Extra, Extra

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: person under train in Brooklyn, stabbing on the Upper West Side, shootout in the Bronx, and shots fired at Sheepshead Bay High School.
There are 12,779 yellow cabs in NYC-- plus "an additional 22,900 car-service vehicles, 10,400 'black cars,' and 4,200 limousines."
DeMarco's Pizza, scene of the Greenwich Village shooting last week, opened unexpectedly this weekend-- the owners had said it would be closed down for good.
An anonymous donor has set up a $100k scholarship in honor of Eugene Marshalik, one of the auxiliary officers killed in the shooting.
Has the 47/50 Street Rockefeller Station been secretly renamed?
Sounds like the hated Meat Packing Billboard may have to come down-- it's apparently not correctly angled towards the street.

And a note from the Publisher: Gothamist is looking for a new weekend editor. Responsibilities include writing 10 posts per day on Saturday and Sunday and organizing the flow of contributions from other writers. The pay is competitive with blog-writing gigs for other NYC media companies. Requirements: real blogging experience, a serious appetite for NYC-related content, and a genuine love for the city. This job can be done from anywhere within the five boroughs, but you may be called downtown to meet with us once or twice a month. If you're interested, email Jake (at) Gothamist-- no attachments please-- just a short paragraph about you and a few links to relevant work on the web.

Bleak, by Justin on Chromogenic.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jake Dobkin in Miscellaneous on March 24, 2007 6:15 PM

Comments [rss]

hah

blogging ain't easy my ass... anyone with a pulse and a smug sense of self-importance can link to other websites and not do any actual original reporting.

Think twice

Having the private sector sponsor the maintenance of subway stations is what the MTA should have pursued decades ago.

I used to take 47-50 St/Rockefeller Center every day and loved the outer mezzanine with its shops, banks, private security, and zealous cleaning crew. All of it in Rockefeller Center's signature Art-Deco interior design & signage. And well maintained because Rockefeller Center has a reputation to uphold.

However, once you went through the turn-styles into the subway station proper...blech. The interior mezzanine and platform was everything we've come to expect from the MTA. Grimy floors, peeling paint, falling tiles, et cetera. But hey, the original, untouched IND system architecture still retains all the charm & warmth of a detention center, psych ward, or housing project.

(The stark contrast between the interior and exterior mezzanine symbolized, for me at least, the difference between public and private entities. The IND subway was a socialist endeavor and it's stations are pragmatic and utilitatrian in design. While Rockefeller Center, a temple to capitalism, is lavish and glamorous.)

Rockefeller Center has been getting free publicity ever since "47-50 St/Rockefeller Center" was built. Now more so with this "Top of the Rock" name dropping. Rockefeller Center should be giving it's visitors a seemless experience; from the train doors all the way to the ice-skating rink and the station's namesake and the companies in its vicinity should be investing in its upkeep or else the MTA should strike Rockefeller Center's name off of the station name and make no mention of "Top of the Rock". It's only fair.

AchenbaumsFolly

Imagine spending $400 a night (or whatever it costs to stay at the Hotel Gansevoort), and walking in to your room only to face a massive billboard? One that is lit with spotlights at night? Depressing. That side of the hotel already is awful because it's where the loud HVAC system is located, the garbage is piled and picked up, and restaurant fumes flow. People aren't stupid -- there's no reason to at a tacky, loud, insulting hotel that's not integrated into the fabric of a great neighborhood. They're going to stay elsewhere.