Results tagged “centrestreet”

      

Police have charged the driver who mowed down pedestrians outside the State Supreme Court with "reckless endangerment and aggravated unlicensed operation, for having a suspended license." Though 33-year-old Queens resident Lorenzo Bello had a seizure during yesterday's morning crash, it wasn't his first. Per the Daily News, "His wife told cops he has a history of seizures and shouldn't be behind the wheel."

An out-of-control car jumped a curb on Centre Street and mowed down three pedestrians outside the State Supreme Court. According to NY1, the car "crashed into a coffee cart and continued up several steps of the courthouse," where one man was pinned under the car.

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.

Today marks the third annual Informal Presentation on the Art of Dance, a dance event put on by the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. The two troupes converge each year in a most unconventional space: The State Supreme Court of Manhattan!

Later today, the city will discuss whether the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers should be landmarked. The Observer reported that NYU announced its support today, a reversal from an earlier position over three years ago.

Well, candy is in the mouth of the beholder, but here are the actual renderings. As noted yesterday, the proposals for the new residential and retail complex at the Domino Refinery will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission at a public hearing today at 2pm at the Municipal Building (1 Centre Street), 9th Floor North. Brownstoner posted snapshots of the renderings taken last week at a community board meeting, as well as floor plans for the modified refinery, which would feature five floors of residential units on the roof.

More detailed images of the proposed development at the landmarked Domino Refinery in south Williamsburg have emerged; the biggest news is that developers plan to build a five-story glass addition on top of the Filter House (above), the tallest structure at the refinery, which has been closed since 2004. According to plans revealed by architects Beyer Blinder Belle, the modified refinery would have 1,550 underground parking spaces, 30,000 square feet of retail space, an interior courtyard and “community facilities” on several floors.

Yesterday, the NY Post revealed that the dingy Manhattan Marriage Bureau would be getting a deluxe makeover. First of all, the City Clerk's Office will move from 1 Centre Street at the Municipal Building to 80 Centre Street. Second, Mayor Bloomberg's personal decorator, Jamie Drake, will be overseeing the redesign - at a discount (we doubt the new bureau will have the touches that Mayor B's swank townhouses do), but the budget is still $13 million.

Mayor Bloomberg headed to jury duty this morning, with a smile, a number of bodyguards and press aide Stu Loeser. When he showed up to the waiting room for prospective jurors, apparently a woman called a friend and said he was there for the "same foolishness" as everyone else.

Reverend Billy was arrested and detained last night while reciting the First Amendment in Union Square. The police claimed his preaching it at this month's Critical Mass constituted "Harassment of a Public Official". The NYPD has a history of some controversial arrests at the Critical Mass events, and at last night's the number of police practically outnumbered the riders. From the press release we received:

Google Maps has upped its considerable offering to include "Street View," which offers views of the certain locations at the street-level imagery. The areas where you can see images are noted by blue lines on the map (click the "Street View" button). Manhattan is pretty covered and downtown Brooklyn is covered, but the Bronx, Queens and State Island views are pretty much limited by major roads. Below is 1 Centre Street; you can't get an image of City Hall, because the blue line doesn't go into City Hall Park. Here's what Eastern Parkway at the Brooklyn Library looks like and this is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The future development of Brooklyn's DUMBO district could be shaped by the results of a public hearing scheduled for today at 1 Centre Street in Manhattan. Although the Landmarks Preservation Commission's online calendar does not list such a meeting, the Gowanus Lounge and DumboNYC are spreading the word about this important first meeting, which could initiate the process of protecting DUMBO as a historic preservation district. Such a designation would require property owners to obtain special approval for renovations, demolitions, or additions to existing structures.

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.

Public access to City Hall Park is about to get better. The Parks Department has agreed to reopen a part of the park that has been closed since the Giuliani Administration. The section of park in question includes the grassy areas to the east and west of Tweed Courthouse. The area directly around City Hall will still remain closed for security purposes.

Google Maps Mania points to a new map offering: Walking, subway and bus directions from GypsyMaps, all laid out on a Google Map. Actually, bus information will be coming in April, but GypsyMaps has a nice start, as it shows the point to point directions all laid out. (We asked for directions between 1 West 57th Street in Manhattan to 1 Centre Street.)

The Post reports that the MTA has released a new and improved Trip Planner website last week to replace the somewhat aggravating Trips123 site. The new site is supposed to be more accurate, taking into account "up-to-the-minute service changes and many of the system's lesser-known idiosyncrasies." We played around with the Trip Planner which is at travel.mtanyct.info and liked that service advisory alerts, but the options offered still leave something to be desired.

