As noted in our newsletter this morning, on this day in 1953, the first commuter passenger service by helicopter began. New York Airways provided a lift for busy folks who wanted to avoid traffic.
So the Keith Haring tribute mural has been buffed, and currently the Brazilian street art duo (and twin brothers) Os Gemeos (real names Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo) are creating their own mural in its place (Animal has photos of the work in progress).
Coney Island already has Michael Jackson’s Dragon Wagon Kiddie Coaster (albeit only temporarily), but now they want another piece of the King of Pop! Don't stop til you get enough, etc. ATZ reports there's an opportunity to snag a Neverland ride on a permanent basis, as the bumper cars designed for and by Michael Jackson are up on the auction block at eBay. The man behind the auction is carnival owner Earl “Butch” Butler, who brought the aforementioned Dragon Wagon to town. The bidding is currently at $46,100.00 (and has not met the reserve price), and the Coney folks are suggesting Mayor Bloomberg buy it as a gift for the City of New York. Should Coney Island consider a new design plan: Neverland II?
Reportedly Will Smith and I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence may be teaming up for another Manhattan-centric blockbuster called The City That Sailed. The plot involves Smith, once again, destroying New York... but this time for love, not zombies. You see, according to Variety, his street magician character is also a father, "who lives on the opposite side of the ocean from his daughter. Their bond is so strong that it causes Manhattan to split off and float across the Atlantic." A strong bond, indeed, but is it as strong as Americans' bond to ridiculous blockbuster star vehicles? Count us in! We're excited to see it just to find out how the hell Manhattan squeezes between Governors and Ellis Islands.
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Awww, the Wildlife Conservation Society has released the first photos of the new Bronx Zoo sea lion pup! Born to mom Clarice on June 23rd, you can see the little one (and the other sea lions) get fed at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. We have yet to hear back about the name or sex of this new pup, what do you think (s)he should be called?
TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi first came into town from Chicago in 2003 to perform "TJ and Dave" at a couple of the local improv theaters, blowing away improv regulars and longtime performers alike with their two man show, the closest thing most people had seen to a legitimate, improvised one act play. For the last three and a half years, they've had a run at the Barrow Street Theater, where they've been able to draw theater crowds beyond the usual improv comedy variety. Their show has been described by a Chicago weekly as "an hour of subtle character development, verbal facility, and pantomimic agility that anticipates and plays off the audience's reactions" and by our own John Del Signore when he reviewed it as "a boldly imaginative high-wire act." This weekend they'll be performing it at the Barrow Friday through Sunday.
Hipsters: make yourselves useful. The hipsters in London are doing way cooler things than you and to be honest, it's quite embarrassing. Look at these dumpster conversions: pools, gardens, ping pong tables, stages, skateboarding ramps... you name it.
For the first time ever the Museum of the City of New York is opening its "romantic sunset Terrace—overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park—for summer fun with a Prohibition Era-themed Speakeasy serving up classic cocktails and Roaring 20’s dancing music." The classy debauchery will take place every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 p.m., starting next Wednesday the 15th. They've even renamed the joint, so if you're in the know you'll call it the Speakeasy at 1220 Fifth. Which sort of gives it away. Anyway, the $12 admission includes one free drink and access to current exhibitions. Food will also be available for purchase. Here's a list of other museums that get boozy after dark.
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Hey, pretend it's the '50s and you're reading this article in a newspaper titled "Who’s That With Baby at the Y? Why, It’s Daddy." Wait, shouldn't daddy be at the office with his briefcase while mommy is with the baby at the Y, or preferably in the kitchen making dinner and starching shirts?
Yesterday New York-based band stellastarr* released their 3rd album, Civilized, the four-piece's much anticipated first release since 2005. And with that they're off on tour—if you missed their secret kick-off show at Mercury Lounge last night, they'll be back on the 16th at Highline Ballroom. But you can follow them along on Twitter so you don't miss them til then. Recently bassist Amanda Tannen told us about the new album, fans naming their first born after the band, and how they'll never get sick of playing "My Coco."
