Here are some of the stories that made news on the Lower East Side in the past week:
–48-year-old Alexander Wright was arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime after an attack on a woman of Asian descent in Chinatown on Monday. Wright is homeless and has a long criminal record. He was taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. [Channel 7]
–The latest Chinatown attack became a topic of debate amongst the candidates running for New York mayor. [NY1]
–A 24-year-old man, William Rivera was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of Amos Singleton, 27, at Coleman Skatepark. [New York Post]
–Here’s an overview of the race to replace Margarret Chin in the City Council. Nine candidates are competing for the District 1 seat, covering Lower Manhattan, including the Lower East Side and Chinatown. [Gotham Gazette]
–City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera only has one opponent in the upcoming primary election. Former attorney Erin Hussein is running a long-shot bid to unseat the sitting District 2 office holder. [City Limits]
–The governor’s midnight curfew has been lifted, but restaurants serving NYC night owls still have a ways to go before they shake off the effects of Covid. Katz’s Deli, which pre-pandemic stayed open all night long on weekends, won’t extend its hours past midnight until bars and clubs do the same. Punjabi Deli, heavily dependent on the decimated taxi cab industry, is also holding off in extending its hours. And Veselka will probably reinstate 24-hour service sometime soon on weekends, while taking a cautious approach to weekdays. [Grub Street]
–A slow recovery is expected in Chinatown where large restaurants like Golden Unicorn are still hoping diners return in bigger numbers later this year, while smaller businesses deprived of federal relief funds try to hang on long enough to survive. [PBS Newshour]
–The Avenue A diner, Odessa, which closed almost a year ago, is for sale via Craigslist. [EV Grieve]
–The Metrograph launches a new tv app and hints at a September re-opening for in-person film screenings, but details are still scarce. [Indie Wire]
–Ian Schrager is revamping the restaurants at the Public Hotel, bringing in star Peruvian chef Diego Muñoz for the relaunch of the dining operations on Chrystie Street. [The New York Times]
–Hannah Goldfield reviews the Japanese spot, Dr. Clark’s, in Chinatown. [The New Yorker]
