As I mentioned in the ephemera, Met life is selling Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village for a proposed $5 billion dollars. That price tag would make it the largest real estate deal involving the purchase of a single property in America in modern times.

Nearly two-thirds of the apartments currently have regulated rents at half the market rate. This will be a definite blow to advocates of affordable housing in New York.

Amy Fox, my next door neighbor senior year of college, wrote a wonderful article for the New York Times on the battle her grandparents and other residents fought to integrate Stuy Town in the 1950s. The article is behind the TimesSelect wall, but a slide show of wonderful photos is still available with Amy narrating.

My Friend Paul Rieckhoff will be reading from his new book Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier’s Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington on Tuesday, Aug 22 at 7:00PM at The Strand in Manhattan. Paul is a veteran of the Iraq war and Executive Director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).

Paul is as smart as they come and engaging speaker. You can see his recent appearances on Colbert Report, Fox News, and MSNBC’s Hardball.

This promises to be an insightful event and, if I know Paul, there will be a lively discussion following the reading.

The first person to tell Paul the name of the current Secretary of the VA will win a free signed copy of the book.

If you are looking for a good time, a few beverages, and an awesome DJ, get down to Madame X on Thursdays to see my brother spin old soul, funk, hip-hop, with a dash of everything else. He is still the only man I have ever seen seemlessly mix Lynyrd Skynyrd and Mos Def in a way where you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends.

For those that haven’t been to Madame X, it’s a lounge on Houston between La Guardia (West Broadway) and Thompson on the north side of the street.

If you stop by tell Jon I said hello.

If you are in New York, I can’t impress upon you enough how important it is that you get out to McCarren Park Pool for the Iron & Wine show on Thursday (8/17).

Same Beam might be the best lyricist I have come across in years.

Autumn blew the quilt right off the perfect bed she made
and she’s chosen to believe, in the hymns her mother sings
Sunday pulls its children from their piles of fallen leaves

- From Passing Afternoon

Ok… if you’d rather see The Wu-Tang show at Webster Hall on Thursday I’ll let it slide.

I suppose my 30 day sabatical from New York has got me thinking about what I am going to miss while I am away (I am in Cleveland for the next month or so). I will particularly miss the establishments and people that serve the beverages and food that I have come to love over the last three years.

Do Hwa (Korean)
Carmine Street between Bedford and Varick

This place gets an A for food and atmosphere. Get a grill table and DIY or sit at the bar and watch the movies that are perpetually displayed on the wall (I’ve recently seen Old Boy, The Graduate, and Sexy Beast). The bar is always filled with neighborhood regulars and you can catch the occassional celebrity (I recently had a hilarious conversation with RZA and was thrilled to meet Me’Shell Ndegeocello).

The Dove Parlour
Thompson between West Third and Bleecker

I started going to the Dove when the owners were behind the bar and I was the only person in the room. While I liked it that way, their immense popularity and success is well deserved. With top notch cocktails and a truly exceptional and unique wine list curated by Frank Locker (part owner of the Dove and Is-Wine a wine store in the East Village) the Dove has become a popular hangout. I suggest visiting Tuesday - Thursday to grab a few seats at the bar or a table by the windows. I forgot to mention that the space is gorgeous, earning its designation as a parlour.

For cocktails I recommend the Cinnamon Daquiri or the Honey Dove. My wine palate is sub standard, but you can often find Frank chatting with customers in the early evening. Introduce yourself and ask for a recommendation.

The Grey Dog Coffee Shop
Carmine between Bleecker and Bedford

I have been going to the Grey Dog on Carmine street for years (I just moved out of my apartment three doors down in June). Open from 7:00 am to 11:30 at night the Grey Dog has everything from wonderful (and relatively healthy) breakfasts and a delicious cup of coffee to large sandwiches, chili, soups, and burgers. The Grey Dog is one of the only places I know that feels right whether I am there for my morning cup of joe and a newspaper or a glass of wine with friends after dinner.

If you go for their extremely popular brunch on Saturday or Sunday don’t fret the line. The staff is extremely efficient and has got the whole seating thing down to a science.

Little Branch
7th Avenue and Leroy

Little Branch is the slightly more egalitarian version of Sasha Petraske’s Milk and Honey (He also own’s East Side Company Bar). This is a classic cocktail lover’s dream. Their Queen Spark Swizzle is likely the best cocktail I have ever had. The space is dark and filled with booths. This is not a bar you go to looking for a scene. I recommend this bar if you want to catch up with old friends without screaming at one another.

If you don’t know what you want, suggest a base liquor and the extremely knowledgable staff will create tastes you didn’t know existed.

Freeman’s
Freeman’s Alley bewteen Bowery and Christie

Simply put, you owe it to yourself to go to Freeman’s on a Tuesday and sample the art that is a cocktail made by Toby, one of New York’s best bartenders.

Shake Shack
Madison and 23rd Street (Madison Square Park)

I finally made it to the Shake Shack two weeks ago. I kind of wish I hadn’t cause I wouldn’t be jonesing for it now if I hadn’t. Go for the burgers, fries, and a shake.

Lovely Day
Elizabeth between Prince and Spring

I have never been able to size this place up. The breakfast menu has your traditional eggs and such. The Lovely Day classics trend toward Thai. The Pad Thai and Coconut Curry Noodle are two favorites. Yet the entrees include flank steak, seared salmon, and pork chops all of which are also delicious. Combine this with a space that looks more like an eclectic diner than a thai restaurant and a staff that is decidely lower east side hip and you would expect a restaurant with an identity problem. Somehow it works, and works well.

If I could survive on their Ginger Fried Chicken (an appetizer) I would.

What places do you miss when you are away?
When I return I plan on spreading out a bit. Do you have any recommendations? What places can’t you live without?

I finally made it up to the Shake Shack in Madison Square park on Tuesday (ok… and Wednesday). It is as good as promised.

Today, I found myself thrilled that composite sketches and eyewitness descriptions are so inaccurate. Why? Because when I opened up today’s New York Times Metro section and saw the picture of the hancuffed suspect in a recent local rape and murder case, I felt like I was looking at a picture of myself.

It is truly uncanny.

If statements and skectches were remotely accurate, I would be wondering why people were gripping up their children off the street and fleeing as I walked by.

I just walked out onto my balcony in the village. You can still hear a dull roar coming from Little Italy…

Alas, I was rooting for Les Bleus.

And I have to say, that head butt by Zidane was the craziest thing I have ever seen at a sporting event.

Update: Here is the video.

“Once you go Rican, you stop seekin’.”

“Once you go Dominican, well… then you go black.”

- 15 year old, West Village, NYC