For Dina Leor, this is the busiest week of the year.

Customers visit Ms. Leor’s Mexican folk art shop, La Sirena, to prepare for Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, on Nov. 2.

Ms. Leor has owned La Sirena for 11 years, and travels throughout Mexico to collect art. Although Ms. Leor is of Argentine descent, she says that she has a “Mexican heart,” which is clear to anyone entering her Third Street shop.

NYU Journalism’s Meredith Hoffman talks with Ms. Leor about the holiday and its spiritual and cultural significance.

Deyva Arthur Howie Hawkins.

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for governor, isn’t bothered by recent polls showing him trailing far behind Andrew Cuomo. His main goal is to help the Greens grab a share of the political spotlight now so that the party’s candidates can be considered viable contenders in future elections. “People can help make that happen and that’ll open up the debate in the elections,” Mr. Hawkins says.

In an interview with The Local, Mr. Hawkins, 57, a UPS truck unloader from Syracuse, discussed his belief that he understands the needs of the working class more than the major candidates. He objects to the recent subway fair hikes – he believes students should ride free – and he’s passionate on environmental issues and educational reform. He also described an unusual experience during an appearance on East Village Radio.
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Adrian Mihai

Good morning, East Village.

After a week of bad news, a rainbow over the East Village on Wednesday evening was a welcome sight. We came close to having another grim report today. According to Gothamist, a bid to abduct a 4-year-old boy on East Sixth Street yesterday was foiled by the child’s nanny. ABC has the story too, with video.

Before the current craze for Tiki cocktails and pu-pu platters, there was Otto’s Shrunken Head on East 14th, serving strong potions with little paper umbrellas since 2002. Then there very nearly wasn’t Otto’s any more as a nasty fire raged through the interior at the weekend. EV Grieve has pictures. Amazingly, there are hopes of re-opening tomorrow night.

Speaking of umbrellas (…ellas), the latest excuse for bright lights and sidewalk obstruction? Rihanna, everyone tweets, is shooting a music video at East Seventh Street and First Avenue. Anyone else see that?

Tania Barnes The facade of St. Ann’s church still stands in front of NYU’s 26-story dorm on East 12th Street.

What began with an objection to what critics called outsized development on Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village culminated today with a unanimous vote by City Council to approve new zoning legislation that will cap development in the area at 120 feet, or roughly 12 stories.

Neighborhood preservation groups, working with Community Board 3 and local elected officials, have been pushing for years to change the height restrictions in the area from practically unlimited to something they believe is more in keeping with the neighborhood’s character. Supporters say the new legislation will also give developers in the area more incentives to put up residential buildings (including affordable housing), rather than more dorms and hotels.
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Michelle Rick, a community contributor to The Local East Village, turns her lens on New Yorkers in motion.

“The homeless man in this shot is as oblivious to this woman as she is to him. Is this mutual indifference a function of being a New Yorker? I hope not. Ideally, I’d like to pierce the armor before I take the shot.”
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Simon McCormick Layne Mosler’s quest for culinary delights prompted her to ask cab drivers about the city’s best food finds, like pork soup dumplings at Grand Sichuan.

Layne Mosler is always on the hunt for a good, cheap meal. Back in 2007, she realized that taxi drivers often stumble upon fast food finds in their forays around the city so she started asking them for suggestions and doing taste tests herself. Her culinary escapades have taken her around the globe from Berlin to Buenos Aires and are chronicled on her blog, TaxiGourmet.com.

Last January, Ms. Mosler decided to join the ranks and became a New York City yellow cab driver, working a 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift three days a week.

Ms. Mosler took us on a tour of her favorite East Village eateries last week. Dressed in a taxi-yellow shirt, she said she
chose these East Village eateries because they remind her of her travels. Of course, they’re perfect for a cabbie—or anyone else—trying to catch a tasty, cheap bite in a hurry.
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Jesse O’Neill The New York City Marble Cemetery was founded in 1831, when the Lower East Side was tracts of farmland and the city’s northern border was Grand Street.

Tucked on a sleepy stretch of East Second Street, between First and Second Avenues, the New York City Marble Cemetery is one of the oldest institutions in the neighborhood. It featured prominently in headlines earlier this month when a cache of military-grade explosives was found abandoned there in a garbage bag. Otherwise, the cemetery keeps a resolutely low profile. Closed to the public and shrouded by 250 feet of grand iron railings, it is the resting place of some four thousand souls who shaped the modern city.

On a recent visit, Colleen Iverson, the cemetery’s director, introduced me to our late neighbors. The cemetery was founded in 1831, when the Lower East Side was tracts of farmland, a retreat from the bustling city whose northern terminus was around Grand Street. As Ms. Iverson explained, the location was prime, because our 19th century predecessors believed that Second Avenue would eventually transform into a fashionable residential thoroughfare. It never quite became Park Avenue, but by the 1850’s there were eleven cemeteries in a three-block radius. New York City Marble is one of only two that remain. The other is the unrelated (despite the name) New York Marble Cemetery.
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Tania Barnes Under the proposed legislation, this 26-story NYU dorm on East 12th Street would be too tall by half.

