Results tagged “andgothamist”

When meat maven Josh Ozersky, aka Mr. Cutlets, talks bacon, many a New York City carnivore listens. And Gothamist is no exception.

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too - two of them in -Ist cities.

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate.

Calling all Idiotarod enthusiasts and people who work in Midtown who might want a lunchtime spectacle. The Carts of Brooklyn Racing Association, aka COBRA, will be holding a press conference at 1PM today outside CBS's headquarters. The group, which is organizing this year's Idiotarod, will be protesting tonight's episode of CSI:NY and its "depiction of shopping cart racing," as the CSI spin-off has been using the Idiotarod name in marketing materials (in the show, it's called the "Idiot Run") without permission. "COBRA's Diabolical Mastermind" Oscar Owens says:

This is yet another example of the lack of respect with which the media treats the 'craft of the speeding trolley.' For years shopping cart racers have faced uninformed and distorted images of themselves. Now they want to paint us as thieves and murderers? It would be one thing if CSI:NY weren't so bad, but this Gary Sinise-led monstrosity is beyond the pale. Do you hear us, Les Moonves? We demand satisfaction."

We were looking at some photographs and noticed this one by NYCViaRachel on Flickr. It's apparently the fourth cat on a leash she's seen, and she wondered, "Seriously what the f*** people?" And Gothamist has to concur. We understand that cats enjoy new smells and sights just as much as their big cat relatives, walking a cat on a city street is very puzzling. Do their owners wipe their paws when they get home? Yes, cats like (and lick) their butts, but goodness knows what on the sidewalks of the city.

If you missed Saturday Night Live this weekend, you're in luck. The best part about the show was the cold opening - a plea from Borat Sagdiyev to visit Kazakhstan and to see his film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - and the video is available on NBC.com. There are also some other skits from Saturday's episode: A requisite Halloween skit - is it us or has Bill Hader played Frankenstein about 100 times now - and one about farting.

Everyone loves a secret bar, but what happens when the bouncers might be too...bouncery? Someone who tried to take a picture of the secret bar La Esquina claims he and his girlfriend were assaulted and threatened by the bouncers. One bouncer even yelled, "I will take you around the corner and rape you!"

He said this right before coming out and slapping me several times on the sidewalk and knocking the camera from my hands that I was using to document what had just happened. He also threatened that "in the old days you would be dead!" I can only assume he meant the good old days before a bouncer at The Falls murdered someone and the city passed the Bouncer Control Act* this August.

Continue reading "Photographing a Secret Bar Means a Bruisin' "

- And we have the third highest number of college graduates (SF was the most educated, followed by San Jose)

A while back, we noted how many of the NY Times "Hunt" columns by Joyce Cohen happened to feature real estate hunts by cat owners. And one of the stories we loved was the one about a Brooklynite who needed a subletter to not only take care of her apartment, but her cat Boris as well. Cohen, who blogs at Hunt Grunt, let us know that two years after the column appeared, Boris may have developed a bit of a star-complex - though owner Nicole might have indulged that by creating some short films about him. And if you're interesting in a homemade cat toy that Cohen made, she is offering it to the person who writes the best poem - more details here.

- The DHS tried not to be political about things!Okay, many of these points are fair, but we do think that when the city pays about $10.9 billion more in federal taxes than we get back from federal spending, our agencies needs more resources. And Gothamist thinks it's totally fair for our politicians and newspapers to make a big deal about the cut in funding, as getting 40% less than last year (yes, yes, other cities are getting less) is news. If anything, Chertoff's duty as the Secretary of Homeland Security is to really convince the President of how important the funding is, and then have the President push his Republican-led Congress to help out Homeland Security initiatives more.

We may have to contemplate many of a cliffhanger this summer, but we are grateful for the return of the NYC fire department black comedy (or is that drama with mordant wit) Rescue Me. Last season, we followed the escapades of firefighter/ alcoholic/ pill-addict/ cheating husband Tommy Gavin to the point of being emotionally wrecked by the season finale where his son was killed by a drunk driver and a violent revenge is planned. Also, when firefighter Lou gets totally taken by the scam artist - we could see it coming, but we still felt awful. And Gothamist will need Rescue Me because the new slate of summer TV programming looks like total crap.

The Moleskine folks are determined to make sure we don't forget about good ol' pen and paper, as they have just launched City Notebooks. The notebook will come with maps, blank pages, "translucent sticky sheets" and more where you get to mark things up and note interesting things. There are only European cities available now, with American City Notebooks (NYC, DC, Boston, LA and San Francisco) coming in 2007, but it could be a nice gift for a friend moving away to the Continent or doing the study-abroad thing. And Gothamist will have until 2007 to remember how to use a pen.

