Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

This afternoon a Lower East Side Unity Rally will convey a message of “no more violence!” in the wake of Raphael Ward’s killing. The rally begins at 5:30 p.m. at Avenue D and East Sixth Street. [The Lo-Down]

Alphabet City is one of 12 neighborhoods that qualify for a $200,000 grant meant to build business-improvement associations. [DNA Info]

There are still tons of bodegas in the city, “but there’s no denying that the texture of the city would be flattened if the idiosyncratic bodega became an endangered species. Not so much because of what the stores sell as because of the larger role they play in the community.” [The Atlantic Cities]

Eddie Huang on business attire: “I do a lot of meetings, whether I’m at networks or publishers, and everybody is in suits—but I don’t want to wear a suit, so I wear sweat suits.” [GQ via Eater]

“Cata, which opened on the Lower East Side last September, specializes in tapas and gin and tonics, a combination, it’s fair to say, that is not available on every corner.” [NY Times]