Results tagged “georgewashingtonbridge”

[UPDATE BELOW] Life is so unpredictable: One minute you're pulling out of a New Jersey gas station, the next minute you're diving off the George Washington Bridge to escape police after a high-speed chase. An unidentified man presumably fell to his death yesterday morning after trying to escape from cops who pulled him over for a "routine stop" while driving his 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix through Fort Lee. Police say the man was pulled over around 9:30 a.m. for failing to yield, and the vehicle "had law enforcement equipment inside." But within minutes he sped away toward the bridge, with the fuzz in hot pursuit.

Last Friday, a man jumped off the George Washington Bridge—and survived and managed to swim to the NJ side, where he was taken to a hospital. According to the NY Post, "Adrian Rawn, 28, took the plunge without so much as a pause after abruptly stopping his car on the span's lower level at about 11:30 a.m." And that would be a 212-foot plunge into 55-degree water.

Now that the sleepy George Washington Bridge guards have been fired, WCBS 2 says that it may only be the "tip of the iceberg," as Port Authority sources say "there are many incidents involving these guards. One guard reportedly lost his job for playing canned laughter over the police radio frequency so the cops couldn't talk to one another. In another instance a guard was reportedly asleep when a man walked by and jumped to his death of the bridge." The PA say the guards really just check security clearance of bridge workers, but "Port Authority police sources said they are also tasked with alerting them to suspicious activity on the bridge." Which is why Joe Lepore, the bicyclist who blew the whistle on the sleepy guards, said, "Maybe you just nod off at that one moment when somebody decides to sneak by some liquid nitrogen or some explosives and start to do damage. And I explained it to one of the guards on the other side. I said look if this bridge blows up, we're all going, including you... I didn't do this with a vendetta or any personal issue with anybody. It's safety for all of us."

After a bicyclist caught two George Washington Bridge guards sleeping on the job multiple times—and sent the pictures to Cliffview Pilot which published them yesterday—the Port Authority announced the two men were fired, "The two guards have been fired by the security contractor, FJC Security. The Port Authority takes the safety of its passengers and facilities very serious and has spent more than $4 billion dollars on security since 9/11. The Port Authority welcomes the public's vigilance on matters of safety and security and we encourage our customers to contact us if they encounter anything out of the ordinary." Another bicyclist told the Daily News, "Normally, they are not sleeping. But I guess you should be attentive at this job, especially after 9/11."

This morning, a man bicycling on the George Washington Bridge took photographs of a guard sleeping in the west guard booth on the NJ side. According to Cliffview Pilot, taking the photographs was easy for Joey Lepore, who said, "I didn't even zoom it. I walked right up to the window... I saw him nodded out on my way over to the city and then again on my way back. Enough is enough!" And apparently this isn't the first time Lepore, who owns and operates Bicycle Tour New York, has seen a guard sleeping—he once said to one, "Please just stay awake. I'm not asking too much," and has photographs of a sleeping guard (possibly the same one as today) from August 5. MyFoxNY points out, "Officials have said that bridges and tunnels remain a prime target for terrorists. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Port Authority restricted photography on and on the bridge for security reasons (the rules have since been relaxed). In 2005 and 2006, the agency installed cylindrical bomb shields the section of the bridge's suspension cables closest to the deck." The Port Authority told Cliffview Pilot it was looking into the matter.

       

The Port Authority unveiled renderings yesterday for an ambitious $152 million renovation of the George Washington Bridge bus station in Washington Heights. Built by Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi, the sprawling three-level station opened in 1963, winning an award that year for its use of concrete in construction. It occupies both sides of Broadway between 178th and 179th Streets, near the entrance to the George Washington Bridge.

      

Word is that many a ship are getting wrecked on the Hudson by the George Washington Bridge. Could Manhattan be drawing ships to shore with its sirens? Is this a marketing ploy for Lost? The Gay Recluse reports:

"Those arriving in Washington Heights for the first time are often surprised to hear splintering, cracking sounds in the distance. The shoreline is rocky and treacherous for those unfamiliar with its jagged contours, and what you hear is the slow wreckage of some poor soul who has strayed too close."

WWOR/channel 9 got a wake-up call that it's supposed to be a New Jersey TV station when the FCC held a hearing about the station's license renewal. Critics say the station's license shouldn't be renewed because it has failed to discuss NJ news and issues. The station, owned by News Corporation whose local media holdings include WNYW/Channel 5 and the NY Post, was moved to NJ in 1986 due to FCC law that each state...

