Helen Zhang Preparations for Thanksgiving at the Bowery Mission last year.

Here’s hoping you’ve done all your shopping and you’re set to have a rockin’ Thanksgiving. We’re off till Monday, barring any breaking news – oh, and whether you’re cooking at home or feasting at a local restaurant, you might want to check back with us after the big meal for some expert advice on how to shed the pounds you’re certain to pack on. Amy Chaplin, an East Villager and a former Angelica Kitchen chef who helped Natalie Portman stay slim during “Black Swan,” will be here to help. Till then, throw caution to the wind and enjoy the holiday.

Daniel Maurer

For the past decade, the blue awning at 508 East 12th Street has boasted the name of Jubb’s Longevity, the shop that sold organic, raw, and vegan food from the storefront until it closed in 2008. In recent days, a banner went up over the awning indicating that the space is up for rent.

According to a sign on the door, the location between Avenues A and B currently serves as the office of Jason Hennings and the companies that operate Diablo Royale and Black Iron Burger Shop. Mr. Hennings could not be reached for comment today, but Ken Brandman, President of New York Commercial Real Estate Services and the broker representing the space, said that the restaurateur will move out at the end of the month.

Last week, Mr. Hennings went before Community Board 3’s liquor licensing committee, where neighbors complained about Diablo Royale Este, the establishment he operates on Avenue A, up the block from the 12th Street office.

Read more…

The Daily News has an update on Jimmy “The Rent Is Too Damn High” McMillan’s fight against eviction from his $872-a-month one-bedroom apartment on St. Marks Place (his landlord claims he actually lives in Brooklyn). During a court hearing today, “the quirky ex-candidate acknowledged that he hasn’t paid federal incomes taxes for years.”

Daniel Maurer

A nondescript doorway that acheived some measure of infamy in recent weeks is getting a new look.

Earlier today, workers were seen installing wood paneling outside of the First Avenue building where a man attempted to rape a tenant in the early morning hours of Nov. 13.  The building’s management company has not yet responded to an inquiry into the remodeling, but workers on the scene showed The Local that they were installing a new lock system near the building’s front door. A security camera was also being worked on.

Aided by surveillance camera footage, the police arrested Imre Meszesan less than 48 hours after he allegedly followed Jane Callanan, a 27-year-old fashion industry worker, into her building and attacked her in the stairwell. News trucks were positioned on the block between 12th and 13th Streets for days.

Update | 2:25 p.m. The owner of the building, who asked not to be named, has now told The Local that the changes have “nothing to do with what happened.” He said that they are part of a makeover of the public areas of the building that started a few weeks ago, and will not include changes to security (we have revised the original headline of this post accordingly). “I have a very sophisticated system and that’s why the police were able to identify the person from crystal clear photographs,” he said, adding that there are a dozen cameras in the building and “the key system is remaining the same. I have good locks on both doors.”

Scott Lynch

Good morning, East Village.

The Times profiles Jeffrey Lewis, a “singer, illustrator and professional-grade neurotic” who has managed to find success, even if his idea of a “hit” is a record that sells 5,000 copies. “For some weird reason I’m surviving,” he tells The Times. “I’ve been making a good living for 10 years in the music industry. I own an apartment in the East Village; I’ve got a car.” Part of his secret? He “still lives a block from his parents, in a co-op he bought for $23,000 down and ‘a monthly rent that’s so low it’s embarrassing,’ he said.”

According to Broadway World, Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night” will return for its 19th year. On Dec. 17, the composer will hand out boom boxes, each loaded with a separate track comprising an entire piece of music, to as many as 1,500 participants who will walk from Washington Square Park to Tompkins Square Park in a mobile electronic orchestra. Take it from The Local, the event is not to be missed. Boom boxes are limited, so bring your own.

The Local spotted Jim Gaffigan walking up First Avenue near Seventh Street yesterday. Bowery Boogie now reveals that it sat across from the comedian and actor on the F train last week. Read more…

Okay, so you now know what to get your Thanksgiving host. But what if you’re the one cooking the bird? The East Village Meat Market & Deli is selling 10- to 20-pound Bell & Evans turkeys at $3.25 per pound, but there’s still the matter of what wine to serve to your ravenous guests. Enter Kimberly Koharki, a wine educator at Astor Center, and Michael Krondl, a chef and food writer who happens to live in the neighborhood. In The Local’s video, they tell you how to work the right wine (or cider!) into your feast, whether it’s splashed in a rich gravy or paired with candied yams and marshmallows.

After EV Grieve noted yesterday that some scaffolding has come down at St. Brigid’s Church (The Local checked in on the church’s painstaking restoration a few weeks ago), Off The Grid notices that scaffolding has also disappeared from All Saint’s Ukrainian Church. Click through to see new tile art adorning the approximately 160-year-old church’s facade.

“Thanks” will only get you so far this Thanksgiving. Do you really think a smile – or even the usual bouquet of flowers or mid-tier bottle of wine – is going to cut it when your host has spent the whole day with his or her head shoved up a turkey’s carcass? If you’re aiming to impress, give them one of these conversation starters from a local shop.

