Downtown Express photo by Jefferson Siegel

Aasif Mandvi of “The Daily Show,” right, and fellow actors took a comedic look at Purim Saturday night, March 22, the first sneak performance at the 92nd Street Y’s Tribeca center.

Tribeca gets its Y
By Josh Rogers
A middle-aged woman with panic in her voice crossed Canal St. near a Holland Tunnel entrance Saturday night. “I don’t like this neighborhood — it’s deserted,” she called out almost in desperation.

Lola wants live music; S.L.A. sings different tune
By Barrett Zinn Gross 
It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, or so the saying goes. But is it over at Lola, the beleaguered Soho restaurant, without the fat lady — or any person of any size or gender, for that matter — ever having crooned a tune?

One animal shelter’s a little rock, the other classical
By Sebastian Kahnert
Ophelia is on display in the storefront window of Animal Haven Soho, basking in the warm afternoon sun and chewing on a beef tendon while passers-by stop and peek inside.

City Council mostly supportive of traffic pricing
By Albert Amateau
Billed as the best chance to relieve the street-choking traffic on Manhattan’s busiest streets during weekday business hours, the proposed congestion pricing program came before a City Council public hearing on Monday, at times with standing room only, that lasted well into the evening.