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at White Plains Rd. and 219th St. in the Bronx, an animal incident on Rochelle Pl. on Staten Island, and a hate crime at Columbia University in Manhattan. A tour of Jam Master Jay's studio, where the rap impressario was gunned down five years ago. A brief update on the unforgettable case where a man beat the bejeezus out of a grunting and yelping spin class...

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a white powder incident at 25 Beaver St. in Manhattan, report of a large crowd gathered at the center of the south side of the George Washington Bridge's upper level, and an explosion in the basement of a building at 77th St. and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan. Dedicated bike paths and fences separating them from traffic can only do so much when a cab driver really wants to take...

Of all the forbidden sites that were opened for public viewing last weekend in the 5th annual Open House New York program, the High Line was one of the crown trophies. It offered rare views of the city, sexy industrial details, and the mysterious allure of a wild grassy flying carpet that won't open until at least a year hence. Built during the same era (early 1930s) as the Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge and other Gotham landmarks, could this elevated former freight railway become a comparably iconic amenity?

Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, better known to many as the Little Red Lighthouse, is located right under the George Washington Bridge, in Fort Washington Park. And the Parks Department is having the 15th Annual Little Red Lighthouse Festival today between 12PM and 5PM, with hayrides, face painting, the antics of a stiltwalker, live music, and tours of Manhattan's only lighthouse.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Melrose Ave. in the Bronx, a lightning strike at 82nd Ave. and 249th St. in Queens, and a hate crime on the walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge.
• 25-year-old former model and current vice president of the Trump Organization Ivanka Trump was appointed to the board of directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. A recent New York Times column noted that investors in Trump's casinos would have lost 93% of their money since the company went public in 1995.
• Two people were rescued from the Hudson River yesterday after they fell from a jet ski just south of the George Washington Bridge. A helicopter was needed to pluck a 25-year-old woman clinging to pylons after being swept downriver by the strong current.
• NJ State Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny Jr. was found severely injured on a street in Hoboken this morning. Kenny was jogging this morning when he stepped in a pothole and broke bones in his pelvis, leg, and face.
• A new limited bus line on Staten Island will enable mass transit between Eltingville in New York and Bayonne, NJ.
• NY Sen. Chuck Schumer thinks FAA chief Marion Blakey should be forced to resign, citing growing flight delays at area airports.
• Curbed notes some religious real estate development and marketing by Orthodox Jews in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• The area around the Chelsea Health Clinic on 28th St. and 9th Ave. is reportedly overrun by rats.

Yesterday, a suicidal man on he George Washington Bridge caused traffic delays up to two hours. Newsday reported that the man was "armed with a box-cutter razor climbed a bridge cable, slashed his arms and wrists repeatedly and threatened to jump," but police officers were able to talk him down. We wrote about New York bridge jumpers last month.

Two bridges spanning the Hudson River just north of the city will be getting suicide prevention phones instead of physical barriers following three fatal leaps in close succession earlier this year. The phones to be installed on the Tappan Zee and Bear Mountain Bridges will be connected to a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. Plans for installing physical barriers were turned down as being too expensive to install and maintain.

Remember how the Port Authority wanted to put Geico ads on various toll booths at the George Washington Bridge? Maybe it's a good thing that plan was scotched, because now the Port Authority is considering elmination of tollbooths at all Hudson River crossings. From the NY Sun:

The plan, which is expected to reduce traffic bottlenecks on the highways leading into the city, would complement Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to charge drivers a fee to use the city's most crowded streets, Port officials said. The Port Authority would use the same camera technology to charge drivers that the city is planning to use if it implements congestion pricing.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Amboy Rd. on Staten Island, a shooting on Lexington Ave. in Brooklyn, and a water rescue in the area of the George Washington Bridge, near Manhattan's 176th St.
• The Italian boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway is being sued by a business partner for misusing $1.3 million of a joint venture fund, spending it on things like private jet trips with his girlfriend and subsidizing a lavish lifestyle.
• Former police officer Charles Schwarz completed his five-year prison term and was released from a halfway house where he finished it. While always maintaining his innocence of any involvement in the attack on Abner Louima that occurred while the man was in police custody, Schwarz agreed to a plea deal just before starting his fourth trial.
• Rudy Giuliani's getting it from both social conservatives and liberals after equivocating on questions of abortion during this week's Republican Presidential debate. Critics from both sides stressed that there is no middle ground in the debate.
• Ten current and former members of the M.T.A. Police Department are suing the agency, alleging discrimination against black and Hispanic officers.
• A ruptured 48-inch underground pipe near the Yonkers train station spewed as many as four million gallons of sewage into the Hudson River today.
• We thought stoners were immune to these types of impulses, but an LSU student was arrested after he made repeated threats of a violent attack against Senator Clinton, who is scheduled to be in Baton Rouge today. He was also found posessing marijuana and drug paraphenalia.
• The possible remains of six more WTC victims were found by recovery workers. Four potential body parts were found in material dug from beneath a service road and the potential remains of two more people were found on the roof of a Cedar St. building.

