TV’s Dr. Phil wants to hug it out with the Second District’s convicted sex offenders
Britney Spears: so yesterday! Dr. Phil McGraw–television’s Oprah-approved, magnolia-mouthed mother hen–has a new cause celebre: the convicted sex offenders who live in that vintage Streamline Moderne apartment complex in the 1100 block of East First Street.

The plan to create a pedestrian zone on one block of First Street in the East Village
A plan to close First Street to vehicle traffic between Elm and Linden Avenues in the East Village Arts District–creating a so-called pedestrian zone–got one of its first airings at Wednesday night’s East Village Association meeting, and the neighborhood [...]