![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7VpR7yneN6rrkoKnI_5rMi1mfJXfpPjvm2qbqVYkpEjO7Gf6crbrZPY5UkYrW_p_KrwvJ7BKADkWYcvnGNa8cY0dUz9oukq141RyefprdV3A5fAcYMU3Xw52Fde_qCOBPBAdP17McwHx/s540/unnamed-7.jpg)
Several readers told us about smoke billowing (or whatever) from a manhole on East 14th Street at Avenue B around 3 … and the FDNY was quickly called to the scene, EVG reader Greg Masters noted…
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABCMjQVNBoliPl_Gjbo-PhEk13lq8sSpwDp9HITTuBeCcWyUV5FL5MXCOU3lSeLNYBIp3hqWpbWuPdVnFa8fVF9WN07ZixkC1JU_92EjXYm6UisC6OVGb1M-nDIeaVUKKlJ6zkN6_bbGB/s400/unnamed-2.jpg)
The LES Dwellers, a grassroots community group of residents of the Lower East Side, released videos [yesterday] that illustrate how bad the Lower East Side's Hell Square continues as late night bars and clubs continue to foster a SantaCon-style environment of binge drinking, public urination and vomiting, brawls and arrests every weekend.
The rampant party and hoards of drunks in the area drains police resources, forcing them to focus their time and attention to thousands of people who descend on the Lower East Side every weekend to party without regard to the local residents and businesses.
What is depicted in the videos is not outside the norm but is the norm. The bars, lounges and "restaurants" in this area over serve alcohol creating a dangerous environment.
The LES Dwellers called on Community Board 3 to address the issue immediately by working with the NYPD, the State Liquor Authority and local bar and business owners to resolve the recurring problems in Hell Square, which is the area bordered by Houston and Delancey, and Allen and Essex streets on the Lower East Side.
"This weekend was an outrage — ranking as one of the worst on record: It was SantaCon without the costumes," the group said in a statement. "Assaults and crime are up in our neighborhood due solely to the proliferation of late night liquor licenses in the neighborhood. And what's worse, on a day when NYPD lost two officers, the last thing the city needs is for the police to spend time and resources policing a man-made mess of debauchery. Police resources are wasted every weekend to babysit a bunch of drunks," the group said.
One video, filmed for a continuous 11 minute period at 3:30 am EST on Sunday, Dec. 21 on Ludlow and Stanton Streets, features a group of drunks stumbling north on Ludlow street and approaching Piano's Bar to enter. They're told that the bar is closing and they can't enter, so they leave the bar yelling obscenities and stumbling into the wall when the cops show up. Disregarding the police presence, the group gets into a knock-down brawl in the intersection of Stanton and Ludlow and police arrest 2 of the fighters. The video's hashtag is #11minsofhell.
Dozens of police arrived at the scene where the video captures a woman who has fallen and hurt her leg on the street and is struggling to get back up, followed by music blaring out of the front door of the Dark Room bar. Then, as the police continue to deal with the fight, a man is seen within 15 feet of the police urinating in a boutique clothing store's doorway and virtually falling asleep standing up.
The Center for an Urban Future published the seventh edition of its annual “State of the Chains” study ranking the national retailers with the most store locations in New York City.
The study shows that there was a 3.3 percent increase in the number of chain stores in the five boroughs over the past year, a much larger spike than the 0.5 percent gain in chain stores between 2012 and 2013 and the largest annual increase since the 4.1 percent increase from 2009 to 2010. Queens had the largest year-over-year increase in chains stores among all boroughs, and Dunkin Donuts remained the largest retailer in the city, with 536 stores.
For the seventh consecutive year, Dunkin Donuts tops our list as the largest national retailer in New York City, with a total of 536 stores. Over the past year, Dunkin Donuts had a net increase of 21 stores in the city, a 4 percent gain. Subway is still the second largest national retailer in the city; gaining one additional store over last year’s total to make 468 locations across the five boroughs. Rounding out the top ten national retailers in New York are: Duane Reade/Walgreens (with 318 stores), metroPCS (298), Starbucks (282), McDonalds (245), Baskin Robbins (211), Rite Aid (201), T-Mobile (185) and GNC (156). In all, there are now 16 retailers with more than 100 stores across the city.
Tudor Investment Corporation, a $13 billion hedge fund led by Robin Hood Foundation co-chairman Paul Tudor Jones II, is coming to Edward Minskoff's 51 Astor Place.