Results tagged “galebrewer”

In the wake of the fatal collision between a small fixed-wing airplane and a sightseeing helicopter, officials gathered today at the 30th Street Heliport on the west side to demand that the F.A.A. and the city ban tourism helicopter flights over the densest parts of Manhattan. Meanwhile, outside an East Harlem elementary school, Mayor Bloomberg said he was leaving the decision up to the F.A.A., telling reporters, "They don’t need me weighing in. They know certainly well what goes on there. They are professionals. I assume they’re going to wait until the National Transportation Safety Board to make its report and then they’ll make their decisions."

With tens of thousands of helicopter tours above Manhattan each year, some are questioning once again how wise it is for there to be so many chopper rides offered to the public right above the heart of the city. Some companies won't offer rides above the dense city streets because they say that it's not worth the risk if something were to go wrong. New York Helicopter Charter's owner Michael Roth told the Post, "If you have an engine failure at 1,600 feet and you are on top of the Empire State Building, there's no way you are going to autorotate [glide with rotors turning] to the East River to make a landing. These are machines. Things can happen." And would you have guessed that Manhattan residents have begun complaining about noise from the helicopters? Councilwoman Gale Brewer raised the issue when one of her constituents on West 83rd Street told her, "There is no silence. It's like there is a helicopter perpetually." Last summer one Manhattan operator agreed to phase out their flights. And if urban choppers do become a thing of the past altogether, there's always hot air balloons.

Last year City Councilwoman Gale Brewer proposed a bill that would fine establishments $200 per open door/window in air conditioned spaces (as well as heated spaces in the winter), the bill wasn't fully backed by the Bloomberg administration and never saw the light of day...until now! The NY Post reports that the environmentally friendly bill is now supported by Bloomberg and "is expected to win council approval tomorrow."

The NY Times columnist Clyde Haberman is annoyed about shops that keep their air-conditioned stores' doors wide open and found other New Yorkers who share that gripe. One downtown resident was told by a Soho clothing store that the open door was "company policy," so the outraged resident called the store's main office, where someone "said they had a ‘green team’ forming."

Forget about leaving doors open to attract customers with air conditioning and heat, back in 1934 there was a vision of having air-conditioned sidewalks! In another article from the past, the idea is explored.

Yohji Yamamoto's recently opened Y-3 store at 317 West 13th Street in the West Village is upsetting some locals. One tipster writes in:

The idiots at the new Y-3 store on 13th street leave the front door (a garage door) open all day long. It is 30 degrees outside, yet that strip of the sidewalk is toasty warm.

While a toasty warm sidewalk may sound cozy, it shows the wasteful energy practices of the store. Council member Gale Brewer introduced a bill last year that would forbid commercial buildings to keep their doors or windows open while running air-conditioners. If caught doing so, the establishment would be fined $200 per window and door left opened. This would also pertain to those stores luring cold customers in with their heat.