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January 31, 2008
Rudy Giuliani's poor showing in the presidential campaign has plenty of people giving their opinions on why it all went wrong. Bronx residents gave the NY Times an earful about the former mayor ("I was waiting for this moment — he stinks...Giuliani was always for himself, never for the people.") while the Daily News reported on the "hick" comments of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who said, "The New York lifestyle hasn't gone over [in]...
Continue Reading "Told Ya So's, Headshaking Over Giuliani Campaign"
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Photograph by Eye Captain on Flickr The Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission has recommended a slightly different congestion pricing plan than the one the mayor made last year. Streetsblog got a look at the recommendation and toplines some of the details:An $8 fee to drive into Manhattan south of 60th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (the mayor's plan had a cut-off of 86th Street Trucks pay $21, except for low-emission trucks...
Continue Reading "Commission Recommends Modified Congestion Pricing Plan; Boundary Would Start at 60th Street"
The City Council voted 40-3 to end the tax breaks Madison Square Garden has enjoyed since 1982. It's estimated that the city has lost almost $300 million in potential revenue in subsidies to the "World's Most Famous Arena." Although the City Council wants the tax breaks to end (our favorite quote is from Councilman Lew Fidler: "I have spent my entire life as as Knicks fan, and I doubt if there's anyone who loves the...
Continue Reading "City Council Votes in Favor of Ending MSG Tax Break"
Photograph of the Puck Building, where at least one 7th floor business supports Obama, by Tien Mao It's pretty safe to say many New Yorkers are aligned with the Democratic party, but it's unclear who NYC's registered Democrats will vote for on primary day - Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Though in the highly unscientific survey of sights around the city over the past week (and year), it seems the senator representing Illinois has...
Continue Reading "Does Obama Have a NYC Grassroots Edge?"
By now you've probably run into one of the curbside nitrogen tanks in the city. Not too long ago we got an email inquiring about them, a reader wanted to know about "the random nitrogen tanks everywhere at the corner of city blocks. They are always bubbling and oozing out. Are they dangerous?" There are many guesses as to why they are there (to asphyxiate rats, to reduce odors, to scare off tourists), but most...
Continue Reading "New York's Nitrogen Tanks"Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
January 31, 2008
Jeremy Abelson, founder of the luxury lifestyle newsletter Pocket Change, struck a publicity goldmine last February when his company sponsored a speed dating event that matched affluent men of any age with attractive young women of any I.Q. Called “Natural Selection Speed Date: Rich Guys & Hot Girls,” the event drew hate mail from women objecting to the crass, misogynistic nature of this “exercise in eugenics.” So this year Abelson is turning the beat around...
Continue Reading "Older Gals With Means Try to Get Into Young Dudes' Jeans"
City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. sharply criticized the Parks Department after his office examined the 79th Street Boat Basin's financial statements, finding many discrepancies and possible criminal activity. Thompson said, "During the course of the audit, a number of red flags were raised. The number and magnitude of these red flags raised the question of whether fraud occurred at the Boat Basin.” The Boat Basin has 60 moorings and 110 slips for boat owners, and...
Continue Reading "Comptroller Finds Boat Basin Finances Fishy"
Photo by Benzadrine. New York City faced some stiff competition in the Forbes Top 10 “Misery Measure”, but ultimately moped away with a respectable fourth place, losing only to such perennial dystopias as Detroit (#1, forever); Flint, Michigan (#3) and… Stockton, California, in the #2 slot? Apparently, the Bay Area satellite has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and a swelling population. To compile the list, Forbes compared 150 of America’s largest...
Continue Reading "New York in Top 5 Most Miserable Cities, Says Forbes"
Now that the focus is on the many state primaries held on next Tuesday, February 5, the political campaigns are spending money on advertising in those states. Which means we get to see those ads in here in New York, as many delegates are up for grabs. We haven't seen any ads from the Republican candidates (perhaps realizing spending ad money in blue-city NYC is an expensive and not very cost-effective solution) yet but...
Continue Reading "Pre-Super Tuesday Political Ad Assault"
Ever since real estate developer Vornado revealed plans for a boxy, glassy skyscraper at 125th Street and Park Avenue last March, people were curious what might companies might lease some of the 640,000 square feet. Now the NY Times reveals Major League Baseball will take a swing at starting its cable network in the building. Wow. The 21-story building, dubbed Harlem Park, would be Harlem's "first prime office to be built" in the neighborhood "in...
Continue Reading "Major League Baseball TV Sets Sights on Harlem"
Queens DA Richard Brown announced an off-duty NYPD detective and his girlfriend were charged with promoting the prostitution of a 13-year-old Brooklyn runaway. Brown said, “This case is every parent and every child’s worst nightmare – made even more frightening by the fact that one of the defendants is a police officer who swore to uphold the law and protect the community he serves.” Detective Wayne Taylor and a woman he claims is his wife,...
