Results tagged “lowermanhattan”

The NYPD has gotten less attention for catching criminals this weekend than it has for catching babies. While yesterday's special delivery story came along an exit ramp of the BQE in Brooklyn, this time a cop assisted a couple whose birth plan ended up with an audible not too far across the river from there just out of the Battery Tunnel in lower Manhattan. 28-year-old Officer Theodore Plevritis was flagged down by a cab driver exiting the tunnel, honking his horn and waving wildly as Ester Abbot was going into labor in his backseat just before 6 a.m yesterday. The officer said he could see that "this baby was ready to go," and ended up delivering it within five minutes. Plaevritis, a bachelor with no children, told the News, "I caught the baby; she did all the work. She was slippery. I just wanted to make sure I held onto her." The officer says his knowledge of the process came strictly from a Police Academy training video. The baby girl and mother are both healthy at NYU Medical Center.

Back in March, the economy forced developer Bruce Ratner to scale back plans for a 76-story Frank Gehry-designed building called Beekman Tower to just a 38- (or 40-) story structure. Now, the NY Times reports that a deal between Ratner's company and labor unions will help save "as much as 20 percent on labor costs" and allow construction to resume at Beekman Tower. Forest City Ratner executive MaryAnne Gilmartin said, "We’re thrilled to be going back to work. It’s a great project and a great building." Beekman Tower, which will be the tallest residential building in the city at 867 feet, was originally planned as a condominium, but FCR made it a rental (given the economy). Gilmartin also said, The savings we achieved go a long way toward insulating the project from any dip in rents or any protracted period of time required to lease up the building. We’re really bullish on this building."

That shrill siren you may hear downtown will just be part of a test. According to NotifyNYC, the city's public messaging program, "Starting at 9:00 AM this morning and continuing on and off for several hours, Hudson County, NJ will be testing their emergency alert siren system. Loud sirens associated with this test may be heard in Lower Manhattan." (Hudson County includes Jersey City, Bayonne, Seacaucus and Hoboken.) NotifyNYC is only in four pilot communities in the city—Lower Manhattan, SW Staten Island, NE Bronx, and the Rockaways —but even if you don't live there, you can still sign up.

       

The verdict is out, and yesterday's lower Manhattan flyover by the "Boeing 747 sometimes known as Air Force One" and military jets was a bad idea. So bad that the White House Military Office's director Luis Caldera apologized for the mission. It was so bad that the city official who knew about the event but didn't tell the mayor was "reprimanded and a disciplinary letter has been placed in his file," according to Newsday.

This morning's Boeing 747+fighter jet fly-over was, as we now know, nothing to worry about because it was a photo opportunity for Air Force One photographers or something. But it's not like hundreds, if not thousands of New Yorkers in lower Manhattan, weren't just a little startled by the low-flying aircraft, evacuating buildings and sending worried calls or texts to friends. [Update: The White House has apologized! More below.]

Earlier this morning we got a concerned email about a commercial-size jet flying uncomfortably low over Lower Manhattan, where buildings were being evacuated. Another tipster at 2WFC said announcements in that building declared "there’s no emergency and that we all need to stay inside." Soon after word came out that it was just Air Force One, keeping New Yorkers on their toes! From the newswire: "AUTHORIZED FLY-OVER OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY BY AIR FORCE ONE FOR A PHOTO SHOOT. THE PRESIDENT WAS *NOT* ON BOARD."

E-Z Pass is coming to the Brooklyn Bridge after all—just not as part of any East River crossing toll plan. City officials announced that E-Z Pass transponders will be installed on the bridge, as well as several other spots throughout the streets of lower Manhattan below Canal Street in order to monitor the flow of traffic and come up with potential ways to ease congestion in that part of town. The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center will be in charge of the project, which they emphasize will not be able to detect either license plate numbers or the drivers inside the vehicles. An LMCCC spokeswoman says that the routes and travel times of lower Manhattan motorists they'll be collecting will simply allow the agency to know where to dispatch traffic agents to deal with problems.

The NYCLU says the NYPD’s “Operation Sentinel,” which would install permanent license plate scanners at each of the 20 crossings into Manhattan, is an unnecessary invasion of privacy. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly wants to form a security ring around the World Trade Center that would make London’s famed “Ring of Steel” look like a velvet rope guarded by Don Knotts. And besides installing radiation detectors that could spot a dirty bomb, the Daily News reports the NYPD wants an additional 100 license plate scanners below Canal Street.

The NYPD is serious about security in this post-9/11 world, and, amongst many elements in a proposal called "Operation Sentinel,"is the plan to photograph every single car coming into NYC. The NY Times reports that the goal is to "strengthen the city’s guard against a potential terror attack." Vehicles would be photographed, license plates scanned, and checked for radioactivity.

The Port Authority says that a Beijing-based real estate developer will lease around 200,000 square feet at Freedom Tower (building on the far left). The news is notable because the only two other tenants are government agencies - the U.S. General Services Administration and the state office of General Services.

      

What's another delay of 12 to 18 months for the Fulton Street Transit Center? The proposed hub, which would link 11 different subway lines and has been in the works for years, was originally supposed to open this year, but costs for the hub have escalated, from the initially planned $750 million to well over a $1 billion.

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.

Sure, the 2008 election is exciting, but hundreds of candidates are expected to run for city office next year.