In the heart of what is supposed to be a big hurricane season, the New York City is going to test its hurrivane evacuation plans in the Rockaways this July. Sadly, the public cannot sign up for the drill, which will instead involve "500-700 emergency workers and civilian workers," according to Newsday. The drill will take place at a school, so it's not like the Office of Emergency Management is testing gridlock or routing - just inflow to evacuation centers and how workers deal with angry/scared New Yorkers. (The Mayor said the city's hurricane plans were good, but the OEM has been looking them over.)

Love the Williamsburgh Savings Bank but don't think you can afford the condos (thanks, conversion!)? Well, you're in luck, because for the next eight days, someone on eBay is auctioning a cool "Williamsburg Brooklyn Ceramic Savings Bank "!

his item up for bid is a 7" high ceramic piggy bank depicting the bank, a really fantastic item. Slot for coins, twist-off reservoir, brass attachment for chained pen (not included). This bank is circa 1960's, and in addition to the "Williamsburgh Savings Bank" writing, "Tower of Strength" and "Central Office Tower" appear on different sides of the base.

With the Department of Education forcing students to give up their cell phones (which makes the students and especially their parents crazy), it seems that kids have been working out ways to keep their cell phones close by during the school day. And Gothamist wants to give them an "A" for ingenuity, as they are resorting to hiding them in trash cans, paying $1 for bodega owners to watch 'em, and even putting them in the gutter for safekeeping! The Daily News speaks to students at Grady High School in Brighton Beach, who say "mostly eveybody" is hiding their cellphones near school, from gutters to apartment building laundry rooms, even window ledges, so they don't have to wait at school to pick them up if they've been confiscated. The Department of Ed's "no cell phones in school" policy has been enforced more strictly with the introduction of scanners that rotate from school to school (the guards confiscate the cell phones, which used to fly by under more of a "don't ask, don't tell" era). One Brighton Beach resident says he's even seen kids picking up their phones from his backyard! It's like the best Easter Egg hunt ever! One bodega stopped babysitting the phones for $1 a pop, since the kids were dropping off all their electronic gadgets since it was a huge pain in the neck.

- When the divers had to "rescue" Blaine - they were so cool in their silver divesuits!

Increasing the drama conveneintly before tonight's live re-entry into the air and terra firma, David Blaine is reportedly in "bad shape" while in his little 8-foot aquarium. It's the kind of bad shape that has his team recommending he stay in his sphere to be wrapped in chains, versus coming out, smelling that sweet NYC air and having chains put on him, and then being re-plunged into the sphere (there's something about a "shock to the system"). Oh, please, Blaine wants to tempt death, just let him already. And we totally agree with a tourist that AM New York spoke to: "I'd say he's just a little bit contrived. It's a planned stunt. I'll believe it when he dies in the middle of one of them." However, it's been visiting the Bubble extravaganza - we've visited Blaine almost every day this past week to see if he's floating at the top yet. Our prediction for tonight: It looks like he's dead, but he's actually not and everyone cheers over the miracle. David Blaine dead or alive would be a ratings boon for ABC, but we suppose they rather not have the insurance hassle of death.

While dog might be man's best friend, it's clear what the importance of a cat who can catch mice is, as the search for Molly, the mouser at British specialty foods store Myers of Keswick who is trapped in a wall, continues to draw interest. Peter Myers, the store's owner, told the NY Times, "She's a mouser, and we want to get her back to work as soon as possible," and speculated to CNN that Molly was laughing at the hubbub. Oh, and mice have returned to the store, given Molly's 2 week absence. The Landmarks Preservation Commission, sensing that the fate of a kitty cat could be more important than being the mean agency that killed a curious cat to keep the historic building up, is allowing rescue workers to remove a wall, saying they could "do whatever is necessary to rescue the cat." Which means drilling holes in the wall. Another option is to dig a hole through the floor of the store. But in the meantime, Animal Care and Control has been doing all sorts of things to try to draw Molly out, from bringing in kittens to mewl and hopefully spark Molly's maternal instinct (let's hope Molly is, in fact, a girl cat) and even bringing in a cat therapist, who used whale and sea gull sounds; ACC asked the therapist to stop, thinking that actually Molly was getting more stressed out. Well, having swarms of people trying to get her out would stress her out, regardless. We suggest the ACC attach some food packs to the backs of some hamsters and set them loose in the wall so Molly can get her energy back up. And Gothamist has a sneaking suspicion the papers will hope for an Easter miracle.

Today, between 3PM and 7PM, many people are planning to attend an immigration rally at City Hall. There are a couple different plans (the Daily News says some are marching over the Brooklyn Bridge again while others will start at Washington Square Park), with students, taxi drivers and other service workers will walk out or leave work in order to attend the rally. Yesterday's rally in Dallas had hundreds of thousands of people.