In the latest turf battle, it looks like the preservationists are winning.

City Council is set to vote today – and expected to approve — a measure that will cap building heights at 120 feet or roughly 12 stories on the eight blocks between Third and Fourth Avenues and 13th and Ninth Streets. That’s a pretty major shift: under current regulations, the area has practically no height restrictions. (For a case in point, look no further than the NYU dorm on East 12th Street, at 26 stories.)

Originally, the Department of City Planning considered the area, with its wide avenues, better able to accommodate tall buildings, and therefore chose to leave it out of the rezoning plans that affected the rest of the East Village in 2008. That rezoning capped buildings at 75 feet along the streets, 85 feet along avenues, and 120 feet along Houston Street.

But in September, city planning officials changed their tune, agreeing to support building caps for Third and Fourth Avenues. It’s not altogether clear what prompted the change of heart. A spokeswoman for the Department of City Planning would not elaborate on the motives for the reversal. But the support of Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and the continuous campaigns of groups like the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation have undoubtedly played a role.

For preservationists, the failure to include this region in the 2008 rezoning was always an omission and so they don’t necessarily view the pending legislation as a win. Rather, they see it as merely getting the area up to the zoning standards that apply elsewhere. In an interview with The Local, Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation called the new legislation “a compromise of a compromise.” The preservation group, he said, had hoped the building cap would be set at 85 feet, 35 feet less than what was ultimately agreed upon.

The new zoning laws will also theoretically raise the allowable height of residential buildings in the area by increasing what’s called their floor-to-area ratio. Still, Berman says the preservation group is happy with the change: “The advantage of that is if there’s going to be new development, it will be more residential. Right now, new development is all dorms and hotels.”

What do you think about the proposal to limit building heights in the East Village?

Gloria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

We start today with a glance below Houston where a report by Bowery Boogie of three people injured in a shooting on Stanton Street adds to the week’s bad news, although the injuries are described as “non-life-threatening.” The New York Times called the location of the incident, “a corner where luxury developments and turn-of-the-century tenements meet.”

The Daily News briefly covers the arraignment of Jairo Pastoressa, the 25 year old accused of fatally stabbing Christopher Jusko in an East 7th Street apartment building on Monday morning.

The mobile police command center established near Tompkins Square Park seems to have been busy already. EV Grieve has a tip that police appeared “in numbers” to arrest an alleged cellphone snatcher yesterday evening.

Our last word today – you can’t keep a good blogger down. Brooks of Sheffield announced in June. “I am ending Lost City. Most of the City is lost after all—the good parts, anyway—so you could say the course of history has put me out of a job.” But there was a stray post here and there, and then the stray posts kept coming – six in October. Lost City is a great citywide history source, and we hope Brooks keeps adding to it.

Clint Rainey Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street.

As I was making my way down Avenue A last week, a young girl in combat boots asked me for a light. I stared at her, confused. It was obvious to me that before she left the house that morning, she had remembered to smear her eyes with liquid liner, wrap her hips in enough metal belts to refurbish a John Deere machine, and carefully paint each of her nails a different shade of black – but she forgot her lighter?

“Here,” I gave her a neon pink Zippo I’d had since the last time I was hounded by Marlboro promoters at ACE bar.

“Thanks,” she said, and after using it threw the lighter into the dark depths of Tompkins Square Park, provoking the muffled sounds of an annoyed rat. Maybe she thought it was a large, cold, match. Read more…

Colleen Leung The author along the East River waterfront.

Community contributor Al Kavadlo, a personal fitness trainer, offers a regular perspective on staying fit in the East Village.

Running is one of my favorite ways to exercise. It doesn’t require a gym membership or any fancy equipment and it’s a great way to get some time alone with your thoughts. In spite of this, when I suggest that my clients try running, I hear all sorts of excuses.

Around the East Village, the most common gripe is that with so much traffic in the streets (foot, bike and automobile), it’s futile to even attempt to go for a jog. I don’t mind weaving around pedestrians and cars, but I’ll admit there are some spots that are more conducive to running for fitness than others.
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Rachel Wise

Good morning, East Village.

Reporting by dnainfo on the arrest of Jairo Pastoressa as a suspect in the East 7th Street stabbing describes him as an assistant to well-known East Village muralist Antonio “Chico” Garcia. A video, “Termanology-Circulate,” posted on several websites including YouTube is described as a video showing Pastoressa working on a painting with Garcia.

Turning to robberies, EV Grieve has a story on a police command post established near Tompkins Square Park, apparently in a response to a recent spike in muggings.

Finally, knowing what it’s like to be editors, we sympathize with the author of this MTA poster whose grammatical error is posted up and down Second Avenue and reproduced here by Bowery Boogie.

Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives at the scene of the stabbing Monday morning. Jairo Pastoressa, 25, a resident of the East Seventh Street tenement where the stabbing occurred, faces murder charges.

A 25-year-old East Village man was charged with murder last night in the fatal stabbing of another man early yesterday morning, the authorities said.

