How East 6th Street mainstay Mitali East lost its lease

As we first reported back on Saturday, the owners of East Sixth Street mainstay Mitali East have lost their lease.

According to posted signs in the restaurant between First Avenue and Second Avenue, Mitali East "is being forced to close" courtesy of the building's new owner, Steve Croman of 9300 Realty.

And now Mitali East has posted a letter outlining how the 42-year-old Indian restaurant lost their lease.

It's a little complicated... here's part of the letter:

It all started in 2010 when we had modified a lease agreement with the Previous landlord due to business becoming slow after the 2008 financial meltdown. Which we followed and paid by according to that modified lease agreement.

Fast forward to June 2012 and our building was sold by the old landlord to 9300realty (aka 334 east 6th LLC). 9300realty was made aware of our modified lease agreement from us and the old landlord. 9300realty who became our new and current landlord honored the modified lease agreement from June 2012 to November 2013 for about 18 months. Not sure why after 18 months 9300realty decided that they would not abide by the modified lease agreement.

It may have to do with the fact that at that point they had almost bought out most old tenats in the building and renovated the apartments to higher rents.

On December 2013 we got a notice that our rent would increase to the pre-modified amount. We reminded 9300realty about the agreement we had and they knew about when they had bought the building, but they didn't adjust it accordingly. Since then we have been paying according to the modified agreement monthly which they cashed and they had been billing the old amounts. We kept in contacting them to adjust the amounts to reflect our balance due as $0.

So basically this is how things followed: these ARE NOT THE REAL figures for rental amounts just make believe amounts to show an example.

In this example we will use 9,000 as the modified amount and 15,000 as the old amount. Basically it went like this. During this whole time our amount due was $0 if modified lease agreement was applied.

• December 2013 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000
• January 2014 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000
• February 2014 Rent paid 9000 they billed 15,000 difference 6,000

This pattern went on until April 2013 when they added up the differences of the 4 months and added April 2013 rent to file nonpayment proceedings in housing court. Even though our rent due balance was $0 since it was paid up to date.

There's a lot more. You can red the whole thing here.

Back on Friday, we heard that they would be closing any day now. Mitali East was not open as usual yesterday. Calls to the restaurant were met with a generic outgoing message. So perhaps that's it. The restaurant is open for business today.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Landlord Steve Croman denies new lease for 40-year-old Mitali East on 6th Street

No. 117 is the latest Avenue A storefront for rent

[Photo by Daniel]

One day after the Marshal's notice eviction was posted at the now-former Black Rose bar space at 117 Avenue A ... the for rent signs arrived here between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

The listing isn't online just yet at Steve Croman's 9300 Realty site... this storefront joins two other nearby Croman properties for rent — 115 Avenue A (former Blink Fitness membership office) and 147 Avenue A (formerly La Lucha).

Back in 2014, the space, which housed the Odessa Cafe and Bar, was asking $22,500.

Residential rentals at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery start at $10,995

The residential conversion of the former Amato Opera House at 319 Bowery has finally reached a conclusion (the work permits arrived here in October 2014).

Listings for the three units arrived on the market yesterday, with an April 15 occupancy. Two of the apartments are going for $10,995 while the three-bedroom unit on the upper level is seeking $14,995.

Here's the description for the largest of the units, that one for $14,995:

Brand new, gut-renovated 3 bedroom unit with two balconies and gorgeous private roof deck in a fantastic location with Central Air. This beautiful apartment features stainless steel appliances in a custom chef's kitchen, dishwasher, washer & dryer, built in Miele Espresso Maker, and two marble bathrooms. Apartment is accented by recessed pinpoint halogen lighting, wide plank oak flooring, and exposed brick, and beautiful fireplace.

Available for April 15th occupancy. Former Amato Opera House,jJust a short walk to the F or 6 train and close to the M9, M21, and M14 1st Avenue SelectBus Service. Steps from some of the city's best restaurants and nightlife, including Bowery Electric and Blue & Cream.

And a few photos (via Streeteasy)...









The retail listing is still active, now at $28,995, which is down from the previous $34,995 ask.

