansion plans.

The Local’s daily roundup of East Village news from around the web, including a celebrity appearance at the NYU 2031 hearing, a manslaughter conviction, a church merging, a new Jamaican bar, and more.

A mock funeral for a garden that will be demolished if the N.Y.U.’s expansion plan is approved.

People’s Pops just got some competition: An Icy Introduction, a shaved ice stand that popped up on Lafayette Street last month, just started selling SnoPops, packaged snoballs that go for $5 a pair and $20 a dozen.

Benny’s Burritos is expanding into its onetime takeout space, and Croxley’s Ales may also be in for a change.

The Villager scores a tour of the Economakis mansion.

Edgar Villongco dreamed of opening a cafe on East 12th Street, a couple of blocks from his home, where locals could enjoy a traditional Swiss dish, similar to fondue, with a glass of white wine. But this week, he opened a scooter shop, Urban Motion, in the spot where New York Raclette would’ve been.

Will this newcomer claiming to use only local and organic ingredients fill the void that Ruben’s Empanadas left when it closed on First Avenue?

A roundup of news from the just-released agenda of Community Board 3 meetings in July, including a possible for new operator in the Sutra space.

Want to attend a play, concert, or protest and write about it (or photograph it) for The Local? Here are some recent story suggestions from our readers.

The never-before-told story of a CBGB that almost opened next to the now-closed Virgin Megastore.

Almost all of Nora Ephron’s books were sold out yesterday morning at The Strand, where a photo in the window depicted the literary dynamo posing with the bookshop’s owners, Fred Bass and Nancy Bass Wyden, during the filming of “Julie & Julia” there in 2008.

The Local’s daily roundup of East Village news from around the web.

Sue Palchak-Essenpreis and her husband Greg, who encouraged the tenants of three buildings on Third Street to fight the landlord who didn’t renew their leases, has decided to move on. And she’s not the only one. But first, she’ll have another day in court.