–Headline of the day: “Subsidized complex turns itself into a gated community.” This is probably not how the board of Masaryk Towers hoped to be starting the day. Columnist Ginia Bellafonte chews the scenery on the Lower East Side, observing, “The instinct to shun and exclude comes all too naturally in the human spirit.” She then goes on to invoke Jacob Riis and “How the Other Half Lives.” [New York Times]

–A city EMT, apparently a Hells Angel, has been arrested for allegedly slashing someone’s tires outside the group’s East Third Street clubhouse. [New York Post]

–Katz’s Deli is snapping up spaces in New Jersey for its expanding mail order business. [Rutherford Daily Voice]

–Apparently everyone’s got to have a pair of David Chang’s Momokuku Nike high tops. [Eater]

–Tiki on 12th. The East Village Independent Merchants Association is throwing a party tomorrow. [EV Grieve]

–Mayor de Blasio came to the Lower East Side last night for a town hall meeting. We’ll have the full story later today. A few highlights: In response to complaints about traffic congestion at Clinton and Grand streets, the mayor instructed NYPD officials to place a traffic agent at the intersection as soon as today; De Blasio became testy when quizzed about Rivington House, and he said his administration is committed to replacing 200 beds lost due the loss of the onetime nursing facility; the mayor blamed the large-scale towers under review in the Two Bridges area on previous administrations and said there’s nothing that can be done to stop the projects. You can watch the full video from last night’s town hall here.

–“The mayor “stormed out of a town hall meeting (on the Lower East Side) just as the state legislature was about to adjourn for the summer without renewing mayoral control of New York City’s schools.” [New York Post]

–An affiliate of Shorenstein Properties purchased a 12-story rental building, 200 East 11th St., for $57 million. The property sold for the same amount in 2013, but the previous owner sold a retail condo in the building for $25 million a couple of years ago. [The Real Deal]

–After more than two decades, the Polish G.I. Deli on First Avenue is closing. [Eater]

–Council member Rosie Mendez’s legislation banning the use of wild animals in circus performances was approved. [Observer]

–More on the Tenement Museum’s new leader. [Tablet]

–Metropolitan Diary: Crossing Houston Street. [New York Times]

–The Lower East Side gallery, Envoy Enterprises, is closing. Owner Jimi Dams is harshly critical of the current New York City art market and says running a gallery just isn’t fun anymore. [Art News]

–The MTA is expanding M1 bus service. [DNAinfo]

–One Manhattan Square is part of developers’ “live, work, play” obsession. [Real Estate Weekly]

–Opinion: “City Council gone wild with circus animal ban.” Incurring the tabloid editorial board’s wrath is local Council member Rosie Mendez. [Daily News]

–Check out some of the locations on the Lower East Side for today’s Make Music New York. [Website]