Steve Croman's 9300 Realty is the landlord here, having picked up the property between Second Street and First Street in December 2008 for $3.7 million. (Croman is currently serving a jail sentence.)

In January 2009, Anthony Amato, the company's 88-year-old founder, announced that he had sold the building that the Opera had called home since 1964. The company closed in May 2009. Amato died in December 2011.

The four-story brick building was a cigar factory from 1899 to 1926.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life after the Amato Opera

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

Ruin of the Bowery nearly complete: Last season for the Amato Opera

Amato Opera looks to be getting an encore as city OKs residential use

Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

East Village Tavern officially (re)opens today

The next iteration of the East Village Tavern, now a Mexican restaurant and sports bar, officially opens today on Avenue C and 10th Street ...

OFFICIAL DATES!: We are happy to announce, we will be officially opening our doors on Monday, July 9th! We will be hosting a party on Wednesday, July 11th from 5pm-10pm for friends & family (if you don’t fall into either of those categories yet, we’d love to have you anyway!) We’re ready to make some new friends & good memories! We can’t wait to see you! 💀🌹🥂 • • • #eastvillagetavern #eastvillage #fiesta #wereopen #bar #restaurant #hungry #thirsty #happyhour #diadelosmuertos #party #grandopening #specialtycocktails #cerveza

A post shared by East Village Tavern (@eastvillagetavernnyc) on Jul 3, 2018 at 6:09pm PDT

Per the Yelp description: "Conceived in 2018 by 5 friends from the restaurant industry, we are excited to reintroduce the East Village Tavern to the neighborhood as an authentic Mexican restaurant and American sports bar."

The listed hours of operation are 11 a.m. to midnight daily; until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The previous East Village Tavern closed in November 2016 after eight years in business. Bar management blamed a disagreement with landlord Steve Croman for the closure. (A Croman rep reportedly said that the owners were behind on rent.)

Since then, several applicants unsuccessfully tried to open new concepts in this space, including the operators of a Miami-based restaurant called the Irish Times Pub and Eatery as well as a jazz club called the Snow Leopard.

Shawn Chittle shared these photos from a soft opening the other evening at the new EVT ...





Shawn notes that this will be the first bar on Avenue C with a pool table since Duke's closed at the end of 2011.

The Irish Times Pub and Eatery NYC has plans for 10th Street and Avenue C

The operators of a restaurant called the Irish Times Pub and Eatery NYC have designs on the former East Village Tavern space on 10th Street and Avenue C.

According to materials posted to the CB3 website (PDF here) ahead of this week's SLA committee meeting, the proposed hours are 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily, with a 10 a.m. opening on Sunday. (The questionnaire doesn't specify when the place would serve alcohol — presumably 8 a.m. when it is officially legal.)



The configuration shows 10 tables with 55 seats and a bar with 15 seats. (And six TV sets.)

Since 2008, the owners have operated Irish Times Pub and Eatery in South Miami.

Here's a write-up of that establishment via the Miami New Times:

For decades, University of Miami students have been trying to dupe the bouncers at this Celtic-themed tavern within walking distance of campus. Yet no matter how closely they resemble their older cousin's expired driver's license photo, the bouncer, propped on his stool outside the double doors, inevitably refuses to let them in. Poor underage drinkers. They're missing out on a beacon for Dade's partygoers looking to keep the night from ending at a 5 a.m. liquor license establishment. But it's not just the postmidnight crowd that has kept the Irish Times clicking on a busy South Miami corner. A hearty menu with everything from sliders to mac 'n' cheese and more traditional fare like bangers 'n' mash, fish 'n' chips and shepherd's pie ensures an all-hours crowd. The double doors in front are left open rain or shine, and the friendly staff is welcoming whether you order a pint of Guinness before noon or are stopping by on your commute home for a game of pool.

East Village Tavern opened in 2008 and closed this past November. In announcing the closure on Facebook, bar staff blamed a disagreement with landlord Steve Croman. However, a Croman rep told The Real Deal that the bar had "been unable to consistently pay its rent in the last 12 months."

The April SLA committee meeting is tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. Location: The Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

Construction watch: 319 Bowery

Landlord Steve Croman received DOB approval last September to convert the former Amato Opera house at 319 Bowery into a commercial and residential building.