The suspect, Jairo Pastoressa, lived in a tenement at 272 East Seventh Street where the police said that Christopher Jusko, 21, was stabbed around 5:30 a.m. Monday. The authorities said that Mr. Pastoressa surrendered to the police shortly after the attack.

While detectives did not immediately provide details about a possible motive, Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors said that the killing occurred after a dispute over a woman in whom both had a romantic interest.

The arrest of Mr. Pastroressa was confirmed by The Local this morning. It has also been reported by other news organizations.

One of Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors, John Bonilla, said that a friend of Mr. Pastoressa’s family indicated that Mr. Pastoressa told investigators that he was acting in self-defense.

Mr. Bonilla described Mr. Pastoressa, his neighbor of about four years, as a “personable young man” and said that he “generally kept to himself.”

“We’d exchange hello and goodbye when he’d go out and walk his dog,” said Mr. Bonilla.

Mr. Bonilla said that neighbors along the stretch of East Seventh Street where the stabbing occurred were jolted by the crime.

“It’s very unnerving,” said Mr. Bonilla. “It doesn’t give you a good sense of security, and makes me wonder about staying in New York.”

Leslie Koch, a contributor to The Local East Village, visited the 20th annual Dog Parade at Tompkins Square Park Saturday and turned her lens on the costume competition.

Karen Biehl, of the Upper West Side, posed with her Chihuahua Eli. Their Egyptian costumes were created by pet fashion designer Roberto Negrin.
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Spencer Magloff Hundreds of participants munched their way through 15 eateries during the East Village Eats tour.

From sweet Maine shrimp rolls to Korean fried chicken, seitan dumplings to braised venison, the East Village was a food lover’s paradise on Saturday, as hundreds of participants and 15 eateries took part in the East Village Eats Tasting Tour.

With a map and complimentary spork in hand patrons trekked from one eatery to the next on a self-guided tour, sampling some of the best finger-licking foods the neighborhood has to offer from an assortment of varied restaurants. The event cost about $40.

“You walk by these places all the time, but never stop in,” said Zoe Lee-McDermott, a high school student and East Village resident. “This is definitely the best to way to learn what’s in your backyard.”

Saeju Jeong, 30, a tech entrepreneur, echoed the sentiment while gnawing on chicken wings. “Unless you spend $50, you don’t know if you’re going to like a restaurant. With this you can discover what you do and don’t like.”

Sponsored by the Fourth Arts Block, the tasting tour promoted local restaurants. Andy Song, manager of Mono+Mono, a Korean restaurant that opened in September on East Fourth Street, said he was hoping to garner new customers. “Since we just opened this is really a great way to advertise to new people in a new neighborhood. So far everyone has left happy,” he said.

Perhaps one of the most popular destinations was Luke’s Lobster, a little East Seventh Street seafood shop, packed with a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd that spilled out onto the sidewalk all vying for their sample of half a shrimp roll. Salacious-sounding moans encircled the restaurant as people chomped down on their rolls – some in as little as two bites.

“Picking restaurants can be hit or miss,” said Crystal Simpkin, 25, finishing up her shrimp on the congested sidewalk. “But so far, this is definitely my favorite, and I’ll be back.”

Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives have continued working at the crime scene along East Seventh Street through the afternoon.

The authorities this afternoon identified the victim of a fatal stabbing on East Seventh Street even as detectives were still trying to determine a motive for the crime.

Police said that the victim, Christopher Jusko, was stabbed once in the neck about 5:30 this morning inside an apartment at 272 East Seventh Street. Mr. Jusko, who was 21, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Andre Tartar A group of eighth grade students at Tompkins Square Middle School, one of two schools in the East Village to receive “A” grades on a recent evaluation of city schools. Students attributed the school’s success to strong bonds with the faculty. “We are like a family,” said one eighth grader.

The halls of Tompkins Square Middle School fill with children headed to their next classes. The silver-haired dean of community affairs, Devan Aptekar, warns a visitor to get ready for some noise. But it never really comes. Instead of hollering and ricocheting off the walls, students chat with each other using their inside voices. A few even wave hello to Mr. Aptekar as they pass. Nearby, a math teacher jokes with a student and asks him to answer a question before he can enter the class: “What is negative fourteen squared?” Clearly, something is going right here.

In the wake of the recent progress reports on which East Village schools performed poorly, The Local decided to ask the two schools awarded “A” grades, Tompkins Square Middle School and East Side Community School, about the ingredients of their success.
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Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives are continuing their investigation into a fatal stabbing that occurred this morning on East Seventh Street.

Detectives are investigating a fatal stabbing that occurred this morning on East Seventh Street between Avenues C and D.

The police said that the victim is a 21-year-old man who was stabbed in the neck around 5:30.

The authorities have a taken another man into custody in connection with the incident.

Reporters from The Local are on the scene and we will post a full report as soon as we have more details.

Today, The Local East Village begins a new recurring feature highlighting the work of local photographers who are our community contributors.

Regular readers of The Local are likely familiar with the photography of Gloria Chung, whose contributions often grace our morning roundup of blogposts known as The Day. Ms. Chung, who’s lived in the East Village for seven years, discusses some of her favorite images and how she found them.
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