As Michael Jackson memorialmania continues to sweep the nation, nay, The World, here's a nice little tribute that recently went down at the Trinity Wall Street Church. That's right, the June 28th service included "Beat It," "ABC," and other hits from MJ's catalogue.
Wonder if they filmed this in the Hotel Chelsea... Zooey Deschanel (friend of Gothamist) does a pretty good Sid Vicious impersonation in this Cinemash short! She teamed up with her latest co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Nancy, of course, for a mashtacular presentation of both Sid & Nancy and their upcoming rom-com 500 Days of Summer. Who knew the crooning Cotton spokesgoddess could so convincingly pull a knife and successfully terrify us! But would Nancy have really worn that bunny sweatshirt? [via Pitchfork]
A healthy marriage came from the age of free love! The Daily News reports that the couple from that iconic Woodstock image, which was like The Kiss in Times Square for hippies, are still together.
Having worked tirelessly to end global warming, nuclear proliferation, and that horrible Guinea worm disease, hipsters can at last enjoy a well-earned childish diversion. This Sunday the Seattle chapter of the Cardboard Tube Fighting League (yep, it exists) will be hosting a tournament! Everyone's invited to dress up like knights in cardboard armor and smack each other around with tubes, which will be provided by the organizers. (No outside tubes are permitted, to prevent contestants from causing any non-ironic injuries with doctored tubes.) Afterward, everybody will not get laid.
As the battle for the Gowanus Canal continues, and Superfund supporters bring their campaign from doorsteps to YouTube, the NY Times looks at the canal as one man's artistic muse (and it's not the first time).
Remember phone booths? Not pay phones, but the actual booths you got into in order to access that phone. Well, according to Scouting NY there are only four left in all of Manhattan! Because who needs privacy anymore? Well, maybe Clark Kent. But when movies film here they often have to recreate their phone booth scenes with props. Sigh, just another little thing dropping off the landscape of the city. This site has a great archive of pay phones and booths around the five boroughs, and Forgotten NY takes a nostalgic look back on booths of the past. If you want to see a rare booth in person the remaining ones are at 101st, 100th, 90th and 66th streets.
Photo via Scouting NY
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Before MTV made the full switch to becoming a universe inhabited by the Spencer Pratts and Tila Tequilas of the world, there was a strange moment in the late '90s when the network appeared to be at a crossroads. After years of serving as the launching pad for models-turned-VJs, one face on the network stuck out like a sore thumb when he arrived on the scene—Matt Pinfield's. Pinfield quickly made a name for himself as the only guy on the air who appeared to be completely serious and passionate about the music he played, as he would sputter off obscure punk references while engaging bands in ways they were unaccustomed to when dealing with MTV. He went from hosting the weekly alternative video show, 120 Minutes, to appearing on-air so often at one point that the Post joked they just give him his own daily block and call it "360 Minutes."
Imagine waiting for the subway to arrive and hearing the pleasant sounds of nature. Running water, chirping birds, the rustling of leaves... the NY Times reports that this could all be a reality at the 96th and Broadway subway station in a little over a year. The public art project proposal is on the verge of MTA approval, and "the sounds, broadcast on a loop by hidden speakers in the above-ground headhouse, would be one component of an art installation intended for the station that draws on the ideas and iconography of Asian pop art and contemporary graphic design." Construction on the station is expected to be complete by the fall of 2010, and at that time the hope is to also have the project unveiled—complete with an arched glass-and-steel structure housing nearly 200 stainless-steel flowers that will sway in the entryway. Even though the aforementioned calming sounds will be drowned out by trains from time to time, could this all make commuters less tense? You know, as long as there are no mockingbird sounds?