Stephen Rex Brown

The Local spotted fire trucks on Seventh Street between First Avenue and Avenue A around 6:15 p.m., when the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (on the same block) tweeted, “And the block is burning down again (hope not!). 5 truck.” A fire on East Sixth Street sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries Wednesday, but this one seemed to be no cause for alarm: Shortly after its initial tweet, the ice cream shop issued the following update along with a photo of two of its employees posing with a firefighter: “Our block had numerous false alarms. A bunch of firemen have taken to waiting out the calls in our shop- OK BY US.” A spokesperson for the F.D.N.Y. confirmed there have been no active fires in the area. No word on the firefighters’ favorite flavor of soft-serve.

Following the Post’s report that Andre Balazs is transforming the Cooper Square Hotel into The Standard East Village, a cheeky post on The Standard’s blog makes it official. “Don’t get too excited though!” writes one Stan d’Arde. “Unlike The Standard, New York, this East side counterpart, located on the corner of East 5th Street and Bowery at Cooper Square, is going to be a more mellow alternative to all the boom in your West side room.”

Named after the style originally worn by pilots in World War I and popularized in the 40s and 50s by movie stars such as Marlon Brando, bomber jackets remain a staple for both men and women, as these East Village locals showed us.

Daniel Maurer

Earlier today, The Local stopped into the 7-Eleven that’s coming to 351 Bowery, to the chagrin of some East Villagers. Construction workers were still doing their thing, but shelving and refrigeration units were largely in place, as were coffee containers, nacho cheese dispensers, and a soda fountain. A foreman on the scene couldn’t give an exact opening date, but a spokeswoman for the company was more helpful. Expect Maple Pancake Sausage Rollers in three weeks: The store opens Dec. 7. Oh, thank heaven?

Suzanne Rozdeba

Curious about the imposing trash cans that appeared in Tompkins Square Park recently? The Villager has the story: The so-called BigBelly, three of which have been installed in the park along with others in Chinatown and elsewhere, is a solar-powered trash compactor that crushes litter with 1,250 pounds of pressure. According to the Villager, it “holds five times the amount of garbage as a traditional trash receptacle and can reduce trash collection by 80 percent,” and uses wireless communication to let its Massachusetts-based parent company know when it needs to be changed. The good news: It’s said to curtail rat infestations.

Suzanne Rozdeba

With “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” opening in theaters tomorrow (The Times reviewed the film today), the Tompkins Square Park branch of the New York Public Library is aiming to lure “Twihards” between the ages of 12 and 18 with a trivia event that started just minutes ago. Earlier today, a spokesperson for the library told The Local that the event would be conducted “Jeopardy!”-style, with a Team Edward and Team Jacob competing for prizes. Colleen Castellani, the library manager at the branch, said that about a month ago the library created a “teen space” for events involving board games, Nintendo Wii games, and the like. So far, she said about 10 to 20 people had showed up for each of the events, which take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. So is Ms. Castellani a “Twilight” fan herself? “I am,” she said. “Maybe not as diehard as some people.”

Photos: Nick DeSantis and Susan Keyloun

Our reporter Nick DeSantis has been tweeting from outside of New York University’s Stern School of Business, where a large group has gathered for a “student strike” as part of Occupy Wall Street’s “Day of Action.” As of Nick’s last tweet at 2:41 p.m. the group had arrived in Union Square after a demonstration involving a brass band, a piñata, and a few words about student debt. At Union Square, they plan to “occupy the subway,” per a flyer. Follow Nick and The Local, and check back here for updates.

Update | 4:05 p.m. We’ve created a slideshow with photos from Union Square, where protesters who marched from lower Manhattan have joined the group that marched from the Stern School of Business. We’ll add more as they come in. Add your own to The Local’s Flickr pool. Another reporter for The Local, Ian Duncan, is tweeting from the scene and has observed at least two police helicopters overhead. Follow him for real-time updates.

Update | 8:05 p.m. Video: Thousands of Students (and Anne Hathaway) Protest in Union Square

Amanda Plasencia

The Local recently spotted this cryptic message taped to the window of the law office of Zenon B. Masnyj, on East Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenues. It’s not the first time we’ve seen such a sign. A previous one read: “Real Interest Every Day Not Free Pierogies Every Year.” Is this the East Village equivalent of the rants in the window of Old Town Bar?

Asked about the notes, Mr. Masnyj only added to the mystery. “The messages aren’t up there by mistake,” he said, but declined to elaborate.

If any new ones go up, let us know, and add photos to our Flickr pool.

The police arrested some 200 people, including this reporter, in and around the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park early Tuesday.

While some officers, many in riot gear, moved into the park, others blocked access to the park within a one- to two-block radius, also closing subway stations in the area as well as access to the Brooklyn Bridge.

At around 1:45 a.m., finding all routes to the park blocked, this reporter filmed scuffles between the police and a crowd of more than 100 demonstrators near the intersection of Broadway and Cortlandt Street, about one block north of Zuccotti Park. As shown in the video above, protesters chanted “Shame!” and “This is a peaceful protest!” while occasionally jostling with police. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown The Second Avenue location.

At a meeting last night, the Bean asked Community Board 3’s S.L.A. & D.C.A. Licensing to support its application for beer and wine licenses at two forthcoming locations. It was successful in one instance, but not in the other.

Ike Escava, co-owner of the coffee shop that is famously being replaced by a Starbucks at its former First Avenue location, said customers had been asking for wine at The Bean for a while, but their previous landlord had not allowed it.

Alexandra Militano, the chairwoman of the committee, voted along with other committee members to support a beer and wine license at a location at Second Avenue and Third Street, which is still under construction, but not before chiding Mr. Escava for failing to come with more community support. “I’m a little disheartened,” she said. Read more…