NYC News You Might Have Missed in July

This is our monthly recap of recent NYC news you might have missed during the last few weeks. As usual, our list is heavy on food, real estate and shopping, plus other tidbits including Hizzoner’s legal fees. Here are the headlines from our sources, which we identify. No leaks, no lies, no fake news on NYCOTC.

Winging to NYC – The Buffalo restaurant that claims to have invented Buffalo wings is opening an outpost on West 57th St. Anchor Bar claims its original owners created the Buffalo wing in 1964 by deep frying chicken wings and topping them with a “secret sauce,” according to the restaurant’s website. It’s now a mini-chain with nearly a dozen locations around the US. (DNAInfo)

De Blasio bills taxpayers for his legal fees – Our beloved Mayor is billing us taxpayers about $2 million to reimburse the lawyers who defended him from criminal charges and administrative agency probes into his fundraising practices. Our beloved Mayor claims the charges relate directly to his public service and decision-making in government. That’s exactly why he was being investigated for conflict of interest, pay-to-play and other funny stuff in making those decisions, by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (who was fired by our beloved President Trump for also looking into the Russian election hacking scandal), by District Attorney Cy Vance, and by the state Board of Elections and the city Conflict of Interest Board. (Crain’s.)

Spreading its wings – JetBlue wants to build a new terminal at JFK. According to Bloomberg, JetBlue holds exclusive rights to develop the site of JFK’s previous Terminal 6, which was torn down. The project also may involve the replacement of Terminal 7, which was built in 1972. JFK is the busiest airport in the New York City area, and ranks fifth in North America, with more than 56.8 million passengers a year, and JetBlue is one of its busiest carriers, with both domestic and verseas destinations including cities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. JetBlue expamnded its Terminal 5 in 2014, but that’s no longer big enough to handle nearly 200 flights a day.

Real estate is a religious experience – Yet another NYC house of worship is turning itself into a high-rise condo. This time, it’s the historic 179-year-old Congregation Shaare Zedek on the Upper West Side, which will be torn town and replaced by a 14-story condo. The synagogue will keep the three lower floors for a new worship and education space. The historic building just missed being granted landmark status, so it’s not protected from developers. (Curbed NY)

Amazon’s next NYC bookstore – The online retailer is opening its second brick-and-mortar bookstore, in NYC, taking over the space a 72 Spring Street currently housing lingerie store Aerie, in Soho. Amazon also reportedly plans to open a bookstore in Herald Square. Which would make three locations in Manhattan – the first Amazon bookstore opened this spring in the Shops at Columbus Circle. (The Real Deal)

Spilled coffee – Longtime local coffee shop has been forced to close because greedy landlord doubles rent. Yea, it’s happened again, on the Lower East Side. Locals favorite Cup and Saucer goes out of business on the corner of Canal and Eldridge Streets, where it’s been for 30 years, because it can’t afford the new $15,000 a month rent. Gentrification has its price, and the price is the loss of mom-and-pop businesses. (The Lowdown)

Score Another one for Greedy Landlords – Iconic Lower East Side outpost Schiller’s Liquor Bar will close by the end of August thanks to a whopping and unaffordable rent hike by the landlord taking advantage of the gentrification of the neighborhood. The bar has been at 151 Rivington Street since 2003, before the neighborhood got trendy and expensive. The closure was announced in an email sent out to regular customers, and it hints that the bar may find new digs nearby, according to Eater, which first reported the news. Schiller’s is one of several legendary city eateries run by Terrence McNally’s restaurang group, whose portfolio includes Balthazar in SoHo. The New York Times in 2004 dubbed him “The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown.” Those with a good eye can spot the exterior in the opening credits of “Saturday Night Live.” (DNAInfo)

Check our Vanishing New York category for other going, going, gone but not forgotten NYC favs, including the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and Carnegie Deli.

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