–It’s been a rough road for the hotel business in the past year but Marriott and the Lightstone Group are preparing to open two new NYC hotels, one located at 145 Bowery. [The Real Deal]
–Philip Chong’s company owns a number of buildings in Chinatown and it opened the Canal Street Market. He says it’s heartbreaking to see what’s happened to treasured neighborhood businesses in the past year. [Grub Street]
–You’ve, no doubt, seen or at least heard of the viral video of the woman in the Essex Street Market who refused to wear a mask and then launched into a racist tirade against a Black employee of Davidovich Bakery. [Channel 4]
–Acclaimed cookbook author Grace Young became an activist during the pandemic, documenting the plight of devastated Chinatown restaurants. Now she’s donating items from her own family’s history to the Smithsonian. [Smithsonian Magazine]
–“Chinatown Beat:” In a new mini-doc, filmmakers follow Henry Chang through the streets of Chinatown, as he pays tribute to Corky Lee and the resilient neighborhood. [The New Yorker]
–As hate crimes continue to rise, Chinatown Block Watch could use a few new members. [Channel 2]
–Remembering Morris Dickstein, the literary critic and scholar, “among the last of the first generation of Jewish public intellectuals reared on the Lower East Side.” [The New York Times]
–Oat milk soft serve? Whipped Urban Dessert Lab is expanding its hours on Orchard Street. [The New York Times]
–Jesse Malin is ready to emerge from the pandemic with a  new album of, “survival and celebration, made during a time with heavy soul-searching, vengeance and gratitude.” [Rolling Stone]
