Williamsburg has its Thai food, and now it seems that Alphabet City has its Cuban. Bodeguita Cubana, a Serbian-run Cuban joint that opened in May on 10th Street (between 1st & Avenue A), is the third in a trifecta of ropa vieja-offering restaurants that's enveloped the neighborhood east of 1st Avenue (the other two are Cafecito & Cafe Cortadito). Arguably the most appealing of them all (though we do love Cafecito), the French doors......

The engines fueling Jane Jacobs' legacy are at full throttle, with the Municipal Art Society's new exhibition, titled "Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York." The show, opening this week at the Urban Center Galleries, delves into how today's (and tomorrow's) city fits into Jacobs' ideas and also examines how the public can draw on her values, given the major developments and rezoning now in progress. In case you've been sleeping for the past......

Alphabet City has long been a cheap eats favorite, with Kate's Joint for veggie-heads, Westville East for market lovers, and Nicky's Vietnamese sandwiches for the best salty-sweet-hot sandwich for under $5. You can get ramen (Minca) or delicious baked goods (Ciao for Now) or the city's arguably best coffee (9th Street Espresso), before even getting to welcome Cafe Cortadito, a new sure-to-be neighborhood favorite on 3rd Street and Avenue B. With miniature vases full......

Last year around this time, the Observer pitted Williamsburg hipsters and Park Slope yuppies against each other. This year, the Observer tackles the yearning some native New Yorkers have for when NYC was bad (sorta like Michael Jackson video Bad!). Summer of Sam, Needle Park, Ford telling the city to drop dead, all of it seems better than it is now. Here's what some people told the Observer:- “I was flashed all the time—that’s......

Alt Coffee, the Alphabet City hangout notable for its quality Internet access, scary bathroom, and diverse clientele, closed this week is closing soon. Owner Nick Bodor is not losing his business, but simply rearranging it to fit the style of a changed neighborhood. He will be re-opening after renovations transform it into Hopscotch, a coffehouse where it's likely a diaper-changing table in the bathroom will replace the sign instructing "No OD's Allowed." The cafe’s owner,......

Just shy of a month old, the new Alphabet City branch of West Village Gothamist favorite, Westville, keeps farm fresh veggies flowing to hip, young clientele seven days a week. Seating forty, Westville East offers the same American comfort food as the original joint, but with twice the space to dine and serve in. Of course, this doesn't mean the lines are shorter--during brunch on a recent Sunday the line ran longer than twenty......

There's a rather amazing story in New York about two of the city's medical examiners trying to find their missing puggle. While the article by senior forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes is titled "Bonfire of the Puggle," it's definitely got the makings of a local Lord of the Rings, as there travels to Tampa, Alphabet City and the Bronx, not to mention gang tattoos and melanoma fear. And since $1,000 was being offered as a reward,......

Like S.D., who took the above photo, we've noticed these googly eyes around popping up around town lately. Anybody know whose they are? We totally get a kick out the pipe people looking out at us as we walk down the street. It kind of reminds us of one of our favorite children's books, Stephen T. Johnson's Alphabet City in which the artist finds all 26 letters of the alphabet hidden in regular New......

Annulla from Blather from Brooklyn asked us if we knew anything about this alphabet painted on a construction fence in Tribeca. We have no clue, but we love how the alphabet goes from basic to downright quirky. Do you know who did this and why? See the whole alphabet here. And we love Michael DeFeo's book, Alphabet City which uses street art to express the alphabet.......

It's soggy outside but it's cozy at the bookstores and bars this week. Tonight (6/16), Australian writer Peter Carey is reading from his latest book, Theft: A Love Story, at 192 Books at 7PM. Or, head down to the always cozy Half King tonight for the Spring 2006 edition of The Literary Review, where Lynne Tillman, Craig Mueller, and Cary Goldstein will be reading from their selections in the journal. It starts at 7PM and......

Drink. Then again, that’s our answer to most questions. But it seems we are not alone. To help us make it through the Blizzard ’06, we knew it would take a sturdy pair of boots, a warm fleece hat and the insatiable desire to find a warm cozy bar to serve up soul-warming cocktails. Luckily for us south of the border turns out to be right below 14th street. To transport ourselves from the......

Bring back the Tompkins Square Park band shell! That's what the lead article in this weeks Villager argues, and we've got to say we wholeheartedly agree. Forty years after the original band shell was put up and nearly fifteen years after it was taken down in response to the Tompkins Square riots, there is a growing desire to see a designated performance space return to the park. And why not? The original band shell......

