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 A bicyclist was severely hurt in an accident at Grand & Allen streets, September 25, 2012. NYPD photos. On the evening of September 25 of last year, Lower East Side resident Jonathan Lopez was involved in an accident at the intersection of Grand and Allen streets. Eight months later, his family is still trying to piece together the horrible events that unfolded around 10:30 p.m., and they could use your help. Lopez, 26 at the time, was apparently riding his bike westbound on Grand when he was struck by a van operated by Premier Paratransit that was traveling northbound on Allen. He suffered a severe brain injury, is unable to walk and cannot communicate. Continue reading LES Resident Severely Injured in Bike-Van Accident Last Fall; Info Needed
 
 Near Grand Street and East Broadway. Photos by Dyske Suematsu. These photos are from TLD reader Dyske Suematsu. At the intersection of Grand Street and East Broadway, a CVS Pharmacy truck apparently pulled down a traffic signal pole. Dyske said CVS employees said a “cable fell.” Continue reading Truck vs. Traffic Light Pole on Grand Street
 NYPD sketch. Police are asking for help finding two suspects wanted in connection with the alleged sexual assault and robbery of a 38-year old woman last week alongside Sara D. Roosevelt Park. The incident happened Monday, April 15 at around 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Grand and Chrystie streets. According to cops, the woman had stopped to ask the men for directions. They reportedly began walking with her; one suspect grabbed the victim from behind and pinned her against a wall. Police say the other man then punched the woman in the ribs and thigh, sexually abused her and then ran off with her purse. The sketch posted above depicts the suspect accused of assault. If you have any information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
 Kossar’s, 367 Grand Street. Photo used with the permission of James & Karla Murray, “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. The Lower East Side is, obviously, constantly changing, and it seems as though the changes are coming faster than ever. But sometimes those of us who walk the streets of the LES every day don’t notice the stark transformation taking place in the old neighborhood. So this blog post from James and Karla Murray, authors of the indispensable book, “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York,” caught our eye.
The book came out four years ago, but they began documenting the city’s changing store fronts back in 2001. Recently, James and Karla took a stroll down Grand and Essex streets, checking out what businesses had closed or moved in the past decade, and they compared the new and old photos. Have a look at what they found.
 NYPD photos. Police are asking for help in tracking down three suspects accused of beating up a cab driver after refusing to pay their fare. The incident happened Saturday, December 1, at about 4:10 a.m. near Grand and Lewis streets.
The driver picked up the suspects a few minutes earlier at Allen and East Houston streets. Police say the suspects punched the 42-year old cab driver repeatedly, seriously injuring him. They also stole his cell phone. The driver said they took off on Grand Street, heading west.
If you have information about this crime, call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
 Grand and Pitt streets. Photo by Chris Gage.  Photo by Chris Gage.  Photo by Eric Nagy. Thanks to TLD readers Chris Gage and Eric Nagy, who sent us these photos from the intersection of Grand and Pitt streets. A tractor became unhinged from its trailer around 5:30 a.m. Eric said the truck smashed into a pole. Continue reading Big Truck Mishap on Grand Street Early This Morning
 photos by Lee Berman Thanks to Lo-Down reader Lee Berman for sending along some photos of a dramatic “log jam” on Grand Street yesterday. He notes, “how often do you get to see an honest to goodness log-jam not just on Grand Street, but in Manhattan? Highway police pulled over this wayward truck this afternoon on Grand Street, right off of the FDR Drive. Police ticketed the driver (I’m not sure if he was on the FDR itself or just on the service road). The truck, carrying logs/fresh timber, was heading west after these pictures were taken. One can hope that the truck was on its way to build Manhattans largest log cabin or tree house.” More photos after the jump!
Continue reading Log Jam on Grand Street
 7-Eleven has its eye on the Grand Spa location, at 403 Grand Street. Here’s an update on the great chain store brouhaha on Grand Street. A week ago, residents of the sprawling Seward Park Cooperative began circulating an online petition to stop their board from signing leases with 7-Eleven and a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee. Tonight, board members will meet to discuss the situation, which (in typical fashion) has divided the shareholders of the large housing complex east of Essex Street.
