The long awaited second location of Grey Dog's Coffee is now open for business. The University Place branch is serving the same fantastic coffee (and iced coffee), and full menu as the West Village original. Stop by and wish them well on their first day and be sure to check out the whimsical dog photos inside -- we had to restrain ourselves from running off and adopting a puppy, iced coffee in hand.

The Grey Dog's Coffee
90 University Place, between 11th & 12th Streets
212-414-4739

READING: It's New York Murder Mystery Night with novelists Jed Rubenfeld, Joel Rose, and historian Ben Feldman. The trio will be discussing New York’s famous 19th-century murders, including the bizarre events behind Butchery on Bond Street.

6pm // 108 Orchard St // Free

EVENT: The Hanger Bar is having a summer soirée tonight. Head over there for an evening of couture and complimentary cocktails. A mixologist and a Prada protege have been brought in to make the drinks, all inspired by the vintage line of clothes available for purchase and named after famous fashion folk (Halston, Coco, Twiggy)!

6 to 10pm // Hanger Bar [217 E 3rd St] // Free

COMEDY: Comedy is going green tonight. First up UCB invades Summerstage. Head up there for a free night of outdoor stand-up with the likes of Rob Riggle, Horatio Sanz, Demetri Martin, Slovin & Allen and about a zillion others.

6:30 doors, 7:30pm show // Rumsey Playfield, Central Park // Free

Meanwhile, indoors, Comix and The Onion present a comedy showcase to benefit Greenpeace. John Oliver (The Daily Show), Aziz Ansari and Tom Tiernen will all be there to make you laugh. The night is hosted by Jordan Carlos, and if you're one of the first 100 people to arrive and you'll receive a Comix tote bag filled with gifts!

5:30pm happy hour, 8pm show // Comix [353 W 14th St] // $25

MUSIC: On the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, Heeb Magazine presents Diamond Days Fest, "a celebration of ‘60s-inspired psych and prog rock" all happening far from the Haight. The fest is in Brooklyn and kicks off tonight, running through the 22nd. The freak folk, indie, acid punk extravaganza will feature 50 bands and benefit the City Reliquary. Tonight's lineup: Titan, Teeth of The Hydra, Warmth, Monark, Tournament, Wet Nurse, Dead Unicorn and Satanized. With four days of this, who needs Siren Fest?

8pm // Rock Star Bar [351 Kent Ave, Williamsburg] // $10 a day or $25 for all 4 days

THEATER: A new rock musical about post-“I Have a Dream” MLK is generating enormous buzz down in the West Village. Called The/King/Operetta, the show is the work of theater collective Waterwell, which was the subject of a recent profile in Time Out NY. Alternately titled The Last Year in the Life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As Devised by Waterwell: A Rock Operetta, it draws on speeches, writings, and interviews “to give a blistering account of King as he barnstorms the country squaring off against the most powerful forces in politics and commerce.” Martin Denton says “you should see it now, because it's very, very good.” - John Del Signore

9:30pm // Barrow Street Theater [27 Barrow St] // Tickets cost $25

Menu Change: As previously reported by Nina Lalli over at Eat For Victory, Franny’s on Flatbush Avenue had added pastas to its menu. Right now the menu features three pastas, including a stellar penne with mint and zucchini ($15). In keeping with its mission statement of locality and sustainability, Franny’s sources mint from Long Island’s Satur Farms; zucchini comes from Hepworth Farm, located upstate in Milton. Pastas are selected by chef Andrew Feinberg from a variety of small Italian producers and are cooked al dente, with the firmness dial set one extra notch on the dente side of things. Last night’s pasta special was house-made spinach and ricotta gnocchi; seven light, and slightly oversized pieces adorned with simple, snappy parmesan cream. Summer cocktails include prosecco with homemade lovage syrup ($10).

Franny's
295 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn
(718) 230-0221

Recently Opened: The towering Gravesend restaurant Sim Sim is almost directly across the street from Hungry Cabbie favorite Sahara, and has been built in the same style as many of the other big box format places found along the same south Coney Island Avenue stretch -- lots of marble, lots of kebabs, and some choice neon backlighting in the bar area. A mix of Mediterranean, Russian, and French cuisine (with some traditional Georgian dishes thrown in), Sim Sim offers a departure from neighborhood standard grilled meat-centric menus in the form of sautéed soft shell crabs ($19), whole lobster (market price), and even escargots baked in butter and garlic ($9.50).