New York magazine has a chest-thumpingly sweet ode to New York, listing 124 Reasons to Love New York City; it remind Gothamist of how we react when people ask us why we live here - our eyes go glassy, we focus on a point in the distance, we develop a lump in our throat, as we do not understand why people would even question our living here - and then you can't shut us up......

The Villager [via Curbed] is reporting that the East Village rezoning push that we wrote about last month received unanimous approval at a fall Community Board 3 meeting on Sept. 27. The rezoning, based on a survey outlinned by B.F.J. Planning that was commissioned by the East Village Community Coalition, specifically deals with Alphabet City and a good chunk of the Lower East Side (the orange on the map is the rezoned area). So......

Gothamist is not the biggest video game freak, but we have to admit, we're pretty interested in the new Activision game, True Crime: New York City. The game's description reads, "Wield the ultimate power as a rogue street cop in New York City. You are Marcus Reed, a former criminal turned cop, using and abusing your authority to hunt down the murderer of your mentor while cleaning up the 'hoods of New York City,......

-The Times takes a serious look at how a school like Drake can collapse as spectacularly as it did. -A Kosher pushcart rolls in Brooklyn. -Senior Strollers Stroll. -The Post has a quintessential Post story with: Sexual harassment, Madison Avenue, art galleries, Piccassos, and of course, golden showers. -A call for no westbound traffic on Union Square North was rejected -Alphabet City, twenty years ago.......

Navigating a wine store can be as difficult as trying to walk against traffic in Times Square. Aisle after aisle of labels that might as well be written hieroglyphic codes and cramped little spaces, which are almost begging you to knock a bottle off the shelf, is enough to drive you to drink (hmmm…coincidence or marketing strategy?). Well, times they are a changing - Discovery Wines, a unique and innovative wine store in Alphabet......

If you're a fan of street art, tonight's discussion at McNally Robinson (50 Prince St) in Soho might be of interest. Moderated by the husband and wife team behind the Wooster Collective, the online resource for street art around the world, The City as Collaborator: Documenting Contemporary Art on the Street panel will focus on how street art has grown and contributed to the city. Other panelists include: Kelly Burns, the driving force behind the......

city rag has photographs of "Victorian Flatbush," the part of Brooklyn that looks rather un-city like. Upon further research, brownstoner calls it a South Midwood area - and links to a helpful realty site that explains more - and VictorianFlatbush.org a "polyglot and polychrome" "softly shaded patch of Flatbush in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with a multitude of races. Now, Gothamist heard the term "Victorian Flatbush" last week for the first time, and we wondered if......

It's unclear why the Snack Dragon Taco Shack even has a listing on Menupages, because there's not much of a menu, per se. They sell four types of "California-Mexican/New York Style Tacos": Carne Asada, Chicken Verde, Quinoa Pilaf & Bean (vegetarian), and Carnitas. But if you're only going to do one thing -- do it well. And Snack Dragon does. We stopped by one afternoon after a fantastic brunch at the Clinton Street Baking Company,......

As many can tell, sometimes Gothamist doesn't have the greatest grasp on the ABC's. Luckily, there is Michael DeFeo's children's book, Alphabet City, which teaches kids (and bloggers) how to recognize words, using DeFeo's street art. DeFeo pasted drawings of different objects, like ladders or tomatoes, onto the walls of NYC buildings and photographed them. What's pretty is awesmoe is that DeFeo, a street artist and high school fine arts teacher, has a map of......

East Village murder/cannibalism of Monika Beerle by her roommate/boyfriend, Daniel Rakowitz, in 1989 (Rakowitz killed Beerle, then chopped her up, cooked the body in a soup, and fed it to Tompkins Square Park homeless). Rakowitz, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity and commited to a psychiatric center, is at hearings to determine whether or not he's still insane. Gothamist has a vague memory of the murder, but it's all clouded with the......

Few clues have been found in the case of Juilliard student Sarah Fox's murder. The CD player, which was found during Friday's search, did not turn up any fingerprints and the clothes found in the park were not Fox's. Mayor Blooomberg made a statement about the murder, lamenting the tragedy but trying to put the park murder into perspective:Bloomberg, who called Fox's death "a terrible tragedy," said New Yorkers should not feel threatened. "You're safer......

Laurie Woolever, Cook/Food Writer...

The New York Times takes apart the city's doggie census and analyzes it using animal ownership information to gain insights into New Yorkers. Reporter Susan Saulny notes the variations of dogs in different areas with much humor: "For instance, who would be most likely to own Lucy, a cute little Shih Tzu? (Hint: Lucy often wears her long hair in a high ponytail above her eyes, fastened with a little pink bow.) Thinking, thinking. Someone......