Frank Durant, Seward Park’s general manager, declined to comment until the board makes up its mind. Eric Mandelbaum, the president of the board, has not responded to an interview request. A new board member, John Ryan, told us in a statement he is “not a fan of having chain stores in our commercial spaces” but since the co-op is “potentially writing off several hundred thousand dollars annually from non-paying commercial tenants” all options (including the possibility of leasing to chain outlets) needed to be considered. Continue reading More on the Grand Street Chain Store Debate
 Police officers interviewed cyclist Tom Sganga after the accident; he sustained minor injuries. Tom Sganga was riding eastbound on Grand Street around 7 p.m. this evening when, he says, a minivan pulled out of parallel parking spot right into his path.
His leg was hurt in the collision, and the frame of his electric Kysmo bike bent, but mostly, he was just fuming. Continue reading Cyclist Hit By Van at Grand and Norfolk Streets
Could you see Tom Selleck at the Doughnut Plant, or perhaps noshing on a bialy this week? Who knows! The CBS cop drama “Blue Bloods” will be filming on Grand Street Wednesday. The show uses Lower East Side and Chinatown venues quite frequently. There are signs up along Grand, near Norfolk Street, today advising residents about the shoot, scheduled Wednesday from 6 a.m-11 p.m.
 Photo by Jenna Rice After Irene blew through town, work crews had quite a job before them at the East River Co-op on Grand Street. During the height of the storm, several trees came crashing down on the glass-enclosed bus stop near the southeast corner of Grand and the FDR Drive Service Road. A number of residents have speculated that the destruction might have been the result of a tornado. This afternoon, officials told us it was more likely a wind surge.
 Photo by Jenna Rice.  Photo by Jenna Rice.  Photo by Jenna Rice.  Photo by Jenna Rice.
Two cars involved, ambulance on the scene. Police just arrived to sort things out, as drivers quarrel. There do not appear to be serious injuries. Police do not suspect Irene was involved.
 The M21 currently stops on the FDR Service Road, just north of Grand Street. It looks like the M21 bus stop, located on the FDR Service Road, is going to be moving around the corner. The crosstown bus, which was re-routed last year, travels along Houston Street, connecting the Lower East Side to the West Village.
Earlier this month, Leo Hoenig, chair of the East River Co-op House Committee, asked Community Board 3 to make the change. He proposed moving the stop , to 473 Grand Street, to improve visibility. Last night, CB3 approved the change. The MTA said it had no problem moving the stop if that’s what the community wanted to do.
Hoenig said he had been fighting for at least 30 years to bring back Grand Street bus service, after the city and private companies discontinued two east-west routes. Now that service has finally been restored, he wants to make sure residents know the stop is there — and that the M21 gets used.
 Aaron From, Hillman Housing board chairman. The contentious board elections at the Seward Park Cooperative have been grabbing all of the headlines lately. But the winds of change are also blowing through another Grand Street co-op.
As we reported last month, the residents of Hillman Housing elected three new board members – continuing a subtle but significant transformation in the leadership of the 60-year old residential complex. Recently, I sat down with Aaron From, elected board president last year, for a conversation about the changes at Hillman. Continue reading Aaron From: Heading a Changing Hillman Board
A follow-up this morning on our story about the controversial board elections at the Seward Park Cooperative on Grand Street.
As we reported earlier in the week, an apparent voting machine snafu during last month’s balloting called the results into question. A limited re-vote (in only one of four buildings of the sprawling housing complex) was scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Some residents were outraged, saying a co-op wide re-vote was required. The former board president, Margarett Jolly resigned in protest, telling shareholders that one faction on the board was trying to “force a preordained election outcome.”
Now Tuesday’s re-vote has been canceled. Wednesday night, the board voted unanimously to put the election on hold, probably until the fall. There was no indication whether all shareholders will have the right to cast ballots or precisely when the new election will take place. Continue reading Seward Park Co-op Cancels “Re-Vote”
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