NYC news you might have missed in Sept.

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

This is our monthly recap of recent NYC news you might have missed during the last few weeks. Top of our list this month is about food and drink, including NYC favorites, Jewish delis, hot dogs, bagels, beer and brunch.

No more cutting the mustard – Carnegie Deli is closing forever on Dec. 31, 2016, after serving sky-high pastrami and corned beef sandwiches for more than 80 years. The family-owned Carnegie Deli, at the edge of the Theater District, never recovered after being shut down for months last year by an illegal gas hook-up. The New York Post reports the Carnegie Deli name will stay alive via branded supermarket products.

Hot dog! Gray’s Papaya Re-Opens in Midtown – It’s tough to keep a good dog down, and Gray’s Papaya is one of the best dogs around, with fans devoted to its big flavor and small price. Gray’s was forced to close its midtown location in 2011, and its Greenwich Village location in 2014, both because of greedy landlords. That left only the original location at 72nd St. and Broadway. The word is Gray’s Papaya will open at 612 Eighth Ave., between 39th and 40th Streets, by the end of the year. That’s a Christmas and Hanukah present to all of us.

Ess-A-Bagel Re-Opens on the East Side – The family-owned business many New Yorkers believe makes the best bagel on the planet has re-opened on First Avenue. Ess-A-Bagel closed last year after 40 years in business after negotiations with another greedy landlord fell through. The popular bagel spot reopened earlier this month at at 324 First Ave., between East 18th and East 19th streets, about one block from it’s old location. Make mine with a schmear.

Bottoms Up – It’s now legal for restaurants to serve beer, Bloody Marys and Mimosas starting at 10AM on Sundays, because brunch without booze is just breakfast. The new New York State law updates the one from Prohibition that outlawed booze before noon. And under special circumstances, like World Cup events televised from time zones on a galaxy far, far away, restaurants can serve booze even earlier. (New York Daily News).

Brooklyn Brewery On the Move – It’s official. Brooklyn Brewery will open a 75,000-suare-foot brewery at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in February 2018, and the new rooftop bar is set to open two months later, in April 2018. The brewery is moving its headquarters to the Navy Yard’s new public food hall at BLDG 77, in preparation to shut down its original headquarters at 61-71 Wythe Ave. in Williamsburg when the lease expires in 2025. That will allow the landlord to develop the site, perhaps by tearing down the building and putting up a high-rise with high rents. (DNAInfo)

Move Over Zagat’s and Yelp, There’s a New Guy in Town – NYC get a new restaurant rating system, for high-end eateries only. If you can afford to eat in places like 11 Madison Park – which is top rated by the new review service – and Le Bernadin, this app is for you. (New York Times)