Sim Sim
2334 Coney Island Avenue
Brooklyn
(718) 676-5335

Movie Night: For the rest of the summer, Tuesday night is movie night at Ditmas Park restaurant The Farm on Adderley. The first showing, of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, took place a few days ago; next week find out How Deep Is Your Love with a plate of Adderley’s award winning deep fried French fries ($4, with curry aioli) and 1977’s Bay Ridge extravaganza Saturday Night Fever. The series comes to a close on September 4th, with Out For Justice, the improbably star-studded 1991 Steven Segal vehicle that features, among other stultifying action adventure sequences, a car chase under a decrepit Boro Park elevated subway line and a cleaver-to-hand combat scene set inside a Bensonhurst butcher shop. Shows begin at 10 PM sharp in the small courtyard at the back of the Adderley dining room; seating is limited, so arrive early. Additionally, while the bar is open until 1 AM every night, the kitchen closes at 10:30. So if you want some choice fluke (ceviche, with avocado, sweet corn, and lime, $11) with your Squid and the Whale (August 7th), you best save the date now.

The Farm on Adderley
1108 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn
(718) 287-3101

photo: the ever-popular, deceptively simple, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt pizza at Franny’s.

During the Wednesday-night rush hour, a steam pipe at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue exploded, sending steam, mud, and pieces of the street hundreds of feet into the air. One person died and at least 20 people were injured.

Initially, many people's first reactions were that it was a terrorist attack, what with the loud, thunder-like rumbling that shook buildings and the cloud of smoke and steam. People ran from the area of the explosion, evacuating their buildings and Grand Central Terminal in a rush. But about a half hour after the explosion (the first 911 call was reported at 5:57PM), NYPD confirmed that it was not a terrorist attack. Many people likened it to a volcano.

During a press conference last night, Mayor Bloomberg explained that the 24" pipe that had been installed back in 1924 and that it may have exploded because it came into contact with cold water. He also took time to praise New Yorkers, saying, "We couldn’t be prouder of our New Yorkers. The people that should respond knew exactly what to do and how to cooperate and work together, and the person in the street understood that we’re all here together and they knew not to panic. They rushed around, helped each other. It's what you would expect; it’s inspirational to all of us."

Asbestos, a known carcinogen, was a concern of city officials, but tests have come back showing no asbestos in the air, though some is present in the debris. Regular visitors to the area are familiar with steam vents and Con Ed workers along Lexington Avenue - here's a photograph of one of those steam pipes. It's unclear what the exact cause is so far, but we're sure we'll find out once the investigation is completed.

The City has created a "frozen zone" - 40th Street to 43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and Third Avenue - and will not allow people to enter the zone (though people already in the zone may leave): "As clean-up work progresses, the city will work to shrink the size of the frozen zone." And the city urges people not to visit the zone.

A crater about 15-feet-by-25-feet in size was left after the explosion. The truck's driver is in a medically induced coma, with burns to 80% of his body. The school bus seen in the photographs belonged to Pierce County Day Camp of Roslyn, L.I. - the Daily News reports "but luckily, the kids had been dropped off minutes earlier." The one fatality seems to be a woman who had a heart condition.

Subways, which were diverted last night, are running normally, with the exception of 4/5/6 and 7 service bypassing Grand Central and the S line being suspended. Buses with routes near the frozen zone are also affected. (Check MTA alerts here.)

The NY Times has an article on "Asbestos and Aging Pipes Remain Buried Hazards". One of our readers pointed out this was reminiscent of another deadly steam pipe explosion in Gramercy Park back in 1989.

Photograph at top by ~Raymond on Flickr; photograph at bottom of emergency responders inspecting the crater - and the red tow truck inside it - by Seth Wenig/AP

What do we make of the fact that the NY Times book critic Michiko Kakutani purchased a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a NYC bookstore yesterday and was able to sift through its 1.8 pounds to write a review in today's paper? There are no true spoilers, just confirmation that there is a fitting ending (but if you are worried about spoilers of any kind, don't read the blockquote):

J. K. Rowling’s monumental, spellbinding epic, 10 years in the making, is deeply rooted in traditional literature and Hollywood sagas — from the Greek myths to Dickens and Tolkien to “Star Wars.” And true to its roots, it ends not with modernist, “Soprano”-esque equivocation, but with good old-fashioned closure: a big-screen, heart-racing, bone-chilling confrontation and an epilogue that clearly lays out people’s fates.

The early sale of the final Harry Potter book has prompted American publisher Scholastic to pursue legal action against DeepDiscount.com and Levy Home Entertainment, as those retailers had shipped the book early. But we doubt that this will spoil the fun for all the Muggles looking to celebrate the book's release tomorrow night.