When it is done, Ms. Weinshall said, the Willis Avenue Bridge will be the most expensive bridge ever built by her department.

Continue reading "Wanna Buy A Bridge? You Can't Afford It"

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A power outage in Beach Channel, Queens, a jumper on the George Washington Bridge, and a pedestrian struck near Tottenville High School on Staten Island
• It's damn cold, but you should be warm(ish) at home; building owners are required to provide heat and hot water during "heat season"
• The doctor who claimed he had been attacked by a group of thugs died and the medical examiner isn't sure how he died; earlier hypotheses included a gay encounter gone wrong and, the current one, that he may have scalded himself

There's an interesting NY Times New York region op-ed that's supportive of marketing ventures most anywhere, like Geico's unsuccessful George Washington Bridge toll plaza marketing deal.

Score: Gecko, 0, and People Tired of Ads, 1.

Drivers who take the George Washington Bridge, you'll soon have a little green gecko in your sights every day! The Port Authority has agreed to allow Geico advertise on the George Washington Bridge for $3.2 million over two years. While that doesn't mean affixing geckos to the bridge itself, it does mean Geico billboards on the toll plaza, Geico signs on tollbooths, and having Geico's name appear on various Port Authority collateral and the PA website. And the NY Times adds "...costumed gecko mascots will appear at Port Authority bus stations."

Port Authority 9:45am, by Travis Ruse.

+ Elisabeth Hasselbeck is annoyed at Law & Order SVU producers for having a character named "Elizabeth Hasselback" get raped and murdered on last week's show - doesn't she read the "this story is fictional and is not based on actual events or people" thing?

Whoa, via labs about a half-hour ago: "crane just dropped a giant block into traffic 15 floors down smashing thru a cab! i got pics on the scene." (Pix are from Selectroclash.) The wires are saying that the police are calling a level one mobilization because the crane is still unstable. Six people have been injured, and three buildings are being evacuated. More info as it develops.

Around 1:30AM this morning, a 1-800-Mattress truck crashed into a tractor-trailer on the inbound upper level of the George Washington Bridge. WABC 7 reported that the "rig portion of the mattress truck was crushed by the force of the crash," and the two people in the rig were killed. The accident caused hours of delays; the bridge is open now, but trucks can only use the upper level to cross into the city.

Four miles from the George Washington Bridge, a horrific accident involving a flatbed truck carrying bricks killed four people and injured four others on the New Jersey Turnpike - and a little 4 year old girls from Queens was the only survivor from her family's car. According to the NY Times, a flatbed truck hit cars during a traffic standstill, and then swayed from the shoulder and back across the highway lanes, pushing the car carrying the Christmas family of Astoria "under the trailer of another truck"; then the flatbed "careered over a guardrail and overturned, spilling its load of bricks onto a Toyota 4Runner S.U.V.," killing the driver, Norma Ryan of NJ. Theresa and Charles Christmas were killed, as was their 2 year old Victoria; 4 year old Theresa was taken to a hospital and is in fair condition (University Hospital in Newark says that psychologists and counselors will be helping her). The Toyota's three other passengers - Ryan's two children and Maria Rosado of the Bronx - were in critical condition.

With the weather looking to be just about perfect this long holiday weekend, there is no better time to bust out the apron, grill, and tongs and barbeque some meat and/or veggies here in the city. If you are not one of the lucky ones that has a backyard, it might be tempting to just put a Hibachi on your fire escape. However, the New York City fire department says that is a big no-no.

MeFi yesterday pointed us towards one of those great 9/11 stories that was already slipping from our minds: In 1931, as the George Washington Bridge and the Empire State Building were being completed, the FDNY christened its fastest, bestest water-pumping fireboat, the John J. Harvey. Able to pump nearly 20,000 gallons per minute, the JJH was the definition of the modern fireboat ("Her output is equal to about 26 [or five alarm's worth] of land fire engines."). Sadly, as the piers around Manhattan were shuttered or repurposed, the JJH fell into disrepair. Removed from regular service in '95 and sold as surplus property in '99 she was luckily lovingly restored by her new owners.