6 New Civil Court Justices in Manhattan Inducted for New Terms Starting Jan. 1
Six new civil court justices, who were elected in November have been inducted for their new terms starting Jan. 1, including Crystal Villasenor, Ilona Coleman, Allison Greenfield, Elizabeth Shamas, Malaika McLaughlin and Ralph Wolf. Gerald Leibovits, meanwhile leaves that bench for NY County Supreme Court.
| 09 Dec 2024 | 11:46
Max Tucci’s new restaurant Tucci’s in NoHo opened its doors in March. (
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Meatball dishes are a favorite at Tucci’s run by Max Tucci. (
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Civil Inductions: At the end of November former Civil Court Judge Gerald Leibovits was inducted to New York County Supreme Court after having been elected in November by almost four hundred thousand vote margin (not 4,000 as incorrectly reported in my last column).
December’s the charm for the newly elected NY County Civil Court judicial inductions. All inductions take place at the Civil Court House at 111 Centre Street. And the newly elected inductees are Crystal Villasenor, Ilona Coleman, Allison Greenfield, Elizabeth Shamas, Malaika McLaughlin, Ralph Wolf. They were all unopposed running on the Democratic line in the November 5 election. Their terms commence on Jan. 1, 2025. Thanks to Upper West Side Democrat and forever Judicial Delegate extraordinaire Alan Flacks for keeping and disseminating a list of judicial names and happenings.
Welcome back kosher: Patis Bakery, the one at Lexington between E. 88 St. and E. 89th Street is back. Opened around the time of Covid, it was a neighborhood favorite until it closed unexpectedly within the last year.
Patis’s kosher bona fides makes it appealing to those who are observant. The UES/Yorkville neighborhood is chockful of other really good coffee go-to’s like Ole and Steen, Corrado’s, Patisserie Vanessa, Le Pain Quotidian, Paris Baguette, among others. And while not a coffee shop, Subway’s Java Bar is worth a visit for the best French Vanilla coffee. And if you want it iced, just go over to the soda dispenser and hit the ice dispenser. Oversized cookies and six-foot sandwiches are what you get at Subway. Oh, there are churros and footlong specials, but they don’t beat the pastries or soups or sandwich varieties at Patis or the other bakeries. And look to Patis for their Friday challahs, super soups, especially potato leek, and mini pizzas. Again, welcome back Patis.
Steak still in vogue: Vegetarians, pescatarians, vegans have their picks on NY menus. In some cases, there are restaurants offering only non-meat menus. Steakhouses are not taking a backseat. Not only are they expanding their menu choices, but they’re unabashedly upping the prices. Recent visits to the famed Delmonico’s in FiDi, Tucci’s at 643 Broadway in Noho (The owner Oscar “Max” Tucci is named after his grandfather, the last Oscar Tucci, at the time the owner of the world famous Delmonico’s) and Rocco Steakhouse, the 27th and Madison Ave favorite, has added Rocco 106 E. 57th St. (former BLT Space and prestigious Dorchester Co-Opt.) located between Park and Lex, Rocco is swanky and spectacular. They all share hearty steak offerings. And pricey in the $75+ category, but that hasn’t stopped the crowds clad in NY very casual–jeans, tees, backpacks–or NY’s high-end fashionistas donned in Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, and the like. Whatever they’re wearing, they turn out in droves, starting at 8 p.m. at the original Rocco Steakhouse and the newest one that opened on E. 57th St. last fall.
What I haven’t seen on any, or many, steakhouse menus is the bone-in filet mignon. But the one at Rocco’s was spectacular. Rare, as ordered, it was juicy, flavorful and great to have filet mignon with bone-in. For those who want to go vegetarian, the broccoli rabe is spectacular. And so are the old-fashioned desserts.