Is this the year for Queens to shine? Richmond Hill was just voted the best place in the state to buy an old house, and the title comes from none other than This Old House magazine (the show recently did their first ever NYC renovation in Brooklyn). A spokeswoman for the mag told NY1, "We picked Richmond Hill Queens because it's got lots of old homes that retain their beautiful original period details like wrap around porches and interesting siding details and things like that." She also notes that a starter home there will likely cost you less than $300,000. And what's this? The founder of the Richmond Hill Historical Society says, "for the price of a studio in Manhattan or in Park Slope or parts of Brooklyn, you can get an entire house here complete with a pool and porch. And maybe if you are lucky, a sleeping porch on the second floor." Okay, we were sold with the whole sleeping porch thing, but would you make the move? Either way, maybe this will help get the district landmarked, which has been an ongoing battle for over a decade. And perhaps This Old House can help out Far Rockaway next.
The house at 59 Orient Avenue in Brooklyn has seen brighter days. After being featured in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as Kate Winslet's apartment, the 1899 era home quickly turned into a Club Med for meth addicts and squatters alike—which predictably didn't please the neighbors. But the house just went back on the market, and now that Michel Gondry is living on the block, is there hope? Will the director be unable to bare the sight of his Clementine's home getting turned over to the riff raff again? Probably. But just incase, Flavorwire has pleaded with him to purchase it. Here are some interior shots from the last time it was up for grabs—Gondry's imagination may be the only thing that can save this place.
Well, it lasted longer than it was supposed to: the Keith Haring tribute mural that went up last April on Houston and Bowery is being whitewashed today. The mural went up to celebrate what would have been the artist's 50th birthday, it underwent a modification by his former collaborator in July 2008, and was meant to be down by this past December, according to Animal NY. We contacted Deitch Projects, who along with the Keith Haring Foundation commissioned the recreation of the artist's piece, to find out what might go up on the wall next. We'll update the post when we hear back, but in the meantime, expect it to be tagged by some enterprising young street artists by sun up.
Did the Wall Street Journal post an Onion News Network video by accident? Nope, they actually went to Williamsburg to "get the skinny on skinny jeans for men" (their words). The video is after the jump, and at 48 seconds in you'll meet the guy who started it all (how exciting!), he says he's been wearing skinny jeans "forever," but he adds that it only became a trend in 2003ish, after it was already a trend in the '60s, or sometime before Uniqulo started carrying them. But he was born in them. He also gives a big "WTF?!" look to the camera later on when discussing the charlatans who wear their skinny jeans with sneakers. Well, with a little help from Darwinism, the skinny jean set won't make it through the century, doctors have repeatedly warned against how they cause tingling thigh syndrome (especially when worn with uncomfortable shoes).
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New York artist Justin Baldwin does his best work underground in the subway system. Unlike many who use their Metrocard to gain access to a city full of straphanging subjects, however, he merely uses the subway car as his studio, not to find models. He recently told us a little about his process.
Last night, the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks headed to the Hudson River. There were colorful displays, including smiley faces, cubes, Saturn shells and star dust, set off from six barges. Here are some photographs of the show—while folks along the East River were disappointed the show wasn't there this year, they could still see a bit of the pyrotechnics.
Joey Chestnut is now well on his way to a Kobayashi-like dynasty after winning his third consecutive Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut jumped out to an early lead on his archrival Takeru Kobayashi and never looked back on his way to a new record of 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Kobayashi did everything he could to hold pace with Joey Jaws, setting his own personal record with 64 1/2 dogs—both men eclipsing the mark of 59 they both hit to send them into overtime a year ago. Chestnut even broke the 2007 record of 66 dogs that he set back when the old rules gave competitors an extra two minutes in regulation.
In the warmup to today's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, yesterday there was the pachyderm vs. homosapien showdown over eating Nathan's Hot Dog Buns. And perhaps to no one's surprise, Ringling Bros. Circus elephants Bunny, Susie and Minnie ate 505 buns in six minutes—while Juliet Lee, Gravy Brown and Eric "Badlands" Booker could only chow down 143. Circus production manager Jason Gibson told the Daily News he was confident, "Our girls train every day. They eat 150 to 200 pounds of food a day. I knew they'd do fine," said Jason Gibson, circus production manager.
