The Daily News brings word that operators associated with upscale nightclubs in SoHo, West Chelsea and the Meatpacking District are eyeing the area around East Houston Street. The soon to be vacant spaces at Sutra and Lucky Cheng’s are the most desired locations of the bunch. The prospective tenants have roots in the “Pink Elephant, Greenhouse, Hudson Terrace, Acme, 1Oak and Electric Room,” according to the paper. And a real estate agent reiterates what The Local has reported for months: that the the up-scaling of the Bowery has opened the flood gates to higher-end clubs further east.

Mark Connell, last seen in The Local coping with his landlord, has plans for an upscale establishment in the former NoLita House. Bowery Boogie, reporting now on a Community Board 2 meeting last month, says that Mr. Connell was stymied by the board due to concern that the revelers in his bar, Botanica, would mix with customers in the new establishment.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the thriving tattoo scene in Williambsurg, “the neighborhood that lured tattoo shops from Manhattan’s higher-rent ink havens like the Lower East Side and East Village” a decade ago. Not all of them have been lured away, though.

Off The Grid revisits the history of Little India on East Sixth Street. The one-block stretch got its start in 1968 when six brothers from East Pakistan bought a restaurant and started using it as a place to gather and eat with friends. “Before long, though, passersby kept knocking on the door asking if they were a restaurant. So, the brothers decided they should open one.”

The couple behind Empellon Cocina, Lauren Resler and Alex Stupak, receives a visit from The Post in their South Williambsburg apartment.

The Real Deal reports that vacancy rates in rental apartments went up last month in comparison with the same period last year. The neighborhood with the highest rate? The East Village, coming in at a whopping 1.65 percent. The average rent for a Manhattan apartment last month was $3,459.

Lastly, a friendly reminder. The Dude abides in Tompkins Square Park tonight. “The Big Lebowski” will be screened as part of the Films in Tompkins series. Show starts at sundown.