East River

M. Wells Dinette Reincarnates Its Famous Breakfast Sandwich for LIC Flea & Food

Over ninety vendors and thousands of visitors showed up for the overwhelmingly successful launch of the LIC Flea & Food this weekend, which commandeered a lot overlooking the Long Island City waterfront at 5-25 46th Avenue. And one of the most anticipated merchants showed up on Father's Day with a f ... More >>

New York's Best New Bagels and Cream Cheese

These bagels appear just once a week at the East River Bread booth in Smorgasburg, but they're worth the wait. The lovely, chewy seeded ones ($2) are covered in a salty glitter of sesame, poppy, caraway, and fennel seeds, and they're best loaded with as much of East River's plain cream cheese as the ... More >>

5 Great Snacks to Try at Smorgasburg

This past weekend was the second of Smorgasburg's 2013 season. As usual, the Williamsburg and Dumbo markets were packed with a mix of locals and tourists counting their dollar bills as they waited in line for smoked meat sandwiches and stuffed parathas. We sought out as many snacks as we could over ... More >>

Give It a Few Weeks Before the R Train Returns

Yesterday, we reported on the MTA's no-refund policy enacted in the aftermath of Sandy. Although no reason was given, the situation provided enough explanation: the agency was out a significant amount of cash flow and paying back all those fares definitely wouldn't have helped. So straphangers are f ... More >>

When Will the L Train Return From Its No-Longer-Watery Grave? [UPDATED] NOW!

UPDATE: We in there. Ladies and Gentlemen: The L train is back.Enjoy your trip home tonight. twitter.com/JoeLhota/statu...-- Joe Lhota (@JoeLhota) November 8, 2012

SLAM DUNK

The Nets host the Knicks

ConEd Explosion Could Leave Downtown Manhattan in Darkness for a Few Days

At around 9 p.m. last night, this happened. The video shows a flash of electrical fire at the ConEdison plant on 14th Street and Avenue D. Soon after, most of the East Village and the Lower East Side was shrouded in darkness. Not sure if we've seen anything like this before.According to a ... More >>

Hurricane Sandy: East River Nearly At Capacity; Subway Corrosion a "Significant" Concern

We haven't even seen the worst of Hurricane Sandy, but this bitch apparently means business.The East River is nearly at capacity, with another "surge" of water that could potentially raise the water level by another 11 feet by 9 p.m.Governor Andrew Cuomo and other emergency management officials just ... More >>

NYPD Crime Scene Tape Does Little To Stop East River Hurricane Pajama Party

The NYPD just put up crime scene tape at the entrance to Gantry Plaza State Park along the East River in Long Island City -- which is adorable, and all, but it's done precisely nothing to stop people from entering the park.We headed over there about 30 minutes ago to get a look at the river. What we ... More >>

Long Island City: The Venice Of Queens

If you parked your car in the street in low-lying areas of Long Island City, we hope you're sitting down right now -- because your car is probably fucked.Three blocks inland of the East River in LIC is completely under water. We took the above photo from the third floor of an apartment building that ... More >>

5 Great Food Markets to Visit Right Now

There's no doubt: New York is a buyer's market. At least where food is concerned. Stroll through the souk-like stalls of our city's great markets as you scarf down spicy, chicken pigs-in-blankets from Brooklyn Piggies and a chaser of Grady's Cold Brew, and revel in these first breezes of fall as yo ... More >>

What's Happening This Week: Le Taste of France, East River Moon Festival

Thursday, September 27 Trader Joe's Protest. Demanding "meat without drugs," Consumers Union and other advocacy groups will hold a press conference/action outside of Trader Joe's Union Square store on Thursday, September 27 from 11 am to noon. They will deliver over half a million petition signature ... More >>

Jackie Barcliff, Occupy Wall Street Protester, Turns Self In, Charged With Not One But Two Rapes

Jackie Barcliff, an Occupy Wall Street protester, turned himself in late Friday to police, and was charged with the rape and assault of another protester. Barcliff, 44 and homeless, was not only charged with rape and attempted murder in the attack on the 56-year-old OWS protester in the Pier 15 pa ... More >>

Dumpling Eating Contest Saturday in Williamsburg Benefits Charity

How many of these could you knock back? Tomorrow dumpling manufacturer Chef One will sponsor a dumpling eating contest at Smorgasburg, located at North 6th Street and the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Food Bank For New York City, and if you think wa ... More >>

Debt Strikers, Hoping To Launch A Movement, Burn Bills And Collection Notices

A few dozen people gathered in Brooklyn Inlet Park on the Williamsburg waterfront Sunday to talk about debt, have a picnic, and set some things on fire. The mood was festive -- there was cake and lemonade, the air was crisp and clear, and the towers of Manhattan glittered across the East River. B ... More >>

Bloated Pig/Rat-Monster Washes Up On Shore Of East River

If anyone's missing a gigantic, bloated pig/rat-monster, it's been found on the bank of the East River -- and it's disgusting.The above photo -- and others you can see after the jump -- were taken under the esplanade along the East River by a woman named Denise Ginley.It's unclear what this thing ac ... More >>

FREE VERSE

Bring your sonnets and sunscreen

What the Hell Are You Doing Here? You Should Be at 4Knots!

