But Pugh's own defense lawyer, Frank Rothman, said the distraught mom did not have firsthand knowledge of her son's sobriety, or lack thereof, during the brutal attack. "She's speaking as a panicked mother who’s saying that if this [charge] is in fact true, then someone must have drugged him, because that's not who her son is," Rothman said.
Miss Lily's 7A Cafe. Jerk Centre & Rum Bar. Opens Monday. #eastvillage #jamaica #nyc #food #rum… http://t.co/vDJaRoMrHu
— Miss Lily's (@MissLilysChat) May 14, 2014Miss Lily’s 7A is open for dinner daily with all day-breakfast, lunch, brunch and late night in the former 7A Cafe space in the East Village. The new 7A outpost of Miss Lily’s embodies the best elements of Miss Lily’s, Melvin’s Juice Box and the Variety Shop, while paying homage to 7A’s storied past.
The menu features the Miss Lily’s classics, new dishes that celebrate the former 7A Cafe and the restaurant’s Jamaican roots, as well as a weekend late night menu to cater to the neighborhood’s buzzing nightlife.
The bar features a full selection of wine, beer and cocktails, with a focus on Caribbean rum spirits, and a frozen daiquiri slushy machine. An outpost of Melvin’s Juice Box anchors the bar at Miss Lily's 7A, serving Melvin’s 100% organic, incredibly tasty, made-to-order juices. Additionally, Miss Lily’s signature sauces and the Kingston kettle-style potato chips in Curry, Jerk, and Jerk BBQ are for sale.
The new space takes inspiration from the early 1980’s Memphis “anti-design movement” in Italy – whose signature clashing colors and asymmetrical shapes became an expression of anti-conformity in the East Village’s punk scene. Bright colors and wild, clashing patterns evoke an 80’s Jamaican diner vibe, with elements like the black-and-blue linoleum checkerboard floors and wood-paneled walls that nod to the fast food American diner of the 50s. African wax print textiles, Missoni-esque velour upholstery, and brightly colored neon fruit baskets stay true to the much-loved aesthetic of Miss Lily’s.
The restaurant’s façade recaptures a sense of the neighborhood’s rich spirit and diverse history, reviving the vintage look and feel of the once-popular East Village Bodega storefronts that have all but disappeared. Original hand painted signs by Brooklyn Artist studio Farewell designs and a vintage awning pay loving homage to this once ubiquitous archetype.
"The thing is, I haven't found a garage in the East Village that has anything near those prices. The garage on East 11th between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue charges nearly $140. The one across from Whiskers on East 9th Street is $90+ and the one under Bowlmor is a whopping $175/month. The only place that's reasonable in our neighborhood is the Edison garage on Lafayette and Grand, which charges $20/mo and $1/day for storage outside."
After much hard work, we are pleased to announce that the Bhakti Center café is reopening [today] as “Taste of Bhakti.” In tandem with the new Bhakti Boutique gift shop, Taste of Bhakti will occupy the first floor space, supporting the Bhakti Center with wonderful prasadam, a welcoming space for visitors, and a steady source of income for the Bhakti Center.
The café will open [today] in honor of the Bhakti Center’s celebration of the Appearance Day of Lord Nrsimhadev, serving light snacks and drinks from 11 AM with a free prasadam feast at 9 PM as part of the festival. The café will also serve a full meal (for sale) on Saturday, May 17 during the Six-Hour Kirtan. Otherwise, the café will continue hours of 11 AM – 5 PM with light snacks and drinks until the full opening on May 22nd with dinner hours of 5-10 PM Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday brunch 11 AM – 3 PM. The café is closed Mondays.
A few more highlights:
The café will served standard items every day of the week with rotating specials: Italian on Tuesdays, Indian on Wednesdays, Mediterranean on Fridays, and Thai on Sundays.
The gift shop has beads, books, clothing, jewelry, instruments, incense, music, temple worship items and home décor, and will be open Monday from 2 PM to 8 PM, Tuesday through Saturday 10 AM to 10 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 3:30 PM.
The new store will be half the size of the current one, but the rent of $6,000 is barely one-quarter of the $23,500 charged by their landlord on Third Avenue, the Cooper Union. The store has had support from writers and readers, and raised more than $40,000 on the crowd-funding site Indiegogo (the campaign continues through Friday). The new landlord is the city. The owners are exploring a transition to nonprofit status.
Pugh didn’t even know about the attack until one of his friends showed him the chilling surveillance footage over the weekend and said the attacker looked like him.
"When he saw the video, it killed him inside. It hurt him. He was crying all weekend. He knows it's him. He just didn't remember," Pugh-Douglas said.
As the victim lay dying on the sidewalk, Pugh allegedly continued down the street and yelled, “This is my block,” police said.
[Duran Duran from 2010 via EVG] 
"As far as National Biscuit Day festivities, we'd planned to serve everything on the menu for $1 for 1 hour on Wednesday night. Party, right? (We'lll probably be having a cleaning party instead.) Maybe we'll go ahead with it one day next week, but for now we've got a lot of nonsense to deal with."
