Photo by Stacie Joy
As seen on Avenue A at Sixth Street. (Background.)
Please .... help me!My mom said I'm old enough to leave home so here I am looking at you but I'm only 3 years old! She said she's tired of making my bed and bided me farewell today, Dec 14, 2024. I know she still loves me because she even put mittens on me. Listen, I still have a lot to offer. I'm sturdy, dependable, and free. But, I'm so cold now and really don't want to go to a shelter. Please take me home with you. I love you!Benny, the full-size bed frame!
Has a December full moon and a Santacon parade in sub-freezing weather all taken place on one day? Not in my memory! It was after 9 p.m. when the moon, Jupiter and Aldebaran lined up in the constellation Taurus, and the crowds of revelers were thinning out, except for two guys who almost poured their beers down inside the telescope while leaning over to get a look. They told me I should have a bottle opener attached to the tube...And this was the last full moon of 2024.
Boshir Khan, 49, the Bangladeshi-born owner of Panna II, which sits on First Avenue just around the corner from the old Curry Row, finds it bittersweet to be the last man standing at the vibrant entryway. He was still greeting visitors on a recent Friday in November, though with less urgency."Sometimes I'm glad — it's less stress," he said, recalling the vigorous competition with his neighbors.
Mr. Khan, who grew up around the corner from his restaurant, began working shifts at Panna II in the sixth grade with his father. He remembers the area being "rough" in the '80s."After 5 o'clock, you can't even go out," he said. "But I miss the old neighborhood."