By Laura Shanahan

It’s unique! It’s a boutique! It’s the – what else? – Unique Boutique, a family owned-and-operated thrift store, located for your shopping convenience at 487 Columbus Ave., near 84th Street, and at 1674 Third Ave., near 94th.

Unique Boutique Thrift Shop
n 487 Columbus Ave.; Phone (212) 362-8877
n 1674 Third Ave; Phone (212) 427-0077
What’s special? Everything! A kaleidoscopically changing selection of steal-priced goods for your home and person, from all your favorite eras up to the present

Talk about opportunities for serendipitous browsing: “We’re putting out new things every day,” says Zachary Hassan, the exceptionally genial manager of the Columbus Avenue shop. “So come often – you never know what you’ll find.”
Since everything stocked, from home accessories to clothing, jewelry, books and more, comes from auctions, wholesalers, estate sales and donations from viewers like you – oops, sorry, I just channeled Channel 13 there for a moment – almost everything is one-of-a-kind, right?

Not “almost everything,” Zachary pointed out – “everything.” What about those half-dozen or so identical-looking glasses over there? “They’re just one set,” Zachary again correctly pointed out. (I would like him even if his somewhat uncommon name wasn’t my father’s middle moniker and even if we hadn’t had great fun noting all the famous Zacharys past and present.)

Ah, the donations. If you finished your spring cleaning and would like to divest yourself of your unwanted items, bring ’em on in at either location, and get a tax receipt in return.

Now then, here is a representative sampling of what you can expect to find. First – emit a high-pitched scream if you also love miniatures – a set of teeny-tiny glass mugs, complete with teeny-tiny handles. They’re the kind beer might come in, except these are – oh, great, the one set of items I didn’t measure – but I’m estimating just under 2-inches high. You can use them as wee shot glasses, or for cordials or perhaps as the new unit of measurement for the legal purchase of soda in the city. (Ho-ho, I actually support anything that may limit obesity and disease – call me crazy.) Pay just $8.99 for a set of four of these pebble-textured glasses in varying shades of rose and peach.

Is it a vase? Is it a very narrow liqueur glass? Pay just $8.99 again for this 8-inch tall very slender plum-colored column of glass, finely etched with a floral pattern – and it’s your call.

While the glassware and other small household items are especially intriguing, do not overlook the selection of books; $1 for paperbacks and $2 for hardcover. In the former category, I found such bestsellers as The Lovely Bones and Three Cups of Tea; but there are also more obscure tomes, which make for fascinating rifling.

Going from the cerebral to the skimpy, I spotted an almost illegally short stonewashed denim skirt by Tractor in size 10 that (whew!) turned out to be short-shorts trimmed with the most girly eyelet-trimmed pink ruffles; $8.99. A sleeveless white tank in size XL is banded across the chest with blue and purple stripes and reads “Gap Surf”; $2.99. Glam it up with a stretch bracelet of outsize faceted “turquoise” stones for $3.

Find lots of blue jeans for either gender, plus a good selection of summery men’s shirts. I thought the pallid-yellow cotton short-sleeve Gap shirt was almost too bland and blah until I flipped it around. Elaborately embroidered in black and red was a canoe, of all things, and the words “Est. 1969, Vintage River Canoe Tours, Classic Heritage.” Love it. And for $7.99.
Like Zachary says, come often. If you don’t see something you must have, you’re just not looking.

“Today, we are all breathing a sigh of relief as the suspect behind eight vicious muggings of Asian-American East Harlem residents has finally been apprehended by police,” Mark-Viverito said. “These brutal robberies have shaken all of us.”

FURRY FRIENDS FOR SALE!
This February, bring home a puppy or kitten without breaking the bank. Bideawee, the pet welfare center located on East 38th Street at First Avenue, will be holding a monthlong “Name your own price” sale. The sale is in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is Bideawee’s first adoption promotion this year.

Plus, if you think your brand-new pet is super-photogenic, Bideawee will be taking photos of each new adoption and putting them up for a public vote. The winner will have their pet featured as Bideawee’s Facebook timeline image. This promotion will run until Feb. 28.

