Former mayor Ed Koch has published a new children’s book, “Eddie Shapes Up,” described by its publisher, Zagat (yes, they of the little red book), as “the story of a boy who with the support of his friends and family decides to change his lifestyle in order to make his life happier and healthier.” Earlier today he read from the book to a group of children at P.S. 64 Robert Simon on East Sixth Street, with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan on hand to help launch the D.O.T.’s Walk Ways program, an initiative to encourage and facilitate walking to school. The Local was there to see how the former mayor was doin’.

As if Cooper Union wasn’t dealing with enough bad p.r.: Today at 2 p.m., about 100 students from the school walked out of class and into Peter Cooper Park in protest of a potential implementation of tuition. Since 1905, the school, founded in 1859, has awarded merit-based scholarships to students so they can attend free of tuition charges, based on founder Peter Cooper’s philosophy that education should be as free as water and air. But on Monday, The Times reported that as a result of financial troubles, the school may start charging tuition to students that can afford it.

“Implementation of a tuition model here goes completely against the structure of the school,” said Joe Riley, 21, a junior in the School of Art and the organizer of the walkout. Read more…

Suzanne Rozdeba Inspectors look for signs of the longhorned beetle.

Climbers from the federal Department of Agriculture were spotted today inspecting trees on Avenue A for signs of the dreaded Asian longhorned beetle, an invasive species that virtually guarantees the death of any tree it infests.

The Parks Department confirmed that the climbers were between Fourth and Fifth Streets at around 11:30 a.m. inspecting the trees for the circular, pencil-diameter holes that indicate the presence of the Chinese beetle that first appeared in the city — and in the U.S. — in 1996.

Since then, the beetle has been spotted in Central Park, Staten Island, parts of Brooklyn, and even as far away as Chicago. Typically, when a tree is found to be infested it is cut down, chopped up and burned. Trees in its immediate vicinity may also be felled in an attempt to quarantine the pest. Trees within a wider radius may be treated with an insecticide, as well. Read more…

According to a press release posted at BroadwayWorld, Comedy Central is hosting a new bi-monthly showcase at UCBeast. “Corporate Retreat,” featuring some of the network’s personalities (Wyatt Cenac of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” etc.) as well as other comedians you’ve seen on t.v., will debut November 7.

Daniel Maurer

The Local just spotted “Mosaic Man” Jim Power outside of Tompkins Square Bagels, where a sign he spent three or four weeks working on is being hoisted this afternoon. Flanked by his right-hand social-media man Matt Rosen, who had put out a tweet about the store’s christening, Mr. Power revealed that he is talking to The Bean about doing a sign for their forthcoming store.

Also on the scene was Tompkins Square Bagels owner Chris Pugliese, who gave us a tour of the space (later, we’ll have shots from inside). Mr. Pugliese, who is an owner of Court Street Bagels in Cobble Hill but lives in the East Village, said some of the pastries, including vegan items, would be provided by Babycakes and Butter Lane – for the bagels and bread, he purchased and refurbished a used Cutler oven to the tune of $15,500, and installed it in an open kitchen so that customers can watch the bagels being made. Read more…

Yes, folks, even speed bumps have Facebook pages these days. William David, an art student at Pratt Institute, e-mails The Local to point out a “Brake for the Kids” campaign he has launched as part of an effort to get the Department of Transportation to install a speed bump on East Seventh Street. Aside from setting up Facebook and Twitter pages, he’s advocating in the real world, too: Mr. David says that as part of his senior project, he plans to set up a booth near St. Brigid School this weekend to raise awareness.

Photos: Lauren Carol Smith.

After more than ten years, Adria Petty – the photographer and commercial, documentary, and music video director –  is selling her condo at 325 East Ninth Street. The three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot unit, at the ground floor of a building that dates back to 1905, is going for $1.995 million.

Since 2008, Ms. Petty – daughter of rock star Tom – has spent most of her time in her native Los Angeles, shooting music videos (most notably Beyonce’s “Countdown” and “Sweet Dreams”) and advertisements, including spots for Clorox and McDonald’s. But yesterday at a meeting in her East Village kitchen, she told The Local that she has moved back to New York in the interest of “inspiration and good people.” In February, she bought a small apartment off of Washington Square Park. Her Ninth Street digs hit the market last week. Read more…

Good morning, East Village.

How ’bout a little trance music to start your day? Sutra, a thriving destination for old-school hip-hop, sent over the above video celebrating its seven years on First Avenue, along with a flyer stating, “Back in 2004 when Sutra first opened its doors it was publicly accused of being the ‘#1 loudest bar in New York’ and it hasn’t quieted down since.”

Meanwhile MyBlockNYC has far less groovy video, picked up by Gothamist and Huffington Post yesterday, of an officer macing an angry group crowding a police car on Avenue A on Halloween night. One member of the group is eventually tackled.

Robert Christgau profiles Jeffrey Lewis, an anti-folk singer-songwriter who grew up in the East Village and is described as “the lifetime bohemian as likable supernerd, neurotic and vulnerable in a rather universal way.” His latest song, which you can listen to on N.P.R.’s site, is “a dystopian yet tongue-in-cheek reflection on consumerism, evolution, mortality and the tiny place of life itself in the cosmos.” Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown The Cabrini Center at 542 East Fifth Street.

