Results tagged “canalstreet”

You think that salacious Calvin Klein billboard is distracting... how about this new, menacing digital billboard at the corner of Canal and Hudson? NYC the Blog has video of it in action, and declares it to be a "potential mental health hazard" for those living near by (let's not forget what that glowing Kenny Rogers Roasters sign did to Kramer). Then there's the whole problem of temporarily blinding those operating motor vehicles in a pedestrian-heavy city.

Have the NYPD raised a SkyWatch over Canal Street to curb the alleged "spike in crime" in the area, or are they cracking down on illegal vendors and counterfeiters again?

Reader Phil sent us this photograph of a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle (believed to be the van) this morning around 10 a.m. at Canal and Centre Street. And there was a traffic agent on the scene when it happened! Phil tells us the pedestrian seemed okay (though he/she was rubbing his/her head).

More unfortunate details about the dump truck that crashed into a parked Fung Wah bus, killing one person and injuring others: It turns out the truck was unsafe, per the Times, "three brake hoses that were severely deteriorated...inoperable brake lamps, a loose brake air reservoir, a loose brake chamber and a defective brake warning device." Great to know these vehicles are on the road.

Yesterday morning, a dump truck speeding off the Manhattan Bridge onto Canal Street lost control and hit a Fung Wah bus waiting to pick up passengers. The bus then jumped the curb and crashed into a building. One woman died and four others were injured, and here are some new details:

Last year movie piracy became a misdemeanor in New York, making it that much harder to watch a shaky-cam version of a summer blockbuster before it even closes out its opening weekend in theaters. Bloomberg has been cracking down on counterfeiters city-wide, and while he's brought equal attention to the fake purse racket, The NY Times focuses in on the blurry bootlegs.

Nothing says press conference like raiding a 32 stores in what the city dubs "Counterfeit Triangle" and hauling away over a $1 million worth of brand-name products. The raid, taking down stores in the area bounded by Canal Street, Walker Street and Centre Street, occurred in the early morning, with cops using bolt-cutters to gain entry and tractor-trailers to take the haul away Coach, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbanna, Dior, Prada, Rolex, Fendi, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Dora the Explorer and Oakley merchandise.

A 92-year-old woman was run over and dragged by a Chinatown bus yesterday afternoon. Her injuries were so bad that her legs were amputated at Bellevue.

Rainbow cookies are quite possibly our favorite cookies. Ever. Whenever someone brings a cookie assortment from an Italian bakery we always eat all the rainbow cookies first and usually discard the rest.

Metro has an interview with NYU professor and Department of Sanitation anthropologist-in-residence, Robin Nagle. The piece comes on the cusp of “Loaded Out: Making a Museum,” an exhibition Nagle helped curate which focuses on the DSNY's history and its vital role in shaping the city. The exhibit opens tomorrow and will run for a full month, but she mentions this is just the first step in creating a Sanitation Museum.Police and firefighters have museums. Why...

The story around the possible hate crime attack on a Q train the other night seems to be made for the season. Not only does it come while subway violence is a big topic, it also involves a group of Jewish subway riders being called "dirty Jews" and "Jew bitches" and attacked by people who cried, "Happy Hanukkah, that's when the Jews killed Jesus." And here's the kicker: The only person who stepped in...

Police are investigating an attack on a Brooklyn-bound Q train as a possible hate crime. A group of people (WNBC says they were on their way home from Hanukkah celebrations) were called anti-Semitic phrases and then beaten up by another group of ten people at Canal Street. The Post has some more details: Apparently one of the attackers "made anti-Semitic remarks about Jews killing Jesus, saying, 'This is a Christian country.'" But the father of...

by James Villas. Villas calls bacon “the greatest and most beloved food on earth,” and while we’re not sure we’d go that far, there are moments when we have to agree there’s nothing better.

No one thought congestion pricing would be easy but now some of the economic reality is sinking in. The MTA announced that it would need $767 million to upgrade service if people shift from cars to mass transit.

We've been hearing about a plan to increase security downtown by placing security cameras and license plate readers in Lower Manhattan, "ring of steel"-style for a while, but now the NY Times has word on when it'll happen. According to police officials, more than 100 cameras will be in place by the end of the year and if it's fully financed, over 3,000 private and public cameras will be up and running. From the Times:

Three thousand surveillance cameras would be installed below Canal Street by the end of 2008, about two-thirds of them owned by downtown companies. Some of those are already in place. Pivoting gates would be installed at critical intersections; they would swing out to block traffic or a suspect car at the push of a button.