Tomorrow, starting at 5PM, Scholastic will open up Harry Potter Place (Mercer Street, between Prince and Spring Streets in Soho) where people can visit between 5PM and 11PM, see a Muggle Board and Whomping Willow, and mingle with wand-makers, magicians, jugglers and more. And there will even be a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Knight Bus where visitors can create videos about the Harry Potter books; the bus will be parked outside 557 Broadway between 10AM and 6PM tomorrow.

There are tons of midnight Hary Potter parties: Here's the Barnes & Noble locator for them (the big one is at Union Square, with Jim Dale, who narrates the audio books), and info from Border's. Children's book shop Books of Wonder has a big event, too.

Are you heading to Harry Potter book parties tomorrow night? Or are you hitting the streets to find a coveted early copy?

Today's morning subway and bus commute should be a lot smoother (unless you need to stop at Grand Central) than yesterday's messy commute. There were a number of subway disruptions and diversions due to flooding from the rain, which left many frustrated straphangers. But why did pouring rain stop the subway? Well, here's what the MTA says:

NYC Transit utilized portable pumps and pump trains to help clear 600 feet of 2-foot-deep water across all four tracks on the Queens Boulevard line near 65th Street in Queens today. As a result, service was restored on the E, F and R lines just before rush hour, although commuters should expect some delays.

MTA executive director and CEO Eliot "Lee" Sander said, "Today’s torrential downpours strained our infrastructure, but with unprecedented interagency cooperation we limited the inconvenience to the greatest possible extent. Recent investments in maintenance of drains and improved subway cleaning also paid off in limiting delays on the subway system.” Hmm, if yesterday was an example was limited delays, we don't want to know what unlimited ones are - thought we do remember, back in 2004, when Hurricane Frances visited, at least 10 subway lines were screwed. (And if the subway pumps weren't working at all, it could look like this.)

The MTA sent an email to riders last night, saying, "Due to potential weather-related flooding conditions over the next 24-36 hours throughout the MTA region, we suggest our customers continue to check the status of our rail, subway and bus services by listening to radio and television reports or clicking on our website at www.mta.info." LIRR employees were also pumping water out of many stations. And it was confirmed that a tornado touched down on Long Island's Suffolk County. Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said, "This should serve as a wake-up call [for people to prepare for hurricanes]. It's not a matter of if we're going to have a hurricane, it's a matter of when."

Photograph of the Steinway Street station's stairs by wtwallace on Flickr

Reading about the The Yes Men's activist exploits is kind of like reading about live action forum trolling. Their acts of identity correction, where they make outrageous, hilarious, and satirical claims while posing as spokespeople for companies such as ExxonMobil and Haliburton, have been covered by news agencies around the world and have helped expose the ludicrous behavior of corporations to the general public. Gothamist talked with Andy Bichlbaum, one of the leading members of The Yes Men to discuss one of their latest pranks- Vivoleum, which involved candles made of human flesh, a dead janitor, and a possible solution to the world's oil crisis.

What was the inspiration for Vivoleum ?
We had done an action about six months before in which we went to a conference on Gulf Coast Re-construction and presented, as Haliburton, a solution to fighting climate change, which was the SurvivaBalls , a suit that could protect corporate CEO's in any climate calamity whatsoever. We got a couple of audience members to put on this big round ball, which you can see pictures of on the website. It's this six foot round orb with these little grubby arms in front of them and you can see their faces sticking out of the front. We showed videos of these balls falling out of a building, swimming through floods, bounding through the Arctic, and being blown about by hurricanes. We thought this will really get a reaction and people will see how wrong and absurd of an idea it is that millions of people could be dieing in these horrible climate catastrophes and here's Halliburton saying, "CEO's can survive and here's how," but nobody did react badly. People just applauded and asked questions about whether these things would work against terrorism.

When we decided to do the Exxon thing we decided to do it in such a way that the audience couldn't possibly misunderstand. They'd have to viscerally see what we were talking about. So we brought these candles supposedly made of human flesh, showed a video that made it clear that they were made of human flesh, and talked about the billions of people who would die of climate change and how we'd have to use them as fuel. It was basically to lay it out very clearly so the audience would have to understand, and they did.

What, in your opinion, are some of the most surprising audience reactions that you've gotten?
There were three questions about the SurvivaBall. There was the one about terrorism, the next one was a technical question from someone who knew a bit about engineering and asked, "How are you going to get all these mechanical things in there and still have it bounce? You're going to have to build a tremendous amount of flexibility into the outer shell if you're going to build all of these weapons." That was pretty strange because the issue wasn't how we were going to make it work but whether if it should exist at all. The third question was how much it would cost.

