Results tagged “financialdistrict”

This weekend, the city installed a new "high-tech, one-of-a-kind system of revolving bronze barricades" at Broad and Beaver Streets. The Post reports these barricades replace "the series of wooden police barricades and idling, fume-spewing dump trucks that blocked the intersection and protected the exchange since 9/11"—the NY Stock Exchange is just up the street on Broad between Wall Street and Exchange Place. Architecture firm Rogers Marvel designed the bollards (see here) on a rotating turntable, using technology similar to what's used at rotating restaurants, because the area "has a shallow subway system and utilities." The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. website explains, "The circular barrier, about the width of a car, would be set flush with the street, about 18 inches deep into the roadway. Bollards would align across its center, and the circle would be able to rotate 90 degrees, shifting the line of bollards to allow vehicles to enter or exit the area." Rogers Marvel also designed other bronze bollards (pictured) for the Financial District that look more like sculptures.

It hasn't even been a week since we last checked in with Sad Panda, but readers have been flooding our inbox with their old photos of the lovable bear spotted on the subway, in Times Square, and all over the city's mean streets. The two above photos, however, were taken just moments ago in what appears to be our subject's natural habitat: the Financial District. More specifically, he was sitting on his stool at Bowling Green and Broadway, south of the Charging Bull. Life isn't all bamboo and blog love, however, looking more down and out than usual, it's apparent that even Sad Panda can get a case of the Mondays.

The TGI Friday's in the Financial District known for its uppers as much as its poppers has been reopened with an entire new staff after last week's drug bust. The Times checks in with the eatery where a bar maid tells them everyone was fired after the place was shut down following two men being arrested for openly selling pot and coke at the bar. One woman dining on mozzarella sticks was surprised to hear of the news and said, "He was selling it right here at the bar? Dag. I didn’t know it was that kind of place.” Friday's parent company, Riese Restaurants received a $50,000 fine for the bust where staff was accused of knowing about the dealings, an accusation the Times says is supported by the cramped quarters of the location. One patron at the bar seemed to think the incident gave the chain some character, telling the paper, “If some guy’s selling drugs at a bar—I don’t know, it doesn’t bother me. It’s actually kind of cool.”

Cops raided a TGI Friday's in the financial district on the day of its namesake and shut it down after discovering that the family eatery was striped with cocaine. Apparently the business plan at this franchise location included looking the other way as dealers at the bar lured in high rollers from nearby Wall Street institutions. The Post says that the bankers and traders would "spend their nights getting high after the market spent the day going low."

The financial firms may be doing poorly on Wall Street, but there's a baby boom in the Financial District! The NY Times dubs the area the "Diaper District" and speaks to doormen at condo 80 John Street who say 22 babies were born to residents last year—"And we have about two or maybe three more expecting. There were so many, we lost count"—as well as parents who explain the migration—"A lot of people that I know from the group lived in rentals in TriBeCa and Battery Park City, and when it came time to buy, they couldn’t afford to stay where they were, but the Financial District offered more space for less money." Services for families are emerging, like preschools, more diapers at stores, children's clothing stores, though some residents still want more retail and restaurant options. Hey, this might be a great idea for laid-off investment bankers—developing services to cater to the families downtown...they know the neighborhood, after all! And one mom approved of neighborhood, "It’s a weird mix of baby carriages and people rushing to the rat race, but it works.”

Prespa: This new bi-level restaurant and lounge is named after two freshwater lakes in southeast Europe shared by Greece, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia. It's a redesign of what was formerly Prespa Mediterranean Brasserie, and Strong Buzz says Murray Hill gourmands are fervently hoping it'll become a local dining oasis in their mediocre neighborhood. The menu from Executive Chef Richard Farnabe (Jean-Georges, Montrachet) emphasizes Mediterranean tapas, but there are also full size entrees such as Braised Short Ribs with pine nuts, apricot and carrot fritters ($12/$27); Paupiette of John Dory with foie gras, chanterelle and yellow wine sauce ($17); and Broiled Black Cod with jicama and avocado salad ($11/$28). (Officially opening Monday for lunch and dinner.) 184 Lexington Avenue, between 31st and 32nd Street; (212) 810-4335

Oh, these are colorful times down in the financial district! Reader JGNY snapped this photo yesterday, and it's up to you whether you want to see it a sign that the tanking economy is rapidly returning New York to a 1970s 'Drop Dead' state of mind. But since the Charging Bull got blue balls yesterday, we're hoping another reader can spot something else for the wacky trifecta. Surely there are some photos of traders drinking Woolite out there.