Continue reading "You're On Lower Manhattan Security Initiative Camera!"

THEATER: Biography is a largely forgotten 1932 comedy by S. N. Behrman, who wrote witty and flattering plays for high society. In the Pearl Theatre’s current revival, Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order) plays Marion Froude, a free-spirited, liberated lady in her 40s who draws heat when she decides to write a tell-all about her eccentric life. One of the colorful characters from her past who dreads the exposure is a U.S. Senate hopeful; sparks fly when Ms. Froude refuses to self-edit. Martin Denton calls it “a delightful, giddy, smart screwball comedy of ideas.” - John Del Signore

When the chief suits and ties take a few symbolic jackhammer swipes on Thursday to relaunch construction on the Second Avenue Subway, they won't exactly be breaking new ground. A 3-minute video from NY Times shows the history of three previous groundbreaking ceremonies held in the 1970s.

How badly do you want that fake purse? Just know this the next time you're perusing Chinatown for some cheap Prada or Coach gear: You may be trapped in a basement if the store gets raided. Yesterday, twelve shoppers were herded into the basement at 218 Centre Street while the police were busting the counterfeit ring - and were kept there against their will.

All you have to do to participate is call Toll Free 1-877-OR-WHAT-31 (1-877-679-4283) from any pay phone inside the turnstiles of Canal Street Station (at the NQRW, 6, and JMZ platforms, NOT THE A C E Station)...and your mystery will begin!

Yesterday, Transportation Alternatives held a rally at City Hall to draw attention to the recently increasing numbers of pedestrian fatalities on city streets. Last year, 163 pedestrians died, a 4% increase over 2005, and just this past weekend, four pedestrians were killed by vehicles. Relatives and friends of victims joined TA to demand that the city to make streets safer for pedestrians and "strengthen laws against motorists who kill or injure pedestrians" (Metro). Watch the video and hear them speak.

Today the NY Times reviews a new show at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. Titled “Clip/Stamp/Fold: The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines 196X-197X,” the exhibit explores 70 architectural magazines published in New York and elsewhere during the period. Pamphlets and building instruction manuals are included in the "little magazine" category.

Flats to Let, from Matt Weber's great Flickr stream. You can see more of his work at Urban Photos.

At my window sad and lonely, by Brainware3000.

Brooklyn Bridge, by Akinloch. Tag yours with "gothamist" if you want us to use them.

-- Speaking of bridges, the entire lower deck of the Manhattan Bridge is going to be closed for a year. That's not going to be good for traffic on Flatbush Avenue or Canal Street.

About a month ago, Leslie Price wrote in Time Out about the burgeoning scene south of Delancey, BelDel, and its additions, including Clandestino Cafe & Bar. She wrote that it would be opening in early February, so we checked it out last night (two days into March, because we admit to getting a little jaded about these things). Our timing was good -- we watched as liquors were still being stocked as we walked in.

Holy shit-- remind us never to walk on Canal Street again. According to this extremely scary crash map put out by Transportation Alternatives, getting hit by a car is almost guaranteed! Transalt compiled the map from stats put our from 1995-2001, so the street may have gotten slightly safer since then (seems unlikely, given what we observe in our daily crossing going down to GothamistHQ.) They also have stats for the other five boroughs. Here's a challenge: can you find a street that's more dangerous than Canal (and Queens Blvd does not count-- it's too easy!) Be careful out there, folks.

what tourists want to see - they want fakes, not the real thing. This came about because Louis Vuitton, perhaps the most knocked-off brand around (get some brown plasticky material, an "L" and a "V" and mustard dye and you're set!), sued landlords in Chinatown. The NY Times ">profiled a counterfeit inspector from Louis Vuitton, who saw many women carrying garbage bags full of fake LV bags; we love the idea of some spiffily dressed LV suit rubbing shoulders with folks in Chinatown - though he'd probably dress down so as not to be detected. And the Downtown Express noticed how counterfeit handbag vendors on Canal Street are moving the inventory to backrooms , in order to avoid police detection, all while quietly muttering, “Handbag Chanel Coach Louis Vuitton Prada inside.”

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