Documents show that there will be one residence on each floor above the retail space here between East Second Street and East First Street.

Workers have been on site since the fall… and the other day, EVG reader Roger took a look inside the open door ...



… to see what was going on with the interior. Per Roger: "The photos don't show much but I thought it was interesting that the place is getting completely gutted."





We're unsure about the incoming retail space here. We'd seen several listing for it. One at Croman's 9300 site says that the storefront — with the rent listed at $34,995 — is rented.

Amato Opera ended its long run on May 31, 2009.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life after the Amato Opera

Costume drama on the Bowery as the Amato Opera empties out

Ruin of the Bowery nearly complete: Last season for the Amato Opera

Amato Opera looks to be getting an encore as city OKs residential use

Work permits arrive at the former Amato Opera on the Bowery

Noted

An EVG reader shared this from outside the Dunkin' Donuts on First Avenue at Sixth Street. (This is on the Sixth Street side.)

On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty plea of Croman, a landlord with 47 buildings in the East Village. Under the terms of his plea, Croman would serve one year of jail time on Rikers Island and pay a $5 million tax settlement.

[Updated] The Black Rose looks to be moving into the former Benny's Burritos space on Avenue A

Updated: This item is no longer on the July SLA docket.

The Black Rose, the bar that recently lost its space at 117 Avenue A, is looking to move a block to the south and reopen in the former corner home of Benny's Burritos, according to paperwork filed ahead of next month's CB3-SLA committee meeting.



In late April, the Marshal took possession of the bar space between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place on behalf of landlord Steve Croman. There were accusation that Croman forced the bar out, even removing the boiler.

As for Benny's, the restaurant closed on Nov. 29, 2014. The corner space at Sixth Street has sat empty since then. The Benny's awning remains up...


[Photo from yesterday]

Benny's owner Mark Merker said that they were having trouble staying afloat, as costs and rents rose while competition increased from Chipotle and other restaurants that served burritos. Benny's limped along for a few months with a smaller, mostly to-go spot next door. They closed in February 2015. This space became a 99¢ pizza place called 99¢ Pizza, which seems to do brisk business.

There's not much more information about the new Black Rose at this month. The full questionnaire isn't online yet. (Updated: The PDF of the questionnaire is here.) And it will be somewhat new given that much of the bar's interior ended up on the corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street, where Jerry launched the short-lived Tompkins Square Park Art Bar.

The July CB3-SLA committee meeting is July 17 at 6:30 p.m. at a rather strange venue — Ian Schrager's luxury Public Hotel, 215 Chrystie St.

Concern for China Wok on Avenue B

The reliable, quick-serve restaurant at the corner of East Third Street was closed for the second weekend in a row. Signs arrived outside the other day explaining that the closure has to do with "mandatory repairs."



This is often the telltale sign of a DOH closure … though there's nothing on file with the DOH to indicate that this had to do with a health code violation.

Said one neighbor, an EVG reader: "I haven't actually seen anyone go in or out of there since they've been closed. I've known them for 18 years, so I hope it's not another closing."

The Croman-owned 9300 Realty is the property's landlord. Three of the five adjacent Croman storefronts have closed in recent months — Cafe Rakka, Coyi Cafe and the laundromat.

Updated 6:39 a.m.



A reader points out that the sign with the same explanation … and with the same handwriting … is on the gate at Meskel, the Ethiopian restaurant on East Third Street that shares the same building as China Wok.

Landlord Steve Croman denies new lease for 40-year-old Mitali East on 6th Street

[Image via Facebook]

The sign on the restaurant's door at 334 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue sums up the situation...



As we understand it, the Marshal has already been by with eviction papers … and Mitali East, which has served Indian and Bengali specialties here since 1973, will be closing in another few days at most.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy dined at Mitali East last night. She said that Sai, the owner, wasn't bitter or upset — just sad. They have looked in the neighborhood for another space but, not surprisingly, nothing affordable is available.

Steve Croman bought the building in early January, according to public documents.