This just in to the Gothamist feedbag -- organic (and environmentally friendly) fro yo joint Yorganic will be officially opening tomorrow in the Financial District at 3 Hanover Square. To celebrate, they will be serving free frozen yogurt (5 oz of original or green tea with one topping) today from 12pm until 4pm. In addition to fro yo, starting tomorrow they'll be offering smoothies and juice. Having stopped by the recent opening of their midtown location, the free snack was more than welcome, although being forced to hear "welcome to Yorganic where the yogurt is organic" over and over again while on line was a bit much.

Police sources say that the woman found dead in her West 22nd Street apartment was killed by her boyfriend after she broke up with him.

By contrast, there were about 11,000 spaces in Lower Manhattan available for drivers with placards, including spots designated for authorized vehicles, loading zones, no-parking zones, and all the metered and unregulated spaces open to the public. Many placards allow free parking in metered spaces.Reducing the number of placards issued by the City has been a goal of Mayor Bloomberg's second term. The Mayor wants to reduce the number of placards issued to civil servants by 20%. Currently, there are more than 140,000 vehicles with free-parking placards, not including counterfeit and expired emblems.

Aside from the concerts, there isn't much reason to go to the Southstreet Seaport unless you're 14 and need to hit Abercrombie & Fitch. The NY Sun reports that General Growth Properties, the developer who owns the rights to the area (the Seaport and Fulton Fish Market), is on a mission to turn that all around; but is their mission misguided? With a commercial and residential project that promises a floating pool and a community center...it also looks to bring in more stores! The big retail names are mostly big bucks shops: Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Barneys New York. Though Target is also rumored to be interested.

Some more details have emerged about the fatal hit-and-run that killed a Brooklyn resident in lower Manhattan Thursday night. Florence Cioffi was fatally struck by George Anderson's Mercedes SUV on Water Street and Old Slip. Anderson had originally fled the scene but later returned, where he was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident.

Over a hundred firefighters responded to a three-alarm fire at 80 Pine Street in Lower Manhattan last night. The fire broke out on the 29th floor, where money management firm Tullett & Tokyo has offices. It's unclear what started the fire, but around 12:30AM, flames were "shooting out of the windows" according to WABC 7. Glass fell onto Maiden Lane, narrowly missing pedestrians. The FDNY closed down the street and was able to put out...

The local papers have some details about the NYU sophomore who was found dead in his dorm room Friday night. Police says 19-year-old Pranay Angara suffocated himself with a plastic bag. Angara, who is from Hopewell Junction in upstate New York, lived in the Water Street dorm at 200 Water Street in the Financial District. The police say he wrote a note for his family and that he pushed a dresser in front of the...

A 19th century Greek revival building on Pearl Street – the road that formed the oyster shell strewn border of New Amsterdam in the 17th century – will soon be torn down, according to the A.P. The former warehouse at 213 Pearl was built in 1831 and was integral to what Ric Burns calls “the first district in the world devoted exclusively to commerce.” Once the city approves the permit, demolition could start as early...

Yesterday, a group of longboard skaters raced down Broadway from West 116th Street all the way to the bull in the Financial District for the "Broadway Bomb." Sacha Lecca took photographs of the skate, which seemed to have at least 100 skaters. Sacha tells us there were around 70 last year and 30 in 2005; according to the website, the race started in 2002.

The local newspapers tackled the sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks in different ways. The Daily News offers most of its front cover to remember the day, while the Post gives some room to General Petraeus' Congressional testimony. The Post looks at how vibrant the Financial District is now, even after the devastating effects of the September 11, and the Daily News looks at how some families have decided to skip this year's September 11 commemoration ceremonies. Dorry Tompsett, whose husband's remains have never been recovered and who has been to the first five ceremonies, said, "Being on the ground with the immensity of the hole and being able to touch the ground - that was very important to me...To just go there for half a second and put a flower down on some part of that site that's a big construction area isn't the same thing."

This week in the Times, Bruni two-stars Soto, calls the restaurant “an unipalooza like none I’ve encountered.” Don’t stick to the sushi and sashimi; if you do, you’re “missing not only the best of this restaurant but also the point of it.” The service? “Sluggish and absent-minded.”

