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 13 Essex, the former home of Zelig Blumenthal. Yesterday we received an email tip from Kevin Walter, asking: “Did anyone notice that Zelig Blumenthal’s store at 13 Essex Street has vanished without a trace? Signs are gone? Interior is completely empty. Another bit of the old, Jewish Lower East Side gone.” Today we dialed the phone number for the Judaica store, a fixture on the Lower East Side for close to 60 years. The man who answered said they’d moved to Brooklyn.
Continue reading Zelig Blumenthal Closes Shop on Essex Street
 
Here are musician Ken Beasley’s top music picks on the Lower East Side this week:
 The Morning Pages - photo by Ginny Maxwell THE MORNING PAGES – Friday, July 2 at 9pm
Equal parts The Band, Credence, and Graham Parsons, The Morning Pages not only blur the line between ‘now’ and ‘then’ but go a step further by making it non-existent. Continue reading This Week’s Music Picks
Renowned video and installation artist (and social activist), Paul Chan, will be speaking with Artforum editor Tim Griffin, at Abrons Arts Center, tomorrow night in a discussion about his 2007 project, Waiting for Godot in New Orleans. The project involved 5 site-specific performances of Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, in the demolished neighborhood of New Orleans’ 9th Ward. An installation of his Waiting for Godot work is included in the MoMA’s exhibition, Contemporary Art from the Collection, which opens today.
Continue reading Artist Paul Chan in Conversation at Abrons Tomorrow Night
 May 31st accident on Essex Street Earlier this month – in two separate incidents – pedestrians were sent to the hospital after being hit by those so-called “Chinatown buses.” We’ve been trying to gather more information about what occurred, but details are scarce. While the NYPD says there was “no criminality” in either accident, many questions remain unanswered.
In the past few days, City Councilmember Maraget Chin’s office has begun looking into the cases, which have raised new concerns about the large number of charter, tour and commuter buses roaming the streets in Lower Manhattan. One Lo-Down commenter wrote recently, “These buses need more regulation!! How many more people need to be hit? My heart goes out to the two pedestrians who were injured, and hopefully survived.”
Continue reading No “Criminality” in Bus/Pedestrian Accidents; Information Scarce
A “mafia life lesson” on the Lower East Side (Village Voice).
City Council approves Bloomberg budget (NYT).
Which City Council members are the kings and queens of pork? (Gotham Gazette).
Continue reading The Mob on Avenue B, Council Pork, Price on “Lush Life” Show
Some relief from the heat today. Sunny with a high of 80. Today we’ll have an update on what’s being done to regulate those big “Chinatown buses” that have become so ubiquitous in the neighborhood. We’ll also have a tribute to Zelig Blumenthal, the Essex Street Judaica shop that closed recently.
Budget battles: Paterson vetoes Silver, Sampson alternative – override vote could occur today (NYT).
Dicker: outmaneuvered and humiliated by Silver, Paterson has little choice but to “declare war.” (Post).
City Council increases discretionary spending 9%, to $396 million (Post).
Continue reading Silver-Paterson War, Council Spending, “Dirty Old Town” Premiere
Partly cloudy with of a high of 89 today. This afternoon, we’ll head over to City Hall, where the city’s budget is expected to be approved by the City Council. We’re also looking into the dilemma faced by the residents of 16 Clinton, a tenement with a “complicated” past.
The National Weather Service has declared a heat advisory for New York – prompting the city to open cooling centers in all five boroughs today. Here on the Lower East Side, seniors (or anyone feeling discomfort) can seek refuge from the heat at the following locations:
- The Bowery Resident’s Committee Senior Nutrition Program, 30 Delancey
- University Settlement Nutrition Program, 189 Allen
- Seward Park Library, 193 East Broadway
- Educational Alliance Senior Center, 197 East Broadway
- United Jewish Communities Adult Luncheon Club, 15 Bialystoker Place
There’s a searchable database of all cooling centers on the city’s Office of Emergency Management web site.
 From Eating in Translation's Flickr photostream. Once a legendary kosher cafeteria, 165 East Broadway, has been home to the Chinese restaurant Wing Shoon since the mid-1980′s. While not exactly legendary, it’s a fairly popular place and a go-to spot for dim sum East of Allen. Our food guy, Mitch Weinstein, and his culinary companion, “Significant Eater,” recently gave Wing Shoon the once-over:
Continue reading Wing Shoon: Decent Dim Sum, Great Air Conditioning
 Jake Marmer and Steve Dalachinsky will each perform a set of their jazz poetry on Wednesday at Educational Alliance For a unique L.E.S. experience, head over to the rooftop at the Educational Alliance on Wednesday evening for two jazz poetry performances accompanied by a kosher wine tasting. Jazz poet Jake Marmer, of the punk jazz poetry band Frantic Turtle, and Steve Dalachinsky, a downtown New York poet, will be performing as the sun goes down. Gary Landsman, aka the “Wine Tasting Guy,” will be pouring the wine until it runs out. $10 // 6:30pm // 197 East Broadway.
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