MORNING BULLETIN: EUROPA EUROPA, NEW QUESTIONS IN CENTRAL PARK EXPLOSION, CONDO CONVERSION

The Europa 2 , which can hold 500 guests, cruised by the Upper West Side on Sunday. Photo by G Byars.

October 3, 2016 Weather: Partly Cloudy, with a high of 74 degrees.

Notices:
Special free NY Film Fest talks and many more local events are on our calendar.

To those celebrating, Happy Rosh Hashanah!

St Paul and St Andrew United Methodist Church is holding a gathering every Wednesday to talk about the election with various faith groups. “In the coming weeks, St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist is bringing together a diverse group of faith communities, including Broadway United Church of Christ, Bnai Jeshurun and Rivers of Living Water, for what we’re calling “Politics as (Un)usual: A Time of Prayer for Our Nation”; The entire community is invited to join us for an interfaith, non-partisan prayer vigil, Wednesdays at 7:15 pm at St Paul & St Andrew, West End Ave and 86th Street.”

Cancer support organization Chemo Comfort is holding its fourth annual Cocktails for Comfort fundraising campaign October 7–16. Standup NY on 78th Street is among the bars participating.

News:
The family of the Virginia teenager who stepped on an explosive in Central Park this summer is asking more questions in the wake of the Chelsea explosion. Like, why were police so sure this was the work of a hobbyist, and not someone with ill intentions? “Who plays with this kind of volatile compound as a hobbyist and just leaves it laying in the park?” Mr. Golden said in his first lengthy interview on the issue. “If you wanted to experiment or play with explosives, to do something like that in one of the most popular places, one of the most watched places in the country — that would be the last place you’d go. You scratch your head and say, ‘That explanation doesn’t ring true.’”

The Landmarks Preservation Commission took a look at the condo conversion of a former Phoenix House drug rehab center on West 74th Street. “Most of the work the general public will see is fairly ordinary. The granite steps leading to the front door will be removed, creating a more accessible, at-grade entrance, for what will be a lowered first floor. That granite will be reused at-grade. New wood front doors will be installed, and painted in Benjamin Moore Temptation 1609, intended to match the historic condition…It’s what will happen to the building’s sides and rear that will be the most significant, though the most out of sight…The rear setback will go from 22 to 30 feet, with a notch literally cut out of the building’s rear. The current condition is really nothing to write home about, and the future condition will feature a chevron that brings balconies to the Marbury, and more light to its neighbors.

An ode to Saiguette, a small Vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan Valley. “If you’ve never experienced the joy that is a well-made banh mi, order the classic ($8)—it has an ideal ratio of meat to pickled veggies, and a generous helping of pork terrine and pâté. Otherwise, check out my personal favorite: the pork belly banh mi ($10), which has the perfect amount of fatty, juicy pork belly, pickled carrots, jalapeño and daikon, and sriracha mayo.”