Inside the long history of two East Village neighbors — Veselka and Dinosaur Hill

Back on Oct. 8, we had the scoop that Pamela Pier was retiring after 37 years of running the toy store Dinosaur Hill on Ninth Street just east of Second Avenue... and that neighbor Veselka would be taking over the lease for the storefront... all this came courtesy of East Village-based freelance writer Linda Dyett, who contributed the byline to us. 

Linda explored the long history between Dinosaur Hill and Veselka for a detail-rich article that is now online at The New York Times. (Find it here. It will be in Sunday's print edition.) 

Here's more about what to expect once Veselka expands into the former Dinosaur Hill:

[T]here will be more indoor seating, more wall space for the murals by the house artist Arnie Charnick, a larger kitchen and a sushi bar-style showcase for the team of women who make its pierogi by hand. 

Standing in another section of Veselka’s new space will be a gift from its soon-to-be former next-door neighbor: a rocket-ship gumball machine. The area will be called Dinosaur Dining.