(Photo: Francisco Valera)
Good morning, all. Here’s what happened over the weekend.
As you can see from Francisco Valera’s photo above, we’ve survived another SantaCon — see Saturday’s slideshow for more shots, from Scott Lynch. The Red Menace officially dodged the Lower East Side this year, but that didn’t stop the angry Tweets from the East Village and beyond. According to the Wall Street Journal, there were no arrests, eight summonses for open alcohol containers and two summonses for disorderly conduct related to the event — a drop from last year’s numbers. But, yeah, check out this brawl outside of Joe Jr. in Gramercy.
Pretty much everyone who wasn’t in a Santa suit this weekend was seeing The Pizza Underground at Baby’s All Right. Gothamist has video footage of Macaulay Culkin’s kazoo solo. [Gothamist, Free Williamsburg, Stereogum]
Carl McCoy of Gwynett St. says he never agreed to have drugs shipped to the restaurant. [Eater]
Developers of Greenpoint Landing and the Rheingold Brewery project have offered surprising affordable housing concessions before their projects were approved by the City Council. [DNA Info]
Permits have been filed for the third Edge tower. The 40-story building will include “160 parking spaces that have been ‘dry floodproofed,’ bike storage, a business center, children’s play room, an outdoor terrace, storage rooms and a gym. And there will be a rooftop terrace with a BBQ, pool and hot tub, and a lounge/party room.” [Brownstoner]
Several big developers are helping to fund an $8 million expansion of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. [The Real Deal]
The space that briefly housed a 7-Eleven on St. Marks Place is up for lease. [The Real Deal]
Nearby, Edward Minskoff says 51 Astor, where MasterCard considered office space and Twitter is said to be close to a deal, will be fully leased by the end of next month. [NY Observer]
A Williamsburg building is getting a Mandela mural. [NY1]
Here’s a juicy piece on Vito Lopez’s Bushwick legacy: “Many think the former assemblyman and powerbroker is a creep. Some hail him as a hero. In Bushwick, his legacy—and the story of his downfall—are more complicated than either label suggests.” [Brooklyn Bureau]
Police have released photos of a man believed to be involved in a burglary on East 11th Street. [DNA Info]
The team behind the Counting Room has opened Bonnie Vee on the LES and the folks behind the Mud Truck have opened a kiosk on East 1st Street. [Eater]
Lisa Kirk’s new exhibit at Invisible Exports will include “a special 24-hour durational performance featuring Marina Abramović as the Grim Reaper.” [Blackbook]
With “Let’s Get Physical” at Ventana 244, Guggenheim recipient Rick Briggs has put together an exhibit of 14 “emphatically handmade” works by nine artists. [Hyperallergic]
A new #EATANDFLEA Holiday Brunch Bazaar will let you get your grub and your shopping on at Tutu’s next Saturday. [Free Williamsburg]
Here are 8 hidden-gem boutiques on the LES. [Guest of a Guest]