Aleshia Smith was sentenced to more than two and a half years in prison for the 2006 death of her 4-year-old son Quachaun Brown. Authorities believe that Smith's 18-year-old boyfriend Jose Calderon beat the child after he knocked over the TV set on Friday, January 27; last year, the NY Times wrote the Calderon "grabbed [Brown] by the ankles, swung him and hurled him into the wall" and recent reports noted Calderon used his fists, a belt, and a plastic bat to bet the child. Calderon allegedly continued to beat Brown throughout the weekend.

Smith and Calderon only called the paramedics about three days later on Monday, January 30, 2006, and doctors determined that Brown had been dead for hours. It was also revealed that Smith had been investigated by the Administration for Children's Services many times before Brown's death.

Last month, Smith had pleaded guilty to failing to get prompt medical attention for her son. Her lawyer said she accepted the plea deal because prosecutors may have made her children testify against her. A lawyer for Calderon, who has pleaded not guilty to murder, claims Smith had beaten her son and that Calderon tried to stop the abuse.

Last year, the Norwood News had an article about the wake and funeral for Brown and spoke to a neighbor who said, “Sometimes we can’t look to ACS to always be there. We as a community have to be there.”

• Yankees 6, Blue Jays 1: Roger Clemens gave up a run in the first and didn't dazzle anyone with his brilliance during six innings, but that first-inning strike was all the Blue Jays would get. They would go on to rue their missed opportunities after Shaun Marcum controlled the Yankees for six innings before Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double to start a four-run eighth.

  What does this win -- the Yankees' fifth straight -- mean? It moved the Yankees to within seven games of the Red Sox in the American League East and six of the Indians in the wild-card race. The Yankees' lousy first half means they have almost no margin of error, but they play crummy teams for the next three weeks and could be right in the thick of things when all is said and done. That said, the Yankees have looked like they were playing better before, and then they went and dumped a road trip to the Rockies and the Giants. A wait-and-see approach is probably best.
  

• Padres 5, Mets 4: For five innings, the Mets received a not-so-friendly reminder of what Greg Maddux looked like when he pitched for the Atlanta Braves. Then they rallied against the Padres bullpen when Maddux got taken out early, only to lose the game late when Joe Smith gave up a Geoff Blum single. Atlanta's loss to Cincinnati kept the Braves 2 1/2 games back.


• Brooklyn 3, Williamsport 0: Dylan Owen, who just turned 21 six days ago, threw 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, and the Cyclones got enough offense for that. Owen also struck out seven and walked none before the bullpen came in and shut down the Crosscutters in 3 1/3 innings of no-hit relief.


• Mahoning Valley 8, Staten Island 5: Adam Olbrychowski, not yet 21, probably shouldn't have started the sixth inning. After allowing two runs through the first five, he ran into more trouble and got yanked with one out in the sixth. Justin Snider's 3-for-5 night that included a home run went to waste.
• Shock 87, Liberty 82 (OT): Five scorers in double figures couldn't help the Liberty, which lost its second straight game. New York played well enough during regulation but looked terrible in the extra session, when the Shock realized a little exertion would be enough to control the game.

More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders.

Mayor Bloomberg just called it a "failure of our infrastructure." There are 4/5/6 train service disruptions in Manhattan (no 6 between 59th and Brooklyn Bridge; no 4 between 86th and Brooklyn Bridge; no 5 - it's running on the 2); the S is suspended; the 7 is bypassing Grand Central in both directions (update from MTA). Metro-North is operating (use north entrance at Grand Central).

Our commenters have many insights, too.

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BREAKING 6:03PM: There are reports of an explosion near Grand Central Terminal. Apparently manhole may have exploded around East 48th and Third Avenue, with many people injured. Officer workers in the area tell us they were told to stay in their offices. Train traffic into Grand Central may be impacted as well.

1010WINS says on their website: "A large transformer has exploded at 41st Street between Third and Lexington avenues, according to the FDNY."

Traffic is being shut down in the vicinity and buildings are being evacuated.

Update 6:20PM: Some reports say that a steam pipe exploded on East 41st. The area between East 41st and 47th is being cleared. Metro-North service is running normal, but the 4/5/6 service may be diverted.

It's a 4th alarm fire situation, with two injuries (one may be a young man with burns).

A reader at Lexington and East 46th tells us that people are either walking uptown very quickly or standing around to take cameraphone pictures.

Update 6:32PM: The NYPD does not believe it was a terrorist attack. The AP reports, "A large column of gray smoke poured from the vicinity of a building near Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building, and the air near the site was filled with ash."