DOT ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY BIKES
The DOT announced recently that they have teamed up with Delivery.com to provide 1,500 commercial cyclists with free bike lights, bells and reflective vests. Delivery cyclists from all over the city can attend one of the multi-language commercial bicyclist forums to receive the safety equipment. Other bicycle safety efforts include NYPD enforcement and inspector visits to businesses that use delivery cyclists. These inspectors serve to both inform and enforce regulations.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan notes, “Safety is everyone’s business, so it’s significant when the private sector steps up to the plate to make efforts in the public interest.”

Jed Kleckner, CEO of Delivery.com, is one of many who share in this sentiment. “In a city where food, groceries and wine can be at your doorstep in moments,” he said, “We empower the neighborhood economy by equipping our merchant partners with the right tools for making safe and speedy deliveries.”

TWO U.E.S. BAKERIES NAMED IN FOURSQUARE’S ‘BEST OF’ LIST
Foursquare, the social app that lets friends check in to restaurants, bars and other places, has sifted its data of more than three billion check-ins and pulled up a list of the best New York City has to offer—from best eateries and clubs to best sights and theaters. And there’s good news for Upper East Siders with a sweet tooth. Two of the top 10 New York bakeries are on the Upper East Side: Sprinkles Cupcakes on Lexington between 60th and 61st streets and Two Little Red Hens on Second Avenue between East 85th and 86th.

Both of these bakeries offer tempting cupcakes. At Sprinkles, many of the fans on Foursquare rave about the “best cupcake place in the city,” and suggest trying the Red Velvet. At Two Little Red Hens, fans love both the cakes and cupcakes, and suggest going for the “Brooklyn Blackout,” a dangerous, chocolaty confection.

SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY NEWS
On Wednesday, Jan. 30, MTA held its fifth Second Avenue Subway workshop at Temple Israel on East 75th Street. The meeting brought together MTA employees and contractors to discuss how negative impacts or effects from the construction can be mitigated.

“It’s impossible to build a subway here without disturbing the people and environment around us,” said MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu. “We’ve learned from past experiences that building on this scale requires more than a business-as-usual approach, and that working closely with the community is one of the best means of learning how we can become a better neighbor.”

Phase One of the new subway line, which will extend the Q line, is expected to be complete by 2016.

ST. THOMAS CHURCH
1 W. 53rd St.
Visit St. Thomas Church on Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. to see the annual Christmas pageant, put on by the Youth Group and Sunday School. The play is A New York Carol by Lucky Gold; admission is free and everyone is welcome.

TEMPLE EMANU-EL
1 E. 65th St.
A tradition at Temple Emanu-El is attending the lighting of candles during Chanukah. Starting on the night of Dec. 8 and going through Dec. 15, you can attend the lighting of the last candle at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 15.

ALL SOULS UNITARIAN CHURCH
1157 Lexington Ave.
Enjoy unique Christmas music when All Souls Unitarian Church hosts the concert “Creator of the Stars: Christmas Music from the Old World,” on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The music will be joyful hymns and chants that can transport listeners to the Renaissance. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased on their website at www.allsoulsnyc.org

CHURCH OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE
184 E. 76th St.
After the weekly 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. masses on Sunday, Dec. 16, the Church of Saint Jean Baptiste will be hosting a Christmas Brunch for everyone who attended.

CHURCH OF ST. AGNES
143 E. 43rd St.
Get ready to sing on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m., when the Church of St. Agnes hosts its annual hourlong sing-along, which will feature Advent and Christmas songs and hymns with Schola Cantorum and the Parish Choir.

ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL
460 Madison Ave.
Another Christmas tradition is the annual “A City Singing at Christmas” on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. Listen or sing along to classic and modern Christmas songs and hymns with the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, New York Master Chorale and New York Symphonic Brass. General seating is free and open to the public.

ST. BART’S
325 Park Ave.
Head over to St. Bart’s Church for a night of singing Christmas songs outside and drinking hot cider, on Dec. 17 starting at 5:30 p.m. Another special event that St. Bart’s is holding is the Adoration of the Magi, which takes place Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel.