According to legend, the East River passes through South Street Seaport at a speed of four knots. This little tidbit provided us here at the Voice with a perfect title for our annual shindig in downtown Manhattan. Welcome to the second 4Knots Festival - an all-day, all-ages totally free musical ... More >>

Ponies

Reynards: The Wythe Man's Burden

Can Andrew Tarlow find Brooklyn success yet again?

LET'S ZUMBA

Exercise with a view of the Manhattan skyline

Free Food: Cooking Channel's Summer Eats Pop-Up

We love free food. This Saturday, Cooking Channel will be hosting a free tasting and meet-and-greet with Baron Ambrosia and Eden Grinshpan on Saturday on behalf of the channel's 2nd birthday. They will be featuring a selection of foods including buffalo wings, grilled squash quesadillas, pulled po ... More >>

Mark Your Calendars: The 2012 4Knots Music Festival Is Slated For July 14

The 4Knots Music Festival—the Village Voice's contribution to the many free shows happening around the five boroughs during the summer months—will take place at Pier 17 on the South Street Seaport this July 14, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Participating acts and further details on associated ev ... More >>

What to Do This Weekend: Smorgasburg, Dekalb Market

Smorgasburg, the outdoor food fair in Williamsburg, will open for the season this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The usual suspects, like Asia Dog, McClure's, Porchetta, and Red Hook Lobster Pound, will be there along with 57 other food vendors.

Our 10 Best East Village Restaurants, 2012 Edition

These chicken chile guajillo enchiladas at Downtown Bakery are every bit as good -- and spicy -- as they look. The East Village may be the city's most eclectic and rewarding dining destination, though this aspect of the neighborhood is sometimes eclipsed by its bars and cocktail lounges. You can d ... More >>

21 Voice Stories from 2011 That Melted Even This Grizzled Journalist's Heart to Report

James Worrell​Looking back, 2011 has been quite a year, especially on the gay rights front, one of our major beats. Like the cardiac organ caught in a bear trap accompanying Jen Doll's "Plight of the Single Lady," there were times when, objective reporter or not, the stories we were reporting ... More >>

East River Ferry Rides Free All Day Today

​To celebrate its first six months of service, the East River ferry is offering free rides all day today. Free coffee was also apparently handed out this morning to commuters while the rest of us crammed ourselves into packed subway cars. The Voice rode the ferry when it opened last summer a ... More >>

NYE Guide: Never Let The Party End

Surviving 2011 calls for a celebration. Your guide to ringing in 2012 with reckless abandon.

We're Really Freaking Happy With the Subway, Apparently

​Despite our own Steven Thrasher's harrowing experience on a smoke-filled 4 train last night, the MTA believes that we are mostly happier with New York City transit than we used to be (and apparently we do, too). According to the results of their just-released 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey ... More >>

MTA Responds to 4 Train "Smoke Condition," Says Cause is "Still Under Investigation"

Steven Thrasher​The MTA has responded to the incident involving the 4 train being stuck, in smoke, under the East River last night, with which we were intimately familiar. The (very) good news is that no one, including none of the five firefighters we left down there when our evacuation train ... More >>

Deadmau5, K-Holes, Screaming Females, And More: Your Guide To The Weekend's Biggest Shows

The week brought us Jon Brion and Shellac and Sam Sparro (not to mention a handful of surprise Occupy Wall Street pop-ins), and that wide spectrum of genres is also represented in this weekend's concert listings. Tonight Deadmau5, who Maura has just informed me stands out as the only artist to be n ... More >>

April Bloomfield Gets the Vice Munchies Treatment

Perhaps you've heard of April Bloomfield? The no-nonsense chef takes a break from running the Spotted Pig, Breslin, and John Dory to go on a joyride with some her food-industry friends in the latest from Vice's "Munchies" series. First, though, she talks with business partner Ken Friedman about whe ... More >>

Rosarito Fish Shack: Ayup, It's a Seafood Shack

Williamsburg gets a taste of life on the ocean

Helicopter Has Crashed in the East River Bearing Five Passengers [Updated]

