Scott Lynch Good morning, East Village.
The Times reports that Anthony Bologna, the police commander who was sued for pepper-spraying Occupy Wall Street demonstrators on East 12th Street last year, is being sued again. “The plaintiffs in the suit filed on Thursday, Johanne Sterling and Joshua Cartagena, said that they were arrested last Sept. 24 while standing on a sidewalk on East 12th Street off Fifth Avenue. (Ms. Sterling said that she was also struck by the pepper spray blast from Inspector Bologna.)”
The Post reports that the city is being sued by the family of a Lower East Side woman who died of cardiac arrest during the blizzard of 2010 after waiting over two hours for an ambulance.
The Observer attended a City Council hearing about the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area and says. Many voiced concerns that the plan to have 50 percent affordable housing isn’t ambitious enough. “It’s a contentious point and one most heavily vocalized by the members of The Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side (CPC) who have moved to vote against the entire SPURA project if their isn’t a special allowance made to make all of SPURA’s units 100 percent low income housing.” DNA Info also reported from the meeting.
Gothamist discovers that the CBGB Festival will be back in May. Organizer Tim Hayes says he and his partners “plan to host events in 175 venues. We will reprise every element from our 2012 festival including multipule stages in Times Square and in Central Park.”
NYU Local thinks 7-Eleven is “eating the East Village” but argues that “whether you welcome the Slurpee-wielding convenience conglomerate, or reject its mega-corporation presence, you have to give them credit—they now offer Maple Pancake Sausage Rollers. That is, undeniably, quite an accomplishment.”
Curbed checks in on the 51 Astor construction site.
The Lo-Down reminds us that the FAB! Festival is coming up this weekend.
DNA Info notes that the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has started live-streaming its most popular events.
The Villager describes a water tank’s transformation into a rooftop penthouse on East 12th Street. “After taking a month to cut down the tank’s cast-iron lining with blowtorches and remove it piece by piece, Messana and his partner, Toby O’Rorke, set about envisioning a design that would effectively utilize the 11-foot-wide cylinder without over-embellishing it.”
Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York notices that a neighbor upset about the closing of the University Diner on University Place has posted a sign urging the landlord to “only consider renting to a similar diner/restaurant: one that is low-key (soft lighting), affordable, with the same welcoming, friendly feeling. NO! to franchises, bankfronts, noisy bars, phone stores. NO! to pizza fronts with garish lighting.”
Grub Street reports that Momofuku sent a cease and desist letter to an Australian chef who was serving “Momofuku Bao.”
Meanwhile another East Village joint, Terroir, has opened in Park Slope, according to Eater.
The Times is a fan of Greek newcomer Boukiés. “Are we weary of small plates, those minuscule portions that so often add up to nothing but a lingering, belligerent hunger? Boukiés, which means “small bites,” does it right. The mezethes are robust, built for multiple hands to plunder, and priced reasonably, commensurate with their dimensions.”