The six-story building that houses a medical center catering to the elderly is on the market, raising concerns that a new landlord will give low-income patients the boot before the center can build a new location.

Last night, Community Board 3 sounded the alarm on the possible closure of the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, sending a formal letter to the lawyer of the mystery buyer of the building at Avenue B and Fifth Street. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Board Member Alexandra Militano discussed October’s applications for liquor licenses.

Community Board 3 approved Jane’s Sweet Buns application for a beer and wine license last night, paving the way for the bakery to pair alcohol with its desserts.

“Literally 75 percent of our clientele that comes in after 8 p.m. wants to have a glass of wine with their sweet bun or tart,” said Ravi DeRossi, the owner of the business on St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A. “Wine and dessert go so well together.”

The business was met with skepticism by some members of Community Board 3, however.

“I hear we’re all dying to receive this: A bakery that sells booze,” joked board member Joyce Ravitz.
Read more…

Eater sits down with Jason Wang, the manager of Xi’an Famous Foods (a favorite around The Local’s offices) and gets the latest on plans for the popular noodle joint’s expansion. Mr. Wang said that a new location should be opening in East Williamsburg soon, and that an expansion into Washington D.C. or Boston is likely. Given Mr. Wang’s grand ambitions for Xi’an, it should come as no surprise that one of his idols is the man behind McDonald’s, Ray Kroc.

Ella ZhangFrom left: Nancy Shapiro and Stephanie Schwartz.

Classroom 407 of Neighborhood School, on East Third Street, is decorated with donations: an LCD projector, whiteboard, document camera, globe, games, Seat Sacks – even the Purell hand sanitizer was paid for with outside funds. Now Nancy Shapiro, one of the classroom’s teachers, is hoping to raise money for a soundproofing device that will reduce noise in her room. To do so, she isn’t turning to the Department of Education – she’s relying on DonorsChoose, a Web site that connects donors with teachers who’ve been left strapped by recent budget cuts.

Ms. Shapiro’s classroom holds 28 fourth graders, about forty percent of whom have learning disabilities such as hearing difficulties and attention deficit disorder.  Three to four times a day, the class breaks into two smaller groups so that Ms. Shapiro and another teacher, Stephanie Schwartz, can cater to the students’ different needs. The cross-talk between the two groups is so distracting that students have difficulty paying attention or hearing each other, and sometimes end up shouting. The acoustics of the historic building, with its high ceilings, only exacerbates the problem. Read more…

Chelsia Rose Marcius

Sean Eisele was hard-pressed to find a preschool for his daughter Taegan, 4, after Love A Lot shuttered in the wake of financial troubles in early October. While taking her on the subway to a Bright Horizons location, the East Village resident looked into options that would give Taegan the same one-on-one time she got at Love A Lot, and found the Gold Material Montessori School, which opened last month at 41 Avenue B. The timing couldn’t have been better.

“We needed a daycare and it was one of the few places that were around,” said Mr. Eisele. “It took her about a week to adjust, but it seems we’re in the right place now.”

Mr. Eisele was hopeful that his daughter would get close attention at Gold Material. The preschool currently has just eight students, and its co-founder, Maksim Kondrukevich, considers them precious. Read more…

CREDIT Star69 performed a live outdoor concert in full costume for audience members on 10th Street and First Avenue.

Good morning, East Village.

The above photo is from a free outdoor concert hosted by The Theater for the New City at the corner of 10th Street and First Avenue yesterday. Alexander Bartenieff, a company member and lighting director for the theater, told The Local it was the theater’s 37th annual Halloween ball. “This is great for the community,” said Mr. Bartenieff while the band Star69 performed in costume for a small crowd. “And very good for the businesses as well.”

The Times reports that Cooper Union is considering charging tuition to well-off students in the future. After protests over the weekend, the school’s president, Jamshed Bharucha told students that “Cooper Union needed to introduce new sources of revenue, reaching $28 million a year by 2018, or about one-quarter of the expected operating costs.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the school had a $16.5 million budget deficit this year.

According to NY1, jury selection has begun in the trial of the man who allegedly punched a woman during an argument over a parking spot that she was holding on East 14th Street.

Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York notices that a street peddler has set up behind the plywood at Mars Bar.

Suzanne Rozdeba

A scuffle at 7A reported by EV Grieve earlier today resulted in a shattered window at the cafe, which remodeled earlier this year. William Day, an employee there, told The Local that the fight broke out at around 5:30 a.m. “It happens every now and then – it’s a 24-hour restaurant,” he said. A police spokesman had no further information regarding the incident. The window had already been fixed by 4:30 p.m.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Developments blog, homes located near cemeteries tend to sell for less, and the apartments around the New York City Marble Cemetery (no relation to the neighboring New York Marble Cemetery we visited in our Halloween Guide) seem to be no exception: “Homes within two blocks of the cemetery have a median sale price of $695,000, whereas those inside a 10-block radius sell for a median price of $800,000.”