Continue Reading "Cop and Girlfriend Arrested for Pimping Out Teens"
The Daily News reports that two separate incidents of women being raped by strangers yesterday morning. One incident occurred around 7AM, when a NJ woman headed to a Spanish Harlem building where she works as a baby-sitter. The woman was "grabbed," "dragged" and raped in the elevator. Police are not sure if she was followed (she had taken the 6 train to 103rd Street). The other assault occurred on the N train which was waiting...
Continue Reading "Women Raped in Brooklyn, Manhattan"
Jazz 100, Knicks 89: In a departure from their behavior in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers, the Knicks didn't have a lead to squander in this one. They have lost the first three games of this five-game swing against playoff-caliber teams from the Western Conference. Their strategy -- let Jamal Crawford shoot as much as possible -- doesn't seem to be working. They couldn't play defense and fell victim to Utah's. To have 19 turnovers...
Continue Reading "Last Night's Action: Woeful, Woeful West"January 30, 2008
The former mayor is finally out of the hunt for the White House. Rudy Giuliani made the announcement at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, with John McCain beside him. Giuliani endorsed McCain, saying the country needed "someone who can be trusted in times of crisis." He added, "Obviously I thought I was that person. The voters made another choice." On a plane from Florida to California, Giuliani told reporters that he was...
Continue Reading "Rudy Giuliani Officially Drops Out of Presidential Race"
Clockwise from upper left: Photo of Creamsicle from the Lemon Ice King of Corona by joshbousel on flickr; Jamaican beef patties from Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery; Clam Chowder from Legal Sea Foods; artificially steaming coffee from Dunkin' Donuts Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston are putting it all on the line for Sunday's Super Bowl. After winning the awful bet from Green Bay, Bloomberg has a lot more riding on the line...
Continue Reading "Mayors of NYC and Boston Make Super Bet on Super Bowl"Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
January 30, 2008
New York Works is a vibrant series of audio portraits of New York characters plying dying trades, like the knife sharpener who still makes house calls and one of the city’s last water tower builders. Though recorded in 2002, the show’s charming portraits of a vanishing New York are more timely than ever – and, in case you missed it, they can be now listened to online. One vignette covers a day in the life...
Continue Reading "Listen: Seltzer Man, Knife Sharpener, Cowbell Guy Still Exist"
Now that former mayor Rudy Giuliani is getting ready to officially throw in the presidential nomination race towel after his third place finish in the Florida primary, Giuliani watchers seem to be enjoying the chance to analyze his campaign's stunning collapse. Giuliani had led national polls and seem to be a strong contender last year, but when it came down to performing at primaries and caucuses, voters weren't very convinced. Some highlights from the...
Continue Reading "Rudy Giuliani's Big Fall, Analyzed"
With Mayor Bloomberg up in Albany deriding Gov. Spitzer for bilking the city out of $500 million in promised funding, it's no wonder that the perennial call for secession has arisen. Every time NY State politics gets heated, we get to rehash the economics of NYC declaring itself independent from the state. During his NYC budget speech last week, Bloomberg pointed out (again) how NYC pays more than $11 billion in state taxes it doesn't...
Continue Reading "It's That Time Again - Time to Talk NYC Secession"
Today's high winds may be to blame for a construction worker's death in Fort Greene. Around 10AM, the FDNY tells WNBC that a "construction worker had been working on the 13th floor when are large gust of wind picked up the scaffold he was standing on and blew him over the edge and on to a setback at street level." The other worker, who was knocked from the 13th floor scaffolding to the 10th floor,...
Continue Reading "Construction Worker Dead, Another Injured at Brooklyn Building"
Last October, on the heels of 6-year-old Natalie Shea getting slapped on the wrist for her chalk graffiti, Ellis Gallagher was jailed for his own chalk art. The 34-year-old artist was in the middle of creating a piece as New York Voices documented his process. The cops saw him, tagged him as a graffiti artist, and took him in. After spending 17 hours in jail the charges were dropped -- but the story doesn't end...
Continue Reading "Dust Hasn't Settled on Chalk Art Crimes"
The big sports news of the day isn't the Super Bowl. It's the probable Johan Santana trade that the Mets and Twins agreed to yesterday. And from the reaction of the local papers and sportswriters, it seems like the Mets pulled a fast one on the rubes from Minnesota. If the Mets can sign Santana to a contract extension, it's likely that he will become the highest paid pitcher in baseball, surpassing Barry Zito...
Continue Reading "Popular Opinion Says Trade for Santana Is Good for Mets"
After almost a week of delays, jurors were back in court for the Nixzmary Brown murder case. A expert said that the malnourished 7-year-old's blood was found under the fingernails Brown's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, as well as on his jeans. Rodriguez faces murder charges for the malnourished 7-year-old's 2006 death. Rodriguez's defense lawyers said the blood was present because he had tried to save her after the girl's mother beat her to death, noting the...
Continue Reading "Expert Testifies Nixzmary Brown's Blood Found All Over "
Charles F. Luce, who was Con Ed's chairman and chief executive between 1967 and 1982, die