Cromanated: The East Village Snack Dragon Taco Shack is closing

[Image via]

Snack Dragon proprietor Josephine Jansen broke the news to us yesterday. Her eclectic sliver of a taco stand and hangout at 199 E. Third St. just west of Avenue B will close for good on July 31.

A familiar reason and a familiar figure are behind the impending closure.

"[Landlord Steve] Croman wants to triple the rent to $3,900 for 100 square feet of public space and a tiny basement," she said. "They will not negotiate the lease."

For now, the Williamsburg Snack Dragon will remain open.

Snack Dragon opened nearly 10 years ago around the corner on Avenue B, in a vacant smoothie stand outside Ben's Deli. Jansen inexplicably ran afoul of the East Village Nightlife Task Force and had to close. She moved into her current space in August 2006.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch a lot of people speak out against Steve Croman and 9300 Realty

EVG Etc.: Restitution deadline for Croman tenants; traveler trouble on 2nd Avenue

[At the Taste of the East Village Saturday via Stacie Joy]

Brooklyn man arrested in sexual assault yesterday morning in Stuy Town elevator/stairwell (NBC 4)

Will City Council finally pass the Small Business Jobs Survival Act? (The Indypendent)

AG's office: Steve Croman tenants who are eligible for restitution from civil case have until Nov. 4 to file a claim (Curbed)

Trouble with travelers on Second Avenue (The Villager)

Details on the East Village Community Coalition fundraiser honoring James and Karla Murray (Eventbrite)

Lawsuits: Theodore Stratigos, an investor in the now-shuttered Coup on Cooper Square, sues Ravi DeRossi over charity claims (New York Post)

Police are looking for suspect who stole credit card from a building on 13th Street and First Avenue and then spent $327 at Target (Town & Village)

There is concern about the Washington Square Park red-tailed hawk nest, which is on the under-renovation Bobst Library (Roger_Paw ... with a response from NYU officials here)

More praise for the Hunan Slurp House on First Avenue (The New Yorker)

Inside the East Village apartment of Interpol's Paul Banks (The New York Times)

Highlights from the Kid Lucky fundraiser at MoRUS (Slum Goddess)

A rainy night on the Bowery in 1911 (Ephemeral New York)

The Trader Joe's on the LES opens Oct. 19 (The Lo-Down)

Jeanne Baliba retrospective continues (Film Anthology Archives)

Meanwhile at Doc Holliday's on Avenue A: "Amber Heard slow dances with mystery man after selecting music on a jukebox together" (The Daily Mail)

... and coming up on Thursday evening... The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors is presenting a film and talk — "Hyper-Gentrification in Our Vanishing City," featuring a screening of "The Vanishing City"(2009) followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and Vanishing New York author Jeremiah Moss.



This takes place Thursday evening at 6:30, Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square (near Astor Place).

Report: Attorney General slaps cease-and-desist order on ex-cop accused of hassling tenants on behalf of landlords, including Steve Croman

From the Daily News today:

He's a renter's worst nightmare — an ex-cop authorities say regularly harasses and intimidates rent-stabilized tenants to force them out so their landlord can charge higher rent.

His name is Anthony Falconite, and this week state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman took the unusual step of slapping him with a “cease and desist” order, demanding he halt an increasingly aggressive campaign that’s crossed the legal line.

In documents obtained by the Daily News, Schneiderman charges that Falconite has forced his way into apartments, snapped photos of tenants’ mail and belongings and repeatedly threatened them with eviction.

Tenants say he’s followed them to and from work, confronting them at their jobs about where they really live. He has questioned family members and even tenants’ children. He’s pretended to be a maintenance worker or a FedEx agent to get inside their apartments.

Among his employers, according to the Daily News: Steven Croman of 9300 Realty.

Do you recognize Mr. Falconite? Has he ever approached you in the East Village?

Week in Grieview

[Photo of the NYPD "Pride Ride" outside the 9th Precinct via Goggla]

Stories posted on EVG this past week included...