The new Bravo reality show NYC Prep has been ridiculed in many places, but it's mostly bringing shame to the schools where the students/reality show's players attend. In a NY Times Styles section article, parents are uttering things like, “Absolute garbage,” and "Like a bad ‘Dynasty’ episode," about the show that features spoiled teens (including ones who are amazed that teachers wants students "to, like, study during Christmas break") at private schools Nightingale-Bamford School, Dwight School, Birch Wathen Lenox School and the Ross School (in East Hampton) and public school (GASP!) Stuyvesant High School. Administrators are aghast while some parents are upset seeing the show's teens "spend most of their time scheming, partying, eating in expensive restaurants and shopping for $2,000 skirts." But the best quote is from the author of a private school guide, who says, "The schools on this show are all at the bottom"—top schools being Dalton, Brearley, and Collegiate—"There would never be a Brearley girl on this show." Thank goodness for snobbery!
With all this rain it may not seem very much like summer out there lately, but hopefully by the 4th will be all sunshine and fireworks. Here are some old images of New York City on Independence Day, courtesy of LIFE's photo archive. Man, people really packed on to those beaches!
Tomorrow night is the 33rd annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks. As we all know, the fireworks will take place over the Hudson River this year, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the river's exploration by Henry Hudson. Expect a dazzling display of 45,000 shells (which will explode a rate of more than 1,500 per minute) from six barges, which is the most barges that Macy's has ever used. Fireworks designer Gary Souza told the Post that the Hudson "gives us a broader area to launch the fireworks from and makes the show that much more spectacular. It's one of the biggest and best shows we've ever put together."
John Adams once wrote to his wife Abigail, "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival." July 2nd? The authors of Inside the Apple remind us that America actually declared its independence from Great Britain today. Before you clock out, however, they also add that "only 12 of the 13 original colonies had voted to declare independence on July 2—the delegates from the thirteenth colony, New York, did not feel they had been invested with such power and retreated from Philadelphia to discuss their options. Meanwhile, on July 4, the Continental Congress agreed to print the Declaration." On July 9th a copy arrived here, where George Washington's troops were stationed, and it was on that day that New York agreed to be the thirteenth and final colony to declare independence. And yes, this totally means we should celebrate Independence Week from July 2nd to 9th! Someone draft a petition, it's what Thomas Jefferson would have done. In the meantime, check out the Beach Boys rocking Central Park on July 2nd, 1967.
According to Rihanna Buff (your ultimate online Rihanna news source?), the singer was in the East Village yesterday getting tattoo lessons at East Side Ink. The fan blog reports, "All the black she’s been wearing is getting kind of repetitive, but I can deal with it." So understanding. Anyway, she was allegedly there for a sketching class; could Rihanna be looking for a second career? You know what...Rihanna says, "Just live your life/ay ay ay/Intead of chasing that paper." However, she does have an $18,000 a month rental in SoHo to pay for. UPDATE: TMZ went and ruined the fun, they posted about the illegality of Rihanna touching a needle without a license, and now the NYC Health Dept. are sending someone down to the shop. Meanwhile, the singer could be charged with three misdemeanors.
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Has the world gone mad? Gwyneth Paltrow, who once loved NYC (but lately has soured on America), is calling Spain her second home. In a recent interview she said, "Here in the United States an old building is about 17 (years old), and over there it's from 500 B.C. It's incredible." Celebs do tend to be anti-development. She also noted that people enjoy life more there, as opposed to New Yorkers, who run around too much punching the keys on their BlackBerries. Meanwhile, Miss Manhattan herself, Sarah Jessica Parker might be moving to Brooklyn! Rumor has it that her and the family may have purchased Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany's double-wide, 9-bedroom townhouse at 17 Prospect Park West (pictured). Don't worry Manhattan, you'll still have Madonna and her chickens.