According to reports, a helicopter has gone down in the East River. NYPD divers have rescued four people and one is reportedly unconscious -- we haven't heard reports of the fifth person's status. Police spokesman Paul Browne told the AP that the private Bell 206 helicopter plunged into the river of ... More >>

2011 Brooklyn Fishing Derby Officially Underway Along East River

Good news for extreme locavores: the 2011 Brooklyn Fishing Derby is officially under way. The pristine waters of the East River are swimming with striped bass and bluefish just waiting to be caught by some of New York's more adventurous fishermen. Started by the infamous Dr. Claw (a/k/a Ben Sargent) ... More >>

Monster Island's Last Hurrah

Throwing a final block party before closing its doors

Five Reasons You Should See Wild Flag Tonight

​The term "supergroup" is pretty well overused in this hyperadjectived age, so let's call Wild Flag—ex-Sleater Kinneyans Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, former Helium mastermind Mary Timony, and onetime Minder Rebecca Cole—something more superlative, because they certainly deser ... More >>

School of Seven Bells

My Weirdest Pitches Of The Week

​Think the life of a gossip columnist/blogger is all sawdust and tinsel? Well, here are some of the pitches I've gotten this week, to give you a hint of the reality behind the glitterdome: *"Andrea Bocelli rides the East River ferry"

The Hudson: Frequently Kinda Poopy

​A while back, we were all a bit concerned about our New York City water exploits. A fire in the engine room at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem caused the plant to shut down, spewing nasty water out into our nearby bodies of H20, and officials deemed the Hudson, and parts ... More >>

New Yorkers, You Are Slowly Being Surrounded By Sewage

​After a fire on Wednesday night at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem shut the plant down and forced the city to start pumping raw sewage into the Hudson, we warned yesterday that the Hudson was not exactly fit for swimming or kayaking or fishing or walking near and breathin ... More >>

Foie Gras Protestors Find a New Target, Miss the Greater Issue

How to draw a headline​Having presumably tired of Manhattan's fine-dining scene, foie gras opponents have taken their rhetoric over the East River to Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Williamsburg Is in Its 'Manhattanization' Era, But the Unreliable L Train Could Save It

​Today on New Urban Network, Peter Feigenbaum writes of the various stages of the "colonization" of Williamsburg -- "just another chapter in the reconfiguration and rebirth of New York since the city's nadir in the mid-1970s." For history and urban planning nerds, this is some fascinating stuf ... More >>

I Heard New York: SOTC's New Series "Cast In Concrete" Records Buskers

​We certainly try, but capturing the sound of the city is a tall order, even and especially for those of us who are usually most concerned with these things. To most regular New Yorkers—those more likely to spend their Friday evenings in a park than at a concert, for example, or those wh ... More >>

Ray Kelly, NYPD Commissioner, Loves a Good Tie, Hoodie

​Today's edition of Women's Wear Daily profiles the style of a somewhat unlikely fashion character, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. On a night out on the East River, Kelly sports "a charcoal Martin Greenfield hand-tailored suit" with a "Charvet tie, so pink it practically reflects the faraway P ... More >>

East River Could Maybe, For Real, Get Floating Pools

​Is there anything better than a floating pool? Well, maybe. Rooftop pools, and pools in the middle of your living room, and even regular old pool-pools -- those are all pretty great. But we live on an island surrounded by water (an archipelago, if you will!) and as such, the concept of a pool ... More >>

East River Ferry Starts June 13, Free For a Bit

​The East River Ferry, as we've been teasing, is indeed coming and now there's a launch date. Beginning June 13, there will be water travel from East 34th Street in Manhattan to Long Island City, down to Greenpoint, Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, DUMBO and back to Manhattan at Pier 11 near ... More >>

Steve's Key Lime Pie Will Bestow Swingles Upon the Brooklyn Flea

Rebecca Marx​The return of the Red Hook Ball Fields vendors isn't the only reason to brave weekend subway service: this Sunday, the Williamsburg Flea roster will include Steve's Key Lime Pies. According to the Brooklyn Flea blog, the Red Hook bakery, which was doing the single-menu-item thing ... More >>

Announcing The 4Knots Music Festival, Taking Place This July 16

Barry Yanowitz/Flickr​With the beginning of spring comes the announcement of summertime music festivals, and we have one of our very own: This July 16, the Village Voice will throw the inaugural 4Knots Music Festival on the South Street Seaport. Named after the speed at which the East River, w ... More >>

Fancy, Tasty Grease At Fatty 'Cue

At a new Williamsburg spot, the meat gets smoked—but so does your wallet