LINCOLN SQUARE SYNAGOGUE
200 Amsterdam Ave.
The Lincoln Square Synagogue is holding a Chanukah Dinner on Dec. 14 and people can enjoy great food and desserts and listen to guest speaker Dr. Yoram Hazony. Then on Dec. 15 there will be a Chanukah Party for the youths of the community. Starting at 4:15 p.m., children can enjoy music, cookie decorating, applesauce making, latkes, dreidel making and menorah lighting.

ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
411 E. 68th St.
Be a part of some joyous singing on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. when you visit St. Catherine of Siena. The annual candlelight and sing-along service is always a tradition in the community.

ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA PARISH
980 Park Ave.
Visit St. Ignatius on Dec. 16, and see their annual Christmas concert, “Gloria!” People can enjoy some Christmas classics, such as “O Holy Night” and “Bambino.” The main presentation is John Rutter’s “Gloria,” which includes a brassy and extroverted masterwork.

HOLY CROSS CHURCH
329 W. 42nd St.
On Dec. 16 at 7 p.m., Holy Cross will be hosting its annual Christmas concert, and the proceeds raised will go to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy. This year the concert features renowned American soprano Aprile Millo. Tickets can be purchased at www.holycrossnyc.com
MADISON AVENUE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
921 Madison Ave.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, numerous events are being held at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. Carol singing takes place Dec. 16 at 4 p.m., and features the New York City Chorus. Rev. Dr. Fred Anderson will give a special sermon Dec. 23 at 11:15 a.m.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
135 E. 96th St.
Celebrate the season with their hourlong Christmas concert that includes sounds of the season on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Right after the concert, there will be a reception and a “surprise” visit by St. Nick.

CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION
221 W. 107th St.
After every mass on Dec. 16, downstairs in the church there will be breakfast with Santa. Children will have a fun-filled morning when they meet with Santa and take pictures with him.

CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
1 E. 29th St.
Celebrate a baroque Christmas at the Church of the Transfiguration on Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. With a selection of Christmas hymns and carols sung and performed by the Choir of Men and Boys, Girls, Camerata and Early Instrument Chamber Ensemble. Tickets are $25 for adults; $15 for students and seniors.

IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH
122 E. 88th St.
Ever wonder what Christmas is like in different countries? Immanuel Lutheran Church will be hosting a concert Dec. 16 at 11 a.m., featuring the children’s choir performing Christmas songs from numerous countries. After the performance there will be an international buffet, and people are encouraged to bring their own cultural dishes.

CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY
1393 York Ave.
Enjoy a morning of lessons and carols on Dec. 16 at 11 a.m., with the Church of the Epiphany. Throughout the morning, attendees will be doing readings, prayers and listening to seasonal music sung by the Cherub Choir and Epiphany Choir.

The cleanup begins at the South Street Seaport. Photo by Aaron Adler.

Want to help out with the hurricane relief effort but not sure how? Below are links to volunteer opportunities around the city as well as places accepting donations of blankets, batteries and nonperishable items. You can also consider donating money or blood at redcrossblood.org.

• List of blood drives in NYC
• JCorps Volunteering Lower Manhattan
• Help Stuyvesant Cove Park rebuild this weekend 
• Donate or volunteer at a NYC soup kitchen 
• Places to help out in Brooklyn

Harlem:

• Residence 47 St Nicholas Avenue, #4D between 112 and 113 (volunteering & donation)
• 938 St Nicholas Avenue, #25 corner of 157th and St Nicholas Avenue (volunteering & donation)

Downtown/Lower East Side:

• Community Access (donate & contact online for information)
• Lower East Side Recovers (check website for information)
• CAAAV 46 Hester Street, Frnt A 212-473-6485 (drop-off for food, water, batteries, clothing)
• The Bowery Mission 45-51 Avenue D, 212-777-3424  (drop-off for food, water, batteries, clothing)

Upper East Side:

• Rockaway Relief 85th & 2nd Ave at Molly Pitcher’s bar (accepting a variety of donations)

Upper West Side:

• Brandeis High School on West 84th Street (overnight volunteers)
• BJ Synagoguge 88th Street Sanctuary at 257 West 88th Street, Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m (donations of bottled water, non-perishable kosher food, toiletries, batteries, radios and blankets)
• BJ Office at 2109 Broadway, Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Friday from 9 a.m. to noon (donations of bottled water, non-perishable kosher food, toiletries, batteries, radios and blankets)

—Compiled by Alissa Fleck

Dr. Horodniceanu answers reporters' questions about Upper East Side explosion

“What happened yesterday was completely unacceptable and should not have occurred,” said Dr. Michael Horodniceanu, the president of MTA Capital Construction, the subsidiary agency in charge of the Second Avenue Subway construction project. “I’m really upset and angry that whatever happened put the residents in the area in [this] situation. We are continuing our investigation into exactly what happened.”