Here's some feel-good news, courtesy of the MTA. It's a set of peregrine falcon chicks at the Throgs Neck Bridge! A wildlife expert from the DEP, Chris Nadareski, examined and tagged the chicks, all of which are female. And while the baby falcons are super cute, they are getting ready to grow up:

The Throgs Neck chicks have been growing steadily, and eat about four or five times a day. Their diet consists of pigeons, starlings, blackbirds, blue jays and other small birds caught by their mother. Their talons are already nearly as big as a man’s hand. In another three weeks they will begin to practice flying atop the tower but will remain dependent on their parents for protection and food for another eight weeks.

Continue reading "Baby Falcons at the Throgs Neck Bridge"

Realizing that the county is vulnerable to craziness in the power supply (best exhibited in the 2003 blackout), the Department of Homeland Security announced a $39 million pilot plan to better protect the power grid from disaster, whether natural or terrorist. And the pilot is taking place in NYC, with Con Ed and American Superconductor partnering up for "Team Hydra: Secure Super Grids." According to Newsday, here's what the project entails:

The pilot project...will tie together two midtown Manhattan substations, so that one can handle the load of the other in the event that individual circuits are disrupted -- whether by a lightning bolt, a car crashing into a substation or an act of deliberate sabotage.

Continue reading "Operation Hydra Coming to NYC's Power Grid"

The New York Times is reporting that the city is on its toes for Nor'easter 2007, with Mayor Bloomberg saying we should hope for the best as far as storm havoc goes, but prepare for the worst.

The mayor said evacuations were unlikely, but in a cautionary move, city emergency planners have identified possible shelters in the highest-risk areas and have alerted hospitals and nursing homes there to be prepared to relocate patients and elderly residents in the event of severe flooding.

Continue reading "Nor'easter of the 21st Century"

article about the annual Air Guitar Championships in Oulu, New Yorkers Kriston Rucker and Cedric Devitt traveled to Finland to attend the event and discovered it lacked an American competitor. Back in the States they founded US Air Guitar and held their first qualifying event at the Pussycat Lounge in the Financial District. Little did they know about the untapped, overwhelming enthusiasm for air guitar in this country as hundred of amateur rockers came out for that qualifier and a subsequent one in Los Angeles at the Roxy.

Through much of its history New York had a working waterfront. Be it for passengers, cargo, fishing, or ship building, warehouses and other industries, the waterfront was a busy, stinky, messy place. As a result the poshest residences were usually built inland, think Park Avenue. Since the ports are no longer used for industrial purposes there has been a rush to build along the shore. As discussed in a long article in Sunday's Times, maybe riverside condos aren't such a great idea.

In yesterday’s NY Times, Nicolai Ouroussoff notes the onset of 21st-century medievalism, the siege-like architectural style that has surfaced since 9/11.

As we all know now, the soaring glass atrium dome and underlying transit hub designed by Nicholas Grimshaw will be much more modest than originally planned (above). The problem, of course, is b-u-d-g-e-t.

A story proving that even police officers are too grabby with their guns. Last year, off-duty police officer Bernard Marti got into an argument with Victor Mendoza at Financial District pizza restaurant Cordato's. Apparently, Mendoza knocked over Marti's beer, so Marti took out his service revolver. Mendoza pushed it away and then Marti "accidentally" shot Mendoza in the thigh. Marti ran to his car, only to be caught by police officers doing homeless outreach work.

Last weekend, a group of longboard skaters raced down Broadway from West 116th Street all the way to the bull in the Financial District for the "Broadway Bomb." Sacha Lecca has some pictures of the event along the 8.5 miles, but we really enjoy the pictures from the dark skate the night before as there's nothing like a big bunny skating in Columbus Circle.

Yesterday, a chilling crime unfolded in front of 17 State Street in the Financial District. Karen Allende of the Bronx was on her way to work at 6:30AM when a man stabbed her repeatedly. A security guard initially thought she had slipped on the wet sidewalk, but then saw the blood; a construction worker, one of five people who tried to help Allende, said, "There was too much blood." Cameras caught the murderer approaching Allende from behind, and witnesses say he said something, then stabbed her multiple times. It is the first murder in Lower Manhattan (Wall Street and Tribeca) in two years.

As London remembers the first anniversary of its deadly subway attacks, the Daily News reveals that jihadists were plotting to blow up the Holland Tunnel in order to flood lower Manhattan. The plot was apparently in the works months ago, with a "pledge" of support from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, with hopes, as the News puts it, "to drown the Financial District as New Orleans was by Hurricane Katrina." Well, given government response to floods, it's not surprising that terrorists would want to emulate disasters from nature.