While the September 11 movie Flight 93 may be opening the Tribeca Film Festival in just a matter of weeks, the film's trailer has been playing. And some viewers are not exactly ready - the Lincoln Square Loews actually pulled the trailer and some NYC moviegoers covered their eyes when it came on. The trailer is effectively chilling, reminding us of how it was just a beautiful September day that turned into scary chaos. Director Paul Greengrass secured the approval from all of Flight 93 victims' families to make the film, and Universal, the studio that produced the film, says it's "not shocked to hear that some people find it uncomfortable."

Reader David writes to us:

It looks like the entire inventory is on the sidewalk outside in front of the store. Man, what kind of damage was done this weekend? The boxes have nearly taken over the entire sidewalk, with a very narrow path for people to walk by.

After reading our umpteenth post dreaming about pandas in our own backyard, a reader who was at the National Zoo sent us some exciting news:

Just thought you'd like to know, that when I was there, one of the pandakeepers said the Bronx Zoo had already filled out its paperwork for "borrowing" some pandas from China. So pandas might be closer to NY than you think. Of course the NY Times article on how pandas don't actually make any money for zoos won't help the cause much.

Yesterday afternoon there was the fear of anthrax in the air. But it turned out not to be the weaponized kind mailed to newscasters or politicians - it was actually seemed to naturally occuring anthrax in animal hides that a Manhattan dancer/drum-maker. There are conflicting reports about the case, such as as to whether or not Vado Diomande brought the hides back to NYC from Africa (it's illegal) or if he bought them from a distributor, or whether or not he contracted anthrax from the hides here, but what officials do not believe anyone is at risk. Even though swarms of cops, health officials and even the FBI checked out Diomande's apartment in the West Village and workspace in Dumbo, Mayor Bloomberg was quick to point out, "If you didn't work with the hides, you're not going to contract anthrax. So if you live next door or if you shook hands with the guy, you're don't have a risk. You'd have to really work with the untreated hides." (But a few people who came in contact with the hides are taking antibiotics.) So, the only anthrax we should be afraid of is the white stuff, but try not to handle untreated animal hides if you can.

A reader wrote us to ask if we noticed "an upswing in tap water stink of late," saying that he noticed a chlorine smell in his "Brooklyn apartment, Queens workplace, and various spots betwixt the two," with a " markedly stronger chemical/chlorine 'bouquet'." And Gothamist actually has - while we wait for our humidifier tank to fill, the water has been smelling rather chemically/bleachy. Does anyone know what's happening with the tap water? Did something accidentally happen to our drinking water reservoirs? If someone has a friend at the DEP and can tell us why, we'd love to be less paranoid.

The best Valentine's Day related story we've seen yet must be this one from the Columbia Spectator, which looks at the Anachronistic Gentleman Rental Society. Now, while the men are actually free of charge, they can be dressed in period clothing. No joke - Columbia sophmore Genevieve Yang told the Spec why she founded the service: “One day last year I was thinking, what if instead of a one-night stand, you had a one-night-walk-in-the-park-hand-holding?” Other fun facts: Yang uses a parasol on sunny days and wears a corset, and seventeen guys have actually signed up but no one has ever rented them! This must mean there are very few aspiring ladies out there - and we thought you were suckers for Merchant Ivory films! Anyway, Gothamist recommends this as the basis for a short film at least, since the rent-a-date has been a film staple: See Can't Buy Me Love, Pretty Woman, The Wedding Date, and The Man from Elysian Fields. Also, this reminds us a little of Kate & Leopold, which we did see in the theaters and can justify seeing because it featured awesome Brooklyn Bridge mentions.

Last November, Gothamist marveled that part of 6th Avenue near 13th Street had been paved over, but today, the Washington Square News tackles construction woes on West 13th Street. Some students are complaining about the noise and congestion outisde the Thirteenth Street dorm.

New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority began the project in April 2002 to improve the ventilation on the F, V, L, 1, 2 and 3 subway lines near the 14th Street station was schedule to be completed by July 2005.

Continue reading "West 13th Street Will Never Be Finished"

And all along we thought W meant "Whenever Train"! The Straphanger Campaign released a survey of subway car announcements and found that the W train was the worst when it came to announcements, deteriorating having 69% adequate announcements in 2004 to only 58% last year. While the subway system overall seemed to improve (from 73% to 77% in 2005), there are still problems, like this:

In 65% of delays and disruptions experienced by our raters, there was either no announcement - or an inaudible, garbled or incorrect one. Of the 65% inadequate delay or disruption announcements, 45% were not made at all; 13% were inaudible or garbled; and 42% were rated “incorrect,” such as meaningless announcements that “we have a red signal” ones lacking key information such as, “This local is now an express” (with no explanation), or ones with jargon such as, “We have a schedule adjustment.”

you get a note from the doctor saying your hearing is shot and voila, lawsuit!