On Monday, Grand Central Terminal unveiled their new LED-lighted Grand Concourse ceiling, which will not only return the constellations to their previous glory, but reduce energy costs for the MTA. Steve Stroh of Metro-North said the new lights will last "twice as long as the old system," and that it uses "about 60% less electricity than the original lights." The lights will be on from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day, and each one will mimic the intensity of its star as seen from earth. “When gazing up, 125 feet above the Tennessee pink marble floor, one cannot see all the lighted stars at once,” says the MTA. "As people walk across the Concourse floor and their vantage point changes, different stars appear, giving a twinkling impression."
Video: New Grand Central Terminal Constellation Lights
Grand Central Ceiling Gets Outfitted With LED Lights
In 1996, the MTA began a thorough cleaning of Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse Sky Ceiling, which had been left almost black after years of neglect and pollution. But though New Yorkers can once again look at the backwards zodiac constellations, they just haven't gotten the full effect without the lightbulbs shining behind the stars. The ceiling has been completely dark for the past six-months, but today the Terminal is unveiling new LED lights that will bring a more realistic stargazing experience (much to the chagrin of everyone trying to actually get somewhere).
Video Ads Along Buses Help Distract Understimulated Masses
City buses in Manhattan might soon be catching your attention with new LED screens playing video advertisements along their sides as they ride about town. The MTA is about to test out the new ads on ten buses with hopes to expand to 200 buses with screens, which will they say will only be on the right side to avoid distracting other drivers. (No word on what happens if one bus is already another bus's right.) The screens will be equipped with a GPS, so ads can be adjusted for the neighborhoods they're driving through. An MTA spokesman said, "So if you're going down Lexington Avenue and the bus is at 65th Street, it could start advertising, hypothetically, Bloomingdale's." The screens have already began testing on the M79 in the Upper East Side, where residents are having flashbacks to the arrival of Kenny Rogers Roasters. One man told the Post, "It's just like you took my bed, and while I was asleep, moved it to the middle of Times Square. Neon signs are showing in my room. Bright, flashing neon."
Oohs, Aahs and Ehs at this Season's Rockefeller Center Tree
amNewYork is reporting that some non-"green" grinches are boo-hooing the LED lights on Rockefeller Center's tree this year. Powered by solar panels and lit up with 30,000 energy-efficient LEDs for the first time in history, the environmentally friendly decor just isn't doing it for some holiday revelers. Guess it's not the 1930s anymore.
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