City Council, pass the community board reforms! We strongly support these reforms. Community boards are weak at best. At worst, they are dominated by self-interested or deeply biased individuals who directly, systematically oppose the residential majority of the community. It's time to re-draft the blueprints that permit such corruption to destroy our neighborhoods!

We sympathize for the business owners affected by the Harlem explosion, and we feel it's reasonable for the city to avail low/zero-interest emergency loans to help them out temporarily. But in the end, this is an issue for insurance and, possibly, for ConEd or the negligent landlords to rectify, not the city government.

In other neighborhoods, yesterday's 65° weather was an exciting taste of spring. For us >Lower-East-Siders, it was an omen of the out-of-control nightlife violence that summer brings. Two fights broke out outside of the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side Monday night. One was an old-fashioned broken bottle duel, the other a violent attack of a female by a male. The Hotel's own security guards didn't even intervene--guards from across the street did! And it goes without saying in this neighborhood, the cops didn't show up until everything died down. Yet further examples of how >Lower-East-Siders are being run roughshod by bar operators in collusion with a corrupt Community Board 3 and NYPD Precinct 7, threatening the fragile economic progress made in the previous decade.

>Lower-East-Siders applaud the persistent efforts of Ms. Boyd and the LES Dwellers to awaken and galvanize our community. We sense a turning-of-the-corner in LES quality of life thanks to their efforts, and look forward to further progress in 2014!

As >tv-commercial-connoisseurs, we love how far this small-town lawyer pushed the envelope. It's got suspense, intrigue, crooks, name-calling. Calling out the local judge breaks down the fourth wall of TV commercials (which prevent them from making any references to reality) with a wall-breaking righteousness not seen since Berlin! However, as decent people, we feel that using the death of one's family members to peddle your legal services is a low point for commercials. For shame. That's just bad.

Any >san-francisco-49ers hurt that they lost to the >seattle-seahawks better get over it real soon, because the >denver-broncos are definitely going to get steam-rolled at the Super Bowl. Top defense wins. Statistics don't lie. Also, Seattle has better doctors, apparently. Which just further proves... something about doctors.

Something that has always been said about us New Yorkers is that we take care of each other in times of need. It's therefore disappointing to see that as of January 2nd, New York Cares has received only 20% of the 104,000 coats requested. It's too cold out there , let's pull together and spread some warmth.

We're relieved the NY SAFE Act was upheld. It brings sensible rules to gun ownership in the wake of recent mass shootings, while respecting the individual's right to self-defense.

If people of religion have a right to voice their opinion, then so should people of no religion. While incendiary and provocative, the message voiced by the American Atheists is not "hateful", as NY state senator Andrew Lanza said.

Lower East Siders, revolt! It's unconscionable that the chair of Community Board 3 has censored a community group (the LES Dwellers) for the horrible crime of Engaging Other Governmental Agencies. CB3 is losing relevance, and this act only reduces their credibility as well. What's most astounding is to imagine how CB3 must envision itself. They ultimately serve at the privilege of the community, not the other way around! We deserve better than this! We demand that Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and District 1 Council Member Margaret Chin reel them in!

No sympathy for the NYC motorcycle mob. The video (referenced below) shows them to be an aggressive, reckless and threatening mob of immature "stunt" motorcycle Neanderthals that intimidated and ultimately beat a man in front of his wife and 2 year old. Barring some new evidence, it's clear they instigated the confrontation, and deserve to be punished. The man was defending his family from a life-threatening situation (they slashed his tires when he stopped after he collided with a rider, who's license had previously been revoked and who appeared intent on being hit), and therefore was within his rights to act as he did. Many motorcyclists are law-abiding courteous users of public roads. But some are obnoxious idiots, especially when in a pack, who routinely flout traffic laws and/or intentionally disturb the peace of residential neighborhoods. Those guys don't deserve the privilege of a driver's license.