Lawsuits and Naomi Campbell are magical together! Gaby Gibson, the former maid who got beatdown by Campbell after she couldn't find her Stella McCartney jeans in January, filed a second lawsuit against Campbell. The first lawsuit mentioned "employment discrimination, civil assault and civil battery" and now the second adds more defendants (Campbell's publicist, for one), and charges of defamation and "repeated discriminatory assaults based on her national origin."

WNBC's Chopper reporter Dan Rice has been doing a Friday feature of certain buildings and landmarks. Last week, he focused is the largest statue in the city after the Statue of Liberty: Civic Fame, which is perched on top of the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street. Rice wrote a post about the statue on the Today in New York blog and marveled at the detail he's able to see from the WNBC 4 chopper:

When we took a closer look at the statue from the helicopter, many of the details became very visible. In her left hand she cradles a crown with five peaks. Each peak represents each of the boroughs. What I did not mention on the air this morning was that each peak looks like a city wall. Below the peaks, around the rim, are dolphins. They acknowledge New York City as a seaport. On her right arm is a shield. Zooming in on the shield reveals the seal of New York City. In her right hand she holds a laurel branch and wears a crown of laurel on her head while she is draped in a robe, standing barefoot.

Looks like Boy George won't be behind bars for blowing rails after all, he will be raking up leaves and picking up trash however. The cocaine possession charges were dismissed yesterday, but the pop icon will still have to serve five days of community service on the charge of falsely reporting that his Centre Street apartment had been burglarized.

Sometimes we come across a fun photo and we want to share it with ya'll, but don't really have much to say about it. Hence the Gothamist Random Photo of the Day. In this inaugural edition we have a photograph from a set called "215 Centre Street" on Postive-Negative.

Over the weekend, the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street had a fire break out on its 20th floor. Luckily, firefighters were able to control the fire (seven had minor injuries), and the FDNY is still investigating its cause - only maintenance workers were around on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We're glad that the Municipal Building is okay, because it is easily one of the most awesome buildings in the city. Designed by McKim, Mead and White (the firm's first skyscraper), the 34 floor building was completed in 1914 and now houses various city offices. For instance, the Marriage Bureau is there, so that's where the marriages are performed; the Borough President and Public Advocate also work out of there, along with 30,000 city employees. And at the top is the Adolph A. Weinman-designed Civic Fame, which is the tallest statue in the city after the Statue of Liberty. Gothamist's favorite view is from the west, when we walk on Chambers Street and see the building at end. The City Store, which is located in the Municipal Building, has a cool Municipal Building ornament.

Ooohh... In 1905, when the original Police Headquarters was being built at 240 Centre Street, the NYPD may have buried a time capsule under a cornerstone, in hopes of it being opened on May 6, 2005. However, the posh co-op which now occupies 240 Centre Street is against, well, busting through some granite for what could be a wild goose chase. The president of the co-op board, Arthur Emil, says, "My answer is, 'No.' There are legends galore about the building. I've heard about the time capsule but paid no attention because there's no concrete proof. If it was a simple operation, like unsealing a Ziploc, to see if it was there, I'd have no problem." Oh, Mr. Emil, that's so silly - they didn't have Ziploc back in 1905! While the Police Building's architects during its 1988 renovation don't remember any sort of time capsule-like vessels, the Daily News reports that historians are pretty sure there is a time capsule, and that police records say contents include a "gold engraved revolver, a police badge, a letter from then-President Theodore Roosevelt and a police roster are said to be among the items in the capsule." Even the NY Times back in the day reported that the time capsule was "over a recess which contained coins, newspapers of the day and police rules and records."

As the number of shopping days tick down in the single digets, you may have a few people on your list who call themselves cinephiles. Or at the very least are movie-lovers. In which case we have a few gift giving suggestions for the season. And if you've finished all your shopping already, remember that Gothamist has been a very good little weblog this year...

Other interesting events: Tomorrow's round-the-clock-till-it's-done reading of the Odyssey and the Iliad; Wednesday's reading of the Constitution with Alec Baldwin, Chuck Close, Khaliah Ali, and Joanne Woodward. And let us know what events you're checking out!

Sometimes you just want to say what's on your mind. But how about in public, to complete strangers? Now you can.

The NYPD is turning Pier 57, at 11th Avenue and 15th Street, into a holding pen for protesters they detain, according to the Post, which says "unruly protesters at the Republican National Convention will get breathtaking views of the Hudson River." Heh. From this holding pen, detained protesters will be bussed to Central Booking on Centre Street where they will be "processed." If anyone does get processed, let us know how it goes and whether it's anything like Bovine University type processing.

Dirk Westphal, Artist