Boys' Club of New York selling East Village building; will remain open through June 2019 (Thursday)

Report: AG selects management firm to oversee Steve Croman's real-estate holdings (Wednesday)

The warm and fuzzies in Tompkins Square Park (Thursday)

The EVG podcast: Red-tailed hawk talk with Laura Goggin (Friday)

At the start of the 2018 Drag March (Saturday)

The Swiss Institute debuts its inaugural exhibit at new East Village home (Friday) ... Printed Matter/St. Mark's opens today inside the Swiss Institute (Friday)

Grape and Grain returns under new ownership on 6th Street (Friday)

Little League playoff game delayed 45 minutes while a red-tailed hawk ate a pigeon (Saturday)

This 3-story building on 6th Street is for sale (air rights included) (Tuesday)

This week's NY See (Thursday)

Ben Shaoul owes Steve Croman some back rent on Avenue B (Monday)

E Smoke Shop will remain on St. Mark's Place (Wednesday)

The new P.S. 19 community playground is open (Saturday)


[Photo Tuesday on St. Mark's Place by Derek Berg]

Incoming: Gala on 3rd Avenue, Nunoodle Noodle + Bar on 1st Avenue (Monday)

DHS flyers on 1st Street (Friday)

Flamingos selling clothing by the pound on Stanton Street (Thursday)

Tristan Eaton starts on the Bowery Mural Wall (Saturday)

Cherry Tavern cherry-free for now (Monday)

Another broker for 20 Avenue A? (Thursday)

The really for-real Target signage has arrived at EVGB (Tuesday)

Blue Quarter debuts in the back of Local 92 on 2nd Avenue (Wednesday)

Video: Father John Mistry's early-morning stroll through the East Village (Tuesday)

Nai Tapas Bar moving from 1st Avenue to 2nd Avenue (Monday)

A Perfect spot for a dental office on 4th Street (Tuesday)

Bad 'Neighbors' at First Street Green Art Park? (Tuesday)

... and you may have seen these lost-dog flyers around this weekend... Linda has been found and returned to her grateful owners...



-----

Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter

EV Grieve Etc.: East Village restaurateurs launch collective; Merchant’s House Museum turns 80

[Photo on 2nd Avenue by Derek Berg]

Where New York is gentrifying and where it isn't (City Lab)

At Tompkins Square Park, "the outdoor barometer of homelessness in New York City" (The Awl)

East Village restaurateurs launch Eastville Restaurant Collective (Eater)

Baker's Pizza is an NYC "slice destination" on Avenue A (Gothamist)

Christo gathers a feast for the fam in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

More about who knew what and when about the deed lifting at the former Rivington House (The Lo-Down)

The charges against Steve Croman: "lost in all this schadenfreude is the uncomfortable fact that Croman and his son are embodiments of unfortunate stereotypes about Jews" (Tablet)

On-the-lam owner of Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck busted in Tennessee (Gothamist ... Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

Third Street Music School Settlement, "America's longest-running community music school" (NY1)

Alex on the impending loss of Other Music (Flaming Pablum)

Merchant’s House Museum on East Fourth Street turns 80 (Off the Grid)

A look inside Beetle House on East Sixth Street (Grub Street... previously)

At the car wash with Jeremiah Moss! (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Making a network of malls in Midtown — in the 1970s (Ephemeral New York)

... and there's sale tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Dias y Flores Community Garden, 520 E. 13th St. between Avenue and Avenue B...

Actually, the new rent for the Snack Dragon space is $4,495

[Image via]

Late last week Snack Dragon proprietor Josephine Jansen told us that her tiny taco stand at 199 E. Third St. will have to close for good on July 31. The reason: Landlord Steve Croman wants to triple the rent to $3,900.

Turns out the rent for the next tenant will somehow even be higher. In a follow-up article on Monday, DNAinfo's Lisha Arino noted that the rent on the 9300 Realty website for No. 199 is $4,495.

Small, vented restaurant available for 1 August move in on East 3rd St, steps from Ave B. Good dining corridor - Fonda, Root & Bone, Ethiopia Meskel, Café Cortadito, Poco NYC and others.