The sister of the 23-year FDNY veteran who died during the Deutsche Bank building last August is suing city agencies and contractors, citing their "wanton, willful, and reckless conduct" in his death.

Developer Larry Silverstein announced yesterday that he will build an 80-story building at 99 Church Street, in place of the former Moody's headquarters, just a block away from the World Trade Center site. Twenty-two floors will be for a Four Seasons hotel; the other floors will include 143 condominiums, making it the "tallest residential structure" in the city.

Oh, MTA - you and your outlandish idea of putting a glorious glass dome at the renovated Fulton Street Transit Center! The proposed design, unveiled in 2004, seemed an inspiring idea for the agency. But, after years of attempts to start construction, costs have risen to $1.15 billion, from the initially estimated $750 million, causing MTA executive director Eliot Sander to say, "I am sad to say that we cannot build the transit center as currently envisioned in this market." In other words, good-bye dome-oculus thing!

Details have emerged on the ambitious, $15 million East River waterfalls project coming to New York in mid-July to cap off the Olafur Eliasson retrospective at MoMa. The project will consist of four man-made waterfalls, ranging 90 to 120-foot tall, installed temporarily at four sites along the shores of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Governors Island: by the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, between Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn, in Lower Manhattan at Pier 35, and on the north shore of Governors Island. The waterworks will flow from 7am to 10pm seven days a week, will be lit after sunset, and operate from July to October.

Mayor Bloomberg's announcement that he would reduce the number of parking permits for civil servants by 20% has annoyed yet another group. Joining police officers, fire fighters, and other emergency workers are teachers.

There's been a lot of ink, virtual and otherwise, already spilled on Governors Island. But today, NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff proclaimed that the new site "could well become the most inspired public park built here in generations." He also said the plan is "humble in scale but big on ambition."

A construction crane crushed construction trailers and trapped a worker this morning. According to 1010WINS, the FDNY says "the crane dropped a load of steel it was carrying and crushed the trailers. At least one person was rescued; his condition was not immediately available."

Just because the 2009 elections are over 22 months away doesn't mean some interesting moves can't happen. Adolfo Carrion Jr. (pictured, on left), the Bronx Borough President, has decided to run for City Comptroller in 2009, making it a tough field and shedding light on the mayoral contest.

Freaked out about the explosions in your neighborhood, only to find out via 311 that it's just fireworks? Or wondering about the fire around the corner? Well, the city actually does want you to know about what's going on in your neighborhoods and announced the pilot program launch of Notify NYC, which will deliver "emergency public information by email, text messages and reverse-911 alerts in four City community districts." The four districts are Lower Manhattan,...

Yesterday morning's rain caused a recently installed sewer main to burst, flooding the basement and parking garage of a Battery Park City luxury apartment building. Water levels reached up to 20 feet. Not only were car owners greeted with news that their vehicles were either submerged or floating on top of sewer water, hundreds of tenants at 90 West Street were evacuated. Fire officials explained that, per WNBC, "rain flooded a re-routed sewer pipe,...

The old saw is that one can't fight City Hall, and we can apparently add the ivory tower to the bulwarks of imperviousness. Despite fierce community opposition, Columbia University will be expanding its upper-Manhattan campus to surrounding blocks. The plan to expand the university's property by 17 acres and several blocks in each direction was approved this afternoon by the New York City Planning Commission. CityRoom reports the neighborhood meeting wasn't exactly neighborly:A majority...

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...

No, no these photos aren't models from I Am Legend's portrayal of Union Square, but an "Apocalyptic Manhattan" two guys constructed. They've recreated 50 Manhattan buildings (via MUG) in three rooms of their apartment. Perhaps the most impressive part of their Manhattan creation is the background wallpaper - complete with buildings, and clouds/smoke. While there's no mention of any specific neighborhood, the architecture makes it look like parts of Lower Manhattan despite the inclusion...

Lawyers for the families of Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia, the two firefighters who died in the August 18 Deutsche Bank fire, have filed notices of claim to sue city and state agencies for up to $180 million. The lawyers are claiming that the "reckless, willful and wanton actions and inactions" of the various agencies, including the FDNY, Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, caused the fatal response to the blaze. The Deutsche Bank,...

Those geniuses at Fallon London are at it again for Sony BRAVIA. First they had the bouncing balls in San Francisco, then the tower of paint in Glasgow, and now bunnies on the streets of Manhattan. Fair warning - if for some reason you're scared of bunnies, don't watch this video. The advertisement, titled "Play-doh" features 200 plasticine bunnies hopping around and a large 30 foot bunny in Thomas Paine Park in Lower Manhattan.

Did contemporary art and music come together for the first time in New York? The holy (or unholy -- if you're not a Velvet Underground fan) union can be traced back to, where else, Andy Warhol's Factory scene. So why is the Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 exhibit being housed all the way in Chicago?

Yet another depressing fact revealed about the Deutsche Bank demolition in the wake of two firefighters' deaths. The NY Times reports that contractors had created an emergency exit plan through sealed stairwells, but the firefighters didn't know about the plan. Fire department spokesman Francis X. Gribbon told the Times, “The Fire Department was not involved in creating this plan, specifically — and most importantly — with regard to the sealed staircases. We were not notified about it. We were not consulted about it.”