Last night, Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater was dedicated to the memory of Michael Jackson, one of the biggest stars to be discovered at the legendary West 125th Street venue. Impersonators and fans took turns showing off MJ moves. Here's video from USA Today of some of the highlights:
Gantry Plaza State Park: you had us at hammocks. Seriously, the people in charge of the Williamsburg waterfront park need to take a cue from the Queens West waterfront, which Curbed reports took a big step today from "casually-accepted planned community to, dare we say, desired urban oasis." Alongside the aforementioned hammocks are lounge chairs, a promenade, the Pepsi sign, and sweet lush green grass. Now if only the fireworks were on the East River this year, we'd suggest staking a spot out now.
Click on the film stills above for more on this weekend's new releases and repertory screenings, which also include Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, I Hate Valentine's Day, Local Color, Nollywood Babylon, The Beaches of Agnes, The Girl from Monaco, Tony Manero, A Clockwork Orange, Newsies, The Royal Tenenbaums, Mississippi Mermaid, BAMcinématek's Afro-Punk Festival, and Willie Nelson's 4th of July Celebration.
What once housed the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, a slew of dentist offices, and now luxury condos, will take on yet another purpose: wedding hall. The Brooklyn Paper reports that "the landmark ground floor of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building will open in September as a sumptuous catering hall for weddings." Mmm sumptuous. They'll also host your bar mitzvahs, corporate Christmas party, or any other high-end special events. Prices start at $15,000 to book the beautiful space in Fort Greene, which will be called the Clocktower at One Hanson (despite being many floors below the clocktower); the booker called that figure "Brooklyn-sensitive pricing."
Hey New York, you may be clearing out the fridge for beer and hot dogs in preparation for our nation's birthday, but let's not forget about America's hat, eh? Today is Canada Day, and we asked everyone's favorite anchor, Pat's Papers and NY1's Pat Kiernan, for some tips on how we could all celebrate his native country.
Pat Kiernan’s 5 Tips for New Yorkers to celebrate Canada DayContinue reading "NY1's Pat Kiernan Tells Us How to Celebrate Canada Day"
Today we're giving away a pair of tickets for the upcoming All Points West Festival. The weekend of music starts on July 31st, and details to win tickets are in today's GothamList newsletter—just sign up, and you'll also get our daily event listings. We'll pick a winner at random, and if you don't win, we'll have two more pairs to give away in the near future! You can get today's newsletter when you sign up.
The Queens hip-hop legends Run-DMC are heading back to their hometown streets. Well, not quite, but there will be a symbolic renaming of a street corner in Hollis, CityRoom reports. The spot will be at the corner of 205th Street and Hollis Avenue and will be dubbed Run-DMC JMJ Way, with an extra special tribute to the late Jam Master Jay who was murdered in Queens at the age of 37. (Animal has a mock-up of what the tribute may look like!) With the Hollis Hip Hop Museum (housed in the former Hollis Famous Burger) just down two blocks away from the corner, could the area see a boom of visitors? Queens councilman Comrie hopes so, he told the site: “It is my sincere hope that this street renaming, combined with the museum, will help to economically revitalize this particular neighborhood as a potential tourism attraction." At least Run-DMC are finally getting their due, they were even inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Yesterday, thousands of Michael Jackson fans waited to celebrate the pop legend's life at the Apollo Theater. They waited hours to enter the venue where Jackson and his brothers were discovered in 1967—they cried, sang, danced, and cheered in his memory. According to the Daily News, the Reverend Al Sharpton "scoff[ed] at critics who continue to portray" Jackson as a "freak and child molester" in his "fiery eulogy painting the entertainer as a trailblazing phenomenon," saying, "Michael opened the door to us and we won't let them close the door on you."
Arrested Pug Owner Fired Over Anti-Semitic Allegation
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NYCLU: Schools Are Safer Without Metal Detectors
Gotham Cops Collar Vigilante Batman, Superman In Times Square!
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