The COO of 9300 Realty told DANinfo that Jansen was the one who wouldn't negotiate a new lease and only offered to pay $200 more a month for the "way under market rate" space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch a lot of people speak out against Steve Croman and 9300 Realty

Cromanated: The East Village Snack Dragon Taco Shack is closing

Gimme Gimme Records is closing after Sunday; 4th East Village record store to shutter this year

Ugh. Gimme Gimme Records, a gem of a used shop on East Fifth Street (next to the 9th Precinct), is closing after this weekend. This past summer, as we noted here, Steve Croman of Croman Realty (9300 Realty) bought the building... a huge rent hike ensued and... the store that just recently celebrated its 18th year is closing Sunday night. That's how it goes.

And it is/was a great little store... open three days a week (and Slum Goddess works here) ... with a piano teacher using the space at other times. Seems so quaint in these bloodthirsty real-estate days.

Owner Dan Cook has plans to eventually reopen the store in Los Angeles. Maybe you can visit. And by my count, this is the fourth record store to close in the East Village this year — Norman's, Rockit Scientist and Big City Records.

Former East Village Tavern space for rent

As we first reported, East Village Tavern closed after service on Sunday evening.

Management of the corner bar on 10th Street and Avenue C left this message on Facebook last Saturday: "It is with a heavy heart that we regret to announce that do to a disagreement with our landlord, the East Village Tavern will be closing..."

Steve Croman, who was arrested back in May on 20 felony counts, is the building's landlord. Eviction proceedings happened here earlier this week when the Marshal came calling...



A rep for Croman's 9300 Realty told this to The Real Deal:

"We are sad to see a long standing tenant close its doors, but unfortunately the business has been unable to consistently pay its rent in the last 12 months. We have made several attempts to strike a deal to settle the debt however given there has been no effort to make payment on the more than $78,000 that is owed, we were forced to part ways with our tenant."

The bar opened in May 2008.

EV Grieve Etc.: Protesting Steve Croman; previewing the Ramones

[Tompkins Square Park yesterday via Derek Berg]

Tenants get the boot from landlord Steve Croman's office (DNAinfo ... B+B)

City Council weighing oversight hearings on shady Rivington House deal (Capital New York)

A preview of the Ramones exhibit at the Queens Museum of Art that opened Sunday (Gothamist)

And that time the Ramones smiled in a photo (The New York Times)

Difethialone, which has been banned by the EPA for residential use, is being used to kill rats in a public park (Laura Goggin Photogrpahy)

A selection of films Roland Barthes cared for, decried, and, in some instances, helped make (Anthology Film Archives)

"Why New York’s Most Important Art District Is Now the Lower East Side" (Artsy)

A trip to Coney Island (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

Pommes Frites one step closer to opening on MacDougal Street (NY Yimby)

...and moving via Citi Bike continues to be a challenge...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

EV Grieve Etc.: LES residents file suit against Steve Croman; 62-story tower planned for Clinton Street

[Beating the light on 1st Avenue via Derek Berg]

Stanton Street residents file suit against Steve Croman over "harassment" tactics (DNAinfo)

Another lawsuit for Ben Shaoul (Commercial Observer ... previously)

Starrett Corp. plans 62-story building at 259 Clinton St. (The Lo-Down)

More about Jared Kushner's Westminster Cares program (B+B ... previously)

Average Manhattan apartment cost $2.2 million in 2016 (Curbed)

Some history of the former Public National Bank of New York branch on Seventh and C (Ephemeral New York)

Peter McManus Cafe on Seventh Avenue may only have a year left (Jeremiah's Vanishing New York)

A Slum Goddess SantaCon experience (Slum Goddess)

The U.S. theatrical premiere of Ted Fendt's "Short Stay" (Anthology Film Archives)

The original "Miracle on 34th Street" at midnight this weekend (Sunshine Cinema)

A review of the new Honeybrains on Lafayette: "Unsurprisingly, I didn't feel any healthier, and definitely not any smarter, after two meals here, each of which cost me about $30. Both times, however, I did walk away feeling hungry." (Gothamist ... previously)

Red-tailed hawk hunting and gathering in Tompkins Square Park (Laura Goggin Photography)

More about the Halal Guys going global (Crain's)

...and there's a Christmas ceramics sale today and tomorrow at the Sirovich Center, 331 E. 12th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue...10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...