Reader Sean writes us:

I happen to live 3 blocks south of the explosion & it's right out my window. The scene is calm now that police have arrived. But my whole building is vibrating from the rumble of the high-pressure venting. There is steam spewing out of the ground at very high velocity (almost volcano-like); it has torn a 2 lane wide hole in Lex just north of 41st.

Update 6:51PM: Whoa - footage on the local news is crazy - steam is still erupting. A WABC 7 reporter says chunks of asphalt were spewing from the explosion. Another WABC reporter spoke to a person who lives on the 27th floor in a nearby building and saw rocks and debris flying up by his window!

Update 7:01PM: There are at least two people injured (possibly critically). While there are FDNY and NYPD units on the scene, the concern is now that there is asbestos contamination.

Update 7:07PM: Reader Nick sent us this video of the explosion. All we can say is whoa.

Update 7:14PM: WNBC 4 is reporting that Con Ed did turn off the steam to that pipe (there was an earlier report about not being able to turn off steam completely, or else there would be an explosion - not sure if that's still the case), but it'll take some time for the steam to stop escaping.

Reader dadoc explained that there was a similar steam explosion in 1989 at the corner East 20th & Third Avenue on a Saturday (three people were killed in that incident).

NYC Transit Authority spokesman Paul Fleuranges tells WNBC that there's no 4/5/6 service between Brooklyn Bridge and East 86th.

Update 7:42PM: The steam will be turned off slowly. MTA (and our readers) reports 4/5/6 service is suspended in both directions between 125th and Bowling Green. The local news stations keep bringing up how it's very much like September 11 when talking to witnesses.

And reader dadoc also points out a good graphic about the city's steam system from a 2005 Gothamist post. We're going to upload some info about the "water hammer" effect (here's a Wiki definition) in a few minutes.

Update 7:54PM: Now it's a 6 alarm situation. WNBC reports that one person taken to Bellevue has died. And Chopper 4 is showing a red tow truck in the hole, which is about 25 feet by 25 feet.

Update 8:07PM: Mayor Bloomberg is on his way to the scene. The Office of Emergency Management official speaking to WNBC pleads that the public should not come to the Grand Central area.

8:21PM: Mayor Bloomberg is speaking. A 24" steam pipe broke; the pipe was installed 1924. Cause seems to be cold water getting into the pipe. There are so many alarms and sirens going off, the press conference has temporarily halted. It's unclear where the cold water is from - this morning's rain or a water main break. No power outages (thanks to redundancies that cover the area), some Verizon outages. Too early to tell how long it'll take it fix, but the Mayor hopes it'll be relatively back to normal tomorrow. The big concern is that there may have been asbestos released in the air; they'll know in an hour, but one somewhat positive thing is that there was so much water, hopefully the water the trapped it.

Frozen zone is between 40th to 43rd Street, Vanderbilt and Third Avenues.

Emphasis on being cautious and not rushing out to the street. Would like public not to come to the area.

NYPD: Many street closures - traveling crosstown will is closed on many streets between 34th and 54/59th.

DEP: Erring on side of caution; air monitoring and sampling. Gives props to Con Ed for cleaning out their steam units. Hopes to have test results in hour or so.

Department of Health: Close windows. If there's AC, turn it on to recirculate the air. If people were exposed to debris, wash with soap and water. Put your clothes in a plastic bag. No way to test asbestos exposure yet, but be careful.

Back to Mayor, who says that he's proud of how New Yorkers reacted - from emergency responders to regular people on the street:

We couldn’t be prouder of our New Yorkers. The people that should respond knew exactly what to do and how to cooperate and work together, and the person in the street understood that we’re all here together and they knew not to panic. They rushed around, helped each other. It's what you would expect, it’s inspirational to all of us.

Update: Watching NY1's The Call, and one person pointed out there's a strong steam smell on the west side of Lexington Avenue near Grand Central and asks "Couldn't this have been anticipated?"

Reader Bill writes about his familiarity about the steam corner:

Con Ed had been working on that 41/lex corner for a while and much of the NE corner was covered by those gigantic steel plates (which were really hot—you could feel the heat radiating up through your shoes). Steam is always coming out of the ground there (and has been vented in the recent past through those orange chimney-like things). Also, a couple of weeks ago, I was heading into the office one morning and crossed that street in the heaviest steam cloud I’ve ever seen on an nyc street. When I got into the middle of it, it was a total whiteout condition and I was worried that I was going to walk into someone coming in the opposite direction.

Photograph at top of the steam on East 41st between Third and Lexington Avenues by Joseph Marty/AP; video by Nick Parish; middle photograph of tow truck in hole by WNBC; photograph at bottom by ~Raymond on Flickr