Horodniceanu said that preliminary findings show that the blast, which was designed to create an elevator shaft, got out of control because the 1,800 pound, 6-foot by 10-foot steel plate covering the tunnel above the explosives was not properly secured at its edges.

“The holes that were drilled in the rock outcrop that was blasted were diagonal. Normally we will do it in a vertical fashion,” he said, although the MTA has used this diagonal drilling at several other sites. “When you drill vertically, the energy that is created would go laterally. In this case it went vertically and actually aimed directly to the deck, to the southeast corner of the 72nd Street deck. The decking lifted and allowed rock to actually spread into the street.”

Aside from a few broken windows at an art gallery, there was no structural damage to the street or nearby buildings, and no one was injured at the site.

The MTA plans to take a number of steps to insure that this won’t happen again, Horodniceanu said. They will be adding protective rubber matting on top of underground blasts to further prevent the spread of debris, he said, and will also be expanding the areas from they ban pedestrians surrounding a blast site. They are also hiring an independent safety consultant and will be employing a blasting consultant more frequently, he said. None of these measures are expected to greatly increase the cost of the project or delay its December 2016 completion date, according to Horodniceanu.

“I truly would like to apologize to the residents of the area that have been exposed to numerous problems throughout the construction of this project, and I pledge to them that we’ll do our best for something like this not to occur again,” Horodniceanu said.

Street Fight
A Friday morning dispute between two men—a driver and a pedestrian—quickly escalated into violence, until both men were arrested. A 38-year-old man told police that a 48-year-old man’s car nearly hit him as he was crossing the street. As retaliation, the pedestrian began punching the driver’s car. This offense prompted the driver to jump out of his car and spit in the pedestrian’s face, police said. In a second moment of revenge, the other man hurled a punch at the driver’s face. The driver said he suffered a scrape on his face, and the pedestrian reported blood coming out of his nose.

Funny Money Tries at Bloomie’s
Counterfeit cash almost made the rounds at Bloomingdale’s last week, police said. In the first incident, which took place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, two young women and one young man, all in their late teens, attempted to pay for dresses, shirts, jeans and a bathing suit with fake bills. The cashier notified store security officers, who found a bag containing marijuana in the teens’ possession. All three were arrested.

In the second incident, which took place on Thursday just after 8 p.m., security spotted a 25-year-old man buying merchandise with counterfeit $100 bills. He attempted to leave the store with jackets, jeans, shorts and two T-shirts totaling $933 when security stopped him and he was arrested on the scene.

Skin Care Swipes
A 34-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man must have been serious about skin care, because they snatched a Rosaliac anti-redness moisturizer and a L’Oreal double-lifting cream from the Duane Reade on Third Avenue between East 73rd and 74th streets just after 4 p.m. on Thursday. One employee noticed the woman snatch the items from the shelf and place them inside a towel, and she informed her co-worker of the crime. The two employees ran outside to try to stop the woman and reclaim the products. In an attempt to hold on to the stolen creams, one of the culprits sprayed an unknown substance at the employees. The man fled the scene, but the woman was arrested, and both skin care products, totaling $55, were recovered. One of the employees was taken to the hospital.

Woman Mugged
A 28-year-old woman was walking home along East 82nd Street near Third Avenue at 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday when a man asked her what appeared to be an innocent question: “What time is it?” After the woman responded, the man grabbed her purse and dragged her from the sidewalk into the street. When the strap broke on the woman’s purse, the man started running eastbound. Hoping to retrieve her bag, the woman ran after him, prompting the man to toss the woman’s wallet on the ground. The bag, still in the man’s possession, contained three debit cards, $80 in cash and a New York State driver’s license.